Category Archives: Four Stars

The Kingdom (Theaters)

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KingdomThe Kingdom was a incredibly believable film. It didn’t try to capture its audience through special effects or computer generated images. The movie was essentially dialogue driven, and focused on a strong storyline mixed in with some intense, yet realistic “in your face” action scenes.

What I liked the most about the movie was the fact that it was made clear that terrorism is not a product of middle eastern people. Most of whom are family loving people who are trapped in a world filled with terror and religious driven animosity towards the western culture and its supporters.

The actors in the film played their roles perfectly. Jamie Foxx has proven yet again that he is more than just comic relief, and the supporting cast of Chris Cooper, Jason Bateman, and Jennifer Garner provide for a great team of elite FBI agents. The real star of the film however was Ashraf Barhom who played the Saudi officer assigned to protecting the four man team during their stay in the desert. His relationship with Fleury and the rest of the team provided for some great character development and helped to setup the film for a very dramatic ending.

I thought this film was a very powerful one. Its message is pretty straight forward and doesn’t sugar coat the reality which is our world today. Definitely a must see for anyone who enjoys a good plot and drama.

Synopsis:

FBI Special Agent Ronald Fleury (Jamie Foxx) has just received the assignment of his career: assemble an elite team (Jennifer Garner, Chris Cooper and Jason Bateman) and go to Riyadh to hunt down and capture the terrorist mastermind behind a deadly attack on Americans working in Saudi Arabia. The feds have only one week to infiltrate and cripple a cell bent on jihad to western society.

Solarbabies (DVD)

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solarbabiesWhen I was sent an email from Amazon announcing the release of Solarbabies, I just had to order a copy. It was one of those 80′s cult classic films I just had to have.

With a ton of reviews out there about how terrible this film was, I had to post a review that boasted the exact opposite. For a young nine year old boy growing up in the 80′s who loved fantasy and sci-fi films, Solarbabies was a very enjoyable movie. I didn’t watch it for the realism, the dialogue, or the acting. I watched the film purely because it was cool. Everything from the rollerskating to the crush I had on the incredibly hot Jami Gertz.

Synopsis:

In a future in which most water has disappeared from the Earth, we find a group of children, mostly teenagers, who are living at an orphanage, run by the despotic rulers of the new Earth. The group in question plays a hockey based game on roller skates and is quite good. It has given them a unity that transcends the attempts to bring them to heel by the government. Finding an orb of special power, they find it has unusual effects on them. They escape from the orphanage (on skates) and try to cross the wasteland looking for a place they can live free as the stormtroopers search for them and the orb

The Dark Crystal (DVD)

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darkcrystalIn the days before computer generated imagery (CGI) were used heavily in films, the use of puppets or in Jim Henson’s case, Muppets were one of the primary ways to bring fictional characters to life.

In 1982, Jim Henson released one of the most highly innovative movies of its time with the fantasy film The Dark Crystal. Although innovative and unique, the film did not fair very well at the box office primarily because E.T. the extra-terrestrial was released the same year and many parents were wary of the dark nature of Henson’s film.

Being just five years old during the actual theatrical release, most kids my age would have probably been afraid of the grotesque muppets in the movie, but instead of fear, I remember becoming instantly hooked to the film. It was one of the coolest things I had ever seen. I remember the excitement I felt when I first saw the evil Skeksis who looked like a bunch of old hunch backed vultures, to the details of the planet Thra, full of fascinating creatures and danger.

With the 25th Anniversary Edition released this month, I just had to get a copy. Digitally remastered, this film is packed with extras and commentary making it a worthwhile purchase for any fan of the movie. The younger generation may never fully appreciate this film because of the highly advanced movie making technology today, but for those of us who grew up in the 80′s, film’s such as these are timeless classics of joy.