WHITE NOISE NOW AVAILABLE

WHITE NOISE NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE

HERE IS THE SUMMARY FOR THE MOVIE WHITE NOISE FROM IMDB

When the unexpected happens, architect Jonathan Rivers has become a grieving widower, wallowing in deep confusion over the death of his wife. But a paranormal expert approaches Jonathan with the unlikely: the ability to hear his wife from beyond the grave. Through a form of unusual communication known as EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomenon), Jonathan will finally be able to see his wife. But in doing so, Jonathan has drawn himself into a much more complex situation when his curiosity becomes an obsession. Only that obsession will have him confront those not of this world, and some of them don't approve of Jonathan's interference with their destructive nature. Written by mystic80

The pregnant wife of the architect Jonathan Reeves (Michael Keaton) is missed after a car accident near a cliff, and the police do not know whether she is dead or abducted. Some weeks later, a mysterious man comes to Jonathan and tells him that his wife is dead and had communicated with him through Electronic Voice Phenomena. Sooner Jonathan is informed by the police that her body was found in the sea near a harbor, and the tormented grieving Jonathan decides to try to contact her using uncontrolled E.V.P and jeopardizing his own life. Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

HERE IS A REVIEW FOR THE MOVIE WHITE NOISE FROM DVDTALK

The Movie What is E.V.P.? Well, the definition is Electronic Voice Phenomenon, but even that doesn't tell a person much about what it really is. Boiled down to simple terms, E.V.P. is the result of taking a cassette recorder (or some other such recording device) and getting communications from the spirit realm, which are not audible to the ear when the words or sentences are initially spoken, but are only heard after listening to the device that the event was recorded on. Now the voices that are heard are usually distorted somewhat by background noise, or more specifically White Noise. White Noise stars Michael Keaton as Jonathan Winters, a man whose life takes a nosedive one fine day when he realizes that his wife Anna, briefly played by Chandra West, disappears and all signs lead towards her being dead from some freak accident. Soon after Winters' wife is reported missing, he notices a man named Raymond watching his every move, and unlike what was expected this man was not part of a police force looking to take Winters down, but a father who lost his own son years in the past but has been able to communicate with him as well as a host of other people who had died, including Anna. Winters of course refuses to believe that this man can in fact speak with the dead, and time goes by and he starts to begin the process of healing after the loss. Things then start happening to him that creep him out, such as messages left on his answering machine that are white noise with some nearly intelligible audio on it, and radios randomly turning themselves on. Winters then contacts the man seen earlier in the movie about the E.V.P, and then receives a lesson in the ins and outs of dealing with the speaking dead. Not all things are meant to be played with however, and soon Raymond falls prey to someone or something that didn't like him dabbling with the voices of the dead. Winters interest in the subject matter was whet just enough to think that he could speak to his wife once more, and he falls face first into obsession with E.V.P. Not a fantastic movie, White Noise relies far too often on jump scares that are very out of place for a movie such as this. Even during the commentary, the director comments and says "Here's one of the jump scares we did", they didn't enhance my movie experience in this case, it detracted from it. Even with the oddly placed jumps and other items that were meant to shock and keep the viewer interested, I found White Noise to be a fairly boring movie that based on the subject matter could have been much better. The DVD How's it Look: White Noise is has a very nice crisp presentation, and that is a welcome thing for a movie that has a lot of scenes taking place in low light conditions. Because of the low light, the colors are all quite muted and a large number of scenes are lit with the noise on a TV screen or a computer monitor, but it works well for the topic at hand. The movie is presented in an anamorphically enhanced 2.35:1 presentation, and should look quite nice for those who've managed to secure a widescreen television. How's it Sound: Two Dolby Digital 5.1 audio tracks are included on White Noise, one in English and the other in Spanish. The audio is quite clear and does pack the punch when the unnecessary jump scares are used. The surround usage was actually quite sparse, and really only used to indicate direction, and not for ambient sound effects, and that actually was a distraction because I felt like more ambience would have been nice. Extras: The DVD says that included are "Terrifying" deleted scenes, I for one didn't find the terrifying ones, but I did see a collection of scenes that were omitted from the movie, with optional director commentary. A commentary with director Geoffrey Sax and Michael Keaton is included, although they were not in the same room when recording this commentary, they were watching the movie at the same time and spoke to one another throughout the feature. This experiment in conference calling technology was a success! During the commentary Keaton himself even mentions that he essentially phoned in some a scene, and said to the director "I owe you one", which was a surprising display of honesty on his part. Overall however, the commentary was not overly exciting or informative like some have proven to be. Three separate featurettes are included that deal with E.V.P. Hearing is Believing: Actual E.V.P sessions (14 minutes) – follow Tom and Lisa Butler as they visit two locations and try to record E.V.P. and then share their findings with the viewer. Making Contact: E.V.P Experts (8 minutes) – a short featurette which includes a fair number of actual E.V.P.s and discussions with the Butlers as well as other experts in the field. Recording E.V.P at Home (4 minutes) – a short how to segment from the Butlers. Closing: White Noise had the potential to be something good, with a strong cast lead by Keaton, and a topic that could be interesting enough to make a very fun movie; it disappointed this viewer as well as thousands of other viewers, as proven by the box office when it was theatrically released. As a DVD it does contain some relatively interesting extras in the form of the featurettes, but the commentary is not really worth listening to if you're interested in either E.V.P. or the movie itself. Rent it.
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WAR OF THE WORLDS 2 NOW AVAILABLE

WAR OF THE WORLDS 2 NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE

HERE IS THE SUMMARY FOR THE MOVIE WAR OF THE WORLDS 2 FROM IMDB

Two years after the Martian invasion, George Herbert's worst fears are realized: The Aliens have returned. As a second wave of Martian walkers lay waste to what's left of Earth, an alliance of military forces prepares a daring attack on the Red Planet itself. Once again, the future of mankind hangs in the balance. Written by Eric Forsberg

HERE IS THE DIRECT DOWNLOAD FOR THE MOVIE WAR OF THE WORLD 2.

RAT RACE NOW AVAILABLE

RAT RACE IS NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE

HERE IS THE SUMMARY FOR THE MOVIE RAT RACE FROM IMDB

Donald P. Sinclair (Cleese) has placed six separate gold coins in different slot machines in his casino. The lucky six who find these coins discover an opportunity of a lifetime. The chance to own $2 million. Locked up in a locker in New Mexico, these six contestants must now race each other, to be the first to the cash. There are no rules in place and everything that could possibly happen, does. Whilst, behind the scenes, Sinclair's associates are placing their bets. Written by Film_Fan

A group of billionaires led by a Las Vegas casino owner (John Cleese) search for things to bet on. They decide to pull a group of six strangers together to race from Vegas to Silver City, New Mexico to retrieve $2 million hidden in a locker. First one there gets all of the money. The first team are two addled brothers (Seth Green and Vince Vieluf, who talks indecipherably because of a newly pierced tongue). When they cannot catch a plane, they plot to destroy an airport control tower in a very funny sequence. Their antics carry them into a hot air balloon chase that catches a cow with a dangling rope and into a monster truck competition. The second team is an estranged mother (Whoopi Goldberg) reunited with her daughter (Lanai Chapman), who is struggling to start a business. They face an insane squirrel-selling woman (Kathy Bates) and steal a rocket car scheduled for a land speed record attempt. A hated NFL referee (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) is stranded in the desert by an irate cabbie (Paul Rodriguez) and hijacks a busload of Lucille Ball look-alikes on the way to a convention. The Jewish family man (Jon Lovitz) on a family vacation joins the race without telling his wife (Kathy Najimy) why they are rushing across the country. When his daughter insists on stopping at a Barbie museum, it is without realization that it is the Klaus Barbie Nazi Museum. The escape from that location involves the theft of Hitler's personal touring car and culminates with Lovitz having his tongue burned and accidentally crashing into a WWII Veteran's convention. A narcoleptic Italian (Rowan Atkinson in his best Mr. Bean-like manner) gets a ride with an ambulance driver (Wayne Knight), who is carting a human heart for a transplant. Through various ineptitude, the heart ends up flying out of the truck's window and the two have to recover it from a playful dog. The final race member (Breckin Meyer) is a straight-laced future lawyer who at first declines to participate in the race, but re-thinks his position after he meets a smart, beautiful woman (Amy Smart) who is flying a helicopter to New Mexico. He quickly finds out that she is unbalanced after she flies over her boy friend's house and starts an attack on the boy friend when she sees him in the pool with an ex-girl friend. An air pursuit results in the crash of the helicopter. Dave Thomas also appears as Cleese's humorless attorney. Written by John Sacksteder {jsackste@bellsouth.net}

Donald Sinclair (John Cleese) owns the biggest, snazziest, flashiest, high rolling-est casino in Las Vegas. And to entertain some of his wealthiest patrons, he's staged the most original high stakes game that Sin City has ever seen! The contestants? Six teams. The jackpot? Two million dollars stuffed in a locker hundreds of miles away. The odds of winning? One in six. The rules? Well there's only one--get there first! What the racers don't know is that the tycoon and his rich buddies are betting on the outcome and are tracking every move the teams make. It's only a matter of time before they figure out who really stands to win the most before switching course to look for a different kind of pay-off. Written by Sujit R. Varma

A betting-obsessed casino mogul and his group of just as bad billionaire associates, sets up a new kind of gamble in a race for $2 million hidden away in a locker. They enlist the aid of eight people who happen to be residing in his casino at once. A clean cut lawyer, a disgraced NFL referee, two inept brothers, a determined mother and daughter, a narcoleptic Italian immigrant, and a desperate father embark on a series of misadventures to obtain the money regardless of what it takes. Written by MonkeyKingMA

HERE IS A REVIEW FOR THE MOVIE RAT RACE FROM DVDTALK

The Movie: One of the few bright spots of the late Summer season, "Rat Race" brings back "Airplane" director Jerry Zucker in fine form. It's another one of the usual Zucker efforts - throw everything at the audience and see what sticks - and actually, most of it works well. Sort of a remake of "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World", the film starts off bringing all of the main characters in front of millionaire casino owner Donald Sinclair (John Cleese). After joking with them about being selected for being saved from the end of the world, he lets them in on the real deal: there's two million dollars in the locker of a train station in New Mexico; the first one there gets the cash - and, "there are no rules". A few of the players pair off into teams, while others prefer to go their own way: Duane and Blaine Cody (Seth Green and Vince Vieluf), Vera and Merrill (Whoopi Goldberg and Lanei Chapman), Nick and Tracy (Breckin Meyer and Amy Smart), Randy Pear (Jon Lovitz) and his family, Owen Templeton (Cuba Gooding Jr.), Enrico (Rowan Atkinson). The group heads off towards their destination by train, helicopter, bus, feet and balloon. I will admit that it didn't look good; the trailers showed little promise, but the movie actually comes up with some inspired comedic moments, especially revolving around Lovitz and family. One of the film's funniest running jokes focuses not on the racers, but those betting on them. We're shown that billionaires from around the world were brought together to bet on the winner. Along the way, the wealthy and bored individuals find many other things to bet on, including the first one of them to have air sickness. The film doesn't start off particularly well; the tone seems a little off and things aren't moving along very well. About 15 minutes in, I was already looking at my watch, which was not a particularly good sign. Yet, when the race finally begins, the movie really hits an impressive stride. Although not completely consistent, the movie got funnier and funnier as it went along. The performers were not always that amusing, though - Goldberg and Chapman are really hardly given much to do, while Atkinson's bits were not all that funny. Meyer and Smart (who were both in "Road Trip") have good chemistry again here and Cleese, Lovitz and Green are quite entertaining. The only piece of the film that doesn't quite come together is the ending; it's warm-hearted, but goes on too long and provides yet another appearance by rock band Smash Mouth, who's been on the soundtrack for far too many films at this point. Still, "Rat Race" works far better than it should have for the majority of the running time, a fun couple of hours of comedic chaos that generated some solid laughs. The DVD VIDEO: "Rat Race" is presented by Paramount in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. The presentation is quite good and would skip over into great if it wasn't for one considerable flaw. Sharpness and detail are strong, though - the picture appeared consistently well-defined and crisp, delivering Thomas Ackerman's widescreen photography quite well.

Everything would be terrific if it wasn't for one flaw - a mild amount of edge enhancement is visible rather frequently, which was dissapointing, considering the picture quality was fine otherwise. Print flaws were nearly absent, as only one or two minor specks were visible. Pixelation was also nowhere to be found. Colors remained bright, strong and nicely saturated throughout, with no smearing or other problems. While not perfect, this is still a very good effort.


SOUND: "Rat Race" is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1. The comedy doesn't exceed expectations when it comes to sound use - the audio really stays almost completely in the front three speakers. A few sequences of more intense action do have some sound effects distributed to the surrounds, but I doubt that many will find these instances that noticable. If anything, the best element of the audio was the appropriately madcap score, which sounded absolutely fantastic and really added to the comedy.

MENUS: Paramount has done a very nice job with the menus, as the main menu shows the characters, using the same animation as the opening credits.

EXTRAS: Andy & Jerry Interview: This is a short interview with director Jerry Zucker and writer Andy Breckman. The two chat about the making of the feature, talking about elements such as working with the actors (and each other), as well as how to make the jokes transition well from script-to-screen. Deleted Scenes: Rightly deleted scenes, actually. There are six included, each with short introductions by Jerry Zucker. One scene with the gamblers playing monopoly for real money got a laugh, but I didn't find the other five very funny. Jerry and Andy Call The Actors: Originally, director Zucker and writer Breckman were going to record a full-length commentary track for the movie itself. Apparently bored with their discussion (which I find unfortunate, given that I thought Zucker's past commentaries were hilarious) and decided to simply record themselves calling the actors instead. This feature is included in the supplemental section - a pair of menus with pictures of the actors pop up, then clicking on a picture plays the audio-only conversation. The conversations (with all the leads) are quite lengthy altogether, so it's curious that these tracks weren't edited together into an audio track that could play along with the film. As for the conversations themselves, I didn't find much to them - there's a lot of small talk to get through to actually get to any interesting stories about the film. Making of "Rat Race": This is a 22-minute "making of" featurette, whose only interesting feature is the occasional gem in the interviews. Other than that, this is stroll down the usual, as the featurette mainly focuses on promoting the story and characters. Gag Reel: This is a 4 minute reel of outtakes - while not the funniest outtakes reel that I've ever seen, there are some extremely funny moments contained within - especially a scene where Lovitz tries to get Gooding, Jr. to say one of his more famous lines. Giggles: A lengthy clip showing two actors from the film suffering from a laughing spell. Also: The trailer. Final Thoughts: "Rat Race" isn't fantastic, but it's occasionally very funny and often works considerably better than it should have, thanks to Zucker and a talented cast. Paramount's DVD offers good audio/video quality and a nice batch of supplements. Recommended.

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FEAR HOUSE NOW AVAILABLE

FEAR HOUSE NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE

HERE IS THE SUMMARY FOR THE MOVIE FEAR HOUSE FROM IMDB

Friends and family pursue an estranged writer to an isolated house only to find that, once they've entered, their own fears will kill them if they leave.

HERE IS A REVIEW FOR THE MOVIE FEAR HOUSE FROM DVDTALK

The Movie:

I admire anyone who can create something out of nothing.

Truer words are rarely spoken within a film than in this case. Fear House looks like it was made for next to nothing, yet its script and a creepy performance by its lead - Aleece Jones - help elevate this film into something that at least passes the time entertainingly for fans of fright house ghost flicks.

After an introductory scene - mixed in with the movie's credits - where two horny kids are dispatched within an old house in the middle of nowhere, Fear House begins with successful horror novelist Samantha Ballard (played by the aforementioned Aleece Jones) purchasing said house from an elderly agent. She views it as a great place to write her next book.

Nine months pass by and no one hears from her - or the agent for that matter. Thus, one night, Samantha's hemophiliac brother and her literary agent, along with two women including the real estate agent's daughter, arrive to check up on her. Conveniently, it's the very same night at the very same time that Samantha's estranged husband and his new lover show up to get her to sign divorce papers.

Why they all have to do this in the middle of the night is never explained. I guess it wouldn't be a horror movie otherwise.

In any case, the six characters break into the spooky old house. There, they find Samantha clearly deranged and discover that they cannot leave the house without facing their greatest fears and being killed by them. Apparently, a young girl named Anna Lisa was imprisoned by her abusive father 100 years ago at this very house, and her spirit is still causing mischief along with the spirit of Mondrique, a servant who cared for her and was killed for his troubles. Ah, but are these malevolent specters truly to blame? Time will tell - precisely 86 minutes, the runtime of this movie.

I watched Fear House wanting to like it despite its warts. Some of the acting is really over-the-top atrocious - though the two worst actors play characters who get killed straightaway so it's not a long-running nuisance. It's the lack of a special effects budget that ultimately takes away from the shocks of the film. Towards the film's climax, for example, a nearly laughable beheading scene followed by an equally shoddy looking death-by-giant-fireball really undercut the tension developed by the movie.

The script isn't bad, though, and offers a fairly standard haunted house scenario. Aleece Jones is both creepy and engaging as the prescient, haunted novelist who seems to be in sympathy with the dark forces that surround the house. The obsessive horror hounds out there who simply must see everything made in this genre could certainly do worse than spending an hour and a half with this movie.

The DVD

Video:

Fear House is described on the cover art as "16/9 Letterbox." The image is grainy and lacking in detail. Since most of the movie occurs in a dimly-lit setting, though, I didn't find this to be particularly distracting.

Sound:

Fear House provides two sound options: Dolby Surround 5.1 and Stereo 2.0. The default seems to be the Dolby Surround 5.1 and thus the option I listened to. I wasn't all that impressed with the mix, which didn't seem particularly dynamic. It seemed like a stereo mix, in other words. But, the dialogue was always clear - if a bit bass-heavy - and certainly serviceable.

Neither subtitle nor foreign language options appeared to be available.

Extras:

Life Size Entertainment provides a surprisingly generous helping of extras for this movie. The only quibble I have is with the extras menu - and this is a minor quibble. The extras menu is on a continuous loop with a short effects shot from the film preceding the extras options. This means that the options come and go every 10 seconds or so. It's not a big deal, but it's a little unusual and annoying. The set up menu was on a similarly styled loop, but the options didn't disappear for a considerable length of time on each playback cycle.

In any case, the extras include a trailer and actor rehearsal footage shot in Los Angeles. The trailer is widescreen while the rehearsal footage is full-frame and presented as if it were a series of short outtakes.

There's also an actual Outtakes section that's mostly a hodgepodge of bloopers and on-set clowning around.

The most significant extra, of course, is a commentary track with director Michael R. Morris, and actors Aleece Jones and Matthew Stiller. They're enthusiastic about the production and speak continuously through the film.

Final Thoughts:

Fear House offers a compelling spin on the haunted house genre; unfortunately, its shoestring budget hampers the effectiveness of many of its scares. Life Size Entertainment provides a lot of extras for this movie compared to other films of its ilk, which compels me to go with a Rent It recommendation for the fright flick crowd.

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STONE & ED NOW AVAILABLE

STONE & ED NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE

HERE IS THE SUMMARY FOR THE MOVIE STONE & ED FROM IMDB

It's just another hazy morning for Stone & Ed until they unwittingly discover that they aren't actually brothers so they set out on a quest for the truth-they encounter a beautiful blonde in handcuffs, get tangled up with the largest Mexican drug dealer, and the sloppiest spooks the CIA has ever trained, along with a cast of zany characters all after the same thing...getting Stone & Ed. Written by Anonymous

It's just another hazy day for STONE and his brother ED until they unwittingly discover they may not be brothers after all! With the help of their techno-savvy neighbors JEFF and PHILLIP GUY, "The Guys," Stone and Ed set out on a quest to find Stone's mother, JANE DOE. After the first two Jane Does on their list don't turn out to be the one, the two less than genius brothers make their way to Mexico, and to the last Jane on the list. Along the way, this wacky duo encounters a cast of zany characters and one, out of this world adventure. By the time its all over Stone & Ed will have found their way into the middle of a dangerous game of cat and mouse between Mexico's largest drug lord, SENOR GORDO, and the CIA's most incompetent agents to ever leave Langley; THE MAN IN THE YELLOW HAT and his little partner, CURIOUS JORGE. Between mistaken identities of cases, and cases of mistaken identities, Stone & Ed are in for the trip of their lives. Written by Anonymous

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RAMBO IV NOW AVAILABLE

RAMBO IV NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE

HERE IS THE SUMMARY FOR THE MOVIE RAMBO IV FROM IMDB

Vietnam veteran John Rambo has survived many harrowing ordeals in his lifetime and has since withdrawn into a simple and secluded existence in Thailand, where he spends his time capturing snakes for local entertainers, and chauffeuring locals in his old PT boat. Even though he is looking to avoid trouble, trouble has a way of finding him: a group of Christian human rights missionaries, led by Michael Burnett and Sarah Miller, approach Rambo with the desire to rent his boat to travel up the river to Burma. For over fifty years, Burma has been a war zone. The Karen people of the region, who consist of peasants and farmers, have endured brutally oppressive rule from the murderous Burmese military and have been struggling for survival every single day. After some inner contemplation, Rambo accepts the offer and takes Michael, Sarah, and the rest of the missionaries up the river. When the missionaries finally arrive at the Karen village, they find themselves part of a raid by the sadistic Major Pa Tee Tint and a slew of Burmese army men. A portion of the villagers and missionaries are tortured and viciously murdered, while Tint and his men hold the remainder captive. Concerned by their disappearance, the minister in charge of the mission gathers a group of mercenaries and pleas Rambo transport them with his boat, since he knows their last exact location. But Rambo can't stay behind: he joins the team where he belongs, to liberate the survivors from the clutches of Major Tint in what may be one of his deadliest missions ever Written by stallonezone.com / Drew Lahat

In this latest Rambo installment, John Rambo has retreated to a simple life in a rural Thai village near the Burmese border, capturing snakes for local entertainers, and transporting roamers in his old PT boat. Following repeated pleas, Rambo helps ferry a group of Christian aid workers into war-torn Burma, where the local Karen villagers are regularly tortured and massacred by Major Tint's sadistic soldiers. The humanitarian mission is going well, until the village is attacked and the missionaries are kidnapped, and Rambo is once again asked to transport - but this time a group of mercenaries, assembled by the missionaries' minister on a deadly rescue mission. This time he doesn't stay behind. Written by Drew Lahat

In Thailand, John Rambo is living peacefully capturing snakes and transporting people and cargo in an old boat. When a group of Christian missionaries asks to be transported to the war zone in Burma to help the locals, the reluctant Rambo only accepts when Sarah Miller presents her point of view about their humanitarian mission. Rambo leaves the group in the requested location, but the village where they are working is attacked by the sadistic army of Major Pa Tee Tint, the locals are slaughtered and the missionaries are abducted. Later a member of their church meets Rambo and asks him to transport a group of mercenaries hired to rescue the missionaries. Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

In Thailand, John Rambo is living peacefully capturing snakes and transporting people and cargo in an old boat. But when he joins a group of mercenaries to venture into war-torn Burma, and rescue a group of Christian aid workers who were kidnapped by the ruthless local infantry unit. Rambo refuses, but is convinced by another member, Sarah Miller, to take them up there. When the aid workers are captured by the Burmese army, Rambo decides to venture alone into the war zone to rescue them. Written by Anthony Pereyra {hypersonic91@yahoo.com}

HERE IS A REVIEW OF THE MOVIE RAMBO IV FROM DVDTALK

What began as a franchise of high adventure and bottomless sympathy, before promptly tumbling into a feral cartoon, has found its rightful home here: utter maniacal chaos. "Rambo" marks the return of Sylvester Stallone's Vietnam vet hero, a full 20 years after the release of "Rambo III." It seems that during this considerable downtime, Stallone has reassessed his work as John Rambo and his iconic screen history, and is comfortable raging again in this ruthless exclamation point on a surreal series of films.

Living in Burma as a boatman, John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) spends his time quietly reflecting on his life, desperate to evade his demons. When a pack of Christian missionaries (including Julie Benz, "Dexter") comes to Rambo looking for passage into the heart of the Burmese civil war, he reluctantly accepts, but is wary of such dangerous terrain. Returning home alone, Rambo learns that the missionaries were captured by the vicious Burmese military, leaving him in a position to turn his back or assume his psychologically tattered solider mentality and launch into battle once again.

The truth is, "Rambo" is not a return to the sensitivity of 1982's "First Blood" in the same fashion "Rocky Balboa" healed old wounds. Nor is the film a superficial action breeze like the two previous blockbuster sequels. This time Stallone is hungry to prove a point, and he unleashes a torrent of violence in a manner that's just plain berserk. This is a detail that cannot be stressed enough: "Rambo" is a monumentally vicious film.

Stallone (who directs and co-scripted) is angling for the heart of darkness here, exhibiting the devastating Burmese civil war on very realistic terms, eager to stun the viewer with depictions of SLORC army atrocities including beheadings, rape, dismemberments, and further barbaric customs that keep the rest of the volatile country in place. "Rambo" doesn't recoil from any of it, displaying a gruesome rain of death and unspeakable acts of violation. Stallone is creating a bleak perspective here about the Burmese conflict, perhaps distancing himself from the mindless body count thrills of the two earlier films by edging toward authenticity. "Rambo" might seem over the top to some, but it puts the viewer in the middle of pure hell, making vivid points about the futility of peace and war. Here, fighting fire with fire is exhilarating, but there's an unavoidable price to pay.

Of course, Stallone isn't going to let "Rambo" sneak out into theaters worldwide without some expected heroism, and the brawny character is permitted some immense expressions of explosive jungle justice that dilute the verisimilitude of the film (the woefully melodramatic performances don't help the cause either), but still allow for an important sense of popcorn entertainment to help choke down the politics. Hulking around like a brick wall, Stallone isn't the lean machine he once was, but his matured gravitas works well for the character as well as the constant struggle with his uncertainties and traumatic combat experience. As seen in "Rocky Balboa," I enjoy Stallone's newfound comfort with himself, allowing his acting to soak up a dour sense of the world. It takes John Rambo back from a plastic action figure to a human being.

Once Rambo gets his military mojo back (with the help of overly chatty mercenaries also on the hunt), the film loses its damn mind and explodes with a thunderstorm of aggression aimed directly at Burmese military goons. "Rambo" blasts forward with wave after wave of fury, and it wouldn't be such a bad idea for those who like to sit in the first few rows to cover themselves with a plastic sheet Gallagher-style, to keep the buckets of blood and bits of body from staining their clothes. Here "Rambo" turns predator, but in a very dynamic manner that crashes across the screen with all the horror and fist-pumping that has come to be a staple of the franchise. What Stallone serves up in the finale of "Rambo" is a literal goulash of gore (most shots, if not all, are amplified with rickety CGI), and I was quite taken with the fearlessness of it all. The overall responsibility of the film is open for debate, but nobody can say that Stallone didn't reach for the bloodied brass ring with this splendidly bonkers concoction.

Just by being a product created two decades after the last installment, "Rambo" is a different cinematic creature; albeit one with familiar working parts. It's not a strong enough emotional statement to match the anger and frustration of "First Blood," and the action sequences are much too raw and uncompromising to offer solace to the sequel fans; "Rambo" is an unusual creation: a confident, striking production that may not conclude John Rambo's mournful journey, but finds a creative high point to rest upon for now.

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THEN SHE FOUND ME NOW AVAILABLE

THEN SHE FOUND ME NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE

HERE IS THE SUMMARY FOR THE MOVIE THEN SHE FOUND ME FROM IMDB

A New York schoolteacher hits a midlife crisis when, in quick succession, her husband leaves, her adoptive mother dies and her biological mother, an eccentric talk show host, materializes and turns her life upside down as she begins a courtship with the father of one of her students. Written by CartmanKun@aol.com

HERE IS A REVIEW FOR THE MOVIE THEN SHE FOUND ME FROM DVDTALK


Helen Hunt took herself out of the Hollywood game eight years ago after sleepwalking through the Mel Gibson embarrassment, "What Women Want." She's acted in a few projects here and there, but "Then She Found Me" feels like a breaking dam: the overflowing artistic release of an actress fed up with what's been handed to her. Now Hunt takes matters into her own hands with this raw feature film, her directorial debut.

Now 39 years old, April (Helen Hunt) is desperate to have a baby of her own. However, to get to a place of motherhood, April has to deal with her divorce from husband Ben (Matthew Broderick), the death of her adoptive mother, and the persistence of her birth mother (Bette Midler), who, after all these years, is ready to be a part of her life. Also on her plate is an itchy romance with single father Frank (Colin Firth), an equally unhappy individual with passions that excite and frighten the newly-available, baby-starved April.

Adapted from the 1990 novel by Elinor Lipman, Hunt (who also co-wrote the screenplay) has molded the material into an expression of pain so piercing, it threatens to overcome the whole production. "Found" showcases the lives of some seriously miserable people, and the plot piles on the hopelessness relentlessly, making April's character arc a shoo-in candidate for the "most unlucky fictional character" award. However, Hunt's direction is sympathetic and graceful, keeping "Found" from total gloomy disintegration. She understands the necessity of maintaining a sincere mood to the piece, sympathizing with the characters and their individual needs and relationship angst. In all, it's a rather gentle take on crushing disappointment.

Hunt's camerawork is refreshingly unobtrusive, giving space to her superb cast, who each take their position memorably in April's babyfever nightmare. The standouts are easily Hunt herself, who looks to be scraping away the depressive gunk found at the very bottom of her soul to inform April's frustrations (something tells me sections of the film are autobiographical), and Midler, who's been kept away from a role this fertile for far too long. Funny, touching, and impressively subtle, Midler is a dream, executing her best performance in over a decade as April's deceptive, yet caring, birth mother. Sharing ace chemistry with Hunt, Midler's scenes are the jewels of the film; a reminder of how impressive her talent is and how much her recent career direction has failed to capitalize on her gifts.

"Found" does get a little grabby near the conclusion, attempting to smother April with even more doubt and heartache to manipulate the character into a place where her final motherhood choice can be better appreciated and cooed over; it's much too late in the game, but it doesn't smudge the rest of the picture. Helen Hunt has always been a strange screen presence, yet her own direction of "Then She Found Me" reveals a newly-energized place for her acting, requiring astoundingly naked emotional pull that assists the picture in uncovering some unsettling, yet superbly rewarding moments of emotional truth.

HERE IS THE DIRECT DOWNLOAD FOR THE MOVIE THEN SHE FOUND ME.

SMACKDOWN VS RAW 2009 PREVIEW FROM IGN.COM

SMACKDOWN VS RAW 2009 PREVIEW FROM IGN.COM

HERE IS THE ARTICLE ON SMACKDOWN VS RAW 2009 FROM IGN.COM


You're about to read about some really cool stuff in WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009. This week, I got to participate in my first Inferno Match, figure out how Fighting Styles work this year, create my own finisher, and try out all of the new tag team features THQ's been talking about since WrestleMania. However, there's one tidbit that should really setup what THQ's going for in this installment of the franchise. For the first time ever, you can enter the wrestling ring via the steel steps. If you're a SVR hater, you might scoff at that little addition, but fans of the franchise should take note because it's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the polish being put into this title. After an hour and a half of playing and creating, I was digging my time with SVR 09, but it wasn't the match types that were making me cheer inside. I was marking out for the way the ropes sagged as Jeff Hardy put his weight on the taught lines. I was marking out because flicking the left stick skips the current track playing over most menu screens in favor of another licensed tune or wrestler entrance theme. I was marking out because load screens now display the stats you've racked up as whichever wrestler is on the screen -- your win/loss record with Triple H, your most played match type, etc.

I could go on -- and as you can see below, I obviously will -- but the gist of what you need to take away at the broadest level of SVR 09 is that THQ and Yuke's have taken the gameplay and controls that you now know backward and forward from SVR 08 and shined 'em up real nice. Don't worry though, they apparently haven't turned them sideways or stuck them up your candyass. The character models look more defined than ever, the championship belts fit snugly on character waists and appear polished as well as heavy, and the action seems to be a few frames faster, although both the PS3 and Xbox 360 will run at a solid 60 frames per second. Now, even though SVR 09 keeps the left stick to move, right stick to grapple scheme we all know and -- most of us -- love, that's not to say that nothing has been added. When you get dropped by a superkick or what have you in this year's game, you'll still be instructed to tap a button repeatedly, but when you pull yourself to your knees, you'll be able to hold down R2 and L2 to enter a guarded state. Basically, if someone wants to kick you while you're guarding, you'll be able to reverse the strike and get up cleanly. If for some reason you can't get up and your opponent is stomping your corpse over and over again, the game will only let you take the punishment for so long before it generates a reversal that pushes the bad guy back and gives you the chance to get to your feet. There are other nifty tweaks and additions to the control scheme, but we'll chat those up when we get to them. For now, let's talk about the Inferno Match. Ever since the Undertaker and Kane stepped into the ring at Unforgiven 1998 and ring hands set fire to a barrier around the squared circle, the WWE fan base has dreamt of participating in a videogame version of the Inferno Match. This year, THQ's delivering that vision. My inaugural bout in the flaming fight pitted my CM Punk against the one and only Matt Hardy. The entrances progressed as normal -- Punk trotting to ringside in his T-shirt (which hugged the champ's body and looked more realistic than ever) and Chicago-inspired trunks before wringing his hands in the middle of the ring; then, without a load screen, Matt Hardy's music blared and Version 1 ran to the ring -- and I got to see Punk pacing Matt as the fire round ringside illuminated his face. Then, the bell rang. The first thing you'll notice is that SVR 09's Inferno Match takes advantage of the fact that it's a videogame. Rather than have some lame metal halo around the ring that actually houses the flames, the actual ring-rope sides of the ring are on fire. You pull off body slams and other moves, and, as the bodies impact, the flames shoot up.

Who is scared of the burn unit?

Think Go to Sleep is a gruesome looking finisher in real life? Take a gander at it as flames explode around Matt Hardy's impromptu dental work and the screen shatters like broken glass -- the broken glass bit is the new visual that goes off at the moment of Finisher impact and looks pretty damn cool. As you're pulling off these moves and the ring's belching towers of fire, a smaller box in the lower left corner is tracking the heat of the ring. It'll start at a bone-chilling 300 degrees and work its way up as the moves get more and more devastating. The rising flames also mean the screen's getting redder and redder. Anyway, when the pyro gets to a balmy 500 degrees, that's your chance to shove your opponent into the hellfire. To do this, you'll need to pull off a strong grapple and then work the enemy to whatever side of the ring you want with the left stick. If you're the dude getting dragged to the fire, you'll have to be on top of your face buttons to get out before you're lit up. When the strong grapple starts and you guys begin inching forward, your controller's face buttons will pop up near your HUD and you'll have to tap the buttons that are lighting up. If you pull off the taps quick enough, you'll break the hold and save yourself from third-degree burns. If you fail to keep up, the buttons will disappear as your opponent goes for the final shove into the fire and then the buttons will pop back up for one final command. Miss that move, and you're extra crispy. What happens when you go up like a brother of the Undertaker? The camera cuts to your dude rolling around ringside on fire -- a rolling/freaking out animation that stays on a disturbingly long time -- before fire extinguisher fog blasts in from the sides to save the day. There are other caveats to this match, such as the fact that you can't bounce off the ropes when the temperature is at its highest, the ring'll stick around that 500 degree mark for about as long as a momentum meter would flash, and so on, but one thing I can tell you is that this match is eye candy. Sure, it's goofy to see Triple H rolling around on fire, and it felt a bit sluggish moving a grappled opponent to the flaming ropes, but the fire growing and the roaring sound after every big move is a brilliant touch. I've played these games for a long time, and the close up on CM Punk rearing back on the Anaconda Vise as flames grew behind him might be one of the coolest shots I've ever come across. Even though I only got a brief taste of SVR 09, there seems to be a lot of nifty tidbits like the Inferno Match, and I'd personally put the refined Fighting Abilities in that category. Last year, THQ and Yuke's debuted Fighting Styles -- a grouping of abilities that gave benefits to the characters based on how they acted in the ring. This year, the developers are dropping the styles but keeping the abilities. Look at it this way: last year, Randy Orton was a Dirty Superstar. This meant that he had access to a bunch of dirty abilities such as removing turnbuckle covers and pushing the ref into opponents, but he didn't have access to the abilities that were in the Hardcore Fighting Style. This year, every Superstar will have six abilities. This means that single grappler can have the ability to remove turnbuckle covers as well as the ability to bash himself over the head with a chair to regenerate limb damage. These abilities are now independent. There's no longer a title you have to worry about.

So hot in here!

Breaking the abilities up seems like it's going to amplify the individuality that Fighting Styles introduced. During my demo, THQ talked about trying to make this game feel more like WWE programming than ever before and the Fighting Abilities are a big part of that. For example, when was the last time you saw a match end in a simple Boston Crab or arm-bar submission hold? If a wrestler puts someone into a hold that isn't his or her finisher in real life, it's not likely the opponent is going to tap. For years, that hasn't been the case in SVR. If you wore the legs of Shawn Michaels down, he'd tap to the simplest of leg holds. That's not going to happen anymore. If you don't have the Submission Specialist ability, you can't make someone submit to a plain old hold. Now, don't get me wrong -- John Cena's no Submission Specialist but his STFU will make people submit because it's a Finisher/Signature move. That fact is universal, but nobody's submitting to a figure four unless it's a Finisher/Signature or the person pulling the move off is a Submission Specialist. If you haven't caught on in your years of reading IGN's SVR coverage, THQ is pretty good at keeping secrets. The company says that there are "big, big features" that it hasn't announced for SVR 09, but that didn't stop us from getting the dirt on a few more of the 20 Fighting Abilities. Possum Pin's one of the abilities, but it's been tweaked a bit from last year; this time, you have to spend a stored finisher to pull the move off. There's the Dirty Pin (using the ropes for leverage), Hardcore Resurrection (the aforementioned beat-yourself-up-to-heal move), Object Specialist (a proficiency with items from under the ring), Lock Pick (a one-button press that gets you out of submissions), Steal Taunt, and Steal Finisher. Beyond all those abilities were three that we found especially intriguing. Kip-Up is the tried-and-true Shawn Michaels move of kicking up from your back to your feet. A Superstar with this ability will only be able to do the move once per match and only when he's racked up critical damage. Once the guy pops up, he'll have a full momentum meter and be momentarily damageless. The next ability we really dug was Fan Favorite. We didn't get to see it in action, but what will happen is the Superstar will begin taunting and clapping in an attempt to get the crowd going. If the opponent doesn't stop the Superstar, the crowd will get in on the claps, they'll become deafening, and the foe will cover his ears and be open for an attack. The last "big one" we got to hear about was Resiliency. This is kind of an always-on attribute that won't be deployed by a button press but should definitely affect the way the game plays. In previous years, schooling the Hurricane was the same as schooling Triple H. If you knew your moves, you could dominate different guys in the same way. THQ's looking to fix that with Resiliency, a Fighting Ability that makes a main eventer feel like a main eventer when you're wrestling him. A Superstar with this ability will need more bang to knock on his buck.

"Why does my hand smell like this?"

Now, to put down these main eventers, you're going to need some killer moves, and this year you'll get to make your own with Create-A-Finisher. As I'm sure many of you are aware, I was a two-time Backyard Wrestling Federation Champion before landing on IGN's doorstep. My title reigns were marked with drinking laundry detergent and a terrifying move known as the Greggy Guillotine -- a fireman's carry that spun out into a Stone Cold Stunner. I actually stole the move from the character creation found in N64's WrestleMania 2000, and I have been heartbroken every year since then to find it missing from the SmackDown series. Finally, my virtual Gruesome Greggy can pull off his very own finisher. Create-A-Finisher presents you with more than 500 animations to slot in up to ten steps that will make up your masterpiece. When I clicked on step one, I was taken to a list of all the available moves. Tapping R1/L1 cycled through move subcategories such as blood-drawing maneuvers, taunts, holds, and more, while the right stick rotated the green guy demonstrating the moves as well as zooming in and out. Of course, there is no such thing as a DQ in the BYWF, so I choose to start the Guillotine animation with a swift kick to my opponent's groin. For step two, Gruesome Greggy yanks the foe into a fireman's carry. Step three spins the bad guy out into a Diamond Cutter position, and step four finishes the cutter. Sure, it wasn't the stunner -- only a few dozen of the 500-plus moves were available in the build I was playing -- but it was still awesome looking and a cinch to set up. With the move running next to my four-step layout, I decided the kick wasn't swift enough and jumped back to crank the speed of the blow up to 150 percent. With the brutal combination complete, I jumped in and named the move -- you can choose from a set of pre-assigned names if you want to hear the announcers say it or create your own title -- and saved the creation. From there, it was as simple as assigning it to an actual or created Superstar. Our final touchstone in our WWE afternoon was the revamped tag team match. Although the company's keeping a lid on all the bells and whistles under SVR 09's hood, THQ's had no problem promoting the double team finishers, hot tags and more that this mode features. For our bout, we teamed up with a developer to become the Hardys (EXTREME!) and went up against Rey Mysterio and Mr. Kennedy. Jeff and Matt came out as a team and under the Hardy moniker, while Rey and Ken entered solo.

619!

As Jeff, the match began with me perched on the apron watching Matt work. Since it announced that SVR 09 was overhauling the tag match, THQ has said that it's going to make the inactive tag team member still feel like they're part of the match. From my quick taste, it appears to be working. While Matt wailed on Rey, I could stalk around the two sides of the ring that touched our corner, I could jump to the arena floor, I could crawl into the ring, and I had a number of offensive moves I could pull off when the time was right. When Matt whipped Rey at the ropes, a button tap had Jeff yank the rope down so that Rey went flying. If Mr. 619 got too close to Jeff, I could use the right stick to grab the munchkin and hold him so Matt could get in a few shots -- however, I ran the risk of Rey reversing when I tried this and belting me in the jaw. If Matt decided to be selfish, I could also use the right analog stick to force the tag and get my time in the limelight. Tag teams are nothing without teamwork though, and SVR 09's got a wealth of options. There's a ton of double team moves -- think Jeff and Matt's copyrighted crotch/leg drop thing -- that can be set off by one player initiating a strong grapple and the other guy just grappling normally. On top of that, there are around 20 dedicated tag team finishers -- such as the Twist of Fate followed by the Swanton Bomb. Some of those double team finishers will be self-explanatory when you're rolling with an established squad, but if you're pitting Wrestler A with Wrestler B and the two aren't connected, you'll have to pair them from the main menu -- a lot like the old Create-A-Stable -- and assign the finisher there. Thankfully, tag teams will share a momentum bar, so there's no need to worry about tagging in a partner and losing your power. On top of that, the new Hot Tag seemed pretty cool. I let Jeff get beat on a bit by Kennedy, and then began holding the D-pad. Slowly but surely, the onscreen momentum meter began to burn and finally erupted in flames. When this happened, I just had to get Jeff on our side of the ring, and the camera jumped to a beleaguered Jeff making the weary, last ditch dive to tag in Matt. Like a ball of brutality, Matt leapt into the ring, took out the legal man, and then swung at Rey on the apron. As this happened, a button prompt appeared on the screen. If our partner piloting Matt hit the proper button, Rey would go down. However, our partner missed the prompt. Rey nailed Matt and ended the Hot Tag antics.

To the EXTREME!!

When I read the message boards or check the comments on an SVR story, I almost always see someone criticizing THQ for "putting out the same game every year." As a fan, you and I could argue the fact that there's always new arenas, wrestlers, modes, and more, but there is some truth to the criticism -- THQ constantly builds on what makes its games good. Although I've only logged a little more than an hour with SVR 09, this title seems to be building in the right ways. There's a more appropriate amount of echo in the ring announcers voices; there are four different crowds that will show up in the game's arenas; when a ref's counting a pinfall or ring out his voice now sounds as if it's coming from inside the ring and there are no more big, hokey numbers that pop up on the screen; and when Superstars such as the Undertaker perform finishers that end in a pin, the game's going to make the move flow so that the sequence doesn't end in a rope break. The character models look sharper than ever, the entrances are grand, we don't even know all the features yet, and there's going to be downloadable content. I am legitimately excited about this title, and I don't see how fans of the franchise couldn't be.

CLOVERFIELD NOW AVAILABLE

CLOVERFIELD NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE

HERE IS THE SUMMARY FOR THE MOVIE CLOVERFIELD FROM IMDB

Cloverfield follows five New Yorkers from the perspective of a hand-held video camera. The movie is exactly the length of a DV Tape and a sub-plot is established by showing bits and pieces of video previously recorded on the tape that is being recorded over. The movie starts as a monster of unknown origin destroys a building. As they go to investigate, parts of the building and the head of the Statue of Liberty come raining down. The movie follows their adventure trying to escape and save a friend, a love interest of the main character. Written by Pip Carlson

HERE IS A REVIEW FOR THE MOVIE CLOVERFIELD FROM DVDTALK

Shuffled from a quick shooting schedule to post-production to theatres in a shroud of secrecy, Matt Reeves' Cloverfield (2008) created plenty of buzz upon its release last January. Hidden beneath fake name titles like Cheese and Slusho, the as-yet-unknown monster movie spared no expense in making sure the final cut arrived with a bang. Having seen the film's mysterious trailer before last year's so-so Transformers, it immediately caught my attention as something worth looking into. I wasn't alone, of course: curious fans were intrigued by the film's viral marketing campaign and reluctance to reveal what Cloverfield was all about. For the most part, we only knew that it was big, scary and would be arriving soon. Surprisingly enough, when it did arrive...it actually scored big with audiences and critics alike. Go figure.

Here's the setup: twenty-something Rob Hawkins (Michael Stahl-David) is given a surprise going-away party after landing a prestigious job overseas. The Manhattanite has got obvious feelings for Beth (Odette Yustman) after their rendezvous a few weeks prior, but she shows up to the party with another guy. Rob's pal Hudson (T.J. Miller) attempts to cheer him up while recording well-wishes from the crowd...though "Hud" also has his eye on Marlena (Lizzy Caplan), who barely knows Rob but was invited anyway. Also attending are Rob's brother Jason (Mike Vogel) and his girlfriend Lily (Jessica Lucas); the latter is perhaps the most level-headed in the bunch, which could be why she did most of the party organization.

All this yuppie-grade drama is pushed to the background, of course, when the apartment shakes and power flickers off for a moment; the kids are terrified, so they scramble towards the TV and windows to see what caused all the commotion. This is no "earthquake" as early reports suggest, especially after a massive explosion in the city sends fiery debris their way. Fleeing to street level, the party-goers witness more chaos and destruction; eventually, some folks get separated in the fray. What exactly caused all the panic doesn't really matter at the moment; they've just got to find each other and get to safety before Manhattan crumbles.

This story is told from a narrow perspective: like The Blair Witch Project and its ilk, all the spookiness is captured on a single camera (in this case, the one Hud carries around dutifully)...so whether we like the characters or not, we're stuck with them for the duration. Our heroes are likeable enough, yet I'll admit that the well-to-do Starbucks and sushi crowd---in their fancy Manhattan apartments, no less---isn't really my environment of choice. This is perhaps a testament to Cloverfield's effectiveness, however: no matter if you have a trust fund or not, the over-the-top events of the film unfold in a chaotic but believable manner.

The Blair Witch style of presentation isn't the only thing that separates Cloverfield from typical monster movies, but it's certainly the most noticeable difference. Some viewers may rightfully become disoriented at times: after all, Reeves' film takes the Paul Greengrass approach and amplifies it substantially. Yet such a stripped-down atmosphere doesn't hinder the film at all; instead, it reminds us that Steadycams and sweeping crane shots aren't necessary to tell an exciting story. Taking their cues from viewer-driven video websites like YouTube, the crew of Cloverfield certainly had the means to hold the camera steady...but they really wanted to inspire audience members without immediate access to fancy equipment.

Adding to the "kitchen table" effect is the exclusion of a traditional score...save for the occasional bit of background music, of course. Instead, our ears are simply treated to a chaotic, creepy audio mix---developed and executed, in part, by Skywalker Sound---that magnifies the tension considerably. The end result is just as enveloping as the visuals themselves, yet the sum of these parts holds our attention from start to finish. We really feel as though we're part of the action...and during a suspenseful film, can we really ask for more?

Presented on DVD by Paramount Home Entertainment, Cloverfield manages to bring plenty of scares to the small screen. The stripped-down visual presentation and enveloping audio mix have been preserved nicely, while a number of interesting bonus features support the film well. All things considered, it's a solid package that fans should certainly enjoy. Let's take a closer look, shall we?

Video & Audio Quality

Presented in a 1.78:1 widescreen aspect ratio and enhanced for 16x9 displays, Cloverfield looks excellent, given the circumstances. The moderately filtered and degraded image preserves the film's intended look, while black levels and image detail are quite solid in most cases. A very mild amount of edge enhancement can be spotted during a few sequences, though other digital imperfections are clearly part of the source material. Overall, this is a terrific visual presentation that fans should enjoy.

For obvious reasons, let's ignore the fact that such a crisp and thunderous soundstage could never be captured on a "consumer-grade" camera. This Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround mix (available in French and Spanish dubs) is dynamic and immersive, putting us smack-dab in the middle of the action. Dialogue is generally clear and easy to understand, rarely fighting for attention with background noise...and only when appropriate, of course. Optional English, French and Spanish subtitles are provided during the main feature and nearly all of the extras.

Menu Design, Presentation & Packaging Seen above, the appropriately tense menu designs are basic and easy to navigate. The 84-minute main feature has been divided into 16 chapters, while no obvious layer change was detected during playback. This one-disc release is housed in a standard black keepcase and includes no inserts of any kind. Interestingly enough, this promotional screener copy arrived in an oversized "archival tape" case, further accenting the film's top-secret tone. Spooky!

Bonus Features They might look a bit standard on paper, but the included extras prove to be quite entertaining and informative. Leading things off is a feature-length Audio Commentary with director Matt Reeves, who previously worked with producer J.J. Abrams in creating the television series Felicity. Reeves delivers quite a fast-moving track, which contains only a few moments' worth of silence during the film's 84-minute lifespan. The director speaks about Cloverfield's brisk shooting schedule (which spanned just over a month), as well as the unique format and mixture of live action and green-screen backgrounds. Interestingly enough, Reeves also expresses a bit of regret about how the apartment "rescue sequence" turned out visually, which I noticed during my first viewing and completely agree with. Overall, this is a fine commentary worth listening to.

"Document 1.18.08: The Making of Cloverfield" (28:17, below left) provides an up-close and personal view of the film's relatively short production, taking us behind the scenes of multiple set locations and post-production facilities. Director Matt Reeves and producer J.J. Abrams are joined by select members of the cast and crew, who comment about the overall experience and top-secret nature of the shoot as it unfolds. This is an interesting enough piece---and though a few key sections are glossed over, they'll be explained in more detail soon enough.

Up next is a pair of related featurettes, beginning with "Cloverfield Visual Effects" (22:31, below right). This obviously expands on the computer-aided aspects of the production, mainly the aforementioned green-screen background sequences and creature designs. It's surprising to learn exactly what was added in post-production, even during some of the more conventional sequences. On a similar note is "I Saw It! It's Alive! It's Huge!" (5:52), a shorter piece focusing solely on character design and development (especially the chief baddie, nicknamed "Clover" by the production team). Peppered with glimpses of 3-D models and early puppet designs, this will be of great interest to more visually-minded fans. My only nitpick relates to the numerous mentions of Godzilla as an obvious inspiration, yet King Kong is casually brushed aside. Gorillas need love too.

Winding things down is a selection of unused footage, beginning with "Clover Fun" (3:59). This short compilation of flubbed takes---nearly all of which takes place at the going-away party and Beth's apartment---is relatively lightweight, but still worth a look. Also here is a handful of Deleted Scenes (4 clips with optional director commentary, 3:35 total), which include a few lighter moments and extended takes. They were rightfully trimmed from the final cut, though one could argue that the party sequence still runs a bit long. Our last film-related extra is a pair of Alternate Endings (2 clips with optional director commentary, 4:36 total), which turns out to be fairly disappointing; in short, they do little more than alter the final few seconds of "flashback footage".

Also included are Previews for the upcoming theatrical releases of Star Trek and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, though Cloverfield's excellent trailer is nowhere to be found. All bonus features, save for these previews, are presented in anamorphic widescreen and include optional English, French and Spanish subtitles. This shouldn't need to be mentioned, but it's good to see such care taken with every aspect of a DVD release.

Packed with plenty of thrills, chills and suspense, Cloverfield is a claustrophobic monster movie crafted with care by true fans of the genre. The guerilla-style visual approach---unfairly regarded by some as a cheap production gimmick---does wonders for the admittedly stripped-down atmosphere, while attention to detail and the lack of a traditional score enhance the experience even further. This "budget blockbuster" also plays fairly well on the small screen...thanks in part to a careful DVD treatment by Paramount, which pairs a solid technical presentation with a handful of entertaining, informative bonus features. It's at least worth a rent for even the most jaded followers of horror and suspense, but most fans will want to make permanent room on the shelf for Cloverfield. Firmly Recommended.

HERE IS THE DIRECT DOWNLOAD FOR THE MOVIE CLOVERFIELD

GET SMART'S BRUCE AND LLOYD OUT OF CONTROL NOW AVAILABLE

GET SMART'S BRUCE AND LLOYD OUT OF CONTROL NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE

HERE IS THE SUMMARY FOR THE MOVIE GET SMART'S BRUCE AND LLOYD OUT OF CONTROL FROM IMDB

A spin-off of the Get Smart movie, centered on Bruce, a techie at CONTROL, and his nerdy analyst cohort, Lloyd.

HERE IS A REVIEW FOR THE MOVIE GET SMART'S BRUCE AND LLOYD OUT OF CONTROL FROM DVDTALK

The Movie:

Being a fan of the original TV show, I recently saw 2008's Get Smart remake at the theaters and quite frankly it was everything I hoped it was going to be. The cast was superb and the spirit of the original series was certainly in there. The bottom line is if you were a fan of the original then check it out; you'll be glad you did. Then again this review isn't for Get Smart; it's for a direct to DVD spin-off featuring two characters from the film.

Get Smart's Bruce and Lloyd: Out of Control is an interesting release when you get right down to it. Typical when you see a spin-off you're looking at a year or so down the line as a way to capitalize on a larger audience that has already seen the film. With Out of Control being released concurrently with Get Smart the amount of interested parties is undoubtedly smaller. You need to have seen the movie in order to be even remotely intrigued by Bruce and Lloyd's exploits. Needless to say it's a decidedly bold move on the part of Warner to release this when they did. I'm not entirely sure that fortune favors the bold in this instance because as nicely marketed as this release is it's certainly flawed. The biggest problem here is that Out of Control has very little to offer that is even remotely familiar to its theatrical counterpart. Or as Maxwell Smart would say, "Missed it by that much!"

Rather than tell a tale about Bruce (Masi Oka) and Lloyd (Nate Torrence) at a different point in the franchise Out of Control is supposed to be a side story about what happens to the lab nerds while Agents 86 and 99 are out on assignment. This adventure is completely separate despite a couple of instances where the stories intersect so don't expect to see Max, 23, or many of the other main players (Anne Hathaway does have a brief appearance but that bit feels shoehorned in). What you do get from this feature is a mildly entertaining diversion that has a few moments of brilliance scattered throughout a weak script with failed jokes and wasted potential. It's not all bad but I dare say that if you're expecting a level of quality close to or on par with the actual Get Smart film you're going to be greatly disappointed.

Out of Control begins with Bruce and Lloyd testing out an invisibility cloak known as the OCT (Optical Camouflage Technology). Agent 91 (Terry Crews) is the guinea pig in a paintball practice match between Control and the CIA. Considering the gadget gurus haven't perfected the battery time 91 soon finds himself in a bit of an embarrassing situation and this moment only serves as a catalyst for a rivalry between the two government groups. The CIA wants to steal the cloak and Control wants to perfect it and protect it; a task that Bruce and Lloyd simply aren't up to.

For being such geniuses Bruce and Lloyd are quite inept when it comes to other areas of life. They throw a party at control to celebrate their success at coming up with a greater energy source for the cloak but during it a beautiful South American agent sneaks in and steals the weapon. The rest of Out of Control follows the dynamic duo as they attempt to track down their technology and best the CIA in the process. The events that follow feel forced and haphazard at times but in between it all the film's main characters are charming enough to muddle through.

Bruce and Lloyd have a good amount of working chemistry and you really get the sense that they have been friends for some time. It's the little interactions between them that make up the good moments here. When Bruce goes after a girl named Nina (Jayma Mays) who reeks of death due to her position at Control, Lloyd invents a perfume that kills the stench and allows his buddy to get to know her. Likewise watching Bruce dole out nuggets of wisdom about women and life to his buddy is equally amusing because neither really has a clue. (On a side note, fans of Heroes will appreciate seeing Jayma and Masi on screen together again)

Beyond the interactions between its main characters Out of Control simply fumbles the ball while trying to piece a feature around the two. The quest for the OCT becomes more ridiculous as it goes on and there are simply too many diversions in between. It all feels like a collection of ideas loosely tied together with string and there is very little here that makes it part of the Get Smart universe beyond the phone booth and names Control and Kaos.

If the creators of Out of Control spent more time exploring the origins of Bruce and Lloyd and created more of a script around them then this film would have been much better. As it stands it feels like a collection of rejected ideas and gags stuck together with some adhesive. Some of these elements are genuinely funny but between these moments there are a lot of deadpanned gimmicks and very little actual storytelling. Fans of the Get Smart film may get some mileage of it with a rental but if you're looking for a release with legs to stand on then you're going to want to look elsewhere.

The DVD:

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Video:

Get Smart's Bruce and Lloyd: Out of Control is presented on DVD with two different aspect ratios available on the same disc. A full frame 1.33:1 features the pan and scan version of the feature while the 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen definitely one-ups the dreaded full screen nonsense. Considering this is a direct to DVD release the budget for this title is undeniably smaller than a larger project. This means that the picture quality is not quite as good as it could have been but given the amount of coverage for this release it's slightly better than average.

Throughout this film the picture is softer than what you'd expect with most scenes lacking the level of crispness major releases enjoy. The look isn't bad per say but it's definitely disappointing and doesn't capture all of the details that it should. In addition to this there is a fine layer of grain over the image that can be kind of distracting at times. Darkly lit scenes are the grainiest by comparison and to be honest there are no naturally rich blacks and shadows because of this. This gives the feature a somewhat flat appearance. Despite these flaws Out of Control isn't a "bad" looking film; it's just an underwhelming one.

Audio:

Out of Control comes with an English 5.1 track as it's only audio selection aside from English, French, and Spanish subtitles. Like the video quality, the sound here is flatter than it should be. The 5.1 offering is always nice to have but when most of the output comes from the front channels instead of the rear there's definitely not much going on in the way of immersion. Granted this is a dialogue driven film and as such the rear channels aren't needed quite as much but there were plenty of opportunities that were squandered. The audio doesn't contain any flaws and in the end it's suitable for what the film strives to achieve; it's just underwhelming in the process.

Extras:

The bonus material for Out of Control is mostly promotional and there's not much meat to it which isn't very surprising. The first extra feature is "Bruce and Lloyd Confessionals" (14: 31) which puts the actors alone in front of a camera talking in character about random things. There are a few amusing bits here but in the end it's merely an entertaining diversion than anything substantial.

The second feature on this disc is "Cue the Anti-Follicular Device" (4:59). In this promotional bit we see some behind the scenes content as the cast and crew talks about Bruce and Lloyd's beloved gadget that causes immediate and presumably permanent hair loss. We're taken into the dressing room for make up and they talk about the gun in the film for a tad as well. The best thing you're going to find on this disc is "Bruce and Lloyd Tech" (13:25). This brief feature takes a look at the gadgets of the film as a whole and talks about their potential in the real world. It's amusing on some levels but in the end it's not something that will make you appreciate the film more.

Final Thoughts:

Get Smart's Bruce and Lloyd: Out of Control is a very unique release if you stop and think about it. How many other films have had a promotional side story launched while the movie is still fresh? Unfortunately this movie turns out to be a better marketing subject than a viable source of Get Smart entertainment. The film doesn't really have any legs to stand on with a downright lame storyline and gags that are botched more than they are a success. With that being said there are some moments in between where the material is actually quite funny but a lot of those bits center on the main characters themselves. Oka and Torrence have a good amount of chemistry and they are able to play off of each other quite well.

If you enjoyed the Get Smart film and found these characters amusing then you may appreciate this release. Unfortunately this one is better left as a rental than a purchase due to the spotty quality. A stronger script and better wit would have gone a long way to improving the experience.

HERE IS THE DIRECT DOWNLOAD FOR THE MOVIE BRUCE AND LLOYD OUT OF CONTROL.

SNOW BUDDIES NOW AVAILABLE

SNOW BUDDIES NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE

HERE IS THE SUMMARY FOR THE MOVIE SNOW BUDDIES FROM IMDB

Disney's adorable talking puppies are back, and this time they venture to the frosty arctic and team up with new friends in a thrilling dogsled race across Alaska.

HERE IS A REVIEW FOR THE MOVIE SNOW BUDDIES FROM DVDTALK


Snow Buddies:

I have no vendetta against Disney. The first film that made me cry in the theater was Bambi, and one of the first that made me want to leap out of my seat and cheer was The Rescuers. Clearly Disney has had a hand on the pulse (if not an actual stent in the artery) of American Pop Culture for some time now. But by now the Disney product is akin to Monsanto engineered mono-cultural grain than a good old beautiful ear of Indian Corn (if you'll excuse the racist label) and I don't want to buy it. And when it comes to straight-to-DVD Disney product, 20 packets of Top Ramen for a dollar sounds more nourishing.

The Snow Buddies are five adorable golden retriever pups living an idyllic life in small-town Washington, enjoying their cozy lives and silly stereotypes. From the bling-wearing hip-hop pup to the princess puppy, most of the kid genotypes youngsters will identify with are represented. The buddies accidentally wind up on one of those commonplace ice-cream freezer containers routinely dropped into the Alaskan wilderness, and quickly find themselves shacked up with a sled-dog puppy and his boy who are just foaming at the mouth to put together a sled-dog team to win the local race and salvage their dad's ego from a previous ill-fated race. I'm not a rich man, so I won't offer any money to those who can guess whether this scrappy group of pups is able to get it together and win the race. Suffice it to say we'll all be eating Monsanto corn soon enough, whether we like it or not.

Aside from being utterly predictable and extremely cloying, there's nothing at all wrong with Snow Buddies. Previous complaints aside, my main problem as an adult watching this was that I didn't get enough of a view into the lives of small-town Alaskans, possibly the only thing that would have held my interest. But I'm not the target audience am I? Impressionable 8-year-olds will get their fill of that not-untoward message that positivity, effort and love will always out, but they'll also be force-fed a bunch of pretty bland, engineered crud passing as humor, characterization and plot - none of it slightly objectionable, unless you dislike the odd fart joke.

I'm not even going to go as far as giving a strong endorsement or rejection of Snow Buddies. And I'll tell you why. Snow Buddies is completely passable entertainment for your child old enough to sit through a feature film. Though worked over to a fare-thee-well so as to smooth away all burs of originality or challenge, its message is ultimately benign, and who doesn't love puppies? Even puppies who talk in obnoxious adolescent voices? It's a perfect film in front of which to plop the moppets, just save your sanity and sit in the other room, or at least have a goblet of chilled Pinot Grigio (yeah, I'm talking to you) on hand to numb the pain. But here's the trick, do not bring this into your home unless the kids request it. They'll let you know soon after if it needs to be a part of the collection.

The DVD

Video:
A widescreen, 1.78:1 ratio presentation enhanced for 16 x 9 TVs shows the quality. You'll see every snowflake and whisker. You'll see too much. The snowy white color scheme is true-to-life, save for all the CGI snowfall added in later. No compression artifacts are present.

Sound:
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound seems well executed and delivers all the audio thrills of a bunch of mealy-mouthed little puppies running around in the snow with perfect fidelity. French and Spanish language tracks are also included.

Extras:
I've never been a fan of faux special features, but that is often what you get with the kiddie movies. And in the case of Snow Buddies, it's too much of a usually good thing. How about a feature-length Commentary Track featuring the buddies? Fictional dog characters provide very little in terms of behind-the-scenes tidbits, but a lot of stupid jokes. It pains me, but your kids might like it, or maybe they won't give a rip - kids don't always need the same stuff adults get with their DVDs. About three minutes of Bloopers are also of the mostly fictional variety. Again, kids will enjoy it, or the significance will be lost. A short Dogumentary (oof) gets into a bit of the reality of filming a movie wherein the principals pee on everything, but in that Disney-fied, kid friendly way, and an even shorter look at The Magic Of Visual Effects points out the many ways our eyes are tricked into thinking a bunch of talking dogs are pulling a sled through snowy Alaska. Worst is a Music Video from Hannah Montana star Mitchel Musso. I think the song is a funked-up version of 'Lean On Me' but my brain is struggling to reject it like an orangutan's liver.

Final Thoughts:
Snow Buddies will probably thrill your indiscriminate 6-year-old; it's wholesome, entertaining and full of adorable puppies. But it might make you parents retch, so be careful, pop it in with the miracle of Disney's Fast Play - you can put it into the player and run. But remember, this is scientifically engineered entertainment, a bit pandering, cloying, safe and without challenge or real character. The bling-wearing pooch and a Wanda Sykes wannabe cat are the only edgy things in sight, and that's not saying much. If your kids ask, feel secure in going to Rent It, but maybe force them to watch an episode of Now with David Brancaccio on PBS to balance things out.

HERE IS THE DIRECT DOWNLOAD FOR THE MOVIE SNOW BUDDIES.