MIRRORS NOW AVAILABLE

MIRRORS NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE

HERE IS THE SUMMARY FOR THE MOVIE MIRRORS FROM IMDB

Kiefier Sutherland is a ex NY cop battling sinister forces in mirrors that endanger both him and his family.

HERE IS A REVIEW FOR THE MOVIE MIRRORS FROM DVDTALK

With the magnificent "High Tension" and his exhilarating remake of "The Hills Have Eyes," director Alexandre Aja positioned himself as a genre innovator with unusually lucid ideas on how to return some fright to horror cinema. "Mirrors" is Aja stepping up to the big leagues, taking on his largest budget to date and working with an authentic Hollywood star. It's a tricky position for Aja to find himself in, and the obscene pressure has blurred his once pristine vision for scares.

Reeling from an accidental shooting during his time as a NYPD detective, Ben Carson (Kiefer Sutherland, putting forth minimal effort) has drowned his guilt in booze and rage. Trying to clean up his act and win his family (including Amy Smart and Paula Patton, fighting her cleavage for screentime) back, Ben takes a job as a security officer guarding the spooky ruins of a department store that suffered a massive fire. During his rounds, Ben spies strange visions in the massive mirrors that decorate the hallways, images that forecast gruesome death. Attempting to investigate the history of the store and its past tragedy, Ben finds he's brought the visions home to terrorize his loved ones, forcing him to fight back against the ghostly wrath of the mysterious reflections.

A remake of a 2003 Korean production, "Mirrors," like all of these reheated Asian imports, fails to sniff out how to accurately translate supernatural scares for American audiences. What's here really isn't a horror film but a mystery, with Ben spending more time piecing clues together than feeling the heat from demonic forces. Aja seems at a loss how to process the material, perhaps envisioning "Mirrors" as his transition piece out of the scare zone, yet he doesn't possess the dramatic storytelling tools necessary to keep Ben's personal crisis convincing. In short: "Mirrors" is pretty damn boring.

The picture is often slapdash in execution as well. The dialogue consists of painfully awkward expositional conversations, not pulse-quickening exchanges of worry; every single time a character opens their mouth, it's only to restate the obvious or patch holes in the script. Instead of plunging into the glassy unknown right away, some time with the leads would've been appropriate, instead of obvious character positioning for future torment. Again, Aja appears bewildered on how this film should ultimately stitch together, caught between the chills he knows like the back of his hand and the more leashed menace he's unfamiliar with.

When "Mirrors" slips into terror mode, it mucks with the story even further. The bloodletting doesn't feel organic to the plot, showing up in a vague studio-mandated fashion over an instinctive need to creep out the room. "Mirrors" confounds at times as well, with Ben diving headfirst into the mystery of the department store without blinking an eye, even after witnessing events that would make the Ghostbusters wet their pants. A supporting character's literal jaw-ripping death doesn't seem to rattle the narrative either, with Ben and the local cops carrying on as though nothing occurred, when clearly it has to be the most heinous crime imaginable, even by loose NYPD standards.

If you sit down with "Mirrors" and end up invested in Ben's lukewarm detective work, consider yourself the most patient filmgoer around. With Aja slathering on the cheap boo scares, overseeing rancid performances, barely investing in his screenplay, and showing questionable gorehound taste in violent imagery, "Mirrors" eventually reflects absolute tedium, not appealing supernatural fury.

HERE IS THE DIRECT DOWNLOAD FOR THE MOVIE MIRRORS

DEAL NOW AVAILABLE

DEAL NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE

HERE IS THE SUMMARY FOR THE MOVIE DEAL FROM IMDB

As an ex-gambler teaches a hot-shot college kid some things about playing cards, he finds himself pulled into the world series of poker, where his protégé is his toughest competition.


HERE IS A REVIEW FOR THE MOVIE DEAL FROM DVDTALK.

THE FILM

Poker has been dealt some terrific cinematic hands before, but "Deal" is hardly cinematic. The feature finds a perfect home on the small screen, where the curious lack of energy running through this picture doesn't seem quite as severe. "Deal" is a passable diversion for poker junkies, but I fear will hold little interest for anyone not enthralled by gambling.

A poker prodigy at age 21, Alex (Bret Harrison) has trained himself with online tournaments and dorm room games. Now vying for a shot on the professional poker circuit, Alex piques the interest of former gambler Tommy (Burt Reynolds), who takes the young man under his wing and teaches him the details of the game. Ready for his shot, Alex heads to the World Poker Tour tournament in Las Vegas to match skills with the best of the best. However, ego and mistrust rear their ugly heads, leaving the partnership strained and futures uncertain with a multi-million-dollar jackpot on the line.

"Deal" is a film of limited ambition, yet I think someone forgot to explain that to director/co-writer Gil Cates Jr. Intoxicated by the recent chess-like romanticism of poker, Cates Jr. directs with an aim to be cutting edge, often abusing commonplace editing techniques, blasting whiny emo-rock leftovers, and idolizing the nightlife of Las Vegas with all the visual invention of a Travel Channel special. He's sweating hard to make "Deal" feel electric and edgy, at the same time filling up his screenplay with hoary scenarios of conflict and redemption that keep the whole affair thoroughly sedated.

It's difficult to tell if poker maniacs will dig into what "Deal" has to offer, but the film appears to get the surface details of the game right. It's a familiar road of tells, bluffing, and bravado, but "Deal" does settle into a passable atmosphere of high-tension gambling, using WPT iconography for street cred and the likes of Jennifer Tilly to cameo, lending the picture a reality the rest of the film is sorely lacking. Perhaps Cates Jr. is ultimately more fascinated with the bright lights of competition than the mechanics of the game, but when "Deal" focuses on the cards and chips, the film's nagging problems melt away.

The mere presence of Burt Reynolds offers a mixed bag of production quality reactions; however, he's the best thing to happen to "Deal." Sure his hair looks like a tennis ball and the man's face is pulled tighter than the villains of "Star Trek: Insurrection," but he's the only one in the cast with Hollywood-bred gravitas, making Tommy far more complicated (and therefore compelling) than Cates Jr. could have ever dreamt of. It's a sharp performance of concentration and star-powered snap, and he burns his co-stars off the screen; leaving me to wonder why the production even bothered with the Alex arc, since Tommy and his troubled road back to the limelight is sturdy enough for its own movie.

THE DVD

Visual:

Heavily tinkered with in post-production, the anamorphic widescreen image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) on the "Deal" DVD brings out the details - an unfortunate quality for Reynolds's plastic surgeon. Black levels tend to mush together, but colors pop generously and grain remains.

Audio:

The 5.1 Dolby Digital mix does just fine with casino atmospherics, but keeps most of the action up front. The dialogue and soundtrack are separated agreeably. A 2.0 mix, French 5.1, and Spanish 5.1 are available as well.

Subtitles:

English and Spanish subtitles are provided.

Extras:

"PokerStars Presents: Winning Big at Texas Hold 'Em with Isabelle Mercier and Greg Raymer" (13:22) offers the DVD viewer a primer on cards from two champions. Walking through the intricacies of betting, bluffing, and (hopefully) winning, the featurette is ideal for the poker buff in your life. For added fun, it's hilarious to listen to Mercier's French-Canadian accent tackle card table lingo, especially her repeated use of the term "to da nuts."

A Theatrical Trailer for "Deal" has not been provided on this DVD.

FINAL THOUGHTS

"Deal" is confused when separated from the comfort of the green felt, piling on way too many clichés. As a poker diversion, it should pass the time, but if you're hoping for a dramatically rewarding piece of filmmaking, your odds are better with a different movie.

HERE IS THE DIRECT DOWNLOAD FOR THE MOVIE DEAL.

IRON MAN NOW AVAILABLE

IRON MAN NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE

HERE IS THE SUMMARY FOR THE MOVIE IRON MAN FROM IMDB

Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is the CEO of Stark Industries which produces advance weapon systems for the U.S. military. Tony's father started the company after WWII, and after his death Tony inherited the company, worth billions. Tony lives the life as a hard drinking, rich playboy ladies man, but he is also a genius who has invented many high-tech items for the company. Tony flies to Afghanistan to demonstrate a new weapons test to the army. On his way back to his plane, his convoy is attacked by terrorists, and Tony is wounded by a Stark Industries missile. Tony is captured and held hostage in a cave with Raza (Faran Tahir), a doctor who saves his life. The terrorists force Tony and Raza to reproduce the new destructive Jericho missile Tony was demonstrating from parts of other weapons. Instead, Tony decides to build a suit of armor with Razas help. The suit gives Tony the strength and protection to be able to escape the terrorists. Back in America, Tony builds a better suit of armor which gives him superhuman strength with the ability to fly. With the help of his personal assistant Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) and Jim Rhodes (Terrence Howard), Tony vows to protect the world as Iron Man. Douglas Young (the-movie-guy)

HERE IS A REVIEW FOR THE MOVIE IRON MAN FROM DVDTALK

Superheroes have been young, mutated, and alien, but they're rarely fortysomething billionaires with a taste for one-night-stands, metallurgy, and scotch. Perhaps this is why "Iron Man" is so effective, taking well-worn feats of courage and subverting the candied results with a pinch of adulthood and plenty of acidic humor. The feature doesn't quite leap off the screen, but it's a wonderful ride.

A brazen war profiteer overseeing his own weapons industry, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is pushed to reassess his life when violently taken hostage in the Middle-East and fitted with a powerful magnet-like device to keep shrapnel out of his vital organs. Hoping to abandon the mass-death game, Tony turns inward, creating an intelligent suit of armor that he trusts will assist him in reclaiming the world he's helped tear apart. With the help of faithful assistant Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) and military pal Jim Rhodes (Terrence Howard), Stark works to perfect his suit; however, when business partner Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges) learns of Stark's ambitions, he sets in motion a plan to harvest the playboy's new powers for himself.

Downey Jr.? Paltrow? Bridges? Howard? A voice cameo by Paul Bettany? Well, director Jon Favreau was certainly doing his homework when stitching together his fourth filmmaking effort, "Iron Man." Easily the best ensemble to hand-hold a funny book to the big screen, the cast makes all the difference in the world between "Iron Man" sinking into medium-awareness mediocrity and smashing ahead as a top-tier adaptation, capable of big summer-movie thrills and sharp, sarcastic laughs. It's a strange brew, but Favreau is an ideal cook, and takes impressive command over this strange superhero property, pulling together an unexpected film that intends to play by caped, hands-on-hips standards, but has a much better time messing around with convention.

Stark isn't the typical character for a comic book metamorphosis, and Downey Jr. is certainly not the first actor that springs to mind when considering the tenets of truth and justice; yet the crooked casting works in favor of "Iron Man." Downey Jr. is a scream here as the blithe Stark, lording over his empire with a boozy grin; a womanizer with impeccable publicity and a constant circle of yes men, Downey Jr. does an impressive job humanizing Stark beyond the frown lines. His character arc is an intriguing one, taking Stark from a coin-hungry jet-setter to a man concerned with his legacy of violence, and willing to reach beyond himself to right his extensive wrongs. Stark is no saint, and his ballooned ego is a plot point Downey Jr. tees up with brilliantly, playing off his cast with rat-pack ease, and sharing touching chemistry with Paltrow. He's perfect in this role.

Because "Iron Man" is an origin tale, Favreau tries to unearth any moment of goosebumpy goodness he can find between exposition sequences, but the pickings are slim. Following Stark through his incarceration in Afghanistan, his renunciation of industrialism, and the creation of the famous red and gold suit, the picture is allowed short bursts of excitement and, heavens, they are tremendous moments. Watching Stark test his various suits, getting used to their spastic capabilities are the highlights of the picture, merging special effects and generous actor beats into an entertaining whole. Trouble only arrives when Favreau becomes too enamored with this world, which leaves the 125-minute running time too sludgy in the midsection of the film, rendering the climatic fight between Iron Man and villain Iron Monger stunningly ineffective. Perhaps Favreau, a gifted director, didn't realize how sharply executed Stark's earlier scenes of trial and error were, leaving the end of the film a payoff letdown, but still worthy of a few superb metal-crunching money shots.

If the enthusiastic crowd I caught "Iron Man" with was any indication, there are plenty of obscure comic book references packed into the picture to please long-standing fans, while the overall film remains more accessible than I was expecting. "Iron Man" is a high-quality entry in the superhero genre, and while it doesn't scream sequel at the end, Favreau is generous with dangling plot threads, and with all that origin nonsense out of the way, Tony Stark is poised to continue on into one heck of a sequel.

HERE IS THE DIRECT DOWNLOAD FOR THE MOVIE IRON MAN.

PULSE 2 NOW AVAILABLE

Here is the summary for the movie Pulse 2 from imdb

The first sequel is titled PULSE: AFTERLIFE The world has been reshaped by the invasion of ghosts via the wireless internet. Cities are deserted, technology has been destroyed and the few remaining human beings eschew anything electrical in order to avoid a confrontation with the soulless ghosts that now wander the planet. Most of the ghosts are doomed to a repetitive loop of something they did while they were still despairing humans (a man repeatedly hangs himself, for example), but there are some ghosts so locked in denial, they do not know they are dead. They continue to haunt their homes, wrapped in fear that their souls will soon be torn from them. The second sequel is titled PULSE: INVASION It is now seven years later and the survivors on Earth have settled into a primitive lifestyle completely void of electronics. The clusters of human survivors live together in refugee camps as the phantoms have taken over the cities. Justine is now a teenager and she escapes to the city to try and make a life for herself where she is not a drain on her adopted family (her parents both became phantoms in part one). She heads in to the city at the urging of Adam, a seeming survivor in the city that lures her with promises of understanding and friendship.- Wikipedia

Here is the direct download for the movie Pulse 2.

CHEETAH GIRLS 3 NOW AVAILABLE

Here is the summary for the movie Cheetah Girls 3 from imdb

In this "trequel" to The Cheetah Girls, Chanel, Dorinda, and Aqua, are off to India to star in a Bollywood movie. But when there they discover that they will have to compete against each other to get the role in the movie. Will the Cheetah's break up again? This film stars the basic cast from The Cheetah Girls 2, excluding Raven-Symone's character Galleria Garibaldi. Written by fmmini

The Cheetah Girls, Chanel, Dorinda, and Aqua, (no Gallerina in this movie) are off to India to star in a Bollywood movie. When there they find out that they will have to compete against one another to get the part in the movie. Could this be the end of the Cheetah Girl's friendship? Do you want to have a say in what happens in this movie? Go to www.disneychannel.com/cheetahgirls to vote on what you think should appear in the movie. Written by Cloudy

Here is the direct download for the movie Cheetah Girls 3.

NEW EPISODES OF THE WEEK FOR YOUR FAVORITE SHOWS

Here are new episodes for the top shows of the week

Here are the latest episodes of the week for a lot of your favorite shows I did not know what everyone likes so I put a lot of the top shows that were on this week next week will be Heroes and a few newer shows. Today is Thursday so later tonight expect Smallville and Supernatural added to this and a few others this week since its not over yet the week. Hopefully this will be a weekly addition if you guys want other shows added just comment or write in the chat box what show you want added.

Monday Sept. 15, 2008

Terminator Sarah Connor Chronicles Season 2 Episode 2

Here is the direct download for Season 2 episode 2.

Gossip Girl Season 2 Episode 3

Here is the direct download for Gossip Girl Season 2 Episode 3

One Tree Hill Season 6 Episode 3

Here is the direct download for One Tree Hill Season 6 Episode 3

Tuesday September 16, 2008

House Season 5 Episode 1

Here is the direct download for Episode 1 of Season 5 of House.

The Shield Season 7 Episode 2

Here is the direct download for Season 7 Episode 2 of The Shield.

90210 Season 1 Episode 4

Here is the direct download for 90210 Season 1 Episode 4.

Wednesday Sept. 17, 2008

Ghost Hunters Season 4 Episode 16

Here is the direct download for Ghost Hunters Season 4 Episode 16.

Sons of Anarchy Season 1 Episode 3

Here is the direct download for Sons of Anarchy Season 1 Episode 3.

Big Brother Season 10 Episode 28

Here is the direct download for Big Brother Season 10 Episode 28.

Thursday September 18, 2008

Smallville Season 8 Episode 1

Here is the direct download for Smallville Season 8 Episode 1

Supernatural Season 4 Episode 1

Here is the direct download for Supernatural Season 4 Episode 1

STEP BROTHERS NOW AVAILABLE

STEP BROTHERS NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE

HERE IS THE SUMMARY FOR THE MOVIE STEP BROTHERS FROM IMDB

Brennan Huff (Will Ferrell) is a thirty-nine-year-old who has never left home and lives with his divorced mother, Nancy Huff (Mary Steenburgen). Dale Doback (John C. Reilly) is a forty-year-old who also has never left home and lives with his widower father, Dr. Robert Doback (Richard Jenkins). Both of them are unemployed and have been living off the goodness of their parents their whole lives. Nancy meets Robert; they fall in love, marry, and move into Robert's home. The two sons are forced to live together in the same room as step brothers. Brennan and Dale initially hate each other, but find out that they are not too different. They are like 12-year-olds trapped in adult bodies who haven't grown up and live in their own little worlds. They become best friends, and then their parents decide to kick them out, because they are getting a divorce. They set up job interviews, but to no avail. Their lives are about to change, and they must grow up. Douglas Young (the-movie-guy)

HERE IS A REVIEW FOR THE MOVIE STEP BROTHERS FROM DVDTALK

"Step Brothers" is a terrifically amusing movie, but it never reaches pulse-quickening hilarity. It's a confusing misfire, considering this is the new Will Ferrell film, reteaming with longtime collaborators John C. Reilly and director Adam McKay, and plays with a story that requires the star to act like a huffy child for 90 minutes. Seriously, it's damn strange that "Brothers" isn't funnier.

When their parents (Mary Steenburgen and Richard Jenkins) marry after a whirlwind courtship, 40-year-old slackers Dale (John C. Reilly) and Brennan (Will Ferrell) are forced to become step brothers. At first, the men hate each other, irritated that their easygoing lives have been disrupted by mandatory interaction. However, when Dale stands up to Brennan's bullying younger brother Derek (Adam Scott, nailing his antagonist role superbly), the men bond immediately, kicking off a relationship that threatens to destroy the house and the newlywed bliss contained within. Offered an ultimatum to either get jobs and grow up or be thrown out, Dale and Brennan panic, fearful of adult lives and the challenges they bring.

Surely "Step Brothers" was catnip to Ferrell and Reilly. Working off their own story idea, the film is little more than a chance for the actors to romp around like kids, exploring their childlike nature to expected slapstick standards. Director/co-writer McKay need only turn on the camera to capture this superficial examination of Peter Pan syndrome, leaving the heavy lifting to the actors as they wrestle around the frame, trying to outwit each other with improvisations. It's a fetching package, as Ferrell and Reilly are sparkling jewels of immaturity, attentive to every last moment of tantrums and resentment.

What's changed in this particular brew is the R-rating. For "Anchorman" and "Talladega Nights," the productions were pinned down by PG-13 limitations, forcing McKay and Ferrell to carefully work around blunt obscenity to make their smuttier points. "Step Brothers" heads in the opposite direction, indulging every possible pop of profanity, even asking Jenkins and Steenburgen to cuss like sailors to compete with the rest of the cast. Much like the upcoming "Pineapple Express," the deluge of potty-mouth punches grows tiring and ineffective in a hurry. It's hard not to sound like an old fuddy-duddy here, but the actual act of swearing just isn't enough to extract laughs.

"Step Brothers" is consumed with shock value, with Brennan forced to lick dog feces or use his testicles to abuse Dale's prized drum set, and it dilutes the viewing experience. McKay shows miserable judgment and timing here, passing on the chance to erect a sublime domestic disturbance comedy about maniacal grown children to dumb the material down to toxic base sensibilities. Where's the fun in that? "Step Brothers" is often lost at sea, paddling helplessly amongst its own needless vulgarity. There's nothing wrong with stupid, as long as there's a little more to the show than that.

Saving the film from McKay are the actors; while they're pitched at a deafening level of infantile babbling, they really help "Step Brothers" find something of a fruitful comedic bounce. Ferrell and Reilly are a wonderful team, elated to be capturing the harmony of two men who refuse to grow up. It's all "Star Wars" shirts, bunk beds, Steven Seagal bonding, and whispered bedtime arguments for Dale and Brennan, and the actors capture the impish spirit of being nine-years-old and trapped in an aging body. The duo remains strong here, even when they lay on the more exhaustive qualities of profane behavior.

I certainly laughed while watching "Step Brothers," and to the less sensitive (a.k.a. drunk, stoned), McKay's blunt execution will probably find a perfect home. What nags at me is the plot and casting, which form a perfect launching pad for something demented and delirious to emerge, and while "Step Brothers" touches inspired insanity intermittently, it never stays put, resulting in a picture of pleasing bedlam, but never consistent bedlam.

HERE IS THE DIRECT DOWNLOAD FOR THE MOVIE STEP-BROTHERS.

THE FAMILY THAT PREYS NOW AVAILABLE

Here is the summary for the movie The Family That Preys from imdb

Academy Award®-winner Kathy Bates and Academy Award®-nominee Alfre Woodard star as the matriarchs of two very different families being torn apart by greed and scandal in the contemporary drama "Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys." The sixth feature film by Perry chronicles the inner workings of two familiesone upper-crust and the other working classthat become inextricably linked by scandal. Wealthy socialite Charlotte Cartwright (Kathy Bates) and her dear friend Alice Pratt (Alfre Woodard), a working class woman of high ideals, have enjoyed a lasting friendship throughout many years. Suddenly, their lives become mired in turmoil as their adult children's extramarital affairs, unethical business practices and a dark paternity secret threaten to derail family fortunes and unravel the lives of all involved. Alice's self-centered newlywed daughter Andrea (Sanaa Lathan) is betraying her trusting husband Chris (Rockmond Dunbar) by engaging in a torrid affair with her boss and mothers best friends son William (Cole Hauser). While cheating on his wife Jillian (Kadee Strickland) with a string of ongoing dalliances with his mistress Andrea, William's true focus is to replace the COO of his mothers lucrative construction corporation. Meanwhile, Alice's other daughter Pam (Taraji Henson), a kind but no nonsense woman married to a hard working construction worker (Tyler Perry), tries to steer the family in a more positive direction. While paternity secrets, marital infidelity, greed and unsavory business dealings threaten to derail both families, Charlotte and Alice decide to take a breather from it all by making a cross-country road trip in which they rediscover themselves and possibly find a way to save their families from ruin in "Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys."

Here is a review for the movie The Family That Preys from dvdtalk

In a shocking change of pace for Tyler Perry, "The Family That Preys" is, get this, a southern-fried melodrama, frosted with overbearing performances, low-budget production polish, and obscene displays of artistic and moral ineptness. It's nice see that Perry, in his fifth directorial effort, has decided to test himself with deeply challenging material, rising above his past transgressions, at last offering the screen a tightly wound story that speaks universal truths about the state of the human condition.

All kidding aside: "Preys" stinks.

Lifelong friends, Alice Pratt (Alfre Woodard) and Charlotte Cartwright (Kathy Bates) have enjoyed watching their children grow and their businesses flourish. When Charlotte's shifty son William (Cole Hauser) begins an extramarital affair with Alice's daughter Andrea (Sanaa Lathan), the secret is impossible to cover, tearing up both families as the lies and manipulation start to pile up. With Charlotte and Alice trying to keep some sense of order, Andrea's clueless husband, Chris (Rockmond Dunbar), still hopes to solicit seed money for his construction business dreams from William, leaving Andrea's sister Pam (Taraji P. Henson) and her husband Ben (Tyler Perry) at a loss for words, observing the madness from the comfort of their stable marriage.

Unlike the rest of the Tyler Perry catalog, "Preys" is engineered to win over a large, crossover audience for the Georgian mogul. Not that the film doesn't have huge, wet Perry stamps all over it, but there's a new angle to "Preys" that Perry hasn't sampled before: the Caucasian experience.

Previous Perry pictures traditionally looked upon white people as comedic foils who were quick with a racist remark or nugget of high-society disgust. "Preys" gives us Charlotte, who doesn't approach her friendship with Alice through skin color, but through honest admiration and companionship. It's a superb change of pace for Perry, who resists nearly any opportunity to inject racial animosity into the picture. However, it's the last moment of invention the film will enjoy.

Click here if you want to read the rest of the review for this movie.

Here is the direct download for the movie The Family That Preys.

FINDING AMANDA NOW AVAILABLE

FINDING AMANDA NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE

HERE IS THE SUMMARY FOR THE MOVIE FINDING AMANDA FROM IMDB

A television producer with a penchant for drinking and gambling is sent to Las Vegas to convince his troubled niece to enter rehab.

HERE IS A REVIEW FOR THE MOVIE FINDING AMANDA FROM DVDTALK

"Finding Amanda" could easily be lumped into the growing "awful people doing awful things" genre. It's a story of unlikeable characters forced into a position where they're expected act honorably, yet can't exactly temper their nature to destroy their own lives. Yes, it's a comedy.

A struggling sitcom writer with enough vices to make Charles Bukowski blush, Taylor (Matthew Broderick) is facing the last days of his marriage to Lorraine (Maura Tierney) due to his compulsive gambling. To save face and regain trust, Taylor volunteers to travel to Las Vegas to help his niece Amanda (Brittany Snow) get out of prostitution and into rehab. Once there, Taylor finds the lure of gambling too much to ignore and immediately snowballs into old habits, while trying to convince Amanda that her life is a total wreck.

"Finding Amanda" marks the feature-film directorial debut of writer Peter Tolan, who has spent a majority of his career racking up some impressive comedy credits ("The Job," "Rescue Me," "The Larry Sanders Show"). His familiarity with uneasy laughs and edgy mannerisms comes into play in a major way during "Amanda," a prickly comedy that takes meticulous care to arrange serious decision-making flaws for its characters.

It's an uncomfortable film, as Taylor is a man bent on nurturing his addictions, even while it costs him his life. Yet "Finding Amanda" is uproarious too. Tolan snatches a few pages from the Larry David/Woody Allen neurotic files, but the tributes work, creating a sly collection of humiliations and snappy one-liners delivered with a renewed zeal from the recently sleepy Broderick. The picture is a caustic collection of exposed vices, yet Tolan can find the humor in nearly every diseased scene when he actually puts forth the effort.

Following Thomas on his trip to Vegas offers the screenplay plenty of moments of both panic and dry reaction, as the character falls victim to his impulses and remains wildly aware of the hypocrisy of his mission. Tolan is best with the minor moments of Taylor's day: the interaction with a passive-aggressive casino manager (Steve Coogan), his reactions to Amanda's rather competent assembly of a misled life, and the bitter losses racked up on the ponies. Between Broderick's contained alarm and Tolan's machine-gun quips, "Finding Amanda" can be a real knee-slapper, yet the filmmaker isn't always concerned with the big laugh.

For reasons I'm having trouble processing, "Finding Amanda" turns abruptly serious. Not just melodramatic, but crying-in-a-bathroom-stall heavy, paying off some emotional connection between the characters that was never there to begin with. It's disorienting to say the least, and really forces the film down to its knees in the final 20 minutes. More baffling is why it's even there to begin with. "Finding Amanda" is a generously funny, sharp-edged comedy with unusual promise, and to watch it grow a conscience when clearly the film needed more generous helpings of acid is one of the year's great mysteries.

HERE IS THE DIRECT DOWNLOAD FOR THE MOVIE FINDING AMANDA.

SUPERGIRL NOW AVAILABLE

Here is the summary for the movie Supergirl from imdb

After a power source for the community of Krypton survivors is accidentally whisked to earth, Kara-El, cousin to Superman and niece to Jor-El, chooses to go to earth to find it, and bring it back. Upon her arrival, she becomes just a powerful and Super as her cousin, but encounters dangerous battles and unexpected obstacles when a mean spirited woman who practices rituals of the occult takes the power source for herself, and uses it to cause destruction and attempt zenith human status. Written by CoachTophie

Introducing a brand new superhero--the beautiful and mighty Girl of Steel in her very first adventure. Her name is Kara, and she's Superman's cousin from Krypton. Coming to Earth on a mission to save her dying city, Supergirl has to find and recover the Omegahedron, a source of almost unlimited power. But it's fallen into the hands of an amateur witch named Selena--who intends to use it to rule the world! To get it back, Supergirl has to fight not only evil humans, but the unimaginable forces of Black Magic (including a hundred-foot monster made of pure energy), and make a perilous journey into the forbidden depths of the Phantom Zone. Written by Robert Lynch {docrlynch@yahoo.com}

Here is a review for the movie Supergirl from dvdtalk

The charisma resonating from a star and the support structure from a well-known franchise can only go so far in a motion picture. Supergirl is an amazing example. This film ends up trying to build a sturdy frame by relying on high-quality established components, such as well-regarded production elements, brand recognition (the "S"), and a star-speckled cast. There's one problem: the foundation for this film, namely the script and story, pale dramatically in weight to the aforementioned bits and pieces. Because of this, Supergirl collapses by relying too heavily on the success of Supergirl's relative. Note: This review is of the "International"/European Theatrical cut of the film, clocking in at 125 minutes. The prior Supergirl: Limited Edition 2-Disc DVD includes both this cut and the 138-minute Director's Cut. The Film: Directed by Jeannot Szwarc, this adaptation from the DC comic character introduces Kara (Helen Slater), one of a small group of survivors from the planet Krypton residing in a far-off city called Argo. Oddly enough, she is the cousin of Kal-El, otherwise known as Superman. Kara travels from her homeland in search of a vanished orb called the Omegahedron, the source of power for Argo. The orb soars through the fabric of space and time to Earth and falls in the clutches of Madame Selena (Faye Dunaway), a sorceress bent on harnessing the orb's power for world domination. In an effort to redeem herself since her and the Argoion Artist Zaltar (Peter O'Toole) sent this orb into space because of an accident, Kara travels to Earth to reclaim the Omegahedron. When she lands, Kara discovers her mystical Kryptonian powers. Since she's related to the big red and blue guy, pretty much every single power he possesses has transferred over to her (laser beams through the eyes, gale wind breath, unlimited strength and, of course, the ability to fly). Once Kara has caught a grip on how special she is, she lands a cover-up position as a private-school student named Linda Lee. From there, Supergirl's quest to relocate the Omegahedron takes her ordeal after ordeal tossed at her by the mystical Madame Selena. Plus, Kara must deal with one of the biggest problems she'd ever face on earth: romance. Supergirl boasts a smidge of potential from the get go in the form of two strengths: the creative precedence from Superman and the talented cast. Some of the effects team behind Superman lends their talents to the production of Supergirl, most notably the flying sequences. While by modern day standards the visual splendor seems aged, these techniques still fuel these Super characters with charisma. The flying sequences are still a joy to behold. These effects couldn't fluidly be executed without an able cast to back up the activity. Helen Slater possesses the visual charisma that Supergirl should possess. Strong, wide-eyed, and blaringly innocent, Slater's Kara fits the female superhero moniker. Plus, Faye Dunaway and Peter O'Toole lend star power and overall quality to two larger roles in the film. Though not their best performances by a long shot, the gripping demeanor of O'Toole and the execution of voice projection from Dunaway cannot be denied. Some serviceable support work, including Jimmy Olsen himself played by Marc McClure, contributes to Supergirl's faint spark. On paper, Supergirl appears to have moderately winning capabilities. The problem lies within poor storytelling and fairly abhorrent dialogue. Due to actor on-screen presences and appealing cinematography, the urge to appreciate and enjoy certain scenes is there. However, with dialogue accompaniment, the mood and weight of these scenes falls quicker than a ten-ton boulder from the sky. This dialogue feels terribly forced, awkward, and overacted from nearly every player. Helen Slater isn't given much substance to grasp as Supergirl, yet what she attempts to grasp doesn't flow naturally. Moreover, this underdeveloped dialogue fights to support a very simple, dull story that just doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Part of what made Superman: The Movie attention-grabbing was the rich narrative about Kal-El and his past. Kara's story is left without substantial attention geared towards her character development. Moreover, many questions go unanswered once the conflict begins to erupt, such as how a "sorceress" who comes into contact with a magical orb can harness its power so readily. Strangely enough, interest can be found primarily when elements of the outer Superman universe are referenced. Referencing repeatedly to the Man of Steel seems to be both Supergirl's strong point and a major hindrance simultaneously. Nonetheless, with this watered-down and misdirected quality of storytelling, everything in the film sinks below interest. Relying on Superman's success and his presence as Kara's cousin end up more as persistent reminders of how appealing he can be to watch. Instead of adding fuel to this fire, it makes the viewer wish they were watching him instead. This, however, might please fans of the Superman universe that might appreciate a consistent stream of reference to Kara's relative. Needless to say, even as a very remotely fun and campy film, it's a shame more attention wasn't shown to developing Supergirl. The DVD: Warner Bros. has released the Supergirl European Theatrical Version DVD in a single disc keepcase with Photoshopped/illustrated coverart. The Video: Supergirl is presented in a very attractive, richly detailed anamorphic image that has really withstood the years. The palette of colors really popped from the very attractive cinematography. Detail was surprisingly brilliant in a few scenes, while shadows and darker scenes were reasonably deep. In previous DVD editions, Supergirl has boasted a pretty decent transfer. Although the details on the prior editions can't be fully recalled and compared, the WB disc does possibly seem brighter and richer in color. The Audio: Presented in Dolby 5.1, the audio was very clear and crisp throughout the film. Dialogue was easily heard, hitting higher and lower tones fairly well. The bass portions and sound effects don't pack very much punch, but still resonated with decent clarity. Overall, Supergirl sounds very nice. Audio is available in English and French, while subtitles are included in English, French, and Spanish for the film. The Extras: WB has presented Supergirl in a fairly bare-bones edition DVD. Included on this DVD are: A Director Commentary from Jeannot Szwarc, also including historian Scott Bosco. This could very well be the same commentary from the previous release. A Theatrical Trailer. A Legend of Superman mosaic on all things Man of Steel that can be purchased on DVD. Final Thoughts: Supergirl is pure, campy '80s style superhero action with solid special effects and moderately successful performances. Sadly, the storyline and dialogue make this film much more grating on the nerves than fun to watch. Those who own the Limited Edition DVD from years ago might want to pass up this edition due to the lack of extras, even though there is a potentially better transfer. Fans of the Superman series might also want to rent this DVD for the references to the Superman universe. However, it's very good that this DVD is stripped down and inexpensive for those who enjoy Supergirl because a Rental is suitable enough for most casual viewers.

Here is the direct download for the movie Supergirl.

THE HAPPENING NOW AVAILABLE

THE HAPPENING NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE

HERE IS THE SUMMARY FOR THE MOVIE THE HAPPENING FROM IMDB

A paranoid thriller about a family on the run from a natural crisis that presents a large-scale threat to humanity.

HERE IS A REVIEW FOR THE MOVIE THE HAPPENING FROM DVDTALK


The opening movement of "The Happening" is a virtuoso guitar solo of alarm. It's the sharpest collection of footage writer/director M. Night Shyamalan has ever committed to the screen, launching his latest picture on a giddy note of assured doom; a chilling introduction to the human race's greatest adversary: the unknown.

When a deadly toxin is released into the air, it causes the public to lash out in violent ways, rolling out waves of suicides that officials are baffled by. When the panic hits Pennsylvania, high school science teacher Elliot Moore (Mark Wahlberg, miscast as a boy scout type) takes his wife Alma (Zooey Deschanel) and a small pack of survivors into the countryside to escape the invisible threat, finding bodies everywhere they turn. Suspecting a terrorist attack, Elliot looks for clues to support a logical explanation, but what he finds are answers that reach beyond the realm of human understanding.

Licking his wounds after the justifiable pummeling he took with the inane 2006 bedtime story "Lady in the Water," "Happening" shows an exciting new level of aggression for the habitually lyrical Shyamalan. As the marketing trumpets, this is Shyamalan's first R-rated feature, and "Happening" willingly doles out the nightmares as the bravura suicide sequences are revealed in lurid detail. Hairpins are jammed into jugulars, zoo employees encourage lions to snack on their limbs, and suburban dads crawl under lawn mowers; Shyamalan summons a bleak mood of mass death as it blows from city to city. It's a blood-spurting, skin-crawling first act that's worth the price of admission alone to witness the coldly reserved filmmaker revel in a bit of uncharacteristic pandemonium.

The rest of "Happening" slips helplessly into familiarity once Shyamalan fattens himself on the calories of the early going. Always a distanced filmmaker, I had hope that Shyamalan could ditch his beloved community theater atmospherics and try to forge new ground with this film, but the opportunity is squandered. "Happening" starts to resemble a retread of "Signs" in the second half, as Elliot and his "family" seek out abandoned homes in the countryside for shelter. The film exhausts its claustrophobia here, hopelessly bending to standard Shyamalan touches that he milked dry long ago. The more Elliot leaves the masses behind, the less special "Happening" becomes, tiring out Shyamalan's imagination and his ability to properly unnerve the audience.

There's no reason for me to reveal who or what is behind the deadly attack, but I will say it's a fantastic starter pistol for a horror film. Unfortunately, Shyamalan doesn't follow through on this premise, allowing "Happening" to slowly, painfully deflate as he scrounges to erect a button of terror for the third act and unearth fruitless emotional content between Elliot and Alma. Too many old habits break down the picture, especially the staccato rhythms of the acting and the script's tendency to chase plot threads that distract the suspense further. "Happening" is only 85 minutes long, but it's oddly winded by the conclusion, which effectively smudges the contact high of the throat-slashing, body-breaking commencement.

It's become clear that if you've seen one Shyamalan film, you've seen them all. "Happening" promises a change of pace, but the magic only lasts for a few moments, then it's all open acre isolation, media blackouts, and mysterious threats with extended, mouth-agape pauses. One could say these are endearing motifs, but I'm more inclined to reject them as Shyamalan's crutches: acts of storytelling repetition that have grown moldy and dramatically inert.

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FAMILY GUY SEASON 2 NOW AVAILABLE

Here is the summary for Family Guy Season 2 from imdb

The Griffin household includes two teenagers, a cynical dog who is smarter than everyone else, and a mutant baby who makes numerous attempts to eradicate his parents and siblings. Heading up this eclectic household is Peter Griffin. Peter does his best to do what's right for the family, but along the way, he makes mistakes that are the stuff of legends. Written by Ronos

The Griffin household includes two parents Peter (Seth McFarlane) and Lois (Alex Borstein), two teenagers Chris (Seth Green) and Megan (Mila Kunis), a dog who is smarter than everyone else in the house Brian (Seth McFarlane), and a mutant baby Stewie (Seth McFarlane) who makes numerous attempts to eradicate his parents and siblings. Written by Corey Semple {Superman2002}

The wacky, occasionally irreverent misadventures of a Rhode Island family whose number includes a morbidly obese moron; his martini loving, genius dog; his sexpot wife; his gigantic thirteen year old son; his whiny, awkward daughter; and his homicidal infant son. Written by Jojo Mac

Family Guy revolves around a less than normal family in a less than normal world. With obsurd and often spontanious events this show will keep you laughing from the it starts up untill it ends. The family Consists of 6 members Peter the father, Lois the mother, Stewie the homocidal baby, chris the son, meg the daughter and Brian the dog who is often the smartest out of all of them. Written by TJB

Here is a review for Season 2 of Family Guy from dvdtalk

The Movie:


Out of the small animation boom that happened a couple of years ago (see also "Futurama", "Clerks", "Dilbert" and a couple of WB animated shows I can't remember the names of) came "Family Guy", one of the most hilarious and controversial shows that Fox has aired. A mixture of "The Simpsons" and the darkest parts of "Married With Children", the TV-MA show seemed to take pride in pushing the limits and seeking out as many targets in current society to goof on as possible. The show developed a cult audience that followed it despite Fox's frequent shifts in the show's timeslot. The show's poor treatment and eventual cancelation angered fans, although at least Fox has finally issued the remaining episodes on DVD.

For those unfamiliar with the show, it focuses on the Griffin family, residents of Quahog, Rhode Island. Peter (creator Seth MacFarlane) is the heavy-drinking father who works in a toy factory, Lois (Alex Borstein of "Mad TV") is the calm leader, Meg (Mila Kunis of "That 70's Show" and Lacey Chabert for the earlier episodes) is the insecure daughter, Chris (Seth Green) the chubby and dim-witted son, Brian (MacFarlane) is the alcoholic dog who talks and Stewie (creator Seth MacFarlane earned an Emmy for his voice work on the character) is the diabolical baby who is bent on world domination.

This second DVD volume of the series includes the third and final season of the series, along with the controversial unaired episode, "Wish Upon a Weinstein", where Peter tries to get Chris to become Jewish because he believes he'll be successful if he does. The plots of season three still get laughs fairly often, although I don't think they reach the inspired heights of earlier episodes, such as the one where Peter's house became its own country or lead his family towards a twinkie factory after the apocalypse.

Still, there are certainly some highlights throughout many of the episodes. In "Peter Griffin: Husband, Father...Brother?" Peter takes Chris to an Irish Heritage Museum to learn more about his heritage, where both find out that, before alcohol, Ireland was a futuristic utopia. "Mr. Saturday Knight" has Peter working at Quahog's Renaissance Faire as a jouster when his boss accidentally dies at dinner. His competition is the Black Knight, brilliantly voiced by Will Farrell. "Thin White Line" and "Brian Does Hollywood" have Brian overdoing his new job as drug sniffing police dog, then running off to Hollywood and ending up with a job directing porn (at the adult awards in the episode, John Williams is one of the composers nominated for Best Original Score). In "Lethal Weapons", Peter uses Lois's newfound fighting skills to drive out New Yorkers who come up to Rhode Island just to stare at the leaves changing color.

Click here if you want to read the rest of the review for this show.

Here are the episodes of season 2 of Family Guy

Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3
Episode 4
Episode 5
Episode 6
Episode 7
Episode 8
Episode 9
Episode 10
Episode 11
Episode 12
Episode 13
Episode 14
Episode 15
Episode 16
Episode 17
Episode 18
Episode 19
Episode 20
Episode 21

FAMILY GUY SEASON 1 NOW AVAILABLE

Here is the summary for Family Guy season 1 from imdb

The Griffin household includes two teenagers, a cynical dog who is smarter than everyone else, and a mutant baby who makes numerous attempts to eradicate his parents and siblings. Heading up this eclectic household is Peter Griffin. Peter does his best to do what's right for the family, but along the way, he makes mistakes that are the stuff of legends. Written by Ronos

The Griffin household includes two parents Peter (Seth McFarlane) and Lois (Alex Borstein), two teenagers Chris (Seth Green) and Megan (Mila Kunis), a dog who is smarter than everyone else in the house Brian (Seth McFarlane), and a mutant baby Stewie (Seth McFarlane) who makes numerous attempts to eradicate his parents and siblings. Written by Corey Semple {Superman2002}

The wacky, occasionally irreverent misadventures of a Rhode Island family whose number includes a morbidly obese moron; his martini loving, genius dog; his sexpot wife; his gigantic thirteen year old son; his whiny, awkward daughter; and his homicidal infant son. Written by Jojo Mac

Family Guy revolves around a less than normal family in a less than normal world. With obsurd and often spontanious events this show will keep you laughing from the it starts up untill it ends. The family Consists of 6 members Peter the father, Lois the mother, Stewie the homocidal baby, chris the son, meg the daughter and Brian the dog who is often the smartest out of all of them. Written by TJB

Here is a review for Family Guy Season 1 from Dvdtalk

The Movie: Out of the small animation boom that happened a couple of years ago (see also "Futurama", "Clerks", "Dilbert" and a couple of WB animated shows I can't remember the names of) came "Family Guy", one of the most hilarious and controversial shows that Fox has aired. A mixture of "The Simpsons" and the darkest parts of "Married With Children", the TV-MA show seemed to take pride in pushing the limits and seeking out as many targets in current society to goof on as possible. Every week, the show turned pop culture on its head, offering twisted and laugh-out-loud spoofs of "Tron", "The Truman Show", "The Brady Bunch", "Willy Wonka" and "Dawson's Creek", among many others. Most episodes smoothly tied in as many of several of these hits at the entertainment industry. For those unfamiliar with the show, it focuses on the Griffin family, residents of Quahog, Rhode Island. Peter (creator Seth MacFarlane) is the heavy-drinking father who works in a toy factory, Lois (Alex Borstein of "Mad TV") is the calm leader, Meg (Mila Kunis of "That 70's Show" and Lacey Chabert for the earlier episodes) is the insecure daughter, Chris (Seth Green) the chubby and dim-witted son, Brian (MacFarlane) is the alcoholic dog who talks and Stewie (creator Seth MacFarlane earned an Emmy for his voice work on the character) is the diabolical baby who is bent on world domination. This first volume of the show on DVD offers both the first and second seasons of the show and gives viewers who missed it another chance to witness some of "Family Guy"'s most brilliant moments. "E. Peterbus Unum" has Peter breaking off from Quahog to form his own country when he finds out that his house is a blank spot on the map. When confronted after breaking the law, he gets out of it due to diplomatic immunity ("like that guy in 'Lethal Weapon 2'", says Peter). "The Son Also Draws" has Peter and Chris going on a Vision Quest when they lose their car at an Indian casino. When the trees start chatting with Peter, he asks, "If one of you falls, and no one's around, does it make a noise?" The tree responds, "Are you kidding? Scott fell last week, and he hasn't shut up about it since." In "Death Is a Bitch", Death (voiced by Norm MacDonald) comes after Peter after he fakes death to get out of paying his hospital bill. When Death sprains his ankle, Peter has to take over. "Da Boom" has the family searching for food (they dismiss a potential house after they find out Randy Newman is there, singing about everything he sees) after information hears about the world nearly coming to an end after Y2K turns out to be true.

Click here if you want to read the rest of the review for Family guy season 1.

Here are the episodes for season 1 of Family Guy

Episode 1

Episode 2

Episode 3

Episode 4

Episode 5

Episode 6

Episode 7

SMART PEOPLE NOW AVAILABLE

SMART PEOPLE NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE

HERE IS THE SUMMARY FOR THE MOVIE SMART PEOPLE FROM IMDB

Into the life of a widowed professor comes a new love and an unexpected visit from his adopted brother.

HERE IS A REVIEW FOR THE MOVIE SMART PEOPLE FROM DVDTALK

Movies teach us many things. Guns can solve problems, the nice guy may not get the redhead but he's got a blonde waiting for him in the parking lot, Patrick Dempsey is harder to get rid of and more dangerous than mold, and smart people are really stupid when it comes to things that have to do with love and emotions and having private lives. Books are good for some things, but not understanding what you really need to be fulfilled. If they taught us stuff like that, why would we need movies? Thank you, Cinema!

Of course, movies also teach us that any hoary old chestnut can be made to taste fresh again with the right cast and a decent script, and so Smart People somehow manages to show us once again how stupid brainy people can be and make us like it, damn it!

Dennis Quaid plays Lawrence Wetherhold, a literature professor so stuffy that even his name is bursting with pedantry. Stuck in the same gear ever since his wife passed away, Lawrence has lost all passion for teaching. It's not his fault, though, it's the students who have stopped caring. His fellow scholars aren't much good either, peddling hackneyed ideas and failing to see the genius of the book he wrote that lays out exactly what is wrong with their way of thinking. Lawrence's defeat is like that Patrick Dempsey mold: it's everywhere, and it's creeping.

The professor lives alone with his daughter, Vanessa (Ellen Page), a grade-obsessed Young Republican who has stepped into her mother's shoes. When her nose is not buried in a book or stuck in the air so she can look down on others, Vanessa is making dinner or doing the laundry. Her older brother, James (Ashton Holmes), has made a mediocre escape, moving into the dorms across town to get free tuition from daddy's bosses and write poetry. Also lurking around is Lawrence's deadbeat adopted brother, Chuck (Thomas Haden Church), who may not have a job but who knows how to have fun and sees where the rest of the family has gone wrong. I cringed when Chuck first appeared, photocopying his navel for the delight of co-eds, but rather than being as broadly drawn as you would first assume, Chuck turns into a real boy by the end. He may be an oaf, but he has some actual heart and knows when to dial down the antics.

In fact, all of the characters in Smart People have more nuance than is initially evident. Sure, they fit neatly into pre-assigned slots, but all of the actors manage to work within those confines very well. Ellen Page is essentially playing the evil twin of her Juno character, but this time she actually is as smart as she thinks she is. This gives a whole new twist to regular teenage insecurities, and she manages to convey the pain of her loss and the fear of the oncoming life changes by cutting off the flow of words and letting a well-placed expression of pain do the talking.

So, too, does Dennis Quaid bring real sympathy to a shlubby performance. Wearing a fake potbelly under his ill-fitting shirt and shuffling down the halls of academia as if death awaits him wherever he may be going, the actor takes all of his natural charisma and scatters it on the wind, giving his character something to search for throughout the picture. Seeing him crawl out of a crusty shell of mourning to try and date one of his former students (Sarah Jessica Parker), a doctor who treats him after an accident, has a real sweet center to it that makes you care for the man and understand why this woman keeps giving him more chances, even if his actions don't really suggest she should.

Which I actually think puts the finger on the nagging feeling that something is not entirely right about Smart People: the actors are so good and are all people we like, and so maybe they convince us to invest a little more into what happens to their characters than Smart People actually deserves. Directed by first-time director Noam Murro and written by debut scribe Mark Jude Poirier, the film suffers from a propensity to travel down the middle of the road. Murro in particular shoots the film in a very generic style, relying heavily on wordy soft-pop songs to prop up his poignant scenes rather than letting his performers find the emotional thrust. The songs seem to be shortcuts to try to give Smart People a lighter air, something more akin to a film by Alexander Payne or Paul Weitz; Poirier's writing is good, but he lacks the wit of either writer. He also lacks the gravitas and the self-mockery of a Noah Baumbach, and so the film doesn't manage to strike a heavier tone, either. Instead, again, it's somewhere in the middle, a picture in search of a purpose.

That's not enough to suggest you should stay away from Smart People. It may be slightly hobbled, but it's still very good. The life wreckage the movie sifts through is severe, and it doesn't take the soft options that more conventional fare would naturally go for. Despite the vanilla that they've frosted this cake with, Murro and Poirier do deserve some measure of applause for being tough-minded and avoiding healing their characters with easy medicine. The direction is bland and the overall tone a little flat, yet there is still real drama here and actual people to care about. Even with my grumbling, I really wanted to see how all of them people would make it out of the woods and was happy when they found a way

Jamie S. Rich is a novelist and comic book writer. His current novel is entitled Have You Seen the Horizon Lately? and was released by Oni Press in the summer of 2007. It follows up on both of his successful books from 2006, the pop-culture hit The Everlasting, and his original graphic novel with Joëlle Jones, 12 Reasons Why I Love Her. Rich is currently writing the ongoing independent comic book series Love the Way You Love.

HERE IS THE DIRECT DOWNLOAD FOR THE MOVIE SMART PEOPLE.

SAW IV NOW AVAILABLE

HERE IS THE SUMMARY FOR THE MOVIE SAW IV FROM IMDB

Jigsaw and his apprentice Amanda are dead. Now, upon the news of Detective Kerry's murder, two seasoned FBI profilers, Agent Strahm and Agent Perez, arrive in the terrified community to assist the veteran Detective Hoffman in sifting through Jigsaw's latest grisly remains and piecing together the puzzle. However, when SWAT Commander Rigg is abducted and thrust into a game, the last officer untouched by Jigsaw has but ninety minutes to overcome a series of demented traps and save an old friend or face the deadly consequences. Written by Lionsgate

During the autopsy of John Kramer, the coroner finds a tape inside his stomach and calls Detective Hoffman. Meanwhile, the police find Detective Kerry dead and the SWAT Commander Rigg is absolutely traumatized with the tortured corpse of Kerry and obsessed to save Detective Eric Matthews that has been missing for six months; however Hoffman asks him to take vacations and leave the case. The FBI agents Strahm and Perez join Hoffman's team to investigate the legacy of Jigsaw. However, Rigg is abducted and forced to participate in another sick game to save Eric's life. Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

HERE IS A REVIEW FOR THE MOVIE SAW IV FROM DVDTALK

Once a horror flick has this many Roman numerals tacked onto the end of the title, it's pretty clear that it's being hammered out just to service the fans and snag seven bucks a pop in the process. Saw IV really isn't for the uninitiated. To get much of anything out of the movie, you'll at the very least have had to have sat through Saw III; otherwise, nothing makes a whole hell of a lot of sense, especially once the climax rolls around and characters start appearing with no setup, explanation, or...hell, even any dialogue. Anyway, it's impossible to say anything about Saw without giving away the ending of the last movie, so if you're new to the franchise, go ahead and click off to something else now. By the time Saw III faded to black, Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) and his seemingly heir-apparent were both dead. Just to stamp out any lingering doubt, Saw IV opens with the lifeless body of John Kramer -- the Jigsaw Killer -- having the flesh of his face peeled back, his skull sawed open, his brains scooped out, his ribs spread apart, and his stomach carved out and sliced open. So...yeah. Dead. And just like the impromptu shark autopsy in Jaws sent fish guts and a crumpled license plate spilling out, the coroner carving up Kramer's corpse finds an audio cassette coated in wax in the murderer's severed stomach. Jigsaw bellows in that final recording that the game isn't over yet, although that kinda stands to reason when there are still eighty-something minutes to go in the movie. Anyway, considering that Jigsaw's always kept himself somewhat detached from his grisly tests of morality, speaking as a rumbling, disembodied voice or an eerie image on a video monitor, it's not that hard to keep the vivisections and dismemberments splattering along outside of this mortal coil...as long as you have help. Anyway, the primary focus of Jigsaw's tests this time around is the impulsive Lieutenant Rigg (Lyriq Bent), whose fruitless obsession to track down his missing partner has nearly cost him everything. Jigsaw reveals that Eric Matthews (Donnie Wahlberg) is still alive all these months later, hanging from some remote ceiling by an iron chain and only kept alive by the quickly-melting block of ice under his feet. The movie from there unfolds almost in real-time -- which is completely unrealistic, but...y'know, suspension of disbelief and all that -- as the 90 minute timer ticks down. Rigg becomes increasingly ensnared in Jigsaw's machinations, faced with a slew of victims inches from a bloody end in the psychopath's legendary death traps while struggling to make some sense of the clues he'd left behind. The torture-fu this time around includes eye gouging, total body dismemberment, scalping, a hear-no-evil-speak-no-evil tug of war to the death, head mashing, face slicing, double-impaling... Yup, it's a Saw flick. While Rigg is following Jigsaw's blood-spattered trail, two feds (Scott Patterson and Athena Karkanis) are tailing Rigg, convinced that he could be another of the killer's accomplices.


Click here if you want to read the rest of the review from dvdtalk of Saw IV.

HERE IS THE DIRECT DOWNLOAD FOR THE MOVIE SAW IV.

COLLEGE NOW AVAILABLE

COLLEGE NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE

HERE IS THE SUMMARY FOR THE MOVIE COLLEGE FROM IMDB

A wild weekend is in store for three high school seniors who visit a local college campus as prospective freshmen.

HERE IS A REVIEW FOR THE MOVIE COLLEGE FROM DVDTALK

The first and last laudable element of "College" is the spirited opening title sequence. Skillfully mixing high school iconography with contractually-obligated acknowledgments, the opener, designed by director Deb Hagan, is an inventive, bouncy way to start off the picture. From there, the movie falls right into the toilet. Willfully or accidentally is up to the viewer.

Enjoying their senior year of high school, conservative Kevin (Drake Bell, "Superhero Movie"), fatty blowhard Carter (Andrew Caldwell, "Hannah Montana"), and nerd Morris ("American Idol" reject Kevin Covais) are three friends begging for some excitement. Planning a college road trip to sort out their academic options, the boys instead turn the weekend into a drunken free-for-all, moving in with a malicious fraternity for shelter. While embracing their inner homophobic, boozehound personalities, the boys meet a few comely sorority sisters, presenting an opportunity for sexual intercourse and profound self-examination over future plans.

Using cartoony campus life to backdrop a larger statement of farcical social release is nothing new to the big screen. It's a conceptual well Hollywood loves to abuse, averaging one legitimate classic for every 20 stinkers. "College" is, not surprisingly, one of the misfires. Actually, misfire is being too kind. The film is more a waking nightmare of lethargic screenwriting, unbearable performances, and an overall disrespect paid to the fine art of the party movie. It's a crummy comedy, and it's no surprise the studio kept it away from early critical view and left it to rot with a late-August opening date.

My discontent with "College" is exhaustively felt in two major areas of the film. The first is Deb Hagan, who snatches a rare directorial opportunity for a woman (an unfortunate truth) and proceeds to submit a motion picture any brute could put together. Perhaps it's unfair to bring Hagan's gender into the argument, but honestly, does the world really need another film that celebrates binge drinking, homophobia, appalling improvisational skills, and lousy production value? Lady, there's enough of that around to last two lifetimes. Hagan lacks the spirit to take the material to another level of encouragement. All she aspires to do with "College" is gross-out the audience with fecal-centric humor and further the careers of actors who have no business being in front of a camera. What a waste.

My second area of distress is the aforementioned acting. There are some sincerely deplorable performances in "College," even for an easily forgettable, future Spike TV staple like this. Andrew Caldwell is the definitive offender here, contorting himself into a rotund Farleyesque oaf, screaming his lines and furiously trying to "outfunny" his co-stars with his noxious variety of comedic larceny (the Disney Channel seems to breed these guys by the thousands lately). Caldwell is an inexcusable, exasperatingly vile screen presence in a film with considerable competition for such a title.

And don't get me started on the picture's dramatic turn in the final reel. Seriously, "College" asks the audience to care about these characters. Where's Caldwell's diseased sense of humor when you need him!

Sure, scenes with the boys doing body shots off a furry frat brother in extreme close-up, cleaning overflowing toilets in extreme close-up, and getting nailed with urine-filled balloons might seem like an awesome night at the movies. For me, it was agony.

HERE IS THE DIRECT DOWNLOAD FOR THE MOVIE COLLEGE.