ROUNDERS NOW AVAILABLE

ROUNDERS NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE

HERE IS THE SUMMARY FOR THE MOVIE ROUNDERS FROM IMDB

Mike shows up at Teddy KGB's place to parlay his three stacks of "high society" ($30,000) into enough $ to play in the world series of poker. He runs into his old friend Knish. Knish tries to talk him out of playing because he feels they will take his whole bankroll. Mike plays, thinks he has a great hand, bets it all and loses. He is down to the felt, bust. Knish has a rout truck and lets Mike run the route to make money and Mike swears off poker. Mikes old friend "Worm" is getting out of prison and Mike picks him up. Worm pressures Mike into playing poker and they pull out all the old tricks and make decent money. Mike then sets Worm up, on his tab at a poker room. Worm wins but keeps Mike original debt to the poker room and then runs it up just over $7,000. Worm runs into his old collection agent "Grandma" who bought up all Worms old debt when he went away to prison and he takes what Worm has on him. (what happened..did you get distracted trying to finish?)

HERE IS A REVIEW FOR THE MOVIE ROUNDERS FROM DVDTALK

The movie

Although I'm not a card player myself, unless you count Magic: The Gathering (which actually has a lot in common with poker when it comes to bluffing and spotting "tells"), I've developed quite a fondness for films about poker players. There's something about the battle of wits and nerve inherent in the game, along with the dramatic pressure of money being on the line, that makes high-stakes poker a very nice engine at the center of the plot. With that in mind, Rounders is a can't-miss movie.

Rounders is a classic poker film, focusing on on a young, talented, and rather cocky player named Mike (Matt Damon) who dreams of building a stake and heading to Las Vegas and the World Series of Poker. In one instant, though, it all goes sour, and Mike is left with nothing. He tries to take up a new life, working himself through law school with regular jobs instead of poker playing, but when his high-school buddy "Worm" (Edward Norton) gets out of jail, Mike finds that he hasn't been able to completely sever his ties to the world of poker playing... and that the stakes just keep getting higher.

It takes more than just some slick card-playing scenes to make a great movie, and that's where Rounders shines. Fundamentally, the film is a character piece: the heart of the film is Mike's conflicted relationship with playing cards, and how he deals with the pressures of winning and losing. His relationship with his girlfriend (Gretchen Mol) is a relatively small part of the film in terms of screen time, but it's actually essential to the story, as we see Mike being forced to come to terms with the choices he must make, and the consequences of those choices.

One of the things that makes Rounders so engrossing is that it keeps everything very real. For one thing, Mike's circumstances as a struggling law student mean that even relatively small amounts of money are significant. While in other films the pot is so rich as to take it out of our frame of reference (if I can't imagine having a million dollars in cash, I can't imagine losing it), here we can appreciate what it means to Mike to lose the rent money, the tuition money; we can feel his pain and understand what it means to his life. On another level, the relationship between Mike and Worm is spot-on and completely believable, which means that the story developments that are based on that relationship also ring true.

On the acting front, Rounders is yet another example of why I'm so impressed with Edward Norton as an actor. Matt Damon does an excellent job, that's for sure, but he's really playing a variant of the same character that we see in most of his other films. Norton, on the other hand, truly vanishes into his character, creating a new person in each role. Worm is utterly believable, with Norton deftly bringing out the dissonant notes in his relationship with Mike as the film proceeds. We see the bond between the two characters, and we also see how Mike has grown while Worm remains bound by his own insecurities and, fundamentally, his over-riding selfishness. While I'm mentioning strong acting performances in Rounders, it's worth noting that the film's secondary actors are a fine bunch as well. John Turturro showcases his amazing versatility as an actor in another excellent performance, and the film's "big names" contribute nicely to the film as well. Martin Landau does a solid turn as Mike's sympathetic law professor, and while I wouldn't have immediately thought of John Malkovich for the role of a Russian gangster, he makes the performance believable and memorable.

In many ways, Rounders is a coming-of-age story, with its protagonist forced to confront the questions of what he really wants from his life, who his friends really are, and what he's willing to do to achieve his goals. The story has a great deal of depth to it: it isn't one that relies on abrupt plot reversals to keep the viewer interested, and it doesn't need them, either... but while it doesn't have any flashy twists to it, neither is it predictable. While I won't spoil the film by giving any details, there are several points during the movie where events go in a different direction than what I'd been expecting. The ending is very well handled and very satisfying, providing a wrap-up that's somewhat unexpected but, at the same time, that feels completely "right" because of the way the story has developed.

The DVD

Video

Rounders appears in a 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer that offers a reasonably good, but not outstanding, image. The print looks like it's in good shape, without any print flaws that I could see, and with minimal noise. The problem with the image is that the contrast is consistently too heavy: any dark areas of the image that are very dark are shown as completely black. For instance, the black coat that Matt Damon wears always looks completely flat black, with no detail or shading, even in scenes that are lit reasonably brightly. In a few instances, shadowy areas take on a slightly brownish tint as well. Overall, however, colors look perfectly normal, with nice depth and texture. All in all, Rounders looks respectable (thus earning its three and a half stars for video) even if the contrast is problematic.

Audio

The Dolby 5.1 soundtrack for Rounders handles the mainly dialogue-focused film reasonably well. While there's not much by way of surround effects, the 5.1 mix does have a pleasing depth to it, making it sound better than it likely would have with a 2.0 surround track. I did notice on a few occasions that the dialogue sounded a little bit muffled, though not enough to interfere with understanding it at all. Considering the overall clean feel to the track, it's a respectable soundtrack.

A dubbed French Dolby 2.0 track is also included, along with Spanish subtitles.

Extras

There's a reasonable selection of special features here, some of which have more merit than others. Two commentary tracks are provided for the film: the first is with professional poker players Johnny Chan, Phil Hellmuth, Chris Moneymaker, and Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, and the second is with director John Dahl, writers David Levien and Brian Koppelman, and actor Edward Norton. The poker-player commentary is nice in theory, but in practice it's really a colossal waste of time, as the participants seem uncomfortable with the commentary and don't have much to say. They do venture some thoughts on the actual card-playing scenes, but they're far from earth-shattering. The second commentary is far better, with the group providing a lively and interesting discussion of the making of the film.

"Heads Up Texas Hold 'Em" is an interactive poker tutorial, leading viewers through the basics of the game and leading up to an actual "game." It's actually decently done, and viewers who don't know anything about poker will probably find it fun to play with.

The "Behind-the-Scenes Special" is a general promotional featurette, covering the basics about the ideas behind the film and the making of the film. For a promo-style piece, it's reasonably well done, with relatively few clips from the film puffing it up. There are interviews with the major cast members, though there's nothing really earth-shattering. A second featurette called "Professional Poker" takes a look at the real-life inspiration for the story, and has interviews with top professional poker players discussing how poker is more a game of skill than chance.

Next, we get "Champion Poker Tips," which is composed of very short video clips from Johnny Chan, Chris Ferguson, Phil Hellmuth, and Chris Moneymaker offering insights into how to play poker successfully. Lastly, in a "Sneak Peeks" section we get trailers for Jersey Girl and The Ladykillers.

Final thoughts

This was the second time that I'd seen Rounders, and I liked it even more on the repeat viewing than on the initial one. It's a very nicely done film, telling a fundamentally character-based story that's made all the more effective by solid performances from the principal actors, Matt Damon and Edward Norton. You'll probably appreciate the nuances more if you know something about poker, but no matter what, Rounders is an excellent film that is amply deserving of a space in your collection. Highly recommended.

HERE IS THE DIRECT DOWNLOAD FOR THE MOVIE ROUNDERS.

YOU DON'T MESS WITH THE ZOHAN NOW AVAILABLE

YOU DON'T MESS WITH THE ZOHAN NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE

HERE IS THE SUMMARY FOR THE MOVIE YOU DON'T MESS WITH THE ZOHAN FROM IMDB

This is the story about a Mossad agent Zohan Dvir, who fakes his death so he can re-emerge in New York City as a hair stylist. He romances his clients by giving them "special services" in the back room. However, he is eventually recognized, and risks losing his newfound life and career. Written by Anthony Pereyra {hypersonic91@yahoo.com}

HERE IS A REVIEW FOR THE MOVIE YOU DON'T MESS WITH THE ZOHAN FROM DVDTALK.

A Mossad agent who's impervious to pain and holds a magnetic disco charm about him, Zohan (Adam Sandler) dreams of a day when he can stop thwarting Palestinian attacks and fulfill his dream: to become a hairstylist. Faking his own death at the hands of terrorist Phantom (John Turturro), Zohan boards a plane and heads to New York City, where he finds employment at a salon run by Dalia (Emmanuelle Chriqui). Once given his chance to cut hair, Zohan turns into a sensation, making the community's older women swoon with his gyrations and sexual finishing moves. The newfound attention alerts an old Palestinian enemy (Rob Schnieder), who tries to destroy Zohan with help from his Hezbollah brotherhood.

Yes, it's true: Adam Sandler has made an action comedy using the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a background.

As is expected when playing silly in these political minefields, "Zohan" is not a film to be easily shrugged off as another blissfully dopey Sandler concoction. Sure, it's a farce, playing very broadly at every possible turn, but it's a strangely brave motion picture, daring to poke a stick at an exceedingly volatile situation. Sandler means well enough, coating the film with an obvious "why don't we get along?" message that will baffle the less geopolitically aware, but there's something to admire about a film that dares to step into uncomfortable areas and try to conjure some laughs.

Trouble is, those laughs aren't exactly raining from the sky in "Zohan." Written by Sandler, Robert Smigel, and Judd Apatow, the picture is a sprawling, slippery collection of half-realized ideas. The writers splatter their every last whim across the screen, and it leaves director Dennis Dugan (a Sandler specialist, marking his fourth film with the actor) baffled where to take the story next. At 110 minutes, "Zohan" is much too long to make a lasting comedic impact, and several plot threads are left out to dry from neglect (most notably, the romance between Zohan and Dalia). It can be a tiring film, suffering from Sandler's exhaustive idea inhalation, and the enterprise runs out of steam long before the film concludes.

However, it's a picture worth a recommendation.

Even when "Zohan" loses control, especially in the final half-hour, it remains a feature of undeniable fascination and unusual edge. With "Click" and "Chuck & Larry," Sandler played softball; "Zohan" has Sandler throwing curveballs again, piling on the absurdity with the same zeal he once held in his youth. However mediocre the quality of the jokes are in the picture, it scores some pretty potent laughs when focused on Zohan's amazing sexual prowess with senior citizens or his high-flying action figure poses, displayed as the character pinballs around New York architecture to save the day. There's also sizable laughs squeezed from Zohan's salon theatrics, where the most dangerous man in the world prances joyfully around, thrilled he's finally received his treasured chance to make the world "silky smooth."

I didn't find "Zohan" especially offensive, and the film's intent is so sincere it seems foolish to suggest political irresponsibility in a picture that features rear nudity from Lainie Kazan and Rob Schneider as a Middle-Eastern taxi driver. To help soothe nerves, Sandler has called in a horde of celebrity cameos to soften the blow, and even hired boxing announcer Michael Buffer for one of the film's many villain roles, embellishing the cartoon nature of the picture further.

It's not a sturdy feature film, but there's just enough chutzpah to "You Don't Mess with the Zohan" to keep it amusing and sporadically uproarious. It's a decent comedy construct: a film one unforgiving editorial pass away from greatness.

HERE IS THE DIRECT DOWNLOAD FOR THE MOVIE YOU DON'T MESS WITH THE ZOHAN.

E3 IGN LOOK AT WWE SMACKDOWN VS RAW 2009

E3 LOOK AT WWE SMACKDOWN VS RAW 2009 FROM IGN

HERE IS THE ARTICLE ON SMACKDOWN VS RAW 2009

Well, last week I wrote my first WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 hands-on report, and I'm already sick of waiting to get my hands on the full game. Sigh. Thankfully, I didn't have to go too long before THQ gave me another hit of the good stuff. This afternoon I got a couple of matches under my belt -- including a fierce Inferno Match between Chris Jericho and John Cena -- but the main event was a falls count anywhere match between Randy Orton and the Undertaker. On the surface, the match looked and played a lot like last year's. True, Orton an 'taker looked more detailed and sharper overall, but the chairs that were around ringside still had the same satisfying steel-to-skull sound and the controls stick with the tried-and-true thumbstick format. However, as the match wore on, the little tweaks began to shine through.

One of the first things I noticed as I had Randy wail on the Undertaker is that the game's now differentiating between finishers and signatures. When my momentum meter was full and the Phenom was down, words popped up under Orton's HUD that said tap the button for his "Signature Move." Not "Finisher." That's new. I hit the button, and Orton stomped all over 'taker's body. Also interesting is the fact that Randy doesn't have an RKO from the standing position -- today I had to drop the Undertaker to the ground and do a stalking RKO. A big shakeup -- in my opinion at least -- is that in addition to the Tombstone Piledriver, the Undertaker now has the gogoplata as a ground finisher. Also new -- at least for him -- was when I had had Orton pull off a chair grapple. With a full momentum meter, Randy poked 'taker in the belly, dropped the chair to the mat, and DDTed the dead man on the chair. Aside from that, we brawled about the Raw arena like you'd expect. I had Randy, who was rocking black tape around his wrists, remove the turnbuckle cover, but it turns out you can now stop this process if you're in the Undertaker's shoes -- you don't have to just sit there and watch your opponent work. Eventually we fought our way to the steel stage beneath the TitanTron, and Undertaker -- who was controlled by a developer -- Tombstone pliedrove the legend killer right there on the grating. I was pwned, but it was a fitting end to the match.

Legend killed.

With my E3 THQ appointment in the books, I'm left to stare at the SVR 09 screens and videos below while dreaming about Road to WrestleMania, online matches, and Tommy Dreamer. I'll have updates from the SmackDown front whenever they become available, folks. Oh, and if you're wondering, the Walls of Jericho looked great.

THE INCREDIBLE HULK NOW AVAILABLE

THE INCREDIBLE HULK NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE

HERE IS THE SUMMARY FOR THE MOVIE THE INCREDIBLE HULK FROM IMDB

Depicting the events after the Gamma Bomb. 'The Incredible Hulk' tells the story of Dr Bruce Banner, who seeks a cure to his unique condition, which causes him to turn into a giant green monster under emotional stress. Whilst on the run from military which seeks his capture, Banner comes close to a cure. But all is lost when a new creature emerges; The Abomination. Written by Graham Kroon

A cure is in reach for the world's most primal force of fury: THE INCREDIBLE HULK. We find scientist Bruce Banner, living in shadows, scouring the planet for an antidote. But the warmongers who dream of abusing his powers won't leave him alone, nor will his need to be with the only woman he has ever loved, Betty Ross. Upon returning to civilization, our brilliant doctor is ruthlessly pursued by The Abomination -- a nightmarish beast of pure adrenaline and aggression whose powers match The Hulk's own. A fight of comic-book proportions ensues as Banner must call upon the hero within to rescue New York City from total destruction. One scientist must make an agonizing final choice -- accept a peaceful life as Bruce Banner or the creature he could permanently become: THE INCREDIBLE HULK. Written by Babak A.

HERE IS A REVIEW FOR THE MOVIE THE INCREDIBLE HULK FROM DVDTALK


HULK SMASH! And he does in a big way in "The Incredible Hulk," a Hollywood patch job of sorts; a production aiming to realign the comic book chi lost to Ang Lee's angst-riddled "Hulk" back in 2003. Now, instead of heavy characterization and a glum attitude, "Incredible" reinstates the basics of the big green hero: destruction and solitude.

Hiding out peacefully in South America to keep his Gamma-induced mutation in control, Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) is looking for help to cure his affliction, trying to keep himself out of the hands of General Ross (William Hurt), who wants what's inside Banner to create an army of super-soldiers. Heading back to America, Banner makes contact with longtime love Betty Ross (Liv Tyler), who urgently wants to help the ailing man cure himself. Hot on their tail is Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth), a brutal, unforgiving soldier who encourages the General to experiment further with Gamma poisoning by injecting him with a dose.

Now, to keep matters in perspective, I was one of the 15 people who embraced Lee's previous take on the comic book titan. Sure, the film was glacial, contained an atrocious final reel, and refused to crack a smile, but Lee gave the property a mesmerizing screen intensity. The director took risks with Hulk and his heavy-muscled misery. Hulk didn't smash much under Lee's watch, but the lack of brutality offered something infinitely more demonstrative to process in a genre not known for its intellectual persuasion.

"Incredible Hulk" changes all that.

Now with orders to simplify matters, director Louis Leterrier returns Hulk to his car-throwing origins with a non-stop carousel of violence in "Incredible." This picture is popcorn entertainment all the way; Leterrier indulges his extreme visual instincts to fashion a peppier "Hulk" for the crowds who felt alienated by Lee's experimentation. The quest is noble and "Incredible" is stuffed with enough limb-cracking attitude to give the faithful exactly what they want from a Hulk movie.

What I'm having difficulty accepting is the price paid for such a high velocity diversion. "Incredible" is dense with exposition, but it's all stuffed carelessly into the few quiet moments the picture barely makes room for. "Incredible" acts like a sequel to the 2003 film in the matter it plunges forward without much introduction time with Bruce or Betty, and it doesn't allow for much bonding during the action either. "Incredible" feels paired down from a more extensive cut, with little cracks in the plot felt throughout the proceedings. Leterrier is in a hurry to get from one action sequence to the next, and while it's all comfortably numbing, there's not much characterization to get excited about here. "Incredible" comes off more as a wonderful video game than a meaningful exploration of the isolated soul.

Speaking of video games, "Incredible" suffers from an extremely off-putting lack of polish in the special effects department. It's been five years since Lee's film, not to mention the massive budget Leterrier is playing with here, and "Incredible" looks pathetically unfinished. The sweeping Hulk movement is accounted for, but the clarity is missing, with the creature lacking crucial big screen crispness. I found it embarrassing to watch at times, especially since Lee's Hulk was such a dynamite visual exclamation point. I'd hand over all the deafening explosions that litter this film for one single scene of awe. For a film titled "Incredible," the CG Hulk is anything but.

Granted, I'm making "Incredible" sound like a drag, and it really isn't. It's a spirited ride boosted by some nice performances, strong romantic chemistry between Norton and Tyler, and several swell tributes paid to the "Hulk" television series of the 1970s. When Hulk lets loose, there's a horde of building-leveling mayhem to enjoy, and Leterrier is the right man for the job, infusing new momentum to the character and taking his trail of destruction to pleasing extremes.

Hulk faces off against a towering enemy of equal measure for the picture's final showstopper, and, by that time, "Incredible" has sufficiently emptied its bag of tricks. It's a persuasive, fist-pumping summer film that's intent on returning a primal scream to Hulk, and to that end it's a triumphant reboot. Overall, "Incredible Hulk" feels dumbed down and truncated, tossing a wet blanket over the entire film. However, it's hard to remember such cries for dramatic nourishment when Hulk is getting pelted with a swarm of bullets, dodging fireballs, and breaking police cars in half for use as boxing gloves.

HERE IS THE DIRECT DOWNLOAD FOR THE MOVIE THE INCREDIBLE HULK.

IN THE ARMY NOW, NOW AVAILABLE

IN THE ARMY NOW, NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE

HERE IS THE SUMMARY FOR THE MOVIE IN THE ARMY NOW FROM IMDB

Two misguided youths join the reserves to make some money for their entrepreneurial dreams. No sooner than they finish basic training are they called up to do their part to save the free world. Written by Steve Walker {swalker@ionet.net}

Bones and Jack are two guys with very little going right in their lives. The two decide to join the Army as part of the water purification team and eventually find themselves on the front lines in the conflict between the northern African countries of Chad and Libya. The two men, along with a few companions, have it upon themselves to save the day in combat, something they know little about. Written by David Landers {dml@gwis.com}

HERE IS THE DIRECT DOWNLOAD FOR THE MOVIE IN THE ARMY NOW.

2012 DOOMSDAY NOW AVAILABLE

2012 DOOMSDAY NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE

HERE IS THE SUMMARY FOR THE MOVIE 2012 DOOMSDAY FROM IMDB

On December 21, 2012 four strangers on a journey of faith are drawn to an ancient temple in the heart of Mexico. For the Mayans it is the last recorded day. For NASA scientists it is a cataclysmic polar shift. For the rest of us, it is Doomsday. Written by Faith Films


HERE IS THE DIRECT DOWNLOAD FOR THE MOVIE 2012 DOOMSDAY.

JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH NOW AVAILABLE

JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE

HERE IS THE SUMMARY FOR THE MOVIE JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH FROM IMDB

A science professor whose radical theories have completely tarnished his reputation. While backpacking across Iceland with his nephew Sean, the two explorers find a cave that leads them deep down into the bowels of the planet. And so they go on a quest to find out what has happened to the scientist's missing brother, a scientist, his nephew and their mountain guide discovers a fantastic and dangerous lost world in the center of the earth. There they discover a bizarre landscape filled with terrifying creatures. Written by Anthony Pereyra {hypersonic91@yahoo.com}

HERE IS A REVIEW FOR THE MOVIE JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH FROM DVDTALK.

"Journey to the Center of the Earth" isn't a straight-jacket adaptation of the Jules Verne classic, but a vague photocopy that eschews daring adventure for cheap, plastic thrills, tarted up with a sickly glaze of 3-D to help prop up the anemic screenplay. It's a gimmick-driven movie and it's shocking how much the final product lacks the source material's intrinsic magic.

Taking care of his distracted nephew Sean (Josh Hutcherson), scientific researcher Trevor (Brendan Fraser) is stunned to discover clues to the whereabouts of his lost brother in a copy of the book "Journey to the Center of the Earth." Taking Sean with him to Iceland for further study, Trevor meets up with Hannah (Anita Briem), a tracker and daughter of a dead scientist who held faith in a land located beneath the planet's crust. Trekking through the mountains to further unravel the mystery, the trio stumbles upon the doorway to the center of the Earth, and once arrived in this dangerous place, they plan immediately for their escape before they become permanent residents.

"Journey" is a passive experience at the movies; a woeful synthetic creation that's powered by sophisticated thrill-ride mechanics and Crayola screenwriting aspirations. Director Eric Brevig is a longtime special-effects master with a host of Oscars and ornamental accolades under his belt, but he's at a loss when it comes down to nurturing even a tuft of human interface. "Journey" relentlessly dishes out the action and offers the bespectacled audience plenty of goopy, grabby 3-D jolts, but it all resembles a run of the mill video game. Brevig can't shake the material loose from its unbridled artificiality.

It's one thing to use CGI to further layer fantasy worlds beyond the reach of the human hand, it's another to bathe a motion picture in computer embellishment to cut corners. "Journey" strikes me as the latter. While the 3-D keeps the overall image muted and muddy, it's perhaps a better alternative to actually accepting Brevig's vision: a smothering, limited buffet of overactive CGI and cold studio environments that provide little to no depth. It's not that the computer work is shoddy, but more that Brevig doesn't grasp how to direct the actors to respond naturally to the astonishing sights they should be seeing. There's a frustrating disconnect between reaction and bejeweled visual in "Journey" that's distracting, and the more the film pumps in cartoonish action set-pieces (flying fish attacking a raft, a T-Rex encounter, a mine cart race), the more phony "Journey" becomes, further accented by the piercingly earnest performances, which grow more and more aggravating with each passing minute.

If Jules Verne could extract the wonder of visiting alien landscapes while remaining on Earth, "Journey" slowly sucks away that awe by twisting everything into lifeless arcade aesthetics. The film does have a few genuinely effective moments, but you have to keep your eyes peeled to find them underneath the ungodly amount of visual malarkey thrown at the screen to keep the impatient invested.

HERE IS THE DIRECT DOWNLOAD FOR THE MOVIE JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH.

HERE IS AN UPDATE TO THE PS3 DOWNLOAD SERVICE

HERE IS THE ARTICLE FOR THE PS3 MOVIE SERVICE

Sony just announced at E3 that Playstation Network users now have the ability to rent and purchase moves and TV shows. Like, immediately -- the service is getting flipped on tonight. It's not just Sony content, either: Fox, MGM, Lions Gate, Warner, Disney, Paramount, Turner, and something called Funimation are signed up from the get-go. Video will be available in both SD and HD, and TV pricing starts at $1.99. Movie purchases will run $9.99 - $14.99, while rentals will be $2.99 - $5.99. What's more, the content is "portable," meaning that videos downloaded on your PS3 can be watched on multiple PSPs. It doesn't look like movies can be purchased in HD, but downloads are progressive so content starts playing a minute after you hit begin the download.

PSN users will also get a single persistent sign-on across every device that can access the network: PS3, PSP, PC. It's not clear whether those aliases will carry over into games themselves or if friends lists will start working across devices as well, however. The integration is scheduled to happen for this fall, though, so you might want to go and grab your handle of choice relatively soon.

PS3 GETTING DOWNLOAD MOVIE SERVICE TONIGHT

TONIGHT NEW PS3 DOWNLOADING SERVICE FOR MOVIE

HERE IS THE ARTICLE ON THIS GREAT PS3 NEWS

Right on the heels of the Xbox/Netflix alliance comes news that Sony will offer its own console downloads—in high-def.

I4U says that Sony launched the Video Store today, which will include standard- and high-def downloads straight to the PlayStation 3. Users will have the option to buy or rent any of the content available. Once your selection is loaded, you can then watch it or transfer it to the PlayStation Portable (PSP).

Sony says that a few movie studios are already lined up to contribute. One of the names thrown around was Disney. Overall, don’t expect the same selection you’d find on Netflix, but there also isn’t a subscription fee. However, we couldn’t find any info about how much rentals will cost. Stay tuned!

The PlayStation Store first launched late in 2007. It also offers games for rent or purchase, as well as promotional videos and trailers for PS3 and PSP users.

MICROWHORESOFT TRIES TO STEAL ANOTHER GAME AT E3

MICROWHORESOFT TRIES TO STEAL ANOTHER GAME AT E3

HERE IS THE ARTICLE ABOUT FINAL FANTASY XIII GOING MULTIPLATFORM

Square-Enix has announced Final Fantasy XIII for Xbox 360 at Microsoft's E3 press conference.

The announcement debuted in the form of a new trailer which initially looked like a Panzer Dragoon game with dragons flying in a trench. A ship lands in the trailer and flying mechanical soldiers drop out. Included in the trailer were massive airships.

A hint of gamplay was shown and the graphics looked awesome.

E3 MICROSOFT NEWS

HERE IS THE NEWS ABOUT MICROSOFT AT E3

Microsoft had there E3 conference this morning, no doubt they had announcements regarding high definition medium. Heres a summary of what Microsoft had announced regarding their future with regard to the Xbox Live Video Marketplace:

• Netflix availability via the Xbox Live Dashboard
• Universal Studios and NBC have signed onto the Xbox Live Video Service in North America
• MGM and Constantine have announced their signing on for Europe.
• Universal titles such as American Pie, Bourne Supremacy, etc are already on the marketplace
• The Xbox Live Video Marketplace is the worlds largest Video on Demand service (Including Digital Cable, Satellite, etc services).
• You can bring a group of friends with you (via their new dashboard update) and can all watch the movie together. (Like with the Harry Potter HD DVD) the difference being only one person has to have a copy of the movie.

As expected no Blu-ray drive was announced, would Microsoft really want to announce one now since they are the number 1 distributor of video on demand content? A small demo was also given on the Netflix system, but I forgot to capture the video, sorry.

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

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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.