Outlander

So, I was at the video store and I ended up picking up this movie called Outlander- thinking at the time that it would either be really good or really bad. I had never even heard of it, but it had big names like James Caviezel, John Hurt, Sophia Myles, and Ron Perlman, but so did In The Name of the King which also had Ron Perlman and boy, did that stink! Two things on the cover caught my eye: "Beowulf meets Predator" - okay, that's promising, and "BEST...MOVIE...EVER" by some critic whose name doesn't mean much to me, but strong words. So I grabbed it and another DVD to watch in case it turned out to be a stinker.

This movie was terrific! Really, the Beowulf meets Predator tagline is dead on - I'm fairly certain that's precisely what the writer had in mind when he wrote the script. "Let's do Beowulf, but this time what if ..."

Brief synopsis:
During the reign of the Vikings, Kainan (James Caviezel), a man from a distant world, crash lands on Earth, unknowingly bringing with him an alien predator known as the Moorwen. Man and monster both seeking revenge for violence committed against them. As the Moorwen rampages through the Viking world, killing everything in its path, Kainan forms an unlikely alliance with the primitive but fierce Viking warriors. Combining his advanced technology with their Iron Age weapons, the hero leads a desperate attempt to kill the monster - before it destroys them all.

So they made this movie, had a select screening, and now it's out on DVD and Blu-Ray. Why not a wide theatrical release? Or advertisements for the DVD? It was entirely happenstance that I picked this up, and I'm glad I did. If you're an action fan I strongly encourage you pick it up! Better yet, click the above cover, and buy it! You will want to own it, I promise. Don't believe me? Check out the trailer. Yeah, it's good, right?

JCVD

That's right. Jean-Claude Van Damme ... like you never saw before. Jean-Claude plays himself as an out-of-luck actor. He is out of money, his agent can't find him a decent production, and the judge in a custody battle is inclined to give custody of his daughter to his ex-wife. When he goes to a post office to receive a wire transfer, it is in the middle of a hostage situation. Due to an unfortunate error, the police think Van Damme is responsible for the crime. As the events are played from different perspectives, Van Damme is acting as a hero to protect the hostages and a negotiator that the alleged author.

Jean-Claude Van Damme was a familiar name for a long time. Everyone knows him for his action films, but has not really taken it seriously as an actor - until now. You may be surprised to know that JCVD has been very well received by critics, and is the first Van Damme film to be "Certified Fresh" on Rottentomatoes.com "Tomatometer" (at 84% - which is pretty Van Damme good). If you're waiting for Street Fighter 3, you will be sorely disappointed. Whether or not this will make some epic turn in Jean-Claude's film career has yet to be seen, but it shows that he (and filmmaker Mabrouka El Mechri) had a vision and made a great action / comedy film.

The Host (Gwoemul) Review

Man has made his newest predator

I saw this movie last night after hearing it described as Little Miss Sunshine meets Jaws. After seeing it, though, I would have to disagree. It's entertaining, but doesn't meet the standards set by either of those movies. This is the story of a dysfunctional Korean family (grandfather; champion archer daughter who moves at a snails pace; educated but unemployed son that tends to drink; and borderline narcoleptic underachiever son and single dad, whose daughter is the one taken) whose youngest was taken by a monster. They know she is alive, but the authorities won't listen and chalk their protest up to grieving and delirium.

As a side note: In the opening scene you may notice the US military doctor is played by Scott Wilson who also plays Sam Braun on CSI.

Without wanting to give anything away, I feel obligated to offer this warning: This is an asian movie, and as such the ending is bitter-sweet, victory comes at a price. As an example: In the animated epic Akira, the hero wins, but in so doing has to kill his best friend who has become a menace.