...And He's Back

No need for introductions. There are those of you who know me, and those of you who don't...who might. After several months away, I finally return to my quiet little island paradise. But let's not waste time talking about my absence, because I'm ready to get this blog going once again. So...how've you been?

The Football Factory

A documentary-style study on the male obsession with football and the violence spawned from it, The Football Factory is 90 minutes of pure adrenaline. Like its characters, this film is nothing short of brutal. The sheer excitement we feel as we follow young hooligan Tommy Johnson through the streets of middle-class England is amazing. The multiple fight sequences in the film are shot with great precision, giving each frame a visceral quality that works to great effect. The fast-paced script is expertly written, very reminiscent of Goodfellas with its diverse, quirky characters and snappy dialogue. As far as performances go, Danny Dyer's take on the conflicted Tommy Johnson is superb, turning a normally unlikable schlub into a character we can easily sympathize with and care about, and Frank Harper's powerhouse performance as the loud, vulgar, and psychopathic Billy Bright is especially exquisite. Billy is a ticking time bomb that could blow at any second, and Harper does a marvelous job at keeping us on edge. From beginning to startling end, The Football Factory is an excellent crime-drama that should please anyone, even those who hate the sport. A-

IMDb

CLERKS II -- SEE IT!

SEE IT!!!!!
SEE IT NOW!!!
OR SOON
WHENEVER IT'S OUT!!!
SEEE IT!!!!

Closing Statement

-----*FOR REAL THIS TIME*-----

Ah, it's been a crazy five months, hasn't it? I've given you opinions, rants, and reviews -- regularly and semi-regularly. But, alas, it is time for me to close this book because I've got something new for you to visit daily (yeah right). And it is for real this time.

I think you're gonna love the stuff I've got up my sleeve. So I guess this is goodbye.

Later,
Will.

"We're gonna go with the story, because the terror is right here in this room."
--Ed Murrow, Good Night and Good Luck

X-Men: The Last Stand ***1/2

X-Men: The Last Stand
Starring Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Patrick Stewart, and Ian McKellen. Rated PG-13.

During the weeks preceding the release of X3, as it will heretofore be referred, a lot of fans were worrying that it wouldn't at all measure up to the two previous installments. A lot of this was of course due to the change in director. Bryan Singer has never failed to impress me, but Brett Ratner doesn't exactly have the best track record. I liked The Family Man and Red Dragon, but the Rush Hour series was never my cup of tea. However, I'm glad to say that X3 turned out to be just excellent, and it's probably my favorite of the series thus far.

X3 has a great premise. After lots of conflict between humans and the mutants, a cure able to destroy the mutant gene has finally been formulated. Of course, none of the mutants are very happy about this, especially the ruthless Magneto (Ian McKellen) who has formed a Brotherhood to fight against the cause of the humans and destroy the cure. Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and his aptly named X-Men know that Magneto will stop at nothing to win his battle, so they must suit up once more to save all of humanity...again. Meanwhile, the recently deceased Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) has been resurrected and is now possessed by the power of the Dark Pheonix, a power that she cannot control and will endanger herself, others, and the entire planet.

This is one of the best superhero movies I've ever seen. Granted, it isn't as good as the Spider-Man movies, but it comes close. Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, and everyone else perfectly slip back into their original roles and they all do a great job. The script has several instances of corny dialogue and doesn't have as much character development as it should have, but it works well enough. In all the big set pieces and action sequences, it's the special effects that really shine. The post-production team did a fantastic job, and they should be commended.

Thankfully, X3 was the action extravaganza that everyone was hoping for. And if this is indeed the "last stand," it's a great way to go out.

Mission: Impossible III ***

Now, I'm about to completely re-do this entire blog, but without further ado I give you a few brief thoughts on M:I-3, taken from my IMDb comment:

After all of his couch-jumping stunts and Scientology rants, is it possible for Tom Cruise to ever have another box-office hit? Absolutely. The latest entry in the popular series is a pulse-pounding, edge-of-your-seat action thriller that keeps you glued to the screen until the credits roll. Newcomer J.J. Abrams, well-known for his work on the TV series "Lost," has certainly started his film career off with a bang…and a few explosions, as well. Cruise is excellent as the hero of the story, but it's Hoffman that really shines as the villain. He plays the character as sadistic, vicious and vastly intelligent, all making for one of the most memorable on-screen villains in recent years. Ironically, we only get to see him for about ten minutes. Filled with eye-popping stunts and spectacular action sequences, "Mission: Impossible III" is a mission you'll want to accept more than once.

Silent Hill *

After the failure of last year's Doom, you would think that Hollywood might have learned that video games and movies just do not mix. Sadly, that isn't the case and I was forced to sit through the atrocity that is Silent Hill. The basic plot, if you could even call it a plot, concerns Rose Da Silva (Radha Mitchell), a mother who decides to take her daughter (Jodelle Ferland) to a faith healer after learning that she has contracted a fatal disease. However, on the way there, they cross through a portal and find themselves in the haunted, deserted town of Silent Hill, where her daughter goes missing. Rose is then left to search for her daughter and dodge countless horrific creatures and demons with the help of a tough policewoman called Cybil (Laurie Holden). Believe it or not, this is actually worse than Doom. There is no coherent plot, and it is virtually impossible to understand. It tries to be both an action film and a supernatural thriller, and that combination obviously doesn't work. Silent Hill is an unintelligible, mind-numbingly stupid mess of a film and should never have been made. Some might say I would have enjoyed it more if I had played the game. Highly doubtful.