Comic Book Villains (2002)

Number Rolled: 77

Movie Name/Year: Comic Book Villains (2002)

Genre: Comedy

Length: 93 minutes

Rating: R

Director: James Robinson

Writer: James Robinson

Actors: Donal Logue, Cary Elwes, Michael Rapaport, Natasha Lyonne, DJ Qualls, Eileen Brennan, Monet Mazur, Danny Masterson, James Duval, Marshall Bell, Chris Weber

Wait a minute. Wait just one minute here. I added this to the instant queue because the description looked amusing. Within the first ten minutes, however, I wound up staring at the TV wondering why I had never heard of this movie before. The cast are all well known enough and one is even a household name in geek circles. Circles I travel in. I mean, Cary Elwes? Really?

Get a load of this: Cary Elwes, Donal Logue, Michael Rapaport, DJ Qualls, Eileen Brennan, James Duval, Danny Masterson and Natasha Lyonne. Even though the majority weren’t the stars of their flicks/shows the faces are instantly recognizable. I feel as though I should have heard of this movie before Netflix.

As for how it was? I thought it was a bit out of control. Like someone with ADD wrote it. I can sympathize. Before editing, my books look like they were written by an eight year old. Organization is key. I lost that key a long time ago.

Although it had that rushed and out of control quality, I thought it was very good. It certainly hit on just how obsessive collectors can get, and just how rare it is for anyone but those collectors to realize how much those items are worth. It’s a bit more violent than one would initially suspect, but every bit as realistic as it could be in real life. It’s a frightening thought.

In the end? I never want to see that many comics floating in a lake again.

Overall Opinion – 3.5/5

Twisted (2004)

Number Rolled: 88

Movie Name/Year: Twisted (2004)

Genre: Thriller

Length: 96 minutes

Rating: R

Director: Philip Kaufman

Writer: Sarah Thorp

Actors: Ashley Judd, Samuel L. Jackson, Andy Garcia, David Strathaim, Russell Wong, Mark Pellegrino, Titus Welliver, D.W. Moffett, Richard T. Jones, Leland Orser, William Hall

This move was pretty good. I’m jaded a bit since it was my second time to the race for it. I have to say – I remember seeing it the first time. I was enthralled, more by the mystery than the actual storyline, but still. Ashley Judd played a convincing drunkard-cop-woman and those around her didn’t do too badly either.

It’s not particularly a new storyline, but it was made well and left some good room for guessing. It was old, in other words, but made fresh. Like leftovers that got turned into something more appetizing. There were a few moments when you could look at the screen as go, “wtf!” but not nearly as many as I would have liked.

Seeing it a second time, I think I can safely say – it’s got no re-watch value. So, if you want to see it, hit up Netflix and watch it. When you wind up loving it and decide it would be a nice addition to your DVD collection – wait. Watch it again a few weeks later and see how you feel then.

Overall Opinion – 3/5

The Fountain (2006)

Number Rolled: 10

Movie Name/Year: The Fountain (2006)

Genre: Sci-Fi Drama, Romantic Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy

Length: 96 minutes

Rating: PG-13

Director: Darren Aronofsky

Writer: Darren Aronofsky, Ari Handel

Actors: Hugh Jackman, Rachel Weisz, Ellen Burstyn, Mark Margolis, Stephen McHattie, Fernando Hernandez, Cliff Curtis, Sean Patrick Thomas, Donna Murphy, Ethan Suplee

I have to admit, I screwed up with this movie. I tend to multi-task when I watch movies and I attempted to do that with this. Director Aronofsky simply would not let that fly. This is not a movie for casual movie night with the family. You need to get yourself settled and ready to think.

The beginning of the movie is roughly like opening a random Sci-fi/Fantasy novel right in the middle and starting to read. Which, I admit, pissed me off for a little bit. So I dropped what I was doing and laid down to watch the rest. Currently, my forehead hurts. It’s not because of a headache, but because for the past two hours my eyebrows were scrunched so tightly together it might not have been easy to tell that I had two of them. I was so past confused that I actually made a 180 and started to understand.

Let me take a minute to say that Hugh Jackman really pulled this off. Don’t get me wrong, I actually like him in some things, but they’ve always been violent movies. This movie didn’t involve violence. He kind of had to pull off a scientist/monk personality and he did.

I can’t really describe what the movie was about, because even a mild description could give it away. It was a fragmented, disembodied, seemingly unconnected storyline that all pulled together at the end. It clicked like that last piece of a puzzle. So I won’t reveal the storyline, but I will say that it is a heartbreaking take on a mix of Mayan and Biblical cultures and where they intersect.

This is not a movie I would have ever watched if it weren’t for this project and that would have been a crime.

Overall Opinion – 4/5