Stop-Loss

Decorated Iraq war hero Sgt. Brandon King makes a celebrated return to his small Texas hometown following his tour of duty. Brandon tries to resume the life he left behind with the help and support of his family and his best friend, Steve Shriver, who served with him in Iraq. Alongside their war-time buddies, Brandon and Steve try to make peace with civilian life. Then, against Brandon's will, the Army orders him back to duty in Iraq. This upends Brandon's entire world. The conflict into which he is thrown tests everything he believes in: the bond of family, the loyalty of friendship, the limits of love, and the value of honor.

Also Known As: Stop Loss
Stop-Loss
Untitled Kimberly Pierce Project
Production Status: In Production/Awaiting Release
Logline: A soldier who returns home to Texas from Iraq is recalled with the "stop-loss" procedure, but refuses to return to battle.
Genres: Drama and War
Running Time: 1 hr. 52 min.
Release Date: March 28th, 2008 (wide)
MPAA Rating: R for graphic violence and pervasive language.
Distributors: Paramount Pictures, MTV Films
Production Co.: Peirce Pictures, Scott Rudin Productions
Studios: Paramount Pictures
Filming Locations: Austin, Texas, USA
Morocco
New York USA
Produced in: United States

Vantage Point

Thomas Barnes and Kent Taylor are two Secret Service agents assigned to protect President Ashton at a landmark summit on the global war on terror. When President Ashton is shot moments after his arrival in Spain, chaos ensues and disparate lives collide in the hunt for the assassin. In the crowd is Howard Lewis, an American tourist who thinks he's captured the shooter on his camcorder while videotaping the event for his kids back home. Also there is American TV news producer Rex Brooks, relaying the historic event to millions of TV viewers across the globe. As they and others reveal their stories, the pieces of the puzzle will fall into place - and it will become apparent that shocking motivations lurk just beneath the surface.

Production Status: Released
Genres: Drama and Thriller
Running Time: 1 hr. 30 min.
Release Date:February 22nd, 2008 (wide)
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for sequences of intense violence and action, some disturbing images and brief strong language.
Distributors: Sony Pictures Releasing
Production Co.: Original Film
Studios: Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group
U.S. Box Office: $65,300,784
Filming Locations: Mexico City, Mexico
Produced in: United States

Sex and Death 101

One Man. One List. 101 Women. Some fantasies are too true to be good. Roderick Blank is a successful executive and ladies man, who has finally found â¿¿the one,â¿¿ and is getting married in a little over a week. His life, however, is turned upside down when he receives a strange email that includes the names of everyone heâ¿¿s had sex with--and ever will have sex with. The list throws Roderick into a dilemma, as it doesnâ¿¿t end with the name of his wife-to-be, but counts 72 more potential sex partners. His situation goes from bad to worse when he encounters â¿¿Death Nell,â¿¿ a mysterious femme fatale who becomes an urban folk hero as she targets men guilty of sex crimes against women.

Also Known As: Sex & Death 101
Production Status: In Production/Awaiting Release
Genres: Comedy
Running Time: 1 hr. 56 min.
Release Date: April 4th, 2008 (limited)
MPAA Rating: R for strong sexual content and language.
Distributors: Overture Films
Production Co.: Avenue Pictures, Sandbar Pictures
Financiers: Co-Financier: Avenue Pictures, Sandbar Pictures
Filming Locations: Los Angeles, Canada USA
Produced in: United States

21

The true story of the very brightest young minds in the country - and how they took Vegas for millions. Ben Campbell is a shy, brilliant M.I.T. student who -- needing to pay school tuition -- finds the answers in the cards. He is recruited to join a group of the school's most gifted students that heads to Vegas every weekend armed with fake identities and the know-how to turn the odds at blackjack in their favor. With unorthodox math professor and stats genius Micky Rosa leading the way, they've cracked the code. By counting cards and employing an intricate system of signals, the team can beat the casinos big time. Seduced by the money, the Vegas lifestyle, and by his smart and sexy teammate, Jill Taylor, Ben begins to push the limits. Though counting cards isn't illegal, the stakes are high, and the challenge becomes not only keeping the numbers straight, but staying one step ahead of the casinos' menacing enforcer: Cole Williams.

Also Known As: 21 (Sony), Beat the House, Beginner's Luck,

Breaking Vegas (MGM/Ratner/Spacey)

Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions
The System
Untitled Blackjack Picture
Production Status: In Production/Awaiting Release
Genres: Drama, Crime/Gangster and Adaptation
Running Time: 2 hrs. 2 min.
Release Date: March 28th, 2008 (wide)
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for some violence, and sexual content including partial nudity.
Distributors: Sony Pictures Releasing
Production Co.: Michael De Luca Productions, Relativity Media, Trigger Street Productions
Studios: Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group
Filming Locations: Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Produced in: United States

American Zombie

Two filmmakers team up to document a group of zombies in Los Angeles and their struggle to gain acceptance in the human community

Production Status: In Production/Awaiting Release
Genres: Comedy and Suspense/Horror
Running Time: 1 hr. 36 min.
Release Date: March 28th, 2008 (limited)
Distributors: Cinema Libre Studio
Production Co.: LeeLee Films, I Love Cinema
Produced in: United States

Semi-Pro

In 1976, the maverick ABA is a fast-paced, wild and crazy basketball league that rivals the NBA and makes a name for itself with innovations like the three-point shot and slam dunk contest. Jackie Moon is a one-hit wonder who used the profits from the success of his chart-topping song "Love Me Sexy" to achieve his dream of owning a basketball team. But Moon's franchise, the Flint Michigan Tropics, is the worst team in the league and in danger of folding when the ABA announces its plans to merge with the NBA. If they want to survive, Jackie and the Tropics must now do the seemingly impossible--win.

Production Status: Released
Genres: Comedy and Sports
Running Time: 1 hr. 30 min.
Release Date: February 29th, 2008 (wide)
MPAA Rating: R for language and some sexual content.
Distributors: New Line Cinema
Production Co.: Donners' Company, Mosaic Media Group
Studios: New Line Cinema
U.S. Box Office: $24,721,340
Filming Locations: Los Angeles, California, USA
Produced in: United States

10,000 B.C. (2008)

In a remote mountain tribe, the young hunter, D'Leh, has found his heart's passion - the beautiful Evolet. When a band of mysterious warlords raid his village and kidnap Evolet, D'Leh is forced to lead a small group of hunters to pursue the warlords to the end of the world to save her. Driven by destiny, the unlikely band of warriors must battle saber-tooth tigers and prehistoric predators and, at their heroic journey's end, they uncover a Lost Civilization. Their ultimate fate lies in an empire beyond imagination, where great pyramids reach into the skies. Here they will take their stand against a powerful god who has brutally enslaved their people.

Also Known As: 10,000 BC, 10000 B.C, Ten Thousand BC
Production Status: Released
Genres: Action/Adventure and Drama
Running Time: 1 hr. 49 min.
Release Date: March 7th, 2008 (wide)
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for sequences of intense action and violence.
Distributors: Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution
Production Co.: Centropolis Entertainment, Mark Gordon Company, Legendary Pictures, Inc.
Studios: Warner Bros. Pictures
U.S. Box Office: $35,867,488
Filming Locations: South Africa
New Zealand
Namibia
Produced in: United States

Hellboy II Preview

In 2004, Mike Mignola's G-man demon jumped from the pages of the Dark Horse Comics to the screen. Hellboy had devils, Nazis, firestarters, a resurrected Rasputin, and cats. Lots of cats. It wasn't a monster hit (ha), but sold well on DVD, and writer and director Guillermo del Toro started work on the sequel, even talking about a trilogy. Then Revolution Studios, the production company behind the film, went under and the sequel was orphaned.Del Toro went on to a new movie, a dark Spanish-language fable set in fascist Spain: Pan's Labyrinth, which stormed film festivals and awards ceremonies around the world, taking home the BAFTA for Best Film Not in English and three Academy Awards. Del Toro, whose biggest previous movie was probably Blade II, was in hot demand, but turned down I Am Legend and Halo to go back to a movie close to his heart. He has said that Hellboy was one of his three favorite movies (behind Pan's Labyrinth and The Devil's Backbone, a Spanish-language film about a haunted orphanage), and in August 2006, Hellboy II: The Golden Army was back in production, this time with Universal.HBII does take some turns from its predecessor; last time del Toro based the plot on the comics, but this time it's his original tale. And while most of the cast was happy to return, BPRD agent John Myers (Rupert Evans) was already committed to a stage run of Kiss of the Spider Woman, so he's been written out.The story concerns two warring factions of elves who live in the vast underworld beneath our feet, one led by Princess Nuala, the other by her twin, the evil Prince Nuada. When a piece of a magic crown said to give its owner power over a mythic Golden Army goes up for auction in the surface world, Prince Nuada comes above ground and smack into Hellboy and the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense.Another major storyline follows Abe Sapien, Hellboy's seaman sidekick, and his developing relationship with the elf princess. If, as he hopes, del Toro gets to finish his trilogy, he has said just as The Golden Army is "about" Abe, the third movie will focus on a new character, Johann Kraus, a German psychic-turned-ectoplasmic blob, encased in a glass-headed containment suit.From production stills, it's clear that the monsters are both creepier and grander, and del Toro acknowledges that his experience with Pan's Labyrinth has had an influence. In a recent interview with Superhero Hype!, he said, "The first film was still designed like a comic book movie, in terms of the visual. On Pan's Labyrinth, I went for the visuals that I admired. I was able to design that movie in a freer way, and it is the same with this movie."The connection is apparent, and makes sense; Doug Jones, the amazing physical actor behind the character magic of Pan and the Pale Man in Labyrinth, is reprising his role as Abe Sapien and filling two other parts: the Angel of Death, a disturbing humanoid with eyes on her wings, and the Chamberlain, an eight-foot tall creature described as "like a thumb with eyes." (He was the Silver Surfer in the last Fantastic Four movie too.)You can watch the trailer here. The whole thing seems grander, more menacing, and more nightmarish than the first, although del Toro might not agree. He recently told USA Today, "Every time I hear about a superhero movie, they're saying it's darker than before, as if that gives it some street cred. If anything, this is going to be more like a fairy tale." Fairy tale? I wouldn't want to be this guy's kid, but I can't wait to see his movie.More Articles By Sacha Howells

Rambo (2008)

John Rambo has retreated to northern Thailand, living a solitary and peaceful life in the mountains and jungles. A group of human rights missionaries search him out and ask him to guide them into Burma to deliver medical supplies. When the aid workers are captured by the Burmese army, Rambo decides to venture alone into the war zone to rescue them.

Also Known As: John Rambo
Rambo 4
Rambo IV
Rambo IV: Blood Ties
Rambo IV: End of Peace
Rambo IV: Holy War
Rambo IV: In the Serpent's Eye
Rambo IV: Pearl of the Cobra
Rambo To Hell and Back
Production Status: Released
Genres: Action/Adventure, Thriller and Sequel
Running Time: 1 hr. 31 min.
Release Date: January 25th, 2008 (wide)
MPAA Rating: R for strong graphic bloody violence, sexual assaults, grisly images and language.
Distributors: Lionsgate
Production Co.: Nu Image/Millennium Films, Emmett/Furla Films, Equity Pictures Medienfonds GMBH & Co KG, The Weinstein Company
U.S. Box Office: $42,281,425
Filming Locations: Mexico, USA, Thailand
Produced in: United States

Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid

This sequel to 1997's Anaconda features a scientific expedition that is sent to the jungles of Borneo to search for a rare orchid by a powerful pharmaceutical company that hopes the orchid can be used to unlock the secrets of youth and immortality. What they discover is that the orchid is already being used by a powerful group... a swarm of giant snakes that derive their super strength, size and vitality from the flowers, and extremely large snakes are also extremely hungry snakes...

Director: Dwight H. LittleWriter(s): John Claflin, Daniel ZelmanCast: Johnny Messner, Morris Chestnut, Eugene Byrd, Peter Curtin, Nicholas Gonzalez, Nicholas Hope, Salli Richardson, Kadee Strickland, Karl Yune

Release Date: August 27, 2004Official Site: SonyPictures.comDistributor: Screen GemsGenre: Action, Adventure, Horror, ThrillerRating: Rated PG-13 for action violence, scary images and some language.

KERETA SETAN MANGGARAI

GENRE : Drama Horor
PEMAIN : Vera Lasut, Ocke Mulyawan, Ferry Agustian, Nelly Yustikarini, Renaldo Thompson
SUTRADARA : Nanang Istiabudi
PENULIS NASKAH : Kumar Pareek, Dhiyute
PRODUSER : Sagar Mahtani
RUMAH PRODUKSI : MM CREATIONS
DURASI : 100 Menit
KLASIFIKASI PENONTON : 13 Tahun Keatas (13+)
TANGGAL RILIS : 18 Maret 2008

SINOPSIS :

Key, Fifi, Dado, Rey dan Fajar merencanakan sebuah liburan yang mengasyikkan di Bandung, namun perjalanan mereka sedikit terhambat, karena Dado harus mencari kabar dua orang sepupunya yang tak kunjung pulang selepas berlibur ke Bogor. Raut khawatir yang ditunjukkan oleh Om Dado saat mengatakan, bahwa kedua sepupunya telah pulang sejak semingu lalu membawa mereka ke dalam sebuah pencarian yang awalnya terlihat mudah.
Perjalanan membawa mereka ke sebuah jalan buntu yang menyesatkan, hingga kemudian kejadian aneh mulai bermunculan satu demi satu, rumah tua ditengah hutan, kakek dan cucunya yang misterius hingga kecelakaan yang menyebabkan mobil mereka tertabrak kereta. Berusaha mencari pertolongan, mereka pun berlari menyusuri rel menuju stasiun terdekat. Lelah dan panik menyebabkan mereka melupakan semua pesan dan cerita dari Om-nya Dado untuk tidak naik kereta pada malam jum’at. Merekapun naik kereta yang kebetulan sedang berhenti distasiun tersebut, kereta terakhir menuju Jakarta.
Rasa aman yang sempat melingkupi mereka berubah drastis saat satu demi satu mulai merasakan gelagat aneh yang ditunjukkan oleh para penumpang kereta, hingga ketika mereka sadar, bahwa kereta ini tak jua berhenti di beberapa stasiun. Berjuang untuk bisa bertahan, kebersamaan mereka pun dipertaruhkan karena untuk bisa keluar salah satu dari mereka harus menjadi tumbal.WEBSITE :http://www.keretasetanmanggarai.com/

Ruang Film

Live Free or Die Hard (2007)

THE NEW YORK TIMES
Thursday, March 6, 2008

The gasping, grunting and oozing hard-body slab that muscles, and sometimes crawls, through "Live Free or Die Hard" sure looks like John McClane. Older if apparently no wiser, the blue-collar super-cop from the "Die Hard" franchise has lost his hair, his foul mouth and apparently his nicotine itch, but he still has the same knack for trouble, the adrenaline-pumping, cheerfully anarchic kind that causes cars to ignite, bodies to fly, eardrums to pop and hearts to race and gladden. He's also lost his sneer, but sneering is cheap, and movies are expensive, especially when your star has pushed past 50 and slid off the power lists.
A lot has happened in the 12 years since Bruce Willis yippee-kai-yay-ed in "Die Hard With a Vengeance" with a glowering Samuel L. Jackson in tow. During that time Mr. Willis's star has expanded and collapsed through hits and duds and plenty of personal off-screen noise. The world has changed too, of course, and with it the action-flick coordinates: for one, Arnold Schwarzenegger runs California, while the sober, nonwisecracking likes of Matt Damon's Bourne rules the bad-boy roost. For another: Mr. Willis has become an increasingly appealing character actor, the kind who punches up a scene or two ("Alpha Dog," "Fast Food Nation") or an entire movie ("16 Blocks"), mostly by playing it not so nice and very easy.
Life or age or something has mellowed Mr. Willis. He no longer enters a movie like God's gift, as he did almost two decades ago in the first "Die Hard," lips pursed as if he alone were in on the joke — which, given the fat salary he was earning, perhaps he was. In "Live Free or Die Hard" he enters swinging, fist smashing through hard glass and sinking into soft flesh. He's making a point and so is the movie, namely that McClane (and Mr. Willis) is ready to earn our love again by performing the same lovably violent, meathead tricks as before. And look, he's not laughing, not exactly, even if the film ends up a goof.
An unexpectedly funny goof, at that, despite everything, including the mayhem and somewhat creepy plot. The screenplay attributed to Mark Bomback, who shares the story credit with David Marconi, has the whiff of multiple writers, as action-driven productions generally do. It originated with a 1997 story (dubiously titled "A Farewell to Arms") by John Carlin in Wired magazine about the potential for a cataclysmic, nation-crippling "information war," which mutated and stalled, picking up new writers and equally doubtful names ("WW3.com," "Die Hard 4.0"). Somewhere along the development line, the real world intruded, which is why the original idea about an information war now includes a plausible-sounding or at least not entirely outlandish hook to Sept. 11 — hence, the creepiness.
In most Hollywood action movies, references to Sept. 11 as well as to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are often tacked on or displaced, used for decorative flag-waving or scenes of torture. "Live Free or Die Hard" tries to engage the real world more directly than most studio-made fantasies, with a logic-defying plot involving a disgruntled government security expert. That would be Thomas Gabriel, who seems partly inspired by the counterterrorism expert Richard A. Clarke and partly informed by Bill Gates and is wholly played by the pretty Timothy Olyphant, dressed in black and wearing Maggie Q on his arm. Mr. Olyphant has many charms, but annihilating menace is not one of them. Mr. Willis nonetheless keeps any incredulity in check along with his sneer.
Despite its jaw-jutting title, with its evocation of revolutionary America and radical individualism, "Live Free or Die Hard" keeps a tighter rein on McClane, dialing down his man-against-the-world attitude to a low hum. He's still more or less alone, at least existentially, though, as per the action playbook, he quickly picks up a sidekick and audience surrogate in the hacker impersonated by Justin Long (flicking between annoyance and amusement).
But McClane is also unequivocally playing for team America, helping the F.B.I. and its no-nonsense, supremely capable deputy director, Bowman (Cliff Curtis), who runs the sillily named cyber division with blinking monitors and scurrying minions. Heroic in deed and in acquaintance, Bowman knows to side with McClane, saving his contemptuous looks for the guy from Homeland Security.
Nothing on Len Wiseman's résumé — he previously directed the two "Underworld" flicks, wherein the Goth kids really are vampires — suggests that he could wrangle both Mr. Willis and this new film's nerve-jangling action to such satisfying effect. At least on the second count he has received terrific help from a sprawling cast of stuntmen and -women (and the stunt coordinator Brad Martin), who do a great deal to advance the film's old-school mayhem. The use of Parkour during several fight scenes is particularly tasty, proving that when cinematic push comes to shove, the French, who originated this ultra-cool rough-and-tumble, which finds performers bouncing like balls from wall to wall, rooftop to rooftop and many hair-raising points in between, are definitely in the coalition of the willing.
"Live Free or Die Hard" is rated PG-13. (Parents strongly cautioned.) Extremely brutal violence and mild obscenities.
LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD
Opens today nationwide.
Directed by Len Wiseman; written by Mark Bomback, based on a story by Mr. Bomback and David Marconi; director of photography, Simon Duggan; edited by Nicolas de Toth; music by Marco Beltrami; production designer, Patrick Tatopoulos; stunt coordinator, Brad Martin; produced by Michael Fottrell; released by 20th Century Fox. Running time: 130 minutes.
WITH: Bruce Willis (John McClane), Timothy Olyphant (Thomas Gabriel), Justin Long (Matt Farrell), Cliff Curtis (Bowman), Maggie Q (Mai) and Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Lucy McClane).
Correction: June 26, 2007
Because of a transmission error, a film review yesterday about “Live Free or Die Hard” misstated the critic’s description of the plot. It should have been described as “logic-defying,” not “logic-defined.”

ANGELINA JOLIE : A BEAUTY WITH A SOUL

Angelina Jolie was born in LA as Angelina Jolie Voight on june 4, 1975. Being the daughter of Academy Award-winning actor Jon Voight, she was no stranger to the Hollywood scene in her childhood and teenage days. That, and having the face of an angel of course, gave Angelina Jolie the opportunity to become a superstar in the American movie industry!
Because of her relationships with famous Hollywood stars like Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie is a constant source of work for the press. But lets not forget that Angelina Jolie has a talent for portraying strong and unusual women that brought her the leading roles to boost her impressive career. Today Jolie is one of the richest female leads in the movie business, considering her income. She earned no less than $12,000,000 for playing her part in The Cradle of Life (2003). Although her beauty and success are undisputed, there seem to be some cracks in the private life of Angelina Jolie. The things she does and says create an image of a rather unusual person. A lady with a rather strong will of her own.
Tattoos
For example, Jolie tends to express herself by tattooing her skin. Her tattoos include a dragon, a black cross and the Japanese sign for death. She also has the Latin phrase "Quod me nutrit me destruit" (meaning "What nourishes me also destroys me") written on her stomach. Her left arm reads the Tennessee Williams quote, "A prayer for the wild at heart, kept in cages". On top of that she has a blue window printed on her back. She says it means that at any point in her life she always finds herself looking out a window wanting to be somewhere else.
Beauty
Jolies' beauty is almost legendary. For the past decade she has been voted the most beautiful woman in the world numerous times. On top of that, Jolie is one of the few young female superstars who apparently has no trouble being naked on screen. Submit ´Angelina Jolie nude´ in a search engine and you will very likely find pictures of Angelina Jolie naked or Angelina Jolie having sex in all sorts of ways. The Internet is paved with those kind of pictures but a lot of them are fake and will not amuse miss Jolie. For those of you who are interested in the real thing I would recommend the 1998 film ´Gia´ in wich Jolie has several minutes screen-time of full frontal nudity. She is said to be proud of that film, as is she of most things she does in life. It is often said that Jolie taking off her clothing so easily is a form of protest against her father. Miss Jolie is rather modest about her own looks. Inside sources say she is unhappy about her nose and hips and that she doesn't consider herself to be the beauty that the rest of the world sees in her.
Men
Jolie has always had remarkable relationships with men. It is common knowledge in Hollywood that the relationship between Angelina Jolie and her father Jon Voight has been rather troublesome. On several occasions, Jolie allegedly said she never wanted to see her father again. Sources around miss Jolie indicate these kind of rumors are wrong and Jolie never intended to say anything like that. Her marriage with and divorce from actor Billy Bob Thornton received much coverage in the media. Because Thornton is twenty years older than Jolie it was said that the entire marriage was arranged by Jolie again to protest against her father. Inside sources confirm however that both Jolie and Thornton have been upset and shocked about this innuendo. One the most curious relationships in show business today, is the bond between Jolie and her brother director James Haven. Jolie and Haven have been seen numerous times in public walking hand in hand. There is even footage of Jolie kissing Haven on the mouth. The media translated this event into an incest love affair between Jolie and her brother. In 2000, Jolie and Haven were fed up with these rumors, and publicly spoke out to deny this love affair.
Morbid
Angelina Jolie is known to have an interest in mortuaries and also collects knifes. As a child she dreamed of being a funeral director. When she married Jonny Lee Miller, she was wearing black leather pants and a white shirt. She painted her husband's name in her own blood on her shirt. In the exiting thriller Taking Lives (2004) she plays a creepy FBI profiler that, by means of investigation, crawls into a grave. Jolie denies to be morbid but says she might think a lot about death because she values life more than others do.
United Nations
Fot the past few years, gossip and innuendo surrounding miss Jolie makes way for coverage of the work she does as Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations. Few actors and actresses of her generation spend so much time working for the poor and needy. In 2002 she visited a refugee camp in the Thai jungle to check on conditions of refugees from bordering Myanmar, the former Burma. Earlier she visited refugees in Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Pakistan.
Future
As can be said, miss Jolie is a personality with many faces. Therefore it is rather difficult to predict what kind of career and life she will choose next. In 2004 she vowed to quit the movie business and lead a quiet life with her son Maddox. Since the life of Angelina Jolie never was particulary quiet, we count on more spectacular, interesting and perhaps curious career moves from miss Jolie in the near future!

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JUMPER (2008)

OUR REVIEW

by Dave White

Who's in It: Hayden Christensen, Rachel Bilson, Jamie Bell, Samuel L. Jackson, Diane Lane
The Basics: The most boring man alive discovers he has the ability to teleport through space to wherever he wants to go — "Did I just teleport?" he asks himself the first time it happens. When he robs some banks for funding along the way? No big deal. But then Samuel L. with a white afro shows up as a "paladin," whose job is to stalk and kill jumpers. He keeps yelling, "ONLY GOD SHOULD HAVE THIS POWER!" while trying to eliminate the most boring man alive. And you're sort of rooting for Sam …
What's the Deal? This would have been a perfect piece of junk entertainment if they had only managed to steer clear of the acting pothole that is Christensen. Seriously, is it possible for an actor to have a negative amount of charisma? He makes you wish Stanley Kubrick were alive still and had cast him in the Keir Dullea blank-faced astronaut role in 2001: A Space Odyssey. As it is, you only wake up when now grown-up Billy Elliot star Bell comes along to be all swaggery and interesting.
What Would Have Happened If This Had Been a Smarter Movie:1. Lane would have had more than five minutes of stunt-casting screen time. For as much as she had to do here, they could have let Heidi Klum play the part for a lot less money.2. Lane's character's meaty moral conflict — she's a paladin, too, just like Jackson — could have become a metaphor for a whole lot of other stuff and not sacrificed the action. It could have been a potentially heartbreaking storyline. And it just lies there like a wad of barely chewed gum on the sidewalk.
How Late You Can Be: You can spend the first 30 minutes of this film eating one of everything at the concession and then checking your e-mail in the lobby. All he does is jump around from place to place. After that, the chasing and the fighting starts, and the movie starts to be fun. Then you'll almost forget you've just paid money to see more of young Anakin.
Still Better Than: Awake, Factory Girl, Life as a House, the picnic scene in Episode II. Seen it? Write your own review >