Movie Info:
Writers: Michael Ferris, John D. Brancato
Director: Jonathan Mostow
Cast: Bruce Willis, Radha Mitchell, Rosamund Pike, Boris Kodjoe, James Francis Ginty, James Cromwell, Ving Rhames, Jack Noseworthy, Devin Ratray, Michael Cudlitz
Rating: PG-13
Studio: Touchstone Home Entertainment

Release Info:
Original Theatrical Release Date: September 25, 2009
DVD Release Date: January 26, 2009
Online Availability: Amazon for $23.49

Bruce Willis is good at high action, thriller-intensive movies. He’s also good at psychologically messed up Sci Fi. One of my favorite Willis movies just happens to be 12 Monkeys, which isn’t a standard Bruce Willis action flick. Willis is one of the few true blue action heroes that can actually act. Back in the day, I remember watching him on Moonlighting, which showed the guy could be funny and could act, but somehow between then and now, he’s transformed into this bad ass action flick actor who is overlooked for the true talent he has.

For fans who have been fans of Willis as long as I have, you’ve seen the evolution of his career and look forward to nearly everything he’s in. You can guarantee they’ll be action, usually a decent plot, if not, the movie is at least watchable. I knew that I would want to see Surrogates not just from the cool and intriguing trailer, but also because Bruce Willis plays the lead character. I had a feeling I’d like the story behind the movie and I was right.

Going into this review, the only thing I knew about the movie was what I learned from the trailer. I knew the movie was futuristic and I knew people had surrogates, but I had no idea the depths this story would go to, when explaining the purpose of surrogates. As someone in a wheelchair, the entire idea of having a chance to live vicariously through a healthy body is an interesting prospect. While I’d never be able to go to the lengths these people went to by constantly controlling surrogates and having no outside contact with the world, the entire idea of having my own surrogate for when I wanted to experience things I couldn’t due to my chair makes me almost giddy at the thought.

Truth be told, we have our own version of surrogates right here on the web. Online, we can be whoever and whatever we want. While we are not afforded the visual and physical connections to a surrogate, the internet still allows us to live vicariously through the persona(s) we create online. This movie takes all of that to a whole new level and shows how dangerous things could be if everyone had their own surrogate and never had to leave their homes, for anything.

Initially created with physically disabled people in mind, the concept goes out of control, and that is exactly what would happen if surrogates were real in our world. It would ruin interpersonal relationships, keep people locked up and sequestered and destroy the face of the Earth, as we know it. Surrogates would be a game changer, and not necessarily in a good way. I feel this film aptly demonstrates why, as well as why technology (in all the goodness it does provide) should not be used nefariously nor be abused.

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Written by Dominick - Visit Website
Dominick Evans is in his late 20's. He spends his days working as a full time writer/editor and a part time musician/composer. His passions in life include music, directing films, watching movies, reading books, watching sports, wheelchair football, politics, his religion (Hellenic Reconstructionism) and spending time with his family (fiancée Ashtyn, son Robert, and shih-tzu Oliver). Other interests include being an advocate for the disability and GLBT communities.

Check out these videos to see why checking out Surrogates is worth it, and stay tuned for our upcoming review of this Blu-Ray.

The Surrogates Trailer:

Here is a featurette:

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With the Surrogates Blu-ray & DVD about to be released, we sit down to chat with actress Radha Mitchell. How does the action star handle stunts in high heels? What’s it like to be a sex symbol? Read on for Radha’s insights into bruises, bungee jumps, Bruce Willis and lots more…

Q: What can you tell us about your new Blu-ray & DVD, Surrogates?
Radha Mitchell: The movie is a sci-fi, action thriller and I play an FBI agent called Peters. The device of the story is that there is a surrogate technology being used in the world and the population is addicted to using it. You plug into a device, which is basically a robot, and that robot goes and performs all of your daily tasks for you. When that happens, you can manicure your life. You can organize and control how you want to live and how you want to feel. However, something goes wrong in this society and my character works alongside Bruce Willis’ character to figure out who committed a murder.

Q: Tell us more about the surrogates…
Radha Mitchell: When the story begins, the technology of surrogates has been around for years. It has been promoted because it’s considered extremely safe. You can have any kind of experience and not feel a thing. For example, you can jump out of a plane, but you’ll never be in physical danger because it’s all done vicariously. However, something terrible has happened to shake up this world – and it’s up to my character and Bruce Willis’ character to find out how and why this murder has occurred.

Q: What would you use a surrogate to do for you? Perhaps you’d like to jump out of a plane?
Radha Mitchell: I think you’d lose part of the experience if you used a surrogate for something like jumping out of a plane. Part of the experience is about risking your own mortality. I’d love to use a surrogate to do all of the boring things in life that I’ve done thousands of times before, like cleaning or household chores. However, I think I’d want to do all of the exciting stuff for myself.

Q: Are you a daredevil at heart?
Radha Mitchell: I haven’t jumped out of a plane, but I did consider it in the past. A friend of mine jumped out of a plane when I was in high school and I remember him coming back with the video, so I thought about doing it back then. Since then, I feel like there’s enough uncertainty in my life as it is without needing to add to the drama. But who knows? Maybe if the opportunity came along, I’d consider it again.

Q: Would you ever consider a bungee jump?
Radha Mitchell: Bungee jumping? No. My most daredevil experience has involved motorbike riding. I survived a motorbike accident because I fell off one, but I’m not too much of a thrill seeker in that sense.

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Surrogates, starring Bruce Willis and Radha Mitchell, will be available on Blu-Ray and DVD on February 26, 2010. In the meantime, enjoy these Surrogates factoids.

• First-time author Robert Venditti came up with the unique premise while working at Top Shelf Publications in their shipping warehouse in suburban Atlanta.

• “SURROGATES” was filmed on location in Massachusetts, primarily in Boston and surrounding suburbs.

• In addition to mounting the film in several neighborhoods around Boston—the Leather District, the Financial District, the South End, Chestnut Hill, and the home of his alma mater, Cambridge, among them—director Jonathan Mostow also filmed in such Boston suburbs as Worcester, Taunton and Hopedale.

• Studies led the film’s scripters to a Japanese scientist named Hiroshi Ishiguro, who has been using a plastic version of himself to lecture around the world without leaving his Osaka office. They also uncovered a rhesus monkey in North Carolina that has been wired to make a robot in Kyoto walk, merely by thinking.

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Movie Info:
Writer: Rob Zombie
Director: Rob Zombie
Cast: Sheri Moon Zombie, Chase Wright Vanek, Scout Taylor-Compton, Brad Dourif, Caroline Williams, Malcolm McDowell, Tyler Mane, Dayton Callie, Richard Brake, Octavia Spencer, Danielle Harris, Richard Riehle, Margot Kidder
Rating: Unrated
Studio: Sony

Release Info:
Original Theatrical Release Date: August 28, 2009
DVD Release Date: January 12, 2010
Online Availability: Amazon for $24.99

Donald Pleasence is rolling over in his grave. Dr. Loomis has become a substandard, loser and Malcolm McDowell ruins the vision Pleasence created for the character. Loomis is an important part of the original Halloween franchise. This new Loomis is a big joke. I wasn’t fond of McDowell’s portrayal of Loomis in the Halloween remake, though I will admit I respect the differences in Rob Zombie’s overall vision and new take on his remake of the original. However, McDowell becomes even more intolerable in Halloween II as the sellout, writing books about his experience with Michael and only caring enough to profit off of it, which already adds to a train wreck of a movie that derails any potential Zombie’s vision had.

Pleasence’s Loomis was the audience’s true connection to Michael. He studied this child for so many years and knew what he was capable of. His only goal was to keep the world safe from Michael, whom he knew was filled with pure evil. Nothing could have kept Loomis from doing what he believed was the right thing and that would not involve selling out. The new Loomis is so pathetic nobody in the film even likes him. Zombie said he wanted Loomis to change, but the changes he made ruined the character.

The one thing that makes sense concerning Halloween II is the role reversal between Annie and Laurie. In Zombie’s part one, Laurie is very much like Jamie Lee Curtis’ Laurie (though no one can top Curtis in the role). This Laurie is a bit prudish, a bookworm, and perhaps even a bit shy. Annie, on the other hand, is a party girl who is somewhat of a slut. In part two, after dealing with their own perspective ordeals (Laurie escapes and believes she murdered Michael Myers and Annie survives the mutilation and attempted murder by Michael Myers), Annie has become the homebody. She is responsible for Laurie and her father, the Sheriff, and she also dresses much more conservatively. Laurie lashes out, has constant nightmares, pushes Annie away, and has become a party animal with her new slutty friends. This makes sense based on what the girls have gone through.

The rest of the story makes no sense. Zombie, apparently, wanted a way to include his wife, Sheri Moon Zombie, in this second installment, so he provides the audience with an outlandish story that has nothing to do with the original films and is filled with ghostly encounters and white horses. Young Michael becomes a parody of the egocentric, unfeeling shell of pure evil incarnate Daeg Faerch created in Zombie’s new vision. Replacing Faerch with the whiny, unconvincing Chase Wright Vanek just added to my displeasure with this film. While Faerch captured the creepiness needed to make Michael a believable psycho-serial killer, Vanek acts the part of the dependent, mama’s boy who is only killing to bring his family back together.

Speaking of killing, despite the mama’s boy attitude of the young Michael, Tyler Mane’s Michael is a ruthless, brutal murderer. Part of what made the original Michael Myers so scary and successful as a horror villain was his matter of fact attitude when killing. Mane’s Michael is brutal and he puts his entire body into it. He is a frenzied killer who will stab someone 137 times in a flurry. The original Michael is methodical and demented, but there is no overkill. His deaths are gross, but he is not frenzied in the process. He knows he’s going to kill you so he just does it. He also uses a knife, while Mane’s Michael will use an axe, a gun, or he’ll choke his victims just for the fun of it. Isn’t Michael more fun when he’s knifing a victim to a door? I think so.

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Written by Ashtyn - Visit Website
Ashtyn Evans is a writer, advocate, free thinker, and all around cynical person. Always quick to find the negative in anything pop culture, she loves being a part of that which she despises. Ashtyn and Dominick own numerous blogs together, as well as a full-time writing business. In her spare time she is a full-time college student studying History and Psychology. She plans to one day give up her freelance career and be a full-time blogger, novelist, and domestic goddess. She can be contacted for writing projects, fan mail, or just to say hi. She really is friendlier than we make her look.

Movie Info:
Writer: Karen McCullah Lutz, Kirsten Smith
Director: Gil Junger
Cast: Heath Ledger, Julia Stiles, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Larisa Oleynik, David Krumholtz, Andrew Keegan, Susan May Pratt, Gabrielle Union, Larry Miller
Rating: PG-13
Studio: Touchstone

Release Info:
Original Theatrical Release Date: March 31, 1999
DVD Release Date: January 5, 2010
Online Availability: Amazon for $

It’s hard to believe it has been over ten years since 10 Things I Hate About You was released in theaters. I remember actually going to the theater and seeing this movie. I was 18 years old and while my older brother took my niece and nephew to Cedar Point every year, being in a wheelchair and having no car/ability to drive, I was forced to take them to a movie as our “bonding” time. He got the amusement park. I got movie time, and it was always their decision as to what movie we would see.

I’m only 4 1/2 years older than my niece and 6 1/2 years older than my nephew. While that does not seem to matter much now that we are all in our 20s, it does make a difference to be 18 and hanging out with a 13 and 11 year old. This means I never was particularly happy about the movie choices they picked. I saw Titanic (I admit, it grew on me) with my niece 4 times in the theater when it came out because she kept wanting to go back and see it again, and my nephew often wanted to see stupid comedies.

I fully admit when my niece wanted to see 10 Things I Hate About You, I scoffed at the idea. She was 13, and teen comedies are all the rage when you are a young teen. I confess, I have not been fond of teen-geared flicks since John Hughes left the game. I knew I was going to hate this film and went into the theater ready to throw popcorn at the screen. Alas, the talent and acting of a guy I’d never heard of before, who would go on to make Jack Nicholson’s Joker look like a pansy, saved this movie for me.

I actually liked 10 Things I Hate About You. It was funny. The story was pretty good. The acting was great. Both Joseph Gordon Levitt and Heath Ledger went on to be in some really great movies that are some of my favorite films. I even liked Julia Stiles in this. For an actress around my own age, I respect the work she has done. It wasn’t really a lame teen movie, and I am glad I was able to enjoy this movie with my niece. It makes me look like the great uncle I am if I can appreciate the movies she likes.

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Written by Dominick - Visit Website
Dominick Evans is in his late 20's. He spends his days working as a full time writer/editor and a part time musician/composer. His passions in life include music, directing films, watching movies, reading books, watching sports, wheelchair football, politics, his religion (Hellenic Reconstructionism) and spending time with his family (fiancée Ashtyn, son Robert, and shih-tzu Oliver). Other interests include being an advocate for the disability and GLBT communities.

Movie Info:
Writer: Diablo Cody
Director: Karyn Kusama
Cast: Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried, Johnny Simmons, Adam Brody, Sal Cortez, Ryan Levine, Juan Riedinger, Kyle Gallner
Rating: R
Studio: 20th Century Fox

Release Info:
Original Theatrical Release Date: September 18, 2009
DVD Release Date: December 29, 2009
Online Availability: Amazon for $22.99

I’m just going to get this right out of the way before delving into this review. I thought that Jennifer’s Body was going to absolutely suck. I had extremely low expectations for this film. The people I knew who had seen it in the theater had said it was pretty stupid. Sure, I’m fond of the work I’ve seen of Diablo Cody in the past, but perhaps this was her “Baby’s Day Out” and like the late, great John Hughes, she ran out of good ideas, only to disappear into past Hollywood fame obscurity long before her time was up.

In this mindset, I was disappointed Amanda Seyfried, a young, talented, budding actress, wasted her time on Jennifer’s Body. Still, I thought I’d give the movie a chance for her sake and what a surprise. I actually liked Jennifer’s Body. I didn’t just like it, I thought it was a quirky, fun, dark comedy that had some rather brilliant moments amidst the high school lame-o speak the actors indulge in throughout the film. Cody redeemed herself after my unfounded doubts, and I have newfound appreciation for her warped sense of humor.

Jennifer’s Body is a dark comedy. This means it really is not meant to be scary like a traditional horror flick. As any good comedy should, Jennifer’s Body made me laugh. Some of it was at the ridiculousness of the characters, their speech and the situations they are placed in, but that is the ENTIRE POINT of Jennifer’s Body. It is supposed to be ridiculous. The teenagers use stupid slang, which makes those of us over the age of 21 cringe. That’s the way kids sound to us old folks, so no big deal there.

Megan Fox is given some meaty material she can actually sink her teeth into. Fox admits she’s not used to this kind of acting, and she tried to have fun with it. Well, it seems the girl has a bit of natural talent. Sure, she’s no Robert DeNiro, but he wouldn’t have made a very good Jennifer now would he? Fox was the eye candy in Transformers, but in Jennifer’s Body she has to rely on more than just her svelte figure (though it does play a prominent role in this film, as well) to entertain the audience. I already knew Seyfried could act, so it was no big surprise to see her perform well. Fox and Seyfried had nice chemistry and that is what really helped to make this film work.

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Written by Dominick - Visit Website
Dominick Evans is in his late 20's. He spends his days working as a full time writer/editor and a part time musician/composer. His passions in life include music, directing films, watching movies, reading books, watching sports, wheelchair football, politics, his religion (Hellenic Reconstructionism) and spending time with his family (fiancée Ashtyn, son Robert, and shih-tzu Oliver). Other interests include being an advocate for the disability and GLBT communities.

Movie Info:
Writer: Mike Judge
Director: Mike Judge
Cast: Jason Bateman, Mila Kunis, Kristen Wiig, Ben Affleck, J.K. Simmons, Clifton Collins Jr., Dustin Milligan, David Koechner, Beth Grant
Rating: R
Studio: Miramax

Release Info:
Original Theatrical Release Date: September 4, 2009
DVD Release Date: December 22, 2009
Online Availability: Amazon for $24.49

I expected more from the creator of Beavis and Butthead. I grew up watching what Mike Judge had to offer, so coming in with the knowledge that he was the brains behind Extract made me want to see this movie. From the trailer, it looked funny. I’m not a huge comedy lover. I like cartoon-style comedy or cynical comedy more than any other type. So, I was expecting that same sarcastic style of humor Judge is known for through the other work he has done. Not so. While Extract has some so stupid they’re funny moments, on the whole, the movie is an epic fail.

The cast isn’t bad for a comedy. There are likable actors in this film and nary an actor gives a bad performance. Jason Bateman, Mila Kunis, Kristen Wiig, Ben Affleck, and J.K. Simmons have all succeeded, at some point in their career, when doing comedy. However, Extract isn’t exactly their shining moment. Yes, I did laugh in certain parts. Yes, the actors have their moments of funny, but the cohesiveness of these moments does not translate to a particularly funny script. I was expecting laugh out loud, humor along the same vein of Judge’s other stupid but funny works. This was certainly stupid, but it wasn’t near funny enough.

Where I feel Extract fails the most is in the script. The acting, as I said, only suffers because the actor’s do not have anything funny to work with. The direction Judge was going in is clear. The script, the writing, the storytelling if you will sends the movie into some fairly unfunny places. I especially found the ending to be particularly lame. I don’t expect comedies to typically be based in reality because most of them could never ever happen in a lifetime. I do expect them to not sink to beyond moronic levels though and the entire ending (from Suzie cleaning the pool onward) is just to lame=brained for my intelligence to appreciate.

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Written by Dominick - Visit Website
Dominick Evans is in his late 20's. He spends his days working as a full time writer/editor and a part time musician/composer. His passions in life include music, directing films, watching movies, reading books, watching sports, wheelchair football, politics, his religion (Hellenic Reconstructionism) and spending time with his family (fiancée Ashtyn, son Robert, and shih-tzu Oliver). Other interests include being an advocate for the disability and GLBT communities.

Movie Info:
Writers: Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell
Directors: Neill Blomkamp
Cast: Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope, Nathalie Boltt, Sylvaine Strike, John Sumner, Vanessa Haywood, Marian Hooman
Rating: R
Studio: Sony

Release Info:
Original Theatrical Release Date: August 14, 2009
DVD Release Date: December 22, 2009
Online Availability: Amazon for $19.99

While I had heard about District 9, I really did not know anything about the movie. What I did know was it was a Sci Fi movie and might involve aliens. That is about as far as my knowledge of this movie got. Despite any clue as to what this movie was about, I also heard it was good. Therefore, I wanted to check it out. I entered this film with a pretty much clean slate of knowledge.

After watching District 9 I must say it was money well spent for Peter Jackson. I am not a huge Jackson fan, but I can appreciate the efforts of a good producer who gives a chance to a budding creator/filmmaker. The story goes that Jackson was going to have Neill Blomkamp direct one of his projects. The project fell through, and Jackson decided to hand over his cash to let Blomkamp create his own movie. What he came up with is District 9.

Blomkamp had originally made his story for District 9 as a short film. This was an idea he’d filmed early in his career, and now, there was a chance to expand upon the idea. The millions of dollars that have been put into District 9 made the film a high tech, visually stimulating production. Of course, the story is what drives this movie and it is both well written and engaging.

Shadowing a world that South Africans knew well, District 9 explores the same kind of themes that were present during the 1980s in the apartheid era. Instead of racial discrimination, the discrimination is inter-species discrimination. Set in a modern world, we as audience members get a glimpse into what the world might be like if aliens showed up here on Earth, and sadly what happens isn’t pretty, though it does make for good storytelling.

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Written by Ashtyn - Visit Website
Ashtyn Evans is a writer, advocate, free thinker, and all around cynical person. Always quick to find the negative in anything pop culture, she loves being a part of that which she despises. Ashtyn and Dominick own numerous blogs together, as well as a full-time writing business. In her spare time she is a full-time college student studying History and Psychology. She plans to one day give up her freelance career and be a full-time blogger, novelist, and domestic goddess. She can be contacted for writing projects, fan mail, or just to say hi. She really is friendlier than we make her look.

Movie Info:
Writer: Cormac Wibberley, Marianne Wibberley
Director: Hoyt Yeatman
Cast: Bill Nighy, Sam Rockwell, Will Arnett, Jon Favreau, Zach Galifianakis, Nicolas Cage, Kelli Garner, Penélope Cruz, Tyler Patrick Jones, Steve Buscemi, Piper Mackenzie Harris
Rating: PG
Studio: Walt Disney Video

Release Info:
Original Theatrical Release Date: July 24, 2009
DVD Release Date: December 15, 2009
Online Availability: Amazon for $

I knew, as soon as I saw the commercials for G-Force that it was going to be stupid. You see, Disney has a few different styles of animation. First, there is Pixar, with movies that are always excellent and instantly become animated classics. Then there are the cool animated features that Disney actually took quite a bit of time to make, like The Princess and the Frog. Then there are these CGI flicks that seem to be made just for the amusement of today’s children with very little substance to them. G-Force is one of those films.

Yes, I guess talking guinea pigs are kind of cute. Making them superheroes seems a little ridiculous and though the cast appears to be decent, not even Jon Favreau can save a movie about a bunch of crazy rodents. I was bored to tears while watching this movie…but, I admit it. The kids loved this mindless, crazy little film. Have no doubts, your little ones will love it, but sadly I don’t think that Walt Disney had this drivel in mind when he was building his animated empire.

The thing I always liked about Disney was how family oriented their movies were. A mom could enjoy a Disney flick just as much as her kids. Heck, Dad and the Grandparents often were able to get in on the action, and enjoyed the film, as well. In the last decade or so, Disney has moved away from strictly family-friendly affairs and made movies that appeal more to kids, but make Mom and Dad want to slit their wrists if they have to watch these movies more than once. This makes me sad.

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Written by Ashtyn - Visit Website
Ashtyn Evans is a writer, advocate, free thinker, and all around cynical person. Always quick to find the negative in anything pop culture, she loves being a part of that which she despises. Ashtyn and Dominick own numerous blogs together, as well as a full-time writing business. In her spare time she is a full-time college student studying History and Psychology. She plans to one day give up her freelance career and be a full-time blogger, novelist, and domestic goddess. She can be contacted for writing projects, fan mail, or just to say hi. She really is friendlier than we make her look.