The first 15 minutes sort of wanders along, a nice little French movie with Jonathan Rhys Meyers playing green-behind-the-ears James Reece, a man working as an assistant to a U.S. Ambassador, but playing a little spy game behind the scenes.

But then the movie suddenly kicks into high gear and it’s non-stop action until the end credits roll. John Travolta plays an American spy with the fun name of Charlie Wax who’s looking to stop a terrorist attack in the city. Well, we don’t know it’s a terrorist attack until later. At first, it appears that he’s after some drug runners, and Reece spends part of the movie carrying a vase full of cocaine around, chasing after Wax, who’s leaving a trail of bodies in his wake.

I mean, seriously, Travolta is great when he can just let loose and go full-out reckless, and that’s what he does here. He just Does.Not. care who gets in his way, and has no problem shooting first and talking later. Ok, there’s no talking. Plus, he has a knack for knowing just who those guys (or girls) are right away. No piddling around.

More after the jump…

I was worried at first. My son and his buddy and I got to the theater, and ‘From Paris With Love’ was playing in the very last theater in the complex, the smallest one, and there were about three other people watching with us. Meanwhile, down the hall are two theaters packed full of people seeing ‘The Wolfman’ (we’ll probably see it tomorrow).

But ‘From Paris With Love’ was much better than I expected (given that ominous ‘no one’s watching this’ thing), and if you like Travolta or Rhys Meyers – or really, high action crime movies with a French twist – I highly recommend it. It’s just good fun. And there’s some awesome artillery.

Like I said, though, the body count is high, and it’s rated R for strong bloody violence throughout, drug content, pervasive language and brief sexuality. In short, not for kids.

Image: Lionsgate

Post from: Film Gecko

Let’s talk about the Two-Disc Special Edition DVD. This has a bunch of bonus features: 

• Trailers: Night At The Museum 2, The Marine 2, Family Guy Presents: Something Something Something Dark Side, X Men Trilogy Blu-ray Trailer, and Sons Of Anarchy Season 1
• Commentary by Director Gavin Hood
• Commentary by Producers Lauren Shuler Donner and Ralph Winter
• The Roots of Wolverine: A Conversation with Stan Lee and Len Wein
• Wolverine Unleashed: The Complete Origins
• Deleted and Alternate Scenes
• Anti Smoking PSA

Disc 2: Digital Copy

When I saw this movie in theaters, people were actually getting up and walking out, but I didn’t think it was that bad. Not the best movie I’ve ever seen, but still not that bad.

More after the jump…

The movie takes us back to the childhood of Wolverine (Hugh Jackman). We know him from the first three “X-Men” movies, but he had a wild and interesting life before he showed up in those. Even as young Jimmy Logan in 1845, he had those spiky hands, only the spikes were crude, bony-looking things then, emerging whenever Jimmy got angry. His heritage included some daddy issues, and a half-brother named Victor Creed a.k.a. Sabretooth (Liev Schreiber), complete with fangs and all.

A series of quick scenes shows the non-aging brothers fighting through several wars, including the Civil War, World War Two, and Viet Nam. We also learn that the evil Stryker (Danny Huston) is building an army of mutants called Team X. But after a particularly gruesome incident in Africa, Jimmy walks out on the group, and ends up as a woodcutter in Canada with a hot schoolteacher girlfriend (Lynn Collins).

After a devastating tragedy, Stryker convinces Jimmy to undergo a procedure that will make him indestructible. It’s an agonizing operation that injects a substance called adamantium into his skeleton. And presto-chango, he’s “Wolverine,” his once bony spikes now shiny, titanium-looking weapons of mass destruction. And Victor comes back into his life, as well.

Here’s the thing about “X-Men Origins: Wolverine”: It’s not a bad movie, and Hugh Jackman and his awesome muscles are not hard to look at. But the writing is cheesy, and they could have done more with the various characters who show up in this movie, including card-shark Gambit (Taylor Kitsch), The Blob (Kevin Durand), John Wraith (Will.i.am), and Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds). I mean, I get that the movie is called “Wolverine,” but most of these characters are only in the movie for a few minutes, if that.

If you’re a fan of the X-Men characters and movies, you should check this out, especially now that it’s on Blu-ray and DVD.

Note to Parents: There’s lots of action and fighting and explosions, including one awesome scene with an exploding helicopter. Oh, and Hugh Jackman gets naked from a distance in a couple of scenes. But overall, it’s pretty much what you’d expect from a PG-13 movie about a mutant superhero.

Image: X-Men Origins: Wolverine, TM and Copyright 20th Century Fox Film Corp., 2009

Post from: Film Gecko

It stars Brendan Gleeson (Prof. Alastor ‘MadEye’ Moody in the ‘Harry Potter’ series) as an Irish property developer of humble origins who has become rich and powerful as a result of the “Celtic Tiger,” a.k.a. Ireland’s economic boom. He’s involved in a scheme to build a national stadium, but a rival developer is planning on thwarting his plans.

Wildly over-extended, Liam finds himself struggling in a receding market, not to mention stressed out to the max. He seems on the verge of a mental breakdown when, to his horror, he sees his Double – yes, someone who looks and acts just like him.

As Liam searches for answers, his neglected wife, Jane (Kim Cattrall), and ignored son Connor (Briain Gleeson), distressed by his erratic behavior, think he’s probably hallucinating. Only Liam’s sister Oona (Sinead Cusack) and childhood friend Andy (Ciaran Hinds), a priest, believe him.

More after the jump, including a trailer…

He ends up confronting his double and discovers a few shocking things about his past. The double ends up luring him out of town and takes over his life. Liam lands in a homeless shelter run by Andy, and the story takes shape as a message about the vast chasm between Ireland’s rich and poor.

Snappy dialogue and gritty scenes of street-fighting and Ireland’s underbelly come together in a movie that keeps you guessing. Even with all the tension, the movie manages to be both light and comically entertaining at times.

If you have a chance to see ‘The Tiger’s Tail,’ it’s definitely worth checking out. It’s rated R for a scene of sexuality, and brief drug content. Here’s the trailer:

Image: Amazon.com

Post from: Film Gecko

One of my favorite actors, Patricia Clarkson, plays his wife, and Noah Emmerich plays his long-suffering assistant. Director Gavin O’Connor (‘Tumbleweeds’) and the producers of the similar sports movies ‘Remember the Titans’ and ‘The Rookie’ help bring this story to life.

Aside from a great cast and production team, what I love about ‘Miracle’ is the attention to detail. Not a hairstyle or accessory was missed in capturing the era of 1980. The story was especially needed at that time because the country was in a bit of a depression after the whole Watergate debacle.

Buy ‘Miracle’ on Blu-ray or DVD. Here’s the trailer:

Image: Amazon.com

Post from: Film Gecko

‘How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days’

Really, there’s not much you can do with the romantic comedy formula, so it all comes down to the chemistry of the two leads. Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey have plenty of it.

Ben (McConaughey) makes a bet with his boss that he can get a woman to fall in love with him in ten days to land a valuable advertising campaign. Andie Anderson (Hudson) is the "How To…" columnist for a women’s magazine, Composure. The topic of her next column is How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, hence the title of the movie.

But Andie yearns to write more indepth, serious stories, so if she does a good job with this piece, her boss will give her complete freedom to write whatever she wants.

As luck would have it, Ben and Andie see each other at a bar and coincidentally choose each other as their “victims.” The rest is history.

Hudson, as usual, is completely adorable. And McConaughey plays the guy he usually plays in all his movies, but I’m fine with that because I love that sort of roguish character who gets the girl in the end.

Directed by Donald Petrie, ‘How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days’ is rated PG-13 for some sex related material. The Deluxe Edition (buy it here) was released Aug. 25, 2009 and includes the following bonus features.

• How to Make a Movie in 2 Years
• Why the Sexes Battle
• Girls Night Out
• Commentary by director Donald Petrie
• Music Video: ‘Somebody Like You’ by Keith Urban
• Deleted Scenes with Director’s Commentary

Image: Amazon.com

Post from: Film Gecko

Here he plays homicide detective Thomas Craven investigating the death of his daughter, whom he discovers worked for a corporation with ties to nuclear weapons. While she didn’t appear to have direct ties to any cover-ups, it’s clear that something is going down. Especially since other people close to her are dropping left and right under mysterious circumstances.

Danny Huston and Ray Winstone also star, and Winstone especially is a real scene stealer. Gibson has the chops to play a guy who’s grieving over the loss of his daughter and really has nothing left to lose, so goes after the bad guys with a vengeance. The kicker is that since he’s a cop, everyone thinks that her killer was actually going after him.

More after the jump…

It’s directed by  Martin Campbell, who also directed ‘Casino Royale’ and the upcoming ‘Green Lantern.’ The screenplay was written by William Monohan, who also wrote ‘The Departed’ and ‘Body of Lies.’ Loved both of those movies, and as with those, ‘Edge of Darkness’ has a twisty-turny plot that leaves you guessing til the end.

Great movie! I highly recommend it if you like crime thrillers. As for Gibson? Eh, he’s still a great actor, even if he acts like an ass sometimes in real life. Here’s a photo of he and girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva at the red carpet premiere in Paris on Feb. 4, 2010.

Images: Bauer-Griffin; Warner Bros. Pictures

Post from: Film Gecko

Movie: When in Rome * Official Site	In Theaters: Jan. 29, 2010
Runtime: 91 minutes	Directed by: Mark Steven Johnson
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for some suggestive content	Gecko Rating:

“When in Rome” is one of those movies that’s cute while you’re watching it, but that you’ll probably forget within a couple of days. But in a sea of apocalyptic and doomsday movies out right now, its light-hearted nature is a nice change of pace.

It stars Kristen Bell as Beth, a young, ambitious New Yorker who’s focused on her career and has never had much luck in the romance department. She’s all but given up on finding love.

When her sister tells her she’s getting married in Rome, Beth books a flight and figures she’ll be in and out in a couple of days, plenty of time to keep track of her latest work project — lining up artwork for a big show at the Guggenheim.

More after the jump…

At the wedding, she meets Nick (Josh Duhamel), best friend of the groom. They hit it off, but when Beth sees him kissing another woman, she retreats to the “fountain of love” outside where the wedding is taking place, and proceeds to pick several coins out of the water.

What Beth doesn’t realize is that whenever you pick coins out of this particular fountain, whoever put them there will develop an immediate and insatiable attraction to you.

In this case, Beth chooses the coins of several wacky guys – Antonio (Will Arnett), an artist; Lance (Jon Heder), a street magician; and Gale (Dax Shepard), a male model. Or so he thinks. Danny DeVito is in there, as well. You’d think that all these funny guys pursuing Beth across the globe and into New York City would be hilarious, but they’re really only good for a few chuckles here and there.

Beth also chooses a poker chip out of the fountain, which she eventually comes to believe belongs to Nick. So the rest of the story moves along, as all of Beth’s suitors pursue her in crazy fashion, with her trying to figure out where she stands with Nick.

It’s all very cute. Bell and Duhamel are nice to look at, though they don’t share a ton of chemistry. All of the “wacky guys” are sorely misused. I would think the filmmakers could have capitalized on their funny-ness better than they did. As it is, they just sort of pursued Beth on the streets of NYC, and there was one mildly creepy scene where one of them gets into her apartment and lies in wait for her to come home.

Angelica Huston is also underused as Beth’s boss. She always seems to just play the stern characters these days, and you know there’s a lot more in there that could be used film-wise.

I’m not sure I’d recommend laying out the cash to see “When in Rome” in theaters, but once it comes to DVD and Blu-ray, you should check it out if you like romantic comedies and have nothing else to do that day.

Image: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Post from: Film Gecko

If you’re not familiar with the film, it follows a mail-order apprentice witch (Angela Lansbury) who finds herself saddled with three sibling refugees from London during World War II. Of course, everything comes down to this group, including headmaster David Tomlinson, basically saving England from the ravages of war.

The quintet comes up against corrupt booksellers, animated-lion royalty, and, eventually, invading Germans.

It’s hard not to compare this movie to director Robert Stevenson’s earlier film “Mary Poppins.” They both feature a magical lady, Tomlinson himself, animated animals, and some fun musical numbers, including Lansbury’s Oscar-nominated "The Age of Not Believing."

Originally released in 1971, “Bedknobs and Broomsticks” has been lovingly restored and remastered, and it’s definitely a good addition to any Disney lover’s film collection.

Buy “Bedknobs & Broomsticks” on DVD.

Bonus Features: 

• The Wizards Of Special Effects – Hosted By Jennifer Stone From Disney’s WIZARDS OF WAVERLY PLACE
• “A Step In The Right Direction” Reconstruction
• Music Magic – The Sherman Brothers
• David Tomlinson Portobello Road Recording Sessions
• Theatrical Trailers

See if this clip, “The Beautiful Briny Sea,” doesn’t put a little joy in your heart:

Image: Amazon.com

Post from: Film Gecko

The multi-talented star has a slew of film credits, including “American Son,” which did really well on 2008’s film festival circuit, but never reached a bigger audience.

Cannon stars as 19-year-old Mike Holland, who’s about to be shipped off to Iraq. In fact, he has just four days to say goodbye to everyone who’s important to him, and maybe even start a new relationship on the eve of his deployment.

Here’s the thing. We hear a lot in the news about the war overseas, but it’s films like “American Son” – and Cannon’s heartfelt performance — that really hit home and tell us what it’s like for soldiers to leave everyone and everything they know and go off to a distant place with strange customs and people.

Directed by Neil Abramson, “American Son” also stars Melonie Diaz, Erica Gluck, Tom Sizemore, April Grace and Chi McBride. It’s rated R for pervasive language, some sexual content and drug use.

Buy “American Son” on DVD.

Image: Amazon.com

Post from: Film Gecko

So I was glad to finally get a chance to check it out; it was released on DVD and Blu-ray Aug. 25, 2009. If you like movies about the 1980s or teens or quirky dramedy type of films, then you should definitely check it out.

It takes place in the 1980s and revolves around a recent college grad named James (Jesse Eisenberg), whose parents’ financial woes leave him stuck at home for the summer instead of roaming around Europe.

So he takes a job at a dilapidated theme park called Adventureland, where he mixes with a motley crew of misfits and free spirits, including Em (Kristen Stewart), who has a complicated past, a dysfunctional family life, and an odd relationship with the park’s fix-it guy Mike (Ryan Reynolds).

Running the park are offbeat owners Paulette and Bobby (scene stealers Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader), who despite their roughshod appearance seem to look out for their employees.

More after the jump, including a trailer…

Greg Mottola directed this coming-of-age movie, and if you like his other movies like “Superbad” and “The Daytrippers,” you’ll probably like “Adventureland.” It’s chock full of 1980s pop culture stuff and boasts an awesome soundtrack that includes music from cult faves Yo La Tengo, Hüsker Dü, the New York Dolls, the Replacements, and Falco (“Rock Me Amadeus”).

Buy “Adventureland” on DVD or Blu-ray.

Bonus Features:

• Deleted Scenes – With optional audio commentary by writer and director Greg Mottola
• Audio Commentary – With writer/director Greg Mottola and actor Jesse Eisenberg
• Just My Life: The Making Of Adventureland – Director and writer Greg Mottola sits down to reveal how his real life experiences helped inspire his unique comic vision for Daytrippers, Superbad, Arrested Development and now Adventureland. Cast members Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Ryan Reynolds, Bill Hader, and Martin Starr also talk candidly about what shaped them into who they are today, including the worst job they ever had.
• Picture Music Selection

Trailer:

Image: Amazon.com

Post from: Film Gecko