Here is the trailer for the new Canadian horror film the unleashed. Anytime you have a Ouija in a movie you know I have to check it out.

more info can be found at

https://www.facebook.com/TheUnleashedMovie

and

http://www.darkhousefilms.com/main.php

As always to experience the ultimate in luxury I recommend Ultraluxe Cinemas in the Anaheim Garden Walk. With new releases being shown on their 65 foot screen with unparalleled sound,  It does not get any better.

Kung Fu Panda 2

Starring: Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Gary Oldman, Seth Rogan, Dustin Hoffman, Danny McBride, Lucy Liu

Rated PG

Director: Jennifer Yuh

Po Tries to find out what happened to his parents while stopping a dangerous Peacock from conquering China.

 

Now that Po (Jack Black) has become the “Dragon Master” he is set upon a quest with the furious five to stop the dreaded Peacock Lord Shen (Gary Oldman) At the same time he yearns to find out what happened to him before he was adopted by Goose/Noodle Shop owner Mr Ping (James Hong) while beings tasked by Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) to learn “Inner Peace”

 

For the most part Kung Fu Panda follows the blueprint laid out in the first one. With action packed scenes of Po and the Furious Five intermixed with humor and plenty of Fat Jokes. The animation is amazing and the idea to tell Po’s back story with traditional animation will really help the little ones keep track of everything. Jack Black proves once again that if you don’t have to look at him and watch his terrible schtick he can be a very effective actor. If he was able to put as much range and emotion in his live film career as he does here he would have a much better track record. The cast is astounding with A list voice talent add that  a sweet Kung Fu coup of adding the voice of JCVD (Jean-Claude Van Damme) to the mix as Master Croc and you have a winner . The first film was great and while this is very good the sequel is a little less funny and relies too much on the formula of the original to really separate itself as the better of the two. The ending of the first and the second are just a little too similar to be forgiven. In terms of Animated films that have been flooding the market as of late Kung Fu Panda 2 kicks the crap out of the rest and is Easily the best animated film of the year.

 

 

Grade- 88

Cost of a Soul

Starring: Chris Kerson, Will Blagrove, Mark Borkowski,

Rated R

Director: Sean Kirkpatrick

 

Cost of a Soul is the Writing/Directing debut of Sean Kirkpatrick It’s also the winner of Rogue Pictures and AMC theaters big break challenge. This is a huge accomplishment, for a movie of this size to be released in 50 AMC theaters.

 

To hear the challenges of filming Cost of a Soul is almost as good as the movie itself. With no budget and just 18 days to film, Sean made a bold decision to not only shoot in Philidelphia but in one of the city’s roughest neighborhoods. With no money for security, it was the community’s belief in the story that Sean was telling, that allowed for a safe filming environment. Without the support of the locals, the set would not have been a safe environment, and the filming might never have happened. In fact there were four drug related murders that took place over the 18 day shoot.

 

The film tells the story of two vets upon their return home from Iraq. Tommy Donahue (Chris Kerson) and DD Davis (Will Blagrove), Tommy was a local street thug who ran away from his pregnant wife and problems to go to Iraq, Upon his return he is quickly thrown back into the life he left behind. On the other side of the coin is DD who went to war to escape the drug infested environment and have a better life. DD finds out that his older brother is now a local drug lord and his younger brother is about to follow in his footsteps which brings him back to the life he was trying to escape.

 

Cost of a Soul is a standout directorial debut able to convey a message while at the same time depicting a reality at home that is unflinching. The combination of a positive message juxtaposed against a grim reality with a healthy body count is a bold move for a first time director. Both Chris Kerson and Will Blagrove give polarizing performances. It is their performances that elevate the project to another level. Kerson and Blagrove both seized there opportunity and dug into their roles with such preparation, passion and enthusiasm that you don’t realize that this was filmed so quickly on a next to nothing budget.

 

A  throwback to 1940’s film Noire while at the same time putting a modern twist on it with a powerful message. It makes a person think  how important the decisions we make are and what a person is willing to sacrifice for the betterment of their family.

 

The only thing I didn’t like was a very pivotal scene where Mamma Davis is watching DD play the Sax in a club with her son James. James just leaves without her even noticing. This proves to be a costly oversight on her part, but as protective as she is of James it seems odd that she wouldn’t notice that her son has left. The same time that this is happening, a crucial scene takes place with Tommy, the sounds of Jazz just seemed out of place and distracting to me. I would have liked for this to have been a little different but it’s a small gripe in the scheme of the project.

 

Grade- 84

 

To start the summer movie season, last week beginning with Thor I decided to get the most out of my movie going experience; To do that I decided to partner up with Ultraluxe Cinemas in the Anaheim Garden Walk. They have launched their Hot Hollywood Nights promotion with every Friday night airing the latest new release on their 65 foot screen with unparalleled sound. Not to mention you cannot go wrong with any theater that has a full bar. Outside of a Private Screening room on the Studio Lots it doesn’t get any better than Ultraluxe Cinemas in Orange County.

Next week’s Release is Pirates of the Caribbean this past week it was all about Priest.

Priest
Starring: Paul Bettany, Karl Urban, Cam Gigandet, Maggie Q
Rated PG-13
Director: Scott Charles Stewart

A priest goes against the wishes of the church to hunt down the vampires that have kidnapped his niece.

Priest starts out strong with an animated graphics sequence telling the back story of the Priests, In essence the Priests are a futuristic version of the Knights Templar. Both are warriors who fought for the church only to have the church turn their back on them, forcing them to be disbanded, once their usefulness no longer served their purpose. The Priest wardrobe even includes a rose colored cross although theirs is a forehead tattoo rather than the Templers cross adorned tunic.

Paul Bettany (Priest) now a disbanded member of the priesthood is called back into action when small town sheriff Hicks (Cam Gigandet) informs him that his niece Lucy (Lilly Collins) has been abducted by a band of vampires. Headed by former Priest turned half vampire Black Hat (Karl Urban). The church promptly sends the remaining Priests led by the Priestess (Maggie Q) to bring Priest back to face them for going against their orders.

The problem with Priest is it doesn’t know what it wants to be, it feels as though it takes inspiration from a multitude of sources particularly Star Wars without bringing anything original to the table. If you’re going to duplicate, then as I learned from Zoolander, duplicate and elaborate. Cribbing a bunch of images from a pastiche of other films while not making something that improves upon the original just feels cheap and lazy.
When we first see Priest he is wandering around the city looking like Luke Skywalker from the opening of Return of the Jedi complete with cloak and obscured face. Once Priest heads out on his quest he loses the cloak yet still continues to rock the black jedi outfit as he drives across the dessert on his super speed bike which is a cross between a motorcycle and a land speeder. Upon reaching town we have gone from the grime filled futuristic city to an old west town straight from the 1800’s for some reason half the world has advanced to the future while the other half has decided to listen to records using a phonograph and wear clothes that would have made Michael Landon proud. It’s jarring to see a bike travel 200+ miles per hour only to get to a town in the Wild West. It’s as if the bike initiated the flux capacitor and is about to confront Buford “Mad Dog” Tannen rather than a pack of blood thirsty Vampires.
The rest is simply going through the paces with some “Aliens” scenes thrown in for good measure. One interesting scene involving the priestess and some moto bikes with the only good destruction of a vampire. The vampire destruction good, the bikes were pathetic and out of place much like most of the film.
A good rule to go by is if you’re making an Action/Sci-Fi movie that involves destruction of vampires then go all in, shoot for the R rating. PG-13 doesn’t cut it and neither does Priest.

Grade- 70

Get Smart…Get S-Mart…And Download Army of Darkness Today!

Well hello Mr. Fancypants! Backflip Studios, in partnership with MGM Studios, is proud to announce that its highly anticipated homage to Sam Raimi’s classic film is now live on the Apple App Store with Army of Darkness: Defense, a mobile castle defense game based on the 1992 classic film Army of Darkness. Available for the iPhone/iPod Touch for $0.99 and for the iPad for $2.99, Army of Darkness: Defense takes place during the pivotal castle scene within the movie where Ash and his allies defend the powerful Necronomicon (book) within Lord Arthur’s fortress from the onslaught of Deadites (living dead).

Gamers take on the role of the chiseled chin, one-liner-spouting Ash while summoning familiar troops, spells and weapons from the movie to help in the defense. Gameplay features include over 150 direct lines of dialogue from Bruce Campbell as Ash Williams, and beautifully animated graphics using the well-known “Granny 3D” engine. Army of Darkness: Defense gives Ash the ability to call upon a wide variety of allies to help preserve the Necronomicon including swordsman, armored knights, archers and more. In addition to the originally composed sound and music, the app also features many of the famous characters from the movie including Arthur, Henry, Sheila, the Wiseman, Evil Ash, and more.

Army of Darkness: Defense is available now on the App Store for both iPhone/iPod touch (http://bit.ly/mCiywd) and iPad (http://bit.ly/iJMMNW) for $0.99 and $2.99 respectively.