"The Kingdom"

Jamie Foxx
Chris Cooper
Jennifer Garner
Jason Bateman
Jeremy Piven
Danny Huston
Richard Jenkins
Ashraf Barhom
Ali Suliman
Kyle Chandler
Frances Fisher
Ashley Scott
Anna Deavere Smith

R           119min           2007

When a terrorist bomb detonates inside a Western housing compound in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, an international incident is ignited. While diplomats slowly debate equations of territorialism, FBI Special Agent Ronald Fleury quickly assembles an elite team and negotiates a secret five-day trip into Saudi Arabia to locate the madman behind the bombing. – from Universal Pictures

“The Kingdom”is one of my personal favorite war movies. It is not only a good drama but it’s a good action film. It brought to light situations about the war and the country of Saudi Arabia that I never knew. It contains an outstanding cast that brought what it took to make this film what it is. It is a film, I think, everyone will love; it is just that good.

This film pleases both sides of your brain. The action is gritty, realistic, and in your face. The drama and plot is intelligent and believable. It pulls no punches.

One of the elements that make “The Kingdom” works is that uses realistic culture situations to move the drama. From how much we have influence there technologic, grow to the second-class citizenship of women. It showed how we all have cultural biases, which influence our thinking and the way we interact with other cultures. However it also shows how much cultural similarities we also have.

Peter Berg does a great job of directing this film. He uses an outstanding cast to tell his story and shots that bring the audience into the film. The cast is at the top of their game and melded together excellently. They capture the emotions of the audience. Let the audience get lost in the drama. The action makes you film like you are a fly on the wall of a drama that just a small piece of a bigger picture.

There is a feature commentary with director Peter Berg. There are a few deleted scenes. There are four behind the scene featurettes, Character by Character: The Apartment Shootout, Constructing the Freeway Sequence, Creating the Kingdom, and History of the Kingdom, an interactive timeline. There is only one movie preview “White Noise 2”.

I give it 5/5 Gs.

National Treasure: Book of Secrets

Nicolas Cage
Jon Voight
Harvey Keitel
Ed Harris
Diane Kruger
Justin Bartha
Bruce Greenwood
Helen Mirren


PG           124min           2007.


Treasure hunter Benjamin Franklin Gates (Nicolas Cage) looks to discover the truth behind the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, by uncovering the mystery within the 18 pages missing from assassin John Wilkes Booth's diary.

This one is not as good as the first but still interesting and exciting as before. This time around, they travel to locales that are more international. The plot is too simplistic and Disney driven.

National Treasure: Book of Secrets has Benjamin Gates trying to clear the name of his great, great, great granddad name. The conspiracy theory is more international and a little more nefarious in nature. It deals with more politics that are international but ends up still finding a national treasure that even I had never heard of.

The action was too clean and no one is injury severely. Guns are brandished more than they are fired and mercenary are the worst shot for hired gunman, a definite influence from Disney. You never see an ounce of blood and the only death of the film is off screen. There is a setup of another sequel; that is apparent to anyone watching.

“National Treasure: Book of Secrets” is an alright film and is an ok sequel to the first. Maybe its that I expect more from a Jerry Bruckheimer Film. It felt to Disney influenced and the plot was a little more a stretch of the imagination. I did like what the treasure was and where it was located. The setup of a sequel did make me want to see what it is.

I give it 3/5 Gs.

"Illegal Tender"

Rick Gonzalez
Wanda de Jesus
Dania Ramirez
Tego Calderon
Gary Perez


R           108min           2007



College student Wilson de Leon, Jr. never stood up for himself until the gangsters who killed his father came to settle a score. In a gripping, adrenaline-pumping showdown, Wilson and his mother decide to settle that score on their own terms in order to protect the people they love and earn back their family’s honor.

“Illegal Tender” is an salute to sing mothers everywhere and the children they raise. It’s tale of the American dream and the price that must be paid to achieve it. It’s also a cautionary tale of what “the game” can cost you.

Wanda de Jesus does a great job of portraying the single mother trying to raise her children to do better and have a better life than herself. She shows that single mothers can be the protector and provider, if she has too. Even without a formal education, she played the game before the game played her. Wanda de Jesus gives a perfect voice to the single mothers out there.

Wilson de Leon, JR. is a shelter person, who takes his good fortune for granted. When the assassins come and open his eyes. He steps up to take responsibility for protecting his family and find a solution to his family’s problem. When the dust clears, Rick Gonzalez portray of his evolution makes this film more entertaining.

What makes “Illegal Tender” stand out in my mind is that is about achieving the American dream and about facing the demons fo the past. Millie de Jesus took her money and made it work by investing in profitable stocks which in turned provide a life style better than the one she had. It’s something everyone things about at some point in life thinking of how to provide for the future.

The second thing that sticks out in my mind is that once the all the while Millie kept running from the demons of the past. But once they came into the light and Wilson was old enough to confront them she had enough confidence in her son to let him become a man. Wilson in an old gunslinger way came out fighting; fighting to protect the life of his family and the ones they love.

The special features on “Illegal Tender”are minimal at best. There are deleted scenes and a making of featurette. There is an making of and music video for “Dame Dome” by Que No. There are previews for American Pie Presents Beta House, Battlestar Galactica: Razor, The Kingdom, and White Noise 2.

I give it 4/5 Gs.

"Casino Royale"

Daniel Craig
Eva Green
Mads Mikkelsen
Jeffrey Wright
Judi Dench
Giancarlo Giannini
Caterina Murino
Simon Abkarian
Issac de Baneole
Jesper Christensen
Ivana Milicevic


PG13           144min           2006


Casino Royale introduces James Bond before he holds his license to kill. But Bond is no less dangerous and with two professional assassinations in quick succession, he is elevated to “00” status. “M” (Judi Dench), head of the British Secret Service, sends the newly – promoted 007 on his first mission that takes him to Madagascar. The Bahamas and eventually leads him to Montenegro to face Le Chiffre, a ruthless financier under threat from his terrorist clientele, who is attempting to restore his funds in a high-stakes poker game at the Casino Royale. “M” places Bond under the watchful eye of the Treasury official Vesper Lynd. At first skeptical of what value Vesper can provide. Bond’s interest in her deepens as they brave danger together. Le Chiffre’s cunning and cruelty come to bear on them both in a way Bond could never imagine and he learns his most important lesson: Trust no one.

I have watch several of the Bond movies never really being a fan until Pierce Brosnan took over the role but at the same time finding them not the best in the series. Casino Royale was seeing how he began and what made him the man in the earlier films. I found that Daniel Craig is by far the best Bond. He the spy that I imagined Bond should have been.

Daniel Craig showed how dynamic Bond could be. Showcasing a memorable villains and Bond girls, "Casino Royale" is a film to restart the series. Over the decades, Bond has become stale and this film invigorates the series for a new generation. It also gives the fans that have never read the books several important events that make Bond, Bond.

Eva Green and Caterina Murino add to the allure of the Bond Girls. Eva Green’s Vesper Lynd is the most significant of all of Bond Girls. She essentially is the woman behind the man, the myth, the legend. She is the woman who teaches Bond his lesson.

"Casino Royale" is a good action film. It hits all the right beats at all the right moments. It keeps you engrossed in the action from beginning to end, which comes on a high note. When it end you never feel like over two hours have past.

This is a two Disc DVD. The second disc has all the special features. There is one featurette on Craig becoming Bond named “Becoming Bond”. The second feature is about the stunts of the Casino Royale: “James Bond: For Real”. The third featurette is called “Bond Girls are Forever” highlight all the Bond Girls of the Bond Series. The final features on this disc are a music video by Chris Cornell “You Know My Name” and movie trailers for: “Premonition”, “Spider-Man 3”, “Rocky Balboa”, “The Pursuit of Happyness”, “The Holiday”, and “Spider-Man 2.1”.

I give it 5/5 Gs.