'Haven'

Raz Aboti
Orlando Bloom
Agnes Bruckner
Joy Bryant
Bobby Cannavale
Stephen Dillane
Anthony Mackie
Bill Paxton
Victor Rasuk
Zoe Saldana

R           99min           2004

‘Haven’ is set during a weekend, two shady businessmen (Paxton and Dillane) flee to the Cayman Islands to avoid federal prosecution. But their escape ignites a chain reaction that leads a British native (Bloom) to commit a crime that changes the nation.

This is an outstanding film. It follows several different storylines and you have to pay close attention because it uses a lot of flashbacks that cut to different perspectives without warning. This film is indie at its best, with an outstanding cast.

The cast of ‘Haven’ gave great performances, and it showed the distinction among the island life. Orlando Bloom gave one of the best performances of his career. You deeply feel bad for his character. This cast has talent all the way through even the secondary characters had good performance. Sarah Carter (Smallville, Shark) makes an appearance as an island coke whore, and I did realize it was her until my second viewing.

This is an indie film that you will either get it or not. You may have to watch it a second or third time to pick up every nuance of this film. It well worth a second or third view its just that good. Its beautifully shot. It really shows the beauty and the darkside of the Cayman Islands.

‘Haven’ is one that should not be missed. If you a fan of any of the actors list you will love this film. This is why indie films get made because they produce great quality work like this. The DVD is slack on extra feature only a make of featurette and three trailers.

I give it 5/5 Gs.

'The Guardian'

Kevin Costner
Ashton Kutcher
Sela Ward
Melissa Sagemiller
Clancy Brown
Neal McDonough

PG13           136min           2006

‘The Guardian’ is a tale of a veteran Coast Guard rescue swimmer (Costner), losing his crew in a rescue mission, goes to the Coast Guard training base to teach new recruits while on sabbatical.

It’s a stirring tale that makes you appreciate the men and women of the coast guard more. It shows how grueling they are trained; how less than half make through the training. They are truly heroes just as much as the armed forces.

‘The Guardian’ displayed some stellar special effects. The photography of the ocean captured the beauty, majestic, mystery and danger that it holds. You believed they were in open one and the only line of defense to save the endangered sailors.

Costner and Kutcher complement each other on the screen. They are believable as Coast Guard rescue swimmer. Ashton Kutcher displayed why he’s quickly becoming on of the top leading men in movies. This was a passing of the torch for Costner displaying the strong mentor character to Ashton hot head new recruit.

Although the majority of the film is spent in the training facility, it’s never boring or dragging. Every moment in this film is telling the story. It showed the human side to just one aspect of the Coast Guard. This is an entertaining film that should not be missed.

‘The Guardian’ has a few delete scene and an alternate ending. So behind the scenes featurette, that shows the dedication and hard work that the actors went through to make this film as authentic as possible. It Also has a tribute to some of the rescuers lost.

I give it 4/5 Gs.

'The Marine'

John Cena
Robert Patrick
Kelly Carlson
Anthony ray Parker
Abigail Bianca
Jerome Ehlers
Manu Bennett
Damon Gibson

Unrated           92min           2006

‘The Marine’ stars WWE superstar, John Cena, as marine John Triton, honorable discharge from Iraq, when he comes home and tries to readjust by taking a trip with his wife, played by Carlson (Nip/Tuck), she is kidnapped by ruthless jewel thieves led by Robert Patrick.

This film is a throwback to the 80’s action film, the good guys are unstoppable and triumph over any and everything; the bad guys are over the top and kill indiscriminately, and everything in either sides way blows up. This one though has the action hero doing most of his own stunts. I dare say that Cena could give Stallone and Swartzennegger a run for their money.

‘The Marine’ and John Cena are perfectly suited for each other. He has a charismatic presents on the screen that all 80s hero-archetypes had. This film holds no punches and is great to watch. It moves with a quick pace and flows. He does the marines justice. It has everything you expect from an action hero of today.

This DVD is packed full with extras. It has a behind the scenes making of ‘The Marine’. It has about 7 or 8 features about John Cena. 8 Promotional features about the different aspects of the film. There is also a featurette from the World Premiere at Camp Pendleton.

I give it a 3/5s.

'Click'

Adam Sandler
Kate Beckinsale
Christopher Walken
David Hasselhoff
Henry Winkler
Julie Kavner
Sean Astin
Joseph Castanon
Tatum McCann


PG13          107min          2006

‘Click’ is about a workaholic archetect (Sandler) who needs a universal remote control. The only store open is the “Bath, Body and Beyond” and Morty (Walken) gives him a remote that controls his universe.

It has more depth than what you usual get from a ‘Happy Madison’ production. It a touching film that has a message that everyone can embrace. Sandler didn’t over play the moments like in his usual movie but brought a more real feeling to his character. If all you know about ‘Click’ is from the previews then this will certainly surprise you.

At first I thought this was another mindless ‘Adam Sandler’ film but he shot one out the park. It still has its ‘Sandler’ moments and SNL alums placed through but this one was a movie with a message. It’s touching and it brings an emotional touch rarely seen from Adam Sandler.

‘Click’ shows a more mature Sandler acting in this role. It still has his moments but this time around he didn’t over play them. He still needs work on dying though and that was probable the only bad thing from it I can say. When you see an Adam Sandler film you don’t really expect Oscar performances.

The touching family moments and the message it’s sending are what drive this film. This movie truly has some emotional depth to it. The comic moments are more organic in this film and they don’t over shadow the story being told. It made me glad that I saw this film. If you like ‘Adam Sandler’ you will love this film.

‘Click’ has commentary with the producers and director of the film. It has seven featurettes and four deleted scenes. But it features 11 movie previews. They are: The Benchwarmers, 50 First Dates, The Pursuit of Happyness, Casino Royale, Ghost Rider, Stranger Than Fiction, Spider-Man 3, The Holiday, Open Season, The Da Vinci Code, and Talladega Nights.

I give it 4/5 Gs.

'The Last Kiss'

Zach Braff
Jacinda Barrett
Casey Affleck
Rachel Bilson
Micheal Weston
Eric Christian Olsen
Blythe Danner
Tom Wilkinson

R       115min       2006

‘The Last Kiss’ is about the terrifying things you face when you’re on the cusp of adulthood.

It’s one of those films that you have to either have to be there or gone through it to full appreciate this film, but its still entertaining if you have not reached it yet. It’s a drama acted but it gives you that hopeful escapism. Being in this age range I really related to these characters and came to care for these people and hope for their best. It’s not just their journey it was my own journey that I was facing.

The actors were perfectly cast in their parts. I felt these were my friends facing these crises and I rooted for them. Even though it was a movie I found hope in their journey and could see friends and I facing the same things facing these characters. They actors made their character compelling and made you care for them. You made not have agree with their decision they were correct for them and left hope in there decision.

The story in ‘The Last Kiss’ is such that it’s compelling; reaching adulthood is a scary reality that every young person has to make. They’re added pressures and responsibility that you face. It shows the real consequences of decisions faced in adulthood and the story leaves you to figure out what their futures are and how hopeful will they be.

‘The Last Kiss’ is compelling, smart, and engaging. You will identify with one of the dilemma faced by the characters in this film. It has terrific acting from the entire cast. It’s one of those films that can be truly appreciated by a certain group but enjoyed by all who view it.

There are plenty of special features. There are show great features on the DVD. Two audio commentaries: one with the director and Zach Braff and one with the majority of the cast. There is a behind the scene featurette. It also has a music video directed by Braff, gag reel and deleted scenes.

I give it 5/5 Gs.