'Half Nelson'

Ryan Gosling
Shareeka Epps
Anthony Mackie





R           106min           2006

“Half Nelson” is about an inner-city junior high school teacher with a drug habit forming an unlikely friendship with one of his student athletes after she discovers his secret.

This movie is captivating, moving and believable. It’s a story told many times before but this time it was refreshing to see in done so spectacularly. Gosling and Epps performances are what drive this film. It’s a film that should be at the top of every critics list.

From the opening scene of this film is captures your attention. With Hollywood and it over inflated ego, indie films are the valves of good quality film. “Half Nelson” doesn’t beat you over the head with its story but gives you a sharp taste of reality. It shows how you can find an ally and a friend in the strangest of places.

Ryan Gosling is one of Young Hollywood’s Top Actors and he shines in this part. “Half Nelson” definitely shows why he is deserving of all accolades. If you passed him on the street in character you would be he had a problem. He balanced the then line his character walked beautifully; but not to be out done by his co-star Shareeka Epps. Shareeka Epps performance is equally believable. It’s her performance that grounds this film. You she her struggle and it shows how easily kids can be influenced… to fall or rise.

‘Half Nelson’ is a stark reminder of the struggles faced in the street of American. That the problems faced by inner city are strong and seductive to not only children, but adults as well. ‘Half Nelson’ shows that we all need allies and connection in life. It’s this strange and wonderful connection that influence and shape the people we were, the people are, and the people we will be.

It tells a strong emotional tale that is entertaining and enjoyable even though the conflict is a strong one to handle. The performance by Ryan Gosling and Shareeka Epps deserve award nominations. ‘Half Nelson’ shows that connections are made in the most unlikely of situations. It’s a film that you will be disappointed that you were late to the party on.

“Half Nelson” has few special features, nothing special. It has a Director/Writer Commentary, outtakes, deleted and extended scenes. It also has a musical video by RhymeFest. It has movie previews of ‘Dreamland’, ‘American Hardcore: A Tribal History’ and ‘Running With Scissors’.

I give it 5/5 GS.

Zoom: Academy for Superheroes

Tim Allen
Courtney Cox
Michael Cassady
Kate Mara
Spencer Breslin
Ryan Newman
Rip Torn
Chevy Chase
Kevin Zegers

PG           83min           2006

‘Zoom: Academy for Superheroes’ is about a over the hill superhero named Zoom (Allen) brought out of retirement to train a new generation of superheroes for an impending doom.

The is straight crap. Who ever decide to make this film deserve to lose whatever money they lost. This script was a half ass attempt to capitalize on the comic book crazy in Hollywood and the powers that be not realizing what makes a good comic book movie.

First off to comic book fans the material is not tongue in cheek; it’s to be taken with seriousness. That’s not to say that it can’t have humor. There is a thin line that must be balanced to pull off a comic book film. ‘Zoom’ relied too much on the comedy of Tim Allen, Chevy Chase, Rip Torn and Courtney Cox.

Comic Book Readers want to see the fantastical grounded in a heighten reality. One massively successive example is ‘Heroes’ on NBC. Each character has a superpower but its grounded in reality. ‘Zoom’ never once gave a ground reality it was over the top from the beginning to end. This was the first indication of a flop that someone should have notice.

‘Zoom’ never made you invest emotional in its characters. It had weak emotional moments but nothing that would make a connection to the viewer. Give the audience a reason to care for these characters. I was more interested in the back story of ‘Zoom’. The picture of the old team spark more curiosity, having Alexis Bledial, Wilmer Vanderrama, and Kevin Zegers and how they died would have been a more interesting story.

Most successful comic books are not light-hearted and tongue in cheek. They display some facet of humanity and heighten it. ‘Zoom’ is the polar opposite of ‘Sky High’, not to say ‘Sky High’ was an exceptional piece of work but at least you could get behind the characters.

They highlight of this film for me was Ryan Newman. She was Princess and she stole the show. She’s a “strong little princess” and she played it too a tee. This would be the only reason to see this movie if you’re a big fan of hers. Even then I would be hard press to recommend this movie.

I classify this movie as an “End of Days”, a rarity in its given by me. Read my “End of Days” page for the back-story.

I give it 0/5 Gs.

'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.