The Movie Review Site from El Presidente & DarkDragon

V for Vendetta

2006-10-06T11:46:00.000-07:00

V for Vendetta

What an interesting movie.

This movie tells the story of V, a man who has been made into what he is by the state and has been planning ultimately to get back at the man that did this to him.

This story is based on an illustrated novel of the same name written by Alan Moore and illustrated by David Lloyd.  It’s set in the United Kingdom in a rather bleak future.  The story itself pays homage to 1984 by George Orwell in which the people are monitored by and are afraid of their government.

I really enjoyed the adaptation the Wachowski Brothers skillfully put together.  Now, you would think that this would be an action movie, but it really isn’t.  It’s all about the story politics, betrayal and love.  Hugo Weaving and Natalie Portman really are fantastic.

On the venerated and now rarely-used corn-cob scale, where 1 cob means you really should avoid this as it’ll make you sick, and 5 means the cobs are so good that they give you superpowers, I would have to give it a 4.5.  It even won over my girlfriend who really didn’t have much of an opinion when she started watching it, but told me she wanted to buy the movie when we finished watching.

El Presidente

Reviews to go - August 13, 2006

2006-08-13T20:34:00.000-07:00

Benchwarmers - Napolean Dynamite really needs to quit picking his nose and eating it as the whole shtick went on far too long. Otherwise, it was cute. 3/5 corn cobs.
Annapolis - An enjoyable movie that showed Harry Osbourne from Spiderman really ripped and fat-less. Bugger. For a navy movie, it turned out to be a boxing movie. I did enjoy it though. 3.5/5 corn cobs.
Rumour Has It - I couldn't sit through it. The entry really put me off. No rating.
Munich - I found this to be particularly interesting. Now, I don't profess myself to be an expert on acting, but I thought that Eric Bana did a particularly good job. The story was engaging and realistic. I guess that's what you get when it's reality-based and from Steven Spielberg. 4.5/5 corn cobs.
Failure To Launch - This one plays on the fears of parents. Children who never leave the nest. All in all, I thought this one was pretty good for a romantic comedy. Though, it may be that I'm a fan of Matthew McConaughey. Not so much of Sarah Jessica Parker, but she did well too. 4/5 corn cobs.

El Presidente.

6 months is long enough

2006-07-01T22:25:00.000-07:00

Ok, so we've left this alone long enough. It's July now and I think the ol'corn-cob-o-meter needs to be taken back out of mothballs.

The last movie I saw was called Over The Hedge. It's quite a nice little movie. I know, I know. That's really not a very good description.

Lets try this.

Have you ever laughed so hard your back cracked? (Git'er done...)

No, no... that wasn't good.

Anyway, the voice talen in this movie was pretty big. The guy that stole the show for me though, was Steve Carrell (of The 40 Year Old Virgin) who played Hammy. Hammy's a squirrel. And if you've ever seen a squirrel, you know that they seem like they're on speed the majority of the time. I howled. I howled so hard it hurt. I laughed so hard I almost pissed myself.

This movie is another one of those learn your lesson sorts where the main character (in this case, Bruce Willis' raccoon, who's name escapes me for the moment) goes from being a jerk to loved, to having everyone turn on him and then saving the day to win them back. Pretty standard fair for a light-hearted family flick like this.

The ol' corn-cob-o-meter says that this one is a 4-cobber out of a possible 5. Go see it with some friends. Go see it when you're in the mood for fun because it'll only make the experience better for you.

El Presidente has left the blogger.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardobe.

2005-12-23T13:47:00.000-08:00

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe

I can remember as a young kid watching the taped version of The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe that my dad had copied onto tape from TV and enjoying the hell out of it, except the part with Aslan and the stone table.  Without giving it away to those that haven’t seen the movie, or read the books, you know what I mean.  Although I didn’t go into the movie expecting much I came out feeling reasonably impressed.

The story is set during World War 2 when German is bombing the shit out of England.  The kids are shoveled off to the country side to avoid becoming bomb-fodder.  They’re met by a crotchety old house keeper in a horse-drawn cart and are brought to this huge lavish estate.  During a game of hide and seek, the wardrobe is discovered.

From there, you can figure out what happens by reading the damn thing yourself, or at least going to watch a really excellent movie.

Aslan was amazing.  Liam Neeson was kind enough to lend his voice to the production and it was refreshing.  He’s such a good actor.  For a role that you’d expect to hear Sean Connery in, though he just wouldn’t be right for (he’s far too playful), Liam was perfect.  Regal.  Dignified.  Proud.  The perfect lion.

The witch is played by an actress named Tilda Swinton.  I couldn’t help thinking that I really recognized her from somewhere.  She played Gabriel in Constantine.  I had to go and look at IMDb to figure that one out.  For the first half of the movie I couldn’t help but not like her.  She is, after all, the antagonist.  The second half she, oddly enough, was like a cross between Xena and Lara Croft, only blonde and without guns (pun only partially intended).

Technically, this movie was a good one.  For the most part, the effects were jaw-droppingly cool.  After all, who’s to say that the face of a centaur shouldn’t look like it was glued together, or the head fur of a minotaur shouldn’t look like that of a stuffed teddy bear?  Certainly not me.  It appeared that as many of the animals that were real were at least copied from actual footage as they seemed to move properly.  Cheetahs, the Lion, tigers, bears (oh my), wolves, etc. were all magnificent.  There were even some rhinos.  Even beavers.  Some in chainmail (I’m all about beavers in chainmail)

There were piles of mythical creatures that I was fully blown away by as well.  As I mentioned above, minotaurs, centaurs, satyrs, gryphons, drwarves, cyclopes’, giants (really dumb looking ones, I might add.  Very well done).  Hell, even Santa.  Though, I don’t really buy him as an arms dealer (if you’re going to give each of the children a weapon, you have to make them use it in a way that makes sense).

The verdict?  On the now venerable corn-cob scale, 5 being so corny and good and whole some you could probably make popcorn from your… well… nevermind.  And 1 being … well… not corny at all… more like a potatoe… just not good.  I would have to give this movie a very strong 4, quite possibly a 4 and a half.  You just can’t beat a beaver in chain mail.  The only down side really for me was why, at the end of the movie, did she even have a bow?  There was no point?  Her shooting the guy was a bloody afterthought.  Anyway, excellent movie that, according to my girlfriend, remains pretty true to the original story.

Wendigo

2005-11-21T02:46:00.000-08:00

Wendigo, is a Legend that I was also brought up with when I was younger, and even as I was older, although the pronunciation is different, Us Plains Cree people Pronounce it, Wee ti goo. Some people may Dispute this Legend, and call it non-sense. I for one do believe it without a doubt, more on that later.

The story is about a Legend of the Wee ti goo , what this Creature is, is a Spirit which takes over the body of someone, and eats the flesh of another. Once this happens they are a Wee ti goo. Us Indians believe that this stole the life energy of that person, and stole all that came with it, Strength and Soul.

Technical/non technical Aspects of the film

The Movie was done pretty good, Script was done well, and Acting was not too shabby either.
I really liked the Cinematography in this film it was done quite well.I Applaud that. The Story I found personally to be a tad bit slow, to get into it. In reality it wasn’t all too bad. It does give a Pretty Accurate Sense of the Legend. I picked up on a few things that had conflicted with what I was told about a Wee ti goo.

The ending does leave you somewhat thinking, mostly as to why it happened the way it did. My words I said at the end of the Film "HUH, Thats one way to end a Film."

ON the Cob Scale, 1 being so Coby that even a Wee ti go wouldnt even touch it, too 5 where you better hope that thats all he eats.
I would give this one a 4. It does give you a pretty good understanding in it, and there is a kool Indian guy telling the kid about the story. As I started Earlier, I do believe in this Legend. One story that comes to mind is when my Mushoom (Grandpa in Cree) told me that he and 2 of his friends were hunting far north, as for some reason the hunting was bad that season. So they kept going north, he told me that they were just at the border of Saskatchewan and the North West territories.

One night they came out and saw foot prints, all around the camp. Everyone was still inside the camp, the fire was still burning, but just smoldering. At first they didn’t think anything of it. Then as they days went on, the tracks were still there around there camp. One night my mushoom and one of his friends, decided to wait and see who it was.

A few hours before dawn they saw something, coming closer, they waited, and it got closer, soon it was right in front of the tents, and was walking around, the camp, slowly, it listened in at each tent. It looked like a man, but it was big. They waited for it to leave. Then as soon as it got light enough outside, they packed up and told there story to there friend in the tent. They left and headed back towards home.

When my mushoom first told us kids this story, he said at first he didn’t know what it was, then when it got closer, he said there was a smell that had followed this thing. It was one of the most awful things he had ever smelt.

I had never seen my mushoom look scared before in my life, but I could tell in his eyes, he was right back in the place he told us about. I told a few others this story, and they said well what if he was just making it up to scare you kids to goto bed. I always say my mushoom wouldn’t lie to his grandkids, about something like.

Years later even as I write this, it sends chills up my back, as after he told this story it has stuck with me. Some time after that, it was solidified in me as factual truth, as I got to meet the men who were there with my mushoom and heard there accounts of what transpired on that hunting trip.

The Ring 2

2005-11-14T10:34:00.000-08:00

The Ring 2 what can I say about this film, well it picks up off where the first one left us. Seemingly the lives of Rachel Keller(Naomi Watts)& her son Aidan (David Dorfman)
Seem to be all clear of the horror that befell them. That is until a Murder and an unmarked tape comes up.

Technical/Non-technical Aspects of Film:

The movie does do a very good job with Continuity, same actors and such. and does keep the same feel, thanks to the director who directed Ringu the original ring which was shot in Japan. Soundtrack wasn’t anything great, as was the score. In fact I never really noticed the sound that much; more of the emphasis appeared to be on visuals.
The acting was also done pretty good.

Now onto the important part was it scary? That’s a complicated question for me, as Horror movies are my favorite types of genre. As the first one, I did not find it Scary at all. The only cool thing was the actual video tape they watch, as I could see myself making something like that.

Final Thoughts:

Like many sequels out there, this one is almost no different then those out there.
It does keep the same feel and I give huge credit for that, acting was done pretty good. It does give you more of a deeper understanding as to what really happened and why she does what she does. This movie was more of an interesting watch for me, rather then eye closing horror.

on the cob scale 1 being so "cobby" that you can hear Johnny Cash's Burning Ring of Fire, too 5, being as they say in french "I dont know what" this would be a 3ish score.
Would I buy it? hmmmmmm if I found it really cheap for under like 15 bucks maybe.
Otherwise it was worth the free Pay per view movie that I got. Which reminds me i have 6 more that I gotta use before the end of next month.

Happy trials everyone.

Saw II

2005-11-09T07:25:00.000-08:00

Saw II

I didn’t want to see this movie.  My girlfriend and a couple of friends of ours did.  Just know that right from the beginning.

Right from the get go it started out just like the previous Saw: very gross.  It even did a good job of maintaining the continuity of the storyline between the first and the second movie.  I didn’t like that one either, but my girlfriend did.

I was fine for the most part.  The opening trap was disgusting, but I didn’t watch it – my girlfriend hid behind her bag of popcorn and I watched my shoes.  The traps, though nasty, weren’t quite as scary as in the first one though.  I have a problem with needles though … (odd for someone with now 6 body piercings, I know)… and the trap filled with hypodermic needles really bothered me.

I don’t think I’ll be having any recurring bad dreams about this one or anything but even so, it was pretty gross.

I keep talking to people about how people 10 and 20 years ago would react to this movie.  I’m pretty sure that they’d die.  What it takes to shock and scare people now is a lot worse than it was when Freddy and Jason were prevalent.  Hell, that baseball bat with the nails in the end could’ve been an entire horror movie unto itself.

On the corn cob scale, 1 being bad, not enough corn in your diet, and 5 being good – the serial killer has opened you up and instead of blood you bleed corn, this is definitely a 3.  It’s not a great flick, but it’ll certainly scare the corn out of your cornhole.

The Phantom of the Opera

2005-11-01T10:13:00.000-08:00

The Phantom of the Opera

If you have ever seen the stage production, you know what you’re getting yourself into.  This really doesn’t stray far from the look of the stage production.  Joel Schumacher worked with Andrew Lloyd Webber for the big screen adaptation of Webber’s smash hit musical and it shows.

Now, this is probably because I’ve seen the play too many times (I went for a period while I was in school in which my family went to see it, then my high school took me to see it in San Francisco.  My school also did it.), but I did not particularly enjoy the story.  You have to admit, though, the Phantom’s a pretty cool guy, even if he’s pretty good and disfigured.

Technically, Schumacher did a fabulous job.  The sets, the costumes, the details.  He nailed them all.  The actors were superb.  The man who played the Phantom (according to my girlfriend’s mom, who brought the movie over and made us watch it) was haaawte!  She now regrets telling me that, but I think it’s very cute that she blushes each time I say it in front of her.  I have to admit that he did a very good job.  The actress who played Christine had one of those sweet angelic voices that you just listen to.  Whoever cast Minnie Driver as Carlotta kicks sooo much ass.  She was like listening to a rowling cat at times, as she was supposed to be.  She played such a good diva.  You just wanted to claw her eyes out… or drop a big chandelier on her head.

The music is famous.  Everybody knows the Phantom theme, whether you do or you don’t.  The pipe organ when it’s playing the Phantom’s music gives you goose bumps.  It’s just too bad that they ruin it with electronic drums later on in the movie.  Something loud like that needs somebody drumming like Lars Ulrich from Metallica.  Huge, heavy and pounding drums to match the powerful tones of the organ are what is needed.

Most of the people who sing are obviously classically trained, while the Phantom comes from more of a rock background.  It makes him much more accessible and interesting to listen to.  And all that much more of a badass.  ;-)

On the old corn cob scale, where 1 cob, being bad… look at getting more corn into your diet and 5 cobs, being good … think about cutting back on the corn in your diet because … well, nevermind…  Phantom is a strong 3.  I want to say 4, but frankly, I’m annoyed that the story doesn’t follow the stage play perfectly.

El Presidente

Kingdom of Heaven

2005-10-20T09:57:00.000-07:00

Kingdom of Heaven

This is my first time using the Blogger for Word plugin so bare with me here…

I went into this movie not knowing a thing about it.  This is rare for me because I like to keep up on my coming movies because of some sick need for control of the fiction that is force-fed to me through my eyeballs.  This one sorta just slipped through the cracks.

Orlando Bloom is in it.  He’s the guy that played that Elf, Legolas, that movie about some sort of Ring and some Hobbits.  Have you noticed that he seems to enjoy acting in epic-style movies?  The trilogy of Hobbits, Troy, Pirates… I guess that isn’t really that epic, but you know what I mean.  This movie has sort’ve combined all of these characters into one.  First, the blacksmith from pirates, the prince/noble-type from Troy and now finally the warrior/swordsmen from Lord of the Rings.  This was the first time that I felt like he seemed to not be a teen actor though.  He seemed like an adult.  He was skinny in Pirates, Troy, and the Hobbitopia movies.  He must’ve bulked up, because no he looks like a more mature, full-sized man.

Liam Neeson is in the movie too, albeit briefly.  He plays the father of Orlando’s character.  And somehow, during a trip from France to Jerusalem, he manages to turn Orlando from a simple blacksmith into a decent swordsman and a hardcore battle-strategist.  I have a little bit of an issue with this, but Liam’s character was well done.  Acted well as usual – I like Liam.

Oh, and what’s with the king’s sister and her makeup?  Heavy, heavy, dark eye makeup does not look good on someone with freckles and bad hair.

Technical merits…

My girlfriend and I borrowed this movie from her mom and watched on our home surround system.  Her comment was that the cinematography is striking.  I couldn’t agree more.  A lot of the beginning of the movie there is snow flying through the air and you really get a sense of being there with the characters as the flakes seem to move so well three dimensionally.  Great care has been taken to make sure that none of the shots are wasted.  They’re all important to telling the little bit of story there is.

The first half of the movie, I was very impressed with the sound.  I always get goosebumps when movies take advantage of a subwoofer and I was suitably entertained.  The rumbly bits were rumbly.  The music was moving.  The battle scenes were gory and brutal and they sounded the part.  The second half of the movie’s sound was somewhat less impressive though.  Although the battle scenes were much more grand and the blood and guts much more apparent (think about 200,000 people throwing themselves against the walls of a city for a few days), the sound really did not match it.  There were explosions, and chunks of rocks flying all over the place, yet there were no real rumbly booms.  Arrows flying, like the snowflakes from the earlier parts of the movie, really gave you a sense of being there, but there were no really “whizz” sounds as the arrows passed by the camera (and some were obviously extremely close).

Rating…

On the old corn cob scale, 1 being so corny that you should think about changing your diet and 5 being not so corny, this would have to be a strong 3.  Ridley Scott knows what he’s doing when it comes to making a film.  If the sound guy hadn’t taken a break for the second half of the movie, and had the story been something a little stronger than Orlando Bloom finding himself, then this could’ve been a 4 and maybe a 5.  It’s not one that I’ll own, and it’s probably not one that I’ll be going out of my way to watch again.

Halo

2005-10-12T09:03:00.000-07:00

Lets See Halo, as I was browsing this past weekend for something to watch on my Shaw video on demand menu (Which I love btw,Video on demand that is) I seen this one film called HALO, check for more information and this is what I had read:

"A man sets out to find his missing sister who has been caught up in the dangerous underground club scene. Filmed in and around Edmonton, what makes Halo unique is all of the investment came from Edmonton businesses."

So I thought hey cool, might seem ok. They gave it 3 out of 5 stars, would this also equal 3 out of 5 cobs we shall find out.

Technical/Non-Technical aspects:

Well the music was ok, and by ok I mean just barely got an ok, the so called "Techno" was crappy at the best of times. All the other music was so-so. The acting at the start seemed too be played well then it went all down hill. Not to the point were it was horrible but again it was so so. The story did flow well and I give the writers a thumbs up as the story did flow not to bad. The directing was again so so. The camera could have been in better places to capture better moments. There were also a few themes from other movies I picked up right away being an avid movie watcher. One Scene which was clearly taken right from Lost Highway

Here’s the Scene in Halo:

He (the bad guy) is sitting in a chair and this good looking blonde girl (iirc her name was Michelle) is standing in front of the "bad guy" and she starts to strip to some music and he tells her with her eyes to do more.

Here’s the Scene in Lost highway:

Alice is waiting for Mr. Eddy cuz she can get a job from Mr. Eddy if she can prove herself. Night time comes and she is taken into a room where Mr. Eddy is waiting for her, and one of his thugs takes out a gun and points it to her head, she’s very scared.
Mr. Eddy looks at her with his Eyes and she knows exactly what he his thinking. So she starts to strip to some music. But this music is awesome, it’s a song called I put a spell on you by Marilyn Manson.

Now both scenes are very similar but you know why I remember the names and songs from the lost highway one? Because it was great and perfectly done and Patricia Arquette was super hot in that movie. Whereas the one in halo is a cheap rip off of that scene.

there were also rip offs done from other shows as well that you could catch. but none of them as pronounced as the lost highway rip off.

Rating: On the scale of corn cobs, 1 being so corny that you should think about changing your diet and 5 not so corny: This was a 2, only reason im being nice is that it was a locally produced film. And they did try there best, but you can tell what a lack of budget can do to a film with a good story. Of all the B movies ive seen, this is one of the better ones and it did keep your intrest, but it wasn’t nail biting drama. All in all I guess it was worth the $1.99. Maybe that should have been a clear indication but don’t fret I also picked up Video Drome for $7.99 and it is one of the best movies I have ever seen, worth the rent if your looking for something to watch, but not the purchase in my mind.

Its All Gone Pete Tong

2005-10-07T13:38:00.000-07:00

Its all gone Pete Tong, This movie is about the Deaf Dj Frankie Wilde
I love how this movie was shot; they had some Dj's who are at the top of the Dance Scene, Pete Tong, Paul Van dyk, Carl Cox. Describing how they were influenced by Frankie. The movie is based upon true events; the name Frankie Wilde is not real as far as I have been able to find out. But that’s not what’s really important as the movie itself is.

The movie itself is full of energy, and music (my kind of movie). Has great music and good acting as well, it takes you on a wild trip through Frankie's Life. You fell sympathy for Frankie as he starts to loose his hearing as he is trying to keep "giging"
But the fact of the matter is he is going fully deaf. The movie Still manages to keep it light hearted and comical, but also in the final moment when he does go fully deaf. You cannot but help feel the pain he is going through.

One of the interviewed shots has someone saying that "Frankie was in a very dark place" you can almost feel it with him. One shot where his manager is asking him what’s going on and telling him the label wants to hear something. He is in bed lying there and there’s a quick shot of some tears falling from his eyes. It’s then, when it really hits home with him and the viewer that it’s all over. He is deaf and nothing is going to fix it.

Technical/non-technical Aspects:

The writing is very well done, the flow of the movie is very good, it makes you want tell Frankie that he has stop his self destructive ways if he wants to keep "giging"
Music what can I say, off the top music. Directing is also very good and it captures what the story itself is trying to say.

Rating:
On the scale of corn cobs, 1 being so corny that you should think about changing your diet and 5 not so corny. This is a solid 5 I have only watched the movie once, and I usually watch a movie 2 or more times to get the complete feel and absorb everything. And catch anything that I missed, this movie is up there with the likes of Donnie Darko, City of God, and a few others ones. This movie consistently has a good feel to it, I was laughing just as much as I was grooving on my couch to the music. A definite purchase, as watching it one time is not nearly good enough.

Donnie Darko

2005-10-07T09:31:00.000-07:00

El Presidente:

Ok look. I didn't enjoy this movie that much, but you can't deny the cult following it seems to have garnered. Donnie's a little off. That dude dressed up as that whacked out bunny rabbit is a little more off. Overall, I'd have to say this whole shindig was entirely a little off.

This isn't a psychedelic 70's movie, or a late-nineties action movie. It's a thinking-man's movie. One about a kid in school who is, well... for lack of a better word, off. Strange things seem to happen when he's around, though not in a Children of the Corn sort of way. If you happened to have attained a higher state of consciousness while under the influence of illicit pharmaceuticals then you're really going to enjoy Frank. Either that or you're totally going to freak out.

DarkDragon:

As El Presidente had stated this movie does have a cult following, with me being one of the hardcore followers. I first watched this movie when it was released on dvd/video.
My wife’s friend Janice had rented it and said we had to watch it. Not knowing a thing about this movie I tossed it in an instantly I was hooked. It was dark and borderline disturbing, but that’s the very high appeal of Donnie Darko. Some of us are Donnie Darko, and those who are not, know of someone who is like him. This is one of my all time favorite movies not many movies will top this one.

Technical/Non- Technical Aspects of movie:

DarkDragon:

The acting in this movie I think is very top notch; Jake Gyllenhaal does a great job, his best to date if you ask me. His sister off the screen, Maggie Gyllenhaal, also plays his sister Elizabeth Darko. They both have a good onscreen chemistry between them. They played off each other very well. Jena Malone also does a very good job in this movie as well. The score and music used in the film was for lack of a better word perfect. It captures those moments of sorrow and confusion. The soundtrack is awesome and I have had it for sometime now, and listen to it a lot. Everything else about this movie, writing, directing, and cinematography was all top notch. It couldn't have been done better in my eyes.

El Presidente:

I honestly can't say that I remember too much of the technical details like Reverend Geekeyez above (I've only seen the movie once, afterall), but from what I do remember, the effects were believable and the music, cinematography and acting all did make for a dark movie. heh, Donnie Darko. Isn't that interesting... *snore* (just kidding).

Rating:

El Presidente:

On the a scale of corn cobs, 1 being so corny that you should think about changing your diet and 5 not so corny (so sayeth your proctologist), I would have to give this a 2. I really don't want to relate this to a fecal joke, because I don't want to be that crude... yet. It's got it's good points... purely from a technical and story point of view, this movie is excellent. They did everything right. The tone is consistently dark throughout, right through to the end. I just didn't enjoy it. I really couldn't get into it.

And I'm afraid of big rabbits named Frank.

DarkDragon:

On the scale of corn cobs, 1 being so corny that you should think about changing your diet and 5 not so corny, I give this one a 5+ for sure. Not many will get this 5+ but this movie certainly deserving of that rating. Everything that went into the movie seemed perfectly intertwined. The ending is one which you have to watch a few times to get it at least I did as you can't really get it the first time you watch it. And you pick out little things that you missed watching it the first time.
Definitely worth the purchase.

P.s the directors cut of the film is a lot better then the original release, you do get more of a deeper understanding of the movie and Donnie's actions and what drives him to do what he does.

Mindhunters

2005-10-07T09:06:00.000-07:00

This movie doesn't stink. It doesn't rule either, but it was enjoyable. It's a film about a group of FBI profilers who get sent to an island on the east coast of the US for training.

It's got some names in it. LLCoolJ being the biggest one. Jonny Lee Miller (Hackers, Trainspotting). Christian Slater. Val Kilmer. Oh, and that lady who plays Anukh-su-namoon (or however the hell you spell it).

The plot is reasonably predictable and the methods of death are suitably graphic. I have to confess that I've never seen anybody melt from the inside out. That's the one thing that really sticks out in my recollection... oh, that and Val Kilmer's puppet routine.

On the a scale of corn cobs, 5 being not so corny and 1 being so corny that you should think about changing your diet (so sayeth your proctologist) I would give this about a 2. It's exciting, but nothing that I'd want to own. The paranoia, while integral to the story and understandable, really does get old.

-El Presidente