Movies Update

Death Sentence is a 2007 film loosely based on the 1975 novel by Brian Garfield. The film is directed by Saw director James Wan, and stars Kevin Bacon as Nick Hume, a man who becomes a vengeful vigilante killer after his son is murdered by a gang as an initiation ritual. The film premiered on August 31, 2007. It was filmed at and it took place in Columbia, South Carolina.

A little background first, to connect Bronson to Bacon. Both were pulp thrillers, and the latter, released in 1975, was a sequel to the former. The movies do not share this close a kinship, especially considering that Death Sentence the movie has almost nothing to do with Death Sentence the novel (other than the title and the broad thematic content) but it’s clear - despite the pretensions of the 2007 feature - they are cut from the same whole cloth. Death Wish has taken its share of knocks over the years but at least it doesn’t pretend it’s something more important and meaningful than it is - a mistake made by Death Sentence to its detriment.

Bacon’s performance in “Saw” creator James Wan’s laughably extreme revenge thriller “Death Sentence” is six degrees of ham. Playing an insurance executive out to exact revenge against the gang that killed his precollege son, Bacon exhibits every facial expression except one you might have seen on a real person.

Star(s) to watch : Kelly Preston (”Sky High”, “Dr. Seuss’ The Cat in the Hat”) as Helen Hume, Kevin Bacon (”Hollow Man”, “Trapped”, “Apollo 13″) as Nick Hume, & Aisha Tyler as Detective Wallis.

Genre : Action, Drama, Thriller, Gangster, Adaptation.

Release date : August 31, 2007

Rating : 8/10

Official website : http://www.deathsentencemovie.com/

Poster : http://movies-update.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/death_sentence-209𝗬.jpg

Trailer :

Days of Night is an American horror film about vampires taking the small town on Barrows, Alaska. Metacritic gives this film a 53% and it was given a 49% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Based on a comic book, the movie tells the story of Barrow, Alaska, northernmost point in the state that suffers 30 days of night every winter. While the citizens are getting ready to face the upcoming month of obscurity — some fleeing for more southern destinations, some stocking up piles of supplies — a stranger comes into town and starts making a mess behind the scenes. As soon as Eben (Hartnett), the local sheriff, starts investigating, and the last sunlight to be seen for a month is slowly creeping away from the skyline, a pack of ghastly creatures will unleash their fury on the villagers, turning the landscape from snow white to blood red.

This vampire movie takes place in a small town in Alaska that yearly has 30 days of darkness. The town members find themselves infested with vampires and have to hide and fight to survive till the sun comes back.

Star(s) to watch : Josh Hartnett (”Lucky Number Slevin”, “Sin City”, “Pearl Harbor”) as Eben Oleson, Melissa George (”Turistas”, “The Amityville Horror”) as Stella Oleson, & Ben Foster (”X-Men: The Last Stand”, “3:10 to Yuma”, “The Punisher”) as The Stranger.

Genre : Horror, Thriller, Adaptation.

Release date : October 19, 2007

Rating : 7/10

Official website : http://www.30daysofnight.com/

Poster : http://movies-update.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/30_days_of_night-200×300.jpg

Trailer :

You could be forgiven for rolling your eyes at the thought of Untraceable. The premise sounds suspiciously like one of those ‘torture porn′ flicks that so many, myself included, wish would just go away once and for all. Thankfully, the movie is far less graphic and nauseating than things like Saw and Hostel. It would hard - not to mention depressing - to think that director Gregory Hoblit (Primal Fear, ‘NYPD Blue’) and Oscar-nominated actress Diane Lane would be reduced to the torture porn genre, wouldn′t it? While clearly leagues better than those dispiriting gorefests, Untraceable nevertheless falls victim to one of the pitfalls of them: inherent silliness.

“UNTRACEABLE” is about a secret service agent, Jennifer Marsh, played by Best Actress Oscar nominee Diane Lane who gets caught in a very personal and deadly cat-and-mouse game with a serial killer who knows that people (being what they are - both curious and drawn to the dark side of things) will log onto an “untraceable” website where he conducts violent and painful murders LIVE on the net. The more people who log on and enter the website, the quicker and more violently the victim dies. This film explores that but not in a preachy way but in a way that is both intense, entertaining and thought-provoking.

Nominally, this is a story about a serial killer who rigs his victims to a torture device in front of a camera, streams the footage to the internet, and rigs it such that the more people watch the faster they die. After him are a pair of FBI cybercrime specialists (Diane Lane and Colin Hanks) and a police detective who is one of the most boring characters in cinema history (Billy Burke). One of the stops on their trail, for reasons too irrelevant to detail here, is the home of a creepy dude whose basement is full of pornography, sex toys, and other unseemly paraphernalia.

Star(s) to watch : Diane Lane (”Unfaithful”, “Streets of Fire”) as Jennifer Marsh, & Colin Hanks (”King Kong”) as Griffin Dowd.

Genre : Action, Thriller.

Release date : January 25, 2008

Rating : 8/10

Official website : http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/untraceable/index.html

Poster : http://www.comment4friends.com/images/untraceable.jpg

Trailer :

Bright sun, warm waters and sandy beaches beckon countless Americans every year, particularly young adults seeking inexpensive fun. Enter Amy (Jena Malone) and Stacy (Laura Ramsey), two best friends who bring along their very different boyfriends — focused med student Jeff (Jonathan Tucker) and free-spirited partier Eric (Shawn Ashmore). As the group’s vacation nears its end, they journey into the lush Mexican jungle in hopes of seeing some ancient Mayan ruins. But when they arrive at the magnificent site, an unexpected event drives the frightened travellers to the top of the crumbling stone structure, where they confront hidden deadly horrors and engage in a brutal battle for survival.

running time: 110 min.

director: Carter Smith

studio: DreamWorks Pictures

producer(s): Chris Bender, Jeremy Kramer, Stuart Cornfeld

screenplay: Scott B. Smith

Genre : Horror, Thriller, Adaptation.

Release date : April 4, 2008

Official website : http://www.ruinsmovie.com/

Poster : http://movies-update.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/the_ruins-202×300.jpg

Trailer :

As Heard in the Film review by Clark Douglas: I’m a fan of director Frank Darabont. His adaptation of the Stephen King story ‘The Shawshank Redemption′ is one of the most beloved films of all time, frequently being mentioned in the same breath as ‘Casablanca’. Darabont turned to King again for his next film, ‘The Green Mile’, a moving drama with some good characters. Yet another Stephen King story is the basis for Darabont’s latest film, ‘The Mist’. Unlike the first two King stories, ‘The Mist’ is not an uplifting drama, but rather a straight-ahead horror story.

Based on a Stephen King novella and adapted for the screen by writer/director Frank Darabont (who has some experience with successful King adaptations), The Mist is the story of a small town that becomes shrouded in a mysterious and malevolent fog. The brunt of the film takes place in a claustrophobic grocery store (classic horror film convention) where a band of survivors barricade themselves in and (hopefully) out of harm’s way. Some doubters venture outside into the mist and are never heard from again. Some come back in pieces.

Yet, strangely enough Landscape in the Mist is not a film of visual contrasts. Most certainly not in terms of color use. On the contrary it very much feels as something Andrei Tarkovsky would direct. Gloomy, misty, almost hypnotic at times this is a story that pushes the viewer into a near state of lassitude. The only thing that keeps the senses aroused is the director’s striking gift to discover beauty where most would see boredom.

Star(s) to watch : Alexa Davalos (”The Chronicles of Riddick”) as Sally, & Thomas Jane (”The Punisher”, “Face/Off”, “Dreamcatcher”, “Original Sin”) as David Drayton.

Genre : Sci-Fi, Thriller, Adaptation.

Release date : November 21, 2007

Rating : 8/10

Official website : http://www.stephenking.com/

Poster : http://movies-update.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/the_mist-203×300.jpg

Trailer :

Halloween must be closing in because the Horrorfest marketing machine is churning at a frenzied place. On the heels of the Fronti?(s) poster hitting the Web and the pictures of the gore-hound hotties with aspirations of becoming Miss Horrorfest 2008, After Dark Films gave Bloody-Disgusting a peek at the trailer for The Deaths of Ian Stone, which will make its debut at this year’s Horrorfest.

Directed by Dario Piana, The Deaths of Ian Stone is an interesting supernatural thriller but not much of a horror film. The biggest problem is that it is completely dependent on exposition, not only that, but exposition provided by an outside character. Now being a film that requires much dialogue to deliver the plot it suffers from slow pacing where little learned. As the first half feels like a bit of a slog, the build to the climax comes at a rather high speed giving the film a rushed feeling.

The shortcomings of the film actually come from the delivery of it. First time director, Dario Piana, doesn?t dictate the pace of the movie very well. At first, The Deaths of Ian Stone just plods along at an surprisingly slow pace. The problem was that not enough time was spent with each incarnation. Just as Ian finds himself in a new life, he is quite literally vanquished five minutes later. While this abruptness does give the viewer an insight into the craziness of the situation he finds himself in, the number of times it occurs should have been scaled back to really drive home his attempts at survival.

Star(s) to watch : Christina Cole (”Casino Royale”) as Jenny, &amp Mike Vogel (”The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”) as Ian Stone.

Genre : Horror, Thriller.

Release date : November 9, 2007

Rating : 7/10

Poster : http://movies-update.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/the_deaths_of_ian_stone-205×300.jpg

Trailer :

Los Angeles police officers are corrupt. Really corrupt. We get it Hollywood. Here’s yet another in a long line of films about corruption in the LAPD. Don’t believe the film’s misleading trailers. Street Kings is not a movie about cops cleaning up the streets. This is a movie about cops cleaning up after themselves.

Take Training Day and cross it with the FX television series The Shield, and you have Street Kings. Keanu Reeves plays Detective Tom Ludlow, a dirty cop who works with a team of dirty cops. The difference between Tom and the rest of his squad is that he doesn’t seem to realize he’s a sleaze. His commander describes him as “the point of the spear”, and they use him whenever they want to abuse their badges to have a bunch of bad guys executed quickly, cleanly, and without the reading of Miranda rights. Tom is pretty good when it comes to killing and his commander is even better when it comes to covering up for his wanton slaughter.

Things change for Tom when his ex-partner is murdered in what appears to be a random act of gang violence. Ludlow may be a point and shoot killing machine, but he’s also loyal to his brothers in blue. He’s rocked by the death of his partner, and when the department inexplicably refuses to investigate his killing, Tom takes it on himself to figure out what the hell is going on. For Keanu Reeves, that means a lot of looking bewilderingly constipated, something he’s pretty good at.

Making fun of Keanu Reeves’ limited acting range is kind of like throwing rocks at a retarded kid though, and I’ve always been a big supporter of his. Sure he has only a scant a few facial expressions at his disposal, but they’re good expressions, and when he’s put in the right situation Keanu Reeves really works on screen. Unfortunately, he’s not give much to work with here. He guzzles vodka from tiny airplane-sized bottles, but it’s more of an affectation than a genuine character flaw. Tom and Street Kings are both standard stuff. Another convoluted cop corruption movie filled with unlikable characters and a dubious anti-hero who is only a hero because he seems to think he is, or because he shoots first.

Genre : Drama, Thriller.

Release date : April 11, 2008

Length: 107 min

Distributor: Fox Searchlight Pictures

Directed : David Ayer

Produced : Erwin Stoff, Alexandra Milchan, Lucas Foster

Written : James Elroy, David Ayer

Official website : http://www.foxsearchlight.com/streetkings/

Poster : http://movies-update.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/street_kings-202×300.jpg

Trailer :

For photographer Ben (Joshua Jackson) and his new wife Jane (Rachael Taylor), his new assignment — a lucrative fashion shoot in Tokyo — was supposed to be a kind of working honeymoon. With this exotic professional opportunity and the limitless possibilities of a new marriage, Ben and Jane arrive in Japan. But as they make their way on a mountain road leading to Mt. Fuji, their new life together comes to, literally, a crashing halt. Their car smashes into a woman standing in the middle of the road, who has materialized out of nowhere. Upon regaining consciousness after the accident, Ben and Jane cannot find any trace of the girl Jane believes she hit with the car.

Shaken by the accident and by the girl’s disappearance, Ben and Jane arrive in Tokyo, where Ben begins his glamorous assignment. Having worked in Japan before and fluent in the language, Ben is comfortable there, and he eagerly reunites with old friends and colleagues. Jane, a newcomer to the city, feels very much like a stranger in a strange land as she makes tentative, unsettling forays through the city.

Ben, meanwhile, has discovered mysterious white blurs — eerily evocative of a human form — that have materialized on an entire day’s work from the expensive photo shoot. Jane’s concerns escalate as she believes the blurs in Ben’s photos are the dead girl from the road, who is now seeking vengeance for them leaving her to die…

Star(s) to watch : Joshua Jackson (”Urban Legend”, “Cursed”) as Benjamin Shaw.

Genre : Horror, Thriller, Remake.

Release date : March 21, 2008

Director : Masayuki Ochiai

Distributor : 20th Century

Official website : http://www.shutter-movie.com/

Poster : http://movies-update.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/shutter-196𝗬.jpg

Trailer :

Pete is an American travel writer reporting on the booming tourist industry in the Northern Territory. While taking a river cruise he finds himself stuck with a collection of interesting characters, including Kate, the beautiful local tour guide. There is an immediate attraction between the two, but when their boat is rammed by something from below, the tour is thrown into disarray and they become stranded on a tiny mud island. As night falls and the tide starts to rise, the group slowly realise they are being stalked by a huge saltwater crocodile, beginning a terrifying struggle for survival in one of the most remote places in the world.
Star(s) to watch : Radha Mitchell (”Man on Fire”, “Phone Booth”) as Kate.

Genre : Adventure, Thriller.

Release date : April 25, 2008

Official website : http://www.roguecrocodile.com/

Poster : http://movies-update.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/rogue-202𝗬.jpg

Trailer :

When med school student Ted Gray (Milo Ventimiglia) graduates top of his class, he joins one of the nation’s most prestigious Pathology programs. With talent and determination, Ted is quickly noticed by the program’s privileged and elite band of pathology interns who invite him into their crowd.

Intrigued by his new friends he begins to uncover secrets he never expected and finds that he has unknowingly become a pawn in their dangerous and secret after hours game at the morgue of who can commit the perfect undetectable murder. As Ted becomes seduced into their wild extracurricular activities, the danger becomes real and he must stay one step ahead of the game before he is the next victim.

Star(s) to watch : Milo Ventimiglia (”Cursed”, “Stay Alive”, “Rocky Balboa”) as Dr. Ted Gray, &amp Alyssa Milano (”Commando”) as Gwen Williamson.

Genre : Drama, Thriller.

Release date : April 18, 2008

Official website : http://www.enterpathologylab.com/

Poster : http://movies-update.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/pathology-200𝗬.jpg

Trailer :