Lots Of Reviews

Been busy this weekend. Here are the reviews, but be warned, some of these films surpass "bad".

The 40 y/o Virgin (2005) - My wife and I finally got around to seeing this film at the theater this weekend, and I must say that I was quite surprised at how funny the movie was. I've been a big fan of Steve Carell since his days as Produce Pete and such on The Daily Show. Not to mention, his show stealing in the terrible Bruce Almighty and Anchorman.

Steve proves here that he's able to hold down a film by himself and that he's seriously star material. I won't go into the plot, as it's pretty well known what the film is about. I must say though that I was surprised by the humor in the film. It didn't feel as sophmoric as one would expect, eventhough they definently earned their R rating. I'd have to recommend seeing this one at the theater, it's absolutely hilarious.

8/10

Layer Cake (2004) - I've been looking forward to this flick for a long time, and I'm happy has hell to finally see it on DVD. The film was directed by Matthew Vaughn, producer of Snatch and Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, and surpasses the aforementioned films.

The film revolves around a nameless drug dealer (Daniel Craig) in Britan. He's just about to get out of the business when his boss hires him to find the daughter of an acquantince. She got addicted to coke then skipped town with a crack addict.

Then, we are introduced to The Duke. He's a wanna be gangster who is trying to sell our hero 1 million hits of ecstasy. Our guy tries to low ball him on the price for the drugs and The Duke won't take it. So, then we rewind to a few days earlier and find out that The Duke actually robbed a group of Serbian drug lords for the X and now they've hired a hit man named Dragan to cut off the heads of anyone responsible.

Being as the nameless drug dealer was trying to buy the drugs, he's now on the list.

Sure the film sounds complicated and there is a lot going on, but this is by far one of the most satisfying films I've seen in a long time. It has the british cool of the Guy Ritchie flicks while having it's own 'feel' to it. Fantastic film, I loved absolutely every second of it and was drawn in from second one of the film. Also, any film that has The Cult's "She Sells Sanctuary" playing within the first five minutes has got to be good.

10/10!

Midnight Skater (2002) - This flick was part of my Skinned Alive 4 pack and I must say that it's bad. No really.....like really really really really really really bad. It's shot on video with talentless actors and zero budget. Did I mention it's bad?

A group of teens at college are getting p**sed because someone keeps spray-painting the words "Midnight Skater" on their campus. They decide to form a detective group to find out who is doing it and to punish him. Then there are two stupid drug dealers (ala Jay and Silent Bob) who are pushing a drug called Z which eventually turns it's users into zombies. And then, there is also a killer on campus who takes glee in necrophelia and general gory mayhem.

My main problem besides the budget and acting is the "detective group". All of the teens are punk rockers. I have a feeling that they wouldn't care if the campus is being defaced. I know I certainly wouldn't have. The other problem is that there is too much going on. You have the search for the Midnight Skater, the zombies, and a killer on the loose? Way too over saturated with plotlines.

But, in the end it's like a car wreck. I just couldn't hit the stop button on the DVD player. The movie was terrible and I had no reason to continue watching it, but part of me was entertained. There is some humor interspersed throughout and a lot of gore. Check it out only if you are really into cheap flicks.

5/10

Demon Summer (2003) - Written/Directed by Andrew and Lucas Campbell, who also wrote/directed Midnight Skater, this is considerably better than Skater. The film starts off with a punk rocker mugging the town's resident crazy guy for his 40oz of beer. While mugging him, he finds a book the guy was carrying. He decides to leave the beer and take the book.

Come to find out the book is full of demonic passages and such. The next night the guy with his buddies get stoned and go into the woods to screw around with some of the passages. He then gets turned into a demon, and starts rampaging around the town.

Just like Midnight Skater, this film was shot on video and has absolutely no budget, yet it far surpasses Skater. It's a more serious film, with only one plotline and it keeps things crisp throughout. I actually highly enjoyed Demon Summer and would say that it's a pretty good addition to the Skinned Alive box set. I would love to see what these guys could do with real equipment and a decent budget.

7/10

Carlos Mencia: Not For The Easily Offended (????) - Rented this dvd from Blockbuster recently and it was great to see Mencia uncut and unedited. Carlos Mencia is a hilarious guy, by far one of the best comedians out there today and yet I don't believe he'll ever really make it big due to his comedy.

Mencia finds humor in race and religion, things that are deemed politically incorrect to make fun of today. It doesn't matter who you are, you are going to be made fun of. Mencia does his comedy in a way that despite the title of the DVD, isn't very offensive.

His comedy does get serious at some points, and it's refreshing. If you don't catch this DVD, then check him out on Comedy Central. He has a new show on there that despite being heavily edited, is pretty good.

8/10

Well there we go, that was my weekend. Out of all of the films I saw, I'd have to HIGHLY recommend Layer Cake and 40 y/o Virgin.