DVD Releases for June 8, 2010
Posted on Jun 08, 2010 @ 06:10AM - Add a comment
180 Degrees South: Conquerors of the Useless (Unrated)
What happens when two men set out for the adventure of a lifetime -- only to discover a mission that’s greater than themselves? 180 Degrees South is the story of an epic, rugged journey that Yvon Chouinard undertook in 1968. His travels inspired him to save 2 million acres of the Patagonia (after which he named his global company), and bear lessons for a new generation of outdoor enthusiasts and urban dwellers alike. (Yvon Chouinard [Himself], Doug Tompkins [Himself])
From Paris with Love (R)
The classic odd-couple scenario gets a French twist in this slick, high-octane ride about a bad-ass baddie-crusher who doesn’t play by the rules and a wimpy do-gooder who thinks he’s ready for ready for action. When the bullets start flying on the streets of Paris, the two suddenly need each other to survive as they’re caught in a game of intrigue with stakes higher than either could have imagined. (John Travolta [Charlie Wax], Jonathan Rhys Meyers [James Reece])
Shutter Island (R)
Armed with a gun, some heavy theories and a grating Boston accent, Martin Scorsese brings fear to the big screen in this adaptation of a bone-chilling novel. Leonardo DiCaprio stars as a cop who becomes entangled in the mysterious disappearance of a patient at a facility for the criminally insane. In this nightmare nothing is as it seems -- and the most dangerous weapon is the human mind. (Leonardo DiCaprio [Teddy Daniels], Mark Ruffalo [Chuck Aule])
Movie Review: From Paris With Love
Posted on Feb 05, 2010 @ 11:32AM - 1 comment
Sexy, slick and rushing by at a swift pace, From Paris with Love is an ode not so much to a foreign city as to good, old-fashioned action flicks with some fresh twists. Paris stars John Travolta and Jonathan Rhys Meyers as an unlikely terror-fighting duo working undercover for the American government. This odd pairing of actors is inspired, allowing them to step into well-suited roles while bringing new energy to a tired formula.
Meyers plays James Reece, fastidious assistant to the U.S. Ambassador in Paris, living the ex-pat dream with a gorgeous girlfriend (Kasia Smutniak) and secretly ingratiating himself as an entry-level CIA agent. When he gets his first real assignment, then, Reece thinks his career prayers have been answered, as he hastily trades an evening of amour for what he thinks will be his moment to shine. But when he meets Charlie Wax (Travolta), his new cowboy of a partner, Reece’s vision of intrigue and glory quickly recedes in the face of a gun-slinging night that leads the pair deeper into a labyrinthine terror plot.
Tagging along for Wax’s wild ride, Reece is immediately and thoroughly appalled at his partner’s unorthodox methodology. From a surprise shoot-out at dinner to Wax’s insistence that he carry a vase filled with cocaine, our well-groomed assistant’s sensibilities are offended at every turn as he tries to keep up with Wax’s man-hunt (and rising body count). In this 24-hour fiesta of kicking ass, blowing stuff up and running for their lives, both Travolta and Meyers breathe considerable life into their roles, making parts of the movie worth more than their sum.
