Big oil means big money. Very big money. And that fact unleashes corruption that stretches from Houston to Washington to the Mideast – and ensnares industrialists, princes, spies, politicos, oilfield laborers and terrorists in a deadly, deceptive web of move and countermove.
Before the blogosphere explodes in the age-old argument of which movie is worse, Terminator 3 or Terminator Salvation, let me state for the record that I think both movies are bad. However, Terminator 3 is watchable-bad (with some highly destructive stunts using real honest-to-God vehicles and a pretty well done bleak ending) while Terminator Salvation is an unwatchable mess full of nonsense CGI and a script with two A stories fighting each other for the chance to bore you to death.
That being said, I think Mostow made the right call in deleting the above scene from the final cut. It made me laugh while at the same time caused a sharp, stabbing pain in my brain.
Mark Wahlberg delivers an explosive performance in this action-packed thriller based on the legendary, hard-hitting video game.
Max Payne (Wahlberg) is a maverick cop with little regard for rules and nothing left to lose. Hell-bent on revenge, he’s determined to track down those responsible for the brutal murder of his family, but his obsessive investigation takes him on a nightmarish journey where dark fantasy collides with stark reality.
As the mystery deepens, Max is forced to battle enemies beyond the natural world…and face an unthinkable betrayal that will drive him to the edge of his own sanity.
This edition includes both the theatrical version and harder-hitting unrated extended cut of the film.
What it should read:
Mark Wahlberg delivers a lazy but adequate performance in this snow flurry-packed moving picture based on an all but forgotten video game.
Max Payne (Marky-Mark) is a cop cliche with little regard for rules, nothing left to lose, too close to the case, blah, blah, blah, cop, blah. Contractually obligated to collect the paycheck, he makes one determined expression that doesn’t let up while he tracks down those responsible for the brutal murder of his underwritten family, but his color-by-numbers investigation takes him on a nightmarish journey where visuals that look like a sequel to Constantine collide with plot devices lifted from Jacob’s Ladder.
As the movie continues, Max is forced to battle enemies beyond the natural world, and by that we mean the computer generated world…and face an unthinkable betrayal (which you most likely will have thought about the minute you saw Beau Bridges for the first time) that will drive him to the edge of his own sanity but you still won’t see any difference in his expression.
This edition includes both the theatrical version and the unrated version which contains three more minutes that you won’t notice because the movie was shot to get the PG-13 rating and that’s all it will ever be.
I am pleased to report that I have unearthed another fun straight-to-video horror experience in Trick ‘r Treat, a feature that did well at fantasy film festivals all over the world, and then sat on a shelf for years waiting for a Halloween when the latest Saw did not rear its ugly head (I can only assume.) It’s an anthology, easily the best of its kind since the orginal Creepshow, and features some pretty fantastic performances from a number of recognizable television faces and veteran character cats from the big screen, including a darkly hilarious turn from none other than Brian Cox (who is awesome because his last name is Cox.) Continue reading Straight-to-DVD Corner with Tonn Slingdog: Happy Belated Halloween→
Patrick Swayze, whose good looks and sympathetic performances in films such as “Dirty Dancing” and “Ghost” made him a romantic idol to millions, died Monday. He was 57.
Swayze died of pancreatic cancer, his publicist, Annett Wolf, told CNN. (via CNN)
Farewell to more 80s awesomeness. If you’ve never seen the non edited-for-television version of Road House, you haven’t lived.