Quick Look: The Chronicles of Riddick (2004)

Vin Diesel returns as the anti-hero, Richard Riddick, in the follow up to Pitch Black.  There was also a brief animated feature called Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury that was released right before this movie came out as a kind of promo, but I still consider this the second film and second part of the series.  Where Pitch Black used great characters, tension, and a decent script to drive its story, Chronicles uses pure action and some special effects as its main ingredients.     
**spoiler alert**  It is 5 years after the events of Pitch Black and Riddick finds himself still escaping bounty hunters, as well as dispatching anyone who is stupid enough to attempt to confront him.  A group -actually more of a technologically advanced cult - called Necromongers (goofy name, I know)  is now making its way world to world conquering and/or killing all in their path.  They give their potential victims a choice, to submit and convert to the Necromonger group, basically as slaves, or to be killed.  The Necromongers are led by a half-alive/half-dead being called the Lord Marshal (he has a few good moments as the bad guy).  Riddick escapes his initial run-in with the Necromongers, but inevitably ends up having to battle the Lord Marshal in the end, and I don't want to ruin anything - but Riddick wins.
I would call The Chronicles of Riddick some decent mindless fun.  It is very predictable, so much so that you spend most if the movie trying to guess who Riddick is going to beat up or kill next.  Almost comically.  Since this was a bigger budget summer film, there are some good effects and scenery on the different planets, in addition to the good sci-fi effects that help drive some of the action.  The dialogue is shaky at best, and the plot is thin, but again this is action film that is about Riddick kicking the bad(er) guys butts.  Diesel does a serviceable job, no one else was very noticeable.  I highly recommend getting the unrated version, there is about 15 extra minutes of background to the story and Riddick mythology.  The on screen violence is the only warning of note.  If you like Vin Diesel, and a sci-fi action story, you will like this.

    

Vacation reboot? Really? I wonder what Cousin Eddie would say...

Reports of a Vacation reboot... yikes.

I vaguely recall Robin Williams attempting to do a Vacation style movie, RV  I beleive(?),  and it clearly flopped.
Don't mess with a movie like Vacation.


http://www.imdb.com/news/ni31852604/

Happy Birthday: D-Day & Lex

Bruce McGill - best know as D-Day from Animal House ...

Michael Rosenbaum - best known for his role as Lex Luthor on Smallville, but had a great part in Urban Legend

Quick Look: The Runaways (2010)

This is a great indie film and semi-biographical look about the all girl punk/rock band from the 70's.  It is also probably my favorite movie of actors Kristen Stewart (who plays Joan Jett), and Dakota Fanning (who plays Cherie Currie).  The Runaways is directed by Floria Sigismondi, and Joan Jett was one of the producers.

If Oliver Stone's The Doors was about psychedelic fun, glamour, and the 60's rock and roll lifestyle- The Runaways is 180 degrees opposite.  It looks and feels dirty and raw, and does a great job giving the audience a glimpse about how these teenage girls, pioneers in their genre, clawed their way through nasty clubs; were essentially exploited by their manager; and how eventually (and rather quickly) Cherie Currie succumbed to drug addiction and mental breakdown leading to the breakup of the band.

If there was one downside to this film, I would say that it spent too much time focused on Cherie and Joan and not enough time looking at the other members of the band, but the flip side to that is that Stewart and Fanning both did outstanding jobs in their roles.  Also, this is considered biographical, but some facts were glossed over a bit, the original bassist, Jackie Fox, refused to let her name be used.

This is a must see for fans of rock and roll history, fans of the band, and fans of these actors.  'R' rating is for language, sexual content, and drug use.

   

Awesome movie quotes: The Eagle Has Landed (1976)

"Colonel, there's no such thing as 'death with honor'. Just death."

happy birthday: to 4

Tom Hanks - my favorites of his are Dragnet, Splash, Saving Private Ryan, and Catch Me if You Can

Nigel Lythgoe - producer of TV shows So You Think You Can Dance, and American Idol

Dean Koontz - excellent horror author whose many books have been ruined on TV or the big screen

Jimmy Smits - better know for his TV roles, but had good parts on the big screen in Star Wars Ep 2 & 3, and Running Scared (the funny one)

Quick Look: Pitch Black (2000)

This is nice little action movie that I was initially a little weary of my first viewing, but with the subsequent movies and video games, Pitch Black, also known as The Chronicles of Riddick: Pitch Black (that came after the sequels were released) is a film worth checking out.
The basic story goes like this: a space flight carrying a group of passengers gets 'interrupted' by a meteor strike.  The ship crash lands on an unknown planet, with multiple casualties.  Several people are still alive, including a very dangerous criminal named Riddick (Vin Diesel); the bounty hunter bringing him in named Johns (Cole Hauser); a crew memeber named Fry (Radha Mitchell); a holy man (Keith David); a kid named Jack; plus several other various people.  
Riddick quickly escapes after the crash, and the group is tense as Johns has explained that Riddick is a killer.  Searching the area for water and shelter, the group comes upon an old settlement that seems to have been abandoned years ago.  One of the party is killed, and the group quickly blames Riddick - but the audience sees that it was not him.  He is recaptured and the initial thought is to kill him, but cooler heads prevail and the greater danger is discovered.  There are lizard-like, flying aliens hiding underground on this planet that are carnivorous, and ready to eat all of the remaining characters.  The good news is that the will not come out into the sunlight and that a small spaceship has been discovered at the settlement, so there may be a way to escape.  The bad news is that a long eclipse is quickly approaching and that will spell certain doom for the humans, unless they can get the spaceship up and running.  The body count rises, and the lines between good guy and bad guy are very fuzzy throughout this film, and obviously with the sequels, Riddick is one of the survivors.
On my first viewing, I was initially somewhat negative about this film because the alien creatures looked like a cross between a hammerhead shark and the aliens from the 'Alien' franchise, and I did not find it very imaginative.  However, the special effects - highlighted by Riddick's "in the dark vision", as well as the creatures "point of view" camera shots are entertaining, and create a fun watching experience, plus the images and set work of this barren desert-like planet were done very well.  The story is basic, but works in enough action to keep the pace moving, and the characters are not completely predictable.  Hauser and Diesel were both very good characters in this movie, and make it worth a look in and of itself.  I was happily surprised with the ending, and sets up the future films well.
 I recommend the DVD/ Blu-Ray, it has a good amount of extras that feed into the Riddick mythology, plus a few extra minutes of footage.  'R'/unrated versions are for language, and violence.
The sequels are: The Chronicles Riddick: Dark Fury (an animated short film), and The Chronicles of Riddick, both were out in 2004.  Another Chronicles of Riddick movie is supposed to be coming out in 2013.     

Awesome movie quotes: Natural Born Killers (1994)

"I realized my true calling in life."

"What's that?"

"Shit, man, I'm a natural born killer."

Happy Birthday: Kevin Bacon

has done lots of great films, some of my favorites are Animal House, Stir of Echos, Wild Things, and Flatliners

Awesome movie quotes: Airplane! (1980)

"What was it we had for dinner tonight?"

"Well, we had a choice- steak or fish."

"Yes, I remember, I had lasagna."

Happy Birthday: to 4

Janet Leigh - actress and mother of Jamie Lee Curtis... Janet's best roles were Psycho and The Fog

Sylvester Stallone - actor, writer and director ... my favorite roles of his are in Rocky, Rambo: First Blood Part 2, Cobra, and The Expendables

Geoffrey Rush - best roles in The Pirates of the Caribbean movies, House on Haunted Hill, and Munich

George W Bush - best role was as the President of the United States for 8 years

Awesome movie quotes: Swingers (1996)

".. I'm going to find me two waitresses and I'm gonna pull me a Fredo.."

Awesome movie quotes: Beverly Hills Cop (1984)

".. no that ain't me, I'm from Buffalo..."

Happy Birthday: Tom x2

Thomas Gibson- best known for his roles in Dharma & Greg and Criminal Minds

Tom Cruise - my favorite roles of his are in Collateral, Tropic Thunder, Top Gun, and Eyes Wide Shut

Happy Birthday: Elwood, Arwen, and Cameron

Dan Aykroyd - best roles in Ghostbusters, The Blue Brothers, Dragnet and Grosse Pointe Blank

Liv Tyler - daughter of Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler, best film roles in The Lord of the Rings trilogy

Alan Ruck - has made his way onto about every TV show in the last 20 years doing guest spots... best roles in Ferris Beuller's Day Off and Speed