Rating: 4 out of 5
Directed by Jim Simpson
Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Anthony LaPaglia
Viewed on DVD
The Guys is an emotionally-engaging drama about fire captain Nick Costello (Anthony LaPaglia) who has to cope with the loss of eight of his men who died during 9-11 and the challenge of writing eulogies for them.
It’s very touching and engrossing especially during interactions between Nick and Joan (Sigourney Weaver), the writer who helps him organize his thoughts and words for each of the men.
Each
time they finish writing a eulogy, which is then read out loud by Nick,
my eyes start to well up — it’s that emotional. I particularly like
LaPaglia’s masterful control of his emotions. I think he’s one of the
good, underrated actors around.
Splendid and solid performances
from both leads, LaPaglia and Weaver, made a the story more moving as
both were really convincing in their respective roles, most especially
LaPaglia.
People who’ve had tragedies in their lives — in
particular those whose lives were touched (and changed) by 9-11 — will
be able to relate to the grief, the pain, the loss, the struggle to go
back to normal life and the hope of looking forward to a new day as
shown in the film.
Rating: 3 out of 5
Directed by Peter Askin and Douglas McGrath
Starring: Douglas McGrath, Sigourney Weaver, John Turturro, Alan Cumming, Paul Guilfoyle, Denis Leary, Anthony LaPaglia, Ryan Philippe
Viewed on DVD
English
majors and grammar teachers will love this movie. I did! I never knew
good grammar could have such significant tactical and logistical
applications, as displayed by school teacher-turned-CIA agent Alan
Quimp (Douglas McGrath) in his day to day dealings.
The
way Quimp astutely applies proper sentence structures and verb tenses
in his missions is really humorous and grammar teachers and strict
language stalwarts would be amused.
The film is made more
entertaining by the appealing performances of Douglas McGrath (who also
co-wrote and co-directed the film) as the grammar-proficient spy, Sigourney Weaver as Alan Quimp’s social-climbing wife, Daisy, and Anthony LaPaglia as Cuban leader Fidel Castro.
I
had a good time watching this film all throughout and I’d recommend
this for students who need to work on their pronouns, adverbs and
adjectives. This could be a useful tool in teaching grammar.
There’s
a "sequel setup" at the end (or at least I think there is) and I for
one would be interested in seeing what Quimp would do next for the CIA.
I saw the special on The Gospel of Judas on the National Geographic Channel the other night and I must say I was really intrigued and excited to see and hear what the producers had to show.
At best, the presentation got me asking questions about the validity
of the said gospel’s contents and it made me want to go back to the
other four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) just to thoroughly
see how Judas was portrayed in each one.
I don’t know if people have had their faith shaken by the appearance of this ‘gospel’ but it made me think of a lot of what ifs,
like what if Jesus really asked Judas to make the "supreme sacrifice"
of being the betrayer, or what if the other four gospels were really
out to make Judas look bad, or what if there was a conspiracy behind
the New Testament?
Of course, after watching the whole thing I sort of sensed that the Gospel of Judas was probably a hoax, written by people who wanted to ‘redeem’ Judas’s reputation and intended to mislead or confuse the post-pentecost Christians.
But still, it provoked my thoughts and piqued my curious mind. So, it wasn’t a total loss.
[I wonder what impact The Da Vinci Code will have on me. hehehe] 
If you’ve seen the full trailer to X-Men: The Last Stand and thought it was cool, these three tv ads for the film will add more to that.
Here are the links to the three tv spots…
TV trailer 1, TV trailer 2, TV trailer 3
…and here are some screen caps of the ads… enjoy! 
That’s Juggs stuck on the floor (up there) with Kitty…
…this is Kitty smiling slyly at the now stuck Juggs…
…what could Logan be screaming and looking up at?…
…Jean: "Kiss me you fool."
…Scott looks at (most probably) the rising of Phoenix…
…Jean: "Kiss me you fool." (how many times does she do this in this film? hehehe)
I got this from filmforce.ign.com…
+ + + + +
Talent Returns for New Evil
Jovovich and friends prepare for Extinction
by Paul Davidson
April 17, 2006 - The next Resident Evil film, now titled Extinction, is
gearing up for production. Variety reports that the key leads for the
third entry in the videogame-based horror series have been signed up.
Reporting for zombie-killing duty are Milla Jovovich as Alice, and
co-star Sienna Guillory is involved again as Jill Valentine. Also
returning are Mike Epps, Oded Fehr, and Iain Glen. Not all these cast
announcements are surprises — after all, the series is practically
built around Milla Jovovich — but it’s the first firm word of
Guillory’s involvement in particular.
The story, as previously reported, takes place in the Nevada desert
following the worldwide zombie apocalypse. Filming should get underway
next month in Mexico, delayed two months from the production’s original
plans to shoot in Australia.
Russell Mulcahy, who directed the first two Highlander films, will be
helming Resident Evil: Extinction based on a screenplay by Paul W.S.
Anderson, who directed the original Resident Evil picture.
+ + + + +
I wonder what else Alice and company will be doing this time. ;o)
Here’s an MSN behind-the-scenes feature on X-Men: The Last Stand showing interviews with producer Ralph Winter, director Brett Ratner, cast members Hugh Jackman and Famke Janssen, and some wire work and special effects.
Very cool stuff! ;o)
Click here!
[Happy Easter to every one! Just want to share something I read from my devotional readings...]
The
bitter conflict had finally ended between the North and the South. The
soldiers of the US Civil War were free to return to their families. But
a number of them remained hidden in the woods, living on berries. They
either didn’t hear or didn’t believe that the war was over, so they
continued enduring miserable conditions when they could have been back
home.
It’s something like that in the spiritual realm too.
Christ made peace between God and man by dying in our place. He paid
sin’s penalty on the cross. Anyone who accepts His sacrifice will be
forgiven by a holy God.
Sadly, many people refuse to believe the
gospel and continue to live as spiritual fugitives. Sometimes even
those who have place their trust in Christ live on almost the same
level. Either out of ignorance of unwillingness, they fail to claim the
promises of God’s word. They do not experience the joy and assurance
that should accompany salvation. They do not draw from their
relationship with God the comfort and peace He intends for His
children. They are the objects of His love, care, and provision but
live as if they were orphans.
Have you been living apart from the comfort, love, and care of your heavenly Father? Come on home. The war is over. — Richard de Haan
* * * * *
We fail, O Lord, to realize
The fullness of what You have done,
So help us trust Your saving work
And claim the triumph You have won. — D. De Haan
* * * * *
Christ’s victory over death means peace for His saints.
[from Our Daily Bread]
Rating: 3 out of 5
Directed by Kurt Wimmer
Starring: Milla Jovovich, Cameron Bright, Nick Chinlund, William Fichtner
Viewed on the big screen
It’s
an okay action film. Nothing more. Don’t expect an X-Men or a
Spider-Man. But do expect to have a nice time watching the cool stunts
and special effects. Don’t try to over analyze this one because it
won’t do you any good. Just take UltraViolet for what it is — a good action film.
Some
parts of it are very derivative — did any one else notice that the
opening sequence was a Spider-Man rip off, referring to visuals and
soundtrack? Also, the action sequences are nothing new really, as most
of it are similar to the ones in the film Equilibrium, which Kurt Wimmer also directed.
Milla Jovovich
was okay in her role as the one woman army and the story actually had a
lot of potential to be better. However, the film let her down, as it
suffered from a lifeless script (in terms of drama) that needed a blood
transfusion from either one of the Hemophages — to give it more kick
– or one of the humans, most preferably Six (Cameron Bright) — to give it more heart.
But
overall, it is an enjoyable actioner and it works, for me, as a cool
alternative version of Equilibrium, with Violet Song jat Shariff
stepping in for Cleric John Preston (Christian Bale).
