Directed by: Paul W.S. Anderson
Starring: Jason Statham, Ian McShane, Joan Allen, Tyrese Gibson, Natalie Martinez
Released: August 22, 2008

With never seeing the David Carradine & Sly Stallone version from the 70’s, I went into seeing ‘Death Race’ with absolutely zero preconceptions, and honestly, expectations. This Summer has been filled with numerous movie premiers where I couldn’t wait for Friday to get here soon enough. This simply wasn’t one of them… it was more along the lines of the fact that it was Friday night, I had nothing better to do, and I had a craving for theater popcorn. But somehow, amazingly, I found this movie to be strangely entertaining. In fact, I’ll go so far as saying it was a damn good action movie and if you like explosions, car crashes, and massive amounts of violence (and, admit it, who doesn’t), you’ll have a good time watching the carnage unfold on the screen.

Written, Produced, & Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Zooey Deschanel, John Leguizamo
Released: June 13, 2008

I was really looking forward to this flick the first time I set eyes on the movie poster. It had a very cryptic, creepy tone, and once I heard this was to be M. Night Shyamalan’s first R-Rated feature, I was downright giddy. But the more and more I saw the trailers and read exceprts from early reviews, I slowly started to get worried that this may not be the big return to form I was hoping for. Though many have been put off by his movies for years, I’ve greatly enjoyed all of Night’s flicks. Even with their we-know-it’s-coming twist endings and somewhat predictable storytelling at times, they’ve always felt well-written and, more importantly, well-acted to me. Well, that is… up until now. The Happening is a prime example of a good idea that is crushed into utter lifelessness by dull, listless directing and acting.

Last Saturday my eardrums were graced with the sweet sound of pure grade-a rock ‘n’ roll infused with the cheer of thousands as I attended the Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers / Steve Winwood show at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Now, considering I was given the tickets for free and the seats were quite excellent (half court, row C), I’d have to say the night as a whole was pretty damn good.

My friend Rachel won a pair of tickets off the radio a bit after she bought some tickets for herself, her sister and mom. Now, while I was very appreciative of getting the tickets, I did feel a bit bad that the tickets she won were considerably better than the ones she bought. But alas, her brother-in-law Travis and I were 2 people while they were 3. We win.

We got to the Palace about an hour before the show, and jesus, was it busy. I hadn’t been to a show this large in years, and it felt strange wading through such an enormous crowd to get into the stadium and to our seats. This feeling certainly didn’t fade when Travis and I took our seats and I was able to take in the enormity of the place. Thousands of people had gathered here with only one thing in mind: to ROCK and freakin’ ROLL. We sat for a bit waiting for the show to start and discussed, for the majority of the time, the band’s stage setup. To the back of the stage there was what appeared to be a large metal “tree” of sorts covered in LED lights, holding LED screens and some odd hanging cubes. It turned out that the company Travis worked for designed and created much of the lighting equipment set up at the show that night and he went through all of the pieces that were being used.

Before long, and even before the seats seemed to be half-filled, the lights dimmed and the place erupted in applause. The lights came up on stage and out walked Steve Winwood accompanied by his band.

Directed by: Matt Reeves
Starring: Michael Stahl-David, Jessica Lucas, Mike Vogel, Lizzy Chaplan, T.J. Miller
Released: January 18, 2008

It’s been nearly 2 hours since the credits rolled on the sneak peek screening of ‘Cloverfield’ and I find myself continuing to think about it. So much, in fact, that I decided to get my thoughts down now instead of waiting for the morning. Note that I tried my best to not add too many spoilers, but I’m sure a few slipped in.

I want to start off by saying wow. Just…. wow. This was the kind of monster movie I’ve been waiting for. Much like ‘The Mist’, which I loved, this film seemed to convey a much deeper understanding of what audiences these days want to see: suspenseful, engaging versions of the monster movies we grew up loving. Movies that make you feel like you are actually there with the characters. And this movie does it wonderfully. It’s not like watching a movie at all… it’s as if you’re experiencing it.

Directed by: Francis Lawrence
Starring: Will Smith, a bunch of cgi zompires
Released: December 14, 2007

I had such high expectations of this movie since I first saw the trailer… I could see this film’s enormous potential. The overgrown, abandoned streets of New York had such an eerie feeling to them. Just the thought of it give me the creeps… what would it be like to be the last man on Earth? Well, boring as hell, for one. It’s a little tough to play Day of Defeat by myself. Not to mention the fact that I would eventually bore of the same old porn I have stockpiled (assuming I still had access to electricity after the worldwide demise of the human race… I mean, come on… who still has porno mags?). Oh, and it’d be lonely, maddening, and not to mention pretty damn scary.