Movieline Online

THE CRAZIES: The modern zombie that has evolved from director George A. Romero’s “Living Dead” is often completely un supernatural in origin. Danny Boyle’s gutmunchers in 28 Days Later and its ilk are usually toxic in nature; a side-effect of man’s meddling with forces beyond his control. But before you dismiss Romero’s less genetically-complex creations out of hand, check out his take on The Crazies , an early roadmap for his seminal zombie opus, Dawn of the Dead , and a precursor to the man-made monstrosities that are currently all the rage. The town of Evans City, Pennsylvania falls under a state of martial law when a germ warfare experiment gets out of control. The symptoms materialize as rampant psychosis and spreads throughout the population. A mismatched group of survivors attempt to make it out of the hot zone to freedom, but find themselves falling victim to the “superbug” at an alarming rate. Typical of Romero’s homegrown productions, this one stars a cast of unknowns...

LAW ABIDING CITIZEN: Half a century ago, B-movies knew their place in the Hollywood system. They starred second-tier actors, journeyman directors, and sported the sort of outlandish plots that supposed “A-listers” would never stoop to produce. Law Abiding Citizen is an excellent example of that sort of filmmaking methodology, despite the fact that it stars an Oscar winner (Jamie Fox), an action hero (Gerard Butler) and probably cost more to produce than most studios spent in a year in 1956. Butler is a bonafide family man who loses everything during a violent home invasion. Foxx is the hotshot prosecutor who makes a deal and lets one of the bad guys get off with a slap on the wrist. Cut to ten years later. Turns out Butler is a master CIA tactician who’s been plotting his revenge with the sort of attention to detail usually reserved for James Bond super villains and bitter ex-girlfriends. Soon everyone associated with the case is winding up dead…despite the fact that Butler h...

LOVE HAPPENS: Romantic comedies have been in a real rut these days. Which is why it was so refreshing to discover Love Happens isn’t a romantic comedy at all, despite marketing that might argue otherwise. Aaron Eckhart plays Dr. Burke Ryan, a motivational speaker on the cusp of national success helping people deal with their grief. Trouble is, he’s never dealt with his own following the accidental death of his wife over three years ago. In the midst of this double-life, he finds himself attracted to Eloise (Jennifer Aniston), and despite the typical first act push-pull, they dip their toes into a satisfying relationship. Love Happens has plenty of opportunities to follow the well-trodden slapstick path of other rom-coms…most of them starring Jennifer Aniston. But it sticks with the rather poignant and emotionally powerful profile of a man who can help others, but refuses to help himself. It might be considered a “George Clooney” role, but Eckhart’s chin is up to the challenge....

AMELIA: There’s no question that the life of Amelia Earhart is worthy of a glossy cinematic adaptation. In fact, the famous lady flyer appeared in two films last year. So how wrong is it that I actually prefer the wax figure brought to life in Night At The Museum 2 (played much gusto by Amy Adams) over the historically accurate but overwhelmingly gloomy portrait embodied by Hilary Swank? Buoyed by the sort of old-Hollywood production values you rarely see invested in such “dated” material, Amelia is a gorgeous film to look at, sporting extravagantly beautiful flying footage and a supporting cast of dashing, experienced actors (Richard Gere, Ewan McGregor). But Swank is such a “Debbie Downer” in the lead role that the film has to work overtime to create enthusiasm for Earhart’s accomplishments, which include flying solo across the Atlantic before disappearing on her ambitious attempt to cross the globe. While Swank may deliver a more realistic portrayal (newsreel footage on the Bl...

ONG-BAK – THE THAI WARRIOR: The world has been waiting impatiently for the next Bruce Lee to surface ever since his untimely death in 1980. Jackie Chan and Jet Li both stood to inherit the crown but chose their own path to martial arts sainthood. Now the torch has been passed to Tony Jaa, whose debut in Ong Bak serves as a demo reel for his unique fighting style, combining Lee’s quickness with Van Damme’s groin-stretching flexibility. Jaa’s signature move, a pair of elbows to the top of the head, is just one of the many Muay Thai combat moves that make use off all the body’s pointy parts. Like the early Bruce Lee films, the story is only a loose structure used to introduce one fight sequence after another. Yet the film’s best assist goes to Petchtai Wongkamiao as Jaa’s fellow villager and comic relief, who keeps the film from falling into a monotonous series of Bloodsport-style deathmatches. Jaa himself doesn’t have much charisma when he’s not throwing a punch – unlike Lee, whos...

THE ALCOVE: Believe it or not, there’s an art to making a good dirty movie. And no one was better than the late Joe D’Amato. He made movies with an artist’s eye and Tiger Wood’s libido. His most famous cinematic collaborator was the lovely Laura Gemser. Together they milked the Emmanuelle franchise for all it was worth, transforming the soft-core erotica title into a parade of sequels, each more shockingly tasteless than the one before. By comparison, The Alcove is almost timid. Yet there’s still plenty of Cinemax-style skin on display in the story of an African princess (Gemser) brought back to Europe by an army officer to act as personal servant to his wife…who’s already having her own love affair with her husband’s personal secretary (Annie Belle). 3/4s of the movie is filled with the required heavy petting, but then things get ugly when someone suggests making a snuff film. The Alcove ’s unexpectedly brutal finale might come out of left field, but it’s that kind of unpred...