WANTED

WANTED... MORE ALIVE THAN DEAD

Hold on to your seats kids. Worker bee Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy) is sleep walking through his life. He has a cubicle at a job he hates, ("Wesley: Want to hear something sad? I use an ergonomic keyboard to keep my repetitive stress injury in check. Just the fact that I repeat something enough that it causes me stress is fucking sad. ") an unfaithful girlfriend and an asshole of a best friend. So one day, he's minding his own business when suddenly, Fox (Angelina Jolie), appears at his side, sexy and smooth, and then all hell breaks loose. Mystery man, Sloane (Morgan Freeman, as kick ass as ever) introduces him to a brand new world. Life in technicolor. Heavy metal, lock and load, this film is kick ass from start to finish. At the most minimalist of terms, it's the story of a young man who finds meaning in his life and makes the transition to manhood. McAvoy is perfect and believable Dilbert office drone as much as Jolie is a smoking hot babe who can and will kick your ass in a heartbeat. Terrance Stamp takes a small role and makes it big. Outstanding choreography help to make the stunts and fights look authentic. It is sleek and stylish, which add to the film, not detract. Unpredictably, the plot holds twists and turns that you never see coming.

BIG PICK: Sexy, stylish and thrill-a-minute, fantastic movie to experience. LOVED it!

PLANET TERROR

PLANET TERROR SURPRISINGLY TERRIFIC
I wasn't going to include this review because I know about my twisted preferences in films and I would consider liking this movie a bit twisted. However, it comes with credentials from director, Robert Rodriguez, the mind behind El Mariachi, Desperado, Sin City and so on. He and Quentin Tarantino paired up and each made their own "grind-house" film, which, in theaters, was shown together with fake movie trailers (as does this one). I don't know why they didn't release on DVD together, but really don't care. Someone's having fun with their biology homework and suddenly people are breaking out all over; literally, with actual gory, gut-wrenching breakouts and then they morph into some sort of zombies. Yeah, it gets pretty gross, but more in a booger/zit popping kind of way. This is a true action movie. Lots of things get blown up, set on fire or shot at with heavy iron. The cast is all star and no one gives a bad performance; Bruce Willis, Rose McGowan, Josh Brolin, Nicky Katt, to name a few. The fun part was seeing the regulars in Rodriguez's other films making an appearance, including Tarantino himself. There was not a bad actor in the bunch (although Fergie should keep with the singing thing) but the standout was our hero, only second to McGowan, El Wray (Freddy Rodriguez). He was commanding, brave and made some very funny one-liners. That's the second part to why I liked this film. Rodriguez wrote most of the script after he had placed the actors. Some of the lines or sayings are theirs and he just put that in their character. It wasn't a movie that took itself too seriously. Characters were instant messaging and using cell phones (before they were commonplace or even invented) including a good reference to the Food channel, also not around then. The extras on the DVD is worth taking a look at. Always look for Rodriquez's 10 minute film school. In all its gore, this was a fun movie to watch. Just don't plan on eating afterward.
Rating: Gory and icky, but also funny and entertaining. Bueno El!