“I Am Legend”

Will Smith
Alice Braga
Dash Mihok
Charlie Tahan
Salli Richardson
Willow Smith

PG13           100min           2007

Somehow immune to an unstoppable, incurable virus, military virologist Robert Neville (Smith) is now the last human survivor in New York City and maybe the world. But he is not alone. Mutant plague victims lurk in the shadows… watching Neville’s every move… waiting for him to make a fatal mistake. Perhaps mankind’s last, best hope, Neville is driven by only one remaining mission: to find a antidote using his own immune blood. But he knows he is outnumbered… and quickly running out of time.

Many people find this film a little off putting and do not like it. The quiet and stillness throws people. This is a film about the human condition that a straight up drama. It provides thoughts in our minds that we would rather not have.

It shows just how fragile the mind is. “I Am Legend” shows that for all the magnificence of the mind its still need contact and interaction to function. After three years of isolation, Robert Neville is still brilliant yet lost without the mundane connection that we take for granted.

There are moments in the film that are comical not because they are meant to be but because of the absurdity of the situation. Out of his mind grasping for a semblance of normalcy he has developed some serious coping issues. His coping is something that could make people not like the film; yet it was one of the things that made this film so much better.

I have watched both versions of “I Am Legend”. I say buy the two disc special edition. The alternate ending is so much better than the original theatrical and falls more in line with the movie instead of the name of the film and the plot line in the book. The theatrical cheats the fans out of many major plot points of the film.

There are four animated comics on the disc. They are ‘Death as a Gift’, ‘Isolation’, ‘Sacrificing the few for the Many’, and ‘Shelter’. There are movie previews for “Lost Boys: The Tribe”, “The Dark Knight”, “Speed Racer”, “Appleseed ExMachina”, and “JLA: The New Frontier”.

I give it 4/5.

“The Seeker: The Dark is Rising”

Alexander Ludwig
Christopher Eccleston
Frances Conroy
Ian McShane
Wendy Crewson
John Benjamin Hickey
Gregory Smith
James Cosmo
Jim Piddock
Drew Tyler Bell
Amelia Warner
Edmund Entin
Gary Entin
Emma Lockhart

PG           99min           2007

During Christmas break from school, a seemingly typical teenager discovers he’s anything but ordinary. As the seventh son of a seventh son, Will Staton is The Seeker – a chosen warrior destined to restore the delicate earthly balance between Light and Dark. Guided by ancient protectors of the Light, young Will must travel throught time to gather the hidden signs that hold the ultimate power to protect the world.

Based on the novel by Susan Cooper and publish nearly twenty years before J.K. Rowlings’ Harry Potter series; “The Seeker: The Dark is Rising” plays like an cheap imitation of that series. It’s Harry Potter meets Quantum Leap.

First off there is no cohesion to the story. He jumps from one badly dressed time period set to another. It has to many storylines running that do not payoff in the end. It left me as a viewer feeling cheated that I watched this film.

Having never read the book, the author was said to have been displeased at the way the film turned out. Many fans of the books were disappointed. From what I gathered it it was raped along the lines of how Eragon was raped by Hollywood. It Hollywood cannot be faithful to the material leave it alone.

I give it 2/5.

“Conspiracy”

Val Kilmer
Gary Cole
Jennifer Esposito
Jay Jabronski
Greg Serano
Christopher Gehrman
Bob Rumnock
Stacey Marie Warden

R           90min           2007

After he’s wounded during combat in Iraq, MacPherson (Kilmer) reluctantly agrees to join a fellow at his Arizona ranch. But when MacPherson arrives, his friend has mysteriously disappeared andd no one will admit to knowing him. When he discovers that a corporate entity is running illegal aliens out of town by any means possible, MacPherson becomes determined to find out the truth and he will not be stopped until all of those who were involved have been punished.

This is essentially a poor man’s First Blood with a handicapped Rambo. “Conspiracy” is formulaic to the point of being just plain stupid. This is not one of Val Kilmer’s best and is just a pain to watch. If you are not a fan of Val Kilmer then stay away from this film.

The only reason I do not give it a “End of Days” is because Val Kilmer is a convincing handicapped former marine. There are scenes lifted directly from First Blood. I cannot believe some tried to pass this story off. I can even believe some gave funding and approved this film to be made.

“Conspiracy” is a cookie cut film. The hero is vanilla plain but because he has PTSD and was in Iraq that this gives him some kind of edge. The villain are all cartooned and boring. It follows every Hollywood cliché.

There are no special feature but many movie previews. There are movie previews for “Revolver”, “Pistol Whipped”, “Thunderheart”, “The Shield: Season 3”, “We Own the Night”, “Missionary Man”, “Southland Tales”, “Cleaner”, “Black Water”, “Damages: Season 1”, “April Fool’s Day”, “Bats: Human Harvest”, and “Rescue Me: Seasons 1-3”.

I give it 1/5.

“Six Degree of …”

Here’s puzzle number two…

Connect

“Hayden Christensen” to “Avril Lavigne”

“Six Degree of …”

A new feature I’m trying out is based on the phenomenon of  Kevin Bacon in Hollywood.  Every week I give a new connection.  Everyone’s played it so, let’s start with the man himself.

Connect “Kevin Bacon” to “Rachel Taylor” of Transformer Fame.

Leave your answer in the comment.

“Six Degrees of …”

Here is the next puzzle…

Connect

“Martin Lawrence” to “Rashida Jones”