First things first. If you have issues with graphic violence, this is not the movie for you. On the other hand, if you get that this classic Marvel character does not dole out his punishment with time-outs and a stern talking to, you might enjoy this adaptation. I found it soooooo much better than the first one. It was dark and gritty and really did the brutality of the character justice and the action sequences and fight choreography are fantastic. Some of the acting was a little disappointing when it came to a few of the more minor characters, but Ray Stevenson did a much better job with the role of Frank Castle than did Thomas Jane in the first one. Also of note was the performance of Doug Hutchison. That cat may be an incredibly fine human being in reality, but he sure has played some very creepy characters extremely well.

I am George, I am.

I can’t believe I let so many years go by before I watched this movie. It may have something to do with only knowing Elizabeth Taylor as that crazy lady who got married (and divorced) a lot, made perfume comercials and hung out with Michael Jackson. Thankfully, as I’ve gotten older, wiser and more mature (debatably), I’ve made efforts to catch up on all the classic films to which I turned my nose up in my youth. In doing so, I continually find myself being rewarded with gems like this one. Incrdible acting by the whole cast, but Burton and Taylor blew me away. Why, I’d almost believe they were really married! (ahem) Some wonderfully dark cinematograhy to match the pitch black dialouge. I felt absolutely brutalized at points.

Excellent movie. Sean Penn was most definitely worthy of the Oscar and deserves all the praise he has gotten for the role. Has it really been 27 years since my friends and I went to the Midniight Movies every weekend to watch the antics of Jeff Spicoli and his friends? (Usually in a very similar state of consciousness.) Whoa… Anyway, in addition to Penn’s performance, what really grabbed me was the editing; the movie had a great flow to it. Fortunately, for we the consumers, there was stiff competition this year in every catagory and the powerhouse Slumdog Millionaire sent a number of deserving flicks home empty handed.

Very good movie, but I wouldn’t recomend watching it if you aren’t emotionally stable at the time. This movie started off melancholy, gets sad quickly, then rushes headlong into major depression. The opening sepuence is brilliant in the way it sets the mood for the rest of the film; I knew exactly what I was in for with the opening shots of the lead actress. It was an emotionally wrenching ride full of hard choices for the characters and dumbstruck disbelief fot the viewer. Beautifully shot with some outstanding acting by the whole cast. Really glad I watched this flick, but I’m going to have to scrub my brain with a mindless comedy after this one.

Absolutely brilliant movie. I could write for an hour on all the little things that were so freakin’ awesome about this flick, but I think I will keep it brief (for a change) and just say that this movie had the complete package and was most definitely worthy of every award it recieved. The screenplay, acting, cinematography, directing, editing, sound and music were all fantastic and it is such a treat to see a movie that hits on all cylinders.

This flcik is not about the acting or the story as much as it is a vehicle for the work of Visual Effects master Toby Wilkins. If you’re into gore flicks, you’ll probably enjoy this one. Mr. Wilkins is definitely one of the better effects guys around. Generally not my cup of tea, but I respect the man’s mastery of his craft. Effectively gross.

A dear friend and mentor of mine works a great deal with Mexican immigrants here in ‘Burque and he also lived down in Juarez for awhile, working with the poor. The subject matter of this flick is near and dear to his heart so I found myself toughing out a trip to the Multiplex when he asked me to join him. Very glad I did.

This was a powerful story of the Mexican gang culture on one hand and the journey north that so many Mexicans feel compelled to take on the other. I think if more Americans understood just how terrifyingly bad it was in parts of Mexico, they might understand the immigration issue a little better, but the major media outlets in America do an amazing job of keeping the blinders on the masses for the most part. Of course, the masses generally don’t seem too interested in the truth, so I guess you can’t lay it all on the media. Whoops…guess I’ll get off the soapbox now.

The acting in this flick was extremely good, the story moved at a good pace, and some of the cinematography was absolutely stunning. I really wish I had more of the money and the patience that regular trips to the theater would require from me. Watching a movie on the the big screen is admittedly a superior experience in so many ways, but the other side of the scale is often just too heavy to bear.

Thank you cable television for another gritty, envelope pushing series. Shows like Breaking Bad, Dexter, Six Feet Under, The Sopranos, The Shield, and others have definitely given me a new appreciation of the medium. I almost feel sorry for the traditional networks as their hands are tied by the ratings system and don’t have the latitude to work with that the cable networks do. I say almost, because there is apparently still no shortage of people who will tune in to the inanity that constitutes the majority of the broadcast networks’ lineups.


While Breaking Bad does require a health dose of willing suspension of disbelief at times, I am thrilled that there are shows out there tackling not so family friendly subject matter. I feel this show does an admirable job of examining topics like the choices we are presented with and tempted to take when life throws us curveballs. Bryan Cranston does a wonderful job with his character as does most of the rest of the cast. I also love the overall production design and the camera work. Some of the storylines are a little far-fetched, but remember folks, this is fiction…not a documentary.


I must admit my extreme bias regarding this series. I was born in Albuquerque and have lived here all my life. The hospital I was born in is right across the street from one of the motels the series regularly shoots at on Central Avenue (Route 66 as it passes through the city.) I am a ‘Burque Boy through and through and it fascinating and a little mind-blowing to see some of my past and present stomping grounds in a TV series. I know that for all you folks in ‘real cities’ that have seen production after production filmed in your sandboxes, this is probably no big deal, but I admit getting a thrill out of seeing ABQ represented, even if it is for the very real meth problem here. There are actually a great deal of productions shot here, but they are usually depicted as being somewhere else.

On May 2nd, 2009, I will be participatin in a charity walk for the National Alliance on Mental Illness. As an overweight smoker, this walk may just kill me. Please don’t let my death be in vain… visit my walker page at http://www.nami.org/namiwalks09/NMX/buddhalou and thanks for your support!

I heard quite a bit of negative word of mouth about this flick and had my expectations set pretty low when I started it up tonight. I was quite pleasantly surprised. Now I’m not saying that this flick was a cinematic masterpiece by any means…it definiely had its flaws, but it was far from the monstrosity that I had heard it to be.

Remakes tend to be a touchy subject and I have some purist friends that seem to think that remaking a movie… any movie... is somehow a sin. I tend to be a little less of an extremist on the subject. There have definitely been many, many shamefully bad remakes over the years. Tim Burton has struck out on two remakes: Planet of the Apes and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. John McTiernan should be shot for what he turned Rollerball into, and I don’t think I will ever forgive Steve Martin for having the audacity to rty and fill Peter Sellers shoes with The Pink Panther. On the flip side of the coin are movies like Ocean’s Eleven, The Thing, and Scarface. The remakes of these films were as good, if not better the second time around. (Of course, I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out that the 1959 version of Ben Hur with Charlton Heston was the third version of that flick.)

I guess the question for me is, can the movie be improved upon in some fashion while remaining true to the ideas and concepts of the original. I thought The Day The Earth Stood Still did a very good job of this. The original movie is still there and honored, but I found the remake much more interesting in a number of ways. The improvement in special effects goes without saying, but I enjoyed most of the tweaking that was done to the storyline as well. It brought a classic movie up to speed with what is now a completely different society than when it was made. Like I said, not without it’s faults, but very enjoyable overall.