People that compare movies to the original books are always going to be disappointed. That's no big mystery to anyone who's both read a single book or seen a single movie. Nuff said on that.

The movie is definitly a good one because it is very dark, and very real. Reviewers that bashed this movie are obviously clueless regarding drug use, drug users, and addiction. This movie is definitely disgusting and depressing because of its plausibility, and that's what makes it good. To have the perfect wife (Elizabeth Hurly), the perfect job, and still do anything and everything to get high demonstrates how the need overpowers someone's life. Permanent Midnight is "A Good Horrible Movie".

...the ball was dropped on this film. Someone in Hollywood believed Brendon Fraiser and Jet Li in the same film would miraculously make this a winner. That someone should lose his job.

Synopsis: Ancient Chinese warlord is reawakened (along with 10,000 Terra Cotta warriors) to conquer the world. And there are Yetis....

The first two movies in the series were fantastically entertaining. You had action, emotion, love, despair, and discoveries of a linked past that made the movies engrossing. They had excellent scripts, beautiful effects, and acting that made it look real. I watch them over and over. This dog...well, at least I watched until the end.

Whoever cast this movie screwed the pooch. Fraser, as Rick O'Connell is, of course, excellent. I love the gung ho balls ahead character. He IS the character. In fact, he is the franchise.

Rachael Weisz declined to return citing problems with the script. Boy did she make the right call. So Maria Bello is cast as Evy. Dear God In Heaven. what where they thinking! Where Weisz played Evuy with emotion, perfect timing, and a boatload of sex appeal, Bello is a block of freaking wood who phones in her part. She has NO fluidity, no sense of timing, and not a trace of sex appeal. In fact, a block of wood could have done a much better job.

In the 2nd film, The Mummy Returns, the son, Alex, has a very strong `proper' English accent and typical `Brit' attitude. In this movie, Alex (Luke Ford) has NO trace of accent or his English upbringing. He plays the role like a young John Wayne, as if he was raised in Arizona. It totally fails.

Jet Li as Emperor Han...well, I loved him in Lethal Weapon 4, Unleashed, and The One.... He should have done the role of Emperor Han with the same soft-sneering attitude he had in LW4. But he wasn't directed that way in this film. He was concrete, and wooden. There was no sense of surprise upon awakening 2000 years later. No marveling at the changes in the world. No wonder at how the world had changed. Totally unrealistic.

Redeeming factors: Michelle Yeoh (very big star in China) as Zi Yaun, the witch who betrays Han knowing his merciless character, Isabella Leong as her immortal daughter, and Russell Wong as General Ming Guo (Han's right hand man who falls in love with Zi Yaun). John Hannah plays Evy's gold-digging brother seamlessly from the prior films.

And there are the Yetis. Ya gotta love the Computer Graphics. At first, the Yetis were fluff, but then you start to like them. They are the `untarnished good' surrounded by evil.

The special effects are admirable. The battle scenes at the end are exceptional. The warriors (and Han) turning to sand and clay are so cool, myself and my friends all gave it a big `WHOA!'.

Rent it, just to see it. Own it, ONLY if you need to complete the series.

Hope this helps you decide.

In the days of The Expandables action movies or FX fantasies, The Yellow Handkerchief is a real gem of pure humanity and emotion.
In this road movie, 2 teenagers travel with an ex-convict, and they are just 2 empty vessels eager to be filled by the life experiences of William Hurt and build their future adulthood.

William Hurt's character has a lot to rebuild too, and his acting is magnificent all along. The 2 teens are Kristen Stewart and Eddie Redmayne, who are also transforming and learning about themselves and relationships with others at the same pace as the road trip. There is a good feeling from the start of the movie and a nice progression till the end. Eddie Redmayne is particularly shining as a modest character, just like he is in the current The Pillars of the Earth series.

Definitely the best coming of age and road movie for a while. A long while, since it was first shown at the Sundance festival over 2.5 years ago, and still no DVD on the horizon.

"Coyote Ugly" has to be the best romantic dramedy this year, even though this year has had it's share of bad romances-Autumn in New York, Down to You and The Next Best Thing just to name a few. The bar dancing scenes are incredible accompanied by a fantastic soundtrack including one of my favorites, "Pour Some Sugar on Me". Plus there are two new great songs from LeAnn Rimes,who is also in the movie, but I'm not reviewing the soundtrack so I'll skip this. And that's just the stuff you see in the previews. What you don't see on the surface through the previews are the great performances from newcomer Piper Perabo, Adam Garcia and the always great John Goodman. the story is mainly about Piper Perabo's character, nicknamed Jersey, who goes into the big city trying to get someone to perform her well written songs. She runs into several problems with a new boyfriend, some disagreements with her father, and many crazy encounters at the bar "Coyote Ugly". The title is explained in the movie to mean when you go home with a one night stand after a night of big drinking and you wake up with someone so ugly that you would rather chew your arm off than wake them up to know you're leaving. Believe me, you're not going to feel that way leaving this one! BUY THIS MOVIE!!!

I thought this movie was wonderful and am surprised at the vitriolic critiques by reviewers. Gwynneth is always a great actress and she played the part of the daughter reunited with a reluctant father well. There were several subplots in this move, all involving wonderful singing and complex relationships.

Don't believe the critics on this one. It actually is an enjoyable movie, which is in turns funny, sweet and sad.

I loved this movie. The casting was great. All the characters were lovable and it reminded me of how I grew up as a kid. I thought it was definitely entertaining for people of all ages but especially those of us that grew up in a time where there were no computers, no cell phones, and we had to come up with our own games to entertain us. (without getting killed)It's an enjoyable, entertaining movie with a happy ending and it promotes spending time together as a family and the importance of good friends. What more could you ask for?? I highly recommend this movie. I saw it twice and I can't wait to see it again.

"Downloading Nancy" is the best film I've seen in a while. What is so impressive about it is its ability to make the characters in an almost unbelievable story so believable.

Nancy wants to die. After suffering horrific childhood abuse, and being stuck in a loveless marriage for 15 years, she can only really feel alive when she's in physical pain. To cope, she cuts herself, but her fantasy is to find a sexual sadist willing to take her life for her. Enter Louis, who she meets on the internet, and who is willing to serve as her sexual dominant and eventual murderer.

Louis is the yan to Nancy's yin. He deals with psychic pain by inflicting physical pain. His demeanor is calm and controlled, as opposed to Nancy's histrionics. They're soul mates. They understand each other. And ultimately, when Louis acts, it's out of love.

What makes the film is really Maria Bello's powerhouse performance. Nancy is not an easy character to like - she's a person who's so determined to die that she's lost any desire to maintain any kind of dignity. She can be harsh, abusive, cruel ... and yet the actress makes her pain so real that it's hard to fault her for anything she does. She is somehow able to make this disturbed, ruined woman both relatable and even lovable.

In the days of The Expandables action movies or FX fantasies, The Yellow Handkerchief is a real gem of pure humanity and emotion.
In this road movie, 2 teenagers travel with an ex-convict, and they are just 2 empty vessels eager to be filled by the life experiences of William Hurt and build their future adulthood.

William Hurt's character has a lot to rebuild too, and his acting is magnificent all along. The 2 teens are Kristen Stewart and Eddie Redmayne, who are also transforming and learning about themselves and relationships with others at the same pace as the road trip. There is a good feeling from the start of the movie and a nice progression till the end. Eddie Redmayne is particularly shining as a modest character, just like he is in the current The Pillars of the Earth series.

Definitely the best coming of age and road movie for a while. A long while, since it was first shown at the Sundance festival over 2.5 years ago, and still no DVD on the horizon.

This film seems to be getting mixed reviews at best. It wasn't even released nationwide, or at least not at a theater near me, and very little promotion was given to it. I think that's a shame because it's an enjoyable film that actually explores not just the recent economy and downsizing in Corporate America but the North American situation (obsession with property, possessions and passing pleasures rather than true happiness). That said, I understand that films involving the recent economy haven't done well and I can see why many people wouldn't be eager to get out only to sit in a theater and watch what can be seen as a very depressing story that has a lot of truth to it.

Outside of that fact I still say this is a good film if not entirely great. Ben Affleck is well cast and likable as a man who has it all until his company is hurt by the economy and he finds himself included in the list of recent layoffs, the last thing he expected given his position at the company. He is eager to find a new job and believes he'll have no problem given his credentials but he soon finds the only positions he can attain are those that he considers beneath him. Soon his termination package runs out and he and his wife (excellently played by Rosemarie Dewitt) have to face some realities about their nice house and many possessions including a beautiful sports car. Dewitt and Affleck do a great job of playing a couple under a lot of stress who still clearly love each other.

The film isn't as depressing as it sounds based on that synopsis, from there Ben Affleck's character slowly realizes that when all else fades family remains constant and his parents and brother in law (Kevin Costner) help him make it through to the other side....

While this goes on Tommy Lee Jones plays a higher business executive at the same company who is very upset with the way the company is being run. When he is eventually let go despite suggestions that could help the company he finds himself dissatisfied with his life and looking to find new meaning. Craig T. Nelson plays the head of the company who causes more issues by taking jobs out of the industrial end of the company to keep investors happy. Chris Cooper does an excellent job playing a man in the same position as Affleck only with much less fortunate results when he doesn't have the same support group (truly the most tragic aspect of the film).

Economy films are a lot like films about the Iraq war, not many want to hear anymore about these issues with the media already bombarding us. However, I would say this isn't so much an economy film as it is a film about a very specific aspect of the current human condition that just happens to use the recent economy issues as a starting point (much like how The Hurt Locker wasn't specifically about Iraq).

To me the film wasn't as depressing as others are painting it to be because the message wasn't about how bad things can get, it was about how good we can make things. Everything is a choice, if we stop becoming obsessed with things we have no control over in hopes of stability, if we stop building things up and acting as if they can never fall down, if we accept that nothing is permanent other than the happiness we give ourselves then we might move past all this and be in a better place, a place that can't be taken away from us.

The ending keeps it from being a truly great film, leaving things wrapped up almost too neatly too suddenly despite attempting to be openended and leaving Affleck's character with a mountain to climb. Still, if you liked last year's Up In The Air you'll enjoy this and if your interested in how business's wind up in trouble or if you like films that show the strength of family then this may be for you, give it a try. I hope this film finds a larger audience on Blu-Ray and DVD, I will certainly be adding it to my collection for repeat viewings.

* I hope this release has a director's commentary.

This is a very creepy horror film that deserves comparison with some of the best of the non-exploitation and non-slasher scary flicks like The Others. The approach of the film, especially to begin with, resembles that of classics like Don't Look Now, or Picnic at Hanging Rock -- above all, the strangeness of the circumstances and the fear they invoke mirror the psychological turmoil of the characters -- and, as with those films, the hints at a deeper supernatural mystery are nicely balanced with the growing anxiety of the characters. That is true, at least, until the latter quarter of the film when it gives in to the supernatural and to the twists and turns of more mainstream scary fare and begins to seem more like, say, The Skeleton Key. Maria Bello gives her usual strong performance and, while he has less to do, Sean Bean is convincing as a distraught and loving father and estranged husband. The real star of the film, though, is the cinematographer and crew: the colors of the Welch coast are both beautiful and evocative of a deep and mythical past; the anxiety of the characters and the power of the ocean when they are looking for a drowning girl is captured by the frantic, but not shaky, movements of the camera; the look of "the dark" (you'll know it when you see it), is both subtle and believable. A worthwhile and intriguing film, that has unfortunately not received the attention it clearly deserves.

...the ball was dropped on this film. Someone in Hollywood believed Brendon Fraiser and Jet Li in the same film would miraculously make this a winner. That someone should lose his job.

Synopsis: Ancient Chinese warlord is reawakened (along with 10,000 Terra Cotta warriors) to conquer the world. And there are Yetis....

The first two movies in the series were fantastically entertaining. You had action, emotion, love, despair, and discoveries of a linked past that made the movies engrossing. They had excellent scripts, beautiful effects, and acting that made it look real. I watch them over and over. This dog...well, at least I watched until the end.

Whoever cast this movie screwed the pooch. Fraser, as Rick O'Connell is, of course, excellent. I love the gung ho balls ahead character. He IS the character. In fact, he is the franchise.

Rachael Weisz declined to return citing problems with the script. Boy did she make the right call. So Maria Bello is cast as Evy. Dear God In Heaven. what where they thinking! Where Weisz played Evuy with emotion, perfect timing, and a boatload of sex appeal, Bello is a block of freaking wood who phones in her part. She has NO fluidity, no sense of timing, and not a trace of sex appeal. In fact, a block of wood could have done a much better job.

In the 2nd film, The Mummy Returns, the son, Alex, has a very strong `proper' English accent and typical `Brit' attitude. In this movie, Alex (Luke Ford) has NO trace of accent or his English upbringing. He plays the role like a young John Wayne, as if he was raised in Arizona. It totally fails.

Jet Li as Emperor Han...well, I loved him in Lethal Weapon 4, Unleashed, and The One.... He should have done the role of Emperor Han with the same soft-sneering attitude he had in LW4. But he wasn't directed that way in this film. He was concrete, and wooden. There was no sense of surprise upon awakening 2000 years later. No marveling at the changes in the world. No wonder at how the world had changed. Totally unrealistic.

Redeeming factors: Michelle Yeoh (very big star in China) as Zi Yaun, the witch who betrays Han knowing his merciless character, Isabella Leong as her immortal daughter, and Russell Wong as General Ming Guo (Han's right hand man who falls in love with Zi Yaun). John Hannah plays Evy's gold-digging brother seamlessly from the prior films.

And there are the Yetis. Ya gotta love the Computer Graphics. At first, the Yetis were fluff, but then you start to like them. They are the `untarnished good' surrounded by evil.

The special effects are admirable. The battle scenes at the end are exceptional. The warriors (and Han) turning to sand and clay are so cool, myself and my friends all gave it a big `WHOA!'.

Rent it, just to see it. Own it, ONLY if you need to complete the series.

Hope this helps you decide.

So much has been written about this film and the title. For most, the movie is about the way violence is encoded in our lives and how we all have an underlying current running through us. I think the movie is really the study of the relationship between the two main characters--Tom Stall (Viggo Mortensen) and Edie (Maria Bello).

These two actors are amazing the film, especially Bello, who deserves to become a household name. Their intereactions are always spot on as they drive the plot. The sideways glance, the tense look, the loving smile: every part means something.

These two characters are madly in love after seventeen or such years of marriage, and we see it through different ways. The first half of the movie is there to set up their relationship and the love they feel. But then everything is turned upside down, and we realize that these two people who have shared everything and love one another dearly really know nothing about what lies beneath. It's as if they have only shared a part of themselves.

It's this interaction and realization that makes the film so great. The plot almost seems beside the point; it's merely there to make use see the characters.

I give the film four stars instead of five because of some of the scenes were out of place, almost as if Cronenberg couldn't decide what kind of film to make. William Hurt is good at the end, for instance, but his character didn't fit. Watch the movie for the main characters' interactions and go along with the rest.

Short Attention Summary Span:

1. A husband and wife are the ideal couple, with husband working at a big company doing something or another.

2. One day, out of the blue (or so it seems) a guy comes along and kidnaps the daughter of the husband and wife and takes the husband and wife for a ride-- during which he forces them to do his bidding.

3. The Bad Man and the couple spend a lot of time together, with his forcing them to do progressively more humiliating things.

4. Eventually, it reaches a head when it comes out that the husband is having an affair with another woman-- who happens to be the wife of the Bad Man.

5. In the end, it comes out that the whole kidnapping was staged by the wife so that the husband could know what it felt like to lose everything.

Comments:

1. Pierce Brosnan looked extremely silly in this role. Maybe I've seen him in too many 007 movies, but believing him in this role was a real stretch.

2. Can a person really believe that a wife would go through all of this to make a point to her husband?

3. Can a plan like the one executed in this film really have gone off without a hitch? Even though there were SO many people that could have foiled it? Police everywhere. Banks with panic buttons all over the place.

4. The suspense was waaaaayy too drawn out. When you stop to reconsider the movie, the plot was actually pretty thin. Do you mean to tell me that this was turned into a whole movie?

5. The Bad Man gives the husband a gun (to shoot the victim) and the husband doesn't have sense enough to turn it on the Bad Man (who did not have a gun drawn at that time)?

6. What was going on with the quote: "Butterfly on a Wheel"?... This was just a bit too esoteric for me-- and likely everyone else in the world.

Save your money. This is not even worth a rental.

Short Attention Summary Span:

1. A husband and wife are the ideal couple, with husband working at a big company doing something or another.

2. One day, out of the blue (or so it seems) a guy comes along and kidnaps the daughter of the husband and wife and takes the husband and wife for a ride-- during which he forces them to do his bidding.

3. The Bad Man and the couple spend a lot of time together, with his forcing them to do progressively more humiliating things.

4. Eventually, it reaches a head when it comes out that the husband is having an affair with another woman-- who happens to be the wife of the Bad Man.

5. In the end, it comes out that the whole kidnapping was staged by the wife so that the husband could know what it felt like to lose everything.

Comments:

1. Pierce Brosnan looked extremely silly in this role. Maybe I've seen him in too many 007 movies, but believing him in this role was a real stretch.

2. Can a person really believe that a wife would go through all of this to make a point to her husband?

3. Can a plan like the one executed in this film really have gone off without a hitch? Even though there were SO many people that could have foiled it? Police everywhere. Banks with panic buttons all over the place.

4. The suspense was waaaaayy too drawn out. When you stop to reconsider the movie, the plot was actually pretty thin. Do you mean to tell me that this was turned into a whole movie?

5. The Bad Man gives the husband a gun (to shoot the victim) and the husband doesn't have sense enough to turn it on the Bad Man (who did not have a gun drawn at that time)?

6. What was going on with the quote: "Butterfly on a Wheel"?... This was just a bit too esoteric for me-- and likely everyone else in the world.

Save your money. This is not even worth a rental.