'Next' is a good way to kill an hour and a half
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By G. Michael Dobbs
Managing Editor
An over-looked science fiction film, the latest "Film Crew" movie for now and some really awful animation are in this week's DVD column.
Next
Nicholas Cage is an interesting actor. Given the right material and direction he's capable of turning in either great comedic performances or a fine dramatic turn. His angular looks and often times slightly stylized delivery don't serve every role well, though, and I had some misgivings about watching "Next," a Cage film released earlier this year to little attention.
I was greatly surprised that "Next" is a very watchable little thriller.
Cage plays Cris Johnson, a Las Vegas magician with a curious talent. He can see two minutes into the future if it affects his life. Apparently this talent has not gone unnoticed. His childhood was filled with examinations and inquiries and Johnson simply wants to be left alone except he does want to meet a young woman who he sees in his visions of the future.
The FBI has other ideas, especially one tenacious agent played by Julianne Moore who wants to enlist Johnson in the search for Russian nuclear weapon now in the hands of terrorists. The terrorists seem to be aware of Johnson as well and are trying to kill him.
The film has some plot holes in it. We're never sure just who the terrorists are or how they know what they know. And Johnson does get to meet the woman of his future played by Jessica Biel, who is swept off her feet a tad too quick by Johnson.
The film moves quickly and has a couple of good plot twists. While not the best science fiction action film I've seen, it's a pleasant way to spend an hour and a half.
For more information, log onto www.paramount.con/homeentertainment.
The Film Crew: The Giant of Marathon
I have film fan friends who just love the cycle of sword and sandal films that came out of Italy in the late 1950s and into the 1960s. These "historical" dramas starred a series of bodybuilders whose dialogue even if they were from the United States was always dubbed in for them.
I never quite understood their appeal. They all seemed to be the same basic movie muscle guys running around saving toga-wearing women.
The best known of these actors was Steve Reeves, an American bodybuilding champion who wanted to break into films. Although he had two roles in American films, his real break was when he was hired for the lead role in "Hercules," the film that started the genre.
The Film Crew Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett have a field day with this film, which is a re-telling of the battle of Marathon in ancient Greece. Reeves is the righteous hero who falls in love with a girl who may love him...or not. It's a little complicated.
The conventions of the genre big beefy guys running around in something like look like adult diapers provide the film crew with plenty of great lines.
For all of us who miss "Mystery Science Theater 3000," let's hope the Film Crew comes back for another series of commentaries for bad movies.
For more information, log onto www.shoutfactory.com
Drawn Together: Season Two Uncensored
Some readers may be aware of my interest in animation (I published two nationally distributed magazines on the subject and my first book is coming out in November), so that undoubtedly explains why I sat through this two-disc DVD set of the animated Comedy Central show.
It sure isn't because the shows are good, because they are perhaps the most scatological and sexual productions on basic cable television.
I'm no prude, so when I'm shocked by something I can't help but think how other people would react.
The premise is that a group of animated characters (each representing a satiric take on an archetype) is living together in a house for a reality television show. Creators Dave Jeser and Matt Silverstein admitted in one of the set's extras that they developed many of the jokes for the series when they were in tenth grade together. It shows.
Now sometimes the show is genuinely funny when it plays with the conventions of these characters and with animation in general, but too often it's just plain gross. In fact, it manages to out-do "South Park," but never displays the moral compass that underscores that series.
Oh, and these shows are truly uncensored in this collection. What is covered by censors on television is seen plain and clear here. Consider yourself warned!
For more information, please log onto www.paramount.con/homeentertainment.
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