Tomorrow You're Gone

Tomorrow You're Gone is a 2013 crime-thriller starring Stephen Dorff, Michelle Monaghan, and Willem Dafoe. Honestly, based on the cast and the description on the back of the Blu-ray case, I thought this film was going to be right up my alley. Unfortunately, despite all of this, the film a bit of a dud.

The premise of the movie is that a man named Charlie (played by Dorff) has just been released from prison but he's not completely free yet. Charlie still owns a debt to a man known as 'The Buddha' (played by Dafoe). To settle this debt Charlie has to murder a guy for 'The Buddha' but, this is a movie, so things don't go quite as planned... Fairly early on in the film Charlie meets this woman named Florence (played by Michelle Monaghan) and she's probably the best part of the whole film. 

This movie could've worked but, it just doesn't. It's a bit too much style over substance, Dorff just isn't the right actor to carry this film in my opinion, the 92 minute runtime seemed like it was twice that, and the stakes just never felt real while I was watching it.

I was hoping that this was a hidden gem that had just flown under my radar but, that wasn't the case. I can't recommend this one.

1 out of 5

Home Run Showdown

Released in 2012, Home Run Showdown is one of those sports films where a ragtag group of kids end up on the same sports team, learn to work together, and show that despite initially being castoffs as individuals they can win as a team. It's The Mighty Ducks, it's Little Giants, it's Bad News Bears... it's that kind of story.

This film centers around two constantly feuding brothers Joey (played by Matthew Lillard) and Rico (played by Dean Cain). Rico is the successful, ex- big league player who recruits all the top kids in his town to play for his little league team. Joey is a bit of a loser who got kicked out of minor league baseball and gets stuck coaching the players none of the other coaches want. These are, of course, the usual sports movie castoffs like a fat kid and a girl. The main kid, and source of the movies title, is a boy named Lori who takes the game very seriously. Lori needs his team to be good enough to qualify to participate in the nationally televised 'Home Run Showdown' so that his dad, who is in prison, can see him on TV. Additionally, Joey and Rico's father is going to retire soon and whichever son's team does better at the Showdown, that son will inherit his sports bar.

Overall, while not a fantastic movie, it's watchable. It's predictable, the acting isn't the best and the main kid often comes off more bratty than determined which makes him a pretty unlikeable character. If, like me, you have an elementary school-age kid who like s sports then this makes for a decent 'family movie night' viewing.

2 out of 5

Kung Pow! Enter the Fist

This martial arts comedy was released in 2002 and combines footage from the 1976 Hong Kong film Tiger & Crane Fists with new footage and dialogue. Kung Pow! Enter the Fist is one of those unique movies that I really, really enjoy but have a hard time recommending to others. Holding strong at a whopping 13% on Rotten Tomatoes, it almost found a place on my '10 Movies That I Like But Everyone Else Seems To Hate' list but, it does have a 69% audience score a has definitely has it's fans.

 The plot involves a man known only by the name 'Chosen One'. Chosen One's parents were killed when he was a baby by Master Pain, and he has trained his whole life for the opportunity to get revenge... Oh, also Chosen One has a sentient tongue, can use gophers as nunchucks, and Master Pain works for an evil council of aliens. I do realize it's a pretty dumb movie, but I find it hilarious.

Overall, I can't really criticize the acting or production of this film because it's supposed to be bad, that's part of the joke of it all. I enjoy this one a lot and always get a good laugh out of it. If you've never seen it, I can't guarantee you'll like it too but I do think it's worth watching at least once.

I give it a 4 out of 5.

Happy 4th of July!

Good morning. In less than an hour, aircraft from here will join others from around the world. And you will be launching the largest aerial battle in this history of mankind.

Mankind -- that word should have new meaning for all of us today.

We can't be consumed by our petty differences anymore.

We will be united in our common interests.

Perhaps its fate that today is the 4th of July, and you will once again be fighting for our freedom, not from tyranny, oppression, or persecution -- but from annihilation.

We're fighting for our right to live, to exist.

And should we win the day, the 4th of July will no longer be known as an American holiday, but as the day when the world declared in one voice:

"We will not go quietly into the night!

We will not vanish without a fight!

We're going to live on!

We're going to survive!"

Today, we celebrate our Independence Day!

Venus and Vegas

Released in late 2010, Venus and Vegas stars Eddie Kaye Thomas, Donald Faison, Eddie Guerra, Jamie Pressly, and Molly Sims. The film is a crime-comedy about three criminal friends (played by Faison, Guerra, and Thomas) who happen upon what appears to be an easy score. Just outside of Vegas there is a warehouse that is producing counterfeit casino chips. The plan is to break in, steal a bunch of chips, and cash them in. Unfortunately, the heist doesn't go exactly as planned and, the warehouse is run by a Vegas mobster. While all this heist plot is going on, the film is also trying to be a relationship comedy. If done better it may have worked but I don't think this movie quite sticks the landing.

 Overall, while not what I'd call a must-see movie, I did find this movie decently  entertaining. The plot is a bit all over the place and the acting isn't great but, it isn't the worst film that I've pulled out of a bargain bin.
2 out of 5

A Look Back At 'Speed'

Released in the summer of 1994, Speed was a massive hit and is still one of the mid-90's most memorable films. I hadn't seen the movie in probably ten years but, I was surprised when rewatching it how well it still holds up.

The film stars Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock, Dennis Hopper, and Jeff Daniels and is about an expert bomb-maker who is trying to extort the city of L.A. for $3million. The villain named Howard Payne (played by Hopper) initially threatens to blow-up an elevator full of people if he isn't given the money, but his plan is thwarted by two SWAT officers Jack Traven and Harry Temple (played by Reeves and Daniels respectively). Sometime later, Payne strikes again; this time rigging a bomb to a bus. He contacts Jack to inform him of the bomb, make his demands (this time $3.7million), and to lay out the rules; the bus's speed cannot drop below 50mph and no passengers are allowed off of the bus until the ransom is paid. This sets up the bulk of the film and leads to the majority of the movies most memorable scenes. It's a tension-filled ride as the bus careens through the busy city of L.A. always mere moments away from catastrophe, with one of the passengers named Annie (played by Sandra Bullock) at the wheel. Of course, like any good crowd-pleaser action flick, in the end the good guys win. 

 Overall, this is a good movie. I was worried that it might not be as good as I remembered, but it was. Yes, some of the dialogue is a bit cheesy and a few scenes are pretty far-fetched, but I had fun revisiting this one. It's a simple yet solid tension-based action film, without really any dramatic reveals or hidden motives. The bad guy is bad and he wants money, the good guys are good and want to stop him.

 Straightforward and entertaining, I give Speed a 4 out of 5.

Cloud 9

I took a little vacation but now I'm back, and today's movie is another entry in my Tales from the Bargain Bin series. Cloud 9 is a 2006 sports-comedy starring Burt Reynolds, Gabrielle Reece, D.L. Hughley and Angie Everhart. In the film Reynolds plays Billy Cole, a washed up sports promoter who comes up with a get-rich-quick scheme involving women's volleyball. Cole's idea is to recruit a group of strippers to form a sexy volleyball team. While they're aren't any good at volleyball, Cole's plan is to have them make appearances at bachelor parties and such to rake in some quick cash. At first everything goes according to plan but it isn't long before the girls want to become a legitimate volleyball team and Billy starts to feel bad about exploiting the woman. So with a bit of training and hard work the team starts to turn it around. They make it to the championship and, in classic movie underdog fashion, the former strippers win it all. 

While this isn't a great movie or one of Reynolds' best, it was actually better than I expected. A decent amount of the comedy works, the characters are likeable, and at just around an hour and a half runtime it moves at a decent pace. I wouldn't recommend it to everyone but, if you're a big fan of the late Burt Reynolds or if you just really like sports movies then you may find this one worth checking out.
I give this one a 2.5 out of 5.