final destination Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Doubt
Philip Seymour Hoffman is thrilling to watch as a priest accused of abuse by god-like nun Meryl Streep. Streep's highly-studied Bronx accent cracks me up, but this is a crackerjack stage play by John Patrick Shanley that he adopted for the screen and directed. Viola Davis makes a deep impression, and Amy Adams is a cute nun. Buy it.

Add to Netflix queue | Buy at Amazon | Read Jeffrey M. Anderson's review.

The Tale of Despereaux
Quoting myself: "A slapdash character study of two rodents ... a gentle and nurturing children's story, imparting lessons without being too condescending to its audience." This could become a family perennial. With the voices of Matthew Broderick, Dustin Hoffman, and Emma Watson. Buy it.

Add to Netflix queue | Buy at Amazon | Read my review.

The Day the Earth Stood Still
You've already seen the best bits in the trailer. Seriously. Even allowing for Keanu Reeves' intentionally blank slate and the prototypical "annoying kid," and crushing on Jennifer Connelly, this was a deadly bore that didn't come close to the far superior original. Skip it.

Add to Netflix queue | Buy at Amazon | Read William Goss' review.

Yes Man
Jim Carrey stars in what our man Will Goss described as "a minor lark in the Canadian comedian's career ... familiar and funny in about equal measure." Still, Carrey familiarity + Zooey Deschanel makes me want to check it out. Rent it.

Add to Netflix queue | Buy at Amazon | Read William Goss' review.

Bedtime Stories

Adam Sandler has always seemed child-like, but Jette Kernion said: "Watching Bedtime Stories is about as delightful as peeking into your Christmas stocking and finding it empty except for a few lint-covered peppermints." (Note: Released this past Sunday.) Skip it.

Add to Netflix queue | Buy at Amazon | Read Jette Kernion's review.

If ever a horror series depended less on character and more on the ingenuity of the writers in conjuring up death scenes, it's this one. Love 'em or hate 'em, horror sequels almost always have a reliably evil villain we can depend upon, whether it's Jason in Friday the 13th, Freddy in Nightmare on Elm Street, Pinhead in Hellraiser, or Jigsaw in Saw. But in the original Final Destination, the big bad antagonist was ... Death!

Yup, Death gets cheated out of killing a group of teenagers when one of them has a premonition that their plane is about to crash. In a terror-ific set piece -- a hallmark of the series -- we see the fiery explosion, and the kids spend the rest of the picture trying to escape their fate, not easy to do when Death appears to be such good buddies with Rube Goldberg. That tradition is set to continue with Final Destination 4; principal photography begins this month in New Orleans, according to Variety.

Shantel VanSanten (pictured - yay for Texas!), Bobby Campo and Haley Webb have been cast in the starring roles, with Nick Zano, Krista Allen (yay for sexy horror mothers!) and Andy Fiscella providing support. As Monika previously reported, David Richard Ellis (Cellular, Snakes on a Plane) returns to direct; he helmed Final Destination 2, which featured that amazing, out of control, highway log-truck pile-up; FD4 scripter Eric Bress was also credited as co-writer on that installment. This time, the premonition is about a deadly race car crash. Oh, did I mention that the whole picture is going to be shot in 3-D?!!! If you have the stomach for it, this could be a very memorable thrill ride. No word yet on when New Line plans to unleash this sick puppy.

I'm not a horror buff. In fact, I don't care much about horror films in the least. That's why you won't see me doing too many of these Retro Cinema posts during our month-long Halloween celebration. I also don't own many DVDs. I just don't buy them. Ever. But I own Final Destination. Why? Well, the reason I own the DVD is a long story – I didn't run out and buy it because I love it – but I have held onto it, because I do have a real soft spot for the movie and its sequels (such simple titles: Final Destination 2 and Final Destination 3).

Much of my, let's call it tolerance, of Final Destination has to do with my fascination with Rube Goldebergian chain reactions. Other horror films may have their foreshadowing and suspense, but many of the deaths in Final Destination consist of an intricate path of destruction. For example, one woman is killed by her carelessness to pour freezer-kept vodka into a very hot mug. As expected, the mug cracks, the vodka spills onto the floor, making it slippery, some of the liquid falls into a computer monitor, which blows up in her face, etc. By the end of the scene, the woman is lying on the floor of a kitchen aflame, she has kitchen knives sticking into all parts of her body and certainly there's no other explanation for her demise than it being an elaborate, freak accident.

Although nothing is official, it looks like we could be one step closer to a live action Dragon Ball Z. CHUD is reporting that an "old and trusted scooper" has confirmed that James Wong (Final Destination) has signed to write and direct a big-screen version of Akira Toriyama's anime series. According to CHUD's sources (one, Tailgunner Joe), a casting notice was released that had not only attached Wong as writer/director, but gave a hint as to what characters would be included in the film. Some of the names mentioned include; Goku, Bulma, Mai, and Gohan. Now, to be fair, I'm not as well-versed in Dragon Ball as some, so I'll leave it to the fans out there to tell me if anyone has been overlooked.

The series was adapted from Toriyama's original Dragon Ball manga, and first appeared on Japanese television in 1989. It was then released in China, Europe, and eventually made its way to the US. The series centered on Son Goku (the protagonist from the original manga) all grown up with children of his own. All the while instilling family values while defending the Earth against various bad guys. The series even ran into some censorship problems when it was released in the States because it included some crude humor and a level of violence that US audiences weren't used to in their children's content -- which seems silly if you think about it; have these people ever seen Rabbit Fire?

Just last month, TV Squad had reported that shooting was due to start this year on the film, which might mean that there is more to CHUD's report than idle gossip. Plus, Wong hasn't directed a film since 2006's Final Destination 3, so it's not like he doesn't have the time. We'll know soon enough if Tailgunner Joe can be trusted though; Dragon Ball Z will reportedly begin shooting in Montreal, Canada this November.

   • Big Momma's House 2 - In Martin Lawrence's desperate minstrel show, the comedian reprises his role as undercover FBI agent Malcolm Turner, again donning a fat suit to become the sassy, black Southern matron Big Momma. He has to stop a potentially destructive computer hacker, and the movie is broad, shameless and pandering in most every respect. Lawrence appears to assume that we automatically like him and Big Momma, and does little to endear them to us any further. Incessant mugging, weak slapstick and Teflon catchphrases fill in the many cracks of its already shaky foundation, leaving a hammy house of horrors that should have been condemned when it was still a half-baked pitch.
    • Grandma's Boy - Adam Sandler's longtime second-banana, Allen Covert, gets his shot at a lead in this stoner comedy, but despite his appealing, aw-shucks demeanor, the movie, about a 36-year-old video game tester who moves in with his grandmother and her two roommates, is just irredeemably stupid. It is sad to see three lovely ladies like Doris Roberts, Shirley Jones and Shirley Knight stooping for laughs like this, though based on the fact that practically no one saw it in theaters (or will go out of their way to rent the DVD), it is a very minor tragedy.

Fans of the horror-thriller genre have expressed general interest (if not out and out excitement) for the upcoming addition to the Final Destination franchise opening later this month. Excitement and enjoyment seemed to be the reaction of early test audiences, as well...until the final scene. Apparently, the closing scene of the flick tested so poorly that director James Wong scrapped the sucker and went back to the drawing board.

According to Wong, "the moment that the movie ended, you actually ... heard a couple of people go, 'Oh.' Like that. And you know, that's no good." Wong also said that he and his team were slightly worried about the ending even during the editing process, and thus had no problem accepting the audience reaction and making some changes. Wong spoke very highly of the New Line people behind the film, saying they were "great" about having to rework the ending. They gave him full resources on what apparently turned into a rather pricey reshoot.

I think Wong is right (I know, that pun makes me want to kick my own throat, if such a thing were possible) on this decision, and I doubt very many people would argue with me on that. I mean...this is why we have test audiences and whatnot, correct? There certainly is a time and place for a creator to hold on to his vision, even if he feels the general public won't understand or agree with his decision, but I think it's pretty clear here that Wong was already dissatisfied with the scene, and wasn't compromising anything he held dear for the sake of a buck. Thoughts?