Confessions of a Shopaholic

-by Kim Yonick

Lord of War

-by Kim Yonick and Justin Rumenapp

Watchmen

-by Kim Yonick and Justin Rumenapp

Knowing

-by Kim Yonick and Justin Rumenapp


I highly recommend you watch the trailer before listening to the review if you have not seen the movie.

Public Enemies

-by Kim Yonick and Justin Rumenapp


I highly recommend you watch the trailer before listening to the review if you have not seen the movie.

Ice Age 3 - Dawn of the Dinosaurs

-by Kim Yonick and Justin Rumenapp

I highly recommend you watch the trailer before listening to the review if you have not seen the movie.

Videodrome

--by Justin Rumenapp--

Long live the new flesh!! (Cliché opener but I couldn’t resist Videodrome fans!!) Videodrome (1983) is a disturbing film by the one and only David Cronenberg. In it, he focuses his obsessions on how technology and entertainment shape one’s body. The behavioral impact of television, television as a platform of political indoctrination, and how technology may shape biological development are all concepts addressed by the film.

Videodrome takes place in Cronenberg’s native Toronto and follow the exploits of Max Renn (played by James Woods), as he attempts to find new violent and/or sexual (if you can combine the two the better in Renn’s mind!) programming for the disreputable niche market he is cultivating on Civic TV -- Cable Cannel 83. While courting various porno distributors, Renn also uses pirate satellite to tune into international and underground feeds in his search to find “the next thing.” Needless to say he finds this "next thing" on one of the pirate feeds, a program called Videodrome, which is a series of snuff film that carries a signal that addicts the viewer to the program and causes cancer.

The films’ look itself it standard Cronenberg, always shot in a “flat” style to add a sense of reality to this bizarre tale. The more visually interesting shots he employs are in the surreal hallucinations Renn experiences as a result of viewing Videodrome. They are highly symbolic, such as scenes of a Renn having an evening with psychologist he met during a television roundtable lit by television, a character no one has seen except on video conferences, and Renn performing S&M whipping to a television set. Yes this is freaky territory and decidedly not for the kids (*sigh* to the parents who couldn’t tell by now….) but well worth it for the adventurous or intellectual viewer.

The body and makeup effects are also absolutely amazing. While now CGI would undoubtedly make these effects a few mouse clicks away (okay a lot) there is a certain visceralness that the makeup effects provide that only the best of CGI can approach. Yes some shots do look a tad “dated” (the camera frames solely on a obviously prosthetic hand as it morphs) but these shots still look gross and remarkable in a way CGI often doesn’t. Some of the effects are almost seamless and still look convincing today such as the Batamax player Renn grows which is designed to resemble female anatomy...(!) Regardless of whether the effects hold up, all of the effects shots technical marvels. Among my favorite “trick shots” involves the infamous shot of Renn putting his head into a TV set (which is “on” as he does so) and said TV set later morphing a gun out of it’s tube to shoot him. And unlike many SFX riddled tales, CGI or “traditional,” everything is done in service to the story.

A must see for folks who like to think at the movies! David Cronenberg has also directed the recent favorites of A History of Violence and Eastern Promises which see him move away from explicit horror and SF tropes but keep his obsessions with the body well intact.

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs

-by Kim Yonick

All the characters are back again from the first two "Ice Age" movies.

This time Manny (Ray Ramano), Diego (Denis Leary) and Sid's (John Leguizamo) lives are all changing as Manny and Ellie (Queen Latifah) are becoming parents. Manny becomes the over protective and anxious father, builds a playground for expected baby. Diego on the other hand sees his life slowing down and realizes he needs adventure and tells Manny that he will be leaving the pack. As far as Sid, he wants to a family of his own and stumbles upon three dinosaur eggs. The storyline begins as Sid is hunted down by the dinosaurs' mother and brought back to and underground world where Manny, Diego and Ellie must rescue him. On the other end of this movie, the storyline follows Scrat (Chris Wedge) who is still after his acorn. However, things take a turn when he meets a female sabre-toothed squirrel, Scratte (Karen Disher). These two story lines help transform the characters' way of thinking and bring a lot of laughs to the audience.

The cast for "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" consists of many familiar voices such as: Ray Ramano, Denis Leary, John Leguizamo, Queen Latifah and Chris Wedge. Joining the cast this time is Karen Disher and Simon Pegg as Buck, the one-eyed weasel. Karen Disher and Chris Wedge's characters don't say much on screen, but they did a great job on screen. Added to this list of characters is Simon Pegg, he has done many funny films such as "Star Trek," "Dawn of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz." His witty personality helped bring Buck alive on screen.

Like the first two "Ice Age" movies, the animation was done by Twentieth Century Fox and Blue Sky Productions. The animation didn't change from the first two movies. While watching the movie, the viewer will also notice Buck as a representation of both Crocodile Dundee and Frank Buck an adventurer from the 30s and 40s.

Those this film was very enjoyable, there seemed to be some factual errors many viewers could point out such as when Sid finds the eggs in an ice cave. It isn't plausible for the eggs to survive due to the extreme cold temperatures, but the eggs would also need a constant heat supply. Another error is in Buck's story about how he fought off Rudy. Buck states there was lightening and rain, when there is a constant sunlight in the Dinosaur Valley throughout the whole movie. Those these errors might be noticeable, it doesn't take away from the story line or the humor of the movie.

"Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" was co-directed by Carlos Saldanha and Mike Thurmeier. For Thurmeier this is the first big movie he has directed, he has also directed the short animation "No Time for Nuts." Though Thurmeier hasn't directed many movies, he has played many major roles in the Animation Department, visual effects and writing. Thurmeier has helped with such movies as "Ice Age," "Robots" "Ice Age: The Meltdown" and "Horton Hears a Who!" As for Saldanha, he has directed all three "Ice Age" movies, but has also worked as an actor, producer, with the visual effects and in the Animation Department. Saldanha has worked on many movies such as: "Surviving Sid," "Robots," "No Time for Nuts" and is currently working on "Rio" which is in pre-production.

This movie would be recommended for anyone who has seen the first two "Ice Age" or loves animated movies.