DVD Releases July 21st ON REVIEW

Watchmen - A- (Gotta Own the Director's Cut, Gotta Rent the theatrical version)
Watchmen is a very unique take on the ever popular genre of superhero movies. It was directed by Zack Snyder, the same guy that made 300. There are many similarities between the two, such as the graphic nature of the action scenes as well as the tendency to slow down the scenes to emphasize what’s about to happen. It is set in 1985 with Richard Nixon as the president and warns of a potential nuclear holocaust. The character development is quite impressive with many of the “superheroes” being incredibly interesting (such as the Comedian, Rorschach, and Dr. Manhattan). It’s major flaw is its 2.5 hour length. It’s definitely an epic movie along the lines of Lord of the Rings or The Dark Knight where its length could dissuade some from watching it. The visuals, story, and uniqueness make this a must watch unless you are one to dislike its graphic nature and superhero storyline.

Echelon Conspiracy - B- (Wait for It)
Although Echelon Conspiracy is a pretty mediocre movie, it was more entertaining than I thought it would be. The plot and pace of the movie is basically the same as Eagle Eye or I, Robot, just with a smaller budget. The action sequences are a little too far-fetched in the sense that its not that the effects are so crazy that it could never happen (which I usually don't mind), it's that they just weren't produced well enough to look real. For instance, one scene Edward Burns shoots a car twice with a shotgun and manages to blow it up, whereas later he hides behind a car that is unloaded on with hundreds of bullets and nothing happens. Along with that Shane West couldn’t carry the main role nearly as well as Shia Labeouf or Will Smith in their respective roles. Despite its failures, the techno-crisis plot hasn’t quite been worn out yet so it’s interesting enough to keep your attention. Although it’s obvious that it is a direct-to-dvd movie it is still entertaining enough to be worth a free rental, otherwise wait for it to come on TV.

The Great Buck Howard - B+ (Gotta Rent)
I found this to be at times quite entertaining and clever, and at other times to drag on and bore me. John Malkovich is fantastic as the mentalist Buck Howard, as is Colin Hanks as his assistant who doesn’t have any idea what he wants out of life. It provides some good laughs at the beginning as the once famous Buck Howard is the only one that doesn’t realize he is no longer in the lime light. It is more of a light chuckle kind of comedy, and less of a laugh-out-loud one. Towards the end the plot stalls a little bit loses a bit of its interest. The shows Buck puts on makes you wonder if he’s using some sort of trick, or if he is for real. It’s a different kind of comedy that doesn’t require a lot of thought and is worth a rent.

Coraline - B+ (Gotta Rent, Gotta Own if a big fan of TNBC)
If you were a fan of The Nightmare Before Christmas then you will probably thoroughly enjoy this film. From the same director, Henry Selick, Coraline follows a girl into a dream world that becomes her reality, combining the fantastic animation style of TNBC with an Alice in Wonderland type of story. Where TNBC took Santa Clause, the Boogeyman and other children’s fantasy characters and made them slightly creepy, Coraline makes up all new characters to scare children with. I would go as far as saying Coraline is far creepier and closer to a horror movie than the gorefests that are released these days. The animation, music score and imagination of Selick is what really makes this movie. Although I didn’t feel as if it were as strong as TNBC it is still a wonder to watch and a must-rent.