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The Informant is an odd comedy starring Matt Damon. Damon plays Mark Whitacre, an up and coming corporate employee at a large agri-industry. Whitacre becomes an informant to the FBI, who is trying to gather evidence on company he is working for. He thinks that by turning on his employer he will somehow he rewarded with a promotion and praise.

The trailer shows Whitacre as a bumbling suit trying to play the part of secret agent, all the while revealing what he is doing to anyone watching and having no real clue as to what is going on. Tapping on hidden microphones, moving hidden cameras and general erratic behavior are all laid out in an almost buffoonish manner. Despite what sounds like a predictable movie, the trailer looks much better. I am genuinely interested in seeing it.

Release Date: October 9, 2009

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July 9th 2009 @ 11:00

Posted By: Matthew Shallue - Category: No Category

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Surviving Crooked Lake: Trailer

Surviving Crooked Lake is a survival movie that tells the story of four young girls and their older male guide, out in the wilderness on a camping/canoe trip. After an accident leaves their guide either dead or close to death (the trailer doesn’t really say which, but I assume he’s dead), the four girls must make their way back to civilization on their own.

The trailer shows glimpses into what I would describe as raw human emotion, brought forth from the extreme situation the characters are in. Surviving Crooked Lake is along the lines Deliverance and other movies where average people find themselves in life and death situations, forced to make choices that you cannot prepare for.

Release Date: Select Theaters July 24th

Trailer Link Here

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July 8th 2009 @ 11:00

Posted By: Matthew Shallue - Category: No Category

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The Code (2009)

Normally when I see a film with Morgan Freeman and Antonio Banderas in it, I am fairly certain that it will be a film worth watching. The Code is close, very close to being an exception to that. I cannot take anything away from either Freeman or Banderas; their acting is right on with every other performance they have given. Where The Code is lacking is in substance.

The Code is not an abysmal movie; it does have some redeeming qualities. The storyline is a decent one. Ripley (Freeman) and Martin (Banderas) are trying to steel two Faberge Eggs worth twenty-million each. The vault used to secure them is no necessarily unique to other movies, but it is cool. Combining biometric readers, voice recognition, and of course laser beams as deterrents. How the two thieves gain access to the eggs and get them out is probably the only clever part of the film.

The story is weak, and tries to be way too clever at the end. The majority of the film is your standard heist plot, with small scenes of romance thrown in here and there. It’s really nothing special and some of the effects involving iPhones are like something out of a badly made television movie. You’re supposed to believe that Martin (Banderas) is a master thief, but everything shown makes him look like a pick-pocket or thug.

The end of The Code, is confusing. The last 15 minutes is where the “big” explanation happens. You know the part of the film where all the loose ends are tied-up. What is revealed is a spider web of twists and explaining details what should have been at least hinted at through-out the movie. Seriously, this could have been such a better movie if the viewers would have been let in on some what the characters knew.

I am never surprised when an actor stars in a film what questionable entertainment value, but in this case, I would think that Freeman and Benderas could have scenes this one coming a mile away.

Director: Mimi Leder
Starring: Morgan Freeman, Antonio Banderas, Radha Mitchell, Robert Forster, Rade Serbedzija, Michael Hayden, Marcel Lures
MPAA Rating: R
Runtime: 104 minutes

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July 7th 2009 @ 12:00

Posted By: Matthew Shallue - Category: No Category

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The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008)

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is possibly my new favorite installment in the Narnia franchise. While I was a big fan of the first film, I always felt that the children were so out of place in the world of Narnia. The subject matter and the other characters just seemed so much older. Yes, I realize that it’s a Disney movie and it’s based off of a children's book. For me, the situations they were in just did not fit. I don't think that the original or the sequel is a in any way a children's movie. The story is way too adult, even more so in Prince Caspian then its predecessor.

Prince Caspian takes place 1300 years after the last film. Through to the kids, only a few years have passed in their lives. The world of Narnia is a vastly different place from what they remember. Man has all but taken over and the Narnians have been forced into hiding. While running for his life from his evil uncle, Caspian is thrown from his horse. Dazed and scared, the young prince glances around, seeing his uncles solders closing in from one side and two small dwarf looking men emerging from a doorway build into a hillside under a tree. In a panic he blows the horn, who legend has it will summon the kings and queens of old

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July 3rd 2009 @ 13:21

Posted By: Matthew Shallue - Category: No Category

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Trailer for Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs was one of my favorite books as a child. I can remember reading at least a dozen times while in grade school, so my hopes and expectations for this are high. My memories of the story are a little fuzzy now, but the trailer covers the big moments that I can recall.

The story is of a town with nothing to eat except for Sardines. Feed up with eating them, a local scientist who have never made anything useful creates a machine that makes food rain from the sky. As stories go, the machine gets out of control and super huge foods start falling and piling up. The film is animated and in 3D, which is great, but for me, the best part of the trailer is Mr. T as a police officer. Watching his voice over makes me think, one thing. How has he not been cast more often

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July 2nd 2009 @ 12:00

Posted By: Matthew Shallue - Category: No Category

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Public Enemies: Trailers

Johnny Depp stars as John Dillinger, the gangster who made a name for himself by robbing banks, eluding FBI agent Melvin Purvis and being an all around charismatic person. Yahoo is kind enough to stream all of the trailers, teasers and TV spots in one location. The link is below.

The main trailer is compelling and does a great job of endearing Dillinger to the audience. Johnny Depp’s looks don’t hurt either

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July 1st 2009 @ 12:00

Posted By: Matthew Shallue - Category: No Category

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Munich (2005)

Munich is the story of a secret Israeli team tasked with finding and killing the Palestinians believed to be responsible for the 1972 Munich slaughter of eleven Israeli athletes. Based on real events, Munich focuses as much on the emotional cost that the Israeli team endures to complete their mission. The brunt of the mental strain falls on Avner (Bana), as the leader of the team, the decision of how and when to eliminate the targets falls on him.

Watching Eric Bana’s character, is watching a man’s mind unravel. As the each event unfolds, Avner is pushed further and further into do things that he is not comfortable with. At first he sees the killings he and the team carry out as necessary, for the greater good, and for country. Overtime, he begins to question if the removal of the marked Palestinians will do anything more than create openings for even madder men

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June 29th 2009 @ 12:00

Posted By: Matthew Shallue - Category: No Category

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The Last Airbender Teaser Trailer

The teaser trailer for M. Night Shyamalan's The Last Airbender came out a few days ago. Unless you already know the back story for The Last Airbender, you won’t get much out of the trailer. It is visually pretty, and sets the idea in your head that this kid is a badass.

My concern is that M. Night Shyamalan is directing. Each one of his films, I have liked less than the previous one. The release date isn’t until July 2, 2010, so there will be time to hope this film is his redemption

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June 25th 2009 @ 12:00

Posted By: Matthew Shallue - Category: No Category

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Vantage Point (2008)

For what ever reason, I’ve been avoiding watching Vantage Point. The Television spots for made the film uninteresting to me, just another assassination film. That is really a shame, because Vantage Point is a very interesting, well filmed movie.

The film follows secret service agent Thomas Barnes, (Quaid) as he attempts to find the terrorist involved in a plot to kill the President of the United States, during a speech in Spain. The story is told and retold through the eyes of each main character. During each retelling, new pieces of the puzzle are filled in which lead Barnes onto the next clue. Quaid is on top of his game in this film. He has the intensity and the determination to get the job done in Vantage Point. On a side note, for me, Quaid gets better and better every time I see him. He’s no spring chicken anymore, but the action roles that he’s portrayed in the last five years or so have all been on target

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June 24th 2009 @ 12:00

Posted By: Matthew Shallue - Category: No Category

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Trailer for: Worlds Greatest Dad!

Worlds Greatest Dad is a dark comedy starring Robin Williams as a high-school poetry teacher, who is disenfranchised with his life and dreams of being a famous writer.

If you like dark comedies, you’ll probably find the trailer pretty funny. There are a lot of odd quirky scene’s involving less than PG subjects like, fetish porn and taking up skirt pictures. Based on the two and half minutes below, I have a feeling that most of the comedy in the film is either in the trailer or will be repeated endlessly through-out the film

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June 23rd 2009 @ 12:00

Posted By: Matthew Shallue - Category: No Category

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