Open Road Films recently send us over some stills for their upcoming release of "Homefront". The film is directed by Gary Fleder(Kiss the Girls) and written by Sylvester Stallone(The Expendables, Rocky) and stars Jason Statham, James Franco, Wiona Ryder, Kate Bosworth and Frank Grillo. "Homefront" hits theaters on 11/27.

Plot Synopsis:

HOMEFRONT is an action movie about a widowed ex-DEA agent who retires to a small town for the sake of his 10-year-old daughter. The only problem is he picked the wrong town.

There’s no way Rod Lurie’s remake of “Straw Dogs” could have improved on Peckinpah’s 1971 original. Even today, his version is powerfully unnerving as he descends his audience into the inescapable violence in all of us. All the same, Lurie’s remake turned out to be better than I expected it to be. Although not a great movie, “Straw Dogs” 2011 is compelling in that doesn’t shy away from the ugliness of violence. With his version, Lurie forces us to have a more objective look at the situations these characters get thrust into.

This one follows the 1971 version very closely. The places have been changed to protect the British innocent. The story takes place in Blackwater, Mississippi where David Sumner (James Marsden) has moved to along with his wife Amy (Kate Bosworth) who grew up there. Instead of a mathematician, David is a writer working on a screenplay dealing with Stalingrad during World War II. Attempts to fit in prove difficult as David is inadvertently condescending to the locals, and he becomes an object of taunting by Charlie Venner (Alexander Skarsgård) and his friends who work on his and Amy’s farm and willfully take advantage of their hospitality.

Those who saw the original “Straw Dogs” will remember the ambiguity of scenes like when Amy is raped and looks like she “enjoyed” it. In this version though it is made clear what constitutes rape; a woman can lead a man on but it becomes rape the moment she says “stop!” While many of the characters fall under the stereotypical denomination of hillbillies, some get more dimension than we expect them to. This is especially the case with Skarsgård’s character who commits an unforgivable act, but you wonder if his regret makes him worthy of forgiveness.

Marsden does strong work as David Sumner, but I kept wondering if he might be too cool for this role. David is the last person who (if you saw him up close) would be capable of harming a human being. Dustin Hoffman was perfectly cast in the original as he seemed like that person, and it was shocking when we saw what he was capable of. Marsden on the other hand has the build of a man who can kick ass whenever it is necessary, so he doesn’t look like the four-eyed nerd we expect him to be.

The performances here are all strong, and actors like Bosworth (giving her best performance in some time) handle the difficult aspects of their roles with professionalism and bravery. Skarsgård gets to play a more complex role than his character had in the original, and is face illustrates the inner conflicts of his character. But one actor I was especially happy to see here was James Wood who inhabits former football coach Tom Heddon with intense abandon. Whether he’s worried about his 15-year old daughter or getting drunker than he needs to at the local bar, Woods’ performance shows that he has lost none of his power that made him a great actor in the first place.

“Straw Dogs” could have been your average bland remake of a movie that didn’t require one. Lurie however manages to make the material his own. Whatever flaws it may have, it’s still a strong action film which leaves its hooks in you long after you’ve walked out of the movie theatre.

* * * out of * * * *

“21”
2008
***½ out of ****
Director: Robert Luketic
Cast: Jim Sturgess, Kevin Spacey, Kate Bosworth


You can never go wrong with a movie like “21.” No matter how bad it is, it will always been enjoyable. If you bring two hundred dollars with you to Vegas to gamble away and come home with nothing, there is a good chance that you will be either depressed or say that you had a fun time. It goes without saying that if you take a trip to Vegas in “21,” you will either be disappointed or you will have fun. Hell, maybe both.

I’d hate to say that “21” is a perfect movie, because it is the farthest thing from it. Lord knows how biased this review is. My favorite actor of this day of age (Jim Sturgess), the new and improved Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth, one of the greatest actors that are breathing today (Kevin Spacey), and Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) could always get a great kick out of me. Imagine them all in ONE whole movie? It’s like a splitting fucking orgasm!

And “21” is a splitting fucking orgasm. An orgasm of FUN. I don’t think that anyone can have as much fun as I had with this film. I expected a lot from this film, and I sure as hell wasn’t disappointed. “21” gave me a lot of enjoyment, enjoyment that I didn’t receive from “Superhero Movie,” and just a little bit more enjoyment from “Run Fatboy Run.” All I asked for in this movie was enjoyment. It is something that a movie hasn’t given me since “The Signal” – complete satisfaction.

“21” tells the tale of Ben Campbell, (Jim Sturgess) a gifted student at MIT. He has a way of numbers, and he is definitely the kind of guy that you want to be doing your homework. His problem is that he dreams about going to Harvard Medical School, but there is no way that he can get three-hundred thousand dollars for his tuition. Ben is invited to be a part of a group of card-counters that go to Las Vegas on weekends to make money. What these people do isn’t to gamble, but to make money. The group, ran by Mr. Rosa, (Kevin Spacey) is shown the ins and outs to the game of blackjack, but how much is enough?

“21” is based on the book written by Ben Mezrich. The film was originally based on a true story where a few Asian men would go down to Las Vegas and count cards to become rich. Unlike these guys, Ben keeps insisting that once he makes his three-hundred thousand dollars, he’ll be leaving the group, but as Mr. Rosa and the super hot Jill (Kate Bosworth) keep informing him, that is what everyone says. They don’t know when to stop and gamble all of their winnings away. After he keeps winning and winning, Cole Williams, (Laurence Fishburne) the enforcer of all casinos, counts the cards and realizes what Ben is doing. Mr. Williams has a reputation of kicking ass. Whether or not it’s because he has anger issues isn’t really stated in the movie. I’d guess that, after watching that “Assault on Precinct 13” remake.

But anyway, “21” isn’t nearly the perfect movie that I may make it out to be. It’s just a lot of fun. Some people are going to hate it for the same reasons I like it. It’s slick, it’s hip, and it’s cool. It is the “Ocean’s Eleven” without actually being illegal. And I loved it. But there are a few faults here and there.

It’s going to kill me to admit this, but Jim Sturgess, probably one of the best actors working today, is strongly miscast. The man is English, and he is playing an American character. He does a good job at his role, but he can’t do an American accent. He’s tried it here, and he only falters. Traces of an English accent are accidentally used in the film. He does a good job here and I’ll respect him for that, but why cast an English actor in an American role is beyond me. But that’s Hollywood for you.

Another problem is that the climax isn’t as strong as the rest of the movie is. Thankfully, it picks up at the end of the movie with its very own clever twist but the climax doesn’t really help. By the time that Fishburne and Sturgess meet each other for the first time (or shall I say, Sturgess and Fishburne’s fist), it becomes insanely dull. It picks up in the last fifteen minutes, Maybe it’s too late, but I wasn’t paying attention. I was just having fun, like everyone else in the theater.

But “21” certainly has likeable characters. If you have all seen “Across the Universe,” you know how Jim Sturgess can play a likeable character. Kate Bosworth does an equally great job fitting in with her character, with an insanely hot new look that is oozing me out of the world. Kevin Spacey, while equally devilish in his own right, is likeable for most of the movie. The same can be said about Aaron Yoo, who won’t be receiving credit from anyone. Everyone is overlooking him, and that is truly a damn shame. He’s not the best in the film, but he has fun whenever he is on screen.

I don’t know if it is just me, but I had a lot of fun with the movie. It’s the kind of film that I would wait for DVD, but if you must see it in the theaters, bring tons of friends. It’s sure to be a movie that you will be talking about for a good time after it is over.