Famed movie critic Roger Ebert was a big fan of the first Final Destination movie and even discussed that film and other slasher movies on an entertaining featurette on the DVD of Final Destination 3, the precursor to this movie. Ebert coined the phrase “dead teenager movie” to describe slasher flicks, and the Final Destination movies more or less stick to that formula, except that in The Final Destination, people of any age can die at any time. The Final Destination is extremely short (barely 80 minutes before the end credits roll) and is punchy and gory, it gives the fans …

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The Hangover is a sloppy, unfunny mess from start to finish. The laughs are few and far between and this must be the most overrated comedy I’ve seen all year. A massive hit that struck a chord with moviegoers, its appeal escapes me. Some unlikable guys go to Vegas for a bachleor party and everything goes wrong. The groom goes missing and his trio of morons attempt to find him while piecing together what happened the night before. The end credit scene is the only really worthwhile scene in the flick, aside from Mike Tyson’s amusing cameo where he comes out …

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Terminator: Salvation is an unwelcome return to the Terminator franchise that got more press for Christian Bale’s nutty on set rant than it did for anything in the movie itself. It’s easy to see why. Terminator is a mediocre action movie with some nice backdrops and a sturdy performance from actor Sam Worthington as a machine who attempts to regain his humanity. He has no idea that he’s not human and his character Marcus wants redemption for his past misdeeds.

Salvation takes place in the aftermath of Judgement Day and the takeover of the machines. The leader of the resistance is …

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The anime series Genshiken is one of the best comedy/slice of life animes around. It has a gentle pace and pokes fun at the otaku (hard-core anime fans) in a mocking, but ultimately lovable way. The show has charm and wit and moves along at its own pace. It has the feel of real life instead of the more over-caffeinated anime comedies around such as Excel Saga or FLCL, but that suits this wonderful series just fine. The first series of episodes came out way back in 2005. Media Blasters has finally released Genshiken 2 in America and I must say, …

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Here’s my list of the best movies of the decade 2000-2008:

2000

American Psycho: Terrific mix of black comedy, satire, and slasher flick with a stand-out performance from Christian Bale.

Requiem for a Dream: Easily one of the most depressing movies I’ve ever seen, I’ve still only seen it once.

Almost Famous: Cameron Crowe’s affable, warm, and memorable look at a rock band and the kid who idolized them.

Best in Show: Hilarious Chris Guest mockumentary about dog shows.

Memento: Chris Nolan’s cool, convoluted film noir with excellent twists and turns along the way.

2001

Donnie …

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Bruno is a spitball lobbed with deadly accuracy at homophobes, hypocrites, and pretty much anyone else in its comedic path. Raunchy and sure to shock, Bruno also comes with a message of tolerance a lot of people seemed to miss during its theatrical run. The movie is decidedly un-PC. Sascha Baron Cohen’s creation Bruno is a flamboyant, gay Austrian fashion reporter out to become a star. From its pre-credit scene set to techno (the music is terrific), to a post credit song for peace and love, Bruno is a good way spend 80 minutes or so. It’s not for everyone, but …

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Sam Raimi started out his career with a tiny low-budget horror film called Evil Dead. The movie’s mix of slapstick and gory fun earned it and its sequel Evil Dead 2 a massive cult following. Drag Me to Hell feels like a return to form from Raimi and is an exciting throwback to old-school horror. The DVD comes with both an unrated and theatrical cut, which are almost identical and serve mostly as a studio marketing ploy to prop up a movie which sadly didn’t do much at the US box office.

Drag Me to Hell is about a kind bank …

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Thomas Jane has certainly proved himself to be a capable actor in a number of genre favorites, including The Punisher and The Mist, but he also makes some extremely awful movies like Mutant Chronicles, which are damn near unwatchable. Dark Country is a movie you can add to his list of bad ones, except Dark Country might be his worst movie yet. Jane makes his directorial debut with this cheesy, grim, and lifeless slice of wannabe film noir that has some of the worst digital effects ever put on film. The decision made to shoot so many CGI shots on green …

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Trick r Treat is being released straight to DVD after it was pushed back over and over by a careless studio. It was slated to be released way back in October 2007 to cash in on Halloween but constantly got pushed back before finally being dumped on DVD. That’s a shame because it’s a lot better than a lot of the torture porn garbage like SAW that is currently infesting the multiplexes these days. Trick r Treat is a throwback to the old horror anthology flicks and often plays like a classic EC Comics that were the foundation of the Tales …

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Michael Bay, the director of the craptastic Transformers 2, will be signing Blu Ray’s and DVD’s.  You can get a signed blu ray ($50) or DVD ($40) on his official site, michaelbay.com.  Although I hated Transformers 2, the sale is for a good cause.  All the  proceeds will go to Make A Wish Foundation.  You can also get a combo pack, which includes the original Transformers movie and Tyrese (“left cheek, let cheek” ) will sign the movies as well.  Here’s the link to the order page.

The movie comes out on video on October 20th.  I didn’t expect it …

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