DVD Review: The Kingdom

The Kingdom
Directed by Peter Berg
Starring Jamie Foxx, Chris Cooper, Jennifer Garner
Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Available Dec. 23, 2007

The Kingdom is this year’s Miami Vice. What does that mean, you ask? Well, one, only the smartest people and the ones who pay close attention will REALLY know what’s going on. Secondly, it’s really pretty. And third, Michael Mann is the producer. I’m not one to criticize Mann unless the movie is Ali and Manhunter. I don’t even like Heat as much as most. But I will admit that when Mann wants to have fun, he does have fun. Unlike that other Michael skid-mark that thinks that robots sticking their fists up each other’s corn-shooters would be “fun,” Michael Mann and director Peter Berg shoot a film that is divided into two-halves -- the first being a crime scene and the second being a nonstop action-thriller...continue reading this review at Geeks of Doom!

Movie Review: Juno

Juno
Directed by Jason Reitman
Written by Diablo Cody
Starring Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, Allison Janney, J.K. Simmons, Rainn Wilson
Rated PG-13

Juno: A Very Happy Accident

“Michael Jordan plays ball. Charles Manson kills people. I talk. Everyone has a talent.” -- Nick Naylor from Thank You For Smoking

“Nah... I mean, I'm already pregnant, so what other kind of shenanigans could I get into?” -- Juno MacGuff from Juno

“No, I mean, like, for real. 'Cause you're, like, the coolest person I've ever met, and you don't even have to try, you know..."-- Juno MacGuff from Juno

Nepotism can only get you so far. If you want to stay in the game, you better have some talent of your own to get past the famous last name that got you into the great game. Talent is in the Coppola and Kasdan genes. Jason Reitman has gotten the directing genes from his father, Ivan Reitman -- the director responsible for such iconic and subversive comedies as Meatballs, Stripes, Ghostbusters, and Dave to name a few. Jason Reitman made an excellent debut with an adaptation of Christopher Buckley’s Thank You For Smoking in 2005 featuring a career defining performance by Aaron Eckhart. With Juno, Reitman has taken Diablo Cody’s first screenplay and turned it into something memorable and magical. There is no sophomore slump with Reitman, who has given wonderful life to Cody’s inventive and fresh screenplay. Diablo Cody’s own story is the stuff that movies are made of. This year has been a terrific year for first-time screenplays being turned into excellent films. Sidney Lumet’s Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead written by Kelly Masterson is another excellent example...continue reading this review at Geeks of Doom!

Movie Review: The Kingdom

Peter Berg, director of Very Bad Things and actor in such films as Smokin’ Aces, Collateral, and The Great White Hype, gets behind the camera again, this time emulating master Michael Mann’s own visual style in a brilliant FBI crime drama embedded deep within foreign soil in The Kingdom, a film about a crack team of agents that hits Saudi Arabian sand to uncover the mad militant strategist behind a horribly brutal orchestration that left one FBI agent dead.

At its heart, The Kingdom is a film about two cultures diametrically opposed in political philosophy, religion, and social norms that must work together to ferret out the radical Muslim fundamentalist behind an attack on an small American community in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Spurred by the recent attack Special Agent Ronald Fleury (played by Jamie Foxx), who has a knack for talking himself into and out of any given situation, maneuvers his political chess pieces, navigating bureaucratic red tape and assembles an elite group of FBI field operatives -- Grant Sykes (Chris Cooper), Janet Mayes (Jennifer Garner), and Adam Leavitt (Jason Bateman) -- to travel to Riyadh and find out who planned the strike that killed their friend, all in the limited time span of a week...continue reading this review at Geeks of Doom!

First Look, Trailer: Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium

USA Today has a first look at Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium, Zach Helm's upcoming fantasy comedy starring Dustin Hoffman, Natalie Portman, and Jason Bateman.

In this whimsical tale, Hoffman plays against type as the 243-year-old title character with a Willy Wonka-like personality, except instead of making candy, he makes toys. (Here Hoffman talks about how why this is an unlikely role for him; contains two new images from the film.)

Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium hits theaters November 16, 2007. Watch the first trailer here after the jump...continue reading this article at Geeks of Doom