I Have Decided to Stomp the Yard on Friday
Well, not really. I won’t be doing any stomping. I will, however, be going to see Stomp the Yard tomorrow. January is a tough time for a moviegoer. Not the best of movies make it to the screen to begin a year.
I was thinking of going to see Alpha Dog, but after reading more about it, it all sounds to depressing. A group of teenagers dealing drugs and kidnapping and murdering and other amoral behavior just left me depressed. I don’t particularly like to leave the movie theater feeling down and dejected.
Primeval was never really in consideration, as I don’t particularly care for horror type movies. Not because they are scary, usually because they are more cheesy than creepy or funny than frightening.
So, that left me with Stomp the Yard. It looks formulaic, but when the guy gets the girl and wins the competition you at least feel good about it on your way out of the theater. The upbeat more positive looking movie gets the nod this week.
For week 2, I will see the first showing of Stomp the Yard at my local movie house. I will then stomp on back with a review, so you will know whether or not you should dance on down to your local cinemaplex for a showing.
Given the choices this week, what new movie would you go see this Friday?
Three Movies at a Theater Near Me In Week Two
The second Friday of the year is almost upon us and I need to choose a new movie to go see. There are three new movies hitting the big screen this week.
New Movies Opening January 12th:
Movie: Alpha Dog (R)
Starring: Emile Hirsch, Justin Timberlake and Bruce Willis
Genre: Crime Drama
Synopsis: Johnny Truelove is a teenage drug dealer. He and his friends kidnap a junkie’s younger brother after he refused to pay his debt. Things don’t go as planned when one of Johnny’s crew takes a liking to the kid. The movie is based on a true story.
First Thoughts: Justin Timberlake’s acting ability looks to have improved since his debut as a reporter in the movie Edison Force
Movie: Primeval (R)
Starring: Dominic Purcell, Orlando Jones and Brooke Langton
Genre: Action Horror Thriller
Synopsis: An American news crew attempts to track and catch a deadly serial killer, who has killed more than 300, in a remote area. The closer they get to this mysterious killer, the more their trip turns deadly.
First Thoughts: Not a big fan of the horror genre.
Movie: Stomp the Yard (PG-13)
Starring: Nobody I have ever heard of
Genre: Performing Arts Musical Drama
Synopsis: A talented street dancer, Los Angeles, deals with the death of his brother due to tragic circumstances while attending Truth University in Atlanta. He has his eye on a pretty young woman and is trying to focus on his studies. Yet, he ends up in the middle of a battle for stomp supremacy between two rival fraternities over his dance skills for an upcoming competition.
First Thoughts: I think I have seen this movie before except they were all playing drums
Also opening on January 12th is a horror movie, The Abandoned, a romance drama, Guru, and a foreign action comedy, Tears of the Black Tiger. They are just not in a theater near me according to Fandango.
I have read about the movies, seen the trailers and now I need to make my choice. I have the down and dirty, Alpha Dog, the horrific, Primeval, or the upbeat, Stomp the Yard. What shall I choose? What would you go see?
Movie Review: Code Name: The Cleaner
Movie: Code Name: The Cleaner (PG-13)
Released: January 5th, 2007
Runtime: 1 hr. 24 min.
Ticket Price: $5.00 Early Matinee
Refreshments: Swedish Fish
Starring: Cedric the Entertainer, Lucy Liu, Nicollette Sheridan
Director: Les Mayfield
Rating: Wait for the Rental, if not longer
Synopsis: Jake Rodgers looks to be just a regular guy, but he has no idea who he is after he gets hit on the head by an unknown attacker. Then he gets mixed up in a high-level government conspiracy, leaving him and those looking for him to start thinking he might actually be an undercover agent, who may have information regarding a secret arms deal that involves the CIA and FBI.
Review: Code Name: The Cleaner is an action comedy and it has some of both. Yet, if you are going for the comedy aspect and have seen the trailer, then you have seen 90% of the jokes already. At the end, though, they do have a nice bunch of outtakes for your comic enjoyment. I wish the trailer makers could figure out a way to not give everything away, but still make the film look worth seeing. As for the action, there were some decent fight scenes but gunplay was poorly done.
The movie opens with a flyover of Downtown Seattle, the Space Needle all lit up at the top of the screen. I think to myself, hey another movie set in Seattle that is filmed in Vancouver, B.C. and within a few scenes my thoughts are confirmed. This is definitely not Seattle. Seeing as how I live in the Seattle area, I always like to see how well filmmakers do in turning Vancouver into Seattle. Not too bad, they at least put Washington plates on the vehicles.
Cedric the Entertainer (Man of the House, Johnson Family Vacation) is his characteristic movie self as Jake Rodgers, who may or may not be a super spy. Lucy Liu (Charlie’s Angels, Ally McBeal) easily slips into her Charlie’s Angels persona and is there to help him along as Gina. Bad girl Diane, played by Nicollette Sheridan (Desperate Housewives), is searching for a stolen computer chip for her boss, Erik Hauck, played by B movie action star Marc Dacascos (Iron Chef America).
The movie is an OK action comedy with a few funny lines and a decent fight scene. If I were you, I would wait for the DVD rental, if not longer, as it will be on HBO or Showtime one day.
A Cleaner Comedy to Begin the New Year
That is right Cedric the Entertainer’s new movie Code Name: The Cleaner is the first of 52 new movies I am going to see this year. I usually only see the big budget blockbuster summer movies at the theatre. Maybe rent a few others and wait for the rest to hit HBO or Showtime. Since there isn’t a big action flick every Friday I will have to adjust my normal viewing habits.
I only saw two or three movies on the big screen last year, which was an all-time low for me. This seeing a newly released movie every Friday for the year will be interesting. You get like three to five options each week and I am sure there will be weeks that nothing really looks good at all.
This week the best movie from an overall standpoint is probably Freedom Writers but in my estimation you can enjoy a drama on any size screen without losing anything. So I went closer to my normal theatre movie going routine with the action comedy, Code Name: The Cleaner. It looks funny and seems like the best way to start off the year is with a laugh. Here’s hoping that it is actually funny and that the only good lines weren’t in the trailer.
I will be seeing the first showing tomorrow. After applying my review cipher key to Code Name I will let you know if the code is broken or if it is worth a look.
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