Movie: Live Free or Die Hard (PG-13)
Released: June 27th, 2007
Watched: June 29th, 2007
Runtime: 2 hr. 10 min.
Ticket Price: $5.00 Early Matinee
Refreshments: Swedish Fish
Starring: Bruce Willis, Justin Long, Timothy Olyphant & Kevin Smith
Director: Len Wiseman

Rating: Worth a Full Price Ticket

Synopsis: John McClane must save the day once again, this time from an attack on the nations computer infrastructure. The terrorist plan seems to have taken into account every possible detail in the digital world to render the financial markets and everything else useless, except for our favorite hero.

Review: Live Free or Die Hard is the most fun I’ve had at a movie this summer. The other big sequels of the past few weeks left a bit to be desired. So, a fourth in the Die Hard movie franchise was sure to be looked upon with an uneasy eye. Although, lowered expectations, due to earlier summer disappointments, may have helped overall reaction to Live Free or Die Hard.

This is a straight up big budget action flick. Much of it harkens back to the previous Die Hard films, as well as movies like True Lies and even Bruce Willis’ 16 Blocks. Some sequences go a bit over the top, like the fighter and the 16-wheeler sequence, but it is a whole lot of fun to watch. If you have any fondness for the previous incarnations, you will definitely enjoy yourself watching this one.

Now divorced, John McClane is trying to maintain a relationship with his daughter, the strong willed Lucy, played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Final Destination 3). She wants nothing to do with him. This sets up a similar ark, as in the first Die Hard when he his fighting with his estranged wife and then has to save her in the end.

There are many other scenes that bring back memories of previous Die Hard films, like McClane meeting another Agent Johnson of the FBI, muttering to himself about how this was supposed to be easy while climbing over wrecked cars, elevator shafts and others.

Justin Long (He’s the Mac in the Mac vs. PC ads) plays Matt Farrell. He is a computer geek extraordinaire. He thinks that he is just helping a big company test their security, but has helped develop some of the code for an attack on the digital infrastructure of the nation. Long makes a good sidekick to the hero, but in the end steps up a bit himself to help save the day.

Timothy Olyphant (Catch and Release, TV’s Deadwood) is the bad guy this time around. A former government employee that warned that something like this could happen if people didn’t listen to him. Having been ruined by those that wanted to shut him up, he is now bent on getting his revenge, but mostly, as in two of the previous three, the money. Olyphant is a good actor, but his character’s development was not quite as engaging as previous Die Hard baddies. But, in his defense, none have lived up to Hans Gruber, the original played by Alan Rickman.

Live Free or Die Hard takes place over much more area than the three previous, but each has widened it over the subsequent one. The first took place in a building, the second in and around an airport and the third in New York City. Now it spans from New Jersey to Washington D.C. to West Virginia to Baltimore, MD. But, there are still plenty of cramped spaces and fight scenes taking place inside apartments and elevator shafts.

Yippee-ki-yay movie lover, Live Free or Die Hard is worth a full price ticket and may have just kicked off the real summer movie season with a bang.

Have you seen Live Free or Die Hard? What did you think of it?

This week, New Movie Friday has gotten a bit behind. But, everything should be back on track now. I was up in Vancouver, B.C. the last few days with other members of the digital press for set tours and cast Q&A’s of some Sci Fi Channel shows. If you are interested, you can read more about it in the coming days at TVaholic.com. It was a great time, as we toured the sets of Battlestar Galactica, Eureka, the upcoming Flash Gordon and Stargate Atlantis. We also got to see a rough-cut trailer for Sci Fi Channel’s re-imaging of The Wizard of Oz called Tin Man, which is a six-hour miniseries that will play this winter on the cable network.

Anyways, back to the movies, there are six new movies coming out this week. Three open wide, one earlier this week, and three are in limited release.

Opened Nationwide on Wednesday, June 27th:

Movie: Live Free or Die Hard (PG-13) (Read Review)
Starring: Bruce Willis, Justin Long, Timothy Olyphant & Kevin Smith
Genre: Action
Synopsis: John McClane must save the day once again, this time from an attack on the nations computer infrastructure. The terrorist plan seems to have taken into account every possible detail in the digital world to render the financial markets and everything else useless, except for our favorite hero.
First Thoughts: It looks like a whole lot of fun. When I first read about it back at the beginning of the year, I got a bit excited, as Die Hard is one of my all time favorite movies. Yippee-kay-yay movie lover!

Movies Opening Nationwide on Friday, June 29th:

Movie: Evening (PG-13)
Starring: Vanessa Redgrave, Natasha Richardson, Meryl Streep, Toni Collette & Claire Danes.
Genre: Drama
Synopsis: Two sisters begin to think about their and their dying mothers life after she calls out for the man she loved most, as they sit at her beside, which neither of them had ever heard of before.
First Thoughts: Generational chick flick with flashbacks and a big name cast. No admittance without your own personal supply of tissues.

Movie: Ratatouille (G)
Starring: Patton Oswalt, Ian Holm, Brian Dennehy, Peter O’Toole, Brad Garrett & Janeane Garofalo
Genre: Animated Family Comedy
Synopsis: A rat that wants to be one of the great French chefs teams up to help one of the worst become better. This sets in motion one wacky gag after another.
First Thoughts: Probably another fine adventure for parents and their little ones to go see this weekend.

Movies in Limited Release this Friday:

• Ghosts of Cite Soleil – Historical Biography about two rival gang members that want to be rappers and that are also in love with the same woman during the 2004 revolution in Haiti and the overthrow of Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
• One to Another – This is a drama about friends and sex.
• Vitus – This is a foreign language flick about a 12-year-old that is a gifted musician, but is starting to crack under the pressure from his parents. So, he moves in with his grandfather and later develops a plan to say he can no longer play the piano.

For New Movie Friday there are three new movies to see at a theater near me on Friday. They are Live Free or Die Hard, Evening & Ratatouille. Also, Michael Moore’s Sicko, which I guess opened last Friday, expands this weekend. What new movie will you be heading out to see this weekend? It looks like a good weekend to Live Free.

Movie: Evan Almighty (PG)
Released: June 22nd, 2007
Runtime: 1 hr. 30 min.
Ticket Price: $5.00 Early Matinee
Refreshments: Swedish Fish
Starring: Steve Carell, Morgan Freeman, Lauren Graham & John Goodman
Director: Tom Shadyac

Rating: Worth a Rental

Synopsis: Newsman Evan Baxter has been elected to congress. So, he moves his wife and three sons to a nice home in Virginia. Everything seems great until God shows up with a task for him to complete. He is to build an ark, so that two of every animal can get aboard before a flood comes.

Review: Evan Almighty is a movie with a message. What is the message? Well, that you can change the world with Acts of Random Kindness and, oh yah, save the environment.

There is nothing inherently wrong with a message movie. One of my favorites is the movie War Games. The problem arises when the movie in question is also supposed to be a comedy and except for a few scenes and Wanda Sykes, it isn’t that funny. Although, if you do watch closely, there are a few sight gags that a pretty good.

Steve Carell (The 40 Year Old Virgin, TV’s The Office) plays Evan Baxter. He is a former newsman, last seen being made to talk fast while delivering the news in Bruce Almighty, who has been elected to congress. He is trying to settle his family into this new life. He really does excel at the uncomfortable comedic moment. And, there are plenty of those throughout the film. Whether it, being chased by birds, dealing with hair that won’t stop growing and others, it is when he is at his best.

The wonderful Lauren Graham (TV’s Gilmore Girls, Because I Said So) is woefully underused playing Joan Baxter, Evan’s wife. She is given the standard wife tries to be understanding, but then it’s just to much, so she heads out with the kids to grandma’s house. This does lead to one of the best scenes in the movie, not a funny one, but message wise, with her and Morgan Freeman (Bruce Almighty, The Shawshank Redemption).

One thing that is nice about Evan Almighty is even though it is set in the U.S. Congress and John Goodman (TV’s Roseanne) is the bad guy entrenched senior congressman, no one is really identified as either Republican or Democrat. It made the movie seem nicer and more fun to watch. It wasn’t even something that was noticed until sitting down to write this review.

Overall, Evan Almighty does make for a good family film, one that all ages can enjoy together. So, some night in the future, when your family is staying in, pop some popcorn, cut up some apples and drop in the DVD. It’s worth a rental.

Seven new movies come out this Friday. Three open wide and four are in limited release.

Movies Opening Nationwide on Friday, June 22nd:

Movie: 1408 (PG-13)
Starring: John Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson, Mary McCormack & Tony Shalhoub
Genre: Horror
Synopsis: A big time horror novelist that makes his living debunking the paranormal decides to check into room 1408 at the Dolphin Hotel. It is part of his latest book project, where he will be staying in haunted hotel rooms. He is warned by the hotel manager not to, but he doesn’t believe in ghoulies and ghosties. Will he survive the night? Will he find that he has been wrong all along? Based on the short story by Stephen King.
First Thoughts: Not a big horror fan, but really like John Cusack. Even so, probably won’t be checking into 1408 anytime soon.

Movie: A Mighty Heart (R)
Starring: Angelina Jolie, Dan Futterman & Will Patton
Genre: Docudrama
Synopsis: Based on the events detailed in Mariane Pearl’s memoir. It tells the tragic tale Wall Street Journal reporter Danny Pearl. It starts out with why he was in Karachi, Pakistan. It then tells of his abduction and the efforts of his wife to find him in the weeks after his disappearance and then his eventual murder.
First Thoughts: This is a heavy movie given the subject matter of the tragic and gruesome death of reporter Danny Pearl. Probably won’t be seeing it at a theater, but will definitely watch it at some point.

Movie: Evan Almighty (PG) (Read Review)
Starring: Steve Carell, Morgan Freeman, Lauren Graham & John Goodman
Genre: Comedy
Synopsis: Newsman Evan Baxter has been elected to congress. So, he moves his wife and family to a nice home in Virginia. Everything seems great until God shows up with a task for him to complete. He is to build an ark and start getting two of every animal to get aboard before the flood comes.
First Thoughts: Jim Carrey was great in Bruce Almighty and if anybody can carry off a sequel it is the wonderful Steve Carrell (40 Year Old Virgin, TV’s The Office). He was the bumbling newscaster in the first film, whose job Bruce wanted, if I remember correctly.

Movies in Limited Release this Friday:

• Black Sheep – Horror comedy about genetically engineered sheep that wreak havoc on a family farm.
• Broken English – Romantic comedy starring Parker Posey about a woman who is down on love after many a bad relationship and trouble in her professional career. She then meets a man from France and things may be looking up, if she makes the right choices.
• White Palms – Drama about a Hungarian gymnast who goes to Canada to train and meets another athlete there.
• You Kill Me – Crime comedy of the black variety about a drunken hit man that has been sent to San Francisco by his bosses to dry out because he has been making to many mistakes. While there he gets a job in a mortuary where he meets an interesting woman that seems to lack much in the way of boundaries. Stars Ben Kingsley, Téa Leoni, Luke Wilson, Philip Baker Hall and Dennis Farina.

For New Movie Friday there are three new movies opening at a theater near me on Friday. They are 1408, A Mighty Heart and Evan Almighty. What new movie will you be heading out to see this weekend?