I can’t believe that the whiny lead character from Swingers, ended up directing the biggest film of the summer. It’s amazing; and goes to show you never know what people’s hidden talents are. Jon Favreau, A guy who had limited range as an actor, is now one of the top directors in Hollywood, and after Iron Man, can have his pick of projects. But it’s well deserved, he showed great comedic timing with his Christmas film Elf, made a better version of Jamanji with Zathura, and shows he has an adept talent with action in Iron Man. I was really surprised by how well rounded the film is, and I think that’s why it connected with audiences so well. We’ve become so sick of the mindless action scenes and huge explosions, that when there’s a character to connect to behind it, it becomes much more enjoyable.

A lot of the success of Iron Man also goes to Robert Downey Jr.. Always a talented actor, but with his drug problem over the years, was never given a chance to really shine in a lead role in a huge film. With Tony Stark, the weapons designer billionaire, who becomes Iron Man, he gets a character with a bit of an arc, something sort of rare in the superhero realm. He starts off as the ultimate playboy, bedding any beautiful women he wants, driving his elite sports car, to his futuristic mansion in the hills of L.A., but when he’s caught as a prisoner of war, and gets to see what happens when his weapons are used for evil, his mission in life changes, and he becomes Iron Man.

It’s great to watch him actually pound out the metal, in the catacombs of a terrorist hive, and then his genius to build the ultimate weapon, which he uses to escape. Once back home, with the best technology in the world at his fingertips, he builds an even better version, one which can fly at supersonic speeds. They take enough time and caring in building up to the end version of Iron Man that you can believe in him flying around, taking on military jets, and possibly even surviving the brain crushing G-forces of some of his maneuvers. Once the real bad-guy reveals himself, and it’s about as surprising as Jeff Bridges' head is shiny, it’s great fun to watch Iron Man battle it out with an even bigger version of his weapon.

The film has some really great casting, Downey, especially; he’s charming, funny, handsome, but most of all he brings a humanity to this superhero. I think it’s the best casting ever for a superhero, and without him, Iron Man wouldn’t have been the same film. I also really dug Gwyneth Paltrow, as Pepper Potts, his long time assistant and forbidden love interest. They have great chemistry together, and Gwyneth gets to use some of that movie star shine, that she’s been hiding for the last few years. Terrance Howard is good as Col. Rhodes, the guy who always does everything by the book. And it was particularly fun to watch Bridges as the industrialist bad guy; you could tell he relished in playing something besides the sensitive man-child roles he's had since The Big Lebowski.

Ultimately Iron Man proves how great of a director Farveau is. He adeptly mixes, humor, romance, drama and huge action scenes together, actually making it feel like one organic film. So often these scenes clash together in these huge action films, either the humor or the drama doesn’t work, and we’re stuck watching carelessly as things blow-up around the heroes we don’t care about. Here we’re laughing at Tony Stark one minute, falling in love with Pepper Potts the next, then flying off to the middle east to blow away terrorists and actually caring about the people that Iron Man is saving. The film has a mixed message, condemning weapons, then wowing us with the huge battles, but that’s about the only true problem with the film. It’s not a perfect film, some of the scenes are unnecessary or drag on for too long, but for a huge summer blockbuster about a superhero, it’s a refreshing change of pace. The film is well thought out and superbly put together, with some actual care for the characters and the audience that is watching. – Grade: B+

After watching Russell Crowe in hero mode a few nights back in American Gangster, it was fun to see him in all-out bad guy mode. He’s one of the few actors around that has the gravitas to make you fully believe him in either role, and it’s fun to watch him stretch those impressive muscles. Here in 3:10 to Yuma, he plays one of the great western villains in Ben Wade. Until a third act slip-up nearly ruins his character and the entire movie. (Which, I’ll write about in full spoiler mode below.) I was enjoying the film and his character so much up till that point, that despite the total flaw, I tried to overlook it and enjoy the film for all its other great moments.

3:10 to Yuma focuses on two characters, Russell’s Ben Wade, who’s a total hard ass, has zero compassion for human life, and leads a gang of ruffians with an iron fist. On the other side is Christian Bale’s Dan Evans, he’s the polar opposite; tries to do everything by the book and goes out of his way to avoid violence. But it’s a harsh world and on the inside he’s really a hard man, trying to be good, and he's hiding something about his past. In the opening scene of the film, his family’s barn is burned down by the local goons working for the rich land owner, who Dan owes money too. The next day, he’s taking his sons and the last of their cows on the way to town, when they run across the path of Ben and his gang, who are robbing a stage coach.

You can tell this is a new fangled western in this highly stylized action scene, the guys on the coach have a Gatling gun mounted to the back and fire away mercilessly, while the bad guys ride hard after them, one of them even exploding when they get hit, because of the dynamite in their pocket. The scene ends with the coach flipping in a fury of dust and strewn bodies. The whole thing feels more like a car chase from a Bourne movie, than anything resembling the traditional western.

Ben shows a bit of compassion by letting Dan and his son's go and rides into town, where he is soon caught, due to his own arrogance. The railroad man, who’s coach was just robbed, offers a group of untrained men a reward if they get Ben on the 3:10 to Yuma train, taking Ben to prison. A doctor, one of the goons who burned Dan’s barn down, a Pinkerton who was the last left from the coach, and Dan who just walked into town. Dan wants to do the right thing, but also wants the $200 to save his family’s ranch. Through some good trickery the group manages to send Ben’s gang in the wrong direction, buying them some time, but still manage to run into a group of rogue Indians, some mining men that have it in for Ben, and Ben himself offers up all kinds of trouble on their trip to Yuma, and not everybody makes it there alive. Dan keeps alive thanks to an unlikely one-sided friendship with Ben, who sees Dan as a kindred spirit in some way.

The film offers up a nice simple western story, 6 unprepared men, taking one of the most dangerous men alive across the desert. The film is very nicely put together with a modern western flair, beautifully shot in cinemascope, it looks pretty authentic, with everybody’s dusty and dirty, plenty of hard horse riding and six guns a blazing. Crowe makes Ben a charismatic villain with ice cold heart. Bale does his usual thing, going all out, looking the dirtiest and most beat up of the bunch. Ben Foster has a blast playing Ben’s right hand man, a maniacal gunman, without an ounce of pity. Peter Fonda has his best role in years as the Pinkerton, who’s run in with Ben a few times before, but remains professionally pissed about it. I was totally into the story, and it’s put together so deftly, that I was really falling in love with the, until the story takes a completely unconvincing twist at the end. But it leads to another cool shoot-out in the streets of Yuma, so I wasn’t totally upset, but it nearly ruined this otherwise perfect western. – Grade: B-

(Spoilers ahead, I’m going to discuss the ending that nearly ruined the film.) Okay, so up until the very end of the film, Ben is a ruthless killer, willing to do anything to stay out of jail. When Dan reveals his secret about being injured by his own men in the war, Ben suddenly flips, changing from someone who'd do anything in his power to stay out of jail, to helping Dan get him on the train. Ben starts gunning down his own gang, and willingly puts himself on the train, even after Dan is dead. Sure, he’s mentioned that he’s escaped prison, but where’s the motivation; you don’t flip on a dime from ultimate bad guy, to decent fellow, with just a couple of words. It rang completely false.

The Matrix is my all time favorite film. I believe it's about the most perfect film ever made. (At least for my tastes.) It beautifully blends a mind-bending sci-fi story, with jaw-dropping action scenes, through brilliant, top-notch filmmaking. I became a Wachowski Brothers fan for life the moment I walked out of seeing The Matrix for the first time. I don't care that the sequels didn't live up to the original. I still enjoy them as decent follow-ups, they also have excellent action scenes and continue the story that I fell in love with. I think that the films were rushed out too quickly and that's what sullied what they had built. But in time, as kids grow up with these films, without the great expectations from the first one, instantly able to pop in the sequels after watching the first, that the films will become a classic trilogy on level with Star Wars for my generation. I honestly think that The Matrix Revolutions is a much better film than Return of the Jedi, it's only a matter of nostalgic perception.

So I was ecstatic to hear that Andy and Larry were making another film. After V for Vengeance, I was afraid they'd moved into producer territory and weren't coming back. I didn't care that it was Speed Racer, a cheesy cartoon from the 70's that I never watched and didn't know anything about beyond the name. But they had me practically drooling the first time I saw the trailer. The candy colors, the futuristic editing and the full frame in constant focus, I knew I was seeing something brand new. I predicted based solely on that glimpse, that the film wouldn't make money. I could tell that the film was too far ahead of its time and most people wouldn't get it. But mark my words, as kids grow up with this, watching it over and over on hi-def TVs, the film's reputation will grow. In 10-15 years time, Speed Racer will be one of the best remembered films of this generation.


Emile Hirsch, of Into the Wild fame, a film that ascetically couldn't be any more different, stars as Speed. In the opening few minutes, we're given everything we need to know about who Speed is and where he comes from.

I absolutely adore the shot where the young Speed is racing along with the badly animated cars. This is exactly what I think a young kid envisions when they're imagining these sorts of things. And look for the shot with Speed in the background and young Trixie is in the foreground, both in crystal clear focus. That doesn't happen in normal films. The Wachowski's and their team came up with this effect to imitate the world of animation, where everything can be in focus at the same time. The whole film is like this, along with the other-worldy colors, it gives the film a totally unique look. I think a lot of older viewers were thrown off by this nearly hypnotic effect, but that the kids of today will adore it.

Also completely different, is the editing style of the film. There is often 4 to 5 things going on in a single shot, it's overwhelming at times, but also incredibly ahead of its time. You'll see a current Speed remembering his past in the foreground, with his memories playing out behind him. Or you'll see a multitude of characters reacting to something at the same time, they're faces cut out and floating through the shot of a car racing by. The amount of detail in this film is breathtaking. So while Iron Man, may be the film of summer '08, Speed Racer, will have a much greater affect on the future of films; as more filmmakers copy these new techniques.

I'll admit that the story of Speed Racer is somewhat weak. I didn't mind the independent racer and his family, fighting the large, evil corporation storyline; I think it's the right one for the film. What's wrong with it, is that they took too much time developing and talking about it. This is after all a film made for kids. If they could have cut about 15 minutes of the talking, the film would have been much more effective. However, I did like most of the film's performances. They're intentionally campy, without totally overdoing it, neatly straddling the line between cartoon and live-action. I didn't even mind little brother Spritle and his monkey Chim Chim, they're goofy, but provide a few good laughs.

But we're not watching the film for story or characters, it's all about the racing scenes. And believe me, they're well worth it! The four main racing scenes are the heart of the film, each visually stunning in their own right. But I particularly liked the cross-country, no-rules race. We get to see Speed team up with Racer X and Taejo Togokahn, to take on all comers, in a race across the desert and through the high, snowy mountains. This is Wacky Races brought to sparkling life. I mean, how many times have you seen a gang of Viking race-car drivers, toss live beehives at another driver or flip towards the lead car, with a huge mace and chain dragging behind them. It's a total cartoon, you can't take this stuff literal for a second. But from the start the Wachowski brothers set up the world for things to work this way, so I never had a problem with it. When Speed Racer jumps off a cliff, pops some spikes out of his tire, drives straight up a mountain, and jumps over his last competitor, I cheered inside.

It seems that so many people went into this film wanting to tear it down. People are often afraid of the new and different, so they immediately dismissed it without another thought. But the kids that were at the screening ate it up, my son included, we had to take him back to see it again a week later. They're the true audience for this film, and I guarantee that it will be well remembered. Let yourself become a kid again, zone out a bit while the characters are talking about sponsorships and conglomerates, and focus in when Speed Racer and Racer X start doing their thing. Speed Racer is pure visual candy; it has zero nutritional value, but damn, does it taste good! - Grade: A-

Why do we like revenge films? Is it a violent urge inside all of us, to harm someone that did us wrong? I believe that movies let us live out fantasies that we otherwise wouldn't get to. Whether that be travel, sexual, violence or a million other possibilities. I think most humans are full of anger, it's simply part of being human; looking at our history, it's impossible to ignore. Now that most of us are domesticated, happy to live in harmony with our neighbors, we live it out through the movies. That's why films from Death Wish to Sweeney Todd exist, we get to see the guy who's been stepped on, get his revenge. It pleases our deepest instincts. (At least that's what I tell myself, when I cheer inside, when some guy gets brutally killed.)

So it was with those thoughts I went into Death Sentence. I've always liked Kevin Bacon, he's one of the industries most reliable actors, popping up in just about anything, always giving a good, believable performance. Director James Wan has caught my attention over the last few years; busting out with Saw, his original being the only worthwhile of the bunch, and I was one of the few people that really dug his killer puppet film Dead Silence. He's got a good eye, and a talent for building suspense and action scenes. I figured the two couldn't go wrong in revenge mode, and I was mostly right.

Bacon plays Nick Hume, an executive, a dedicated husband and father of two, you couldn't ask for a much plainer fellow. He takes great pride in the fact that his older son Brendan is a top-notch high school hockey player. He has hopes for him to get a college scholarship and maybe go pro one day. Everything changes one night, when the two stop at a gas station on the wrong side of town. Brendan is mercilessly killed by a young gang member, doing so, simply to be fully initiated into the gang. When the DA tells this grieving father, that since he's the only witness, the most he can hope for is a few years behind bars for the murdering bastard.

Pissed beyond belief at a justice system gone wrong, Nick has the judge throw out the case. And decides to take the law into his own hands! I mean really, is there any other option? Nick proceeds to track down the kid and kill him a few nights later. Being a novice at it, he does so pretty sloppily, leaving behind enough evidence for the cops and the kid's brother/gang-leader to be on his ass. I liked actor playing the brother, Garrett Hedlund, he has the angry-young-man bit down well. But the main cop, played by Aisha Tyler, is a drag every time she's on camera, I didn't buy her as a cop for a second. Nick has to distract the cops and fight the gang off the best he can, and his world begins to quickly unravel.

There's a pretty great scene, when the gang finds Nick after work and they chase him through the alleys of downtown, into a parking structure, ending with Nick rolling a parked car from the top floor with one of the gang members still inside. The entire thing gets way out of hand, ruining his good name, and putting the rest of his family in jeopardy. The film's ending is about as big a downer as you could find in these films, which is really saying something.

Death Sentence isn't going to knock anyone's socks off. It's not breaking any new ground. The action scenes are fairly well done, and they're fun to watch. But it's tough to believe some of the things Nick puts his surviving family through, in order to get his justice. And the way the initial murder is set-up, it's not enough to get you totally riled up for his eventual revenge. You actually kind of feel bad for the guys he's chasing down and I think that's maybe the feeling they were going for, trying not to paint it in black and white. But the film isn't built well enough for us to feel a full set of emotions, mostly you just want to see Bacon kick ass. If you're into revenge films, you could do a lot worse; but there are a ton of them out there far more satisfying and better mad. - Grade: C+

(I originally wrote this review for Ain't It Cool News, when I saw the film over a year ago at the Ashland Film Festival. I was reminded of the film, when I saw the trailer over at JoBlo, and thought I'd repost it here, for posterity and promotional sake. As far as I know, still no release date.)

For starters I’m a huge Bruce Campbell fan, loving every second of the Evil Dead trilogy, enjoying many bad films based solely on his performances in them, owning a few action figures and even going so far as to name my son Ash. Not that I’m that obsessed with the character, but my wife and I loved the name for its strength and uniqueness.

The Ashland Independent Film Festival is in a small town in southern Oregon , the closest festival to Bruce Campbell’s home. Inside this year’s AIFF there was a mini-Bruce-fest. They played Evil Dead 2, Army of Darkness, Bubba Ho-tep and finished the night with the highly anticipated My Name is Bruce. Bruce himself came out to introduce the film, telling us about filming in southern Oregon , his favorite part being able to sleep in his own bed at night. The film isn’t fully finished; it played with temp music and sound effects and with most of the visual effects still very rough. The audience of 500 Bruce fans ate it up anyways.

The film starts with a couple of dumb teenagers accidentally unleashing the Chinese demon Quan-Di from a small cemetery near the fictional town of Goldlick. The only one who survives happens to be the biggest Bruce Campbell fan alive. The film cuts to Bruce filming a cheeseball flick called Cave Alien 2. Right away he starts spouting bad one-liners in his patented Bruce Campbell fashion, and then lasers down some awful looking aliens, getting sprayed with gallons of green ooze in the process.

After cut is yelled, we see an extremely over-the-top version of Bruce. He’s rude to his cast mates and crew, hitting on a pretty co-star with some more terrible one-liners, treating his fans like dirt, attempting to fire his incompetent agent (played by Ted Raimi in one of three roles), finally retiring to his trashed mobile home where he gets drunk and passes out on Shemp’s Hooch.

Soon the kid from the beginning of the film comes knocking on his door asking for his help in ridding the town of the evil Quan-Di. Bruce refuses, thinking he’s being pitched a movie; he is then knocked out and locked in the kid’s trunk on his way to town. Once there, through the mistaken idea of thinking it’s all an elaborate prank and his lust for the town’s hottie, Bruce agrees to kill off the Chinese demon. He is soon drunkenly leading the town’s citizens into battle, but once he realizes the demon is actually real he retreats in hilarious fashion. From there the third act is very predictable with Bruce learning the error of his ways and helping his number one fan escape peril.

To fully enjoy this film you must be a Bruce Campbell fan. There are endless references, spoofs and jokes about his other films; most of them getting a good laugh, a few of them falling flat. Otherwise the film is fairly bare; it’s pretty much a one man show. Besides some good comic relief from Ted Raimi most of the cast is empty shells, stock characters from other cheesy horror films. Though after viewing, you will be humming the Quan-Di song which is sung by two of the minor players throughout the film; it is one of the more inspired bits, the only one not featuring Bruce.

The main problem with the film is that the Chinese demon is an extremely weak bad guy; he has fun, gory intro in the graveyard but never evolves beyond that. His expressionless rubber mask and limited killing style quickly grows tired and he is ultimately very forgettable. The film would have benefited greatly from a monster or monsters that were more charismatic. I guess they were trying to go for something different here, but it didn’t work. The film might have been better if he’d been battling something resembling the Evil Dead or a variety of baddies from his film catalogue; which would have course lead to more easy jokes.

Overall the film is a fun ride, with the Bruce charm on full blast. I don’t think many of his fans will be disappointed with My Name is Bruce as it delivers on what is promised. But the film could have been much better with a stronger screenplay; one that reached beyond its stock characters, that filled a few of the plot-holes and replaced the really lame bad guy. The film might be improved if they are able to fix a few of the minor problems with more editing. No matter what, the film will go down as a cult classic, based solely on Bruce’s involvement.

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I've been a fan of Albert Brooks since the early 90's. I saw Defending Your Life over and over again as a teenager, and to this day it remains one of my all time favorite comedies. In the years following I saw his earlier works, Lost in America and Modern Romance, both of which I think are brilliant films. His film that came after Defending Your Life, Mother is fairly uneven, but overall it's funny and worth seeing. His voice work in Finding Nemo is great, and he's always one of The Simpsons best guests. When Looking for Comedy came out in 2005, I was fairly excited, but the critics beat it too death before I got a chance to see it. After The Muse, which I thought was pretty terrible, I didn't want to rush into seeing another wreck from him and have my opinion lowered, so it took me three years to get around to it.

Unfortunately the critics were right. Looking for Comedy is a pretty lame film, there are only a few moments that I laughed at. I don't think the average American audience would find the film funny at all. I hope that he hasn't lost it as a filmmaker, there aren't many guys around that write, direct and star in their own films. The greatest of all-time, Woody Allen has moved behind the camera. Off the top of my head, I can't think of anyone else who's doing it besides Brooks and Edward Burns, who I've never been a real fan of.

In Looking for Comedy, Brooks plays a version of himself; big stretch. In the opening scene, one of the few funny ones in the film, Penny Marshall playing herself, is casting a film she's directing and looking for a Jimmy Stewart type. Brooks shows up to audition, has a brief chat with her and is shown the door, it's obvious he's not the right guy. He's been getting that a lot lately. Never the handsome-leading-man type, as he's getting older, he's losing out on more roles than ever. So when an opportunity comes through the government, for an assignment to go to India and find out what the Muslim culture finds funny, he's intrigued. His motivation is a Medal of Honor, his reluctance is in the 500 page report he has to write about it, but through his wife's encouragement, he decides to take the job.

Along for the ride are two government agents who are supposed to help him in his assignment. One is completely humorless, takes his job seriously and doesn't seem to want to help at all. The other is a fan of Brooks, and considers himself a bit of a comedian, but also isn't much help. Once in India, Brooks finds that almost nothing, except for an small, empty office has been set up. He finds himself interviewing the locals for someone who can assist him, but nobody gets what he's doing or seems qualified in the least. Until he meets Maya, she types quickly, has written a large report for college and has the motivation to understand Brooks' sense of humor. They start by doing man-in-the-street interviews, asking people what makes them laugh; after a couple of days, and only a half a page of answers, he decides to take another course.

Instead, he'll put on a comedy show, covering all sorts of comedy, from the low-brow to the intellectual, and whatever the audience laughs at, he'll fill his report with. It's one of the few inspired moments in the film, and the only one that provided a few deep laughs. But he's doing obscure jokes, that would fly over the average American's head, let alone his mostly Muslim and Hindu audience. He does a bit where he plays an incompetent ventriloquist, and then tries to do some improve, to involve the audience by asking them questions, then changes all the audiences answers because he can't find a joke with them. He does it so dryly, with so little showmanship, that it took me, an Albert Brooks fan, a couple of minutes to figure out that that was the joke. Unsurprisingly the audience doesn't laugh at all.

The film peaks at that moment. It continues on with Brooks traveling illegally into Pakistan to meet with a comedy troupe, where he does the same routine, with better results. Unknowingly, the Indian and Pakistan governments have been following him, and there's a slight subplot about him starting a bit of a cold war between the nations, that doesn't really pay off until the very end of the film, in the background. The whole film's like that.

It's almost like Brooks didn't want the audience to laugh at the film. He doesn't find any comedy in the Muslim world and he almost seems ashamed of his own funny business. I'm sure there's some deeper meaning that I'm missing, maybe about how we all need to find the funny within ourselves. Maybe now that he's older, he's getting more experimental, or the film could truly be a misfire, which I don't want to believe. Looking for Comedy has a few great moments, with a lot of boring ones in between, which drags the film down. With his next one, I'd like him to get back to his observational humor, maybe do something about getting older, where he's not necessarily playing himself, with a ton of insider jokes. I think only the biggest Albert Brooks' fans will appreciate this one, and then, only as one of his lesser films. - Grade: C-

I'm always impressed by film-making of this caliber. The sheer amount of effort that went into making this film is breathtaking. The locations, the time frame, the costumes, the set pieces, and the pure length of the film is astounding. That said, the film doesn't hold a true rewatchability factor, at least for me. It's so well made that I'll probably check out scenes when it pops up on cable, but the length of the film, nearly 3 hours, will keep me from ever sitting down and watching the whole thing again. Maybe, when I'm old and retired and have the time, but definitely not in the near future.

Denzel Washington, as real life mobster Frank Lucas, gives an amazing performance; from tough to tender, he hits it all. You're actually rooting for this guy, because of where he came from, what he's trying to achieve, the ingenuity and strength that it takes to accomplish it, even though it's all completely illegal. Russell Crowe gives another outstanding performance as the cop, Richie Roberts, who's seemingly the only straight cop in New York City. Everyone on the force, knows him as the cop who turned in a million unmarked dollars for evidence, even his partner hates him for it. But he has a mission in life and the dedication to do it.

The film is about two men coming into their own, heading for a collision that for much of the film they're unaware of. Richie's building a case towards a man hiding at the top of a drug empire. Lucas believes that he's built his protection so well, that nobody will ever touch him. It's interesting how the film contrasts them in their home lives. Lucas is all about family, taking care of his mother, his wife and his brothers; Richie is too dedicated to his job to even realize that he's missing out on his life, his wife's leaving him, with his son, and it's completely secondary. It's very intriguing to watch as it all comes to a head, and what happens when Lucas is finally taken down; I was very surprised by how it all turns out. Though I'm interested in how much of this story is actually true.

Director Ridley Scott has built an epic crime saga; that doesn't work in black and whites, there are a lot of shades of gray here. Just because a man is breaking the law doesn't necessarily mean he's a bad person, and those upholding the laws, are often not in the right. The film is so perfectly made, from top to bottom, that not once was I taken out of the story. The performances by Washington and Crowe are impeccable, along with the rest of the cast. I especially dug Josh Brolin as the dirty detective, Trupo. (This and No Country For Old Men, two amazing performances in 2007, from the big brother in The Goonies.) Writing about how perfectly made this film is makes me want to see it again. My only real complaint is the length, and it mostly deserves it, 10-15 minutes could be cut, but I can't complain. Maybe I'll watch it again sooner than I thought. If you haven't seen it, make sure and do so. - Grade: A

The Sandlot is one of those rare films where every scene builds perfectly on top of the last one, which is extremely rare in moviedom. The movie itself isn't perfect, some of the scenes fall a little flat, but each keeps building the story, and nothing feels wasted. So by the end of the film, you're totally immersed into this world they've built, and you'll buy whatever they're selling.

I first saw the film, my senior year in high school. At that time, I was already beginning to feel nostalgic about my youth, and the film placed me into that quickly fading era, when anything seemed possible. When playing ball with your friends was the greatest thing in the world. When dropping a fly ball, was about the most embarrassing, painful thing you could possibly go through. I felt much like Scott Smalls, the hero of film, slightly out of place, but desperate to be part of the group, not the most athletic kid, but a total love of the game.

The entire team is given big personalities and fun names; "Yeah-Yeah", Kenny, Bertram and Tommy and Timmy Timmons, aren't quite as well rounded, but they're each memorable in their own small way. Smalls mom, played by the great Karen Allen, is one of the best all time movie mom's. She has very little screen time, but I love how she advises her son to go out and get into some trouble, live it up. Those few summers while you're young, before the realities of the world come crashing down upon you, are a very magical time, and she wants him to experience that. Denis Leary, in one of his first straight roles, is very good as the step-dad who's trying to figure out how he fits into his new son's life.

The coming-of-age story about a boy finding himself on the ball-field, with a great group of friends, is nicely told and it all feels natural. The subplot about the giant dog, who steals all the baseballs hit over the fence, is also a lot of fun. They get a couple of great scenes out of telling the story of the dog, then when Smalls hits his first home run, which happens with his step-father's signed Babe Ruth ball, they're attempts to retrieve it.

The film-making is also done impeccably, with a personality of it's own, with a lot of great touches. But it's all done in service of the film. The narration by writer/director David M. Evans is spot-on, I couldn't imagine the film without it. This film is right at the top of my favorite coming-to-age stories. I still prefer Stand By Me, which this film obviously cribs from, but it's almost as well made as that film.

I love discovering 80's movies that I have never seen. They're like a forgotten part of my youth. No matter how I feel about the movie, I love seeing that era on film, it captures a time when the world seemed limitless. How Night of the Comet escaped my attention for so long, I'll never understand. A dark-comedy about the end of the world, made during the zenith of the decade, 1984; I really couldn't find a better undiscovered gem. Unfortunately the film didn't live up to my high expectations.

Regina's your typical 80's teenager, she works in a movie theater, prides herself on her video game skills and doesn't mind spending the night with the theater's projectionist in his projection room. Luckily the room is lined with lead, for when a comet passes by the earth that night, it turns almost everyone into cosmic dust. Those it doesn't, it turns into murderous-mutants. When Regina returns home, she's lucky to find her little sister Samantha still alive, who spent the night in the shed (also lined with lead), while her step-mom and friends were having a comet party. They soon find they're seemingly the only ones left alive in L.A..

They travel to a local radio station to see if they can find anyone over the airwaves. Soon a lone guy, Hector, comes calling. And unknown to them, someone else is listening in, a group of scientists who expected the aftereffects of the comet, and are hiding out in a bunker off in the desert. There's a great scene after the girls leave the radio station, they head straight for the local mall, and start trying on clothes; I could have done without the 80's clothes montage, but when a gang of psyched-out store employees attack the girls with machine guns, it's a lot of fun. Hector's gone off to find out if any of his family has survived, running into a crazy-mutant boy instead. At this point I had a lot of hope for the film, it was carrying a great tone between apocalyptic-horror and dark-comedy. There had been a few cool mutant scenes, and I was expecting a lot more.

When the scientists show up to kidnap the sisters, the film starts to lose it's touch. It turns from these girls discovering their new world, into a rescue mission from an underground bunker. Bunker's just don't excite me. I know it's a way for the filmmakers to keep costs down. They set up a few "sci-fi" props in these dark-gray tunnels and call it a film set. I've seen too many movies, especially post-apocalypse types, made in these boring tunnels. Anyways, Hector comes to the rescue, the scientists get whats coming to them, and the gang's back together to enjoy the empty world together.

I really loved Kelli Maroney's performance as little sister Sam. She has this undeniable spunk that lasts throughout the film, from her beginnings as a naive teenager, to a true apocalyptic warrior. Unfortunately the performances by Catherine Mary Stewart (who also played the girlfriend in 1984's The Last Starfighter) as Regina, isn't nearly as memorable, she doesn't take anything off the table, but also doesn't bring much too it either. Robert Beltran as Hector is completely forgettable, they needed an actor with much more charisma in this role. The film really hinges on these three characters and the bond that they form, but even while Regina and Hector are becoming a couple, they never seem to be on the same page. Three great leads would have tremendously helped this film.

It's so hard for films to keep the energy that is initially set-up through the entire film. Night of the Comet is another casualty of this all-too-common film-making problem. The first half of this film really rocks, the excitement of discovering this apocalyptic 80's setting, a few crazy-mutants, and an empty L.A. all to themselves. But once they're taken to the bunker, the film loses all momentum. Samantha is also missing during this section of the film, which doesn't help, as she's by far the most entertaining character.

But even as I write about these problems, I have a feeling that I'll give the film another chance in the future. It has enough good stuff going for it to make it a worthwhile film. If they had thrown out the scientists, and had a lot more mutants, I think I would have heard of this film long before I did. Not a forgotten classic, but a misplaced, rusty toy car whose wheels still spin. - Grade: B-