Click Below

 TM



Updated August 23, 2003

Click Below

Castro Valley - (510) 582-2555

AWESOME!

This movie is unbelievable! The power of this movie will keep you on the edge of your seat the whole time. Tom Cruise will definitely win an academy award for this one.

The Last Samurai is a story about Capt. Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise) who fought bravely during the Civil War but in the years after now drinks heavily to drown his nightmares, particularly the ones about his role in murdering the Native American women and children, in the Indian Wars of the 1870s.  Algren heads to Japan to train the newly formed Japanese Army that will force change that will put Japan's ancient customs and values in jeopardy, including the tradition of the fierce and highly respected samurai warriors.  During his first battle against the Samurai warriors, the warriors take him prisoner, to learn more about the white people.  Algren is held prisoner for several months and learns the way of the Samurai. When it is time to go back, he cannot because his heart is with the ancient traditions of the samurai and their people.   

In summery, If you liked Brave Heart, you’ll love this movie. Many battle sense (bloody at times). A man’s man movie, full of honor, guts, tradition, courage and war. For you softies out there, there is also a hint of a love story too. The ending is realistic and believable.

 Reviewer: Robert O’Donnell (16Yr)

Open Water is a ‘scary’ movie.  It isn’t a scary movie because there is a monstrous shark that attacks at will in shallow water.  It isn’t a scary movie because there is a fabled witch haunting the forest. It is a scary movie because it is a frightening tale about what really, can, and does happen.  At one point in Open Water Blanchard Ryan’s character asks her husband (Played by Daniel Travis ) “Can this really be happening?  Can they really have forgotten us?” To this he replies, “Yes.  This happens all the time”. 

And that is what is really at the bottom of this movie, the reality that it could happen to you.  It draws comparisons to Jaws because it plays on the basic fear of water and a more tangible fear of sharks.  It is also compared to the Blair Witch Project as it exploits the fear of being lost.  But it is similar to both movies in the fearful way that being helpless exposes us and makes us powerless to a situation beyond our control.  

The story is simple.  A couple desires to get away for there stress laden lives for a vacation of rest and relaxation in the beautiful Caribbean.  The same couple soon finds themselves stranded in the middle of the ocean, having been forgotten (in a very believable sequence) by the diving boat and the group they had accompanied on a two hour diving excursion.  The couple then drifts lost at sea with their hopes for rescue and survival diminishing in each passing moment of the movie.   

Once the boat has left the couple, there is an unnerving feeling that you are in the water with these people.  You shake your head knowingly as the two initially joke about being left behind, but soon you feel their hopelessness as time passes and the frustration they feel at being helpless.  Your heart stops with theirs each time a dorsal fin pops out of the water unexpectedly, and a second later you are breathing again as you remind yourself that they were told these sharks don’t go after people.   And as their mental capacity and grasp of the situation begins to break down, you feel yourself steadily losing control as well.   

The movie is shot inexpensively with digital cameras.  While some critics have found that to be a distraction I find it to add to the gritty realism of the story.   And in an era where reality television dominates the prime time airwaves, there is definitely a hungry audience for it.

Reviewer: John Tunney     

In Torque Biker Cary Ford (Martin Henderson) returns to town to reunite with his girlfriend, Shane (Monet Mazur). Henry (Matt Schulze), leader of the Hellions gang, is after Cary because he stole some bikes that had drugs stored in the gas tanks. Henry frames Cary for the murder of Junior, the younger brother of Trey (Ice Cube), who  is the head of an another gang, the Reapers. 

If you like "Fast and the Furious" you will love this movie!
Full of an adrenaline rush!
This movie is all about fast bikes and action. No softies here!

Jim Morris (Dennis Quaid) strikes an intriguing bargain with the Texas high school baseball team he coaches: If they make the playoffs, he'll try out for a pitcher position with a big league team. The high schoolers hold up their end of the deal, and, against longer odds than Satchel Paige faced during his legendary comeback, Morris makes the team, fulfilling his lifelong dream.

I love baseball and like Quaid, but I only give this DVD  
Good for kids
The CV Web-dude

Vin Diesel reunites with The Fast and the Furious director Rob Cohen for another high-octane, action-packed thrill ride! Xander "XXX" Cage (Diesel), a notorious underground thrill-seeker heretofore deemed untouchable by the law, is coerced by NSA Agent Gibbons (Samuel L. Jackson) to cooperate with the government and infiltrate a Russian crime ring; if XXX succeeds, Gibbons promises to keep him out of prison.

You know, some times I like this type of junk. Good action flick. I give it
Not for kids
The CV Web-dude

A beautifully photographed rekindling of the classic Alexandre Dumas story. Edmond Dantès's (Jim Caviezel) life and plans to marry the beautiful Mercedes (Dagmara Dominczyk) are shattered when his best friend, Fernand (Guy Pearce), deceives him. After spending 13 miserable years in prison, Dantès escapes with the help of a fellow inmate (Richard Harris), cleverly insinuates himself into the French nobility and plots his revenge.

I loved this action movie and you will too! I give it
Good for kids
The CV Web-dude

This claustrophobic thriller centers on a divorcee (Jodie Foster) and her daughter (Kristen Stewart) who play a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with three burglars in their New York City brownstone. Retreating to the vaultlike safety of the aptly named panic room, the embattled duo must keep one step ahead of Forest Whitaker and his cohorts as they try to penetrate its security.

Plot sounds boring (been done), but the characters are believable and not dumb.
Worth renting. I give it
Not for kids
The CV Web-dude