Movie Review-"Edge of Darkness"

By Christian Toto http://www.whatwouldtotowatch.com/

Movie stars are a dying breed.

Not stars who appear in movies. Heck, Larry the Cable Guy qualifies for that distinction.
But actors who can elevate a movie simply with his or her presence remain in short supply.

It’s the reason Mel Gibson’s return to theaters this weekend in “Edge of Darkness” is such a treat.

His voice is raspier now, and his face appears etched in a way we haven’t seen from him before.
But that intensity remains untouched in the eight years since his last major film role, during which time his off-screen headlines damaged his public persona.

So does his knack for bringing a gritty realism to less than Oscar-worthy material.
“Darkness” casts Gibson as Thomas Craven, a Boston detective happy to welcome his 24-year-old daughter, Emma (Bojana Novakovic), back home.

She doesn’t seem like her old self, though. And before father and daughter can properly reconnect she’s murdered on Thomas’ front porch.

The local cops think the killer was gunning for Thomas and hit the wrong target. But Thomas isn’t so sure.

He starts digging into his daughter’s connections and quickly finds a rogues gallery of suspicious characters. Her daughter’s boyfriend is as jittery as a meth head, and one galpal turns pale the moment Thomas asks her his first question.

The film piles conspiracy atop conspiracy, a lazy storytelling trope made worse when Danny Huston appears as Emma’s former boss.

He might as well be wearing sandwich boards shouting, “hello, I’ll be your villain for the evening.”

The mystery surroundng Emma’s death takes its sweet time to reveal itself, but the core elements won’t challenge audiences’ expectations. The one wild card comes courtesy of Ray Winstone. The wiley character actor plays a mysterious agent who is either working with or against Thomas, depending on the scene.

“Edge of Darkness” provides a limited number of thrills, but it gives Gibson the chance to remind us of his range. He battles back against a younger, stronger opponent early in the film to show he’s still a lethal weapon when needed.

Later, he chases a news reporter off his lawn with a smart blend of gruff and tender words.

“Darkness,” co-written by “The Departed” scribe William Monahan, provides some Boston color to distingish the film from similarly generic titles. Gibson’s Boston accent needs work, but it’s not crude enough to distract our attention.

The film exploits Emma’s death mercilessly right up until the final sequence. The first time
Thomas starts talking to her following his death it tugs at our heart. The fifth time? We greet the moment with a heavy sigh.

“Edge of Darkness” doesn’t aspire to greatness, but if its only accomplishment is luring Gibson back to a movie its mission is already accomplished.

Movie Review-"Extraordinary Measures"

No matter how compelling - and heartwarming - the true story of theCrowley family is, it's hard to watch "Extraordinary Measures" withoutthinking "Lifetime."

The disease of the week genre didn't start on the network for women,but it set up camp there all the same."Measures," which tells how John Crowley risked everything to find acure for his children's fatal disease, can't help but mimic some ofthe genre's bullet points.

But the tension between the two leads - Brendan Fraser and anirascible Harrison Ford - provide enough texture to distance the filmfrom TV-style trappings.And there's no Meredith Baxter Birney in sight.

Fraser plays John Crowley, a hard-working family man trying to savethe lives of two of this three children. They suffer from PompeDisease, a debilitating condition which typically means reaching theage of 10 is all but impossible.

The Crowley's have tried every treatment within reach, but when Johnhears about a researcher tackling the disease from a fresh perspectivehe decides to reach out to him.

Dr. Stonehill (Ford) thinks he can unlock the puzzle behind PompeDisease but lacks the funding to do it. So John quits his job anddedicates himself to creating a company to fund the doctor's research.

Easier said than done, especially since Dr. Stonehill is a crank ofthe first order and the jobless John suddenly don't have a supportsystem for the rest of his family."Measures," based on a true story but told with some Hollywood deckshuffling, is the kind of film one would be hard pressed to hate. Thesame goes to Fraser, whose genial presence gives his John Crowley thenecessary decency to relate to his controversial decisions.That inherent threatens to overwhelm the story.

That's where Ford comes in. The actor has been mostly leaden in recentroles, often because the material around him has been so sub-standard.If the actor had one wish it might be to wipe "Hollywood Homicide" off his resume.

Here, Ford gives Dr. Stonehill a crackling edge. He's crusty andstubborn but with a heart buried beneath layers of cynicism.John's battles with Dr. Stonehill elevate the movie beyond its obviousstory arc.

The film finds a new conflict every 15 minutes, but director TomVaughn ("What Happens in Vegas") stages each flare up so as to keep usengage, not obviously pull our strings.Courtney B. Vance gets too little screen time as a parent who also hastwo children with the condition. Other roles which seem clippedinclude Alan Ruck as a co-worker and Dee Wallace Stone as asympathetic barmaid.

"Extraordinary Measures" can't compare to the real Crowleys' tale, butas feel-good cinema it hits most of the right marks.

Movie Review-"Daybreakers"

Is there anything left to be said in the vampire genre?

We’ve had sexy vampires, teen vampires … even vampire assistants.

“Daybreakers” takes the basics of the vampire mythos and concocts a fresh new story around it.

The new film sags in the middle and doesn’t fulfill its early potential, but it’s a solid genre entry with a few glorious splatter scenes sure to be watched in slow motion by gore hounds once the film arrives on DVD.

Ethan Hawke stars as Edward, a hematologist working in a near future when a vampire plague has swept the world. Less than 5 percent of the population still has a pulse, which means the food supply is running low.

It’s Edward’s job to find a blood substitute to keep the undead … undead.

A group of humans, led by a recently re-humanized rebel (Willem Dafoe) may have a cure to the plague. But plenty of vampires, including the wicked head of Edward’s company (Sam Neill), don’t want to give up on immortality.

“Daybreakers” opens with a series of nifty dialogue-free sequences which get viewers caught up on the clever premise. It’s exhilirating filmmaking from the Spierig Brothers, the duo who wrote and directed the picture.

And Hawke, an underrated actor, underplays the tension Edward faces as someone whose sympathies remain with humankind despite his own vampiric form.

The trouble begins when Neill’s character vanishes from the scene and we’re left with the human rebels. It’s rare to see Dafoe stink up a big screen, but here he’s saddle with awful dialogue and the ultimate character cliche - he loves Elvis Presley.

Yawn.

The rest of the script isn’t kind to his fellow actors.

“Life’s a bitch and then you don’t die,” Edward says, and the line is so bad it’s hard to believe a mutiny on the set didn’t result.

But whenever “Daybreakers” faulters, it manages to rally with a cracling action sequence or a graphic moment which pops off the screen without any 3-D trickery.

“Daybreakers” could have been a classic vampire reboot with a smarter script and a more charismatic enemy. Instead, it’s more proof that the vampire movie is as flexible as a gymnast - and just as fun to watch

Jackson's LV Doctor to be Indicted

(AP) - The Associated Press has learned that prosecutors will seek an involuntary manslaughter indictment against Michael Jackson's doctor for the pop star's death.
A law enforcement source says Dr. Conrad Murray will be prosecuted on a theory of gross negligence. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation remains open.
Before an indictment can be sought, the person says the Los Angeles Police Department will follow the formality of presenting the case to the district attorney.
Both agencies have been working on the case along with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency and the California Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement since Jackson died in June.


http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9D3NTI80&show_article=1

Local Scouting Event at Springs Preserve

SPRINGS PRESERVE HOSTS TWO MAJOR EVENTS TO CELEBRATE A CENTURY OF SCOUTING
Free Adventure Base 100 and ScoutQuest Activities Open to Public

Las Vegas, NV – Kids and adults from throughout Southern Nevada are invited to try new skills, participate in activities and learn about Scouting heritage when the Springs Preserve hosts Adventure Base 100 and ScoutQuest at the Springs Preserve, Friday, January 15 and Saturday, January 16, 2010.Celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Boy Scouts, Adventure Base 100 will include a rope course, zip line, interactive displays and a multi-sensory presentation in an IMAX-like dome, all in a 10,000-square foot traveling exhibit in the Springs Preserve’s parking lot. Las Vegas is the third stop in a national Adventure Base 100 tour that began on New Year’s Day in Pasadena, Calif. Adventure Base 100 will commemorate Scouting’s history in more than 40 cities throughout the year.

Running concurrently inside the Springs Preserve, the public is welcome to participate in ScoutQuest. Various activities and demonstrations include a pinewood derby, fencing duels, exhibits of historical Scouting artifacts from around the world and much more. The event also provides Boy Scouts with an opportunity to earn merit badges in 15 skill sets. ScoutQuest also will feature a slideshow highlighting Eagle Scout projects completed at the Springs Preserve. In addition, Boy Scouts of all ages attending the event in uniform will receive admission to all Springs Preserve attractions for only $2.50. Other ScoutQuest and Adventure Base 100 attendees will receive $2 off Springs Preserve attractions.

Admission to both Adventure Base 100 and ScoutQuest is free and open to the public.

Hours for Adventure Base 100 are Friday, January 15, from 4-8 p.m. and Saturday, January 16, from 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. Hours for ScoutQuest are Saturday, January 16, from 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. For more information about ScoutQuest, visit www.springspreserve.org. Information about Adventure Base 100 is available at www.scouting.org/100years/100years/.

MEDIA CONTACTS:Dawn Barraclough / Jim Johnson702-822-7733/7737dawn.barraclough@springspreserve.org jim.johnson@springspreserve.org