| MOVIE & VIDEO REVIEWS (April 2006) |
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| ARACHNIA (R) MTI HOME VIDEO (DVD) 2003 Starring: Rob Monkiewicz, Irene Jospeh, David Bunce, Bevin McGraw, Alexxus Young & more. A group of students & their college professor are flying to Arizona to go on an Archiologic dig. During the flight they are brought down by a meteor shower & they crash in the middle of nowhere. As they walk to find some shelter, they come upon a small farm house. They take refuge there & once the owner comes home he tells them of giant spiders that have emerged from underground cause by the meteor shower. The house soon becaomes under attack by these huge spiders & they must fight them off to save their lives. The film was done in the old 50's styled ginat creature type films. The movie was done pretty decent. There were a few slow parts & the lead male actor was a little cheesy, but still a decent retro styled creature film. www.mtivideo.com/mti/ARCHINIA.htm |
| FOUR BROTHERS (R) PARAMOUNT PICTURES (DVD) 2005 Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Tyrese Gibson, Andre Benjamin, Garret Hedlund, Terrence Howard & more. When an old woman is gunned down in a convinent store robbery, her four foster sons return home to Detroit. They look into this murder themselves, because the cops are corrupt & won't do anything. As they dig deeper & deepr they get mixed up in with the thugs that are running the town. They take them on as well as some of the police. They are out to revenge their mothers death. The film looked pretty decent when it was in theaters, so I really wanted to check it out. The movie has a lot of good action & a really good story of four brothers really bonding & pulling together for the same love & cause. This is well worth checking out & should have done a lot better when it was in theaters!!! www.FOURBROTHERSmovie.com |
| HALF LIGHT (R) LAKESHORE ENETERTAINMENT (DVD) 2006 Starring: Demi Moore, Hans Matheson, Kate Isity, Mary Murray, Beans ElBalawi, Therese Bradley & more. Demi Moore is a writer living in England. As she is working on her newest novel, her son is playing outside. He opens an unlocked gate that leads down to the water front. When she doesn't hear him anymore, she goes out to look. He falls in the water & drowns. She starts having a breakdwon & moves away to a small remote village by the sea. She is hoping to be able to get inspiration & start writing again. She befriends the man who runs the lighthouse near the village. All these wiers thinsg start happening & she starts having visions of her son. There is a bit of a twist at the end of the film as well. This was slow at first, but did kick in & had a good plot change in the end of the film! This was actually one of the better films Demi Moore has done in awhile. www.HALF-LIGHTmovie.com |
| HILLS HAVE EYES, THE (R) FOX SEARCHLIGHT (Theater) 2006 Starring: Aaron Stanford, Kathleen Quinlan, Vinessa Shaw, Emile De Ravin, Dan Byrd, Ted Levine & more. This is a remake of the Wes Craven 70's film of the same name. They stayed pretty much to the same story as the original, but there were some added stuff. A family is travel through the desert to California. On the trip they have a blow out & crash the truck & trailer. They set up the trailer & stay as the two men go looking for help. What they find is hell! The film kicks in when these mutated people who were created by the governments experimental nuclear bombing from 1945-1965 start attacking & killing off the family members. There was a lot of intense action & bloody parts all through out this film. The last half hour is non stop intensity, gore, blood & action. I liked this newer version much better than the old one & the old one was great. Wes Craven co directed this remake of his original film too. This is a must for fans of 70's styled horro!!! www.foxsearchlight.com/THEHILLSHAVEEYES |
| MINDHUNTERS (R) DIMENSION FILMS (DVD) 2004 Satrring: Val Kilmer, Kathryn Morris, Christian Slater, L.L. Cool J, Johnny Lee Miller & more. A squad of FBI agents are sent to a remote island for survival training, by the head of the division.The iland is set up as a small town where a murder has happend & it is their job to profile the murdered & find him. This is supposed to be a similation assignment, but when their leader is killed right before their eyes things get intense & everyone becomes a suspect. The team tries to work together, but as every new person dies they keep turning on each other. The plot keeps taking all these turns & keeps throwing you off, every time you think you know who it is. There was a lot of good action & suspense in this film, plus it was a psychological thriller, which I liked a lot. This movie didn't do too well in theaters, but will probably do good on DVD! www.miramax.com/MINDHUNTERS |
| NOVEMBER (R) SONY PICTURES CLASSICS / IFC FILMS (DVD) 2004 Starring: Courtney Cox, James Legros, Michael Ealy, Nora Dunn, Nick Offerman & more. Courtney Cox plays a photographer who is out with her boyfriend one night for dinner. They stop at a corner store on the way home when the place is robbed. The robbers shoot everyone in the store including her boyfriend. She was out side in the car & comes running in to see what has happened. The film follows her as she goes through different stages of emotions after this tragic event. The film was a little dark & had kind of a weird twist to it at the end. I liked the way the film was shot, kind of cold & gritty like. There wasn't much action in the film besides the robbery, but the story was good enough to hold your interest & see what was going to happen next. This is a decent film if you like mind games & something that is not typical hollywood! www.sonyclassics.com/NOVEMBER |
| REBOUND (PG) 20TH CENTURY FOX (DVD) 2005 Starring: Martin Lawrence, Wendy Raqueal Robinson, Breckin Meyer, Patrick Warburton & more Martin lawrence is an out of control & over the top college basketball coach. He pushes the league a little too much & gets fired from his coaching job. He must show that he can be calm, courteous & follow the leagues rules, by coach some other team, some where else in order to get his job back. He winds up coach an elementary school basketball team. These kids are really bad & can barley even play. He shows them the basics of the game & helps turn them into a great team. This film was more of a kids movie & not the typical Martin Lawrence role, but it still had some funny parts to it. The movie was like the BAD NEWS BEARS movie, but instead of baseball the kids played basketball! www.REBOUNDthemovie.com |
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| SERENITY (PG-13) UNIVERSAL PICTURES (DVD) 2005 Starring: Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk, Morena Baccarin, Summer Glau & more. This movie is based on the TV show FIREFLY that was cancelled a few years ago. The team is on a mission to protect a young girl they rescued awhile back from fallen in the hands of the government. This story takes play if the future where the goevernment was wiped out along with just about everything else & rebuild it self to rule once more. They are trying to control everyone, but this one girl had thoughts of her own. She can read peoples minds & she is super tough. As the crew of SERENITY become more engaged in combat with the government they find more & more out about the girl they rescued & that she isn't as helpless as they thought. If you liked the Tv show then you will love this film. If your a fan of sci-fi & fantsy type films then you will enjoy it as well. There was a lot of action, special effects & even a bit of comedy tossed in too. www.SERENITYmovie.com |
| UNLEASHED (R) ROGUE PICTURES (DVD) 2005 Starring: Jet Li, Morgan Freeman, Bob Hoskins, Kerry Condon, Vincent Regan & more. Jet Li plays a character whos mother was murdered & he was left with no one. Bob Hoskins character is a rich, filthy corrupt mob boss who took him & trained him to be a killer. He uses him to enforce his ways on other crime bosses & people who cross him. Once the colloar comes off, Jet Li is free to destroy, kill & punish all the people who his boss tells him to attack. Jet li eventually breaks free & runs into Morgan Freeman, who takes him into his home, cares for him, feeds him & teaches him. As he learns more & more about his mothers death, he seeks revenge on the people who did it. This story had a lot of action Jet Li is known for, but it also had a really good story with some great acting as well. If your a fan of Jet Li's work, then you most likely will enjoy this film as well. Well worth checking out even if your not into his older films!!! http://UNLEASHEDmovie.com |
| WALKING TALL (PG-13) MGM (Showtime) 2004 Starring: The Rock, Johnny Knoxville, Ashley Scott, Neal McDonough, Kristen Wilson & more. An ex-army officer returns to his home town to find it changed in a big way. The old steel mill that provided many jobs for the towns folks has been shut down & a new casino has taken over. The casino is filled with lotsof corrupt people & a front for illegal drug dealing & other things. The majority of the town has gone bad. When is young nephew almost dies from a drug overdose, he decides he's going to clean up the town himself. He goes to the casino & deatroy much of the machines & most of the gaurds that work there. He runs for sheriff & wins, therefore being able to take law & uphold it the way it should be done. There was a lot of action, comedy & more all rolled into this great film that's based on true events. www.WALKINGTALLmovie.com |
| WALK THE LINE (PG-13) 20TH CENTURY FOX (DVD) 2005 Starring: Jaoguin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon, Robert Patrick, Ginnifer Goodwin, Sam Phillips & more. I really wanted to see this film as I am huge fan of Johnny Cash. I'm not big on Reese or Jaoquin, but I felt they both did a great job in this film. The movie takes you from Cash's childhood, his brothers death, his struggling to make his first album, his first encounter with June Carter, his touring with Jerry Lee Lewis & Elvis, his drug & alcohol days up to when he proposes to June Cart & she accepts. This film showed me a lot I didn't know about both of these amazingly great singers. I though I knew a lot about them, but I din't know as much. This is a really great film & deserved to win more awards then it did, especially knowing that both of them learned to play their instruments & sing like Johnny & June. Even if your not a fan of Johnny Cash, this is still a great film to watch over & over again!!! I loved it!!! www.WALKTHELINEthemovie.com |
| ZATHURA (PG) COLUMBIA PICTURES/SONY PICTURES (DVD) 2005 Starring: Jonah Bobo, Josh Hutcherson, Dax Shepard, Kristen Stewart, Tim Robbins & more. This film is supposed to be just like how the movie JUMANJI was. Two brothers who fight all the time start to play a board game called ZATHURA A Space Adventure. This is not your typical board game though. The pieces move themselves after you spin & once you land on your space a card pops out. Once you read the card, what ever it says actually happens. The kids quickly find them selves out in space & in for the ride of their lives. They encounter many things on this adventure, some good & some bad. They must continue to play until one person reaches the wormhole at the end for them to return home. This movie was just as good as JUMANJI & had a lot of cool action stuff going on, even though it was a kids film. Don't pass this one, cause you'll find you will actually enjoy it!!! www.sonypictures.com/movies/ZATHURA |
| AMERICAN PIE PRESENTS: BAND CAMP (R) UNIVERSAL PICTURES (DVD) 2005 Starring: Tad Hilgenbrink, Arielle Kebbel, Jason Earles, Eugene Levy, Crystle Lighting & more. This film is about Steve Stifrler's brother Matt & how he wants to out do his brothers legacy. After many times being caught messing with the band he is forced to join them at band camp or be expelled from school. Once he arrives at camp he starts to secretly film them having sex & doing other nasty things for his video Bandeez Gone Wild. Along the way he makes friends with them & falls in love as well. There was a lot of really raunchy & perverted stuff all through out this film as well as a ton of nudity & laughs. I didn't expect to like this film, but enjoyed it a lot. If your a fan of the AMERICAN PIE films then you will enjoy this too!!! www.AMERICANPIEmovie.com |
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| ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 (R) ROGUE PICTURES (DVD) 2005 Starring: Ethan Hawke, Laurence Fishburne, Maria Bello, Drea De Matteo, Gabriel Byrne & more. This is a remake of the old 70's John Carpenter film. It's New Years Eve & PRECINCT 13 is closing down, but they get some unexpected visitore when a bus carrying prisoners is side track to their station because of the snow storm. One of the prisoners is a supposed cop killer & is about to get some unexpected vistors of his own. The place gets surrounded by a team of corrupt cops who were in buisness with the prisoner. They are going to make sure no one gets out alive, because if he goes to trial then all the corrupt cops will be finished. There was a lot of action & a good storyline in this film. I never seen the original, but I heard it was better than this one & this one was really good. Well worth checking out for good story & action!!! www.AP13movie.com |
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| HAVOC (R) NEW LINE HOME (DVD) 2005 Starring Anne Hathaway, Bijou Phillips, Shiri Appleby, Michael Biehn, Joseph Gorden Levitt & more. A bunch of rich Beverly Hills kids live double lives when they try to act all gangsta & tough. They try being street thugs in their neighborhoods & then decide to head over to Eas L.A. to buy some drugs. When the drug deal they do with a Latino gang goes bad, they find themselves in trouble. The one guys girlfriend gets turned on by these real street thugs. Her & her girlfriends return to East L.A. on their own to party with this gang. They start to get heavily involved with them & want to join the gang. During their sexual initiation things go from bad to worst. The film was pretty decent & had some really intense moments, but some of it was a little annoying too. The most shocking parts were watching Anne Hathaway of THE PRINCESS DIARIES, doing all these violent, sexual & nude scenes. She did a good job though! Check it out for this at least!!! |
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| ESCAPE FROM THE PLANET OF THE APES (PG) 20TH CENTURY FOX (DVD) 1971 Starring: Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Bradford Dillman, Natalie Trundy, Eric Braeden & more. This is the 3rd installment in the PLANET OF THE APES MOVIES. In this film the monkeys escape their planet right before it is destroyed in the space ships of the astronauts who came to their planet. They land on earth in the early 70's. At first they are treated as animals & then later on as celebrities. Everyone wants to be involved with them, since they can speak & are from the future. Once the military finds out that Zira, the female is pregnant, they want them destroyed so that they can't take over the earth from humans. The monkeys go on the run & try to escape from the government. This one was as good as the first two even though there are only four apes in this including their baby, which is a real monkey in the end. If your a fan of this series then you'll enjoy this film as well as the others!!! www.PLANETOFTHEAPES.com |
| HISTORY OF VIOLENCE (R) NEW LINE CINEMA (DVD) 2005 Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Maria Bello, Ed Harris, William Hurt, Ashton Holmes & more. This film follows the life a small town & it's people. It focuses on one man's family. They own a small cafe in town & everyone knows everyone. When two small time crooks enter the cafe to rob it, Viggo's character snaps into action & stops them & kills them, therfore saving everyone inside. This brings much media coverage & stirrs the attention of some other people. These people come & visit him & his family & start harrassing them. They make Viggo snap & his old self, a violent hitman come to the surface & start acting crazy. He has it out with these men & proceeds to wipe out everyone from his past. The film was decent, but didn't live up to the hype it got from the media, even though there were some intense scenes, both violent & sexual! www.HISTORYOFVIOLENCE.com |
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| OLDBOY (R) TARTAN VIDEO (DVD) 2003 Starring: Min-Sik Choi, Ji-Tae Yu, Hye-Jeone Kang, Dae-Kan Ji, Dal-Su Oh & more. This is an Asian film about a man who has been locked up for 15 years. He doesn't know where he is, who did this to him & why. During these 15 years he gets himself in shape to find his captores when he gets out. While in there he was tortured, beaten & fedd the same meals for all 15 years. He is mysteriously released one day & starts his search. He visits every resturant to find where his food came from. Then he finds his captures & proceeds to torture them & beat them until they tell him where his wife & daughter are & why they did this to him. There is a lot of good fight scenes & a good story line in this film. There is a really weird, disturbing & unexpected twist to the end of this film. This is one I highly recommend if your into Asian Cinima!!! www.OLDBOY-movie.jp |
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| 11:14 (R) MEDIA 8 ENTERTAINMENT (DVD) 2003 Starring: Hilary Swank, Colin Hanks, Rachael Leigh Cook, Patrick Swayze, Barbara Hershey & more. This film was about how abunch of different people who all of their lives interact & change because of an inccident happening at 11:14. The film starts off really confusing & follows one person up to 11:14 & then back tracks to another person & follows them up to 11:14 & continues on like this. In each persons segment you see things that are clues to other peoples segments. In the end they show you how all of them are connected & how each persons actions affect another persons life. The film was a little dark & had some comedy, drama, action & lots of suspense & thrills. This was done really cool & well worth checking out. |
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| ARE WE THERE YET? (PG) SONY/COLUMBIA PICTURES (DVD) 2005 Starring: Ice Cube, Nia Long, Aleisha Allen, Philip Bolden, Jay Mohr & More. Ice Cube stars in this film as an owner of a sports memrobilia store & he's also a player. He starts to fall for the new woman in town played by Nia Long. He does what ever he can to get her to go out with him. When she needs to go ahead to Toronta for a buisness trip she ask him to watch her children. He agrees & also says he will bring them to Toronto to be with her for Christmas. The children don't like him & do what ever they can to cause him trouble. They miss their plane, then go by train & miss that too, so he decides to drive them there in his new truck. He lays down rules, which they disobey them all & his truck slowly gets more & more damaged along the way. Even though this was a kids flick it was still kind of funny at times!!! www.sonypictures.com/movies/AREWETHEREYET |
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| CHICKEN LITTLE (PG) DISNEY (DVD) 2005 Starring: Zach Braff, Gary Marshall, Steve Zahn, Joan Cusack, Patrick Stewart & more. This is Diney's frist in house 3-D computer animated film with out Pixar's help. The film loosly is based on the story of the Chicken Little who kept screaming the sky is fallen. After a bad panic & getting the town in an uproar about a fake calling of the sky is fallen, he later must help save the town from an alien invasion. He tries to warn the town, but nobody believes him, until the attack starts. The animation was good, which you can always expect from Disney. The story was good as well, with lots of action & comedy all through out. This was a good Disney film, but not as good as when they collaberate with Pixar. If you a Disney fan you'll enjoy this film, if not, don't even bother checking it out!!! http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/CHICKENLITTLE |
| DEATH RACE 2000 (R) NEW WORLD PICTURES (DVD) 1975 Starring: David Carradine, Simone Griffeth, Sylvester Stalone, Mary Woronov, Roberta Collins & more. I always wanted to see this film, cause I heard so much about it. In the future the world sport is the Death Race. In this race it doesn't matter who wins first, but who wins with the most points. The way you get points in this race is by plowing down pedestrians along the way. The more you hit, the more points you get. Each driver has a specialized car equiped with each persons individual weapons of mutilation. The concept of this film was really cool, but the dialogue & acting was a little cheesy. This would be a cool movie for Hollywood to remake, if they do it right. Check it out , cause it's still kind of cool!!! |
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| ONG BAK: THE THAI WARRIOR (R) MAGNOLIA PICTURES (DVD) 2003 Starring: Tony Jaa, Petchtai Wongkamlao, Pumwaree Yodkamoc, Suchao Pongwilat, Wannakit Sirioput & more. When the head of a sacred religious statue is stolen from a small village, one young man must travel to the big city to return it. Along the way he meets up with an old friend from the village, who tries to get to help him. His friend keeps entering him into fighting contest so he can win money. This is where Tony Jaa shows off his fighting skills & makes a name for himself. The criminals hear he is after them & send anyone they can to stop him & kill him. He battles his way through these small time thugs all the way up to the crime boss. This film was great & was filled with tons of action & a really good story. Watch out Jackie Chan, because Tony Jaa will be taking your place very soon! Check out this flick!!! www.ONGBAKmovie.com |
| SHREDDER (R0 MGM HOME ENTERTAINMENT (Showtime) 2003 Starring: Scott Weinger, Lindsey McKeon, Juleah Weikel, Billy O'Sullivan, Holly Towne & more. A group of young adults looking for lots of adventure & some wild partying head out to an abandon ski resort. They must break into the resort, which they do & they start to have a good time. They go skiing, snowboarding, party, drink, have sex & lots more. When they go into town for more beer, they find out that the ski resort was closed when some snowboarders killed a little kill on the mountain & ran her off a cliff. One by one their friends are being picked off by a mysterious skier dressed in black. The story was kind of bad, the acting was kind of bad, the special effects were, some of the death scenes were cool & the girls were all hot. Your taking your chances on watching this pretty cheesy horror film!!! |
| SKELETON KEY (PG-13) UNIVERSAL PICTURES (DVD) 2005 Starring: Kate Hudson, Gena Rowlands, John Hurt, Peter Sarsgaard, Joy Bryant & more. Kate Hudson is a Hospic Care worker who goes to a plantation home in Luisiana to take care of an old man. She starts to see strange things & get suspicious as she is taking care of this old man. She starts to explore the house & finds a secret room. She starts searching the room & finds some things that explains some of the history of the house. As she delves further & further into the houses history she becomes more & more parinoid about the mans wife. The story started out a little slow, but then picked up about half way through. This film was more of a suspense thriller & not a horror movie as it was portrayed. Cool for one viewing, but not a film that would get multiple viewings from me!!! www.THESKELETONKEYmovie.com |
| SPANKING THE MONKEY (UR) NEW LINE HOME VIDEO (DVD) 1994 Starring: Jeremy Davies, Benjamin Hendrickson, Alberta Watson, Carla Gallo, Judette Jones & more. When a young guy returns home for a few weeks in the summer before he starts his internship at a hospital, his life is flipped upside down. His mother injures herself & is stuck in bed with a broken leg. His dad makes him take care of the mother as he goes away on a business trip. He must feed, bathe, cloth & do everything else for his mother. The guy meets a young girl in the town & starts falling for her. He doesn't know anything about sex, so his mother shows him a few things & more about having sex & how to treat a woman. The film is a little slow in spots, but does have it's moments. It was fun to watch just for the subject matter!!! |
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| THE INTERPRETER (PG-13) UNIVERSAL PICTURES (DVD) 2005 Starring: Nicole Kidman, Sean Penn, Catherine Keener, Jesper Christensen, Yvan Attal & more. Nicole Kidman is an interpreter that works at the United Nations in New York City. After a rutine firdrill everyone is asked to leave the building, she returns to pick up her stuff & she over hears some people talking in another language about an assination plot. She goes to the FBI about it & they keep her under servalance. They start finding out about her dark past & don't know what to believe. Is she making it up or is this for real. I wasn't expecting to really like this film, but it was much better than I expected it to be. There was some action, much drama & much suspense all with in. If you like suspenseful movies, then you'll enjoy this film! www.INTERPRETERmovie.com |
| WITHOUT A PADDLE (PG-13) PARAMOUNT PICTURES (Showtime) 2004 Starring: Dax Sheppard, Matthew Lillard, Seth Green, Nadines Bernecker, Burt Reynolds & more. After a close friend dies, three friends decide to go on a scavenger hunt for adowned pilots treasure that they ehard about when they were young. The three guys head up to the back country in Oregan & go on many wild adventures. They go canoeing, camping, hiking, & more. Along the way many mishaps & crazy things happen to bring them closer together. They stumble upon two rednecks, who a have pot plant field. They get chased down by them & more craziness ensues. This film looked really funny when it was in theatres, but was a bit of a let down. It had it's funny moments, but just didn't live up to what I was expecting, especially from three funny guys like this. Check it out for a few laughs, but that's about it!!! www.WITHOUTAPADDLEmovie.com |
| XXX: STATE OF THE UNION (PG-13) COLUMBIA PICTURES (DVD) 2005 Starring: Ice Cube, Samuel L. Jackson, Willem Dafoe, Scott Speedman, Xzibit & more. I wasn't really sure if this was going to be good or not. This film takes the series in a whole different direction than the first. This time they go get an ex-soldier out of prison to help them stop an assination attempt on the President of the United States. This prisoner is Ice Cube. He does what he has to to stop these guys, who happen to be members of the presidents staff. They try to set up the old squad of soldiers who were consider very dangerous & out of control back in the day, but it winds up being these soldiers who stop the assination. The film was o.k., but not as good as the first one. There were too many special effects used & too much CGI. The CGI was good, but it didn't blend in too well with the rest of the film. They could have called this film something different, but just were trying to ride off the title from the first movie!!! www.sonypictures.com/movies/TRIPLEX2 |
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| DISTURBING BEHAVIOR (R) MGM (DVD) 1998 Starring: James Marsden, Katie Holmes, Nick Stahl, Steve Railsback, Chad Donella & more. When a family moves to a small island town the kids try to fit in with the rest of the local kids. They soon find the way the majority of the kids act is a little strange & disturbing. They start to ask questions & investigate things for themselves. They find out that the parents of these kids have joined a club that plants chips in the kids brains & controls them to be model students & perfect children. Things start going wrong & the kids start acting really violent. These new kids try to stop the whole program from going any further. This film was ok, not the greatest & not the worst. I was expecting it to be more of a horror movie, but it wasn't. www.DISTURBING-BEHAVIOR.com |