Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010)

Number Rolled: 36

Movie Name/Year: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010)

Genre: Action & Adventure

Length: 116 minutes

Rating: PG-13

Director: Mike Newell

Writer: Boaz Yakin, Doug Miro, Carlo Bernard, Jordan Mechner

Actors: Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton, Ben Kingsley, Alfred Molina, Steve Toussaint, Toby Kebbell, Richard Coyle, Ronald Pickup, Reece Ritchie

Video game movies are a dime a dozen and work a bit like mine fields. There’s a lot to take into account when making one – especially one as popular as Prince of Persia. Video games take weeks to beat. Many gamers become obsessed with their favorite games, finding all the little secrets and nuances that casual players would miss. The fans of games such as this are more than a little picky about how that obsession is portrayed. It’s the same as book fans trying to watch a movie based on their favorite books. You should see me try and watch the third Harry Potter movie. The smallest mistake is like Armageddon on screen (not the movie, the event). Because gamers are such an observant lot, movies out of video games are risky.

I will admit that I’m not familiar enough with this particular game to be able to judge the movie from that perspective. So forgive me, gamers, if my opinion deviates from what it would be as a fan.

That being said, I absolutely adore this movie. One of the best parts, in my opinion, is Jake Gyllanhaal’s performance. Just about all research on this movie brings with it the knowledge that Jake is a fervent fan of the games, and played constantly in order to prepare for his part. I do believe it paid off. Even if a true fan of the game could point out the flaws, he certainly seemed to love playing the part. When an actor loves playing a part, you can tell, he just somehow seems to play it better.

The storyline itself is amazing, but that’s not surprising as those who’ve played the game will say the same. All in all? It’s a movie I would definitely recommend watching, to anyone who likes a good fantasy.

Overall Opinion – 5/5

Cry-Baby (1990)

Number Rolled: 57

Movie Name/Year: Cry-Baby (1990)

Genre: Comedy

Length: 85 minutes

Rating: NR

Director: John Waters

Writer: John Waters

Actors: Johnny Depp, Amy Locane, Susan Tyrrell, Polly Bergen, Iggy Pop, Ricki Lake, Traci Lords, Kim McGuire, Darren E. Burrows, Stephen Mailer, Kim Webb

Cry-Baby is like taking the cheesiest version of Grease you can imagine and making it cheesier. It’s fried cheese covered cheese with cheese dipping sauce. Predictable, impossible, hilarious and awesome.

               

Johnny Depp never ceases to amaze me in his acting. I think he could pull off absolutely anything that is thrown at him. Regardless of what it is, era, genre, good guy, bad guy, just doesn’t matter. He has been in much better and much more serious movies, but he was just as good and seemed to put just as much effort in this movie. He is a true professional. I also wonder if he might be immortal because he’s just as hot today as he was back then. Perhaps he’s just so good that he’s convinced time itself that he’s younger.

The music is quite catchy, from softer tunes like “Sandman” to harder ones like “Highschool Hellcats,” each has its amusing little place in the movie.

Granted, it’s not a movie that’s for everyone. You have to like kitschy musicals or you might as well just flip on by this one. It’s good, but it’s not your usual everyday movie. Because it’s such an exclusive thing – as cult as it might be – I had to take away a point. But don’t take that to mean that I personally wouldn’t suggest this movie to every person I think might like it.

Overall Opinion – 4/5

House of 9 (2005)

Number Rolled: 7

Movie Name/Year: House of 9 (2005)

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Length: 90 minutes

Rating: R

Director: Steven R. Monroe

Writer: Philippe Vidal

Actors: Dennis Hopper, Kelly Brook, Hippolyte Girardot, Susie Amy, Peter Capaldi, Ashley Walters, Julienne Davis, Raffaello Degruttola

Epic…… fail. There really is no other way to describe this one. Netflix describes it as a mix of Saw and Agatha Christie. And I can see it! It’s Saw without the action and Agatha Christie without the storyline. It was 90 minutes of sitting in a waiting room at the doctor’s office. On the bright side, I’ll get to bed early enough to not be tired at work tomorrow.

Granted, my hopes were way too high on this one. A Saw movie created with Dennis Hopper? Oh, hell yeah, right? Not at all. This movie made me want to go back in time and ask him what the hell he was doing. I was unfamiliar with the rest of the actors, but I couldn’t help thinking to myself the entire time about how strange the shape of the cop’s head was; mainly because it was the most interesting part of the movie.

My advice is not to bother with this particular film. The movie world would be better off without it.

Overall Opinion – 1/5