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DVD Paycheck (Full Screen Edition)
The brainy, paranoid science fiction of writer Philip K. Dick has inspired one visionary classic (Blade Runner) and two above-average action movies (Total Recall and Minority Report). Paycheck aspires to follow in their footsteps: An engineer (Ben Affleck, Chasing Amy) routinely agrees to have his memory erased after every job so that he doesn't know what he's done. But after the biggest job of his life, he discovers that not only has he refused a $90 million paycheck, he's sent himself an envelope full of things he doesn't recognize--and he doesn't remember doing any of this. As he unravels the plot, he discovers he's also fallen in love (with Uma Thurman, Kill Bill) and invented a dangerous device for his former boss (Aaron Eckhart, Erin Brockovich). Affleck is bland, the script ruins a cunning idea, and the direction--from the normally dynamic John Woo (Face/Off)--plods along, aimless and bored. --Bret Fetzer
Formula: take an OK story snippet that involves enough sci-fi buzzing sounds and light effects, give it to John Woo with a huge production budget, add Ben Affleck, Uma Thurman, Aaron Eckhart, Paul Giamatti, Colm Feore, Michael C. Hall (each of whom is far superior to the tacky script and tired body shenanigans), add a very loud and noisy score by Paul Horn, James McKee Smith, John Powell and John Ashton Thomas, and mix it with tired contrived gimmicks that perhaps at one point in time were meant to defy belief, and voila! You have PAYCHECK.
One wonders when Hollywood will realize that the market for this particular clone of movie is saturated and move on to something else. Or perhaps it is viewing this turkey immediately after viewing the brilliant and budget-limited film "11:14" that points out all of its weak points. But that is being kind. This movie simply isn't worth your time. And these actors should have passed on the project. Grady Harp, October 05
AFFLECK!!
I can never say Ben Affleck's name without thinking of a duck in an insurance commercial. Anyway, this movie is not so bad. It's true that it wasn't a big smash at the box office but when was that ever a measure of a film's worth? It's actually a clever movie and has some measure of suspense. I admit I haven't read the short story upon which the movie was based, and perhaps I should. But I have found that people make unfair judgements of movies after having read the book. You can go into much more depth and bring out so much more of character's make up in a book
than you can in a 90 minute movie that comparisons can seem unfair.
So, relax, enjoy the movie for what it is..a semi sci fi, action, love story. It's not bad, even though it's not great.
If you're like me, you really will entertain yourself wondering what he's going to do with the seemingly random items he leaves himself in the envelope. So, see the movie. It won't kill you.
Don't compare it to the book, just watch the movie.
Significant Futuristic Thriller
I, like many people, am not a Ben Affleck fan, and therefore, for a long time, avoided this movie like a razor blade through an eyeball. What a mistake I made. Sure it's true that Ben Affleck usually has about all the charm and acting ability as a cardboard cutout of himself, but in Paycheck, he actually does occasionally show a bit more talent than usual.
Affleck aside, Paycheck is a stylish mystery that does manage to more than hold your interest. John Woo's direction gives the film its' near frenetic pace, while allowing the viewer enough time to process the new clues as they are uncovered. Uma Thurman is fantastic to look at even when she has dirt on her face, and clearly, this is what Woo was intending when he put her in the role of a gorgeous scientist who steal's Ben's character's heart. Sure lady scientists who happen to border supermodels in appearance is a bit unrealistic, but no more so than the gratuitous and unnecessary motorcycle chase, so characteristic of this genre of movie.
Those slight shortcomings aside, Paycheck delivers on its' promise to thouroughly engross the viewer by delivering a future scene much more feasible than other more weak kneed futuristic thrillers that only rely on special effects to catapult their stories along. It's an inventive and terrific ride that will keep you wanting more as the many secrets are revealed.
As paranoid cop Del Spooner, Will Smith (Independence Day, Men in Black) displays both his trademark quips and some impressive pectoral muscles in I, Robot. Only Spooner suspects that the robots that provide the near future with menial labor are going to turn on mankind--he's just not sure how. When a leading roboticist dies suspiciously, Spooner pursues a trail that may prove his suspicions. Don't expect much of a connection to Isaac Asimov's classic science fiction stories; I, Robot, the action movie, isn't prepared for any ruminations on the significance of artificial intelligence. This likable, efficient movie won't break any new ground, but it does have an idea or two to accompany its jolts and thrills, which puts it ahead of most recent action flicks.... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Will Smith - Bridget Moynahan - Bruce Greenwood Director(s): Alex Proyas DVD Release Date: Released the 14 December 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Collateral offers a change of pace for Tom Cruise as a ruthless contract killer, but that's just one of many reasons to recommend this well-crafted thriller. It's from Michael Mann, after all, and the director's stellar track record with crime thrillers (Thief, Manhunter, and especially Heat) guarantees a rich combination of intelligent plotting, well-drawn characters, and escalating tension, beginning here when icy hit-man Vincent (Cruise) recruits cab driver Max (Jamie Foxx) to drive him through a nocturnal tour of Los Angeles, during which he will execute five people in a 10-hour spree. While Stuart Beattie's screenplay deftly combines intimate character study with raw bursts of action (in keeping with Mann's directorial trademark), Foxx does the best work... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Tom Cruise - Jamie Foxx - Jada Pinkett Smith - Mark Ruffalo Director(s): Michael Mann DVD Release Date: Released the 14 December 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Like a Hardy Boys mystery on steroids, National Treasure offers popcorn thrills and enough boyish charm to overcome its rampant silliness. Although it was roundly criticized as a poor man's rip-off of Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Da Vinci Code, it's entertaining on its own ludicrous terms, and Nicolas Cage proves once again that one actor's infectious enthusiasm can compensate for a multitude of movie sins. The contrived plot involves Cage's present-day quest for the ancient treasure of the Knights Templar, kept secret through the ages by Freemasons past and present. Finding the treasure requires the theft of the Declaration of Independence (there are crucial treasure clues on the back, of course!), so you can add "caper comedy" to this Jerry Bruckheimer... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Jon Turteltaub DVD Release Date: Released the 03 May 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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With a plot that might've been lifted from The X-Files, nothing is quite what it seems in The Forgotten, a psychological conspiracy thriller with Julianne Moore doing fine work as a grieving mother whose nine-year-old son was killed in a plane crash. At least, that's what she's been led to believe, but when even her husband (Anthony Edwards) tries to convince her that she's delusional and never had a child, things start to get very spooky indeed. Dominic West (from HBO's superb series The Wire) plays a similarly traumatized father, and when they witness some very strange events--and a mysterious man (Linus Roache) who might be indestructible--this glorified B-movie potboiler directed by Joseph Ruben (best known for Dreamscape and The Stepfather)... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Julianne Moore - Dominic West Director(s): Joseph Ruben DVD Release Date: Released the 18 January 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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While setting a milestone in the progress of digital filmmaking, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow resurrects a nostalgic fantasy world derived from a wide variety of vintage inspirations. It's a dazzling dream for anyone who appreciates the look and feel of golden-age sci-fi pulp magazines, drawing its unique, all-digital design from such diverse sources as Howard Hawks adventures, Fritz Lang's Metropolis, Buck Rogers, Blackhawk comics, The Third Man, cliffhanger serials, and the action-packed Indiana Jones franchise. Writer-director Kerry Conran's feature debut is also guaranteed to inspire digital dreamers everywhere, suggesting a paradigm shift in the way CGI-dominated movies are made. It's a giddy adventure for the young and young-at-heart, in... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Gwyneth Paltrow - Jude Law - Angelina Jolie Director(s): Kerry Conran DVD Release Date: Released the 25 January 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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