The Runaways

Rating: R

Movie Release Date: March 18, 2010

DVD Release Date: July 20, 2010

Plot 411: The first all-girl rock band explodes onto the scene but fame tears them apart.

Review: This is a biopic about the first girls to rock onto the scene in the 1970s. The movie focuses on guitarist Joan Jett (Kristen Stewart) and lead singer Cherie Currie (Dakota Fanning) as they form a band called The Runaways with three other teens from the Valley. They are managed by eccentric Kim Fowley (Michael Shannon), who uses extreme measures to get the girls ready to perform. The young girls leave their families to tour the country and soon become absorbed in the world of sex, drugs and rock and roll. Their success becomes their demise. Before watching this flick, I wasn't familiar with this group. I'd heard of Joan Jett and Lita Ford (lead guitarist in the group), but I'd never really heard their music from the '70s. The power of their music is pretty awesome, especially during a time when rock and roll was a male-only genre. If you're a fan, I'm sure this movie will solidify that for you. Excluding the music, I love the message of individuality and female empowerment that the movie emphasizes. It's really about a group of girls growing up amidst the mayhem of rock stardom. They have everything at their fingertips - legal and illegal - and stand on top of the world. The contrast between this and their life at home is very drastic, especially for Currie. Stewart and Fanning put on great performances, and I think they were able to capture the spirit of their characters well. I never really liked Stewart's acting (especially in the Twilight films), but she's converted me with this performance. She truly embodies Joan Jett.

Watch It: For a very aggressive girl-power message.

Skip It: Because this movie is pretty raw and in your face. The movie opens with blood dripping down Fanning's leg.

Thirst / Bakjwi

Rating: R

Movie Release Date: April 30, 2009 (South Korea) / July 31, 2009 (USA)

DVD Release Date: November 17, 2009

Plot 411: A priest infected with sickness discovers that a sickness of a different kind can be a temporary cure.

Review: This is another Chan-wook Park film that embodies a degree of blood and guts with which many people are not familiar. The movie causes an uneasiness within the viewer that I believe adds to the overall effect of the film. Sang-hyeon (Kang-ho Song) is a priest who volunteers for a medical trial that attempts to find the cure to a deadly disease. Unfortunately, he contracts the disease and is given a blood transfusion that turns him into a vampire. To his horror, he finds himself resorting to siphoning blood out of a comatosed patient and stealing bags of blood from hospitals where he volunteers. The public begins to worship him for his healing capabilities and he runs into Kang-woo (Ha-kyun Shin), an old friend. Sang-Hyeon is invited to Kang-woo's house and becomes infatuated with his wife Tae-ju (Ok-bin Kim). They begin an affair that leads to murder. This film is an interesting twist (or addition) to the current vampire craze that is hitting the world. It does not resemble Twilight in any form or fashion (to which many people will probably cheer for joy), but it seems to rethink the entire vampire mythology. I suppose people can interpret, alter or make up their own mythology about vampires (or werewolves for that matter), but personally I prefer the bite-you're-it theory. Overlooking that though, this film focused on Sang-hyeon's sense of honor and morality and his struggle with himself and his identity as a priest and human. Even after he becames a "monster," he still finds himself in turmoil about the right thing to do. His intense mental and emotional battle couldn't be further from the character of Tae-ju. To me, she is completely selfish and conniving. In addition to being sexually explicit and blood-and-guts gory, this movie is Park's comment on man's true behavior when given utter control and power.

Watch It: For a unique take on vampires and an intricate comparison between Korean family dynamics vs. American individualism.

Skip It: If Twilight's love story and mythology is more your speed.

Adventureland

Rating: R

Movie Release Date: April 3, 2009

DVD Release Date: August 25, 2009

Plot 411: A Columbia-bound master's student must work his first summer job at a local theme park for money.

Review: When James (Jesse Eisenberg) finds out his parents can't support his post-graduation trip through Europe or his college education, he must take a summer job in order to go to Columbia in the fall. The only job he's offered is at a local amusement park running the game booths. This, in and of itself, is almost hell on earth but the people he meets there impact him more than he expects. Em (Kristen Stewart), another college student home for the summer, befriends the newbie James and he soon falls for her. Em is a troubled chick with a very unstable home life that affects how she interacts with the world. Combined with James' awkward nature, they make for an interesting couple. Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig and Ryan Reynolds also add some humor and irony to the mix. I wouldn't call this an outright comedy as it is pretty heavy at times. However, the humor is dry and sarcastic, which I love. The plot seems more like a biography than scripted. It's fully imbedded in the '80s and actually avoids being completely cheesy. It's a coming of age story that portrays a main character that is an Everyman.

Watch It: For Stewart's brooding emo-ness that isn't as annoying as her Twilight character Bella.

Skip It: If you're expecting a repeat of Superbad, despite being directed by the same guy - Greg Mattola.

Twilight

Rating: PG-13

Movie Release Date: November 21, 2008

DVD Release Date: March 21, 2009

Plot 411: A vampire saves a human girl's life and reveals himself and his kind to her.

Review: With all the hype surrounding this flick, I was expecting to be blown away. That didn't happen. I felt like I was waiting for something more but that something more didn't come. To me, the build up of Edward (Robert Pattinson) and Bella's (Kristen Stewart) relationship was sort of awkward. There was all this unnecessary dialogue going on that was almost too authentic to high school life. It didn't help the plot move forward. Yet, we're supposed to believe that Bella somehow falls in love with Edward and is able to overlook his blood-sucking tendancies? That's a tough one to swallow.

Watch It: If you're into the books. Or, for the grown up version of this read J.R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood series.

Skip It: If you really got hooked on the now canceled Moonlight (CBS) because this is nothing like Beth and Mick. You'll walk away disappointed.

Trailer: