3:10 To Yuma

Rating: R

Movie Release Date: September 6, 2007 (Russia) / September 7, 2007 (USA)

DVD Release Date: January 8, 2008

Plot 411: A former soldier joins a band of lawmen to escort an outlaw to the train that'll transport him to jail.

Review: Even if you're not particularly a fan of Westerns, you might like this one. It stars Russell Crowe as Ben Wade, the leader of a gang who steals from stagecoaches. Wade and his gang cross paths with soldier-turned-farmer Dan Evans (Christian Bale) when he steals Evans' horse in order to escape the law. Evans is desperate to save his home but is behind on payments. When he is offered money to help transport Evans to jail, he agrees. Along the way the two banter back and forth and you soon realize that the men are actually quite similar. Despite their divergent lives, the two live by a code of honor. While the set up to the movie is a bit slow, it soon picks up and becomes action packed. Gun fights and chases help liven up the movie and are interspersed with quiet moments between the two main characters. Both men try to outsmart and out think each other, and in another life may have been great friends. Also in this film are Luke Wilson, Ben Foster and Alan Tudyk.

Watch It: For a gun-toting good time.

Skip It: Perhaps in favor of the original?

Pandorum

Rating: R

Movie Release Date: September 29, 2009

DVD Release Date: January 19, 2010

Plot 411: Two members of a spaceship flight crew awaken after a long sleep and are completely disoriented and must figure out what happened.

Review: Bower (Ben Foster) wakes up suddenly and frees himself from a hyper-sleep capsule in a ship that has lost its power. At first he doesn't know who he is and his memory is fragmented. An hour later, his superior officer Payton (Dennis Quaid) awakens as well. The two decide to explore the ship and find the nuclear reactor in order to jump start the power. On Bower's journey, he meets exceptionally powerful humanoid creatures that are quick and deadly. He also meets surviving ship members and they must piece together their collective memory in order to figure out what has happened. This was an awesome sci-fi action thriller. It even leans toward horror more than most sci-fi movies. The practical effects used for the creatures are great. Unfortunately, it's difficult to see much of them until almost the end. The movie did a good job creating a feeling of isolation, desperation and confusion. As a viewer, I felt caught up in Bower's world. What's happening? Who are these people? Where are they? Is it an alien? The audience can definitely relate to his situation because it's as baffling for us as it is for him. They even include a foreign language, which I'm pretty sure is Vietnamese, without subtitles to add to the confusion. Also in this film are Antje Traue, Cung Le and Cam Gigandet.

Watch It: Because the general concept is pretty awesome and there are so many possibilities.

Skip It: If you're into the technical aspects about space flight and things of that nature. Who knows how accurate this is even if it is set in the future?

Alpha Dog

Rating: R

Movie Release Date: January 12, 2007

DVD Release Date: May 1, 2007

Plot 411: When a guy won't pay his debt, his dealer kidnaps his kid brother to get back at him.

Review: I just don't know what went wrong with this one. The previews looked good and the cast includes some of Hollywood's up-and-coming young actors, but this just wasn't a good movie. A young drug dealer named Johnny Truelove (Emile Hirsch), who I think is just a rich poser, is insulted when Jake Mazursky (Ben Foster) refuses to pay his debt and breaks into his house. Truelove and his gang decide to confront Mazursky but run into his little brother Zack (Anton Yelchin) instead. They throw him in a van and kidnap him, but they don't really know what to do with him. The gang kicks back and Zack enjoys their company. He even refuses to leave when given a chance. But things soon get real when Truelove decides to kill Zack rather than ask for a ransom. His gang must man up to the task and try not to get caught or automatically face time in jail if they let Zack go. The script was based on real events that happened in Santa Barbara County. The kids involved were seriously just kids. The oldest was only 21. How could they cause the death of another person? Was it just a disconnect between life and death? Were they so drugged out that they didn't feel remorse or guilt or shame? It's just crazy. What the movie did get right was the nonchalant attitudes that the boys had. Life seemed to be one big party that never ended. Also starring in this movie was Justin Timberlake, Sharon Stone, Fernando Vargas, Lukas Haas, Amanda Seyfried and Bruce Willis.

Watch It: For an interesting look at the inner workings of a quasi-gang atmosphere.

Skip It: If you have a low tolerance for youthful stupidity.