Movie Review: The Book of Eli

Rating Whoa!

Let me get this out:

"What a great movie!"

Expectations: Going into to this movie I was very curious about it. I had never seen Denzel in an action movie so I wondered if he could pull it off. So let me put your fears to rest. Yes he pulled it off. Now don't get me wrong. He is not pulling a "Conan the Barbarian" in this movie.

The fight seems are not drawn out , but they have a good amount of "stick and move" and a healthy slice of suspense added in. And for this movie all this really works well. So it will leave you satisfied.

Plot: In the movie Denzel is living in a post-apocalyptic world, think "Mad Max", where everyone leaves in ruins and scavenges for food and resources. Denzel is a wanderer on a quest to the West coast of America to fulfill his purpose in life. His purpose in life is to deliver a special book there. I know, I know, there are big questions marks now.

The movie gets interesting because it brings up the topic of the power of knowledge. In the post-apocalyptic world, all the books are destroyed. So most of the population is not educated and can not read. The antagonist is a leader of a town, who is well read and knowledgeable. He uses this to control the people around him. And the sparks start flying in the movie when he meets Denzel's character who does not want to be controlled. Think Rambo in "First Blood".

Conclusion: All in all I suggest you see this movie. It has the right amount of action combined with the right amount of substance. There is a very short list of movies that can combine the two like this and The Book of Eli did it.

-tp-

Movie Review: Legion

Lame Rating

First let me get this out: This movie is worth seeing. But just not in the movie theater. This is more like a "boring Saturday, I have nothing else to do, lets see what's on TV" movie.

The concept of this movie is sound. The world is ending because God says "time is up!" He plans to kill everyone on earth. And the only way to save the world is to save this unborn baby. One of the head Angels of God's Army decides that he doesn't want the mankind to end so he takes it upon himself to stop God and all his Army from annihilating the world.

Up to this point the movie sounds interesting. But once I sat my butt in that theater seat right in front of someone that had not bathed in 2 days I knew I was in trouble. I should have gotten up right then. But I held my breath and pressed on.

(Spoiler alert)

The reason this movie did so bad was based on one thing, the story.

The story goes that God wants to kill everyone on earth using his massive army of Angels. In order to do this, Angels start possessing the "weak" minded/willed people on the planet. And by controlling these possessed people he can eradicate the world. (Think of killer zombies controlled by Angels and/or God). One of the first hurdles in the movie was this part in the story. I thought to myself,

"If God wanted to kill everyone on earth why would he do it one hand-to-hand fight at a time?"

I mean God can blink his eye and blow up the whole earth with his thoughts. Or since he already created these super powerful Angels, which they show in the movie, why limit their abilities by taking possession of humans? Another in the movie that did not make sense was when an angel takes possession of a human the human became this Evil looking, sharp toothed, cussing monster. It didn't make sense these heavenly angels created by God could become these demon things while carrying out his orders.

As the story goes on the "good guys" have to protect the baby and the mother from the attacking force for zombie/Angel possessed people. Basically all the zombie people do is try to run into the building the good guys are trying to defend. Oddly enough , none of the Angels thought to bring along any guns, bombs or some really cool Heavenly Rail Gun!

No they go for the dumb approach and just hope they can run into the building with no weapons or armor or common sense!

Now I know when the writers sat down to write this movie they probably made this a conscious decision. Because let's be real, if God wants you dead you are going to be dead. So suspending belief I watched on (and kept holding my breath, that guy behind me was extra stinky).

The next part in the plot is around this baby. It is suppose to be a prophet that will lead the people out of darkness. So at the same time God gives the order to "kill everyone on the planet" he picks a baby to be the spiritual leader for the whole world, to be born while the world is being destroyed. So it seems God was hedging his bets:

God: "If this baby is born before my angels kill him then I will give the world another chance."

Now odds are if you are going to see this movie you are going for the action. So the plot isn't suppose to be that important. It had some decent action scenes but if they could have done a lot more. You don't have to have a big imagination to think about how cool a movie would be having angels having a huge war on earth. But instead the movie reduced something cool to a zombie/survival flick all taking place inside a dinner. They did not even really make the movie suspenseful or scary.

In the end this movie was a lost opportunity. It could have been great. It had a smooth cast. Smooth story premise. But it ended up with a rough, poorly made product.

Don't bother spending the $11 bucks at the theater. But for kicks watch it at home.

-tp-

Club Review: TAO (Las vegas), O.P.M

TAO (Las Vegas) (site)
Rating: Whoa

I must say, "Well Done!" to TAO on this one. I've been to their restaurant in New York and I must say it was a Whoa status too. So I was curious how they would do as a Night Club version.

We went VIP for this one and got about 6 bottles. The watress was kool, kept the mixers and clean glasses coming. She even took time to keep the ice cold. (just kidding). The manager of the place was a dingle berry though! Basically they charged us for extra people that were not there. But putting the black mark aside the club was still tight.

It was over the top on the atmosphere tip. They had plenty of paid dancers/eye candy to liven up the place. The main room was set up was nice but they did have a separate lounge that seemed disconnected from the rest of the party. But then again maybe thats what they wanted to do. But I felt cheated after I saw the VIP area in the larger room. Note-to-self: Ask for a VIP spot in the larger room if you really want to party. If you want a quieter evening stay in the lounge spot.

The music was good but the dance floor was cramped. So you are better off dancing in your VIP spot if you have one.

All in all a nice spot that lives up to the Vegas name. I'll be back. But I'll make sure I don't get cheated on the bill.

O.P.M. (Las Vegas) (site)
Rating: Tight

I've been to this spot two times now so its time for a rating. The setup is nice for this place. This is one of the few spots in Vegas that is a mostly black club. So heads up if you are looking for a mix.

The music is some of the best you will here in Vegas though. Several DJs spun their music throughout the night but they all stayed consistent with hit after hit.

The set up of the club is kool with two dance floor. They have VIP tables spread out everywhere so be mindful where you want to be seated if you set one up.

-tp-