Take 4: Rock-Tober

For the purposes of this edition of Take 4, “Clarktober” is on a brief hiatus…but only for the time it takes you to read this review of four movies starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Then back to your regularly scheduled month of awesomeness.

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Doom (2005)

The Basics: A sci-fi/action/horror flick, based loosely on the video game of the same name, starring The Rock and nobody else you know; Rated R for strong violence/gore and language.

What is The Rock Cooking?: As the leader of a group of Space Marines, The Rock is cooking up a scheme to stop a deadly threat that is rapidly taking over a research facility on the planet Mars, with the hopes to contain it before it spreads through an interplanetary portal and end up on Earth.

Top IMDB Search Terms: Villain Played by Lead Actor; Chase Scene; Character’s Point of View Camera Shot; Extreme Violence; One Word Title

Random Trivia: The locker the BFG weapon (and bonus points if you know what BFG stands for) is stored is designated “IDKFA.” This is the in-game cheat code that will give the player full weapons and ammo.

And I Quote: Samantha Grimm: “Ten percent of the human genome is still unmapped. Some say it's the genetic blueprint for the soul.”

Curt’s Take: Run in Fear – This was pretty bad. Cringe-worthy. Avoid it all costs. Successful film adaptations of video games are few and far between, and this attempt plunges into that gap of failures like a cast-iron lemming. Acting, camerawork, writing…it’s been close to two months since I’ve seen this, and it still leaves a sad, sad taste in my mouth.

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Be Cool (2005)

The Basics: A crime comedy (and sequel to Get Shorty…and based on the novel by Elmore Leonard), starring John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Vince Vaughn, Cedric the Entertainer, Debi Mazar…and The Rock; Rated PG-13 for violence, sensuality, and language involving sexual references.

What is The Rock Cooking?: As Elliot Wilhelm, a gay bodyguard to Vince Vaughn, The Rock isn’t cooking up much. He isn’t a lead character, and is resigned to working in the background while John Travolta’s character, Chili Palmer, moves his focus from the movie industry to the music industry…bringing his unique East Coast mobster-esque vibe to the West Coast entertainment scene.

Top IMDB Search Terms: Sequel; Gay Interest; Acting Musician; Baseball Bat; Basketball

Random Trivia: The scenes at the NBA game with John Travolta and Uma Thurman were filmed at the Staples Center during a game between the Lakers and the Sacramento Kings on February 26, 2004. Although the film depicts the Lakers winning the game, they lost 101-103.

And I Quote: Chili Palmer: “I hate sequels.”

Curt’s Take: Not a Priority – It’s been many years since I’ve seen Get Shorty, but I remember liking it…kind of a “fish out of water” tale about the movie industry. Here, we focus more on the music industry…and it just didn’t seem to translate as well. There were a few chuckleworthy moments, but nothing that made it worth strongly recommending. I have to admit, The Rock jumped wholeheartedly into his role as a gay bodyguard.

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Walking Tall (2004)

The Basics: An action/comedy (based loosely on real events), starring The Rock, Johnny Knoxville, Neal McDonough and Kristen Wilson; Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense violence, sexual content, drug material and language.

What is The Rock Cooking?: Here, The Rock is cooking up a big ol’ tub of whoop-ass. Fresh out of the Army, he comes back to the town he grew up in…only to find that the big name in local business isn’t quite working within the bounds of the law (not that the law really cares that much). Much ass-kicking ensues.

Top IMDB Search Terms: Football; Old Flame; Court Scene; Gun; Broken Leg

Random Trivia: Dwayne Johnson's stunt double in this movie was his cousin, Tanoai Reed.

And I Quote: Jay Hamilton: “Do you get tired of being all that you can be?” Chris Vaughn: “No, I'm still all that I can be.” Jay Hamilton: “Oh yeah? We'll just see about that...”

Curt’s Take: Worth Considering –Truth be told, I only added this one because I needed a fourth movie starring The Rock…and it sure as hell wasn’t going to be that one where he plays a football player who discovers he has a daughter from a previous relationship and has to welcome her into his life (The Game Plan?). And I was pleasantly surprised. Very much so. It’s a decent action movie, and a pretty good “fighting the power/cheer for the underdog” flick. Sure, there are better movies out there…but I kinda liked it.

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Southland Tales (2006)

The Basics: A drama/comedy/sci-fi film starring a bunch of people: Dwayne Johnson, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Seann William Scott, Justin Timberlake, Nora Dunn, John Larroquette, Jon Lovitz, Mandy Moore, Kevin Smith, Cheri Oteri and Amy Poehler; Rated R for language, violence, sexual material and some drug content.

What is The Rock Cooking?: Here, The Rock is cooking up trouble as a former soldier…but more as a witless pawn than anything else. It’s a post-apocalyptic Los Angeles, and The Rock (as Boxer Santaros) is waking up in the sand, with a pretty bad case of amnesia. Sure, he was engaged to the president’s daughter…but he can’t quite remember that. And so, he ends up part of a massive conspiratorial plot…that’s way too convoluted for me to explain here.

Top IMDB Search Terms: Soldier; Blackmail; Dream Sequence; Alternative Timeline; Allegory

Random Trivia: This was the first film for Dwayne Johnson to drop "The Rock" in his billing.

And I Quote: Boxer Santaros: “I'm a pimp... and pimps don't commit suicide.”

Curt’s Take: Worth Considering – I think I drank the Kool-Aid on this one. After I first got done watching it, I was like, “Wha…?” But then I parts of it sink in…and found out that it was written and directed by Richard Kelly, who also was behind one of my favorite movies, Donnie Darko. Maybe it was just me rationalizing things after the fact, but I started getting more intrigued by what I saw. So, some advance warning: 1) It’s a bit surreal and all over the place and 2) it’s a bit long, so go into it well-rested. Still…it’s pretty damn unique AND it takes place right in my own neck of the woods (with many scenes set in the South Bay and Venice Beach). I plan to see it again.

Take 4 TV: Two from Cable

It’s been a while, so I’ll just take the official stance that Take 4 Reviews was on hiatus for the month of September. But now that it’s Clarktober (oh, you heard me right, folks), I felt I should get back on track, starting with a review of the first season of two TV series, one from Showtime and one from HBO.

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Weeds: Season One (2005)

The Basics: A comedy/drama on Showtime, currently in its fourth season. It stars Mary-Louise Parker, Elizabeth Perkins, and Kevin Nealon.

The Premise: In order to continue to give her family the life to which they’ve grown accustomed, a widow takes on the mantle of “provider of herbal remedies” to the local community, while dealing with the school issues of her two sons, a slacker brother-in-law who would just as soon smoke all their profits, and all the other ins and outs of supply and demand in suburban California.

Random Trivia: The name of Nancy and Andy's "fakery" is Breadsticks and Scones. The cap that bakery employees wear shortens the name of the bakery to "BS" as a joke.

And I Quote: Doug Wilson: “It's a weed wonderland, Nancy. It's like Amsterdam only you don't have to visit the Anne Frank house and pretend to be all sad and shit.”

Curt’s Take – Must See: All I know is that this show has a huge following at work…and I can see why: it’s funny, it’s well-written, and the characters are great. It focuses much less on the moral issues of whether marijuana is evil or benign, and looks more at the lengths to which a mother will go to provide for her family. It’s got language, sex, and plenty of drug references…but it’s all in good fun. If you don’t have much of a sense of humor and have a tough time looking at otherwise serious situations with a grin and smirk, this probably isn’t for you. Otherwise, you should really check this out.

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Entourage: Season One (2004)

The Basics: A comedy/drama on HBO, marching forward toward the start of its fifth season. It stars Kevin Connolly, Adrian Grenier, Kevin Dillon, Jerry Ferrara and Jeremy Piven.

The Premise: A young actor from New York lives in the Hollywood hills with a group of friends who act as his consultants, confidantes…and entourage. Together, they battle slimy agents, lousy scripts and other hazards native to the Hollywood scene.

Random Trivia: Kevin Connolly had actually retired from acting when show creators first approached about doing the show. It wasn't until he was informed the part of Eric had been written specifically for him that he decided to take part.

And I Quote: Ari Gold: “Let's hug it out, bitch.”

Curt’s Take – Must See: At first, I was hesitant about this. I really didn’t think I’d enjoy it…while I do enjoy some elements of the California lifestyle, I’m more attuned to the laid back South Bay beach scene, rather than the “east of the 405” Hollywood “scene to be seen” mentality. That having been said, I quickly found that the series doesn’t take itself all that seriously. It gently mocks the Hollywood vibe, presents some honest-to-goodness genuine moments, and presents a bunch of characters that are shades of truth that mirror parts of all of us. Check it out…it’s a fun time.