The Switch: The AMG Review

The Switch is a loose adaptation of a Jeffrey Eugenides story called “Baster,” published in The New Yorker in 1996, but where the short story dealt with an unattractive and insecure man completely in love with his beautiful career-oriented BFF, the bulk of the film takes place after the short story ends — post-insemination — and that’s where the movie goes from interesting premise to confused mess. The story centers on best friends Wally (Jason Bateman), a slightly neurotic man-child, and Kassie (Jennifer Aniston), a smart career-minded woman who decides it’s time to have a baby — even if it means doing it by herself. Kassie’s friends throw her a fertility party to celebrate the event, and with a little help from sperm donor Roland “the Viking” (Patrick Wilson), she’s ready to get pregnant. But, things get wacky when Wally accidentally spills the sample and does the only thing a drunk and desperate 40-year-old man would do — replace the sample with his own. The last-minute switch is unbeknownst to her, and isn’t discovered until seven years later, when Wally finally gets acquainted with Kassie’s quirky son, Sebastian (Thomas Robinson).

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Piranha 3D: The AMG Review

Piranha 3D posterGore gags run rampant in Piranha 3D, a cartoonish bloodbath where everything is an afterthought compared to the hilarious carnage. Director Alexandre Aja is no dummy. He’s a competent horror filmmaker whose attraction to cinematic violence (Haute Tension, The Hills Have Eyes remake) makes up for his few arguable missteps (Mirrors, the final “twist” of Haute Tension). Here he tries his hand at horror comedy — with a cast sporting enough comedic chops to pull it off. Given that, he seems more interested in blood-soaked lunacy than standard character- or performance-driven laughs. Thankfully for him, the bravura moments of splatter work exceptionally well when appreciated with a vulgar eye. Boobs, castration, face-ripping, slow-mo nude water ballets — it’s all here. If the 3D craze needed an exploitive entry, this is it.

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Movie Review: Solomon Kane

Solomon Kane, from the title alone, evokes the same mental image as “Alan Quatermain” or “Abraham Van Helsing” – either the movie will be about a swashbuckling hero or a sage protagonist with a wealth of knowledge used to help others.

But Solomon Kane is neither of these fictional characters. Based on the character created by pulp writer Robert E. Howard, Solomon Kane is a wandering puritan who lived in the 17th century and whose goal is to vanquish evil wherever he encounters it. The character appeared in many stories in Weird Tales, the seminal title that brought many high quality pulp horror stories.

I am not thoroughly familiar with Solomon Kane as a character so I’ll base this review solely on what I have seen in the movie and based on what I have just seen, Solomon Kane is a character that should really be given as much focus as the other comic book characters enjoying the adoration of the public.

Solomon Kane revisits the same familiar tropes of faith and repentance but given a deliberate Hollywood polish of expansive cinematography and special effects. Michael J. Bassett, who both wrote and directed the movie, tried to do his best to cram as much of Solomon Kane’s origins in order to give the audience a heftier idea of why he seeks redemption. As “origin” movies go, Bassett also had to contend with trying to cram in as much background story as he could without eating up too much of his available screen time. It’s a worthwhile effort and I feel that even though he has not fully achieved his goal, it was still a passable effort that gave us a good glimpse of Solomon Kane before he repented and began his quest for the deliverance of his soul.

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