<<BACK | NEXT >>

Unleashed [Danny the Dog] (2005) --> One of the better English-speaking Jet Li movies, Unleashed has Li trying to find his humanity after being trained as a slave enforcer/bodyguard for a crime boss Bart (Bob Hoskins). When Li leaves the scene of a car accident (thinking his owner has died as a result) he is befriended by a blind piano tuner (Morgan Freeman). When Bart finds Li (Danny), Li must fight against a return to his former life. The story, written by Luc Besson (one of France's best action directors), is superior to all former Li movies made for the North American market. The film is exciting for its action scenes, and emotional for its dramatic touches. More than just a martial arts slug-fest, Unleashed is both touching and thrilling.


Full Spectrum Staff

Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price (2005) --> Before you start watch this documentary, indicated by the title of the film, you understand that it is a slash job on the largest retail chain store in the world. If you were looking for any balanced coverage on the company, you wouldn't have any interest in this Robert Greenwald directed attack. The bias is upfront blaming Wal-Mart for impoverishing workers, closing small businesses, using sweatshops, and even rape and murder. Is Wal-Mart as bad as this film would indicate? Probably not. But it was a fun watch! Everyone who believes large American corporations are the bane of modern existence must salute this movie, it did a great job demonizing the chain store. But some of the evidence shown makes you wonder whether Greenwald has lost his mind.


Full Spectrum Staff

Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle (2004) --> Road trip movies are usually entertaining, and this Danny Leiner (Dude, Where's My Car? (2000)) directed comedy is no exception. Although most of the plot twists are predictable (you know they will be sidetracked by weird characters and chicks showing of their breasts), Leiner keeps it interesting enough to keep watching. What is exceptionable about this film is the lead characters Korean-American Harold (John Cho) and Indian-American Kumar (Kal Penn). They speak with American accents, they were born in the U.S., they wear the same clothes, act in a similar fashion (including smoking pot), yet they are still harassed. This movie has all the funny scenes you would come to expect from a comedy of this type, but it adds the element of two young men of immigrant stock who decide to drop the self-loathing and stand up for themselves. It is refreshing.


Full Spectrum Staff

Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005) --> One of the smartest documentaries on business affairs in a very long time, Enron. shows the history of the company from start to finish with an emphasis on answering the question: why did it collapse? Unlike inflammatory documentaries that have an agenda to promote (these do have their rightful place in film though), Alex Gibney (the director) stands back and allows those involved (and business critics looking in) to tell the story themselves. And that story is both gripping and tragic. Everyone knows the lengths that businessmen will take to earn money, but modern corporate America, if Enron is a typical example, makes you wonder whether they have any knowledge of ethics and accountability. One big question was: how did they convince anyone with a brain and a college level accounting course to allow them to use "mark to market" accounting?


Full Spectrum Staff

• First
• 30
• 29
• 28
• 27
• 26
• 25
• 24
• 23
• 22
• 21
• Last

Complete List of Short Movie Reviews