A violent plague ravages the population, turning surviving victims into an ungodly new species. One man survives with the drive to push forward and fight for his dead species.

There are few similarities between the movie and the short story: a plague that wipes out humanity, one woman, and zombies. Beyond that, I am Legend varies a bit between the original short story, the first movie version with Bella Lugosi, and the second movie version Omega Man with Charlton Heston.

How could Will Smith top Charlton Heston’s or Bela Lugosi’s take? Obviously you do not recognize the power of Richard Matheson’s short story I am Legend.

Matheson was a gifted writer. He was a capable author able to create widely different stories and make the audience involved in them. Matheson’s book of short stories may rival Steven King’s short stories.

Will Smith proves to us he has come a long way from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. And thank God. While Smith has not moved much past rapper tuned actor; he tries. He can give us a character not much different than Independence Day.

Finding a fine balance between the original story told over and over again on screen and updating old storytelling is not easy. But I am Legend has a disturbing theme that rings true though the decades.

I am Legend stands alone from 28 Days Later and Dawn of the Dead. They have a common idea, but different views of a horrific fear of the future.

Sad to say the only releases worth mentioning are special releases you have probably already seen.

Dark City [Director’s Cut]
War Games [25th Anniversary Edition]

Step Brothers. Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly just might be magic on screen.

The X-Files: I Want to Believe. Even X-Philes want to believe this is the last chapter.

Any fan of parodies may feel draw to Meet The Spartans like a moth to a flame. If you take comfort in the Scary Movie series, Date Movie, and Epic Movie, Meet the Spartans may just be for you. But remember what happens to moths that fly into bug zappers.

Meet The Spartans makes you laugh at the recent action adventure movies to date. Assuming you shelled out the money to watch all those movies and are current with pop culture, you probably will not miss one joke in the movie. Meet The Spartans makes fun of all those movies and itself at the same time.

Do not expect Meet the Spartans to wow you with high-brow humor. It is what I call a good stupid movie. It will never win any awards, but is something stupid to watch that may make you laugh a couple times. Do not expect the trailblazing comedy Airplane offered decades ago.

Meet The Spartans will only be enjoyable a few years from now due to its movie and pop culture references. And that is ok. The movie does not promise more than it offers.

Consider Meet The Spartans the junk food of a well-balanced diet. It is alright to indulge every now and then, but know it should not take more than 90% of your daily intake.

Happy Viewing.

You may not know her from How to Lose Friends and Alienate People, The Last King of Scotland, The House of Mirth, Closure, The Mighty, or even Hell Cab. But you do know her as Special Agent Dana Scully from the X-Files.

Gillian Anderson earned her breakthrough role as the badge toting medical doctor hunting aliens with the lead of her FBI partner. The series survived ten seasons, a movie, and a sequel. The television series could easily stamp Anderson with the typecast like her male co-star, if not for her unfailing dedication.

Anderson continued to practice her craft with small parts while her small screen persona raked in the money. In retrospect, it seems as if Anderson stumbled onto a goldmine while her real dream was to strive as an actress. Or perhaps Anderson was smart enough to pick her roles so completely different than her popular television role in order to keep out of the pigeon hole audiences and directors love to use.

Anderson threw herself into dingy roles with The Mighty and Hell Cab to show she could offer more. She refused to be typecasted. She pushed herself in drastically different roles audiences are not used to seeing her.

In closure, she really stretched herself. Anderson’s performance turn any person’s head. You watch her character work through a 180 degree turn. In the end, her performance make you want to spend and hour in the shower scrubbing yourself clean. She made you believe every moment you watch.

Her versatility shined through with her different venue choices and her master of accents. Anderson did not limit herself to work in movies and television. She has given an award winning performance in Micheal Weller’s What The Night is For in London. Anderson doned her childhood English accent for roles in Closure and The Last King of Scotland.

She did it with pride and with no concern for the paycheck. Gillian Anderson is a great actress and is proof to what all one-dimensional actors and actresses should strive for.

Check the Globsnob review, decide if it is for you.

21

Another Friday, another sequel.

The Dark Knight

[Is it bad to want to watch dead people on screen?]

Bank Job
Because you loved The Transporter and Snatch

You have probably seen him in more than one movie. Paying his dues in small parts. Playing his roles so tactfully, you may gloss over him. He patiently stalks the perimeter of the big name performers he sometimes works with. I am looking forward to the time when he will finally strike with a lead role and claim the star status he deserves.

In 30 Days of Night, he was the stranger who helped the vampires attack the town. In X-men: The Last Stand, he was the winged mutant. In 3:10 to Yuma, he was the loyal gunman who fought to save his outlaw friend. His performance was real and drew you into the story.

In Alpha Dog, he was the crazy thug whose debt to the wrong drug dealer made him lose his brother in a kidnapping gone wrong. His performance was scary, but you could not look away.
In Big Trouble, he was Tim Allen’s sarcastic son. His performance was believable as he appeared casual.

Foster has come a long way since his debut on Flash Forward, the television series short lived fame lived on as reruns on the Disney Channel. Foster has the talent to keep the audiences’ attention as the lead in any movie. With luck, he will find the right project that can show off his talent and catapult his career to where it deserves to be.

If you liked the first one, go a head and try the sequel. If nothing else, is should be visually amazing.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army