ary

Albert Pyun is considered a B-movie respected author, and quite often some great names of Hollywood work in his projects. This happened in Crazy Six, when Pyun could count with the presence of Hollywood legend Burt Reynolds as a sheriff and in Postmortem starred by Charlie Sheen.In Ticker, Pyun reunited action star Steven Seagal and the always reliable Tom Sizemore and Dennis Hopper in a story of a mad terrorist plotting to blow up Chicago and an edgy cop who won't stop at nothing to catch the bomber, with the help of the chubby leader of the Bomb Squad (Steven Seagal). Unfortunately, bad script and an uninspired direction by Pyun turned Ticker into a complete mess.In what seems like a bid budget for a B Movie, Pyun didn't know how to take advantage of that, and the result is a slow-moving, sometimes boring, confusing action flick.

Director Renny Harlin reunite with movie star Sylvester Stallone for this year's blockbuster, Driven, an action-drama about the highly dangerous and thrilling lives of race drivers and the volatile world of automobilism, in which champs are made with the same ease they are destroyed. Driven (known previously as Champs) could have been a better movie, wasn't for its videoclip style (sometimes it's impossible to know what's happening on the screens, there are so many things going on, so many style and so many clever shots that you actually loose your interest for the story itself and watch Driven just for the exhilarating accidents – all well-done and incredible realistic) and some sleazy performances, with the exception of the always excellent Burt Reynolds, by far the best thing in Driven.He actually saved the film from being a complete mess.The story (full os cliches) tells the story of a young rookie driver who is having problems with all the fame and money that comes along the job, and the hard-nosed boss of the team (Burt) calls for the help of Joe Tanto (Stallone), a retired cart driver.It's the typical story of the old-timer who made a lot of mistakes in life and now wants to pass the experience he gained with the bad choices he made to this young troubled man who turns out to be a kid with great potential. Overall, it's ok if you don't expect a lot.

This is the tragic real story of Jackson Pollock, a brilliant but troubled painter who had problems with alcohol and never got recognized by the critics and public alike,at least not before his death.Pollock is Ed Harris' debut as a filmmaker and if his next projects equal the quality of this good biopic, he has a great future as director and not just as a (talented) actor.I really enjoyed this movie a lot, starting by the performances of the stellar cast.Harris is terrific as the troubled Jackson Pollock, he really gave his very best to create a sensational character,portraying Pollock with realism and heart.Harris also didn't vacillate in getting a lot of weight in order to show the last painful days of the painter with accuracy and courage.But in terms of outstanding performances, Ed is not alone:Marcia Gay Harden is good as Pollock's resigned wife,Jeffrey Tambor steals some scenes as Pollock's critic and friend,and even Val Kilmer does a good job with the limited screen time he has.But is Jennifer Connelly,as Pollock's beautiful and seductive mistress, who contributes more for the movie as a whole.Talented,charming and with a striking presence that resembles a young Elisabeth Taylor, I can't understand why Ed Harris didn't develop Jennifer's character a little bit more but nevertheless, Jennifer is always Jennifer:great and undeniable talented.The other high points of Pollock are the soundtrack (the melody that starts the film is simply thrilling), the nostalgic photography and of course, Ed's skills behind the cameras.Buy Pollock's DVD, you won't regret!