American Gangster

Starring: Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, & Lymari Nadal

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

I'm not particularly fond of Russell Crowe, but when he came together with Ridley Scott, some terrific movies got made. Throw Denzel Washington into the mix and you have the makings of an epic drama. American Gangster was beloved by critics and the academy alike, but it also received negative reviews from the people the story was based on, who claimed it was ninety percent fiction. The film takes almost 3 hours to tell us the story of Frank Lucas, a man who was mentored by the great Bumpy Johnson, and ran Harlem, along with much of the heroin on the east coast from 1969 to 1977. In passed years, even prior to this film, Frank Lucas has been immortalized as some kind of hero. Many believe that he kept the people of Harlem out of poverty and ultimately did the right thing, once his conscience caught up with him. The film American Gangster seems to agree with this take on the story and portray Lucas as a man larger than life, who you want to like, despite his criminal activity. The truth is that Lucas was no hero, as for a decade he ran a crew as large as any organized crime family, and he was responsible for the deaths of thousands of people who overdosed on his junk. When Lucas turned states evidence, leading to the arrest of 150 people, most of whom were corrupt officials in New York City, it had nothing to do with his conscience, he just wanted to stay out of jail. That's not how it portrayed and was the only thing that really kept this film from getting a five star rating. American Gangster is shot much in the same style as Heat, with a large cast and fasting moving scenes. Denzel Washington is always good, but when he's playing someone from his own community he really steps it up to a whole other level. Washington absolutely should have received an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Lucas. Regardless of how true the story may have been, Washington was just amazing. Denzel is paired with Russell Crowe, who portrays the man who is chasing him, a very deep and interesting man that seemed to fit Crowe's personality to a tee. American Gangster is a long, fast moving story, that may not be all that accurate, but you will be hard pressed to find a better cast then the one they had and for that, American Gangster is labeled as a must see movie.

The Craigslist Killer

Starring: Jake McDorman & Agnes Bruckner

Rating: 2 1/2 out of 5 stars

This is not a story that deserves a film adaptation, however the Lifetime network felt differently and produced a movie based on this very benign story, that captivated the nation. For those who are unaware, this is a true story that happened in Boston, five years ago. A Boston medical student, on the verge of getting married, spends his nights cruising Craigslist's exotic services page, in order to find woman he can humiliate, but the story takes a tragic turn when he accidentally kills one of them. The story made national headlines and people became obsessed with why such a smart, successful man, would do these terrible things. Usually, films that are based on real life events are the most compelling, but the Craigslist Killer is different, for the fact that he wasn't active for very long. Much of this movie is focused on the killer's normal life and relationship with his fiancee. It's a lot of romantic garbage and stuff about their relationship and in fact we don't see his dark side revealed until much later in the movie. There wasn't even an interesting police angle or manhunt for this guy, as the police simply traced his IP address and got his picture from security cameras. The acting was the only thing I enjoyed about this film as Jake McDorman is fantastic playing a man with two personas. His fiancee is played by the beautiful, Agnes Bruckner, who was also very good, if not a bit naive and obsessive. The true story may have captivated the nation, but the film about the Craigslist Killer has no bite and was just plain boring.

Oxygen

Starring: Maura Tierney & Adrien Brody

Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars

I'm often asked why I waste my time watching independant films. It's true, that many of them are a complete waste of time, but what I really enjoy about them is that it gives people the freedom to do what they want, without Hollywood turning it into something it's not, and occasionally, I find a movie like Oxygen. This film was just your ordinary story of the police fighting against the clock and an insane criminal, who gets off on fucking with them. It had a few twists here and there, but in general it was a very basic story, however what I did focus my attention on was the cast. Being that it's an independent film, two performers who I really enjoy watching, got to step away from their usual roles and try something different. Maura Tierney is usually cast as the emotionless girl with a troubled past, but in Oxygen, she's this crazy, self-loathing, tough as nails cop, who wears her emotions on her sleeve. She's opposed by Adrien Brody who usually plays the sweet, good-looking, exotic stranger, but not this time. In this film, Brody is a deranged psychopath who will do anything and everything to get what he wants. The dynamic and chemistry were both fantastic and I loved seeing two actors, that I know very well, step away from their usual roles and work on something different. If I hadn't seen both stars in a ton of things prior to this, I may not have been as entertained by this film, as the story is common, and very little is unpredictable, however the performances were tremendous and Tiereny and Brody compliment each other perfectly.

28 Weeks Later

Starring: Robert Carlyle, Rose Byrne, & Mackintosh Muggleton

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

In 2002, Director, Danny Boyle re-invented the zombie movie with his groundbreaking film 28 Days Later. Many credit Boyle with the current zombie craze we enjoy eleven years later. What made that film so enjoyable was that at the time it was a story we hadn't seen in a long time and it was shot in a way that made it look like a much older film than it was. Five years later the studio wanted a sequel and Boyle wanted no part of it, knowing that it would never live up to the original and indeed it does not. 28 Weeks Later is a continuation of the story, which claims that all the infected had starved to death and that England is free of infection once again. People start moving back in to areas of the country that have been fixed up for them and which are protected by the U.S. Government. We are then introduced to a family which has been reunited. The film starts out with a tremendous action scene that was the only part of the film I enjoyed and the only part that is reminiscent of the first film. The terrific opening is followed by a long, sappy, family reunion and then by a sick person being found. From that point, literally within ten minutes hundreds of people are infected and the army is shooting everything in sight. How could zombies have starved in the first place, but more importantly how can so many people change, just like that, within ten minutes? It didn't make any sense at all, to make things worse, all dialogue and storyline ends at that point and the movie turns into one big gory chase scene without any substance whatsoever. As for the cast of this film, they did nothing to help the story. In the first film, Cillian Murphy was amazing and carried us through the low points, but here it's a cast of newcomers and unsuccessful character actors, who quickly bring the story to a halt. I was looking forward to seeing this film, but not only doesn't it compare to the first film, but it doesn't even live up to the broad genre it is exposing us to. The cast was sloppy, the direction was confusing, and worst of all it just doesn't make any fucking sense! 28 Days Later was groundbreaking, but it's sequel is nothing more than an over-hyped movie that never should have been made.

R.I.P. James Gandolfini

The Avengers (2012)

Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, & Mark Ruffalo

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

In the decade it's taken to bring everything together, we've continually been promised that the Avengers would be the superhero movie to change all superhero movies and it's a damn good thing, because I really hate superhero movies. Three things made this film standout and shine over the many, many superhero films that have been released. The most obvious thing is the huge, superstar, cast. Not only is it incredibly difficult to bring a cast like this together, but to get them to work together, without getting in each others way must have been nearly impossible. Second, even though the film involves superheroes and outer space, it seems somewhat realistic to us. These heroes have families, personalities, feelings, people get hurt, and some people even die, letting us see the human side of these characters. Finally, the Direction of Joss Whedon brings it all together. Whedon has always had this unique ability to put his own style on spin on things, at first it seems strange, but ultimately we come to love it. He is such an underrated Director, who brings so much to everything he's a part of, and it's great to see him get to do a huge project like this. The Avengers was special, not only because it took a decade to make, but because if you saw all the individual movies first, like I did, you feel a connection to these guys, it's almost like you know them personally and you expect them to act in certain ways when they all come together. The individual films really built up the excitement and helped the Avengers to become a billion dollar earner at the box office. From the performances to the special effects this was once exciting, terrific movie, and may be as close to perfect as a superhero movie will ever get.

The Untouchables (1987)

Starring: Kevin Costner, Robert De Niro, & Sean Connery

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

As a reviewer, it's always difficult for me to review a film I've seen dozens of times. What can I say about the Untouchables, that the Academy didn't already say, when it awarded the film four Oscars? For those who've never seen it, the Untouchables is the story of Elliot Ness and his group of renegade cops that eventually brought down the legendary Al Capone. This is not like any other gangster film you may have seen, because it's from the cops point of view and shows the criminal enterprise from the outside. The film was directed by Brian De Palma who has the distinction of being known as the man of mystery. De Plama has brought us some of the best written, most compelling, edge of your seat mystery films of all time. The Untouchables wasn't a mystery, but De Palma does present everything in a very specific way, paying careful attention to detail. It's this attention to detail that makes his films stand out and really grab your attention. Some of the scenes in this film are truly legendary and have been parodied and recreated in a number of films. Who will ever forget that amazing, slow motion, train station scene, with the baby carriage falling down the stairs amongst a hail of bullets? Ness is played by Kevin Costner who reminds me every time I see this film of just what a terrific actor he can be. In his old age he does mostly love stories and PG comedies, most of which are beyond awful. I really can't understand how a person with this kind of talent doesn't take more high profile roles. Capone is played by Robert De Niro and if you've never seen him as a bad guy, you don't know what you're missing. The chemistry between the two is terrific and it's a shame they didn't have more scenes together. This amazing cast is rounded out by Sean Connery, who won the Oscar for his role. The veteran cop played by Connery really gives Ness the courage to do the things he did and it wouldn't be the same without him. This film is legendary, it's on many peoples top 100 lists and rightfully so. You just don't see these kinds of performances or attention to detail in blockbuster films anymore.

Minority Report

Starring: Tom Cruise, Colin Farrell, & Samantha Morton

Rating: 4 out of 5

Most people don't recognize the name Phillip K. Dick and when you read his name, you probably just snickered. He might not have had an easy childhood with a name like that and you may not recognize his name, but he is to Science Fiction what Stephen King is to Horror. The films Blade Runner, Total Recall, Screamers, Paycheck, A Scanner Darkly, Next, & The Adjustment Bureau were all based on stories or books that he wrote. Minority Report is yet another of his stories developed for the big screen and one of the most popular. This ingenious film was Directed by Stephen Spielberg and starred Tom Cruise. I am by no means a fan of Tom Cruise, in fact, I've made it a point over the last few years to avoid seeing anything he is in, but this was one film I couldn't miss. To his credit Cruise was very good and exciting throughout, showing a lot of charisma, it was unexpected, but a welcome change from what we normally see from him. This terrific futuristic tale tells the story of pre-crime, a system in which high functioning autistics can predict murders with a very narrow margin of error. John Anderton (Tom Cruise) is the lead investigator, whose job it is to stop these crimes before they happen. Things are going well for him, that is until his name comes out of the machine and he becomes a target of his own men. The story was deep, yet somewhat complicated, as I was confused at several points in the movie, but that's how you know it's good Science Fiction. The action and chase sequences were fantastic, as was the direction and special effects. The story does however leave some lose ends and I found the precogs to be more than somewhat creepy. It almost seemed like these disabled people were being abused for their unique abilities and not a single character in the film had any issues with that. Minority Report is a long, complex story, but it's fast paced, visually impactful, and will make you think. It only took thirty years, but you can finally add a Tom Cruise film to the list of movies I enjoyed.

Everwood

Starring: Treat Williams, Gregory Smith, Emily Van Camp, Debra Mooney, John Beasley, Vivien Cardone, Chris Pratt, Tom Amandes, Stephanie Niznik, & Merrilyn Gann

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

A few years ago, I was watching a very forgettable movie on cable, so forgettable in fact, that I can't even remember the name of it. This film did however have a tremendous teen actor, who I took note of, because of the charisma and intensity that he brought to his role. I thought this kid could one day be a big star and took note of his name, Gregory Smith. Since then I have become a huge Gregory Smith fan, seeing most of his films and now his TV show, Everwood. The story of Everwood begins when world famous neurosurgeon, Dr. Andrew Brown (Treat Williams), loses his wife in a car accident. Distraught, Brown decides to leave his prestigious job and move his family from New York City to the small town of Everwood, Colorado, where he opens up a free medical clinic. Brown was a brilliant surgeon, but really doesn't have a clue about how to be a father. His children, in particular his son Ephram (Gregory Smith), does not make the transition easy on him. To be honest, this isn't the kind of show that I usually go for and I was only planning on watching a couple of episodes. A couple of episodes quickly turned into much more as this infectious group of people really drew me into their lives and touched me in a way that a TV show never has. Part of me could really relate to their personal struggles and attempts at overcoming the adversity they faced, if nothing else, It was empowering and inspirational. Veteran actor, Treat Williams, leads a truly terrific cast, playing the man whose turned his life upside down in order to get closer to his children. Dr. Brown is supposed to be the one who has all the answers, at the hospital, that may be true, but at home, it's a big learning curve for him. The dynamic between this quirky celebrity doctor and his introverted, yet artistic outcast son, is really the heart of this show. Gregory Smith is off the charts good as young Ephram Brown, who possesses many of the same qualities as his father. Those qualities are usually at odds with the qualities of his mother, causing him to be a bit impulsive and quick to speak his mind. Ephram quickly falls for the most popular girl in school, Amy Abbott (Emily Van Camp), who is the daughter of Everwood's first family. Amy clearly has feeling for Ephram, but a shocking secret that keeps her from getting close to him. Van Camp, now the star of ABC's Revenge, is asked to wear many hats, sometimes she's sweet and innocent, while at other times she's immature and irritating. but no matter the mood, she's always at the top of her game, really letting you feel, what Amy is feeling. Amy's father is Dr. Harold Abbott (Tom Amandes) who was the only doctor in Everwood, until Dr. Brown showed up. Abbott is arrogant, egocentric, and absolutely hysterical. Amandes brings some much needed comic relief to the show and his interactions with the other members of the cast are priceless. If it wasn't for Everwood being a WB show, Tom Amandes would have several Emmy Awards by now, because he really is that good. Everwood is a family drama that is at times hard to watch, because you will be deeply affected by these characters and at some point will be able to personally relate to what their going through. It pulls at the heart strings, that's for sure, but seeing that adversities faced by these characters and how they were able to over come them is really an inspiration. I said earlier that this is the kind of show that I don't usually watch, but it should be for the way it made me think and the way it made me feel.

Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil

Starring: Hayden Panettiere, Patrick Warburton, & Glenn Close

Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars

As adults, we loath kids movies. Sure, some people get into the Disney stuff, but for the most part, adults despise films that are made for kids and I am no exception. It takes a really good story and some clever writing for a PG film to appeal to adults as much as it does to kids, and it's virtually impossible to do this while still keeping the PG rating intact, but somehow the writers of Hoodwinked have accomplished this twice! The story really isn't important, it's geared toward kids and is very simple and predictable. What's not easy is keeping the adults awake, while the kids have the time of their lives. The writers accomplished this by throwing in parodies of classic adult films. Hoodwinked Too! has references to Goodfella, Die Hard, Silence of The Lambs, and a half a dozen other classic films, and it was those scenes that were the most fun. Also interesting to note, the voice of the wolf was done by Patrick Warburton, who does the voice of Joe Swanson on Family Guy, and it was really difficult for me to see the wolf as a totally different character. Hoodwinked and now it's sequel are nothing like Toy Story and aren't going to blow anyone away, but they are pretty good and while the kids are watching it, you'll find yourself getting in a few laughs as well. Hoodwinked Too! is a terrific family film with something for the whole family and is really the definition of what a family film should be.

The Shrine

Starring: Aaron Ashmore, Cindy Sampson, & Meghan Heffern

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

We see it over and over again with Horror, a film with a decent storyline, starts out great, and quickly descends into a pointless mess of blood and guts. The Shrine was a film I really wanted to like. I was intrigued by the Netflix description, and had they stuck with that story, maybe this one would have been a winner, unfortunately they didn't. The Shrine starts out by telling us of a student backpacking through Europe, who goes missing in the small town of Alvania, Poland. Some reporters from his hometown get a whiff of the story and start poking around, only to find out that no one in the town is particularly interested in trying to find this kid, that's when the reports decide the only thing they can do is go there and look for him themselves. With films like Saw and The Offspring, the gore was absolutely necessary and added to the story, in The Shrine, it takes away from what was already a pretty good story. The small town was creepy and the story really played to peoples fear of disappearing without a trace, while on vacation. The film may have been a little bit slow moving, but it was very intense and interesting until the last forty-five minutes. That's when it goes demonic and becomes nothing but one bloody body after another. For me, films like the Shrine are the most disappointing of all, because the writers didn't believe in their story and ultimately destroy it in order to get more viewers. The demonic slaughterhouse may have appealed to a larger audience, but it certainly didn't make this a better film.

Assassination of a High School President

Starring: Reece Thompson, Mischa Barton, & Bruce Willis 

Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars

Assassination of a High School President is an ambitious independent film that tells a terrific story. It is also Directed by a first timer, who really wasn't sure what direction the film should take. Touching on many genres, it manages to succeed adequately at all of them, but gives us little more than the great story it started out with. Bobby Funke (Reece Thompson) is the male answer to Veronica Mars, but he's not a detective, he works for the paper, or at least he wants to. Out of nowhere the biggest story in school history manages to fall into his lap and the introverted Funke, quickly gains popularity in revealing who stole the S.A.T.'s. Funke soon comes to question his initial accusation and digs deeper to uncover a conspiracy that could rock his small Catholic school to it's core. I'd never seen Reece Thompson in anything before, but he does a tremendous job at playing up all the right angles. From a bullied Sophomore to a school hero and even a man on a mission, Thompson cuts through it all with ease to give an amazing performance. He's paired with Mischa Barton, who is off the charts hot and tries to distract Bobby with everything he's wanted since the third grade. Bruce Willis adds to the already talented cast, by playing a hysterical principal who suffers from P.T.S.D., and runs his school like an army base. While the film isn't quite a comedy or a drama, it features a lot of both, while telling us a really well thought out story. The talented cast and the even more talented writers, more than make up for the Directors inexperience and really make this film a winner. Going into this movie, I had a feeling it was just going to be another awful High School comedy, but it really is so much more than that. The ending puts it all over the top and will just blow your mind. The Assassination of a High School President is very reminiscent of the show, Veronica Mars, except that it's a bit more edgy and maybe that's what it needed to survive. Bobby Funke lives the dream of every bullied student and teaches us something about the way teenagers think at the same time. It's an interesting film that certainly has it's ups and downs, but in the end, the good most certainly outweighs the bad.

The Campaign

Starring: Will Ferrell & Zach Galifianakis

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

I absolutely hate Will Ferrell, but I love Zach Galifianakis, even still, the Campaign is not usually the type of movie I would watch, so why did I? What put this film over the top and on to my radar, was it's Director, Jay Roach. He may not have name recognition, but when the man who Directed the Austin Powers and Meet The Parents trilogies releases a new comedy, I for one take notice. The Campaign is also different from most Ferrell movies, being that it has a storyline, and he is a co-star, lessening the chances of him running off on some insane hallucination. Ferrell plays four term Congressman, Cam Brady, a wildly popular brown nose, who is hated by the opposing party. He's about to get a fifth term, unopposed, when a group of millionaires decide to fiance a campaign against him, featuring the son of a legend in Washington. There's one problem though, this man's son, is a complete idiot. As the campaign rages it's the veteran politician against his haters money and both sides will go to any and all lengths to win. This movie was a million times better than I thought it would be and absolutely hysterical. The writers take the idea of a dirty campaign and bring it to the extreme, with some things that have to be seen to be believed. Zach Galifianakis doesn't disappoint, giving us perhaps his best character since Alan in the Hangover, and to give credit where credit is due, yes, Will Ferrell matched him line for line, in what was the only thing I've liked him in since Elf. The film is further supported by some comedic legends in bit parts, making it a terrific, well-rounded comedy, that uses multiple styles to achieve it's goal of having the audience in hysterics.

Kyle XY

Starring: Matt Dallas, Marguerite MacIntyre, Bruce Thomas, April Matson, Jean-Luc Bilodeau, Chris Olivero, Kirsten Prout, Nicholas Lea, & Chelan Simmons

Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars

Kyle XY was the first successful original show on ABC family. Featuring cute boys, which played right into their key demographic of teenage girls. Kyle woke up having no memory, like some big adorable baby. Not wanting the show to be some cutesy fucked up version of the Brady Bunch, the producers actually gave the show a complicated storyline, which made it much better, but also led to it's downfall. The series starts when Kyle wakes up naked in the woods outside of Seattle. He has no memory and doesn't know how to do anything. He's quickly put into a group home, as a John Doe, where he gains the attention and admiration of the local psychologist, Nicole Trager (Marguerite MacIntyre). Trager knows that Kyle will never survive in that environment and decides to foster him. Once at the Trager house, Kyle doesn't need to just learn the basics of survival, but also the social norms associated with being part of a family. The series starts out with Kyle as a clean slate, having to learn everything from eating to using the bathroom, and to me this was the worst part of the show. It did however give the stations key demographic exactly what it demanded and lead to these episodes being the networks highest rated to date. Wanting to show off Kyle's abilities and not wanting him to be some loveable moron, the writers shifted the focus to Kyle's extraordinary abilities and how he uses them to try and find out who he is and where he came from. That's the point where the show started to get interesting to me and of course the point where the ratings started to decline. Show some trendy teenage girls, a bunch of cute boys being adorable and you've got high ratings, but show those same boys as part of a global conspiracy, that makes you think, and those girls want nothing to do with it. Half way through the first season, Kyle XY went from a lame family show to a terrific science fiction drama. Matt Dallas stars as Kyle and he has a lot going for him. Dallas is good looking, athletic, and intelligent, unfortunately he's not a very good actor and many times seemed like some emotionless robot, who was reading lines from a cue card. Thankfully the family and friends surrounding him were far better actors than he was. The Trager family is a terrific mix of wit and emotion that is centered on Kyle, but doesn't focus solely on him. There is a terrific storyline featuring the daughter Lori's (April Matson) entrance into sexual activity with her boyfriend Declin (Chris Olivero), who may be the single most talented person on this cast. The brother Josh (Jean-Luc Bilodeau), gives much needed comic relief to the show, while teaching Kyle the things every teenaged boy needs to know. Kyle XY was a magically complex show that blended a great science fiction story with comedy and family drama, unfortunately it was on the wrong network. A show like this could have continued to grow and come out of nowhere to be a mix of the X-Files and 90210, that appealed to a huge audience, instead, it was geared toward teenage girls who just didn't want to think. The show was designed for a large audience on a network that has a very limited demographic. Ultimately the cute boys and the occasional comedy just wasn't enough to keep them interested and the show was canceled after 3 seasons. In my opinion this show was just starting to hit it's stride and should it have been on a network that appealed to a larger audience, it would probably still be on the air today.

The Numbers Station

Starring: John Cusack & Malin Akerman

Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars

John Cusack is a terrific actor and he proves it once again in The Numbers Station. Recently, Cusack has done a lot more direct-to-video stuff, deciding to be a big fish in a much smaller pond, and it has worked out very well. The Numbers Station is a secret CIA base in a secluded part of England, where encoded messages are sent to agents in the field. Emerson (John Cusack) was one of those agents, until his conscience caught up with him, and he is assigned to guard the station, a quiet, lonely job, until terrorists break in, and he is the last line of defense. A movie like this, with a small cast in a secluded location, only works if the stars of the film can keep you're attention and make the story believable, and both Cusack and Malin Akerman both do a terrific job of it. This movie is more about the intensity of the situation and the reaction of the people involved than it is about killing bad guys, and that is why Cusack was perfect choice for the lead in this film. Few actors bring the experience of intensity that John Cusack brings to a project. The story here, wasn't anything unique or extraordinary, but it was an action film from a more psychological point of few. Most action films are more about big explosions and special effects, the story is secondary, but in The Numbers Station, things are reversed and that's why I liked it so much. It's a fun film, that will keep you guessing, with a cast that will engage you the whole way. It may have been an independent direct-to-video film, but it has the bite of a much larger beast.

Flatliners

Starring: Kiefer Sutherland, Julia Roberts, & Kevin Bacon

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

By this point, Flatliners is known as a cult classic and one of the first major roles for Julia Roberts. There was little doubt that the performances in this film would be off the charts good, as for the film itself, not so much. Five Med. students, at the top of their class, decide to experiment with near death experiences to see if there really is an after live, and what they find, was not at all what they expected. The premise of this story is terrific and you couldn't have a better cast or Director, but for me, the film never really clicked. As with sports teams, just because you have the most talent, it doesn't necessarily mean that you're going to have any chemistry, that was part of the problem here. While all the cast members were terrific in their individual roles, they were so different, that when they got together it didn't really work out so well. As for the movie itself, it has a very unique plot, but the story doesn't do it justice. As a viewer, I was expecting a lot more to happen especially when they keep dialing up the drama. Elements of the story build and build, but ultimately fall flat. The premise was a good one and the performances were terrific, but the story of the flatliners falls well short of expectations. For all you die hard cult followers, don't worry you'll soon have something to complain about too, as a remake for the 25th anniversary of the films release is already in the works.