Shannyn Sossamon

40 Days and 40 Nights
$7.99
Josh Hartnett plays the male lead Matt, in this "movie". Hartnett's other roles are quite variegated and some of his greatest roles are in Lucky Number Slevin, Sin City, Black Hawk Down and The Virgin Suicides. The female lead in this movie is Erica, played by Shannyn Sossaman, most noted for "A Knight's Tale", but has also been seen in One Missed Call and Rules of Attraction. Josh Hartnett's character makes a para-religious vow to abstain for 40 days and 40 nights from all sexual activity to get his ex-girlfriend Nicole out of his system. He, of course, meets Erica in the middle of his vow and has real trouble keeping his vow as they fall for each other.

There is little good to be said about this movie. It does have a few larfs, it has a couple of jerky, gratuitous shots of naked breasts. Its soundtrack is modern and kinda catchy. Overall, how this got a R rating, I'll never know. This is strictly PG13 fare.

This movie is disguised appeal to abstinence and prudery. It has some objectionable material. An anti-arabic phrase is used, a the female lead has a stupid conversation with her roommate "He's treating me with consideration, like an equal." "Kinda sucks, doesn't it?" "Yeah, it sucks." WTF? I'm not uber-feminist, but the entire movie seemed to be a religious, pro-abstinence, idiotic farce. It had some thinly veiled misogynistic messages, although they were against society's grain of misogyny. It's humor was strained and threadbare. It lacked any real insight into people or relationships. It had a catholic priest making out with a nun. What purpose did that scene really serve? This movie presupposes that everyone is an idiot. I really am left without much comprehensible to say. A big disappointment for the careers of Hartnett and Sossaman.

Pointless.
Absurd.
Borderline Offensive.
Juvenile.

That about sums it up.

In related news, Maggie Gyllenhaal, an excellent actress, played a lackluster supporting role in this movie. She shined as best as she could, but got mired in the absurd script.

I had this DVD sitting around and felt recently encouraged due to the enormous success with "chick movies" I felt with "He's just not that into you". Which is an actual movie, not a piece of crap hiding in a genre. This movie's a big pass. If you need something kinda thin to prop up that wobbly table leg, this DVD might be perfect.

Life Is Hot in Cracktown (unedited version)
$26.97
I got this movie a few months ago as part of the Vine Program. I tried on several occasions to watch it but could never find a reason to watch it more than a few minutes at a time. I finally just gutted it out and forced myself to wait it out until the end. I think I managed to finish it on my sixth try.

This is easily one of the least pleasant movies that I have ever seen. It starts with the characters. The film is essentially an anthology show, telling the story of a number of characters in an area of a city that has been destroyed by drug culture. OK, this is all well and good, but regardless of intent, a film is only as good as its characters. I can honestly say that there was not a single character that I cared about even in the least. I can honestly say that there was not a single minute of the film that I cared for in the least. The film is an unremitting exploration of the inconceivably bleak existence of a string of completely unlikeable characters. The film has no redeeming qualities. The writing is wretched, the acting adequate but unable rise above the horrid material, and the narrative bleak without redemptive features.

Not many movies have left me feeling as bored and soiled as this one. Honestly, if I had not felt obligated by getting it through the Vine Program, I would not have finished it or reviewed it.

The Order
$2.99
Rating is what I care about the seller.
Fast shipping, item received in good condition.
I was very satisfied.

Korn - Deuce
$11.98
If you want a really good KoRn DVD, then this is the one to get. It's got behind the scenes videos, bloopers, interviews, the Documentary Who Then Now and music videos up to Somebody Someone. A lot this stuff is really funny, and I love Fieldy's version of B.B.K. The menu is a little confusing, but after watching the entire thing, I pretty much remembered where certain things are. I agree that it is kind of a hassle to get to certain things on the DVD because of the whole Asylum thing when you walk down hallways and stuff like that. It would be nice to be able to just get to the videos without having to put in codes and all of that other stuff, but it is still a cool thing to see. It's also kind of a pioneer (could be wrong) in its own way since I don't remember a DVD before this one that had that kind of menu. The bonus disc of the Nightmare on Elm Street movie collection is kind of like this, where you have to explore different rooms to find hidden videos. Overall, a really good DVD! It is like the updated/deluxe edition of Who Then Now. I hope they put out another eventually so I can have more of their videos that came after this.