- From the hit-making producer Jerry Bruckheimer (Gone In 60 Seconds, Armageddon) comes Coyote Ugly, the intoxicating, sexy comedy starring an unbeatable cast of hot, new stars including Piper Perabo (Rocky And Bullwinkle) and Maria Bello (Payback). Moving to New York to pursue her dream of becoming a famous songwriter, Violet Sanford (Perabo) finds herself desperate and broke. Through a twist of fa
A driver-for-hire picks up a hitchhiker who is a vampire hunter.
Genre: Horror
Rating: R
Release Date: 31-AUG-2004
Media Type: DVDInviting comparison to Kathryn Bigelow's 1987 cult hit
Near Dark, and derivative of
The Hitcher and a half-dozen other films,
The Forsaken is nevertheless a gritty little B movie that succeeds on its own modest terms. There's nothing new here, and the film's vampire folklore is only marginally intriguing, but if! you're attracted to nihilistic tales that unfold in the middle of nowhere, you'll appreciate this bloody dose of low-budget horror. It all starts when Sean (Kerr Smith) agrees to drive a vintage Mercedes from Los Angeles to Florida, where he'll deliver the car and attend his sister's wedding. His troubles begin when he picks up Nick (Brendan Fehr), a nomadic "hunter" on the trail of a small cadre of vampires (a.k.a. "the Forsaken") who've been spreading their blood-sucking virus since medieval times. Nick's mission: Stop the virus by killing the vampires on sacred ground, using a rescued victim (Izabella Miko) as telepathic bait (telepathy being one of the movie's vampiric innovations).
It's basically a road movie with car chases, nudity, and plenty of grisly violence. It's not as stylish or witty as Near Dark, but after two decades in the B-movie biz, writer-director J.S. Cardone knows what he's doing, and while the movie's never really fresh, it's also never ! stupid. The young cast plays it straight (which is good), and ! Jonathan Schaech is a standout as the lead vampire. It's anybody's guess why the vampires manifest themselves as desert-dwelling punks in a rusty Dodge Charger, but hey, sometimes you just gotta go with the (blood) flow. --Jeff Shannon It sounds like a budding writer's dream: a bestselling first novel, a luxurious house in Malibu, and a trophy wife... But it all unravels when writer's block and a failed marriage send Richard McMurray (Campbell Scott, The Exorcism of Emily Rose) out into the streets. Unlikely salvation comes from a sexy pair of young writing students (Lizzy Caplan, Cloverfield and Izabella Miko, Coyote Ugly) willing and eager to share their small apartment with the down-and-out novelist. Head games, bedroom intrigues, and literary entanglements make for a page-turning tale you won't be able to put down.Welcome to the Blues and mystery of Dark Streets. Chaz Davenport (Gabriel Mann) is a dashing playboy who has it all: a hot nightclub, two glamorous singe! rs (Bijou Phillips, Izabella Miko) and the most seductive music ever created playing from his stage. But when he enlists help to look into the sinister circumstances surrounding his father's death, Davenport's life spirals out of control. Dark, sexy and sensuous, this music-driven journey smolders with a smoking hot score and a soundtrack that includes 9 original songs with vocal performances by Solomon Burke, Natalie Cole, Etta James, Dr. John, Aaron Neville, Bijou Phillips, Richie Sambora, Toledo and More!COYOTE UGLY - DVD MovieAs a producer, Jerry Bruckheimer makes movies for guys, mostly action films like Top Gun and Gone in 60 Seconds. The ones he makes that feature women, such as Flashdance and now Coyote Ugly, broaden their appeal with a fondness for "strong women." For Bruckheimer, that means self-determined, attractive women who don't need men to get what they want. Is there anything sexier than that? In Coyote Ugly, the charming! young waif Piper Perabo stars as Violet, a New Jersey waitres! s who mo ves to New York to make it big as a songwriter. She has absolutely no idea how the music business works, relying instead on her faith in her own abilities. In order to make ends meet, she gets a job in a bar called Coyote Ugly, where the bartenders are scantily clad women who dance on the bar and order around their mostly male clientele. Really, they are strippers who don't have to take off their clothes. In fact, the owner (Maria Bello) orders them to enact the first rule of strip clubs: "Appear available but never be available." Bruckheimer is smart enough to focus on the naive girl instead of the seamier side of the story, following her as she realizes her dream and picks up a disposable but nice man along the way. Further "empowering" the female figures in the film, Zoe (Tyra Banks), the bartender whom Violet is replacing, leaves in order to go to law school. See? They're as smart as they are sexy! Then there's John Goodman, who turns in an absolutely charming perform! ance as Violet's concerned father. This is a sweet and inoffensive film as long as you don't think too much about it. --Andy Spletzer
