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Very Bad Things, a review by Jon

Very Bad Things
3 out of 5



(From October Marathon: Horror! on October 28th, 2008)

The Human Contract, a review by KinkyCyborg

The Human Contract



Title:The Human Contract
Year: 2008
Director: Jada Pinkett Smith
Rating: R
Length: 107 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.40:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, French: Dolby Digital: 5.1
Subtitles: English, French

Stars:
Jada Pinkett Smith
Jason Clarke
Paz Vega
Idris Elba
Steven Brand

Plot:
Corporate player Julian Wright (Jason Clarke) stands on the verge of the deal of his career. But his life just crossed paths with a woman (Paz Vega) who will turn his world upside down, triggering emotions Julian never knew he had. As he pursues her in a dangerous game of seduction, he is forced to confront his past. Ultimately, Julian must face the dark family secrets that continue to haunt him and his troubled sister (Jada Pinkett Smith). Jada Pinkett Smith makes her directorial debut with this sophisticated, stylish and suspenseful film.

Extras:
Scene Access
Audio Commentary
Feature Trailers
Featurettes


Directorial debut of Jada Pinkett Smith which was much better than I was expecting. The ending left a boatload of unanswered questions but it was compelling to watch throughout.  

An arrogant, hotshot corporate prick named Julian, played by an ugly Jason Clarke (he's the spitting image of Quentin Tarantino) after meeting up with a beautiful free spirit named Michael, played by Paz Vega, has his wall of defenses, born of a troubled childhood, slowly begin to disintegrate.

Very slow pace to this film but not in a bad way as the time is used to deftly develop the interesting characters. Some intensely erotic scenes make things interesting as well.

Jason Clarke, despite a face that only a mother could love, is a very intense, good young actor whom I'd like to see more from. Paz Vega is a gorgeous woman but it's unfortunate she has to speak. I've always found her rapid, clipped dialogue rather exasperating and difficult to understand at times although here she does manage to convey a lot of emotion.

Good supporting roles from Idris Elba, Jada Pinkett Smith and Ted Danson along with an excellent musical score make this a surprising good pick up of a movie that I knew little to nothing about. I'd recommend this for a watch.

KC



Rating:

(From KinkyCyborg's Random Reviews 2011 on June 10th, 2011)

Tom's Random Reviews, a review by Tom

Being Erica: Season One (2009/Canada) IMDb | Wikipedia Channel 4 DVD (United Kingdom) Director: Writing: Length: 551 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles: English

---

Stars:


Plot:Extras:

• Erica's Weblogs
• Scene Access

A very nice surprise. I really enjoyed this series. In my pilot review I said that the time-travel doesn't effect the present, because this is what I had read and the pilot didn't really suggest otherwise. But that is not the case. The changes that Erica does, can slightly effect the past and present, but usually lead to the same present.
Except in the season finale, where she did a change she wasn't allowed to which brought major consequences.

#	Episode	Rating
01	Dr. Tom
02	What I Am is What I Am
03	Plenty of Fish
04	The Secret of Now
05	Adultescence
06	Til Death
07	Such a Perfect Day
08	This Be the Verse
09	Everything She Wants
10	Mi Casa, Su Casa Loma
11	She's Lost Control
12	Erica the Vampire Slayer
13	Leo

(From Tom's Random Reviews on August 31st, 2011)