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Guest reviewer: The Super Mommy

Rentals:
Children of Men works as a good old-fashioned Sci-Fi thriller (think Blade Runner or Outland). But it's also very insightful social commentary as well. It's set in the very near future in a world we can actually see taking root around us right now. Mass infertility has struck every woman on the planet. No child has been born on Earth for more than 18 years. Stripped of the hope for the future that children personify, humanity has basically collapsed. Chaos reigns everywhere, except, it seems for Great Britain. The government has cracked down on all illegal aliens. Basically, anyone not born in Britain is considered a fugitive - "fugee" - and detained in Warsaw Ghetto-like camps. It's a crime to question the government and punishable by death to avoid fertility testing.
The story is also one of redemption. In his most layered performance to date, Clive Owen plays a washed up bureaucrat whose own child died long before the infertility epidemic. His character evolves from a man so deeply in the depths of despair that he cares for nothing, to a hero who sees and seizes upon hope for the future for himself and for all humanity. Michael Caine also turns in a scene-stealing performance as Owens' pot-cultivating, philosophy spouting friend. The ending is classically bitter-sweet. HIGHLY recommended.

The Marine: I don't remember seeing any trailers for this so I suspect it was direct to DVD. Probably because it's pretty low-budget. The movie stars a pro-wrestler whose name I've already forgotten. He plays a Marine who's forcibly discharged after he disobeys a direct order in favor of actually doing some good and saving some of his brothers in arms. He goes home to a dead-end security guard job and a drop-dead gorgeous wife who adores him. It's all downhill from there. The pair get mixed up with a crew of vicious, psychotic diamond thieves through a series of totally unbelievable circumstances. The movie has the marine hunting the baddies, who've kidnapped his wife, through some lovely South Carolina lowland swamp.
The guy from Terminator 2 plays the lead bad guy and he has some good moments, most notably when someone cracks that the marine is "like that dude from Terminator." Other than that, though, it's a mishmash of explosions, chase scenes and gruesome fights. Dishonorably discharge this dog from your DVD player.

In Theatres:
The Shooter was typical post-Marky Mark fare - lots of explosions, a few scantily clad buxom gals and Mark Wahlberg being his bad ass self. Not a whole lot of depth or thinking material here, even though the director seems to be trying to make a political statement. Ned Beatty delivers a chilling performance as Montana senator - a thinly-veiled Dick Cheney reference. On the other hand, though, there are lots of fun explosions, some interesting marksmanship and creative chase scenes. I think most guys will like it. Definitely DVD fare, though. Not worth the $9.50 for big screen consumption.

The Premonition was a predictable, been-there, done-that dog. Sandra Bullock plays a housewife whose husband is killed in a car accident on Thursday. She wakes up the next day and it's not Friday, but Tuesday, before he died. She begins living the last week of his life with the days in total disorder. The film revolves around her attempts to make sense of the situation and save his life. This movie isn't the first one to have its character living out of sync with the rest of the world in terms of time flow. Memento and The Jacket, however, did it much, much better. I'd recommend renting this on DVD, but only if both of those flicks were already out at the video store. And you didn't have any laundry to do.