President Barack Obama: The Man and His Journey
President Obama has held that office for just hours and the man’s profile in courage is already available for America to see in a documentary by Maria Arita Howard. The direct-to-DVD analysis of our new president includes the chronicle of the man’s rise to our nation’s highest office, plus, bonus features and, in the limited edition, a presidential trading card in “President Barack Obama: The Man and His Journey DVD.”
Laura's Review: DNS
DNS
Robin's Review: C+
From the very start, “Premium Rush” made me think of the 1986 “Quicksilver” starring Kevin Bacon but with almost non-stop chases through New York City. As such, there is not much of a story – Wilee picks up an envelop containing a ticket from Nima (Jamie Chung) to be delivered to an address in Chinatown. He is approached by a man claiming to be the college security chief (Michael Shannon) who demands that Wilee give him the envelop. He refuses and takes off on his delivery bike. The man (corrupt NYPD cop Robert Monday) chases him through the city with one harrowing near miss after another threatening Wilee’s life. I have liked Joseph Gordon-Levitt ever since TV’s “Third Rock” and he is likable as Wilee, if under drawn and two-dimensional, a problem with all of the characters in “Premium Rush.” Michael Shannon’s corrupt cop with an uber-gambling habit, hence the reason he is after Wilee. His character, Monday, is nearly comical when he should be sinister. Techs, especially for the fast-paced chase, are pretty slick and hold your eye. After a while though, it all gets repetitive. The movie begins with the image of Wilee flying through the air to an abrupt landing. This begins a series of flashbacks that are intended to build the story and characters but, instead, feels, well, rushed. Director and co-writer David Koepp (with co-scribe John Kamps) is more interested in all the bicycle-car, bicycle-bicycle chases, which are often cleverly done with Wilee always looking to find the fastest way through traffic and visualizes the cons of each possibility. But, the bare bones story has a hard time carrying “Premium Rush” through its 91 minute run time.
