New at BOP: Review: Matrix Resurrections Movie Review: Moonfall Movie Reviews: Scream The #1 Movie in America November Forecast The Many Saints of Newark October Forecast New Trivia Question All site updates Share & Save   Tweet Print this column

Hollywood is a machine. Every week, every month and every year countless films are released into theatres and not every one is as successful as the studio heads would hope. Sometimes the publicity machine was askew, sometimes the movie targeted an odd demographic, sometimes the release was steamrolled by a much larger movie and occasionally the movie is flat out bad.

But Hollywood's loss is our gain. There is a veritable treasure trove of film out there that you may not have seen. I will be your guide to this veritable wilderness of unwatched film. It will be my job to steer you towards the action, adventure, drama and comedy that may have eluded you, and at the same time, steer you away from some truly unwatchable dreck.

Hopefully we'll stumble across some entertainment that may have slid under your radar. Wish us luck.

The Chronicles of Riddick (2004)

The Chronicles of Riddick seems like an odd choice for this column. After all, it grossed $57.6 million during its domestic release (with another $33 million coming from international venues). Unfortunately, it cost a reported $110 million to make. It was a pretty massive bomb, and fans worldwide had been waiting for a second appearance from Riddick since his origin and to say that this film let them all down is a bit of an understatement. The studios punished Vin Diesel horrifically for failing to produce a box office monster and forced him to appear in a movie that was originally slotted for Hulk Hogan (The Pacifier).

The Chronicles of Riddick was released in 2004 and is a sequel to Pitch Black, one of the best horror/action films of all time. It starred Diesel as Riddick, Judi Dench as Aereon, Colm Feore as the Lord Marshall, Alexa Davalos as Kyra and Nick Chinlund as Toombs.

This is at best an eclectic cast, and while some of them really worked well in the movie, both Feore and Dench seemed like they were slumming. There are parts of the movie when you can practically see both of them rolling their eyes at the script. What does work better are the castings of Chinlund as Tombs and Davalos as Kyra. In stark contrast to the complete apathy that both Feore and Dench show their characters, both Toombs and Kyra are played like their lives depended on it.

And then of course, there is Riddick. It doesn't seem possible, but Diesel actually dials down the character a notch in this one. Where previously he was sullen and aggressive, Diesel now plays him as if he took a triple dose of thorazine. Riddick very rarely even raises his voice, even when he's killing people.

And oh yeah, he kills people. Usually up close and personal and accompanied with the sounds the sounds of vertebrae splintering and flesh shredding. Get used to those sounds too, because they occur a lot when Riddick is onscreen. He's literally the baddest guy in the room, and he knows it. Occasionally someone makes him prove it, which usually results in a broken neck for the questioner.

Continued:       1       2