Mark Wahlberg is a good actor, but he should’ve left this one alone. I know the credit crunch is here, but boy oh boy, pick better scripts then this one. I hope the pay-day was good!

The reason I say this is because the whole film is utterly predictable, from start to finish.

Even if you didn’t read the comics on Max Payne, 20 minutes into the film you would’ve worked out who the baddie was and how the film was going to end.

Max Payne is a grief stricken cop, agonisingly trying to find out who killed his family. He splits up with his cop buddy because he thinks his buddy isn’t doing a good job in helping search for his family’s murderers and takes a desk job, but still keeps his ear to the ground through his network of informants.

One of his tip off’s turns out to be a dead end, so he goes back to his informant and starts to ask questions. In comes the damsel.

That’s all am going to give you. If I say any more, the film will finish, that’s how easy it is to work out.

Film makers have to realise that the audience these days are very intelligent; more thought has to be injected into these scripts.

If you still want to go and see this, I suggest you wait till it comes on DVD, which won’t take long, or wait till it comes on Sky Movies.

Peace.

To define the background of the movie business is some what like asking what came first the chicken or the egg. The first movie or "motion picture" ever created was that of a horse galloping for 16 frames. What makes up a movie? A movie is basically a bunch of pictures projected at a fast rate, which is why some people refer to it as a "motion picture". "The 16 frame motion picture was made by Edward James muggerridge who later changed his last name to Muybridge to use the Saxon spelling"(Franklin institute). "In early June of 1878, Muybridge made his first successful serial photographs of fast motion at Stanford's California stock farm. The photographs were of a horse running and another horse trotting; they were developed on the spot so as not to be accused of doctoring the images" (Franklin institute). Edward made this motion picture to scientifically answer a popularly debated question during this age. People were debating if all four legs of a horse are ever off the ground at the same time. Edwards's motion picture answered this question and it opened the door to the worlds leading form of entertainment.

"At the movie high tide in the 1946, before television invaded us, 80 million people a week went to movies. It was the community habit" (Jack Valenti). However when the television came around, people going to the movies dropped noticeably. The most popular movie genre during that time were "R" rated movies typically about war and were deemed horror. Some movies we watch today can affect society in many, many ways like violent and horror movies. These movies make people lose their grip on reality and develop mental health issues. In these "R" rated movies there would always be propaganda and not the good propaganda either. War movies usually had big physically fit men as sergeants and they would sometimes if not always be smoking cigarettes when depicted in these movies. When tobacco companies realized the rise in there product sells they were happy because they had found the biggest form of advertisement. No later had movie produces put more smoking actors in there films that the audience asked for more. The producers and directors gave them more by putting the use of drugs into there movies to make them more enjoyable or laughable or "cool" no matter the reason they were corrupting and manipulating the youth without even knowing it, or did they?

Horror movies are among the most disturbing and unrealistic movies out there. Why people are drawn to these movies is questionable and confusing. I believe that people are drawn to these movies because it gives us a rush gets us pumped and our adrenaline flowing.

"Horror movies originate from fictional work that portrays the dark side of life with the primary aim of frightening and terrifying its audience. By presenting horrifying images, of several incorporating sub-genres and repeated themes, such as vampires and werewolves, demonic possessions, evil children, cannibals and zombies, alien invasion and mind control, film makers create a world where the worst nightmares become true" (Sarah). These factors are what drive us to watch these movies because of the intense rush and out of curiosity. Horror movies like these may sometimes have such an impact on someone that they act out and loose there grip on reality. These are what adult audiences experience now imagine what a child or minor would feel, but this also has an effect on how the person was raised so it all falls into place.

Drug movies often place audiences in uncomfortable positions because they might have had personal experiences with drugs or other illegal substances. These movies have a higher impact rate on the youth because to them it's all about being the life of the party. Drug movies do teach the young audiences too like the movie "Blow" which shows the life story of George yung who started out into the drug business but it ultimately caught him in the long run. These movies have a low impact rate on adults because they have already experimented or know the truth about these substances but the young don't because they are innocent and need to mature.

"One dwells on science fiction" (Ozzy), because it is not a genre but a setting. It is a setting because science fiction movies are thought up to overcome normal laws of physics and this is why so many people are drawn to science fiction. Some people are so drawn to it that they will wait all night in line just to get into the movie "Star wars" and they even dress up as the characters. The impact of science fiction is powerful because science fiction movies pretty much make anything possible like flying, or controlling fire which are talents everyone in the world would love to master because we all love to be admired and adored and having these powers would make us feel adored. When you watch any movie you sometimes leave the realm of reality and begin to think if it's possible to fly like that or to control fire but the truth is that we can't. Although movies like these with strong impacts can be devastating because one might be so into the movie that they try to fly or try to control fire and end up hurting themselves and others. One must always be careful and be aware of not to mix reality with fiction.

Movies have been around now for more than century and have and will continue to impact us and future generations. From when it was born in 1878 to one of its key turning points in 1970 where the IMAX wide-screen format premiered in the Fuji Pavilion EXPO ‘70in Osaka, Japan to present day visual masterpieces like beowulf the film industry has come a long way in a
short century. I'm certain that we will continue to make awesome movies each time clearer sound, picture and detail until one day we might be able to "jump" into a movie via a holographic helmet that will sit you right in the middle of the movie or join in. Who knows it's just an idea but that's how the film industry came to be, because of an IDEA.

With the huge technological boom, not only have film budgets for indy features plummeted, but the distribution possibilities have sky rocketed. With DV and HD format cameras costing under five thousand dollars, no film developing fees and the internet, making a film can be as cheap as fifteen thousand dollars.

Once you've spent thousands of hours planning, shooting and editing your baby, you don't want it to sit on a shelf. Here are my five picks for distribution.

1. The Internet is a vast resource. O.K. so what, you know that, right? Wrong. Make a trailer, make a website for your film or production company. Put your trailer up in high definition on your website and on YouTube.com. Make a myspace and a facebook for your film. Make friends. Use StumbledUpon (if you aren't familiar with this google it) and get others to stumble your trailer. This is free advertising and the best kind because it it international and sets great name recognition when you start doing the festival circuit. Which leads me to number 2.
2. Film Festivals are inexpensive to enter. If you want your film distributed, it will be through a film festival. If you can get thousands of friends on the internet who enjoyed your trailer or even streaming your feature length film, maybe one hundred will come to the premier at a local film festival. A distributor sees a packed theater of roaring fans, you have a much better chance at distribution. Distributors don't look for their favorite movie, they look for what will sell.
3. Most festivals cost but fifty dollars to enter. Take a stab. Try The Big Damn Film Festival. Midwest Independent Film Festival and Muddy Water Film Festival. These are smaller but nowhere near as hard to get a film into as Sundance or Cannes. If nothing else, you meet people and make future connections.
4. Software Developers might seem like a crazy facet to explore. BUT many times companies like Apple, Adobe, and Macromedia are looking for people who have made films using their software. If you film has visual heavy parts, great editing or compositing, try looking out for film contest that these developers put on. I once entered a short film into a Macromedia Flash contest and was runner up. Your whole film might not get picked up, but you can score some cash and pull in some royalty checks from their use of the video.
5. Online Forums are a great resource. You can put clips up, trailers and production stills. This is a great way to generate buzz and make connections. You'll learn from other indy film makers what they are doing with their films. Build up your friends on there, they will help you. A great one I recommend is dvxuser.com
6. Netflix/Amazon/BitTorrent/iTunes are all easy ways to get your film out there. You can submit it to Apple, find a nice agent and get them to help with Amazon and Netflix. Put your film up for download on BitTorrent. If all else fails stream your film 100% free on your website. What do you have to loose? If the film is good people will want to see your next. I'd take one hundred thousand people seeing my movie for free instead of five thousand people buying a dvd. Because when the dvd does get released, you tell the people who've seen it and hopefully they tell their friends. That's great publicity.

Hopefully these tips will help you have the next big indy film, useful pointers on all aspects of pre production to post production to come. Stay Tuned

Back to the story, Joy (Diaz) sees her fiancee Mason off in the morning and says that they need to meet later to set their wedding date. He whines that she's planning to make a plan again and leaves for work. We learn Joy is a trader and after work she has a surprise party set up for Mason at his home. As people hide, Mason arrives and breaks up with her (while making comments about great sex with the guests listening as they hide) Joy goes drinking afterward and decides with her friend Tipper that they will use the tickets she bought Mason to go to Vegas for some fun.

Jack (Kutcher) is a sexaholic with a thing for seeing his friend Kelly in skimpy costumes like the sexy girl scout costume she wears at the beginning of the film. Jack is a furniture maker who works for his father who fires him because he can never finish anything he starts. The two compete in a basketball match against each other with Jack's job at stake, his father wins. His friend Hater later recommends a trip to Vegas.

The four of them meet by mistake upon arrival in Vegas when they are placed in the same hotel suite by mistake. They fix the mistake by getting two separate suites of the highest quality. Jack also manages to convince the hotel clerk to give them some VIP passes. As Joy and Tipper are dropped off onto the Vegas strip, Jack begs Joy to have one drink. Joy claims she and Tipper are about to plan their "assault" on the strip. Reminding her of her now ex-fiancee, Jack replies that she's planning to make a plan. Joy stops in her tracks and agrees to have one drink.

This is where the fun begins. I'd LOVE to tell more of the story but I really recommend you see it yourself.

4/5 Novas.