BY MICHAEL GOODPASTER
(FOUR) DOOM
The former pro wrestler Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has been doing movies now for a lot longer than I’d imagine. He’s gotten around, but he’s always going to be The Rock. No way around it. This movie wasn’t that good, but I remember seeing it in the theater and enjoying it more than I should have. Rock plays “Sarge”. It was a lame paint by numbers action sci-fi movie. The game was fun before a million better options came in its place. This made the movie like ten years too late. It’s still notable because of his heel turn at the end. Being a wrestling fan, the whole scenario rocked.
(THREE) RENO 911!: MIAMI
Yeah, this is cheating. I said “Rock Movies” not “Rock Cameos”. Rock is only in this movie for like five minutes tops. When a huge bomb scare occurs, he shows up as a hot-shot SWAT agent. He tells them how it’s done and then in his arrogance he blows himself up. It’s so silly it just about made this movie for me. The humor of Reno 911 is perfect for “The Rock” persona. This is a prime example as to why he should be doing a R-Rated comedy sometime. Sooner the better.
(TWO) SOUTHLAND TALES
This was a weird movie. I like Richard Kelly, but this movie just didn’t click. In concept and theory it should have rocked. The cast was awesome, the director had a good track record, and it seemed interesting enough, but nope. No good. There is still a lot of good in the movie though when you dissect it. I enjoyed the casting a lot. Justin Timberlake’s drug induced sing-a-long stands out big time. Another high point is Rock’s performance. For my money, this is his best acting. He plays two characters as he’s an amnesiac action movie star who is pretty much going crazy. He bounces back and forth between the two and shows a bit of range. It’s awkward stuff, but it’s really hard to look away.
(ONE) THE GAME PLAN
Whatever. I liked this movie. I caught it on a late afternoon on TV one day and it ended up being a very good kids movie. The Rock has made a few Disney and kids flicks now. More times than not, these movies sucked ass. This is a huge exception. The chemistry between Rock and the little girl… and the dog is spot on. It’s a movie I’d recommend for parents because it’s not too annoying and if you’re forced to watch a movie over and over this wouldn’t be so painful. You can easily see that Rock shines here and it’s probably why we’ve been punished with other kid movies by him. If they were all like this, I’d not be complaining too much.
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