The Block: Gamer -Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor: 2009

Gamer is a Sci-Fi shooter comprised of virtual reality programs that threaten human existence. Technology has taken a turn towards extreme measures with giving people the opportunity to live a second life socially (like the Sims) or like a third person shooter. People can either pay to own a real live person who carries out their commands via a microchip in the brain, or they can earn money by being the one controlled. The problem with this is both sides have been made slaves to the system. The controllers fail to live in their own body and become obsessed with a virtual world created by one man, the controlled have no ability to form their own thought processes when being used. So then there is Slayer, a virtual reality shooter comprised of a bunch of death row inmates who can earn their freedom after surviving 30 sessions. Kable (Gerard Butler) has survived all but one challenge, the last one. It is up to the 17 year old boy to control him until he reaches the promised land, but there lies one problem in the last challenge, the game is rigged.

Overall the acting was okay and appropriate for this kind of story line. Gerard Butler plays his usual role of a warrior who is fighting for the chance to reunite with his wife and daughter once again. Michael C Hall plays a madman CEO who wants nothing more than world domination by the likes of his mind control operation. Hall for me was the shining star. And that maybe because i love his character in Dexter so much, but he really is the perfect villain, for any movie. He has the clean shaven look and charming smile that makes you think "Hey this guy isn't so bad", then he begins to speak with his monotone voice, and continues to form a smile with a blank stare into what you can only imagine as being as the worst place in the world. What is behind the mind of Michael C. Hall, I guess we will never know. My guess, teddy bears, bloodstains, kitchen knives, and lollipops. Perfect

Other actors include the experienced Terry Crews, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Amber Valleta, Kyra Sedgewick, and Aaron Yoo. Pretty good lineup, but thrown into a story that only took them so far.

The whole mind control/virtual reality/sex and violence has become a little outdated for me. The Matrix, Surrogates, Minority Report, Avatar, and the list goes on. Maybe if this movie came out ten years ago then we would have something to rave about. But this is 2009 and it has been done before, over and over again. But i guess the whole first person shooter theme has something going for it, or maybe not. The movie did not really include enough for me that involved the Slayer game series. Kable would go out and run around a little and then survive. If the directors really focused more on that concept they could hit on something original and intriguing. They would be able to gain a huge audience of young adults who spend every night with the Xbox live headset on screaming profanities at the TV. A narrowed focus on how video games have shown such a large boost in popularity over the last ten years would be the best approach. Because no movie has really touched upon social networking in gaming culture before. Gamer barely skimmed the surface.

Grade: C+

Actors:

Gerard Butler: Recent Work (Law Abiding Citizen, P.S. I Love You, 300 ) Future Work (Machine Gun Preacher, Playing the Field )

Amber Valletta: Recent Work (Transporter 2, Hitch, Premonition) Future Work (Girl Walks Into a Bar )

Michael C. Hall: Recent Work (Six Feet Under (TV), Dexter (TV) ) Future Work (Dexter (TV))

Kyra Sedgwick: Recent Work (The Closer, The Game Plan, Second Hand Lions ) Future Work (Man On a Ledge, The Posession)

Logan Lerman: Recent Work (The Number 23, The Butterfly Effect, 3:10 To Yuma ) Future Work (The Three Musketeers, The Perks To Being a Wallflower, The Only Living Boy in New York )