REBOUND

RATING: C-

Starring: Martin Lawrence, Wendy Raquel Robinson, Breckin Meyer, Horatio Sanz and Megan Mellally. Costume Design by Salvador Perez, Jr., Music by Teddy Castellucci, Production Designer James Hynkle, Director of Photography Glen MacPherson, Produced by Robert Simonds, Story by William Wolff and Ed Decter & John J, Strauss, Screenplay by Jon Lucas & Scott Moore, Directed by Steve Carr.

Rated PG, Running Time 103 mins., 1.85 to 1 Academy Standard Aspect Ratio.

RATING: C

Starring Felicity Mason, Mungo McKay, Rob Jenkins, Lisa Cunningham, Dirk Hunter, Emma Randel. Music by Cliff Bradley, Director of Photography Andrew Strahorn, Production Designer Matthew Putland, Costume Designer Chintamani Aked, Special Make-Up Effects Steven Boyle, Visual Effect Supervisors Peter and Michael Spierig, Written, Edited, Produced and Directed by The Spierig Brothers.

Rated R, Running Time 105 mins., 1.85 to 1 Academy Standard Aspect Ratio.

One of the dirtiest and meanest mouths in showbiz could definitely use a career rebound, but unfortunately we get a mediocre attempt at a family comedy. With the exception of his hilarious comedic reactions in “Bad Boys II” Martin Lawrence has continued to get meaner, nastier and more frightening, ballooning up to a weight that would make even “Sheneneh” disgusted. Just like his pal Eddie Murphy, Lawrence has decided to try his hand at family comedy with “Rebound”, another new coach vs. tough kids sports movie, following in the footsteps of this years “Coach Carter” and “Kicking and Screaming.” (Don’t fret a “Bad News Bears” remake is just around the corner.) “Big Mamma’s House” was a so-called family movie too and even though it had few laughs and bad make-up it was his first $100 million dollar grosser.

Lawrence attempts to tone down his act as Coach Roy McCormick, who gets permanently banned from College basketball after accidentally killing the team’s bird mascot. To keep from being banned from the sport entirely, Roy decides to prove his worth by taking a coaching job with the losing team of his old Junior High School. So begins the unrealistic character arc of Roy transforming himself from a tantrum throwing egomaniac to an encouraging altruist who helps hapless athletes like “Kicking and Screaming’s” Steven Anthony Lawrence transform into worthy players. For fans of that film, Laura Kightlinger makes a humorous cameo as well as Patrick Warburton who plays a coach similar to Will Ferrell, but is barely on screen to register. We mustn’t forget that Lawrence is the star of this film and is also given a love interest in the form of Wendy Raquel Robinson, although the evolution of her feelings from hating his guts to being in love is just completely unconvincing.

The problem with this type of film is that its storyline is predictable and seems to have followed a structure from screenwriting 101. Eddie Murphy did score a few box-office hits with his family films (though I'm still traumatized from "Haunted Mansion"), but that was because he has a knack for working with non-adult material. Lawrence has limited experience in this arena and doesn't seem to be enjoying himself. The stress and pressure of limiting his range and toning down his behavior is so evident on his face that at several times during the film it appears as if his fat head might explode. Steve Carr who directed Murphy in "Daddy Day Care" and "Dr. Dolittle" obviously didn't have much confidence in Lawrence's abilities and surrounded him with appearances by Horatio Sanz of "Saturday Night Live", Megan Mullally of "Will & Grace" and Tom Arnold, obnoxiously playing himself doing commentary for "The Best Damn Sports Show Period." That may have worked in "Mr. 3000", but Arnold is out of his element here. The bottom line is that Lawrence just isn't funny, plain and simple. It's not that he isn't trying, but that he just doesn't seem to care and if the title of his next film is "Suicidal" I can't blame him after the losing streak he's been having.

If Aussie twins Michael and Peter Spierig are attempting to break into features with spatterfest zombie movies, they're gonna have one hell of a resume. Made on a $700,000 shoestring budget in 41 days within the backyards of their Queensland hometown, "Undead" is a funny little feature that clearly shows inspirations from, Romero, Raimi and Peter Jackson's "Brain Dead". When mysterious meteorites begin raining down on an Australian fishing village, the hapless citizens are immediately transformed into flesh eating zombies. At the center of the nightmare is local beauty Queen Rene (Felicity Mason) who has to contend with the fact that the only survivors are bitter pregnant rival Sally Ann (Lisa Cunningham) and her boyfriend Wayne (Rob Jenkins) along with a two bickering constables and town crackpot Marion (Mungo McKay).

When barricading themselves in Marion's basement survival shelter proves useless, they decide to make a go of driving through the zombie horde straight out of town only to discover they can't leave. A massive, mysteriously constructed wall that extends to the heavens completely surrounds the town and the acid rain falling from above appears to be the source of the infection. "Undead" was shot almost four years ago and even though it was released in Australia in 2003, it still took a while to reach our shores. It's been available as an import dvd for quite some time, but nothing beats seeing a film like this with an audience of fans of splatter films. The Spierig brothers have incredible imaginations with zombie fish, nude aliens, a triple shotgun toting hero and an entire town of dozens people suspended in the sky, arms wide like Jesus on the cross. It's also amazing that with so little they've managed to capture so much and make it look so realistic. These two have an obvious love not just for horror films, but movies in general, with a plot borrowed from "Chubby Rain", the fictional alien invasion pic in Eddie Murphy's "Bowfinger."

Ninety percent of the visual effects were done by the brothers on their home computer and even though the film has a depressing bluish tint, the visual effects are integrated almost seamlessly. Alien space crafts, splatter effects, meteorites in space and a bi-plane flying over the night sky are all crafted convincingly and with a sense of humor. At 105 minutes the film is a tad long and the situations and plot twists do wear thin, but the film’s constant humor does manage to keep it afloat or should I say "alive." The dialogue and hysterical exchanges between the survivors not only sound like real conversation but they're funny as hell. When the cowardly head constable finds the cautious Marion pointing a gun at him he threatens him with "Stop pointing that thing at me or I'll finish you off like a birthday cake at a fat girl's party!" At the center of it all is a hilarious low-key performance by Mungo McKay as Marion, considered to be the town looney but probably the only individual who's figured out what's really going on. With a Val Kilmer attitude and the looks of an overweight Eric Bana in overalls he's well prepared with a homemade triple shotgun and the ability to pull out multiple hand guns hidden just about anywhere on his body while flipping through the air. Is he the next "Ash"? Is Bruce Campbell of "Evil Dead" dead and buried? Time will tell. All in all it’s "groovy baby, groovy."