BEST of 2009

I thought Wall-E was one of the best films of last year, and The Incredibles was one of my favorites of 2006. With Up Pixar hits one out of the park again. This film shows why they are leaps and bounds ahead of the competition. Not only do all of their films look better, but the writing and music is far superior than the other studios. When I saw the previews for this film I thought the story seemed dull, but it was anything but. I figured most of the film would be about a old man living in a floating house, but that is actually only 15 minutes of a 90 minute movie. The story is very original and the characters are deep with great dialog. Up starts out as a love story and then turns into a great adventure with many memorable characters. I got to see it in 3-D which was a added bonus,but it wasn't gimmicky. Pixar doesn't mix in too much pop culture to date their films and time will be very kind to them.I also like the fact that Pixar doesn't get big named stars to do the voices on their films. When you hear Ed Asner's voice you think of a regular old man. When you hear Travolta doing Bolt you hear the actor, not the character. Up is funny, heartfelt, and one of the best films of the year. And the talking dogs are hilarious.

Yet another solid film from the Potter franchise. This one was a little different from the others. It seemed more of a bridge from Order Of The Phoenix to Deathly Hallows than a film that stands on it's own.Most of the films have a beginning a middle and a end,and this one just has a middle.They just concentrated on character development and moving the story along for the finale. This didn't bother me because I know 2 more films are on the way and had 5 movie before this to set it up. I thought the love story between Harry and Jenny was a bit rushed,but I did enjoy the two of them together. This one was a cliff hanger and the other films never did this so that was a breath of fresh air. I was never bored and the time flew by,and those are two reasons to recommend it. I would like to watch it again,because the more you watch these films the more you get out of it. I haven't read the books yet, because every time you read the book first the movie version pisses you off. It's almost always a guarantee the book is better than the movie,and I really enjoy these films so why ruin it.The SFX were the best they have been,and this series is just a load of fun.

First of all I did enjoy this movie, it's a good summer movie. Star Trek is full of action, has a great cast, and is a lot of fun. The problem is I am a greedy person who always wants more. The main problem I had with the film was what is the bloody hurry? This movie didn't have to have the whole gang in their positions by the end of the movie so we are all comfortable. I didn't need to see Sulu and Chekov sitting where they always sit performing the duties they will do for the next 30 years. Obviously it hard to get a promotion on the Enterprise. Uhura(Zoe Saldana) was the only original series secondary character I felt was good in this film. Her moments with Spock were some of the best scenes in the movie. I have always felt that Star Trek is about Kirk, Spock and McCoy and the rest of the cast is just window dressings. J.J. Abrams cast three good leads(Pine,Quinto,and Urban) with great chemistry. I wanted more interaction at the Academy with friendship development than wall to wall battle scenes. It would have been great to see more Captain Pike(Bruce Greenwood) as a mentor to Kirk. He was used more as a stepping stone for Kirk to get to the Captain's seat. I really liked the story and I thought it was a clever way to reboot the series by throwing away the past we are all used to. That being said I did think the movie was predictable and followed a formula. I did enjoy future Spock,and the scenes between Nimoy and Kirk and young Spock are great. I knew there would be a few tongue and cheek jokes,but I was hoping Abrams would take this reboot a little more serious. I thought it was a mistake to start McCoy off so strong then have him do nothing but stupid quotes from movies past for the second half of the film. I like Simon Pegg, but he annoyed the hell out of me as Scotty. Every scene he is in he's cracking jokes and providing comic relief. Star Trek is a Sci-Fi action film and I really didn't go see this film to laugh or bond with nerds. Overall it's a great summer blockbuster, but just a good movie that could have been so much more.

Review # 300!!! Ha-za!! A very funny movie with a great cast. It's has everything I want in a comedy low brow humor, nudity,and abuse to kids.I like the idea of the story and had a real good time watching it. Tyson and Epps seemed to struggle with acting in this film,but everyone else is great. Bradley Cooper belongs in the 80's with his assholeness, and Zach G. is just greatness.Maybe on a second viewing I will give this film 4 stars. This film was just like my Bachelor Party except we hung out with a Issac Hayes look alike and ended up with 20 year old strippers instead of a baby.