| Movie | Rating | Review | Date | Your Rating | Match | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Funny People - R | December 6, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Constantine - R | December 5, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Crimson Tide - R | December 5, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Terminator Salvation - PG-13 |
(updated) Let's get this out of the way first - This is NOT "T4". This is "Future War" #1. It is the first in a new, separate series of films that happens to have connections to the earlier trilogy. If you keep that in mind when seeing this, you'll enjoy it much more. But I know a lot of people aren't going to like this, because they are going in expecting it to be just like the others.
A lot of people are dumping on McG. Yes, he has a dumb nickname, and yes he made the atrocious Charlie's Angels movies, but he has shown some talent in other projects. People are too critical of anyone but Cameron doing these films, but as Cameron himself pointed out, fans were worried when he inherited the "Alien" franchise from Ridley Scott much like McG has to follow in Cameron's footsteps. The direction here is fine. The casting choices are a bit of a mixed bag. Anton Yelchin is surprisingly the best of the group as Kyle Reese. I like Bryce Dallas Howard, but she's barely in it, nor is Helena Bonham Carter (what was the point?). Christian Bale, while doing a fine job, didn't add much to the role. Anyone could have played it here (and the "gruff" voice he uses for his action fims is getting a bit old). Same for Sam Worthington. He's fine in the role, but nothing special. He's become the latest "it" actor Hollywood wants to shove down our throats (this, James Cameron's Avatar, the Clash of the Titans remake), but I haven't yet seen anything to merit the hype. The biggest disappointment is the writing. Rather than just give us the humans vs. machines war we wanted, they decide to introduce a "good" terminator, and have the story focus WAAAAAY too much on him. Big mistake. Overall, this may not have everything we all hoped for in the "Future War" film, but it's an okay start. Let's see where it goes from here... |
December 3, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Ninja Assassin - R |
The 11 year-old kid inside of me has been waiting all his life for a great ninja movie... but he'll have to keep waiting. What could have been a great film is instead a great disappointment.
Bloody and violent would work well in a movie like this, but here they've made it over-the-top and cartoonish, which really detracts from the film. There was far too much obvious CG - especially in terms of blood and weapons. The filmmakers also became far too obsessed with one weapon in particular (essentially a blade on a long chain) and 90% of the action is just him whipping that around - I' feel like Im not watching a ninja, I'm watching Indiana Jones with a bullwhip. Too much backstory and the pointless involvement of Naomie Harris' character also really cripple the film. But the biggest problem is the action. Behind-the-scenes videos like this one (watch the whole thing!) had me so excited for this film. But any impressive acrobatics and fight choreography there might have been has been neutered by darkness and over-editing. Ninja movies are always fun, but this one fell far short of what it could have been. |
November 30, 2009 | N/A | |||
| 2012 - PG-13 |
Independence Day, Day After Tomorrow, Godzilla...Nobody but Nobody does end-of-the-world mass destruction like Roland Emmerich. The man has certainly found his niche. He has a formula, and 2012 is no different. It essentially boils down to 30 minutes of character setup followed by two straight hours of destructo-porn - just money shot after money shot after money shot (unfortunately almost all of which were shown in the trailers).
Is it believable? HELL no. Much of it borders on ludicrous. There are scenes of the characters outrunning nature that make Day After Tomorrow's laughable "outrunning the cold air" scene seem downright realistic. But is it fun? Yes. You know what you're getting into going into an Emmerich film, and he delivers exactly that. A cast of great actors including John Cusack, Chiwetol Ejiofor, and Oliver Platt really helps to give the film what little weight it has, despite the cliched dialogue. |
November 30, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Jersey Girl - PG-13 | November 29, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| The Last Samurai - R | November 29, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Confidence - R | November 29, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Training Day - R | November 29, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Amelie (Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain) - R | November 29, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| U-571 - PG-13 | November 29, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Kissing A Fool - R | November 29, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| The Mask of Zorro - PG-13 | November 29, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Saving Private Ryan - R | November 29, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Shakespeare in Love - R | November 29, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Fools Rush In - PG-13 | November 29, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Titanic - PG-13 | November 29, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Independence Day - PG-13 | November 29, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Romeo + Juliet - PG-13 | November 29, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Scream - R |
While the horror genre thrived in the 80's with the Freddy/Jason-type unstoppable killer movies, the whole genre was pretty much dying in the 90's. Scream came along in 1996 and not only reinvigorated the genre, but completely reinvented it. Wildly popular (and deservedly so) at the time, its reputation has since been tarnished as it often gets lumped in with the countless wanna-bes and knock-offs that followed, including its own relatively inferior sequels. But this was a great horror flick that pushed all the right buttons.
Original and entertaining (if not entirely realistic) dialogue, a cast full of breakthrough performances, and a story that dares be somewhat self-aware and play to the audience with a wink, all result in a film that works as a comedy, works as a spoof, and works as a straight-up horror film. Separate this in your mind from the rest of the glut of teen whodunnit horror flicks and I think you'll find it's just a damn fun movie. ...Not to mention it's nice to remember a time when horror flicks weren't watered down for a PG-13 rating. |
November 29, 2009 | N/A | |||
| The Proposal - PG-13 | November 26, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Planet 51 - PG |
I told my daughter we could see a movie, and other than A Christmas Carol (which I will NOT see), this was it for options. But it's voiced by Dwayne Johnson, Justin Long, Gary Oldman, and John Cleese, and the concept was amusing, so there was hope.
It is what it is. Groundbreaking and original? No. But as animated films go this year, surprisingly it's leading the (admittedly weak) pack. It's better than Ice Age, Cloudy/Meatballs, Monsters vs Aliens, and yes, storywise it's far more interesting than Up. Wow, that IS a weak year for animated films. Let's hope Princess & the Frog brings the goods. |
November 24, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Star Trek - PG-13 |
J.J. Abrams has taken Trek and infused it with Star Wars-style action and excitement (in addition to numerous plot similarities). After creating one of the best TV shows ever (Lost), then making the best of the Mission: Impossible films, I was sure he could bring exciting new life to a dying (if not dead) franchise. ...and he didn't disappoint. The action works, the humor works, the drama works... and most importantly the casting is perfect. The best characters in this movie were Bones (Karl Urban) and Scotty (Simon Pegg), and I hope they (along with Anton Yechin's Chekov and John Cho's Sulu) are given much more to do in future installments. Zachary Quinto did a fine take on Spock, though I wasn't blown away like so many people seem to be. If I have one complaint about this film, it's that they chose to focus so much on Spock, whom I've always considered one of the weaker and more overrated characters.
There are other tiny things - the pointless and odd casting of Winona Ryder and Tyler Perry, the use of 20th Century cars and music (written off as "retro"), etc. - but that's mostly just nitpicking. So, while not a perfect film, it's a damn fun ride, and by FAR the best Star Trek movie to date. It's also, so far, the film to beat for 2009. A fun flick on every level. |
November 19, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Gamer - R |
This movie is like if the guys who made the Crank movies made a ripoff of Death Race and threw in elements of The Sims. ...Oh wait, that's exactly what it is.
Yes, the Crank guys have shown they are one-note directors. The style here might have seemed original and fitting of the film's surreal in-game atmosphere, if only they hadn't already used it in their other films. As it is,the film has nothing original, but still manages to be fun. One thing they certainly don't skimp on is the action. And how can you not like a movie that starts out with a live-action teabag?!? The cast is so very random, with small pointless parts for people like Alison Lohman and Milo Ventimiglia. Butler does just fine, but the real standout here is Michael C. Hall, who surprised me by making for a perfect cocky, smarmy, egomaniacal villain. |
November 14, 2009 | N/A |
2329 ratings
169 reviews
