In a world where animals can talk, dress, and live like humans, the story is quite entertaining. With a run time just under 90 minutes, it never feels too short, because nothing feels left out, and not too long, because there is very little drag. A lot comes across as funny enough not to be left out.

Visually, this picture is oddly humorous. The stop motion moves along like stop motion should, but it is the many other things that generate the chuckles. The way the characters run, the close up facial expressions, and the electrocution visuals are some examples of this.

George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, and all the rest of the cast voices fit their respective characters nicely. The dialogue that is written for them also helps. "If what I think is happening is happening - it better not be."

Fantastic Mr. Fox succeeds in a lot of departments and is a fun comedic animation adventure. Put on a bandit mask and go check it out.

This is a remake of the 1960's rat pack movie by the same name; Soderbergh just does a brilliant job at modernizing it, which in turn makes this a very successful adaptation. At just under 2 hours, there is never a dull moment. The film does a nice job with pacing and it explains everything it needs to in good amounts and at appropriate times. There is no wasting time on every little detail and it makes what seems like a really difficult and complex task look easy and laid back.

David Holmes' soundtrack is also worthy of note. The upbeat jazzy tunes work wonders with the film's style and pace.

The all-star cast, more than likely, eats up all of this film's budget and it doesn't go to waste. All actors work well with their respective characters and this is a huge plus. Geroge Clooney, Brad Pitt, Andy Garcia, Julia Roberts, etc. The list goes on.

Ocean's Eleven is a great combination of a lot of things and it is a film worth checking out. "All right, you proved your point. You broke into my vault. Congratulations, you're a dead man."

At a high level, there isn't much more to the story than what is already known regarding the Mayan calendar. The story avoids high technicalities, which is probably for the best, and instead provides just enough information to give some realism to the film. The beginning is all story and character buildup, while the rest of this 2 hour 38 minute production uses the typical formula of destruction. Intense action sequence, dramatic emotional scene, intense action sequence, dramatic emotional scene, etc.

The thing that impresses the most, unsurprisingly, are the CG effects. There is a lot of it to go around and it is phenomenal. Emmerich doesn't hold back and it shows.

The cast is well known and while the acting isn't bad, the characters themselves aren't all that interesting. Or maybe it is the fact that the CG sequences just envelope everything else. Anyway, Woody Harrelson is hilarious.

2012 is nothing more than an epic disaster film that dazzles the eyes. It is a good watch if time allows.

The film begins in a fantastic way. There isn't much explanation for anything that happens, and honestly it doesn't matter. It opens this picture with a bang and it holds it until the opening credits, which doesn't happen until after the 10 minute mark. As for the story, it is fitting for this type of film. There is little in the way of back story and everything else is simple and straightforward. In fact, with very little there seems to be and with how fast things come and go, it is a bit surprising this film ends up around 1 hour and 50 minutes.

Miike's wackiness envelopes this movie and so do the CG effects, which are pretty good, but not superb. Once again it doesn't matter in this Yatterman universe. Besides, with everything that Miike throws on the screen, everything comes across as good clean fun. Not so much for a really young audience though, as some of the humor and themes are a bit mature in nature.

The acting is unsurprisingly eccentric. Everyone is enjoyable to watch, especially the villains. Kyoko Fukada seems a tad sweet to be a villain, but she can act and she is as gorgeous as they come. Therefore, she can play whatever part she wants to in here.

When it comes down to it, Yatterman is a playful Takashi Miike film. In other words, it is very enjoyable.

After a successful introduction that sets up the villain, Scaramanga, and provides a taste of the conclusion, the story becomes clear that an assassin wants to take out James Bond. So, Bond sets out to find him first. This may sound like a letdown, however this does play out like a typical James Bond film. It has action, Bond investigations, and Bond girls. There is also more to the story than meets the eye.

At just over 2 hours, it takes a while before the big action to hit. There is some mediocre martial arts near the halfway point and a notable car chase later on.

Roger Moore has no problem with the Bond character and Christopher Lee is a good enough villain. The real stars of the show go to the supporting cast; Herve Villechaize is entertaining as Nick Nack and Soon-Tek Oh is a suitable supporting agent for Bond. The beautiful Britt Ekland and Maud Adams are the Bond girls, Goodnight and Andrea Anders respectively. It's hard to complain when Britt is in a bikini for the final 30 minutes of this picture.

In the end, The Man with the Golden Gun is another watchable entry in the Bond lineup. "Miss Anders, I didn't recognize you with your clothes on."

The story is easy to follow and not too deep for that matter; however, it has a bit of a science fiction aspect to it, which sparks a bit of interest. As for the pacing, it isn't fast, but it isn't a snail's pace either. There always seems to be something happening.

At about 20 minutes in, Raimi delivers an event, which could pass as a conclusion in another thriller. From here on out, the creepiness consistently shows up all the way until the end of the picture. The typical jump scares, while predictable at times, are quite effective and the other major events are rather freaky. The CG is a bit weak at times, but that is minor in the grand scheme of things.

Alison Lohman actually carries this picture. She gives a sense of realism to her character that helps push this film away from other typical horrors. The rest of the supporting cast is nothing special.

With a run time a little over 90 minutes, Drag Me to Hell is a thriller with a fitting title and an ending worthy of note. "You'd be surprised what you'll do, when the Lamia comes for you."

While some sequels are able to stand alone from their predecessors, this sequel does not. Jumping into this film without having seen the first is a bad idea; therefore, watching the previous installment comes highly recommended.

This chapter needs some settling into, since the beginning wastes very little time at getting into the year 2015 and building up the Kanna character. Eventually, the story begins to take shape and things get more and more interesting as this 135 minute picture rolls along to the final minute, which is a swell setup for the next film.

The effects are pretty solid and there are a bunch of new characters to mix in with the old, which allows for a lot to happen in the story.

Airi Taira steps in as Kanna, the lead, and she gives a good performance. Eiko Koike has an entertaining character herself, while the old cast members reprise their roles successfully.

In closing, 20th Century Boys: Chapter 2 - The Last Hope has the story, characters, and acting to make it a worthy sequel. Fans of the first should enjoy this one.

It is hard to find a smooth clear story for this 90 minute picture. The first hour goes back and forth between a Mexican wrestler and a man that wakes up in a white room with no windows or doors. No visible ones anyway. The Mexican Wrestler scenes are pretty uneventful and almost seem like fillers to the man in the white room scenes. As for the latter, these scenes are more entertaining. The antics that happen in this white room is Matsumoto's comedy at work and it is quite hilarious. Objects appear out of nowhere thanks to these "switches" all over the room.

Up to this point, nothing is clear as to what is exactly going on. The Mexican wrestler and the man in the white room stories do eventually collide and that doesn't make it any better. In fact, the final 30 minutes just gets more mind boggling.

Hitoshi Matsumoto casts himself as the man in the white room and he puts on a good performance, despite the fact that his dialgoue is minimal. He does do a lot of screaming and moaning though.

Symbol is a film that leaves many thinking; however it is recommended for those that choose to see something DIFFERENT.

In short, this film is about a young man going on his "Merantau." Actually, a more fun way to describe the story is a young man goes to Jakarta and whoops some major buttocks. At just around 1 hour and 45 minutes (international cut) this picture is not surprising at how it is set up. The first 30-45 minutes is all character and story, with a couple very small training sequences to serve as an appetizer. At this point the film is at the brink of finally unleashing the pain ... and it does.

The final hour or so contains a ton of action and there is only two, maybe three, slow motion shots. There is also no repeating shots from different angles for massive moves or hits. This is straight up high octane martial arts and stunt work. This truly is fantastic stuff.

Iko Uwais not only displays his Silat martial arts style, but he shows that he has the ability to act as well. Other than Sisca Jessica as the damsel in distress and Mads Koudal as the villain, there isn't much more to say about the acting.

Merantau is one of those films where the action is pretty much all that matters, although there is a decent enough story to go along with it. Check it out if time allows.