Category: Movie Reviews

Superman returns, literally as it’s what the plot revolves around. He has disappeared and left Earth in search for his home planet Krypton. Upon his return, five years later, his love interest, Lois Lane, has moved on and even has a kid. During Superman’s departure Lex Luther has infiltrated the Fortress of Solitude, steals Superman’s crystals for nefarious reasons.

Brandan Routh plays an excellent Superman. At times he’s almost dead-on for Christopher Reeve’s portrayal. And Kevin Spacey plays the nemesis Lex Luther and pulls it off very well, in fact I can’t think of anyone who could play a better Lex. The story could have been tighter and less melodramatic but it’s still decent. The movie is a little bit over two and a half hours long, which I think it could of been cut down to about two. This is a good Superman movie, and Brian Singer did a great job of capturing the classic Superman idea and fit it into today’s modern films.

Rating:

At first it would seem like a movie version of a Chevron commercial, but in it’s much more than that. The talented people at Pixar has done what seems to be the impossible; every movie they have released have been spectacular. ‘Cars’ is no exception. Many of the characters are voiced by several big-named actors and actresses. Even Richard Petty has his own character.

The story is not original, but fits well into the setting. Lightning McQueen, voiced by Owen Wilson, who just made a three-way tie in the Piston Cup and is on his way to California for a Race-off. If he wins he would be the first rookie to win a Piston Cup. Lightning McQueen’s celebrity status is rising and so is his ego. He alienates his crew which leaves him with no friends except for Mack, the Semi-truck that pulls his rig. During transportation Lightning McQueen falls asleep and rolls out of the rig. He is lost and then gets arrested and is placed in an old run-downed town. And in this town he learns a thing or two about racing and a bit more about working together with friends.

Rating:

Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn plays the unlikely couple that gets together and falls madly in love, but somewhere down there road their relationship falls apart. Vaughn is oblivious to Aniston’s subtle needs. Vaughn’s nack for only doing the things he wants to do doesn’t help much. They break up and they spend each scene trying to make each other jealous. This is an entertaing movie and Vince Vaughn steals the show.

Rating:

Professor X and his mutant team are back. The plot revolves around the conflict between mutants and non-mutants (normal humans). The mutants are believed to be dangerous and an abomination to society. So a cure is made to deactive the “X” gene which removes their mutant powers completely reducing any mutant to a mere human. Magneto and his mutant goons are out to destroy the cure as well as those who oppose their cause. Magneto manages to bring Jean Grey, who is now the Phoenix, to assist in his efforts. So who is there to save the people from Magneto and his mutant “Brotherhood”? You guessed it, the X-men.

I must say I was pretty excited and couldn’t wait for this movie. The trailers were exciting and the critic reviews were decent. But after watching the movie, I am very disappointed. Not only did it had nothing to do with the Pheonix Saga which was based of the comic series, but the characters are portrayed much different from the previous X-men movies as well as the comics. Storm and Wolverine lead the movie as the other X-men members died off. Yes, some of them actually die. Wolverine plays a more dramatic role where he deals with his feelings and love for Jean Grey, so much for the give-no-shit attiude badass killing claw-ripping mutant. And as for storm, I’m sorry to say, but Halle Barry couldn’t be cornier, ala “Cat Woman”.

This has to be the end of the X-men series, at least for the big screen. I believe if Brian Singer came back to direct this sequel it would of been a great movie.

Rating:

I haven’t read Dan Brown’s book where the movie was made after, but I have read and understood the premise of the story behind it. I’ve seen countless History Channel ‘Decoding the Da Vinci Code’ shows, and I’ve also rented a Blockbuster DVD about the in-depth history of the relating subject. The movie is directed by Ron Howard and starred by Tom Hanks. They’re a great combo and have worked on some good movies in the past.

Robert Langdon played by Tom Hanks, a professor and an expert in cryptology, is called in by the French police for a murder investigation. The victim is an acquaintance of Langdon, who has left clues of a secret and to his murder suspect. Somehow the French police are convince that Langdon is the murderer and is trying to keep him in police custody. With the help of the murdered victim’s daughter, Langdon escapes, and their search for the killer and the unraveling of the secret begins.

Despite the fact that critics gave a negative review (I wonder if those reviews were somehow biased on account of religious loyalty), I find it quite the opposite. This suspense-thriller movie is a tad long and may put some people off. Nonetheless, the movie progresses quite well and keeps you engaged. This is one of those movies that will require an attention to detail and a bit of understanding of the Christian religion.

Rating:

This was one of those movies I couldn’t wait to see, and I enjoyed the two previous Mission Impossible movies. But I was a bit concerned as the movie was directed by J.J. Abrams who is famous for directing the popular TV shows ‘Alias’ and “Lost’. From the interviews I saw on TV Cruise himself described the movie as a ‘ride’ and I agree with him. This movie is loaded with action sequences with plenty of explosions. In this movie Cruise settles down from his covert spy occupation and is now engaged, but his settled-life changes when he accepts a rescue mission that goes wrong. J.J. Abrams did an awesome job directing this movie and can’t wait for his upcoming films he will be directing. There are a few other high profile movies coming out this May and their going to have a hard time competing with MI3.

Rating:

It may not look like it from the movie cover but Slither can be considered a mild zombie movie. And YES, its another zombie movie. Written and Directed by James Gunn, who also wrote for 2004’s Dawn of the Dead, this movie takes place in a small town that unknowingly gets hit by a small meteorite that releases a worm like creature that takes over people’s bodies. A small group of townsfolk tries to fight back and destroy the spreading worm-invading epidemic. This movie is light-heartedly scary and the funny dialog from the characters keep tension of the movie toned down.

Rating:

Bank heist movies tend to be the same. Inside Man plays more of a thriller/suspense rather than a mere action flick. Denzel Washington plays the lead negotiator who tries to convince the bank robbers to give up who is played by Clive Owen and a team of of unknown actors. The suspense of the movie is not only whether the heist can be pulled off but to know what Owen’s character’s motive in robbing the bank. Without revealing too much about the movie I feel that certain characters lacked in development. Overall, Inside Man is a great heist movie.

Rating:

From the creators of The Matrix, the Wachowski brothers brings this screenplay to the big screen. This film-noir style movie takes place sometime in the near future where England is ruled by a religious-Hitler-like dictator. Life is controlled by the government through the media and their powerful political officials. V, a mysterious masked ‘freedom fighter’ or ‘terrorist’ depends on how you see it, wants to rid the government’s controlling grip on his people. V uses violence and plenty of explosions to battle the government and to convince his countrymen to join his side.

The story is beautifully written and the dialogue is superb. Hugo Weaving plays the eccentric and colorful V, who is hidden behind a musketeerian-like (this may not be a word) mask, and Natalie Portman is the unsuspecting girl who he captivates and is mutally captivated by her. The movie starts and finishes strong and will leave you feeling warm and fuzzy inside.

Rating: