Category: Movie Reviews

John McClane is the epitome of anti-hero. He’s the bad ass cop that is always in the wrong place at the wrong time. And this time McClane is up against a group of domestic terrorists that cripples the United States by hacking to all the vital sectors of the economy and causing chaos throughout the country. Justin Long plays a computer hacker that helps McClane save the country and his daughter.

If you love the other Die Hard movies then you’ll enjoy this one, the only difference, this one has a 21st century plot to it. The action is great and the pace is fast. Too bad the story doesn’t get into McClane’s life in the past 12 years since the last Die Hard.

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Zack is back. Zack Snyder directed 2004’s Dawn of the Dead which is one of my favorite zombie movies. Snyder is able to faithfully bring Miller’s graphic novel 300 onto the big screen. From the opening to closing scenes the movie is breath-taking. This is probably the first time any director and writer is able to translate a graphic novel into movie so well. Though the movie was shot almost entirely with a green-screen the film’s special effect fit so seamlessly into the movie.

The story is loosely based on the historic battle of Thermopylae where Leonidas and his 300 Spartan warriors held off a Persian army of one million. This is one of the first battles in history where the geographic landscape played an influential role in battle. 300 has more testosterone than any action movie released in the past 10 years. If you’re into gore and great action then 300 maybe the movie of the year for you.

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For those who aren’t familiar with the Rocky series this is the sixth Rocky film. The series carry the all familiar theme of an underdog beating the odds.

Rocky comes out of retirement to get back into the ring for some local low profile matches. But World Champion Mason Dixon’s (played by real-life former World Champion Antonio Tarver) management sees an opportunity to exploit Rocky into an exhibition match to boost Dixon’s low popularity ratings.

Unlike it’s 80’s prequels, this film carries a much better production value. Unfortunately, the final fight of the movie takes a big step backwards. Fast scene changes combined with HBO-type filming takes away the intense fight bouts seen in Rocky I – IV. Overall, this (final) Rocky movie was much better than I had expected, well, compared to Rocky V anything better wouldn’t be too hard to accomplish. Those who are fans of the other Rocky movies will feel the nostalgia for them after watching this movie.

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I’ve always thought Will Smith was a one dimensional actor; the Fresh-Prince of Bel-air persona. It’s rare to see Will Smith play a role in which he can display his talented acting.

Smith plays Chris Gardner, a struggling father raising his son as his life seemingly begins to fall apart. Gardner take it upon him selfs to raise his son alone as his wife leaves them. Gardner’s life could be a textbook account of Murphy’s Law, as anything that could go wrong does go wrong.

Gardner’s display of heart and persistence makes this movie very inspiring. In fact, it’s one of the better inspiring movie that came out in a long time.

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Director Tony Scott and actor Denzel Washington team up again with this action thriller Deja Vu. Washington plays Doug Carlin, an ATF agent investigating a fairy-boat explosion and a murder victim that are related.

Carlin gets recuited into a FBI special unit that has the technology to manipulate the past. With the technology Carlin uses himself as a guinea pig to send himself back several hours before the death of the murder and they race against the clock to stop the explosion.

Deja Vu has great action as you can expect from Tony Scott. If you liked ‘Man on Fire’ then you’ll definitely enjoy Deja Vu.

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Daniel Craig replaces Brosnan in the latest James Bond flick. Casino Royale is more of a prequel to all the 007 movies and it shows a glimpse of how Bond becomes an 007 agent. Craig plays Bond very well and all previous doubts about his ability to play the secret agent can be washed away.

Unlike, other Bond movies, Casino Royale doesn’t include as many hi-tech gadgets and gizmos. Even Bond is different. He is more brash and rugged rather than the suave and sleek role compared in the other Bond movies.

Casino Royale is tense and full of action, but the plot, solid at first, crumbles towards the end. Still, the movie is enjoyable and we can expect Daniel Craig to reprise his role in the next Bond movie.

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Will Farrell plays Harold Click, an obsessive compulsive mild-mannered IRS agent, whose life is dictated by an author writing her latest novel. The author’s voice narrates Click’s life and he is the only one who hears the voice. The narrator foreshadow’s and reveals that Click’s death is iminent which sends Click seeking for help to find out if this story is an actual tragedy or a comedy.

Unlike his usual over-the-top characters, Farrell’s character is simple and naive. Farrell’s facial expression and body language drives the comedy which aren’t knee-slappers but will keep you entertained.

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Prequels are quite popular, but the downside is that you already know the outcome and the plot tends to be unoriginal. In this prequel you see how Leatherface came to be and how he got his favorite toy, the chainsaw. Similar to the first movie, a group of kids find themslves trying to escape the infamous Hewitt house

“The Beginning” brings nothing new to the table but more gore and more killing.

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This third installment of the gruesome horror movie makes it out right before Halloween. Tobin Bell reprises his role as Jigsaw killer. This time Jigsaw is in his death bed, but is still running his death games along with Amanda, one of his victims he has taken under his wing.

Saw III continues on it’s premise in pitting victims to perform deadly tasks to stay alive. This third installment carries a better plot and the gore is knocked up a notch. The scenes of the mutilating victims will make even a masochist squirm in their seat.

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