Paranormal Activity

Welcome to the Blair Witch Project of the 2000's. This movie, though a great viral marketing campaign, and first movie to have a concrete idea since the Blair Witch Project, managed to scare/enterain many. This movie could have been made by anyone at any cost. However, Oren Peli manages to make the idea sound throughout. He doesn't doze off on his idea.

In my opinion, no movies are scary. They are fake. As long as I know that, they don't bother me. This movie was decent enough because it didn't use the jump film crap that other horror movies use. You know, when they move the camera fast and jumpy and shift it to make things seem more scary as they catch you off guard.

This movie "documents" the life of a couple being haunted by a demonic presence at night. Kate, the woman in the movie has been haunted by this demon for years. Her boyfriend, Micah, determined to figure this out, decides to film every day/night of their lives. They slowly catch the demonic presence more and more each day. Finally it gets serious, and that's as far as I'll go.

This movie is good if you go with someone who scares easy as it will entertain you more. However, as with all low budget movies, the acting is sub-par as is the effects. But hey, for $15,000 total, this movie was done well.

Don't expect too much, and 90% of you will be scared.

I rate this movie 7.0 out of 10. [Buy Paranormal Activity Today]

Where The Wild Things Are

To start, and I still feel this way. James Gandolfini's character, as with all his characters post-Sopranos make me imagine they are all Tony Soprano in a different form. And in this movie, he was the monster version of Tony Soprano. Just weird. I can't get that whole idea out of my head.

Getting past that, Spike Jonze did an excellent job in translating this movie from a book to the big screen. I think it is incredibly hard to do, given the length of the book. However, little boy Max runs away from home as he is frustrated and ends up arriving at an island inhabited by giant monsters. He lives with them as their king, and eventually realizes he must return home.

There were a ton of voices in this movie, James Gandolfini, Paul Dano, Forest Whitaker, and Chris Cooper to name a few. The movie had very nice effects. The plot was actually managable.

There was a problem, for some in this part. It was and wasn't for kids. The movie goes from kid friendly to scary and back. It is much deeper than the book was ever meant to be. It was gravely realistic in thought and kind of dark. So this inconsistency, I think, weighed down the movie.

If you enjoyed the book, and want to see an interesting movie, but don't expect too much. Give it a watch as a matinée movie.

I rate this movie 7.3 out of 10.

Law Abiding Citizen

After seeing countless previews for this movie, I thought a few things. I have to see this because its stuck in my head. This movie seems like Saw but in a non horror setting. (not necessarily the best thing) This movie looks good.

Well marketing worked, I saw the movie, and here I am.

The movie starts out with basically the majority of the trailer. Loved that. Its good to see a trailer that only sets up the movie and doesn't spoil it. The movie shoots immediately to 10 years after Gerard Butler's (Clyde's) family was murdered. From there, Clyde begins to take down everyone involved in the process. At the same time, he is making a mockery of the justice system because he feels they don't worry about right and wrong. They only worry about looking good. He wants the system changed. He turns his primary focus on trying to teach his old lawyer (Jamie Foxx) a lesson. Teach him that he has to worry about what's right, not what will help him have a high conviction rate.

The movie moves from there at a thrilling and rapid rate. It is neat to see how Clyde manages to do what he's doing. How the movie winds to its ending is surprising, with the ending being obvious.

The dialog is what really makes the movie. Gerard Butler makes you laugh with how he acts and treats everything. This makes the movie even more enjoyable on top of the plot.

Great acting all around.

So if you want to see a good movie, without a twist (twists suck most of the time and don't make much sense in hindsight), go see this movie. Trust me.

I rate this movie 8.7 out of 10.

Zombieland

Woody Harrelson and the star of Adventureland (seems to do well with __land movies), Jesse Eisenberg (Michael Cera 2) star in a comedy zombie movie. Now its not necessarily a spoof movie. It is a zombie movie.

Eisenberg plays a character who is a nerd and relies on strict rules to stay alive. Harrelson is the crazy bad ass type who runs on instincts. They meet up and are headed to their various destinations, when they meet two more humans, 2 girls, played by Emma Stone (Superbad) and Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine). After some deception, they team up to head to LA, where they think there is a safe spot.

Harrelson is back. His acting was perfect. His humor was great. Dry at some times, slapstick at others. His never-ending quest for Twinkies and his "enjoying of the little things" was priceless. Eisenberg plays his nerdy role spot on, not hard for him. His quarks and narration keep the movie going and people laughing.

The timing on all the events were great as was the creativity. However, the zombie aspect made that easy to do. The writers and director really set up a mold and kept with it. It worked perfect. The movie was absolutely hilarious. I'm not going to spoil it, by saying anything about it, but I will mention it since its been already mentioned by others... Bill Murray's cameo was amazing.

The movie doesn't make you think. It makes you laugh, and laugh, and enjoy. Don't go there looking to see something develop and progress. Go there looking to laugh at one of the more creative movies this year.

Definitely, one of the top 2 comedies of the year, with The Hangover only topping it by a little.

This movie is one you can see over and over and not get sick of it.

I rate this movie 9.1 out of 10.

Surrogates

Bruce Willis stars as Tom Greer, an FBI worker in a world where people are linked to robots safely from their home while the robots do all the living. He accepts it, but secretly hates it. No worry about dying while your surrogate is out there. However, its discovered there is a weapon that can kill the person running the surrogate. Once discovered, Tom Greer realizes everyone is acting funny. Like they know something and are covering it up. Once Tom's surrogate is destroyed, he has to solve the mystery with his own human body. Dangerous.

This movie was predictable from start to finish. The action scenes were boring and old. I didn't learn or see anything I haven't in other sci-fi movies. Bruce Willis did a great acting job. However, the rest of the cast, even James Cromwell, didn't deliver. Ving Rhames's character was shallow and terribly developed.

Also, the movie was under an hour and a half. For a movie they promoted so much, it was too short-lived. It also had no lasting effect on me. Just a high-budget mess.

So unless you are a die hard Willis fan (pun intended), you'd be better off holding out and spending your money on a good October movie.

I rate this movie 5.4 out of 10.

The Informant!

Matt Damon plays Mark Whitacre, an airhead yet genius type. You know, where they are unbelievably smart, but don't really pay attention to others. Not trying to confuse this with a lack of "street smarts" that the commercials show, because Mark has them.

Anywho, the story begins with Mark Whitacre talking of a man bribing his corn company for a few million dollars. This leads to an FBI investigation. The investigation quickly switches off of the bribe and onto a bigger thing that Mark reveals... price fixing. From there the chaos ensues. Mark actually does a decent job with helping them get film and tapes, yet he doesn't seem to be telling the truth all the time. I won't spoil the rest, you'll just have to see it.

The movie is really funny, not so much in physical humor, but in a lot of dialog and situational humor. Matt Damon really nails his part well. The supporting cast has that dry humor type acting which really works well with the movie.

The movie seems to drag on toward the end, but never really has you lose interest. The story, namely Mark Whitacre's lies, keep the movie flowing well and never allows you to guess what is happening next. (Unless you've read the novel)

I think it was a good change for Matt Damon, and a movie that was very worth seeing.

Don't expect too much laughing. You'll get enough though, and the story is worth it.

I rate this movie 7.7 out of 10.

Tropic Thunder

Ben Stiller. Jack Black.... and Robert Downey, Jr.? Yes. (And Brandon Jackson, Jay Baruchel, Nick Nolte, Steve Coogan, Danny McBride, Bill Hader as well as Matthew McConaughey and Tom Cruise as you've never seen them before) This isn't your typical comedy.

The premise is 4 out of control ego actors are filming a movie about Vietnam, and after something goes wrong they are in the jungle for real. Only they don't realize it, til the adventure starts.

The movie starts out slow. But the dialog and Robert Downey, Jr. are classic from start to finish. Ben Stiller plays an action star past his prime trying to reestablish himself as a dramatic actor. He plays his character one-dimensionally beautifully, a far cry from his boring generic paranoid unlucky characters. Downey, Jr. plays an over dedicated actor to the point where he goes under surgery to make himself black to play a black man's role. Jack Black plays a drug addicted, Eddie Murphy in Nutty Professor, character.

The rest of the cast holds up. McConaughey is great as an air head, super dedicated agent to Ben Stiller, and Tom Cruise in bald/fat suit plays an egotistical producer. It's really great to see them do something different.

Overall, the movie is chunky, and has some lingering parts. But its well worth a watch if you have two hours to kill. It's not a movie you could watch over and over, though.

I rate this movie 7.8 out of 10.

9

Spoiler Alert: Contrary to popular belief, 9 is not a Tim Burton movie, he only produced it. He didn't create, write, or direct it. So it isn't a Tim Burton movie.

Moving forward, I expected a lot out of this movie. I liked the cast, I liked the premise. I liked the PG-13 rating. I kinda shied at the Tim Burton thing, hoping he didn't lay his creative thought on it too much as he's done enough like this. However, when purchasing my tickets, I realized the movie was only 79 minutes long (1 hour and 19 minutes). That really scared me.

After watching it, it rang true. The movie was just too short. Funny since the movie was based off of a movie short, titled 9, in 2005. The plot made sense. 9 rag doll creatures created from a scientist in attempt to save mankind from its complete destruction. Mankind had lost the war against its own robots it created (Terminator, Matrix, etc.). These puppet dolls don't know what they have got themselves into yet. However, the plot lacked solid character development. It lacked any intermediate scenes, transitions, or real explanation of most things.

The acting (voicing) was great. So was the animation. Elijah Wood and John C. Reilly really stood out. Not surprisingly. The animation was great, too.

Really, if they stretched the movie another 20-25 minutes, it would have been much better. Hell, it wouldn't be called stretching, since I feel shortchanged.

Watch it at a matinée price since you aren't paying for a full movie. Also, the commercial may have cool music, but the movie lacks it.

I rate this movie 6.0 out of 10.

Extract

Extract. Mike Judge's 2nd movie since Office Space. It was good to see him stick to the mold of Office Space, and stay far, far away from Idiocracy. Also, he went for a better cast: Bateman, Kunis, Affleck, Simmons.

However, the movie wasn't Office Space, nothing will be. But I can settle for a decent comparison. Bateman plays the owner of an extract company who has some crazy characters who work for him, he has a wife (Kristin Wiig) who he can't any loving from, and he has a lawsuit to settle so he can try to sell his company. Enter Mila Kunis and trouble erupts.

I'm not going to spoil too much, but the movie is pretty funny. It isn't a flowing funny, but its a consistent funny. Affleck isn't as funny as the commercials appear, either. Bateman is his responsible, yet he gets shit on character.

The movie isn't as good as I thought it was, but it was definitely watchable. The only upsetting part was that it could have easily been 300 times better, which was really disappointing. It was a let down.

I rate this movie 6.7 out of 10.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Hugh Jackman returns for the 4th (1st in chronological order) time as Wolverine. This time in an attempt to explain how he became the way he did. The movie starts out with Logan (Wolverine's name) as a boy, a few hundred years back, with his brother (eventually being Sabretooth, played by Liev Schreiber), and then shows a 15 minute or less, travel through time, since neither of them age. Showing from war to war (revolutionary, civil, world(s)) and how they fought for America. Then it turns to real time where they are part of a secret task force of mutants. Logan no longer wants to be part of that, so he takes off. They spend the time trying to lure him back once finding him, in an attempt to have him go through a process in which he gets an adamantium skeleton. Basically, they cause him hell through the whole ordeal, and he tries to stop them from all the bad things they were doing.

All in all, it was a decent cast (Hugo Weaving Ryan Reynolds, and Will.I.Am included). The story line was a little bit different from the comics, but hey, they had only 2 hours. If you liked the X-Men franchise, you'll love this movie, unless you are sick of it. Which I think most people were split between the two. I think this movie was set to further Ryan Reynolds in another spin off as well, and possibly Liev Schreiber, too. However, I'm not sure either will happen.

The storyline was pretty good, and well presented. The action was a bit unrealistic, and I'm saying this about a movie about mutants, which means something. But it is enjoyable, and you don't have to be a geek to like it.

I rate this movie 7.2 out of 10.

Gamer

From the people who brought you Crank and Crank: High Voltage, present Gamer. Modifying their over-the-top action style slightly to present a much more realistic (although still not believable) movie in which Gerard Butler, or Kable, a convicted murderer (although since everyone knows he's the good guy, he obviously didn't do what he was accused of), who's signed up for a real life video game. Basically imagine you control a real human in Call of Duty or Halo. His game player is a 17 year old kid who is great at these games. The two of them working together have managed to keep Kable alive for over 20 days. If he survives 30 days, he gets his freedom. Kable is a hero to the world as this is being broadcasted on PPV by billionaire Ken Castle, played by Michael C. Hall (of Dexter fame). He also has another project similar to as if the Sims were real. People get paid to be a Sim, and people pay to control them. Castle doesn't want Kable to win at all costs, but why?

Directors/writers Neveldine and Taylor present this in incredible quality and depth as to translating these video games to real life people. Real gamers will laugh and enjoy all the subtleties that are presented before them. The story is fast-paced, but it flows great. Its non-stop action.

There are tons of names in this from Ludacris to Kyra Sedgewick to UFC Star Keith Jardine, John Leguizamo, Milo Ventimiglia (of Heroes), Terry Crews, and blink if you catch him Efren Ramirez (Pedro from Napoleon Dynamite, and all other Neveldine/Taylor movies).

I would have to say I was quite impressed. This movie is ridiculous, but in a good way.

I rate this movie 7.8 out of 10.

Choke

Based on the book written by Chuck Palahniuk (author of Fight Club). This movie stars Sam Rockwell. He is a man currently working at a place that reenacts life in coloinal America. He doesn't take his job seriously and spends most of his time there hitting on women. At the same time, he is visiting his sick mother at the hospital on a regular basis, and she is getting worse and worse and is remembering who he is less and less. At the same time, Rockwell's Victor, is a con man, and goes to fancy restaurants, fakes choking, only for rich people to save him. He then prays on their kindness and his unfortunate situation into getting things from them. While visiting his mother he meets a nurse whom he fall in love with. Craziness ensues from there.

The movie was unlike most movies I've seen. Very off, but not in such a bad way. It was a limited release, I feel, for a reason, as most people wouldn't flock to such a movie. However, it fits its niche great. Rockwell plays his character well, and his mom is played by Anjelica Huston.

I'd recommend this if you are looking for a dark comedy, or if you are a Palahniuk fan.

I rate this movie 6.9 out of 10.

The Spirit

Ahh, Frank Miller's first movie since Sin City, however with him directing it. I thought this would be great. Plus Sam Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, and Eva Mendes in supporting roles.

I have to say the movie let me down. I enjoyed watching it from start to finish. However, this being Miller's first directed project with on supervision, he just didn't know what he was doing. The movie seemed rushed and there was little transitioning.

Gabriel Macht, played the lead, The Spirit. He was a cop who apparently died, but was saved by the afterlife. So he lives his life as a basically immortal savior to his city. He is also a womanizer. Macht does a charming job at his first lead role, and provides decent humor and action.

The movie, albeit justifed, seemed too much of a graphic novel brought to life, it was too jumpy as if the viewer was turning a page after each scene, instead of watching 1 masterpiece put together.

I'd say if you like these types of movie and are bored, give it a go.

I rate this movie 6.2 out of 10.

The Haunting In Connecticut

I'm not sure if I made myself clear yet in any reviews, but I'm extremely critical of horror movies. Mostly because they have a shallow plot, and really are far from scary. Just some bad acting and special effects, and either jump camera tricks, or scary music to set the tone. I also don't believe in ghosts. So this movie being based on a true story interested me a lot. I wanted to see what it was all about.

To answer it plainly, wow this movie sucked. Not to mention, when matched up with the "true story," I found this movie wasn't very true at all, and neither was the story it was based on.

The acting was decent, surprisingly. The movie just didn't flow at all. It wasn't scary. The entire thing just seemed like a flash back to something that never happened.

Please don't see this.

I rate this movie 3.0 out of 10.

Slumdog Millionaire

What do we have here? Danny Boyle. Not everyone may know him, but he's a fairl established director. I'd go as far as to say he pulled a Neill Blomkamp before Blomkamp did with District 9. He used actors no one ever heard of, to deliver a fantastic and thrilling movie. However, they weren't as unknown, and some were even British, such as Dev Patel.

The movie basically revolves around a boy raised on his own in the slum being more successful than anyone else has in India's version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire. Seeing as he has no education this is very suspicious to everyone. Yet as he answers each question, it flashes back to his life experience involving how he knew it, esssentially telling the tale of his life.

It was wonderfully directed, written, and acted. It hit me, as well as many others, by surprise. The movie has also skyrocketed leads Dev Patel and Freida Pinto into immense fame.

If you like a good story, hell, a flawless story, please watch this movie.

I rate this movie 8.8 out of 10.

Push

I wanted to see this movie when it hit theatres, however it got little screen time by me. So I had to wait. I'm not going to say the movie was worth the wait, but it was very good.

The movie stars Chris Evans (he is who he is). Not a terrible choice, but he works. Also stars, Dakota Fanning as a teenager, Camilla Belle, and Djimon Hounsou. Everyone has their own abilities as well as many others in the world. Evans is a Mover, he can move things with his mind. Belle and Hounsou plays a Pusher, who can push thoughts into people's minds. Fanning plays someone who can draw the future. There are other types of characters, too.

The premise is that Hounsou is a member of an agency called the Division, who is after Belle and others because of what they can do. Evan's character, Nick is the boyfriend of Belle's character, Kira, and him with the help of Dakota Fanning's character, Cassie try to save her.

The movie sounds simple and dumb, but actually is quite intricate. The directing wasn't the best, but this was a great script if you are into sci-fi. Yeah, its not realistic, either, but the way its explained, if you realize its a movie, you'll enjoy it.

This actually surprised me as I expected it to be lame and cheesy once they got explaining everything, and it turned out to be the exact opposite.

If you like suspense, action, intricate twists and plots, you'll enjoy this. More likely if you are between the ages of 20-30. Just my guess.

I rate this movie 7.0 out of 10.

Watchmen

I'll admit it, and most should... the opening credits were probably one of the best parts of the movie. I'll also add this - I never read the graphic novel, so any differences wouldn't have bothered me. The characters were original in this one. They were acted beautifully, too. The special effects were fantastic as well. The movie flowed, as well. It was long, about 3 hours. (seems I always mention length) However, I didn't mind the length. I became engrossed in it.

The movie is about if super heroes really existed in our world. Basically an alternate reality of how things would be. However, all but 1 of these super heroes have no super powers. The movie begins with one of the heroes being killed, years after they were all retired. The movie follows around Jackie Earle Haley's Rorschach character, named after the psychiatric ink blot Rorscach test because his mask had an everchanging ink blot on it. The mystery and action ensue from there.

The movie is made to flow like a graphic novel would. It also doesn't take itself too seriously using song choices at awkward moments to lighten to mood. Some people find that takes away from the movie, I find that it lets people know how the movie should be viewed.

I'm not a Jeffrey Dean Morgan fan by any means, mostly because he does girl movies, yet he played his character perfectly. Billy Crudup as Dr. Manhattan was awesome as well. However, Rorschach still takes the cake. Haley did an amazing job at making his character intelligent, deranged, energetic, stubborn, and psychotic all at the same time.

If you like comic book / graphic novel movies, I'd recommend you watch this one.

I rate this movie 8.1 out of 10.

Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen

Everything is back. CGI, Michael Bay, Megan Fox, Shia, John Turturro. It's all bigger...but is it better?

A few things - I didn't hate the movie and the CGI is too much. If you've seen the first one, you are getting the second version of that. You know what to expect. Don't hate the first and see this one expecting to love it. You won't. If you liked the first, you'll like this.

The script is written fairly well, minus one scene at the end (apparently when you die you see Transformers in "heaven" and what they tell you changes the course of the movies plot and design for no apparent reason). It's about 2 years later, and the transformers kick some ass with Josh Duhamel and Tyrese on a regular basis across the world. This is until our government realizes the bad robots want to come back, and blame it on the transformers. Long story short, they come back, and they need the transformers and Sam (Shia LaBeouf).

My problem is the CGI is too quick and annoying. Also, they do a terrible job of establishing the transformers characters letting you know who is who. Except in the case of the possibly racist car transformer twins.

All this aside. The movie flows very well. There is a ton of action. For the guys, there is Megan Fox (overrated). You can't really complain.

I rate this movie 7.0 out of 10.

Year One

When I first read of this movie I got excited. When the trailers came out, I was hoping. However, when I entered the theater I knew that I was expecting too much. Harold Ramis is good. He's had a great career. However, trying to write a comedy with Jack Black and Michael Cera about them being cavemen and going through the early years of Earth and having the storyline explain how things came to be was just way, way too much.

Jack Black should always be in a supporting role. He just can't lead it. As should Michael Cera (see: Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist). Black just has too much physical comedy which was only funny before the year 2000. Putting David Cross and Paul Rudd in it sounded good, too. However, if you force them to go on a horrible script and have them act in ways they don't (physical comedy), its awful.

They also put in Olivia Wilde for eye candy. Her character is just boring in the movie.

I don't know, basically from 10 minutes in the movie, you know you want to stop watching it, but you just sit through it. Oh, and they put McLovin in it, and he isn't funny in the movie. Coupled with the fact that Hank Azaria is in it doing the voice of the old sea man with the scratchy voice from The Simpsons. Its just painful.

This movie is a mess held together by a terrible portrayal of events that took place... or maybe didn't, over the course of time.

Good idea, bad casting, bad script.

I rate this movie 4.0 out of 10.

The Hangover

Directed by the guy who brought us, Old School. Excellent.

This movie was great from start to finish, best comedy since Step Brothers, one of the top since the year 2000.

Ed Helms, Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, and kind of Justin Bartha star in a movie full of other names like Rob Riggle, Heather Graham, the overused Ken Jeong, and more. Basically the top 4 mentioned about are going to Vegas to have Bartha a bachelor party. The movie then shifts to the morning after, and Bartha is missing, and chaos ensues.

Zach Galifianakis (hate to spell it) is the scene stealer. You may not know him, but he's been around for a while, and is finally getting what he is due. Hopefully they don't over use him on other projects. Bradley Cooper (funny in Wedding Crashers) can play a comedic/serious role well. Ed Helms, no explanation needed.

Basically, the only drawback to the movie was watching it in a theatre. People were laughing so hard and often, i missed some dialogue. Yeah, it was that funny.

No plus/minus on this one. All plusses. Trust me, just watch it.

I rate this movie 9.5 out of 10.