Movie Reviews

Talladega Nights: not as funny as expected but worth renting

Borat: funny for five minutes, tiresome and just plain gross for any more than that.

Superman Returns: stupid and melodramatic. I love comic books but it sucked. I feel the same way about the Spiderman movies.

X-Men III: Great.

Ghost Rider: looks horrible. Nicholas Cage will stink up a cool comic the way John Travolta stunk up The Punisher.

Pirates of the Caribbean II: Entertaining but the ending leaves you hanging and feeling like you're just paying for a small part of Jerry Bruckheimer's next Bentley.

King Kong: stupid. Really stupid. When movies like this are successful I lose so much faith in my fellow human beings. Jack Black is so stupid and untalented, like Keanu Reeves without the looks.

An Unfinished Life: Really good. Ever seen a bad movie with Robert Redford? Even JLo is good in it.

The Apostle: my obscure favorite movie. Directed by, written by, and starring Robert Duvall.

Lady in the Water: Beautiful, haunting, and moving. While not as pants-wettingly scary as M. Night Shyamalan's other flicks it is quite suspenseful.

Eragon: Basically the plot of Star Wars in a fantasy setting, it's still an enjoyable movie that starts out slow but picks up by the second act.

Casino Royale: The best Bond film since... maybe ever. No groan inducing one liners or over the top stunts, no Q, no goofy gadgets, just a James Bond you can believe will kill you for Queen and Country without blinking. The end does drag out a bit, but otherwise awesome.

Under the Radar DVD picks

Donnie Darko: A brilliant, haunting movie that never quite explains 100% what the hell is going on, every nerd should see this.

Frailty: A psychological thriller that screws with your head with a hell of a twist at the end.

Boondock Saints: Over the top, violent, hysterical and Irish. I can't believe I never saw this movie until this year.

Bubba Ho-Tep: Bruce Campbell stars as Elvis Presley, still alive but languishing in a nursing home with an elderly black JFK and battling an ancient Egyptian mummy that wears a cheesy cowboy get-up. Funny, twisted, and somehow moving and tender as well.

Blood Diamond - Hands down, that was the best movie I've seen all year. Djimon Hounsou gave an excellent performance - especially the scene where he kills his former captor, the same RUF rebel that kidnapped his son, with the shovel. And whether or not you hate DiCaprio ... his performance in this movie finally seems like his acting has "grown up." The cinematography, dialogue and pace were all top-notch. As a "guy movie," it had two (violence and language) of the three requisites (missing gratuitous nudity).

Well, since I have small children, I'll add my 2cents about some of the animated (Pixar, etc) films that have come out this year, as well as one Holiday film.

Over the Hedge What I thought was going to be a cheap knock off of Madagascar actually turned out well done and quite hilarious.

Open Season Ok, I'm neither an Ashton Kutcher, nor a Martin Lawrence fan, but not only did this movie make me laugh, it also had a good lesson without being preachy. It was well worth the money.

Cars By far the BEST animated/kids movie this year. I haven't laughed this hard (thanks to Larry the Cable Guy) at an animated movie since the first Shrek. I liked it well enough to buy it.

Now..on to my stinker of the year award...

Deck the Halls All of the funny scenes are in the trailers. After that, the movie begins to try turn serious about what Christmas is supposed to really mean. It stars Danny DeVito and Matthew Broderick, so I expected better. Biggest waste of $24 (myself and my two children) yet this year. Even my 11 year old thought it was bad.

Was this movie any good? I keep wanting to rent it but I haven't heard much about it.

No Spoilers, VNutz!

Who saw it and who liked it? Where does it rank in the Rocky series? Right now I have them:

1. I (by far the best in the series),

2. IV (kill the G*ddamn Russian!),

3. II,

4. III (Any movie with Hulk Hogan and Mr. T is ridiculous), and the

5. God-awful V is last of course. Didn't that guy die of AIDS? No. Wiki says HIV positive as of 1996. Interestingly enough, Morrison has since denied he has HIV.

Happy Feet: Incredible Job on generating a meaningful animation.