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Movie List
Accepted
Across the Universe
Adaptation
After the Sunset
Agent Cody Banks
Akeelah and the Bee
Alexander
Alfie
Alien: Director's Cut
Alpha Dog
All About Eve
All the Real Girls
Alone in the Dark
Along Came Polly
American Dreamz
American Gangster
American Splendor
American Wedding
Amityville Horror
Anchorman
Anger Management
Anything Else
Are We There Yet?
Around the Bend
Around the World in 80 Days
Ass. of Jesse James
Ass. of Richard Nixon
Atlantic City
Atonement
Aurora Borealis
Aviator, The
AVP: Alien vs. Predator
AVP 2
Awake
Away From Her

Baaaadasss!
Babel
Baby Mama
Bad Boys 2
Bad Education
Bad News Bears
Bad Santa
Bamboozled
Bank Job, The
Barber Shop 2
Basic
Batman Begins
Battle of Shaker Hts.
Beauty Shop
Because of Winn-Dixie
BeCool
Bee Movie
Beerfest
Before Sunset
Before the Devil Knows...
Being Julia
Be Kind Rewind
Benchwarmers
Bend It Like Beckham
Beowulf
Bewitched
Beyond Borders
Beyond the Sea
Big Bounce, The
Big Fish
Bigger Than the Sky
Big Nothing
Billy the Kid
Birth
Birthday Girl
Black Dahlia, The
Black Snake Moan
Blade Trinity
Blades of Glory
Boat Trip
Boogeyman
Borat
Bourne Supremacy
Bourne Ultimatum
Bowling for Columbine
Brave One, The
Breaking and Entering
Break-Up, The
Brick
Bride & Prejudice
Bridget Jones's Diary
Bridget Jones 2
Bridge to Terabithia
Bringing Down the House
Brokeback Mountain
Broken Flowers
Brother Bear
Brothers Grimm
Brown Bunny, The
Bruce Almighty
Bubba Ho-Tep
Bucket List, The
Buffalo '66
Bulletproof Monk
The Butterfly Effect

Cabin Fever
Cache
Calendar Girls
Capote
Captivity
Cars
Casablanca
Casanova
Casino Royale
Catch and Release
Catch Me If You Can
Cat in the Hat
Catwoman
Celebrity
Cellular
Changing Lanes
Charlie & the Chocolate Factory
Charlie's Angels 2
Charlie Wilson's War
Charlotte's Web
Chasing Liberty
Cheaper by the Dozen
Chocolat
Christmas with the Kranks
Chronicles of Narnia
Chronicles of Riddick
Chuck and Buck
Cinderella Man
Cinema Paradiso
City of Ghosts
Clearing, The
Clerks II
Click
Closer
Cloverfield
Club Dread
Code 46
Coffee & Cigarettes
Cold Creek Manor
Cold Mountain
Collateral
Confessions of a Superhero
Control
Cooler, The
Confidence
Constant Gardener
Constantine
Cookie's Fortune
Core, The
Corpse Bride
Counterfeiters, The
Cowboy Bebop
Crank
Crash
Crazy Love
Criminal
Curious George
Cursed

Daddy Day Care
Dancer Upstairs
Dan in Real Life
Danny Deckchair
Darjeeling Limited, The
Darkness
Date Movie
Dave Chappelle Party
Da Vinci Code, The
Dawn of the Dead ('04)
Day After Tomorrow
Dead Man's Shoes
Dead Silence
Dear Frankie
Death at a Funeral
Death of a President
Death Sentence
Deception
Deck the Halls
Definitely, Maybe
deja vu
Departed, The
Derailed
Descent, The
Devil's Own, The
Devil's Rejects
Diary of a Mad Black Woman
Diggers
Dish, The
Disturbia
Dodgeball
Dog Problem, The
Dogville
Domino
Donnie Darko
Donnie Darko: Director
Don't Come Knocking
Don't Mess With Zohan
Door In The Floor
Dorm Daze
Down With Love
Dreamcatcher
Dreamgirls
Drillbit Taylor
Dukes of Hazzard
Dumb & Dumberer
Dungeons & Dragons

Eastern Promises
Eight Below
8 Mile
88 Minutes
Elektra
Elephant
Elf
Elizabeth
Elizabethtown
Ella Enchanted
Employee of the Month
Enchanted
Enduring Love
Enron: The Smartest Guys
Episode III
Eternal Sunshine...
Eurotrip
Evan Almighty
Evening
Everything is Illuminated
Ex, The
Eye, The

Fac-to-tum
Fahrenheit 9/11
Failure to Launch
Fall, The
Family Stone, The
Fantastic Four
Fantastic Four: Silver Surfer
Far From Heaven
Fat Albert
Fay Grim
Feast of Love
Fever Pitch
50 First Dates
Final Destination 3
Finding Nemo
Finding Neverland
Find Me Guilty
Firewall
First Daughter
First Sunday
Flags of Our Fathers
Flawless
Flight of the Phoenix
Flightplan
Flushed Away
Fog, The
Forbidden Kingdom
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Forgotten, The
40-Year-Old Virgin
For Your Consideration
Fountain, The
1408
Fracture
Fred Clause
Friday Night Lights
Friends with Money
Full Frontal
Full Metal Jacket
Funny Games
Fun with Dick and Jane

Game 6
Gangs of New York
Garden State
Garfield
Gerry
Get on the Bus
Get Smart
Ghost Rider
Ghosts of the Abyss
Girl Next Door
Girl with the Pearl Earring
Golden Compass, The
Goldfish Memory
Gone Baby Gone
Goodbye, Lenin!
Good German, The
Good Girl
Good Luck Chuck
Good Night and Good Luck
Good Thief, The
Gothika
Grand, The
Grandma's Boy
Great New Wonderful, The
Grindhouse
Grizzly Man
Grudge, The
Guess Who
Gunner Palace

Hairspray
Half Nelson
Hancock
Happening, The
Happy Endings
Hard Candy
Harold & Kumar 2
Harry Potter 1 and 2
Harry Potter 3
Harry Potter 4
Harry Potter 5
Haunted Mansion
Head of State
Head On
Heartbreak Kid, The
Hellboy
He Loves Me / Not
Hero
Hidalgo
Hide and Seek
High Tension
History of Violence
Hitch
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
Hoax, The
Holes
Holiday, The
Hollywoodland
Honeydripper
Honeymooners
Hoodwinked
Horton Hears a Who
Host, The
Hotel Rwanda
Hot Fuzz
Hot Rod
Hours, The
House of D
House of Flying Daggers
House of 1K Corpses
House of Sand and Fog
House of Wax
House of the Dead
House of Yes
Howl's Moving Castle
How to Deal
Human Stain, The
Hunted, The
Hunting Party, The

I Am David
I Am Legend
Ice Harvest, The
Ice Storm, The
Identity
I Heart Huckabees
I'll Sleep When Dead
Illusionist, The
I'm Not There
In America
In Bruges
Inconvenient Truth, An
Incredible Hulk (2008)
Incredibles, The
Indiana Jones 2008
Infernal Affairs
In Good Company
In Her Shoes
In-Laws
I Now...Chuck & Larry
Inside I'm Dancing
Inside Man
Intermission
Interpreter, The
In The Cut
In the Valley of Elah
Into the Wild
Introducing the Dwights
Invasion, The
Invisible, The
I, Robot
Iron Man
Irreversible
Island, The
Italian Job
I Think I Love My Wife
It Runs in the Family

Jackass 2
Jacket, The
Japanese Story
Jarhead
Jersey Girl
Jesus Camp
Jindabyne
Johnny English
Joshua
Jumper
Juno
Ju On
Just Friends
Just Like Heaven

Keeping Mum
Keeping up with the Steins
Kicking & Screaming
Kill Bill 1
Kill Bill 2
King Arthur
Kingdom of Heaven
King Kong
King of Kong
King of the Corner
King's Ransom
Kinsey
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Kit Kittredge
Knocked Up
Kung Fu Hustle
Kung Fu Panda

L'aberge Espagnole
Ladder 49
Lady in the Water
The Ladykillers
Lake House, The
Lara Croft: TR2
Lars and the Real Girl
Last Holiday
Last Kiss, The
Last Mimzy, The
Last Picture Show
Last Samurai
Laurel Canyon
Laws of Attraction
Layer Cake
Leatherheads
Lemony Snicket
Letters from Iwo Jima
Levity
License to Wed
Life Aquatic
Life Before Her Eyes, The
Life of David Gale
Little Children
Little Miss Sunshine
Live Free or Die Hard
Lives of Others
Living in Oblivion
Longest Yard, The
Look at Me
Looney Tunes
Lord of the Rings: Two Towers
Lord of War
Lords of Dogtown
Lost in La Mancha
Lost in Translation
Lot Like Love, A
Love Actually
Love Don't Cost...
Love Guru, The
Love Liza
Love Me If You Dare
Lucky Number Slevin
Lucky You

Machinist, The
Madagascar
Made of Honor
Mad Money
Mail Order Wife
Malevolence
Malibu's Most Wanted
Mallrats
Man Apart, A
Manchurian Candidate
Man of the Century
Man on Fire
Man with the Screaming Brain
Man Who Wasn't There
March of the Penguins
Margot at the Wedding
Marie Antoinette
Married Life
Master & Commander
Matador, The
Match Point
Matchstick Men
Matrix Reloaded
Matrix Revolutions
May
Mean Creek
Mean Girls
Meet Bill
Meet the Fockers
Meet the Robinsons
Meet the Browns
Meet the Spartans
Melinda & Melinda
Memento
Mexican, The
Miami Vice
Michael Clayton
Michael Moore Hates...
Mighty Wind
Million Dollar Baby
Millions
Milwaukee, Minnesota
Mindhunters
Mind the Gap
Miracle
Mirrormask
Miss Congeniality 2
Missing, The
Mission Impossible 3
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
Miss Potter
Mist, The
Mona Lisa Smile
Monster
Monster In Law
Morvern Caller
Motorcycle Diaries
Moving McAllister
Mr. 3000
Mr. & Mrs. Smith
Mr. Brooks
Mrs. Henderson Presents
Mr. Woodcock
Mumford
Munich
Murderball
Music and Lyrics
Must Love Dogs
My Baby's Daddy
My Best Friend
My Blueberry Nights
My First Mister
My Kid Could Paint That
My Life Without Me
My Super Ex-Girlfriend

Nacho Libre
Namesake, The
Nancy Drew
Nanny McPhee
Napoleon Dynamite
National Treasure
National Treasure 2
New Waterford Girl
New York Minute
Night at the Museum
Night Listener, The
Nightwatch
Nim's Island
North Country
Notes on a Scandal
No Time for Cold Feet
Notorious Bettie Page
November
Number 23

Oceans 12
Oceans 13
Off the Map
Oldboy
Once
Opal Dream
Open Water
Ordinary People
Others, The
Over Her Dead Body
Overnight
Over the Hedge
Owning Mahoney

Pacifier, The
Palindromes
Pan's Labyrinth
Paparazzi
Passion of the Christ
Paycheck
Perfect Score, The
Perfume
Peter Pan
Phone Booth
Pianist, The
Pieces of April
Pink Panther
Pirates of the Caribbean
Pirates of the Caribbean 2
Pirates of the Caribbean 3
Polar Express, The
Pollock
Pooh's Heffalump Movie
Poseidon
Postman, The
Prairie Home, A
Premonition
Prestige, The
Priceless
Prime
Primer
Promotion, The
Proof (Aust.)
Proof (U.S.)
Pucked
Pulse
Punisher (2004)
Pursuit of Happyness

Queen, The
Quiet American, The

Rambo
Ratatouille
Ray
Redbelt
Red Eye
Red Lights
Red Road
Reign Over Me
Rescue Dawn
Resident Evil 2
Return of the King
The Right Stuff
Ring, The
Ringer, The
Robots
Rocker, The
Rocket Science
Rocky Balboa
Roger Dodger
Roll Bounce
Romance & Cigarettes
Rookie, The
Royal Tenenbaums
Rugrats Go Wild
Rules of Attraction
Rumor Has It
Runaway Jury
Rundown, The
Run Fat Boy Run
Running With Scissors
Rush Hour 3
RV

Saddest Music...
Safety Of Objects
Sahara
Santa Clause 3
Sarah Silverman
Savages, The
Saved!
Saw
Saw II
Saw III
Saw IV
Scanner Darkly, A
Scary Movie 3
Scary Movie 4
School for Scoundrels
School of Rock
Science of Sleep, The
Scoop
Seabiscuit
Sea Inside, The
Secretary
Secret Lives of Dentists
Secret Window
Semi-Pro
Sentinel, The
Serenity
Sexy Beast
Shadowboxer
Shaggy Dog
Shall We Dance
Shape of Things
Shark Tale
Shattered Glass
Shaun of the Dead
Sleepwalking
Shoot Em Up
Shooter
Shopgirl
Shrek 2
Shrek the Third
Shutter
Shut Up and Sing
Sicko
Sideways
Signs
Silent Hill
Silver City
Simpsons Movie
Sin City
Singing Detective
Sisterhood of Pants
16 Blocks
Skeleton Key
Sky Captain
Sky High
Sleuth
Smart People
Snakes on a Plane
Snow Angels
Something New
Something's Gotta Give
Sound of Thunder
Spanglish
Speed Racer
Spellbound
Spider
Spider-Man 3
Spiderwick Chronicles
SpongeBob Movie
Spy Kids 3D
Squid and the Whale
Stardust
Starsky & Hutch
Stay
Stay Alive
Steamboy
Stepford Wives
Stop Loss
Strangers, The
Stranger Than Fiction
Strange Wilderness
Street Kings
Stuck
Stuck on You
Suicide Kings
Sunshine
Superbad
Superhero Movie
Superman Returns
Supersize Me
Surfwise
Surf's Up
Surviving Christmas
Sweeney Todd
Sweetest Thing
Sweet Land
Swimming Pool
Sydney White
Sylvia
Sympathy/M.Vengeance

Taking Lives
Talladega Nights
Tamala 2010
Tao of Steve
Tarnation
Taxi
Teacher's Pet (Disney)
Team America
Tears of the Sun
Ten, The
Tenacious D
10 Items or Less
10th and Wolf
10,000 B.C.
Terminal, The
TX Chainsaw Massacre
Texasville
Thank You for Smoking
Then She Found Me
There Will Be Blood
Things You Can Tell...
Thin Red Line
Thirteen
13 Conversations
13 Tzameti
13 Going On 30
30 Days of Night
This Christmas
300
3:10 to Yuma
Thumbsucker
Timeline
TMNT
2Fast 2Furious
Touching the Void
Training Day
Transamerica
Transformers
Transporter 2
Triplets of Bellville
Troy
Trust the Man
TV Set, The
21
21 Grams
25th Hour
27 Dresses
28 Days Later
28 Weeks Later
Two Days in Paris

Unaccompanied Minors
Underclassman
Under the Same Moon
Undertow
United 93
Unleashed
Unsaid, The
Upside of Anger

Vacancy
Valet, The
Van Helsing
Vanilla Sky
Vantage Point
Venus
Vera Drake
Very Annie Mary
Very Long Engagement
V for Vendetta
View From the Top
Village, The
Vince Vaughn's Comedy Show
Visitor, The
Volver

Wackness, The
Waitress
Waking Life
Walk Hard
Walking Tall
Walk on Water
Walk the Line
Wall E
Wanted
War of the Worlds
We Are Marshall
Weather Man, The
Wedding Crashers
Wedding Date, The
We Don't Live Here...
Welcome to Mooseport
Wendell Baker Story
What Happens in Vegas
What's Love Got...
What the Bleep...?
White Noise
Who Killed the Electric Car?
Whole Ten Yards
Wicker Man
Wilbur Wants to Kill...
Wild Hogs
Wild Parrots of Tel. Hill
Willard
Wimbledon
Win Date w/ Ted H.
Wind Chill
Winged Migration
Without a Paddle
Wolf Creek
Wonderland
Woodsman, The
World's Fastest Indian
World Trade Center
Wristcutters
Wrong Turn

X2
X-Men 3
XXX: State of the Union
xx/xy

Year My Parents Vacation
Year of the Dog
You & Me & Everyone...
You Got Served
You Kill Me
You, Me, and Dupree

Zathura
Zodiac
Zoolander
Zoom

2007
James's Oscar Picks
2007 Oscar Animated Shorts
2007 Oscar Live Action Shorts
James's Best
James's Worst

2006
James's Oscar Picks
James's Best
James's Worst

2005
James's Oscar Picks
James's Best
James's Worst

2004
James's Oscar Picks
James's Best
James's Worst

2003
James's Oscar Picks
James's Best
James's Worst

2002
James's Oscar Picks
James's Best
James's Worst

All reviews are by James Evans unless otherwise noted.

Kit Kittredge     Back to Top
I know this may be hard to believe, but I have never read any of the books and I don't own any of the dolls upon which this movie is based. Abigail Breslin is once again annoying in the title role. The story centers on her wanting to be a reporter and also the struggle the family is having since it takes place during the Great Depression. I'm sure the girls who love the books and the dolls and those of you who find Abigail to be adorable will love the movie. Just make sure to leave the brothers at home since there isn't anything for them to enjoy. You know how they count the number of F words in movies and track them? I would like someone to count the number of times we hear the word "hobo" in this movie.

Hancock    Back to Top
James Says: Wow, I hated this movie! I really wanted to leave a few times, but I stuck it out. I like Will Smith, and even though the previews didn't look great, I still thought it could work. Instead, it is just hard to watch. There are a couple of good visuals, like him carrying the car shielding himself and an officer from gunfire. The story is just terrible though. There is a twist that I didn't know about, and it is so stupid I didn't want to believe it. It is not a comedy in any way which surprised me because that's how I thought they were marketing it, or is that just me? Even Jason Bateman doesn't provide much comic relief. This will easily make my "Top 10 Worst" list for the year.

G. Says: I don't know about all that, James. It was a decent enough summer flick. Maybe it's where you're at in a moment in time that actually dictates the taste.

For Hancock, I was looking for a simple movie to enjoy with in-laws on a scorcher summer afternoon. The theater A/C was as great as I remembered as a kid trying to avoid the summer heat. The popcorn was yum. The seats were comfy. The acting wasn't abysmal. The plot was predictable, bu the pace was enjoyable. And I thought the twist was worthwhile for a blockbuster superhero movie with no built-in audience, like with Marvel or DC, that was trying to cater to as wide an audience as could be mustered.

Maybe I was guilty of dumbing down my tastes and expectations for this one. Maybe it wasn't as good as I felt it was as the credits rolled. But I think our movie party got its money's worth. Of course, we did use a gift card.

Wall E    Back to Top
The character Wall E is great and his story is really sweet. A robot alone on a dead planet trying to clean the place up meets a female scout robot from the ship that all the humans now live on. She is looking for life, and Wall E gives her a small plant that he had found recently. It's been 700 years, so can they finally return home?

All the stuff with the robots is great, but the humans are stuck in mediocre land. It's not very clever that all the humans are now fat and rely on robots to take care of everything. They don't even notice that they have a pool or even are in outer space I guess. The film looks great, as is always the case with Pixar movies, and Wall E himself is great to watch. I just didn't care for the humans I guess.

The Pixar short at the beginning is a lot of fun for once, so make sure you are on time and not stuck in the concession line.

Wanted    Back to Top
Loosely based on a comic book by Mark Millar and J.G. Jones, they follow the story in ways, but mostly it takes its own path. James McAvoy plays Wesley Gibson, an office drone who hates his life.

Angelina Jolie informs him that his father was just killed and that he was a super assassin. Wesley also has the same ability in him and he is trained by Angelina along with Morgan Freeman and Common. It starts out as Fight Club and then they throw in a little Terminator with a dash of Rocky.

The first half isn't bad, but once you find out how the assassins get their targets, it all falls apart. Let's just say you will never look at your sweaters the same way ever again. There is a pretty cool train crash, and I did like the ending, but the whole movie didn't have to happen if Wesley's father had just gone across the street to say hello.

The Love Guru    Back to Top
The previews for this new Mike Myers film looked so bad that I was excited to see just how bad it was. Well, it's bad, but there were enough funny things in it that made me not despise it. I have to admit there were some good bits. I liked the Morgan Freeman thing, and I really liked the renditions of "9 to 5" and "More Than Words" that Mike does. On the other hand, I absolutely hated the bit with Mike's head on a kid's body, and Ben Kingsley made me cringe with his crossed eyes and his farting. It just goes back and forth with an okay bit and then a terrible one. I can't tell anyone to see this, but I can tell you that the fat guy behind me really liked the movie, and I think the rest of the audience did as well.

Surfwise    Back to Top
This documentary explores the lives of the Paskowitz family and their surfer lifestyle. Dorian Paskowitz embarked on a path that few people would understand. He and his wife had 9 children and they lived in a 24-foot camper traveling the country from one wave to the next. The family is very interesting, but the film didn't delve into them enough. With so many people to cover, I felt like we didn't get enough of anyone. I also think the reunion at the end felt forced and only took place because of the documentary. I still liked it because of the past footage of the family and to think about the kids never going to school and how they adjusted in their adult lives. One question left unanswered is how they survived the one time when they were down to their last dime.

The Incredible Hulk (2008)    Back to Top
I was not a fan of the Ang Lee Hulk from 2003, but I was still excited that they were going ahead with a sequel if they did it right. They did. Edward Norton is great as Bruce Banner and Liv Tyler could be in any movie as far as I'm concerned. William Hurt takes over as General Ross, and Tim Roth is great as a soldier who may want a little something extra for himself after seeing Hulk in action. I don't want to ruin any of the few surprises that are left after so much has been leaked about cameos and such. It's really a shame you can't just see a movie on its own merit these days, but I guess the average joe wouldn't be as interested if they didn't give you something. You do not have to stay for the credits since there is nothing afterwards.

The Promotion    Back to Top
Sean William Scott & John C. Reilly are assistant managers at a Chicago grocery store who both hope to get the general manager spot at a new store that is opening. The tone reminded me of Election which is not a bad thing since I loved that movie. You can't tell who is actually the worse person in the situation. There really isn't much to say about the movie. It's very low-key, but also well worth seeing. I doubt it will get a wide release with the summer slate and that is a shame. You should definitely seek this movie out.

Get Smart     Back to Top
Steve Carrell is great as Maxwell Smart, and Anne Hathaway is fine as Agent 99. I just wish they had kept the romance out of the movie, at least the first one.

Dwayne Johnson doesn't want to be known as The Rock anymore, so this is another turn to change his image. He's great, and I wish he had been in it more. Masi Oka and Nate Torrence are a lot of fun as the nerds at Control. James Caan does a good job as a not-so-veiled President Bush.

I'm talking a lot about the cast because it's a great cast. The story not so much. It's not terrible, but it's also not very interesting or surprising. I laughed a lot at the parts in Control headquarters. The parts in Russia were kinda boring except for the dance off. They do a good job of honoring the original TV show in a number of scenes. I did like the movie well enough, but I wanted to love it.

The Happening    Back to Top
I give up. How is it that M. Night is still allowed to make movies. How did he fall so far from Sixth Sense and Unbreakable? For those of you who somehow managed to enjoy his last three films, then I'm sure you will like this one as well. I thought it was one of the funniest movies this year. The acting is terrible and the story is hilarious. All of us humans are bad for the planet, so it gets back at us by making people kill themselves. Okay then. At least he didn't act this time around. I usually like Mark Wahlberg, but he has the worst scene of all involving a house plant. You need to see it to believe it. That scene on its own is enough for him to win the Razzy for worst actor.

Kung Fu Panda    Back to Top
Jack Black is the voice of a panda who seems an unlikely choice to be the Dragon Master, but that's exactly what happens to him. Is it a mistake or is it destiny? Who cares really as long as the movie is funny and looks good, and it does. In fact, I have to point out that I liked the old-school animation for the opening dream sequence and the animation over the end credits although I'm sure computers were involved in the making of them as well. I wish the whole movie looked like the opening.

The Rocker    Back to Top
Rainn Wilson in a starring role didn't sound promising, but the character suits him well enough. He plays a drummer who was kicked out of a band 20 years earlier just before they went on to fame and fortune. Now he lives with his sister, and his nephew's band needs a drummer to play the prom which goes well until he gets into his rocker vibe. A YouTube video later on hurls them into the spotlight and they go on tour. Sure enough, they get a chance to open for Rainn's previous band at their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, even though they play completely different music. It's a decent movie considering there are no surprises with what happens. Although it is not a classic, I laughed throughout the movie and I think people will enjoy it as long as you never see the preview. It shows the whole movie, so I'm glad I didn't see it until after I saw the movie.

Stuck    Back to Top
Holy crap I loved this movie! I really didn't know what to expect of it. Was it going to be a drama or a comedy or something else? Well, it's quite a mix and a good mix at that. Stephen Rea plays a man who is down on his luck and having a very bad day that just gets worse when Mena Suvari hits him with her car. He survives and is now stuck in the windshield and Mena doesn't know what to do. She makes it home and puts the car in the garage thinking he is dead. I won't say anything more about what happens. I will just say that I cringed a lot at his dilemma and they go a little too far with a dog. I wasn't planning on seeing this, but I'm really glad I did.

Don't Mess with the Zohan    Back to Top
Don't mess with seeing this movie. Yeah, that was kinda cheap, but so is Adam Sandler's latest movie. Is he really trying to bring Israel and Palestine together with a comedy of this low caliber? Adam plays an Israeli agent who just wants to cut hair in New York, so he fakes his death at the hands of the Phantom played by John Turturro.

I did laugh at the part where he tries to get a job at a kids haircut place, and the end hacky sack tournament showed promise. But Mariah Carey pops up a few too many times for my taste. In fact, she could just go away anytime now. She's ugly and I really don't get how people enjoy her music. She's only in this movie to promote her new album. And she can take Rob Schneider with her. Doesn't Adam realize how much happier the world would be if he stopped giving Rob work?

The Fall     Back to Top
Lee Pace plays an injured stuntman in a hospital who starts to tell a story to a little girl in exchange for some help. He is also depressed and wants to kill himself, so he needs her to get him morphine. Of course he has no intention of finishing the story. Catinca Untaru is incredible as the young girl. She is so natural and true. I did like the story and the relationship that forms between them, but I didn't think much of the story he is telling her and that is half the movie so I guess I liked half of the movie. At least Lee Pace will be back this fall for another season of "Pushing Daisies," which I really enjoyed.

The Strangers     Back to Top
Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman play the unhappy and unlucky couple terrorized by strangers in interesting masks. The first 20 minutes makes you think you may have gone into the wrong auditorium as they just explore the couple's relationship on their way home from a wedding. Then the creepiness begins as they get a knock on the door at 4:00 a.m. from a young lady whose face they cannot see in the darkness. Things get worse from there and that's when you start wanting to scream at them to do what you want them to do, but you know it won't happen that way. I do wish that somebody would have a smart friend in one of these movies sometime. It's not a gory horror film, but more of a thriller and a good one at that. I really liked the ending with the two Jesus kids on the road.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull    Back to Top
It's been 19 years since the last film, yet Harrison Ford still has what it takes to play the role. Shia LeBeouf is an okay addition to the cast, and I would assume that he will go on to star in his own offshoot series of films sometime in the future. Karen Allen is back, but not with quite the same sass as in Raiders. At least it wasn't Kate Capshaw. There are many moments when it goes a little over the top, but the movie is a lot of fun and that's what I expected. I can say that there was only one time when I groaned at what was happening on the screen; cynics will probably have stomach pains when they leave the theatre. It is not a great movie, but I had a blast watching it and I hope you do as well.

What Happens in Vegas    Back to Top
Terrible movie. Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz are okay together, but they are both overdoing their roles. The hot girl party in his apartment may have been funny if they hadn't given it away in the preview. I didn't laugh once during this very predictable and simple film.

Redbelt    Back to Top
I like David Mamet's work usually, but this one falters. It's about learning how to fight and protect yourself at times as a grand plot. It just seems to me that there is a missing reel with important information and interactions that would make you care more for the characters. The one surprise for me was that Tim Allen was good and I would have liked to have seen more with him.

Iron Man    Back to Top
The hype on this movie and the promise of the previews made me think this may be the greatest comic book movie ever. It isn't, but it is damn good. Robert Downey, Jr. is perfect as Tony Stark and I can't wait for Terrance Howard as James Rhodes to suit up himself in the eventual sequel. Jeff Bridges makes a good bad guy for most of the movie. Gwyneth Paltrow is always a favorite of mine and she does a fine job as Pepper Potts except for some scenes during the big fight at the end. That's where it lost me for a bit. The rest was great and funny, but not too funny and the action was good. The dialogue for that bit is strange because it seems like they must have rewritten the rest of the movie, but kept that part intact for some reason. It's a fun movie. I can't wait to see it again and am looking forward to the sequel already. Hell, I can't wait for the director's cut on DVD.

Made of Honor    Back to Top
It still surprises me that Patrick Dempsey has made such a comeback. I don't watch "Grey's Anatomy," but the crowd that does will surely like this movie as well. It's a formula picture that caters to a particular audience and there is nothing wrong with that if it is done well. I won't talk anyone into seeing it, but if you were already planning on it then I won't talk you out of it either. I liked that they didn't make the new guy this horrible person at the last minute. Kevin McKidd plays that new guy, Colin from Scotland, and I have to put a plug in for his TV show "Journeyman," which I hope makes it back on the air in the fall. I have to tell you to watch for my favorite scene. Patrick is alone in the park and this woman with two dogs comes up to him. That's where I will leave it, but I laughed out loud at that one little part.

My Blueberry Nights    Back to Top
I can't really tell anyone to see this movie, but I liked it. I liked the romance between Jude Law and Norah Jones. Norah is really good by the way. I think most people will think there isn't enough between the two of them, but I live in a fantasy movie world so I was taken by it. There are a few different sections to the movie and the one that wasn't the best was the part with Natalie Portman. Is it just me or has her acting ability gone down as she has gotten older? The last thing I really liked her in was Closer, also with Jude Law. Take a chance and see what you think.

The Life Before Her Eyes    Back to Top
Uma Thurman plays a woman reflecting on parts of her life surrounding the time of a school shooting 15 years earlier on the anniversary of the incident. Evan Rachel Wood plays the younger version and I really liked both of them. If you have seen the second preview they put out that shows way too much of the movie, then I'm sure you have already guessed what is going on, especially with the name of the film itself. Since there wasn't anything to be surprised about I wasn't sure if I would like it, but I still enjoyed the characters and the acting enough. I'm sure the book works better than the film.

88 Minutes     Back to Top
I'm sure you have all heard about how bad this movie is so you don't need me to tell you again, but I'm going to anyway. Al Pacino stars as Dr. Jack Gramm who put the Seattle Slayer away 9 years ago and now the killer is about to be executed. From his jail cell he has concocted a plan to kill Jack who now has 88 minutes to live. Why 88 minutes? Well, there is an explanation actually that is connected to the murder of his younger sister years ago. It's so badly acted and the writing is terrible. The story doesn't work and explanations for relationships are laughable. My favorite scenes are when Jack wakes up to his lady friend brushing her teeth while she is naked, his assistant who takes off her shirt at his apartment and then never puts it back on even when they leave, and the lack of interest in the fact that her ex-boyfriend has just been shot and possibly killed. A classic bad movie.

The Wackness     Back to Top
In the early days of my "retirement," I wanted to make sure I didn't fall into the afternoon talk shows and such, but I will now admit that I became addicted to a Nickelodeon show called "Drake & Josh." Josh Peck now stars in this movie, and it is a far cry from his role on that kid-friendly show. He plays a drug dealer who befriends one of his customers, a drug-addled psychiatrist that gives him couch time in exchange for pot. Ben Kingsley is great as the psychiatrist, and I believed the friendship that developed between the two. Josh falls for Ben's step-daughter, Olivia Thirlby, and I really liked that story as well. It was a believable relationship that showed both views. Famke Janssen is Ben's wife and Method Man plays Josh's drug contact. Mary-Kate Olsen also appears as a hippie in the park, and she didn't bother me. I really liked this movie, and if you want to see another movie Josh Peck is good in then get Mean Creek.

I usually don't stay through the credits for movies like this, since there won't be another scene or a gag reel, but there were two nerds sitting close by discussing how they didn't realize for the first 20 minutes that the film takes place in 1994 so they were confused. I wasn't confused because the film starts with "New York City 1994" right on the screen. Then one of them was upset that Peter Jackson wasn't going to direct The Hobbit and didn't want the guy who directed Pan's Labyrinth to do it because he never wanted to see the movie. I really wanted to say something, but I just left the auditorium disgusted instead.

Then She Found Me    Back to Top
Helen Hunt stars and directs this movie based on the novel, and you can tell that she really loved the material. Whether or not she did a good job of bringing the book to the screen, I can't say since I never read the book. I really should do more reading. Personally I did not like the movie. It was just too much of everything. Her husband is played by Matthew Broderick as the boy who never grew up still wearing a baseball cap like he's the grown up Ferris Bueller. Luckily she meets the perfect man in Colin Firth, a mere nine hours after they separate. Oh, and she gets pregnant from the break-up sex they had that night. Her adoptive mother dies the following day which opens up the door for Bette Midler to step in. She is the real mother and now has a successful talk show in New York. They don't do a show together though since Helen is not sure how she feels about everything. I'm sure anyone who has given up a baby for adoption or is adopted will enjoy the movie. Well, at least women. Do your boyfriends or husbands a favor and have a girls night out for this one.

The Visitor     Back to Top
I would like to believe that there are people out there who would do things like the main character here, but I'm not so sure that many, if any, actually exist. He takes in a couple who turn out to be illegal immigrants, and when the man gets taken in he helps them as much as he can. Then he falls in love with the man's mother which I wasn't sure about. The only part of this movie that was believable is what ends up happening to the illegal immigrant in the end. I was expecting more.

Deception    Back to Top
This should make the worst of list for the year. Ewan McGregor stars as one of the dumbest people on the planet who falls into a scam that Hugh Jackman and Michelle Williams are pulling. Of course Michelle falls for Ewan and of course Ewan finds a way to double cross him. The double cross takes way too long to get to so the ending is really dragged out. Ewan figures it all out by one of the worst plot devices I have ever seen and that same one plays into the cover up of his "death" so that he can get back at Hugh. Good thing everyone in the movies has someone they can go to at any time to get a fake passport. I need to find out who these people are in my area for future reference. Can anyone help me out?

Baby Mama     Back to Top
I absolutely love Tina Fey and Amy Poehler so I liked this movie. Tina can't have a baby so she gets a surrogate played by Amy and hilarity ensues. Well, that is streching things a bit. There are some really funny parts, but it has such a basic storyline that you know exactly what is going to happen and when. You know, I think I've only been to a Jamba Juice once when I went to Boulder some years ago. Greg Kinnear plays Tina's love interest and Steve Martin has a small part as her boss. I'm torn on whether or not to tell people to see it. I really like the SNL sisters and if you do too then you may enjoy it as well.