Reviews

I'm not going to be the only one admitting this but I went into this movie expecting the worst. I've been a Spider-Man fan as long as I can remember and though Raimi's series certainly had its flaws it was pretty damn solid, though it certainly ended on the weakest note. Each trailer for The Amazing Spider-Man made my expectations sink a little lower, they play it as a conspiracy plot about Oscorp and Peter's parents and in my opinion they made Peter out to be a punk whose wise- cracking was just a little too mean-spirited for my taste.

Fortunately the movie is not simply a trailer but a full length film that fills out far more nicely than the trailer lets on. The conspiracy plot is there of course but it is a layer underneath the whole movie rather than the focus of the film. I was glad they kept his parents and their disappearance somewhat ambiguous only hinting at their possible fates rather than forcing the conspiracy into the forefront of the plot.

Andrew Garfield does a decent job as Parker, though at times you can feel his accent coming through. The biggest improvement over Raimi's series is the romance. Dunst and MacGuire always felt like a stale bland cookie-cutter romance, but here there is an earnestness and many of the sequences where Gwen and Peter flirt feel improvisational and unscripted. Peter stumbles over his words and struggles to form a coherent sentence while Gwen's eyes do all the talking. Emma Stone out acts most of the cast, but maybe I'm biased by being wildly attracted to her.

The origin story aspect of the film does feel a bit rushed and the plot overall tends to be one of convenient coincidences as though set up to save the writers time in telling a more in-depth story. For one Gwen happens to be a high school student interning at Oscorp, where Doctor Connors (The Lizard and film's main villain) is her mentor and also the only link Peter has to his parents. Oscorp just so happens to be the place that has manufactured the spider that will fatefully bite Peter. Despite being in high school Peter is such a genius that with only some cursory internet research and a few books to read he manages to crack the secret to a formula that Doctor Connors has been working on for more than a decade. This leaves us with a rather one-dimensional story rather than the web of conspiracy that seems promised in the trailer.

All in all though the plot is serviceable, not Amazing or Spectacular but good enough, C plus . The earnest moments of Gwen and Peter forming their romantic bond all while Peter learns to control his powers and use them for good instead of revenge works well. I feel like some movie fans will be bored though, like Raimi's films there are a lot of character moments, between Uncle Ben Aunt May and Peter, between Gwen and Peter, etc and the action sequences are few and far between.

There is a real feeling that Peter is growing as a person as well, moving from Geek, to Jerk, to beginning to understand what Uncle Ben meant by responsibility and moral obligation. The character arc is somewhat subtle to be sure but it's definitely there.

Now I have to do the obligatory comments on the new suit and the Lizard design. Quick capsule review: The Lizard looks TERRIBLE, the suit I can live with. Thing about Garfield is he is thin and this gives Spider-Man a very agile appearance and feel which Tobey simply didn't have. Special attention is paid to the webslinging and free-running Spider-Man does, rather then in the comics where his web seems to be disappearing into thin sky there is a more realistic approach dedicated to the idea that Spidey HAS TO be swinging off of something. He can't perform that endless floating rope trick we've seen in cartoons and just swing off of the clouds.

The Lizard, as I said, looks terrible. Oh don't get me wrong the CGI is perfectly fine down the last scale, it's simply such a terrible character design that I was glad they didn't focus on his face too much. It's really the face that does in the Lizard, he has this stupid half- grin plastered across what is a far-too-human face. I know in the original comics, at least at first, he didn't look all that fierce or convincing but this is 2012, surely they knew this looked stupid and if not the guys who chose the design than the animators working on it had to know.

Despite the ugly villain design the film still works overall with enough humor, enough romance and enough action to keep you interested. It's not perfect, FAR FROM IT, and I still feel like Raimi's original 2002 film is still a better Spider-Man movie. I was expecting this to be a train- wreck, but like I said it was decent C+ material, you could do a lot worse. As much as I'd love to see Spidey's rights go to Marvel so he can be added to the Avengers I'm also kinda curious to see if they can improve on this in a sequel and hopefully actually deliver something Amazing, instead of just okay.

I've been interested in Chronicle since the trailer emerged some time ago offering a glimpse at what seemed like a "found footage" film with a good story for once. Typically these sorts of films are like Paranormal Activity or Blair Witch Project, horror films done in handi-cam or surveillance footage as a gimmick to add credibility to a "based on a true story" marketing campaign and save money on real camera work.

Chronicle on the other hand makes no attempt at pretending to be ACTUAL found footage and instead focuses on characters and that is it's strength. The tight focus of the film, following three high school seniors who gain telekinetic powers after finding a strange object in a cave, is what makes it so much fun. All three characters are fairly relatable and have consistent character traits.

The film is seen through the eyes, or more accurately camera, of the protagonist Andrew. Andrew is not only the protagonist but thanks to his character arc he is also the antagonist. They couch this transformation in the idea of a tragic hero falling thanks to his hubris. Andrew's fall into darkness never grows too over-the-top or excessive and reminded me almost of a better told version of Anakin Skywalker (George Lucas could see this film and take notes).

If I could describe this film in one word it would be FUN. It's exhilarating watching the three friends experiment with their powers, your ups are their ups and your downs are their downs.

The film easiest to compare this to is Hancock and where Hancock started good and got increasingly more stupid as it's back story was explored Chronicle starts out ordinary and escalates to a satisfying, if not somewhat abrupt, climax. I could see a sequel with a bigger budget and better CGI easily being released as a summer blockbuster, or even see a spin-off TV series.

Easily the best "found footage" handi-cam film I've ever seen, far from perfect but solid enough to earn a 7 out of 10.

By no means is this film a masterpiece of cinema but at the same time, as a super-hero fan (read NERD) it was a thrilling, action-packed and witty work of fiction that kept me interested from beginning to end.

Captain America finally has himself a big-budget Hollywood movie that's not only not bad, it's actually damn good. The origin story plays out exactly as it should. We meet Rogers before the transformation, when he's a scrawny kid from Brooklyn who desperately wants to do his part in WW2. Due to health issues and his pathetic physique and in spite of his strong moral character and courage, Steve Rogers just isn't cut out for combat. Luckily a secret science division of our armed forces (read forerunner of SHIELD) has acquired a German scientist, a defector who offers his super-soldier serum to create a new army. As you may have guessed from the trailer the plan to create an army doesn't work... well it does sort of, in that they create themselves a one man army in the form of Captain America.

The strong points of the movie, other than the action sequences, are actually the characters. The movie does a decent job of making us feel for all of them and despite his hulking post-serum form Cap is a pretty normal guy. He's awkward around women, can't dance and is, really, just a guy from Brooklyn. The movie relies fairly heavily on comic-book style science which involves Nazis with ray-guns and metals like Vibranium (makes up Cap's shield). I should really call the villains Hydra agents, Cap spends most of the movie fighting NOT Nazis but an altogether more sinister enemy, Hydra, lead by the notorious Red Skull (Hugo Weaving).

The acting is good as is most of the humor though there were a few gags that didn't quite connect with the audience and others that only seemed to connect with some.

As for the action it was surprisingly sparse but that's far from a flaw, the movie prefers to focus on its characters and moves at just the right pace with just the right amount of action. I felt like cheering every time Cap bashed a baddie with his shield. I would easily put this film on par, or at least close to it, with Iron Man (2008) and Spider-Man (2002). Be sure to stick around for the scene after the credits, which is more a trailer for the Avengers. As much fun as this summer has been for Super-Hero fans next summer is gonna be a hell of a ride.

It's about a 7.5 Out of 10 but I'll round it up to an 8 for managing to live up to my already high expectations.

Predators is something I have been waiting for for a long time. The original has and always will be a favorite of mine. I have to say though that despite it being an effective and fun movie it wasn't quite on the level I wanted it to be.

You see Predators is to Predator as Aliens was to Alien so I was expecting to see a far more action-packed turn of events than what we get. Like the original Predator, Predators opens slow, we slowly learn about the characters and what they are up against as they travel across a bleak jungle game preserve set up by an Elite branch of the Predators. Essentially the motley crew of humans are the monsters of our world, each one a killer, and they are pit against the monsters of the Predator race who have subjugated the normal Predators (like the ones from the original movie) The film is slow to start but there are a few jaw dropping moments, some great death scenes and a little bit of gore for good measure. Its solid and it is DEFINITELY a step in the right direction (away from those mediocre AVP movies).

In the end though I was a little disappointed. The film has all the pieces of being great but it never reaches the next level. There are a few nods to the first film, lines recycled and iconic moments revisited but it does so without borrowing too heavily. They also recycled some of Silvestri's original score.

The acting and script could have been a bit better and despite having plenty of time we don't really learn many details of the characters. So it has its flaws but it makes up for them and is pretty much solid.

The new Iron Man sequel has attracted quite a bit of hype. Most of us were surprised back in 2008 that the first film had turned out not only bearable but pretty solid. The first film had walked the line between serious origin story and self-spoofing comic book comedy. The new film does the same and walks the delicate line between tension and comedic relief just as well as its predecessor.

Downey Jr. is back as Tony Stark one of the first super-heroes to forgo a secret identity. This eliminates what I feel is one of the weakest gimmicks of the superhero genre, the secret identity to "protect your loved ones". Ever notice how Peter Parker doesn't want to tell MJ who he is because she'd be in danger BUT she ends up in danger anyway? Same for Lois Lane or Rachel Dawes in Nolan's batman films. Iron Man doesn't bother with the secret identity and the story is better off for it. Instead the film focuses on the actual character of Tony Stark, including the character flaws he is known for and his relationship with his Father.

The plot is really about the "Sins of the Father" passing on to the son. The Father of the film's villain has been wronged by Stark's Father and this leads to a high-tech revenge story. The acting is okay although I felt the script, at times, gave the actors little to work with. Even in the scenes that were fizzling out into boredom a joke or two would be thrown in to spice things up and reengage the audience. Whoever they had treat the script did a bang up job with quips, innuendos, gags and one-liners a plenty. These corny quips would be out of place in most movies but in a summer comic book blockbuster they are a MUST.

Cheadle takes over from Terrence Howard as Colonel James Rhodes and while I feel he lacks the charisma Howard exuded in the first film he still does a solid job as Tony's new sidekick. The film also goes deeper into Tony's involvement with SHIELD, the legendary organization that will eventually set up the AVENGERS. Scarlett Johansson also does well in her role though honestly her beauty leaped off the IMAX screen so much I could barely concentrate on her dialogue when she was on screen.

All in all the plot clips along nicely, never dwelling on the boring for too long but not letting the fast pace of the film take away from telling a good story. The Special Effects are incredible of course and some of the action scenes had the audience I saw the film with applauding. I feel the film lives up to its predecessor in almost every way and is easily worth an 8 out of 10. A solid superhero movie. I hope to see more of Iron Man on the big screen.

Also, stay after the credits for a mini-sneak peak of one of the next super-heroes to get his own movie.

The trailer for the film gives away far too much and essentially ruins what would otherwise be an effective twist.

I've never been too fond of twist endings, save maybe a few of the twists from old Twilight Zone episodes but I felt the twist in this film really made the film entirely pointless.

We spend most of the movie engrossed in a detective story with a few flashback puzzle pieces and are left to wonder how those fit into the twist we all know is coming. The fact we all the twist from the trailer means its basically only a matter of time.

I left the theater feeling hollow and annoyed. What is the point of all this? What are they trying to say about crazy people? In the end Andrew (Teddy for most of the movie) is to be lobotomized, so the message is about how sometimes drugs and respecting patients doesn't work so let's carve them open? Rather than creating an expertly crafted detective story we instead get an obvious twist (even to those who turned the channel every time the trailer was on) that halts the story. I cared about Teddy's demons, wanted him to get off the island but you can't yank the character around into someone else and expect me to still care about him when everything he's been characterized as and experienced has been one big delusion.

It was still an okay film... just apparently not my style of film.

Last week it seemed Paranormal Activity swept the nation, a relatively unknown horror movie from 2007 had earned itself a wide release into theaters (a rare occurrence). The hype began to appear everywhere, people hailing the film as one of the scariest horrors in a long time.

Let me begin by first praising the film for managing to be genuinely creepy and menacing at times, though it rarely, if at all crosses into scary. The psychological fear of what is in the dark is its greatest advantage over today's typical show-you-everything horror.

Now, we'll get into what the structural weaknesses of the film that, for me, were so glaring that no amount of dread could cover over them.

The entire premise is based on a young couple moving into a new home only to immediately begin experiencing strange things. Their on screen relationship makes them seem likable at first UNTIL they begin fighting at every opportunity over the dumbest things. Yes there are real relationships like this, where the couple bicker at every little incident, but the constant illogical nagging of the girlfriend and constant smarmy smug attitude of the boyfriend quickly make the characters hard to feel for. The dialogue is lame and the reactions of the characters highly suspect. For instance: If the "activity" is being caused by a "demon" than why don't they contact a priest? No instead they go the secular root attempting to contact a demonologist. Are we to believe that at no point in the film did they think to attempt the religious way of defeating this entity? Don't get me wrong, I've no affinity for the Church, but it seems logical that when you've got a ghost you've at least got to reach out to people for help.

Also, their decision to stay in the house long after things get WAY WAY out of hand simply on the belief that this thing will follow them. So why not go somewhere where there are a lot of people and sleep near a few dozen family members and friends so at the very least what you are experiencing can be verified or perhaps subdued by safety in numbers...

The story goes nowhere, no one develops or is dynamic (and none of the characters are likable).

The weakness of the characters and dialogue, along with a gimmicky hokey (nearly fourth wall breaking) and truly SILLY ending make this a weak horror film and likely only scary for the impressionable, superstitious, or easily frightened. Its not all bad but its certainly not good.

I just came back from the film. Being a big fan of zombies I'd been looking forward to Zombieland for some months, watching each trailer and trying to keep my expectations somewhere in the middle as to not ruin the experience.

The film is hilarious and everyone in my theater seemed to be enjoying themselves. The movie provided plenty of laughs and plenty of jumps for those not used to Zombie movies. Like many comedies this one doesn't take itself too seriously and breaking the fourth wall is common practice, there are little reminders everywhere that this is just a ride to be enjoyed. The runtime of the film is just over an hour but as you watch you'll realize just how much humor, heart, and gore is crammed into that 80 minutes.

Using zombies as a back drop to deal with human social interaction and dropping a coming of age story into a zombie apocalypse. Everything is there in balance.

If there is one flaw to the movie it is undoubtedly its overuse of narration by the main character and it wasn't until a little later in the film, when his constant interruptions were few and far between, that I felt truly immersed in the film. Its an extremely solid zombie comedy and a plain old good time for anyone who loves the undead.

I've always been a fan of the Terminator series, T2 was one of the first films I can actually remember watching as a kid and comprehending the plot. As I grew older both Terminator films stayed a staple of my sci-fi cinema diet and both are landmark films in their own right.

Like a lot of people I was kinda bummed by T3, it was an okay film but a FAR cry from the first two so I was psyched for Salvation when I first heard about it, but as each successive trailer was released and the PG-13 locked into place I found myself worried that it would be a let down...

As it turns out its not as bad as I thought it would be, the action sequences are thrilling and gripping, the plot isn't all that bad and there's enough violence to make it R-Rated-ish... The acting also turned out surprisingly well with Sam Worthington (playing Marcus) and Anton Yelchin (playing Kyle Reese) being the two stand out performers. I swear there were times I Anton looked and sounded exactly like Michael Biehn who played Kyle in the original film and it was that fact (as well as a few other homages) that kept the hardcore Terminator fan in me placated...

But placation isn't the same as satisfaction, the film has its flaws, the bad language you'd expect in a post-apocalyptic world is suppressed by the PG-13 rating and Bale delivers an overly dramatic performance to a character we learn far too little about other than what we know happened to him as a kid... My other major complaint is the CGI used for the Terminators themselves, it really didn't look good and I found myself praying for them to go back to Practical Effects where things look solid and real...

Remember how relentless the Terminator was in the first film?? Well that is carried over here, these guys won't stop until their processor is dead, but since they're CGI for the most part it lessens the feel of real danger... Somewhere deep inside the Terminator fan in me was wishing to return to that dark skull covered gritty landscape we saw glimpses of in the first Terminator (this definitely isn't the future Connor's Mother warned him about)

Hardcore terminator fans might want to avoid this, it was better than T3 but still pretty far off the quality of the first two, still, if its a Summer Blockbuster you want then go see Terminator Salvation, you could do a lot worse...

Last night I sat down to indulge in JJ Abrams take on Gene Roddenberry's classic series and I must say I wasn't disappointed. It seems the critics might be right for once as Abrams delivers a fun fast-paced movie that is filled with witty quips and funny moments and yet maintains emotional depth.

The cast is young which makes it all the more surprising they did so well, every cast member, even the oft mediocre Karl Urban, does well in their role. This film will go from making you laugh to having you on the edge of your seat in a millisecond.

The only weak link in the acting chain is Eric Bana, I've got nothing against him personally, but every movie I've seen him in he has been unequivocally awful and this film is no exception. He plays a vengeful Romulon from the future and the main villain of the film and I really found myself wishing Abrams had cast someone else.

The plot is pretty solid, it has found an interesting balance between comedy and action that it somehow manages to maintain. The only plot complaint is the unnecessary inclusion of Time Travel, which leads to an unnecessary, albeit welcome, cameo from old Spock (Nimoy). Spock essentially becomes Captain Exposistion and goes around explaining things and it does seem a bit silly...

So the film is not without its flaws, but it makes up for them and becomes the first truly good Summer Blockbuster in 2009. So whether you're a trekkie from way back or someone who's just hearing of the franchise now, go see Star Trek.

I've been a big fan of Wolverine since I was a kid watching the cartoon they had in the 90s. X1 and 2 were pretty decent films but the third one failed on so many levels, I was really hoping Hollywood might get its head together and deliver an excellent film revealing the origins of one of my favorite super-heroes. But alas, Origins fails even worse than X3 did.

Jackman is an okay actor and he isn't terrible in the film but the plot is a train-wreck. We are introduced to a bunch of different characters, some of which are later killed off only to come back to life, others betray Logan for no real reason..It was impossible to care about any of the characters when we got to see them for a only a few minutes, heck, somehow the filmmakers even made it hard to care about Logan... In the midst of the chaos of resurrected characters and plans for revenge things are lost, like any motivation for Wolverine to do many of the things he does and even simple plot details like what year it is...

This isn't a competent super-hero film, its not even a competent action film. A few of the fights are alright, and the special effects are pretty good, but that's all it is, a lot of fluff and no real(or good/well put together) story. Makes me long for the 90s Cartoon, I seem to vaguely recall a better handling of Logan's origin in that.

If you are a fan of Wolverine from the comics or cartoons I suggest you avoid this if at all possible... Also, any die-hard Gambit or Deadpool fans might want to steer clear as well

Ever seen the movie Alien directed by Sir Ridley Scott? Well, It! The Terror From Beyond Space is essentially a 1950s version. The plot is heavily similar to Alien, a spaceship is sent to an alien planet (in this case Mars) and ends up with a deadly stow-away, the big green alien hides in the air ducts and vents (like in Alien) and picks off the crew slowly. Eventually attempts to kill it are made but this is one resilient B-Movie alien, as bullets, grenades, and poison gas all seem ineffective, even dosages of radiation that would make Oppenheimer turn in his grave fail to phase the creature.

The film has relatively low budget special effects as is to be expected but I found the characters interacted relatively well and there was a real feeling of being aboard this ship with this crew fighting for survival.

An excellent B-Movie that sets up a formula for later Sci-Fi makers like Scott to perfect upon. Recommended to anyone who doesn't mind old fashioned Sci-Fi at its finest.

Not sure why this film has been attacked so much, I mean sure the whole man versus machine thing has been done before, but few of those movies take place in modern times and force us to look at our own government, the war on terror, and our increasing reliance on surveillance.

This movie serves as a warning about how the government watching us can become like a cold unfeeling machine and should serve as a reminder that Big Brother is watching.

As for plot its a fairly typical suspense-action movie with some twists and turns most of which you will see coming. But predictability is perfectly fine for me, better to stick to the formula than try and FAIL MISERABLY at something brand new. The acting is all competent.

Basic plot stuff, a computer system wants to assume control of the Government (and kill off the order of succession) to get America back on track with its prime directives. The Computer is a combination of other cinematic machines we've seen before. There's a little of Hal from 2001, some of Cerebro from X-Men, and that voice reminiscent of GLADOS from the video game PORTAL and of course who could forget SKYNET from the Terminator series.

If you're looking for the Holy Grail of great movies, Eagle Eye probably isn't for you, but if you're looking for two hours of fun entertainment you could do a lot worse than Eagle Eye.

Being a long time fan of the series and having been thoroughly satisfied with Fight the Future (the first Files film) I eagerly awaited this latest installment. I was even more psyched when I heard that aliens were not involved but that the show would follow a "monster of the week" style format.

I must say I was surprised how lackluster a film it was, Mulder and Scully are there and do their thing as well as they did during the show but its hard to get over how much older they are/look. The plot really wasn't anything fantastic either, in fact at the end of the movie I found myself wondering if anything supernatural had even taken place. Where usually X-Files episodes involved mutated monsters or aliens from other worlds this movie is basically about whether a pedo-priest is psychic or not and some Frankenstein doctor sewing heads onto other bodies. That plot point, the Frankenstein head transplant, is extremely unimaginative. I kept waiting for some supernatural breakthrough to take place or for something truly exciting to happen, but the movie feels like its running on empty.

Don't get me wrong, seeing Mulder and Scully back at what they do best is great and all and there's a real feel of nostalgia, especially when Skinner enters the movie. But the film isn't nearly as carefully crafted as the hour long episodes of series past. There's no real monster in the movie, just two or three "Frankenstein" Doctors who don't even speak English and have no real sinister plot other than to transplant severed heads onto new bodies (murder, boring).

There are good points, a Cerebus type dog, some religious musings and such, and that eerie snow that keeps falling.

Nothing spectacular the movie leaves me quite disappointed, which is sad because I really tried to like it.

If you're like me than you like zombies, and what's more you understand that what truly makes a zombie movie great has little to do with the budget. This film has many of the necessary elements to make a good zombie film, gore to a ridiculous degree, a chainsaw and boomstick (GROOVY), and a group of Survivors.

There are a few good one-liners here and there and plenty of gore, not quite enough action for my taste but its not an overly long film so who cares...

My issues with the film are as follows: There's no ending to speak of, as though the limited Independent film budget ran out before they could film an ending, not cool at all...

Teenagers, its too stereotypical, any self-respecting horror movie cannot center on a group of teens. The beginning of the film reminded me of what it was like to be back in High School (who wants those memories)....

Hand-Held, I know its the biggest thing right now but I cannot stand watching a feature length film shot ONLY in hand-held style, I kept praying for a steady-cam.

But overall nothing terrible to report but unfortunately nothing truly spectacular.

Zombies rule.

As a big time fan of the original MST3K I was stoked when I heard that Joel and company were going back to doing what made them famous to begin with. Rifftrax, Mike Nelson's own riffing endeavor, are okay, but I found myself missing Trace and Frank. Cinematic Titanic is a new "show" from the original MST3K cast and Doomsday Machine is the first installment I sat down to watch.

Watching Cinematic Titanic is like being reunited with old friends, voices of hilarity that have kept you laughing for years. All of the cast, even J. Elvis and Mary Jo are in top-notch riffing form and very few of the jokes fall flat. I found myself cracking up throughout...

The only issue with the film is that towards the end the actual movie (not the riffing) BECOMES UNBEARABLE, almost as unwatchable as Manos (which holds a special place in the hearts of all Msties)

Bottom line- if you're a fan of MST3K or Rifftrax than I highly recommend it. If this were an MST3K episode it'd likely be in my Top 20...

The hype surrounding WALL-E as the best Pixar movie yet left me relatively unmoved, particularly after Ratatouille turned out to be the worst Pixar movie and not the best (in my opinion of course). So with the DVD release I begrudgingly sat down to watch WALL-E thinking that a Johnny 5 looking CGI robot might be cool and that some of the winning humor from previous Disney-Pixar ventures might shine through...

Boy was I wrong... But what's more surprising is that the critics were wrong too, and IMDb's viewers are either all in the film's main demographic (kids) or are wrong. This is certainly not the best Pixar film and isn't really all that good...

Let's start with the positives, Animation- Once again the Pixar team shows their incredible talent for beautiful animation. The animation looks great, it isn't going to set any industry standards, but its cutting edge nonetheless...

WALL-E and Eve- the love story with WALL-E and Eve was pretty well done. I like that Eve, a probe sent to find LIFE is shaped like an EGG, the feminine-life giver symbolism is pretty neat, and WALL-E is a sort of robo-Adam.

Other than that there isn't much substance to the film, the plot is sparse, there is VERY LITTLE DIALOGUE as the bots can hardly talk. The movie felt so short, when the ending came I found myself wondering if the runtime was even over 60 Minutes. The first part of the story is about WALL-E, the second part about him and EVE, and the last part a Man Vs. Machine conflict to decide the fate of the Earth...

The environmental message didn't really work, because I find it hard to believe the human race is dumb enough to let our trash pile up that high. Is this how silly Environmental Crisis people see the rest of us, as fat and apathetic as the humans in this movie? It felt like I'd watched two-thirds of a movie and then it abruptly ended, what happens after the humans return to EARTH, will they just screw up the Earth again? Don't get me wrong, it was OKAY, but compared to Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, or Monster's Inc, it doesn't stand up...

6 out of 10

Before Tom Hanks was truly REALLY famous there was The Burbs...

The story follows Ray (Hanks) and his neighbors as they snoop around attempting to learn all they can about their mysterious and reclusive new next door neighbors... Plot doesn't really matter, what's truly funny are the colorful over-the-top characters and hilarious dialogue. This is a film that is not meant to be taken too seriously, the fourth wall is broken at least once and there's plenty of cheese.

To me it will always be a classic, every line seems to be perfectly placed and performed. There are so many moments that I could point out. Art eating (pineapple, bacon, eggs, sausage, ribs, and dog food), Rumsfeld after he drops the brownies, Ray taking the hair piece from his shorts, the femur... One great moment after another make this one of the most underrated and super-hilarious movies ever made...

Its not for everyone, but I can say one thing for certain, its for me, 10 out of 10...

The problem with remakes is that a good portion of the fan-base for the original have their collective negative expectations stacked against the film. I, myself, have only seen chunks of the original on television and elsewhere, but what I've seen leaves me agreeing with the nerds that the original is a solid sci-fi film that needed no remake. Remake needed or not Hollywood wants its holiday season cash.

First let me say that I generally liked the film, it was a pretty fun film to see in the theater. It was atmospheric, mysterious, and the special effects were good. Keanu Reeves is wooden and kinda creepy as Klaatu, but since he spends much of the film in a suit using his alien "powers" it was more like he was reprising his role as Neo than forging anything new (especially since, just like in the Matrix, he starts naked and covered in goo).

The plot never really goes anywhere, all it consists of is the Secretary of State trying to hold the USA together, Keanu Reeves getting driven around by Jeniffer Connelly, and some neat special effects.

The one stand-out moment of the film, at least for a Python fan such as myself, is the cameo by John Cleese.

So the plot builds almost no suspense and is filled with product placements (Microsoft, McDonald's, etc) but the directing is competent, the music atmospheric, the acting passable, and the special effects top notch, hence why I'm giving this one a 6 out of 10.