Burn After Reading

Review: Wacky, dimwitted, and fun. Best three words to describe this film. All the characters where great. In a movie like this you find out how good an actor really is. Very simple plot, so it's their talent and craft that must shine through to make it work. To me, Pitt, Clooney, Malkovich, all of them, did a fantastic job and seemed like they were having a lot of fun. And it doesn't hurt to have the Coen brothers giving direction. I loved the way everything was wrapped up in the end too. Much better than No Country, which pretty much had no ending.

Rating(out of 10): 7.8

Could be hit or miss with people, but I recommend it nonetheless.

The Catch Up

So I have been out of town for a while and need to catch up on the movies I have seen. To make it simple and clear, I will keep it brief.

TROPIC THUNDER: Hilarious film, with many cheesy moments, but its the cheesyness that makes it so great. I don't know why people are crying about controversial with this film??? It's all in the name of humor, and just plain good fun. The best part of this film was keeping the roles of Matt McConaughey and Tom Cruise under wraps. Time after time you see the trailers ruin a film because they show too much. But Stiller did it right with this one!

Overall a good flick, go check it out, if you haven't already.

Rating(out of 10): 7.5

HAMLET 2: Second half of the film was better than the first. A lot of funny moments but felt it was lacking from time to time. Simple humor, nothing too complex about it. Touches on a good issue, what is going on with "the arts" in our schools today??? Many schools in our country are cutting more and more art programs, which I feel is a problem. This film almost tackles this issue but doesn't follow through.

Wait to rent this one, could have been better.

Rating(out of 10): 6.5

HOUSE BUNNY: Anna Faris makes this film. If they would have given her a better supporting cast, and modified the story some, this movie could have been up there with Legally Blond. Even with its shortcomings, you will still laugh out loud.

Rating(out of 10): 6.5

Pineapple Express

REVIEW: Not as good as their previous films. Don't get me wrong, it made me laugh plenty. I really enjoyed James Franco's role. But it just carried on. And Seth Rogen is the same character over and over. He isn't even acting, just living out his real life on camera. Entertaining, but a bit repetitive. Am I the only one noticing this?

The story also has similar "bonds of friendship" found in Superbad. Challenging the idea that it's not socially accectable for men to show affection toward one another, even if they are just friends. You know "man law", "guy code", call it what you want. However, they couple it with stronger homosexual undertones throughout the film. Making for a funny, sarcastic message.

I know I am being pretty negative here, and the movie is good, but not great. I just hold these guys to a higher standard for their previous accomplishments.

RATING(of 10): 7

If you are in no hurry, wait to rent it.

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor

REVIEW: The Mummy dies and hopefully so does this franchise. A far cry from the first film. Brendan Fraser is still cheesy, but this film takes it to new heights. The replacement of Rachel Weisz with Maria Bello was a terrible move. If you don't have the full original cast of characters then do away with that particular character somehow. I mean come on, its a quick fix, little bit of creative story writing. CGI quality wasn't good either. Overall just not a good movie.

RATING(of 10): 4.5

If you bother, rent it.

Step Brothers

REVIEW: Pleasantly surprised! Much better than Ferrell's last one, Semi Pro. Keeps you laughing the whole time, but if you don't like mindless, vulgar humor, you won't dig. Ferrell and Reilly make for great 13 year olds who are really 40. The most important factor is they are believable. You can actually see them still living with there parents. Many great one liners too.


Spoiler: I thought the scene where they hopped on stage, was going to crash and burn this film. Just be over the top cheesy, BUT when they busted out with Ferrell singing Andre Bocelli it was awesome. Didn't see that coming and I liked it.


Overall this wasn't as good as their past films, but entertaining enough.


RATING(of 10): 6.5


You can wait to rent this one.

New Rating System

It has been brought to my attention the 5 star rating is no good. So i am using the 10 scale like IMDB. This should leave room to better differentiate between Movies.

The Hulk

REVIEW: Not an upgrade at all from the first one. If anything Ang Lee's version was much more visually appealing. The story was good the acting was fine, but the film making is what just ruined it. Ideally you take Norton and Roth, put them in Lee's version and you have the best Hulk movie to date. Instead of a great superhero movie you have an ok action flick.... Oh well, third times a charm?



RATING(of 10): 6.5



You can wait to rent this one.

Wall-E

REVIEW: Pixar does it again. They are pumping movies out so fast over there, and they are actually good! This one is no exception. Right up there with the rest. Great story, with a good/positive message I might say. The animation is fantastic, very visually appealing. Not only will kids love it, but adults too. Honestly we as grown-ups should understand it better. Solid movie overall.



RATING(of 10): 8.5



Go see this in theaters.

Hancock

REVIEW: Ok so this movie is not great or a masterpiece, but it's a decent summer flick. Will Smith is good as usual. Plot needed some work, and the special effects were nothing to write home about. But overall it was mindless entertainment. Which sometimes is necessary. If you don't ever watch this movie, you didn't miss much.



RATING(of 10): 6.8



This one you can wait to rent.

The Dark Knight

REVIEW: Did not disappoint. It was everything I thought it would be. Great acting, great directing, simply a great piece of film making. One of the best movies I have seen made in our time. Heath doesn't let you down one bit with the horrifying reinvention of a classic bad guy, the Joker. Bale, Caine, Eckhart, and Oldman are spot on. Morgan Freeman, despite the small part, is still vital. And subbing in Gyllenhaal for Holmes was a wise move, which everyone pretty much expected.

I love the realism approach Nolan is taking with these films. This is a psychological crime saga, as apposed to a typical superhero movie. The story is menacing and chaotic, but cohesive. "It's all part of the plan." Truly, a must see.

RATING(of 10): 9.5

Definitely check this one out in Theaters, preferably IMAX.

Wanted

REVIEW: Bold, daring, adrenaline rush. That about sums it up. Good twists and turns in the story and creative film making with tons of style. I mean ultimately its ridiculous, but still fun to watch.


RATING(of 10): 8


Not for everyone, but worth a watch in theaters.

Hellboy ll: The Golden Army

REVIEW: I am not going to lie, very disappointed in this movie. I was excited reading the reviews on RT, but after seeing it, was wondering what they were thinking to rate it so high. Did I miss something? Was I not watching close enough? This movie was all over the place and way more far fetched than the first one (believe that or not). Don't get me wrong I am a fan of fantasy but this film mad no sense to me. At best it was just okay, first one was better.

Basically it was too cheesy and slow at times, but had solid effects and good fight scenes.

RATING(of 10): 6.5

This ones hit or miss for the theaters.

Where I'm Coming From

As this is my first post I would like to tell you a little about myself. I have two hobbies in this world, baseball and movies. I will watch just about anything and like all kinds. Chick flicks, action/adventure, horror, sci-fi, murder mystery.... if it's made well I'll enjoy it. I did not major in film or anything like that, so I am not some type of authoritive figure here. I simply have a passion for movies and want to share my opinion with others who feel the same way. So I encourage those who read this blog to write something. Don't be bashful. And if you attack an opinion of mine that's fine too, just keep it clean and educated.

I will post opinions weekly and you can look for three things: Review, Rating, and whether or not to see it in theaters or wait for DVD