Rated PG-13 – 1h39

Reviewed 5.28.09

When it comes to horror movies, they don’t get much better than Drag Me To Hell.

Not only does the film deliver on its promise, it delivers scares with camp, wit and style. Christine Brown (Alison Lohman) is a loan officer who has a good job, a great boyfriend (Justin Long), and a bright future. In her job, she refuses to help a woman with a loan extension. The woman curses her, so in three days, Christine is going to hell.

I think we’ve long been inundated with the idea that horror movies have to involve a serial murder hunting sexy teens in the forest. Director Sam Raimi has completed the task of scary-fun-entertainment. Sc-fun-ment if you will.

We see an enticing mix of comedy and horror here. For every time something jumps out at you, you are rewarded with an equally silly moment to calm your nerves back down.

Another treat is the how the film technically looks. In a car scene, we’re expecting someone to pop up in the back seat of the car. We know it’s going to happen, and when we see it happening, it’s not scary until the director lets it be.

Bottom line is this was a fun movie experience. With the PG-13 rating this can and should be seen by a larger audience because it’s a good example of what a good scary movie can be.

Overall Rating: (Out of Four)
Date Friendly:
Good Humor:
Artistic Value:
Drama
Kid Friendly:

Date Freindly: Will the “dater? get a smooch from the “datee? for taking them to this one.

Good Laughs: A general rating for number of laughs.

Artistic Value: Includes scenery, camera work, presentation on film, ability to convey a message.

Drama: How much they poured it on and whether it was effective.

Kid Friendly: Will the kids dig it.

Popularity: 8% [?]

Rated PG-13 – 2h10

Reviewed 5.22.09

I can appreciate what they were trying to do with the latest Terminator movie, but it didn’t work for me. Recovery specialist Christian Bale brought new life to the Batman franchise, but with a similarly dark presence, he didn’t do the new Terminator justice.

Set in 2018, Bale plays John Connor, the son of Sarah Connor (the original Terminator girl) and the unofficial leader of a resistance movement against the supercomputer Skynet and its army of Terminators. They’re bent on eliminating humans. I think Skynet’s gripe is because humans are inefficient…and possibly because Skynet was given some government bailout money and didn’t want to pay it back.

Maybe that second part wasn’t true, but what is true is that post-apocalyptic movies should be overburdened with a sense of dread and a little touch of hope for the future. Terminator Salvation clues us that there will be some hope, but this played out more like an action movie than a “little guy” uprising against the “big guy.”

I understand why Bale freaked out on the set. He’s extremely intense in this movie. He probably freaked out at everyone, but we only heard about the one screaming match with his photography guy.

Also a downer, the great reveal in the movie was something any Terminator fan already knows. We know the machines have skin and blood in an attempt to infiltrate humans. We saw that in the original movie. What was the big surprise?

I think part of my problem with this movie was the direction of a guy named McG (Mick-Gee.) He’s the one responsible for the Charlie’s Angels movies and TV’s The O.C. and Chuck. Not much depth in any of them = me bored watching them.

Oh yeah. Does John Connor really have to say “I’ll be back?” That’s a deal breaker.

Overall Rating: (Out of Four)
Date Friendly:
Good Humor:
Artistic Value:
Drama
Kid Friendly:

Date Freindly: Will the “dater? get a smooch from the “datee? for taking them to this one.

Good Laughs: A general rating for number of laughs.

Artistic Value: Includes scenery, camera work, presentation on film, ability to convey a message.

Drama: How much they poured it on and whether it was effective.

Kid Friendly: Will the kids dig it.

Popularity: 10% [?]

Rated PG-13 – 2h18

Reviewed 5.17.09

If you can get past the implausibility, you might enjoy Angels & Demons. I couldn’t.

Tom Hanks reprises his role as Professor Robert Langdon, a symbols expert who is called upon by the Vatican to help solve a murder. He’s in a race against time to save lives and prevent a bomb from destroying the Vatican City as a whole.

Langdon’s expertise can supposedly help the Vatican track a centuries old trail, marked by clues, which will lead them to the killer. There’s a coupe redirects and planted suspicion to distract us from who might be the bad guy, but really it wasn’t that difficult to predict the ending.

That leaves us with the challenge to foil the villain. We see an unbelievable car chase across Vatican City. We see the pope’s young right hand man, Camerlengo (Ewan McGregor) breaking Catholic rules. We’re also confused when the villain foils his own plan and makes a move to save everybody. Why would he do that?

I guess the mystery and problem solving that was included in this movie’s predecessor, The Divinci Code, was absent. The intensity wasn’t there because that film was based on the potential of rejecting the foundation of the Catholic religion. This time, they just want to blow the church up.

While the debate over science vs. religion is at the center of the plot, neither argument is lobbied for. Instead both sides seem to co-exist with each other, conveniently giving believers and non-believers value in their ticket purchase.

Overall Rating: (Out of Four)
Date Friendly:
Good Humor:
Artistic Value:
Drama
Kid Friendly:

Date Freindly: Will the “dater? get a smooch from the “datee? for taking them to this one.

Good Laughs: A general rating for number of laughs.

Artistic Value: Includes scenery, camera work, presentation on film, ability to convey a message.

Drama: How much they poured it on and whether it was effective.

Kid Friendly: Will the kids dig it.

Popularity: 7% [?]

Rated PG-13 – 2h6

Reviewed 5.6.09

Droll, over technical and dry.

Those words might have described some of the old Star Trek movies, but not this one. This is a fresh, fun and exciting look at the series with a novel approach to recent bland attempts at prequels.

Star Trek is a look at the early days of the Starship Enterprise crew; Captain Kirk (Chris Pine), Spock (Zachary Quinto), Bones (Karl Urban), Uhuru, Scotty, Sulu, Chekov and the rest. The film traces Kirk’s early childhood, the crew’s first meetings and their early days at the Star Fleet Academy. Later, when a rogue, threatening Romulan enters the picture, and the youthful group’s ingenuity and cohesiveness is put to the test.

I am a big fan of director JJ Abrams. He took on a dangerous task trying to recreate an American original, while still trying to please Trekkies and the casual film watcher. His original take on the prequel idea is what really makes Star Trek entertaining. I won’t spoil the alternate vision that he takes, but lets just say the reality of it is worth the time to travel to the theater.

True to Trek form, the conflict mixed with danger leads you down a road where you start believing that there is no chance of hope for the characters. That is, until we witness another bold move from the fearless leader. It didn’t get boring.

Sure, the special effects are off the charts, but I always say if there’s nothing going on in the foreground, the effects won’t hold the movie. Star Trek has an engaging story, phenomenal looks and characters that I want to see more of.

Overall Rating: (Out of Four)
Date Friendly:
Good Humor:
Artistic Value:
Drama
Kid Friendly:

Date Freindly: Will the “dater? get a smooch from the “datee? for taking them to this one.

Good Laughs: A general rating for number of laughs.

Artistic Value: Includes scenery, camera work, presentation on film, ability to convey a message.

Drama: How much they poured it on and whether it was effective.

Kid Friendly: Will the kids dig it.

Popularity: 9% [?]

Rated PG-13 – 1h47

Reviewed 5.01.09

I can sink my claws into this type of summer blockbuster fun knowing that style sometimes triumphs over substance.

Hugh Jackman reprises his role as the mutant Wolverine in this Marvel Comic’s story that sort-of tells us about where he comes from. Wolverine, along with his similarly wolf-like brother Victor (Leiv Schreiber) has been around since pre-Civil War times. After whomping the enemy together through every major US war, the pair are recruited into a covert US military organization.

Fed up with the group’s atrocities, Wolverine goes rogue. Later, the General that enlisted him, and his own bloodthirsty brother hunts him.

As far as action sequences and comic book themes, it’s not bad. Explosions are big. The fisticuffs look brutal and the bad guys are evil. I wouldn’t say Jackman is trying to deliver an Oscar performance here, but that’s not what you’d expect from this type of movie.

As expected, there are plenty of holes to the plot. Why did Wolverine stop growing old when he hit Jackman’s age? Why is he a mutant in the first place? Is he really Canadian? Bogging yourself down in those details will only act to distract you from what was some shiny, action packed, comic book-movie fun.

So, we’re left with a little peek into the tortured soul that is Wolverine. Then again, we already know that the character has amnesia, so he forgets everything that happened to him. I feel like this movie gave me exactly what I wanted. A little brainless fun. Gimme a couple more summer blockbusters and I might forget this one too.

Overall Rating: (Out of Four)
Date Friendly:
Good Humor:
Artistic Value:
Drama
Kid Friendly:

Popularity: 7% [?]