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Reviews
The Mist (2007)
Cheesy Graphics...Bad Acting...Plot Holes...and a $10 Refund.
I do have a respect for the accomplishments that Stephen King has done, but "The Mist" needed to stay in the vault. The movie is set up great and does a great job of grabbing the audiences' attention and curiosity of what "lies in the mist." The movie quickly takes a turn for the worst when the worst display of effects in the history of the big screen were shown with the monster. These effects should not have even been approved for the Sci Fi's channel Movie of the Week.
The movie than tries to move the story along by involving a "religious fanatic" prophesying destruction of the world. This side story has no relevance in the movie and just causes irritated noise to the already distressed story.
The end hope is that the whole movie will be saved by a "Michael Jordan" ending. However, anyone who has ever seen a Stephen King movie could have predicted how it was going to end. My advice to Mr. King: Continue to keep your visions on paper, and let the film experts transfer it to video.
If you do decide to see this movie, find out what your local theatre's policy is for returns and, if possible, see it during matinée pricing.
Spider-Man 3 (2007)
A cheesy story and even cheesier acting
I'm sure everyone had high expectations for the the final spider adventure, but sadly to say, I was quite disappointed. You can tell they were struggling with the story in this one, because there was constant weird plot changes that really made no sense and took away from the movie. Also, it slowly began to turn into a corny love story, instead of a action comic movie, which it should be. Tobey Macguire and Kirsten Dunst perform one of their worst acting performances of their career. There was line after line of cheesy dialogue that took away from the story at hand. Of course the movie will be a hit, its spider-man. But I hope that Spiderman has spun his last web.
Deja Vu (2006)
Deja Vu, an intriguing story with some "worm holes"
Anyone who is familiar with Tony Scott's directing ability will know to expect an entertaining show with some good action, classic 360 degree aerial shots, and close up camera shots. Tony Scott and Denzel Washington reunite to make another film. Denzel plays the role of a cop who is asked to help the FBI in solving a terrorist attack using some state of the art equipment. In time, Denzel finds out that the power to look into the past has been created and becomes obsessed to save the life of a girl who has died.
Denzel does a great job in acting as he always done and is matched with some great action shots and effects. The story itself is a very interesting one and gets you interested pretty deeply. By the end of the movie, there are a lot of unexplained events which causes the audience to speculate what in fact the story was about. Some more clarity could have settled some of these unanswered questions. All in all, if your looking for an entertaining movie with some great action, go check it out.
Employee of the Month (2006)
Not the Dane We all know
The tidal wave of Dane Cook the last year created quite the buzz for his first lead role in a film with Employee of the Month. Dane has the ability to make audiences fall to the ground laughing and screaming with his stand up comedy. However, his movie experience is not the same. He shares the roll with Pop star Jessica Simpson, who I am wondering if her boobs got paid for the movie than her face. Punk'ds Dax also starred and in my opinion had the best performance in the movie.
Don't blame the flop on Dane's lack of ability of acting,(which he actually does a pretty good job at). The script is shallow and does not have that much intelligent humor in it. Dane either needs to write his own movies or stick to stand up.
Nacho Libre (2006)
The Jack Black Attack
Jack Black returns to the big films in a great role suited for him in Nacho Libre. Director Hess (also directed Napoleon Dynamite) does a great job in giving Black freedom to steal the show. The movie depicts a Mexican Priest who has a secret fantasy to be a Luchador (Wrestler). Nacho Libre (Black) attempts the difficult task of living the life of the Luchador as well as the Priest of the orphanage.
Anyone who understands and recognizes Jack Black humor, will strongly appreciate this movie. From the classic faces, to the funny dance moves, he continues to bring on the laughs as he takes over. There are even a few musical performances by Black as well. If your looking for in your face Ha Ha humor like Old School and Wedding Crashers, you won't find much here. However, if your looking for a hilarious background comedy, this movie is filled with it. Jack Black is one of the few comedians out there that can literally carry a show. You will want to see it again and again!!!!
The Da Vinci Code (2006)
What can you do when the book is already pure genius?
Ron Howard's movie Da Vinci code received a lot of flack early on by critics saying there was no flow to the movie and there was no connection between Tom Hanks (Langdon) and Audrey Tautou (Sophie). However, I beg the differ, and give, if not, more credit to Howard for not slaughtering the already genius and Best-selling story.
One of the hardest tasks in film-making, is the one of taking a very successful book with a huge following and transferring it to the big screen. We have seen few successes with this (Jurassic Park, Lord of The Rings, etc.). Dan Brown's book, Davinci Code, already contained a great story which captivates and draws in the reader. Ron Howard has the task of trying to unite everyone's imagination into one movie by also not trying to offend anyone of different perspectives. Indeed, I do agree that it was less descriptive, but it took me 1 month to read the novel, and the movie is about 3 hours.
Tom Hanks performs well as always, however I think a slight miscast on casting him as a knowledgeable Professor. There is good flow to the movie and we are not drowned by long slews of dialog explaining every detail of Da Vinci's work as well as the Templar Knights. I believe Howard did a good job of extracting the essentials and tying them in for the audience to grasp the principles of the book. I am sure for those who have not read the book, and only saw the movie, consider it one of the best of the year. Howard continues to earn my respect and deliver good, entertaining movies.
North Country (2005)
Is North Country in my Country?
The movie "North Country" was an interesting movie claiming to be "based on a true story." I am not pig headed and insensitive to women's rights or any other human's rights, but these type of movies always have the tendency to get carried away. Many times they are portrayed to take place so long ago I cannot verify whether its correct or not. I was in my teens in the nineties, and I'm sure there was some questionable activities going on in some parts of the country, but there is no way that this would have been able to fly anywhere in our country. If you like sympathetic movies that make you feel sorry for the main character, go see this, its right up your ally. However, as for me, I enjoy the art of film making and creativity, and not of that of GI JANE. The acting was great in the movie, and will probably be up for some Oscars, but it just ain't my cup of tea.
The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005)
Are you trying to scare or convert me?
The Excorcism of Emily Rose made a lot of noise before entering theaters, by showing their intense previews of scary scenes which were to come in this theological horror film. However, after viewing it, the scenes showed during previews were the only scary scenes throughout the movie.
By midway into the movie, I was trying to figure out whether the point of the movie was to give me a fright, or convince me that Emily Rose was so Godly...that she was possessed by Demons...Maybe one of the biggest oxymorons of all time. There were definitely some startling parts, but once faith started entering into the film, it was the beginning of the end for me. Then to end on the quote "Emily's story is being told to thousands today," made me felt that I was just coerced into seeing a movie to try to convince to believe a girl who had gone loony. There was good acting, but all in all, I feel the Rose family, was a strict, country family, whose daughter went nuts. Sorry Emily.
Lord of War (2005)
The movie "Blow", but with guns.
There is nothing better going into a movie and having no idea of what you are about to see. I do have to say, the opening scene was very artistic and creative with following the ammunition, and really set the stage for the rest of the movie. Nicholas Cage is great, if you cast him his part in a movie. If you need a smooth, charismatic, yet somewhat scum-bag of a guy, Cage is your man. His narrative addition, kept you interested in the film.
A lot like the movie "Blow", starring Johnny Depp, "Lord of War" breaks down the art of dealing arms starting at the first step. One always recognizes that we have gun problems throughout the world, but do they ever stop to think how it becomes a problem. This movie does a great job of accurately portraying how it is done. Anytime I can watch a movie and say "that is exactly how I would react in that situation" I find that scene a success. Cage does a great job in portraying reactions of what would really happen being put in certain situations he is put in. The light humor keeps a good rhythm. Not only are you entertained in this movie, but also leave realizing real life problems that are affecting our world everyday. I recommend seeing this film.
A History of Violence (2005)
An emotional roller coaster with a questionable ending
I have read many reviews honoring this movie by saying the plot and acting of this movie is "genius." Personally, I felt that the only good acting which took place, were by those who had acted before(Ed Harris and Viggo.) All others, especially the daughter and son, create distractions in the movie that remind you that this is only a movie. It seemed like an amateur directing film.
In the beginning the plot catches your attention and leaves questions unanswered, waiting for explanations in the future, but by the end you leave the movie with a lot of unanswered questions. I know some people expect to be able to "make their own ending and decide how it ends up," but hell I'm not paying 10 bucks to go and finish a movie in my mind. It is a movie worth seeing, because of the hype, but one of which I don't find myself seeing again.