Surprizingly Good

If your expecting this to be just another talking animal film, you maybe surprised. You may recognize some of the voices of the animal cast including such big names as Nicholas Cage, Sam Rockwell, Jon Favreau, Penélope Cruz, Tracy Morgan, Steve Buscemi and thats just the voices of the animals. Besides the stellar cast of G-Force, the plot is surprisingly good for a kid's movie. The 3-D is fun to watch if you have the extra cash to spend, but your not missing much if you don't. Overall, if you have children under 13, this is a must see, and if you don't you may still be pleasantly surprised.

Half the action, twice as good

The Harry Potter saga is nearing the end. In comparing this film to the other films, there was less action, but you do get more character interaction and dialog that the films prior seemed to be lacking. More secrets are revealed and all the pieces are starting to come together about Lord Voldemort. The great moments of suspense, coupled with the wonderful cinematography, make this a great film and one of the better films of the series.

Action packed sequel

You will be blown away by the action in this movie. This is what Terminator and Wolverine should have been like. Picks up right where the first one left off. Sam is off to College and the Autobots have allied with the humans to rid the Earth of the remaining Decepticons. However, the Decepticons know something the Autobots don't... this isn't the first time the Transformers have been to earth. It is the same cast as last time, but stronger performances and more tantalizing special effects makes this a true summer blockbuster. Do take into consideration the vocabulary is harsher than the first, so it may not be suitable for younger audiences.

A fun addition to the series

This is a great family movie. Picks up a few years after "Ice Age: the Meltdown", and Mannie and Ellie are expecting a baby, Diego thinks its his time to leave, and Sid now longs for a family of his own. Of course Scrat still pops up throughout the movie, but now has some competition. A lady squirrel, Scratte, also longs for the beloved Acorn. After stealing three dinosaur eggs to raise as his own, Sid has been carried off to an underground world. The crew must reunite if they are to save their lost companion. Excitement and fun ensues while avoiding the dangerous perils that lurk in the strange new world. This is a great movie. My son, age 4, loved it. After having repeated trouble with the 3-D glasses not fitting on my son, we choose to see this in regular formatting. In my opinion you do not need to pay the extra money for the glasses. There are only about 2-3 scenes that would really benefit from it. So if you are on a budget or have smaller children that won't/can't keep the glasses on, you will not miss a thing.

Another Pixar Great

Great movie for the kids. A little slow (and sad) in the beginning, but builds into a great story. "Up" doesn't really take full advantage of the 3D, but is fun to watch. The old man character is hilarious, think Walter Matthau in "Denis the Menace." You can't go wrong with a funny grumpy old man. While "Up" isn't what you would think as a huge summer block buster, it is still a very enjoyable family movie.

Misleading Rating

The film has a PG-13 rating, but should probably be rated R. A lot of sexual innuendos that are not suitable for young teens. If you were a fan of the TV show you may not like this slapstick version, but if you have a pretty good sense of humor "Land of the Lost" is very funny. Matt Lauer's cameo is absolutely hilarious and really makes the film. The three stars is purely because of the misleading rating. Easily a four star rating for those who loved "Anchor Man" and "Talladega Nights."

Boldy Go See Star Trek

    I wasn't sure I was going to like this flick because I so loved the original series and didn't know if I wanted to see a trendy overdone Hollywood reboot of a franchise that was to me so much about character, camaraderie, and intelligent plot lines with twists, surprises and a witty sense of humor. Honestly, I just didn't think the industry could do it today. I stand corrected. This film did almost everything right and perhaps it was because it was uniquely both a reboot, prequel, sequel and offshoot to the original television and film series. If that doesn't make any sense you'll have to go see it! This was the most intelligently written remake I've seen.
    The actors who took up the roles of the crew of the Enterprise delivered convincing portrayals of all the old characters and also succeeded in creating a fresh energy on the screen that felt like you had been whisked back in time to see the old series starting up again for the first time (just this time the transporters were much more dazzling). I was particularly impressed with the actor portraying Dr. McCoy (Karl Urban). Spock (Zachary Quinto) was excellent and gave us the cool logic we expected and the underlying emotion we like to look for (though this film focused rather heavily on his emotional side). Of course my greatest apprehension about a new Star Trek film was how were they going to pull off Kirk? Shatner's performance is irreplaceable and someone else acting with his gusto might have only been thought of as a spoof, but the new actor (Chris Pine) somehow delivered the lines and smirks in a way that I bought as Kirk, they even threw in a couple of times where he says "Bones" in that poppy little way and it came across right.
    So kudos to the new cast of Star Trek. I will say there were two things I was dissatisfied with, if you've seen the previews you know that Leonard Nimoy has a cameo which was fun, but I did really want to see William Shatner in a cameo as well (I know his character has died in the films, but really in a franchise that deals with time travel, cloning, alternate realites, transporter malfunctions, etc. you can think of some way to bring him back - I mean this is sci-fi and fantasy we're talking about and it's not unheard of... they already did it with Spock in Star Trek III.) But there's always that chance in a sequel. The other thing I didn't like was that they chose to have two characters in a relationship on the bridge of the Enterprise. I liked this romance in the beginning but they didn't do away with it by the end so now there's this extra element floating around that writers will have to work around in future films that leaves these two characters somewhat out-of-character in the traditional sense and hinders plots like the crew of the Enterprise encounters strange aliens that make them fall in love - those plots were always fun because everyone was single on the bridge and you knew that anytime they fell in love something funny was going on. But this little quirk aside, it was fantastic and I'd enthusiastically watch it again. Great for the whole family too!

Kids Will Be Bewitched By Witch Mountain

Race to Witch Mountain is a remake of the 1975 Disney film Escape to Witch Mountain, they just tricked us into thinking it was new by using a different name and adding some gnarly (though admittedly violent at times) special effects, not to mention they included their secret weapon: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Through the use of this diabolical scheming, they were able to create a movie that is as close to genuinely family friendly as we get these days and so entertaining to young’uns that it’s downright disgraceful. How dare they make a movie that will capture the attention of kids of all generations? Ok I digress, in all seriousness, this is one movie out right now that promises some worthwhile entertainment for the kids for at least the duration of its running time, after that parents, you’re on your own.

Witch Mountain begins by reeling through a montage of tons of tales about reported U.F.O sightings, alien abductions, and government cover ups. Of course, most people believe it all to be the figments of some paranoid sci-fi fan’s imagination but there could be no greater skeptic than Jack Bruno (Dwayne Johnson), a Las Vegas cabbie well beyond desensitized to the world of the weird. His distaste for all things alien becomes apparent when he tags the local U.F.O meeting as the “Nut Job Convention”, much to the chagrin of his astrophysicist passenger Dr. Alex Friedman (Carla Gugino) who is scheduled to speak at the conference. His luck doesn’t improve much with his next passengers who happen to be two oddly robotic, frantic teenagers with a wad of cash wishing only to travel in “that direction.” Wary as he might be, Jack Bruno takes on the task and thus unknowingly begins his adventure with the aliens Seth (Alexander Ludwig) and Sara (AnnaSophia Robb).

Through a series of paranormal and frankly, freaky events, the identity of his two passengers is revealed. Once the truth is discovered he retires his previous skepticism and agrees to help the pair of pint-sized aliens. However, he doesn’t feel fit to be their sole guardian and seeks the help of former passenger and alien specialist Dr. Friedman. Together they risk life and limb to help return Seth and Sara to their fallen spacecraft hidden deep within the government run Witch Mountain, which is apparently like Area 51 on steroids. To do this though they must continuously evade capture from government agent Burke (Ciaran Hinds), a Siphon, an alien bounty hunter trained to kill, and about 150 other guys who all had guns and fired at will (seriously, the amount of gunfire in this movie was a little over the top). Despite all the obstacles, nothing on earth can stop this team from accomplishing their mission.

Some critics would like to compare this movie to the original and pick it apart based on nostalgia, primarily. To do this is almost preposterous. I mean, yes this movie is based on the original but it had to be adapted to today’s generation. If Escape was premiered today, kids would be bored out of their mind. They thrive off of visual effects, intense fight scenes, and loud soundtracks. So, yeah, if you are hoping to see a favorite childhood movie brought to life again, you may be disappointed. But, if you go into it with a blank slate you may be pleasantly surprised. Sure, some of the lines are cheesy and the incidence of unlikely serendipitous circumstances is high, but they also have cool new gadgets (like a key that goes to everything). Not to mention, the acting isn’t half bad. Dwayne Johnson actually has pretty good comedic timing and shows some depth of character as well with his relationship to the twins, Alexander Ludwig and AnnaSophia Robb. All in all, I enjoyed it for a kid flick and you just may too.

Consider Watching the Watchmen

Watchmen is a film adapted for the screen from the critically acclaimed graphic novel of the same title written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Gibbons. Director Zack Snyder (who directed the movie 300 in 2006) worked with screenwriters David Hayter and Alex Tse to make this comic series into a film worth watching. But, if you’re looking for a classic superhero tale of good vs. evil, hero gets the girl, happy ending kind of stuff … Watchmen ain’t it. Don’t get me wrong, the film builds on these archetypal plotlines but the end product is far from typical. The Watchmen exist in a world in which moral relativism reigns, where the good guy is bad, the bad guy is good, the lovers are fighters, and the happy ending is tragically cataclysmic. With all these shades of gray, it’s amazing that Snyder was able to create such a visually captivating film.

The story picks up in the darkened apartment of an aging, cigar chomping, scruffy man sporting a dingy housecoat and a bright yellow happy face button standing in sharp contrast to the rest of its surroundings. The dull, dim atmosphere is abruptly interrupted when a dark figure kicks down the door (nobody uses a doorknob in the whole film) and the battle begins. The brutal brawl is set to the tune of “Unforgettable”, an odd choice that leaves an impression that is just as intended. The dark figure triumphs leaving us only with the identity of his victim; the Comedian is dead. The Comedian was the last of the original members of The Minutemen, a band of masked avengers who attempted to make the world a better place. However, it becomes painfully obvious during the opening credits set to Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are A Changin” that the world is beyond repair and even the heroes themselves are not immune to its brutality. The audience becomes witness to the downfall of not only the Minutemen, but of the human condition and is thrust into a sense of despair and grief as to its fate. To compound all of this, we discover that in this bizarro version of 1985, Richard Nixon is in office for a third term and the U.S. is on the brink of nuclear war with the Soviets. Does it get more dismal?

The only hope the world has comes in the form of a gritty, dogged masked man called Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley), the last of the second wave of masked heroes, the Watchmen. He is the only one who still dons a mask, an ever-changing façade of mesmerizing inkblots. Everybody else has hung up the costume for good by order of President Nixon who marked the group as vigilantes. Dan Dreiberg or Nite Owl II (Patrick Wilson) when, stripped of his costume, became nothing more than a pitiful geek. Laurie Jupiter or Silk Spectre II (Malin Akerman) left the heroics behind to be with her boyfriend Jon aka Dr. Manhattan (Billy Crudup) the only real superhero in the movie who, during an experiment gone awry, was transformed into a glowing, god-like figure. Lastly, Adrian Veidt (Matthew Goode) has delved into the world of business and has become a successful mogul. Despite the obvious obstacles, Rorschach makes it his mission to at least right one wrong in the world and discover the identity of the Comedian’s murderer with the help of the Watchmen. He believes that whoever did it could be gunning for masked heroes and he doesn’t plan on being next.

The film proceeds with the help of gusto and gore (lots and lots of it). Through bits and pieces we are introduced to what the characters are really made up of, either the aforementioned gusto or gore. They either have what it takes to succeed or they are blown to bits (and believe me, Snyder doesn’t let you miss any gruesome, bloody morsel). Those who perish, do so majestically through the brilliant fight scenes crafted in both real and slow motion. Every drop of blood, spit, and guts is spewed across the screen in such a way that you are all at once disgusted and awed. Even the most grisly, brutal scenes are hard to look away from due to sheer shock. For those of you who can handle this type of artsy violence (there must be some law against putting those two words together) you might find yourself entranced.

The fight scenes and frequent flashbacks really drive the movie through its 167 minutes (I can tell you that it’s definitely not the terribly awkward sex scene that does it). The plotline is interesting enough, though I can’t reveal it in its entirety because then I would really be a spoiler. I will just say that the most intriguing thing about the plot is the inner conflict that it creates in you as a viewer. Most of it has been done before, but there are slight twists that make your mind reel a bit. It’s a good little moral exercise, if nothing else.

All in all, the film is worth seeing. Its intensity and its ability to present human nature as is (from both the perspective of the humans themselves and from one who now sees it from the outside) compels me to recommend it. I would even say that visually it is a must-see, but some may disagree. However, I would also warn against it for the same reasons. It contains intense violence, intense criticism of human nature, and intense full frontal nudity (unnecessary). I guess you’ll just have to decide for yourself if it was worth it.

Madea Makes Me Laugh

Typically, watching a film in which one actor plays multiple characters is just plain irritating… well, at least it is when Eddie Murphy does it. Tyler Perry, however, pulls it off. Maybe it’s because he allows the audience to really connect with his “alter-ego” characters over him. They take center stage in his stories and they rightfully deserve it. Tyler Perry’s character “Madea” is a larger than life, unruly, unrepentant, uncompromising woman that you just can’t help but love.

In this chapter of Tyler Perry’s narrative of Madea’s life, we learn about all of Madea’s past indiscretions. In fact, there’s even a little slide show that goes through her life in mug shots. This time, she gets dragged in because she set the “po-po” on a car chase and then, once she was caught, beat them senselessly. She is brought into court for the umpteenth time and is, yet again, released, this time because the pulverized po-po neglected to Mirandize her at the scene. She is let go on a provision that she seek anger management and Jesus. She refuses Church, but does attempt one session with the one and only Dr. Phil for anger management counseling, but to no avail. She gets in a tussle with a red convertible sporting, tennis playing, pretentious white woman over a parking spot and yada yada yada… ends up in jail.

There is another story line playing alongside this one and that is of Assistant District Attorney Joshua Hardaway (Derek Luke) and a young street walker, Candace Washington (Keshia Knight Pulliam aka Rudy from The Cosby Show). Hardaway is a walking success story. He made a lawyer out of himself despite all odds, he has a successful career, and he is about to marry the woman of his dreams. All of this comes to a screeching halt when he runs into Candace, a long lost childhood friend, in court on prostitution charges. He makes it his mission to save her from a future on the streets forsaking all the rest. However, he can’t save her from her past and she ends up in jail with none other than Miss Madea. Together they help each other through the hard time.

While Madea keeps you laughing, the film also deals with Candace’s situation and addresses some really difficult issues concerning rape, prostitution, and the long road to recovery. Perry, it seems, tends to incorporate an underlying drama into the majority of his comedy productions. While he lets the audience have a good laugh he also weaves in issues that he believes are in need of critical examination within the black community, especially. There was a genuine message that, I believe, he hopes will reach out to anybody who wishes to receive it.

Madea Goes To Jail is not necessarily the best movie out right now, but if you’re looking for an easy laugh that might give you something to talk about on the car ride home this may be just good enough for you.