"Our enemy has realized that they are fighting guys from the future."

Body of Lies, 2008. Three Stars.

Tim and I found ourselves randomly tuning in to the middle of this movie on TV. After both professing that we'd both been meaning to check out this flick, we found it on On Demand and watched it from the beginning.

I don't, and can't pretend to, know how accurately all of the different cultures, governments, and actions are portrayed in this movie. So I'm going on how good the actors are, and how engaging the story is.

So, I was pretty engrossed with the story and the characters. And yup, all the actors are great! It's always nice to see Leo in a good movie, and I was thrilled that Russell Crowe played a not hot guy. And I'm always happy to see Mark Strong, he seems to crop up in the darndest places. And Golshifteh Farahani! She is so pretty, and seems so cool in real life. Among other things, she's currently living in France and furthering her music career with musician Mohsen Namjoo; she had previously been in the Iranian band "Kooch Neshin" (which I think means "Nomads"?), which had remained underground in Iran since rock music and lady singers are forbidden.

Mike Patton (yay!) does a song on this soundtrack (with Serj Tankian, yuck), and the end credits feature a not very Guns N' Roses-y Guns N' Roses song (yuck).

"My family is not dying tonight. You are coming with me."

Mirrors, 2008. Two and a Half Stars.

I was in the mood for a scary movie. But this movie just didn't do it for me. Mirrors creep me way out, but not movies about mirrors. And especially not this movie about mirrors. There really wasn't much scary atmosphere or anything like that, and everything felt forced. So I just wasn't in to buying what these mirrors were selling.

One interesting thing is Esseker and the story of how the mirrors got haunted (THOUGH since "Esseker" was being written in a MIRROR, I really felt that they should have done the corny thing of the name being backwards and it really being "Rekesse". HWAH!). Also, Amy Smart is in this, and she's great. And her death scene was really the only other cool thing about this movie.

The ending's a bit cheesy, but I liked it a little. Though it didn't fit in with the rest of the movie, since it was so stylized when everything else was so reality-based. Which is a shame! Wasted potential.

Kiefer Sutherland, I miss you in The Lost Boys.

"What did you expect?" "They used to dance."

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, 2008. Three and a Half Stars.

This was better than the first one. And there's so much brutality!

Perhaps this is a better story?? Or maybe I'd just seen too many versions of "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe" as a kid. (Fun fact: As a kid, I saw a version of this on TV, and I didn't know what the heck a "Turkish Delight" was. I thought it involved turkey. I thought that it must've been the worst candy in the world!)

The mouse? Surprisingly not annoying! Because usually cutesy live-action animal secondary characters are.

It must be sad to be a kid who has lived a full life of magic and fantasy, only to turn back into a kid again. And also to be part of two completely different worlds: I have a difficult enough time feeling like I have a place to belong to, and I live in only one reality!

"Kane thought he could tell us what to do, and we told Kane: 'FUCK YOU!'"

Doomsday, 2008. Two and a Half Stars.

The beginning of this movie was totally righteous. It was scary, and sad, and it just immediately grabs you and forces you into this nightmarish world. Woah.

But then the rest of the movie is fairly ridiculous. And you know I love fairly ridiculous things! But it's just so different from the beginning that it's actually quite startling, so I liked this movie less and less the more I kept watching it.

It is pretty okay though, especially if you check your sense of reality at the door. It's pretty much like "Mad Max vs. Feudalism."

Though I still wish the movie that was being made at the beginning was the movie that it ended up being. That would have been thrilling.

Rhona Mitra is a very good ultimate bad ass!!

"But Benny Said." "Fuck Benny."

Carlito's Way, 1993. Three Stars.

Good movie! I really liked opening sequence. It was fun to see Sean Penn! And Viggo! And I totally recognized Nathan Petrelli!

That Pacino can sure act! Cool seeing him play a somewhat similar character to Scarface, but, you know, making different life decisions.

"The missiles are flying. Hallelujah, Hallelujah!"

The Dead Zone, 1983. Three and a Half Stars.

An 80's sci-fi movie starring Christopher Walken? Yep, my kind of movie!!

It's cool that everyone believes him. One of the most frustrating things in movies is when no one believes the main character.

His house reminds me of my great aunt's and gramma's house: It feels familiar and cozy, and it's decked out in the style of my childhood (I was born in 1982).

Martin Sheen is awesome. Baby shield!!!

I checked out some of the "making of" features after the movie. The Look of Dead Zone: "sparkling." It sure is!! If this was filmed in Ontario, then I belong in Canada. It's pretty and cozy. I like wearing cold weather clothing.

"In my opinion, the existence of life is a highly overrated phenomenon."

Watchmen, 2009. Three Stars.

I'm personally giving this movie Three Stars because I really liked it. But, it's not a very good movie!

I love the comic book, and it was so cool seeing the characters come to life and the story unfold on the big screen. There's so much that happens in the comic book, however, and it was a good move to not include every single thing in the movie, and instead focus on the larger overall themes. That being said... the pacing was so slow at some points and so fast in others, that the things that were supposed to have a big impact on the audience (like, Holy Shit The Comedian! and, Oh, THAT'S why Bubastis exists!) ended up coming up short.

The beginning of the movie was well-done: Totally dug the snapshot-ish narrative of the history of the Minutemen and what happened to the superheroes, it was fun and effective.

The ending has been changed, but it's just a different means to the same end. I thought it was pretty interesting and okay. Plus, the movie couldn't handle including the original ending.

I didn't like some of the casting. Matthew Goode was good as Veidt, but he lacked the "god-like" physique which added to his "superhuman-ness" in the comic. I GUESS Malin Akerman did a great job because Laurie Juspeczyk is a pretty vapid and one-dimensional character, but she sounded like Drew Barrymore and it was annoying.

Who's actually great in this? Patrick Wilson is perfect as Dan Dreiberg (and he's wicked cute!!). Jackie Earle Haley is everything I could have hoped for in a Rorschach. And I gotta say, it was SO COOL seeing Doc Manhattan! Way to go, Billy Crudup! The blue wang didn't freak me out as much as it did everyone else in the cinema. Everyone else in it was pretty decent too. Jeffrey Dean Morgan looked just like The Comedian.

So like I said, I liked it. If you're a fan of the comic book, you'll probably like it more than dislike it. If you're not familiar with anything about it, you'll most likely leave the cinema confused, dissatisfied, and tired.

**UPDATE 3/18/09**

There is something important that I forgot to mention. The soundtrack SUCKS. Cheesy, dumb, uninspired. The music during the awkward sex scene would've been HILARIOUS, only if the movie had that fun self-awareness to pull it off. But it didn't! Totally sucks!

(If memory serves correctly, I don't think I minded the song used in the opening credits though. Eh.)

"Very sexy stuff. Very very sexy."

Tha Manchurian Candidate, 1962. Three and a Half Stars.

Such a cool movie!! I like it so much! Though I think the content of this movie could benefit even more from a richer and more complex structure, I still really dug the straight-forwardness of the way the story was told.

Looking forward to watching the remake, and reading the novel!

Janet Leigh? Very cute.

Laurence Hardy? Great wacko.

Frank Sinatra? Liked this bastard!

Angela Lansbury? So cool.

"Let's make him a weenie wagger."

The Parallax View, 1974. Three Stars

You know, even though it feels pretty dated, and the story isn't as complex or sophisticated as it could have been, I still really enjoyed this!

I like the tag line: There is no conspiracy. Just twelve dead people.

"Lemme tell ya, I'm from Buenos Aires, and I say, 'Kill 'Em All!'"

Starship Troopers, 1997. Three and a Half Stars.

My friends love this movie... and now I do too! Pretty fun!!

The cool elaborate and appropriate DVD menu was a great way to introduce the viewer to the "propaganda" and feel of this culture.

Surprisingly awesome cast: NPH! Rue McClanahan!
Lassiter from Psych!!! And Denise Richards?? Totally weird that she's in it. Her character sucked.

The "Fade Into You" fight scene was pretty amazing. Because it's a fight scene that uses this song.

And woah, YUM Casper Van Dien. This movie got me to really appreciate this dude. Woah. Such a cute little man.

"If you piss in your pants, you only stay warm for so long."

We Own the Night, 2007. Three and a Half Stars.

I didn't know what this was about at all until I saw it. Gotta say, I was indeed riveted!! The portrayal of the time period felt genuine, and the actors were very believable as these characters (At first I wasn't sure Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Wahlberg could pull off being brothers. But it was cool!). And Eva Mendes was good.

That's all I can say. I dug this movie.

"Helena? Je vous aime."

Subway, 1985. Two and a Half Stars.

I borrowed from my sis Sara, because, heeheehee, it has Christopher Lambert in it. As a punk! I AM FOREVER!!

So this is totally a French 80's movie. The cops chase around a secret society of subway dwellers (the cop music is super funk-ay). Christopher Lambert, one of the new subway dwellers, keeps blackmailing this rich woman because he's in love with her. And then he creates a rock-n-roll band and gets them a gig in the subway (great scene!). Then he dies.

Catch this gem if you can!!

"But the one thing they can't stomach is the image of a vice president with a mouthful of cock."

The Contender, 2000. Four Stars.

Awesome movie!!!!!!!!! A very cool story, with a kick-ass actors. Joan Allen did a heck of a job as Laine Hanson, who is such a strong and inspiring character.

Basically, the Vice President dies, the the dude who was the top pick to replace him is a dick. The President (played by The Dude!!) picks this lady senator (Laine Hanson) to be his VP because she's so awesome. But Gary Oldman can't handle having a chick in office, so, hoping to disgrace her, he digs up evidence that in her college years, Hanson was in a 3-way at a party. And there's like video evidence to back it up. It's pretty nasty and embarrassing.

Well, Hanson refuses to comment on this. Why should she; it has nothing to do with her cool politics skillz. Plus it was in college, and it's not like no one in political office has never had a three-way before. Someone's personal life should be completely separate from their political life.

In the end, The Prez chastises the stupid media and Gary Oldman, and sings the praises of Hanson's abilities as a soon-to-be VP, and then everyone ends up loving her and she gets sworn in. But the kicker: that wasn't even her in the triste. Her belief that someone's personal life should remain separate from their political life is so strong that she refuses to comment on it, even to save face. Because it's nobody's damn business, and there are more important things that people should focus on. Damn she's cool.

I saw this movie before the recent U.S. Presidential race, and it was interesting to compare the character of Laine Hanson to Sarah Palin.

"How do you spell that?" "How do you... with an 'S' for shithead!"

Frantic, 1988. Two and a Half Stars.

Visually? Sooooooooooo late 80's. But not fun late 80's; more like boring-people-with-no-personality late 80's. Harrison Ford and his wife were so icky.

But the movie picked up after she got kidnapped. And watching Harrison Ford run around trying to find her was kind of fun. But I don't recommend watching this unless you're bored and it's the only movie on and you feel like watching a movie.

"Time for lunch... in a cup!"

Wall-E, 2008. Three and a Half Stars.

Friends that have seen this movie looooooooved it! One went so far as to say it was his favorite Pixar movie ever. (Mine's still The Incredibles!)

My grandmother, on the other hand, hated it. She took my little cousin to see it, and said it was boring and not a very good kids movie. Also, as an avid recycler, she didn't appreciate being preached to. After the first half hour, my cousin, who was also bored, asked if they could leave. So, yeah, my gramma and cousin walked out on Wall-E!

I went to see it, and I enjoyed it. The characterizations of all of the robots, and the non-traditional storytelling (there was no dialogue in the first half of the movie, but it totally held my attention), was pretty amazing!! And I thought all the goo-shaped humans in hover chairs and sipping meals out of cups was right on and funny. Plus it had a happy ending, which always melts my heart!

But after hearing how my gramma reacted, I think I need to see this movie again. I liked it, but I'm 26. Buddies of mine that liked it are around my age or older, but not as old as my gramma. Maybe a second viewing would help me see if this is actually a successful kids movie or not. Because if grandmothers and little kids are walking out of this movie, maybe Pixar needs to reconsider who their audience is.

"Shit just got real!"

Hot Fuzz, 2007. Four Stars.

I'd seen this in the theatre when it first came out, and I really liked it. Saw it again recently, and realized: THIS IS THE BEST COP MOVIE EVER.

Firstly, who'd heard of a British cop movie? So, really, to finally make one's brilliant on it's own. Secondly, this movie just kicks so much butt!! Lots of explosions and violence towards the end. And lots of fun cop movie references. Very self-aware of it though, which I'm always a fan of. Just really kicks butt.

And there's the whole eerie townspeople aspect of it too, which lends a sort of supernatural quality for awhile. It's a big ol' mystery-thriller-action movie. Which is awesome!!

Another cool thing? The soundtrack, of course. And, yes, that is a Jon Spencer song used for when everyone's getting booked! It RULES.

And, yeah, obviously this movie's really funny!!!

I'm not sure this needs to be said now, but it did kind of needed to be a reminder when it was first released: You'll be disappointed if you're expecting Shaun of the Dead Part II. This is a completely different movie! And Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, and Nick Frost have done a heck of a job with this flick.

"Someone is either a smoker or a nonsmoker. There's no in-between. The trick is to find out which one you are, and be that."

Dead Again, 1991. Three Stars.

Pretty cool movie! Caught it by accident: was once again going through the TV guide, was interested in the title of this movie, read the description, and decided to record it on the ol' DVR.

So it's like a love story that spans past and present, between two couples, but, they're the same couple... Pretty darn stylish and, as other reviewers have said, "noir-y." The ending was pretty surprising! At least, it was for me.

I HATED Kenneth Branagh's 90's hair, but I LOVE his 40's hair! For awhile I actually couldn't tell that these two character were played by the same guy, I kept thinking to myself, "So, where's Kenneth Branagh in the 40's?? He's starring opposite Emma Thompson, so he has to be here somewhere." That's my only real gripe about this movie: that I got confused by Kenneth Branagh's hair. But really, if the point of this story is that the couples are the same in the past and in the present, wouldn't you want to make it obvious that the couples were the same, hence making the similarities between the two couples undeniable? It was easy to spot Emma's characters, why not do the same for Kenneth?

Oh, and by the way, totally dug Robin Williams in this movie! I'm sick of his crazy/wacky/loud RobonWilliams-esque characters. I like when he strays from that comfort zone. Like he was so good in One Hour Photo. Same with Jim Carrey in The Cable Guy, which is a terribly underrated movie!

"Whether Andromeda is the newspaper, or it's the delivery boy who is dropping it off, the message is loud and clear: Drop Dead."

The Andromeda Strain, 2008. One Star.

This made-for-TV miniseries was awful. Except that Daniel Dae Kim was in it. But his character's death had absolutely no cause, which was really dumb! Ricky Schroder was pretty good in this too. But this movie is so boring and pointless, don't waste your time.

"We were younger." "We had guns!"

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, 2008. Four Stars.

I so enjoyed this movie! More so than the people I saw it with. The "Indy" character stayed true, the action was fun and ridiculous (like all Indiana Jones movies!), and I didn't even mind "Mutt" or that Indy and Mary got married at the end. All good fun. I've overheard complaints about how the whole "aliens" thing was "unbelievable." IT'S AN INDIANA JONES MOVIE. It fits right in, plus gives the whole "50's sci-fi" feel that was accurate to the time period. I've also heard that the "bad guy" wasn't "bad" enough. Though I agree a little bit, I don't think that's a negative thing, just interesting.

Can't say it enough: I really enjoyed this movie!!

"Sir, I think I speak for everyone when I say: To hell with our orders."

Star Trek: First Contact, 1996. Four Stars.

In case you're not familiar with my Star Trek experience, it's kind of explained in my Insurrection review!

So, this movie kicked butt!! It was so great! I'd never been that familiar with The Borg, so this was really cool. They looked phenomenal, especially for mid-90's special effects!! They were really scary. And the thing with how Earth makes First Contact, and how The Borg were going to destroy it, and the thing with Data, and everything... was so COOL!!

A+ movie!!!


FYI: I found this website while looking up The Borg. What??