Update your Bookmarks please!!!!

Hey everyone,

I'm sorry to make you change your bookmarks again (especially so soon after I made you change them the first time) but I promise you that this will be the last time.  I now have my very own website!  My new website is at http://www.devoe.ca , my blog address is http://blog.devoe.ca , and at http://photos.devoe.ca you can find my photo albums.  Each area is link to the other (except for that www.devoe.ca doesn't have a link to my blog becuase I'm going to give out my website address to people who I don't want reading my blog (read: potential employers, etc.).  All of the posts and comments that are on this site have been migrated to http://blog.devoe.ca.  Thanks everyone!!!

So…it’s been a while

So I've been busy lately and haven't had time to up date. There really isn't much going on right now except that Prime TV has rebranded to TVtropolis or some such nonsense!!! They got rid of all the good shows. Prime used to be my favourite TV station. It was sooo goood. They had everything….Seindfeld…Friends…M*A*S*H…Danger Bay, etc. Now they have stupid stuff like Married with Children, 90210, something call I think, Ned and Stacy!!!!! Arrrgghhhraah!!!!! I'm sooooo mad at them right now! I want my Prime TV back!

X-Men III: The Last Stand

Edit: Slight glitch…this post got erased but now it is back, however I don't have the comments for it.  I found the comments but had to manually put them in myself but at least they are back now.

**** 1/2 out of 5

Wow! What a movie. I thoughly enjoyed it. I can't believe some of the stuff they did in this movie (I mean character wise, not special effects wise). I totally wasn't expecting what happened, but if you've read the comics or watched the T.V. shows then you might know what happens ahead of time. The special effects were awesome. Especially when they go to the house the second time (I can't say who's house or it will give away the surprise). They dealt with the Human Vs. Mutant discrimination/fear/prejudice very, very well. Though the movie wasn't that funny (nor should have it been) there were some great zingers! Finally, we come to the Beast. Kelsey Grammer did a great job of the beast. They even had him hang upside down reading a book! As if they couldn't! Anyways, this was a great movie and the only reason why I didn't give it 5 out of 5 was that there were a few minor things that took away from the movie. Ohhh and the ending, such a gooooood ending. I love it sooo much. Go see this movie. You won't be disappointed. And stay after all the credits have rolled for a special scene (you won't regret the wait).

Edit: I forgot to mention that of course Stan Lee is in this movie. It was great to see him as I forgot that he would be in this movie.

Fun with Dick and Jane

*** out of 5

This is a nice little family comdey film. If you’ve seen the promos for this movie then you really know all there is to know about it. Dick, looses his job because of an Enron type scandle and he can’t find work anywhere else so he decided to start robbing places to pay the bills. His wife Jane gets in on the action as well. Funny stuff happens, etc. Not a bad rental.

Hostel

*** out of 5

This movie is slow to start but about half way through it gets interesting.  The story of the movie is that two american friends go on a backpacking trip through Europe.  They meet up with some random people.  Go places to get drunk and high and just party.  This one guy tells them about a hostel somewhere (I can't remember where) that is full of girls and they "love" (if you get my drift) foreign people.  Well, they guys weren't going to pass that up so they head out there.  All is fine for awhile, until one of the suddenly takes off for no apparent reason and without leaving a note.  I don't want to give anymore away or it will ruin it.  To me it wasn't as gory as people were making it out to be.  At times it was, but I've seen worse.  It's a decent rental if you like this type of movie.

Aeon Flux

** 1/2 out of 5

I watched this movie last weekend and it wasn't that great so I'm not going to write a big review for it.  The story is that a disease killed 99% of the world's population leaving roughly 5 million people alive after a cure is found.  All of these people live in one city.  However, the cure has left them all sterile.  The only way they can reproduce is though genetic manipulation and implantation.  There is also another problem, people in the city randomly disappear.  A group of people believe that it is the governement kidnapping the people.  The plan to kill the leader (also the person who gave them the cure) etc., etc.  The fight scenes were very good as were the weapons.  There is more to the story but I can't tell you or else I'll give it away.  Anyways, really the only thing I liked about this movie was the story (the actual idea for the movie, but not the way it played out in the movie.  That could have been done alot better.) and the fight scenes.  If there is absolutly nothing else to rent then go ahead and rent this, but otherwise don't.

Season Finale of 24

Though the second half of the finale was a little predictable I still enjoyed it!  The guy playing Morris O'Brien is great.  Though, he isn't good enough for Chole.  I think that there is going to be some good chemistry between them.  How they got the confession out of the President was predictable.  But it was a good scene none the less.  Also the last 15 minutes was very predictable.  For one thing, the call from Kim to Jack was routed to a land line?!?!?  99% of the phone calls since the start of the series have been on cell phones.  This includes top-secret-fate-of-the-world type calls.  Yet, a call from a civilian gets routed to a land line?  Also, the phone was in an abandoned warehouse?  Why would the phones still work (Apparently they did though as there was a dial tone.)?  Then surprise surprise, Jack gets kidnapped.  What was a surprise though was who the kidnappers were.  The Chinese goverment.  I wasn't expecting that.  However, it left for a great cliffhanger.  Jack is beat nearly to death and is on a Chinese freighter ship on its way back to China.  I can't wait until the next season!!!!

Back In Halifax

I'm back in Halifax. As expected it rained all weekend. It's rained in Cape Breton the long weekend in May for at least the last 5 years. That much I know for sure. It's probably longer than that. The only time it was nice and sunny out was this morning for a few hours. That was just the irony of mother nature letting the people get their stuff packed up before the thunder and lightning started for the drive home. Anyways, since it did rain all weekend I watched some movies. The reviews will be posted over the next couple of days. Anyways, that's all for me. How was everyone elses weekend?

I’m sick of TV hyping about cracking the Da Vinci Code

I'm soooooooo sick of hearing about the Da Vinci Code. Every second commercial is about either the movie or TV programs (news, documentaries, etc.) devoted to "Cracking the Da Vinci Code". All I hear on TV is "Can you crack the Da Vinci Code?", "Cracking the Da Vinci Code", "Come watch our show as we crack/try to crack/attempt to crack the Da Vinci Code". We weren't pressed this much to go out an Vote on election day!!! People seriously have their priorities screwed up!!!

Commercials for the T.V. show House

As much as I love the T.V. show House I hate they commercials that promote it.  The reason why is that every week they have a new commercial promoting the upcoming episode.  That would be fine, except that each and every week they say the same thing…"This week House will face his most bizzare, puzziling, unexplainable disease yet."….well HELLO, that is the whole point of the show!!!

Why Dalhousie is stupid!

This is what I heard from someone who said they read it in the news.  I have no reason not to trust this person so I'm going to assume what she said is true.  Why I'm also going to assume why what she said as being true is that I can totally believe that this would be something Dalhousie would do.

Anyways, what she told me is that Dalhousie estimated how many people who were going to come to Dal this year and set their budget according to that.  However, they grossly over estimated and therefore they don't have enough money for what they budgeted for.  So to compensate this they are supposedly going to raise the undergraduate fees by approximatly 14% next year.  And that is why Dal is stupid.  Well, one of the many reasons anyways.

Those new Wal-Mart Commercials

I hate those new Wal-Mart commercials with a passion.  They are sooo stupid.  Let's take the one with the mom at the museum with her kid.  She is standing there staring at her Wal-Mart receipt open-mouth frozen with astonishment at how much she saved with the rollback prices.  Though no one ever stands around like that, this part isn't what makes this commercial bad.  What makes it bad is that she is in the museum with about 6 to 8 bags of merchandise from Wal-Mart!!!  Who brings their shopping into a Museum.  Why wouldn't you leave it in the car?  Even if she didn't have a car and walked to the Museum, why wouldn't she go to Wal-Mart AFTER going to the museum.  To me, I'd rather not have to lug around bags of stuff while visiting a museum.  Arrrggghhh!!!  Stores that have commercials like these makes me to not want to shop at those stores.  However, Wal-Mart being the giant that it is, having everything I need in one place, and decent prices makes it hard not to go there.  Especially, since I don't have much money due to Dalhousie being a big giant stupid (read the next post for the info on this) greedy pig! 

Sooooooo funny!!!!

This clip that is on Ebaumsworld wouldn't have been all that funny if I hadn't see this other clip (contains nudity) on Putfile the day before.  Watch the "other clip" first or it won't be as good.

Stupid Buses!!!!!!

Arrrrgggghhhrrraaahhh!!!!!  What a horrible bus ride!!!  I needed to take the number 1 to the mall so I call Go Time and it says that the bus leaves in three minutes.  Since I'm already at the bus stop I think that's great.  It would be too if the bus actually showed up!!!  Instead after about 5 or 6 minutes late!  Then since it was around 5pm there was a lot of people on the bus which meant that someone got off at EVERY stop!!!  We also managed to hit every red light between Coburg and the Mumford terminal!!!  The would have been bad enough but some nut in a car decided to cut off the bus and we almost hit him.  The bus driver had to slam on the breaks.  You would think that's where my story ends…but it doesn't.  As I'm waiting for the bus to come back home it was 15 mins late!!!!!!!!  And that my friends is why the buses are stupid!

R.V.

*** out of 5

I heard that this movie was really funny.  However, I didn't find it as funny as everyone else seems to, but I did find it decently funny.  This is a nice family movie and it does have a few big laughs but it is mostly chuckles.  Robin Williams is great as always.  So is Cheryl Hines, but I'm a hugh Cheryl Hines fan from her work on Curb Your Enthusiam (such a great show, you should watch it).  I loved the way Cheryl was singing in this movie…you really have to see that part to appreciate it.  Also, she does the robot at the end of the movie.  Sooo funny.

The plot of the movie is there is this family who watches T.V. in separate rooms and IM each other when it's time to eat.  They were going to go on a trip to Hawaii but Robin's boss tells him he has to go to Colorado for a meeting instead.  Not wanted to cancel the family trip he convinces his family that an R.V. trip to Colorado would be better.  Little do they know that he is going there for a meeting.  The family meets a bunch of different characters along the way.  That's about all I can tell you without ruining the ending.  I don't think it is worth the $9 to get in (glad I had a free admission from the cereal boxes) but it would be a decent rental.

Mission Impossible III

*** 1/2 out of 5

Ever since Tom Curise went all kooky and started to jump on couches I lost all respect for him (not that I had much for him to begin with) but I was in the mood for some action so I gave this movie a shot. Don’t expect anything Oscar worthy but it was good value for the money…not great, but good.

The plot of the movie is that Ethan Hunt is no longer an active agent, instead he trains the new incoming agents. He wants to settle down and get married. However, he is called back into action when an agent is taken hostage. Through an unfortunate event he has to steal what is called a “Rabbits Foot” for the enemy so they won’t kill another hostage that has close ties to Ethan. We are never actually told what it is, persumably a weapon of mass destruction that is biohazardous since it has a biohazard symbol on it. Anyways, I really can’t say anything more becuase well then there would be no need to see the movie.

The stunts and special effects were good as well as most of the acting. I should note however that Phillip Seymour Hoffman was very good. So, if you go see this movie it won’t be a complete waste of money or time.

Hahahahaha…I can’t wait for this to come out!!

DOA: Dead or Alive

A feature adaptation of Tecmo's bestselling game franchise "DOA: Dead or Alive". The movie centers on four female fighters in a competition to the death on an exotic island.  This movie is set to come out in August 25th.

Go here and then click the link to view the trialer (only works in IE )

The 2006 Census

Well, what can I say about the census.  Ohhh I know, it isn't a census and never will be.  I really think they should change the name.  A census is a count of EVERY person (or thing) in a population.  By the time the census was sent out people have been born and people have died.  There are people that are out of the country for either work or vacation.  There are people that are away from their homes but still in Canada either for work or vacation.  There are people who are in the process of moving.  Then you have the homeless people who the government have no idea where they are or how to get them to complete the census.  You also have people in remote locations who are hard to reach.  Finally, you have the people who are just too busy and/or just don't want to fill out the census.  So you see, the census isn't really a census….but I guess I'll still do mine since it is against the law not to.

How I got $15 for free from Roots

About two weeks ago it was nice out and I went shopping.  I bought a couple of shirts at Roots and since I spent over a certain amount they gave me a $15 Roots gift card.  Anyways, two weeks pass and I finally try on the shirts again and I really don't like them that much.  I guess I was just in a good mood when I bought them and I decide to take them back.  So I take the shirts in and put the gift card back in the bag (since I'm an honest person and I figured that if I didn't give it back to them they'd deduct it from the amount I'd get back from the returned shirts) and go to the store.  The woman at the store is taking the shirts out of the bad and she hands me the card and says that I can keep the gift card.  Score!!! I just made $15!  Hahaha.  Anyways, I just thought I'd post about that since I'm kinda bored and was somewhat interesting.

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children

**** out of 5

Though it isn't quite what I thought it was going to be (though I really had no idea what it would be like) it was still a great movie.  I watched it twice over the weekend.  The first time I watched it in English and the second time in Japanese with English subtitles.  It was way better in Japanese than in English, for two reasons.  One is that the english voice acting isn't as good as it should be for this movie (I would consider it tolerable for other movies but since this is FFVII I expect the best).  The other is that the dialogue was written in Japanese and therefore is in a different style than I'm used.  The meaning/emotion/effect of the dialogue comes across much better reading it than hearing it spoken.

The movie takes place two years after the end of Final Fantasy VII.  The planet is still very weak and drained of life.  Many people are suffering from Geostigma.  Basically, the people who suffer from geostigma have remnants of Jenova (a being from outer space) in their DNA and they have what looks like lesions on their bodies (for which there is no cure).  These lesions are caused by their bodies trying to fight the foreign remnants.  Life isn't that great anymore and to make things worse there is a group of people who are searching for "Mother" (Jenova) so they can reunite and control the world and ultamatly the universe.  Cloud has to stop this from happening but due to what has happened just a few short years ago he is not as strong as he used to be.

Now for the technical side of the movie:

Voice Acting: The Japanese is better than the English

Script: The script ranges from great to ok to a little weird at times but is generally very good.

Graphics: Superbe

Cinematography: Amazing…simplay amazing.  One reason why is that due to the nautre of CGI there are no cameras to be worried about.  That means that you can have camera angles that are unrealistic or impossible with actual physical cameras.

Music: Most of the music is from the original FFVII soundtrack which was really good to begin with but it is soooo much better hearing it in the movie and getting a nostalgic feeling.  Also how could you not like music by the master composer, Nobu Uematsu?
Final Comments:

If you are a fan of FFVII go see this movie now.  If you like this type of movie, go see it now.  But there will be people who won't like this movie and they will know who they are so they should probably watch it anyways since this is a FFVII movie   

Glow In The Dark Mini Golf

Since today is Sunday and since almost nothing is open on Sunday and since I was bored I decided to see if anyone wanted to go to the Putting Edge in Bayer’s Lake to play Glow in the dark mini golf. Only one person wanted to go so that was good enough for me. So we go and pay the stupendously high price to play. It was like $8.50 to play the 18 hole course. It wouldn’t have been as bad if the course was actually challenging but the whole course was par 3 and about 1/3 of the holes were straight shots. Anyways, I had a good time and it got me out of the house, but it will be a long time before I go back.

Silent Hill

**** out of 5

This movie was one of the better video game movies made (Does anyone remember the Super Mario Brothers movie? probably not becuase it was baaaaaaaaad, or possibly you do becuase it was baaaaad.) and it was worth the price of admission.  I didn't find it scary…it was more on the freaky side. The effects were very good.  Most notably the fog/ash, the ripping off of skin, and the explosion of the body near the end of the movie. 

The plot of the movie is that a little girl named Sharron is a sleepwalker (I got the impression that she hasn't done this all her life but just started within the last year) and it is increasingly getting worse.  While she sleepwalks she mentions a place called Silent Hill.  Her mother decides to take her there.  The mother, Rose, crashes the car and is knocked unconcious.  Rose wakes to find her daughter missing.  As Rose is looking for Sharron creepy stuff happens, as in walls melt, zombies attack, killer bugs attack, etc.

Well, I'll let you see the movie to find out what happens.

It’s official

Well it’s official. I am no longer a MSN Spaces blogger. Since they made the last set of changes, I’ve found the loading of MSN Spaces sites have been soooo slow. It finally got to me and I’ve moved over to WordPress. Don’t worry though, I’ll still come and visit all of you in MSN Spaces land. More posts to come soon.

First day of work.

Today was my first day of work at the Centre for Integrated Research and Learning.  All went well, though a little slow.  One of the main person I'll be assisting wasn't there today so I didn't have all that much to do.  That's about it for today.  I'll post again when I have something a little more interesting to talk about.

Scary Movie 4

** out of 5

Don't waste your money on this one.  I've seen scary movie 1 and didn't like it.  I knew I wasn't going to like this one anyways but some friends were going to see it so I went as well.  I only laughed 3 times the whole movie and they weren't even really big laughs either.  The rest of the time I just kinda chuckled.  The joke that I found the funniest most people didn't get.  It was about Detroit.  Most people there I doubt know much about the outside world.  Very few people in there got the joke.  The next joke I found funny was a parody of Napolean Dynamite.  The third joke I liked was the Tom Cruise bit at the end.  The only reason I liked this joke is becuase Tom Cruise is…well everyone knows how Tom Cruise is.  I think what also detracted from the movie is the two teenagers sitting behind us.  They were histarically laughing when things weren't even that funny and making comments here and there.  I mean they were doubled over with laughter when nothing was really funny.  For example, someone throws a baseball to his son and it hits the next door neighbour in the face.  Most people would give a chuckle but the girls behind us were laughing hysterically.  Very annoying.  Anyways, save your money and go see something else.

Wolf Creek

** out of 5

***Warning…contains spoliers (ie the whole plot and outcome of the movie)***

This movie wasn't that great.  I found the acting in the movie to be good but it was soooooooo slow to get started and then once it did the action wasn't that great.  Also, I turned on the subtitles becuase sometimes the accents were so thick I couldn't understand what they were saying.  Anyways, the movie is based on a true story.  Two British girls are on vacation in Australia and they meet up with a local guy and travel around together.  They travel to Wolf Creek, where a meteroite hit Australia, to look at the big crater.  Their car breaks down and they are offered a ride by a bushman back to his camp so he can fix their car.  They get there and the water they are drinking is druged.  They wake up alone and tied up.  One girl manages to escape and save her friend.  They get away but the bushman finds them.   He kills them eventually.  The guy eventually gets free and makes it out alive.  Don't bother renting this one, it isn't worth the money.

Cabin Fever

*** out of 5

I rented this movie the other week and just didn't get around to posting a review about it.  So this one isn't going to be that great as I don't vividly remember anything from it.  Alot of people don't like this movie but I thought it was alright.  Nothing special but a decent watch.  The plot of the movie is that a bunch of graduating students rent a cabin for a graduation party.  The five or six of them get there and some stranger shows up all diseased and bleeding, basically almost dead.  Some want to help him and some want to stay as far away as they can from him.  Stuff happens and eventually the people start to get infected one by one and they all freak out trying to help each other but also trying to stay away from the infected.  That's about it for this movie.

Stay Alive

*** 1/2 out of 5

I'm giving this movie a 3 and a 1/2 out of 5, however, I think that most people won't like it as much as I did.  There are a couple of things that bug me about this movie and should lower my rating of it, but for some reason it hasn't.  With that being said, on with the review.

This movie is about a group of friends that start to play this game called "Stay Alive".  However, when a persons character dies in the game, the person dies in real life also.  The game is based on Elizabeth Bathory a.ka. The Blood Countess (she used to kidnap young virgins so that she could bathe in their blood).  Go here to learn more about her.  Anyways, after the first couple of deaths the people start to figure out what is going on and they also figure out how to end the game.  That's about all I can say becuase I don't want to give anything away.

What I really liked about this movie was how they merged the video game and the movie together.  Part of the movie was instead of showing the people play the video game all the time (ie just looking over their sholders and watching the tv screen) they showed the actual game play.  Another part of the movie was characters from the video game appearing in real life.  It was really neat.

What I didn't like about this movie is that it was filmed as a 3 hour long R-rated movie but the studio made the film makers cut it down to 1.5 hours and a PG-13 rating.  To do that they had to cut alot of the gore out of the movie, which is sad.  This movie would have been sooo much better if it showed more gore.  Also, since it was cut, there were times when you could tell that something was cut out and you know you are missing something.  I hope they relase a directors cut of this movie with all that is missing put back in.

Something else I didn't like was the ending.  At first I really liked the ending, except it left one loose end.  But then the ending continued and raised a really big question.  However, becuase of that I think there will be a sequel.

Finally, I did not like Frankie Muniz at all in this movie.  Bad, bad, bad, casting choice.  However, the rest of the people were fine.

I think that this is going to be a hit or miss movie, especially since it deals with video games.  Either you are going to like it or you aren't.  I don't think there will be an in between.

Ultraviolet

** out of 5

Though I really like the story behind this movie, the rest of it just sucked.  Save your money and don't go see this….don't even rent it…only watch it if someone else rents it or you download it.  The only thing that made this movie bearable was that me and my friend went to an early show and we were the only two in the theater and we could be loud and make fun of the movie.  Some of the effects were good, but then some really missed their mark (ie I could probably could do better using a flip book).  I did like the fight sequence near the end of the movie though, that was really the only good part.  The fighting in the movie is in the same vein of the Matrix but falls short by about 59687 miles.  And sometimes when Ultraviolet would be facing 20-30 people they had some reason block the view of the action and when we get to see it again the fight is over and all the bad guys are dead….very disappointing.  Ohhh and finally, they make this big deal about her sun glasses, but as far as I could tell they were only sunglasses!!!   Ahhhhhhgghhhaa….don't see this movie.

North Country

**** out of 5

This was a really good movie and I enjoyed it very much.  Based on a true story it is about a woman who leaves her husband after she is sick of being abused.  She has two kids and takes them with her.  She moves in with her parents in a small mining town.  She starts work as a hairdresser until an old friend convinces her to take a job at the mine.  This movie is set back in the 70s or 80s and women working in the mine was a very very new thing and none of the men really wanted them there.  The women at the mine were verbally, physically, sexually, emotionally, and mentally abused at the mine.  Eventually, the main character wants to sue the mine and is told a class action suit would have a much better chance of being won.  She trys to get the other women to join her but they think that it will just make things worse for them…..the rest of this review may or may not contain spoilers (I can't remember what is generally known about his moive/story) so read on at your own discretion…..eventually the women do sign on and they win the lawsuit, which was the first class action sexually harassment lawsuit in the states and set a big precendence.  The thing is though, the lawsuit only just finished in the mid-90s.  It took about 20 or so years to complete.  This was a really good movie and I highly recomend you go rent it.

Proof

*** 1/2 out of 5

I watched this movie over Spring Break back in February so this is going to be short.  This movie is about a math professor that has alzheimer's or schizophrenia (I forget which) and starts to lose his mind while trying to come up with new math proofs.  One of his daughters basically gives up her life and stays home to take care of him.  Yaadda yaadda yaadda, they find a revolutionary proof in his desk drawer but the daughter claims it's her proof but her boyfriend and her sister doesn't believe her.  They start to think that she has got what her father had had and start treating her as such.  I'm not going to tell you if she does have the disease or if the proof was hers or not, you'll have to watch the movie to find out.  You have to really watch the movie though because it is full of flashbacks/hallucinations and can get a bit confusing if you aren't paying attention.  Not a bad rental all together though.

Lord of War

*** 1/2 out of 5

This movie follows the life of a fictional gunrunner from the coldwar through to the 1990s (possibly present day).  It shows how he got into the gunrunning game, the ruthlessness of it, the business aspect of it, and what it does to the countires he supplies the guns too.

I think this movie does a good job of showing the world of illegal arms and how destrucive they are.  The opening montage is great.  It shows a bullet point of view from the begining of assembly at the factory, to the destination in a war torn country, to eventual use.

There is not much else I can say about this movie except that you should go rent it becuase though the characters in this movie are fictional, the movie is based on actual events and there are real life counterparts in the world right now.

Tristan and Isolde

*** 1/2 out of 5

This movie is based on the legend/myth of Tristan and Isolde.  The movie is set in medival times just after the Roman have left England/Ireland.  English warlords are fueding amongst themselves while the King of the Celts rules England from Ireland.

Lord Marke wishes to unite the fueding warlords and regain control of England from Ireland and organizes a meeting of all the warlords to sign a truce.  The King of Ireland hears about this and attacks.  Tristans parents are killed in the attack and Lord Marke raises him as his own.  Eventually Tristan grows up and leads some of Lord Marke's troops to set a trap for some of Irelands raiders.  Tristan is poisoned in the fight and falls into a death-like coma.  Following there traditions, Tristan is not buried but is placed in a boat and set to sea.

Tristan makes it all the way to the shores of Ireland where Isolde, the daught of the King, finds him and nurses him back to health.  During this time they fall in love but the King finds out that a boat has come ashore and is looking for the person it belongs to.  Tristan sails back to England never to see Isolde again.

I don't want to give anything away so I'm just going to say that Tristan and Isolde do meet again but not in a way they would ever predict and they can not openly express their love for one another.

The acting in this movie was very good and the locations were beautiful.  The dialogue was good as well as the battle scenes (though I thought there could have been a little more of them).  Overall this was a good movie and I'd recommend you go see it if you like action/romance movies.

Last Holiday

*** out of 5

This was an alright movie. For anyone who hasn't seen it I'd wait for it to come out on video. It is a typical run of the mill comedy movie. The plot is that Queen Latifah is a sales associate in the cookware department of a large chain department store and lives her live frugally. She bumps her head and finds out she has some kind of disease and only has about 3 weeks left to live. She decides that it was about time to have some fun so she liquidates all her assets and goes on a vacation to Karlovy Vary in the Czech Republic. She meets people along the way, she has fun, etc. Some more stuff happens. Blah blah blah, typical movie stuff. Don't get me wrong however, just because there is nothing original about the plot doesn't mean the movie is any good, it had it's moments. I'd just wait until it comes out on video.

American Pie: Band Camp

*** out of 5

When I rented this movie I wasn't expecting much going in and I was fine with that I just wanted a good laugh.  However, I was pleasently surprised, though I do have a bias as I was in my school band for 6 years.  That being said you may not like it as much as I did.  The plot is Stiflers little brother does something bad (I don't want to give anything away) and gets sent to band camp as punishment.  He really doesn't want to be there but he makes the best of things by secretly video taping all the girls to make a movie called Bandies Gone Wild and places hidden cameras in the girls showers.  Stuff happens and hillarity ensues.  And then at the end…well I don't want to give it away, go watch it for yourself.  And if you don't find it that funny then at least there are the boobs.  If you liked the other American Pie movies then there is a good chance you'll like this one as well.  I recommend renting this one, but you can pretty well tell if it is going to appeal to you or not though.  Finally, I do have to say that the guy who played Stifflers little brother did a very excellent job at imitating the origional Stiffler.  The way he says things and the facial expressions are just gold.

The Transporter 2

**** out of 5

This movie was great!  I like this movie better than the first one.  The movie has a good start and the though the plot is a little out there it is not soooo far out there as to be totally implosible.  But then there are some of the stunts and they are way out there as to be implosible, however, I didn't care it was great anyways.  The old french detective also make an appearance in this film which I liked.  Another good part was the main bad girl.  All she basically wore was a bra and panites and about 1 pound of mascara.  If you liked The Transporter then you'll definatly like this one.  Definatly go rent this one…better yet buy it.

Into the Blue

*** 1/2 out of 5

This movie is really far fetched, but if you just accept that and let yourself enjoy it then it is a pretty good movie. The plot of the movie is a couple of deep sea treasure hunters find what they think is a large reckage worth millions of dollars, however, they also find a the reckage of a plane that recently went down. The catch is that the plane is full of drugs and if they notify the authorities they will be all over the other recakge as well and they will lose out on their find of the century. What they need to do first is find a something from the old reckage that identifys it so they can lay claim to it and then they can let the authorities know about the drugs. Stuff happens, word gets out to the owner of the missing drugs that someone has found them, he wants them back or bad stuff will happen to the treasure hunters, more typical action/adventure movie stuff happens. I enjoyed this movie and the scenery (including Jessica Alba in a bikini).

Four Brothers

*** 1/2 out of 5

This was a pretty decent movie, though a little far fetched. The plot of the movie is basically there is a little old lady who would take in trouble makers from the foster care system that no one else wanted. She raised four of these such kids (hence the title of the movie) and one day she is shot in a convenice store robbery. The four brothers come back to town for her funeral and vow to get revenge on the person who shot her. As they are hunting the people down they start to get in over their heads and there are a few twists and turns. The acting was good as well as the cinematography. The fight/action scenes were well done as well. I'd recommend renting this movie.

11:14

*** 1/2 out of 5
This movie is pretty cool.  It is about how the lives of like 5 people intersect at 11:14pm one night.  The movie cuts back and forth between each person/group of people and back and forth through time that night.  It can get a bit confusing if you aren't paying attention.  For instance, someone might have died but 10 minutes later they are alive again.  But that is what makes this movie interesting.  Also this movie is quite funny at times.  A good solid rental.

High Tension

** 1/2 out of 5

This movie was mostly bad but did have a few good parts.  It was a movie made in France with french actors but the dialogue was all in english.  However, it is kinda of annoying that way.  The main killer was cool and the way he killed the people was cool as well.  It did do a decent job of creating Tension and suspense.  Not worth the money to rent but if someone else is paying then not to bad to make fun of.

House of Wax

*** 1/2 out of 5

Alot of the reviews I've read of this movie said that really the only good thing about it was when the House of Wax started to melt.  That was cool but that wasn't the only good thing about them movie.  Overall it was a decent movie.  Nothing spectacular but was not a wasted rental either.  Basic horror/thriller movie.

Just Friends

*** out of 5

This movie was alirght.  Based on what I've read, people seemed to really like this movie and thought that it was hilarious.  There were a few funny parts, but most of the time the jokes just got a chuckle.  I was expecting a little more from a Ryan Reynolds film.  I'd definatly wait for it to come out on DVD.  The plot of the movie is pretty basic.  Fat kid is best friends with the pretty blonde girl in high school.  Fat kids want to date pretty blonde girl.  Pretty blonde girl just wants to be friends.  Fat kid gets humiliated in front of the graduating class.  Vows to show them all and leaves town.  Comes back years later and tries to get the girl.  On a side note, I was surprised to see Hank from Corner Gas is in this movie.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the witch, and the wardrobe

**** out of 5

This was a really good movie and I thoroughly enjoed it.  I never read the books but I do plan to now.  The plot of the movie is that the mother of two sons and two daughters are sent away from London to the country side where they will be safe from the nightly Nazi air raids. The owner of the house, a professor, isn't accustomed to having kids in the house and the maid (I guess that was what she was) tells them basically, no noise, no misbehaving, etc.  Bored and looking for something to do Lucy, the youngest, suggests a game of hide-and-seek.   Lucy thinks she's found the perfect hidding spot, inside a wardrobe, but she finds a whole lot more. 

The wardrobe opens into Narnia, a snowy landscape filled with wonderous creatures and magic.  We learn that the land has been in an never-ending winter for the last 100 years and that it has been prophecised that two sons of Adam and two daughters of Eve (ie, 2 human boys and 2 human girls) will destroy the evil white witch and restore Narnia.

The CGI in this movie was great, sometimes you would swear that the animals were real.  The scenery was breathtaking and the movie score was really good as well.   The actors were good.  I do have to say though that Tilda Swinton did an outstanding job as the white witch.  She was great in this movie.

Since there are 7 books in the series I really do hope they make the other 6 becuase I still want to see more.  I should mention as well that the movie ended well, in that it ended in a way that should they not make any others this movie stands alone on its own.  Well worth the money and I definitely recommend going to see it in theaters.

Rent

***** out of 5

This movie was great!  This film is an adaptation of Jonathan Larson's Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning rock opera that was based on Puccini's La Boheme.  The movie is about a group of friends that live in New York in the 1980's.  The story is centered around two roomates, Mark and Roger, and their circle of friends.  Roger suffered a loss and shuts out the world while Mark tries to capture real life on film.  The movie takes place over a year, from one Christmas to the next.  In that time the group deals with life, love, loss, and AIDS.

There is not much dialogue in the movie as the movie is told through song.  The songs were great and they did flow with the movie.  The acting was great and so was the singing (six of the main characters were in the cast of Rent when it was on broadway).  The story of the movie is really good and it gets very emotional at the end.  I highly recommend you go see this while it is in theaters.

Kingdom of Heaven

**** out of 5

This was a really good movie.  Set in the Middle-ages during the crusades, this movie is about a man, Balian, who loses his family and then his faith.  After learning he is the son Sir Godfrey, a knight on a brief visit back home to France, Balian goes to Jerusalem to find his faith again.  The acting was really good as were all of the sets.  The fight scenes were well choreographed and filmed.  There is nothing I hate more than watching a fight scene and you can't see anything becuase they keep cutting to different cameras.  I don't know much about all the religious goings on during this time and if the movie portrays them accurately or not.  Either way, this movie was really good and I'd definitely recommend it to watch.

Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story

*** out of 5

For a Family Guy movie, and one centered around Stewie at that, I was expecting more.  It was an alright movie.  It did have it's moments, but I've seen some regular episodes that were funnier.  I though some of the funnier moments were at the beggining and the end of the movie during the red carpet stuff.  Anyways, it's a decent enough movie and worth a watch.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

**** out of 5

The line up to get in was huge but luckly we bought our tickets earlier.  So, eventually we get in and found some seats.  After we sat down I went to the bathroom and on the way back in to the theater there was this lady with a couple of kids and a bag of blankets and pillows complaining to one of the workers.  She was upset becuase she could only find enough seats together in the front couple of rows.  There was one row (or a majority of a row) of empty seats in the upper part of the theater but they were being saved by a couple of people for their friends who were getting popcorn.  She was complaining to the worker that was no fair and that she wanted those seats.  I was like suck it up.  If you want good seats get here early.  We were in line at 9:15 for the 9:45 showing and we were about in the middle of the line.  Also, if there is a group of people going to see a movie then why shouldn't their seats be saved by their friends.  You wouldn't like it if you got up to go get popcorn and some other person sat down in your seat.  Finally, why are you brining your 8 year olds to see the movie at 9:45?  The movie didn't end until 12:30.  Isn't that past their bedtimes?

Anyways, I was a little disapointed with this movie.  I was expecting better.  There was alot of stuff that was cut out that I would have liked to have seen.  A little more magic in the movie would have been nice, since it was a wizarding competition.  Also, more of the the quidditch world cup would have been nice.  The movie was still pretty good though.  Mad Eye Moody was really good as well as all of the special effects.  I really liked the boy's school ship and how it comes up from under the water.  The way the girls from the girl's school make thier entrance is really funny.  The also did a good job with the ball and the relationships between Harry and Cho and also Ron and Hermione.  That's all I'm going to say about the movie as I don't want to give anything away to those who haven't seen it yet.

Batman Begins

***** out of 5

This movie was great…everything except the Batmobile.  I just didn't like it.  I'm mean it was a cool looking car and everything but it just wasn't like the original.  And what was with the steering wheel going down into the front.  I really like all the bat technology as I'm going to call it, such as the cape that got ridgid when an electriacl current went through it.  The back story was good at telling how Batman became Batman.  The Scarecrow effects were awesome as well.  Especially, the bat part.  The ending was great as well.  I don't want to tell you anything becuase you really should see this movie.  I highly recomend it.  I can't wait for the next one, and you know there is going to be one because of the ending.

Land of the Dead

*** 1/2 out of 5

Though, a decent movie I didn't like it as much as I would have like to.  I love the "____ of the Dead" movie by Geroge Romaro, but this one wasn't as good as his others.  There were two things that I didn't like about it.  One, the zombies were too smart.  And two, there was too much gore.  Now before you say anything let me explain.  The zombies were too smart in the way they acted.  Almost from the begining they could communicate with each other and learned how to use guns, knives, etc.  Zombies are supposed to act on instict.  As for the gore, it was great, but it I felt that there was gore just for the sake of having gore.  I love when someone blows a huge hole into a zombie head, but it seemed that the movie was focused on the gore more than the story.  Speaking of the story, it was what you would expect from a zombie movie.  Dead come back to life, the rich man in town allows the rich people to live in his highrise apartment building/shopping mall while the poor live on the streets in a secured area of town.  Three sides are surrounded by rivers and the fourth is walled off.  Then you have the grunts who go into the unsecured part of town to get supplies.  Some of the grunts are good and some are bad.  Good ones want to leave, bad ones want money or they will blow up the town.  Zombies get in the town.  There is panic.  And then, well…watch the movie and find out.

The Aviator

*** out of 5

I didn't think that this movie is as good as everyone else seems to think it is and it had two things going for it before I even started to watch it.  It has airplanes and Alan Alda.  I love flying and Alan Alda is one of my favorite actors.  However, I didn't think this movie was all that great.  The first part of the movie I didn't like at all.  It wasn't until he started to turn and go a little crazy that the movie picked up and started to get interesting.  It was also interesting to see how he became obsessed with aviation.  This movie is on the boarder of me liking it and not liking it.  I say take the chance and rent it to see if you like it or not.

The Interpreter

*** 1/2 out of 5

This movie is about an Interpreter at the United Nations in New York who overhears what she believes to be a an assasination plot.  A dictator/warlord from Africa is coming to speak at the UN to defend his actions.  He is being accused of Genocide.  The movie is basically the cops protecting the Interpreter as the bad guys are trying to kill her becuase they think she can identify them.  The storyline of the movie is good and so is the acting.  There is also a little bit of action too.  I wouldn't have minded paying to see this in the theaters and it is definatly worth a rent.

Crash

***** out of 5

Tonight I finally got to see the movie Crash.  Wow, what a movie.  I've heard that this movie was good, but I didn't know how true that was until tonight.  The acting was outstanding.  Though, no matter how good the acting is a movie is only as good as the script, and that was outstanding as well.  I absolutly loved how all of the characters stories intertwined.  I also loved the transition of shots.  For example, a person could be walking out of clothing store door and when the camera switched to the other side it would  show a person leaving a restaurant. 

"Crash" tells interlocking stories of whites, blacks, Latinos, Koreans, Iranians, cops and criminals, the rich and the poor, the powerful and powerless, all defined in one way or another by racism. All are victims of it, and all are guilty it. Sometimes, yes, they rise above it, although it is never that simple. Their negative impulses may be instinctive, their positive impulses may be dangerous, and who knows what the other person is thinking?  — Roger Ebert

The characters speak freely about what they think and how they feel.  They speak without the slightest attempt to being politicaly correct.  And therein lies the charm of this movie.  It just wouldn't have been the same if it were politically correct.  One scene that comes to mind involes Sandra Bullock.  After a tramatic event (I don't want to spoil anything) when she is back in her home she has a loud argument with her husband and lets him know what she thinks of the person in the next room changing the locks of the house.  It was pure raw emotional instict.  I think it was one of the best scenes in the movie.

If you haven't seen this movie yet, do yourself a favour and go rent it now.  Or if you are in the mall and see it sitting on a shelf go ahead and buy it becuase it's well worth the money. 

Mind Hunters

*** 1/2 out of 5

This movie is about a group of Profilers training for the FBI (or some other similar agency) and they all go to a deserted island (when not deserted it is a naval base or something) and are told when they wake up they will find a crime scene and they have to profile the killer.  This seems all fine and dandy, that is until they find out that things aren't as they seem and someone is killed.  A serial killer is on the lose and is hunting each of them down.  Since the profilers are the only ones on the island they all start pointing their fingers at each other as they try to figure out who the killer is and how to avoid the next trap.  The traps in the movie which kill the people are interesting and the way the plot moves can keep you guessing who the real killer is.  If you up for a good serial killer type movie then this is a good one to see.

Flightplan

**** out of 5

This movie was great.  Kyle Pratt (Jodie Foster) is a jet propulsion engineer who has been employed in Germany.  In fact he helped design of the airplane she and her daughter Julia are on heading to New York.  The reason why she is going to New York is that her husband died after falling (she insists that he didn't jump) from a rooftop and she is taking the him in his coffin back home.  It's a long trip from Berlin to New York and Kyle falls asleep.  But when she wakes up Julia is gone.
This plane is so huge it has two levels.  Kyle walks around the airplane, looking up and down the aisles and in the bathrooms looking for her daughter.  After she makes her first trip calmly and doesn't find Julia she starts to get panicky.  She tries to get the crew to help look for Julia but there is no record anywhere of Julia being on board the airplane.
Obviously a person can not just up and disappear on an airplane 37,000 feet in the air, yet no one has seen Julia.  Either Kyle is gone crazy or something really bad and apparently imposible has happened to Julia.  Is she going insane or isn't she?  We see her and her daughter get on the airplane.  However, we have also seen her husband talking to each other while they are out for a walk….after he was dead.
This movie kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time.  As improbable as it seems it is almost entirely plausable.  It is definitely worth the money to see in the theater.

Sahara

*** 1/2 out of 5

This is a decent action paked movie, if you just accept everything as it is presented and go along for the ride.  If you are the type of person who must have a reasonable and logical explanation for every improbability than this movie is not for you.  If on the other hand you can just let yourself enjoy what is shown to you then buckle up for some action.

The movie revolves around some underwater treasure hunters and a couple of World Health Organization doctorsm who are trying to find the source of a mysterious plague that is spreading in Africa.  While searching for a Confederate ironclad ship from the Civil War that they believe has made its way to Africa they uncover the truth about the plague and then the bad guys try to kill them while they try to escape.  Train ride here, helicopter chase there, machine guns, cannon balls, ohhh and I can't forget the camels.  How can you shoot a movie in the desert without camels.  With that being said just sit back and enjoy the movie.

Cry_Wolf

** 1/2 out of 5

At work today a co-worker gave me a free pass to see an advanced screening of Cry_Wolf.  It was O.K.  I'm glad I got the passes though.  I wouldn't pay to see it in theaters but I don't think I'd mind paying to rent it.  I really liked the concept of the movie but the acting in it wasn't that great.  How good could it have been with Bon Jovi in it as one of the semi-main characters!  I would have given it 4 stars had the acting been better. 

This is what the movie is about (taken from Cinema Clock):
Nobody believes a liar – even when they're telling the truth.  When a young woman is found murdered, a group of local high school students decide to further scare their classmates by spreading online rumors that a serial killer called "The Wolf" is on the loose. By describing "The Wolf's" next victims, the students' game is to see how many people they can convince – and if anyone will uncover the lie. But when the described victims actually do start turning up dead, suddenly no one knows where the lies end and the truth begins. As someone or something begins hunting the students themselves, the game turns terrifyingly real.

So basically it is a re-telling of the fable "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" of sorts.

A funny thing happened during the movie though (not the movie itself but while watching it).  It was a suspensful moment and the main character was calling someone to, well see if they were dead or not, and just as he was about to say "Hello" or whatever there was a loud noise and the screen went black.  But then nothing happened.  There was a power surge in Park Lane.  After a few minutes the power came back on and the movie resumed.  So in conclusion, rent it if you want to see it, but otherwise don't bother to see it in theaters.

Red Eye

*** out of 5

Lisa is a hotel desk manager on her way home to Miami from Texas.  The villian (His name is Jackson Riperhoff, or something like that) gets a seat next to Lisa and tells her that her father is being held hostage and that he needs her help to assasinate the deputy secretary of homeland security.  Lisa doesn't want to do this, yet she doesn't want her father to die either.  What should she do?

This movie wasn't as good as I was expecting it to be, but it wasn't all bad either.  It wasn't as good as Wes Craven's other movies, then again there is only so much you can do on an airplane.  There were some good scenes on the airplane, but once the plane landed was when the movie really picked up.  Rachel McAdams (Lisa) was great in this movie.  She was very believable.  And she's Canadian to boot!  Also what she says to the old couple at the end of the movie is great.

With all that said I still don't think there wasn't enough bang for the buck and I would see it if there isn't anything else you want to see and if there is then wait for it to come out on DVD.

Sin City

**** out of 5

This movie was awesome!!!  Granted, not eveyone will like this movie.  I think it will be either you love it or you hate it, no inbetweens.  I loved the black and white film noir aspect with the punches of colour thrown in.  It made it interesting to watch for what would be in colour.  I never read the original source material so I didn't know any of the characters but I think the guy who played "Merv" (I think that was his name, the main guy in the second story) was a perfect fit.  At first I thought it was just going to be a few separate stories with each one ending in its own way.  I was pleasantly surprised how the intermingled with one another.  This was a really well made, well acted, well everything movie!  If you have not seen it yet, do yourself a favour and go rent it. 

The only thing that I thought negativly about this movie was an advertisment I saw for it, though the movie had nothing to do with that.  But in the advertisment it said that there were four different covers for the movie so you should buy all four!!!!  Can you imagine buying four copies of the same movie becuase each one had a different picture on the box!  Granted I do own two copies of the Lord of the Rings trilliogy but at least one is the theactical version and one is the extended version so I at least got added material.  Anyways, the movie was great and you should go watch it…..NOW!!!!

7 Seconds

* out of 5

This movie is crap.  Don't waste your time or money.

The Island

*** 1/2 out of 5

This movie was an alright movie.  It was a typical Hollywood summer action blockbuster.  This movie is directed by Michael Bay, who also directed Armageddon, The Rock, and Pearl Harbor, so you know it's going to have lots of gun fights and explosions!  The movie is set in the not to distant future (I think they said the year was 2019, I could be wrong though.) in a closed environment becuase the outside world has been contaminated and is uninhabitable.  However, there just happens to be an island that is pure and clean.  Once or twice a day they have a lottery to see who gets to go live on the island.  Eventually, Lincon-6-Echo starts to ask questions and he breaks out with his "girlfriend".  They special effects were pretty good.  I especially liked the desk/computer that the main bag guy (I forget his name) has.  Anyways, they are chased, they run, they get chased some more, they run some more, explosion here, gun fight there, some more running, car chase scene, etc.  I think you get the picture.  If you liked Bay's other movies then I think you'll like this one.

If you liked Star Trek: Voyager be on the look out for Ethan Phillips in this movie.  I didn't recgonize him at first with out his Nelix costume on.  However, by the way he said "Ohhh" I recognized the voice and put two and two together.

Million Dollar Baby

**** out of 5

This was a really good movie.  I liked how it was narrated.  The boxing scenes were alright, not as good as the ones in Cinderella Man though.  However, I think what Roger Ebert said in his review explains why…"It's not a boxing movie. It is a movie about a boxer."  A 31 year old hillbilly girl wants Clint Eastwood's character train her.  He won't becuase she is a girl.  She persists and finally he gives in and trains her.  I don't want to say anything else becuase it is the story that makes this movie so good.  I definitely recomend this movie.

Team America: World Police

** 1/2 out of 5

I didn't really like this movie.  It wasn't as funny as it was made out to be and it was just plain stupid.  It did have it's moments, like they way the puppets die, the speech at the end, and of course the infamous sex scene.  That was about it though.  Close to the end I fast forwarded it a bit just so it would be over sooner.  Wasn't worth the $5 to rent in my opinion.

Wedding Crashers

***** out of 5

This movie is soooo fucking hilarious!!!!  I was laughing the whole way through.  I don't know what I really can say to decribe this movie, if you saw the trailer then you get the idea.  These two guys crash weddings to hook up with girls.  Eventually, one and/or both (I can't remember what it showed in the trailer so I don't want to ruin anything) start to fall in love and try to get the girl.  There is non stop comedy in this movie and there are alot of great jokes!!!  I wish I could remember some but there were soooo many that I can't remember any of them.  The brother was creepy though, wasn't he?  If you haven't seen this movie go see it now!  Ohhh and dinner was never like that at my house…if you'd've seen the movie you'd be laughing now.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (The new one)

***** out of 5

This movie was great!!!!  I loved it soooo much.  The theater was packed full.  Actually they oversold the movie.  I'm glad we got there early so we got good seats.  I would have been sooo pissed off if I was one of the people who paid for the movie but didn't get a seat.  As we headed to our theater we saw people dress up as characters from the movie….can we all say "losers"?  I knew you could.  Anyways, on with the review.

It's hard to compare it to the original, which I love as well, becuase they are so different from each other.  Johnny Depp is the perfect Willy Wonka.  I don't think they could have cast a better person for the role.  A lot of critics have been saying that they believe that Michale Jackson was his inspiration.  I see the similarities when I read what they write but I didn't when I saw the movie.  It was just Wonka, pure and simple.  I also think they did a great job casting the role of Grandpa Joe.  As for the others they all played their characters well, for the characters they were playing.  What I mean by that is since I didn't know what to expect, but expecting something different from the original (yet I was still expecting more simialarities between the two), the way they portrayed their characters was a job well done.  If you follow what I'm saying.

They laughs were constant throughout the movie and the dialogue, especially Wonka's, was great.  I got a real kick out of Violet and her mom's characters.  They were really different from the original.  There is one thing that disapointed me but amused me as well.  What I'm talking about is the Ooompa Loompa songs.  I think they disapointed me mostly because I couldn't make them out very well.  Probably becuase of the volume and the size of the theater.  I really enjoyed the original songs and wished I could have heard the new ones better.  However, with that being said, the new dances that went with the songs were absoultly fantastic!!!  So that is how they disapointed me and amused me all at the same time. 

I don't know if you should see the original before you see this version or after.  If you see it before you'll have a better understanding of the story and it won't seem as weird.  But, if you see it after then you won't be disapointed by not seeing things in the new version that you liked in the old.  Either way you should see both.

Fantastic Four

***** out of 5

Fantastic Four was well…FANTASTIC!!!!!  It was such a good movie, I enjoyed every minute of it.  I knew of the Fantastic Four and always liked them but I didn't know the back story of Fantastic Four and how they became "fantastic" so I'm going to assume what happened in the movie happened in the comics.  Even if you have no idea about who the Fantastic Four are you'll still enjoy this movie.  It does a really good job of showing how they get thier powers without it being drawn out or boring.

The acting in this movie was supurbe.  The special effects were great, awesome, fantastic, and what every other adjective you can think of that means great!!!  The story was great as well and they did an excellent job with Thing's storyline and how he deals with being the "freak" of the bunch.  Usually I don't like seeing movies more than once in the theaters just becuase it is so expensive and I could see something else, but this is one of those rare movies that I would see over and over again.

The interactions between all of the characters seemed natural and that they were actually the people they were portraying and not actors.  The dialouge was great and it wasn't cheesy at all, and you know how easy it is for dialogue to be cheesy.  There were some really funny one-liners in the movie, they were great.

As for the ending all I can saw is "WOW!!!".  The ending was great!!!  It actually gave me goosebumps!!  It's playing again tonight at 6:50 and 9:20 if anyone wants to go!!

**Update**  I forgot to mention that Stan Lee played a character in the movie, I won't say which one, that would spoil the surprise.  Everyone in the theater, well the people who knew who he was (and there were many) loved it when he showed up.  Also, I would like to say I loved the irony with what happens with Dr. Doom near the end.

Hitch

*** out of 5

This was an alright movie. It had its moments. Kevin James (I think that is his name) plays the perfect akward white guy. Will Smith did a good job playing Hitch. I’m sorry for talking…writing…typing…whatever, in short sentences but that’s the best I can do with this movie, lol. It’s your typical romantic comedy. It has enough comedy to keep the guys interested and enough romatic stuff to keep the girls interested. And guess what, it has a happy ending…I bet you didn’t see that one coming

Hostage

**** out of 5

This movie was entertaining, if you accept that the some of the characters are way out there, but entertaining none the less (well maybe just a little ).  Bruce Willis's character is an L.A. hostage negotiator who doesn't succed in talking down a man who is threating to kill himself and his family.  The scene disturbes him and he moves from L.A. to a quite town up-state somewhere.  One day some kids take a family hostage and he trys to resolve the situation and many exciting things happen…you'll have to watch the movie to find out what .  I recomend this movie and is worth the money to rent.  It would have been good to see in the theaters as well.

Cinderella Man

**** out of 5

This movie is based on the ture story of James J. Braddock.  Jim is from New Jersey and has a wife named Mae, and three kids, two boys and a girl.  Jim earns his living by boxing and earns enough to support his family.  Jim is a decent boxer but he starts to lose and has to fight injured with a broken hand.  The depression hits and he since he is lost his touch at boxing he gets decommisioned and is not alowed to fight anymore.  He trys to get work where ever he can and struggles to support his family.  I don't want to give to much away so just suffice it to say that Jim gets to fight again.  There are some insightful moments about the time of the depression and what people were going through.  The fights were well done and I thoroughly enjoyed them.  There were some tense times in them.  I think that even if you aren't that big of a boxing fan you'll enjoy the story behind it as well.

Foolproof

**** out of 5

This is a movie about three people who, for fun, make plans to rob various places that are "Foolproof". If you are looking for a good movie to watch then renting this one is foolproof (yes, that lame pun was intended). The cast work well together and the movie has a good pace. The premis is that someone steals their "foolproof" plans and frame them for the heist, then blackmail them to do another. There are lots of twists and turns in this movie and is very entertaining. I was set to give this movie a 3 1/2 out of 5 but the ending bumped it up. It had a really good ending that I enjoyed. It is well worth the money to rent and I recomend it.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith

** 1/2 out of 5

What comes to mind when trying to describe this movie is "Hokey". If you don't know what Hokey is, well it is one step worse than cheesy. I really wish I hadn't paid the $8 to see this. It was an alright movie, nothing spectacular. If you want to see this movie I suggest you wait and rent it.

The movie starts of slow and then it gets a little better but not all that much. The action scenes are are over the top and entertaining at times while other times not so much. There really aren't any major jokes in this movie, just a few chuckles here and there. One thing that bothered me is that I thought that Angelina Jolie wasn't believeable as a wife in this movie. I really liked her in any other movie I've seen her in, but not so much in this one. Anyways, I suggest you wait until it comes out on video.

Ju-On: The Grudge

*** 1/2 out of 5

I really liked this movie, though I'm sure that it isn't everyone's cup of tea. I didn't find this movie scary, but then again I don't find many movies scary. It was kinda creepy in that is was odd and strange. The one thing that I did find really creepy was the very start of the movie and also the frequent use of eyes. There was alot of focus on eyes in this movie and they all had great expression in them. This movie is about a house that is haunted by some kind of spirit and anyone who goes in it ends up dead. The movie is segmented and each segment follows the story of a different person. This may sound like a bad but each person is somehow connected to each other and they all flow together so it isn't as bad as it seems. The only thing I didn't like was the ending. I really didn't understand the ending but other than that the movie was pretty good. Every since I was in Jr. High I've been fascinated with Asia. There a few reasons for that. One reason is that one of my favorite TV shows is M*A*S*H which was set in South Korea. I also got a pen pal from South Korea when I was in Jr. High and we still write back and fourth. Finally, I love all kinds of electronics and gadgets, so naturally I'm fascinated with Japan. Why I mentioned all of this is that I really like Asian movies. There are alot of great movies that come out of Asia. Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Hero, House of Flying Dagers, Ringu (a.k.a The Ring) which I saw in the original Japanese first and then the American version, Battle Royale (which I highly highly recommend!!), Battle Royale 2, etc. If your mom gets mad at you for watching movie all the time you can say that since the movies are subtitled that it is a cultural experience and not just entertainment.

Dawn of the Dead (The remake)

**** out of 5

Though I watched the remake I have heard that it was pretty close to the same as the original. I do plan on watching the original as well though that has nothing to do with the rating I gave this movie. Dawn of the Dead is the sequle to Night of the Living Dead which was also a great movie. I recomend that you watch both. Unless I missed it somewhere in the movie, I don't remember if they said why the zombies were coming to life. It really doesn't matter either way becuase there would still be zombies. With that said the zombies in this movie are actually somewhat smart. In Night of the Living Dead and most other zombie movies the zombies kinda just shuffle around. In Dawn of the Dead however they are fast and can actually chase you down. They also have some strength as they can break through wooden doors and the such.

After the initial outbreak a group of people end up at the local mall. As I have said before I like movies where people are put into life or death situations and we get to watch how they react. I don't want to give away the movie so I'm not going to say anything more about the plot. There is a good balance between zombie violence and the story between the characters in the movie and I recomend that you watch it.

Assult on Precinct 13

** out of 5

The reason I gave this movie two stars is becuase it had some decent action in it, other than that it wasn't all that great. It was just a bad plot and was perdictable. It was your typical good guy vs. bad guy fire fight where the bad guys out numbered the good guy at least 2:1 and yet they still manage to be thwarted by the good guys. I'm not going to say nothing more on this movie because it really doesn't need anything more to be said about it.

Paycheck

**** out of 5

The main character, I forget his name, played by what's his name, is a reverse engineer and is hired by a company to figure out how it's competitors products work and then make a better one.  This usally takes 2 months and at the end he has his memory erased to the point where he starts to work on the project two months ago.  Eventually he gets asked if he wants to do a major job that will take 3 years to do.  With the promise of a 8 figured paycheck he agrees to do it.  So he finishes the project and gets his memory erased but strange things happen that don't make sense.  He decides that he left himself clues about what happened and he tries to figure it all out.  The company that hired him doesn't like this and try to kill him.  So basically you have a conspiriacy, action, mystery, and suspense.  It all makes for a good movie.  I would recomend it to others.

The Corporation

*** 1/2 out of 5

I liked this movie, but not as much as I liked Bowling for Columbine. I didn't really like how it was just the people telling their stories and not being interviewed like they were in Bowling for Columbine. I don't know, BforC seemed to keep me interested better than The Corporation though I didn't lose interest in it. I don't know, it's hard to explaine. Anyways, I had heard good things about this movie and since I am a commerce student I thought that I should check it out. There were some things in the movie that made me glad that I live in Canada, well more glad than I already was anyways. I don't drink much milk as it is but if I lived in the states I would drink less, if any at all. I can't believe that they are allowed to use rBGH (Bovine Growth Hormone) which allows cows to produce more milk, but also causes the cows to become sick.

* rBGH makes cows sick. Monsanto has been forced to admit to about 20 veterinary health risks on its Posilac label including mastitis and udder inflammation. * rBGH milk is contaminated by pus from mastitis induced by rBGH, and antibiotics used to treat the mastitis. * rBGH milk is contaminated by the GE hormone which can be absorbed through the gut and induce immunological effects. * rBGH milk is chemically and nutritionally very different from natural milk. * rBGH milk is supercharged with high levels of a natural growth factor (IGF-1), excess levels of which have been incriminated as major causes of breast, colon, and prostate cancers. http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/bgh.htm

I was also shocked about how you can patent genes and living things, like a type of rice for example. This movie was informative and I learned alot of things that go on in the business world that I never knew before. I know that this is only one side of things and that I can't (and I don't) base my opinion of the business world just on this movie but it did open my eyes a bit more about how good or bad a business can be. I would recomend this movie if documenteries are your type of thing. Even if they aren't you'll learn something, I just don't know how entertained you will be. Not that learning about some of the stuff that goes on is entertaining but you know what I mean.

Elektra

*** out of 5

This movie is based on the Marvel comic Elektra.  I've never read the comic book and I've only first heard of Elektra in the Daredevil movie.  I think that this movie did a decent job of explaining the background while not slowing the movie down.  Also I liked the special effects that they did with the character "Tattoo".  If you like this type of movie I think you will enjoy it.  It wasn't as good as X-Men or Spiderman but it wasn't bad either.

After the Sunset

*** 1/2 out of 5

This movie was pretty good. Is is about two jewel thieves (Pierce Brosnan and Salma Hayek), who after stealing one last diamond from the protection of an FBI agent (Woody Harrelson), go into retirement to a tropical paradise island. However, the third Napolean diamond (they stole the first two) will be on a cruise ship docked for a week in their new hometown and the FBI agent stops by to make sure they don’t steal it. They claim they won’t becuase they are in retirement but we just don’t know. Also the local “mob” I guess you would call it want the diamond as well. Who will steal it? The jewel theives or the “mob”? Will they even try to steal it? If they do, will the FBI catch them? This movie is one big game of cat and mouse. It was a good watch and I would recomend it to others.

Flight of the Phoenix

*** out of 5 

I like movies where people are isolated (Pitch Black, Open Water, Battle Royale, etc.).  I like watching how their personalities change and what the will and won't do to survive.  I also liked this movie becuase of the planes that are in it.  If you haven't noticed I'm kinda pre-occupied with planes and flying at the moment. 

The movie begins with the Captain and his Co-Pilot picking up an oil crew from an oil rig in the Mongolian desert that has been shut down.  On their way back the plane runs into a sand storm and crashes.  With a limited supply of water and food the people must decided what they are going to do.  Are they going to stay with the plane and wait to be rescued which probably won't happen or will someone walk in what they think is the general direction of the closest town and certainly die before they make it.  They decide to wait and hope to be rescued until one passenger suggests that they can build a plane out of the wreckage.  If it works they get home and if it doesn't they use up all of their food and water making the time that they have to wait to be rescued basically non-existant.

I think you will either like this movie or you won't because you really have to be involved with the story and not just the special effects.  In some movies there are side stories that will entertain you if you don't like the main story line.  In this movie there is just the one story line and you either like it or you don't.

The Incredibles

**** out of 5

This movie was great. I highly recommend it to anyone, young or old. My favorite part of the movie are the scenes with Edna “E” Mode. She is hillarious in the movie. All of the superheros have “retired” because of all of the lawsuits that are being brought against them for damages and other things but that doesn’t stop Mr. Incredible and Frozone doing a little super hero work every Wednesday while they are supposed to be bowling. Mr. Incredible misses the good old days and when the chance to get back in action pops up he jumps on the chance. Mr. Incredible needs help (I’m not going to say why because I’m trying to spoil as little as I can) his family who are also have super powers go and try to help him. Anyways this movie is great and you should go see it. One last thing…I think the kid on the tricycle was also funny.

Earthsea

** 1/2 out of 5

A reckless youth is destined to become the greatest sorcerer that the mystical land of Earthsea has ever known. When the young wizard Ged discovers that he possesses infinite magical powers, he seeks to master the ancient arts. As he journeys to manhood, he will combat dragons, fall in love, cross death's threshold, and ultimately wield the power to reunite a kingdom. — IMDB.com

I am a big fantasy genre fan and I was really looking forward to this movie. This movie is not the best movie in the world but it is not the worst either. It was worth the $3.45 I had to pay to rent it but not much more. It is the type of movie you watch once and forget about it. There isn't much more I can think of to say about this movie except that if you only have Earthsea and Into the Sun to choose from then I would choose Earthsea.

Ladder 49

**** out of 5

This movie is follows the life of a ficticious firefighter Jack Morrison (Joaquin Phoenix). The movie starts off with people traped on the 12th floor of a burning building. A rescue squad goes in rescue the people on the 12th floor but Jack gets cut off from the others and continues on alone towards the outer wall where he can get out through a window into the fire ladder below. Jack finds a person on his way to the windows and lowers him down by rope onto the cherry pickers. There is an explostion of grain dust and Jack falls down a few floors through a hole in the centre of the room.

This is where the movie really gets interesting. Jack radios in to his chief (John Travolta) and a rescue mission is put into effect. It is now a race against time to save Jack. How long can the rescue team stay in the burning building to search for Jack? Will Jack still be alive when they reach him? Will they even reach him? The movie now starts to go between flashbacks of Jack’s life and his present situation. The movie shows Jack, his career, his family, evolve over time. I don’t want to say much more becuase I think it would ruin the movie.

I think this movie is great. The stunts and action shots were really well done. What I like the most about the movie was the story between the characters. I highly recomend this movie.

Into the Sun

** out of 5
This movie is about a guy (Steven Segall) who grew up/lives in Japan investigating the murder of some kind of political candidate by a Japanese gang that has started to align with a Chinese gang. If there is absolutly nothing else in the movie store that you want to see then you might like this movie for what it is. This movie isn’t the worst movie I have ever saw but it far from even mid-range. There was a few good action moments but that was it.

Back in Halifax

I’ve been away for a few days but I am now back in Halifax. I’ve updated my links and blogroll since I’ve been home. I’ll be slowly moving my movie reviews from my MSN Spaces blog to this one so check back often. There are alot of reviews (I usually see at least one movie a week. Sometimes old ones I’ve rented, new ones I’ve rented, or ones still in theatres.) so check to see if I’ve seen anything you were thinking about seeing/renting.

First Post

Hey everyone,

This is my personal blog.  I usually blog about stuff that happens in my daily life, movies I've seen, and if there is something interesting in the news.  This site will be undergoing changes as it is very new.  Check back often.