Plot Summary from Netflix:

Jack Gramm (Al Pacino), college professor and occasional forensic shrink for the FBI, in a race against time. When Gramm receives a mysterious phone call telling him he has exactly 88 minutes left to live, can he track down his would-be killer before the clock runs out?

I have mixed thoughts about this movie. In some ways it was an enjoyable thriller (although nothing special). But other things really bothered me about it. I’ll start with the good. First of all, I was pleasantly surprised to see Neal McDonough in it (who plays David McNorris in my favorite TV show ever: Boomtown) and I thought he did a great job. He’s good at being creepy.
But, the other actors in it were strangely cast, in my opinion. Al Pacino did a good job I guess but there was nothing special about it at all. And Leelee Sobieski was just bad. I always had mixed thoughts about whether I liked her or not, well, now I realized I don’t like her; especially in this movie. She was just really irritating to me.

The movie also seemed really choatic to me… and not in a good way. I can’t really explain it but the movie just did not flow properly to me. I’m glad that I finally watched it, but now I see why people gave it a bad review. Although it wasn’t as bad as they said, when you see Al Pacino, you expect more than they gave you.

My Review:

Just So-So

88 Minutes, Al Pacino, Neal McDonough, Leelee Sobieski, movie review, Boomtown

Plot Summary from Netflix:

With chaos tearing her marriage and family apart, Adrienne Willis (Diane Lane) takes a weekend caretaker job at her friend’s coastal North Carolina inn. When a storm hits, stranding the inn’s only guest, Dr. Paul Flanner (Richard Gere), Adrienne’s life changes forever. As the storm rages outside, Adrienne connects with Flanner, who came to the Rodanthe retreat to escape his own personal crisis. James Franco co-stars in this romantic drama.

Like, I said, I read the book a couple years ago and it was one of my least favorite Nicholas Sparks books. And yes, I have read all of his books… they’re addicting. So right off the bat I was VERY surprised when I heard they were making Nights in Rodanthe into a movie. Why not The Guardian? Why not The Rescue? Why not A Bend in the Road at least!?
Anyways, nobody called me and asked me my opinion on the matter so Nights in Rodanthe it was.

I thought the movie was a little more lame and boring than the book. Overall, I guess they did a good adaptation of the book but it just isn’t that interesting of a story (at least in my mind).

I will say one good thing about the movie: they did a good job casting the main roles. I thought Diane Lane and Richard Gere were a pretty accurate depiction for how I pictured the characters in the book. Also the scenery was really gorgeous, that inn was unbelievable.

So my overall opinion, it was kinda slow and boring, VERY sappy and dramatic, and even a bit corny and contrived. But if you read the book I suppose it’s worth a watch… but wait until it comes out on DVD. Let’s get one thing perfectly clear here: Don’t expect it to be as good as The Notebook!

My Rating:

Didn’t Like it

Review: Made of Honor
Review: 27 Dresses

Nights in Rodanthe, movie review, Diane Lane, Richard Gere, James Franco, Nicholas Sparks, The Notebook, The Rescue, The Guardian, A Bend in the Road

Plot summary from Netflix:

It’s Election Day, and the eyes of the nation have fallen on one beer-swigging couch potato named Bud Johnson (Kevin Costner), who, through no fault of his own, finds himself in the position of being able to single-handedly choose the next American president. Kelsey Grammer, Nathan Lane, Stanley Tucci, George Lopez and Dennis Hopper also star in this political satire.

Overall, it wasn’t a bad movie… but it wasn’t great. I will say Kevin Costner used to be quite the hottie in his day. Now, eventhough age is catching up with him, he still has some good lookin left in him. There’s just something about him that is so likeable. So for me, he really made me like his character. Stanley Tucci was awesome, as usual. I’ve never seen him in a role where I didn’t love him. And the girl who played Kevin Costner’s daughter, I thought, did a good job.

I thought the movie was enjoyable, but nothing spectacular. The thing I really liked about the movie is that is was not slanted right wing or left wing; it was very fair (in my opinion). It would have made for a really awkward and uncomfortable movie if they had chosen sides because we all know that politics is a touchy subject. So, I thought they did a really good job of staying neutral.

Overall, it was a cute movie to see, especially now during all the hoopla going on around election time. It was funny in parts, emotional and sad in parts, and a non-offensive, light-hearted look at the political process in America.

My Rating:

It was OK

Swing Vote, movie review, Kevin Costner, Stanley Tucci, Kelsey Grammer, Nathan Lane, George Lopez, Dennis Hopper

Here’s a short synopsis from Netflix:

This acclaimed series, starring Donnie Wahlberg, Neal McDonough and Mykelti Williamson, puts a unique spin on the typical police drama. Each crime story is told from several points of view — the detectives’, the cops’, victim’s, the perpetrator’s, the rescue team’s, the district attorney’s and the media’s — all presented out of sequence, leaving viewers guessing about the facts of the crime until the very end.

I absolutely LOVE this show. It’s the best show I’ve seen in a very long time. Each episode starts out with a new crime and usually showcases one character, but they show the story from every one’s point of view (like it says in the description). It kinda reminds me a little bit of Law and Order or something like that but very unique. I love every single character on this show, which is a really hard thing to accomplish because I have a real issue with making sure I like the characters. Because they show the story from each person’s point of view, it allows us to see different sides of each character and really understand how they feel about what’s going on and also get a look at what’s going on in their lives at the same time. The acting is amazing too. The cast is perfect and everyone does such a great job with their characters. My personal favorites are Detective Joel Stevens (Donnie Wahlberg), Officer Tom Turcotte (Jason Gedrick), and Teresa Ortiz (Lana Parilla).

The fact that they tell the story from different points of view may scare some people off, but they do it in a way that really accentuates the story instead of hurting it by being repetitive. You will definitely never get bored during an episode of Boomtown. You have to check these DVDs out. You will not be disappointed.

I cannot believe that it was cancelled during it’s second season! With all the garbage that is on TV today, they couldn’t keep a really entertaining, unique, well-made show on the air? It absolutely disgusts me. Luckily I got my hands on the lost 6 episodes of the second season so I got to see the entire series. I adored it from start to finish and I would highly recommend it to anyone. In fact, I already made a bunch of people watch it and they all loved it too.

My Rating:

Absolutely Loved it

Boomtown, Boomtown review, Donnie Wahlberg, Jason Gedrick, Lana Parilla, Neal McDonough, Mykelti Williamson, Mark Wahlberg

Plot summary from Netflix:

Facing an unplanned pregnancy, teenage Juno (Ellen Page) devises a plan to locate the proverbial perfect parents to adopt her baby. But the seemingly ideal couple Juno chooses still has some growing up to do. Now, everyone in Juno’s world must do a little soul-searching. Michael Cera co-stars while Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner play the pair of affluent yuppies anxious for a child in this offbeat coming-of-age comedy.

OK, out of all of the Best Picture nominees I’ve seen this one is the best so far but if you’ve read my other reviews you’ll know that’s not saying much. I thought this movie was OK. It had an endearing storyline, I suppose, but the way it was done made it more irritating than endearing. I thought Juno was EXTREMELY annoying and 90% of her dialouge was so forced and pretentious that I found myself rolling my eyes many times. All the stupid ‘I know music better than you’ conversations between her and Jason Bateman’s character were what really put me over the edge. Give me a break. I can’t really even put into words how irritating I found her dialouge, especially with her friends. It was like an immature angst-ridden teen trying to act cool by making people think she’s smart and witty. Painful.

The only reason I’m giving this movie any credit is because I thought they created some interesting characters and I really liked a lot of the actors in the film, especially Jason Bateman (love him!). And it was funny to see Michael and George Michael from Arrested Development in the same movie!

Overall, again, it didn’t live up to the hype, it didn’t deserve a Best Picture nomination, but it was mildly entertaining and it was kind of a cute story.

God, No Country For Old Men better be good because in my estimation, the Academy was sorely mistaken with the rest of these movies. Get it together!

My Rating:

It was OK

Review: There Will Be Blood
Review: Atonement
Review: Michael Clayton

Juno, movie review, Academy Awards, Jason Bateman, Ellen Page, Michael Cera

Ploy summary from moviefone.com:

Wealthy philanthropist Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) develops an invulnerable robotic suit to fight the throes of evil. In addition to being filthy rich, billionaire industrialist Tony Stark is also a genius inventor. When Stark is kidnapped and forced to build a diabolical weapon, he instead uses his intelligence and ingenuity to construct an indestructible suit of armor and escape his captors. Once free, Stark discovers a deadly conspiracy that could destabilize the entire globe, and dons his powerful new suit on a mission to stop the villains and save the world.

I really wasn’t expecting much from the movie because I didn’t know anything about it or really Iron Man in general, so I had no preconceived ideas about what to expect. Well, I ended up loving it! I personally think it was the best movie I’ve seen this summer. I really couldn’t find one thing not to like about it (and believed me I tried). It’s very fast paced so it wasn’t boring as all, it had a great storyline, great characters, funny dialouge, and on top of all that it was just a highly entertaining movie. I thought Robert Downey Jr. was perfect for the role of Iron Man which I found pleasantly surprising. In fact, all the actors were great in their roles. And all the gadgets and special effects were so cool to see. It was just a very exciting movie and I was surprised by how funny it was too.

I hate to say this since I’m sure it’s going to be the biggest movie of all time or close to it, but I liked it a little better than The Dark Knight. Which is saying a lot because that movie was awesome too. Bottom line: I’d say it’s definitely a must see movie. It’s a great comic book adaptation and just a great movie in general.
I really hate giving really high ratings unless they really deserve it but, like I said, I really don’t see anything wrong with this movie so I’m forced to give it 5 stars.

My Rating:

Absolutely Loved it

Review: The Dark Knight

Iron Man, Iron Man movie review, movie review, Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges, Terrance Howard, The Dark Knight

Short plot summary from imdb.com:

Batman and James Gordon join forces with Gotham’s new District Attorney, Harvey Dent, to take on a psychotic bank robber known as The Joker, whilst other forces plot against them, and Joker’s crimes grow more and more deadly.

This movie really was awesome. All the special effects, gadgets, cars, motorcycle, explosions, make-up; it was all just unbelievable. Christian Bale was amazing as usual, he is such an awesome Batman (although I am also a big fan of Val Kilmer but that has nothing to with this). The most amazing part of the whole movie is that Heath Ledger’s Joker really did live up to all the hype, which I find amazing. He stole the show without a doubt. If he does end up getting an Oscar for it, it would be well deserved. Another thing I thought was awesome was what they did with Two-Face. When they finally show his face it’s so creepy you can’t keep your eyes off of him.

I did however have a few small problems with the movie. First of all, I was mad that Katie Holmes was replaced with Maggie Gyllenhaal. I hate when they replace characters; it distracts me. And as much as I hated Katie Holmes in the first one, I hated Maggie MUCH more. She is so funny looking and not believable at all in the role she’s playing. Besides the fact that for some reason she was extremely annoying the entire movie. The other reason I was ever so slightly disappointed was because (and this is my own fault) I was expecting to see more of a back story on the Joker and find out more about why he was the way that he was and they were very vague about the whole thing. I understand that that’s the way they chose to depict the character but I just wanted to know more, like what they did with Two-Face.
Overall, this movie is not only a must see, but you must see it in the theater. It will be much more enjoyable on the big screen because it’s such a huge production.

I know this may seem like a low rating but I just can’t say that I loved it yet. Maybe after a watch it a couple more times…

My Rating:

Really Liked it

The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight review, movie review, Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Katie Holmes, Batman Begins

Plot summary from All Movie Guide:

Forest Whitaker, Dennis Quaid, William Hurt, and Matthew Fox star in director Pete Travis’ Rashomon-style thriller in which an assassination attempt on the president of the United States is detailed from five unique perspectives. As the president arrives in Salamanca, gunshots ring out. An American tourist (Whitaker) has captured footage of the would-be assassin on videotape, and now, as the stories of the other four witnesses unfold, each essential piece of the puzzle quickly falls into place. Only when all of the stories are told will the chilling truth to this shocking crime finally emerge.

This is definitely my kind of movie. It had a great story line, interesting characters, it was highly entertaining; everything I’m looking for in a movie. And it had something to do with a conspiracy to kill the president? I love that kind of stuff! I really have no complaints. Well, except for the fact that I hate Forest Whitaker. He was really good in The Last King of Scotland and now I just can’t stand him in any other movie. His character was really weird in this movie too; he was acting really strange. Maybe he was supposed to be in The Happening…

Anyways, the whole idea of showing the turn of events from multiple points of view was so cool and made the story so much more interesting and intriguing. It made it much more suspenseful too. I just recently watched the first (and sadly, only) season of an awesome TV show called Boomtown which also shows the story from different points of view and I think that is such a cool concept. I’ll have to do a review of that show later on.

I’ve seen this movie getting some pretty negative reviews and I don’t get it. They must be from movie snobs. And I also heard a lot of people praising Forest Whitaker’s performance, which I found annoying and strange. Further reason for me never to listen to other people’s point of view because I never agree with them.
I would say you should definitely check this movie out once it comes out on DVD; I doubt you’ll regret it. And if nothing else there are some really awesome car chases which are completely unbelievable but very entertaining.

My Rating:

Really Liked it

Review: Boomtown: Season One
Review: Shooter

Vantage Point, movie review, Forest Whitaker, Dennis Quaid, Matthew Fox, Vantage Point movie review, The Happening

Plot summary from mymovies.net

Humanity is under threat in this chilling story which focuses on a middle school science teacher (Mark Wahlberg), his estranged wife (Zooey Deschanel), best friend (John Leguizamo) and his daughter as they fight to stay alive while a powerful neurotoxin creates global chaos.
What exactly is going on here? People all along the Eastern Seaboard of the United States are just dropping down dead. Is this some kind of new terrorist attack perhaps? Or is it something else? Something insidious and embedded in nature itself? Something has taken control of the world‘s animals and plants and that something also has plans for humanity. Cut off from the rest of humanity, the small band of survivors must rally together and determine the source of this strange pandemic.

This movie was not good. I was actually shocked by just how “not good” is was. As I’ve said before, I’m a huge Mark Wahlberg fan but this was by far the worst movie I’ve ever seen him in and also by far his worst performance. The acting was laughable (no really, I was in the theater laughing). Most of the characters were pointless and there was absolutely no character development. The plot was extremely weak. I just can’t believe that they thought this was going to pass off as a scary movie. It was not scary at all. There were definitely a few disturbing images but they were few and far between and also not really scary at all. I will say there was one part that was pretty creepy but I was already laughing at the movie by that point so I didn’t care.

I feel like this must have been M. Night Shyamalan’s fault because the whole movie had this really ridiculous vibe. Why does he get so much recognition when The Sixth Sense was his only good movie? And I’ve already completely forgiven Mark Wahlberg, because since all the acting was horrible I blame that on the director as well. I know Marky Mark is at his best when he’s being a bad-ass, but I’ve seen him do very well in other types of roles so I really have to blame this on poor direction or something. I don’t know, they were all acting really weird. You really have to see this movie to really understand what I’m talking about. The dialogue is HORRENDOUS. Nobody would ever say any of those lines in real life.

I’m sad, because I thought this movie had such potential and it was just not executed properly.

There’s nothing more I can really say. All the hype you’re hearing is completely unfounded. They made it look so good in the previews and they get me every time! Curse you enticing movie trailers!

I would say, you have to see this movie to believe it… but wait until it comes out on DVD.

By the way, these are the exact faces that both of these characters are making throughout 90% of the movie. I kid you not.

My Rating:

Didn’t Like it

Review: Shooter
Review: We Own the Night
Review: The Departed

The Happening, Mark Wahlberg, Zooey Deschanel, M. Night Shyamalan, The Happening review, movie review

Famed archaeologist/adventurer Dr. Henry “Indiana” Jones is called back into action when he becomes entangled in a Soviet plot to uncover the secret behind mysterious artifacts known as the Crystal Skulls.

Well, unlike everyone else who saw this movie I wasn’t really able to compare it to the originals because haven’t seen an Indiana Jones movies in almost 10 years and I honestly just do not remember them well enough to even try.
I’m usually a freak about watching everything in order. If a sequel of some sort comes out I always insist on watching the previous movies before I see the new one (hence the reason why I still have not seen the third Star Wars..). But in this case, I had the oppurtunity to go and I knew it would be out of the theaters before I ever got around to watching the first three, so this review is based pretty much just on this movie alone.

I thought the movie was a lot of fun. It was very entertaining and it had a lot of funny one-liner type jokes. I’m a huge fan of Shia LaBeouf and I thought he did a great job in this movie; I really liked his character. It’s no secret that Harrison Ford is getting old, but I thought he pulled it off very well. I don’t know how much longer he could pull it off though if they’re planning to continue the series.
My only complaint about the movie is that I wasn’t crazy about the plot. Without giving too much away, I thought the sci-fi angle they took was a little too far fetched (even for an Indiana Jones movie). One of the scenes at the end especially almost made me roll my eyes because it was so ridiculous. But, overall I think they did a good job of bringing back the excitement and fun of Indiana Jones.

My Rating:

Liked it

Review: National Treasure: Book of Secrets