scorpion king

from the lame introduction to the scorpion king from 'the mummy 2' we somehow get this film. it's the rock's first outing as the star of a movie and its obvious that he is on his way to stardom. though this movie isn't a very good showcase for what the rock is capable of, its straight forward action and light spirit allow it to be a fun watch. the plot follows the rock as he stands up to become the leader of his people as they are fighting off an emperor who wants to rule them all. we've seen it a thousand times, and its not necessarily done well here, but the fact that they don't take themselves too seriously allows everyone to enjoy the adventure anyway. its easily apparent that the rock is still in wrestling mode, as all the action in the film looks like it was originally meant to take place inside the ring. but the action is fast and light and often enough that its easy to get distracted from the fact that the movie is only mediocre. the rock gets four stars but the movie only gets two. i guess that leaves us with an average of three stars!

x-men: the last stand

every good thing that had been built up in the first two x-men movies is torn asunder in this terrible movie. the battle between good and evil, typified by magneto and xavier, was played out in the first two films as a subtle and intentional chess match between the two players. in fact, the image of a chess game was prevalent in those two films. magneto would make a move, xavier would make a calculated counter-move. the balance was always struck, each event leading to the next, step by step increasing in scope and consequence. this third film is the equivalent of a bratty kid walking up and unending the chess board because he thought it would be cool looking. that brat is bret ratner, the director of this terrible film. now, i'm sure he isnt really to blame for all the problems of this movie, but he makes a good target, so the bad decisions fall on him by default.
the movie jumps around from when jean grey was first called to charles' mutant school, to the ramifications of her return after her valiant sacrificial death in the second movie. the story is far from coherent, and instead bumps around from one new character to another in hopes of making more toys to sell. many of the best characters and most interesting story lines from the first two films are tossed aside, usually with an unnecessary death, and we instead are given a lame showdown between magneto and the golden gate bridge. though the story does possess some possibilities and interesting ideas, such as the serum that can allow a character to lose their mutant powers, they are never mined deep enough to show the real depth of the choices and ramifications. rogue must decide if she wants to be free, mystique doesnt have the choice. this paradox in itself should have a deep impact and a strong theme of free will, but alas, it is only played for a romantic triangle or a cheap joke. it really is a shame that this movie was made and in effect, killing the x-men franchise. the best idea for them to continue the series would be for them to just ignore this one and pretend it never happened. i know thats what i'm going to do...

x2: x-men united

this is what the x-men are all about! the first film was a big deal, but i found it pretty bad. this one, though, has everything the first one promised but didn't deliver. we get to see the characters in action, we get to dig deeper into the ideology of the two leaders, xavier and magneto, we get some great nightcrawler moments, and wolverine is finally allowed to get a bit dirty.
the story revolves around the x-men school and the new kids getting accustomed to their powers, wolverine gets to find out a bit more about his past, and we even see some important moments between the heroes that reminds us that they are meant to be real people. the conflict between xavier and magneto is built up very well, and we once again see a meeting of the minds on the issue of mutants. both perspectives are played fairly, which allows for us, the audience, to understand why both men believe the way they do. the fight scenes are well done (something sorely missing in the first film), we get to see wolverine go berzerk, and the ending leaves you satisfied and hopeful for a third x-men film that might even be greater than this one (which is, unfortunately, not the case- thanks brett ratner...)

x-men

this is a landmark film. x-men was the first modern comic book movie to find success, which has lead to the explosion of other comic book movies over the past ten years. directed by bryan singer, this film made superheroes a legitimate subject for films. the story follows wolverine as he discovers the school for mutants, which team up to fight against the villain magneto. this film lead the way for two more sequels, and the recent wolverine prequel (which doesn't in anyway match up story wise to this one...). what makes this film work is the excellent cast and singer's ability to make a real world for these extreme characters to live in. he does an amazing job of finding the deeper themes to their stories, that of 'a stranger in a strange land', and being an outcast while trying to help those who hate you. we follow wolverine as he begins to realize that he doesn't have to face the struggle alone, we see rogue as she comes to terms with who she is and tries to except it, professor x. as he tries to make peace, magneto as he tries to make war, and senator kelley as he tries to exploit the situation. each of these stories create a layer of the film and all tie together to show how comic book movies can be more then men in tights. though this film still struggles with still being a bit over the top (such as sabertooth and toad, and the really lame plan of magneto's), it still has enough ties to the real world to make it work. singer, in the film's sequel, overcomes this problem later, it is still a huge barrier keeping this movie from being as great as it is trying to be. it is a really good introduction to the x-men world, but by no means flawless.

harry potter and the order of the phoenix

guess what? its another harry potter movie with almost the exact same formula as the last four! who could have seen that one coming?!? oh, thats right, me. again we find harry having problems at home, this time its a dementor attacking so harry uses magic to get rid of them. the ministry of magic has him kicked out because of it. he then has to prove himself to those around him and uncover who is behind it all. turns out it was the new teacher at the school- what a surprise! the new teacher has been appointed by the ministry of magic to reform the school and whip it back into shape because the ministry feels that hogwarts is not doing what it should. in rebellion against the new stringent rules, harry and the gang take it upon themselves to learn all the really good stuff and learn how to defend themselves on their own. just when they are getting ready for the battle ahead, lord voldemort shows up and they get to use the things they have taught themselves and try to fight back. things don't really go so well, but at least the newest teacher is kicked out! i really wish i could enjoy this series, but after the fifth film i've decided to throw in the towel. if i don't like it by now, i dont think i ever will. for those who really love this world, then i send my apologies, but its just not for me, thanks.

harry potter and the goblet of fire

in this film everyone is back again and ready for another year of school at hogwarts. this time there is a sort of contest that is hosted by the school that involves three players trying to win three contests to see who is the best in the world of magic. this contest leads the three contestants, including harry potter of course, to fight against dragons, mermaids, and finally a labyrinth in order to finish the course. at the end of the final challenge, harry finds himself transported face to face with the evil enemy lord voldemort. as the film progressed (which was an unbearable two hours and forty minutes) i started to see through the veil of this harry potter world. it seems that all the movies follow the same basic premise: harry has a bad time in the real world with his foster family, he gets to school and finds himself in an unexpected difficult position which he must get out of, and its always the newest hogwart teacher who is behind the said difficulty which devolves into a bad scooby-doo episode where the old guy is guilty and says 'and i would have gotten away with it if it weren't for those kids and that pesky dog!' thanks to harry-doo and the gang they are able to avoid another perilous jeopardy. at least this time we finally got to the story started three movies before: the battle with lord voldemort. do we really need the first two hours of this film? it all just seemed like time filler so they could show us their cool special effects. this film wasn't bad, per se, i just dont care for the series as a whole.

harry potter and the prisoner of azkaban

in preparation for the newest harry potter movie coming out, my wife wanted to rewatch all the older ones so she could be up to speed on the story so far. i am not a big harry potter fan, but was willing to give it a go out of curiosity. i had seen the first two before and was not at all impressed, but was willing to give this one a chance because i knew it was a different director. turns out its not as bad as the first two. this one follows the gang as they return for their third year of school at hogwarts. there is an escaped prisoner from the high security prison called azkaban who seems to be after none other than our hero harry. the story follows the kids as they try to uncover who this guy is and why he might be after harry. turns out its a man by the name of serius black, and he has a history with the potter family. he was imprisoned for the murder of harry's parents, but he's trying to come back to put right his false imprisonment and find the one who is actually responsible. there are some fun parts in this film, such as the playing with time travel and the kids starting to find their place in this world of magic. the cast is fantastic, with all the great british actors filling in the roles of the adults and teachers. the best of which is gary oldman, playing the escaped convict. even the kids begin to grow into their roles as actors. i'm still not sold on the harry potter world, as it just seems formulaic and seems to take so much from other books. this was more evident in the first two films, but still lingers on in this story as well.

frailty

this is a nice little horror movie. it starts with a guy walking into the police station to talk with the local detective. he claims that he knows who killed a bunch of people who have gone missing over the past twenty years. as he tells his story we go back to his childhood. he and his brother were raised by their father after their mother passed away. everything was going well until one morning their father sat them both down and informed them that he had seen a vision and was told by god that he was being called to destroy demons. the flashbacks continue as he recounts his father preparing them and training them for what was to happen. then one day his father had gotten a list of names from an angel. they had been called to destroy these demons. the problem was that these demons looked and acted like real humans. the story is interesting and gripping, bill paxton makes his directorial debut with this film and shows that he really knows what he's doing behind the camera. by the time the big reveal comes at the end of the movie, it is surprising, but the problem is that the film cheats. with a mystery, there are certain rules that must be followed in films, and this one cheats at the end, and because of that, the movie looses a lot of its impact. by the end, this great little thriller just becomes another cheap trick due to the dishonesty of the storytelling. quite unfortunate, but still a fun one to watch.

terminator 3: rise of the machines

i dont know why this movie gets such a bad rap, i think it's pretty fun! the film picks up about 10 years after the last one. we find john
conner living 'off the grid', figuring that way the robots wont be able to find him. looks like he figured wrong. this time the robots sent
back a terminatrix: a girl terminator that can change shape, but has an endoskeletin- that way it can turn itself into weapons too! since
john is no where to be found, she was sent back to get john's future wife. fortunately the good guys sent back a terminator too- cue arnie!
some of the things in the movie are a bit lame, when arnold appears its basically a retread of terminator 2, but with some added humor.
once everything is in place the real fun begins- we are treated to a really cool action scene where the bad robot chases after john with a
construction truck which leads to much destuction. as things play out we get to see the 'judgement day' that was referenced in the last
movie. the robots are activated on line and john and his future wife must do everything they can to stop it, or at least escape. the main theme of this movie is about how there is no way to stop the inevitable, which is the exact opposite of terminator 2 which was all about how there is no such thing as fate. the contrast between the two is interesting and we are given a chance to see what those two ideas mean for the characters and the world created in this series.

dawn of the dead

i've never been a really big fan of horror movies, but i think this one has changed my mind. the first big directorial effort from zach snyder, who since has gone on to direct 300 and watchmen. a remake of the original film by ceasar romero, this movie starts in the suburbs as we follow a woman realizing that her family has become zombies, she flees the house and realizes that it happening all over the city! to escape, she heads to the mall where she finds a few others who have thought to do the same. there about about 8 people who are uninfected and they wall up the mall and keep out all the zombies. as they try to figure out what to do next they must overcome the hoard of zombies out front, and find a way to work together without killing each other. the different characters holed up in the mall are quite a variety, from the young girl who must watch her father be killed because he's been bitten, to the hardened military guy who wants them all destroyed. they can survive for a while in the mall, there is food, water, and just about anything else they need, but soon they have to find a way to safety. at one point they make friends with someone who has barricaded himself in another building just down the street. they talk to each other with chalk boards and binoculars. this friendship is actually fleshed out on one of the coolest dvd extras i've ever seen on a movie. there is an extra half hour movie on the dvd that shows the guy in the other building. he is filming himself and what he has been going through, and it coincides perfectly with the film itself. we get another perspective of the events that are going on in the mall, and a glimpse of someone who is trying to deal with the same problems as the group in the mall, but having to survive on his own. this little feature gives the actual film itself so much more depth! a great idea very well done.
the movie is gruesome, scary, and good, but the extra story of the lone survivor in the other building makes this movie even better!

the greatest game ever played

i love to watch movies with my dad. he's not much of a movie guy, but is usually up for watching one that has to do with something he likes. about a two years or so ago i saw this dvd for sale really cheep (about four bucks) and i thought 'perfect! dad loves golf, he would love to watch this one with me!' well, its been tow years later and we still hadn't found time to sit down and enjoy this movie together. i figured enough waiting, i'm going to watch it! turns out, its not too bad.
the movie follows the story of francis ouimet, a amature golfer who actually gets to play in the us open against his idol. we see him go from a young boy who longs to play golf, he was a caddie as a boy, but faces challenges from his father who doesn't think that golfing is a real profession. keeping in mind this is a disney movie, i think you know what ends up happening... the movie stars shia labeouf as ouimet, and he does a decent job of conveying the struggle and enthusiasm the character must have felt playing the game. at times shia's overconfidence takes over and the portrayal is left in the dust. the story is interesting and touching, so any shortcomings on the part of the cast is made up for. bill paxton directs the film marvelously, the golfing itself is done in unique and different ways, the movie never feels like you are just watching sunday afternoon golf on cbs or anything. much of the charm and emotion is due to the nimble hands behind the camera. the film ends up being a pretty good movie, but its basically 'remember the titans' or 'rudy', just on a golf course.

bobby jones: stroke of genius

this golf film is about the real life amature golfer from the twenties bobby jones. it follows his life, from a childhood filled with health problems, to his start in golf, and through to his winning the coveted 'grand slam' of golf. the interesting this about this film, though, is that it is not really about golf. rather, it follows bobby's life as he finds a way to do what he loves, struggles with balancing it and a family, as well as his battles with unexpected celebrity and bad health. there are no real golfing showdowns, coming down to the las putt or anything. instead its more of a showdown with himself. he struggles with what others expect of him and what he wants for himself. as far as the golf goes, the film draws a nice theme of his love/hate relationship with the famed st. andrews golf course and how that played out over his career. but more important than that is how bobby comes to peace with what his family, wife, and the golfing world want for him. the interesting this is that the film doesn't try and just show one side of the man, as a hero, but also shows some of his struggles and faults. by the end we understand this humble man and realize that 'there's more to life than winning a championship'.

behind enemy lines

owen wilson as an action hero? umm... i'm not so sure about that one. in this film wilson plays an air force pilot who goes out on a routine parameter flight, and get shot down behind enemy lines (oh, so that's where the title comes from...). his captain, played by gene hackman, must do whatever he can to get the pilot back. the action follows wilson as he must try and get back to the safe zone and bring back the information he has gotten. there are some good action scenes, the plane being shot down has some strong style to it, the most memorable scene to me was the satellite shot where hackman and the team watches as wilson is chased by the bad guys. hackman is a natural here, he has already played this role before in crimson tide (this time though, he's actually a nice guy), but i'm not entirely sure about wilson as the action star. i really like him in other films, especially with jackie chan in the 'shanghi' movies, but i think he is better suited for comedy than straight action. he does a passable job, but he becomes a generic actor instead of the witty and funny wilson we know and love. his particular skills are not fitted for this type of film. it's like an artist making greeting cards- they can do it, but it's not their full potential.

the last castle

i'm not very familiar with robert redford's film catalog, i think i've maybe only seen one or two of his movies before. now having seen this film, it becomes very clear why he has had the career he has- this man is a star! when he is on screen you hardly notice or care about anyone else- he is electric! in this film redford plays a military general who was courtmashalled and send to a military prison. when he arrives he finds that the warden has been treating the prison like his own private kingdom, doing whatever he wants, even killing inmates. redford tries to rebuild the men's spirits and unite them to over throw the warden and help the men regain a sense of pride. the warden does everything he can to try and stop redford, but once he has the men's respect, it becomes a chess game where we already know who is going to get checkmate. there are many good aspects to the movie, from the prisoner's plight, to the symbolic building of a wall, but the real draw of the movie is just to watch redford do what he does. he is amazing to watch and the film is infinitely better for it.

rush hour 2

when i first saw this in the theater i loved it- it was so fresh and new! all these years later though, its not so fresh and its not so new. much of it still holds up pretty well, the action is still fun (thanks to the always great jackie chan), some of the humor holds up, but the problem is that chris tucker's brand of humor gets very grading after a while. his character is so ignorant and racist that borders on offensive. oh, and that voice! i don't think there is any actor alive who is more annoying! the story picks up from where the first movie left off- with the guys on their way to hong kong for a vacation. we see tucker trying to have some fun, but chan is back on duty trying to track down the triad drug syndicate. the story eventually leads them to las vegas where everything picks up and the humor level is cranked up. the chemistry between chan and tucker is certainly strong, you can tell that they get a kick out of each other, even though they obviously get on each other's nerves. fortunately, there is very little pop culture references, so it's not as dated as many other movies from that time are (well, except for the slang tucker uses which is very dated). i'm a bit mixed on this film, i dont know if i'm being to generous with it because i really like chan and enjoyed this one when it came out, or if i am being harsh on it because i dont really care for tucker. i guess we'll just call it a draw.

shooting gallery

i first got this movie around the time that i fell in love with the film 'poolhall junkies', and came recommended by a couple friends. this one is another movie about playing pool, it stars freddie prinze jr. as the pool shark who is trying to get revenge for his brother's death at the hands of a poolhall owner, played by ving rhames. he decides to try and seek revenge by destroying the owner from the inside. he infiltrates the operation and becomes one of his trusted men. there are a bunch of twists and turns, and then a few more twists, which ultimately leads to the confrontation- over a game of pool, of course! i didn't really get into it though, its not nearly as good at 'poolhall junkies', partly because there are too many twists and switched allegiances for us to really care very deeply about any of the characters (are they good? are they bad? oh, they're good, but now they're bad, except now they're good again...). also, for a pool movie, there doesnt seem to be that much pool playing, which is its ultimate downfall- if i want a cops and robbers movie i'll go watch one, i came here for the pool!

hulk

i guess i can see it now. when i first saw hulk on the big screen i really loved it, even though it seemed that everyone else hated it. i didn't understand the strong negative reaction it got, i thought it was a pretty good film. it starts off with bruce banner as a young boy, his parents fighting, then we jump ahead to today where he is working in a lab. there is, of course, a mishap, and bruce is turned into the hulk. his father shows up and tries to get bruce to understand what is happening to him. for some reason his father sends some mutant dogs to attack betty (the love interest), so he hulks out and saves her. she is quite frightened by bruce's transformations so she turns him in to the government. they take him to a base out in the desert. after much destruction, he escapes and goes back to find betty. he changes back to bruce and all is thought to be well, until he meets his father again, who now has some powers as well after testing on himself. there is a giant fight and showdown between the two of them and somehow his dad turns into a huge bubble and is destroyed by the military. the things i liked about it so much was the style that the director ang lee used. he would often show the action happening in different boxes, mimicking the panel layout of a comic book. i thought that was really cool! the cast was really good (eric bana was a fresh import from australia, never having appeared in an american film before) and the effects were great.
now though, having rewatched it, i still love the panel layout lee used, but much of the rest of it does not hold up to repeat viewing. the storyline is pretty strange, heavy on the father/son drama that is not at all based on the original hulk mythology. for some reason ang lee often has shots of reptiles and moss covered logs all by themselves interspersed through out the film. huh? that doesnt make much sense... its probably some artsy thing, but it doesnt fit at all with the hulk story. also, the ending is just plain dumb. the showdown with his father was unnecessary and really confusing, ang doesn't really do a very good job of showing us what is happening or what is going on, we instead get some poorly cut scenes that obscure most of the action taking place. dad turns into a bubble? really?!? now with six years gone by, the effects, which looked so impressive then, dont really hold up. hulk looks silly in much of the action, especially all the stuff in the desert. maybe its the movie itself, or maybe its the comparison we can now make between this drama and the action-packed 'incredible hulk' that recently came out, but i'm pretty sure the new one is head and shoulders above this first attempt.