Let me just say that the hype is real.  The Dark Knight is one of the most amazing movies I have seen in the past few years, and the Joker is simply stunning.  With a run time of over 2.5 hours, you’d think that parts of the movie would drag a bit, but I didn’t notice.  I found myself captivated the entire time. 

Batman Begins was an amazing beautiful movie.  This one is better. 

I really don’t want to give away anything major.  So, instead, I give you some random thoughts: 

The guy who played Batmanuel (Nestor Carbonell) from the short-lived tv show The Tick is the Mayor of Gotham.  Isn’t that funny?

I don’t think they introduced the next bad guy with this one.  Over in the Spider-Man movies, there seem to be a few waiting in the wings:  you have Dr. Connors(Lizard), JJ’s son(Man-Wolf), etc.  In Batman Begins, they introduced the Joker.  Not in Dark Knight, though.  I don’t think, anyway!  Leave a comment if you think they did introduce somebody, and I missed it.

I was informed by the cleaning crew after the movie that once the credits roll, that’s it.  Of course, he might have wanted to clean the theater for the next crowd.  I didn’t stick around to find out, because my pregnant wife had to pee, and you just don’t mess with those kind of things.   

Will there be an Oscar for Ledger?  Hmmmm.  Oscars don’t seem to go to movies like this one often.  Does he deserve it?  Heck Yes he does.  This perfomance was so much different than any other I have seen of his.  Nearly every frame he is in captivates.  But am I captivated because I know I am watching the legacy of a genius?  Or am I captivated because I am caught in the story?  Hard to tell.    

Total Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

I say:  Watch it in the theater more than once.  Buy it on Blu-ray. 

Sky High was a good one. Not perfect… it is too predictable. However, the kid actors are great. Kurt Russell seemed a bit wooden to me, but the other adults did a great job, and really seemed to be enjoying themselves. A prime example is “Coach Boomer,” Bruce Campbell. You’ll recognize a lot of other faces here.

My wife and daughter loved this movie too. Our daughter four at the time, was scared during some of the more intense moments.  She has seen it more recently and loves it.  (actually several times) 

It is rated PG for some violence. No swearing or sex, of course. This is Disney, after all.

So, all in all a really enjoyable movie. I hope to see a sequel.  I have read that the kid actors were contracted by Disney to a sequel, and also possibly a tv show.  Hmm!  Will there be a Sky High 2? We’ll see! 

Get it on Amazon: Sky High (Widescreen Edition)

For more information, check out IMDB

The small quibbles that I have are thus:

1) The kids just aren’t nice to one another during the movie’s majority. Naturally, they learn in the end how to love each other, but I spent a lot of time explaining to my daughter, who was  four year old at the time that it just wasn’t nice to talk that way.

2) It is pretty scary in parts. I wasn’t scared, of course, in case you are wondering. No, our daughter asked us to turn it off during the robot scene.

My wife and I were so into the movie that we turned it on again after our daughter went to bed.

Just recently we popped it in the DVD player again and watched it with her.  She loved it.  

So, all in all I’d say four stars. It’s the best movie in its genre, I can easily say (if you can name more than two movies in this genre, I salute you!).

Total Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Get it on Amazon: Zathura/Jumanji (b2b)

For more information, check out IMDB

The acting (except for Parker Posey… I don’t like her as an actor) and directing is stellar. However, I almost want to say that the sets steal the show. A lot of care evidently went into this film.

And the music! Awesome.

Don’t bother sticking around to see the end of the credits.. there isn’t a suprise added on. The movie ends when the credits begin to roll.

All in all, this is a good movie, but not a great one.  I have heard that the next Superman movie, which will be again directed by Singer, will have a lot more action in it.  I hope so!  The action scenes in this one are breathtaking.  Unfortunately, they are also very short. 

Total Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars  

Get it on Amazon: Superman Returns [Blu-ray]

For more information, check out IMDB

According to IMDB, it was nominated for an Oscar for best visual effects. 

Our family saw this flick in a regular theater, and nothing was lost. You could really see how amazing this would be in 3D, but 2D was pretty spectacular.

Our daughter was four- when she saw this and spent half the movie in one (or both) of our laps, or begging us to hold her ears closed while she shut her eyes. It was pretty scary to her.  She is six now and still doesn’t want to see it again.   

That’s why I think that older kids might get more of a kick out of this movie. The adults should like it too.

There are lots of cameos, and as mentioned the animation is stellar.

The direction is excellent too. I had a hard time believing this was a first time director. The whole movie moves along at a snappy pace. I don’t think that it is much over an hour forty.

Don’t get up immediately after the credits roll. They cut back several times to the story.

Total Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Get it at Amazon: Monster House [Blu-ray]

I want to get this in Blu-ray.  As I said some of the shots in the theater looked almost 3D.  I bet it would really pop in 1080p.  It looks pretty good on DVD though. 

For more information, check out IMDB

I thought the whole movie was spot on.  It’s funny, gorgeously animated, and moves at a steady clip.  All the voice work is excellent, especially Jack Black who has had a tendency to annoy me in past roles. 

While this is a family movie, it may be a bit violent for young children…  there are a lot of fight scenes.  That said, older kids, and kids at heart will eat this movie up along with their buttered popcorn.

Total Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Stick around through the credits.  They tell a little bit about what happens beyond the movie.  Also there is a very touching, but short bit after the credits are done… in other words, there is a SECRET ENDING to KUNG FU PANDA!  I know, not as exciting as the secret ending to Iron Man.  But there you go. 

The plot concerns Indy looking for some crystal skulls with some of his friends. The myth is that the skulls need to be returned to their original resting place, and that the person who does so will be given powers beyond belief. It’s pretty standard Indy plot in that respect.

I may spoil some surprises here, so if you haven’t seen the movie, please stop reading.
If you take the scenes individually, there is a lot to like about this movie. There are some pretty spectacular stunts, voracious ants, deadly snakes, waterfalls, villains, etc. etc., and the movie really catches your eyes from beginning to end. Oh, there is also an atomic bomb blast. But I think that in going for spectacle, the makers of Indy 4 lost the heart of what made the first and third films so very wonderful: the magic and myth of a great story, a tightly worded script and characters that you could root for and against.

In several spots, during this film, I caught myself thinking ahead, and invariably I was right. For example, 1) Bad lady with a sword. 2) Kid who likes playing with knives… surely these two shall meet in a dashing fight of steel against steel. And of course, the heroes are being chased while driving a car that looks like a boat on wheels. Where do you, oh reader, think this chase is going to end?

And this was the first Indy I can recall that stepped into a big puddle of cheese. Even Harrison Ford looked embarrassed when he uttered the line: “The skull told me.”

The cheese occurs again later when a “friend” of Indy’s falls over for no apparent reason and Indy has to use his whip in a completely “non-save” situation that immediately develops into a “save” situation. It’s supposed to occur the other way around guys!

Finally, this is the second climax to a movie recently that was just so-so for me. Remember what a big letdown National Treasure was ultimately when it came to the payoff? It felt that way with Indy IV. I wasn’t impressed with the climax at all.
Please understand me that I really enjoyed 85% of this movie. It is still better than most of the summer movies I’ve seen, especially counting was a horrible summer last year turned out to be quality wise. I guess I just hold Indy to a higher standard. I saw the first movie when I was in first grade, so in a sense I grew up with Indy. The first movie is perfection… it was nominated for a best picture for gosh sakes. The third movie was almost as good.  In my heart and in my mind Indy was always this amazing creature, this thing on a pedestal. It’s sad to see his legacy tarnished by such an imperfect finish.

So, in order then:  Raiders, Last Crusade, Crystal Skull, Temple of Doom

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

You might have read Kevin’s review of Iron Man or seen the post spoiling the secret ending of the movie, but this weekend I got a chance to go see the movie and decided to share my experience. From the very first minute, I loved this movie. Robert Downey Jr. was the most perfect Tony Stark I could imagine. This movie was a great superhero movie and had many things in it that the casual watcher might not realize.

When Obadiah Stane built his monster armor, it’s name was Iron Monger. I just thought I’d share that. There was of course the Avengers bit at the end, but who noticed when Roades looks over at the silver armor and says “next time” after Tony Stark has just flown off to action. That means we could be seeing Rhodes in the War Machine suit in the next movie. Director Jon Favereau has said that is the supposed plan.

Oh and the terrorist group The Ten Rings was a shot out of sorts to the original Iron Man villian Mandarin who had ten magic rings that gave him a variety of powers. The group leader is seen playing with an elaborate gold ring with a red jewel.

In the end, this is an awesome comic movie that I feel easily rivals Batman Begins. It’s probably one of the best ones of all time.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

This weekend I had rented Appleseed Ex-Machina for my daughter who really wanted to see it. I had seen a couple previews for it and although I’m not really into anime that much, decided to check it out. It turned out to be a very good decision on my part because this was an excellent movie.

Based on the manga of creator Shirow Masamune and directed by Shinji Aramaki, this movie also had significant input from producer John Woo (a name you should know.) The movie takes place in a rebuild futuristic city called Olympus long after a great nuclear war has ravaged the earth. When cyborg terrorist, deadly nanotech viruses, and rioting citizens start gitting the city, the famed E.S.W.A.T. unit must fight to save it.

While this movie was not tradition anime, but rather computer-generated anime…it was still top notch. It was some of the best animation I’ve ever seen and the action was just classic John Woo. I’d say rent it for sure and if your a fan then it’s definitely worth a purchase.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

In the theater I went to, there was a trailer for Indy IV, and a brand new trailer for Batman! They both looked amazing. Usually when I see trailers for movies I am totally psyched for, I spend part of the movie thinking about them.. not in the case of Iron Man. The movie held my attention from beginning to end. It’s just a shade over two hours, and really, not one minute is wasted.

The only negative thing I have to say is that it is a bit predictable as far as a couple of key plot points go. Also, there are a couple of brief moments where the laws of physics break down. Since this is a summer movie, I have to let those quibbles slide.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars