Wanted (R)
WALL-E (G)
The Incredible Hulk (PG-13)
Hancock (PG-13)
Journey to the Center of the Earth (PG)
Hellboy II: The Golden Army (PG-13)
Mamma Mia! (PG-13)
The Dark Knight (PG-13)
Kit Kittredge (G)
X-Files: I Want to Believe (PG-13)
Step Brothers (R)
Meet Dave (PG)
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (PG-13)
Swing Vote (PG-13)
Movie Reviews (Prior to April 2008) search by keyword
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (PG-13) starts off by telling the story of Chinese Emperor Han (Jet Li), a ferocious conqueror from 2000 years ago who was cursed by a witch named Zi Juan (Michelle Yeoh). The bulk of the action is set just after World War II, in 1946. Rick (Brendan Fraser) and Evie (previously played by Rachel Weisz, now recast as Maria Bello) O'Connell have settled into "retired" lives at their English country estate. The government calls them to one last mission, a courier trip to Shanghai with a large diamond that purportedly shows the way to Shangri-La. Their college-age son Alex (Luke Ford), meanwhile, has discovered the tomb of Emperor Han, and in relatively short order and at gunpoint, they end up raising the mummy. With help from Evie's brother Jonathan (John Hannah), they must stop Emperor Han before he can raise his army and take over the world again.
I've enjoyed all the Mummy movies so far, even the hilarious Scorpion King, and while this installment didn't really disappoint, it didn't quite match the thrill of the first or second movies. Maria Bello's performance took a while for me to get used to, in particular. The action sequences are impressive, with lots of (literal) fireworks, although the movie does tend to focus a bit more on Alex's relationship with a mysterious woman named Lin (Isabella Leong). All in all, it's an entertaining way to spend a weekend afternoon. Rating is for action adventure and violence, and just a bit of bad language. – Ashley Merrill
Swing Vote (PG-13) tells the story of Bud Johnson (Kevin Costner), a socially apathetic father, and how his one vote in the presidential election, because of an electronic error, is the deciding vote over who the next President. Republican incumbent Andrew Boone (Kelsey Grammer) is opposed by Democrat Donald Greenpeace (Dennis Hopper) and both are vying for this one vote with their campaign managers (Stanley Tucci, Nathan Lane) egging them on every step of the way. With the help of his daughter Molly (Madeline Carroll) and reporter Kate Madison (Paula Patton), he must become politically adept if he is going to choose the next leader of the free world.
This movie has a great message in one of the most important election years in American history, and that message is get out and vote because your one vote does make a difference. The character of Molly seems to have the firmest grasp of this concept, and she steals the show throughout the movie. The movie takes a very interesting concept and makes it into a very well put-together and well-acted dramady. It is certainly a movie worth watching in this election year just to reinforce the point that no vote is insignificant. Rating is for language. – Kenan Stewart
In Meet Dave (PG), Eddie Murphy plays an alien captain from another planet who is small enough to live in the head of a human-sized robot. He is accompanied by a host of other aliens who operate the robot's respective parts. In the process of trying to recapture a sphere used to transport salt, a necessary energy resource, to their home planet, Dave and the crew experience human emotions for the first time. Gabrielle Union also stars as a crew member.
I commend Murphy's performance in this movie for telling jokes without sexual innuendo or crude or foul language, something you would have never expected from a comedian known for such things in earlier films. – Jon Therrien
The X-Files: I Want to Believe (PG-13) picks up in the present day, ten years after the last movie and six after the conclusion of the television series. When an FBI agent goes missing and a grizzled defrocked priest (Billy Connolly) claims a psychic connection to the woman, Agent Whitney (Amanda Peet) and her partner (Xzibit) call in their go-to guys on the paranormal. Former agent Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) has pursued her medical career in the interim, and when approached, is reluctant to draw former agent and her former partner Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) back into the life. His last interaction with the FBI found him sentenced to death at the end of a sham trial. However, in the interests of finding the girl alive, all those sins are forgiven, and soon Mulder and Scully are back together, tromping through the snow and uncovering the unnatural.
Even if you've never seen an episode of the series, you can pretty easily watch this movie. Long-time viewers and fans will catch a few in-jokes meant only for them, too. However, if you're interested in what all the X-Files hype is about, I'd suggest you start with Season 3 and view the second movie as a sort of extra episode at the end of the series. Although I found the relationship-centered aspects of the movie exciting (Mom didn't), the plot itself isn't too bad, but it pales in comparison to some of the series' better episodes. Rating is for some gruesome and disturbing scenes, and some language. -- Ashley Merrill
As the latest comedy to come from the Judd Apatow production family, Step Brothers (R) tells the tale of how 40-year-old slackers Brennan Huff (Will Ferrell) and Dale Doback (John C. Reilly) are suddenly thrust into each other’s lives as Brennan’s mother (Mary Steenburgen) and Dale’s father (Richard Jenkins) get married and the four move in together. Brennan and Dale seem content to be enemies for life, but their mutual dislike for Brennan’s younger brother, Derek (Adam Scott), makes them forget their differences and become best friends and true brothers.
I am not personally a huge Will Ferrell fan because he tends to go for the easy joke in many of his movies, but Step Brothersshowed a side not seen very often by Ferrell films, and that is his wit. The acting by Ferrell and Reilly is very clever, because there are several gags in this movie that play on the nature of children and how a child would act if one of his parents were to get remarried after a divorce, whether it be eating chicken tenders while the “grown-ups” eat a real meal or asking permission if they can make bunkbeds, when in fact, they are 40 and would need to ask permission for such things. The movie is very clever in that aspect, and I was pleasantly surprised as I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. The movie has heavy language throughout and strong sexual content, including one scene of nudity. -- Kenan Stewart
Mamma Mia! (PG-13) What a movie! This is one I really liked. It had me singing, tapping my toes and laughing. Even the youngsters that had seen the movie were singing after it was all over.
The plot is based on the Broadway musical made up of ABBA songs. Set on a Greek island, a young girl, Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) on the eve of her wedding has decided to find out who her real father is. She invites all three of her mother Donna’s (Meryl Streep) ex-loves to the wedding, after reading about them in her mother's steamy diary. With the arrival of Sam (Pierce Brosnan), Bill (Stellan Skarsgard) and Harry (Colin Firth) all hell breaks loose. Donna must not only deal with the impending nuptials but also the re-emergence into her life of three very different--and now older former flames, one of whom is her true love. Helping her through the ordeal are her two best friends, Rosie (Julie Walters)
Donna, who was once the lead singer in a girl group called Donna and the Dynamos, now busies herself with running a rustic hotel and clucking over her young daughter's wedding. 20-year-old Sophie is set to marry her love, Sky (Dominic Hooper), but dreams of having her father give her away. Unfortunately, she has no idea who her father is.
The only way the two of them can deal with the stress is by bursting into song and dance, accompanied by a Greek chorus of villagers and by their best friends. But they are not the only ones. Everyone (and I mean everyone) gets their chance to dig into the ABBA music as the story becomes more fantastic, more silly. However, if you're willing to just "go with it", "Mamma Mia!" becomes a fun and joyous movie.
If you like musicals, even silly ones, and you enjoyed ABBA music when you were young, then “Take a Chance” on “Mamma Mia! Don’t leave early, there are a few more very funny scenes as the credits roll.
This movie is PG-13, mostly for its sexual humor. – Lucy Brower
"Mamma Mia" is the feel-good movie of 2008! The movie stars Meryl Streep as Donna, mother of Sophie played by Amanda Seyfried. Just prior to her wedding day, Sophie invites three of her mother's old flames to her wedding in the hopes of recognizing one of them as her father. Needless to say, Donna was surprised and reluctant to see her old lovers played by Pierce Brosnan as Sam, Colin Firth as Harry and Stellan Skarsgard as Bill. What happens next is an hour and a half of sheer mayhem, chocked full of singing, dancing, romancing and pure delight! What a hoot to watch Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan and the rest of the cast singing the music of ABBA. Christine Baranski as Tanya and Julie Walters as Rosie, are delightful and hilarious as Donna's former back-up singers and best friends.
Ladies, this is the show to see, regardless of what movie critics say. "Mamma Mia" will put a sparkle in your eyes, a song in your heart and will demand that you put your dancing shoes on (or better yet, take them off) and dance the night away!
So who's the daddy? You'll have to see the movie to find out! The movie is rated PG-13 for some sex-related comments (and perhaps when Bond, James Bond, takes his shirt off!) – Pat Turner
Kit Kittredge (G) opens with a scene of a foreclosure sign being driven into a person's front lawn. Times are hard, it is spring of 1934 and the great depression is taking its toll on Kit Kittredge's (Abigail Breslin) world. Shortly into the film, Kit's father, Jack Kittredge (Chris O'Donnell), looses his car sales business and moves to Chicago to find work. Her mother (Julia Ormond) takes in boarders to make ends met.
Intertwined into the story of the hardships of the Kittredge family is the tale of hobos, who have set up camp near Kit's house. The movie is not without the element of mystery and of course, all is right with the world by the time the film ends.
One thing I liked about the movie was its ability to cause me to empathasize with people had lived through the Great Depression.
I have a three-and-a-half year old daughter and this movie will someday make a great experience for the two of us, but not until she's a little older. - Jon Therrien
The Dark Knight (PG-13) picks up soon after Batman Begins' ending. Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) is keeping a close eye on the newly elected Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), a district attorney who seems intent on reforming Gotham, and who has also caught the eye of Rachel Dawes (recast as Maggie Gyllenhaal instead of Katie Holmes, this time). When Bruce finally decides he can trust Dent, he and Lieutenant Gordon (Gary Oldman) start working on systematically taking down the mob. Enter Heath Ledger in his final, dark role, as the completely psychotic and incredibly violent Joker. The Joker approaches the mob, now led by Salvatore Maroni (Eric Roberts) with a simple plan: kill Batman. For the rest of the movie that's just what The Joker does: everything he can to undermine Batman's public image and destroy him.
This movie is incredibly, relentlessly dark. Practically every scene that involves The Joker has someone die in a usually horrific way, and Harvey Dent's transformation into Two-Face is equally tragic. While it is a very good movie, with some especially breathtaking visual effects, I wouldn't suggest taking anyone under the age of fifteen to this movie, as I feel it just barely skirts an R rating. Even if you do take your fifteen year old, know that even a sage adult might find it disturbing. Rating is for intense sequences of violence and some menace. – Ashley Merrill
Journey to the Center of the Earth – is a theme park thrill ride for the price of admission to a 3-D movie.
Brendan Fraser plays a university professor who is continuing his late brother’s work, trying to prove the possibilities of Jules Vernes’ theories as laid out in his book, Journey to the Center of the Earth. When his brother’s son comes for a visit and seismic indicators unveil a chance to find the theoretical tubes that lead to the center of the earth, the two jet away to Iceland. They meet up with the daughter of another late “believer,” and the three are off to, well, you know.
The mine car ride, the flying fish, and the T-Rex make the most of the 3-D effects, and if you don’t duck away at some, you must have your eyes closed.
The plot won’t amaze you with twists, as yes the impossible happens and our heroes survive one harrowing adventure after another, but if you don’t get too analytical, I found it to be fun.
There is no language or nudity, and while the “monsters” get a little close and come out of the screen at you, I think most young teens will enjoy the “ride,” as did this older more than teen. – Barry Merrill
Hellboy II: The Golden Army (PG-13) is Ron Perlman's second movie as the large red demon fighting for the forces of good. Hellboy is in a tumultuous relationship with his fellow paranormal investigator Liz Sherman (Selma Blair), and chafing under the secrecy of his organization, the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense. The unit's leader, Tom Manning (Jeffrey Tambor), retaliates to Hellboy's latest, virtually unspinnable publicity stunt by calling in a foreign agent, Johann Krauss, to keep him in line. Hellboy and his fellow agents are investigating a strange robbery perpetrated by Prince Nuada (Luke Goss), whose aging father is the only force keeping the huge and impervious Golden Army in check. Nuada's goal is a war to end all wars against humanity itself, and only Hellboy and his friends can stop it.
This movie, as the first, was directed by Guillermo del Toro, who also directed Pan's Labyrinth. In my opinion, the sets and creatures were even more fantastic and carefully rendered than the first movie, and many of the scenes are quite stunning. Perlman reprises his role with vigor as the brash, sometimes gruff Hellboy, but the plot centers even more on Hellboy's relationship with those around him, and the balance he, Abe, and Liz find in a world that needs them, even though it fears them. Rating is for action, violence, and some language, but nothing too terrible.
The movie Wanted (R) is the story of Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy), an account manager whose life seems to be going nowhere. He has a boss he can’t stand in a job he despises, his girlfriend is cheating on him with his best friend, and he has panic attacks due to severe stress. All of this changes however, when he is rescued from the mundane by Fox (Angelina Jolie), a member of the Fraternity of Assassins, which is headed by a man named Sloan (Morgan Freeman). Wesley is recruited into the Fraternity to kill a rogue Fraternity member (Thomas Kretschmann) who killed Wesley’s estranged father. Wesley has to undergo intense training in order to avenge his father and take control of his own life, or else he must die trying.
This movie is stunning to watch with slow-motion action sequences in the styles of The Matrix and 300. The viewer also needs to be aware that the rules of physics do not apply in this movie whatsoever. The action sequences are intense, with strong, bloody violence throughout. There is also strong language throughout and some sexual situations not appropriate for young viewers. - Kenan Stewart
WALL-E (G) I expected a great film from Pixar, but got a good film instead.
Our hero is a little robot named WALL-E, who bears a more-than-passing resemblance to No. 5, the much larger robot in "Short Circuit." WALL-E (that's short for Waste Allocation Land Lifter Earth-Class, in other words he is a trash compactor) is alone on Earth, the last of his model. All humans have fled to outer space to escape their own pollution. There is a important message in there.
WALL-E is all alone but a pet cockroach for a friend. Day in and day out for hundreds of years, WALL-E diligently collects mountains of trash, compacts it and stacks it in skyscraperlike towers to the sky. In his brief spare time, he watches an old video of "Hello, Dolly" and dreams of what it would be like to be in love. Yes, WALL-E is a robot with feelings and emotions.
Then comes in a robot of unknown origin, an egg-shaped cutie whose unsubtle name, we later learn, is EVE. WALL-E can’t quite say EVE, what we get is EVA. Their meeting is cute, as EVE tries to blast him and pretty much anything else that moves. But soon he is making goggle eyes at her, she is blinking her LEDs at him and Louis Armstrong is singing "La Vie en Rose."
It's sweet, funny and altogether glorious, and it remains spectacular when the story blasts off into outer space. WALL-E is there to save EVE, but ends up saving the Earth by getting the humans to return to Earth after 700 years. But first the humans must get past their own laziness and obesity, another important message that is likely to zoom over the heads of younger viewers who are there to see the cute robot.
The character WALL-E so loveable, how could anyone not like this film. The animation is brilliant, and the details, almost without fail, are exactly right. Overall, I wasn’t happy with the story line once they reached outer space, but it was a good movie to go see with my granddaughter, because she loved it, but she is only 3 years old. - Lucy Brower