Reviews
The Dark Knight (2008)
Don't believe the hype...
Seriously, don't walk in thinking your mind is gonna blow. Don't sit there every moment waiting for the next moment to be the most awesome moment in your life. Don't do that, and this WILL be one of the best movies you've ever seen.
It's everything a movie should be, and more. I was skeptical of Ledger's performance going in... people were raving about his performance and I was thinking it was just because of his death, but honestly... all the actors did amazing, including Ledger.
A very real, gritty, yet still true to Batman story. Much of the story really hit home. It's dark, sometimes depressing, disturbing, yet humanity really shines through. I don't say this lightly, but honestly this is one of the best movies ever made. It's not perfect, but I still rate it a 10 because it's really close on all aspects: everything from direction, lighting, acting, writing, to special effects, music, plot, pacing, length, costuming. The list could go on forever.
Hancock (2008)
Not bad!
Lots of people, including the critics, are ragging on this film. Seriously, what did they expect? It's a Hollywood blockbuster with Wil Smith in. Get over it, turn your brain off, and sit back and enjoy the ride.
For what it was, I thought it pretty good. It was entertaining, took a unique take on the superhero thing, and didn't have an overt number of huge gaping plot holes or completely blithe dialog.
If you're feeling like a Wil Smith movie, go for it. It's not as bad as they say... just don't expect any more than the typical Hollywood affair.
WarGames: The Dead Code (2008)
My insides hurt.
Some people seem to think this was the worst movie they have ever seen, and I understand where they're coming from, but I really have seen worse.
That being said, the movies that I can recall (ie the ones I haven't blocked out) that were worse than this, were so bad that they physically pained every sense that was involved with watching the movie. The movies that are worse than War Games 2 are the ones that make you want to gouge out your eyes, or stab sharp objects in your ears to keep yourself from having another piece of your soul ripped away from you by the awfulness.
War Games: The Dead Code isn't that bad, but it comes pretty close. Yes I was a fan of the original, but no I wasn't expecting miracles from this one. Let's face it the original wasn't really that great of a movie in the first place, it was basically just a campy 80s teen romance flick with some geek-appeal to it.
That's all I was hoping for, something bad, but that might have tugged at my geek-strings. Was that too much to ask for? Is it really not possible to do better than the original War Games, even for a straight to video release? Well apparently that was too much to ask for. Stay away from this movie. At first it's just bad, like "Oh yeah, this is bad, but I'm kind of enjoying it, maybe the end will be good like in the original." And then it just gets worse and worse, and by the end, trust me, you will wish you had not seen this movie.
WALL·E (2008)
What a movie should be...
I've rarely been impacted by a movie as much as Wall-E -- and considering that there's much less dialog in it than other movies I think it's a great credit to the people at Pixar. I felt a lot more for the little robotic guy than I ever have for Nicholas Cage or Liv Tyler, both of whom are supposedly human.
Seriously this is an excellent movie -- it has all the elements that make good movies so enjoyable, and it also causes us to stop and think about what we're doing to our planet. With the constant pointless drivel that Hollywood keeps pumping out these days it's nice to see something that's not only halfway decent, but really top notch.
I saw this one in the theater, on opening night, and it was one of the few times I've seen the majority of the audience applaud the film and then proceed to stay until the very end of the credits.
Worth paying for.