Reviews

Billed as "X-Men meets Literature", LXG is in good hands. Director Stephen Norrington (Blade) has assembled quite the cast, led by Sean Connery, who is still believable as an action star, even in his early 70's. As far as the rest of the cast goes, performances are good to okay. Shane West as Agent Thomas Sawyer feels unnatural, as he was just thrown in to appease American audiences. Peta Wilson is sexy and leathal as Mina Harker, Dracula's "bride." Townsend brings a dark, yet likable personality to Grey, Shah is great as the ninja-like Captain Nemo, Curran provides funny moments as the invisible man, and Flemyng is great as the tortured Jekyel/Hyde.

The action is great. Probably the best part of the film. Especially the final act, which contains some great fight/shooting sequences. The opening is also pretty cool. The movie does drag its feet for the first 40 minutes, but then kicks into high gear and doesn't really let off. Some twists are rather predictable, but it is forgivable for providing great showdowns later on. Mr. Hyde looks great, and will no doubt be comparred to "Hulk" as far as CGI goes, although he looks more real then the Hulk did. Infact, the special effects as a whole are really, really good. Watch the Venice sequence and you'll see what I mean.

For the bad stuff. The dialogue was awfully hokey at times, although not enough to bring the film down. Still, a lot of lines feel forced and out of place. I wasn't extremely pleased with the ending-ending, but it works and isn't a bad ending, just not as good as I would've hoped. Some parts are a little slow as well. And any twists that happened were predictable for the most part.

Overall, it is definately worth seeing after a slew of dissapointing movies so far this summer. However, if you have to choose between this and "Pirates", go with the latter, as it provides more fun overall. I DO reccommend seeing LXG, especially if you're a comic book fan (especially X-Men.) It is a good movie with some flaws that, if polished up, would've been a great movie.

FINAL SCORE: 7 out of 10 (Flawed comic-book movie is still good if you don't expect too much.)

That's right, "Pirates" manages to be an epic, entertaining movie on all levels. I was in shock at how good the movie actually turned out to be. It has all the formulas for success: a great cast (Depp is perfect, and everybody else is more than up to par.), fantastic visuals (with help from ILM), and a great story. Being the first Walt Disney movie (under the Disney banner) to be given a PG-13 rating, I was surprised at how violent the movie was. While it is nowhere near an 'R' rating, definately not a PG rating either. Parents, think twice before bringing the younger ones.

I can't think of too many complaints. Humor and action were well-balanced. I suppose some more sword-fighting would've been nice, but a minor gripe with an otherwise fantastic action-adventure. Compared to recent summer movies that weren't really all that good (Terminator 3, Matrix Reloaded, Hulk), it was nice to see another movie that, while no X2: X-Men United, manages to blow you out of the water! Hopefully, it will equally share the wealth with LXG (another great movie) when both open this week!

FINAL SCORE: 7.5 out of 10 (Great action-adventure will blow you out of the water!)

Ugh! This movie is pure crap! I saw it for free and I regret every second of it. I've had surgical procedures done that were a lot more entertaining then this pile of rubbish. The plot (is there one?) follows Kelly and Justin hooking up in Florida on Spring Break. That's it. These two have ZERO chemistry, ZERO acting talent, and OVERRATED singing talent. If this movie even makes its budget back, then you know that somebody sold their soul to Satan. Definately a forerunner for absolute worst movie of the year, and frankly, I can't think of anything that looks worst, out already or otherwise. Even you if absolutely were OBSESSED with the show, DO NOT see this! I'm warning you! Use the money to buy the ticket and purchase a seat to see "The Hulk" instead. Hopefully, these "idols'" 15 minutes are about up.

Final Score: 0.0 out of 10 (They should show this to classes on how NOT to make a movie. Probably used as a form of torture to P.O.W.s)

Rob Reiner has been on a slump. Since "The American President," he has failed to make a really good romantic comedy. That slump will continue with "Alex & Emma," a movie with good ideas, but lacks the execution. The biggest problem is there is ZERO chemistry between the two leads. Honestly, if they'd had two leads with better chemistry (such as Hugh Jackman and Ashley Judd of "Someone Like You") the movie would've scored much higher. Luke Wilson and Kate Hudson are enjoyable to watch, but there are zero sparks between them. The movie does seem a little long, and the build-up is awfully slow. It also isn't very funny, which hurts. If you were planning on seeing this, go rent "Two Weeks Notice" or "Someone Like You" instead and watch how a good romantic comedy should be done. This will be worth a look once it hits DVD.

Final Score: 4.9 out of 10 (Unfunny comedy with zero chemistry)

Personally, I'm a huge martial arts fan, so it is always nice to see a new movie with that genere. After viewing "Romeo Must Die" and "Exit Wounds" the night before, I had myself pumped up. Yes, I had high expectations for this flick. Did it deliever? Heck, yeah! This movie is definately a highlight for Li, who has struggled to make a decent American flick (excluding "Kiss of the Dragon") since "Lethal Weapon 4." DMX is very charismatic and I see him going places, as he is a rapper who can actually act (unlike Eminem). The fight scenes are well done, especially Jet Li fighting various fighters in an octagon (UFC fans will know what I'm talking about.) The final fight scene between Jet Li and Mark Dacascos (a very, very talented martial artist-check out the excellent "Brotherhood of the Wolf") is amazing, although it could've been a lot better all the same. I didn't like how it would cut to random fights. Also, be sure to watch the credits for tons of inside jokes (Exit Wounds fans who watched the credits will get them.) Overall, GREAT action movie, and Jet Li continues to get better. The wait for "Hero" has never been so long.

To be honest, I'm not a big fan of heavy dramas, but this movie intrigued me because of the thriller aspects and mystery. While the movie excells in the last acts, it is a rather slow, time-consuming journey to it. Kevin Spacey proves that he is definately worthy of those Best Actor awards sitting on his trophey case. Kate Winslet gives her best performance since "Titanic" (even better I thought) and everybody else does a good job with their roles. I'm going to make a bold prediction and say that look for some best acting nods for this flick next year. Unfortunately, the sloppy script kept this from getting a higher score, and the fact that the movie feels too long also hurts. However, I urge people in need of a good mystery or excellent acting to check this flick out, at least once. FINAL SCORE: 5 out of 10 (Average flick, but a strong cast.)

Review: I didn't know what to make of Solaris when I heard about it. Eventually, the previews told me I should give this a chance (with movies like 8 Crazy Nights and Treasure Planet, my options were slim). However, this movie is actually decent, in a weird, erotic sort of way. Clooney proves that he can stretch his acting range as a pyschologist dealing with the death of his wife, which he blames himself for (she committed suicide.) Imagine arriving to a ship and going to sleep, only to wake up with your wife who has been dead for years. Weird, eh? This movie does get REALLY slow at times, which in part is necessary for tension, but at times it draaaaaaaaaaaags. If you're not a fan of non-action sci-fi movies, then skip this. This is a movie that makes you think, but the violence level is zero. No action, unless you count sex. The performances are strong by the supporting cast. The ending is weird as well. You WILL have to watch this more then once to appreciate it. I'll appreciate it again when it comes to DVD next year.

Final Score: 6.4 out of 10 (A decent sci-fi flick that relies more on thought then action. However, that could turn off most people who need that boost of action in their films.)

Review: I know what you're saying: "I've never heard of this movie." Well, start learning, junior, because this movie blows other sci-fi romps out of the water. A lot better then the overrated Minority Report and very well one of THE best movies of the year. The plot actually manages to follow a straight line and doesn't branch off into useless side-plots that many other sci-fi movies take to "confuse" the auidience, although some minor twists come that you may or may not see coming. The action sequences are AMAZING. Imagine a swordfight, but with guns. This, and many other sequences, keep this movie on a roller coaster thrill ride. I liked the blending of action and story, and it did NOT become cheesy, even for a movie with a mediocre budget (the movie even LOOKS good.) Sean Bean had a great, if short role, and Watson is at her soulful best. Diggs makes a good adversery, and Bale proves that he is a GREAT action star. If you put "The Matrix" and "1984" into a blender, this is the result. Go see this movie, as it is only running on a limited release and may disappear (Austin Powers is PROOF that people would pay to see crap rather then decent movies.)

Final Score: 8.5 out of 10 (A near-perfect sci-fi flick. After a slow begining, the story (and action) sky rocket!)

DIE ANOTHER DAY starring Pierce Brosnan, Halle Berry, Toby Stephens Rated PG-13. Running time 132 minutes.

PLOT:The story begins in the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea with a spectacular high-speed hovercraft chase and continues via Hong Kong to Cuba and London where Bond meets up with the two ladies who are to play such important and differing roles in his quest to unmask a traitor and to prevent a war of catastrophic consequence. Hot on the trail of the principle villains, Bond travels to Iceland where he experiences at first hand the power of an amazing new weapon before a dramatic confrontation with his main adversary back in Korea where it all started...

REVIEW: Let me put your fears at rest: this Bond rocks! From opening to close, you will be on the edge of your seat. As a Bond fanatic, I especially loved the clever references to all the classic Bond films. While I won't spoil them for you, I'll just say that every Bond movie is at least referred to once (some more then that, although I'm sure I missed something.) Everybody does fantastic in their roles, and I'd be more then happy if Halle Berry did get her own movie as "Jinx." Toby Stephens and Rick Yune do a good job of portraying the newest Bond villians, and John Cleese has assumed the role of Q nicely. While we will always miss Desmond, Cleese was the perfect choice to take over the role as his exchanges with Brosnan provide some of the best comic relief in the film. The action sequences are spectacular, especially the sword fight between Bond and Gustav Graves (Stephens.) The sound for this movie rocks (I was in a THX-equipped theater, so it sounded even better.) Try to see this at a higher-scale movie theater with excellent sound systems, so you can feel the explosions. My biggest complaint was that the movie went too quick. The story could've slowed down a little so you could learn more about the characters (especially Michael Madsen as Falco.) As with a fine wine (and all other Bond flicks), this will get better with age. What makes Bond so great is you can watch most of his films (sans "Diamonds Are Forever" and "A View To A Kill") and still like it just as much the first time you watched it. While it is too early to determine if this is THE best Bond film (I still really loved "GoldenEye," as 006 was the perfect villian,) I can assure you it will place very highly on your lists as it did mine. Overall, stop reading this review and go to the theater, NOW!!! Bond and action-adventure fans alike, this movie will not dissapoint. I just hope it can get the attention it deserves, having to contend with a certain boy wizard (the overrated Harry Potter.)

FINAL SCORE: 9 out of 10 (Awesome Bond flick! One of the best in the entire series! 007 has no equal...take that Triple X!)