Starring Tilda Swinton, Georgie Henley, William Moseley, Skandar Keynes and Rupert Everett, this movie is two hours and fifteen minutes long.  It is rated PG and is okay for everyone althoug some of the scenes might be too intense for children under the age of 6.

The Chronicles of Narnia is based on the series of books written by CS Lewis.  This is the first in the series of the books.  It is about a group of children who are sent to the safe haven of a professor to wait out the end of the war, and hopefully stay safe.  The movie begins with planes bombing the children and the homes around them so their mother sends them off, like many other children into the homes of strangers who are willing to give war torn children refuge.  Lucy, the youngest, discovers a wardrobe that leads to a magical land.  The land of Narnia is torn between the evil tyrrany of the white witch or the snow queen, and the protective warmth of of Aslan, the heroic lion.  All of the children enter the wardrobe, Peter (the oldest), Susan, Edmund, and Lucy, to find that they are the answer to a prophecy, a prophecy to end the reigh of the queen.  After trechory, traitors, worry, sadness, forgiveness and war things come to a head and the real winner and hero is revealed, is it Aslan, the children or the White Witch?  Well, you have to watch the movie for those answers.

This movie has a lot of computer generated scenes, and some which were not computer generated.  There are many talking animals and it is obvious that they are not really there, but this rarely takes away from the beauty and the scenery of the movie.  The action is well plotted out, even when most of those fighting are not human, and not really there.  Some of the computer generated people/animals are really well done, and sometimes surprisingly so, as was the case of the lion, Aslan.  He was well created and I wondered at one point if there was a real lion involved. 

Issues I had with the movie were that one scene was not as well done as the rest.  It involved Ice and an unfreezing river.  The water was so blue that it was obvious to be that it was fake and in a tub, that scene was not as realistic as I would have hoped and made me laugh a little.  Another problem I had was the character of Lucy, the girl that played her acted quite well, but everytime she cried there were no real tears, which made it seem, well, like acting, and very insincere.  If you are going to have a character cry, at least place a few drops of water on their face so that it looks like they were actually crying.  Geez.

I reccommend this movie to a lot of people.  Children will enjoy it because it has a lot of action and animals and they can see it.  Adults will enjoy it because it is some good clean fun without swear words, plus if you read the books you might enjoy this version of the book, it is better than the cartoon version I watched when I was in grade school, and much more fun. 

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To watch a film once is to enjoy it. Take in the story and the main effects. When you walk into a theater and sit to watch a 2 hour long flick, or rent a DVD to enjoy with a few friends, you are always expecting to get your moneys worth. As we all know nothing in this world comes for free.  Yet in the case of some movies their should be a law stating satisfaction guaranteed or money back, seeing as how the majority of us must spend anywhere from 6 to 10 dollars on 2 hours worth of entertainment. As there is no such law as precedented yet, let me be the first to save you some hard earned cash. If you are looking for a movie that has a well thought out plot, entertainment value worth your money, and an all round memorable experience SEEK elsewhere. The Seeker is based on a novel, that i must admit i have not had the pleasure of reading. Yet one can only assume that if it was good enough to be noticed by the public, and famous enough to intrigue the great producers of Hollywood; than one can only wonder what happened between the creative process from novel to screenplay to the hour and a half of foggy drivel flickering on the screen before me.The young Alexander Ludwig plays our preteen hero Will Stanton.  Set in England, in a gloomy little town, this movie is as bland as it’s setting. Alexander’s over all acting was well done, he actually help bring the movie up at times. The problems withthis movie have very little to do with the acting and everything to do with the writing and overall set-up of the movie. Brad and Angie couldn’t have pulled this one off. Lost societies, deviling demons, black magic, and jumping through time and space at some very unusual points, is about the only captivating effect on screen. but don’t worry it wares off soon enough.   

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Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets comes back to fight an evil doing in school. The trio Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint have another adventure in Hogwarts. This fantasy movie will take you on a wild ride.

An evil has plagued the school of its students. It is up to Harry and his friends to find out who is plotting these evil schemes. Harry finds himself facing the idiotic but handsome Gilderoy Lockhart, Defense Aganist the Dark Arts teacher. Snape has yet to prove that he is still watching Harry for the “good” against Lord Voldemort. The funniest scenes are where Ron says, “Why follow the spiders, why not foloow the butterflies.” Harry and Ron without Hermione’s help get themselves into a mess when they take Hagrid’s advice. Harry soon finds the meaning of the Chamber of Secrets when he learns of his ability to speak Parseltounge (snake language) to open the Chamber. Harry finds himself in a position where his friends are for him.

The director made it flow all together. The scenes were not choppy and went into parts. For example, the movie followed the books overall in the beginning where Harry is in his aunts and uncles house and then he gets svaed by his friend Ron Weasley. Overall, the scenes had a great flow through them.

If this movie was not great I would not have watched it 500 times. Yes I counted, I wasted my freshman summer watching Harry Potter and having my mom yell at me to get off. This movie had twists and turns and you can follow Harry through his adventures. I think Daniel Radcliffe will continue to grow more and more.

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Chronicles of Narnia Prince Caspian stars William Moseley and Ben Barnes in another fantasy sequel to the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe.  This fantasy film takes you on a ride of your life.

The story starts out in Narnia when a child is born and Prince Caspian leaves before he is killed by his greedy uncle who wants to take over the throne. His mentore gives him a horn in which he blows before going into darkness. The four Pensieve children are waiting to go to their new home in England when the train roles by and explodes leaving them to enter the world of Narnia. Little do they know a war is stirring in Narnia against Narnians and Telmarines.

The direction of the film had a funny aspect to it. For example, jokes were made when Caspian encounters a talking badger. The badger replies, “What you’ve never seena  badger before?” Caspian is shocked to find that badgers could talk.

The movie itself was had the two actors competing against each other. For example, hot headed Peter wanted to lead everyone into battle while Caspian suggested that they wait to strategize. Peter looses his cool and draws his sword out. When all goes wrong for Peter; he tries to blame Caspian and the two end up sword fighting. Aslan (the Lion) was meant to represent Jesus Christ. The bibliogical aspect made it seem a tad boring but was picked up when the fighting scenes came on.

Overall, this movie is funny and dark and quite exciting when you have two hot actors battling it out for the attention. The four small children no longer small will be the next big hit after Harry Potter series.

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In perhaps Disney’s most original and unorthodox animated release, Lilo and Stitch is at once a wonderfully entertaining, humerous and touching film. The film focuses on a small Alien creation known as “Experiment 626″, later named “Stitch” (voiced by creator, writer and co-director Chris Sanders) when adopted by troubled little Lilo (voiced by the adorable Daveigh Chase) on the island of Hawaii.

The film opens with 626 and his creator, Dr. Jumbah (voiced by David Ogden Stiers), on trial for Jumbah illegally creating him. The alien government concludes that 626 is a threat and is to be exiled to a distant asteroid or lifeless planet. However, 626 escapes in a red shuttlecraft and randomly punches in coordinates on its hyperdrive. The government tracks his course and realizes he will land on the small Hawaiian islands on Earth. In a delightful spin on Men in Black and other UFO tales, the aliens are unable to go to Earth in force to retrieve 626, because it is a “protected wildlife preserve” for mysquitos, which sets up a well-paid off explanation in the films final scenes. Jumbah is offered a parole for his crimes in exchange for tracking down his creation, and he immediately sets out for Earth along with Agent Pleakley (voiced by Kevin McDonald).

In the tradition of The Little Mermaid, the film finally goes to a wonderful opening titles sequence (about 10 minutes in), as we meet adorable little Lilo, who is running late for her hola-dancing class after swimming. She inadvertingly screws up the routine for everyone, and after being made fun of by a classmate, she unexpectedly jumps onto her and begins wailing on her. This is a unique Disney heroine, and we begin to realize that this isn’t your typical disney animated feature. After being repremanded, Lilo is told by her dance instructor to wait for her older sister, Nani (voiced by Tia Carrere) to pick her up. After being ignored and again made fun of by her classmates, Lilo begins walking home. Her sister comes running home looking for her, but is unable to get in, as Lilo has nailed the doors shut while she listens to depressing Elvis Presley music. When Nani yells for Lilo to let her in, she answers (in another unique disney moment) “Just leave me alone to die!”

As Nani tries to reprimand Lilo, a social servies worker named Cobra Bubbles (voiced by Ving Rhames) arrives to evaluate the troubled siblings home life. A series of humerous disasters ensues as the inspection occurs, complete with Lilo attempting voo-doo on her classmates. We quickly begin to discover the two sisters aren’t doing well at all living on there own since there parents death a short time ago. Bubbles leaves and informs Nani she has a few days to convince him she can look after her younger sister responsibly. Later on, as the two sisters share a tender moment (and where we learn of Lilo’s obsession with taking pictures of obese people), they see a green light and then hear an explosion. We cut to the crash site to see 626 running down to crater’s side and onto the road where he quickly draws four laser guns on a frog and then is hilariously startled when it starts to rain, and attempts to blast the rain drops. Moments later he is hit by a semi truck and brought to an animal shelter, and tries to disguise himself as a dog. Lilo ends up adopting him, and the two begin to form a unique, but special bond as 626 (now officially named Stitch) begins to ignore his programming and learn what it means to be in a family.

The remainder of the film never disappoints and is easily the most unique of Disney’s films. One delightful surprise after another occurs, leading to one of the most thrilling finales you could ever expect from a simple animated movie. It is a simple and adorable story about a troubled, lonesome little girl who befriends this creature, who learns to care for her as well. The overriding theme of the movie is family, and the Ohana phrase gets repeated about a half-dozen times. The characters are all unique and each scene has you trying to guess what will happen next. Probably the thing I love the most is that it is 2-D (aka hand-drawn animation) and didn’t overdue it with computer effects. As a result it looks like a wonderful children’s story brought to life, and one you want to revisit again and again and again.

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It seems strange in the era of a successfully rebooted Batman, Spiderman and Superman that the first really hugely-anticipated movie of the summer is Iron Man, a comparatively minor superhero. Although part of Marvel’s The Avengers series (super-rich Tony Stark bankrolls the project in certain incarnations) Iron Man’s appeal seems to hover somewhere around the cult level of a popular indie (say Spawn for comparisons sake). Whilst distinctly more popular in the U.S, over here in Blightly it seems that Iron Man’s meteoric box office success has been more down to film fans than comic fans. What then is its appeal? Why, other than a typically saturated media-onslaught from, in particular, Robert Downey Junior, has Iron Man been such a success? 

The reasons for this, I am sure, are extremely varied and multiple but one becomes clear about an hour or so into the film. Terrence Howard watches Downey Junior fly off in the Mark 3 suit before turning and looking at the Mark 2 and, with a wry smile, mouthing ‘next time’. It is here that Howard sums up the feeling of everybody sitting in the cinema, and I don’t just mean the fan boys. This is the flying suit you dreamed of as a kid, the fighting suit you dreamed of as a kid, the do-anything, go-anywhere suit you still dream of as an adult! It’s the ultimate boys (and girls) toy! 

Of course, terrific source material and the nous to bring it to the screen in such an appealing way isn’t the only reason Iron Man works so well. Director Jon Favreau brings a light, humour to proceedings ensuring the film is never afraid to poke a bit of fun at its own fictionality. Stark, for example, fights a running battle with his own robots who aren’t quite technologically advanced enough to clearly understand his own voice commands. Elsewhere there’s the barely controlled bubbling romance of Stark and his secretary, Pepper Potts, played here by Gwyneth Paltrow who obviously wasn’t willing to let Renee Zellwegger walk off with the award for most impossibly named, alliterative, love interest (Lexie Littleton in Leatherheads). Even though the two actors are ostensibly not doing anything they haven’t before, they do have an on-screen chemistry that bubbles between shy giggles and moody glances. 

There’s plenty here for the fan-boy in you to. The appearance of Agent Coulson and his agency which isn’t quite sure what to call itself runs along nicely parallel to the main event and comic devotees won’t be particularly surprised to find out just who it is that makes a post-credits cameo (stay in your seats, it’s well worth a watch). There are apparently plenty more of these little ‘Easter eggs’ subtly hidden within the make-up of the picture and whether this is just wishful thinking by people who have too much time on their hands or not it certainly makes repeat viewing a tad more interesting. 

Despite the fact that you can’t help but leave the cinema on a wave of euphoria, the type of which will transform your mundane Ford into the Batmobile, Iron Man isn’t quite an 100% success. The inevitable final battle between Jeff Bridges’ thinly disguised villain and Stark’s Iron Man doesn’t quite have the punch one expects after the film has built up to it so impressively. It’s a real disappointment, especially considering how tactfully Favreau handles the ‘damsel-in-distress’ element of the tale, managing to (just) avoid superhero cliché. Personally I find origin tales enthralling and I would have liked to have seen a bit more of Iron Man’s personal and physical development whereas the studio obviously worried that this could turn it into another X-Men and therefore quickly paces through the use of the Mark 2 suit. 

Despite these gripes however, Iron Man rises close to the heights of Batman Begins, without quite threatening to usurp it as probably one of, if not the, best comic book adaptation around. Rest assured however, it does provide Spiderman 3 with the trouncing it truly deserved, and it does it with a pretty wide grin on its face.

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Director Andrew Adamson returns us to the magical kingdom of Narnia where the four Pevensie siblings must once again defend the kingdom against a dark invader.

It has been one long year for the four Pevensie siblings since they accidently found themselves back in England after there magical trip to Narnia in 2005’s The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. One year for them, but 1300 years have passed in Narnia itself, and the land has come under the savage rule of the “Telmarines.” The film opens with Lord Miraz (Sergio Castellito) arranging an assasination attempt on his nephew, Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes), after his wife gives birth to a son. Miraz wants Caspian removed from the throne of Narnia so he can claim it for himself, and his own son would then be heir to the throne. Caspian is pursued by soldiers, but escapes into the woods of Narnia, where the Narnians have fled and hid since the human population nearly wiped them out years ago. This isn’t the same Narnia you will remember from Wardrobe a few years ago.

Before escaping, Caspian was given a mythical horn by Professor Cornelius (Vincent Grass), which turns out to be the horn used by Susan (Anna Popplewell) in the previous installment, and is told not to use the horn unless in dire need. Caspian is surrounded by his pursuers and found by two dwarves, Trumpkin (Peter Dinklage) and Nikabrik (Warwick Davis). Trumpkin rushes to distract the soldiers, and is captured. Nikabrik attempts to help Caspian, who startled at the sight of the dwarves, uses the magical horn. The film cuts to England, still involved in World War II, and we see the two brothers, Peter (William Moseley) and Edmund (Skander Keynes), in a fight with older boys in the train station. British soldiers break it up and the four siblings sit together waiting for the train. When Susan and Lucy (Georgie Henley) ask why he was fighting, Peter explains he can’t stand being treated like a child after being not only an adult, but a King in Narnia. Suddenly all four are brought back to Narnia, and find themselves on the sea shore where they find the great castle of Cair Paravel in ruins.

Meanwhile, Miraz has used the capture of Trumpkin to convince the other Lords that the Narnians have a secret army in the woods, and that they have abducted Caspian. Miraz vows to find Caspian and remove the Narnians forever. Caspian has found other Narnian creatures in the woods, and begun building an army to reclaim his throne and the world back for the Narnians. After struggling to find out what has happened to Narnia, the four Pevensie children (conviently) find there old clothes, weapons and trinkets left behind in the castle’s hidden treasure rooms. The Pevensie’s head out in search of Aslan (voiced by Liam Neesen) and answers. They stumble upon Miraz’s soldiers attempting to kill Trumpkin and save the dwarf, who then joins the children and helps them find Caspian and his hidden army. After joining forces, Peter proposes a daring and risky plan to try and defeat Miraz and his army.

The return trip to Narnia is a different, but enjoyable one. The film moves much faster than the previous film, which was burdened with setting up not only the four children’s roles, but all the mythology of Narnia as well. The action scenes are bigger, better and more frequent in this installment as well. The film is also unburdened by the heavy allegorical themes of the first movie, but I must admit it isn’t better off because of it. The first film was about the magic and wonderment of being a child, and what happens when you grow up. The themes are continued in this film, but not nearly as poignantly. Instead the film is much darker, and grittier as Narnia has fallen into a dark age since the four Pevensie’s left. Director Andrew Adamson does seem to be a lot more comfortable behind the camera, and with his four young leads. They all do an admirable job of continuing there individual character’s arc’s. Much like in the Harry Potter films, the main kids seem to be getting more comfortable as they go. Peter and Susan have the most poignant arcs in the movie, and without giving away the ending, there is a good reason for that. Edmund is sort of on the side-lines much of the movie, but does very well when he is on screen. Georgie Henley’s portrayal of Lucy stole the show in the first film, but never quite has the same look of wonder in her eyes in this film. She also spends large parts of the movie elsewhere, as the action scenes focus more on the older characters of Caspian, Peter and Susan.

The final third of the film is one big action scene after another and each gets you into it more than the last. Certain moments will no doubt conjure images of The Two Towers and other fantasy epics, but are also unqiue in there own way. For me the star of the movie was the little mouse warrior Reepicheep (voiced by Eddie Izzard) and I challenge anyone to not be tickled by every moment he is on screen. The film may not be as good as the charming first installment, but is still a fun and excting fantasy epic worth seeing, and I eagerly look forward to the next installment.

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“The Forbidden Kingdom” stars Jackie Chan, Jet Li and Michael Angarano. It’s directed by Rob Minkoff (The Lion King, Stuart Little 1 & 2, The Haunted Mansion) and written by John Fusco (Hidalgo).

An American teen who is overly familiar with marital art films, stumbles upon an ancient legendary stick that belonged to the legend known as the Monkey King. The stick sends him back to ancient China to bring the stick back to its rightful owner. Along the way he encounters friends, foes and falls in love.

Take Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon choreography, Jackie Chan’s Drunken Master character, and throw in a touch of The Neverending Story. That is the winning formula for The Forbidden Kingdom. An exciting, fun-to-watch, martial arts crowd-pleaser. It’s silly, but light-hearted and rarely heavy-handed. Everyone wants to know how well the fight scenes were. They were spectacular and very seldom were they mishandled. I like how the movie starts off in a violent and desolate world and shortly takes us to a much brighter world full of beautiful scenery, Kung Fu Masters and gorgeous women.

Although Jackie Chan and Jet Li show that age doesn’t faze a true Kung Fu Master, the real surprise here is Michael Augarano. I was really impressed by his Kung Fu skills once he conquered them. I also enjoyed the villain who uses her long white hair as a weapon. Goofy, smile-inducing antics are performed when these graceful fighters defy gravity, but it’s the fight scenes on-ground that are the most engaging and well-executed ones. Not to mention the scene where Jet Li and Jackie Chan square off is one of the best fight scenes I have seen in a while.

Overall, the storytelling drags a bit and it is a little scatterbrained. But does this really matter? It all comes down to the final showdown and the sight of these two great fighters in action. That is what everyone wants and that is what everyone gets. As far as entertainment goes, this one delivers with energy to spare.

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“Lara Croft: Tomb Raider” stars Angelina Jolie, Daniel Craig, and Jon Voight. It’s directed by Simon West (Con Air, The General’s Daughter). The story, written by Sara B. Cooper and Mark Werbis, was adapted from the popular video game.

The film introduces us to Lara Croft, a tomb raider who enjoys finding ancient artifacts and calming them as her own. Her mission is a dangerous one. She must infiltrate a secret cult society to retrieve two pieces to a old device used to stop time. This device, if put into the wrong hands, could destroy the world.

Think of it as an absent-minded Indiana Jones with a woman’s touch with the hot and sexy Angelina Jolie giving the film an attractive look. Our heroine looks skilled holding a gun as she slides, flips, and dives kicking butt around every corner. It seldomly uses its brain, but it definitely knows how to deliver well choreographed and stylishly over-the-top action sequences. Something I have a soft spot for and (when pushed correctly) gives me a adrenaline rush. Nearly every fight scene is executed and shot with grace and the film turns out to be beautiful to look at.

The plot line may be paper thin and very confusing, but it has a sensational amount of purely satisfying action scenes. A foolish and empty-headed popcorn flick with dialog that is much too simplistic for its very contrived story, yet it’s so good-looking. Although it overlaps the time limited for such silliness, it was still enjoyable for the most part and helped the film move along at a brisk pace. This deeply probed and highly flawed actioner, if taken too seriously, will become a nuisance rather than entertainment. I landed in the entertained zone.

It fails in creating interesting dialog, an incisive script, and even a plausible plot. On the other hand, its well choreographed fight scenes, good special effects, and sexy female lead (who looks stylish gripping a gun) have to be worth something. In fact, it was enough to win me over and earn my recommendation, leaving me looking forward to the sequel. Not to mention the film ended on a high note. Angelina Jolie was a perfect casting choice leading her to other over-the-top actioners like “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” and this years summer blockbuster “Wanted” that arrives in theaters late June. The Lara Croft series boosted her action career and I can certainly see why.

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The jet power sounds it out, “Heroes aren’t born… They’re built! And with high-octane fuel-efficient hot rod red, this one rockets up in a blaze of glory. He may crash a few times but that’s being more literal than you think. It’s all for a blaze of fun…”

This film starts off Marvel Studios’ line of hopes to become a major and sole production house for its library of characters and just before “The Incredible Hulk” hits theaters to revamp the unpopular predecessor in a few weeks. Though the Hulk shows promise, he’s been portrayed already and there lays the difference. Iron Man has never been an A-list comic hero at the same ranks of Spider-Man and so on, but the fundamental difference between any of a vast quantity of adaptations is that this is a character built rather than made or born and emphasizes that it’s the heart and soul that drives the most advanced of technological means. The film, like the suit, encompasses a complex and original storyline with heart to go along with its brains. Tony’s weakened heart has always been his Achilles heel, but it’s also what gets him out of trouble and inspires his re-build as this movie knocks off Hollywood’s summer season. The entertainment as opposed to the weapons industry will be looking at Iron Man’s flight stats against audiences hoping a strong summer season is possible after a somewhat bland spring. For the first time in a long time, a new and original hero to the big screen has blasted in the form of the first in a line of inevitable sequels.

His hand cradles a glass of Scotch on the rocks, as he rides in the back seat of a Humvee that’s rumbling across the Afghanistan desert and this all shows the power Tony Stark has. He’s the brilliant head of Stark Industries, the leading supplier of weapons to the U.S. military, and he converses comfortably with the soldiers who have been assigned to protect him during a trip to demonstrate his latest missile. They, in turn, are blown away with his high-flying ways, which in retrospect aren’t as high as they will be. “To peace!” he cheers with a raise of his glass but things soon go awry. The Humvee is attacked by insurgents and Tony is abducted into the hidden caves where all bad things must happen if it’s not a stone castle or base visible from space. While in captivity, with a battery attached to his heart to keep him alive, he’s ordered to construct a weapon of, assumingly, mass destruction. Is there any other with terrorists? Instead, with the help of the doctor who saved him he creates a suit of armor to become a weapon himself to escape.

Tony’s a changed man, and the changes to his life and company also bring its own share of enemies. His top executive with a shaved head and devilish goatee, Obadiah Stane, is appalled at Tony’s wish to cease making weapons. Stane insists, “What we do keeps the world from falling into chaos.” You know that old excuse.

In Stark’s mansion that’s carved into the face of a Malibu cliff, the electronics and neon lights of technology are slowly creating a progressive line of suits in the forms of Mark 1, Mark 2 and Mark 3. The moment Tony Stark climbs inside the streamlined, rocket-propelled suit with its perfectly intertwined pieces that lock together a new hero has come to the silver screen with metallic glory. Let us now call it, the platinum screen.

Iron Man’s original comic book that inspired the film took place in the 1960’s during the Vietnam War, and Tony Stark functioned as an anti-communist icon within the complex world of military and industrial spheres. Moving the film’s action to Afghanistan in the present day makes it just as relevant in its own way for a new time. The casting in this film is excellent and Robert Downey Jr. does an amazing job as this character because he is who says he is. Take a shot of the comic drawn Tony Stark and compare him to the filmed Tony Stark and there is no difference. You don’t stretch your imagination in any way to envision Downey Jr. as Tony Stark. Perhaps, Robert Downey Jr. is a cover for a hidden alter ego. Gwyneth Paltrow plays Pepper Potts who keeps Tony’s life organized and does a fairly good job finally returning to the screen in something a little higher in budgetary value since… ever. Stark’s best friend and Air Force colonel, Rhodey, is played by Terrence Howard and he’s just as bland as usual. Robert Downey Jr. and his nemesis Jeff Bridges as Obadiah Stane are the real stand-outs underneath their shells. Jon Favreau of “Made,” “Elf” and “Zathura” directing glory does an excellent job for his largest movie to date in scale. There’s a sense of story, humor and not to mention pure visual bliss in this film. The images and colors in this film are amazing and wonderful to look at, even in the areas of deserts which most would conclude to be the plainest and most uninteresting of scenes. Not so and a nod of congratulations to both production design and cinematography are deserved. The suit looks amazing enough to take your breath away and make you want one instead of the most luxurious of cars, but need I not forget, Tony Stark has exotic cars too!

The only way you won’t enjoy this film is if you find it impossible to either enjoy a comic book flavored film or you just can’t stand a guy in an overblown set of ski boots. Otherwise, Iron Man’s first film is a success with few flaws and like the development of Stark’s suit; this can be considered a first prototype that went through trial and error.

A sequel is certainly ironclad and is the right thing, and for Stark, the right thing for the first time in his life is done in theaters May 2, 2008, but rest assured, not his last.

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Doug Liman obviously felt he had unfinished business following his premature removal from the Bourne franchise. With Jumper he presents a thinly-disguised superhero romp complete with characters as ambiguous as Jamie Bell’s accent. Unfortunately however, Liman is not Paul Greengrass and Hayden Christensen is certainly not Matt Damon. 

It says a lot that Christensen is consistently out-acted by The OC’s Rachel Bilson, who hasn’t exactly been fighting off the award givers this season. His delivery of a typically flimsy, lazy script by David Goyer is frequently so stale and forced it gives the impression that he is reading from an auto-cue that he can’t quite see. His potential as a leading man is evident after a decent performance in Star Wars: Episode III and a nuanced turn in Shattered Glass but here he turns in a performance so flat he doesn’t even deserve credit as a supporting role. 

The plot centres around Christensen and Bell’s characters ability to teleport to any place they have seen before, including the inside of bank vaults various people are kind enough to show them in advance. It has potential but the mythology of a comic book tale without the comic book feels screwdrivered in to facilitate convenient developments. Samuel L Jackson’s character needs a way to follow the boys through their ‘jumps’, suddenly he has a ‘machine’ which allows him to do it. Bilson and Christensen need to be together, she drops everything to go to Rome with a man she hasn’t seen since High School and who’s just beat up her boyfriend. And so the convenience keeps on coming. 

If this mythology was introduced with skill and tentativeness then there might be a good story brewing round about but Goyer’s script sticks to the bare minimum; ‘I’m a Jumper. You’re a Paladin. What happens now?’ Christensen’s character mouths at one point before having it explained to him in language babies could understand. 

In a film where it’s difficult to like the hero it’s even more difficult to hate the villains of the piece. The aforementioned Paladins have a nasty fanatical religious steak (again seemingly shoe-horned in to make them seem a bit more evil!) but other than that they seem to be no more evil than a CID unit, attempting to track down a pair of highly-skilled bank robbers. The plot adds no real malevolence and Liman’s slap-happy direction fails to add fuel to the fire. 

Michael Rooker, Jamie Bell and Jackson add some much needed weight but are typically given short-shrift with a film which more often than not appears to have both eyes on its inevitable sequel than on the job in hand. If Liman was hoping to exercise his Bourne ghosts then this is not the film to do it with because in the end we can only hope that Greengrass comes to the rescue and directs the sequel, preferably with Damon in the lead.

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“A driver don’t pick the cars… The car picks the driver… It’s a mystical bond between man and machine…” And once it’s stolen, the fate of a young driver is thrust into a war that long existed. “What you’re about to see is totally classified… Dear God, what is this?” And after moments of suspense, mystery and discovery, “We’re under attack! We’re facing war against a technologically civilization far superior to our own… Our enemy can take any shape… They could be anywhere…”

In Michael Bay’s Transformers, his touch for stylized action is apparent but the balance between special effects and that human touch that is never quite right in other films, still doesn’t balance out here. But not in the way you might think.

In God-like tones, the opening narration tells of an eternal battle between good and evil that long ago tore apart the planet Cybertron; its lasting legacy is a cube known as the Allspark, granting unspeakable powers to its possessor. The search for that cube has led to Earth, where the warriors of good known as the Autobots are destined for one final showdown against the evil Decepticons.

With this exposition aside, the rest of the film is an uncovering and emergence of this very back story to the cast of the film. They are slowly introduced and blown away by this robotic race on Earth from the deserts of Qatar, where the Decepticons go up against a squad of U.S. Marines; in the underground of the Pentagon, where Secretary of Defense John Keller (John Voight) and brilliant blond computer mind Maggie Madsen (Rachael Taylor) try to figure out which enemy of theirs is attacking… perhaps North Koreans? And in a quiet suburban neighborhood, horny teenager Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) has no idea that his new car is really an Autobot named Bumblebee. Damn and all he wanted was to seduce the opposite sex in the form of Mikaela Banes (Rachel Fox). To say all this is to give enough of a skeleton for the story of this film. It involves quite a few perspectives and perhaps a little too many characters.

Now as was said before: the balance between the human cast and adapted toy line was offset here with more of an emphasis on the humans. This bias is understandable: humans were responsible for the making of this film. In short, transforming action and plot should have happened sooner and the human uncovering of what’s explained in the beginning of the movie takes the entire movie. The cast are quirky and entertaining but they’re hardly enough to overpower the personalities and moves of what people really want to see: Transformers. The film gets a little saturated with uncovering the mystery of what the audience already knows and the entire romance between Witwicky and Banes could have been dealt with in a sharper sense. There hasn’t been a better need for a one-night stand leading into happily ever after. The problem here is throughout the movie, the evil existence of Megatron is always referred to but Megatron himself only comes into actual play in the last quarter of the film (after the humans discover him) to fight in the last battle. Is it his last battle? I won’t say.

Mitchell Amundsen’s cinematography fits nicely for the colorful metallic shells of mechanical beings but is somewhat strenuous for the presence of the human cast. Perhaps even he was thinking there’d be more robot-action than girl-on-boy action in pre-production planning. Michael Bay does what he does in this film. He has his own formula so why change it? It works for action yarns from the slow-motion to the camera moving past as the characters turn in desperation and awe. Peter Cullen and Hugo Weaving do great jobs as voice artists here in the roles of Optimus Prime and Megatron respectively. You never recognize the movie as coming from a line of toys or past animated series that influenced a film adaptation. It stands alone and doesn’t require you to know the former to know the latter. The sound is crisp; the special effects are entertaining and original with the look and feel of the film outstanding. It was nominated for three Academy Awards in relation to these categories and with a take of over $700million worldwide, a sequel’s planned for 2009 release, so you may as well watch this to get ready. You’ll be watching or will be invited to watch Transformers 2 either way. You know you wanna. Could the story have been condensed in some parts and emphasized more in others: definitely. But this shouldn’t deter you from this movie as it’s still an enjoyable ride… or flight depending on your Transformer.

So take a deep breathe and move away from the puzzles of a morphing toy or a Rubik’s Cube and Transform your evening into some popcorn excitement on DVD.

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The Labyrinth starring Jennifer Connelly and David Bowie is a story about a young teenage girl still in love with fairy tales and stuffed animals. The story begins with Sarah acting out a scene in a long white dress looking like a princess when all of a sudden it begins raining. Sarah runs home only to realize that she has to babysit her crying baby brother Toby. Sarah tries to make the baby stop crying, but to no avail, finally she screams to the Goblin King to take the baby away and he does just that. The rest of the movie consists of Sarah travel through a Labyrinth in order to get her brother back before he turns into a goblin.

The Labyrinth is a film based off a wooden toy in which you must move a marble from one end to the other avoiding any holes/ pits while going through the twists and turns of the Labyrinth.

This is one of my favorite movies as a child. I loved Jim Henson(the director of the film) and I loved the puppets he created not only in this film, but in everything he did. The Labyrinth is about a magical journey with unique characters and obstacles with everything from a talking worm to a large monster who calls on rocks for help in sticky situations. I also love David Bowie in this movie I truly believe that no one else could have played the part of the Goblin King. One can also go as far as calling this movie a musical because on three separate occasions both David Bowie and some crazy puppets that pull their body parts of their body all while singing.  Another interesting scene is when Sarah is trying to get the baby back and she has to climb and run down several staircases that go in every possible direction this is a very cool visual effect.   

This movie is perfect for child because the movie explores the imagination and takes the viewer on a fun little journey. I strongly recommend seeing this movie or going back and seeing the movie again. Even all you Dark Crystal fans can appreciate this film.

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“Nim’s Island” stars academy award nominee Abigail Breslin, academy award winner Jodie Foster, Gerald Butler known for his role in “300″ as King Leonidas. It’s directed by Jennifer Flackett and Mark Levin.

Nim (Abigail Breslin) lives on an island with her dad (Gerald Butler) and many of her animal friends. Her dad is a marine biologist who studies microscopic organisms that live in the ocean, which Nim report as not being her thing. Nim’s hobby is reading. She loves reading books about a fictional adventurer named Alex Rover (Gerald Butler) written by Alexandra Rover (Jodie Foster). When Nim’s dad becomes missing at sea and her island becomes invaded, she asks for the help of her mythical hero Alex Rover.

Another average family friendly film with an minor issue not usually found in this genre. The problem being it doesn’t try hard enough. I found that most films geared towards kids try too hard to please audiences and end up being annoying to adults. This isn’t the problem here. Never once did I find myself truly aggravated, but it could have used more imagination. With a great imagination this film could have been taken too the outer limits without huffing and puffing it’s way to the finish line. It felt like the actors were just on vacation. Jodie Foster was decent and would have been really good if the movie was a little better, Abigail Breslin is adorable like she was suppose to be, and Gerald Butler give an uneven performance, with the more likable character being Alex Rover.

The story was very simplistic with nothing really complex muddling it’s moral. This is very mild entertainment. The scenery is really the only thing to look forward to if you going to see this in theaters. It was beautiful too look at. But with no adventure or action taking place, the film begins to slowly fade in memory, never being a real burden to my viewing pleasure. I enjoyed it, but not immensely and it never uses a sufficient amount of imagination to sparkle. Jodie Foster was very energetic and brought some life to the screen. A screen lacking in full-on entertainment and a suitable amount of happenings. This isn’t a boring movie or a bad movie, but it’s lacking in effort.

I did like the movie, but I felt like there could have been much more done here starting with it being more adventurous. The acting wasn’t bad but the script (which took a total of four writers) felt underwritten. There is no real chemistry to be found between the actors, aside from Nim and her gassy sealion who spend the most screen time together. Nothing special and I wouldn’t spend the admission price plus popcorn and soda to see it, but it certainly isn’t a hardcore disappointment and the ending is sweet.

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An entrancing and, more importantly, computerized nude temptress emerges from the dark shimmering waters of an underground lagoon and with an angelic voice begins to say a whisper of words, “Are you the one they call Beowulf? Such a strong man you are… A man like you could own the greatest tale ever sung… Beowulf, stay with me… Give me a son and I shall make you the greatest king that ever lived… This, I swear… You will forever be king, forever strong, mighty, beyond imagination…” It’s soon evident “A promise was made… a price will be paid…” A decaying yet solemn King Hrothgar proclaims, “She’s not my curse… not anymore…”

Robert Zemeckis has converted the epic poem about the warrior who slays the monster Grendel into swordplay between computers and storytelling. There have been about three mild adaptations of the source in the last nine years about a hero who travels great distances to prove his strength at impossible odds against beasts and demons but at this point, there may as well only be one.

In the Danish kingdom belonging to King Hrothgar (Anthony Hopkins), the king and his court have gathered to inaugurate a new mead hall, Heorot, to do what all did back then and do today, drink. The hall is eventually destroyed with brutality and waist-splitting violence by the wretched monster Grendel, the ugliest creature on earth… presumably… A reward is put into play for the defeat of this forsaken troll.

To this court comes the heroic warrior, Beowulf (Ray Winstone), of Geats. Unferth (John Malkovich), the King’s advisor, challenges Beowulf’s credibility. The slayer boasts a resume of slayings and triumphs, and why not, he’s Beowulf. He is the very model of a medieval monster slaughterer, making great amounts of money on merchandising, action figures, etc… presumably… When the king offers his queen Wealthow (Robin Wright Penn) as a prize for the slaying of Grendel, the hero immediately strips naked, ready to do battle and ready to do ‘it’ after… presumably…

The disfigured and high-tempered Grendel arrives on schedule to tear down the mead hall. There is a mighty battle of havoc which is rendered in gruesome detail, right down to injured skulls and severed limbs. What follows this battle is a list of pure political scandal in the upper ranks of the royal family. Extra! Extra! Read All About It! Is Hrothgar the father?! Is Wealthow making her king sleep downstairs?! Was there an exchange in Grendel’s lair? Did Beowulf say yes?!

It’s highly entertaining but a far cry of victory from being a classic. Zemeckis employs the same motion-capture technology that he first used in The Polar Express, to slightly better effect. You quickly get drunk with carnage when you’re engulfed in this mythical story with flesh-and-blood actors that are present in voice only. And yet, you don’t focus on the fact nothing is real as the presence of the A-list cast is faded away with the audience putting the actor’s out of past or real life context. You really get a chance to focus on the characters themselves, rather than the actors as with any live-action movie. The versions of the actors do truly resemble the real thing except in moments when it comes to the title character of Beowulf and his nemesis, Grendel. Crispin Glover surely doesn’t look like a complete monster and as for Ray Winstone, he doesn’t have a six-pack but that’s not much of a mystery if you know him. The effects are even better or just suit this time period more than Polar Express’ relatively modern setting. Polar Express had that extra holiday twinkle in its railroad tracks, giving it some magic where Beowulf has no excuse but to deliver on the tragic, an epic amount of action and an entrancing tale. It accomplishes this in bits and outbursts. It does venture off from its source material and it’s for the best but when you realize how far it did go, you wonder if they should have gone farther to fill the story even more. There are gaps of slow drama between action sequences. The story may in fact be too basic as there isn’t much motivation for the characters. At some points you just feel they do things for the sake of doing it without an answer to “why?” which may have also been the problem in the lack of audiences attending. The trailers gave no great motivation to watch so “why do it at all?”

Beowulf was a slight domestic disappointment with only about $82 million in ticket sales but did respectfully conquer the lands overseas with about $113 million. The failure close-to-home may have stemmed from the lack of enthusiasm the marketing propelled compared to other live-action films. With live-action, a person’s always impressed with the seeming impossibility of such sets and costumes being created, so you’re instantly transported while in contrast to computers, everybody basically knows nothing is impossible. That’s not to say a good film isn’t a possibility, as long as there’s talent behind the keystrokes.

So sharpen your weapons and grab your steeds… or studs or babes… and battle against some enjoyable earth-soiling carnage and high-flying excitement alongside Beowulf on DVD.

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“This is the tale of an ordinary man who had everything… Until a man of power stole his freedom, destroyed his family and banished him… for life… And in his sorrow, a new man was born…” With wide, dark eyes of beauty Mrs. Lovett pleads for an answer from a ghost, “Benjamin Barker?” To her question, there is only one reply uttered in the third-person, “Not Barker, Sweeney Todd and he will have his revenge.”

It took 28 bloody years for Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street to shave his way from Stephen Sondheim’s Broadway as one of the bloodiest musicals ever to the big screen as one of the bloodiest movies of all time, but in a cheerful kind of way. And now thanks to technology, it has taken 3 months for it to jump to a small screen near you as Sweeney Todd is released onto DVD.

On the guided tour: In nineteenth century London lived a barber named Benjamin Barker (Johnny Depp) and his sweet wife and beautiful child. He loved them both but the vile, corrupt and Honorable Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman) sentenced Barker on false charges to Australia, meanwhile capturing his wife and child. After Turpin ravishes the wife, destroying her life until death did them part, the girl Johanna grows up to become the judge’s personal prisoner.

As the film quickly opens, Benjamin escapes from prison and sails into London to redeem his dreams he had for 15 years of coming home to a wife and child. But he’s only in for an appetizer. He races through the streets to his former barbershop, where the landlady is still the pale beauty Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter), who sells the worst meat pies in London
and tells him about the dreary fate of his family. He moves upstairs to his former shop, now a ruin, changes his name to Sweeney Todd and reopens his business but not before serenading his most treasured and cut-throat possessions and tools-of-his-trade.

But so maddening is his rage that he builds an entertaining bonus: a sliding chute that will drop his customers into the basement, head-first, after he slits their throats, so Mrs. Lovett can bake them some pies. More specifically: into some pies. Now she offers the most succulent meat pies in London; business bleeds with demand while some pleased customers go upstairs for their closest shave and a quick recycling.

Johnny Depp shared some blood and sweat for a sixth collaboration with the imagination of Tim Burton, the director of Edward Scissorhands, Big Fish, Sleepy Hollow and Batman! And no team could have done it better as traces of Tim Burton are scattered throughout the production with the fantastically ghoulish, bizarre and yet romantic. The cast is superb as the perfect instruments to pull together the elements of the movie. The film isn’t a campy throwback or a musical fantasy but a glimpse into a realistic world if it were normal to sing with background tunes. Dialogue doesn’t uncomfortably jump from the main characters to some random musical number in the background with an excessive amount of dancers. The music is narrowed down to the main characters and this nicely balances the elements of a musical and a stand-alone film. That being said, you’ll probably need to enjoy musicals to enjoy this movie for the most part, though it does offer something different than conformity or a cookie cutter frame. They’re meat pies after all. It may not be a genre-crossing piece of genius for most but for the open, it’s just a visual masterpiece for your acoustic pallet. That’s still pretty good. You don’t think of it as a musical, but a film with tunes. A normal regular of Burton’s crew was missing with Danny Elfman having no spot in creating its music as that job was taken by the originator, Stephen Sondheim himself. Dariusz Wolski masters the area of cinematography, fresh from previous work on the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.

Sweeney Todd was undervalued at the 80^th Annual Academy Awards with only 3 nominations in Best Acting, Best Achievement in Costume Design and in Art Direction while winning in only the last one. This small tally was not due to a lack of talent but more succumbing to the large numbers of respectable movies of 2007 that aimed for the limited nomination-seats in each category for Oscar Gold. It did however go for Golden Globe Gold as it was nominated for the 65th annual Awards, winning two. The film won for Best Motion Picture in the Musical or Comedy genre and Johnny Depp won for his performance as Sweeney Todd. Tim Burton was nominated for Best Director and Helena Bonham Carter was nominated for her performance as Mrs. Lovett. The film has also been included in the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures’ top ten films of 2007, and Tim Burton also won their prize for Best Director.

So embark on a murderous rampage one of these evenings and try your blades and appetites at a tasty Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street on DVD.

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