Hey all two of you who read my movie review blog!! I am back...again! A couple months back I decided not to continue on with my movie reviewing...but you know what? I miss it! I've seen roughly 11 movies since I last posted in March. So what I'm going to do now is post all 11 movies with a small snipet of a review plus my star rating. That will get me all caught up. After that, I am going back to my original http://mikeyatthemovies.blogspot.com/ review format, when it looked nice! So without further ado, here are my up to date movies from 2009 since March!
X-Men Origins: Wolverine: I think I'm still a little bit bitter from the crap that was X-Men: The Last Stand. I mean this movie was OK, but really not a movie I would call a fun summer flick. Some of the special effects were really poorly done and just plain cheesy! Hugh Jackman is good as Wolverine, but there's only so much shirtless, screaming into the sky shots I can stomach. It was just, eh. MY RATING: ** out of *****
Star Trek: Now this is a great movie and a fantastic example of a good summer flick! I've never cared for the Star Trek saga, and I know virtually nothing about it's story. But none of that mattered, because this was a brand new film, starting from scratch. And it was amazing! GREAT special effects, fun action scenes (but not to many, and none of them took away from the story), solid performances. This was just a damn fun movie. With the Academy's decision to have 10 best picture nominees, I can sort of see this one sneaking in (with the Dark Knight syndrome). Great movie, loved it! MY RATING: ***** out of *****
Terminator: Salvation: I'll try to make this short...I really did not like this movie. Should never have been made. Christian Bale was badly cast (STOP DOING YOUR DAMN BATMAN VOICE!!!). The end. MY RATING: * out of *****
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian: Was it better then the first one? I don't think so. I was a big fan of the first movie. But I really think this movie was consistently entertaining and funny. I enjoyed it, that was the goal right? MY RATING: *** out of ****
Up: My gosh, yet another BRILLIANT Pixar masterpiece. This was such a moving and heartfelt story. It has such a touching opening sequence, and that carries through for the whole film. This movie has a big heart. It's really funny too, super entertaining. Great animation. Perfect movie! Better than Wall E? I don't know... MY RATING: ***** out of *****
The Hangover: Normally I'm not to keen on these rauch fest comedies. But really this film is never all that raunchy (minus the DISGUSTING end credits). I have to say I laughed pretty hard, pretty consistently. Really excellent writing, I must say. Lot of good one liners and quotes in this movie. Zach Galifianakis is the total scene stealing stand-out in this one as well. He was hilarious! MY RATING: ***1/2 out of *****.
Land of the Lost: I wasn't really expecting much from this movie. Honestly I thought it was more of a kids movie...what was I thinking?! But I actually kind of liked it! You know Will Ferrell is in this rut of playing the same character in every movie (Ron Burgendy) and he basically plays him here somewhat. However, it was sort of funny again. I liked his humor in this movie. I mean it was a totally cheese ball story (duh, you have to expect that in this movie), with lame-0 visual effects and costumes (but I think this was intentional)...but really this movie was entertaining! I had a blast watching it. It's not great, it's not the best comedy of the year, but I still managed to have fun watching it! MY RATING: *** out of *****
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: I was a HUGE fan of the first movie, I loved it. This second movie is nowhere near as good as the first. That being said, I was entertained by the majority of this movie. I thought the action scenes were fantastic and exciting (sometimes even moreso than the first), and the visual effects were just as stunning. People complained that the story was dumb...of course it was...so was the first movies. This is a summer blockbuster about robots from space, are you really expecting a legit storyline? Why do you go to movies like this for some in depth tale? I don't! Fact of the matter is...it was super fun! The major downside to this movie was that it was overly sexualized for NO reason. The humor was so out of place. The college scenes didn't really need to exist in the film, and I'm convinced Megan Fox was only in the movie for sex appeal. There was a lot of attempts and funny here...and most of it was just so far out in left field and didn't need to be in the movie. MY RATING: *** out of *****
Public Enemies: Am I one of the few people who just don't get the craze over this movie? What on earth was so special about it? It was not a bad movie by any means, but I just didn't see the appeal it had for most reviewers and movie goers. Personally it was one of the most dull, and uneventful movies I've seen in a long time. To me, this movie was a borefest. So incredibly slow paced. The action scenes were to "quiet" and lacked any intense excitement. For a movie about one of the most bank robbers of all time, we only got to see THREE bank robberies and each one was maybe a minute long. Johnny Depp is an amazing entertainer, he's one of my favorites. But I really like him better when he plays "weird". Here he was "good" but pretty darn standard if you ask me. Forgettable even. And why was Christian Bale even in this movie? His character was no one all that special. Like I said, it wasn't a bad movie...for me it just wasn't all that good. MY RATING: ** out of *****
Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince: I don't want to ramble on to much about this movie. But I absolutely loved it. Hands down the best Potter movie to date by miles. I'm a fan of all of them, but this one stands on its own. I finally feel like the story has kicked into high gear, and it really sets up the next and final installment masterfully. This movie was so much darker, and had perfectly placed action. I thought it was funny and also had some pretty emotional moments. I was impressed by the step up in special effects as well. They've really outdone themselves now. The performances were very good as well, best of the series. The three leads have really grown well into these characters. Michael Gamon and Jim Broadbent were terrific! I also have to metion Tom Felton as a standout as Malfoy. His scenes really stood out for me, I thought he did a great job at showing Malfoys inner struggles. See this movie! One of the best of the year for me! MY RATING: ***** out of *****
The Hurt Locker: This movie is just as good as the reviews are saying it is. I think it was a brilliant war film, that's no so much about the war as it is about the soldiers. This time it's about the bomb team, and the actors do a great job at seeming like actual soldiers and not just playing soliders. You take them seriously, and you feel for them. This has got to be one of the most tense films I've seen in quite some time! The director chose not to use background music for most of the scenes involving bomb disarming and for good reason. It really thrusts you into the situation with these characters, and your heart begins to race because you really don't know how the situation is going to end. Really well made film. Suberb performances and some really great cameos! If you see this playing at your local theater...go see it! MY RATING: ***** out of *****
Paul Blart: Mall Cop: Ok yeah, this is a dumb movie. Honestly though, I thought it pretty funny at times. Kevin James is a funny man, what can I say!? This movie probably had no intentions of being a GOOD movie, just a silly little funny movie and in that regard it worked for me! It wasn't hilarious, not the funniest movie ever, but it was fun! It kind of reminded me of those movies I saw as a kid from the early 90's. For that I give it some props. This is a fun movie to watch with the kids if you have any. Not a good movie, just an entertaining one. MY RATING: **1/2 out of *****
So that's it for now folks! That puts me at 19 movies for 2009. Way down on my mark from last year! Stay tuned...
