Pirate of the Caribbean

Went to see the new Pirate of the Caribbean yesterday . .  .

Have to say it is long at almost 2.5 hours but worth the trip! 

Was a great story and once again Captain Jack is at his best!  That has got to be one of the all time great characters in film.   I just love watching the crap he gets into and how he manages to almost bumble his way out of it.

Not as many good sword fights or ship battles as before but still a great flick.  And once again you need to stay to watch the quick bit after the credits. . .  won't tell you what it is but they do again leave things open for another film.

They did stretch history a bit with Black Beard going to England if I followed that right, and all that stuff but what do you want, it is Hollywood after all.

Most of the favorite characters are gone, you have Jack and his first mate and Barbosa. . . everyone else is new.

Go see it, a great way to spend a few hours with the family.

Knight and Day

Just got out of the movie - loved it!

This is a great take folks.  Kind of a humorous Borne Identity.  The show is fast paced, lots of actions and shoot outs, and funny as hell.  A few good car chases too, even if a bit out there - more of a James Bond kind of thing but it works.

Don't want to give any of it away but go see it - well worth the time!

Batman – The Dark Knight

Went to see it last night. Overall a good movie.

I don’t think that there was any way it could have lived up to the hype it got. Heith Ledger was a great Joker, and brought the concept of a twisted bad guy to a new level. I loved him in this roll but I honestly don’t know that it was worth an Oscar. Maybe he was so good and that is why I don’t see the Oscar but we will see. . . . I don’t know what movies he is up against so can’t say at this point.

I loved the characters in the movie. They had depth and feeling in them that you don’t often see in a “Superhero” movie. I like the way Alfred and his aid in R&D fit in with the story and how they play such a critical roll in keeping Batman going in the right direction when he could so easily tip to the dark side. . .

Overall it was well worth the trip although I left feeling like they tried to put a bit much into one movie. There were points where it did seem to drag a bit to me, and although the ending was great, I did think they could have got there a bit sooner without a problem.

I do have to back up what others have said that this is a very very dark movie that is good but don’t take the kids to it. Some of it would be rather hard on kids I think. . .

Now I need to get to the new Hell Boy and see how that was. I finally saw the first one on DVD this weekend and loved it.

Wall E

Took the kids to see Wall E this weekend. Let me start by saying Pixar has done it again. Although it is a bit preachy at times it was a great movie. It was fun, it was a good story, and overall the family had a good time with it.
I found it fun to watch for the little bits they throw into the movie that were tributes to the classic Sci Fi of the past like 2001. . . . it was great. There was absolutely no dialog for something like the first 40 minutes of the movies but it was still great. The way they got the emotions and thoughts of the robot Wall E during this time was very well done and easy to follow.
All I can say is if you have kids, take them to see it. If you don’t go see it anyway, it is a fun movie.
Pixar also has the normal short to start the film that they have done before. This was also very cute, and a fun short. It is too bad some of the other kids movies don’t do this.

Iron Man

OK, quick review of Iron Man – GO SEE IT!

It is a great action hero movie. As good as Spider Man if not better, but then I am a geek and like the tech side of the character. And Gwyneth Paltrow as a strawberry blond does not hurt either.

The movie was nice and fast paced even with the build up needed to explain the character. The main character is well done and plays quite the sleaze ball at the start and it works for him. There is actually has a bit of depth to the character, well done on Rober Downey Jr. – he made a great character and I hope he stays with it.

The suit was cool and I loved all the neat stuff built into it. It was also nice to see that they set up for a sequel already, since it has done so well I am sure they will be one.

GO, See the movie, you will love it. A great two hour escape!

Spiderwick Review

The wife and I took the girls to go see Spiderwick over the weekend and I think I can safely say two thumbs UP for this one.

The story revolves around a single mom and her three kids (two boys and an older girl) as they move into a new house. Things start to get a bit strange after one of the boys finds a book left there by their grate grandfather. They have to start dealing with some strange stuff going on that has to deal with the unseen world and the fairies tat live there. I don’t want to give it away but let me tell you it was worth the price of admission.

The story was good, the effects were great, and it sucked you right in. When it was over I was left wondering where the time went, it did not seem like I had been sitting there long enough for the movie to be over. The characters were good, a bit short on development but hey, it is the first movie from a set of books I believe. I do know I am going to have to look them up. If they are as good as the movie then they will be well worth the read for me and the kids. It was also nice to see the girl had a strong character and was not wasting everyone’s time needing to be saved. . . she was a good strong character that could take care of herself and her brothers. . .

Go see it, it is worth it

National Treasure II

National Treasure II – Went to see it last night. Overall I must say it was a fun movie to watch and if you liked the first one you will like this one. It was not quite as good as the first one, maybe it’s just me but they seemed to solve things a bit too easily this time around. . .

OK, it won’t be up for an Oscar for being deep and moving but I thought it was a good flick. It had a few good funny moments, the usual puzzles for them to solve, and some neat effects to see. The wife and I give it two thumbs up.

I also enjoyed trying to remember where I had previously seen all the supporting actors. . . there was one from Jericho, a Technomage from B5, a former Queen of England along with the head of Mission Control from Apollo 13 to name a few.

All in all a fun movie that you can bring the kids to if you want to. It also left things wide open for number three and I for one am up for another trip through history. . .