Upcoming Movies

May 30: The Italian Job, Finding Nemo (The trailer for Nemo is great. I totally want to see it!)
June 20: The Hulk
June 27: Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle
July 2: Legally Blonde 2: Red, White, and Blonde (I really liked the first one)
July 4: Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
July 11: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (It looks interesting. We'll see.)
July 18: Bad Boys, Johnny English (I'm not a Martin Lawrence fan, but I like Will Smith)
July 25: Lara Croft and the Cradle of Life (I don't care what you think, I rather liked the first)
August 15: The Human Stain
December 17: Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

posted by Lisa at 8:48 a.m. |

 
Free your mind

The Wachowski brothers are back, bringing us The Matrix Reloaded, four years after the first in the series amazed audiences everywhere. It picks up about six months after the first, and Neo (Keanu Reeves and his fellow crew mates, Trinity (Carrie-Ann Moss), Link (Harold Perrineau Jr.-Woman on Top), and Morpheus (Lawrence Fishburne), have been hard at work helping to free the minds of those trapped in the Matrix. However, a terror is appoaching. Two hundred and fifty thousand probes are digging through the earth to distroy Zion, the last human city. It is a race against time as Neo tries to discover the secrets of the Matrix, his purpose, and how to save Trinity from a dark fate seen only in his dreams. Also starring Christine Anu, Gloria Foster, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Hugo Weaving.

It is very rare, very rare, that a sequel is as good as the first. This one was, in all ways. It picked up where the first left off, the 'six' months that we miss, are unimportant. They show the stark contrast between the real world, in all its dark, imperfect reality and the Matrix, in is brillant design. It's sexier than the first, with a whole scene dedicated to humanity, and the primitive animal side that is in all of us. The action sequences were phenomenal! Suspensful, beautifully choreographed and filmed to bring that sense of realizism despite the improbabilities of it all. There were parts where I didn't realize I was holding my breath until I released it in a sigh of relief. There were parts where I wanted to cheer for the good guys and scream at the bad. It is an experience, and should be seen in theater to appreciate the sheer magnitude that is the Matrix. I loved the first, and, for once, I loved the second. Like the first film, you are drawn in and leave the theater thinking "What if?"


Neo (Reeves) and Agent Smith (Weaving)

Trinity, Morpheus and Neo

Rating: 5 (out of 5)

Back together for the first time, again

Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy come together to bring you A Mighty Wind. When folk icon Irving Steinbloom passed away, he left behind a legacy of music and a family of performers he has shepherded to folk stardom. To celebrate a life spent submerged in folk, Irving's loving son Jonathan has decided to put together a memorial concert featuring some of Steinbloom's best-loved musicians. There's Mitch and Mickey, who were the epitome of young love until their partnership was torn apart by heartbreak; classic troubadours The Folksmen, whose records were endlessly entertaining for anyone able to punch a hole in the center to play them; and The New Main Street Singers, the most meticulously color-coordinated neuftet ever to hit an amusement park. This mockumentary follows the preparations for the one night only in New York City's Town Hall, these three groups will reunite and gather together to celebrate the music that almost made them famous. This film also reunites the cast of Best In Show: Bob Balaban, Ed Begley Jr., Jennifer Coolidge, Paul Dooley, Christopher Guest, John Michael Higgins, Michael Hitchcock, Don Lake, Eugene Levy, Jane Lynch, Michael McKean, Larry Miller, Christophery Moynihan, Catherine O'Hara, Parker Posey and more.

In all, I really enjoyed this film. It was funny, and one has to respect a movie that starts filming with just a plot and the cast improvises the scenes. There were many funny moments. I went with a group, and afterwards, we stood outside the theater playing "Remember that part?" It's best when taken as a whole. The little details, and the 'behind the scenes' feel that makes this film so enjoyable. We can relate to many of the characters while laughing at the silly things they say and do. A must see!


The three folk bands

Rating: 4.75 (out of 5)


posted by Lisa at 2:03 p.m. |

 
The time has come for those who are different to stand united.

Director Bryan Singer is back to deliver the second installment of X-Men: X2. Already living in a society that mistrusts them, the mutants are faced with even more discrimination after an unforeseen enemy launches a daring attack. The news of the assault causes a public outcry against the mutants, including renewed support for the Mutant Registration Act, and William Stryker, a military leader rumored to have experimented on mutants is among the most vocal supporters of the legislation. Stryker puts into motion a plan to eradicate the mutants and begins an offensive on the school. Magneto, having escaped from his plastic prison, forms an unlikely alliance with the X-Men to stop Stryker. Surprisingly, all actors were back in their former roles for this sequel.

While I enjoyed the film immensely, it is not as good as the original. There are two main reasons. First, Singer tried to do too much. There were too many effects and they were often over the top. Second, the film still had that 'introduction' feel to it. They introduce more characters, they continue explaining the why and the how to the point that by the end, you are thinking "I wonder when X3 will be out." Halle Berry, returning to take the character Storm, is not as laughable in this film, but compared to the others, her performance is another woeful disappointment. She is flat, unconvincing, and gets far too much screen time. Alan Cumming (Spy Kids 2) was a welcome addition as Kurt Wagner, aka: Nightcrawler. I thoroughly enjoyed his performance. Then again, with the exception of Barry, I feel that the film is very well cast. Some excellent fight scenes as well. In all, I believe that X2 will be considered the weakest of the X-Men series, however many there will be. Worth seeing for the entertainment at least, but don't expect too much.


From left to right:Patrick Stewart, Anna Paquin, James Marsden, Shawn Ashmore, Famke Janssen, Halle Berry, Hugh Jackman

Cumming as Nightcrawler

Rating: 3 (out of 5)

Sea Evil

Directed by Steve Beck, Ghost Ship the story of an expert salvage crew who discover the Antonia Graza, the italian luxury liner that had been missing since 1962. With dollar signs in their eyes, they decide to repair the ship and tow into the nearest harbour. However, it isn't long before they realize that the ship may be devoid of life, but it's not deserted. Starring Gabriel Byrne (Shade), Julianna Margulies (Evelyn), Ron Eldard (Black Hawk Down), Desmond Harrington (We Were Soliders), Isaiah Washington (Hollywood Homicide), Karl Urban (LOTR: The Two Towers), and Emily Browning (Darkness Falls).

This movie started big, and then tapered off to mildly suspenseful. There were a few surprises, but I figured it out about halfway through the movie. Byrne has been better; his 'yar-matie' accent was laughable. Margulies and Eldard were passable. I enjoyed Harrington, Washington, Urban and Browning, but none of the performances were fantastic by any means. For the most part, the movie lost momenteum after a spectacularly gruesome opening. Without the music, it wouldn't even have been very suspenseful. Beck had some good ideas, but they quickly went stale. After the big opening, the rest seemed dull and disappointing.


From left to right: Washington, Eldard, Urban, Harrington, Margulies and Byrne

Rating: 1.75 (out of 5)

posted by Lisa at 10:57 a.m. |