Terminator: Salvation - Action fick with the guys

Terminator: Salvation

Director: MCG (interesting name…?)

Starring: Christian Bale and Sam Worthington

MPAA: Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and language.

This movie was our second blu-ray pick to test out our new system. My wife and I enjoyed this popcorn flick when we saw it in the theater and I was in the mood for an action film. It was just what I wanted, special effects ridden, and violent sci-fi/post apocalyptic thriller. This was a juicy little snack on a baby stegosaurus, about a 6.5 out of 10. A lot of you movie munchers out there may disagree but I liked this summer action flick.

There really is nothing to scream about in this movie. It was just fun to watch.
The machine’s technology was pretty much ripped off of transformers. They had motorcycles that popped out of giant walking robots that chased the good guys as they were driving away at top speeds on their decaying tow trucks. There were giant claws that grabbed humans out of buildings and put them in cattle cars for shipping to the machine’s plant. These giant mechanical beasts were pretty stupid, and we had pretty much already seen them in Transformers, I could have definitely done without them.



However I did enjoy all the gunfights and the classic face off between the humans and the terminators. Christian Bale was a great John Conner. He kind of has the grungy, underdog, leader attitude. He was fun to watch, though sometimes with his American accent he gets really gruff and hard to understand, and he yells a lot. Sam Worthington couldn’t really decide what accent he was going with, for a while it was American and then at a moment of intensity there was some English accent slipping through there. At the end of the film he was switching back and forth a lot more too.

There were quite a few scene changes where the cutting felt pretty awkward. I couldn’t quite tell if the next scene was later that night, or the next day, it was just a little choppy. What I enjoyed were the gun fights and the show down between John Conner and the terminator. The overall film was not brilliantly done at all, and very much like the first two movies (except with a lot better cinematography).



I guess this film is a onetime watch for those Terminator buffs. I couldn’t stand T-3, but T-2 was amazing, and this flows right along with the rest of the Terminator series. Watch it if you are in the mood for a good sci-fi action flick, but if you are looking for a meaty, well done film, then this is not what you want to watch.

Sex/Nudity – 3 out of 10 - None… you see the shadow of a naked terminator, bare chest and bare legs. You also see the shadow of a man covered in mud and he might be naked, but he is so covered in mud it is hard to tell. No sex or sexual situations of any kind. But three guys surround a woman with the intension of raping her but they are stopped.

Violence/Gore – One woman is surrounded by three guys, it is assumed they want to rape her, she beats them up and another guy come to help her out as well. There is a lot of fist fighting and punching. One guy is thrown around a lot, taking some bone crunching hits. There is a lot of machine gun fire and some people are hit. One guy gets dragged under water by a machine and all you see is blood rising to the surface. People get cuts, bruises, one guy gets stabbed. The gore however is pretty mild. There is very little splashing blood or anything at all. Even the stab wound is pretty clean.

Profanity – There is one “F” word but unless subtitles are on you can’t even tell what the person says. There are two or three other mild expletives, but for the most part the swearing is pretty limited.

No Country For Old men - AMAZING

No Country For Old Men

Director: Joel and Ethan Cohen

Starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, Javier Bardem

MPAA: Rated R for strong graphic violence and some language.

What a film! This sucker is a plate full of brontosaurus stakes, a film I can just dig into and come out so full. This is not a perfect movie, and at the risk of spoiling the plot I’ll tell you up front that I came out feeling a little bit cheated and a little empty. As the ultimate movie muncher I was very satisfied with my meal, but something didn’t settle quite right, and you’ll have to watch to find out what. That being said this is a near perfect movie with flawless acting, breathtaking suspense, and a brilliant script.



The acting was great. This Texas based movie came with a flourish of colorful characters the most interesting of which is a tie between the psychotic murderer played by Javier Bardem or the wizened old sheriff, Tommy Lee Jones. Josh Brolin holds his own as the hero of the story, a blue collar welder and Vietnam vet. The three of them, at separate times, encounter a multitude of the most interesting folks who add color and humor to this otherwise dark and taught thriller.
The plot is riveting. There is a tense cat and mouse game between Brolin’s and Bardem’s characters as they tear through Texan towns in a life or death match. Jones’ sheriff is always a step or two behind them and mystified by the violence left in their wake. The movie is slow and seems practically music-less but at the same time there is an intensity so thick you almost can’t breathe.



Couple the intensity with the brilliant and witty script and the slow feeling to the film works extraordinarily well. Tommy Lee Jones is an example of dry wit at its best. Every line he delivers is full of irony and wisdom. His exchanges throughout the film with different characters are so interesting and entertaining you almost want to rewind the scene and watch it again. Then there is Javier Bardem’s character whose stern looks and deep mildly accented voice sends shivers down your spine. Each and every scene in this film is a work of art and could stand alone as a mini film. It is just brilliantly put together.



My wife hated the film, I offered to turn it off and I would finish it later (I had already seen it in the theaters when it first came out) but she was still so hooked on the plot and the dialogue that she didn’t want to turn it off. And that is just the kind of film I like. It was such a deep film, and it set its own pace, but at the same time it pulls a person in so that even if you don’t like the film you are hooked and you have to see how it ends. This movie is an easy 9 out of 10. It is not the best movie ever made but it is ranked pretty dang high on the scale. I loved No Country for Old Men, it is a film a guy can really sink his teeth into.

Sex/Nudity – A man is cleaning a gunshot wound he has and he sits naked with one leg over the other covering his private area as he cleans his wound. We also see him in a bath tub cleaning his wound. There are no sexual situations. A married man and woman are shown sleeping together but both are clothed. One man makes a reference to his wife about having sex with her.

Violence/Gore – There is a lot of very realistic violence and gore. People get shot in the head, chest, other areas, blood flows freely from the wounds. One man is choked to death with a pair of handcuffs and eventually his neck starts to bleed. One man cleans a free flowing gunshot wound and a lot of blood comes out of the holes in his skin. A lot of dead and decomposing bodies are shown, including a dog riddled with bullet holes. The violence and gore is not over the top or ridiculous or humorous in any way, it is very serious and very realistic.

Profanity – 2 “F” words and a few other expletives.
If the movie was rated on the Sex and Profanity it would have easily been PG-13.

Whip It - Date Night Guys!

Whip It

Director: Drew Barrymore

Starring: Ellen Page, Marcia Gay Harden, Kristen Wiig
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for sexual content including crude dialogue, language and drug material.

Whip It was surprisingly good. I would give it a 7 out of 10. It was like a nice lunch on a juvenile stegosaurus (meaty and juicy but not a hearty meal). I had my doubts about this film, it was a directorial début from Drew Barrymore, and while she is a fun actress I wasn’t expecting much from her as a director. However it had the chick from Juno (Ellen Page) and my wife was looking for a chick flick so we took a chance and we were both very surprised (in a good way).

Ellen Page is dang funny. She is a very talented actress and one of these days she is going to get a killer role. Whip It had a bunch of Saturday Night Live guest stars in little parts that added some comedy to the film, but this movie was definitely not an extended SNL clip like so many other films with these actors. It was in fact a very good family/sports/growing up comedy/drama.



Ellen Page’s character Bliss is from a small Texas town just outside of Austin. She is looking for some meaning in her life as her mother drags her from pageant to pageant. She stumbles on a girl’s roller derby league and tries out for the team. The movie is like a girly chick version of Fight Club without the nudity and hidden political agendas. It is a much lighter film than Fight Club in fact, but there is a gritty quality to the roller derby that lends to that kind of comparison.

The movie did take a little while to get going; and the script wasn’t nearly as funny as Juno or Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist (two other films I would highly recommend especially if you dig Whip It.) It did however pickup a little bit and became a classic underdog sports story (which actually explained the rules of the game which was nice because there was a fair bit of roller derby action) and couples the sports with a coming of age story that was interesting and humorous.

Whip It was a lot of fun to watch and it was a heck of a lot better than most of films coming out these days. It had realism that most teenager films leave out. Usually you get cheesy teenager films with beginning actors who are barley believable but this one was actually quite good. Like I said earlier it was a hearty lunch, entirely satisfying.



Sex/Nudity – The girls on the roller derby teams all have somewhat scanty uniforms that are made more for show than protection. They show a lot of leg and a fair amount of cleavage throughout the movie. A teenage boy and girl go swimming together late at night. They kiss and take off each other’s clothes down to their underwear. It is implied that they have sex and the girl confirms that later. A girl takes off her shirt to reveal her bra and gives her shirt to her boyfriend; he gives her his jacket in exchange.

Violence/Gore – The roller derby is fairly violent. Women punch, block, and body check each other causing bruises and bloody noses.

Profanity – 20 or so uses of the “B” word, “S” word, and a few other expletives.

Star Trek(2009)

Star Trek

Director: JJ Abrams

Starring: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Eric Bana, and Leonard Nimoy

MPAA: Rated PG-13 for sci-fi action and violence, and brief sexual content.

Star Trek was very satisfying, like a delicious snack on a baby triceratops. I could get my teeth in to it and come out feeling pretty dang good. It wasn’t a full meal, but definitely enjoyable. For you Trekkies this is a real winner. It is a great prequel to the epic shows of Gene Rodenberry’s imagination, a tribute to the long standing tradition of Star Trek films.

My wife and I just got a new 40” Sony Bravia and a blu-ray player to go with it. We had a couple of friends over to break it in and we wanted a fun action movie that went heavy on the graphics to test out the new system. My wife loves the new Star Trek movie and so she decided that would be the flick to break in our new TV. We were not disappointed in the least. The first time we saw it was at the theater and I enjoyed it, and this time it was just as fun. My wife has seen it four or five times now.



What was great about this film was how true to form it stayed to the old movies. The actors were perfect young versions of our heroes Kirk, Spock, and Bones. They were very fun to watch on the screen, not a single one amateur or incapable of carrying out their role in this intense action/sci-fi thriller.

The plot was very Star Trek. There was time travel, phaser fights, fist-a-cuffs, and of course great space battles. There was also the perfect blend of advanced modern cinematography with the old school technology of a 1960’s era television show. This movie was a perfect prequel, which managed to not destroy the shows and movies of Star Treks past. The script and the plot were fun and exciting. There were of course the classic lines of the pessimistic ‘Bones” (Dr. McCoy) and Chekov still can’t pronounce his “V”s correctly. There was even a guest appearance of the original Spock, Leonard Nimoy.

Now comes the part that made this film not quite a full meal for the Flicks-a-saurus
Rex. It really felt like the director wanted to have an action piece in every single scene change. The characters couldn’t just beam down to the surface of a planet and let the story un fold, they had to crash land and climb out of a 40 foot hole and then be chased by giant monsters. It was like certain scenes ran out of momentum so they had to put in random action scenes to speed things up. In fact the film in general just seemed a little too rushed. The Enterprise sped across the galaxy in minutes headed in one direction and then turned around in and a few minutes were back at earth. There just wasn’t enough pacing throughout the film.

Overall however this was a perfect film to watch on the blu-ray. The effects were incredible, the action was great, and it was the perfect addition to a long history of fun Star Trek films. I’ll give this film a 7.5 out of ten, I good hearty snack!

Sex/Nudity – 5 out of 10 – We see a man and a woman making out in their underwear. He is on top of her but they are interrupted before too much can happen. A woman walks into her bedroom and has a conversation with her roommate who is lying on a bed in a bra and panties. The other woman is changing clothes and we see her in a bra and panties.

Violence/Gore – 6 out of 10 - A guy gets stabbed in the chest and dies. A person gets sucked through a hole in a space ship and floats outside in space dead. There are ship to ship battles with lots of explosions. There are a few fist fights with bloody noses and minor cuts and bruises. A few guys fall to their deaths, we don’t see them land but assume they died. There are some gun fights where people die. There is little to none in the gore category. No splattering blood, no gory deaths.

Profanity – 4 out of 10 – There are a few very minor sexual terms, minor swear words, and a few religious exclamations.

Surrogates

Starring: Bruce Willis

MPAA - Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence, disturbing images, language, sexuality and a drug-related scene.

Sex/Nudity – There is a club scene with a bunch of scantily clad women. A man and a woman sneak out the back and make out, she is dressed in lingerie. There are robots throughout the film bare chested or private parts conveniently covered that look very human like.

Violence/Gore – A lot of people and robots get shot at. Some people are found in their chairs dead, blood pouring out their eyes, ears, and nose. Some robots get shot and green blood comes out of them. There are a few gun fights, car chases, ext. where people get hit, shot, and what not. The gore is pretty limited but there is a lot of action.

Profanity – There are a few religious exclamations, some instances of the “S” word, and a 5 or 6 scattered obscenities. Honestly the language was very limited in this film. Most PG movies have more swearing than this one.



Surrogates really could have been a great movie. It was like I, Robot meets Avatar meets Paycheck. Unusually good for a summer full of barely tolerable action popcorn flicks, Surrogates is what I wanted to see in Avatar, or at least it was getting there. It could have been great if a little bit more time had been put into developing the characters and turning the plot up a little bit. It was instead a fun action movie with some interesting moments.

I like Bruce Willis movies in general. I have been a fan of his for a while, and Surrogates is one of his more average films. The plot was decent. People of the word have robots that they control from home that allow them to do whatever they want and be safe from really being hurt, but now they no longer live life for themselves. Bruce Willis works for the FBI and is trying to solve what might be the first murder in years. The movie brings up some good points about humanity today. We all focus so much on our own lives that we lose touch with people around us.
Willis’ character feels this because his wife won’t even leave her room but instead uses her Surrogate to do everything including interaction with her husband.

There was really some room to grow these characters and understand the back story of Willis’ son’s death. This motivation drives Willis through the movie but we never really understand what happens. Instead there is more focus on getting the movie finished. The plot speeds along, skimming the surface, but never letting viewers really get into the film. The action is pretty cool and the plot twist is pretty surprising. However the movie is kind of anti-climatic compared to the rest of the film. When I discussed the movie with some friends afterwords we agreed it was a lot like the move Paycheck, in that it was exciting and fun to watch, but you can’t really see it over and over again, it is just not interesting enough to keep watching.



All in all this is a 6.5 to 7 out of 10. I liked it better than Max Payne, it wasn’t as formulaic, but it really could have been a lot better if the writers had put more time into character development and expanded the plot a little bit. If you liked Paycheck (as we said before), Die hard 4, I, Robot, then you will enjoy Surrogates. I liked it, but it could have been so much better.

Max Payne

Max Payne (Director’s Cut)

Starring: Mark Wahlberg and Ludacris

MPAA: PG-13 (Director’s cut Unrated) Rated PG-13 for violence including intense
shooting sequences, drug content, some sexuality and brief strong language.

Sex/Nudity – A man brings a woman to his apartment to question her, she walks to his bed and takes off her top. We see her in panties from behind and he bare back. She lies on his bed and covers herself with a sheet. He kicks her out of the house.

Violence/Gore – There are a lot of gun fights where each gunshot tends to send a shower of blood spraying out of the bodies. There are a few murders where it is implied the bodies are in a bunch of scattered pieces. There is one scene where a woman is dead laying on a bed with a lot of blood on the bed and it is implied the baby in the crib next to the bed has been killed in a similar fashion, though there is visual of this at all. I am sure the PG-13 version takes all the spraying blood out, but there are still a lot of gun fights.

Profanity – The director’s cut has 5 to 10 “F” words and a few other profanities scattered throughout. The PG-13 version has one ‘F” word and a few other swear words.



I watched this movie again the other day because I remember it being a pretty well done action film. The first time I watched it was when it first hit the rental stores in early ’09. I remember liking it or maybe I just remember being pleasantly surprised at the film. This second time around it was not nearly as good. The movie probably tops out at a 6 out of 10 … that is barely succeeding.

What is good about it are the gun fights. There are some sweet stylized gun fights that make the movie fun to watch. Couple that with the gritty filming and high end graphics the film is visually very appealing. Where it goes wrong is all the cookie cutter action movie plot points. Max Payne is a cold case loner detective who is searching for the killer of his dead wife. He is overly depressed like they all are and is willing to bend the law so that justice may be served. There is a damsel in distress, another damsel seeking revenge for her sister’s death, there is the suspicious corporation, the fatherly figure who’s angle you can’t quite figure out…and on and on and on.



The makers kept the colors in the lines on every point of the film, the plot is barely original unfolding step by step following the pattern of action films established in the ‘70s. Also the acting is pretty forced sometimes and some of the computer graphics images have you wondering what the heck is going on, but don’t worry there are enough bad guy monologues to get the story straight, and one even gets away for an obvious lead in to a possible sequel.

If you are a fan of or in the mood for the Transporter films or any other thoroughly mindless action films where you can see the end a mile off but you just want to see some people get blown away, well then Max Payne will do it for you. 6 out of 10, not terrible, just very formulaic!

The Name of the Rose

The Name of the Rose

Starring: Sean Connery, Christian Slater, Ron Pearlman

Year - 1986

MPAA – R

Sex/Nudity – There is one pretty graphic sex scene between a young man and woman. You see all of her and almost all of him, the only thing you don’t see is the actual penetration…if you know what I mean. There are a few references to one monk’s preference for pretty boys, and it is implied that one monk traded sexual favors with another one. I would give the movie 10 out of 10 in sex and nudity just because that scene was so explicit.

Violence/Gore – A man is presumably drowned in a vat of pig’s blood, quite a few people are found dead, presumably murdered. Torture is implied though not seen, and one man’s arm appears to have been broken in torture. One man is hit over the head he falls down dead and a lot of blood pools out of the wound. Two people are burned at the stake but we don’t actually see them burning. I’d say a 7 or 8 out of 10, not so much because of violence, there is very little, but because of the gore.

Profanity – One use of the “B” word, and maybe a religious exclamation or so.

This is a pretty old film, it came out the year I was born, but I really wanted to watch a Sean Connery film and this one seemed interesting. I really enjoyed it. I would give it a 7 0r 8 out of 10, not a fantastic film, but also not a bad job at all. There are some really good elements to the film and no real flaws.
Sean Connery and his apprentice are Franciscan monks visiting a Benedictine monastery. The monastery is under a dark shroud of woe due to mysterious deaths taking place among the monks. Connery uses his astute mind to solve the mystery casting off the idea of the work of the devil for a more logical explanation.



The name of the Rose is a very well done movie. It is Sherlock Holmes in the middle ages. Connery is somewhat of a rebel monk because he is not easily swayed by the zeitgeists of the time. Instead of fearing the presence of evil spirits, which theory the monks of the monastery lean towards, he uses reason and deduction to uncover the mystery behind the deaths. Connery plays his part well, there is almost little bit of Dr. Henry Jones meets James Bond (without the gizmos and gadgets). Slater’s role is narrator and side kick and his performance is adequate. None of the acting is phenomenal but the movie is carried off almost flawlessly.

My only problem with the movie was the end cleaned up a little too neatly and abruptly. It was still a decent end, and I don’t want to give anything away, but it just seemed too easy an ending. But it still worked for the film. I didn’t find any flaws in the writing, and the plot moved quickly so there were no parts that dragged out. Over all this movie was well done and I enjoyed watching it. I wasn’t a big fan of the unneeded sex scene, and it could have been a lot more tastefully done. However the film was suspenseful and seemed fairly accurate to the times.

The Book of Eli

The Book of Eli

Starring Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman

Directors Albert and Allen Hughes

MPAA: Rated R for some brutal violence and language.

Sex/Nudity – There is one rape scene very far off in the distance. The woman screams a lot as three men surround her. After words you can kind of see her dead body in the back ground. There is an attempted rape that is stopped. There is also a bar/ brothel where women in revealing outfits walk around and flirt with men. One girl is sent in to a man’s room with the intention that she will have sex with him, he denies her and they spend the evening talking.

Violence/Gore – There are a lot of bloody fight scenes with spraying blood and decapitated heads and arms. There are a lot of references to cannibals and in one scene a couple try to seduce another couple into their home for the purpose of eating them.

Language/Profanity – 10 or so “F” words and a few other swear words.

I was still suffering the after effects of Avatar and needed an intellectually stimulating action film to fill the void, so I convinced my wife to come with me to a late night showing of The Book of Eli. She had her doubts about a post-apocalyptic world where a man is trying to preserve the bible, whil I on the other hand had great hopes for the Hughes brothers, having seen their earlier film From Hell with Johnny Depp. I knew the brothers had spent a long time working with this film and that Denzel not only acted but help produce the film.

I was not disappointed, and Heather, my wife, was pleased. This film delivers tense, brutal, violent action, while still engaging the audience in a gripping story. The pace is a little different then most action films. There is no intense climax and final duel where the hero brings the villains to justice. And while this would have been awesome to see, and probably could have made it a better film, the ending was so surprising and brilliant that it didn’t seem as necessary. It was not a perfect film but the ratio of violence to character development and plot was perfect to keep me engaged in the film.

One element to the film that was especially well done was the music. There was a haunting ring to it as Denzel traversed a barren war torn landscape. The gritty and dirty state of the people was matched by a beautiful and powerful soundtrack that added to the feeling of danger at every turn.




Denzel Washington was perfect for the part of Eli. He was a quiet humble man who also carried great power. He was the perfect lonely traveler, walking the earth protecting the last known bible, but when he meets Solara (Mila Kunis) a father daughter relationship develops that Washington seems to take to rather well. Contrasting Denzel’s humble and noble Eli, is Gary Oldman’s psychotic Carnegie. It was a little bit too much of a repeat from his role in The 5th Element but still fun to watch. Both actors play their roles well and the move is all the better for it.

The Book of Eli has an element of spirituality that is beautiful to watch. Eli walks by faith, believing that God will take him where he needs to be and protect him until he has fulfilled the work God has given him. I had chills of delight as the film went along and I could see the hand of God guiding Eli. Now I want to go see it again and see the subtleties I missed the first time around.



The only downside to the film, be sides the mildly anti climatic “final battle”, was the lack of character development. I wanted another hour of relationship building and action. I wanted a marathon of Eli’s trip and his adventures as he walks the earth. The high contrast filming had a desolate beauty that I could have watched for hours. Coupling that with a little more dialogue and more development would have taken this move from a B+ to an A+. It just felt a little too short, like we came in at the end of a long journey instead of taking the journey with Eli.

Over all this film is an easy 4 star movie, about and 8.6 out of 10. I loved it. This is a film I can really sink my teeth into.

Gun Shy - Tuesday Night Snack Flik

Gun Shy

MPAA: Rated R for violence, language and some brief nudity.

Sex/Nudity – Some statues of naked women come alive and become painted naked women (this is in a hallucination caused by pain and fear). You see them from the front for a few seconds, then from the back for a few more seconds. Neeson’s bare bottom is shown in one or two scenes as he goes to see a doctor. There is some kissing as well, but no sex.

Language/Profanity – the “F” word is used quite a bit 20 to 30 times or so. The other profanities are scattered around in there too.

Violence - Pretty mild. There are a few gun battles, but very little blood. A body gard gets shot in the groin area while using the urinal. There are a few bloody wounds during the gun fights but nothing major.

Starring Liam Neeson, Oliver Platt, and Sandra Bullock

A fun, witty, almost goofy movie about a DEA Agent (Liam Neeson) whose recent scrape with death leaves him afraid to do his.

There is not too much to say on this film besides just that, it was fun. If you are looking for a deep film with a lot of plot twists then this is not one to pick out. However if you are looking to watch a fun little pop-corn flick with a little romance and some interesting characters then this is a good one to snag.

Liam Neeson is not the hard core action man you see in Taken, he is instead a calm and collected undercover agent who seems to have a knack for talking to people and relating to them. He is mild mannered on the job, but when he is alone he is almost overpowered by fear. He goes to daily therapy sessions with other middle aged men dealing with dissatisfaction on the job.



Oliver Platt is an eccentric leg breaker for the Local Mafia. He is also dissatisfied with his job, and along with that his marriage. The two form an unlikely bond as they deal with their problems.

The movie moves along at a decent pace, the action is not very good, and the profanity is a little over the top. What was well done is the interaction between the characters. Bullock and Neeson seem like an unlikely couple, but their scenes together are cute. She is in the film for almost 15 minutes though so fans of her may be disappointed.

Overall Gun Shy is a simple move, nothing in it is great, but it is a fun little movie to “snack” on!

Avatar 3D, Saturday's movie

Avatar
Running time about 2hour 45min
Directed by James Cameron
MPAA: PG-13 for intense epic battle sequences and warfare, sensuality, language and some smoking.
Sex/Nudity - 6 - We see two aliens getting it on, I mean we don’t see the thrusting and moaning, but there is a wide angled shot of the female straddling the guy “hugging”, but by the looks on their faces it’s not just a passionate hug. Plus all the aliens, who are very humanoid, run around in thongs, the females not wearing anything on top except conveniently placed necklaces. It is not as bad as it sounds but you still get the point.
Profanity – about 30 or so profanities, “S”-word, religious exclamations ect, one or two “B”-words, no F words.
Violence/Gore – Lots of people get shot with arrows, a few alien animals get stabbed with knives both in hunting and in combat. There are a lot of explosions, people, aliens, and alien animals all getting shot and shot at. Very little blood at all surprisingly.

If you liked Avatar check out Terminator Salvation (I enjoyed it), GI Joe (worst film of the year), Aliens (a James Cameron Classic), Lord of the Rings, and the newest Star Wars (Episodes 1 through 3 all of which I think are terrible films).

We waited in line for an hour for the sold out evening showing of Avatar. I had heard so much about the movie I convinced my wife to come with me to go see it in 3D. We got the best seat in the house, middle of the isle, middle of the theater. I was excited. The last thing I saw in 3D was the Bug’s Life ride in Disney World. I put on my glasses and was blown away by just the previews. Alice in Wonderland 3D looks like a winner!



Avatar however was not a winner in my book. Mechanically it was amazing. I would give it 8 out of 10 in its visual beauty. The Pandora world the humans were visiting was amazing. The script was decent, the graphics were phenomenal, the acting was good (even the computer generated aliens acted well…as well as can be expected), and even the plot was well put together. However I was sorely disappointed in the message of the film and so I can only give it a 6 out of 10.

I loved watching this movie in 3D. There was so much to look at. The scenery was beautiful; floating mountains with waterfalls that trailed off into mist, thousand foot tall trees, man sized leaves, helicopter winged bugs, everything was so picturesque. Then of course there were the gunships, the machine armored robots, the 3D computers, all this amazing technology used to create a world of metal vs. a world of natural plants and animals. My wife said it was like if Lord of the Rings and Jurassic Park had a baby, and that baby hooked up Aliens, and their off-spring got with Pocahontas (this was my addition), the result would be Avatar.

The problem was we saw was 3 hours of Cowboys vs. Indians. Of course in our politically correct and enlightened world we live in today the Indians (aliens) are not the savages, no they are the ones who understand nature and can talk to their planet and live with and love even the most dangerous of animals.

Contrast this lifestyle with the evil cowboys (the humans). They only want to ravage the world and destroy nature so they can suck precious stones from the earth. Only the enlightened scientists want to do good for the aliens. The rest of the humans are psychotic mercenaries who only want to strip the planet of its natural recourses.



There were too many political statements for me to really enjoy the movie. While I had fun watching all the cool 3D special effects, I kept wishing I was watching a different movie. I couldn’t connect to the characters because I felt like I was watching a political advertisement for liberal propaganda.

Most of you will watch the movie and say, “what is the guy talking about? This movie is awesome, I wish I could do that.” And that is great, go enjoy it. While you are doing that I am going to go watch Aliens and Terminator 2, James Cameron’s truly great films.

The Jane Austen Book Club - Friday Night Jan. 15th 2010

The Jane Austen Book Club

MPAA - PG-13 for mature thematic material, sexual content, brief strong language and some drug use.

Sex/Nudity 6 out of 10 – One girl is a Lesbian and has two lovers through the course of a film, she is seen sleeping in bed with them, and there is a scene where one girl is in a bath tub, covered in bubbles, while the other girl is sitting on the edge of the tub, fully clothed talking to her. There are references to sex throughout the film mentioning who was sleeping with who in different Jane Austen books. At the end of the film many different couples are seen making out implying that they are getting ready for sex. There is no nudity, and no crude or irreverent references to sex.

Language – English and some French…just kidding. There is one use of the F-word, and about 10 other obscenities including religious exclamations.

Violence – NONE

3 out of 5 stars… or 7.5 out of 10. A well made film with a good balance of drama and comedy.

If you enjoyed this film then check out Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Sense and Sensibility, Mansfield Park, and Persuasion. Actually if you haven’t seen or read any Jane Austen’s books/movie adaptation you probably will not understand parts of the film, so watch those first. Then check out About a Boy or Notting Hill, or One Fine Day, all great comedy/dramas about real people.

Friday night, spent the day at school and work. Heather, my wife, spent the day all cooped up in the apartment. We just watched Gladiator yesterday and so we try a chick flick. The IMDB gave it 7 out of 10, so it has got to be decent. We pop it in the DVD player and I am hooked. This movie is hilarious. It is kind of a romantic comedy but mostly a dramatic comedy about a group of women (and one guy) who start a book club for reading Jane Austen books (mean while their lives parallel some of the books they are reading). As men we are not supposed to like these kinds of movies, but I believe any man can at least appreciate a well scripted and well acted film.

What was brilliant about The Jane Austen Book Club was that they had a guy join in the book club. So while these women are all having problems and talking girl talk there is still a guy there for the male viewers to relate to. In fact even the macho guys in the book who are side characters start reading some of Austen’s books and get hooked. When the movie was finished I felt like digging in to some Jane Austen.

I would not recommend this movie for young viewers, the content is just not appropriate, and there is nothing for kids and young teenagers. This movie is made for married adults who kind of have an understanding of relationships and enjoy comedies and dramas about relationships. It is also way helpful to the viewer if the viewer has read some of Austen’s books, or at least seen the movies. If not then some of the dialogue and plot elements just won’t make sense.


To sum it all up (because my wife said that my Gladiator review was far too long and no one is going to read it) the Jane Austen Book Club is a great date night film to sit down with your wife and laugh together. The script is excellently written, the plot moves quickly, the actors are fun to watch, and in general it is just a well done movie.

Gladiator Extended Edition - Thursday night movie Review

Gladiator Extended Edition– 5 stars (easily), or a 10 out of 10

Running time – about 2.5 hours

Director – Ridley Scott
Starring – Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix

Sex/Nudity – Some awkward scenes where a brother talks with his sister implying he wants to sleep with her
Language – 2 swear words… very minimal
Violence/gore – Lots of splashing blood, arena battles, war violence and the aftermath. The violence is a few steps up from Lord of the Rings, humans actually dying instead of ogres, and there is a little bit more blood.

If you liked this Flick check out Troy (w/Brad Pitt), King Arthur (w/Clive Owen), Kingdom of Heaven (w/Orlando Bloom - although I don't remember liking it much, maybe I should give it another try?),

I picked this movie last night to watch with my wife to wow her with an amazing film. I had forgotten just how astounding this movie is. We sat together in silent awe as we entered the world of the Coliseum, Caesar, and the most horrific and exciting entertainment the planet has ever seen. Gladiator is a brilliant film. It is a masterpiece in acting, plot, and also the cinematography.

The acting is superb. Everyone is so in character. There is never a moment when the viewer is taken out of the world of Gladiator because of poorly delivered lines, or bad accents, or anything like that. My only gripe is that Russell Crowe’s character Maximus is called a Spaniard, and yet at the time Spain as we know it was Hispania. Spain and Spanish and Spaniards, as far as I know, were not really around till hundreds of years later. But who cares really. The characters are believable, and viewers grow quite attached to them as the story progresses.

There is a good mix of political intrigue with family and personal struggles for freedom, power and love. These elements make Gladiator a triumph in scripting as well as in cinematic quality. Twists in the story keep the viewers wondering what is going to happen next. Without trying to give anything away there is tragedy, murder, plots of assassinations, a few light moments where you breathe for a minute before the plots again twists towards the tense and bloody end. No one can argue that this plot and script were not well developed and aptly carried out.



The Roman era is a time of beautiful architecture and wonderful luxury. Each and every shot displays the beauty of the Roman era. The costumes are beautiful, even the armor worn by the gladiators and soldiers is decorative and well designed. In the lion pits or in the palace of Caesar the images are beautiful. Deep blues and blacks and purples set a dark mood to the story, and the contrast with the dark armor of the warriors and the light golden sands in the pits make a stark contrast to add to the visual appeal to the film. There is not a single shot that is not beautiful in some way that one could see as a still frame hanging in an art gallery.

Gladiator is as close to a perfect film as you can get. The message of the film is hope in life after death, the importance of freedom, the value of a representative council. The film speaks on levels both spiritual and temporal. My wife was almost in tears at the end, because of the beauty of the film. If you are looking for a film that takes you on an emotional roller coaster, has some awesome actions scenes, and also blows your mind with its depth and beauty, then Gladiator is the movie for you!