Ah, the bane of the sci-fi movie rears its ugly head once again: special effects budget v. story/character development. While this movie had excellent possibilities, they were lost when the decision was made to substitute a "look" for...
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Ah, the bane of the sci-fi movie rears its ugly head once again: special effects budget v. story/character development. While this movie had excellent possibilities, they were lost when the decision was made to substitute a "look" for character dev and story arc.

The poorly revealed characters and backstory left me unsatisfied. Not only do we get no explanation of the mythology that has pit Jumpers against Paladins for centuries, we get absolutely nothing about the main characters beyond their jumping skills. How did David learn how to live in the world with no education or experience? Why did Griffin follow or approach David if he had no desire to help him whatsoever? Why does the character of David's mother even appear in the movie at all?

The interesting special effects, the jumpscars, the fast pace and action scenes could not make up for the patently lacking story. This is a lesson that sci-fi movie makers seem unable to learn - story and characters FIRST, cool special effects are a wonderful BONUS. Great concept, poor execution. Unfortunately, "Jumper" never gets off the ground.

As a fan of "Omega Man" - the original B movie of the 70s - I looked forward to this film with great anticipation. Frankly, I thought it more entertaining than the Charleton Heston version - Will Smith really committed himself to the...
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As a fan of "Omega Man" - the original B movie of the 70s - I looked forward to this film with great anticipation. Frankly, I thought it more entertaining than the Charleton Heston version - Will Smith really committed himself to the part as Heston did not. And that is what ultimately made this film for me - Smith's portrayal of Robert Neville.
His reaction to his state, his loneliness, his utter desperation to find a cure, and his confused inability to relate to Anna and Ethan were perfectly realistic. Who wouldn't go a little nuts given his situation? Were there logical inconsistencies? Yes - the stealth jet on the aircraft carrier among others. Were there plot points that went unexplained? Sure - just what kind of a virus was this, anyhow? But these are small moments for the suspension of disbelief in an overall good film. Still another take on the original novel, but one worth seeing.

Surprisingly good! No one doubted if Depp and Bonham-Carter could pull off the "crazy killers" aspect of this film, but I was happily surprised by their singing abilities as well. Depp was perfect - and he managed to make you forget he...
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Surprisingly good! No one doubted if Depp and Bonham-Carter could pull off the "crazy killers" aspect of this film, but I was happily surprised by their singing abilities as well. Depp was perfect - and he managed to make you forget he wasn't a trained singer. Considering the scale of his musical numbers, it was quite impressive. Bonham-Carter less so, but I'd give her a C+ for singing. Very entertaining, spurting blood notwithstanding. The young man who put Sweeney out of his misery certainly has a career ahead of him on the stage! And who didn't love seeing Alan Rickman and Timothy Spall bite it in the end? They are two guys you love to hate.

Trying to bring this story to the screen was quite a challenge, I'm sure. Burton certainly brought his own "vision" to Sweeney Todd, but we've seen this same vision in each and every one of his films to date (and many of the same actors). Hey, it seems to work for him.

Some books just don't translate. The Golden Compass was an "okay" fantasy novel, but its style of jumping Lyra from one situation into another just made the film seem badly edited. Those who never read the novel could not have possibly...
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Some books just don't translate. The Golden Compass was an "okay" fantasy novel, but its style of jumping Lyra from one situation into another just made the film seem badly edited. Those who never read the novel could not have possibly made the leaps in logic required of them to keep up with the characters and to follow the ever increasingly complex plot-line.

While young Dakota Blue Richards did an excellent job, and Kidman officially chewed scenery to the best of her ability, to say that the rest of the characters were one-dimensional would be an understatement.

For book fans, the attempt to make Lord Asrial into a HERO by bypassing the ending was unforgiveable.

Quite good - excellent action and a very creative exposition at the start. Loved the FBI team, even if the "powers that be" were a bit cliche. Didn't see the second bomb coming at all. The cinematography was beautifully done -...
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Quite good - excellent action and a very creative exposition at the start. Loved the FBI team, even if the "powers that be" were a bit cliche. Didn't see the second bomb coming at all. The cinematography was beautifully done - disturbingly realistic. The climactic kidnapping of the agent was edge-of-your-seat stuff, and who knew that Jason Bateman could turn in a performance like this? Unlike most movie-damsels-in-distress, he fought back like a man who knew he was about to be killed. I have one criticism - the ending was disappointing. Regardless of whether or not the filmmakers were trying to tell us that this war would never end, they should never put the same words coming out of the mouths of terrorists as they do the mouths of people who fight terrorism. These do not equate.

It's hard to believe this movie was ever made. For a true Beatle's fan and a child of the sixties it was beautiful. The 24-year-old I went with thought it was extremely confusing, but I loved all the allusions to songs they didn't even sing....
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It's hard to believe this movie was ever made. For a true Beatle's fan and a child of the sixties it was beautiful. The 24-year-old I went with thought it was extremely confusing, but I loved all the allusions to songs they didn't even sing. "She came in through the bathroom window," - I was giggling, turned around and no one else in the entire theater seemed to get it!

A real throwback to Magical Mystery Tour. Beautiful colors, surreal images and a fairly accurate historical setting. Sure, Janis and Jimi didn't jam, but you almost wished they had after seeing this one. A nice one for ma-ma-ma-my generation.

I should have known better. Rob Zombie left out everything that made the original Halloween the classic that it was. By focusing on the character of Michael Myers, he turned it into a typical slash and crunch serial killer movie and removed all...
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I should have known better. Rob Zombie left out everything that made the original Halloween the classic that it was. By focusing on the character of Michael Myers, he turned it into a typical slash and crunch serial killer movie and removed all the creepifying mystery behind the unnamed figure watching Lori and her friends. I was wondering when the BAU was going to enter the scene to profile the killer and catch him before he killed again.

I've seen lousy remakes before, but this one floats to the top of my "what were they thinking?" list. John Carpenter is probably off muttering under his breath, "I told you so."

Making Book 5 into a film was a huge challenge. Order of the Phoenix was the longest book of the series which changed the arc of the story from a fun kid's adventure with lots of heroic action to an adult dramatic story more concerned with...
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Making Book 5 into a film was a huge challenge. Order of the Phoenix was the longest book of the series which changed the arc of the story from a fun kid's adventure with lots of heroic action to an adult dramatic story more concerned with psychological warfare than silly antics of teenagers. The story told by Rowling in this book is disturbing - Harry is castigated, tortured and ostracized - he has to grow up NOW, and turn his immense internal fears into action without the help of his hero, Dumbledore.

Looking at the film itself, the filmmakers did a great job - it was dark, it was disturbing, and it brought the students at Hogwarts together in a way we've never seen before. The use of cuts of The Daily Prophet managed much of the exposition we needed, and the changes that were necessary in changing book to film seemed very believable. The best change of all was in the three principal actors - they have finally grown up enough in life and in their acting skills to pull off a story like this one. Radcliffe's intensity and fear was very well done - and not over-the-top as book-readers may have feared. He did not act all in capital letters, his emotional reactions were spot on. Grint and Watson also managed their characters well, as did the rest of Dumbledore's Army.

And because of these young actors' growth, the story evolves from one about adults to one all about the kids. We didn't see much of Dumbledore, McGonigal, or even members of the Order as we might have suspected, but that makes sense, doesn't it? Harry and his friends have been forced to take on the adult roles - they must act for themselves - they cannot rely on anyone to save them.

Yes, I missed some of the scenes from the book, but the choices made by the movie team were excellent. Umbridge was horrifyingly evil wrapped in pink taffeta, Fred and George have made the transition to adults and think of helping others, and Harry has become the leader he must be at the urging of friends who no longer allow him to sulk in private.

Regrets? Sure. If it were up to me the movie would be 6 hours long and would contain every scene from Rowling's book. But, within the movie story arc, this one stands out. Well done.

I suppose this movie proves the point that it is not a good idea to read the book before you see a movie. Stephen King has had a few homeruns on the big screen, but most adaptations of his novels tend to peter out into silly inanity. This time, I...
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I suppose this movie proves the point that it is not a good idea to read the book before you see a movie. Stephen King has had a few homeruns on the big screen, but most adaptations of his novels tend to peter out into silly inanity. This time, I determined NOT to read the book first, and saw the movie with an open mind, and I loved it. A big payoff in scariness, and a great performance by John Cusack. The hero is troubled, sarcastic and has a good reason for disbelieving anything of a supernatural nature, yet yearns for closure concerning the death of his daughter. Since he was almost always acting alone, or in front of green screen effects, Cusack did a great job. For a while there I wondered if I was going to get the same lame resolution many King movies end up with but, happily, the surfing accident red herring was just another of the room's little games. My single favorite scene had to be the screaming conversation Cusack had through the mini-bar with the creepy Mr. Olin.

Terry Benedict and the Night Fox finally get what they deserve!

Although somewhat predictable, the intricately plotted 2nd sequel to Ocean's 11 was great entertainment. Interactions among cast members make it seem like a family...
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Terry Benedict and the Night Fox finally get what they deserve!

Although somewhat predictable, the intricately plotted 2nd sequel to Ocean's 11 was great entertainment. Interactions among cast members make it seem like a family reunion. Some HUGELY funny moments between Clooney and Pitt, and Linus finally gets some respect - fake nose and all.

The trouble with sequels to this type of movie is that we're looking for the long con from the very beginning, so the element of surprise we experienced in the first movie is no longer possible. Knowing that going in- Ocean's 13 is still a great ride.

A 21st century homage to Rear Window. Great suspense, excellent creepy villain in David Morse and some "yikes" moments. The set up was well done, if a little too much time is spent trying to make Kale into a slacker low-life. The film...
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A 21st century homage to Rear Window. Great suspense, excellent creepy villain in David Morse and some "yikes" moments. The set up was well done, if a little too much time is spent trying to make Kale into a slacker low-life. The film didn't quite pull off why everybody should be so quick to disbelieve everything he says. Nice performances were turned in by the young cast, but Aaron Yoo stole every scene he was in.

A good combination of action and traditional Spiderman angst. For those true fans of the comic-book hero, we know to expect Spidey to do a lot of soul searching during the day-to-day, run of the mill heroics that come with the superhero gig....
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A good combination of action and traditional Spiderman angst. For those true fans of the comic-book hero, we know to expect Spidey to do a lot of soul searching during the day-to-day, run of the mill heroics that come with the superhero gig. Peter experiences his highest highs and lowest lows in this flick, while still remaining completely clueless in the girlfriend department.

Lot's of great action sequences, excellent CGI for Venom, and Spiderman-with-a-conscience lets the bad guy get away. I'm not quite sure if Maguire pulled off "bad Spidey" that well - combing his hair over his eyes and wearing a black suit, he was still pretty geeky, but how bad could they depict our hero in a movie that was made to please Spidey fans?

Loved the Harry story arc - almost completely self-contained in this film alone. From out-and-out to the death fighting at the beginning, to Peter's rush of relief when Harry has apparently forgotten that they are enemies - brilliant! And, again, as the movie progresses, and Harry is ultimately redeemed - a great choice by the writers. The end? Spidey-fans would be worrying if Mary Jane and Peter actually resolved anything. They haven't in the comics and they've been dating, what, 30 years?