Review: INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL Score D-

All I can really say is the this one is the death of the franchise. Yes it made a gazillion dollars but only because everyone who grew up with Indy or liked any of the previous films had to see this one. This one is SO far from good that its sad. From the opening, through the CGI killer giant ants (that only eat bad guys) to the Alien skeletons at the end..... just bad. The fights... bad. The dialogue..... bad. The addition of Shia dressed as Fonzie as Indiana's son...bad. The Sword fighting while jungle car racing...bad. The old man's stunt work...not that bad, but not great either. In fact there are only two "good" things in this sequel (1) bringing back Marion and (2)Cate Blanchet as the Villain (although they manage to screw that up with her bad dialogue and horrendous ending).

Lucas and Spielberg have really managed to screw up Indiana Jones as the Icon that he is/was. I think, at least here, that they are so out of touch with the public and film making today. Lucas evidenced that with his Star Wars Jar Jar Binks addition and his obsession with adding lots of bad CGI. I knew when they announced the title of this one that it was going to be trouble. Its really a testament to Lucas' lack of creative ideas anymore (as he is credited with the story) from the lame title choice, to a character named Mutt, to a crazy ancient stone portal in the Amazon that leads to another dimension only if the last stolen alien skull is placed back on the crystal body and then the alien skeletons can reanimate and dole out some ultimate power...Huh?

For those of us that are fans of the previous Indiana Jones saga..I say skip this one. Don't taint your respect for Indy by seeing him in this horrible version of an adveture that is not worthy of a whipping from his bull whip.

Review: HELLBOY II:THE GOLDEN ARMY Score A

Comic book action adventure fatasy films are not everyone's taste but In the realm of Comic book adaptation films, things do not get much better than Hellboy II . It succeeds in besting the first movie (a rare feat for sequels of any genre much less comic book movies). I can not say enough great things about Director Del Toro. He always has such great vision for his films and seems to bring to life almost exactly what he has in his mind's eye to the screen. For those of you who haven't checked out his previous Pan's Labyrinth yet, do yourself a favor and spend a night catching it. In Hellboy II our reluctant hero is set on yet another mission this time with prophecy and elaborate underworlds and past storylines. What Director Del Toro does though is create a very clear world with such detailed characters and creatures. Really a testament to creativity in general. When film making is this clear its easy to fall into the world created and just go along for the ride. The mix of make up, prostetics, costumes and CGI is so well done here that other directors should be taking notes and doing more of the former three and less of the CGI. The underworld is almost like a trip into the Star Wars bar scene times 100. So much to look at and some much to take in. The fight scenes are all well done and deliver the action sougt in films like this. The sets are expansive and beautiful and returning and new characters are all clearly defined and interesting just to observe in their details. Really liked this one and think it deserves to be on your list to see.

Review: RATATOUILLE Score A-

Another of Pixar's great animation creations here in Ratatouille. Being a foodie and amateur chef myself I particularly enjoyed this one. One of the things I really enjoy and respect about the Pixar team is their passion for getting things right. I know on this one that the animators had food and cooking lessons and it lead to being almost able to smell and taste the animated creations. As for the storyline: a wayward Rat (Remy) with a passion for food, who is a culinary master chef (from studying with the TV show and Cookbook of France's top chef) ends up in Paris, France in the restaurant of his idol. Now within the restaurant its human chefs are a pleathoea of creative and colorful types (almost like any fine dining restaurant in the world) from the secretive Sous Chefs to the Screaming/Yelling head Chef of the restaurant. Remy gets to cook here through the puppeteering of the janitorial young kitchen cleanup man. Without spoiling the twist and turns of the story, I leave it that it is an enjoyable romp throughout.

The animation here, as usual with Pixar, is simply top notch. The meal preparation is on par with watching any cooking show today. As with every Pixar movie there are plenty of side characters with there own quirks and humor. This one entertains most everyone.

Review: WALL-E Score A-

Pixar's latest computer animation spectacular. Really well done, but that isn't saying anything new as everything Pixar has put out has been really well done. This one is virtually a dialogue-less romp in a possible future 700 years away. The love story developed here between the two robots is really so clearly played out you almost feel that they are human characters. Emotions have been so well demonstrated by the animators here. The animation is also beautiful in general, each successive Pixar project brings such finer and finer animation points. There is also a very clear message portrayed in this film: that is that if we as a human race don't be careful we could 'garbage overload' our planet so much that we could render it unlivable which could lead us to 'space living' where we don't lift a finger for anything and become a race of fat- useless-sedentary-do-nothings. Its a frightening concept to include in such a cute little robot cartoon film. But worth noting it as a statement.

WALL-E himself is a cute lovable little tyke. We clearly root for him almost from the first time we see him interact with his pet cockroach (which no surprise, are the only living things left on this future earth). He marvels at some of the "junk treasures" he comes across in his job of trash compacting. And he is smitten by an old VHS movie musical he watches over and over. He discovers a lone green sprout which later becomes a centerpiece of the storyline. When the probe EVA make her way on to earth to seek sustainable life is where we see WALL-E demonstrate some real love and affection. Their storyline leads us off earth and back into space where the adventure continues. Lots of really innovative robots in this imagined future and then all the humans all seem to look the same (i.e. Fat tubs of lazy lard). The ship doesn't seem to want to return to earth as it follows orders 700 years ago that the 'cleanup earth' mission didn't work. However, the human Captain seems to get the message the it just needs some care, attention and someone to look after it. And our Heroes WALL-E and EVA make sure that the directive is fulfilled to get back to earth. Overall a very good animation film. Check it out.

Review: THE FORBIDDEN KINGDOM Score: B+

To take this film for what it is, A Kung Fu Fairy tale adventure, works. Though Chan and Li are masters in their own right as far as Kung Fu films go, here they really don't pull out anything we haven't seen before. They do manage some great fight scenes thanks to Yuen Wo Ping's choreography. Although both are getting past their prime. Again though to look at what this film aims to be (a moral fairy tale) it serves that aim quite well. The lead teen star does manage to hold his own being overshadowed by martial arts mayhem at every scene, yet he does little to impress with his clear lack of formal martial arts skills..learning most if not all just for this role (Kind of like what the Matrix team of actors went through). You never really buy their skills but you buy into the fact that it works for the storyline.

Overall this movie is filled with great costumes and great locations (filmed in China) and brings together two of the legends from the genre together here. It was equivalent to DeNiro and Pacino being paired up only in a completely different way... Kung Fu vs. Acting prowess.

This is a Kung Fu flick that is extremely family friendly. An adventure with some lessons in it that can entertian more than just hardcore Kung Fu fight fans. And its meant to be more than just that. Worth seeing its entertaining for just about everyone, just don't go into expecting a masterpiece or spectacle or anything beyond a piece of fun film.

Review: DIARY OF THE DEAD Score: A-

George A. Romero is perhaps the father of Zombie movies and he delivers here. Here though he gives us something cutting edge. In the vein of The Blair Which Project and what Cloverfield attempted to do Romero gets it right. The modern day documentary-style Zombie film that really capitalizes on the tech of today.. the Internet, YouTube, video uploading, web cameras, surveillance cameras, handheld cameras in every home and every hand of young people today. In this film he really manages to stay true to his own Zombie lure (1) The dead are rising for some unknown reason and they want to feast on live humans (2)if you get bit, you die and comeback as one of them (3) the only way to stop them is to destroy the brain. And so he applies this to this round of film making. Its a fun horror flick by one of the masters. Perhaps even more pointed here is that he manages to also throw in how quickly society would break down in luie of a Zombie virus. That the baseness of humans rise so fast in face of such an event. In the end it is a bit of a commentary on humankind and if we are worth saving. As for the film itself its almost entirely POV with some voice overs added as well as some music which is explained through the story. It is easy to go along with the POV style and it actually sucks you in quite effectively. There are a few jolts and scares here and there but its more terrifying in thought than in pure horror violence and blood. Overall a really good film in the horror/Zombie genre.

Review: THE INCREDIBLE HULK Score: C+

After Ang Lee took a shot at trying to make a Hulk movie and failing...this offering does manage to improve on the concept. With a better storyline and more of a comic book feel to it. Norton does a convincing job as the conflicted David Banner. We are set forward immediately that Banner has been in hiding trying to cure himself and has been Hulk transformation free for sometime. The evil government is tracking him down so they can turn him into a weapon and create more super soldiers. Now what doesn't make sense here is that Roth's military agent character (seemingly written in after he was cast- the how do we fit this British actor into our storyline) is given a super serum that makes him super powerful and super healing- Uh why isn't every solider given this injection? Then after capturing Banner in a lab where his blood is reproduced the government, it seems, would now have its super weapon formula. Roth's character high on a steroid binge wants more and forces the scientist to inject him so he transforms into The Abomination a bigger grey creature that is only bent on (it seems) getting into a fight with the Hulk. So this Abomination continues to wreck the city until the Hulk appears to fight him (which Banner just jumps from a Helicopter above and transforms after he hits the pavement). The Fight is now on (what seems to be the whole reason for the movie). And what a fight it is. The computer animation is on overtime here and I found myself searching for a gaming console handset so that I could start playing the action. It sadly turned into little more than a video game at this point..entirely CGI and lame at that. I think that part of the problem here is that the film makers opted for CGI where the better way to go probably would have been to cast the biggest bodybuilder that you can get to play the hulk and a seven foot tall one to play the Abomination. It would have been a much better way to go. You can't escape the cartoon video game aspect without doing that. It worked on TV in the 70's. We bought it back then with Lou Feriggno and with advancements in movie making today they could have made it work again here. I think that is the big problem with adapting the Hulk for a film. Up to a point I can forgive the CGI but if its too much... its Jar Jar Binks all over again. Save it for a video game.. I would rather see a monstrous real human playing the Hulk.

Review: THE DARK KNIGHT Score: A+

This installment of the Batman franchise is by far and away the best of the bunch. Mainly due to Heath Ledger's commanding performance of the Joker. His presence in the film is just phenomenal and true pinnacle of his acting up to his passing before its release. Heath's portrayal is so powerful that if overwhelms the rest of the cast and even the story. Batman almost becomes a secondary character here. The action scenes are superbly executed and a marvel to watch. But even with those you are still haunted by the acting of Ledger's Joker...he draws you in to such an extent that you just want to see more of him. As for the Harvey Dent/two face character I think that it was reaching a bit to put him in the center of the movie so much. However the film did need a storyline, it could not be just the Joker robbing, and stealing, and killing etc...or could it have been? On the strength of Heath's performance the film could have sustained more of him and been retitled The Dark Joker. But that is another movie. Too bad we won't get to see more of him in the future. I think we should all safely look for this movie and in particular Heath's performance to pop up at Oscar and awards season for plenty of nominations. A Great film, most of the world has already seen it but if you haven't yet see it NOW!

Review: PINEAPPLE EXPRESS Score: B+

This movie did a 180 about half way through and went from a stoner comedy to a stoner action movie. Yet it worked. It threw me for a loop but an enjoyable one. The overall story was pretty well done yet there were some times that the violence overtook it. Acting was pretty solid all the way around with James Franco really stretching (and delivering) here as the pothead weed dealer, actually both leads made you really want to care about their characters and root for them. As for the villains, they were a little over the top and for the amount of gunfire and explosions in the end it got outrageous. Some of the fights were a bit ridiculous and they ventured back into the comedy realm, It was like a war film almost in the end. Still overall a good solid action comedy film. Check it out!

Review: THE HAPPENING Score: F

M. Night has lost his touch... following up his Lady In the Water fiasco with The Happening. The trailers for this looked great..tense ..scary...inviting us to witness. Well it falls FLAT... Lame dialogue, lame story, poor acting from almost the entire cast, direction that looks as if it came from a student film maker. Mark Walberg throws a dud here but he is definitely not helped by this weak, weak screenplay. There are so many holes in this poor attempt at an ecological thriller. The Storyline is plodded along by obvious dialogue devices that point directly on the nose at what is next. The trees and plants fight back...only selectively at first the toxins are only for big groups, unless you are in a car, but only certain cars, and the wind carries the toxin but only in one direction even if you are surrounded by trees in a field, but some people are spared because the wind stops just short of them, and the toxin surrounds everyone yet you can be spared if you stand in the right house, but not with too many people around you. Oh and what does this plant toxin do? Well it makes you freeze in place like freeze tag, but in some people it makes you walk backwards, and then others it make you talk funny repeating a phrase AND in everyone it makes you find a way to commit suicide and kill yourself....with a gun or jumping off a roof or stabbing your neck with a chopstick or starting up a lawn mower and then waiting for it to turn around so you can lay in front of it or there is inviting a lion to rip your arm off then inviting another to rip your other arm off. Or you could just continue to smash your head against an old house wall until you find the windows to smash them with headbutts as well. What a piece of crap this was..... I mean come on. The scariest moment in the whole film is a crazy old lady that yells at Mark. M.Night what were you thinking here? This is perhaps the worst of his movies..it looked so promising in the trailers but that was it the trailer is more frightening and worth watching than the movie.

Review: TROPIC THUNDER Score: A-

Tropic Thunder is a Surprisingly good action comedy film. Actually a unique storyline boosted by performances of Downey Jr., Black and its writer/director/star Stiller. The film had some laugh out loud parts including the opening trailers for the faux films of the fim within a film stars. Robert Downey Jr. completely looses himself in his character, so much that we forget we are watching him and think its the Australian playing this black soldier with utter conviction. Stiller's portrayal of Simple Jack is just too funny as well. Black unfortunately is given only one note to play..the jonesing for a hit drug addicted Hollywood star. Some of it is a bit funny but again mostly one note. As for the action scenes I didn't expect Michael Bay-esque explosions and all yet I must say they were better done than most of Bay's own films. Matthew McConahey seemed to be doing nothing more than playing himself as Stiller's agent...and as for Tom Cruise...uh....you can put a fat suit on..some big hairy hands and arms and a bald cap...but its still Cruise...in context of the story his parts are funny however I have the sneaking suspicion that Mr. Cruise did not steer too far from his own self in the filthy mouth tirades...something about it screams that he's done that before only not acting a part.

Overall I suggest it as a DVD worth taking a look at, its an enjoyable romp and skewers the entertainment industry in a not too harsh way and its fun.

Movie Review: QUANTUM OF SOLACE Score: B-

The new Bond movie is not...a BOND MOVIE. Quantum of Solace (could be renamed Quantum of Bondless) the most recent addition to the franchise does such a dis-service to the series. I will give it a B- rating as a movie but it does not hold itself up to the standard that Bond deserves. The movie which is supposed to be a direct sequel to Casino Royale (which was superior in every way) leads us into a completely different realm. It became an action movie of Bourne Identity, Transporter, Die Hard mode. The Direction here is more like an MTV video than anything else... The action which there is a lot of, never seems to be rooted in anything but quick cuts and flashes that leave us wondering what is going on, who is hitting who, or chasing, or shooting at. It just fails to be BOND smooth sleek secret agent directly confronting the villain in a card match or chess match of some kind. Instead Daniel Craig who makes a great Bond is forced to do his best with this failed outing of a Bond adventure. Gone are the cool gadgets, cool car tools, cool villains or henchmen. The Villain in this go around is more like a wimpy version of what a Bond Villain should be, the character was clearly missed in the script... he then somehow at the end becomes a worthy fighting adversary to Bond? Huh? Where was that hinted at anywhere in the movie?

This Bond Movie serves only as a medium grade action movie. Plus the opening credits and new Bond song were both atrocious. A slap in the face to the rest of the series. Anyway that is my take on this newest installment of what I expected to be much better.

Billions in Cash! The Never ending bailout....

SO it started with the government agreeing to supply AIG with a $85 Billion bailout package then giving them another $37 Billion on top of it THEN.....a $700 Billion bailout package in funds for the defunct corporations who screwed up. Now its going to be $XX Billions for the big three Auto makers. Then AmEX just put in their request for a $3.5 Billion bailout. At this rate next Walmart will ask for some Billions along with some Billions to add to Exxon Mobil profits and then maybe Halaberton..... Oh and maybe the Iraqi Government will ask us for a few more Billion to help the surplus Billions they have in stock. When will it end..... All of these big companies get their "share" yet John Q Public has lost his job, his home, his savings and more...where is his help.

Only a select few have even mentioned the possible solution of trickle up economy. Save Main street first. All of the heads of these companies already have their millions and no are losing their jobs or homes. Yet these bailout millions will never end up in taxpayers hands or accounts. Not a Dime. I don't see how down the road when and if these companies are healthy again that the government thinks we will make a profit from these bailout loans.

I say this as someone who is now in the unemployment sector..yep here in Las Vegas I just got laid off of my job as of last friday...no two week notice, no severance, no bailout for me. Pondering what to do next, where to earn an income of any kind. Another one of the growing numbers. Joining thousands of others in an overcrowded market with no jobs available (or few if any). A new Walmart opened last week on the other side of town and I heard over 1000 people applied for 300 jobs..and this was for min wage jobs at yet another Walmart...

I know we are on a cusp of something new. A Change in the country and world and that these last few months of 2008 seem to be a battlefield for most of us. This financial thing has to turn around for us all and soon..I have some HOPE that it can and will. Its just a matter of WHEN!