Alright, this is my first movie review. I'll try to tell the plot while not trying to spoil anything. Okay here goes. It starts with a man that is constantly being pursued by the government. The reason being is that the government wants to capture him so they can make more copies of him, because he has the ability to turn very powerful. The man refuses to take part in it so he lives a secret life. When his heartbeat gets too fast, he turns into Hulk, so he is always meditating. Now, he gets into an accident (I'm not going to go into detail) causing the government to find him. Now his only hope is his ex girlfriend that may possibly find a cure for him. They fail, in short. They end up making a 2nd Hulk that is the main villain in the movie. To find out who wins, watch the movie. It was overall an okay movie. Nothing too new. The final battle could have been much better. Thats about it really. It feels like a short movie somehow. Just watch it and see what you think. Note: Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense action violence, some frightening sci-fi images, and brief suggestive content.

In the movie Don't Mess With the Zohan, Sandler plays a very likable Israeli counter-terrorist. It opens as Zohan (Sandler) struts down the beach in his sleeveless shirt and cutoff jeans. He shakes his hips and sticks out his bulging crotch. The wind blows in Zohan's unruly hair as he poses for the women, plays Hacky Sack with the guys, and engages in tug of war with a bull. The images are zany and over-the-top, but they contain a quality that lets us know everybody is having fun.

Zohan's vacation gets interrupted by the Israeli army, who need the expert Mossad agent to capture his arch nemesis, a Palestinian terrorist who calls himself The Phantom (John Turturro). But Zohan is tired of always being the go to guy when it comes to thwarting Israel's enemies. He doesn't find counter-terrorism fulfilling any more and tells his mother and father (Dina Doronne and Shelley Berman) he wants to go to America to be a hair stylist, "to make the hair silky smooth." They laugh in his face.

During an uproarious action sequence, Zohan takes out an entire Palestinian compound by himself. The man is so good he can turn around in the blink of a frame and catch bullets with his teeth. He chases The Phantom into the ocean for a game of water ping pong with a live grenade, which gives Zohan the perfect opportunity to fake his own death. He sneaks on a flight to New York with two dogs named Scrappy and Coco and appropriately assumes the name "Scrappy Coco." Zohan's goal is to work for Paul Mitchell, but after he's turned away, he makes friends with Michael (Nick Swardson) and even better friends with Michael's mother (Lainie Kazan), with whom he "makes the sticky."

Unable to find a stylist job at more reputable salons, Zohan enters the Palestinian-Israeli district, where his friend Oori (Ido Mosseri) runs a "Going Out of Business" electronic store. He points Zohan to a Palestinian salon across the street, run by the ravishing Dalia (Emmanuelle Chriqui). To prove he is worthy of cutting hair, Zohan performs no-handed pushups and treats a chair like a pummel horse. Dalia makes him hair sweeper and Zohan doesn't let one piece drop on the floor. One of the movie's biggest laughs comes when Zohan gets his first string of customers, all of them old ladies, whom he sensualizes with the shampoo and a showerhead...and then later with other things in other places.

The underlying plot revolves around a business tycoon (Michael Buffer) wanting to tear down the Israeli-Palestinian community to put up a new mall. There's also the matter of Salim (Rob Schneider), a taxi driver who wants revenge against the Zohan for stealing his precious goat back in Israel. During an amusing scene, Salim calls the Hezbollah hotline, where the answering service says things like "For terrorist supplies, press 5."

This was a great movie. There was not one person in the theater that was not laughing through out the entire movie. Adam Sandler is a great actor in this movie. So watch Don't Mess with the Zohan; you will not be disappointed.

My first point has to be that this is better than Batman Begins and BB was no slouch of a movie. It did reinvent the superhero genre and was deserving of the praise it received. Unfortunately it simply pales into insignificance when compared to The Dark Knight. Essentially, while BB was a film about fear and identity, DK is about morals and choice. I remember the second and third Matrix movies harping on about choice with school boy philosophy which was clumsily written however DK does it with more skill and while not subtle in its execution it manages to not come across as preachy. Indeed, this is a film which explores its themes and ideas fully. Finally we have a Hollywood movie which doesn't get scared in the third act and turn into an out and out action film. In fact during most of the extreme action of the film the ideas and themes are still being explored. The final confrontation between Batman and Joker doesn't come to a massive martial arts fight or ridiculous explosions, instead it is just two men at opposite ends of the moral compass confronting each other. In fact, Batman's character is in a constant fight with himself over his moral stance and while it might be easy to see Batman and The Joker as good and evil it's actually more of Commissioner Gorden and The Joker with Batman struggling to stay one side and Dent floating between the two.

There are some lovely set pieces in the film as well. Look out for the bit with the ships. This sums up the whole moral theme of the film in a set piece that would usually take up the whole running time for other films but is consigned to the third act for DK. Another brilliant un-Hollywood touch at the end of that scene really made me feel honoured for watching it. The question has to be, if Hollywood has proved themselves capable of a film like this, why do they produce so much tripe?

The performances of all the cast are spot on. Due to the early death of Ledger this was always going to be his swansong and the performance which people look back on and it is a wonderful closing act to his career but as praise is heaped on Ledger we have to remember the other performances. Bale is, as always, superb and his double act alongside Caine has some genuinely touching and funny moments. Gary Oldman simply is Commissioner Gordon and I cannot see how anyone could take that role from him but for me the real hit is Aaron Eckhart. Here is an actor who plays the whole scope of Dent / Two Face so believably that you are just carried along with him. I'd hate to have to decide which one gets a best supporting actor nomination from it.

Of course, it's not a perfect film. Bale's voice as Batman has gone through some post-production effects which seem a little too much and as much as the film doesn't feel like it drags it probably is too long. As cool as some of the scenes are (the Heat inspired bank heist being one) I can't help but feel that it smacks of tautology.

Essentially it is a brilliant film and misses out on being an absolute classic by a hair's width. Still, in a time of so much tripe this is a welcome relief and everyone involved deserves our gratitude.

So, in two words... watch it.

So, I guess what I'm saying is neither did a better job than the other but in this last Batman movie. It wasn't Heath Ledger playing The Joker. Heath Ledger WAS The Joker...

Sadly, with all the good ideas thoroughly plucked out of this franchise that's exactly the kind of movie we get with Grudge 2. The first fifteen minutes of the film are, without question, the worst writing ever to grace the big screen. We follow three students (female) at the International High School in Tokyo as they go into the house that we recognize from the original film.

The two “popular” girls are the worst actors in the film, particularly Miyuki, who I believe is just in the film to satisfy the male audience's fetish for Japanese school girls. Then again I could give her the benefit of the doubt and say that her bad acting is a result of English not being her native tongue, an excuse which the blonde bimbo (who I refuse to associate a name to) did not have. She apparently takes her role from the other blonde bimbo in Stephen King's classic horror film Carrie, which in its own right actually satisfies me when she slips off this mortal coil in the same grotesque fashion.

The other actors in the film are mediocre at best. We see the alleged eye candy Sarah Michelle Gellar return to this film. I foolishly thought she died in the first film, but apparently logic escapes this film entirely, a point which I'll expand upon later. I was confused at first, hoping she had learned to act between the first film and now. I was sadly disappointed but fortunately she also dies before the end of the films first act, so no hard feelings. The only good actors are mercifully the lead characters of Gellar's sister (whom takes the revenge of her sister's death upon herself creating the entire plot of the film) and the Japanese journalist Eason whose back-story is fucked. Apparently he is Chinese-born citizen (mentioning that he was born and lived in Hong Kong), who moved to Tokyo and astonishingly reads, writes and speaks fluent English and Japanese and never utters a syllable of Chinese.

The scare-factor of this film is truly off-base as the producers seem to think that having the main antagonist appear in every frame turned the film into a two hour long game of “Where's Waldo?” What's worse is they brought the same damn scares from the first film and put them into this one under different circumstances. The obligatory shower scene, the “under-the-covers” seen, the bus scene; they're all here although executed differently. The scene that absolutely ruined the film for me was when the blonde bimbo was all alone in the school locker room and saw the monster. This wasn't so bad except we got a lovely three second shot of her pee-ing the pants she wasn't wearing at the time. Classy.

As I mentioned earlier the logic of the film is non-existant. First of all the timeline is messed up beyond all recognition. I'll try to explain it as best I can. The scenes involving the three high school girls happen in the middle, the scenes involving Eason and Gellar's sister happen at the beginning and the scene with the family in Chicago happen at the end. The problem is we're never told that and the three stories happen at the same time during the film, resulting in nothing but confusion. The fact that the characters have non-distinct personalities or looks results in even more confusion.

Also, will somebody explain to me how at mid-afternoon an apartment in Chicago with windows everywhere requires a flashlight to navigate? Another thing I enjoy is that the fire started in the first movie which burned the house almost completely managed to miss a paper journal, which was recovered with not so much as charring.

Despite my criticism, I must confess that this movie did (at points) scare the hell out of me. A few shining moments include a scene that takes place in a photography darkroom. The red tint makes the whole scene that much scarier. Also when the final surviving of the three high school girls is confronted by the school shrink, I actually exclaimed “whoa!” The only other time I've ever done that was when we see the face of the first victim in Ring.

This movie is worth a watch, but that's about it. The ending was so disappointing that I'll likely be holding a grudge over this franchise for a while.

So, the final verdict… you can live without seeing this film. (4 out of 10).

Picking up nearly a year after “Batman Begins”, “The Dark Knight” (the title is a reference to Batman's nickname of the “Dark Knight Detective”) follows Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) continuing to fight crime and clean up the streets of Gotham City as Batman, with help from James Gordon (Gary Oldman) and new District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhardt). But fighting the remaining mobsters such as Sal Maroni (Eric Roberts), villains like the Scarecrow (Cillian Murphy in a return cameo) and Batman impersonators is only the least of his problems. As Gordon predicted, escalation to Batman's presence has hit Gotham, courtesy of the Joker, a mysterious, clown-faced psychopath who seems to live on destruction and chaos. With the Joker threatening to kill more and more people unless Batman turns himself in, Gotham soon turns on its new protector, and even Bruce Wayne himself wonders if the city would be better off without Batman. Especially when friends and allies become casualties of the Joker's reign of terror, to the point where one falls victim to the madness.

“The Dark Knight” makes use of all the elements that made “Batman Begins” great, and like any good sequel, cranks it up several notches. Christian Bale is still probably the best Batman to date, giving dual performances of the brooding vigilante and the seemingly aloof Wayne. And there's plenty of chemistry to be had with the rest of the cast, whether it's the bantering with trusty butler Alfred (Michael Caine), the techno discussions with Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman), or dealing with his feelings for Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal, replacing Katie Holmes) and the hope they can be together when he can give up being Batman. And let's not forget Batman's interactions with James Gordon and Harvey Dent (played with wonder political charisma by Eckhardt, and wait'll see his later performance, especially if you're familiar with the comics), who still seem to be getting used to the Dark Knight's presence and his coming and going. Add in all the action scenes, ranging from the fights to car chases to plenty of shootouts (the best one of the whole movie literally involves all three, making for one great sequence), and plenty of suspenseful moments (listing any would risk giving too much away), and you can't deny how great this movie is.

Nolan continues his “realistic” take on the world of Batman, and continues to make an incredible movie full of incredible visuals and intense action. As you watch this film, you can't help but wonder if a lot of the gadgets and vehicles used, such the returning Tumbler and the new souped-up motorcycle the Batpod, could exist in real life. Batman's suit also gets an upgrade, courtesy of Lucius Fox, when Bruce realizes he needs something that not only protects him but grants him better maneuverability. And unlike previous “Batman” flicks, where he has a new suit from the start, we see the events and conversations that lead up to the new suit rather than just jump into it. It shows both Bruce's thinking and rationality and the techno savvy of Lucius, who gives the impression that he has an idea of just what his boss is doing with this equipment but is smart enough to not say anything. Even the Joker is given the realistic treatment, with a scarred smile and poorly applied make-up as opposed to the original comics, where the villain is chemically disfigured into a permanent clown with white skin and green hair. Naturally, the more die-hard comic loyalists will bash on this, but for this film it works. More on that, later.

It's not just the action and visuals that makes this movie great, as there's plenty of emotional drama to go along and help build the story. Naturally, there's Bruce's thoughts on being Batman and whether he's having the effect on Gotham City that he had in mind. Especially when it all it does is create guys like the Joker and results in added death and chaos (hey, Gordon did warn him). You may not like it when the people of Gotham turn on Batman, but you can't really blame them, either. And then there's his relationship with Rachel, with the hope they can be together one day, even though she's now with Harvey Dent and he's running around as Batman. Yeah, it all sounds like it would be more in-tune with Spider-Man, but that just fits in with the realistic tone Nolan is creating with the movie.

And speaking of the Joker, that has to be probably the best part of the whole film. I had my doubts along with plenty of others, but after seeing Heath Ledger in action, I was blown away. Ledger is, hands down, the best Joker to date, playing Batman's signature arch-nemesis as the psychopath we know him to be. He's freaky, deranged, homicidal and downright terrifying. You never know just what this guy is going to do next, as he's never quite clear on his motives and a lot of the moves he pulls show both just how insane and how clever he is. The scar-smile and the make-up just adds to the effect, to the point where I'm sure many will think this works better than the original comics' version. I'm as a big comic book purist as they come, and even I have to go with this one. It even makes you wonder just how they'll pull some of the rest of Batman's rogues gallery to fit this version of his universe.

Hands down, “The Dark Knight” is definitely the best movie of the summer, comic-based or otherwise. This is one you HAVE to see in the theater, since that's the only way you can truly experience it. And if you're lucky enough to be able to catch it in IMAX, that makes it even better.

Released by: Warner Bros.

Starring: Christian Bale (Bruce Wayne/Batman), Heath Ledger (Joker), Aaron Eckhardt (Harvey Dent/Two-Face), Gary Oldman (James Gordon), Maggie Gyllenhaal (Rachel Dawes), Morgon Freeman (Lucius Fox), Michael Caine (Alfred Pennyworth)

Directed by: Christopher Nolan

Rating: PG-13

Score: 10 out of 10

We already have a brief idea of what this film is about before we even begin to watch it, but the intensity that this film delivers almost makes it seem as if you are aboard that flight yourself. Greengrass uses hand held cameras to shoot this memorable documentary giving the audience an inside point of view and the level of emotion that you are bound to feel is far more extreme then you could have expected.

As you lean over the edge of your seat through out the 111 minutes of the film, you are forced to remember the disturbing images of the two planes crashing into The World Trade Center and another into the Pentagon. Greengrass demonstrates his outstanding cinematographic style when the passengers make their final phone calls from the plane phones to their loved ones, and the mood and emotion become indescribable.

Of course everyone has their own opinions when it comes to film, for example; According to British film critic Matthew Stogdon “This is a movie, As all those involved died in the incident it is a complete work of fiction, I am not heartless, I just don't get as emotional as American's do”, I was irate with his comments and I could not disagree more with Stogdon, regardless of nationality, the harsh truth is that innocent people died and lives all around the country were permanently shattered. If death, pain and sorrow do not call for emotion then I am not sure what would. The looks on the actor's faces in United 93 assure us that this was not a complete work of fiction, but a terrible reality.

United 93 is straight forward in its plot and is based on a piece of history. Greengrass uses trained actors, but gives us a taste of the chaotic events that took place in the air traffic control center with Federal Aviation Administration Operations manager Ben Sliney who plays himself. Sliney's role is both bone chilling and honest as we know he had a first hand experience.

This film brings feelings of anger, trepidation and despair, as it triggers at already painful memories. United 93 gives us a look at all of the events that took place on 9/11 and it does not hold back by any means. United 93 is a film that will leave you heartbroken and speechless -- all over again.

The sea is the next thing we see, it is quiet except for the sound of the waves, this gives the audience a feeling of foreboding. A subtitle appears, that reads, "Dog Green Sector Omaha Beach". Omaha Beach is where the famous D-Day landing took place. Straight after we see that caption, the screen cuts to the Higgins boats arriving. The sound of the waves is still in the back ground but they have got a lot more fierce. The director, Steven Spielberg had some of the actors carry hand held cameras. This is a very clever technique because it makes the audience feel like they are in the boat with the soldiers, since the cameras moves with them. There are close up of lots of different soldiers and there reactions as they are about to go into battle. This makes everything a bit more personal as everybody reacts to fear in different ways. As the front of the boat opens, the sound gets a bit louder, then suddenly the battle starts. Shots from the opposing side are shot into the boats, loads of the men inside the boats seem to just fall. It's like a massacre. Then we see the beach from up high from the German perspective. The Germans have machine guns and they just gun down whoever they see on the beach, in what looks to me like a mass slaughter. People jump into the water to try and hide from the bullets, but we can see with an underwater camera that there is nowhere to hide as the shots go through the water. Nowhere is safe. Hand held cameras are used again as the men who haven't been shot try and make there way to the beach.

One of the men trying to get to the sand is the hero of the story, Captain Miller. We see his perspective of what is happening, but in slow motion and with muted sounds. This is so the audience have time to take in how horrific it was. It also shows that Captain Miller is dazed and confused. He slowly picks his hat up, this is a clue to the audience that he is almost ready to rejoin the battle. As he picks it up we get a view of the sea, it has turned red from all the blood shed. Water drips down his face. Someone speaks to him but he doesn't hear, only when they repeat them self does he snaps back to reality.

The battle carries on as Captain Miller and his soldiers make their way to higher ground. The sounds of battle eventually die down (this comes as a bit of relief to the audience), but you can still here it going on in the background. There is a close up on Captain Millers hand shaking, this happens throughout the film to show how scared he is. Slow music plays in the background and the camera zooms into his eyes like at the beginning of the film.

I think the beginning of the film is extremely affective, it sets the scene for the rest of the movie. It deals with war in a realistic way and doesn't try to glamorise the gruesome aspect of it. I think Spielberg's aims were to show people what the war was really like and to make the audience feel as if they were experiencing it with the soldiers.

Ten years after the acclaimed (and totally awesome) X-Files movie The X-Files: Fight the Future, fans can't help but want to hold creator Chris Carter's new film The X-Files: I Want to Believe up to the same standard. However, due to Carter's decision to mop out all traces of the massive conspiracy that came to define the X-Files as a whole, the new film immediately loses its edge and allure as the highly anticipated return of everyone's favorite FBI agents.

Mulder and Scully (who still call each other by their last names, even though they've been lovers since the series ended) have aged well for what they've been through. Scully's moved on to become a full-time doctor and Mulder still doctors his own wounds of looking for the truth in newspaper clippings in his home office.

Now, they must partner up just like the old days to help the FBI solve some violent crimes with a touch of the paranormal.

Just like old stand-alone episodes of The X-Files, Mulder and Scully must put their crime-solving abilities to work while battling inner angst and the higher-ups of the FBI. Just like old stand-alone episodes, this movie probably would have been better if it was watched on an old television screen in a dark basement.

I don't want to give away any of the plot, so I'll just give a piece of advice. When you go see this film (and I want to believe you will), just imagine it's an episode of the show, and not a blockbuster hit like the first movie in 1998. Trust no one (the critics) and go see it yourself.

 

The action is quite incomprehensible, very close shots of dark figures moving very fast. Personally I like to see a good kick a little more clearly. Also most of the “impressive” stunts are not justified to accomplish anything. I got fond memories of the old 007 films when they use the skyhook though. What was also disappointing was the general lack of blood, I mean, it is a violent movie, everyone knows that, but the joker can cut somebody's face and you barely see a drop of blood.

The Two Faces character was good, never was my favorite character but in this movie was everything it needed to be.

The plot seems to lack a bit of consistence, the objective of the villain is never too clear, nor too big, and they are mostly small, localized and unconnected hits to Gotham, batman, or the mob.

Nevertheless, it was fun to watch, (yet not so very exiting) I liked Batman Begins a lot more, so If have to recommended it to a friend: Go see it, but don't expect too much.