Overall Rating: ****

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest @ IMDB

Synopsis:
Captain Jack (Johnny Depp) is back in this action-packed sequel to the Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl. Captain Jack Sparrow’s time is up. The dreaded Davey Jones (Bill Nighy) has called to collect on the deal that made Jack the captain of the Black Pearl. His only hope is to find the Dead Man’s Chest, an artifact of great power, that will bring Jones to his knees. But things get complicated when Lord Cutler Beckett (Tom Hollander), head of the East India Trading company makes a play for the Chest, dragging Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Kiera Knightley) in to the adventure.

Review:
This was one movie I was really anxious to see. I thought the first film was excellent, and I hoped the sequel would live up to standard it set. I have to say that I was a little dissappointed. I enjoyed the movie but I think it could have been a lot better. There are somethings that were as good as the last time, including Depp’s, Bloom’s, and Knightley’s performances. The effects were also as good as the last time. In fact, I think there was a slight improvement. The CG and creature effects seemed more refined than they did in the first one (fluid movements, etc.).
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Overall Rating: ****

Superman Returns @ IMDB

Synopsis:
After a mysterious five year absence, Superman (Brandon Routh) returns to Earth to find a world that has learned to live without him. His life as Clark Kent seems to pick up where it left off, but the love of his life, Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth) has moved on and now has a five year old child. Now the Man of Steel must find a way to deal with the cost of his absence and take on the most notorious criminal mastermind of all time, Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey). Superman Returns continues the Superman saga but picks up after Superman II.

Review:
Its difficult to think that this new incarnation of the Man of Steel could possibly compare to the one imortallized by the late Christopher Reeve. In truth, no one can play Clark Kent like Reeve could, but Routh was not bad. I’ll be frank, I felt that if this movie was going to crash and burn in a ball of kryptonite laced flames, it would be Routh’s fault. I have nothing against him personally, but he got selected for the part strictly on his appearane. He supposedly looks like Christopher Reeve, but I’ve never seen the resemblance. He didn’t do a bad job and he seemed to get the dorkiness of Clark Kent correct.
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Overall Rating: ***

The Da Vinci Code @ IMDB

Synopsis:
A mysterious murder in the Louvre drags mild mannered symbologist Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) in to a dangerous hunt for the Holy Grail. When the French Police Chief, Bezu Fache (Jean Reno), thinks that Langdon commited murder, things get tense. Langdon must flee the French police with the aide of a young cryptologist, Sophie Neveu (Audrey Tautou). Langdon’s only hope of clearing his name is finding the Grail and drawing out the true murderer. But what is the Grail and how far will everyone go to find it?

Review:
Where to being for one of the most anticipated adaptations of the year? How about the simple truth. It was a dissappointment. Not at all what it could or should be. Unfortunately, it was some the minor facts that brought this movie down for me. Of course the unrealistically high expectations I had from the big names like Tom Hanks, Ron Howard, Ian McKellen, & Audrey Tautou didn’t help one bit. And of course I compared the cinematic experience with the literary experience and came up short.
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Overall Rating: ****
M:I-3 @ IMDB

Synopsis:
IMF Agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) has left field duty behind and is beginning to build a life with his fiance, Julia (Michelle Monaghan). Hunt now trains the future agents of the IMF. When his brightest pupil, Lindsey (Keri Russel) is captured by the sadistic and elusive arms dealer, Owen Davian (Philipe Seymour Hoffman), Hunt jumps back in to action to save the day. But things go terribly wrong and Davian takes Julia in retaliation. Now Ethan must deliver a doomsday device known as the Rabbit’s Foot to Davian or Julia will die.

Review:
This movie surpasses John Woo’s M:I-2 by leaps and bounds. I was worried when I went to see this movie. There was potential here to redeem the franchise, but also the chance to run it deeper in to the ground. I can honestly say that J.J. Abrams has given the IMF new life. My only hope is that they end the series with this film. Any future sequels would be beating a dead horse and tarnish what is left of the franchise.
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Overall Rating: *****
Tristan & Isolde @ IMDB

Synopsis:
Rome has fallen and the tribes of England are stuggling to form a stable alliance against the brutal Irish King Donnchadh (David O’Hara). Tristan (Thomas Sangster/James Franco), the son of an English baron, finds himself as an orphan after a brutal attack from the Irish prevents the signing of treaty his father drafted. Taken in by the fair-minded Lord Marke (Rufus Sewell), Tristan grows in to a skillful and brave knight. When Tristan is injured in battle, he is taken for dead and is set adrift for a burial at sea. His boat washes up on the shores of Ireland where he is found by the beautiful Isolde (Sophia Myles), Princess of Ireland. As she conceals him from her father, she also nurses Tristan back to health. What follows is a tormented love affiar, which is only complicated when Isolde is married off to Lord Marke in a devious plot to destroy the fragile alliance newly formed among the English tribes.

Before Romeo & Juliet there was …… Tristan & Isolde.

Review:
Ok, I know what all you guys out there are saying: “This guy’s gone soft and started watching chick flicks!” Its true I have seen a few more chick flicks recently than I care to admit. But they’re not all that bad. This one was particularly good. I will admit that I watched this movie mainly because I really like the Gavin Degraw song on the soundtrack. Not exactly the best reason, but when you have a Blockbuster Movie pass, it really doesn’t matter why you want to watch a dvd.
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Overall Rating: ****
A History of Violence @ IMDB

Synopsis:
Tom Stall (Viggo Mortensen) is a quiet family man that runs a diner in a small town. When two murderous thugs come in to the diner and start to attack a customer, Tom springs in to action killing them both. Tom is quickly elevated from average joe to hometown hero. The media coverage, however, brings Carl Fogarty (Ed Harris) to town. Carl is a mobster claiming that Tom is really Joey Cusack, a hit man from Philadelphia. Fogarty’s persistence not only threatens Tom but his wife, Edie (Maria Bello) and their children. Does Tom have a real history of violence, or is he just a small town hero caught in a case of mistaken identity?

Review:
This was a pretty solid movie. I enjoyed it more than I thought it was. I wasn’t really sure what to expect. From what I’ve learned about David Cronenberg (the director) since I watched this movie, it seems that I got slightly lucky. Cronenberg has a tendency towards the graphic and perverse, but this movie was almost untouched by that particular problem of his. This movie is violent, not as much gore as you would expect, but still a lot. The thing is, the story requires it. Violence is at the core of this movie. It would be pointless if it didn’t look real.
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