Manuel on Movies #12

It has been a couple of months since I have reviewed movies so I have a ton to catch up on. Hell, hopefully I don't miss any. Because there are so many, this will be a poster-less post. I don't feel like linking to 11 different posters. Sorry..

Joshua - This was a weird little independent thriller that I decided to check out because the summary sounded like it would be about an evil child and who doesn't like movies about that. Basically, Joshua is a little boy who starts to feel neglected when his parents have a new baby. Weird things start happening around the house and to the baby while the mom goes crazy. It could have been creepier, but there were parts that were just weird. The ending was pretty cool, but still, it wasn't as creepy as it sounds. 4 out of 10

Fast and Furious - This is the 4th installment in the series about cars that go really fast and truth be told, this was my favorite yet. I loved the first film while I thought the next two were serviceable. I enjoyed this one so much because it kind of reminded me of a Bad Boys film. Sure, there were racing cars, but it seemed to be more of a structured story, and a good one at that - drugs, revenge, etc. I really dug it and it was great to see Diesel and Walker back together. 7.5 out of 10.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang - This movie is a few years old, but was recommended by a bunch of people lately. This was a hilarious crime comedy. Robert Downey Jr. plays a criminal who unexpectedly gets thrown into the Hollywood scene and is up for a part in a movie. Val Kilmer plays detective who is to teach him how to play his part. But then a real murder takes place and the two get involved in solving it through their involvement with side characters. Downey is awesome in the role and is quite funny. The story, narration, humor, etc, are all great and this come highly recommended. 8 out of 10.

The Happening - This is M. Night Shymalan's latest movie and as this movie has been out for a while, it gave me plenty of time to hear so many bad things about it. Despite reviews, I have liked all his movies so far - some more than others, but liked them nonetheless. And you know what, this wasn't as bad as people made out to be. If not for some HORRIBLE acting, this would have been quite creepy. I didn't even really mind the premise or explanation of it. With some better acting and the exclusion of a few lines, this could have been one of the creepiest movies I have seen in a while. But regardless, I enjoyed this and if you have liked his other movies (not just Sixth Sense or Unbreakable, but ALL), then you should like this one. 7.5 out of 10

X-Men Origins: Wolverine - This was the origin story of my favorite comic character, Wolverine. There were some things that were changed about his origin, but I still really enjoyed it. There is one other character that they just totally changed and made comic fanboys raving mad, but I was able to just sit back and enjoy it for what it was - a good comic movie. Jackman just owns as Wolverine and the supporting cast was also up the task. There were a couple special effects that were pretty damn bad, but overall, I really liked this movie. 8 out of 10

Star Trek - WOW! Ok, so I have never considered myself a Trekker, some huge superfan of all things Star Trek, but I have enjoyed the movies. Additionally, I have always been partial to the original cast rather than the Next Generation cast (I didn't watch anything past that). But this movie just blew me away. It was literally a perfect sci-fi/action movie. And really, if we are not going to use the word perfect, the only other word we can use is FUN. It was a fun movie and I found myself smiling throughout the movie. Although it was a new cast, seeing these characters that I knew and loved back on the screen was amazing and the story they came up with bring it back was awesome. After the movie finished, I could have walked right back in and watched it all over again. I can't wait for Blu Ray. 9.5 out of 10.

Terminator:Salvation - I guess we can call this Terminator 4 as it continues the story of the original trilogy with Christian Bale now in the John Conner role. It is hard to say you are disappointed in a movie that isn't bad, but it just wasn't as good as I was hoping. Now, it was better than many other people say it was and I enjoyed myself, but I think I was expecting something epic out of it. After talking about the war against the machines after judgement day for 3 movies, we finally got to see it and it wasn't quite as epic as I had hoped it would be. I don't know, the action scenes were great, the sound was amazing, the acting was respectable, but it just seemed to be missing something. But still, I did enjoy myself and thought it wasn't the train wreck many others have said it was. 7 out of 10.

The Wrestler - Mickey Rourke's role of a lifetime as aging professional wrestler, one who used to be on the top of the world, but now spends time wrestling in front of crowds of 100. This was a very sad story, and probably more so because I am almost certain that this could have been the biography for countless real life professional wrestlers. Rourke was amazing as the down and out wrestler. He really owned this role and it is clear why he was nominated for so many awards during the last awards season. Did he deserve the Academy Award over Sean Penn, who went on to win for Milk? I don't think so, but if he had won, I don't think it would have been an upset by any means. 7.5 out of 10

21 - This movie focuses on a bunch of college students who join together under the tutelage of Kevin Spacey to "cheat" casinos out of money by counting cards in Blackjack, something that is illegal, albeit, very difficult to do. This had a pretty good story, one that keeps you entertained for two hours and then after it is done, you smile and probably never think of it again. Not bad though. 7 out of 10

National Treasure: Book of Secrets - I think that has been out a couple of years now, but we finally got around to seeing it. This is the Nicolas Cage sequel to the movie of the same name and it was just as enjoyable; a mindless adventure movie that
keeps you entertained for two hours. It has great humor, great action, great puzzles (if you are into that kind of thing), and decent story. I actually liked this one even better than the first. There isn't much to say; if you liked the first one, you are sure to like this one as well. 8 out of 10

Up - This is Disney/Pixar's latest film and man, was this something else. I am just going to say that no film has EVER touched me in a way that this film has and I was closer to tearing up in this movie than any ever film has ever gotten me. The film just touched on issues that were almost too much to watch - if you are a long time reader of the blog, you will understand when you see it. But despite this, this was an amazing movie. It was moving, beautiful to look at (I can't wait for the Blu Ray), funny, touching, and everything that you would expect from a Pixar film. It is as if they took everything that has made their films great and turned it up to 11. This movie is perfect. 10 out of 10.