Brokeback Mountain
A very good film but not great by any means. Enjoyed the night however seeing as it was the only movie I have seen (thus far) with Martina.
** 5 years + later I still haven't seen another ovie with Martina.... Someday :)
My Grade = B+

Big Momma's House 2
I saw the first in theaters and this was at the Moviedome for $2.50. Was cute and funny, made me laugh and was entertaining, decent sequal. Martin Lawrence is so believeable as Big Momma, like Eddie Murphie as the Clumps or Robin Williams as Mrs. Doubtfire. Fun.
My Grade = B

V for Vendetta
Based on a graphic novel by DC comics the previews looked good and it is very near the end of its theatrical run with almost $70 million, so no huge hit. This movie at like 2 hours and 10 minutes or so was a little bit of Phantom of the Opera, Matrix, 1984 and even Batman. Set in a future England. America is in Chaos and the new British gov't is a dictatorship like that of George Orwells 1984 with Big Brother watching everything. There is the Hero or Vigilante known only as V who is a bit Batman and Phantom of the Opera. The film is like a poem, a song, a play, it all blends so well. The screenplay was done by the Wachowski Bros. so it did have a Matrix feel a bit. Natalie Portman was amazing and sexy and the whole cast worked well. Just a fantastic film!!!
My Grade = A+

Mission Impossible 3
I enjoyed it more than the first two but still found it a bit lacking. Overall a good action film, not as big of a hit as #2 was. Hard to believe the first one came out in 1996 a whole 10 years ago.
My Grade = B+

The Da Vinci Code
I had read the book because I was told it was good, and it was very good. Not ever going to be classic literature but the idea behind it was interesting and the story itself was exciting. The movie came out to some controversy and much hype but reviews were mixed. A month after its release I decided to see it. Well as a movie it was ok but wasn't as interesting or engaging as the book and surprisingly not as exciting. It seemed too much was cut out or altered and the film seemed very empty.
My Grade = C+

Superman Returns
Let's see, where to start with this one. I had high expectations for this one simply due to the Franchise. Superman 1 and 2 were huge hits and have become classics but Superman was also the first big Super hero movie which spawned sequals and those sequals (2 and 3 notably) were downright cheap garbage which only tarnished the image a little. So Warner Bros and DC Comics signed up Bryan Singer who had done the first two X-Men movies and had done a superb job on them. He even opted out of X-Men 3 to do Superman. The studio spent a huge amount of money, I believe it was the most expensive picture of the year. That info I had learned early and so it increased my expectations. Kevin Spacey was hired for Lex Luger, brilliant idea. So where did they screw up you ask. In many places. While I have to agree with the director having hired an unknown for Superman. I liked that but the guy, sorry not sure of his name was too young. If this had been Superman 1 or a seperate story line, a re-invention of the story he'd have been a great great Superman. But what Singer decided to do was to have this story follow sometime after the previous films, a continuation. I like to think this story takes place after Superman 2 ignoring the exsistence of 3 and 4. And so if this takes place after that film it has Supes returning from a 5 year trip into space. So the actor was simply too young as was whatever actress played Louis Lane. Also the stoy had some strong points and week ones. The relationship between Clark and the now married Louis was good but again the actors just seemed too young to be at such stages in their lives. Its as if the casting people/director wanted youth to attract young people, would have been fine as I said if they had written a story for a young Superman but it wasn't. The special effects weren't mindblowing but were quite seamless. It had some elements of goofiness which fit right in with the original. So it was a good movie but not great and not up to expectations. Not up to par with Spider-Man nor the X-Men.
My Grade = B+

The Wicker Man
It wasn't Superman but the Wicker Man. Strangely I read the book this year before knowing the movie was coming out, did that just as I was leaving Ontario and finished it on the plane back to Alberta. It was small novel from the late 60's or early 70's I think which has become a cult hit over the years and did have a movie version done back in the 70's which I really would like to see. The book wasn't great but wasn't bad, sadly it was far too predictable. Onto the movie...
Nicholas Cage has made some good movies in his career, some great movies in fact and also some big blockbusters. Strangely though he is equally famous for making alot of bad and downright awful movies which die at the box office. So for a second get together/first date I suggested we see this. Bad choice perhaps if it was to influence things at all with that date as this movie stunk. It started off ok but far too many things from the book were changed and updated and were silly. There are a couple moments which are downright hilarious and are almost worth seeing the film for alone but not quite. Like the Da Vinci Code this was an injustice to the book.
side note * the date did go very well afterwards, beautiful and classy gal but not the chemistry either of us were looking for.
My Grade = C-

Again a very slow year for seeing movies but I was single so :P, I think there may be one or two other ones I saw which I am forgetting and will add them as soon I can.

This page is part of Kevin's Main Site www.kevrimney.com