This is first of many movie reviews to be posted on my blog. I'm by no means and expert movie viewer or critic. My views and opinions are based of the types of movies I like to watch; which basically started since I was able to watch movies unsupervised by an adult. And I watch a lot of movies during the year because it is one of the few recreational activities I can afford to participate in. I like to watch movies during mid-day when the prices are cheaper (in case the movie sucks) and very few people are watching (so I get my choice of seats) . However, I sometimes enjoy movies during the evenings just so I can be swept up by the audience's reaction to certain scenes. Anyway, here are the first four movies I watched in 2009:
The Day the Earth Stood Still 01/02/09. Premiered 12/12/08. Picking up where I left off (because the first time I wastched this movie, the power went out in the theater), this is the very first movie I watched in 2009. I thought it was a cool movie. Updated from the 1950’s original of the same title, I’m now curious about the original. My recommendation? Watch it in theaters to appreciate the scale of the special effects – especially the giant sphere in the park which appears to be the alien's ship and the updated G.O.R.T. mechanoid. Too bad it left too many unanswered questions for me. Gave it three stars.
Valkyrie 01/08/09. Premiered 12/25/08. The movie wasn’t bad, but wasn’t all that good either. Still, I give Tom Cruise kudos for taking on roles that aesthetically put him in a less than flattering light. Bill Nighy is becoming one of my favorite character actors. Unfortunately, there weren’t any scenes or moments in the film that made me say or think: “Holy shit! That was awesome!” My recommendation? Better wait until the DVD comes out to rent it. I give it three stars.
Taken 01/30/09. Premiered 01/30/09. For me, a step up from my viewing experience from “Valkyrie.” Never thought of Liam Neeson as an action hero; then again, we are talking about the guy who played Rahs Ahl Gul in the recent “Batman Begins,” Qui Gon Jin of “Star Wars,” and of course, “Darkman.” So I guess it seemed like a logical role for him to play. Maggie Grace did a great job as Kim, Bryan Mills’ (Liam’s character) daughter. She was quite convincing in her portrayal of a somewhat ditzy, somewhat spoiled, naïve teenager. I never would’ve guessed this girl was in Maxim magazine’s Hot 100 of 2005 list. However, I kinda feel bad for actress Katie Cassidy: this is the second time I’ve seen her in a supporting role where she plays the stereotypical role of the shallow blonde, hottie who gets done-in in the middle of the movie (the first was in the 2006 remake of “When a Stranger Calls”). Hope she won’t be pigeon-holed with this type of role. Then again, she’s the daughter of former celebrities and probably just does these roles for kicks! As for the rest of the movie, I would recommend it. I give it four stars.
Underworld: Rise of the Lycans 01/30/09. Premiered 01/23/09. Movies like this are up my alley: an escape from my mundane existence where I see worlds, environments and characters that are totally alien to my normal world. I loved the first “Underworld” movie with the sexy Kate Beckinsale, the second movie “Underworld: Evolution” was a bit disappointing except for the opening sequence where we get a glimpse of what Viktor’s world looked like back in his glory days before the Vampire/Lycan war and Selene’s love scenes with the Vampire/Lycan hybrid Micheal. Anyway, “Rise of the Lycans” gives us more of that opening sequence from “Evolution” only further down the timeline to when and where the Vampire/Lycan conflict began. The casting of Rhona Mitra as Sonja made sense. If you remember one of scenes in the first “Underworld” movie, Kraven told Selene (Beckinsale’s character) that she reminded Viktor of his daughter Sonja. However, the film makers need to go back and re-edit the flash back scenes in future releases of the first “Underworld” movie on DVD: the actress who played Sonja in that film looked too blonde-ish and the execution chamber in the original scene looked rounder and well, larger. Nitpicking details aside, I liked this movie! Better than the second, about as close in mystique as the first. Highly recommended for action/fantasy as well as vampire/werewolf movie fans! Gave it four stars!!!
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