Reviews by moviemaniac126

the Elventh film to date for the star trek franchise. is a good bridge between the show Star trek: Enterprise and the original series. Directed by J.J. Abrams the film focuses on the loss of james T. Kirk's father and mother. we learn (for those of us who don't know the origin of kirk's name) the origin of his full name James Tiberius Kirk. the film also focuses on the relationship of both Spock and Kirk. the character of kirk is different compared to the series. although the basics of kirk are there and he is played by Chris Pine(smokin' aces). Spock's character provides us with the basic idea of vulcan life and is also portayed once more by Leonard Nimoy in a time travel/blackhole expierence. which is the plot of the film. spock is also played by a very good Zachary Quinto(heroes , 24). and of course there are the other who make up the crew of the enterprise and they include as follows Anton Yelchin who plays pavel checkov the russian whose performance is good but will never top that of walter Koenig's. John Cho as hikaru Sulu , Zoe Saldana as Nyota Uhura who is more of a major character in the film, Karl Urban as a very good Leonard "bones" Mccoy Kirk's friend and doctor of the enterprise , and Simon Pegg a very good choice to play scotty. the film's villain is played by an un-recogizable Eric Bana as Captain Nero of the romulans. and plays the antagonist for the plot in the story. Star trek is a very good , fast paced film with plenty of humor and drama. there is however little things that J.J. Abrams likes to include in all of his films that reference his telveision shows. for example the red ball which can be seen in alias(a major point in the plot in the movie as well as in alias) and when kirk orders a slusho drink. this scene also references star wars as well (see IMD.com Trvia). but overall star trek is wonderful film that all trekkies alike will love and is meant to attract newcomers as well. the performaces from all the actors is superb. go and see it it is well worth the money.

Mickey Rourke stars in this very dark film. as a wrestler by the name of Randy "Ram" Robinson. A profesional wrestler coming of age. the film also stars Marisa Tomei as cassidy/Pam ,Robinson's love interest, who is also a stripper who is losing the interest of her customers. and the very beautiful and talented Evan Rachel wood who plays Stephanie, Robinson's daughter who absolutley hates him. I found this film to be very slow moving and to have very little meanginful dialogue. Directed by Darren Arrpnofsky(The Foutain) The wrestler is true to it's tagline "love, pain, glory". Although this does not change my feelings toward the film. Rourke and cast do provide very good performances. Although I do not find this to be my favoite Rouke performance either( I prefer sin city in the role of marv). This film is plain and very bland especially for an Aronofsky film. Also, I belive that this film shouldn't have gained all the hype it did ,beacue it was very low budget and big in star power. Although I did like Aronfosky's approach to directing this film. But in my opinoion skip this film you won't miss anything and its also nothing that hasn't been done before.

woody allen's (match point) latest film Vicky Christina Barcelona which is exactly what the title says it is Vicky(Rebecca Hall) and Christina(Scarlett Johannson) get invited to Barcelona by Vicky's mom Judy(Patricia Clarkson) to Barcelona. Vicky Christina Barcelona is a very entertaining film which has it's main characters looking to find their niche'. this film along with Woody Allen's recent films Match Point and Scoop have been better than the ones in his past which now i can actually say that I enjoy his films which took me awhile to understand why people liked his films. However now I understand They are very fun, amd filled with wonderful dialogue. which is in every way possible what Vicky Christina Barcelona is. if you are a Woody Allen fan I highly reccomend this film.

Liam Neeson stars in Pierre Morel's very fast moving film which is written by Luc Besson(Leon, The Proffesional) and Robert Mark Kamen(the Transporter 3). Nesson plays Bryan Mills a former spy who is very good at what he used to do. Although not much is mentioned about his former duty. He proves his point with the no- nonsense attitude to make James Bond even smirk . "I'll tear down the Goddamn ifiel tower if i have to" is one line to tell you just how motivated mills is in getting his daughter/brat kim (maggie Grace) back. THe film opens with a short home video of kim when she was in her early years, as a child. however and unlike Death sentence the film quickly moves through this little bit. When Kim decides she wants to go to paris with her best rich friend amanda (Katie cassidy) does Mills start to think right then and there that it's a bad idea to begin with. However Kim can't go until Mills signs a waiver saying she can leave the country. and as easy as any action film goes he signs the waiver. knowing very well what will happen to her. This rare type of action is very smart but does have just enough story to acutally make it work. THe chase scenes in this film or anything in which mills is driving a vehicle will make jason Bounrne rethink how quickly he destroys his vehicles where as mills doesn't even put a scratch on any of his even though he's driving thorugh buildings and flipping other cars. if you like mindless action and not a whole lot of plot "taken" is highly reccomended.

Clint Eastwood stars,directs, and produces this wonderful film.Eastwood plays Walt Kowalksi an old predjuiced man who moved into a detroit nieghborhood in Michigan before it got shitty. And thus this moves the plot forward in traditional eastwood style by not showing us a flashback (but is not needed here). Gran Torino could be considered Either a Comdey or a Dark drama (at times). when at first a chinese gang is taking young Thao (Bee vang) away by force do they cross his property and does Walt decide to do anything about it . He takes his old rifle from when he fought in korea to get them off his lawn. this event leads to many of highlights shown in the trailer for this magnificent film. the acting is superb from the entire cast. the only other american actor who plays father Janovich is Christopher carly and plays a major role in the unfolding of the plot. THe film focuses mainly on when Thao breaks into Kowalski's house and attempts to steal his 1972 Gran Torino. This Disgraces thao from his family and he then owes Kowalksi 100 hundred hours of his time to help with chores around the house and etc. and Kowalski becomes kind of a father figure to thao and where most of the comedy comes from. Kowalski pretty much watches and takes care of the nieghbors but gets way to involved and gets pressured by father Janovich and thao to take vengeance against the local gang. the end is very satisfying indeed do not miss this film. it's possibly eastwood's best film yet.

Denny Colt, a cop shot to death, then wakes up from the dead not knowing why he lived or how he lived. He then takes his power to proctect central city, his lady. this is what the first twenty minutes of The Spirit is like. this very character driven film which stars Gabrielle Macht as the Spirit, Samuel L. Jackson as the Octopus, Jaime King as Lorlelei, Eva Mendes as Sand Seref and Scarlet Johannsen as a very convincing Silken Floss. the acting is on top and not one character is off by least. this film is very fun and funny. despite what the crittics say these days they seem to be off on almost every movie. The Spirit like it's predecessor sin city is not only entertaining but is very dark and centralized on every character in every way possible. there is a brief cameo from Peter Dinklage(a man standing outside of a building) and Paz Vega who plays a very strange gypsey by the name of the plaster of paris. The spirit which also has a narration by our lead actor is very good although it may seem a bit wierd that he talks to himself ,but it doesn't hardly interfere with the narration like fight club or sin city yet again it fits very well into the ongoing story between the several characters throughout the film. Fans of 24 will appreciate the role of Louis Lombardi a clone who is seen thoughout the whole movie as the octopus's henchmen. frank miller proves to us once again he can make one hell of a movie do not miss this.

Batman Begins which stars Christian Bale as the caped Crusader/media/weapons empire. is just as good as the original and is filled with great lines and action that will keep you on your feet the whole 2 1/2 hours. Bruce wayne is in search of something. He finds it in Vigilante Justice. just after being arrested for stealing his own stuff. In prison Wayne is approached by none other than Ducard ( a very good Liam Neeson). He is told to find a very pretty blue flower and bring to the top of the moutain. once wayne arrives he discovers what his friend Ducard and his orgnaization are not who they seem to be and returns to Gotham city where all hell has broken loose. Batman Begins is a great re-start to the franchise and like casino royale breathed alot of life into the franchise once again. Batman begins looks great in Hi-def (on blu-ray). However, it also sets up further plot into The Dark Knight. possibly an academy award winner later this coming year. so don't miss this title before the Dark Knight hits dvd and blu-ray next week.

Transporter 3 is the latest intallment in the series which is twice as better as the second one and is more on par with the storytelling used in the first one. Frank Martin (jason Stathom) turns down a job From the mysterious crime caper Mr. Johnson (a very good Robert Knepper) only to find that his replacement gets killed (and drives through his house while dead) and is then forced to deliver the package Valentina (Natalya Rudakova) who is the Daughter of Leonid Vasiliev (an un-credited Jeron Krabbe) the minister of the Ukriane and who is also being forced to sign a contract for 8 ships of waste to dock in the countrie's harbor. Francois Berland returns as martin's cop friend/liason who always keeps frank from getting into trouble with the police. The action is the same but not too over the top like in transporter 2 but, just enough to keep the fans happy. Directed by Olvier Megaton( whose directed nothing but french tv series and one french movie this is his directorial debut in the US) whose direction is not nearly as shaky as Cory yuen (the Transporter) or Louis Leterier (the incredible Hulk). Megton Brings us better shot fight sequences and more dramatic story. which is much needed with this series. although most of the movie foucuses on Frank and Valentina and them falling in love. the transporter 3 is worth a look at.

Despite what the crittics say about the latest installment in the James bond series Quantum of solace. this is actually what should have been expteced. With Casino Royale leaving on a high note(Daniel craig finally saying "the names Bond James Bond" and followed by the monty norman Theme song for bond). Quantum opens with a bang in which bond is in a car chase follwed by Mr. White's(Jesper Christiansen) Henchmen/bodyguards. the very opening scenes make you think that it might be a silent scene but this is not the case. the engines of both bonds Aston Martin Dbs roar to life with flare as well as the henchmen's. this is one of the various scenes thoughout the movie that does this. However, with brilliant Direction by Marc Forster(Finding Neverland) the scenes help add to bonds mood and current thoughts which is really pure genius in film making but nothing really new. Quantum is one movie that has many firsts for bond. including. the first Direct continuation between films,the first time bond doesnt say "the names bond james bond", and the first time the movie wasn't at least two hours long.(running at an 1 hour and 45 minutes). as far as things coming full circle we see that the death of vesper has truly affected bond in a big way, a way we have never seen before. and that bond does forgive people for there mistakes. Quantum of solace is no doubt a very different bond film but easily one of the best (just not on a standalone basis).

Goldenye which marks the first role of Pierce Brosnan as James as well as Judi Dench as M and Samantha Bond as moneypenny. is great re-start to the series since Timothy Dalton had left the role. During the 6 and a half years(between films) it seemed like bond would never return, with the cold war ending and technology just coming about in a big way, the death of long-time writer for the series Richard Maibuam and title Designer Maurice Binder died. Then actors such as Liam Neeson, Mel Gibson, Hugh Grant,Sam Niel, and Lambert Wilson were all considered for the role of James Bond. Faith was restored in all fans minds that bond would live on like the end of all the movies say. With having had offered Pirece Brosnan the role of The Living Daylights( which starred Timothy dalton as bond).Who had to turn down the role due to his contract for the TV show Remming Steele. when the show ended the producers casted Brosnan for the role. Goldeneye which is first of the two movies directed by Martin Campbell who has currently saved the series twice (casino Royale being the second).was asked to take on the challenge. Goldeneye is possibly one of the best bond movies out there with a solid script, wounderful direction, and sure-fire cast which includes, Gotfried John,Izzabella Scorupco, Joe Don Baker,Robbie Colraine,Allan Cumming, and Famke Janssen in the possibly the best role of her carerr Goldeneye is Bond Magic.