Pretty good movie. From what I remember in previews I thought this was supposed to be a freaky-scary movie. There were some parts where I gripped my seat a bit, but it doesn’t totally fit into that genre of movies.

Dennis Quaid, Sharon Stone, Juliette Lewis, and Stephen Dorff all did wonderful jobs as the main characters. A family from New York buys a house out in the country, which was once a beautiful estate. As they renovate the place, the previous owner stops in for a visit and the thrill begins. One part to note in the movie (which happens twice I believe), is that Dorff’s character’s father calls his mother a whore, even to his face.

The acting, plot, and suspense all keep the movie rolling along. I give it a B.

---

Great movie! The final chapter (or is it?) in the Matrix series comes to an end in The Matrix Revolutions. It’s nice to see the end of the story, but it sucks knowing I can’t look forward to any more of the movies.

A lot of people didn’t like how it ended…you can’t please everyone. I thought it ended just how it was intended to end and it was fine by me. The Matrix Reloaded was a little bit slow during parts, but this movie was non-stop action for the entire film. The special effects and fight scenes are simply amazing in this movie and might even be better than the first two, which are hard to top.

I’m not even going to bother listing the actors in this movie because if you didn’t know them, you wouldn’t be reading this review. Once again the Wachowski brothers did an excellent job and it’s too bad they didn’t win any big awards for any of the movies.

The Matrix series is neck and neck with the Lord of the Rings in my book. I give this movie an A+.

---

Looked good in the TV commercials and it was good in the theater. I had just watched the full trailer today at work and was thinking I had to see this movie. Tonight I got the chance already and took it.

Angelina Jolie is my favorite actress and she was great as usual. I’ll admit I can’t complain about seeing her “two friends” either! She played an FBI profiler on the trail of a serial killer in Canada. Some of the commercials claim that this movie will keep you guessing until the end and then you will still be wrong. Well, it’s right on. There are multiple bends in the road and things are not always as they appear. I’m trying not to give too much away, so I’ll stop there.

Overall it was a really good movie that kept my interest and I would watch again on DVD when it comes out. It’s not a top notch movie that I would purchase, but I would definitely watch it more than once. Taking Lives gets an A-.

---

I remember seeing the previews for The Rundown and thinking, “Great, another performance like for ‘The Rock’ like in The Scorpion King.” After watching the movie I was pleasantly suprised. Seann William Scott was his usual self, but I was impressed by the improvements in Rock’s acting since I last saw him. Rosario Dawson also stars in this movie and all I have to say is wet clothes = hotness!

The Rock is what they call a retriever and he is out to bring Scott’s character home to his wealthy father. In the process there is the search for a priceless treasure. According to legend, the treasure is supposed to set Dawson’s character’s people free.

There is a lot of action and good fighting scenes throughout the movie with a little humor added here and there by Scott. I give it a B since I didn’t expect much from the movie, but it delivered.

---

You know a movie sucks when they have to throw in a joke (or attempt at one) for the last line of the movie…”and sex ain’t bad either.” Black Horizon was a waste of time and money. The acting was horrible, the special effects were even worse, and the story wasn’t much either.

I’m not even going to look up the names of the people “starring” in this movie because I want to get this review done quickly. Black Horizon is another space saving mission where everything seems to go wrong. The scenes with the shuttle look like a they were done with a matchbox size space shuttle. When the characters do a space walk outside the space station you can clearly see the cables used to hold them up and create the scene. The set for the space station looked like it was made of carboard boxes spray-painted blue.

Do not waste your time watching this movie. I’m being generous when I give it a D.

---

I had never heard of this movie before and it didn’t take long to figure out why. It was pretty cheesy, not to mention the fact that the acting was horrible.

Lauren Holly and Robert Patrick play the lead roles and boy were they terrible. Holly was especially bad and after looking at the list of movies she had been in, it’s no surprise. The biggest movie she was in is Dumb and Dumber, which is a movie that almost everyone liked but me.

The story involves the search for a murderer and the way the movie is put together doesn’t gel very well. Holly plays the lead cop on the case and Patrick plays an expert animal tracker who has come to help in the search for his sister’s killer. If you are looking for cool special effects or surveillance techniques, choose a different movie.

I have to go with a C- on this one.

---

Different. One word that describes this movie is different. It is kind of a ghost story that flips the roles of patient and psychologist on the main character, played by Halle Berry.

Berry did a wonderful job playing the part of the beautiful psychologist turned crazy murderer. There were two ends to the spectrum and she meshed them together well. There is a reason she won Best Actress…because she’s good at what she does and this movie was no exception.

I was interested throughout the entire movie and really caught off guard with the change of events. While the ghostly part of the story wasn’t all that believable, the plot was. My grade for Gothika is a B.

---

Watched this movie last night on the new TV and was pretty happy with it. It was an interesting plot line with a few twists and turns along the way.

I thought Gene Hackman, John Cusack, Dustin Hoffman, and Rachel Weisz did a great job with this movie. I didn’t recognize Weisz from any other movies, but she did well in this one. She’s also a fine looking woman, which never hurts. Hackman’s character is a man who makes a living by investigating possible jurors and helping a team of lawyers select the best possible matches to get the verdict that they are looking for. Throughout the movie there is a constant struggle over who has control of the jury and will end up winning the case.

I was really surprised at how good this movie was so I’ll have to bump the rating a little bit for that fact. It gets an A- and my stamp of approval (for whatever that is worth).

---