Last night I finally watched my special extended edition copy of The Lord of the Rings – The Return of the King. All 4 hours and 20 minutes of it!

There’s no doubt in my mind that this is one of the greatest DVDs ever released. I noticed a lot of the added scenes and that’s saying a lot since it’s been over a year since I saw the theatrical version. The new scenes really do add to the story, filling in a few gaps. You’re missing out on the full experience of the movie if you don’t take the time to watch this extended edition. I can’t wait to check out some of the special features on the other two discs.

I had heard great things about I, Robot so my expectations were unusually high. So, yes, I was disappointed in the movie. Don’t get me wrong, it was a good movie, but not DVD buying material. The story was just a little bit too out there for my tastes.

Will Smith did a great job in his role as the cop with a hate for robots. I won’t be spoiling any suprises by saying that he turns out to be the hero. What? Did you think he would end up dead? Other than Smith, there isn’t a whole lot of action by many others in the film. Well, besides the robots that is.

For a movie set in the future, I would have thought there would be more/better special effects. There weren’t. There was some good stuff with the robots, but nothing that blew me out of my chair.

With all of the hype the movie received, I really was expecting a lot more. I give it a B+.

Ocean’s Twelve is the highly anticipated sequel to the hit from 2001, Ocean’s Eleven. From what I had seen in the movie trailers over the last couple of weeks, I was expecting to be disappointed. I most definately was not though. With all of the original cast coming back, this movie is a great sequel.

Ocean’s Eleven was so good that most people were expecting Ocean’s Twelve to be a box office flop. After watching the movie last night, I just don’t see that happening. For one thing, the movie has too much star power to fail. You’ve got Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Matt Damon, Julia Roberts, Andy Garcia, Casey Affleck, and many others. They even added Catherine Zeta-Jones for this one. She sports a shorter hair style in the movie and looks hotter than ever. Truly a great addition to the cast.

I’m not going to give out any details on the plot except to mention that Terry Benedict (Garcia), finds Ocean’s crew and wants the money back that they stole from his casinos. From there, Danny Ocean (Clooney) and the guys are on a mission to find a high paying “job” to save their lives. Just like the first film, this one is full of 180s and 360s to keep you guessing up until the credits roll.

If you liked the first movie I would recommend catching this one soon. I give it an A-.

I borrowed this movie from my brother, not knowing what to expect. Bandits was released in 2001 and I didn’t remember seeing the previews for it. After taking the time to watch it, I was very suprised at how good it was. Billy Bob Thornton, Bruce Willis, and Cate Blanchett all played excellent roles in the film, with Thornton probably doing the best.

The “Sleepover Bandits” (Thornton and Willis) escape from prison and start to rob banks in order to achieve their goal of living in paradise. In the process of robbing these banks, they both fall in love with a woman they “kidnapped.” She becomes confused about the relationships with each man and ends up leaving them both. The plot kept moving and changing throughout the entire movie and I didn’t ever feel bored watching it. I was actually interested to see what type of twists would come up next. It’s a beautifully crafted story for a movie.

I give it a B+.

Vin Diesel is back for Pitch Black‘s sequal, The Chronicles of Riddick. When I first saw previews for this movie months ago, I didn’t realize it was another in the series. The action follows along pretty good, but you really need to see Pitch Black first to get all of the background of the character Riddick.

Diesel plays the part of a animal-like human if that’s what you want to call it. I’ll just say he’s not your ordinary Joe. He can kill just about anyone with his bare hands, especially since he can see in the dark. He’s followed around the universe by bounty hunters who want nothing more than the money paid to put him in prison. At heart, Riddick doesn’t know if he cares about others or if he’s just out for himself. He has a decision to make…does he save mankind or just go for his own revenge? The movie does get a little sappy near the end which I didn’t care for. Keep Riddick a badass!

There’s a lot of action in the film and some pretty decent special effects to go along with it. The movie kept me entertained and I wasn’t looking for much more. I give it a B.

Saw looked like a neat idea for a movie when I saw the previews, so I went to see it last night. I thought it was pretty good. It’s the type of movie with a lot of plot twists, which I always like. On the other hand though, my brother and his girl, hated the movie.

The only actor’s name that sticks out is Danny Glover, so don’t look for any star performances from this one. I wouldn’t expect it from a movie of this type though. It’s your typical thriller and will make you jump a few times. It’ll make you laugh roughly the same amount of times though, which seemed to work well in the movie. Following the “Jigsaw killer” thoughout the movie kept me entertained and you can’t ask for much more.

One of the highlights of the film was a preview for The Ring Two, due out in 2005. The Ring was a great movie to watch in a theater, so I’ll likely do the same for it’s sequel.

I give Saw a B-.