I am not a fan of either Tim Burton or Johnny Depp, but I went into Alice in Wonderland trying to be as objective as possible. However, reviewing film necessarily eliminates the idea of objectivity, but I will only look at this one specific movie. Alice in Wonderland is a pseudo-sequel to the well known Disney movie. It takes a few cues from the story written by Lewis Carroll but everything in it has Burton’s look and style. Not long into the movie does Alice fall down the proverbial rabbit hole, and the movie starts to get weird.

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Any movie that markets itself with Gary Jule’s Mad World song in its trailer already gets my interest. The movie is named after people who become infected with a toxin that causes a complete break down of rationality and restraint, and makes people insane with murderous rage. Starring Timothy Olyphant and Radha Mitchell, the small town of Ogden Marsh collapses from the weight of “the crazies.” But does the movie succeed in being a scary ride or does it simply fizzle in the starting gate?

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Cop Out was directed by Kevin Smith, which stars Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan as its main characters. It is a comedy about two New York City police partners who are desperately trying to reclaim a rare, mint condition, baseball card while having to deal with their own police suspension and a drug lord trying to assert himself as the undisputed king of cocaine for the entire east coast of the United States.

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Martin Scorsese and Leo DiCaprio struck gold with The Departed, and teamed up for the big screen adaptation of Dennis Lehane’s novel Shutter Island. Considering the critical success of The Departed, many movie buffs were looking at Shutter Island with great anticipation. Shutter Island isn’t the typical story that Scorsese has handled, but many directors have had success in diverting from their standard work. As Shutter Island is more mystery and thriller than we normally see in Scorsese’s movies, the biggest question was whether it would live up to the high standard set by films like The Departed, Raging Bull, Goodfellas and Casino. Did he put forward his best work yet with Shutter Island?

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Universal Studios is home of some of the most iconic monsters the silver screen has ever seen. One cannot think about the classic movies like The Mummy, Dracula, Frankenstein and Creature from the Black Lagoon without also thinking of their werewolf films, notably The Wolf Man. As Universal has slowly turned the gears in rebooting each of these series (The Mummy starring Brendan Frasier was released in 1999; Creature from the Black Lagoon is slated for rebooting next), The Wolfman has had a rough road making it to theaters this generation. Does it succeed where so many other monster movies have failed?

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John Travolta is one of the best actors of his generation, ranging his talents from musicals to action flicks, from comedy to drama. Jonathan Rhys Meyers has been in next to nothing, most commonly known for his portrayal of Henry VIII on The Tudors and appearing in August Rush. From Paris with Love pairs these actors as two agents, one a rookie and the other a hardened assassin who usually goes beyond protocol to get the job done. As much as this setup sounds original, it unfortunately makes for a forgettable film.

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Sometimes a great performance can’t be enough to save a mediocre movie. That is the case with Edge of Darkness which features the triumphant return to the screen by Mel Gibson. Director Martin Campbell (Casino Royale) puts together a disjointed mess that relies solely on the intensity of Gibson, who delivers one of his best performances to date. Gibson plays Boston police detective Tom Craven, a real straight shooter who doesn’t drink, and cares most about reconnecting with his daughter who has come home for a weekend visit. It is during this visit that Emma Craven (Bojana Novakovic) is shot to death in her father’s arms in an attack that is believed to be intended for Tom, not Emma. As we see from the trailer Tom discovers there is much more to his daughter’s death than meets the eye (isn’t that always the case?)

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When God gets fed up with humanity’s wickedness, he decides to wipe the slate clean and start over. When Dennis Quaid and Paul Bettany need a paycheck, they lend their acting credibility to an utterly ridiculous movie. Legion tells the story of Michael, the sole renegade angel defying God’s wish to destroy humanity, and protect a woman pregnant with a child destined to protect humanity. Unfortunately, nothing in this movie made any sense.

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It is remarkable to me when a film exceeds my expectations and I leave the theater both satisfied and inspired. The Book of Eli did just that. I assumed I would be watching another predictable action movie (and based on the trailer, my assumption looked accurate) however about 20 minutes into the film I realized this movie had much more going for it. Directed by Albert and Allen Hughes (known to most as The Hughes Brothers) The Book of Eli is about a man on a journey through a post apocalyptic world where his goal is to head west carrying a mysterious book that is of high importance to him. It is unknown what the book contains, or why it is important, however we do learn that this strange loner (Denzel Washington) is willing to protect the book at all costs from falling into the wrong hands.

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Daybreakers was written and directed by Michael and Peter Spierig. By 2019 the majority of people on the planet have been transformed into vampires. Since the human population has been dwindled down to nothing the planet is faced with a shortage of blood supply, which sustains and keeps vampires alive. However, there are additional side effects besides starvation that occur due to the lack of food. The shortage of blood begins to physically disfigure the vampires and madness sets in causing the vampires to act nuts. Meanwhile the government and private industry are trying to develop alternative means of sustenance while milking the last of the human race of its blood. Meanwhile Edward Dalton, the main character played by Ethan Hawke, is trying to help the humans find a cure to help save humanity.

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Guy Ritchie brings Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s master of deduction to the big screen in Sherlock Holmes. Starring Robert Downey Jr. as Holmes and Jude Law as his faithful right hand, Dr. John Watson, the two must stop a plot by an occult leader by the name of Lord Blackwood. Secrecy surrounds Blackwood and his methods as Holmes and Watson must end his killing spree and uncover the mystery on how he arose from the grave.

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The magic of movies is in the ability to create a visual escape for an audience. Not in recent memory has a movie created a world that encompasses the idea of escapism better than Avatar. Director James Cameron has created a visual masterpiece. Watching the film in 3D on IMAX is an incredible experience that everyone should enjoy. The colors, the special effects, and the 3D all create this visual world of wonder that is so appealing that I found myself emerged in a completely different world. Escaping reality is the purpose of movies and James Cameron has crafted a detailed universe that is so intricate I believe there is another world out there called Pandora.

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Every so often a film comes around that restores my faith in movie making. All year I am subjected to many terrible films that make me question the motivation of Hollywood directors and producers. On a Sunday afternoon, just over two weeks ago, I was treated to a surprise screening of director Jason Reitman’s new film Up In The Air. Presented as a secret mystery screening at the Starz Denver Film Festival, Up In The Air was introduced by actor J.K Simmons, who while only having a small role in the film, was a key player in Reitman’s two previous films, Thank You for Smoking and Juno. In his third film, Reitman has created, to put it simply, a character study. Where Juno was hip and trendy, and Thank You for Smoking was pure satire, Up in the Air is focused on one man’s journey to self discovery.

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The increasing trend in movies these days is to have a trailer which shows so much that it is unnecessary for one to actually purchase a ticket to see the film. In other words, you watched the entire movie in the 2 minute trailer. Armored is another victim of bad marketing (and movie making) where you can save yourself $10 by watching the trailer. There are virtually no surprises left in the film.

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First, I have to preface my review with stating I have not read the books of the Twilight series. However, despite the growing popularity of the saga, it seems there are still a lot of people who have not read the books. Considering that, I approached the movie as a general moviegoer, and critique it as such. In the entirety of the movie series and books, New Moon probably fits in quite well with the story. As a movie by itself, it is not very well done though. Read the entire review below.

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Director Roland Emmerich (Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow) has returned to the disaster film genre with 2012. With an ensemble cast including stars John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Thandie Newton, Oliver Platt, Woody Harrelson, and Danny Glover; this movie follows various characters in the midst of an apocalyptic world scenario. The movie is based on the Mayan legend that predicts the end of the world to occur in the year 2012. Essentially, the movie is about survival and what governments and individuals will do in order to survive in the face of impossible odds.

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Dr. Abigail Tyler (Milla Jovovich) is a psychiatrist in Nome, Alaska. She has been seeing a number of patients that have been having trouble sleeping. All of them have very similar symptoms and are waking up at comparable times in the night. In an attempt to help them, Dr. Tyler uses hypnotherapy to determine if there is any pattern between the patients. What she discovers may not be medical in nature, but other-worldly.

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In the small Texas town known as Bodeen, Bliss Cavendar (Ellen Page) struggles with mediocrity. Here life is full of school, work, and small time beauty pageants that her mom makes her go to. All she wants is something to make her life not so bland. After she learns about the art of roller derby it changes her life.

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“The scariest movie ever made.” This phrase has been applied again and again this summer in the promotional material for Paranormal Activity, a first feature for director Oren Peli. This past weekend I managed to make it to one of the 30-something midnight screenings in the nation, and can pretty much confirm that statement.

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A meteor the size of a small country made of solid Kryptonite makes its way toward Earth. The worlds finest superhero duo, Superman and Batman, must stop it. There is just one problem, Lex Luthor. Or should I say President of the United States Lex Luthor. How can the greatest heroes on Earth save the day when they are wanted by the US government.

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