Reviews

I had such high hopes for this movie.... it was THE MOST ANTICIPATED MOVIE on my list to see. (Dramatic drum roll please....) And then I went to see it. Oh boy, ... cough,... sputter, I'm getting nauseated. A star studded cast with John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Woody Harrleson, Danny Glover, Oliver Platt, etc. gave this film such high hopes. But did somebody forget to hire a screenwriter for this? Because this film had some of the worst drivel and cliché driven schtick I have ever seen. I was beginning to wonder if it was a David Zucker spoof on Disaster Films. The film starts off well, building plot and intrigue. Characters are nicely introduced. Pending doom and foreshadowing are not overdone - yet. And then Woody Harrleson is introduced. That's when the film begins to seriously unravel. The over-the-top comic lunatic that Woody plays turns a potential disaster into a laugh fest. Then all hell breaks loose. Catastrophic earthquakes, explosions, monumental volcanic eruptions, cities sinking into the sea all come flying at us at 300 mph! Pray tell, how in the world does John Cusack and company manage to barely miss every single devastating earth swallowing fault crack, buckling highway collapse, airplane disaster, noxious volcanic plume, and near death drowning? On top of that, we are deluged by pathetic weepy emotional dialogue from all the key players. Danny Glover is the worst violator of sappy monologues. The only tears I shed were tears of excruciating pain over watching this drivel. The only basis for not submarining my ratings on this film were the terrific special effects and CGI. Well done. Lastly, the screenwriter cements the film for utter doom with the final two lines spoken by two main characters. Absolute stupidity. Guess there wasn't anything else to say. Don't waste your money on this film - unless you get to see it at the $2 movie theatre or have a devotional love for special effects.

I am a big fan of the Terminator movies (T-2 my favorite) and greatly anticipated (along with many others, I'm sure) this new sequel. Lucky for me, I was able to see the movie at a matinée price, which helped ease the minor disappointment. The new casting looked very interesting - especially with Christian Bale as John Conner. So I was very intrigued by the prospects the film brought. Then the movie started. For those of you who haven't seen it yet, PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU LISTEN VERY CAREFULLY to the duologue at the beginning. Stop munching on your popcorn during the first 5-10 minutes, because you have to deal with Helena Bohnam Carter whispering key info. The opening of the movie is very confusing and is not really revealed until much later - what actually happened. Director, McG does an adequate job giving us newer and more deadly Machines - some of the effects are pretty cool. But you gotta wonder that after the smackdown of some of the characters in the film and the beating that they took, how they even managed not to be seriously injured. An average Joe, like you and me, would be in ICU after some of the whoopings provided by the Machines - or just plain dead. The actors in this rendition are attractive - especially Bryce Howard (you could fall in love with those eyes!) and the actor playing Marcus does a nice job. Bale doesn't quite live up to expectations after his superior BatMan. Overall, the movie gets 6 stars from me. Not bad. But not a great sequel. One last reminder, ... listen closely to the duologue. Throughout the movie, the actors love to whisper their lines.

I'm about as tough as a critic as there is. My video and DVD library count nearly 1000 movies, and after watching, "The Tin Man," I can not wait to run out and add this film to my collection. The script is extremely well developed, and the acting is terrific. Of course the special effects and costumes add greatly to the success of the viewing. Zooey Deschanel is an interesting choice as the Dorothy' character and her fresh approach to the role really grew on me. But, Neal McDonough really shines, and this is his best role to date. Alan Cumming is a delightful 'Scarecrow' symbolization in his role as Glitch. And talk about Kathleen Robertson - yowza! Her sexy rendition of Azkadellia (the witch role) sparkles - her best role to date as well - hard to believe this vixen was on Beverly Hills 90210 where she limped through trash TV. The writer(s) were very clever with all of the symbolizations in this film - for example, OZ stands for the "Outer Zone." A visual treat indeed! Each of my kids (ages 10 to 3) thoroughly enjoyed all 270 minutes of it and never got exhausted! This has become one of my favorite all-time TV mini-series - joining "Band of Brothers," "Angels in America," "War and Remembrance," & "The Lost Room."

The Coen Brothers brilliantly gave us 120 minutes of excellence in a runtime of 122 for "No Country for Old Men." A gripping edge of your seat emotional heart-stopper of a film offers the story of a man, played expertly by Josh Brolin, who found something that he wasn't supposed to find. Now he doesn't want to give it back. However, hot on his trail is one of the most despicable on-screen characters in cinema history portrayed by Javier Bardam. His character is so bad, he bleeds evilness! The third leg of the stool is the role of the sheriff, played nostalgically by Tommy Lee Jones. Incidentally, at no time do any of the three major characters ever appear on screen at the same time. If nothing else, the Coen Brothers are great storytellers. The film is wonderful, BUT .............

***** FAIR WARNING ****** Do not read any further if you do not want a general sense of how the film ends.

The movie ends with no resolution. We never are clearly told what happens to Josh Brolin. Nor do we know what happens to Javier's character. We never find out whether or not Tommy Lee Jones accomplishes anything other than retirement. We are left to guess. I felt really cheated. What should have been a "10" on a scale of 1 to 10, is kicked down to an "8." I despise being cheated when watching a film. I want resolution and I do not want to have to guess at what the ending is all about. I expected an extremely violent confrontation between all three men and got zilch. There was no explosive climax to the film as promised on the DVD cover. I suppose the Editor got scissor happy - or the Coen's ran out of money.

"We Are Marshall" delivers from both an emotional standpoint as well as a story of substance. Matthew Fox and Anthony Mackie clearly shine as the best actors in this film. As a Marshall University alum and Huntington resident, I was concerned that movie-goers unaffiliated with Marshall and the city of Huntington, WV would experience the same heart wrenching feeling of loss for the 1970 Thundering Herd football team that I did. But after viewing it twice, I feel confident that audiences will embrace this story that is rooted so deeply in the Huntington community. Matthew McConaughey delivers an "awe-shucks" portrayal of Coach Jack Lengyel and at times is overshadowed by his supporting cast. Director McG deserves high praise for turning an average script into an emotional powerhouse. Well done! "We Are Marshall" scores winning marks.