Star Trek

2009 Action/Adventure/Sci-Fi/Comedy by director J.J. Abrams

Description: On the day of James Kirk's birth, his father dies on his ship in a last stand against a mysterious alien vessel. He was looking for Ambassador Spock, who is a child on Vulcan at that time, disdained by his neighbors for his half-human nature. Twenty-five years later, Kirk has grown into a young troublemaker inspired by Captain Christopher Pike to fulfill his potential in Starfleet even as he annoys his instructors like young Commander Spock. Suddenly, there is an emergency at Vulcan and the newly commissioned USS Enterprise is crewed with promising cadets like Nyota Uhura, Hikaru Sulu, Pavel Chekov and even Kirk himself thanks to Leonard McCoy's medical trickery. Together, this crew will have an adventure in the final frontier where the old legend is altered forever even as the new version of it is just beginning. (I liked their description so much that I borrowed it from imdb.com)

Review: Ok, so I should start out by saying that I am not a trekkie per se but have always been a fan of Star Trek and grew up watching the tv shows. But I really enjoyed the opportunity to see the beginnings of our favorite Star Trek characters.  This rendition has edginess that the previous movies and tv shows have lacked.  I was so happy and surprised to see Leonard Nimoy.  Chris Pine’s Jim Kirk is so cocky that it is undeniable that he will grow up to be William Shattner!  There are so many great actors in this movie; I don’t have the space to list them all!  J.J. Abrams did an amazing job!

My ratings:
Storyline & Plot – 9
Acting – 9
Action – 7
Comedy – 7

My favorite quotes:

ü  “Are you out of your Vulcan mind?”

ü  “You got numb tongue? I can fix that!”

ü  “Come with me… Cupcake.”

ü  “Live long and prosper”

ü  “Damn it man, I’m a doctor!”

ü  “I’m giving it all she’s got captain!”

Lead cast: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana
Supporting cast: Eric Bana, Leonard Nimoy, Bruce Greenwood, John Cho, Anton Yelchin

Tuck Everlasting

2002 – Drama/Romance by director Jay Russell

Description: A young sheltered girl from a wealthy family meets a young man, or so she thinks… At 15 Winnie is faced with a life that is all planned out by her parents.  When she meets Jesse Tuck she is able to experience a completely different way of life and she falls in love with his family’s easy go with the flow way of being. She also falls in love with Jesse.  But as it turns out the whole Tuck family has never aged since drinking from a spring of youth. Now Winnie must make one of the most important decision of her life that she will have to live with for the rest of her life: She has to decide if she will drink from the spring and live forever or stay on a human time line.

Review: A nice young person’s movie that contains a few good lessons to be learned. I did like the character’s different perspectives on immortality and what makes your life a ‘good life’.  The story was well written and well delivered by the director and actors.

My ratings:
Storyline & Plot – 8
Acting – 8
Drama – 7
Romance – 5.5

My favorite quotes:

ü  “I need a new name, one that’s not all worn out from being called so much.”

ü  “I’m never gonna let you go.”

ü  “What we Tucks have, you can’t call it living. We just….. Are.”

Lead cast: Alexis Bledel, Jonathan Jackson, William Hurt, Sissy Spacek
Supporting cast: Ben Kingsley, Scott Bairstow, Victor Garber, Amy Irving

The Guardian

2006 – Inspirational/Action/Drama/Military by director Andrew Davis

Description: Senior Chief Ben Randall is forced to take a break from U.S. Coast Guard rescue swimming and is ordered to either instruct potential future swimmers at A school or ride a desk.  Airman Jake Fischer, is fresh out of basic training with awesome potential, has a massive chip on his shoulder, has a hard time with authority, and with being anything other than the best.  Although they are a few decades apart in age, these two have a lot more in common than either of them is willing to admit to and lay on the table. Watch as Randall pushes Fischer to his full potential and to humble his at the same time and Fischer forces Senior Chief to come to terms with his own demons.

Review: I love this movie!  It’s one of my favorites in the inspirational genre.  Kevin Costner played the role of Senior Chief amazingly.  And it was no shocker that Ashton Kutcher was completely believable as the cocky, smart-alecky, super star kid fresh out of his teens, but he did a really good job showing his serious side in this film.  This is a great movie for everybody but it is a good coming of age or accepting your age film… I really liked the chance to see the U.S. Coast Guard Rescue Swimmers in the spotlight.  Great writing, great direction, great acting, just all over great!

My ratings:
Storyline & Plot – 10
Acting – 10
Comedy – 9
Drama – 9
Action – 8

My favorite quotes:

ü  “When storms shut down entire ports, we go out. When hurricanes ground the United States Navy, we go out. And when the holy lord himself reaches down from heaven and destroys his good work with winds that rip houses off the ground… We go out.”

ü  “What if another swimmer had cut into your lane? For the love of god, you could have been killed!”

ü  “There will come a time when you are going to have to say no.”

ü  “You might want to re-check your compass… This ain’t no puddle pirate bar.”

Lead cast: Kevin Costner, Ashton Kutcher, Sela Ward, Melissa Sagemiller
Supporting cast: Brian Geraghty, Neal McDonough, Clancy Brown

Fido

2006 – Comedy/Drama by director Andrew Currie

Description:  When Timmy Robinson’s mom buys a house zombie his whole family is in turmoil.  His mother doesn’t want to be the only family on the block without a zombie anymore, his father is terrified of zombies and Timmy doesn’t know what to think. Always being picked on by bullies his new zombie comes to the rescue and then eats an old lady.  Timmy has to think quickly to fix this mess and then decides that he should name is zombie Fido.  Before you know it Timmy and Fido are inseparable.  Scared of someone finding out that Fido ate the neighbor, Timmy has to figure out what to do now.

Review:  A well done, fun, and funny faux period zombie piece.  Of course I am always a sucker for zombie flicks, but there aren’t a lot of funny zombie movies so it’s nice to have another to add to the arsenal.  There was one thing that I thought was weird, the soundtrack was all period appropriate save for one exception.  In the scene where the mom is dancing in the living room the song playing is “Put A Lid On It” on the album “Hot” by Squirrel Nut Zippers, released in 1996.  Other than that I really enjoyed this movie and recommend that it be added to everybody’s ‘DVDs to buy’ list.

My ratings:
Storyline & Plot – 9
Acting – 8
Comedy – 8
Drama – 6.5

My favorite quotes:

ü  “In the brain and not the chest. Head shots are the very best.”

ü  “From dust have you come and to dust shall you return, but from dust shall you not be resurrected.”

ü  “That’s why they call it “A Man’s Job”… Flesh eating maniacs need not apply.”

ü  “You crazy, wonderful zombie!”

Lead cast:  Kesun Loder, Billy Connolly, Carrie-Ann Moss, Dylan Baker
Supporting cast:  Henry Czerny, Tim Blake Nelson, Alexia Frost, Sonja Bennett

High Hopes

2006 Comedy by Joe Eckardt

Description: A group of friends are trying to make a movie. They have a script, an actor, a stoner, and a deaf mute. All that they need now is the money to finance this flick. Starting to feel a little desperate, they devise a plan that if exacuted properly will put them into a a very large budget for a bunch of nobodies.

Review: This movie is just a bunch of supporting actors in lead roles. So basically who you see is what you get.  It’s not a terrible movie but it’s nothing special either. The story line tends to lag a little and as the viewer I didn’t really have any motivation to care what happens to a bunch of guys fumbling through a scheme. Also, there were a few funny parts but I couldn’t find one quote worth the ink to write it down.

My ratings:
Storyline & Plot – 4
Acting – 6
Comedy – 5

My favorite quotes:
None

Lead cast: Corin Nemec, Jason Mewes, David Faustino, Jason Marsden
Supporting cast: Lacey Chabert, Andy Dick, Edward Furlong, Cecily Gambrell