2003

The Matrix Reloaded: pretty good, great action sequences, interesting philosophy concept, the fight with all the agents looks a little animated. Overall rating, 2 thumbs up. (the gay twins were an excellent addition too!)

The Pianist: good plot, great music (listen to Chopin, my fav. composer out of my limited classical music knowledge), sad at some moments, overall movie was kind of depressing because I didn't feel enough resolve at the end (but hey, not everything can have a hollywood ending). Overall score, 2 thumbs up

Terminator 3: great action sequences also, good special effects, cool machines, this movie plot was basically at the same level of T2 (not the same plot though, just the same rating level), the only thing that prevents it from 2 thumbs up is the end, it seemed a little hurried up to me, even though it didn't show, it makes you assume that there was a war between humans and machines and that most of humanity was wiped out (I would have liked to see the war). 1 big thumb up! (This movie proves that you don't need great looking cars to have an awesome action scene.)

Pirates of the Caribbean: Not judging the flaws that were outside of the movie, like the guy's head in front of me that covered 1/12 of the screen(yes, I did the calculations), or the annoyingly bright "exit" sign at the door, or the loud movie in the room next to us that could be heard during the quiet moments of "Pirates," this was a pretty good movie. First "pirate" genre movie since Hook, unless you consider Water World to be one. The skeletons were cool looking, almost scary, but not quite. This movie had most classic "pirate" characteristics; parrot/monkey, ships, sword fights, dirty teeth, and plank walking(although I didn't see any peg legs or "swabbing" the decks). The battles were all cool(if you are looking for gore, this isn't the movie for you, even though the director is named Gore). Who knew Disney could make a semi-horror, kind of violent pirate flick? It has a good fake plot. And to top it off, it has Mr. 21 Jump Street Johnny Depp. Overall score, 2 thumbs up (It would've been cool to see more of the midget though!) (Just one more thing, does it seem wierd to anyone that Disney is making movies out of theme park attractions? First we have Pirates of the Carribean, and it showed of preview of The Haunted Mansion. What next? A movie about the Tea Cups?) This review was longer than I thought, sorry.

Adaptation: I love this movie, I love it so much, that it just became one of my favorite movies, I can relate to this movie in so many ways (I'm trying not to ruin the movie for those who haven't seen it), it seems so real at times, but toward the end it doesn't as much, although it is still a great movie, it is funny and sad at the same time, this movie taught me a lesson, "don't worry about what other people think of you, those are their thoughts, not yours." I'd give it 10 thumbs up if I had them, but unfortunately I don't. 2 thumbs up.

Solaris: This movie, there is not very much I can say about this movie. It looked as if it tried to be a good movie, but failed in a way. It is a quiet movie with little dialogue, which makes you think in a way. In a way, "Solaris" reminded me of "2001: A Space Odyssey." It also seemed as if it was trying to bring a theme across, but I just didn't get it, I usually get themes in most movies, but not in this one. Or maybe there was no theme. Oh well, I give this movie 0 thumbs up (average for those who haven't read the key at the bottom).

28 Days Later: I'd just like to say that this movie isn't just another "zombie flick." This isn't another "Resident Evil." 28 Days Later really had a good plot and it explained a whole lot more like why zombies were alive in the first place. This is one of those movies that keeps you interested every minute. Actually, some people found it wierd. Too wierd for their tastes, but who cares what they think right, you're here to read my review (just kidding, I care about what other people think). It also has an underlying theme (ah, a theme, I love those, especially the hidden ones). I think the theme was that when it comes to survival, mankind will do anything to stay alive. And correct me if I'm wrong, but I also think I caught another theme in there; that there is chaos without government, but I'm not too sure about this one. But anyways, even though this movie is really good, Night of the Living and the Texas Chainsaw Massacre are still the best horror movies to date (in my opinion). I give 28 Days Later 2 thumbs up.

House of 1000 Corpses: (Like I said on the homepage, I'm going to try to keep this short and sweet.) For this movie, I have concluded that it has three phases. At first, it starts off pretty good, funny and different. The second phase is just a "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" ripoff (shame on those who haven't watched the original!). And the third phase (like most other critics have said) was just a really long music video that I wanted to end. Summed up, the movie had no plot, no explanations, good shock value though. And just because it had death and shocking scenes and wierd characters and other things like that, it will probably become a cult classic among the "goth kids." And I'll probably get massacred for saying this, but I give this movie no thumbs up (if you think this is bad, read at the bottom of the page, it is average)

American Wedding: Just another "teen movie." Need I say more? 0 thumbs up also

Freddy vs. Jason: Just another "slasher flick." I got tired of it after the second time I watched it. Cool fight scenes though. 1 thumb up

Open Range: I'm not a fan of westerns, but I thought this movie was very good. It starts off slow at the beginning, with little plot developement, but the beginning is the only average part in the movie. The rest of the movie was good. The had the "western" elements in there too: the tobacco spitting, the gunfighting, that western talk, the horses and cows, and the small towns. Can't really say much about a movie like this, one oversized thumb up.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)- This movie is so cool, it's comparable to the first one. Of course, most of the time, the original is always better, but in this case, either the original is just one notch better or they are even. I can't decide. This movie has a lot of those surprise scary moments, but it also makes the horror seem real. I don't know what it is, might be the fact that this killer actually runs after you (unlike the walking ones like Jason or Michael Myers), or that it takes place out in the country (a place I never want to go again), or maybe it is just the fact that we sometimes see crazy folk like the family in the movie. A lot of things were changed from the original, but that doesn't make the movie any worse. They did keep some stuff: meat hooks, the chainsaw (of course), the BBQ gas station, a hitchiker (not "the hitchiker" though), and a teenager that couldn't be understood when he spoke because he spit a lot (the equivalent of "Franklin" in my opinion) (yeah, you'd have to see the first one to know what I'm talking about). Overall, I loved the movie, and it made me crap my pants (just kidding........... or am I?) 2 thumbs up (One thing did dissapoint me though, they made no mention of "headcheese", once again, you'd have to see the first one to know what I'm talking about)

Underworld- eh, it was ok. Looks like there will be a sequel. It had me really interested at the moment, but it's one of those movies that you enjoy while you're watching, and afterwards, you don't have the will to watch it again unless someone convinces you to. 1 thumb up

Cabin Fever- This movie rocks too. Let me warn you in advance, this movie is strange (but still good). The guy who made this obviously watched many horror movies before, because I can see a lot of horror movie influences in this movie. Not only was this movie strange, but it was also funny (in a strange sort of way). To give an example, there is a part in the movie where a kid is sitting on a bench in front of a small store (his name is Dennis and he has a mullet). Someone comes and sits by him and Dennis bites the guy. Later on in the movie it shows Dennis again, and there is a sign behind him that says "Do not sit by Dennis." So someone pulls up in a truck and gets off, when all of a sudden Dennis yells "Pancakes!" and gets off the bench and starts doing karate, kind of matrix moves. Sure it sounds strange, but you'll have to see the movie to know what I'm talking about. I give this movie one thumb up.

Kill Bill- There are certain types of movies that appeal to certain types of people. This is one of those movies. Many people say they don't like it because it is cheesy. It has cheesy dialogue, cheesy music, overall, cheesy film style. But that is what makes it so cool. Quentin Tarantino meant for it to be cheesy. In a way, it is kind of like a satire. It overexaggerates the blood, the gore, the cheesy music, the dialogue, and the plot is very simple too. But I think that it was meant to be this way, and some people like that, others don't. I'm one of the ones who liked it. I give it either 1 thumb up, or 2 thumbs up. I can't decide. (probably 2, because right now I'm kind of tired and can't think normally)

School of Rock- Good lesson in rock (kind of), and good movie to watch with your family and friends alike. It is funny and so is Jack Black. The soundtrack is good especially the originals made for the movie. (short review, because like I said in my review of kill bill, I'm tired) 2 thumbs up

The Matrix Revolutions: "Everything that has a beginning, has an end" (except for a circle, but then again, it doesn't have a beginning, so I guess the oracle was right, damn.) This movie has been getting bad reviews from many critics, but I have come to save the day. I will admit, this movie was not as good as the first two, but it is good on its own. This movie had more action than the first two (in my opinion), but that came at the expense of the plot. That is the only bad part, it seemed like the makers of the movie just wanted an ending, any ending would do. (oh yeah, and there was the whole thing about there not being that much character developement, but I didn't really pay much attention to that, because part one and two already took care of that) But other than that, the movie kicked ass. It had one of the best fights I've seen, Agent Smith vs. Neo (up there among the ranks of Rocky Balboa vs. Ivan Drago). The big battle with the robots/humans and sentinels was pretty graphic too, great special effects. All in all, it was a good movie worth watching. I give it 2 thumbs up. (My favorite out of the trilogy was Matrix Reloaded though, it was like the middle ground. Part one had the better of the plot, part three had the better of the action, and Reloaded had the best of both worlds.)

Return of the King- What can I say? I left the movie speechless. It was everything I wanted and more! This is how trilogies should be; the beginning is good, the middle is even better, but the end is the best. I think I almost exploded in the theatre while watching it. Return of the King had the coolest battle from all the movies, making the Battle of Helm's Deep look like a small squirmish (although it is still a great battle on its own). Some people thought the movie was too long, I thought it was just right. I couldn't have made the ending (or endings) better myself. The kingdom of Gondor looked just beautiful. The armor of the soldiers of Gondor stood out (in my eye) too. This movie reinforced the fact that Gandalf is one of the coolest guys ever. When the hobbits saw the Shire for the first time in a long time, I cried (but really I didn't). I can die a happy man now that I've seen this. The soundtrack is very good too. I will now retreat into my Lord of the Rings flashbacks, excuse me....... (favorite moment: when Gandalf came down the hill in the Two Towers to save the day. When Gandalf's staff glowed and frightened away the nazgul. When Gandalf fought the Balrog. The Mines of Moria. The Ent battle at Isengard. The kingdom of Gondor. All of Gandalf's inspirational words. The Battle on the Pellenor Fields and the Battle of Helms Deep. When the elephants came on ROTK. The music, the cinematography, the beautiful settings/environments, the story, the morals. ah, Lord of the Rings. Does it get any better than this?) This is the only time that a movie will get 3 thumbs up. So yeah!