THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER (2010)

This series of movies got off to a good start with "The Lion, The Witch, & The Wardrobe", but the follow up just didn't have the same magic or style to it. The third installment declines ever so slightly. The pacing is fine, but the characters and story just get glossed over so quickly to get to the next scene. All of these movies have religious over tones to them, but this is by far the one that shows it the most. The movie is satisfying enough, but it just can't conj our up the same mystique as the original did a few years ago.

Edmund, Lucy, and their cousin travel to a peaceful Narnia this time and they are quickly picked up by King Caspian on his ship "The Dawn Treader". They set off to find the lords that never returned home. That's where their adventure starts.

I liked this movie enough to not warn you away from it, but it's not a must see. If you've read or seen the previous movies than you might want to rent this one.

THE LAST EXORCISM(2010)

With Halloween quickly approaching I thought I'd review a "scary" movie. "The Last Exorcism" is produced in the same mockumentary style as "The Blair Witch" was years ago. That movie was marketed perfectly and was the first of it's kind. I wasn't a fan of that movie or this movie for that matter. I can appreciate the approach and the effort, but the final product is just dull to put it bluntly. The editing is a little too professional for the audience to believe that we are watching raw footage of the documentary being filmed. "Paranormal Activity" is the best and most entertaining version of these types of "scary" movies.

An evangelist sets out to shoot a documentary on his last exorcism to prove that they are all fakes. His "Last Exorcism" turns out to be more than he bargained for.

I wouldn't recommend this film unless you liked any of the previously mentioned films.

THE SWITCH(2010)

I'm not really sure if this was supposed to be a comedy,drama,romance, or a slice of life movie? The movie really isn't good enough in any of those genres, so that's it's major down fall. Likable leads by Jason Bateman and Jennifer Aniston, but not a lot of chemistry for the romance part of the movie. I liked the idea of the movie, but it seems as if they just put the idea on cruise control and went with it. I think the movie could of been a lot better if they didn't go with the generic and easy way out. You know how the movie is going to end in the first thirty seconds of the movie. There are some good moments in the movie and it's far better than Jennifer Aniston's last disaster("The Bounty Hunter").

Aniston decides she wants a baby and her best friend(Bateman) isn't too high on the idea of a sperm donor. There's a party where Bateman get's wasted and 7 years later the truth comes out.

This is a rental at best. Jason Bateman gives a pretty good performance, but too bland and nothing special.

SALT(2010)

Who is Salt? The answer is a very average movie. You never really know who Salt is during the movie and that's supposed to be the kicker. Unfortunately I knew who she was right away, thus turning this into a very mediocre movie from start to finish. There's really not the fun element here and that's what action movies need to survive. Since the story and characters are usually very stale. It wants to be the female version of Bond or Ethan Hunt and it's just not either of them. An average action/thriller that won't blow you away, but it won't hurt you to watch it either.

Angelina Jolie gets identified by a defected Russian as an undercover spy. She escapes to clear her name, but you don't really know if she even knows who she is. Is she a Russian spy or is she an American C.I.A. agent?

A rental at best. I'm glad I went to watch "Inception" for the second time last weekend. Instead of this movie on it's opening weekend.

THE SORCERER'S APPRENTICE(2010)

The second Jerry Bruckheimer movie of the summer and he's now two for two on mediocrity! It pains me to say that he might be losing his blockbuster touch? I was hoping for an entertaining fun time at the movies, but the story-telling is pretty bad in this movie. Some pretty cheesy lines and romances. The action is actually pretty good and the movie goes by quickly. I hope the next "National Treasure" comes out soon, so I can say some nice things about Jerry Bruckheimer again.

Nic Cage waited 1,000 years to find "the one" who will be able to kill the almighty sorcerer if she ever gets out of her captivity. When he finally finds him, that's when the evil escapes and the fate of the world is in "The Sorcerer's Apprentice's hands.

This is a maybe on the rental charts. I can't fully recommend this movie, but some will enjoy the fun and just go with it.

THE KARATE KID(2010)

I'm such a huge fan of the original movie that this remake could've been way worse than it was. It pays some nice homage to the original, but some of the lines are in subtitles, since they are spoken in Chinese. The classic lines don't have the same impact when you read them as opposed to when you first heard them. Jackie Chan does an adequate job following in Pat Morita's shoes. Jaden Smith sucks as the karate kid! Not funny or charming. You don't really ever feel yourself rooting for him. The kung fu scenes are highly updated and add some entertainment to the movie. There is a decent portion of the movie in english subtitles too. If I wanted to watch "The Karate Kid" in another language I'd rent "El Chico De Karate"(1995) or the special edition(2006).

A boy and his mom move to china when his mom gets a job there. A group of kids beat him up over a girl and soon he learns kung fu from the local maintenance man.

If I had never seen the original and I was a 12 year old kid then this would be a great movie. It's worth a viewing out of curiosity.

ROBIN HOOD(2010)

Another Ridley Scott time period movie. He hit Oscar gold with his last effort in "Gladiator", but not this time. This movie reminds me more like another movie that claimed to be an origin story on a folk hero. 2004's "King Arthur" was the same style of movie. They used the names that we all know and tried to turn the myths and legends into a history lesson. "Robin Hood" is based more on history that "King Arthur" was, but it's still a period piece and focuses very little on the title character's life. It should've been named "Robin Hood begins". Very slow and little fun for a legendary tale. The last 30 minutes start to show promise and then it's over. A very average take on a beloved hero or anti-hero.

The story follows Russell Crowe on how he firsts comes to Nottingham and how his name came about.

This is a rental if you compelled to see this movie. I wish I could endorse it more, but I can't in good conscience.

PRINCE OF PERSIA:THE SANDS OF TIME(2010)

I love summer blockbusters by Jerry Bruckheimer, but this is not one of his better action movies. A mix between "The Mummy" and "Indiana Jones" movies, but without the heart or entertainment value. I could trash the screenplay and story, but that's not what these movies are about. Although I wish they made a little bit of a better effort on the story. Too wordy of a screenplay. The action scenes didn't really do anything for me either. One of those movies that is just there. Nothing left to remember when all the noise has gone away.

Jerry your better than this!

When the adopted prince of persia is framed for killing his father he must go on the run. He discovers that a dagger with the sands of time is what the persian army is after. Of course the world will come to an end if they get the dagger and use it for their own good. So Gyllenhaal teams up with a hot chick that protects the dagger, so they can get it to the safety.

This is one of the weekend movies that you might as well watch. Not bad enough to not recommend, but not good enough to tell people about it either.

MACGRUBER(2010)

Let's just say the Saturday Night Live Skits don't make the best movies. I don't even think the original "Waynes World" was that great. They have some mediocre movies and some guilty pleasures. "MacGruber" fall under the guilty pleasure part. I'm not saying that it's a good movie, but it has it's laugh out loud moments. The story and screenplay are pretty bad, but they do sneak some funny stuff in there. Just enough to make it worth seeing. If not for a hard "R" rating then this movie would have been incredibly terrible!

MacGruber has been in hiding since his fiance got blown up on their wedding day. Now he is called back into service to try and stop the launching of a nuclear bomb. Not the most unique storyline, but what do you expect from an SNL skit?

If you like swearing and "R" rated humor then you might want to give this a try. Not a great movie, but you might just laugh enough.

SHREK FOREVER AFTER(2010)

This franchise has really gone downhill since the first "Shrek"movie. The first story was a funny rip at all the disney movies of the past. A fairy tale for the adults and kids at the same time. The second one was the same old stuff, but still had some new humor. The third installment wast pretty bland and worn out. I didn't have much hope for the so-called final chapter, but it turned out to be better than the last outing. That's about the best thing I can say about the final "Shrek".

Shrek grows tiresome of his every day life. He makes a deal to get just one day of his old life back. Unfortunately he had to give up the day he was born in exchange for that one day. So now he has to try and have his one kiss with Fiona before the day is up. The problem is that the past he knew, doesn't exist anymore.

If you liked the series, then this movie doesn't really do any worse than the past couple installments. A very average, but short time at the movies.

REPO MEN(2010)

This movie had promise to be a kick ass action flick, but it's more of a sci-fi movie with a little action to it. Not a total disaster, but far from excellent.

In the near future, organ transplants are available to anyone. When they can't keep up with the huge interests rates, the Repo men literally take back the organs. Jude Law and Forrest Whitaker play buddies who are the best repo men out there. When Jude Law needs a new heart he can't pay for it, because he has a change of heart about his job and can no longer carry out his missions.

This is the exact definition of an average movie. It's there and worth seeing, but that's about it. This is not for everyone, but it's not terrible or good. It's very average.

BROTHERS(2009)

I had to watch this, since Natalie Portman was the lead actress in it. I've seen some crappy movies because of this logic. I must say that the acting was really good in this film, but I just never really got what the story really was about? Was it about the brothers? The after life of war? Family? It's a mixture of all of these and never really excels at any of the sub plots. It's a little messy. The story could've been flushed out some more and really made a great drama, but it seemed a little rushed to get to the ending.

It's worth seeing, but it's not a must see unless you have the Natalie Portman rule too.

A SERIOUS MAN(2009)

I had absolutely no idea what this film was about when I watched it. One of the few movies that I've ever seen without some idea of what the story was about. To make matters worse, it's a Cohens' Brother movie and they have a knack for making some weird films. Needless to say, I was kinda wondering where this was headed after the first 10 minutes.

It's a dark comedy that has some funny moments, but just one of those films that is just there. Not near as good as their last two films. "Burn after Reading" & "No Country for Old Men" were far superior and more entertaining. You gotta appreciate the unique style of story-telling, but it's a very slow movie at times. If your a fan of the Cohen brothers than I'm sure you'll like this film, but it's a very average film compared to some of their movies.

IT'S COMPLICATED(2009)

Another romantic dramedy for the baby boomer generation. "It's Complicated" follows in the same mold as "Something's Gotta Give" from a few years ago. Funnier than I thought and I enjoyed it mildly, but not enough to make a it a must see. I didn't care much for the last act. Nothing really get's accomplished but still had a pretty funny part towards the end. Anyone who is older than 50 will love this film.

This is your average film, but not bad by any means.

LOVE HAPPENS(2009)

A romantic dramedy starring Jennifer Aniston and Aaron Eckhart. I think this film takes itself too seriously. It's your basic romantic comedy but without the normal cheerful tone. Until the end that is. It tries to be a serious drama, but fails and turns out to be your everyday chick flick.

I remember when this was filmins in Seattle and Jennifer Aniston put her gum on the wall outside the Public Market. That's in the film along with every other Seattle tourism site. It's a good look at Seattle, but it doesn't really make the film any better.

I think most viewers will tolerate this film, but there's nothing really to love either.

RIGHTEOUS KILL

This had the billing of a great movie. Fall release date and two academy award winning actors with a cop drama all built into one. Unfortunately the two actors are both declining and the drama really turns into a serial killer mystery. Instead of telling a straight forward gritty story of these two partners it gets turned into them trying to solve a killer who is killing the scum of the city. The two leads give solid performances, but the story and screenplay is mumbled together and tries too hard. It's one of those films that when first hearing about it, makes you want to see it and then after watching the film it fades away. Not memorable for good or bad reasons, so it's worth a view on dvd.

STOP-LOSS

In Kimberly Peirce's follow up to "Boys Don't Cry", she tries her hand on a controversial topic in "Stop-Loss". Named after the military program that sends soldiers back for another tour of duty after they have already served their full term. This is just another attempt at making a drama out of war and It was very average at best. No characters that I actually cared for and the story of a decorated Sgt. on the run to prove a point, really did nothing for me. It was between a war movie and a drama, but neither one of them was that interesting. Quite boring with no reason or point. It could've have been a good movie with a better script or story, but it just lacks any intriguing or entertainment value on any level. I will say that I thought it was a solid effort on the production side, but just fell flat on the artistic side. Barely worth renting.

HANCOCK

"Hell no". Will Smith does not say this for the second straight film and I'm getting tired of it. "Hancock" is a little different take on the superhero genre and it starts off quite well. The trailers really don't give away any of what this movie is really about either. You know he's a superman, but what you don't know is what's the real story here? They have to try and get his whole backstory into 90 minutes what took other superhero's years to do. That's where this movie loses a little steam. It's a good concept, but when the past starts to come out and turns into more of a drama is the weak part of this film. It's also the part that makes this different from what you've seen a million times with all the other franchises out there. I would have liked to see them set up his character, rather than just try and explain who he is through conversations with others. That's where it's a little messy, but still entertains and has some fun. Not one of Will Smith's best efforts, but not terrible. There are still some laughs, even if he doesn't say "Hell no". I can't say that you need to see this, but I also can't say not too either.

THE EYE

Another Japenese thriller re-make. I've been dissappointed in all of them, except with "The Ring". Fortuneately this follows that pattern more than the other films from Japan. There were some creepy parts in this film that surprised me. They stick to the formula that worked for "The Ring" and that's also its downfall. Nothing new, but atleast they stuck with something that works. It's almost like watching the same movie, but with just a different gimmick. No video tape, but this time there is an eye transplant and Jessica Alba can see what her donor saw. Which is some supernatural events that lead her to find her donor and her whole back story. Sound familiar yet? She finds that she needs to finish something for her and that's where the movie turns from a super natural thriller to your straight ahead thriller. Then you know exactly what's going to happen and it does. Not as good as the Ring, but had some entertainment value. Better than any other Japenese import of late, but that's not really saying much.

SEMI-PRO

Will Ferrell is a hit or miss type of guy. I think he does better with somebody to play off of. He's great with little doses of himself. I hated Blades of Glory when he was really the only guy to focus on and it was too over the top. I expected the same from "Semi- Pro" and it surprised me a little. It wasn't terrible like it's predecesor, but it still lacked what an "old school" or "Talladega Nights" had. It's humor relied on vulgarity and that's really what made me laugh the most, but it shows the lack of skill involved in the film. No great laughs or thrills, only Will Ferrell and that's simply not enough. I'd say that this is a step in the right direction, but I hope his next movie is leaps and bounds better. I'd rent this, but it's not a classic "Will Ferrell" movie. I'm hoping his next venture in "Step Brothers"is.