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Reviews
Flightplan (2005)
An awesome, unpredictable thriller - WOW!!!
I saw this movie in Boston at an advance screening. I had only seen the trailer once online. It looked pretty good, but I thought I'd have the movie all figured out within the first 15 minutes. Boy, was I wrong! This movie was absolutely awesome. Brilliant performances by Jodie Foster and Peter Sarsgaard (who also gave a great performance in 1999's "Boys Don't Cry"). None of the movie was too far-fetched; the cinematography was excellent, and I really enjoyed it overall. It had just the right mix of suspense, thrills, and even a little comic relief. Nice to see a movie can be great without a whole lot of profanity (in fact, I don't recall the "f" word being used in this movie at all, but I could be wrong). It would have been great to see this movie in IMAX but it still gets my vote for one of the best movies of the year.
Batman Begins (2005)
Absolutely spectacular, brilliant, 20 out of 10 stars!!!
Let me start off by saying this was one of those movies I had virtually no interest in seeing. Generally speaking, these kinds of movies just "aren't my thing". A friend of mine (who IS into these movies) wanted to go, so I tagged along. We saw the movie in imax (2-D) at Jordan's Furniture (sorry I couldn't spell imax in all capital letters, the IMDb's robots picked it up and considered it shouting).
Especially when I heard that the movie is well over 2 hours long, I expected to be asleep before the opening credits finished. But I barely even blinked throughout the entire movie, much less looked at my watch. This movie was an absolute masterpiece.
The story, casting, cinematography, score, and overall experience were all just incredible. Christian Bale was *fantastic* in the leading role (the fact that he's very easy on the eyes doesn't hurt much either). I can honestly say that not a single second of the movie was "cheesy" or "over-produced" or "too far-fetched" (three attributes that I usually apply to movies of this type). It had just the right mixture of action, adventure, crime, fantasy, thrills, and even a few laughs and an occasional tear to my eye. The perfect recipe for a perfect movie.
If you do see this movie, I *highly recommend* you see it in imax if you have an imax theater within 100 miles of where you live. In my opinion, this great movie deserves absolutely nothing less than the experience that imax gives you. It is a movie that I will not soon forget.
Racing Stripes (2005)
You've got to be kidding me!!
Okay, I have to admit right from the start, I haven't actually seen this movie yet. But I just had to comment on it. When I saw the preview for it in the theater, I *LITERALLY* thought it was a joke. I kept on waiting for this "joke trailer" to reveal itself as some clever commercial or something (I've seen this happen before with other trailers). But sadly enough, this movie is real.
The next thing I thought was, "Okay, we've gone through the entire alphabet, from A to Y, and made a movie about everything we could possibly think of. Now we've come to the letter Z, and we've no choice but to make a movie about a zebra". I literally sat there with my jaw hanging open, in total disbelief at what I was seeing. And this was just the preview! I was convinced this whole thing was some sort of sick joke, until I saw the movie as actually existing, and opening this week on the IMDb. The reviews it's gotten so far (an average of 4.0 out of 10 stars) says a lot already - this is a ridiculous waste-of-film movie that should have never been made. I just looks downright STUPID!
The Polar Express (2004)
ELEVEN out of ten stars!!!!!!
About an hour ago, I got back from seeing the Polar Express movie in 3-D at the new Jordan's furniture in Reading, Massachusetts. I have to say, it was without question the most amazing, monumental achievement in movie-making history that I have ever witness with my own eyes. Up until this point, I would have said the most "amazing" movie (and I choose my words carefully) was the Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (even though that wasn't my "favorite" movie, I have to admit it was absolutely amazing). Well, Polar Express 3-D blows that away.
I am a 34-year-old grown man. But I have to admit, I got quite teary-eyed during several scenes - not just because the scenes were sad, or happy, or whatever, but because they were just so AMAZING to watch, I literally couldn't handle it. I have never seen anything like this movie before. Even though it was 100% computer-animated, the scenes looked more "real" than real-life itself (if this is even possible). The colors, textures, and detail in the characters and surroundings absolutely blew away previous "wow, this movie is awesome" films such as Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc., and even Shrek 2.
But the catch is, you've GOT to see it in 3-D. You will NOT be disappointed. I will be remembering and talking about this amazing masterpiece of a movie for many years to come.
Cellular (2004)
Surprisingly clever movie, loved it
**DON'T WORRY, NO SPOILERS HERE**
I didn't really know what to think when I entered the theater. I had seen the preview only once, and it looked pretty good (my little "theory" is that any movie that shows glass breaking in the previews means the movie will be good). But I also feared that the previews would have shown all the "good parts" and the movie itself wouldn't be so great. But I was pleasantly surprised.
If you're gonna see this at the theater, don't be late - the action starts about 2 minutes into the movie (but I won't give any of it away). And in my opinion, once it started, it never stopped. I did find myself literally on the edge of my seat in several scenes.
I'll admit, there were a few parts when I was wondering to myself, "DUH, why doesn't Jessica just do this, or why doesn't Ryan just do that, and the problem would be solved" - but then again, this IS a movie, and you have to just let go sometimes and follow the story that the writers are trying to tell. It held my interest right up til the very end, and I left the theater completely satisfied.
I, Robot (2004)
One of my favorite movies EVER
I was very pleasantly surprised by this movie. Let me start off by saying that I'm normally not even a big fan of sci-fi movies, especially those with a lot of computer-generated scenes or effects. But I was just blown away by this movie. It was really done right. No part of it was over-done. The concept of the movie was great. The story was great. And the scenery/ effects were amazing. I give this movie a 9 out of 10. The only reason I can't give it a "10" is because in my book the only movie that deserves a true "perfect 10" rating is "Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind" (currently IMDb's #42 movie in the top 250). Anyhow, just wanted to put in my 2 cents about this great movie.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Absolutely brilliant, nothing else like it....
I went into this movie with a very "neutral" attitude, knowing virtually nothing about the movie other than having seen the trailer. I must say that this is one of the most brilliant movies I have ever seen. At first, I thought it would be difficult to accept Jim Carrey in a serious role, but he was GREAT. I think Kate Winslet gave an oscar-worthy performance. The art direction is like nothing else I've ever seen. Miraculously, Michel Gondry manages to convey onto film the kinds of surreal yet confusing images and sequences that can normally be seen only in the most obscure and strangest of dreams. At times, I felt as though parts of my own dreams were being projected onto the big screen for all to see. This film is absolutely brilliant, worthy of a best-picture nomination.