Sex and the City

The girls are back in New York and on the big screen. It is five years later and the movie picks right up were the series left off. Miranda still lives in Brooklyn with Steve and their 5 year old son Brady. Samantha and Smith have moved to LA to further his acting career, Charlotte and Harry are living happily in Manhattan with their 3 year old daughter Lilly. And Carrie and Mr. Big are finally getting married!

As one who didn't watch the series when it was on HBO--I had to catch up with the edited television version--which I have always enjoyed. So the movie did have a tad more sex in it than I expected having only been familiar with the edited t.v. episodes. Sex aside, I think that anyone who was a fan of the series will absolutely love the movie--very funny and extremely fashionable.

My only complaint would be, Jennifer Hudson, who is a new addition to the cinema version. Her character was unnecessary and frankly she was horrid in most of her scenes. Otherwise it is a very fun comedy about relationships, love, and friends.

***

Rated R (Language, Sexual Content, and Nudity)

Wanted

An accountant nobody is recruited into a assassins fraternity after his father was killed by a rouge fraternity member.

OK so this movie is the ultimate shoot em up, extremist action film that I have yet to see. The plot, although flawed, is fun and exciting. However the constant blood, shooting, throat cutting, hand slicing, body piercing, bone crushing Matrixesque type of violence--not to mention language is a beyond over the top.

** Rentable

Rated R (for gratuitous violence and language -- I think that it should have been rated NC-17)

WALL-E

And Pixar goes 9 for 9! WALL-E is a futuristic tale of Earth, overtaken by trash and pollution, abandoned by humans and inhabited by one little robot, WALL-E (Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth class) whose job is to clean up. As WallE goes through his mundane life of picking up garbage, he's developed a personality and a hope of love and companionship. When a hi-tech, life-searching robot named EVE shows up, he thinks he's found what he's looking for.

WALL-E is quite frankly an amazing film. The very idea of this movie; a love story on a wasted, ugly Earth, the main characters are robots that don't speak English and most of the movie will be without dialogue, you'd think it's crazy, but Pixar nails it. There is so much heart to the story. So much emotion and like-ability come from WallE, yet he doesn't speak English and has limited range of expression, but through the animation they convey so much. It's almost like Buster Keaton or Charlie Chaplin, conveying emotion and telling a story without words. You feel so much sympathy for WallE and that's all realized through story, animation and sound. The look of the film is beautiful. The scenes of a futuristic, wasted Earth are a little spooky but at the same time an amazing piece of art. Something also must be said of the sound work by Ben Burtt, the man who created sounds for Star Wars and many other films. The sounds that each robot make, especially WallE, do an almost perfect job of communicating what they're feeling.

This isn't your typical Pixar film as it doesn't have the bright colors in the sets and characters, which may make it a little less marketable to kids, and there are a few little slow points that they might get a little antsy in, but overall it's another amazing work of art by the masters of computer animation. Not my favorite that Pixar has done, but everything they do is still head and shoulders above the rest, this is a lock for best animated film of the year.

Oh and as always, Pixar has an animated short before the film. This one is called "Presto". The story of a magician and his rabbit, and their battle for a carrot and the perfect show. It's really funny and very well done. Another achievment for Pixar. They're unbelievable.

**** out of 4

WALL*E

WALL*E is a Waste Allocation Load Lifter-Earth Class, and he has spent several hundred lonely years cleaning up the earth. While sifting through the junk he has collected a few of the humans items--one seems to be a heart. When EVE a slick new robot comes to town she realizes that WALL*E has stumbled upon what may save the human race. She quickly returns to space to report her findings with one twitterpated WALL*E hot on her tail.

Loved it! Yep absolutely LOVED it! Talk about pure visual story telling. The first 20 minutes are almost completely dialogue free. Pixar did an amazing job with this one. As some one who wasn't a huge fan of Ratatouille (gasp!) I wondered if this would hold my interest for the 96 minutes (more than a half an hour shorter than the last two Pixar films)--I was more that pleasantly surprised.

Disney and Pixar of course have a history of making us fall in love with inanimate objects--but I was totally blown away with how endearing this little garbage disposal was. The CGI is so well done, the story is really just a simple love story--with some interesting political/environmental and social commentary--nevertheless so, so, SO well done. Once more I can't emphasize enough how well the story was told--and again almost all visually. There are only 5 or 6 speaking parts the rest plays out like a silent movie--visually stunning and lots of charm.

**** Oscar Worthy

Rated G

Get Smart

Maxwell Smart is a data analysts at Control-a secret government agency. For years he has dreamed of becoming a field agent. When Control is compromised and the identity of most of it's agents revealed Max gets his chance. Partnered with Agent 99, an experienced field agent, they set off to save the world from Chaos.

Over all this movie is totally forgettable--nevertheless Steve Carell is great and makes it worth watching. The plot is completely predictable and I guess reminiscent of the television show? Not sure as it was slightly before my time and I couldn't stand to watch the reruns. Having said that--it wasn't a horrid movie--it had it's moments of laughter despite its cliches.

**1/2 Rentable

Rated PG-13 (for violence and risque dialogue)

The Incredible Hulk

Bruce Banner hides out in Brazil while trying to cure his gamma radiation poisoning. The US Government, or one General in particular, is determined to find him and bring him back to exploit the rage within him and turn it into a weapon.

I have to admit, after seeing Ang Lee's HULK 5 years ago--I didn't expect much from this version either. I was wonderfully surprised. This remake is very well made. Great script, well told story, amazing cinematography, and the CGI isn't depended upon to tell the story--their is actually decent character development and good performances that hold up their end of the deal. As Matt said, this Hulk is actually the right size unlike his most recent predecessor who resembled King Kong.

Although I didn't like this quite as much as Iron Man, it was still a lot of fun. Iron Man has a little bit more charm to it in terms of its shrewd astute dialogue, nevertheless the Hulk in pretty Incredible.

*** Must See

Rated PG-13 (Violence)

The Incredible Hulk

The Hulk is back! This is a remake, not a sequel, of the less than impressive 2003(?) Hulk. But the stories of each line up as so this could basically be a sequel. That said, it's still a remake, new actors, new director and it explains everything. We start with scientist Bruce Banner living in Brazil, trying to control and cure his condition while hiding from the US Army, which wants possession of his body and the monster it holds inside. The Army gets wind of his location and goes after him, and the adventure begins.

Marvel is 2 for 2 this summer with Iron Man and now the Incredible Hulk. This new version blows the 2003 version out of the water. There's never a dull moment, this movie is packed with action. It's a fun and well done superhero movie, definitely does the Hulk character justice. Edward Norton, who co-wrote the story, does a great job as Bruce Banner and the rest of the cast is solid. The special fx are very well done, and thankfully Hulk is the right size this time instead of the size of King Kong. Some of the close ups on Hulk are amazing, his skin and muscles look absolutely real, like they were filmed on set. There are some beautiful shots of rolling hills in Brazil completely covered with houses, really cool looking and it makes a great setting for a chase scene. The climax of this movie is truly epic with an amazing fight between Hulk and his nemesis, the Abomination, loads of fun, awesome stuff. Now that Marvel has taken full control of their movies with no studio interference, they're doing some very cool crossover stuff with all of these superheros. If you haven't seen Iron Man yet, you may want to before you see The Hulk, as there is a very cool cameo by Tony Stark aka Iron Man that gives more clues to the upcoming Captain America and The Avengers. Speaking of cameos, watch for the actor that played the Hulk in the 70's tv show. Oh, small tangent. Please turn your phones off while in the theater. When someone opens their phone in a pitch black theater, it's a tad noticeable. I sat next to a kid that literally texted throughout the entire movie! There's no way he could tell you what the movie was about because he was texting away the entire time and lighting up the theater!! I hate that. But anyway, it still didn't stop me from enjoying the movie, loads of fun, a great time at the movies.

***1/2 out of 4

Kung Fu Panda

From Dreamworks Animation comes Kung Fu Panda. The story of Po, a tubby, clumsy panda with a passion for kung fu and food. Po is stuck helping his father's noodle restaurant but dreams of life as a kung fu warrior. He is chosen through an ancient prophesy to become the next "Dragon Warrior" and train with his idols "The Furious Five" Crane, Monkey, Mantis, Snake and Tiger, to defend his people from evil.

Dreamworks has given us both ends of the spectrum with their animated films. Some very entertaining films, but also some big disappointments. The first two Shrek films and Over the Hedge are their best efforts and Kung Fu Panda is right there with them. Dreamworks continues to be right on par, if not a little below, with Pixar in terms of character and set design as well as the actual character animation. Where Dreamworks has failed is in the story department. Kung Fu Panda has some of the "heart" that Pixar seems to nail every time. It's not quite to the Pixar level, but it's getting closer. It has the heart but maybe not quite the...what's the word?...."charm" or "magic" of Pixar. That said it is a very well done film. The artistic talent on display is amazing. The character design is great, the sets are beautiful and the animation is very well done. There's a lot of comedy and great action/kung fu sequences. The voice cast does an excellent job, especially Jack Black as the panda and Dustin Hoffman as his kung fu master. I was a little bugged that Dreamworks gave in to cheap comedy again with yet another groin hit joke, only one this time, but still unacceptable. Although Jack Blacks line afterwards makes it somewhat tolerable. The soundtrack is very good and odd to say, but the ending credits are very well done and the music during them is great. And I suggest staying for after the credits, there's a great little moment at the end of them. Solid effort by Dreamworks, although their up and down trend could continue, their next film is a sequel to Madagascar, a movie that doesn't exactly scream for a sequel. We'll see. Next review...The Incredible Hulk...

Oh and I had kind of an Indiana Jones moment after the movie. I had my phone turned off and in my shirt pocket. As I stood up to leave, my phone dropped out and behind the seats in front of me. Keep in mind, my phone is black, thin and off (no lights). I got down on my hands and knees on the seldom cleaned theater floor to look for my phone. Couldn't see a thing. So I had to reach under the chairs and feel around for my phone, grabbing used napkins, wrappers, food, crumbs and who knows what else. What's worse is I wasn't quite sure which seat my phone was under so I had to feel the floor under about 3 chairs. Still no phone. So I grabbed a popcorn bad and used it to sweep out everything from under the seats, and out came my phone, covered in gags of all kinds. Disgusting. I went straight to the bathroom and washed my arms and phone. Maybe I won't be courteous anymore by turning my phone off.

*** out of 4

(Rated PG for lots of kung fu fighting)