The X-Files: I Want to Believe

Dr. Dana Scully, now working at a children's hospital is asked by the FBI to help them locate Fox Mulder. One of the FBI's agents is missing and they believe that Mulder's "expertise" could help them track her down.

So as someone who was never a devout X-Files fan, I would watch an episode randomly at 4:00 in the morning, which in turn led me to see the first movie, which I thought was great--very entertaining and very well done. So naturally I thought that number two would be just as much fun as the first supernatural thriller....not so much.

The movie itself was muddled. The plot loses its way and you find yourself not sure what it is we are meant to believe in. I suppose for those that have never seen an X-Files episode this is an easy introduction, nothing to scare the newbies away nevertheless little for the zealots to cling onto. This was actually more like watching an extreme Law and Order episode rather than X-Files--that's how little supernatural events played into it.

** Rentable

Rated PG-13 (for violence and thematic material)

The Dark Knight

Now Batman is back and fighting crime off the streets of Gotham City in The Dark Knight, sequel to 2005's Batman Begins.  If you really want a plot summary, see Mandy's review below.

Now on to my thoughts.  This is different from any other comic book movie adaptation we've seen before, it's basically a crime epic using comic book characters.  The film is very dark, complicated and realistic, like Batman Begins, but it takes it to a whole other level.  I really liked the movie, amazing acting, story, direction, special fx, everything is very well done.  Although I do agree with Mandy that it is too long and in a couple tiny parts I lost interest as well, but I think my overall excitement for seeing this movie overcame them.  I do however disagree with Mandy about Batman's voice.  He's trying to hide his identity and intimidate criminals, so he has to change his voice, I think it works well.

Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker, in my mind, is one of the best villains I have ever seen in a movie.  He is so creepy, unpredictable, funny and scary that you're excited every time he's on the screen.  Speaking of screens, this film MUST be seen on an IMAX screen.  The scope and resolution for the 6 scenes that were actually filmed with IMAX film are phenomenal.

There's great action and suspense, at times the action feels a little too spread apart, but the intensity of the film and acting keeps you interested in the story, although the ending is a little drawn out.  Overall I really liked it and highly recommend it, but at the same time I feel like it's almost too much for a comic book inspired movie.  I don't know, almost too realistic maybe, like I said it's basically a crime epic, almost Godfather-like.  At times I kind of wanted a little more of the fun of say, Tim Burton's 1989 Batman.  But it truly is an awesome version of the Batman story.

***1/2 out of 4 - Must see (and Heath Ledger's performance just may be Oscar-worthy)

The Dark Knight

The Caped Crusader returns to Gotham City to aide Lieutenant Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent fight organized crime. Just as they corner in on the head crime bosses a new threat arises, a criminal master mind known only as the Joker.


Ok so this has to be one of the most anticipated sequels since Star Wars. I had tickets to the midnight showing--I got there about 10:45 PM and people were already lined up for the 6:15 AM screening. WOW!

So for all those poor saps that are still waiting in line to see this film...well I think that they will enjoy it for the most part. However at two hours and thirty two minutes, the movie runs about forty five minutes too long. The plot gets bogged down towards the end and I found myself losing interest. Also Morgan Freeman, who was a favorite of mine, from Batman Begins is completely underused. OH! not to mention the fact that Christan Bale's Batman constantly sounds like he is growling when ever he speaks. Totally annoying.

The story itself is a tad too convoluted. For those of you that are familiar with the comic book series there is a little plot twist that won't come as too much of a shock to you, but again with the running time it is dragged out way too long.

Nevertheless!! As most people have suspected Heath Ledger was amazing. His psychotic ruthless portrayal of the Joker makes Jack Nicholson's look like a creepy circus clown. The script is defiantly dark and Ledger steals every scene that he is in. Every line is delivered with such malice that you can't help but love him. Over all this movie isn't something that I would run out and see again--although the Joker does make it tempting--he is way fun. The movie has had so much hype due to Ledgers death that many people may overlook the excessive length, the hodgepodge ending and once again Christian Bales incessant growling. Seriously though, they couldn't have paid for more effective marketing.

I don't know that I would go as far as to say that Ledger deserves an Oscar for this performance--I mean lets face it, if he didn't die this would be just another comic book character that although was perfectly executed would have been completely overlooked by the academy--Still his performance alone is worth your ticket.

*** Must See

Rated PG-13 (for extreme violence and menace)

HellBoy II: The Golden Army

The Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense returns to save the human race from the Elf Prince who is on a rampage to end a thousand year truce between his world and ours. He brings with him thousands of "tooth fairies" that devour human flesh and bone. Hellboy, aka Red, along with his paranormal crew expose themselves to the human world making it difficult to fulfill their mission.

Ok so I didn't see the first HellBoy--however as you may or may not have noticed - the list to the side shows that I Netflixed it so that I would be brought up to speed. Nevertheless I never got around to watching it before I saw the sequel. It would seem though, that watching the original is not absolutely necessary. I didn't seem to miss out on any of the plot and nothing seemed to refer back to the original. Having said that, this movie was terribly boring. The beginning is fun and the little tooth fairies are disgusting albeit really cool, but the plot is horrifically weak and after the first 20 minutes I didn't care at all. I will give them credit for the CGI--which was very Pans Labyrinthesque--and very cool. That in and of itself is not enough to carry this movie--needless to say--Hellboy (the original) is going back to Netflix unwatched.

*1/2 - Barely Rentable

Rated PG-13 (for violence)

Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Hellboy II, directed by visionary director, Guillermo del Toro (Pans Labyrinth).  Hellboy returns to defend the world against the "things that go bump in the night".  Hellboy himself is a daemon, (son of the devil, I think..?), that was discovered by the US Army during World War II and raised by a loving father.  Under the direction of his father, he helps create and become the face of a secret government agency known as the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense, along with his girlfriend who can control and engulf her body in fire and an aquatic-humanoid known as Abraham Sapien.  This time around they're defending the world from the rage of an elf prince that is fed up with the thousands of years old truce that has kept peace between the human world and the bizarre creature world, and wishes to release the wrath of the robotic "Golden Army" that once brought the human world to submission so many years ago.

I liked the first Hellboy movie, I didn't think it was great, but it was fun and inventive, kind of a different version of X-Men.  The second one is an improvement on the first.  Hellboy is a fun hero, he loves TV, drinks beer, smokes cigars and has a temper problem.  The creature design and makeup effects, like all of Guillermo del Toro's films, is unbelievable.  They are some of the most inventive and original creatures seen in movies today.  The first about hour or hour and a half of the movie is fun and engaging but at a certain point I kind of lost interest in the story and characters, maybe that's because of the pacing of the story or my unfamiliarity with the characters, I'm not sure.  The characters are fun and interesting, one great character is introduced, voiced by Seth McFarland (the dad in Family Guy) a German spirit that is encased inside a kind of deep-sea looking suit, brings a lot of fun and whit to the story.  The story kind of picks back up towards the end, enough so to make me enjoy the movie as a whole.  It's not fantastic but it's fun and the look of the creatures is worth a trip to your local Blockbuster, Red Box or the effort of your right index finger will make by clicking and adding it to your Netflix list.

**1/2 out of 4 - Somewhere in between must see and rentable.

Hancock

Talk about reluctant hero--Will Smith plays John Hancock a man with inexplicable super powers that could care less. He drinks his life away on the streets of LA and when he does try to do something for the greater good--ends up causing a bigger mess.

Matt's review was right on--this movie wasn't exactly sure if it wanted to be a comedy or an action flick and never really meshes the two together in a coherent way. Nevertheless it has its moments--not enough to run out and see it in the theatre but enough to perhaps add it to your Netflix list. The random albeit predictable turn that the script takes leading us from the world of comedy into drama/action is poorly done and is really where the movie starts to fall flat. However, as expected Jason Bateman is fabulous and makes it worth the watching.

** Rentable

Rated PG-13 (for language and violence)

Hancock

Will Smith plays John Hancock, a super hero, a bum, and an alcoholic whose "heroics" always manage to cause millions of dollars of damage and enrage the public.  A PR rep played by Jason Bateman, decides to take on the task of making the public love Hancock.  

This is a fun movie.  I love the original idea of the story, having a superhero be a bum and hated by the people.  There's fun action and some very funny situations with Hancock saving the day yet causing lots of damage and upsetting people.  That said, this movie struggles in deciding just what type of movie it wants to be.  The beginning is very fun and comedic, presenting a few fun situations that a hated superhero could be in (I must complain that the trailers and commercials for the movie showed everyone of those fun situations, which kind of takes away from the impact of them).  The movie takes a big turn in it's second half and gets very dramatic.  I liked both halves of the movie but I feel like one of the two routes should have been taken and explored more fully throughout the entire movie, not just a half.  Had one of the two been more fully committed to I think the movie would've had more heart to it and the actors, Will Smith specifically, could've done more with their roles.  The special fx are well done and don't take you out of the movie, the cg stunt doubles are some of the more realistic ones I've seen.  The running time is a little short for movies these days, clocking in at about 90 minutes, yet at times you're wondering when they're going to get to explaining certain things.  But as is it's a lot of fun to start and emotionally interesting enough to keep you into it to the finish, but still a little forgettable. 

**1/2 - Not a must see, but worth a July 4th trip to the theater.

(PG-13 for vulgar language and violence)