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It’s been 12 years since James Cameron’s last theatrical film, Titanic, swept the Oscars, so no matter what, his follow-up film was bound to have certain expectations to live up to. Rather than meet those expectations, Cameron blew them away with Avatar, the most expensive film ever made that is most definitely a memorable epic and a cinematic achievement. Sure, it’s a familiar plot, a twist on the hero’s journey, and the actual bare bones of it are quite similar to The Last Samurai. But despite a plot we’ve seen before, now set over a thousand years in the future on an alien world, Cameron manages to make everything about Avatar surprisingly real and believable.

In 2154, Earth has set up a military operation on the planet Pandora, hoping to use the planet for its resources and industrialize it. Their problem is the indigenous race called the Na’vi, who they have been unable to negotiate with or build any relationship with whatsoever. Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), a now paraplegic marine, arrives to replace his twin brother on a mission. Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver) and the humans pioneered a way to harvest Na’vi bodies, avatars, compatible with a particular person’s DNA, so that person can get a full sensory link to their avatar and gain insight to the Na’vi. At first, Sully maintains loyalty to the gung-ho Colonel Quaritch (Stephen Lang) who is hellbent on finding weaknesses to the Na’vi and exterminating them, but as Sully spends more and more time learning from the Na’vi, particularly Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), he grows more sympathetic to their way of life.

Yes, this is absolutely a sci-fi epic, a fantasy, but what makes it so much more than that are the finer details. Avatar is 40% (more…)

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen recently hit DVD shelves, and this particular sequel is loaded with even more action than the original.The story picks up shortly after the first movie, with Sam (Shia LaBeouf) heading off to college while Optimus Prime and the Autobots have joined forces with Major Lennox (Josh Duhamel) and Sergeant Epps’ (Tyrese Gibson) unit to hunt Decepticons. Megan Fox of course returns as Sam’s girlfriend Mikaela (yeah, robots at war aside, she’s another great reason to watch these movies) and John Turturro also returns as Simmons, whose secret government department has now been disbanded. Joining the cast as Sam’s roommate and added comic relief is Ramon Rodriguez.

In any case, the story primarily focuses on the realization that the robots  that came to Earth in the first movie are not the first of their kind to have ever been there. The Fallen is an ancient transformer who attempted to burn out the sun as a power source, but was ultimately stopped by his brothers, and now he’s risen again with intentions of carrying out his plan. Making matters worse, the government accuses the Autobots of putting Earth in the middle of their war with the Decepticons, questioning whether their presence on Earth is in the best interests of the planet.

Despite the many criticisms of the movie, it was definitely a great action flick. It was long, and certainly somewhat exhausting to say the least, but director Michael Bay quite literally outdid himself with some of the action sequences. The use of the Constructicons in particular was great…that’s right, five transformers that (more…)

 3 STARS

When May hits it means we’re officially in summer blockbuster season, and this year “Iron Man” kicked us off with a good start. Yes, it was standard in the sense that it was the typical, mildly predictable superhero origin story, but that’s just a given going in. Overall, “Iron Man” proved to be at minimum a 3 star action movie.

Those of you not familiar with the premise, “Iron Man” is about Tony Stark, owner and president of a weapons design and manufacturing company. On a trip to the Middle East, he is captured by soldiers who hold him hostage and force him to build a bomb for them. Stark agrees reluctantly, but uses the parts they provide him to instead build an armored suit, allowing him to fight his way out. When he returns home he builds an improved version of the armor and becomes Iron Man.

Crucial to the movie’s success is the cast. Robert Downey Jr. is smart, witty, and funny as the industrialist-turned-superhero, perfect casting. Gwyneth Paltrow plays well as his assistant and love interest, but what I really liked about her role was that she so easily could have become the damsel in distress, but as it turned out she was able to play right into the action which was cool and different. Terrence Howard is another great actor that I was glad to see as part of this movie, and while he didn’t necessarily have a lot to do in this film as Stark’s best friend Jim Rhodes, I definitely think he’ll be one of those characters whose role will grow in sequels (comic fans may know him as War Machine). Lastly, rounding out the cast is Jeff Bridges playing Obadiah Stane, Stark’s underhanded business partner and this film’s villain who builds an armored suit of his own to take on Iron Man.

The effects and action were great, and while obviously there had to be a lot of CGI, for the most part things looked pretty realistic. The fight scenes were fun to watch, and it’s definitely the kind of movie you want to see on the big screen.

Basically, for fans of superhero movies, especially the “Spider-Man” trilogy, “Iron Man” fills that place at the beginning of the summer season. It’s got plenty of action and comedy, making it really something that everyone can enjoy, and I look forward to future installments in this franchise.

P.S.: I highly recommend staying until after the credits, there’s an interesting scene…

Honestly, I hate to make this my first movie review on the site. Worse, I hate the way I am actually going to review this movie because it will probably make it seem as if I don’t watch quality flicks. I do. I watch Oscar-worthy movies regularly, but honestly, there’s no replacement for just straight up meaningless popcorn movies (Sylvester Stallone and Samuel L. Jackson movies support this view). In any case, rather than review it, I guess what I’ll do is react to it. So then, this is my reaction to “House of Wax.”

Overall, this is a pretty well-executed horror movie.  I’ve wanted to see this movie forever, like, I distinctly remember this movie coming out in theaters and lobbying ridiculously hard to convince my friends to come see it with me, even though I think we all would’ve had a great time. Three years later, I finally saw it. On Youtube. Screw everyone who refused to go with me.

Putting aside my personal history with this movie though, here’s my slant on the whole thing–a little slow, then a little fast, but overall a pretty strong slasher movie. Here’s the thing with horror movies nowadays, it’s a status thing for hot young stars. This is fairly obvious. Like, come on, as if Neve Campbell and Jennifer Love Hewitt being casted in “Scream” and “I Know What You Did Last Summer,” respectively, had nothing to do with  their participation in the once so popular “Party of Five.” “House of Wax”: Elisha Cuthbert? Ummm…yes. Throw in popular talent from hit WB series like Chad Michael Murray and Jared Padalecki and you’re bound to bring in a crowd of teens with nothing better to do with a Friday night.  Oh yes, and let’s not forget Robert Ri’chard of Nickelodeon fame (see both “Nickelodeon Sports Theater” hosted by Shaq and “Cousin Skeeter”).

Most important to this whose-who list is Paris Hilton. Basically, it seems like the motivation in her being in this movie is the idea that people would hate her enough to see this movie so they could see her die. If this is the audience I would have had to watch this movie with three years ago, I’m glad I waited. There’s really no reason to hate on Paris Hilton. If there is, I just don’t see it. Certainly not the most intelligent celebrity and has no actual reason for being famous, but yeah, I’m over that. I do not hate Paris Hilton. Nothing she has done has offended me so terribly that I would go to a movie to watch her die, in fact, I find that to be a perverse motivation to shell out $9.

Furthermore, I’d like to add that I was mildly impressed with Paris’s acting in this movie. I expected her to be incredibly lousy, assuming that she was only in this movie because at the time of its release, her name was dropped on a ridiculously regular basis. Honestly though, she held her own. She seemed genuinely sincere, and I’m not ready to start handing out Oscars or even MTV Awards to her for it, but I was prepared for worse.

And one last thing, I was pulling for her. Yes, I knew she was going to die. It was fairly evident that she was screwed when she first signed on for the role that she would not be a heroine. But when she was running, I really wanted her to escape. She got one or two great hits in on the villain and I wanted her to just take off. Leave this desperate and doomed life behind. Maybe move to a small, friendly town where the people don’t ask questions. Just get away. But that dream shattered when that freakish villain somehow threw a pipe through both windows of a car (this guy should be pitching for the Yankees or something, hell of an arm), planting it firmly in her forehead.

I guess the worst of it was that I knew she never stood a chance, but hey, I’m a sucker for the underdog.

For some reason this blog is become almost entirely “Lost”-centric. Unintentional. I’ve got ideas. I want to write about how “Grey’s Anatomy” quotes apply to every possible situation in life and how “Party of Five” is the most real and touching show ever and why I could venture to argue that Keanu Reeves is a great actor. I will. But alas, it’s Friday, so obviously I’m responding to last night’s “Lost.”

Good episode. It was a Juliette-back, the first flashback this season that did not involve time travel. Any loyal “Lost” fan loves two things: plot twists and sordid love triangles. This episode’s flashback filled in the gap on Juliette’s love life. We knew that Juliette and Goodwin were once naked in bed together, and we had the vibe that Ben and Juliette had this weird tension between them; this episode confirmed some details. Turns out, Ben and Juliette never had a thing, but Ben was quite smitten with Juliette and was quite jealous of what was going on between Juliette and Goodwin. Goodwin’s wife wasn’t too happy either…awkward. Also, we learned that Ben sent Goodwin to act as a tailie because he knew Goodwin would die. I have yet to understand how Ben knows everything he knows, but he knows a lot, and I suppose it’s mildly arguable that he is actually focusing this vast knowledge of cause/effect relationships and contingency plans in a constructive direction by creating a utopia.

There was a little action on the island as Jack, Kate, and Juliette chased after Faraday and that other chick who hasn’t done enough to be important yet to some building, where they deactivated that deadly gas that once wiped out Dharma. Apparently it can never be used again. This was a random outing for the castaways, which culminated in a romantic kiss shared by Jack and Juliette. Ben was the cooler part of this episode though.

Ben bargained his way out of being Locke’s prisoner by showing Locke a tape of Charles Widmore, stating that the freighter was his and he wants to basically exploit the island because of how special it is. Ben made a valid argument that if you found someplace so special, would you really want EVERYONE to know about? Probably not. Furthermore, Locke asked Ben straight up, creepy guy to creepy guy, who is Ben’s man on the boat? Ben answers, “You may want to sit down.” While its unanswered in this episode, I’m willing to bet that its Michael, but then again, maybe it’s Boone.

It would appear that Charles Widmore is working against Penny. Both there goals are revolving around the island, but does Charles know that Desmond is on the island? Does Widmore have anything to do with the Hanso Foundation or Dharma? Ummm…I like where this is going. I doubt these questions will be answered next week, or very soon for that matter, but its definitely a good lead. At least we’ll get a few answers next week: the final member or members of the Oceanic 6 (remember, it’s highly debatable as to whether Aaron would count, I’m thinking no) and who the man on the boat is (I’m confident that it’s Michael). While I’m theorizing though, I’ll leave off with one last theory…Sun and Jin round out the Oceanic 6.

Aaron. The last word of “Lost” this week was “Aaron.”

Overall, this was a pretty good episode, and it appears that they revealed that Aaron, Claire’s son, might be the fifth member of the Oceanic 6, assuming they’re counting him as a passenger on Oceanic 815. I suppose it depends on where you stand on abortion as to whether or not Aaron really qualified as a person during the crash, because technically he was a fetus at the time, but I get the vibe that they may be counting him. However, because Kate is claiming that Aaron is hers, looks like we can assume that Claire is probably not one of the Oceanic 6.

Another interesting part of this episode was Kate’s trial. Jack took the stand on Kate’s behalf and we found out exactly what the lie was that the Oceanic 6 was using to explain their survival, that being that there was initially only 8 survivors of the crash. So that number is a little off.

While Kate’s flash forward was pretty crucial as far as information goes this season, there was definitely some action on the island. Looks like Sawyer and Hurley are housemates in the Others’ abandoned village while Kate and Claire have taken up residence together and Locke has his own little bachelor pad (I smell a spin-off sitcom). Basically, Kate broke Miles out because he wanted to talk to Ben, but we found out that Miles has some sort of personal motive as he told Ben that he would claim that Ben was dead if Ben paid him $3.2 million. Unfortunately, Locke caught Kate and Miles and told Kate that she’s no longer welcome with Locke’s crew. Looks like Kate is headed back to the beach where Jack resides…and the indecisive love triangle lives on!

Next week: Desmond-centric episode from what I gather. Obviously he was not on the flight so he cannot be part of the Oceanic 6, but it doesn’t mean he doesn’t make it home.  Should be a good one. Maybe some insight on the Widmore Foundation. Anything can happen.

Alliances were finalized for the Favorites tribe this week, as Cirie, the swing vote, aligned herself with Parvati, Amanda, Ozzy, and James, leaving Jonathan, Yau-Man, Eliza, and Amy a little desperate. Ozzy made an interesting point about bringing Cirie into the alliance, stating that she started out as a swing vote but now the alliance was giving her all the power to decide who they voted for…not a smart move.

Cirie was adamant about knocking out Yau, probably one of the most likable  castaways ever, claiming that he was too smart, and that made him a threat. This is one of my big issues with “Survivor.” For some reason, castaways feel threatened by members of their own tribe early in the game, tribe members who are useful to have around until the merge because they’ll help win immunity challenges. Yau-Man is one of those guys. He’s smart, and he doesn’t look it, but he can be a pretty solid physical threat. Ozzy understands this. Cirie does not.

So yes, the Favorites tribe, the veteran castaways who know and understand this game so well, voted out Yau in their second tribal council, long before the merge. Furthermore, lazy-ass Cirie, who I would never in a million years consider a “Survivor” Favorite, went from being an outsider swing vote, to holding a power position in an alliance. So basically, I guess being a veteran on this show means nothing, because it looks like half of this group has learned nothing from the last time they all got screwed over and blindsided at tribal council, because they just prematurely knocked out someone who would’ve been pretty clutch to hang on to. It should’ve been Eliza. Or if they were really smart, they all should’ve voted off Cirie. That’s what I would’ve done. But hey, I guess that’s meaningless, I only know this game inside and out.

So the “Prison Break” finale aired Monday night, and I gotta say, I’m unimpressed. No twists, no turns, no further explanation of The Company. Nothing about it was really final, and nothing about it really left things off with a major cliffhanger. Michael is planning on going after The Company to get revenge for Sara, Whistler is definitely part of The Company, and Mahone made some sort of deal with Whistler getting him back in with The Company. Other than that, Bellick and T-Bag are still in Sona, now joined by Sucre.

T-Bag’s role in the show is pretty much ridiculous at this point. He tricked Lechero into putting a call out to get him money, then killed Lechero and took the money for himself. Basically, he used the money to declare all inmates equal in Sona, stirring up some sort of revolution. It was probably the most ridiculous scene in “Prison Break” ever, and I guess when the writer’s go on strike, these sort of abysmal plot segments may be expected. Hopefully, at the start of season 4 this is one of multiple disappointing storylines to be redeemed.

That said, while the finale was very disappointing, and not nearly as crazy as its preceding season finales, there’s always season 4 to look forward to. At this juncture, I’d say it would be a smart move for Michael to hook up with the anti-Company group that his father was heading up during season 2, maybe that would be a good direction for the show if it wants to hang onto its viewers. Basically, it’s time that they really get to the bottom of what The Company is all about, otherwise this show could wind up off the air, and not on its own terms.

“Lost” continued its turbulent 4th season this week, with a Sayid-back, or rather, a Sayid-forward, in which we learned that Sayid is the 4th member of the Oceanic 6. You either watched it or you didn’t though, so I’ll get straight to the point…Sayid kills people. More significantly, Sayid kills people for Ben.

I really have to question the motive behind this idea, and I can’t help but think that while this will eventually be explained, it’s purely for shock factor. This raises a lot of questions about Ben and what exactly he’s all about, more importantly, what could have possibly happened that caused Sayid to start killing people on Ben’s behalf? I guess we can assume that whatever happened, there has gotta be some sort of rift between Sayid and the other 5 who left the island, unless a few of them are also working for Ben…

What else went down? It seems Kate flipped over to Locke’s crew because she just can’t resist Sawyer’s rugged charm…no wonder Jack, a well-established spinal surgeon, grows an ugly beard and becomes a suicidal alcoholic down the line. Beyond that, it seems Sayid and Desmond are going to the freighter to speak with the leader, which is pretty much where we’re being left off for this episode.

Obviously questions are still dangling. Who are the last 2 of the Oceanic 6? Sawyer is probably a good bet, who else though? Furthermore, Ben has Sayid out killing people for some undisclosed purpose…who was the chick Sayid killed? Does she work for the unnamed black guy (Naomi’s boss) who is hunting Ben down? When will Michael be brought back into the story?

It’s only the second episode of “Survivor: Fans vs. Favorites,” already backstabbing and betrayal has ensued. Very little excitement was stirred up on the Favorites tribe, all of that was reserved for the Fans.

There’s a very clear divide on the Fans tribe, a 7-3 split of Mary, Alexis, Erik, Jason, Joel, Mikey B., and Natalie, against Kathy, Chet, and Tracy. This early in the game, it would seem logical that Kathy, Chet, and Tracy get picked off immediately, because beyond being outcasted, they’re pretty lousy contestants all around. Jungle Joel though, a beast of a man who looks entirely at home on a deserted island, decided things needed to get stirred up after they lost the immunity challenge.

Mikey B., resident strategist, and Mary, resident hot chick, had some clear flirtation going on, and Joel viewed this as an immediate threat to everyone else. Somehow, even though Mikey B. established himself as a clear strategic leader of the tribe, Joel managed to shake things up and convince the tribe to collectively vote Mary out, essentially cockblocking Mikey B.

Well, Mary got voted out. Joel was successful. Weird thing though, when they showed at the end who voted for who, Joel voted for Tracy. What the fuck?