Red tails

This film tells the story of the Tuskegee airmen – the all-black air Corps, that served and fought during World War II. Definitely a story worth telling! I was looking forward to seeing how George Lucas would handle this part of history. Unfortunately, the writers and director failed miserably. Halfway through the movie I was happy that the disc was damaged and I didn't have to watch until the end... From the outset, the action scenes had poor quality CGI and the dialogue was extremely corny and ridiculous – the poor actors were given lines that made them sound like schoolboys on a basketball court. The story was shallow, and the pace of the movie jumped along like a teenager's pulp fiction novel. I really felt sorry for the actors in this movie, some of them are great actors and I have made good movies in the past: Terrence Williams, Cuba Gooding Junior, and others. I felt more sad for the families of the courageous airmen – they deserved a much better telling of the story. Don't bother with this movie. If you want to watch a film about the Tuskegee airmen, check out one of the documentaries made by HBO or the history Channel.

Prometheus

I had to look this up, Prometheus was a Titan from Greek mythology who stole fire from Mount Olympus and gave it to the humans. Not not sure how that fits in with this prequel to the Alien movies. The trailer for "Prometheus" says that questions will be answered, but after watching it. I believe there are more questions then answers – perhaps they planned it that way. Now I'll have to watch the next movie when it comes out. First, let me confess that I always enjoy science fiction movies. This one did not disappoint me. It was suspenseful and exciting, plenty of cool space travel and futuristic stuff – though I still can't understand how 100 years into the future, the high-tech weapons are still hand guns and flamethrowers. Can't they borrow a "Star Trek" phaser from someone? The aliens are gruesome and nasty as ever. I don't want to spoil the movie but, but I guarantee there is one scene where you will totally cringe. Maybe two... The script and acting is pretty good, the guy who plays the robot does an excellent job. A little creepy though. If you like science fiction, and if you enjoyed the original Alien movies, I definitely recommend that you don't miss this one. Worth a rental.

The Core

This movie came out several years ago, 2003. It's basically a knockoff of the Bruce Willis movie "Armageddon", but instead of an asteroid coming to destroy the earth, we are faced with a problem with the inner core of the earth – it stops rotating which causes all kinds of magnetic field and other major problems. It's good fun! Hilary Swank plays a astronaut, and does a good job. I've always liked her. The other actors are all familiar faces, but not famous enough for me to know their names. They all do a decent job. The disaster scenes are silly and disastrous – especially the destruction of Rome Colosseum was absolutely unnecessary and compared to today's special effects, looked rather ridiculous. Other than that, the movie moves along quite nicely, and is enjoyable. If you're looking for something unique or spectacular, this is not it. But if you're looking just for some mindless entertainment, this movie foots the bill. If you haven't seen "Armageddon" that might be a better choice.

Snow White and the Huntsman

This is not your mother's Snow White! If you are too young to have not seen the original "Snow White And the Seven Dwarves" – I recommend you watch that Disney movie first. It's really a much better movie and story... I worry about the generation of young people who will grow up thinking that Kristen Stewart is Snow White, and that the story portrayed in this movie, somehow reflects the wonderful fairytale that Disney created long ago. I'm not a big fan of remakes – producers, writers, directors and actors rarely rise to the level needed to remake a already good movie/story. Now, having said that, it was actually a fairly entertaining movie. Charlize Theron was beautiful as usual, even as the evil Queen. Though I did feel sorry for her at times reciting dialogue that was made for a 1960s animated movie character. The twilight girl, Kristen Stewart, was flat and one-dimensional. Sorry, "Twilight" fans, I've never liked her very much. There were some scenes inspired by AVATAR and "The Lord of the Rings" – but instead of enjoying those parts, I just kept thinking that I was wasting my time and perhaps should watch those other movies. Another thing that bothered me is that there were eight dwarves, not seven. And even though the writers tried to make us care about the dwarves, we never got to see any of the wonderful humor and chaos the dwarves created in the original movie – I so wanted to see Sleepy, Grumpy and the gang marching off to work singing "hi ho, hi ho, it's off to work we go!" Let me see, how can I end this review – just let me say that "mirror, mirror on the wall, this is NOT the fairest movie of them all."

Skyfall

This is the first review that I've done on this blog where I've actually been able to go to the movie theater! It's been over five years – we went to the IMAX at Dole Cannery. It was an amazing outing for me – and a pretty good movie too!                       

The formula for 007 has been the same since the movies first came out 50 years ago! It's a good formula! Start off with action, get right into the James Bond secret agent mood – then, start the opening credits with beautifully silhouetted women and dazzling special effects, add a superstar theme song, and you've got first 20 min.. After that the real movie starts... With M and Q, Money-Penny, the PM and the rest of the gang! The bad guy is always super bad, but super dumb-genius-lunatic. Why does he always have to explain everything to Bond before it kills him – hasn't he seen these movies before! Give 007 a chance and he'll always get away, and lived to die another day. This newest addition lived up to the hype – I especially like the idea that the creators of these movies always tried to keep up with modern times. Instead of the Soviet menace or drug dealers, now you've got a cyberspace terrorist! And Q is now a youthful super genius, but the gadgets are old-school. Great twist and plot. Of course, James wears a tuxedo and goes to a swanky casino to find the bad guys. We even learned a little bit about James' childhood. These movies are predictable – but fun! If you haven't seen it yet, and you like James Bond, don't miss it.