Carey Grayson

Quite possibly Ridley Scott's 2nd best film, right after Master & Commander. This film hits on every level leaving your eyes glued to the screen throughout. Like M&C, I like to watch this once a year too satisfy that itch for a high quality action movie.

The stories are so freaking lame, I laughed out loud many times. The dialogue is sappy and stilted. I really like Hillary Swank and wanted to enjoy this show. But the writers make it very hard.

Stiff acting by Tom Cruise coupled with a clunky plot that meanders aimlessly, War of the Worlds special effects saves this movie from a one star rating. The conflict between father and son, which is the main story in the beginning, is suddenly dropped and is replaced with random encounters that lead us to an uninspired and unimaginative ending. If only more time was given to the storytelling. What a great film this could have been. The worst concept in this flick is how the Martians arrive via bolts of lightening and enter giant tripods that have been buried underground for millions of years. Pure silliness.

An apocalyptic mess of a movie. The premise is solid, a strange event (explained later in the movie) causes an EMP-like reaction that disables the electrical grid. But it also prevents people from falling asleep (thus the title). The movie plays out like it was made for TV in quality. Gina Rodriquez does a solid job with a lousy script and carries this movie with her superb acting. But the story is dragged down by several unbelievable moments that felt sloppy like the writer was drunk when he wrote it.

Just finished watching what I thought was a fairly good version of Hellboy. I don't understand all the negative reviews were about especially by the fanboys of Guillermo del Toro's Hellboy. Both directors brought their own vision into the story and I didn't think one was way better than the other. Marshals' version had a few too many origin stories which slowed the film down a little. But I particularly enjoyed the humor he integrated into the film throughout.

To those who thought the film was too frightening for children, the original Wizard of Oz, with its evil witch and her flying monkeys, was just as scary. I loved Fairuza Balk performance. She carried this film from beginning to end like a badass. I fell in love with her as an actress and have followed her ever since. Their were certain elements that I could have lived without, like the Wheelies. They looked like they came out of a Peter Max film and didn't really work for me. I otherwise enjoyed the film very much and thought it was a very imaginative follow-up to the original.