Movies of 2007 Review

• War Sci-Fi Historical

The battle of Thermopylae in comic book fashion by Frank Miller. Cartoonish and full of blood and gore, the movie also has an interesting plot and action packed storyline. Pretty much another green-screen Miller film. The subplot with the protagonist's wife is an excellent addition to the film, thought provoking and a reflection on modern politics. Overlooking the oversized creatures, and ridiculous embellishment on an actual historical battle, the film provides for plenty of action and gore. The film also has some artistic quality and is a very thoughtful adaptation of a graphical novel that had to be a real challenge to make into a movie. Finally, it is a film that can be watched more than once since the outcome is known from the start. For some reason politically liberal nerdy types seem to hate this movie. The nerds that hate this movie will probably like the film Transformers, and the nerds that hate that film will probably like this one!

• Contemporary Western

As is sadly all to often the case, this is an absolutely butchered remake of a great classic from 1957. I started watching this with an open mind, and followed half way though keeping my hopes up. The ending was so stupid that it made me angry and I vow to never watch this piece of crap again. Russell Crowe is the outlaw, and does okay with the script he is forced to digest. The characters do things that don't make any sense. What was a believable psychological testing of human nature created by John Ford in 1957 was hacked up and made into a confusing movie with mindless action and stupid characters. The great western film era is past, and modern directors that try to adapt classics to fit the short attention span action seeking modern audience should be hung from a tall tree with a short rope. Hopefully this hack doesn't take on The Ox-Bow Incident next! If you're not afraid of black and white, find the original John Ford version and watch it, it is truly an underrated classic movie. Forget this remake even exists. On a side note, a few modern westerns get it right, like the remake "Tombstone" in 1993 and more recently "Open Range" in 2003, which were both 5-star anomalies in a time when good Hollywood westerns are as scarce as real cowboys.

• Comedy

Another typical and predictable comedy with every nerd's dream girl Jessica Alba. While she pretends to act, Dane Cook looks worse than he has ever looked and does a disservice to his immature acting career. He was much better in Employee of the Month, co-staring with someone that has little acting ability, Jessica Simpson. With that said, Simpson would have put more into the role of this film had she been cast instead of Alba, but since this film lacked a script it had no chance. Shallow characters. Predictable. Formulamatic. Much like a vegetarian dinner, it leaves you feeling empty inside and light in the head. Watching it twice would be a violation of the Geneva convention or perhaps more effective than water-boarding.

• Comedy Drama

It is no surprise that left wing Hollywood critics love this film. It legitimizes teen pregnancy and, to some degree, makes it seem interesting enough that young viewers want to "try it for themselves." The offbeat music and quirky characters are presented in the directors attempt to be different, resulting from trying too hard. The presentation is ultimately cliché and reoccurring themes to the humor become painfully obvious as this long, boring, drama about an irresponsible teen plays out. The director must have watched Napoleon Dynamite a dozen times and then hung out at a California Planned Parenthood for a week before working on this project. If you watch the film with your daughter, tell her getting knocked up is no big deal, and explore a peer to peer relationship with her rather than being a parent, then this left side of the culture war flick is just for you. Setting the political agenda of the film aside, it tries too hard, lacks any quality of uniqueness, and won't be the last film with the same tone and character mannerisms. Bad message. Bad film.

• Comedy

Remake of 1972 movie. This one stars comic genius Ben Stiller. At first his new wife played by Malin Akerman seems somewhat attractive and interesting, then she quickly becomes a nightmare. Stiller's character is extremely flawed and compulsive. This film seems like it will follow a formula to a predictable ending, then pleasantly surprises the audience with something refreshing and extremely comical. The movie will not let you down or make you wish it hadn't been remade. The Farrelly brothers may have outdone themselves with some help from an existing hit, remade, and worth watching. Not cliché! Stiller does such a good job with the character you are as frustrated with the idiot character as you are impressed with the legendary comic actors portrayal. This movie is pretty ******* funny!

• Horror

A thick fog descends upon a rural community and claims the lives of people that are not inside with the windows and doors closed. The main character the movie follows becomes trapped seeking refuge with a small band of survivors in a small town grocery store. The movie features Punisher star Thomas Jane and Laurie Holden from The X-Files and Silent Hill. This is not only a chilling "from another dimension" horror movie, it is, most importantly, a down to earth human drama that lets you invest yourself in the storyline. You may end up recognizing some of the characters as a bigger threat than the creatures outside. At the end of the film the main character does something that seems out of character, and will definitely catch many viewers off guard. Ultimately, after he performs this controversial act, a predictable conclusion follows. Even so, the conclusion will give viewers something to think about after the movie is over. The practical military solution is down to earth and makes some people want to see how the final conflict plays out beyond the scope of the main character, which is not incorporated into the movie and probably for the best. Critics say this film is a story that has already been told and similar to "Night of the Living Dead." I disagree. This movie has something for science fiction, horror movie, and character drama lovers alike.

• Ignorant

This movie is absolute rubbish! You should be paid by the theater to sit though the entire length of this pathetic pop culture, follow the lemming piece of crap. Michael Bay should give up directing since idealism and the total absence of genuine creativity seem to hinder his efforts. This movie is more about propping up political correct idealistic characters that's social position is so unlikely to allow them to be what we are supposed to believe they are in the movie, gang banger inner city l33t computer hackers, airhead blond top Pentagon cryptographers, and a wimpy young boy battling evil robots, give me a break. Could have been a good movie. Military scenes, desert battle with scorpion like robot is the best part. Bad movie physics. Huge robots taller than 4 story building tip toe suburbia and manage not to crush anything or leave 20 foot deep foot prints in yards or awaken any neighbors. Really stupid movie. Go watch the cartoon for a 500% increase in quality, and that's not saying much. Avoid! Makes Jurassic Park seem intelligent or Titanic seem deep (pardon the pun!) Those who enjoyed this movie may also like Harry Potter and flushing their heads in public urinals without prior flushing. Crap like Harry Potter I won't even consider watching. Had I known, I would never have watched this movie either.