Déjá Vu

What does déjá vu mean? According to the Oxford American Dictionary déjá vu means: a feeling of having already experienced the present situation.

Déjá Vu is a good movie with a great cast, but the premise is old.
There are too many other movies in which one or more characters goes back in time to in order to change events in the future. Movies such as The Butterfly Effect, The Terminator and Back to the Future trilogies come to mind.

In this movie ATF agent Doug Carlin (Denzel Washington) investigate the explosion of a New Orleans ferry carrying Navy personnel returning home from their tour of duty, and their families. Doug is also fascinated by the murder of a young woman name Claire. When Agent Carlin searches Claire's house on the refrigerator he finds a note made out of alphabet magnets that spells out the words: U Can Save Her. At first Doug wonders what that means, then he finds a group of scientists who have fond a way to create a rift in the space-time continuum. In other words, they've found a way for objects to be sent four days into the past.

Using this technology Doug hopes to go back in time, save Claire's life, and stop the explosion from occurring. This reminded me of the movie Minority Report, because in that movie the cops were able to prevent crimes in the past before they happened in the future.

I respect Denzel as an actor, but it seems that recently he's making a career out of playing the role of a law enforcement officer, that's fine but I'm sure it will give people who have seen movies with him playing that type of role will get a sense of déjá vu.

Déjá Vu would've been better considering the fact that it's produced by Jerry Bruckheimer's production company. However it reminded of too many movies I've already seen before. In other words, watching this movie gave me a bad case of déjá vu.

I give this movie a 5 out of 10

How the rating system works:
10-9=A
8-7= B
6-5= C
4-3= D
2-0= F

This Year so far (scores out of 10):
Ice Age: The Meltdown 6
The Da Vinci Code 8
X-Men 3 : The Last Stand 8
Superman Returns 8
Monster House 7
Miami Vice 2
Snakes on a Plane 6
Flags of Our Fathers 9

More reviews

There won't be any reviews, until after Thanksgiving. I thought that Tenacious D in: The Pick of Destiny would be released on the 17th, but now the release date has been pushed back to the 22nd, which is the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, and the same day as Deja Vu. This of course was done to take advantage of the Thanksgiving weekend, which is usually one of the biggest weekends at the box office.

So enjoy your Thanksgiving meal, football games, and movies. I'll be back after the holiday weekend with more movie reviews for make benefit movie watchers everywhere.

Random Borat note: You may already know that the movie will not be shown in Kazakhstan. Now its also been banned by Russia, because of its content. Just be glad you live in a country where movies like Borat aren't banned by the government.

Flags of Our Fathers

Very few people know the story behind the famous picture of the flag beeing raised by American soliders at Iwo Jima. Flags of Our Fathers tells that story from the points of view of three of the soliders that raised the flag. They were seen as "heros". While the war was still going on, they traveled across the country as part of a tour to get people to buy war bonds. At one of the events they meet the mothers of some of the boys that were killed in the battle.

Some people thought that the flag raising was staged, just like some people believe the landing on the moon was staged, and some people believe that the holocaust never happened. Those events really occured. That picture gave Americans the hope they needed during on of the most dramatic times in American history.

Stories like this need to be told, because there aren't many World War II veterans who are still alive today. When they're gone, who will be left to tell their stories? No one can or will ever forget the war, because of the recently contructed World War II Memorial in Washington, DC, and a monument of the soliders planting the flag. Those soilders may be gone, but that monument will stand as a reminder of the event.

Sixty years from now how will the Iraq War be remembered? Only time will tell if the mission to turn Iraq into a democratic nation was a success, or a huge waste of time, money, and resources. I'm sure there will be mnay moives made about the recent war in the years to come. Veterns of this war will have many stories to tell, just the vets who fought in past wars. There are some lessons that can't be learned by reading history text books.

I'm a big fan of Clint Eastwood, but I had some doubts about his ablity to direct moives. This was one of the best war moives I've ever seen. It ranks right up there with the great war flims such as Saving Private Ryan, Black Hawk Down, and The Big Red One. Its definitly better than Pearl Harbor. Heck, any war movie is better than Pearl Harbor. That's just my opinon.

I give this movie a 9 out of 10.

How the rating system works:
10-9=A
8-7= B
6-5= C
4-3= D
2-0= F

This Year so far (scores out of 10):
Ice Age: The Meltdown 6
The Da Vinci Code 8
X-Men 3 : The Last Stand 8
Superman Returns 8
Monster House 7
Miami Vice 2
Snakes on a Plane 6

Snakes on a Plane

The movie Snakes on A Plane has been the subject of many internet parodies, and hype. In fact it's the most parodied movie since Brokeback Mountain. So is all worth it? Of course it is. Some bloggers inspired the makers of the movie to make so many changes to the film the rating from PG-13 to R.

I have to admit one of the reasons I wanted to see Snakes on A Plane was so I could hear Samuel L. Jackson say "I've had it with these motherfucking snakes on this motherfucking plane!" That could be the most memorable movie line sine Charlton Hesston said "Get your hands off me you damn dirty ape."

This movie might not win any awards, but it was at least in my opinion, one of the best B movies I've ever seen. I'm sure if there's a Scary Movie 5, Snakes on A Plane could be one of the films that's spoofed. It just begging to be lampooned by Mad Magazine, Saturday Night Live, South Park, and other comedy shows, movies, etc. If Mystery Science Theater 3000 were still on TV the robots would watch Snakes on A Plane.

Anyone who travels on a airplane these days has a lot to worry about there's terrorist hijackers, bombs in shoes, liquid explosives, and faulty laptop batteries, but they don't have to worry about snakes yet.

I give this movie a 6 out of 10.

How the rating system works:
10-9=A
8-7= B
6-5= C
4-3= D
2-0= F

This Year so far (scores out of 10):
Ice Age: The Meltdown 6
The Da Vinci Code 8
X-Men 3 : The Last Stand 8
Superman Returns 8
Monster House 7
Miami Vice 2

Miami Vice

I could say that Miami Vice is the best action movie of the summer, but then I'd be lying. In fact Miami Vice shouldn't even be called an action movie, because it lacks action. There's too much sex and not enough violence. In other words the love story takes up too much of the plot. It reminded me of Pearl Harbor, Titanic, and the three most recent Star Wars films.

I thought Miami Vice would be as good as the movies in the Bad Boys, Rush Hour, and Lethal Weapon franchises, but I was wrong. I expected more from Michael Mann, the director of Collateral, which is one of his best films. I had similarly high expectations for M. Night Shyamalan when the The Village was released, and that movie also turned out to be a major disappointment. I wanted to write about how suspenseful it was, but it turned out to be just as suspenseful as The Blair Witch Project (one of the worst, and funniest movies ever made). Miami Vice only proves why most TV shows shouldn't be made into movies (a lesson Hollywood should have learned by now).

Hollywood has relayed on the same formula for summer movies for years. The old saying goes "If it isn’t broken, don't fix it", but by now the movie companies should realize that just because a TV show is a classic it doesn't mean it deserves to be a movie.

I give this movie a 2 out of 10.

How the rating system works:
10-9=A
8-7= B
6-5= C
4-3= D
2-0= F

This Year so far (scores out of 10):
Ice Age: The Meltdown 6
The Da Vinci Code 8
X-Men 3 : The Last Stand 8
Superman Returns 8
Monster House 7

Monster House

It's every kid's nightmare. Their most prized possession ends up on the lawn of the creepiest house in the neighborhood, and never comes back. Most kids would be scared to enter a house that looks like something out of a Steven King novel.

However, three kids DJ, Chowder, and Jenny plan to enter the possessed house of old man Nebbercracker in order to destroy the heart of the Monster House. Kids who are easily frightened should not this movie, because it contains scenes such as a dog being pulled into a the house by its rug tongue. It also has its funny moments like when the kids were looking at the house, and Chowder says to Jenny "It just sits there, mocking us with its houseness."

Monster House may not be the best or the funniest animated movies ever made, but it's certainly not the worst. 2006 is the year of the computer animated movie so you better enjoy it while it lasts.

I give this movie a 7 out of 10

How the rating system works:
10-9=A
8-7= B
6-5= C
4-3= D
2-0= F

This Year so far (scores out of 10):
Ice Age: The Meltdown 6
The Da Vinci Code 8
X-Men 3 : The Last Stand 8
Superman Returns 8

Superman Returns

He's faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound! He stands for truth, justice, and the American way! Look up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Superman!

That's right, Superman is back in Metropolis after spending five years searching for what's left of his home planet. While he was gone Lois fell in love with Richard, and had a son. No one knows if Richard or Clark is the father.

Everyone is excited that Superman is back, everyone but his arch enemy Lex Luthor. Luthor's plan is to create his own land in the middle of the ocean, using crystals he took from Superman's fortress of solitude, and pieces of kryptonite, the one thing that can kill Superman. When this land is created most of the world will be flooded, and millions of people will die. Can Superman stop Luthor, and save the world before its too late? You'll have to watch the movie to find out.

I'm not a big fan of Superman, but I did like this movie. It was action packed, and the effects were really cool. However, the movie seemed to drag on forever at the end. If you're a fan of super heroes you'll love this movie, but if you hate all the hassles of going to the movie theater then you should wait for the DVD.

I give this movie a 7 out of 10.

How the rating system works:
10-9=A
8-7= B
6-5= C
4-3= D
2-0= F

This Year so far (scores out of 10):
Ice Age: The Meltdown 6
The Da Vinci Code 8
X-Men 3 : The Last Stand 8

The Da Vinci Code

What if everything you ever knew about Jesus was a lie. According to the movie based on Dan Brown's controversial novel, there is a secret society whose purpose is to protect the holy bloodline of Jesus and Mary Magdelene, and that Da Vinci was a member. There is also a group called Opus Dei, whose purpose is to destroy any evidence of the bloodline, and the living members of the Priory of Sion.

In the movie a priest who is a member of Opus Dei sends his servant Silas (Paul Bettany) to hunt down members of Priory, as well as Robert Landon (Tom Hanks), Sophie (Audrey Tautou), and Leigh Teabing (Ian McKellen) as they go on a quest to find the Holy Grail. They’re also being chased by detective Bezu Fache (Jean Reno), and all the police officers in Paris, and London. Detective Bezu is certain that Robert murdered the curator at the Louvre, and he'll do anything to stop him.
The great thing about The Da Vinci Code is that it keeps the viewers on the edge of their seats, because it’s so suspenseful. It’s hard to tell whom the heroes and the villains are until the end.

Even tough I haven’t read the book; I thought that The Da Vinici Code was one of the best movies I've ever seen. It has one of the best casts that have ever been assembled, and Ron Howard showed why he's one of the best directors in Hollywood. Turning a book into a movie isn't easy, and it doesn't always translate into a success, The Da Vinici Code pulls it off.

It’s hard to separate fact from fiction, so no one really knows if Dan Brown or the Catholic Church is telling the truth about Jesus. Historians will be debating this topic for years. You don't have to be religious or read the book to watch the movie. However, reading the book will help viewers to understand what's going on, or they may feel in a little lost like I did.

I give this movie an 8 out of 10.
How the rating system works:
10-9=A
8-7= B
6-5= C
4-3= D
2-0= F

This Year so far (scores out of 10):
Ice Age: The Meltdown 6