no clue movie review: summer 2007 movies: mini-reviews

Since I haven't written in awhile, that doesn't mean I haven't seen any movies. I thought I would give some mini-reviews of a bunch of the movies I've seen since Spiderman 3. Here goes. Many of these are probably still in theaters.


Shrek the Third: This movie doesn't live up to the first 2. It has many slow parts and the funny jokes just don't hold up. To me overall, it seemed like it was trying to fit into an established mode with an established formula. I didn't like that. What worked so well about the first 2 movies is that they didn't seem formulaic. Very disappointed that this movie wasn't funnier.
more info: official site


Pirates of the Carribean 3: At World's End:I liked this movie better than #2, but it still didn't live up to the fun of the first picture. I liked the overall plot this time, not overly complicated compared to Dead Man's Chest, but still not as clear as Curse of the Black Pearl. It's like they decided they needed to do too much. I don't get that. Anyway, there are some way cool special effects and it brings the trilogy to a satisfying conclusion while leaving room for more adventures with Captain Jack Sparrow and company.
more info: at world's end site


Ratatouille:Is Pixar capable of making a bad movie? This wasn't my favorite Pixar flick, but it's really good. Funny, cute, heartwarming. It's a good movie that you can see with people of all ages. I went with my teenage nieces, my 5 year old niece, my Mom and brother-in-law. We all had a good time and enjoyed this story of a rat who just doesn't like to eat garbage and yearns to be a chef. It shows that everyone is different and showcases the importance of family and friendship. This shouldn't be missed.
more info: disney's official site


Transformers:Micheal Bay & an old 80's toy franchise? I didn't think that this would be a good movie. I thought it would be an overhyped piece of garbage. But I knew that I wanted to see it, because it looked like a summer blockbuster movie. I was pleasantly surprised. With a few nods to the old cartoons and movie, this movie delivers big time. It's got tons of humor, tons and tons of action and giant robots fighting with the coolest special effects. This was a highly entertaining movie and I can't believe I enjoyed it so much. I also think that this is a star making performance for Shia LaBeouf. I've always liked him since I saw him on Disney Channel's Even Stevens series, but he really is a good all around actor. I think he's destined to have a Tom Hanks kind of career which includes more serious roles and these huge blockbuster roles. Maybe more like Harrison Ford and Tom Hanks combined. We'll see.
More info: official site


Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: I'm a Harry Potter fan and as usual the book is way better than the movie. This movie does deliver though and works at a good pace and manages to showcase the teenage angst that Harry feels at this stage in his life. It's a darker movie, so it's not good for little kids, but its tone matches what I expected after reading the book. The special effects are dazzling especially in the last 20 minutes. The performances are good and I think that the child actors that we've been watching grow up are getting pretty good. This wasn't my favorite Potter film, but it does manage to take a book that has enough material to make 3 entertaining movies, get to the heart of it and show us a conflicted, confused and angry teenager take control of his life. I plan to see this flick again to see the IMAX 3-D edition.
more info: warner brothers site & muggle net

And now I know that this movie came out in April, but I can still remember it like it was yesterday and I thought it deserved a blog entry since it may still be in some dollar theaters. It's one of my favorite movies of the year so far.


GRINDHOUSE: This Quentin Tarantino/Robert Rodriguez double feature was high octane non-stop in your face action. I loved this flick. The movies are bloody, high action, fast paced and just plain disgusting. They are highly entertaining and really get your attention. My favorite was Rodriguez's Planet Terror. It just rocked. The overall presentation though made this flick. Complete with fake trailers, missing frames and cheesy 70's music, I was transported to a gory broken down movie house with sticky floors and questionable patrons without having to go to a sucky old broken down disgusting movie theater. I know it wasn't extremely successful, but it is highly worth seeing and I hope you check it out.

That's all for now. More movie reviews on the horizon. I'll be back at the movies again soon.