Kev's Reviews

In this sixth and final installment of the the most well-known boxing flicks, Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stalone) faces off with today's notorious boxer Mason 'The Line' Dixon (Antonio Tarver), a heavyweight whose ego is more powerful than his punch. Dixon, ready  to dominate the fight after seeing a virtual match in which Balboa knocks him out with a devastating blow to the jaw. With the help of his brother-in-law, Pauly (Burt Young), his son, Robert Balboa (Milo Ventimiglia) and a hard-nose manager, Rocky begins his grueling training. I give this vintage, inspiring movie *** (three stars). It was a bit hokey, but it had good acting.

In this intense action thriller, staring Ben Affleck and Jeremy Renner, partners in crime Doug MacRay (Ben Affleck) and James Coughlin (Jeremy Renner) rob a bank  with the help of two other henchmen. When they take a bank teller hostage the small-time Boston criminals plunge into trouble. FBI agent Adam Frawley (John Hamm) interrogates the bank teller who knows one specific detail about Coughlin, a Fighting Irish tattoo located on the back of Coughlin's neck. MacRay, who lives in the same apartment complex as the teller develops a romantic relationship with her. The teller, Claire Keesey, is contacted by agent Frawley who is suspicious about MacRay, to be  interviewed by Frawley. I give it **** (four stars). I did not enjoy the sexual content. I don't know why the editors left that in, but it was well-acted and it had a decent story.

Arizona rancher/Civil War veteran Dan Evans (Christian Bale) lives with his wife and two sons on a dying ranch. When he rides into the town of Bizzby to beg the land owner, Glen Hollander (Lenny Lofton), to let the water run, he encounters the notorious Ben Wade (Russel Crowe) and aids local authorities in Wade's arrest. He then bargains with Mr. Butterfield (Dallas Roberts) for his company on the journey to Contention in exchange for two-hundred dollars in cash. As they ride out, Wade' s gang is hot on their trail and so is Evans' oldest, William (Logan Lerman). **** (four stars). Great acting, one of the most well-acted movies. I thought that Wade's gun skills were over the top along with  his effect on women (especially Evans' wife). A great movie overall. 

Del Spooner (Will Smith), a technology-wary cop investigates the murder of a scientist who promoted the use of robots in the mid-21st century. The hard-nose Chicago cop, even though he is not the ideal man for the job, takes on the case anyway and is aided by expert Dr. Susan Calvin (Bridget Moynahan). Spooner finds that an android (Alan Tudyk from Yuma) is a plausable suspect, and realizes that the human race could be at the androids' mercy. This is a timeless classic directed by Alex Proyas (director of Knowing) filled with adrenaline-pumping action is very well-acted and has unbelievable special effects. The new robots' features are very human-like especially its' facial expressions. I give it ***** (FIVE stars) because it has everything a sci-fi should have. A good story, one that will make the film stand out. Great actors, a sci-fi should have one actor who is well-known for their great acting skills. Above all, the special and visual effects should be equally impressi

Shia Labouf dominates the screen in this gripping thriller, co-staring David Morse. The dog-days of summer are long and boring for Kale Brecht (Shia Labouf) until, one day, Cabin Fever makes him form a bad habit of spying on neighbors, specifically a newbe to the neighborhood and the longtime neighbor, Robert Turner (David Morse). One day, the young and astonishingly beautiful teenaged girl who just moved in catches Kale watching her when. In order to conceal his habit from Ashley, Kale's friend, Roddy, makes up a false tale about Mr. Turner but, when they dig deeper into this white lie, they find horrific evidence to back up their conspiracy theory. David Morse is an excellent sociopath. All the actors did their rolls incredibly well. **** (four stars).

When his son's school holds a ceremony celebrating the school's fiftieth anniversary, John Koesler's son receives a mysterious stack of papers which numbers are scribbled on. They appear to be random numbers until, one night, half-drunk, John links the numbers to every disaster in history except the numbers that are towards the end of the list. Those numbers are, supposedly, the dates of disasters to come. I'm not a big Nicholas Cage but he did a fair job. ****(four stars).

From the director of Star Treck and Super 8 comes the third and final installment of the Mission Impossible series staring Tom Cruise. In this explosive espionage thriller, semiretired super spy Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his team is forced back into action to save his protege, Lindsey Farris (Keri Russell). The agency may be double-dealing their operatives.  Owen Davian (Phillip seymore Hoffman), an arms dealer, abducts Lindsey, sending Ethan and company to Berlin on a rescue mission. Unlike the other Mission Impossible movies, this movie is smart, exhilarating and full of twists and turns. **** (four stars). Great acting, some parts were slower than others, but they lead to important scenes which define the movie.

When the Romulan named Nero comes from the future to take revenge on the Interprize, rivals Spock and Kirk team up in order to defeat the Romulan before he destroys everything they know. The caddets venture on a thilling journy loaded with action, unimaginable danger and creatures that are undiscribable in one of the largest and critically aclaimed movies of 2009. This movie is well-directed and well-acted. The cast is phenomenal in this movie. I never would have thought that I would enjoy a Star Treck movie. I don't really like the love story between Spock and Ahora. I give it **** (four stars). 

Written by Brian Keene, the story follows Ken Ripple, the creator of a haunted attraction he sets in Lehorn's Hollow, where various creatures like the goat man reside. Halloween is coming up soon and Ken knows that people from all over will come to get their wits scared out of them. Little does Ken know that those legends are real. This book is one of Keene's finest! The Master of Horror at his best! ****(four stars).

Director Robert Redford co-stars in this gripping thriller staring Tom Cruise and Maryl Streep. An idealistic professor (Redford) in Califonia tries to inspire a student to do more in life. Meanwhile, in Washington D. C., a charismatic Senator (Tom Cruise) pitches a new Middle East strategy to a TV journalist (Maryl Streep). Two of the professor's former students are half-way around the world in Afghanistan, trapped behind enemy lines and fighting for freedom-along for their lives. This movie has flashbacks when the soldiers were in the professor's class doing a presentation on enlisting in the Army, and even though the professor frowned upon it, the two ambitious men go through with their plan. Now, I know why Redford put that in there, but they overdid it a little. The movie should have been much longer than merely over an hour and a half. The acting was really good, not the best, but really good. Overall, I thought it was a good movie even though it didn't have any wow-f

After loosing her dog and her boyfriend, David Kirmani, Erica Baines (Jodi Foster) battles the demons in her head. The inceident happened when the couple were taking their German Sheperd for his nightly walk through Central Park. After being through weeks of rehab, Detective Mercer (Terrence Howard), comes to talk to Erica. Jodi Foster's dynamic character goes from clean-cut radio host to merciless killer in The Brave One. It's an exhilarating thiller! ****(four stars). The hunt for her boyfriend's killers is on!

Retired autoworker and Korean War veteran Walt Kowalski (Clint Eastwood) is disappointed in how his life and neighborhood have turned out. The same goes for his neighbors next door, Hmung immigrants who came to the U. S. from Southeast Asia. When Walt catches a neighborhood teen trying to steal his vintage 1972 Ford Gran Torino in order to join a local gang, the teen, Thou, is forced to work for Walt. A bond slowly forms between the two. The gang is after Thou and, now, they are out for blood. This is my favorite movie ever! i give it *****(five stars). It's very well-acted and it captures today's society perfectly.

When Jake (Daniel Craig) wakes up in the middle of the desert, he finds a strange contraption attached to his wrist. As he wonders into town, the sheriff has a warrant for Jake's arrest. All of a sudden strange flying objects zoom over the quaint, western town. Multiple wittnesses nearby are snatched up by these UFOs. Among them is the son of Colonel Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford). Together, Jake and Dolarhyde meander out of Absolution to find Dolarhyde's son, along with Jake's identity. I really like this movie because of it's originality, it's cast of great actors and it's special effects. Some of the action scenes were a little hokey, but so what? True Grit was a bit hokey and it was nominated for a few Academy Awards. 3:10 To Yuma was hokey and it received four stars, Appaloosa lacked in story and action, but it got four stars, do you get my point? i give Aliens And Cowboys ****(four stars). It should be nominated for Best Special Effects award.

During the 2010 recesssion, thousands of employees, like Bobby Walker (Ben Affleck), will be standing in  line to collect unemployment. Bobby relizes the consequences of not having a job and the toll it has on his family. Gene McClary (Tommy Lee Jones) is on the other side of the fence. Cheating on his wife with a coleague (Maria Bello) and not a care in the world. With his career being flushed down the toilet, the loss of his home, Bobby feels he is not worthy. The thought of bankruptcy grinds away in the back of his mind. Sadly, this well-acted movie doesn't have an equally enticing story-line. ***(three stars).

This intense sci-fi thiller takes place in the late twenty-first century, when technology is so sophisticated that it can be used to stop crimes before they happened. John Anderton, a top "Precrime" cop, becomes an outlaw when an investigator (Colin Farrell) targets him as a murderer. Now, John must find a glitch in the system to prove his innocence. This movie is well-acted, very original, has a great story to it and, for those reasons, I give it ***** (FIVE stars)

In this eighth and final installment, Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) goes back to Hogwarts and, with the help of Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermoine (Emma Watson), along with the rest of Hogwarts' students and staff, battles Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) and his posse of Death Eaters. In this last Harry Potter flick, the director incorporates characters from previous Harry Potter movies very well. However, the editing crew missed one slight, but important detail. In the flashback when Voldemort attempted to kill Harry when Harry  was a baby, the little infant did not have the scar Voldemort had left on Harry's forehead. Despite this editing flaw, i give it ****(four stars). A good end to the Harry Potter saga.

Suffering from short-term memory loss after a head injury, Leonardo Shelby (Guy Pearce) goes on a gritty expidition to find the lowlife murderer who killed his wife. Directed by the famous Christopher Nolan, this crime-thriller takes the viewers on a twisted journy that will leave them speechless! This thriller is perfect for a guys' night out. As always, Christopher Nolan carefully chisled tiny,  but crucial details on which Memento is built. Unexpectedly, the diolog had crued language which mothers don't appreciate. Nevertheless, I give this movie *****(FIVE stars).

When a Manhattan  sportswritter named Andy Farmer abandons his career and moves to the country with his wife (Madolyn Smith), he discovers that his picture of the countryside is skewed. with Madolyn Smith as Chevy Chase's wife, this comedy has Seinfeld-like qualities that will make anyone burst out laughing from beginning to end. ***(three stars). Madolyn Smith's prefomance was almost to well-acted.