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.