I have not done a movie review in a while, but this movie was pretty compelling to me to write one. In the past few days I have watched two Denzel Washington movies, after not seeing him in a film for a few years. The first, 'The Taking of Pelham: 123' I will not go into to detail on because it's not really worth the time. 'The Book of Eli', however, is worth a review--and a good one at that.

Eli (Washington) is in a post-apocalyptic desert world after some kind of nuclear war has all but wiped out humanity. The war, as we find out later, may have been a religious battle (based on what is said by Eli). Eli's sole mission is to carry a sacred book across the country to the west coast. He was instructed by God himself to protect the last copy of this book. Along the way, he encounters some nasty characters, but takes them out with violent precision. He is a master swordsman and marksman, with uncanny reflexes. He takes out aggressors with ease, and rarely gets hurt in the process. It's like 'Mad Max' meets 'the Terminator'.

The book he carries, as it turns out, is the King James Bible, and the last one in existence. The bad guy (Gary Oldman) is bent on not destroying it, but using it for his own evil purposes by using its wisdom to manipulate the people to do what he wants them to do. "I don't have the eloquence it has. I need the words from that book!", he says.

The movie ends in a less-than-explosive climax, but the ending is powerful just the same. This is a thinking-man's movie, and not just a shoot-em-up. The ending is, well, amazing.

The movie starts slow, but gets better early on. Mila Kunis has come a long way since her role in 'That 70's Show', and does a good performance. Die-hard conservative Christians will still be offended by the violence and language of this film--including pointless, brutal murder and rape, which is hard to watch. Still, the underlying tones of the movie are quite spiritually thought-provoking, to say the least.

*SOAPBOX TIME - DON'T READ ANY FURTHER IF YOU ARE NOT INTERESTED IN MY PERSONAL BELIEFS*

I am amazed at the amount of negative comments on Netflix about this being a "religious" film, and just the general public's distaste or even hatred for anything related to the Bible itself or even anything Biblical. Many comments were to the effect of "the movie would have been good, but was ruined by religious drivel", etc.

Wow, people really do push away the ultimate form of hope and love. They reject Christ with everything they have. What a messed up world we live in, where everyone would rather do what they want and satisfy their own desires, rather than those of the Lord of Creation. This world really is "all about me". We crucified Christ on the cross, and do it again every day--even in 2010. As Christians, now is the time more than ever to stand up for Christ and the Bible, because there is so much coming against us.

One might say watching a rated "R" movie is not something a Christian should do, and I agree with that to a point. However, if I am going to watch a movie like this, I am glad to see the underlying message is more than just that of bringing out the guns and blowing away the bad guys.

This mainstream movie may not be what God had in mind to spread His Word, but people can't deny there is a powerful message behind this movie, and that is what makes it so good.

SPOILER ALERT: You probably won't want to see this movie.

I admit I've been putting off seeing 'G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra' because I knew it was going to be bad. But, I didn't know it was going to be this bad.

Where do I begin? Just how old is Stephen Sommers, 12? Did he not watch G.I. Joe as a kid? Has he never seen the old cartoons or read the old comics? Does he have no concept of how to make a decent movie? Obviously not, because ROC is such a cinematic atrocity that I can't even really explain.

What exactly don't I like about this film? Duke is a punk? Zartan works for Destro? Not only do we see Cobra Commander, but he is a former soldier and mad scientific genius? The Baroness was Duke's former love and actually good??? Scarlett is into Ripcord???? What???? Who wrote this stuff? Worse yet, who approved this script? The CGI is terrible, the action sequences are ridiculous and uninteresting. It truly is a stinking pile of garbage.

This movie ruins everything that I love about G.I. Joe from my childhood. We can only hope somebody with talent decides to do a reboot like with 'Batman' and 'The Hulk'. Maybe next time someone will get it right.

True Joe fans will be sorely disappointed. General moviegoers will be insulted. Save yourself a lot of pain and go see District 9 instead.

This summer has pretty much been a wash-out for movies. While I haven't had the chance to see very many, the "blockbusters" have been pretty disappointing. 'Transformers 2' was awful, and I still haven't seen 'G.I. Joe', but from what I understand it's bad. Therefore, I haven't rushed to the theater to catch something that destroyed my fond childhood memories.

Imagine my surprise when I saw 'District 9' last night. What an amazing film! This movie is fresh, original, full of action and has a great storyline.

The premise is relatively simple--aliens get marooned on earth and the big bad humans abuse them and put them in a concentration camp-like slum called "District 9" The main character is a human who is a member of the "MNU" (like NATO, I guess) who becomes intertwined with the aliens in a race against time. The movie takes place in South Africa as opposed to the typical Washington, D.C. or New York. This makes it very refreshing and different. Throw in a Nigerian arms smuggling gang and corporate evil and the ingredients are there for greatness.

The movie is non-stop action and has great special effects. It is also quite violent. Some scenes left my jaw dropped wide open. I was completely blown away by Peter Jackson's talent.

Entertaining, satisfying, and, finally, something to restore our faith in summer movies after a pathetic summer.

Wednesday night I checked out 'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen'. Overall, I enjoyed it. However, I can understand why critics were so harsh on the movie.

When seeing a movie such as this, one must go into it with the mindset that this is just big-budget summer entertainment--meant solely for the enjoyment of seeing things blow up and make loud noises. You cannot expect to go in and get an elaborate storyline with intricate plot twists--that's not the intent of this movie. If that is how you approach it, you will not enjoy yourself. If you expect anything more than a special effects extravaganza, you'll be sorely disappointed.

'Revenge' extends the storyline of Sam Witwiki and his interaction with the Autobots and Decepticons. This time, he heads off to college to try to live a "normal" life, but gets sucked back into the war between the robots and must help Optimus Prime and help save the earth from an ancient Decepticon bent on destroying the world. His funny parents are back (they are great). And, of course, his (terrible acting but great eye candy) love interest is back as well. There is also a very annoying college roommate sidekick in this movie who is more punchable than endearing. John Turturro returns as the Sector 7 guy (love him), but not until almost the end of the film. We also get to see some cool Transformers from the early cartoons. There are two Autobots known as the "twins" who everyone thinks are racially offensive stereotypes but I found competely hilarious. Still, some of the pure campyness of some of the scenes will leave you scratching your head as to why. I found myself saying "why'd they put that in there?" several times.

Despite all that, some of the worst aspects of the film are the crudeness of some parts. There is a cute but foul-mouthed transformer named "Wheelie" who is funny, but somewhat crossed the line. This is still a kids' movie, and some parts were just completely inappropriate in my opinion. Also, Michael Bay loves him some Military action, and it usually works well in his movies. But, 'Transformers' should be about the Transformers...not how cool the U.S. Air Force is. Hey Michael--this isn't a recruitment video! I don't care about how awesome our planes are, or how big the guns on our ships are. I work for a defense contractor. I see that stuff every day. And, I wasn't really emotionally upset by the sinking of an aircraft carrier. Was that supposed to make me more angry at the Decepticons? Whatever. Show me more Optimus!!

I don't know if T-Formers 3 is in the works, yet, but hopefully Bay and Speilberg learn some lessons from this movie and listen to the fans next time. Next time let's hope they don't just go off and do things the way you think they should be done. We're going to have enough of that with the train wreck that will be 'G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra' later this summer. I won't even get started on that travesty.

Not as fresh as the original and way too long, but still a delight to fans.

The wife and I saw 'Marley & Me' last night, and I can't remember the last time I cried that hard (yes, I am sappy).

The story is simple--a writer buys a puppy for his wife in preparation for children. The dog ends up being a holy terror, yet teaches everyone about life in the process. The story progresses through life's trials and tribulations as well as the priceless moments of having a family. The story is real, based on a true story, and teaches some valuable lessons.

Critics didn't care for this movie for various reasons, and for those who haven't read the book this "family holiday film" can be a little shocking (yet expected) at the end. Still, people need to remember that the author didn't intend for the movie to be solely about the silly antics of a disobedient dog--it's about life, family, changes, and unconditional love.

I easily related to this film, being a dog lover with an older dog, a guy who questions what he wants to do with his career, and someone who's about to have two boys (in two weeks). It was no coincidence that every aspect of this film touched me in one way or another.

See the movie, but be prepared to cry as well as laugh.

Ok, so I was wearing my Cobra T-shirt to work on Friday, and a co-worker informed me that the live-action movie was due out next summer. Live action? WHAT???? All right, so this HUGE G.I. Joe fan has been living under a rock since he found out he was going to be a dad. I honestly had NO IDEA they were working on this movie since last year. The last I read, they couldn't even secure the rights to the name "G.I. Joe" due to some legal battle or some crap. I'd pretty much given up hope on ever seeing my favorite childhood toy line brought to life in a live-action movie.

But, to my surprise and sheer and utter joy, Hollywood is making it happen. I've seen several legit entertainment sites, such as Access Hollywood with production photos of cast members. The movie will be titled "G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra" and is due out August of 2009.

From the looks of things, it appears they are matching the newer style of the recent Devil's Due comics, as opposed to the old Marvel line. Which is very cool. I really like the Devil's Due books. Some of the casting choices are questionable, but I was impressed with Transformers, so we'll just have to wait and see. I do have to say that Ray Park (Darth Maul in SW: Episode I) is absolutely PERFECT for Snake Eyes, and Dennis Quaid as General Hawk will be sweet! I just hope and pray this doesn't become a cheeseball adaptation like some of the X-Men movies. Over-stylization can really ruin a flick. That's why I liked Transformers--they didn't go over the top.

...is unbelievable. That's about all I can say. The only other thing I can say is don't go into the movie with any preconceived notions of what you think you know about Batman and the Joker. This is NOT Tim Burton's version.

Jack Nicholson immortalized the role of the Joker in 1989, and Ledger's portayal is almost completely different. No camp here, just a vicious, psychotic and violent criminal mastermind who manipulates people for his own sick gratification. Pure genious.

SPOILER: The movie itself is actually more about Batman and Harvey (Two Face) Dent's descent into madness, but the Joker steals the show. The end is kind of anti-climactic, and though the film leaves it wide open for future Joker interaction, we'll never again see Ledger's Oscar-worthy portrayal. That is perhaps the worst thing about the movie.

Believe the hype.

Rhonda and I saw 'Journey to the Center of the Earth' in 3D. We thought it was pretty good. Certainly, it deserves more credit than the critics give it. Sure, the green-screen effects are cheesy (there are a lot) and the acting isn't the best, but it's still a lot of fun.

Rhonda and I were glad to see the movie isn't so much based on the book itself but more of a story around the premise of the book, which makes it more interesting and engaging. Oh yeah--and there is this really hot blonde from Iceland who definitely doesn't hurt the eyes--especially in 3D.

Overall, fun family entertainment and great for the kiddies.

I like M. Night. I like Zooey Deshanel. I like Marky Mark (sorry, Mark Wahlberg). So, why did I really not like this film? Well, it's just plain bad. And by bad I mean bad.

People are killing themselves for no apparent reason. Like zombies, they stand in their tracks and then do something horrible to themselves. Sounds like a cool premise for a movie, huh? It could have been. I was expecting a good "horror" or suspense flick from all the ads (and the "R" rating). I had expected to get some really cool plot twist which turned everything on its head. I didn't get that. What did I get? A liberal "save the planet" BS message that even then wasn't really explained. The gore wasn't even that impressive and this could've easily been a PG-13 movie.

I get it. The planet is in peril. Mankind is to blame. We're rapidly destroying the earth with our crap and it's all our fault. But plants killing us? Are you freaking serious? This is all you got Mr. Shyamalamalalalalalalan? For the love of God, hang it up--you've just given up your right to be a director. License revoked. After 'Lady in the Water' and this, I'm done. You lost me at 'The Sixth Sense'.

No hint of Hitchcock here, just a bad flick from start to finish.

Many, many years have passed since the last 'Indiana Jones' movie. For me, this was something more anticipated than the 'Star Wars' prequels. So, it's not hard to imagine that no movie can live up to that amount of hype and anticipation--someone is going to be disappointed. For me, I tried not to listen to any of the buzz or find out any of the spoiler information. I didn't even read any reviews or anything. I wanted to judge for myself.

In all, the movie isn't bad. The opening scene is kind of different, and for a minute you wonder to yourself, "what exactly am I watching"? It's a little weird to see Harrison Ford so old, but he actually does a great job, and when you see him crack the whip for the first time, you know he's back.

The opening scene is great--classic Indy and very well-crafted and entertaining. There are some other great scenes in the movie as well. As much as I hate to admit it I like Shia Lebouf and think he works well as the greaser "Mutt". Even Marion (Karen Allen) is just like her old self and is great.

However, the last 30 minutes of the movie is like watching ID4 meets Indiana Jones. It's very strange, unfulfilling, and kind of a disappointment. You don't even care when the villains get what's coming to them--you just want the movie to be over. The whole concept of the crystal skull is, hoaky, to say the least. There's so many other things they could have done and didn't which would have been more realistic and fulfilling.

Fun, nostalgic entertainment, but not quite worth the wait.

OK, so Sylvester Stallone looks pretty haggard these days...I mean, the guy IS getting up there in age. That doesn't mean he can't make a good movie. And, this latest in the 'Rambo' franchise might be the best yet.

The story is similar--John Rambo is hiding in Thailand to avoid his troubled past with U.S. authorities. He's trying to live a peaceful life. But, when a group of Christian missionaries ask for his help, he ends up taking them into Bhurma--a veritable hell on earth--per their request. He then, of course, has to save them. The church sponsoring the missionaries acquire the help of ruthless mercenaries to extract the prisoners, but Rambo has to save them as well. What results is a violent, bloody conflict. Limbs fly off, holes get blown in people, people get literally blown into pieces. Crazy.

As in most movies of this type, you have no good feelings for the bad guys, and you can't wait for Rambo to do his thing to them (and he does). This movie is almost 'Saving Private Ryan' kind of violent--somewhat different from the more polished Rambo flicks of the '80's. It's grittier, with more camera shake, and much bloodier.

Stallone basically reinvents the Rambo character (I think much like he did with Rocky Balboa, but I didn't see it). In this movie, he doesn't use a fancy pre-fabbed bowie knife to kill his enemies, but fabricates a machete for himself out of a piece of steel. No fancy helicopters or crazy artillery--just uses whatever he finds. He does still have the classic bow and arrow, though. What's very cool is a flashback scene with images from all three previous movies.

Overall, a great action film that might tap your vengeful side just a little bit. Maybe next he'll make a new 'Cliffhanger'!

Rhonda and I saw 'Cloverfield' yesterday afternoon. All I can say is--amazing.

The premise is simple--a group of friends celebrating in New York City use their video camera to document a monster attack on the city. Imagine 'The Blair Witch Project' meets 'Godzilla'. This group of kids end up seeing every aspect of the whole ordeal. And, not to give too much away, there is much more than just the monster attacking the city!

In my honest opinion, J.J. Abrams did an awesome job on this film. Don't read any reviews or spoilers about this movie. Just go out and see it--now! If you don't like it, let me know (but I think you will).

Finally, a real American monster movie.

I've always been a big fan of revenge movies--Death Wish I, II, III, and so on. So, it was a no-brainer that I enjoyed 'Death Sentence'. I'm a big fan of Kevin Bacon and John Goodman both, and this movies just kicks butt.

What I love about it most is--there's no "realization" that what he's doing is wrong, like most movies. This is just brutal, get-what-you-deserve vengeance. After losing everything, Bacon's character makes the bad guys pay in ways you won't believe.

Violent and gratifying.

Rhonda and I just saw 'National Treasure: Book of Secrets'. It is currently the #1 movie in the nation. And, despite what the critics say, is a very good film. The critics slammed this movie, but it actually good, wholesome fun with no foul language and an entertaining plot. For some reason, critics only praise movies with corrupt values or perverse trash--anything with clean family entertainment is given a poor rating.

This storyline centers around the idea of a presidential 'book of secrets' that details major events in history, and gives the answers to the location of an ancient American Indian city of gold somewhere in the Black Hills. The storyline is as fast-paced as the first one, and goes from Washington, D.C. to Paris to London and back to North America.

I personally am really enjoying the 'National Treasure' franchise, and am excited at the possibility of a third film, which is hinted at in the last moments of 'Book of Secrets'. I like the resurged interest in American history (even though some fictional) and the idea of some conspiracies such as an ancient city of gold.

In summary, an awesome, wholesome film.

Rhonda and I saw 'Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story' over the Christmas Holiday. I have to say it was...interesting.

I've always loved Johnny Cash, I love John C. Reilly, and I love the 40 Year Old Virgin/Superbad troup so I figured this would be a no-brainer of a great comedy. There are some good funny parts, but there are also a lot of really bad parts--including some gratuitous nudity. Geesh.

Overall, it is pretty funny, and if you like the Man in Black you'll like this comedy spinoff. There are some good cameos as well, including Jack White, Jack Black, Paul Rudd, Jewel, Lyle Lovett, and others.

John C. Reilly rocks hard.