WALL-E, Hancock, Wanted, & The Dark Knight

WALL-E
Voiced by Ben Burtt, Elissa Knight, Fred Willard, Sigourney Weaver & John Ratzenberger

Honestly, Pixar can do no wrong. Even "Cars," my least favorite of the Pixar lineup was really good. "WALL-E," full of compassion, humor and a new hope for a better future, clocks in as one of the mega-animating companies finest. The computerized artwork is so advanced and intricate that it will blow you away. The story is one for the books as well: a classic passive character trying to reach his dreams... love. Awww isn't it cute? The originality factor is the fact that he's a robot created with much inspiration from E.T. Oh yeah, it also has an environmental plug. Very timely.

Grade: A


Hancock
Starring Will Smith, Charlize Theron & Jason Bateman

"Hancock" is a fun, comical twist on the recently crowded superhero film genre. Smith and Bateman bring the movie to life - it would be horrible without them - and Charlize is hot as ever. However, it was predictable. Too predictable. But fun!

Grade: B-


Wanted
Starring James McAvoy, Angelina Jolie & Morgan Freeman

With a cast like this, the movie is badass enough. But throw in some crazy effects and stunts and it just adds to the pot. It was kind of like a melting pot of "Fight Club" and "Lucky Number Slevin," and it holds onto some of the philosophies in Dotoevesky's "Crime & Punishment"; if you kill one, you're saving many. However, compared to an action film like the one below, I prefer real effects and stunts rather than the popular computer animated ones, but the end was great because main characters die.

Grade: C+


The Dark Knight
Starring Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gary Oldman, Michael Caine & Morgan Freeman

Christopher Nolan brings Batman back with many familiar faces from "Begins" and a few brilliant new ones. (Yes, this review is going to rave about Heath Ledger's monumental depiction of The Joker.) The film surpasses Nolan's first take on the Batman series by a long shot. It's powerful, emotional, dark and full of exploding hospitals, flipped 18-wheelers, and intense "social experiments." Two-and-a-half hours seems short for this non-stop thrill ride. The script is smart and allows one-sided characters such as Two-Face to come to life.

Bale, once again, brings us a Batman that is not a hero, but a keeper of Gotham. Eckhart makes us hate Harvey Dent for being the perfect man, someone everyone loves and the mob hates. He's better than Batman. But the character transforms so perfectly into Two-Face that it's scary. Gyllenhaal, faced with a feat of playing a role someone has already played (Katie Holmes), does a fine enough job as Rachel Dawes and is really stunning in the film. The fate of her role is surprising and unforgettable as well. And totally necessary. Then there's Oldman who allows Lieutenant Gordan to be the least stoic of characters in the film, allowing the audience to breathe a bit. Caine and Freeman are excellent as usual, though not as note-worthy as the performance by Ledger.

Heath Ledger will win an Oscar as The Joker; mark my words. This performance is raw, uncontrollable, creepy beyond all words, demented, so dead-on funny, and in every sense: perfect. Every time he was on screen I was captivated, and every time the scene shifted away from him, I wanted him back. He allowed himself to embody so much freedom with the role, and when an actor does that, he or she is unstoppable.

Even though it only released three days ago, I've seen "The Dark Knight" twice (and will probably see it again) and it is ranked as one of the best films I've ever seen.

Grade: A

I Am Legend

I Am Legend
Starring Will Smith & Abby the Dog

In a futuristic world that contains threads of "28 Days Later" and "Cast Away," this modern day version of the 50s novel commands an audience needy of action, love, humor, and Will Smith. For an hour and forty minutes, captivation takes control of the theatre, and one of the better end-of-the-world films comes to life. Of course, it has its kinks.

Will Smith is Robert Neville, assumably the last man on earth - well, at least on the isle of New York City. He and his trusty dog, Sam, hunt for wild deer during the day, watch taped news from years ago, listen to Bob Marley, and sleep. Except the sleeping part is more difficult - there are creatures about. Neville studies the humans and animals that were affected by a virus, but he never caught it. They are dangerous, hungry, and never enter the light.

As we enter his Tom Hanks circa "Cast Away" life, flashbacks are given as information about what happened before everyone died or became infected. His wife and daughter are now gone. It's just Neville and Sam.

The suspense of "I Am Legend" arises from a well known world that is so distant and strange. Times Square looks the same but doesn't. It's wild, relentless, deadly. Well, I guess nothing has really changed. Also, the fact that some of the creatures seem to be evolving runs the risk of never being safe. However, the movie takes a turn from being a good old Smith and Sam, lost, unavailing kind of adventure to one of hope. This is a good move for what else can you do, I guess? But it also lessens the tension in a way, knowing that someone else has been out there. Oh well. The final decision of Robert Neville is one to be highly questioned, but the movie before the last 20 minutes was great fun.

Grade: B