Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed (2008)

Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed

The Good:
The fact that people have lost their jobs over talking about intelligent design is wrong. Science especially in the US should be free to explore any avenue of thought.

The Bad:
First they postulate that it is silly that there is a conspiracy to sneak religion into the science classroom via intelligent design. Then they accuse the evolutionists of the exact same thing. They connect the theory of evolution and abortion to Hitler. No where did the documentary attempt to scrutinize the intelligent design theory - they kept saying that there were important questions that needed to be asked... but they never asked them (except they said that the complexity of the cell was too extraordinary to have evolve over billions of years). They used Nazi and Soviet footage to instill a feeling that evolution is Un-American. Teleological thought is the only evidence presented in the film. No evidence is presented at all. Hmmm... I wonder why? I think the answer is obvious.

Overall: This is a blatant piece of propaganda for the Creationists, I'm sorry "Intelligent Design Theorists". It pretends it is not, but with no evidence and the fearful imagery and skewed logic lies in the film, it is crystal clear what it is. If this is the best anti-evolutionists can do, I feel sorry for them. Watch if you want to keep shaking your head and saying, "There's no evidence for that, " or "How did you come to that conclusion?" or ... ugh... watch this film. It is a great film for converting any intelligent person away from the idea of Intellignet Design.

Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer (2007)

Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer

The Good:

Once the action kicked in, I really enjoyed the film.

Parts were kinda funny, I personally would have gone a bit more silly with it (never thought I would say that).

The directing was decent, if a but over the top at times.

It was an ok origin tale for a "Monster Slayer".

The Bad:

Lots of poorly executed cliches.

So-so acting.

It took almost an hour for anything interesting to really happen.
I often enjoy 2D characters, but the ones in this film were quite uninspired.

Overall: I would say this is a just-less-than-average B movie (it needed more action). It may well be a decent start to a "Jack Brooks" series, but as a stand alone, this film falls well-short of an Evil Dead 2 in creating an enduring monster slayer and doesn't have enough humor to be an enjoyable monster-slaying romp like Dead Alive. This is a Sunday afternoon watch, that can be watched while cooking dinnner and nothing is lost if you miss some of it.

Mirrors (2008)

Mirrors

The Good:

Keifer Sutherland was decent in the role, believable and a sympathetic lead character.

The subtle special effects during most of the film were well done.

I liked the concept in general.

The Bad:

The wife's acting.

Some special effects were badly done (some fire scenes).

A few things about the plot were absolute horror cliches.

The film almost seemed to be two seperate

Overall: I would love to see the original. I imagine it is creepier but perhaps that is wishful thinking on my part. It's not The Shining example of horror... but it was alright.

Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (2007)

Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium

The Good:

I love you Natalie Portman.

I actually liked the kid in the film better than most of the adults... odd for me.

The special effects were neat.

The opening credits were very cool.

Fascinating blend of fantasy and reality.

The Bad:

I wasn't a big fan of the acting of Dustin Hoffman or Jason Bateman in this film, I usually enjoy both of them.

Dustin Hoffman's hair got on my nerves.

I felt rather unsatisfied with the ending.

Overall: As a kid's film it was ok at best. I watched it with a bunch of kids who all seemed unimpressed. Would have a better film with a bit more story and less reliance on special effects. Where is the Labyrinth or The Wizard of Oz for this generation.