Tangled (2012)

Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy, Musical, Romance

Release Date: November 24, 2010

  My Rating:  
(Click here for more info on my rating scale)


One of the best animated Disney features in years.

I loved Disney when I was a kid.  After the blue and white Disney logo (which has been changed since then), I would sit back and enjoy adventure, fantasy, castles, romance, sword fights, songs, magic spells, talking animals, and...well, you get the idea!  I used to watch and re-watch several of their animated films - just to name a few: The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Pinnochio, and many others.  I have to admit, even now that I'm no longer a Disney lover, I still consider many of their old animated films (including the ones I've listed above) to be good; they certainly know how to deliver visual pleasure and vivid storytelling.  In fact, I've given many of these films either three, three-and-a-half, or four star ratings.  Nowadays, the only animated Disney films I've really been interested in have been Pixar films, and I like a few of Disney's live action films (like National Treasure and The Sorcerer's Apprentice) as guilty pleasures.  But I have to admit, I enjoyed Tangled.

At the beginning of the film, a queen is gravely ill, but is cured by the powers of a magic flower.  Soon afterward, she bears a baby girl, Rapunzel, who actually inherits the magic flower's powers.  However, Rapunzel is kidnapped in the middle of the night by Mother Gothel, who wants to stay young via the magic healing powers within Rapunzel's hair, so she raises Rapunzel in a tower.  Now a teenager, Rapunzel's hair is extremely long, and she has spent her entire life in the tower, and is curious about the outside world.  One day, a thief named Flynn Rider, who is on the run, scales the tower and hides inside, and is taken captive by Rapunzel.  She hides the tiara he has recently stolen and agrees to give it back only if he takes her to the place where the floating lights appear on her birthday each year.  On this journey, she truly discovers the outside world, and, eventually, who she really is.

The story is a bit formulaic and predictable, but that's not a problem at all.  Besides, this is true for many of Disney's animated films.  But it's a good story, and Disney takes it and applies unique and memorable elements and charm to it, and some songs too.  Disney even draws ideas and elements from some of its previous films.  I think it's safe to say that Tangled is a mix of past and present in terms of Disney.  It contains a lot of old Disney-type elements, formats, and methods of storytelling among other things, but with the application of modern CGI animation, and some other modern elements.

I was expecting this film to be geared more towards kids, but it's actually a good film for anyone.  It is very much a family movie.  Sure, there are some kid-oriented elements, and some slapstick humor that the kids would enjoy, but there are also things that adults would appreciate; even the more childish elements I just mentioned are not so extreme, and are perfectly enjoyable for adults.  The film has a lot of good humor, but it also has a good sense of character, story, depth, and emotion.  The characters are not flat, but are actually very good, and so are the relationships between them.  The characters are truly lovable, especially Flynn and Rapunzel (and of these two, especially the latter), and evoke genuine emotion.  Their attitudes and personalities contain both older and modern elements.  There are even a couple of hilarious sidekicks - a chameleon named Pascal and a horse named Maximus (my favorite of which was the latter).

CGI technology and effects have progressed even further since this film came out, but still, the animation in this film is beautiful.  Everything is well designed, and with great detail and scope - the characters, the scenery, Rapunzel's hair...everything.  And this animation is not just eye candy - it's used wisely, and it actually works well with the script and helps with the emotion and narrative, like it's supposed to.  The film offers some very memorable things (characters, scenes, images, and much more) including a truly unforgettable, visually beautiful, and emotionally powerful scene involving floating lanterns.

The voice actors all put on good performances, especially Mandy Moore as Rapunzel.  They all really bring their characters to life.  The music in this film is good, both the songs and the standard underscore.  The songs could have been better, but they are pretty good and perfectly enjoyable as they are, especially "When Will My Life Begin?" (sung by Rapunzel about five minutes into the film) and "I See the Light" (sung by Rapunzel and Flynn during the lantern scene I mentioned in the last paragraph).  I really have to give the filmmakers a major thumbs up for Rapunzel herself.  She is very well designed (especially her hair), and is absolutely beautiful.  And not only that, she is hot.  Her personality and liveliness are very attractive as well, and she really captures the heart.  She and Flynn are great together, and their romantic relationship is handled very well - it's not corny, it's actually charming and emotional (and, yes, with bits of humor here and there).

In my opinion, the film is good as it is, but it still could have been better.  The one criticism I do have is that there are some things about the story and characters, especially in the third act, that I think could have been handled better and given more depth, and should have involved more character complexity.  However, despite this, the film works, and it does have a pretty good sense of depth, character, humor, and emotion as it is.  It combines and balances all of its elements pretty well.  You laugh when you're supposed to, cry when you're supposed to, etc.  And the film has a pretty good moral message: go out and live your dream.  Don't just sit at home in your figurative tower or at your computer all the time; go out, fulfill your dream, live your life.  That's an important message for everyone.

Overall, Tangled isn't great, but it's good, and, in my opinion, one of the best animated Disney features in years.  It has good characters and a good story, and it's funny, charming, clever, witty, and full of heart and soul.  Disney still knows how to deliver a film ripe with visual and storytelling magic.




Cast and Credits:
Rapunzel: Mandy Moore
Flynn/Eugene: Zachary Levi
Mother Gothel: Donna Murphy

A Walt Disney Pictures presentation
Directed by Nathan Greno and Bryon Howard
Running time: 100 min.

Rated PG for brief mild violence

The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

Genre: Action, Adventure, Crime, Thriller

Release Date: July 20, 2012

My Rating:  




The Dark Knight Rises is a roller coaster of thrills, morals, darkness, plot twists, top-notch action scenes, and much more; it's pure high-order entertainment.  Nolan ends his trilogy on a great, and dark, note.  The Dark Knight has risen well.

The thing about making a finale, or any sequel, in a franchise is that it's hard to do so.  There are expectations and hype to live up to, and a weak installment can ruin a franchise (even without hype).  Sometimes, however, such films are a success.  Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises is the finale to his Batman trilogy, and I just saw it in the theater today.  It doesn't live up to the excellence of The Dark Knight, but it really is an excellent movie.

The Dark Knight Rises takes place eight years after the end of The Dark Knight.  Bruce Wayne is retired from being Batman, and he mainly stays shut up in his new mansion.  His reputation as Batman is tarnished because he took the rap for Harvey Dent's crimes in the previous film.  However, he is soon pulled back into action when a new villain, Bane, starts wreaking havoc on Gotham (although, of course, this havoc is not his primary objective).

Nolan's previous two Batman films were more dark, deep, emotional, and moral, instead of lighthearted and bright.  They were even a bit intellectually involving.  So what should you expect from this movie?  More of those same elements!  He doesn't completely live up to hype and expectations, and this film is probably the weakest of the trilogy (but only slightly; it's just a hair behind Batman Begins), but Nolan does not disappoint.  The film starts out a bit slowly and a bit weak, and the first act is definitely the weakest part of the film (but not bad, though), but it eventually really gets going and really unfolds, and the sky is the limit for Nolan.  The film is by no means perfect.  It does have a few flaws.  There are a few flawed dialogue lines here and there.  Batman doesn't have as much screen time as he should have.  Also, the plot stumbles a bit here and there, and some things should have been organized and paid off better.  But it's pretty darn good as it is.

The effects, visual and sound, are excellent.  The visual and special effects are as great as ever, from the scenery and portrayal of Gotham, to the costumes, action effects, and everything else.  Hans Zimmer composed the score for the previous two films, and he composed it for this film too, and once again, he did a good job.  The actors in this film put on good performances.  In this film, we have some familiar faces, including Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman) and Mr. Fox (Morgan Freeman).  And of course we have some new characters, including Bane.  There are also a couple of women with whom Bruce has shallow love affairs, and one of whom is Catwoman.  And speaking of new things, Batman now has a new means of transportation: one that flies!  And of course the story is good, and the ending is especially powerful (but I won't give it away).  The story even has plot twists and whatnot, and it's not completely predictable or formulematic, which is good, of course.  This movie, again, is, by a tad, the weakest in the trilogy, but it's great.

The Dark Knight Rises is a roller coaster of thrills, morals, darkness, plot twists, top-notch action scenes, and much more; it's pure high-order entertainment.  Nolan ends his trilogy on a great, and dark, note.  The Dark Knight has risen well.




Cast and Credits:
Bruce Wayne / Batman: Christian Bale
Commissioner Gordon: Gary Oldman
Bane: Tom Hardy
Selina / Catwoman: Anne Hathaway
Miranda: Marion Cotillard
Lucius Fox: Morgan Freeman
Alfred: Michael Caine

Warner Brothers Pictures presents
A film directed by Christopher Nolan
Running time: 164 min.

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some sensuality and language

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

Genre: Crime, Drama 

Released: October 14, 1994

My Rating:  
(Click here for more info on my rating scale)


The Shawshank Redemption is moving and compelling, and it truly touches the heart and soul.


The Shawshank Redemption is currently number one on the IMDb Top 250 list.  I don't particularly agree with that, but it is a truly great movie nonetheless.  It is moving and compelling, and it touches the heart and soul.

The story is set in the 1940s, and it involves Andy Dufrense (Tim Robbins), a young man who is convicted of murdering his wife and her lover and is sentenced to life in the Shawshank Prison.  As one would expect, he is very unhappy at first, but then he leans that there's something deeper that nobody can take away from you: hope.  As the story unfolds, over the years, Andy eventually becomes very influential within the prison and gains the respect of other inmates, especially "Red" (Morgan Freeman), with whom he develops a special friendship.

The story isn't original or creative, and it's relatively simple, and a bit predictable, but it's compelling, moving, and memorable, and there's a bit more to it which I won't go into.  The movie puts the viewer right into the footsteps, experiences, and emotions of the characters.  Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman put on great performances.  They really bring out their characters and offer true depth and emotion.  One of the major moral messages of the movie is that a person may be imprisoned, even for life, but the spirit can never truly be imprisoned.  The movie conveys this moral message very strongly, and it truly touches the heart and soul.

I am very glad I watched this movie.  It is a truly emotional experience.




Cast and Credits:
Andy Dufrense: Tim Robbins
Ellis Boyd "Red" Redding: Morgan Freeman
Warden Norton: Bob Gunton
Heywood: William Sadler
Captain Hadley: Clancy Brown

Castle Rock Entertainment presents
A film directed by Frank Darabont

Rated R for language and prison violence

Brave (2012)

Genre: Animation, Action, Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy

Release Date: June 22, 2012

My Rating:  
(Click here for more info on my rating scale)


Brave is not one of Pixar's best films, but it's fairly good; it's charming, good-hearted, a bit witty, visually stunning, and has a likable heroine protagonist.

Pixar has returned to the big screen with Brave, which I saw in the theater today, and I liked it.  It was hot today, so I was glad to spend an hour and a half in an air-conditioned theater with a soda and watching an enjoyable movie.

Brave is the story of Merida, a young red-haired princess and aspiring archer who is unhappy with her life as a princess.  She doesn't like living the controlled and restricted life that she's living.  When she is asked by her mother to choose between three possible husbands (she is at a marriageable age), she is even more upset.  She eventually flees into the woods, and soon comes upon a cottage (led there by magical blue wisps), where she meets a witch.  She begs for a magic spell to change her mother's mind, but it doesn't exactly go according to how Merida wants it...  This eventually leads to unintended chaos that threatens not only Merida's mother, but also the kingdom.

In my opinion, Brave is definitely not one of Pixar's best films.  But it's far from Pixar's worst.  It's not as good as I hoped it would be, but it's actually fairly good.  The story isn't creative or anything, but it's enjoyable and charming, and it has some good moral messages.  It's a medieval-type story, with a bit of fantasy (magic), but it has some modern elements in it.  The humor isn't as good as it usually is in Pixar films, but its effective and witty at times.  The film handles its emotional aspects pretty well also.  Just like Pixar's other films, Brave is very much a family movie, and it's good-hearted.  The actors all put on effective voice performances.  The music score is pretty good. The animation in the film is some of the best animation I've ever seen.  It's visually stunning.  And it's not just eye candy, it actually helps with the emotional and narrative aspects of the film, like it's supposed to.  Overall, the movie isn't original or creative, but it has a pretty good uniqueness about it.

What I liked most about the movie was Merida herself.  She's stubborn, spunky, and strong-willed, and quite likable in personality.  She's also a bit physically attractive.  She is a good CGI character, especially her hair.  Also, she's a bit different from the typical Disney princess.  She longs for something else in her life, but it has nothing to do with a romantic relationship with a man.  In fact, she doesn't even necessarily want to get married, and she doesn't seem to mind living without a husband.  But it's not like she doesn't have any emotional or any other kind of depth as a person, because she does.  She's actually a somewhat charming character, and she's a good heroine.  And she and her mother eventually undergo some interesting yet charming mother-daughter bonding.

Overall, the movie could've been better, but I enjoyed it, and it was especially enjoyable on the big screen.  Brave is not one of Pixar's best films, but it's fairly good; it's charming, good-hearted, a bit witty, visually stunning, and has a likable heroine protagonist.  It's a good film to be seen with the family.





Cast and Credits:
Merida: Kelly Macdonald
Fergus: Billy Connolly
Elinor: Emma Thompson
The Witch: Julie Walters
Lord Dingwall: Robbie Coltrane

Walt Disney Pictures presents a Pixar film
Running time: 100 min.

Rated PG for some scary action and rude humor

Dances With Wolves (1990)

Release Date: November 21, 1990

Genre: Adventure, Drama, Western


My Rating:  
(Click here for more info on my rating scale)



Overall, I feel that Dances With Wolves is more of a moral message experience than entertainment.  It's not something I'd want to watch more than once, but it's a good movie all the same, definitely worth watching.

I saw Dances With Wolves for the first time sometime within the last several months.  It wasn't as great or memorable as I hoped it would be, but it's pretty good nonetheless.

As the story starts off, we are introduced to Lieutenant John Dunbar, who does something stupid during a Civil War battle and inadvertendly leads the Union troops to a victory.  As a reward, he is given a post at the western frontier.  Upon arriving, he finds the post deserted.  Soon however, he starts to befriend a curious local indian tribe.  Gradually, over time earns the trust and respect of these people, and eventually becomes one of them.  Along the way, he also falls in love with Stands With A Fist, a white girl raised by the tribe.  Also, along the way, he even receives a tribal name, "Dances With Wolves."

It's a simple story.  It's that old man-befriends-natives-and-turns-against-his-own-people type of story.  There's no originality in it whatsoever, and it's almost completely predictable.  However, it is very well-told, with soul and emotion.  The movie follows Dunbar and allows the viewer to feel his emotions and experiences as he gradually falls in love with the tribe and the land.  In terms of the script, and other aspects, the movie is pretty good.  The dialogue is pretty good, and the story is well-paced.  Performances by Costner and everyone else are good as well, and the actors really bring out their characters.  John Barry also composed a great score for the film, which also helped bring out the emotion, mood, and tone of the film.

I do have a few criticisms of the film.  My first criticism concerns Mary McDonnel.  She was effective as Stands With A Fist, and her performance was good, but there's something about her that took away slightly from my liking for her character.  I didn't think she was quite right for her role.  Also, I should have had more emotional attachment to her (not that I didn't, but I did feel that it lacked a bit).  My second criticism concerns the length of the film.  I can see what Costner was trying to do in terms of storytelling, emotion, length of scenes, and all that, but, in my opinion, the film was too long.  I have to admit, I liked the film, but I did get bored in some areas.  Also, while the character development is solid, I think the story should have gone more into character complexity.  The story itself had more potential too.  There's hardly any plot at all, but it's enjoyable, but nonetheless, if the movie did have more of a real plot it could have been a lot better.  Next, I didn't really feel much tension/worry for the inevitable fight with the American military coming up at the end.  I really did need to feel much more of that.  Next, they actually show Dunbar and Stands having sex.  It wasn't explicit or anything, but that scene was a bit unnecessary.  Also, while the movie is pretty good, it only has a few memorable aspects about it.  It needed more.

Overall, I feel that Dances With Wolves is more of a moral message experience than entertainment.  It's not something I'd want to watch more than once, but it's a good movie all the same, definitely worth watching.  But it did have a lot more potential.




Cast and Credits:
Lt. John Dunbar: Kevin Costner
Stands With A Fist: Mary McDonnell
Kicking Bird: Graham Greene
Wind In His Hair: Rodney A. Grant
Ten Bears: Floyd Red Crow
Black Shawl: Tantoo Cardinal
Christine: Annie Costner

Orion Pictures presents
A film directed by Kevin Costner
Screenplay by Michael Blake
Music by John Barry
Running Time: 181 minutes

Rated PG-13 for some intense Western violence, language, thematic elements, brief sexuality and nudity

Prometheus (2012)

Genre: Adventure, Sci-Fi, Thriller

Release Date: June 8, 2012

My Rating:  
(Click here for more info on my rating scale)


Prometheus is an okay movie overall.  It has several flaws, and it's a bit stupid in areas, but it's pretty interesting and thought-provoking.  And it's a good film to be seen in the theater, on the big screen.

Ridley Scott has returned to the science fiction genre and the Alien universe with Prometheus, which I finally saw in the theater today.  The initial opening shots of Prometheus show landscape shots, during the opening credits.  The land is completely lifeless, but there is water.  Then we see an alien spacecraft, and a humanoid alien nearby standing near the top of a waterfall.  The humanoid consumes a substance which causes its body to disintegrate and fall into the nearby waterfall.  This is immediately followed by images of red blood cells, which is then followed by shots of DNA strands, during which the title starts to appear in a similar way in which the title in Alien appeared.  This is a pretty good opening sequence, it sets the tone of the movie, and it already poses some questions.

Most of the story takes place during the final weeks of the year 2093.  The space vessel Prometheus is traveling through space to a planet in a system in orbit around a sun-like star.  This system was pointed at by several archeological findings, which may be a clue to the origin of mankind.  The ship is very near it's destination, and the 17-man crew awakens from hypersleep, except for an android named David who has been awake.  They arrive at the planet they are heading to.  It appears to be desolate.  But then they notice straight lines on the ground, which could obviously not have been created by nature.  These lines lead to some sort of big structure.  Much of the movie takes place in this structure, and on the Prometheus.

The ship lands, and some of the crew are sent to check out the structure.  Inside it, they find a series of tunnels, some of them underground.  While exploring, it initially seems that there is nothing alive.  However, this soon changes.  Complications arise, the plot thickens, discoveries are made, etc...  There's quite a bit that goes on in Prometheus, much more to the story than I've already given.  However, I don't want to give anything more away.  In fact, I've probably already given a little too much away.

Prometheus is set in the Alien universe, and it it's a prequel to Ridley Scott's Alien.  And it has several obvious connections to it, which I won't reveal in my review.  However, Prometheus also works very well as a stand-alone.  It obviously leads on to the Alien movies, and does get things where they need to be for the events of the Alien movies.  Yet it also has its own story and it goes in its own directions.  Scott's 1979 Alien was strong on suspense, and it was essentially a sci-fi haunted house story, and very scary. Prometheus does have horror elements, and some similar elements to that of Alien, but unlike that movie, this movie also contains some other elements.  It doesn't lean more towards suspense, action, etc.  It has a mixture that balances these elements.  Also, and best of all, the movie is intellectually stimulating.  The movie contains many mysteries and questions.  As the movie progresses, some of these questions are answered, and some are left unanswered and open-ended.

That's not to say that Prometheus is perfect.  It does contain flaws.  Most of them concern the characters, which are pretty flat.  None of them are truly round characters, or even interesting.  I didn't really care much for them.  That's not to say that I didn't feel anything for the characters.  I did feel a little bit, but it was marginal.  None of the characters are particularly memorable.  Then again, the first Alien movie had the same type of characters (in terms of depth, etc.), but it did have Ellen Ripley, who is somewhat memorable.  Noomi Rapace's character, Elizabeth Shaw, like the other Prometheus characters, is somewhat flat and underdeveloped, but she's the most rounded and best character in the film, in my opinion.

There were even a few flawed lines of dialogue here and there.  Also, the movie is not very good in terms of acting and reacting; the actors' performances are not very good, and the characters make a lot of stupid decisions.  There are also some mystery-elements and other things in the story that should have been better, and the movie did feel a bit clumsy and a bit ridiculous in a few areas; some things here and there were a bit poorly paid off, etc.  The majority of the flaws, in my opinion, occur in the the third act of the film.  I might have given the film a three-and-a-half-star rating, or even a four-star rating, but unfortunately the flaws did drag it down somewhat.

However, despite these flaws, the movie, while not great or anything, is okay overall, in my opinion.  This film is not about character arcs or relationships, or a story arc, but rather the mysteries, which, to say the least, are quite interesting, and there are a few memorable images and concepts.  The visual and special effects are good, and they actually contribute somewhat to the overall tone and atmosphere of the film.  I saw this film in 2-D, but I can tell that it would have been a good experience in 3-D as well.  There is some pretty good interesting technology in the film.  And not just the technology, it has a lot of good sci-fi elements.  And of course, best of all, is the mystery and the questions, and the cleverly-left-incomplete story.  That's what really makes the movie worth watching.  It could have been better with better character development and more emotional involvement, but it's effective as it is.

Prometheus is an okay movie overall.  It has several flaws, and it's a bit stupid in areas, but it's pretty interesting and thought-provoking. And it's a good film to be seen in the theater, on the big screen.  Also the conclusion of the movie actually invites a sequel to be made.  It doesn't necessarily need one, as it's okay left as it is, but it wouldn't be a bad idea at all.  But if they do make a sequel, I hope they continue to follow the character Elizabeth Shaw, and it probably will.  While the premise for Alien is more or less set up, the sequel should, and probably will, take this other direction; remember, while it's a prequel to Alien, it's also it's own thing.  And if they bring more depth into it (like James Cameron did in Aliens) in addition to the interesting mysteries and whatnot, I'm sure it would be a pretty good movie.



Cast and Credits:
Elizabeth Shaw: Noomi Rapace
David: Michael Fassbender
Charlie Holloway: Logan Marshall-Green
Meredith: Charlize Theron
Janek: Idris Alba

Twentieth Century Fox Presents
A film directed by Ridley Scott
Running time: 125 min.

Rated R for sci-fi violence including some intense images, and brief language

Men in Black III (2012)

Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi

Released: May 25, 2012

My Rating: 
(Click here for more info on my rating scale)



Men in Black III is not a great movie or anything, but it's okay.  It's smart, funny, goofy, entertaining, witty, and, in my opinion, just as good as the first Men in Black movie.

It's been fifteen years since the entertaining first Men in Black film, and ten years since the flawed yet still slightly enjoyable sequel Men in Black II.  Now comes the third installment in the series, Men in Black III.  Of course, this sequel, like any sequel of this kind, especially having been made a decade after its last predecessor, gave me a few doubts before watching it.  However, I finally saw it in the theater today, and I enjoyed it.  Agent J (Will Smith) and Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) have returned to the screen, and they deliver some nice and witty entertainment.

The film starts out on a prison on the moon, called Lunarmax (which is next to the original lander and American flag from the Apollo mission), from which the antagonist, Boris the Animal, escapes.  In 1969, Boris encountered Agent K, who shot his arm off and had him arrested, and also set up some sort of defense system to protect the earth from any invasions by Boris' alien race.  Boris, having escaped from prison, travels back in time to this incident and kills K, altering the MIB agency and putting earth in danger (the protection system no longer exists - Boris stopped it from getting set up in the past).  So now, in the present, Agent J must travel back in time to prevent Boris from causing all this and restore the real timeline.  There's more to the story, but I won't spoil it.

Luckily, Men in Black III isn't just a typical modern generic blockbuster.  I even had a feeling that the movie was going to try and skate by with great effects but a thin story, but luckily it didn't.  Yes, it is a blockbuster, but it does retain the imaginatively and wit of the original Men in Black.  The movie has a lot of the tone that the original MIB films had, and some things haven't changed, and a lot of things have.  For example, the character Zed has recently died, and female Agent O has taken his place.  Even Danny Elfman's music is a bit different, although it does retain the main themes of the series.  The special effects are better than ever, and we even have a few new things of technology, such as interesting and awesome single-wheeled vehicles (as seen in the still above), and (obviously) the time travel technology.  And best of all are the characters and their relationships and interaction, which is where the real magic, and humor, of the movie is.  In his journey in this movie, J meets the younger K of 1969 (played by Josh Brolin).  Another character that I like is Griff, an alien who is able to see 4-dimensionally, and can see the many possible timelines that the future can follow.  We even have a brief scene at the end of the film that adds a new and somewhat emotional dimension to the relationship of J and K, but I won't spoil it.

Like I said in my review of The Avengers, I'm now going to the theater more often.  I started of my summer with The Avengers, and now I've seen my second film for this summer.  Men in Black III does have a few flaws, but they're not worth discussing, and they really didn't bother me.  The 106 running length of the movie pretty much flew by.  The film is not great or anything (it's definitely only a three-star film, in my opinion), it's only okay, but it's pretty entertaining.  Performances are good, and the actors really bring out their characters.  Danny Elfman's music score is good.  And, like I said before, the special effects are great, and they contribute effectively to the story and the film overall.  The technology in the film is nice, and the aliens and monsters, especially the villain, were well designed and excellently goofy and bizarre, like they're supposed to be.  And yes the film is a comedy, and it lives up to that name - the humor is good and smart.  As for the time travel, it's not completely accurate, but that's typical in this movie, and it can be forgiven because of it's wit and likable characters, among other things.  This sequel is unnecessary, yes, and it could have been disappointing, but luckily it wasn't.

It may sound like I loved the movie, but I didnt.  I just though it was okay.  But still, it's smart, funny, goofy, entertaining, witty, and, in my opinion, just as good as the first Men in Black movie.  I'm glad I saw it in the theater.




Cast and Credits:
Agent J: Will Smith
Agent K: Tommy Lee Jones
Young Agent K: Josh Brolin
Boris the Animal: Jemaine Clement
Agent O: Emma Thompson
Griffin: Michael Stuhlbarg
Young Agent O: Alive Eve

Columbia pictures presents
A film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld
Music by Danny Elfman
Running time: 106 min.

Rated PG-13 for sci-fi action violence, and brief suggestive content