http://www.mysears.com/aboutme/JimG944 Sun, 31 Jan 2010 00:22:59 GMT Reviews by JimG944 http://www.mysears.com/Land-of-the-Blind-review-9ec6 <p>4 of 5 stars for the very odd political drama satire movie Land of the Blind. Frankly, I don't know how to review this movie; it is really odd and strange. thought I was not going to like it when it started but I got drawn-in and really liked it. OK, I'll try... They have created a little country with a dictator. What is cool is that the graphical look of the movie is a strange combination of the world during the 1930's and yet also the 2000's. Imagine a color TV using a horn from a Vicktrola as a speaker. They have combined fashions of old and new. There are reference to very modern real-world people places and events yet it is a technology throw-back to the 30's and 40's. In a way, I think they were going for a Cuba-like look. If I tell you any of the primary storyline it would spoil the movie. I will say that Donald Sutherland delivers a great performance! Ralph Fiennes plays the lead role and is amazing! Those two guys stole the movie! A shout-out to Lara Flynn Boyle who plays the strange...</p>... Sun, 31 Jan 2010 00:22:59 GMT http://www.mysears.com/Land-of-the-Blind-review-9ec6 JimG944 4 http://www.mysears.com/Whiteout-review-cdb36 <p>2 of 5 stars for the suspense movie Whiteout. This is a very odd movie. After watching the movie and the behind-the-scenes materials I was left with two words: "Just Because". When I was a kid and was asked why something happened, I'd answer "Just Because". The movie opens with a flight over Antarctica by a Russian crew in 1957. They appear to have a special cargo and the flight crashes. At the end, when you learn of the cargo, just say "Just Because". In modern times, we have the arrival of a US Marshal assigned to the US base in Antarctica. Why? "Just Because". The movie morphs into a suspense movie with people who get killed by a masked person with an ice axe. Why? J.B. We learn a bit about the lady Marshal but none of it appears to help the plot. Why waste our time? J.B. We eventually tie together the Russian cargo with the murders and are left with the feeling "Who Cares". The whole movie is set against the coming winter in Antarctica which often has "Whiteout" conditions. Why set...</p>... Mon, 25 Jan 2010 02:45:52 GMT http://www.mysears.com/Whiteout-review-cdb36 JimG944 2 http://www.mysears.com/The-Killing-Room-review-021a3 <p>2 of 5 stars for the psychological suspense movie The Killing Room. In an odd way, this movie reminded me of the movie The Cube; though this is not a sci-fi movie. Four people sign-up for a one day "research project". The researchers put them into an observation chamber and start the experiment. I am not going to spoil the movie by describing the experiment or the lame reason for the experiment. The bulk of the movie was watching the subjects go thru the experiment and the last few minutes explained the "government plot" behind the experiment. Not a very good suspense movie. Sorry, but, I can't recommend this movie.</p>... Sun, 24 Jan 2010 16:06:58 GMT http://www.mysears.com/The-Killing-Room-review-021a3 JimG944 2 http://www.mysears.com/Forbidden-Kingdom-review-363b3 <p>5 of 5 stars for the fantasy adventure movie The Forbidden Kingdom. FK stars two of my favoriteaction actors in lead roles, Jackie Chan and Jet Li. I understand that this movie is based on a Chinese story of the Monkey King (btw I was born in the year of the Monkey). Jet Li plays the Monkey King who is captured by a evil lord and held forever. The magic staff (long pole) of the Monkey King makes it way thru time to a shop in LA. A young man (Michael Angarano) is given the staff by the shop keeper and told to return to its rightful owner. He finds that he has been transported to the Forbidden Kingdom where his adventure begins. First he meets a drunk man (Jackie Chan) and later a young lady "the Sparrow" (Yifei Liu). <br/><br/>A really nice story that is beautifully photographed. The wire line fights were good but as always seem fake (ah I mean super-natural). The story is good for the whole family. Great fight sequences (of course when you have Li and Chan). I specially liked how Li played the Monkey...</p>... Sun, 24 Jan 2010 16:05:16 GMT http://www.mysears.com/Forbidden-Kingdom-review-363b3 JimG944 5 http://www.mysears.com/District-9-review-7bf53 <p>3 of 5 stars for the sci-fi movie District 9. Believe it or not, I really had not seen any trailers nor clips from this movie. I was excited to see it just because it seemed like another Independance Day. So, I had no idea what to expect when it started. To summarize first, I was disappointed but still liked it enough to give 3 stars. The short version is a group of aliens come to the Earth and their mother ship gets stuck hanging above South Africa. This event happened many years ago and the aliens are now living in slum-like conditions in a prison camp. The style of this movie is to look like a news program or a documentary. Alot shot on video rather than film gives a crisp look. It seemed like a low budget film until you realize the high quality seamless special effects. So, I was not all that impressed with this movie and will give it a mildly positive recommendation. The blu-ray has some good behind the scenes materials that are helpful in understanding why the movie is as it is.</p>... Mon, 18 Jan 2010 01:10:05 GMT http://www.mysears.com/District-9-review-7bf53 JimG944 3 http://www.mysears.com/A-Perfect-Getaway-review-d3c73 <p>3 of 5 stars for the movie thriller A Perfect Getaway. We meet three couples who are on vacations in Hawaii. We soon learn that a tourist couple was murdered elsewhere in Hawaii and the suspects are a young man and woman. Hummm .... Sounds like a good setup for a thriller. Several plot twists and tangents to keep you guessing. Of course we end up alone in the middle of nowhere on an island. Enough said. The plot is actually very simple and predictable. The value in the movie is in the acting and character development which casts doubt on each of the three couples. The scenery is amazing. Well photographed, good pace and some real surprises. Milla Jovovich (a favorite of mine) had a relatively minor role and didn't stand-out. <br/><br/>This movie will keep you guessing and keep you at the edge of your seat. Why only 3 stars? Well, it is a thriller, but, I have seen many movies with similar plots and this one never really got you truly scared or fully engaged. So, its good not great.</p>... Sun, 17 Jan 2010 21:22:29 GMT http://www.mysears.com/A-Perfect-Getaway-review-d3c73 JimG944 3 http://www.mysears.com/Jennifers-Body-review-a1682 <p>4 of 5 stars for the horror movie Jennifer's Body. At first glance, this seems like a shallow "teen demon" horror movie. But, if you below the surface, you find an interesting relationship between two BFFs. OK, so what's this about? We are first introduced to two BFFs who have grown differently: one (Megan Fox) is the campus queen cheerleader and the other is not so beautiful or popular. So, it is interesting to watch these two during the movie. Back to the shallow stuff: Fox's character gets kidnapped and turned into a demon who gets food by killing and eating boy-bodies. Well, you can guess the rest of this... There is plenty of blood, guts and body parts. Strategic photography implies alot but shows nothing. Fox is totally hot and worth watching. So, nuke some popcorn, grab a Coke, sit back and watch this movie. I do recommend it.</p>... Sun, 17 Jan 2010 21:22:24 GMT http://www.mysears.com/Jennifers-Body-review-a1682 JimG944 4 http://www.mysears.com/Paycheck-review-203c0 <p>4 of 5 stars for the sci-fi movie Paycheck. Ben Affleck plays a computer engineer who is hired to perform long-term top secret projects for an employer and then to have his memory wiped-clean after the project/contract completes. Talk about an NDA! After he exits from hs current project, the world is upside down and he has a pocket full of odds and ends. With no memory of the last several years, he tries to understand the items in his pocket (who, what and why???). Uma Thurman has a secondary role as his girlfriend. You travel along with our lead in his quest to figure out the items and what they mean. I give this a 4 as the plot is not very guessable and it keeps you glued to the action. I highly recommend this movie; you'll be surprised to learn what his project was all about.</p>... Mon, 11 Jan 2010 02:30:18 GMT http://www.mysears.com/Paycheck-review-203c0 JimG944 4 http://www.mysears.com/Awake-review-da610 <p>4 of 5 stars for the psycho thriller movie Awake. This movie starts by giving stats on how many patients per year enter a strange awake-state called "anesthetic awareness" during surgery. OK, we can guess that this is the subject of this movie. The lead character, played by young Darth Vader Hayden Christensen is in need of a heart transplant. He marries his sweetheart (the sexy Jessica Alba) the night before the operation. As the surgery begins, lets just say it gets twisted with loads of surprises. A well created movie with a great plot and some real surprises. You should be warned that there are some graphic scenes during the surgery not for the weak stomach; I'd argue, they weren't really needed to advance the story. I do recommend this movie, however, not after a full meal.</p>... Mon, 11 Jan 2010 02:30:16 GMT http://www.mysears.com/Awake-review-da610 JimG944 4 http://www.mysears.com/Craftsman-NEXTEC-12-volt-LED-Worklight-review-9c3f2 <p>First, I should tell you that I am a big fan of the Craftsman C3 system of tools and now I am a fan of the Craftsman NexTex system. I am a home-owner and use my tools in routine home and garden projects. My tools are used lightly rather than the daily abuse of a real craftsman; so my review is in the context of home use. My Dad always said, have the right tool for the right job and C3 really helps me with that. Having portable, battery operated tools are helpful getting the job done quickly and easily. I have a couple of rechargers wall mounted and plenty of batteries around the house; grab a tool and battery and your working.<br/><br/>The Craftsman NexTex 12 volt LED Worklight is a giant step forward compared to the two available Craftsman C3 worklights. This small light is LED and produces a bright and somewhat focused light. With the LEDs, it remains cool compared to the C3 bulb based light and the LEDs are more reliable than the bulb solution. The design provides a flat base for the light to...</p>... Mon, 11 Jan 2010 02:29:10 GMT http://www.mysears.com/Craftsman-NEXTEC-12-volt-LED-Worklight-review-9c3f2 JimG944 4 http://www.mysears.com/G-I-Joe-Rise-of-the-Cobra-review-36c71 <p>4 of 5 stars for the action movie G.I. Joe. OK, so I've lost touch with some of the new things... When you say GI Joe to me, I think of the action toy GI Joe with his circa WWII Jeep and uniform. I seem to have slept thru all of the various modernizations of GI Joe including the comic book, cartoon movies and newer toys. So, going into this movie, I had no expectatoins of what it would be. So, I've learned that the action toy has morphed into an elite military unit with sci-fi special weapons and tools. Only the elite become GI Joe's (men and women) who work out of "The Pit". This movie was very well made. Action from the first minutes to introduce the team during a firefight to protect a truck convoy. Next we find the hero of protecting that convoy is taken to the Pit and introduced to the team; after traning he becomes a GI Joe. The bulk of the movie was focused on the recovery of the item taken from that truck convoy and learning who was behnd the plot. Some good twists and unexpected...</p>... Mon, 11 Jan 2010 02:29:08 GMT http://www.mysears.com/G-I-Joe-Rise-of-the-Cobra-review-36c71 JimG944 4 http://www.mysears.com/RV-review-f6643 <p>3 of 5 stars for the Robin Williams comedy movie: RV. Williams plays a busy executive trying to close a big deal who's family is insisting on a vacation to Hawaii. So, he decides to rent an RV and take the family on a cross-country road-trip. On their journey, they meet a kinda crazy family (country hick) who keeps following them. This is a funny movie that nicely balances Williams insane comedy with a pretty well done script/story. Williams plays it pretty rationally but retains his outstanding comedy contents and timing. There are many great lines and scenes. My favorite set of scenes was at the RV waste pump-out station; another favorite was the RV atop the mountain suspended in mid-air by the mountain point. So why only 3 of 5? I have seen many movies that are much funnier than this with more insane situations. So, 3 of 5 for this well done good comedy movie. It was well created (script, photography, sets/locations) just nothing outstanding. Yes, I do recommend this movie.</p>... Wed, 06 Jan 2010 12:38:27 GMT http://www.mysears.com/RV-review-f6643 JimG944 3 http://www.mysears.com/Good-Luck-Chuck-review-ef700 <p>4 of 5 stars for the comedy movie Good Luck Chuck. Let me first say that Jessica Alba is about the cutest thing I know of; the whole point of the movie is our lead guy eventually falls in love with her. There is one problem. Chuck, our lead guy, was spelled as a child by a witch such that every girl he has sex with will fall in love and marry the NEXT guy after Chuck. As this little problem becomes known to people, girls line-up to have sex with Chuck (no this isn't a porno movie, but, there are alot of adult situations and lots of *****!) so they can ensure a quick successful marriage. A cute plot, well acted and lots of funny moments. Well worth watching, very funny and then there is Jessica Alba, sigh...</p>... Sun, 03 Jan 2010 01:50:24 GMT http://www.mysears.com/Good-Luck-Chuck-review-ef700 JimG944 4 http://www.mysears.com/The-Hangover-review-d0510 <p>5 of 5 stars for the comedy The Hangover. Let's see, take four guys (one to get married in two days), add Las Vegas, some drugs, shake well and you end-up the next day in a hotel suite with strippers, a tiger, a trashed room, a missing mattress, a missing front tooth, a live chicken and a missing bride groom. What's the problem? Noone remembers what happened--nothing, nada, zip. This movie is about the quest to learn what happened last night--and to find Douggie (the bride groom). The three remaining guys set-out to unwind the nights events, including a trip to a wedding chapel, discovery of a new wife (former stripper) for one of the three guys and a visit to the home of Mike Tyson (the boxer). This is a very funny movie with extreme moments and odd ball surprises. Two buckets of nuked popcorn are a must for this funny movie! Well made, extremely well written (who thinks of this stuff??) and really fun to watch. OK, a spoiler (not): Where did the live chicken in the hotel room come from???...</p>... Sun, 03 Jan 2010 01:49:03 GMT http://www.mysears.com/The-Hangover-review-d0510 JimG944 5 http://www.mysears.com/Invasion-review-8fc11 <p>4 of 5 stars for the sci-fi movie Invasion. This movie is a variation of the "bodysnatcher's" genre. As with other movies of this type, those who have been "snatched" move slowly, calmly and peacefully. In this movie, that is how "they" tell those who are infected and those who are not yet infected. OK, a strange new infection is brought to earth from space. Once a person is infected (passes from person to person) they turn into these peaceful slow moving zombies. The key to the infection is to not sleep! The lead character is played by Nicole Kidman who does a great job. Interesting to watch how she learns to move about in the community of the zombies without being discovered. Usually zombie movies are low budget "B" movies; this one has high production values, looks great, and is well crafted. Call it an "A" class zombie movie. Minimal violence. This is a good movie and well worth watching. The Blu-Ray has a good selection of additional contents. I do recommend this movie.</p>... Thu, 31 Dec 2009 14:13:09 GMT http://www.mysears.com/Invasion-review-8fc11 JimG944 4 http://www.mysears.com/Fox-Taken-Widescreen-DVD-Movie-review-b0aa2 <p>4 of 5 stars for the action movie Taken and shout-out for Liam Neeson in the lead role. Neeson plays a retired spy, Maggie Grace plays Neeson's daughter. The daughter and her girlfriend leave on a trip across Europe against the better judgement of her dad (Neeson). They barely land in Paris when they are kidnapped by slave traders. With few clues, Daddy goes to Paris to recover his daughter. Simple plot idea, extremely well executed (hence my shout-out to Neeson). This is a violent and tough movie; Neeson's body count is around 50 and most with graphic and quick kills. Don't shoot at him, you'll only make him mad! Impressive how he follows from clue to clue. If you don't mind the violence and the graphic underworld plot, it is a great movie. I do recommend it and will watch it again in the future.</p>... Thu, 31 Dec 2009 14:10:04 GMT http://www.mysears.com/Fox-Taken-Widescreen-DVD-Movie-review-b0aa2 JimG944 4 http://www.mysears.com/Rescue-Dawn-review-dbd70 <p>4 of 5 stars for the Vietnam war movie Rescue Dawn. This is the story of an American pilot shot down over Laos early in the war before it was common knowledge that the USA was bombing in Laos. This is a tough, gritty, hard movie. Not alot of fun; but, a solid story (based on the life of German-born Dieter Dengler). The story is heavy but true, the action gut-wrenching. The strength and determination of Dengler was impressive. The movie was well created with realistic settings (mostly filmed in Thailand). Yes, I do recommend this movie, but, make sure you are ready for a 2+ hour heavy war movie. BTW, shout-out to actor Christian Bale who played Dengler; no matter what, that must have been a tough movie to make and the personal stuff he went thru to make it...well, wow!</p>... Tue, 29 Dec 2009 13:44:52 GMT http://www.mysears.com/Rescue-Dawn-review-dbd70 JimG944 4 http://www.mysears.com/I-Know-Who-Killed-Me-review-86301 <p>4 of 5 stars for the suspense thriller I Know Who Killed Me. Lindsay Lohan stars in this movie about a crazed guy who like to kill people. Lohan is one of his victims, but, she has a story to be told--who killed her. She returns to her life as a different person. Yeah, a bit confusing, but, interesting. A well made movie with a good plot. It keeps you guess right til the end. A big surprise twists the last 20% of the movie into something very unexpected. This movie is loaded with adult content and images, some very graphic scenes that are not for the weak of stomach. A good movie, well worth the watching. The Blu-Ray was lacking in extra contents compared to other movies.</p>... Tue, 29 Dec 2009 13:44:33 GMT http://www.mysears.com/I-Know-Who-Killed-Me-review-86301 JimG944 4 http://www.mysears.com/Army-of-Darkness-review-16ad 4 of 5 stars for the ah ah sci-fi? action? fantasy movie Army of Darkness. I first looked at the cover art and read the liner notes and thought "here we go with a real-B movie, sigh". I started watching and it was funny and interesting. Watching the Blu-Ray I was really impressed with the image quality--super sharp and clear, it looked almost like video rather than film. So early-on, I'm thinking this is a spoof movie, but no, it was a straight fantasy/comedy movie. Then it hit me! This is a tribute to the Ray Harryhousen movie (Sinbad). Then I noticed this movie has everything from stop-action creatures, alot of rubber suits and alot of real models of creatures. Yeah, some CG, but not much. It really has the look and feel of the old Sinbad movies. The plot is of a "S-mart" sales guy getting transported to the 1300's to fight against Deadites and recover an artifact book. Bruce Campbell did an outstanding job in the lead role. This movie was a pleasure to watch. Stupid comedy in places,...... Sat, 26 Dec 2009 13:56:10 GMT http://www.mysears.com/Army-of-Darkness-review-16ad JimG944 4 http://www.mysears.com/Yes-Man-review-00342 <p>3 of 5 stars for the comedy movie Yes Man staring Jim Carrey.Yes, it was funny and had some great situations. In general, I don't much like Carrey's work, this one was OK. Imagine a cult that teaches its members to say Yes to everything. "Can I borrow lots of money?" "Yes". Well, that is the basic idea of the movie. How much trouble can a person get into by always saying yes? Ah, go jump off a bridge; Yes. That leads to a bungie jump from a local bridge. Zooey Deschanel plays Carrey's girlfriend and is very impressive (and cute). This movie is easy on your brain, fun to watch and well worth the time and efforts. So, did I like the movie? Ah ah ah, YES. Do I recommend it? Ah, YES. Will I give you money? Ah ah NO WAY.</p>... Sat, 26 Dec 2009 13:56:08 GMT http://www.mysears.com/Yes-Man-review-00342 JimG944 3