Star Trek

Capt. Kirk (Chris Pine) and his trusted team on the starship USS Enterprise boldly go where no man has gone before in this installment of Gene Roddenberry's sci-fi franchise that follows the early days of the intergalactic adventurers. The crew includes Spock (Zachary Quinto), Chekov (Anton Yelchin), Uhura (Zoe Saldana), Scotty (Simon Pegg) and Sulu (John Cho). Eric Bana co-stars, and Leonard Nimoy appears as an older version of Spock.

Everyone knows that I'm a Treky, but you don't have to be a Treky to love this show. JJ Abrams was brilliant in his directing of this "beginnings" story about the timeless characters of the Starship Enterprise. I can't begin to express how impressed I was with the acting, the action, the story and the development of the characters. I have to say that I really had my doubts about ressurecting James T. Kirk, but between Pine's acting and Abrams directing they really pulled it off. The only negatives in this film was the imorallity which was so unnecessary, and Leonard Nimoy's terrible acting, which was surprising. -->Kimball*****

Netflix link to Star Trek

Mission: Impossible III

Helmed by J.J. Abrams, the third entry in the explosive espionage series finds semiretired superspy Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) forced back into action to save his protégé, Lindsey Ferris (Keri Russell). To checkmate her investigation, badass arms dealer Owen Davian (Philip Seymour Hoffman) abducts Lindsey, sending Ethan and his crack field team to Berlin on a rescue mission. Meanwhile, Ethan's agency superiors may be double-dealing their operatives.

I'll tell you what, JJ Abrams is a director to follow. I had already seen this movie in the theater when it first came out, but I didn't make the connection to JJ Abrams. With MI3, Lost, and now the new Star Trek, this guy is looking great. My only real complaint about MI3 is the brief sensuality between Cruise and Monaghan. The action is non-stop, and the good guy is a good guy, and the bad guy is all the way bad. There is some language, but not to bad. Lots of dead people. My favorite scene in this movie is near the end when Lindsey is forced to (temorarily) kill her husband, Ethan (Cruise) and then revive him using her medical skills while fending off the bad guys with a weapon she knows nothing about. There love and trust for eachother is tested to the max. This show was a great ride. -->Kimball****

Netflix link to Mission: Impossible III

Just Like Heaven

Shortly after David Abbott (Mark Ruffalo) moves into his new San Francisco digs, he has an unwelcome visitor on his hands: winsome Elizabeth Martinson (Reese Witherspoon), who asserts that the apartment is hers -- and promptly vanishes. When she starts appearing and disappearing at will, David thinks she's a ghost, while Elizabeth is convinced she's alive. Their quest for the truth ultimately leads to love in this spectral romantic comedy.

Well, this is one of those movies that you enjoy and feel dissapointed about at the same time. I really liked the story line and I thought the acting was fairly good. It was funny, it was touching, it was believable. But.....and I mean a big but, there was just too much sexual inuendo and too much normalcy placed on immorality. You'll have to watch this one with fingers in your ears and the fast forward ready. Ok, it's really not that bad as far as what is shown. There's no open nudity or sex scenes, just a lot of talk about it. The story is really cute, and Witherspoon is great. Mark Rufallo is slow getting started but after awhile he's actually enjoyable too, as the almost innocent brokenhearted victim of Witherspoon's need for love. -->Kimball***

Netflix link to Just Like Heaven

Forever Strong

Rick (Sean Faris) is a star player on his dad's rugby team until a DUI lands him in a reformatory. While he's serving his sentence, tough rival coach Larry Gelwix (Gary Cole) allows him to play for his team, which helps Rick straighten up his act. Upon his release, however, Rick becomes a pariah to his former teammates and even his father when he refuses to divulge Gelwix's strategies. Sean Astin co-stars in this inspiring true story.

I enjoyed watching this film. The rugby sequences were really good and the story was uplifting. The acting was not really up to par and the lines were predictable, but all in all this is a good film. Sean Astin is the best actor in this flick co-staring as Rick's counselor at the juvenile detention facility. Rick is not your typical young man and if your teens can relate to him, well, then you have issues. -->Kimball***

Netflix link to Forever Strong

Swimming Upstream

Jesse Spencer ("House M.D.") stars in the true-life drama of Australian swimming champion Tony Fingleton. Desperate to escape his tortuous older brother and alcoholic father (Geoffrey Rush), Tony finds sanctuary and his life's calling at the local public pool. And though his new passion is marred by his father's growing animosity and illness, the talented athlete nevertheless perseveres, ultimately gaining both sports glory and self-respect.

Aside from his violent father and some profanity this is really a pretty good film. It's well acted and a great story. Tony rises to the top in spite of terrible odds motivated by his mother's love and his desire to go to the states to attend a prestigious university. He proves that anything is possible if you really want it. The terrible consequences of alcohol are portrayed with some disturbing scenes of domestic violence, and one is left feeling a certain degree of simpathy for Tony's father who is a victim of his past. I felt a desire to cheer Tony, love his mother, cry for his family, and help his father. It made me wonder what a difference it would have made in the life of this family to have found the gospel. -->Kimball***

Netflix link to Swimming Upstream

Amistad

Steven Spielberg directed this story about the 1839 revolt aboard Spanish slave ship La Amistad and the uprising's tragic aftermath. An African-born slave (Djimon Hounsou) leads a mutiny against his brutal captors. Because the ship is in American waters, a U.S. court must decide the slaves' fate. In an eloquent courtroom speech, ex-president John Quincy Adams (Anthony Hopkins) argues for the Africans' freedom.

Very interesting history. Very well made. Great performances by all including Matthew McConaughey and Morgan Freemanand. I was suprised that I hadn't heard of this film. The twists and turns of this story are great. It is very mature in its theme and drama. There are some disturbing scenes involving torture of slaves and black slave nudity. Small children should not watch this. For history sake and awareness I say this is a must see. Some may dissagree with me, but oh well, se la vi. -->Kimball****

Netflix link to Amistad

Anatomy of a Murder

Nominated for seven Oscars, this legal thriller profiles the attempts of country lawyer Paul Biegler (James Stewart) to exonerate Frederick Manion (Ben Gazzara). Charged with a local barkeep's murder, Manion claims the victim raped his wife (Lee Remick). Employing a temporary insanity defense, Biegler tries to outmaneuver slick celebrity prosecutor Claude Dancer (George C. Scott), but discovers there's more to this case than meets the eye.

I love Jimmy Stewart. I don't know that I have ever seen him in anything that I just couldn't stand. This is one of his great performances, allthough I wasn't particularly impressed with the film. Everything is great except for the ending. A suprise ending it was, but not the suprise I expected, if that makes any sense. You're left with a sense of confusion about who was the good guy, and who was the bad guy. Surprisingly, there were a few rather adult themes and conversations throughout this film. -->Kimball***

Netflix link to Anatomy of a Murder

The Pennsylvania Miners Story

During the summer of 2002, time stopped for nine Pennsylvania coal miners who were trapped inside a mine for more than three days. Miraculously, all survived -- an uplifting ending to a story most thought would end in tragedy. This made-for-TV movie tells the miners' story from their point of view using actual locations and footage from the real-life Quecreek mine. Stars John Ratzenberger, Michael Bowen and Robert Knepper.

This was ok. Not really great as movies go, but a good story. It's worth seeing, but not as the main feature. -->Kimball**

Netflix link to The Pennsylvania Miners Story

Marley and Me

Based on the best-selling memoir, this feature adaptation centers on Jennifer and John Grogan (Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson), who, as newlyweds about to start a family, learn many of life's important lessons from Marley, their lovable yet trouble-seeking canine. This heartwarming story examines the highs and lows of marriage, maturity and confronting ones' own mortality, as seen through the lens of family life with a dog.

I really liked this one. There were some scenes that we could have done without where the love between the Grogans is portrayed with all of it's playfull bedroom humor. But over all this was a great film. I enjoyed the development of family and family relationships. I really appreciated the author and director's developement of the all to common dilemma that women find themselves in today; that of having to make a choice between being moms or career women. Jennifer chooses family with the reasoning that "if working means that I will only be with my children for a few hours in the evening, than I'll stay home with my children." Brovo. And the career changes were made in the interest of opportunity and sacrifice. John sees in the end after meeting up with an old budy, who had taken a different road, that his choice to have a family had brought him the greater happiness. Marley was a wonderful metaphor for sacrifice and love in the face of challenge. Marley did his job. He had raised a family in love for eachother through their love and sacrifice for him. -->Kimball****

Netflix link to Marley and Me

Seven Pounds

Distraught over his wife's death -- and convinced that his own actions had something to do with it -- a depressed IRS (Will Smith) agent begins plotting his suicide, vowing to improve the lives of seven strangers in the process. But a chance meeting with a woman who has a life-threatening heart defect (Rosario Dawson) threatens to derail his plans when, suddenly, their budding relationship feels a lot like love.

The show was well acted of course, and well directed. I had a problem with several things though. One, there were a few of those "bleep of the screen" scenes where the actors get to unleash their hormones and call it work. I also was not to into the whole compassionate suicide thing. By the end of the movie I was depressed and ready to send him a "Snap out of it" phone call. Then, the way he kills himself was just too bizzar for me. In all, this show left me with a dark and depressed feeling, and wishing I could turn on "Home Improvement" or something to lighten up the mood. -->Kimball**

Netflix link to Seven Pounds