"Mission: Impossible 3"

Tom Cruise
Ving Rhames
Philip Seymour Hoffman
Keri Russell
Michelle Monaghan
Laurence Fishburne
Maggie Q
Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Billy Crudup

PG13           126min           2006

Tom Cruise returns for the third installment as Ethan Hunt in Mission Impossible 3. This time around the mission is to save his love Julia played by Michelle Monaghan form Philip Seymour Hoffman. If at first you think Cruise vs Hoffman, that doesn't seem fair; put your mind at ease Hoffman plays a convince bad guy. You believe Hoffman'sduality.

This one is better than the first two and the stunts are stunning and they leave you a little disbelieving. The story is intriguing and fast paced. It has very few slow spots. Once the action starts it give you enough time to catch your breathe.

If there is an agent really alive doing these things I really hope he is on our side. Mission: Impossible 3 is a great way to start the summer season. You check out Mission: Impossible and Mission: Impossibble 2.

I give it 4/5 Gs

"Memoris of A Geisha"

Ziyi Zhang
Ken Wantanabe
Kôji Yaksuo
Li Gong
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa

PG13           145min           2005

“Memoirs of a Geisha” is the tale of a poverty stricken little girl’s rise to one of Japan’s premiere geisha, and the fall of them after the war.

“Memoirs of a Geisha” so intimately tells the history of Geishas in a tale that makes you come to care for the art form and not the bastardize form that cropped up after the war. It’s a prevalent ignorant misconception that, most of the world and, I held to until I watched the film. It’s an enlightening film that even though it’s long is informative and entertaining as while.

American’s fascination with the art form has lead to many misconceptions. Geisha are not high priced prostitutes. They are skilled entertainer, trained in the traditional Japanese arts, music, dance, and storytelling, taking years to prefect. This movie is based on a book that is fiction, the facts are truthful and that’s what makes it so interesting. That it’s a tale of a lost art form that will never live and be as mysterious as when in this film. Before its fall it was practiced by few, mastered by fewer, and hired by the elite privileged.

“Memoirs of a Geisha“ gives a rare insight into this world that its barely see in today society. Geishas are still around but that don’t a the skilled and dedication that the “geisha” in this film portray. It makes you want to have a true geisha entertain you. A true geisha was expensive to have entertain you and its lead to the decline of them.

Even now if you see a geisha on the street its more than likely a tourist dressed as one. A true geisha into today’s society is rarely see and that’s what adds to it mystique. Only the few can hire them, and you may not see the true spectacle that is Geisha.

The DVDs extras are a welcomed addition to the film. It in forms you of just how hard it was for the actors to pull off their feats to portray geisha. How hard it was for the film crew to recreate Japan at the turn of the war. It will make you appreciate “What it meant to be geisha?” even more.

If you appreciate art this movie is a deeply personally journey to watch. Looking at this film give shows a lost form at its height and its decline. The geisha in its purist form is gone with the 8-track player. It’s outdated put can probably still be found it looked hard enough, but never to the grace and beauty portrayed in this film.

Watch it. Let your mind go and take in this film. Realize “What it meant to be Geisha?” and appreciate another art form lost to man’s destructive behavior.

I give it a 5/5 Gs.

For more information of the art form of Geisha:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geisha

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe

William Moseley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Anna Popplewell
Skandar Keynes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Georgie Henley
Tilda Swinton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . James McAvoy
Jim Broadbent

PG 135min 2005

The Chronicles of NArnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe is one of the best special effect laden movies I have seen in a while. It captured the imagination and wonder of when I was a kid. It took me back to my childhood fighting imaginary creature exploring new worlds and meeting new people, if only in your mind.

Although this movie is geared to children, it is not a children movie. There are serious acts of violent in this movie. People are frozen which to a little kid could be consider killed. There is a battles scene on the scale of “Braveheart” and it only got a PG rating. I personally don’t like the rating system but parents should watch this first and see if their children are old enough to watch it. On the fun fact commentary C.S. Lewis, wrote books that he would like to read.

The DVD is packed with several added features for your enjoyment. The director and Children’s commentary is especially funny; Georgie Henley will crack you up on that commentary. Over 10 hours of interesting bonus features about the movie, the world of Narnia, and what’s to come.

Reading the Internet I have found that there is a debate on which way to read the books. I just started reading them but for the most part reading them in the order of which they were written and published is the best. Reading them in chronological order seems to take the mystery and wonder from the stories.

5/5 Gs

"Derailed"

Clive Owen
Jennifer Aniston
Vincent Cassel
Melissa George
RZA
Xzibit
Addison Timlin

R           112min          2005

“Derailed” is about an ordinary man caught in a chance meeting with a woman on a train and the disruption to his life that ensues from a one night stand with her.

Derailed is a thriller starring Clive Owen and in a stark departure from anything else she’s done, Jennifer Aniston. Once it set the story up for you it grabs you by the balls. Anitson’s makes this believiable. Most of this film is predictable until the end.

This movie is a moral tale. Put in this situation what would you do. It’s an ordinary man facing extraordinary circumstance because of the choices he made. It’s the moral choices that grab you and keep glued to the table. It’s compelling but in a rarity facing many Hollywood films the hero actually pays for his crimes.

This movie can be dismissed but its Aniston’s acting departure that really gets you. You looking at Jennifer Aniston stretch her acting range. You know she could to do it but its amazing to see her go there. If given the chance she could be a strong dramatic actress. She can truly play a femme fatale.

The first third of this movie is slow, its setting up the tale. Setting the characters into their profiles and setting you for the turn. The rest of the movie is a predictable psychological thriller until end.
Some may see it coming but most will not.

I give it 3/5 Gs.

"Doom"

Karl Urban
The Rock
Rosamund Pike
Dexter Fletcher
Ben Dainels
Al Weaver

Unrated           113min           2005

“Doom” is a first-person shooter video game of the same name. An elite Marines special op team is sent to a scientific research sent on Mars to find out what went wrong on the planet.

I watched the Unrated and Extended version of the film. It’s a mind numbing video game adaptation done for the MTV post Matrix demographic. It lacked definition. Marketed as a Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson film he got outshine by Karl Urban, previously found in “The Bourne Supremacy” and “The Chronicles of Riddick”. It had some cool and gimmicky special effects.

Doom was done because it could be made not that it should have been made. Step-into this film and leave your brain at the door. The video game was a slaughter fest and this no exception. The characters were not flushed out. You were given this group of bad-ass Marine, “the best at there job” and that was it. They started dying and you could care less. You couldn’t wait for the final showdown to come.

“The Rock” may have been running the show but it was Karl Urban’s film. Marketing had “The Rock” plaster everywhere. It was Karl Urban portray of Ben Grimm gave this movie any kind of emotion or drive. Urban’s Grimm is the only character you care about whether by design or accident; he deserves a sequel.

The special effects in this film are top notch. Nothing revolutionary but its gives you some whoa moments. Near the end it goes into ”Doom” Mode in which the entire segment of the film is done from a first person perspective just a the video game. Put in there entirely for the “Doom” fans it’s cute but a little distracting.

Doom is your typical special effects Sci-Fi action-adventure. A film marketed as The Rock’s film when actually it was Karl Urban’s. It was flat shoot-em with cool action sequences.

I give it 2/5 Gs