To see what movies will be coming to a theatre near you this May, click here.

Star Wars III: The Revenge of the Sith is projected to be the blockbuster hit of the season.

May 3, 2005

The Chorus ( PG-13 ) – Gerard Jugnot, Francois Berleand

Chupacabra Terror ( R ) – John Rhys-Davies, Giancarlo Esposito

Dora the Explorer: It’s a Party! ( G ) – Kathleen Herles, Harrison Chad

Enduring Love ( R ) – Daniel Craig, Rhys Ifans

National Treasure ( PG ) – Nicolas Cage, Diane Kruger
Hit or Miss: Hit, Home Movie Pick of the Month

The Phantom of the Opera ( PG-13 ) – Patrick Wilson, Emmy Rossum
Hit or Miss: Miss

The Sandlot 2 ( PG ) – James Earl Jones, Brett Kelly

Shaka Zulu: The Last Great Warrior ( NR ) – David Hasselhoff, Karen Allen

Vampires: The Turning ( R ) – Patrick Bauchau, Nophand Boonyai

Work and the Glory ( PG ) – Sam Hennings, Alexander Carroll

May 10, 2005

Alone in the Dark ( R ) – Christian Slater, Tara Reid

Assault on Precinct 13 ( R ) – Ethan Hawke, Laurence Fishburne

Bad Apple ( PG-13 ) – Christopher Noth, Colm Meaney

A Different Loyalty ( R ) – Sharon Stone, Rupert Everett

Funky Monkey ( PG ) – Matthew Modine, Fred Ward

Hair Show ( PG-13 ) – MoNique, Kellita Smith

In Good Company ( PG-13 ) – Dennis Quaid, Topher Grace

Kart Racer ( PG ) – Johnny Griffin, Randy Quaid

Kim Possible Movie: So the Drama ( G ) – Christy Romano, Will Friedle

The Last Shot ( R ) – Matthew Broderick, Alec Baldwin

The Life and Death of Peter Sellers ( NR ) – Charlize Theron, Emily Watson

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou ( R ) – Bill Murray, Owen Wilson
Hit or Miss: Hit

Memorial Day ( NR ) -Therese Fretwell, Marcos Gabriel

The Merchant of Venice ( R ) – Al Pacino, Jeremy Irons

Racing Stripes ( PG ) – Frankie Muniz, David Spade
Hit or Miss: Hit

Sometimes in April ( NR ) – Idris Elba, Oris Erhuero

May 17, 2005

Black Cadillac ( R ) – Randy Quaid, Josh Hammond

Call Me: The Rise and Fall of Heidi Fleiss ( NR ) – Jamie Lynn Sigler, Corbin Bernsen

Dinotopia: Quest for the Ruby Sunstone ( NR ) – Alyssa Milano, Jamie Kennedy

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (Vol.6) (NR) – Atsuko Tanaka, Osamu Saka

Infection ( R ) – Michiko Hada, Yoko Maki

Kinsey ( R ) – Liam Neeson, Laura Linney

MPD Psycho ( NR ) – Ren Osugi, Naoki Hosaka

The Sea Inside ( NR ) – Javier Bardem, Belen Rueda

Son of the Mask ( PG ) – Alan Cumming, Jamie Kennedy

Tarnation ( NR ) – Jonathan Caouette, Renee LeBlanc

Team America: World Police ( R ) – Matt Stone, Trey Parker

White Noise ( R ) – Michael Keaton, Chandra West

May 24, 2005

Are We There Yet? ( PG ) – Ice Cube, Nia Long

The Aviator ( PG-13 ) – Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett

Back in the Day ( R ) – Ving Rhames, Ja Rule

Blood Trap ( NR ) – Alexandra Paul, Michael Riley

H ( R ) – Yum Jung-Ah, Hyuk Poong Kwon

Pooh’s Heffalump Movie ( G ) – Jim Cummings, John Fiedler

Possessed ( R ) – Nicolette Sheridan, Gordon Currie

Spin ( PG-13 ) – Ryan Merriman, Stanley Tucci

Hit – Starring Stephen Chow, Wah Yuen, Qiu Yuen, Siu Lung Leung

A troubled youth seeks approval from the “Axe Gang,” in Canton, China during the 1940s. In order to prove himself worthy of joining the gang, he must establish himself as a great warrior. When he decides to take on the lonely alley of Pig Sty, he finds himself in over his head. Pig Sty alley is home to great kung fu masters in disguise.

A comic adventure that doesn’t quit. This movie had me laughing during every scene. I enjoyed the over the top comedic style mixed with dazzling kung fu choreography. Director and actor Stephen Chow has made a kung fu film that will become a cult classic. This movie could be one of the best films I have seen all year.

Bottom Line: Go see this movie now, the fight scenes play well on the big screen.

Best Scene: Attempting to throw knives at the landlady.

Action Comedy

Rated R for sequences of strong stylized action and violence.

Running Time: 1 hour 35 minutes.

Hit – Starring James Caan, John Houseman, Maud Adams

Rollerball takes a daring existential look into the future. This future is controlled by large corporations and is no longer a concern of the government. In this future, a recreational game called Rollerball is created to help control the masses. Jonathan E.(James Caan) establishes himself as the most valuable player of the game and is wildly popular. But, after ten years of Rollerball service, Bartholomew (Houseman) asks him to retire from the sport. Bartholomew believes that no player should become greater than the game itself. Jonathan feels betrayed by the corporations and will not give up his personal freedom (of being able to play the game) without a fight.

An action packed commentary on society and the individual. There is more to this film than meets the eye. This film gives us a look at what might become of our future society (being controlled by corporations) and what might become of ourselves (being controlled by corporations) if we do not question those in power. It makes you wonder if you are continually going about your day being a victim of the system. This film does something that other films do not always do: it compels you to question your life and your beliefs.

Bottom Line: Heavy in existential flavor; will make you question the source of personal power. This movie is available for rental in DVD format. Do not rent the newest installment, it is not very good.

Action / Sci-Fi

Running Time: 2 hours 9 minutes.

Hit Starring Oskar Werner, Julie Christie

Based on the novel by Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451 takes a look into the future of the oppressed. In this future, firefighters will no longer put out fires, they will become firestarters whose duty is to destroy all books so that all people can be equal. Guy Montag ( Werner) is a firefighter who begins to question his actions when he reads a book. He begins to ask himself why would the government want to burn books? When Montag realizes book burning is to prevent independent thought he decides to escape this horrible world, which is easier said than done.

I recently watched this movie in a Critical Pedagogy class and I was very surprised at how much I enjoyed it. Having never read the book, and only having little information about the story, I found the movie to be quite mesmerizing. Even today this movie looks futuristic, aside from one special effects shot towards the end of the film.

If you have not seen this movie already I suggest you check it out today. This movie is available on DVD.

Fahrenheit 451 (2005) has been announced but no cast has been set. After seeing the first film I really don’t know how it could be done any better, but I believe Nicole Kidman would be an excellent Linda Montag/Clarisse.

Sci-Fi

Running Time: 1 hour 52 minutes.

Miss – Starring Ryan Reynolds, Melissa George, Phillip Baker Hall

One year after a haunting murder in the town of Amityville, George and Kathy Lutz move into the scene of the crime at the High Hopes Estate of Amityville, NY. During their 28-day stay, the Lutz’s began to see and hear things that they will never forget. Terrorized by the demons living among them, the Lutz family managed to survive the horror and share their horrifying story. This movie is based on a true story.

Believe the tall tale if you want but the truth is… this movie doesn’t deliver nearly close to it’s original made in 1979 with James Brolin and Margot Kidder. While this movie included scary aspects, the original delves deeper into the story and creates more moments of terror for the audience.

What this movie didn’t do: This movie did not provide a loving and likeable family to the audience. The family and characters are not well received. The overall story of the Amityville Horror barely touches on the use of the church in excavating the evil spirits, or their attempts to do so. Hiring Phillip Baker Hall as the priest was a great move, but I felt his role was overlooked and understated – especially when the first film really utilizes this character.

What this movie did: Showed the dynamic range of Ryan Reynolds. We enjoyed his charismatic character in Van Wilder, and now we are seeing a new side to his acting abilities. His performance is reminiscent of Jack Nicholson’s portrayal of Jack Torrance in The Shining. But, the transition from loving stepfather to madman was too quick and not nearly as effective had the transition been slower.
Unlike conventional horror films of the haunted house genre, this movie includes no nudity but do not fret because there is great eye candy provided by the Lutz family baby sitter.
Bottom Line: Save your money and rent the original with James Brolin and Margot Kidder, you will be glad you did. Word of advice: Do not rent any of the sequels.

Horror

Rated R for violence, disturbing images, language, brief sexuality and drug use. (edited for re-rating)

Running Time: 1 hour 29 minutes.

Hit – Starring Matthew McConaughey, Penelope Cruz, Steve Zahn, William H. Macy

Treasure hunters Dirk Pitt (McConaughey) and Al (Zahn) are looking for a lost battleship from the Civil War. Believing the ship has been stranded in the Sahara, the gentlemen set out on a journey and end up getting more trouble than they intended.

A highly entertaining thrill ride, this movie gets off to a great start and never lets up. I enjoyed the various plot thickening agents and action sequences. There was never a dull moment in this film. Although I am not a big fan of Penelope Cruz I found her to be refreshing alongside McConaughy and Zahn. The entire cast delivers great performances and the action sequences keep the audience constantly entertained.

Best Scene: Pulling a “Panama.”

Rated PG-13 for action violence

Action

Running Time: 2 hours 7 minutes

After seeing a few episodes of the recent installment of Project Greenlight, I was curious to learn more about famed director Wes Craven. While looking at his website www.wescraven.com, I came across some words of advice from the director to people who are looking to break into the business as an actor or an actress. Here is what he had to say… (the following comes directly from www.wescraven.com)

Getting into a film is not as easy as just asking (as many people do through the site [www.wescraven.com]). Becoming a professional actor is perhaps the most difficult, frusterating, and illogical field of endeavor there is.

Movie making is a business. We don’t often put total unknowns in starring roles or even supporting roles. The investors that provide the money for films want to know that the actors that have been chosen are accomplished, well-known, and can draw an audience. Just because the actors you see in a film are new to you, that doesn’t mean they just walked in off the street. It’s very likely that they’ve had years of experience and training before they got a substantial role in a widely released film… (to read the rest of the article, click here)

Hit – Starring Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke, Jessica Alba, Clive Owen, Nick Stahl, Elijah Wood, Benicio Del Toro

This movie unfolds as a series of sub stories told from the point of view of three different narrators. The common thread that links the three stories is the city itself.

The central tale details the adventures of Marv (Rourke) a bigger than life, tougher than nails, harder to kill than Rasputin, street thug with a penchant for revenge. He has lost the only woman that ever showed him affection and he intends to find her killer and make him pay. On his way to accomplishing this goal he puts the hurt on a whole lot of people. The next vignette follow Hartigan (Willis) a straight cop in a crooked city. He tracks down a child molester and takes him out, but the molester has powerful friends and Hartigan ends up in jail for 8 years before being released and facing a re-born criminal. The final sub plot follows Dwight (Owen) as he does his best to defend the street-walkers of “Old Town” from a couple of rough jons.

The visual style of this movie was well executed and consistent. I was apprehensive about the film at first after hearing that much of the background was done using CG, but careful use of color combined with a predominantly black and white film kept the backgrounds from becoming overwhelming and detracting from the picture, if anything the unique style enhanced the noir feeling of the story.

Marv, played by Rourke was my favorite character in the film and his story kept me the most entertained. The only glaring problem that I saw in this film was the fact that one of the characters was able to use a cellular phone in the elevator at a hospital. Cellular phones never work in elevators and especially not those in hospitals. That sort of thing just plain bugs me.

Bottom Line: I would recommend checking this one out on the big screen as the unique style alone justifies the price of admission. One word of caution, this film most certainly earned it R rating and is not for those with a low tolerance for violence.

Best Scene: The first time Marv dies and the second time Hartigan does.

Film Noir
Rated R for sustained strong stylized violence, nudity and sexual content including dialogue.
Running Time: 2 hour 06 minutes.

Hit ( recommended for rental only ) – Starring Ashton Kutcher, Bernie Mac, Zoe Saldana

There is trouble in paradise when Theresa (Saldana) brings home Simon Green (Kutcher) to meet her parents. Theresa failed to tell her parents that her boyfriend has a different racial background from her family. While Theresa finds this bit of information a slight detail, her father, Percy Jones (Mac), sees this as a problem. Jones and Green don’t see eye to eye and find themselves in a comical new version of “the odd couple.”

This movie finds itself falling into many categories of description: the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The Good: The plotline is simple and easy to follow. The pace of the movie is timed well and keeps the audience mildly entertained. This movie provides a widely diverse viewing audience that engages in many laughable moments together.

Bernie Mac is a delightful “Percy Jones!” Although the character has a tendency to be arrogant and non- supportive of his daughter (in this particular situation), his character remains full of charismatic qualities which makes him very likeable to the audience and the other characters. I also enjoyed the actress who played his wife.

Zoe Saldana is nice in the principle role of the girlfriend stuck in the middle. She is a beautiful actress who makes this comedy come to life.

The Bad: While Ashton Kutcher provides an on-par comedic performance, you can’t help but feel this is the same character from the movie “My Bosses Daughter.” I believe he is comedically talented but I find his range to be lacking. I would like to see more, and I believe he can give us more.

The Ugly: Overall, the story is not very entertaining. It follows the same jokes over and over again, and ultimately doesn’t provide the audience with enough to make it a movie to recommend to your friends.

Bottom Line: Guess who’s seeing this on video? You will when your read this review.

Best Scene: The gentlemen ask for forgiveness.

Comedy

Rated PG-13 for sex-related humor.

Running Time: 1 hour 36 minutes.

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