This is the story of a mild-mannered man named Tom Stall who becomes a local hero through an act of violence, he lives a happy and quiet life with his lawyer wife and their two children in the small town of Millbrook, Indiana. But one night their idyllic existence is shattered when Tom foils a vicious attempted robbery in his diner. Sensing danger, he takes action and saves his customers and friends in the self-defense killings of two-sought-after criminals. Heralded as a hero, Tomâ¿¿s life is changed overnight, attracting a national media circus, which forces him into the spotlight. Uncomfortable with his newfound celebrity, Tom tries to return to the normalcy of his ordinary life only to be confronted by a mysterious and threatening man who arrives in town believing Tom is the man whoa¿¿s wronged him in the past. As Tom and his family fight back against this case of mistaken identity and struggle to cope with their changed reality, they are forced to confront their relationships and the divisive issues which surface as a result. Written by Anthony Pereyra {hypersonic91@yahoo.com}

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I’ve already established in previous reviews I’m not a comic book person (see “The Hulk,” “Spider-Man,” “Hellboy,” etc.). The same lack of knowledge of the source material extends to sci-fi films. I think I read Isaac Asimov years ago, but it didn’t stick with me. I didn’t know there were three laws robots must obey, and the title “I, Robot” reminded me more of a “Me, Tarzan, You, Jane”-type of thing than anything else.

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Telling a friend you’ve set her up on a date with a sweet guy who has a good personality is like giving the dating candidate the kiss of death. But thankfully there’s no such stigma attached to the word ’sweet’ when it’s used to describe a romantic comedy. “Just Like Heaven” is the movie equivalent of a harmless first date: polite and sweet. It’s a pleasant enough way to spend an evening, yet ultimately totally forgettable.

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Tuck Pendleton is a cocky pilot, who is taking part in a miniaturization experiment. When some bad guys break into the lab to steal the technology, one of the scientists takes a syringe which contains the miniaturized Tuck and vessel. Now in the vessel is part of the material needed to restore him. But the other part which is the lab is stolen. The scientist’s shot but before dying he injects Tuck into Jack Putter, a hypochondriac, who feels that something is wrong with him all the time. When Tuck links himself to Jack’s systems, he discovers that something happened. So they go back to the lab, and discover what happened. Now they are told that unless they retrieve the material that was stolen they won’t be able to restore Tuck before his oxygen is depleted. Now the government rep decides that the only thing that matters that as long as they have the other half of the material, it is useless to the thieves. So Tuck eggs Jack to go out and find the thieves. They enlist the aid of Tuck’s old girlfriend, Lydia, who is a reporter. And it’s fortunate for them that she has a lead that pans out. Written by {rcs0411@yahoo.com}

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I walked out of “House of Sand and Fog” with two distinct thoughts pinging around in my brain. One, the acting in “House of Sand and Fog” was some of the best of the year. And two, I was thinking in amazement about the way director/screenwriter Vadim Perelman was able to make me alternately despise and cheer for each of the central characters in a balanced fashion over the entire course of the movie. Normally you get to pick one bad guy and wish evil thoughts on him or her over the course of the film. That’s not so easy with “House of Sand and Fog.” The characters were so well developed and human, with all the foibles that implies, it was difficult to find a hero or a villain and label them with that designation for longer than a scene or two.

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Just hearing the word ‘sequel’ makes me cringe. Too many times the fond memories of a good movie have been ruined by a lame, cash-in-while-the-getting-is-good sequel. The bad sequel list goes on ad nauseam, populated with misguided, unnecessary and annoying attempts to recapture the spirit – and the box office dollars – of a successful movie. And no matter how you try to forget them, bad sequels leave a rotten taste in your mouth that taints the enjoyment of the original film. But the powers behind “Shrek” got it right. They pulled off the near impossible and created a sequel that’s better than the original. Even the computer generated animation, which was pretty darn good in the first film, has been vastly improved. This “Shrek” looks gorgeous, feels fresh, and touches your heart on a grander scale than the first movie.

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[A Totally Spoiler Free Review] Is “Spider-Man 2” the best movie ever made based on a comic book, as some early reviews have proclaimed? I don’t know, that’s a pretty grand statement and one I don’t feel qualified to assess being a non-comic book type of person. I do know the original “Spider-Man” was incredibly fun, a genuine rollercoaster ride of a movie that set the bar tremendously high, much too high for most movies of this subgenre to live up to. I believe this sequel is a better film, though I didn’t find myself feeling as exhilarated during it as I did while watching the original. But that’s not to say this one has a been-there, done-that quality to it. It doesn’t. This sequel stands on its own and in no way feels like recycled material. And judged on its own, I feel safe in declaring it’s one of the best movies we’ll see in theaters this year.

“Spider-Man 2” is darker, more emotionally intense, and features a more serious storyline than the first movie. While the first film had to spend a good portion of its running time introducing the characters and explaining how Spider-Man came to be, this second film of the series doesn’t carry that burden. We know Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) was bitten by a radioactive spider, we know Peter loves MJ (Kirsten Dunst) but will not allow himself to be with her, and we know Peter’s best friend, Harry (James Franco) is out to kill Spider-Man because he believes the webslinger murdered his father. All of this was laid out for us by the end of the first “Spider-Man” movie.

In the second film, we’re allowed more of an opportunity to get to know Peter as a person. We feel his torment as he tries to hide his emotions from MJ. We care about him as he’s pulled between doing the responsible thing as Spider-Man and living a normal life free from the pressure of being a hero. ”Spider-Man 2” lets us look further into the psyche of the boy/man who wears the blue and red suit. And while we’re taken on this emotional journey with Peter, we’re also treated to more time with the central figures of the first “Spider-Man” movie and to a few new characters from world of the “Spider-Man” comic books, foremost of which is this film’s villain, Dr. Otto Octavius (Doc Ock for short). This ultra-cool bad guy is the star of the show when it comes to effects - and acting. Very few movie villains can rival Alfred Molina in character as the man with tentacles (special kudos to Raimi for making sure Doc Ock was played by such a first-rate actor). Doc Ock could have been a campy character, but with Molina in charge, he remains a man tormented by the evil he’s unleashed and overwhelmed by tragic circumstances, rather than a two-dimensional antagonist of the film’s hero.

“Spider-Man 2” has a gentler sense of humor, quirky like the original, yet quieter. Sam Raimi throws in a few recognizable faces in cameo roles who generate a fair share of laughs, and even inserts a scene in which Maguire as Spider-Man injures his back (a nod at Maguire’s real-life back problems, which almost kept him out of this sequel). One of my personal favorite scenes featured Hal Sparks in an elevator with the in-costume Spider-Man. Classic.

We got used to watching Spider-Man fly between buildings and leap from incredible heights in the first movie. The effects which worked so well in “Spider-Man” have been tweaked to such a degree in “Spider-Man 2” it’s nearly impossible to distinguish pure computer-generated graphics from scenes involving actors or stuntmen in front of blue screens. Because all of the effects – from speeding trains to giant fiery orbs – are simply incredible, there’s nothing that jolts you out of the movie, no point in the film where you are jarred from believing your eyes. As far as effects-heavy movies go, “Spider-Man 2” is at the head of the pack.

Comparing the two “Spider-Man” movies is like comparing apples and oranges. They are totally different creations. One’s an exuberant burst of energy contained on film and the other’s a toned down, coming-of-age tale set in the world of superheroes and monstrous villains. Though both movies relied heavily on the CGI effects, Raimi did a terrific job in both films of never forgetting the audience needs to connect with the flesh and blood actors. The reason “Spider-Man” and “Spider-Man 2” work is that both keep that focus in the forefront, with the special effects filling in around the actors and not overwhelming them.

Rebecca Murray
Hollywood Movies Guide

Robbie Hart is singing the hits of the 1980s at weddings and other celebrations. He also can keep the party going in good spirit, he knows what to say and when to say it. Julia is a waitress at the events where Robbie performs. When both of them find someone to marry and prepare for their weddings, it becomes clear that they’ve chosen wrong partners. Written by Anonymous

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11-year-old Eliza Naumann comes from an odd family; they all divert their emotional frustrations into secret channels. When Eliza unexpectedly begins winning spelling bees, what had been a stable dynamic within the family becomes disrupted; long held secrets emerge, and a latent spiritual yearning is awakened in her withdrawn father Saul and compulsive mother Miriam. As Eliza moves closer and closer to the national spelling bee, the Naumann family finds itself in a spiral of surprising discovery and jarring uncertainty… Written by J Grimshaw

In the romantic comedy “Mr. Deeds,” Adam Sandler returns to the sweet, goofy ‘every man’ type of role that’s his bread and butter, steering clear from any reference to the generally disliked, “Little Nicky.” Surrounding himself with a wickedly funny supporting cast, including scene-stealers John Turturro and Steve Buscemi, Sandler’s Longfellow Deeds is a guy we can relate to, a guy faced with tough choices who stumbles a little while just trying to keep it all in perspective.

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