What’s to Like:

McG, who previously directed ‘Charlie’s Angels’ and ‘We Are Marshall,’ is at the helm of this new film about two CIA agents who realize they are dating the same woman (Reese Witherspoon). This action comedy looks like a bromantic version of ‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith.’ In fact, one of the film’s writers is ‘Smith’ screenwriter Simon Kinberg. However, in this film, Chris Pine and Tom Hardy will be the ones battling it out instead of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. I enjoyed ‘Smith,’ so I think ‘War,’ which seems to follow a similar format, has potential.

What’s to Dislike:

The trailer strikes a tired note when it shows the two agents flipping their computers around to reveal they are dating the same woman. The whole love triangle angle feels a bit tired, especially for Witherspoon, who was caught in a love triangle in her recent pic ‘How Do You Know.’ Also, Chelsea Handler’s presence in the film makes me want to steer clear. (more…)

“Unstoppable” is an action movie that relies on the thrill of anticipation. It tells the story of an out-of-control. unmanned train carrying hazardous materials as it heads towards a major Pennsylvania city. Inspired by true events, this fast-paced thriller starring Chris Pine and Denzel Washington will keep audiences on the edge of their seats. 

The story begins with Will (Pine) getting out of bed on what he believes is another average day. He’s been working as a train conductor for the past few months and he’s adjusting to the position. He’s assigned to work alongside a longtime train operator named Frank (Denzel Washington), who questions Will’s lack of experience.

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As they work together, these characters face personal distractions as Will tries to reconcile with his wife and Frank attempts to reconcile with his daughter. Neither of these men are perfect but both accept their own shortcomings. Pine and Washington do a great job in creating realistic characters who are soon put in an unimaginable situation. 

At another Pennsylvania station, train operator Dewey (Ethan Suplee) attempts to move a large train from one track to another. While driving, the lazy employee has trouble deploying the brake so he stupidly jumps out of the cab and runs towards a manual switch that will stop the train. Before Dewey can reach the switch, the train races past him and down the track. Suddenly, the train is speeding down the track without an operator.

Several fellow employees try to stop the train using manual switches but are too late. The train is already speeding down the track. The automatic brake that should stop the train if the operator becomes incapacitated wasn’t set correctly so there is no easy way to slow down the runaway engine. Containing hazardous materials, this train will keep going until someone manually stops it or it crashes. Eventually, Will and Frank discover the runaway train is headed towards them and work together to stop it.  (more…)

A night at the movies can be many things if you’re lucky – filled with laughter, tears, love or awe. And during Halloween season, plenty of movies try to play on our fears, even as most horror movies are absolutely lacking in innovation of any kind.

This weekend, however, one new movie is certain to make viewers cringe on the edge of their seats for far more interesting reasons than the torture porn that drives the spurious appeal of the “Saw” movie series and its cinematic ilk. In the propulsive, harrowing yet wildly fun thriller “Unstoppable” – incredibly inspired by true events – Denzel Washington and Chris Pine (Captain Kirk of 2009’s successful “Star Trek” reboot) portray blue-collar railroad workers who team up to prevent an unmanned, runaway train packed with diesel fuel and toxic chemicals from derailing and causing more than $100 million in deaths, damages and cleanup costs.

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As the unmanned train hurtles through the small towns and farm land of rural Pennsylvania towards 750,000 residents near the city of Stanton, a jaw-dropping repertoire of rescue attempts involving other trains, helicopters, a special-forces soldier and countless track manipulations make this one movie that will cause high blood pressure in viewers who don’t already have it.

“Unstoppable” goes for full-throttle fun as its runaway train blasts through roadblocks and misplaced vehicles, is shadowed by multiple TV news choppers, and raced against by railroad workers trying to find ways to make it stop. Ultimately, it becomes a two-man rescue operation, as Pine and Washington decide that the only way to stop the loco locomotive is by reversing the direction of a train they’re on and hurtling fast enough to catch up to the runaway train, link it to their own lead car at more than 70 mph, and hit the brakes hard enough and safely enough to bring the train to a halt before it can resist derailing in the center of Stanton.

Director Tony Scott (“Man on Fire”, “Top Gun”) is hardly subtle at the helm of this film, but one can never expect subtlety from this master of big-budget action. The bigger the sound booms, the better the payoff as the train obliterates everything in its path and nearly even wipes out a couple of horses. While this is rated PG13 for its intensity, it’s certainly a film that any 10-year-old boy is clamoring to see, so make it a family night out for anyone that age and up. (more…)

A good argument can be made that the period 2000-2009 was the single worst decade for movies in Hollywood history. Unfortunately, judging by what we’ve seen so far in 2010, the next decade could conceivably dip even lower into mediocrity. Over just the next three months, theaters are set to debut yet more anti-conservative rewritings of history, yet more anti Prop-8 propaganda masquerading as entertainment for the masses, yet more heaping piles of torture and snuff porn, and much else that looks eminently skip-worthy.

So what’s left for those of us looking for things like stirring heroism, rousing action, and solid family-friendly entertainment? If you had to pick five films appearing between now and the end of the year that look decent enough to take a chance on, what would they be? Here’s my shortlist, sorted by release date:

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YouTube -- click here to watch in full-screen

Red (October 15)

A blissfully silly, cartoonishly hyper-violent trailer. A formidable array of talent seeming to have the time of their lives as they chew up the scenery, with normally stately and self-serious Oscar-winners like Helen Mirren and Morgan Freeman hamming it up next to Bruce Willis and John Malkovich. A premise that sounds something like Spy Kids for adults. Sounds good to me. (more…)

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The trailer had us at Denzel, but “a missile the size of the Chrysler Building” has us circling November 12th in red on the old calendar. (more…)

Don’t beam me up, Scotty. The Capt. James T. Kirk in the new “Star Trek” film is proof of how much ground men have lost in today’s culture. 

Before you tell me it is just a movie, recall the words of series creator Gene Roddenberry: “I have no belief that Star Trek depicts the actual future,” Roddenberry said, “it depicts us, now…”  And right now, the latest Star Trek depicts men as insecure, impulsive lechs who need women and aliens to keep them out of trouble.

Consider four attributes of the ideal man: self-control, bravery, confidence and sex appeal.

In the original series, Kirk has supreme self-control. He sacrifices himself for the safety of his crew and, in more than one episode, even chooses duty over true love. In the latest “Star Trek,” Kirk is Peter Pan, an irresponsible, reckless man-boy.  (Warning: plot spoilers ahead.) The new Kirk tears down an empty Iowa highway in a stolen hot rod and drives off a cliff, jumping out to save himself, not the car.  He gets into bar fights to serve his vanity, not some higher cause like rescuing the crew from aliens.  (more…)

Rebooting Bond with Daniel Craig was Bold. Christopher Nolan’s Reinvention of Batman was genius. But some thought it was overly-ambitious, even audacious, to attempt to restart the Star Trek franchise. It has begun to pay off already for Paramount Pictures, and there will dividends for years to come.

A shiny new Enterprise is luring in a new generation of STAR TREK fans

J.J. Abrams is officially the Lazarus of movie directors as his all-new Star Trek has gone “Boldly Gone Where No Star Trek Movie has Gone Before.” With a cast of relative unknowns, the 42-year-old has resurrected a franchise that had been killed by insular “nerdyness” and timid imagination. The Gene Rodenberry creation didn’t so much bomb as it died slowly over a period of years. First, the 2002 movie Star Trek: Nemesis starring the Next Generation cast disappointed with a meager $43.3M domestic. Then, the final TV series Enterprise, which starred Scott Bakula, was not embraced by core fans or broader audiences and was canceled after four seasons, ending May 13, 2005.

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J.J. Abrams reboot of the much beloved “Star Trek” franchise is reminiscent of the films that came before, but not the best of them. Like the other odd-numbered disappointments, this entry, number 11, works best when concentrating on character, but falls flat due to a dull villain with nothing to do other than act as a macguffin. After a splendid first hour expertly sets up and re-introduces the characters, the second half turns as derivative as a video game with superb special effects supporting poorly choreographed and frantically edited action sequences that carry no suspense because the outcome is obvious and the personal human drama missing.

“Trek” opens with what turns out to be its best scene and one of the best in the franchise; the circumstances around the birth of James Tiberius Kirk. Our hero is well-served here with an imaginative and exciting mythology that shows the filmmakers understand the unique importance of the character. This sequence is also effective in setting up our villain, the Romulan Nero (an almost unrecognizable Eric Bana), who’s leaping about in time hell-bent on the worst kind of revenge against the Federation for something yet to happen. (more…)

Several sources at competing studios have told me that J.J. Abrams’ all-new reboot of Star Trek (Paramount), which debuted last night at 7pm at many of its 3,849 locations, may have grossed as much as $6.5M-$7.5M. Studio honchos are “locked down tight” about actual numbers, but that is in the same ballpark as Transformers (Dreamworks/Paramount), which grabbed $8.8M in its previews starting at 8pm on Monday, July 2 during the summer of 2007. (What portion of ticket sales fall into Thursday and what percentage fall into Friday will likely be an open question even after final numbers are in.)

William Shatner (left) with Captain Kirk 2.0 Chris Pine

Keep in mind that Paramount never changed its Star Trek marketing to promote the 7pm Thursday start, so the opening night audience was likely heavy on Trekkers or Trekkies (not sure which term is “politically correct” anymore). So this was a “soft” opening and what amounts to a night of word-of-mouth screenings. Keep in mind that Transformers premiered during the summer when kids are more available while Star Trek has made its premiere during the school year.

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Have at it.

Discuss. Debate. Write your own review…

The all-new J.J. Abrams reboot of Star Trek (Paramount) will win the second weekend of the Hollywood Summer Box Office season by at least a couple of light years over Fox’s fast-fading X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but some of the astronomical numbers I’ve seen floating around in the blogosphere are very over-heated. Make no mistake, this movie will open extraordinarily well, but it’s not going to play out as a typical front-loaded blockbuster. Moviegoers need time to shake off the disappointment of the final TV series Enterprise (starring Scott Bakula and canceled after four seasons) and the disastrous 2002 final film Star Trek: Nemesis ($43.3M domestic). It will take time for a new generation of fans to discover the magic of Gene Rodenberry’s vision of the future through Abrams’ magical lens.

As of Wednesday night, Star Trek is cruising with 94% Fresh (positive) reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, and critics are slinging some seriously glowing hyperbole.

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The first reviews of JJ Abrams’ “Star Trek” hit the web today and they should please fans of the series, if not fans of Matt Damon.

How did Damon weasel his way into this?

After denying it for months, Abrams revealed to Life magazine recently that Damon was his first choice for Captain Kirk:

“…it would have been great to work with Matt – but at the end of the day, it was such a better move to cast the movie with unknowns.” 

The reviewers agree. (more…)

As a veteran, I want to say “Thanks” to Hollywood.

Too often, the only thing we hear about the Industry is that a new movie is coming out that portrays our soldiers as near mindless half-wits turned into raving murderers by America’s unjust wars. But that kind of nonsense is not the whole story.

Recently, J.J. Abrams, the director of the new “Star Trek” re-boot packed up cast members like Chris Pine, Eric Bana, and the lovely Zoe Saldana and flew off to premiere their film. This premiere was not for a bunch of overpaid, over-pampered movie stars in some gaudy theater. Instead, it was in a dusty hangar in the Middle East, and the audience was made up of our troops. And that is not the exception. (more…)

Is Kirk a jerk?

Two new “Star Trek” clips have hit the web and I like one, but not the other.

The first is called “A Shot of Love,” and it debuted over at MTV. It has Kirk (Chris Pine) hitting on Uhura (Zoe Saldana) before mouthing off to some barroom degenerates.

Kirk comes off as a spoiled brat and, from the cut on his face in other video that’s been posted, it doesn’t look like he comes away unscathed. (MTV also has some exclusive “Star Trek” video from the film’s set.) (more…)