Like my dad, I love a good Western, and I was really looking forward to this updated Lone Ranger. This version is a fast-paced action, action packed thrill ride. However, it gets bogged down by switching to San Francisco scenes which interrupts the flow. It also saddled a good 10 minutes of screen time that were not necessary to the plot. The action is superb. The CGI effects were well done and only noticeable on a few scenes. Johnny Depp is fantastic as Tonto and Armie Hammer makes a convincing Lone Ranger. While mot perfect, this movie was enjoyable and I didn't feel bored even with the long runtime (149 minutes).

THIS MOVIEDOOD RATES IT: Sweet! 

I grew up the the Christopher Reeve Superman movies, so I was skeptical about the reboot, Man of Steel. I wasn't impressed with the original reveal of /Henry Cavelli/ as the new Superman, nor of the first movie poster (which was just a screengrab from the film). I found the teaser trailer to be less than compelling. But I tried to keep an open mind. And I'm glad I did.

This version of Superman is grittier, more action focus and quite simply, super. It took awhile to build a good pace, but then the movie took off. Zod was badass cool. Lois Lane was even more fierce and tenacious than ever.

And Superman was a bit more real. The visual effects were incredible, seemlessly integrated with the live action. The Metropolis fight scene was a breathtaking, no-holds-barred battle truly fitting of the Superman legacy.

THIS MOVIEDOOD RATES IT: Awesome!

I loved rebooted Star Trek movie released in. 2009. So naturally, I was awaiting the sequel with great anticipation. Of course, I was also skeptical: could they match the great mix of action and story while remaining true to the Star Trek legacy? The answer is mostly yes. Star Trek Into Darkness is a fantastic movie and a worthy successor to the original. More action and a great story that honors the Star Trek heritage. 

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

For me, the only part that really made no sense was when "young" Spock calls old Spock for advice. WTH? Spock is a rule follower and loci gal, and calling his other self is neither of these things. The only other small issue I had was the final fight scene. First they beam down Spock, he gets his ass kicked, so then they beam down Ohura, why?! Spock should have been able to beat Kahn on his own. 

Other than these minor issues, the movie was fantastic and a must-see for any fan of the rebooted movie series.

THIS MOVIEDOOD RATES IT: Awesome!

Wow, what a letdown. Iron Man 3 is easily the worst of the trilogy and possibly the worst movie Marvel has made since Daredevil. It starts out slow and goes, well slow, most of the movie. If you're looking for heavy action, look for a different movie. The visual effects were amazing. The story itself wasn't bad. The performances were good. But it just wasn't as action packed nor as good as it could have been. The last 30 minutes have some great action scenes and and feel more like the first Iron Man movies than the first 1 and a half hours.

SPOILERS AHEAD...
That and, they completely wasted the talents of the very esteemed Ben Kingsley. They relegated The Mandarin to nothing more than a farce, a joke. This is one of Iron Man's top arch enemies and he's turned into a doped up actor that is a patsy for the real bad guy?! You fucked up Marvel, plain and simple. Then there's the trip to Tennessee and a whole 30 minutes Tony spends befriending this kid, which completely stops any momentum the movie had going.
THIS MOVIEDOOD RATES IT: Bah.

I remember how cool the first Die Hard was: the bad guy really did count to four and then did what he said. No fuss, and well there was a mess...poor Mr. Takagi. Fast forward through four sequels to Die Hard 5. A short, action filled romp in Russia. The storyline was a bit thin. Had the writers bothered to flesh it out a bit, I think this movie would have been almost as good as the original. As it stands, it is good and entertaining. However, the original still dominates with its boldness, clever humor, and badass bad guy, none of which seems fully realized here. It was an average action movie with the Die Hard name tacked on and a few plot points to tie it into the series. Had the creative team spent just a bit more time on it, they could have had a real winner here. Why am I going to rate this higher than I should? Because I loved all the action this movie had to offer, even if by Die Hard standards it is far from awesome, it still is an entertaining movie and I enjoyed it.
THIS MOVIEDOOD RATES IT: Sweet!

Why? Not for Tom Cruise, that's for sure. But it is a scifi movie that looks to have an interesting story, co-stars Morgan Freeman and has fantastic looking poster and aesthetics.

Will it live up to the hype? I'll find out soon enough...stay tuned moviedoods!

When my friend and I saw the preview for The Last Stand, we all said we needed to see it. I mean Arnold doing an action movie at his age? Gonna be good or gonna suck (and be funny). This movie is not extraordinary. It's not great. There are plot holes you could drive a Terminator tank through. But you know what? The movie was fun. It made fun of the aging action actor. It had a decent enough plot. It had gunfire and explosions! It had a cool little town set. It had some crappy green screen/CG work. But that's okay. I forgave most of it due to the fact that I enjoyed the movie. Would I see it again? No. Would I buy it on DVD? No. But maybe it's just me.
THIS MOVIEDOOD RATES IT: Meh.

I'll be the first to admit it: I'm not a James Bond fan. On occasion, my friends have persuaded me to see a movie or two, but I missed most of the older Bond films. I did see Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace. Both were good, but Solace left me in confusion and not really wanting to see another Bond film. But the preview for Skyfall looked really good and my buddy and I had some free time on a trip, so I went to see it. Loved how we were dropped right into the middle of the action right away. Nice tension and action got me excited to see where the movie went next. The opening title sequence was beautiful, but like all Bond openers that I've seen, looks like it was a drug induced hallucination. Don't get me wrong, the imagery was beautiful as was the song by Adele. But it just makes me think of drugs for some reason. The dialog was sharp and had just the right amount of wit. The photography and locations, especially Shanghai and Scotland were gorgeous.

The best part for me, visually speaking was that the effects were seamless. Not once did I feel as if something was greenscreened or shot on a soundstage. Oh I know parts were, but you couldn't tell. So a big kudos to the visual effects artists on this one! Bond's gadgets were well designed, simply elegant in their form and function. For the most part, the plot did move along at a fair pace. The villain is a hardcore bad guy, twisted and one step ahead most of the movie. I really enjoyed the "back to basics" feel to the movie and I'm hopeful that Skyfall will be starting a good trend in Bond movies for the foreseeable future. 

THIS MOVIEDOOD RATES IT: AWESOME!

I admit it, I had my hopes up for G.I. Joe: Retaliation when I saw the previews. But then there was the almost-year delay to convert it to 3D. Seriously? Did they do it because they knew this movie would suck? I will admit this movie is better than the first, but that's really not saying much. The basic plot is ok and could have worked had it not been marred by horrible dialog. I could stand the cheesy jokes, but some of the dialog was just plain stupid. The HISS tanks were cool, but where the hell are all the cool Joe vehicles from when I was a kid? They did finally get Cobra Commander to look right, and Firefly's outfit was done some justice. But it's a real shame that the rest of the cast was unrecognizable as being from G.I. Joe. They had some potential when the Joes met up with General Colton, but they wasted it on a bunch of old guys in the back that had no relation to G.I. Joe. General Coton, who the hell is that? Where is General Hawk? C'mon Hollywood, you can do this right so easily! And what the hell was up with the odd cut from the scene where Lady Jaye and the senator were crossing the street to being inside the SUV? I felt like I missed a minute of the movie. Speaking of Lady Jaye (Adrianne Palicki), she and her sexy outfits were the only saving grace to this movie besides the credits roll. Bottom line for action movie lovers: see something else. If you were a fan of the G.I. Joe franchise, see it, but don't expect it to be the G.I. Joe you remember and loved when you were a kid.
MOVIEDOOD RATES IT: BAH.

Terminator Salvation: Awesome! Great action & sound. Story works well w/prev flix. Fast-paced, very entertaining! http://tinyurl.com/ghhbz

Dr. Horrible's Blog: Awesome! 3rd viewing & still rocks. Simple. Elegant. Gr8 songs & storytelling. Tragic. Fun. http://tinyurl.com/nyt4dm

Body of Lies: Netflixit. Good story and action. Interesting characters. Ending seemed unfulfilling. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0758774/

Mod Squad: Sweet! Nice 60s/70s retro hip style. Fun and entertaining with good characters. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120757/

Sweet! New G.I. Joe Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpqSpFxw11c

Wolverine: Sweet! Lame start. Good Story. Decent action. Nice titles. Crappy sfx. (C'mon Marvel you can do better!) http://ping.fm/kI6HO

Tonight's LOST: Eh. Was it me, or was it not as good as I'd hoped? It didn't ever catch my full attention. Did seem to give lots of info…

Heroes Season Finale: Sweet! Heroes finally redeemed itself this episode. Excellent story and action. Interesting twists.

G.I. Joe: Resolute: Awesome! Big, bold, anime style. Superb animation/story. G.I. Joe done right! Watch: http://tinyurl.com/cwygsk

Hot Fuzz: Sweet! Deeper story than preview indicates. A bit bloody in spots, but great fun. Very entertaining. http://ping.fm/7NoEN