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!

Many people across the world love The Wizard of Oz, so to take on this prequel Oz the Great and Powerful is truly a challenge. I went into this movie with skepticism, but came out a believer. I was convinced almost as soon as the curtain went up with the gorgeous opening title cards that captured the era and the spirit of Oz perfectly. The storyline is great, it honors the original Oz and its characters while expanding upon each in a fresh way. The movie has a good pace throughout. The visuals were amazing, fitting of such a magical world.. Some scenes did seem a bit obvious they were on sets, but I find it forgivable in this instance since the rest of the movie was spectacular. Nice action, excellent characters and performances throughout. A must see, especially if you have children.
THIS MOVIEDOOD RATES IT: Awesome!

Daniel Day Lewis was pretty fantastic as Lincoln and Sally Field portrayed a Mary Todd very well. However, this movie was a bit overhyped. While it seems pretty authentic in the portrayals, I just had a hard time swallowing the Lincoln "Yoda moments" where he just surreptitiously sits down and starts spouting off a famous quote. Felt a bit too contrived. Perhaps it really happened that way, but the way it came across in the movie was lame. The movie captured an interesting time in the history of our country and Lincoln's life, but it feel like a drag. Although I'm not sure what could have been cut, it probably could have been about 30 minutes shorter and still had the same effect. The CG was beautiful and conveyed the time period very well. It rarely seemed noticeably as it mixed with the live actors. Bottom line is if you are a Lincoln fan, you will love it and if you're not, well, wait til it comes up on your Netflix queue.
THIS MOVIEDOOD RATES IT: Meh.

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've just seen Oblivion. Wow. What an amazing movie. This is not a shoot 'em sci-if adventure, but rather a mystery wrapped in an enigma. There are many levels to this movie, I would love to see it again to see what I missed the first time. The story is compelling, as are the characters. The design aesthetic is fantastic. All clean lines, great tech, beautiful to look at. The visual effects were top-notch, no flaws from live action to CG work that I could see. I did have a few small quibbles with few plot points, but they are minor and in no way detracted from the experience.
THIS MOVIEDOOD RATES IT: Awesome!

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!

Rise of the Guardians features an interesting twist on beloved characters from our childhood: Santa, the Easter Bunny, the Sandman, the Tooth Fairy, and Jack Frost. They are guardians of the children of the world fighting to stop the vile Boogeyman. It's a great concept and well executed. The story sucks you in right away and there are fantastic little moments throughout the movie that really make it enjoyable. The character designs are top-notch. The subtle textures of frost on Jack's Frost's hoodie, the Naughty and Nice tattoos on Santa's arms really enrich each character. While he doesn't say much (anything really) I think the Sandman is my favorite character. Kids will love seeing these characters in a new light. As a designer, one of my favorite parts was the end credits with the cool icons for each character that reinforces the mythology of this universe.
THIS MOVIEDOOD RATES IT: Awesome!