Terminator Salvation (2009)

Directed by McG
Written by John D. Brancato, Michael Ferris
Cast Christian Bale, Sam Worthington, Anton Yelchin, Moon Bloodgood, Helena Bonham Carter, Bryce Dallas Howard

IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0438488/

Reviewed by Paivi

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The legendary leader John Connor, the son of even more legendary Sarah Connor, has been previously played (in movies) by Edward Furlong (young and rebellous one who played Guns N' Roses loud in his cassette player in T2) and Nick Stahl (a young adult in T3). This time it is Christian Bale's turn and the year is 2018 (and he's still playing Guns N' Roses when driving on a "motorbike") and John Connor has become the warrior legend we have heard so much about, the leader of the resistance against the machines of Skynet.

Not many years have passed but the Skynet has conquered the whole world with its machines and Terminators, cities and all working infrastructures are gone and no food is visible anywhere. Humans are living in small groups, some are battling against the machines along with the resistance, some are just trying to survive.


Skynet is developing better and better Terminators all the time and time is running out of the humans. They need to figure out a way to hit strong into the Skynet's system or they will go extinct.

The Resistance gets help from a very strange source when Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington), a convicted murderer from 2003 whose last memory is his execution, is found from the desert. Marcus had earlier befriended with teenager Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin, last seen in Star Trek as Chekov) (the future dad of John Connor) and when Kyle is kidnapped by the machines, Marcus helps John in getting to his rescue.

Terminator Salvation is all action war movie and only a little bit of drama. Which is a pity because almost two hours of shooting of Terminators and other machines does not exactly carry the whole movie. It amazed me how on earth had the Skynet with its machines managed in destroying the entire planet in just a few years and in developing such a fancy and sophisticated system for itself. Also the production of a certain well-developed infiltrator-Terminator is not believable because all the other Terminators are so different, so simple machines. And I don't even start talking about making successful heart transplants in field conditions and without any knowledge of the matching blood types...

We do hear the famous quote "I'll be back" and we see a digitally produced Arnold Schwarzenegger, but those feel fake. All humour that can be seen in previous Terminator -movies is gone, Terminator Salvation is very serious, laughless piece of action. Most of the action scenes are however well done and the scene when the special-Terminator is revealed is the best scene in the whole movie.

Just wait for new Terminator -movies in the future: John Connor's wife Kate (Claire Danes from T3 replaced by Bryce Dallas Howard) is pregnant (this is no spoiler because she is already pregnant in her first scene) so probably Connors' child will continue the father's work in making the world free again?

Observe and Report (2009)

Directed by Jody Hill
Written by Jody Hill
Cast Seth Rogen, Ray Liotta, Anna Faris, Michael Peña, Collette Wolfe

IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1197628/

Reviewed by Paivi

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Observe and report is a strange comedy of a mall security guard Ronnie, played by Seth Rogen, who would like to be something more than just someone observing and reporting to the real police - he would himself love be allowed to carry a gun like a proper police officer. His prayers are answered in the form of a flasher who starts harassing the female customers and employees of the mall. Ronnie takes the "flasher case" as his own, and plans to solve it before the real police led by agent Harrison (Ray Liotta).

Apart from being the head of the mall security, Ronnie is in love with the beautiful Brandi (Anna Faris) from the cosmetics section, lives with his alcoholic mother (Celia Weston), has a bi-polar disorder for which he is taking medication and becomes friends with cute and friendly Nell (Collette Wolfe) from a coffee shop.

When Ronnie's dream of a career in the police force is wrecked because of his mental disorder and delusions, hell breaks loose in the mall.

Observe and report is a strange comedy, because it is not really a comedy at all and this is what makes it very difficult to review. The characters are not funny, but mostly sad and pathetic, and it is extremely difficult to actually like them in any level. None of them, except maybe Nell.

Security guard taking anti-depressants during lunch and with delusions of killing all the bad guys is just plain sad and not funny. Cosmetics sales girl allowing pretty much anyone to screw her and lying in her own puke is just plain sad and not funny. Alcoholic mother who blames her son for the fact that the father left the family is sad and not funny.


We are used to seeing the funnyman Rogen in roles that make you like his teddybear appearance, laughter and witty dialogue - like for example in Knocked up and Pineapple Express. This role brings us a different Rogen, dark Rogen who is ready to fire a gun and is not sympathetic at all. I personally prefer the other type of Rogen.

Yes Man (2008)

Yes Man is a story about a guy called Carl (Jim Carrey), who lives a pretty boring life as a junior loan officer at a local bank, has some friends, but prefers staying home watching movies rather than hanging out with them and is still saddened about the fact that he and his wife Stephanie (Molly Sims) divorced three years earlier. His friends are furious at him and especially his best buddy Peter (Bradley Cooper) is quite frustrated with his way to neglet his friends and always making excuses not to meet with him.

Then one day a guy from his past (John Michael Higgins) shows up and gives his a leaflet about a special personal development program and invites him to join them to their next meeting. Carl hesitates and is about to say no, but somehow finds himself at the meeting and suddenly for his own suprise becomes a new covenant for the program that emphasizes the power of saying yes to every opportunity that comes to your way. He soon finds himself being the typical Yes man, saying yes to flying lessons, saying yes to learn korean and even saying yes to the most unexpected loan applications he would never had approved before all this.

But no matter how ridiculous this all may sound, he actually realizes that his life is on its way to a new direction. His career starts to blossom, he has a new, fresh lovelife with a young woman called Allison (Zooey Deshanel) and things seem to be just great. But of course there is a downside to all this craziness and he eventually understands that his life is not only about saying yes, but there is a limit to everything and maybe saying yes to all the opportunities is not the answer to his problems.

This movie really is one crazy comedy and at some point you may face the fact that you either love it or hate it. Jim Carrey sure hasn't changed a bit as an actor and literally flies through the movie with his passionately entertaining and colorful wings giving some pretty darn good scenes to watch. But he surely can be a bit annoying at times and may divide the audience with his overactive character. He has a very strong presence and his charisma is just something else, but is it sometimes too much to handle? He is usually all over the place making faces, overacting and may get the audience to hyperventilate at times.

At first I really didn't know if I liked or hated this movie. But as the movie progressed I had to admit that Carrey is such a goof-ball that I cannot resist but like him, at least a little bit. At times I just laughed tears in my eyes, since some of the scenes were just so over the line. Entertaining comedy to cheer you up on a rainy, grey day.

Directed by Peyton Reed

Written by Danny Wallace (book), Nicholas Stoller, Jarrad Paul and

Andrew Mogel (screenplay)

Cast Jim Carrey, Zooey Deschanel, Bradley Cooper, John Michael Higgins, Molly Sims

IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1068680/

Hannah Montana: the Movie (2009)

Hannah Montana is a Disney -phenomenon that has a great deal of appeal on especially young girls. Understandable: Hannah is a superstar every girl would love to be because at the same time she is a superstar, she is just a normal girl with normal teenage problems.

Hannah Montana: The Movie is the story of a girl who is living a secret double-life. During the days she (Miley Cyrus) is a normal school girl Miley Stewart, who has a best friend Lilly (Emily Osment) and who lives with her father Robby Ray (Miley's real life dad Billy Ray Cyrus) and brother Jackson (Jason Earles). But every once in a while she transforms into a brilliant, young pop star called Hannah Montana and draws arenas of young fans. Hannah is a bit like Britney Spears in her early days.

Miley has made a promise to her single father (her mother has died when she was young): she will keep Hannah a secret and won't let the popstar affect her normal life. As soon as the stardom starts interfering with Miley's real life, she will quit.

Easier said than done. Being a superstar is like a drug: once you taste it, you'll keep wanting more and you don't want to give up. So when Hannah starts taking too much of Miley's time, daddy decides that it is time for a break, and takes her (against her will of course) to the countryside, to see her grandmother Ruby (Margo Martindale).

Miley rebels at first, but then realises how much she had missed the peace and quiet of the countryside and riding on her horse. When Travis (Lucas Till) from the neighbour turns in, she notices there are some things in the normal life she can't live without.

The story of Hannah Montana: The Movie with all the glitter and fuss is a bit shallow for a grown up, but I'm sure it will have a very different appeal on younger girls. After all, with all the superstar stuff, Miley is a normal girl and with all her rebellion she is still unconditionally loved and supported by her father. In real life that might not be the case.

The movie involves all the features a young, shy girl just about to grow up would love (I was once like that and when I think of myself at 12 years old, I'm sure I would have loved a story like this): popstardom, horses on the countryside, a cute boy from the neighbour and the loving and caring adult who is always there and understands the young.

Besides from the shallow story, what bothered me was the overly stupid scenes which try to make Miley/Hannah more adult, more Cosmo-girl, more funny - when she's fighting with Tyra Banks over a pair of shoes for example. The best parts are the ones with some deeper thought in them - when Miley is having a discussion with her father in the end is beautiful.



Directed by Peter Chelsom
Written by Daniel Berendsen, based on Michael Poryes, Richard Correll and Barry O'Brien's characters
Cast Miley Cyrus, Billy Ray Cyrus, Lucas Till, Jason Earles, Emily Osment
IMDb http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1114677/

Inkheart (2008)

Inkheart is a fantasy movie based on Cornelia Funke's novel of the same name. It is a story of a father, Mo (Brendan Fraser) and his 12-year-old daughter Meggie (Eliza Bennett) - and they both love books. However, it has been nine years since Mo last time has read anything out loud to her daughter, and reason for that is that he has the power to bring the creatures from the book to our world. His skill has given him an extra name, Silvertongue.


This skill has its downside. Every time someone is transferred from a book to the real world, someone from our world is transferred to the book - always keeping the balance between the worlds. Nine years ago Meggie's mother (Sienna Guillory) was lost in a book called Inkheart, and ever since has Mo been trying to find a copy of that book for saving his wife and the mother of their daughter.

The evil Capricorn (Andy Serkis) had accidentally entered our world from Inkheart and he had become so fond of our world that he did not want to go back. And that's why he had been destroying every single piece of Inkheart he's able to get his hands on. He is also keen on getting Mo's power in his hands.

Mo has an ally, Dustfinger (Paul Bettany). also from the pages of Inkheart, and his will is to get back - to his family. Capricorn's quest for Mo's power, Mo and Dustfinger's quest for finding a copy of Inkheart and that way getting back to their loved ones - well, that's the story in a nutshell. There is also the girl , Meggie, who eventually plays a pretty important role in the story, Mo's aunt Elinor (Helen Mirren) who lives in a castle in Italy and adores her library, and also a young, amazingly beautiful boy Farid (Rafi Gavron - look out Orlando Bloom, you have a young challenger!).

Inkheart is an entertaining fantasy movie. It has an impressive cast - Mirren, Jim Broadbent (as the author of Inkheart the novel), Bettany, Fraser, Serkis... although it is not clear why are they all actually in the story, Mirren for example. And the story - well, it is a very basic fantasy story, but as Mo in the beginning says he has no control over the events that happen between the two worlds when he reads, suddenly towards the end there seems to be a lot of control and everything happens as the reader tells.

Even though the movie is targeted to young audiences, I would not recommend it to very young kids. Would it make kids afraid to read when they'd start fearing the events might come true? Maybe for some who'd be afraid to lose their mothers like Meggie did in the story. Some might be couraged to start reading books just because of that.

The movie is shot in beautiful surroundings - the mountains of Switzerland, the lakes of Italy, all extremely beautifully shown. Otherwise the visuals and effects are pretty average, although pyrotechnics by Dustfinger look pretty cool.

Recommended to fantasy lovers seeking for pure entertainment.



Directed by Iain Softley
Written by David Lindsay-Abaire, based on Cornelia Funke's novel
Cast Brendan Fraser, Paul Bettany, Helen Mirren, Eliza Bennett, Sienna Guillory, Andy Serkis, Rafi Gavron, Jim Broadbent
IMDb http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0494238/

Tale of Desperaux (2008)

Tale of Desperaux is a story of a tiny mouse who has a heart the size of a knight's. It follows the lead of so many animations these days by using a very detailed CGI, making every single hair and texture in its animal characters look and act in a realistic way.

The story involves a seaman rat called Roscuro (Dustin Hoffman) who accidentally ends up spoiling the Soup Day (the most important celebration of the year) of the kingdom of Dor. His actions cause the King of Dor to order all rats hunted down and killed. At the same time in the Mouseworld of Dor a tiny mouse called Desperaux (Matthew Broderick) is born. Desperaux is different from the other mice in many ways: he has huge ears and he is not afraid of anything.

As Desperaux grows older, his curiosity leads him to the library of the castle where he finds the fantastic world of books and stories. His little heart longs to be a knight in shining armor, and when he meets the Princess Pea (Emma Watson), he tells her he's a gentleman and becomes her friend - and being friends with a human is something to be punished for in the Mouseworld.


Desperaux meets Roscuro the Rat and they become friends as well. Roscuro is feeling guilty and after finding out about the friendship between Desperaux and the Princess, tries to make an apology. But things don't always turn out the way you would want them to turn...

The animation style of the movie is amazingly sharp and realistic, but it does not compensate the lack of the story. The story is very thin, like the viewer is waiting for the whole duration of the movie for the story to finally pick up, and it never really does.

Even though Desperaux has his name in the movie title, it feels as if he is just a supporting character, like there was no lead character in the story at all. The characters are all lacking something. Only the "pig girl" Miggery Sow (Tracey Ullman) who pretends to be a princess is somewhat interesting. The animals are cute, that must be admitted, but the humans look plastic.

Because of the cute characters Tale of Desperaux is best for young children. At least the school group of about 8-year-olds in the screening I went was cheering at the end of the film.



Directed by Sam Fell, Robert Stevenhagen
Written by Gary Ross, based on Kate DiCamillos's novel
Cast (English voices) Matthew Broderick, Dustin Hoffman, Emma Watson, Tracey Ullman, Kevin Kline
IMDb http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0420238/

Twilight (2008) - movie review

The inner teenager woke up inside of me when I read the novel Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, and despite the pretty negative reviews, I wanted to check the movie with my own eyes. I thought that even though the cinematic values might not be that great, the fandom, excitement and entertainment values might be ok.

The story in the movie follows pretty closely the one in the novel: Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) moves from Phoenix to her father Chief Swan (Billy Burke) in the cloudiest part of the state of Washington, a small town called Forks. There she goes to a new school, gets new friends and gets curious of the strange family of Cullens, especially their son Edward (Robert Pattinson) who sits by her side in biology.

Edward acts like she hates Bella and that makes her even more curious, and finally she finds the answer: Edward and all his family are vampires, who have adapted themselves to the normal life. Instead of being afraid, Bella falls in love with Edward - whose visible hate turns out to be pure lust - for Bella's blood.

The Cullens are "good" vampires, but there are also "bad" vampires, and Bella's and Edward's relationship gets Bella in great danger because the bad vampires want her blood as well. But Edward and the Cullens promise to protect her, as this is the first time in almost 100 years that Edward finally falls in love...

My expectations of the entertainment values were a bit too high, because I felt very disappointed in the movie. I did not like the idea that instead of being insecure about herself as in the book, Bella was selfish and not interested in people. Also her overwhelming love towards Edward was somehow missing, the chemistry between Bella and Edward was nowhere near the passion that is oozing from the pages of the novel. Overall acting was not natural at all.

I am planning on reading the sequels and will probably check also the movie sequel, which will be directed by Chris Weitz the director of for example the Golden Compass, with which movie version I think he succeeded ok. Hopefully it will capture the story's atmosphere a bit better than Twilight.



Directed by Catherine Hardwicke
Written by Melissa Rosenberg, based on Stephenie Meyer's novel Twilight
Cast Kristen Stewart (Bella), Robert Pattinson (Edward), Billy Burke (Chief Swan), Cam Gigandet (James), Peter Facinelli (Carlisle), Ashley Greene (Alice), Nikki Reed (Rosalie), Taylor Lautner (Jacob), Kellan Lutz (Emmett), Jackson Rathbone (Jasper), Anna Kendrick (Jessica), Michael Welch (Mike)
IMDb http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1099212/

Babylon A.D. (2008) - review

Previously the French Mathieu Kassovitz has been seen more in front than behind the camera. After his mediocre directions Gothika and Grimson Rivers he took Maurice G. Dantec's dystopia novel Babylon A.D. under work. The result is a movie filled with violent action, but story wise it aims too high and then falls hard and heavy.

Vin Diesel is Toorop, a bounty hunter, that a Russian Gorsky (Gérard Depardieu) hires to deliver a young Aurora-girl (Mélanie Thierry) from a cloister in deep down in Asia to New York. There is something special and secret about the girl which makes the delivery very valuable, but Toorop takes the job without questions. With the girl comes her foster mother, sister Rebeka (Michelle Yeoh).

Toorop starts the journey in the hopes of getting a reward, without feelings or interest towards the girl's secret. Immediately he notices the journey is not going to be a pleasure trip, because after the girl are also dangerous men who are not afraid to use any means available. But Toorop is just like them. He ends up protecting the girl with his life and does not hesitate when it comes to slaughtering few people who get into their way.

Babylon A.D. reminded me closely of Luc Besson's Fifth element (1997), but is much more rough and serious compared to its colourful "cousin". After an interesting start the story loses its power and twists its complex story into a good looking mess. The over dose of cliches and the anti-climax in the end take the last of the edge out of the movie.

The environments are built with style and imagination which make the movie look visually good. Even though a lot has been borrowed from elsewhere, the movie has some ideas of its own, such as the submarine transporting refugees. Rock-like Diesel fits in this kind of roles as a glove in a hand and Thierry's fresh and innocent appearance is his total opposite.

Director Kassovitz has himself mentioned in the interviews that he is disappointed on the movies because the studio had cut it from original, resulting in "violent and stupid" version. It is to be seen if the director's cut on dvd is any better.

Directed by Mathieu Kassovitz
Written by Eric Besnard, Mathieu Kassovitz and Joseph Simas, based on a novel by Maurice G. Dantec
Cast Vin Diesel, Mélanie Thierry, Michelle Yeoh, Gérard Depardieu, Charlotte Rampling
IMDb http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0364970/