Fantastic prequel with an amazing cast! While Gwynne, as the elder Jud in the original, lifts that movie from what it might be otherwise, this latest installment is packed with great actors who shoulder the load equally. Creepy as they come and overflowing with foreboding atmosphere!

Hands down - the best disaster movie ever made. This is a two-hour crash course in what every disaster movie should be. This deserves awards.

Bloody brilliant and loads of fun! This is how you do comedic superhero stories not that live-action Suicide Squad or Harley Quinn Birds of Prey crap. The Batmobile flatulence scene or Harley doing Hanging on the Telephone at a dive bar for henchmen is worth the price of admission alone!

     I've been a fan of comics and super heroes since childhood. Being born in '67, some of the most treasured times of that childhood were spent going to the store with my mother and, upon entering, making a beeline for that relic of the past known as a carousel rack to discover what wondrous new adventures awaited me. The 70's were a magical time for an adolescent comics fan; some of the greatest creators and imaginarians in the industry were in their prime and delivering, without fail, some of their best work. Groundbreaking stories. Tragedies. Romances. Dramas. Heroic adventures! And whether it was Marvel or DC Comics, I loved them all.

The best horror/comedy to come out since Shaun of the Dead. Think Tremors in Ireland and you've got this in a nutshell. I'd love to see a sequel to this one!

Longmire is one of the best series broadcast on television today and something of a sleeper. I get the feeling that it is overshadowed by such vastly-popular shows like Big Bang Theory or Sherlock. Still, it obviously has it's share of fans because the third season began only days ago.

The show is based from a series of books known collectively as The Walt Longmire Mysteries by author Craig Johnson and, while I have yet to read them, the TV series is so good that I desperately wish to. The cast, which includes Robert Taylor, Lou Diamond Phillips and Katee Sackhoff, is stellar.

A cross between a western and a police procedural that is nothing like either; Longmire, set in Wyoming, isn't afraid to be different and succeeds in going against the grain. It's a pleasure to watch, completely engrossing and leaves me greatly anticipating each new episode.

A wonderful romantic-comedy with an incredibly likable cast of actors! The Big Wedding is nothing like your average rom-com and, for me, that's a plus. An ensemble cast offers up the perfect blend of romance, comedy and drama with likable, believable characters and dialogue.

There's no hitting you over the head with the comedy hammer here. It's smooth-as-silk and will have you smiling, even when you're not laughing. I couldn't have chosen a better cast for this film. Charming, delightful and thoroughly-enjoyable!!

This is one of the better comedies that I've seen in years and is a breath of fresh air, especially when compared to the countless stupid comedies that seem to be everywhere. Big Wedding is a big hit and something that I could have seen being made years ago with the top actors of the day. It's a classic, without the shelf life.

In the beginning of the 18th century, a group of samurai were left leaderless (thus becoming ronin) after their daimyo was ordered to commit seppuku for assaulting a court official. They swore to avenge him and restore his honor by killing the court official, which they did, though it took them two years of waiting and planning. They were then forced to commit seppuku themselves, to answer for the murder that the way of bushido demanded of them.

This is one of the greatest legends in Japanese culture and has been celebrated in festivals and plays for many years.

47 Ronin incorporates other aspects of Asian myth and legend into the classic tale (namely demons, magic and mysticism) for a new, fantastic twist. The project is the directorial debut for Carl Erik Rinsch, as far as feature-length films are concerned, and I found it quite impressive. Attire, weaponry, sets and so forth all seemed quite accurate for the time period, as well.

While I realize that Keanu Reeves isn't exactly a golden-boy among movie fans and gets knocked quite a bit for a presumed lack of acting ability, I am not among that group and have been a fan of his for many years. I've enjoyed most of his films and this one is no exception.

Here he plays a half-breed outcast barely tolerated by Japanese society but is protected by the daimyo whose death triggers the events which unfold. Yet his character, Kai, is much more than that and, as his own origins come to light, he becomes indispensable to the Ronin in carrying out their vengeance.

The cast is filled with many notable faces of Asian cinema and the acting superb. Hiroyuki Sanada as Oishi and Rinko Kikuchi as The Witch deliver outstanding performances and their characters were the most notable for me, other than Keanu's own. The epic battle near the film's end was quite a treat, especially when Kai faces The Witch.

Sadly, this film has yet to recoup it's financial costs, which were hefty; this is even more despairing considering the creativity and effort put into making such a fine film. Perhaps this is due to Reeves in the starring role and the fact that he hasn't exactly hit the box-office motherload since The Matrix. In his defense, he delivers a solid performance here; with regards to the film itself, and all those who had a hand in it's making, all I can say is that those who choose not to see it are missing out.

47 Ronin isn't Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai but it doesn't pretend to be either. It is a fictionalization of history, a fantastical take on legend and a feast for the senses that should not be spurned by anyone who has a love for the period and subject matter. It's quite good, people.

The genre of fantasy fiction has always been and will forever remain my favorite among all of literature's offerings. No other genre offers such an endless vista for the exploration of imagination as there are, literally, no boundaries whatsoever. The only limits are those of the imagination of the writer. Many view the creation of Middle-Earth and the tales of J. R. R. Tolkien among the finest ever written and his epics of high-fantasy have been emulated time and again by others.

It's been years since I read The Hobbit last; yet it is a treasured, if dusty, memory which is afforded a grand place among the many adventures I was privileged to take throughout my life and, especially, my childhood. I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing, regarding how long it's been since reading it, because age and memory don't always walk the same paths. I found myself, time and again, while watching The Desolation of Smaug, raising an eyebrow and remarking, to myself, "I don't recall that being in the book."

Now, it's a given, with the decision to make a trilogy of movies out of a book that was shorter than any one of the three LOTR's books, there were going to be parts of the book drawn out and a multitude of things added in that weren't there at all. There had to be. When I found out that they were doing this I immediately rolled my eyes and muttered something nasty about the collective greed of the Hollywood Machine. At the same time, I couldn't wait to see the movies.

What really gets me is the conceit of a filmmaker that they would know better than a celebrated author of an unarguable classic how the story should go. The immortal words of Yul Brynner, as he stands overlooking the sands of Egypt, echo in my mind, "So let it be written - so let it be done." Yet such is not the case within the realm of cinema for the ego of the filmmaker is an unrivaled beast.

Now, I love Peter Jackson, I really do; he's one of my favorite directors. Tolkien's works are among my favorites, too. So, I'm divided here. It's a perfect movie, just as the LOTR's trilogy was, and couldn't have been done in an earlier era of filmmaking and come close to doing the product justice. Such is the case with a number of films these days, with CGI; it opens up all sorts of avenues and options.

The Hobbit is a grand adventure and this trilogy, along with it's predecessor, will forever be among my favorites. Yet I can't help but wonder what it would have been like if those involved in it's creation would simply have stuck to the source material, shown the proper respect and not felt the need to add to it, or worse, take away from it. The excuse of not having Tom Bombadil in LOTR because of constraints upon length of film is a poor one because there wouldn't have been such if numerous scenes weren't (needlessly) drawn out. The same holds true for The Hobbit.

It was thrilling to see Legolas and Tauriel, and Evangeline Lilly makes for a beautiful elfmaiden, but neither were actually in the story. Radagast was only ever mentioned in passing in the book yet, here he is again, too. I'll admit that he's a humorous character but, ultimately, one must ask, "What's the point?" If the recipe is already perfect, and has stood the test of time, you don't tamper with it and then offer it up as the original. Ego and greed....ego and greed.

Still, complaints aside, this is a wonderful movie and an enjoyment to see. The humor that is present in this trilogy is welcome after the grimness of LOTR. The creatures, action and majesty that are present here could never have been made possible without the advent of CGI. In truth, Smaug is one of the greatest and most believable depictions of a dragon onscreen that I've seen since the unjustly-panned Reign of Fire.

Will most everyone love The Hobbit? Yes. Will purists, like myself, take offense (however slight) with the poetic license of the creators? Absolutely, but we'll still love it, too. It's hard to guess who might enjoy it more; those who have never read the book or those who have. The joy of having a treasured memory finally appearing onscreen weighed with the tampering of memory or a completely new experience which isn't tarnished by knowing how much it is different from what it really should be.

You be the judge; either way, it's a great movie.

The revamped, polished and gore-soaked remake of the cult classic is a worthy successor to the name The Evil Dead. The future of horror is now! This marks the third impressive horror film that I've watched, produced in the last five years. Along with Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale and Cabin in the Woods, The Evil Dead serves as a balm to concerns that truly awesome and entertaining horror films were a thing of the past. Granted I haven't watched that many of late but I'm both a bit relieved and hungry for more.

Where the original trilogy was laced with campy humor, this leaves the comedy behind, pulling out all the stops for an edge-of-your-seat, spine-tingling, shock-fest. (Was that enough hyphens for ya?) I have no idea if this is 'The most terrifying film I will ever experience', as the film was touted but it was terrifying. I haven't jumped while watching a horror film in years and I did a couple of times during this.

I will admit that some of the gorier scenes had me wincing; it's not really my thing. Yet the film was very well done with an excellent script and dialogue. The actors were all outstanding and it was a personal pleasure to see the beautiful Jessica Lucas again...even if she met her fate far too soon for me. As well, the direction of Fede Alvarez, who I'm not at all familiar with, was quite impressive. This was an all-around, damned fine horror film.

Truly, there were only two things which disappointed me and, while I can understand both, they still had me shaking my head. The first was the excessive use of gore but this was an Evil Dead film, so it's to be expected. The difference here is that the Bruce Campbell trilogy was camp and this sooooo was not. The second was the fact that with each violent act they seemed to be trying to imitate what had come before.

The tree-rape scene, locking the possessed Mia in the cellar, the hand-bite/amputation, the shotgun, the duct-tape, the chainsaw (and another hand-capitation), etc... I felt as if this new crew of film-makers had come upon the abandoned playroom of those gone before and simply scooped up their toys instead of bringing their own.

Still, it was a small discredit, in my estimation, and I'm still tempted to give this a higher rating than 8 out of 10 stars. Food for thought... I'll certainly watch this again in the future. Maybe then.

I highly recommend!