Maxim’s Movie Reviews and Opinions Blog

Was excited to see Iron Man-2 finally, on the opening day, after long wait – in IMAX. I liked it. It’s good, but don’t set your expectations too high if you want to really enjoy it. The movie feels like it’s composed of [...]

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Disneynature’s “Oceans”

Disneynature’s “Oceans” came out on the “Earth Day” Thursday, 2010, just like last year Disney’s “Earth” came out on the same date also. A small disclaimer: I have not seen Disney’s “Earth”.

The visuals in the “Oceans” are simply amazing. Most Earthlings will [...]

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Just saw Avatar in I-MAX 3D. Here’s a quick 10-point review.
1. The plot: it’s a lot like “Dances with wolves”: a white man wins the trust of the tribesmen and is accepted into the tribe as equal (becomes “one of us”), but later [...]

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Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009)

This is the third installment of the “Ice Age” animated trilogy from 20th Century Fox Studios.
The plot: After mammoth Manny (Ray Romano) met Ellie (Queen Latifah) in “Ice Age: The Meltdown”, the previous episode, the couple now [...]

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Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)

Michael Bay continued working on the sequel, “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen“, a.k.a. “Transformers 2” in association with Hasbro written by Ehren Kruger, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman.
The plot: After Optimus Prime destroyed the Cube in the previous movie, [...]

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The Proposal (2009)

Talented Anne Fletcher (27 Dresses, Step Up), a choreographer, an actress and a film producer, directed “The Proposal” – a romantic comedy starring Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock.
The plot: Margaret Tate (Sandra Bullock), chief editor or a publishing house, is a [...]

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The Hangover (2009)

Director Todd Phillips continues along the lines of his previous comedies, “The Old School” (2003) and “Road Trip” (2000).
The plot: The movie opens with one of the groom’s friends calling the bride and telling her the Doug is not going [...]

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How to rob a bank (2007)

The plot: Jinx (Nick Stahl – Sleepwalking, Sin City, Terminator 3), a slacker who walks into a branch of  a bank to withdraw $20, and an employee of the branch/babe, Jessica (Erika Christensen – Garden of Eden, Flightplan, The Upside [...]

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The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (2009) R 106min

The plot: A New York subway dispatcher Walter Garber (Denzel Washington) is summonned on the radio. He is told by the mastermind of the hijacking (John Travolta) of the Pelham 1 2 3 train to follow [...]

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Up (2009) PG 96min

Disney/Pixar’s “Up” comes out almost 11 m0nths after release of “WALL-E” last summer. It was written and directed by Pete Docter (Toy Story 1&2, Monster, Inc., WALL-E) and Bob Peterson (Finding Nemo), who also gave his voice to the [...]

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The long-awaited sequel to the Terminator trilogy was directed by McG, written by John D. Brancato and Michael Ferris. Starring Christian Bale, Sam Worthington, Moon Bloodgood, Helena Bonham Carter and Michael Ironside.

The plot: After the Judgement Day, John Connor (Christian Bale) is now the leader [...]

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“Angels and Demons”, the sequel to the “Da Vinci Code” directed by Ron Howard, is a little better. Professor Robert Langdon is summoned to Vatican where the pope has died and four cardinals were kidnapped by a secret society called Illuminati, which threatened [...]

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X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

A prequel to X-Men (2000), X-Men 2: X-Men United (2003) and X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), directed by Gavin Hood (directed famous award-winning Tsotsi), written by David Benioff  and Skip Woods.
The plot: A brief history of James Logan (Hugh Jackman) begins with [...]

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State of Play (2009)

“State of Play” is a contemporary political thriller based on award-wining BBC TV series with the same title. Directed by Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland, Touching the Void), starring Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams (The Notebook, Married Life, The [...]

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Monsters vs Aliens – 3D (2009)

“Monsters vs Aliens” is a new 3D animated feature from DreamWorks Animation. Directed by Rob Letterman and Conrad Vernon, written by Maya Forbes, Wallace Wolodarsky, Rob Letterman, Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger.
The plot: Susan (Reese Witherspoon) was about to get [...]

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Joyeux Noel (2005)

“Joyeux Noël” (”Merry Christmas” (UK/US title) or “Happy Christmas”) is a drama set in 1914 during World War I and is inspired by a true story. The film is an international project involving people and locations from France, Germany, UK, Romania and [...]

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Adventureland (2009)

“Adventureland” is a comedy from the writer-director Greg Mottola (”Superbad”). Starring Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Martin Starr, Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig.
The plot: Set in a Reagan era, this movie about a misfit college graduate James Brennan (Jesse Eisenberg of “The Squid and the [...]

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12 Rounds (2009)

“12 Rounds” is an action thriller starring WWE’s John Cena (The Marine), Ashley Scott (S.W.A.T., Walking Tall, Into The Blue, The Kingdom) and Aidan Gillen (Shanghai Nights and The Wire TV series) directed by Finnish director Renny Harlin (Die Hard 2, The [...]

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I Love You, Man (2009)

“I Love You, Man” is a romantic comedy from John Hamburg (Along Came Polly, co-writer of Meet The Parents, Meet The Fockers, Zoolander) starring Paul Rudd (Knocked Up, Role Models, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Walk Hard, The 40 Year Old [...]

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The Emperor’s Naked Army Marches On (1987)

A.k.a. “Yuki Yukite shingun”.
The plot: This documentary directed by Kazuo Hara follows Kenzo Okuzaki, a Japanese veteran of World War II, as he tries to seek justice – and vengeance – for the unexplained deaths of several soldiers [...]

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