Maxim’s Movie Reviews and Opinions Blog

Honest independent fun-to-read movie reviews and opinions

 

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009) PG-13 150min

June 30th, 2009 · 1 Comment

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, the Decepticons have no choice to keep their race alive and [...]

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Tags: Action · Adventure · Comedy · Fantasy · Movies · Sci-Fi · USA

Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins (2009) PG-13 130min mini-review

May 21st, 2009 · No Comments

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 of the resistance. Well, one of the leaders. In fact he [...]

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Tags: Action · Adventure · Sci-Fi · Thrillers/Suspense

X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) PG-13 107min

May 1st, 2009 · 1 Comment

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 his childhood in 1845 in Northern Territory. When his brother Victor kills their [...]

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Tags: Action · Additional Articles · Drama · Fantasy · Movies · Supernatural · USA

Frost/Nixon (2008) R 122min

January 25th, 2009 · No Comments

Frost/Nixon (2008)

A great movie by Oscar-winning director and producer Ron Howard (Changeling (2008), The Da Vinci Code (2006), Cindirella Man (2005), A Beautiful Mind (2001), How The Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)) starring Frank Langella, Michael Sheen, Sam Rockwell and Kevin Bacon based on the play by Peter Morgan.
The plot: A British game-show host David Frost [...]

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Tags: Biographical · Drama · Epics/Historical · Foreign · France · Movies · Thrillers/Suspense · UK · USA

The Tale of Despereaux (2008) G 100min

December 28th, 2008 · No Comments

The Tale of Despereaux (2008)

This 3D-animated adventure based on Kate DiCamillo’s book was directed by Sam Fell and Robert Stevenhagen, featuring voices of Dustin Hoffman, Emma Watson, Sigourney Weaver, Matthew Broderic, Stanley Tucci, Kevin Klein and others.
The plot: The lives of three heroes, a mouse with big ears who prefers reading books to eating [...]

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Tags: Adventure · Animation · Comedy · Fantasy · Movies · USA

Review: Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008) R 102min

October 31st, 2008 · 1 Comment

Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008)

Written and directed by Kevin Smith (”Catch and Release“, “Dogma“) this romantic comedy starring Seth Rogen (Pineapple Express, Superbad, Knocked up etc.) and Elizabeth Banks (”Definitely, Maybe“, “The 40 Year Old Virgin“, “Catch me if you can“ and more), albeit R-rated, is a good movie to see on [...]

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Tags: Comedy · Movies · Romance · USA

Foyle’s War (2002-2008) TV-PG

September 8th, 2008 · No Comments

Foyle’s War (2002-2008)

“Foyle’s War” is British TV drama series that marry history of World War II and detective mystery.
The plot: English Channel is the only thing that separates Britain from the Nazi invasion. In a small town of Hastings in the vulnerable Southern coast. While the whole Europe is at war, people of Hastings [...]

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Tags: DVD · Detective/Mistery · Drama · Foreign · Movies · Mystery · TV · UK

Review: Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2006) R 121min

August 26th, 2008 · No Comments

The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2006)

This award-winning picture was directed by Tommy Lee Jones, his first work as director, and based on the book by Guillermo Arriaga, an Oscar-nominated author and play-writer. Arriaga also wrote script for Universal/Focus feature film Amores Perros (2000) starring Benicio Del Torro, Naomi Watts and Sean Penn, 21 Grams (2004) and [...]

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Tags: Adventure · DVD · Dark comedy · Drama · Movies · Road Films · USA · Westerns

Review of “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” (2008) PG-13 110min

July 16th, 2008 · 2 Comments

Better then the original Hellboy (2004). Very entertaining. Not particularly memorable. Would not watch it second time. No originality.

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Tags: Action · Adventure · Comedy · Drama · Fantasy · Movies · Sci-Fi · Supernatural · USA

Hancock (2008) PG-13 92min

July 4th, 2008 · 2 Comments

Hancock (2008)

Hancock (a.k.a. John Hancock, a.k.a. Tonight He Comes) is directed by Peter Berg written by Vincent Ngo and Vince Gilligan and starring Will Smith, Charlize Theron and Jason Bateman.
The plot: LA’s local super-hero John Hancock (Will Smith) is really unpopular. Homeless and drunkard, he still helps people and saves them when they are in [...]

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Tags: Action · Comedy · Drama · Fantasy · Movies · USA

Review: Get Smart (2008) PG-13 111min

June 20th, 2008 · 6 Comments

Get Smart (2008) PG-13 111min

Director Peter Segal (Nutty Professor II, 50 First Dates) revived flopped spy-spoof TV series from the 60s and 1995 as a feature film based on characters created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry. Starring Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Alan Arkin.
The plot: Maxwell (Max) Smart (Steve Carell [...]

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Tags: Action · Comedy · Crime/Gangster · Movies

Review: “Bella” (2006) PG-13 91min

June 2nd, 2008 · No Comments

“Bella” (2006)

This drama directed by Alejandro Gomez Monteverde was a surprise People’s Choice Award winner at Toronto International Film Festival in 2006. Consequently, it won Crystal Heart Award at Heartland Film Festival in 2007 and the actor in main role, Alejandro Gomez Monteverde, a prize for most inspirational male role in the movie.
The plot: Jose (Eduardo [...]

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Tags: DVD · Drama · Foreign · Mexico · Movies · USA

Review of “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” (2008) PG-13 124min

May 23rd, 2008 · 4 Comments

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

19 years after “The Last Crusade”, Indiana Jones is back. So excited to see the favorite character of my childhood.
The plot: 1959. Indiana Jones is kidnapped by KGB agents to help them find the Crystal Skull, whose powers they plan to use to create a mind-controlling [...]

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Tags: Action · Adventure · Movies · USA

Review of “Iron Man” (2008) PG-13 122min

May 3rd, 2008 · 1 Comment

Iron Man (2008)

We tried to see this movie on Friday night, but it was sold out. On Saturday night we got in after standing in line for half an hour and watching commercials and trailers for another 25 minutes. Was the movie worth it?
The plot: The wealthy military industrialist, a brilliant engineer and a [...]

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Tags: Action · Adventure · Drama · Movies · Sci-Fi · Thrillers/Suspense · USA

Review of “Ocean’s Thirteen” (2007) PG-13 122min HD-DVD

May 1st, 2008 · No Comments

The summary: this is definitely a better movie then Ocean’s Twelve, but the 11 was the best one of the trilogy. Good entertainment, in theater and on DVD/HD-DVD/Blu-Ray – whatever you watch it on.

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Tags: "Guy" Films · Comedy · Crime/Gangster · DVD · Movies · Thrillers/Suspense

Review of “Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay” (2008) R 1h 42min

April 28th, 2008 · 1 Comment

Harold And Kumar From Guantanamo Bay (2008)

John Cho and Kal Penn of “Harold & Kumar go to White Castle” are back for a sequel written by Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg, who also directed the film this time around.
The plot: The plot picks up right when Harold (John Cho) and Kumar (Kal Penn) come [...]

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Tags: Adventure · Comedy · Movies · Road Films · USA

Review of Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008) R 112min

April 20th, 2008 · 4 Comments

“Forgetting Sarah Marshall” is a comedy directed by Nicholas Stoller who is well known for co-writing Fun With Dick and Jane with Judd Apatow – his directorial debut. It is written by Jason Segel, an actor from a few episodes of CSI and Alias, and most recently was cast in Knocked Up, and now [...]

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Tags: Comedy · Movies · Romance · USA

Review of “Charlie Wilson’s War” (2007) R 97min

December 24th, 2007 · 1 Comment

Charlie Wilson’s War (2007)

Pretty good!
The plot: Charlie Wilson (Tom Hanks) is a congressman from Texas. He’s been known for being a womanizer and alcoholic. In 1979 the policy of US regarding Soviet invasion of Afghanistan was to stay out of the conflict. While the government officially morally supported the Afghans, they were not helping [...]

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Tags: Biographical · Comedy · Drama · Movies

Review of “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story” (2007) R 96min

December 21st, 2007 · 3 Comments

From Judd Apatow, the guy who brought you Knocked Up and Superbad – a new comedy starring John C. Reilly!
The plot: America loves larger-than-life musician and songwriter Dewey Cox (a composite character in whom you can recognize Bob Dylan, Brian Wilson, Johnny Cash and others). But behind the music is the up-and-down-and-up-again story of [...]

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Tags: Comedy · Movies

Beowulf (2007) PG-13 113min

November 16th, 2007 · 2 Comments

Beowulf (2007)

Just came out of the theatre. Saw it in both regular and 3D. This movie should only be seen in 3D! Completely different experience.
The plot is based on the only known surviving Anglo-Saxon poetry manuscript about a warrior Beowulf, hero of Geats (a.k.a. Goths, Swedes)  in 6th century A.D. who defeated three antagonists: [...]

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Tags: Adventure · Animation · Drama · Fantasy · Movies