Disney/Pixar's UP!

UP! continues in the footsteps of its Disney/Pixar forefathers down a road of excellence. I am seriously starting to think that this dynamic duo is incapable of making a bad movie.

While many people see this as a kids movie, my wife and I thoroughly enjoyed UP!. The movie follows an elderly loner trying to deal with the unfinished plans he had with his wife after she passed away and a boy scout knockoff trying to earn his final merit badge. These two are a perfect pair who both have exactly what the other needs. They of course have to figure this out the hard way during a wild adventure to a mysterious land in South America full of all sorts of surprises.

UP! was filled with laughs, but still found a way to tug on your heart strings. The connection we feel with the characters is amazing given the short film time and the fact that they aren't even real actors. I absolutely recommend UP! to anyone with kids or without.

UP! gets a extra large popcorn bucket as it is absolutely enjoyable from beginning to end. UP! also offers a 3D option which could only enhance your movie going experience if you don't mind dropping another $3 per ticket.

Night at the Museum: Battle at the Smithsonian

Ben Stiller is back in Night at the Museum: Battle at the Smithsonian. If you saw Night at the Musueum then you know what to expect. This movie is pretty much the exact same movie in a new location with new characters.

The special effects are cute and whacky. The acting is what you would expect from a Ben Stiller movie. There are a few moments in the movie that had the audience rolling, but most of the time it was a chuckle here, a chuckle there. Battle at the Smithsonian is not a bad movie, but it is nothing special. I would recommend it for anyone with children of any age, as there is nothing in the movie that is unsuitable for kids. Save yourself some money and wait to see this at a matinee and take your kids along. Battle at the Smithsonian is enjoyable enough if you go in knowing what you are getting, but definitely not a must see.

Night at the Museum: Batle at the Smithsonian gets a medium popcorn bucket and a large drink to share with the kids on the popcorn bucket scale.

Terminator Salvation

I saw this movie on opening night. The CGI in this movie is incredible. Scene after scene of incredible action starring every type of Skynet creation you can imagine threaten to overload your senses in this optical feast of special effects.

The development of the characters is disappointing underdone. During Terminator Salvation you find yourself drawn only to the anti-hero, Marcus Wright, who is a human/robot mix. The previews would have you believe he is a minor character that leads the previous Terminator central character, John Conor, to second guess everything he new about Skynet. This however is not the case. Marcus Wright is in fact the central character in Terminator Salvation. It is his story we follow through the entire course of the movie. He is the only character in the story that you develop any emotional connection with, but he simply is not the great terminator villian we have come to expect from previous Terminator films.

Terminator is a pure action flick, with no character or audience connection development. If you are willing to sit through an hour and a half of really cool CGI robots blowing stuff up with no desire to have a real feeling of having seen a great movie, then check Terminator Salvation out.

On the popcorn bucket scale Terminator Salvation gets a medium popcorn bucket. Save your money and catch it at a cheap theater or rent it when it comes to DVD.