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First Impression: Keanu Reeves is certainly no Oscar calibre actor, but he does have this presence that seems to draw me to (most of ) his films, and by presence I actually meant he’s really hot. All I knew about the movie was what was shown in the trailer and that it was a remake.

Afterthoughts: I don’t think I was disappointed by the movie, as I had no expectation to begin with, but I really felt it brought nothing new to the table. The plot is certainly not original, being a remake, and there has been countless movies on the same subject matter of human nature plus advancing technology causing our own demise. What it also reminded me of was obviously BSG’s plot, that some self-righteous antagonist judged that we are all not worth living and decided to exterminate the human race (better executed of course in the show). The fact that the alien(s) made the lethal decision solely on some people arguing and subsequently changed their mind because of an annoying kid crying made the promising story such a laughing matter. The acting, though slightly brilliant from the little kid, was pretty much over-shadowed by Reeves’ robot impersonation (once again) and Connelly’s mediocre performance. I’ve never seen the original version, so I can’t compare, but in addition to being slightly amazed, and at times amused, by the special effects, I couldn’t help but laugh at all the glaring product placements, which has become the staples of Hollywood films. The ever present Microsoft and Vista logo, the fancy but impractical MS Surface technology, LG phones, Citizen watch, Honda car (for quick getaway!), and of course McDonald’s (for secret alien meetings) were blatantly displayed for us paying customers. By now you can tell I’m not impressed at all with the movie; at least I didn’t pay for it. I guess my parting question would be, are Chinese aliens, or just the preferred language for incognito meetings (at least the bastardized version of Mandarin)?

First Impression: I never really cared for Batman because really…those bat ears always make me laugh, but Heath Ledger died because of this film, how could I miss this?

Afterthoughts: And am I glad I watched it in theatre (full too…on opening night). I never realized the story of Batman is this dark. What I like more about Batman than most other superhero comics/films is that he doesn’t really have any special power. His strength and agility comes from his suit and gadgets, and all of it because he’s just a rich bastard. It is refreshing to know a rich dude actually cares so much about the city as well. But praises aside for Batman, it was of course Heath Ledger’s joker who stole the movie. In films and TV, villains are always the more interesting and fun to watch (Sarah Corvus anyone?) and in this movie especially so. That menacing evilness combined with his playful jokes and “pranks”, thanks to Ledger’s great performance and the writers’ dialogue, really overshadowed Batman’s somewhat laughable turmoil about revealing his identity. One of the best action movies I’ve watched and I probably will watch it again when my dad rent it.

First Impression: A movie about a shark is enough for a reason to watch.

Afterthoughts: This one is hilarious. Honestly, one look of the “sharks” will have you on the floor laughing. The sharks were so fake they may even pre-date Jaws. As far as plot goes, don’t expect anything memorable. If you’re looking for a good shark movie to watch, please just rent Jaws, it’s really not worth your time and money.

First Impression: Never would have watched this but nothing else was on TV and I was waiting for dinner.

Afterthoughts: I do not believe marching band will have training that looks more serious than a cadet summer camp. This movie is quite ridiculous really; I wanted to give it a chance, I really do. My Squadron’s snare drum players actually tried to do a similar sequence for annual and I enjoyed it immensely. There’s always one thing, however, that will ruin the entire movie for me no matter how good the overall film is (not that this movie is good in anyway). Can it kill someone to actually hire an actor who can ACT as your main cast? Just watching Nick Cannon on screen makes me puke. If you are planning to see this, just skip to the drumline sequences.

First Impression: I’d watched the Infernal Affairs trilogy, which is what this movie was based on, and my brother and I thought we should give this a chance as well. PLUS, DiCaprio’s in it, so it already looked promising.

Afterthoughts: This was great, though significantly different from the Hong Kong version. This movie won 4 Oscars this year, including Best Picture. Great acting by everyone, and as usual I loved DiCaprio’s performance. It’s too bad Mark Wahlberg didn’t win Best Supporting Actor because I enjoyed his character the most. There were some unnecessary Nicholson scenes that should’ve been cut, but otherwise, go rent this and you won’t regret it.