Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Sid Ganis and Oscar-nominated actress Anne Hathaway arose early this morning to announce The 82nd Annual Academy Award nominations. Avatar tied with The Hurt Locker for most recognized film of 2009, with both garnering nine nominations each.

Oscars will be given out when The 82nd Annual Academy Award airs live on Sunday, March 7th from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. Only on ABC. This year, a total of ten films were nominated for best picture.

And the nominees are:

BEST PICTURE:
Avatar (20th Century Fox)
The Blind Side (Warner Bros.)
District 9 (Sony)
An Education (Sony Classics)
The Hurt Locker (Summit)
Inglourious Basterds (Weinstein Co.)
Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire (Lionsgate)
A Serious Man (Focus Features)
Up (Disney/Pixar Animation)
Up in the Air (Paramount)

DIRECTING:
Kathryn Bigelow - The Hurt Locker (Summit)
James Cameron - Avatar (20th Century Fox)
Lee Daniels - Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire (Lionsgate)
Jason Reitman - Up in the Air (Paramount)
Quentin Tarantino - Inglourious Basterds (Weinstein Co.)

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE:
Jeff Bridges - Crazy Heart (Fox Searchlight)
George Clooney - Up in the Air (Paramount)
Colin Firth - A Single Man (Weinstein Co.)
Morgan Freeman - Invictus (Warner Bros.)
Jeremy Renner - The Hurt Locker (Summit)

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE:
Sandra Bullock - The Blind Side (Warner Bros.)
Helen Mirren - The Last Station (Sony Pictures Classics)
Carey Mulligan - An Education (Sony Classics)
Gabourey Sidibe - Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire (Lionsgate)
Meryl Streep - Julie & Julia (Sony)

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:
Matt Damon - Invictus (Warner Bros.)
Woody Harrelson - The Messenger (Oscilloscope Pictures)
Christopher Plummer - The Last Station (Sony Pictures Classics)
Stanley Tucci - The Lovely Bones (Paramount)
Christoph Waltz - Inglourious Basterds (Weinstein Co.)

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:
Penelope Cruz - Nine (Weinstein Co.)
Vera Farmiga - Up in the Air (Paramount)
Maggie Gyllenhaal - Crazy Heart (Fox Searchlight)
Anna Kendrick - Up in the Air (Paramount)
Mo'Nique - Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire (Lionsgate)

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:
Neill Blomkamp and - District 9 (Sony)
Nick Hornby - An Education (Sony Classics)
Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci and Tony Roche - In the Loop (IFC Films)
Geoffrey Fletcher - Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire (Lionsgate)
Jason Reitman - Up in the Air (Paramount)

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:
Mark Boal - The Hurt Locker (Summit)
Quentin Tarantino - Inglourious Basterds (Weinstein Co.)
Oren Moverman and Alessandro Camon - The Messenger (Oscilloscope Pictures)
Joel and Ethan Coen - A Serious Man (Focus Features)
Pete Docter and Bob Peterson - Up (Disney/Pixar)

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:
Ajami (Kino International) - Israel
El Secreto de sus Ojos - Argentina
The Milk of Sorrow - Peru
Une Prophéte (Sony Pictures Classics) - France
The White Ribbon (Sony Pictures Classics) - Germany

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM:
Coraline (Focus Features)
Fantastic Mr. Fox (Fox Searchlight)
The Princess and the Frog (Disney Pictures)
The Secret of the Kells
Up (Disney/Pixar)

ART DIRECTION:
Avatar (20th Century Fox)
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (Sony Pictures Classics)
Nine (Weinstein Co.)
Sherlock Holmes (Warner Bros.)
The Young Victoria (Apparition)

CINEMATOGRAPHY:
Avatar (20th Century Fox) - Mauro Fiore
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - Bruno Delbonnel
The Hurt Locker (Summit) - Barry Ackroyd
Inglourious Basterds (Weinstein Co.) - Robert Richardson
The White Ribbon (Sony Pictures Classics) - Christian Berger

COSTUME DESIGN:
Bright Star (Apparition) - Janet Patterson
Coco Before Chanel (Sony Pictures Classics) - Catherine Leterrier
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (Sony Pictures Classics) - Monique Prudhomme
Nine (Weinstein Co.) - Colleen Atwood
The Young Victoria (Apparition) - Sandy Powell

FILM EDITING:
Avatar (20th Century Fox) - Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua and James Cameron
District 9 (Sony) - Julian Clarke
The Hurt Locker (Summit) - Bob Murawski and Chris Innis
Inglourious Basterds (Weinstein Co.) - Sally Menke
Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire (Lionsgate) - Joe Klotz

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE:
Burma VJ (Oscilloscope Laboratories)
The Cove (Roadside Attractions)
Food, Inc. (Magnolia Pictures)
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers (A Kovno Communications Production)
Which Way Home (A Mr. Mudd Production)

MAKEUP:
Il Divo (MPI Media Group through Music Box), Aldo Signoretti and Vittorio Sodano
Star Trek (Paramount and Spyglass Entertainment), Barney Burman, Mindy Hall and Joel Harlow
The Young Victoria (Apparition), Jon Henry Gordon and Jenny Shircore

ORIGINAL SCORE:
Avatar (20th Century Fox), James Horner
Fantastic Mr. Fox (20th Century Fox), Alexandre Desplat
The Hurt Locker (Summit Entertainment), Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders
Sherlock Holmes (Warner Bros.), Hans Zimmer
Up (Walt Disney), Michael Giacchino

ORIGINAL SONG:
"Almost There" from "The Princess and the Frog" (Walt Disney), Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
"Down in New Orleans" from "The Princess and the Frog" (Walt Disney), Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
"Loin de Paname" from "Paris 36" (Sony Pictures Classics), Music by Reinhardt Wagner, Lyric by Frank Thomas
"Take It All" from "Nine" (The Weinstein Company), Music and Lyric by Maury Yeston
"The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)" from "Crazy Heart" (Fox Searchlight), Music and Lyric by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett

SOUND MIXING:
Avatar (20th Century Fox), Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson and Tony Johnson
The Hurt Locker (Summit Entertainment), Paul N.J. Ottosson and Ray Beckett
Inglourious Basterds (The Weinstein Company), Michael Minkler, Tony Lamberti and Mark Ulano
Star Trek (Paramount and Spyglass Entertainment), Anna Behlmer, Andy Nelson and Peter J. Devlin
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro, Distributed by Paramount), Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers and Geoffrey Patterson

SOUND EDITING:
Avatar (20th Century Fox), Christopher Boyes and Gwendolyn Yates Whittle
The Hurt Locker (Summit Entertainment), Paul N.J. Ottosson
Inglourious Basterds (The Weinstein Company), Wylie Stateman
Star Trek (Paramount and Spyglass Entertainment), Mark Stoeckinger and Alan Rankin
Up (Walt Disney), Michael Silvers and Tom Myers

VISUAL EFFECTS:
Avatar (20th Century Fox), Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham and Andrew R. Jones
District 9 (Sony Pictures Releasing), Dan Kaufman, Peter Muyzers, Robert Habros and Matt Aitken
Star Trek (Paramount and Spyglass Entertainment), Roger Guyett, Russell Earl, Paul Kavanagh and Burt Dalton

DOCUMENTARY SHORT:
China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province, A Downtown Community Television Center Production - Jon Alpert and Matthew O'Neill
The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner, A Just Media Production - Daniel Junge and Henry Ansbacher
The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant, A Community Media Production - Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert
Music by Prudence, An iThemba Production - Roger Ross Williams and Elinor Burkett
Rabbit à la Berlin" (Deckert Distribution), An MS Films Production - Bartek Konopka and Anna Wydra

ANIMATED SHORT FILM:
French Roast, A Pumpkin Factory/Bibo Films Production, Fabrice O. Joubert
Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty (Brown Bag Films), A Brown Bag Films Production, Nicky Phelan and Darragh O'Connell
The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte), A Kandor Graphics and Green Moon Production, Javier Recio Gracia
Logorama" (Autour de Minuit), An Autour de Minuit Production, Nicolas Schmerkin
A Matter of Loaf and Death (Aardman Animations), An Aardman Animations Production, Nick Park

LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM:
The Door (Network Ireland Television), An Octagon Films Production, Juanita Wilson and James Flynn
Instead of Abracadabra (The Swedish Film Institute), A Directörn & Fabrikörn Production, Patrik Eklund and Mathias Fjellström
Kavi, A Gregg Helvey Production, Gregg Helvey
Miracle Fish" (Premium Films), A Druid Films Production, Luke Doolan and Drew Bailey
The New Tenants, A Park Pictures and M & M Production, Joachim Back and Tivi Magnusson

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

It only took six weeks for James Cameron's new film to top his previous film's worldwide record. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Avatar has become the top-grossing film of all time at the worldwide box office passing Titanic's monumental worldwide gross.

Avatar currently stands at $551.7 million at the domestic box office and $1.292 billion international box office, giving it a total of $1.843 billion, which passes the $1.84 billion that Titanic earned 13 years ago. Fox confirmed that the mark fell sometime early on Monday.

Avatar is still approximately $49 million away from Titanic's domestic box office record of $600.8 million.

The Hollywood Reporter reports the latest No. 1 weekend overseas tally was $108.3 million grossed from 11,925 screens in 111 markets. It was the sixth consecutive weekend that Avatar grossed more than $100 million on the foreign circuit.

Avatar is directed by James Cameron and stars Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez, Giovanni Ribisi, Joel David Moore, CCH Pounder, Peter Mensah, Laz Alonso, Wes Studi, Stephen Lang and Matt Gerald.

Among the key territories on the weekend were: France (cume $124.8 million), Germany ($95.8 million), the U.K. ($93.2 million), South Korea ($79.7 million), Japan ($77.7 million), Australia ($77 million) and Spain ($76 million). "Avatar" is now the biggest-grossing film of all time in China, Spain, Russia, Hong Kong and Chile. It is the biggest Hollywood film ever to play in India.

The latest gross numbers underscore yet again the importance of the foreign circuit playoff to Avatar's success. Nearly 70% of the film's worldwide revenues come from overseas. That's about the same as the 67% slice of Titanic's worldwide total gross that originated abroad.

Peculiar to Avatar's success is the latest wave of exhibition technology. At least 65% of its overseas boxoffice and nearly 80% of its domestic earnings derive from 3D venues, which charge the equivalent of several dollars more than conventional theatrical sites. Imax locations worldwide playing Avatar have rolled up $134 million in 38 days at ticket prices at about $15 each.

Big contributors to Avatar's foreign success are China and Russia, two key territories that were not significant boxoffice factors when Titanic played overseas. On the weekend, Avatar secured $12.5 million in China, boosting the market cume to $103 million. In Russia, the weekend tally was $4.8 million for a market cume of $96.3 million.

Then there is the inflation factor. According to a formula developed by the department of U.S. Labor Statistics, Titanic's 1997 worldwide gross is worth at least $2.5 billion on an inflation adjusted basis, or $805 million domestic and $1.664 billion foreign.

Still champ is Gone With the Wind, which grossed $400 million worldwide in 1939, now worth at least $6 billion in today's dollars. One dollar in 1939 is the equivalent of $15.43 today.

Otherwise, the weekend lineup of the top five films overseas remained constant. Warner Bros.' Sherlock Holmes from director Guy Ritchie, stayed at No. 2 with $17.2 million from 4,758 screens in 58 markets for a cume of $197 million. In third place was Fox's family-oriented Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, which garnered $11.6 million from 4,776 screens in 60 markets for a foreign cume of $175.2 million.

Thanks to openings in 17 territories, Paramount's Up in the Air, director Jason Reitman's comedy-drama starring George Clooney, emerged at No. 4 with $11.2 million derived from 2,039 spots in 23 markets for an early cume of $19.7 million. Fifth was It's Complicated, Universal's romantic comedy with Meryl Streep, which bagged $10.4 million from 2,569 situations in 32 territories for a cume of $50.9 million.

Source: Sony Pictures

Sony Pictures has just announced that plans for Spider-Man 4 have been scrapped and the studio is moving forward on a complete reboot of the entire franchise. Here's the studio's press release below.

Columbia Pictures and Marvel Studios announced today they are moving forward with a film based on a script by James Vanderbilt that focuses on a teenager grappling with both contemporary human problems and amazing super-human crises.

The new chapter in the Spider-Man franchise produced by Columbia, Marvel Studios and Avi Arad and Laura Ziskin, will have a new cast and filmmaking team. Spider-Man 4 was to have been released in 2011, but had not yet gone into production.

"A decade ago we set out on this journey with Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire and together we made three Spider-Man films that set a new bar for the genre. When we began, no one ever imagined that we would make history at the box-office and now we have a rare opportunity to make history once again with this franchise. Peter Parker as an ordinary young adult grappling with extraordinary powers has always been the foundation that has made this character so timeless and compelling for generations of fans. We're very excited about the creative possibilities that come from returning to Peter's roots and we look forward to working once again with Marvel Studios, Avi Arad and Laura Ziskin on this new beginning," said Amy Pascal, co-chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment.

"Working on the Spider-Man movies was the experience of a lifetime for me. While we were looking forward to doing a fourth one together, the studio and Marvel have a unique opportunity to take the franchise in a new direction, and I know they will do a terrific job," said Sam Raimi.

"We have had a once-in-a-lifetime collaboration and friendship with Sam and Tobey and they have given us their best for the better part of the last decade. This is a bittersweet moment for us because while it is hard to imagine Spider-Man in anyone else's hands, I know that this was a day that was inevitable," said Matt Tolmach, president of Columbia Pictures, who has served as the studio's chief production executive since the beginning of the franchise. "Now everything begins anew, and that's got us all tremendously excited about what comes next. Under the continuing supervision of Avi and Laura, we have a clear vision for the future of Spider-Man and can't wait to share this exciting new direction with audiences in 2012."

"Spider-Man will always be an important franchise for Sony Pictures and a fresh start like this is a responsibility that we all take very seriously," said Michael Lynton, Chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures. "We have always believed that story comes first and story guides the direction of these films and as we move onto the next chapter, we will stay true to that principle and will do so with the highest respect for the source material and the fans and moviegoers who deserve nothing but the best when it comes to bringing these stories and characters to life on the big screen."

We'll be sure to keep you posted on any and all updates on this new venture as soon as we have more information.

Source: TMZ

Many news outlets are now reporting a story which first appeared on the tabloid website, TMZ, that actress Brittany Murphy passed away early this morning after going into full cardiac arrest.

"Brittany Murphy died early this morning after she went into full cardiac arrest and could not be revived, multiple sources tell TMZ.

She was 32.

A 911 call was made at 8:00 AM from a home in Los Angeles that is listed as belonging to her husband, Simon Monjack, the Los Angeles City Fire Department tells TMZ.

We're told Murphy was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center where she was pronounced dead on arrival.

Murphy starred in such films as Clueless, 8 Mile, Sin City and Don't Say a Word.

UPDATE 3:11 PM ET: Sources tell TMZ Brittany Murphy's mom discovered her unconscious in the shower. We're told when paramedics arrived, they quickly determined Murphy was in full cardiac arrest and immediately administered CPR. They continued CPR in route to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center -- several miles away -- and Murphy was unresponsive. She was pronounced dead at the hospital.

We're told the LA County Coroner's is picking up Murphy's body from Cedars later today and will launch an investigation."

Murphy next set of films include Something Wicked and The Expendables.

Secondly, I wanted to let you know the status of stuff that's going down.

1) Ask the Dork, a weekly podcast where I take a handfull of questions and answer them. You can start submitting questions now if you want.

2) Content Providers, a way for other reviewers like myself to get noticed by posting their videos on the site.

3) Lastly, if anything ever happens to my YouTube Channel, you can always contact me here and of course view the videos.

I'm sorry I haven't been able to answer everybody's questions and emails, but hopefully with this new site and it's forums, I can connect you guy's a little better. And I think that's about it. Hope you all enjoy the site and we look forward to your feedback.

Later.

I have yet to find a single Transformers fan or casual movie-goer that is indifferent about this film. Nobody loved Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen; people either liked it or they hated it. After listening to the reviews and hearing public opinion I can see both sides, but ultimately I have to choose one. And I have to say I'm with the people that liked it on this one.

]]>Sun, 9 Aug 2009 08:30:31 GMT

The original Terminator along with it's sequel, Terminator 2: Judgement Day are prime examples of what a good sci-fi should be. Well-shot action sequences with great visuals and cgi, and most importantly well-developed characters who we care for, and a story that pulls you in and never let's go. I know alot of people dislike Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines but I thought it was okay.  It was no where near as good as the first two, but it held my interest, had a few twists and turns along the way, and I was never bored. Nonetheless, I was dissapointed by the lack of inovation this time around and it seemed like a pretty pointless addition to the franchise. Now, onto Terminator Salvation.

The fourth installment of the Terminator series follows an adult John Connor (played by Christian Bale) as he attempts to organize a human resistance force which could prove to be mankind's last true hope in the war against the machines. Opening in the year 2018, Terminator Salvation finds John Connor's certainty about the future shaken by the sudden appearance of a mysterious stranger named Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington), whose last memory is of sitting on death row and awaiting execution. Unable to determine whether Marcus was sent from the future or rescued from the past, Connor begins to wonder whether there is still any hope left for the human race as the robots grow more powerful and aggressive than ever before. It appears that Skynet is preparing a devastating final attack designed to eliminate the human resistance once and for all, leaving Connor and Marcus with no choice but to strike back at the cybernetic heart of Skynet's operations. Once there, the two battle-scarred soldiers discover a devastating secret regarding the potential annihilation of all humankind.

Let's start with the director, his name is McG, yeah I know it sounds like some kind of a burger, but being serious here, his directing surprised me. Unlike alot of action films we get these days where it's either too close or we can't see anything that's going on or it's just too shaky. These action scenes look fantastic and are some of the best I've seen this year. I also liked the mood and dark atmosphere of this post apocalyptic future. While the film had alot going for it, it also had its fair share of flaws, flaws that kept it from being such a great film. The acting, with the exception of Sam Worthington as Marcus, was average at its very best and there was so little heart in the characters. Christian Bale gave a pretty weak performance. Oh, and if Batman's voice bothered you, prepare yourself. The plot is just like the trailer revealed (and an unnecessarily long text explanation reiterates). It also had some pretty big plotholes. There were some things the characters and even machines did that just didn't make any sense. I also wished they could've played the original theme song at least once. It was more then just a theme song. It was an unforgettable score that helped you visualize an apocalyptic future. A future where machines rose from the ashes of a nuclear fire and began exterminating mankind. It gave us a sense of fear and hope. Here, we get this uninspiring, flat theme that just fails to inspire anything human.

Now the movie isn't stupid. It's great they didn't give us the same old story where a Terminator goes back to protect Conner; that's been done to death already. And like I said earlier, the action scenes were great. It's simply flawed. Hopefully, the next film will take a new and better direction. So just see it when it comes out on DVD; it'll be less dissapointing and will save you money. 

For those of you who don't already know, I'm a big Star Trek fan. But for the last ten years, Star Trek and it's fanbase has been dying. The last two films, Insurrection and Nemises were big disappointments, and same goes for the last two television series, Voyager and Enterprise. I'll admit I was skeptical at first, but after J.J Abrams was hired to direct and after hearing all the spot on casting, I was really looking forward to this. So, after seeing it opening day, I have to say that this was definitely worth the wait. This is the type of film that reminds me why I love to go to the movies and why I love Star Trek. To put it another way, Star Trek is cool again. Anyway, here's the basic premise for the movie.

Star Trek is the incredible story of a young crews maiden voyage onboard the most advanced starship ever created; the U.S.S. Enterprise. On a journey filled with action, comedy and cosmic peril, the new recruits must find a way to stop an evil being whose mission of vengeance threatens all of mankind. The fate of the galaxy rests in the hands of bitter rivals. One, James T. Kirk is a delinquent, thrill-seeking Iowa farm boy. The other, Spock, was raised in a logic-based society that rejects all emotion. As fiery instinct clashes with calm reason, their unlikely but powerful partnership is the only thing capable of leading their crew through unimaginable danger, boldly going where no one has gone before!

I thought the special effects were very sharp and the battle scenes were shot quite nicely. Now some may complain that they were too bright and flashy. And I have to admit usually that would be a bad thing, but in this movie, it didn't bother me. The opening sequence was great and so was the acting, especially Zachary Quinto as Spock, Karl Urban as Bones, and Simon Pegg as Scotty. It was also really nice to see Leanord Nimoy as the old Spock for one last time and I really liked how all the characters played an important role in the film. Where as in the original series, most of the supporting characters didn't play that big of a role. Now it's not perfect, I didn't buy Kirk as this youthless rebel. I thought the motivation behind Nero's actions was handled pretty poorly and it's almost like they tried too hard. But hey, they did a good enough job where I can let these things slide; they barely bothered me anyway.

Lastly, I hate how trekkies are saying that if you liked this movie your not a true Star Trek fan. This is what Star Trek needed; something new and fresh. If we got the same thing over and over again, the fanbase wouldn't grow and it would die out. Besides there were plenty of references to the original shows and films that in my opinion worked. So, interestingly enough I'd actually recommend this movie to people who aren't Star Trek fans. So yeah, guess that's about it, go see it.

Make your own videos like this at JibJab.com

Now, as most of you know, an early workprint of Wolverine was leaked onto the internet a month before the film's release and word got out that it sucked. Well, that didn't stop it from getting $87 Million opening weekend. So, are the rumors true? Well, let's take a look. X-Men Orgins: Wolverine is a prequel to the original X-Men directed by Bryan Singer and takes place 17 years earlier. It's directed by Gavin Hood and stars Hugh Jackman as James Howlett / Logan / Wolverine, and Liev Schreiber as Victor Creed.

The story gets under way as the boy who will become Wolverine makes a shocking discovery about his family bloodline and gains a brother in the process. Flash forward to find the mutant siblings battling side by side through two world wars and Vietnam where they are sentenced to death for killing a commanding officer. Logan and his brother, Victor Creed (aka Sabretooth) join a top-secret government task force. When their targets begin to include innocent civilians, conscientious Logan escapes to the Canadian Rockies where he builds a home with a hot schoolteacher Kayla Silverfox. Informed by his old commanding officer, William Stryker, that the members of his old team are being targeted for death. Logan is heartbroken when Victor finds and kills Kayla. Vowing revenge, Logan agrees to take part in a dangerous experiment that will fuse his bones with a powerful metal alloy called adamantium which makes him virtually indestructible and gives him the strength needed to defeat his powerful brother. Subsequently betrayed by Stryker, Logan, now Wolverine sets out to find his blood-lusting brother and stop the cycle of violence once and for all. Along the way, the temperamental hero is joined by fellow mutants John Wraith and Remy LeBeau (aka Gambit). But before Wolverine can seek vengeance against Striker and his brother, he'll have to do battle with Deadpool, a formidable mutant instilled with many powers.

All I can say is that it was a huge dissapointment. The writing was poor, the acting was ehh and it just wasn't as good as I wanted it to be. Even though the last X-men movie, X-Men: The Last Stand was a big letdown, I was really hoping that this would be better, but that just didn't happen. I know it may be cool to see some of your favorite comic book characters on the big screen but that still wasn't enough to save this movie. This reminds me alot of the Superman & Batman Series. The first two films were excellent pictures, the third film was much worse, but not that bad, and after the fourth film, there was just no hope. Luckily the Batman series was redeemed by Christopher Nolan with Batman Begins & The Dark Knight. And same goes for the Superman series with Superman Returns directed by Bryan Singer. But even though Mr. Singer may have been able to save the Superman series, the X-men series was left in the hands of some pretty bad directors resulting in some pretty bad films. So, I suppose the best we can hope for is a reboot. Lastly, If your planning on seeing this movie, don't let my review stop you. Alot of my friends really liked this movie. So I can't say whether your going to like it or hate it. This review is just my own personal opinion. So yeah, that's really about it. Thanks for reading and if you liked this movie, that's good for you.

Watchmen has created a lot of debate. Is it good, bad, faithful to the book, alienating to audience members who don't know anything about it. Well, let's take a look. Watchmen is a superhero film directed by Zack Snyder. It's based of the graphic novel written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Gibbons. Watchmen takes place in an alternate 1985 where Richard Nixon has been elected for his third term and masked vigilantes have been outlawed. One of the vigilantes, the Comedian, has been murdered from his apartment. Rorscach investigates the murder to figure out what's going on. The Comedian's backstory is revealed thoughout the film. Meanwhile, USA and the Soviet Union are on the brink of nuclear war. USA believes Dr. Manhatton, who is the only vigilante who actually has superpowers, can ease the tensions between the two nations. Dr. Manhatton gets help from Ozymandias, known to be the smartest man in the world and has revealed his identity to the public. Nite Owl II and Silk Spectre II also make up the rest of the "watchmen".

I have not read the graphic novel, but the plot was really interesting. The flashbacks could have been done a little bit better, but still.. it's a very good plot for a superhero film. It has a Great cast and for the most part the actors did a good job. Jackie Earl Haley as Rorschach was fantastic. Jeffrey Dean Morgan did a geat job at portraying the insane Comedian. Malin Akerman was the weakest actor of the whole film, she wasn't terrible, but here potrayel as Silk Spectre II just wasn't satisfying enough .

The visual and special effects however were outstanding for this film. A minor negative for this film was the slo-mo camera work. It seems like Mr. Snyder likes to use slo-mo every 15 minutes, and it just didn't seem necessary. Also, I wish people would shut up about Mr. Manhatton's dong, yes it's big, yes it's blue and is very unpleasent to look at, but remember, this a very dark film that's based off a supposingly very graphic novel, so anyone seeing this movie should be mature enough to handle it, Overall, This film was okay, There could have been more action scenes and it was a little too long, only by 20 or 30 minutes or so. Watchmen is my second favorite DC Superhero film, The Dark Knight is still my favorite, but this comes pretty close. So if it's still playing, I'd say go check it out.