The Matrix: Revolutions
The Matrix (1999) came in using the Alice in Wonderland metaphor and goes out in Revolutions using The Wizard of Oz, with Neo (Keanu Reeves) on the road to Oz (The Mech City) to see the Wizard (You'll see what I mean). That road continues the forgettable Reloaded (2003) plot for about an hour before it becomes its own film. And that film has a pretty good battle sequence with giant human-controlled mechs fighting off swarms of the octopus-like probes. But I also had to sit through more of the spewing Oracle (Mary Alice) to whom even Neo proclaims, "What does that mean?" summing up most of her scenes. And there's also the continuing acrobatic battle between Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving) and Neo with stakes raised for the final episode. Having recently seen The Matrix: Reloaded for a second time made me think I over-rated it in my above review so I won't make the same mistake here. Except for the mech battle, there wasn't much that entertained or surprised me. I also wish filmmakers would start looking to other mythologies for a savior figure, because I'm tired of the Judeo-Christian Messiah on a cross, but that's probably all they know.

May (available on DVD)
Newcomer writer-director Lucky Mckee scores with his tight little black comedy about a lonely young woman, May, (perfectly played by Angela Bettis), who goes looking for friendship. Along the way, she pursues Adam (Jeremy Sisto) after falling in love with his beautiful hands. May also pursues, and is pursued by, co-worker Polly (Anna Scary Movie, The Hot Chick, Faris) whom she loves for her neck. Can you see where this is leading? Finally, out of a frustration, May declares: "If you can't find a friend . make one." You know May is doomed from the start when, as a child, her mother gives her a handmade doll to be her best friend, but "she can't take it out of the box." May's relationship with the doll endures into adulthood and the doll does indeed become her best friend . and advisor. Angela Bettis is wonderful as the psychotic loner because she makes her character horrific and pathetic at the same time, perfectly portraying the different sides of May by actually making them look like different characters. Add Mckee's superb timing and pacing, a wonderfully subdued supporting cast, and you have yourself a must-see film. I even found myself noticing the haunting, yet subtle, music playing behind key scenes. It's the low-key attitude of this film that makes it different and makes it work. I missed this in the theaters, but was fortunate enough to be reminded of it by my local Hollywood Video clerk. And now I'm reminding you! See May.

Memento
This black-comedy thriller is a must for "Run, Lola, Run" fans or anyone wanting to get their mind blown for all the right reasons. Great script for a story told backwards!

Men in Black 2
Special Agents Smith (Will) and Jones (Tommy Lee) are back in black for the second installment of this comic book gone celluloid. This time the agents switch places character-wise as they try to solve a series of clues to "save the universe" again, this time from an alien turned Victoria's Secret model. There are more background aliens in this one, but everything else pretty much stays the same. If you thought the first film's story was too simplistic, this one is too. (Most comic book plots are. I buy comics for the pictures.) If you thought the first film was too short, this one is too (82 minutes). But if you liked the first film, you'll probably like this one too. What else can I say about a film where the best and funniest lines went to a talking dog and alien worms while Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones simply jumped through the hoops. Now that I think of it, I liked the first film better.

The Messengers (DVD)
Hong Kong horror directors Oxide Pang Chun and Danny Pang (2004's The Eye, among others) take us to a farm in North Dakota where, in the opening minutes, we see a mother, daughter, and young son stalked and presumably killed by an ominous dark figure. The daughter is dragged down into the cellar, clawing at the floor, and the boy hides in a cupboard where he is found—end of scene. Next, we join the new family (Kristen Stewart as the daughter, Dylan McDermott as the dad, Penelope Ann Miller as the mom, and Evan and Theodore Turner as the young son) who bought the abandoned house. (I know, we've heard or seen all this before.) There is friction in the family—debt, trouble with the daughter, and a son who won't talk. The only other important cast member is John Corbett as Burwell—the hired hand. Before long, things do get spooky—the legs under the sheets, a creepy ghost kid walking on ceilings—things the little boy sees and can't tell or things the daughter sees and no one will believe. I did not get to see this in the theaters and that was fine. As the plot unfolds, it become too familiar, but there was enough to keep me entertained. No actor was special and I saw nothing unique about the directing. Still, The Messengers made a decent rental with some creepy scenes and decent special effects. In the end I thought, That's what you get for moving to North Dakota.

Minority Report
Steven Spielberg is back in form (see my review of A.I.) taking Philip K. Dick's short story to the screen. It's the future and eye imprints are used by the pre-crime department to preserve and protect and advertisers to exploit as some of the scariest visions of the future take place in the mall. And in this future, three mutants can see crimes before they're committed, permitting the police to arrest you for something you were about to do. As the story unfolds Detective John Anderton (Tom Cruise) finds himself a victim of the system in this sci-fi whose gonna do it action thriller. Spielberg pulls out all the plugs to give us a high energy mystery full of twists and turns (although there might be one to many twists) that sometimes reminded me of the surrealistic style of Terry Gilliam (Brazil, Twelve Monkeys, Fisher King). But it's Spielberg's attention to detail and filming style (watch for the use of film tints and unique camera angles) that stuck me most. This is a tight, well plotted, well filmed, well directed, well acted (Max von Sydow co-stars), sci-fi mystery that should please both sci-fi and who-done-it fans.

MirrorMask (DVD)
The multi-talented Neil Gaiman teams up with artist Dave McKean to bring us what I can only describe as Alice in Wonderland meets A Neverending Story. The film made a quick pass through Seattle, lasting about a week in a local independent theater and then disappeared before showing up recently on DVD, which is when I grabbed it. Word of mouth was "You'll either love it or hate it." I loved it. The story, simple yet full of symbolism, is about a young teen, Helena (Stephanie Leonidas,) who lives in a circus and hates her life, wanting to live in the "real world." Meanwhile, another girl, living in a world created by the minds of McKean and Gaiman, wishes she could get out of her world into another. And so, due to circumstances Helena can't control, the girls switch worlds. Helena soon realizes she wants to go home and enlists the help of a masked ally, Valentine (Jason Barry) to help her find the way. Of course, the key to getting home lies in finding "The MirrorMask." Simply put, this is a visual feast. It takes a bit to get started, but once the symbols are in place and the point of the story is made, you won't be able to turn away from the combination of 2-D and 3-D art, animation, and CGI effects that bring together worlds and creatures never seen before. If you like "fantasy for the head" definitely look for this on DVD.

Mirrors
French director Alexandre Aja (2006’s The Hills Have Eyes), also helped write this script about and ex-cop, Ben Carson (played by Kiefer Sutherland) who gets a job as a night watchman in an old, fire gutted hotel filled with mirrors. However, these mirrors seem to have a life of their own as reflections of people in our world take on separate lives in the mirrors. Soon, these mirror spirits follow Ben home where they harass his wife Amy (played by Paula Patton) and their family. There are definitely some tense moments in this one. Unfortunately, the plot takes a variety of turns that make it convoluted, taking away from the suspense. The film seemed to end at least three times, which did cause me some frustration. I also had a problem with Kiefer Sutherland. He comes on much too agitated at the start of the film, leaving nowhere for his character to go in terms of development. He screams most of his lines. Think Ben Carson channeling Jack Bauer and you’ll understand what I mean. There was almost no difference between the character in this film and his 24 character. Overall, the tense moments would probably make this worth a look as a rental, but I can’t recommend seeing it in theaters.

The Mist
Frank Darabont (1999’s The Green Mile, 1994’s The Shawshank Redemption) directs and writes the screenplay (based on Stephen King’s Novella) for this “What the Hell is going on?” suspense/horror tale. After a storm hits a small town near Portland, Maine, a mysterious mist follows. “There’s something in the mist!” A local man screams entering the supermarket and that’s when things go bad. Trapped with other patrons is local artist David Drayton (Thomas Jane) and his son, Billy (Nathan Gamble,) the new schoolteacher, Amanda Dumfries (Laurie Holden), the big city lawyer, Brent Norton (Andre Braugher), and the local prophet of doom, Mrs. Carmody (superbly played by Marcia Gay Harden). What makes this a good horror story is that while the characters must deal with the conflict without, which slowly starts to reveal itself, they must also deal with the conflict within as the townspeople trapped in the store take sides against each other. Drayton and his side get a glimpse of what’s in the mist, but their warnings fall on the deaf, pragmatic hears of Norton’s group. But soon, the one voice that rises above the rest is Mrs. Carmody who preaches the mist is “the end of days,” splitting the remaining patrons into two camps. We do get hints as to what caused the mist and finally learn its nature so that’s no surprise. The first surprise is seeing for ourselves. I don’t want to give anything away, but let me say when the creatures in the mist reveal themselves they are a wonderful eyeful from the imagination of a great horror writer that you can’t get enough of. Marcia Gay Harden did such a great job as Mrs. Carmody I wanted to yell at the screen and before the film is over the audience I was with was reacting out loud to her character. The suspense builds, even during dialogue, until we finally see what’s in the mist. The wait is well worth it. The ending (which most will see coming) may not please everyone, but as Stephen King says, “Sometimes the monsters get you.” The Mist is well worth a trip to the theater because if your audience is like mine, it will be an interactive experience. If you miss it there, do rent it.

Monsters, Inc.
This visual triumph (amazing and pleasing to the eyes) is anchored by the exceptional voice-talents of Billy Crystal and John Goodman (one of the best character-actors today.) The CGI is so good, most people won't appreciate it. So watch the detail given to each strand of Sullivan's hair. At times, I thought I was watching a superior claymation performance because of "the depth" achieved. I realized the artists behind the keyboards knew what they had done when they offered a special (although subtle) salute to stop-motion wizard, Ray Harryhausen, by having the characters eat at a restaurant named after the SFX pioneer. But technical achievements aside, I did notice that the "under 5" audience did stir during Act II, coming back for the big chase and climax in Act III.

Mulholland Drive
It's never easy watching a David Lynch film, and I disliked this one more than usual. I "think" its about a naïve, young woman from Canada who comes to Hollywood to be a star. But instead, she finds corruption, murder, a lesbian relationship, drugs and failure. I "think" Lynch is taking a shot at mainstream "Hollywood." Unfortunately, Lynch's jigsaw puzzled plot is frustrating, not entrancing. Best picture of the year? I'd rather give my vote to Memento.

The Mummy
A comic book comedy Indiana Jones-style action-adventure.

The Mummy Returns
It's slam, bam, thank you, mum in this high energy formula fantasy-adventure that borrows freely from Indiana Jones and Jurassic Park.

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
This third installment in The Mummy series is yet another Brandan Fraser vehicle for a comic book comedy that again borrows freely from the Indiana Jones style action-adventures. Brandon Fraser returns as Rick O’Connell—tomb raider. This time around, Maria Bello plays his wife, Evelyn, and John Hannah plays his son, Jonathon, now in his twenties. In Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, the torch is handed to the junior O’Connell, who gets more screen and plot time then his father as he courts a sorceress’ daughter and battles the bad guy. We learn through back-story about how the evil Emperor Han (Jet Li) prepared to conquer the world by becoming immortal. Only the sorceress, Zi Juan (Michelle Yeoh), had the power to stop him by turning him and his army into terra cotta statues. However, in the present (the 1950’s for the film) John Hannah digs up the long buried emperor, who returns to life to claim his throne. John joins with his family, the sorceress, Zi Juan, and her daughter, Lin (Isabella Leong) to battle Emperor Han and return him to his tomb. Believe it or not, I actually missed Rachel Weisz as Evelyn. Maria Bello just didn’t have Weisz’s spunk and sassiness, adding little to her screen time. Brandan Fraser returns without distinction. After all, he plays the same character in almost all of his films, so doing yet another Mummy movie is no stretch.  Even Jet Li is lost amongst the action and special effects. So does all this make Tomb of the Dragon Emperor bad? If you liked the other Mummy films, expect more of the same, which for me meant going one film too far as I felt I’ve seen it all before. Sure, the battle between the army of the dead and the terra cotta soldiers was fun, but still it was more of the same. Even the martial arts fights seem hackneyed. I felt more awe and wonder watching a National Geographic Special on the unearthing of the actual terra cotta soldiers. The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor is probably best left for a rental.