21 Review

After being recommended this movie from some family members, we finally got around to seeing this 2 hour movie based on the book "Bringing Down The House". I own the book, but have never read the whole thing through, and although I liked this movie a lot, I have a feeling that it is VERY loosely based on the book (which is a true story). Basically it is the story of a M.I.T. student who learns to count cards in order to earn money to go to medical school. He hangs out with a professor at MIT and a team of students that work together in order to count cards and make thousands at the Vegas casinos. While some of this movie really seems unbelievable, it does make for a very interesting plot and Chrystal and I both really liked it. The soundtrack throughout the movie was very well put-together in my humble opinion, and I liked the way that it showed the corruption that money and greed can cause a young man. This movie illustrates the dangers of pride and greed and what that can cause in relationships and in life choices. It really did a good job illustrating the truth of Proverbs 16:18 (NKJV):
"Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall."
Although some of it was predictable, we both really enjoyed it and thought it was very entertaining. There were a few scenes that in my opinion would have been better left out, but overall I highly recommend this movie. Two thumbs up.

Collateral Review

I rented this movie from Netflix and was actually pretty surprised at how well-acted it was. It also had a fantastic script. Without great acting and a great script I would consider this movie a flop, yet it had enough good parts to get a decent rating in my opinion. Tom Cruise is a hitman in this movie, and Jamie Foxx is the taxi driver that gets pulled into helping him. At first I thought this movie would be on the slow side, due to the whole movie happening in one night with most of the movie being in the taxi cab. However, that is where this movie surprised me. The writer takes the movie in directions I would never have guessed would happen out of this movie. The taxi cab driver's mother gets involved in the storyline, and they even throw in some romance which is impressive considering the short amount of time that the movie takes place over. I thought it was a good movie overall and would give it 4 out of 5 stars for quality. The ending left me a little disappointed (not bad, just not great), but overall a decent movie that really had clever dialog and great acting.

Regarding Henry Review

I actually have seen this movie several times, yet I don't think I have written a review of it yet. To me, this is one of Harrison Ford's best movies. He isn't an action hero, but this movie really shows some good acting and character development, without always being about special effects. The basic plot is a self-centered lawyer ends up getting shot in a robbery, and has to relearn who he is. He must learn to talk again, walk again, and love again and discover who he was before the shooting. As he discovers what his life and friends were like before the shooting, he really begins to hate who he was and this realization changes him for the better. Although this movie isn't perfect (there are a couple scenes that could have been edited out in my opinion), I do think it does a great job showing that sometimes the most important parts of our life get the least attention. As stated before, Harrison Ford does a wonderful job portraying not only an arrogant lawyer, but also a changed man who learns the true value of good family and faithful friends. This movie is a rare movie for hollywood. It is heart-warming and well done in my opinion, and if you haven't watched it yet - I recommend you check it out. 4.5 stars out of 5 in my opinion.

The Bucket List Review

This movie was directed by one of my favorite directors: Rob Reiner, who also directed classics like The Princess Bride, and A Few Good Men. The story is about two men who have both been diagnosed with cancer. One is a rich businessman who doesn't have much close family and thinks the world revolves around him (more or less), and the other one (Morgan Freeman's character) is a humble mechanic who has a large family who loves him, yet who feels like he never got to do everything he was hoping to before getting the tragic news of terminal cancer. The two characters end up sharing a hospital room and throughout getting to know one another, they decide to write a bucket list of all the things they want to do before they kick the bucket. These things include driving fast cars, skydiving, and few other things. Throughout this journey, they grow closer together and find more to life than they originally thought they possessed. Unfortunately, they really leave the question of where they will spend eternity out of the equation. To Rob Reiner's credit he does include a dialog between the characters about faith, yet the end result was kind of a "believe what works for you" outcome. Nothing about repentance, nothing about living for eternity rather than for the moment, and no mention of Jesus(unless used in blasphemy). On a positive note, the movie did show the value of staying close to your family and making an effort to restore broken relationships. All in all, it was a fairly good movie, yet it was sad due to not offering much hope of eternal life. I would give 2.5-3 stars out of 5.

Jumper Review

Chrystal, my sister-in-law Melody, and I just finished watching this action sci-fi flick and were pleasantly surprised how fun it was. We initially weren't sure about this movie, due to it being a superhero (sort-of) spin-off, yet it really kind of stood alone. Basically it is the story of a guy who can teleport to all different places, and begins to use the power to steal and abuse his power for evil. Through all this storyline (which isn't very deep to begin with), he is chased down by people that don't like his power and want him dead. One thing that really impressed me about this movie (realism aside) is how cool they made teleporting look. I mean if you have an ounce of imagination, you would enjoy just thinking about having the power to be anywhere at once, and this movie made it look very, very sweet. Almost worth re-watching, but definitely worth a good watch for an action, comedy, sci-fi flick that does a decent job blending them all together. One theme I took from this movie (similar to Spiderman 3) is that it is wrong to assume people will turn out a certain way just because others like them have made some bad choices. I agree with that idea to some degree but not completely. People have a sinful tendency to do wrong (bar-none). There is not one person I believe who is basically good. We do all have a choice to make, however. Through God's grace we can choose to accept Jesus Christ as Savior and live in His power doing good things, or we can go our own direction, live in sin, and ultimately end up in hell. This is a serious choice and one that everyone should consider. Left to ourselves we all are sinful, but Christ offers us salvation and hope to live a righteous life through His strength and power. I'll close with a couple verses from God's Word:

And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment - Hebrews 9:27 NKJV

Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus. Acts 3:19-20.

In Good Company Review

I saw this movie was on TV, and since Chrystal had wanted to see this one, I decided to check it out. We watched it the other day, and I must say I was pretty disappointed. I haven't seen Topher Grace in too much other than Spiderman 3 and "The 70s Show", yet this movie is one I wouldn't consider his crowning accomplishment. Don't get me wrong, it isn't terrible, it just doesn't quite live up to the way I thought it would be. It broke out of the steriotypical romantic comedy to become a drama with slightly funny moments throughout. Dennis Quaid plays a kind of mean executive who has little patience for those who are younger than him in the business world. Topher Grace becomes his boss and is really looking for a mentor. So guess what? He picks Dennis Quaid and the two begin to work very closely together. One sad part of this movie involved Topher's character inviting himself over to Dennis Quaid's house just because he was so lonely and depressed that his wife left him. It really made me see how people need others in their life, and it made me grateful that I belong to a church with many friends who would care for me through tough times, so that I wouldn't have to invite myself over to a co-workers just because I was lonely. Having like-minded Christians who pray for you and support you in your time of need is something that many people just don't have. Back to the movie however. All in all I thought this movie lacked fulfilling character roles, and left me thinking that something was missing from the story. Maybe all it was trying to do was to portray real life in corporate America. However, that is a subject I don't need integrated into a "comedy". Too realistic and real-life, and not light-hearted enough. Two thumbs down in my opinion.

SHE SAID:

Well, I don't post very often, but I just want to warn people to not watch this bland-wait-it's-got-to-get-better movie!! I think Topher Grace is a good actor based on his previous roles, but this movie is not even sure what genre to call itself. I wanted to watch it because the previews made it look like a romantic comedy. Sadly, even the attempts at humor often fell flat. I will echo what Paul said about Topher desperately seeking community from his coworkers (because he has no friends). At 26 his career is so central that he often works Sunday's and goes thru a divorce. There are plenty of scriptures on the value of hard work, but when all you have is your career it's a very empty unfufilling life. Overall, there was slight chemistry between Topher and his love interest. Without giving too much away, Topher, does not lead as a man should in the relationship. Lastly, the movie abruptly ends without really tying the plot together! It's a movie that after you watch it, you might have to watch another movie to console yourself.

Con Air Review

I DVRed this movie the other day and finally had a chance to watch it from one end to the other. I found it pretty enjoyable for an action flick. Not that many people look to this blog for recommendations or anything, but I thought I would post what I thought of this movie. First of all, great all-star cast that play their parts reasonably well. You have Nick Cage, John Malkovich, and John Cusack to name a few. Nick Cage is the star of the story who gets sent to federal prison for killing someone in a bar fight. The movie does a good job showing how he is really a nice guy deep down and showing the admirable qualities of loyalty and care for others that are present in his character. Although this is an action movie, I liked the fact that it had plenty of humor throughout so that I won't blame this movie for taking itself too seriously. There are some pretty graphic violent scenes in this movie, but you generally don't pop in a movie with the name "CON AIR" on it expecting a movie that will make you and your family feel good before you fall asleep. It is a movie about cons, so in that sense, I can say it may not be entirely uplifting to watch, yet in another sense it still shows that even in bad situations (like Nick found himself in), things can work out OK (with God's help of course). It almost reminds me of the Joseph story. Joseph got thrown into prison, yet he still didn't let that make him a prisoner in the way he acted. He kept believing God and trusting that God would get him out eventually, and as the Bible says, he ends up becoming second in command to the king of Egypt, and God uses it to reunite him with his family. Well I won't say too much more about the "Con Air" or the way it ends, but if you want plenty of action and a fairly redemptive ending, I recommend that you check it out.

Reign Over Me Review

I watched this movie a few weekends ago, and actually liked it more than I thought. The story line is complex and the character development was really good (in my opinion) in this movie about college buddies that get reaquainted with one another after one of them goes through the horrible loss of his wife and children when they die in a 9/11 airplane. Adam Sandler portrays the withdrawn widower who lives a lonely life in the city trying to deny what happened in his life, and live a life of no responsibility. Don Cheadle does a superb job of playing his friend who isn't content to let Adam Sandler's character live a life disconnected and tries to genuinely get involved in his life by spending time with him and encouraging him to get professional help. What this movie does so well in my opinion is show how badly we all need people in our lives to help us see who we really are, and to grow through the life trial and temptations that we all face. I believe a church is probably the best instrument for that to happen in, yet in this movie, it was an old college buddy who wasn't content to mind his own business, but instead wanted to genuinely help his friend get through the grieving process. Throughout the story, Don Cheadle's character ends up learning a thing or two about his own life and marriage as a result of spending so much time investing his life in the life of his widower friend. I believe over all that this story shows the power of community to help us to grow and develop, and the only sad part about this movie, is that it didn't really show that the Author of Life, Jesus Christ, is the one who really offers genuine help and comfort in the midst of trials and pain. 4 out of 5 stars in my book.

Invincible Review

This movie Invincible is the inspiring true story of a bar tender who wants to play pro football after the Philly Eagles got desperate enough to hold an all open try-out session for the whole city of Philadelphia. I rented this one expecting a traditional sports story of the underdog that ends up achieving great things, and for the most part this story delivered. It had a few slow parts in it, but for the most part it kept the story moving, and also the content is very clean (probably due to being Disney) which is a definite plus in movies today. The challenge today I think is being able to create a movie that goes where no prior sports movie has gone. This movie doesn't quite do it in my opinion. Granted it is a true story and true stories don't always seem as exciting, but with movies like Rocky, Remember the Titans, and others already giving you the classic recipe for an emotionally moving story of the underdog that rises to the top, this story kind of left you feeling like something was missing. Mark Whalberg did a decent job, but in my opinion the writers made his character a little too one-dimensional . I'm sure the real person he was trying to portray was a lot more 3-dimensional and real, and sadly this movie didn't quite show that. It showed a quiet humble guy but someone who wasn't quite developed enough that you wanted to stand up and cheer in the end. I did find the story good, just not a spectacular must-see. 3 out of 5 stars in my humble opinion.

Book Review of "The Summons" by John Grisham

Well I finally read my first book by John Grisham, and I was very impressed. I have seen several of the books made into movies that he has written, and for the most part have liked them very much. I really liked the movie The Firm as well as the movie The Rainmaker. So I decided to read this book on the left to see what his writing style was like. This story is the story of two brothers who are summoned home to find that their dad has died and left several million dollars of cash around with no mention of it in his will. The oldest brother (Ray) finds the money in the story and decides he will hide it until he can figure things out. I don't want to give too much away (for those who haven't read it yet), but it was really a fascinating read. The story was fast enough pace to keep you interested, and I think did a great job showing the dangers of hoarding wealth. In fact, if I had to pick one verse in the Bible that illustrated what this story was about, I would pick Luke 12:15 where Jesus says:

Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."

Greed can do all sorts of things to a person, and in the end cause him/her to hurt the ones he/she loves. This novel was an excellent story that helped to enforce that idea, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Highly recommended.

Lucky You Review

I had seen several previews for this movie, and it looked good so while at the video store, I figured we would pick it up and see what quality of romantic comedy this proves to be. First mistake renting this movie, was thinking that it was a romantic comedy. It really isn't. All the commercials and previews make it appear to be a great romantic comedy movie, but in reality Lucky You is more of a sports drama about a distant son who is a habitual gambler and his rocky relationship with his dad who taught him the game of poker and who is always trying to show that he is a better gambler than his own son. However, that being said I have to admit I liked this movie. Eric Bana is the main character who is not necessarily a likeable character in the beginning as they show how desparate this guy is to gamble. He basically pulls all sorts of tricks just to get more money to hit the poker tables, and even steals from Drew Barrymore after taking her out for a romantic date. He not only compulsively gambles, he really has a chip on his shoulder towards his father who consistently beats him in gambling and makes him feel like he'll never measure up. That is what is great about this movie. Although it isn't really a comedy (OR that romantic), the complexity of the characters and the lessons that the main character learns about relationships make this movie worth seeing. I won't give away how things work out, but I will say it does prove to teach some very important lessons about winning, competition, and forgiveness. As long as you aren't watching this movie for a sappy love story, I think if you give it a chance, this movie may be an enjoyable watch with redemptive themes.

Dan in Real Life review

We got a recommendation from a friend that "Dan in Real Life" would be a good romantic comedy with a good amount of romance, yet something I (Paul) would enjoy watching as well. I personally am not into movies where the guys are merely there to add the romance factor and have no real function other than to sweep the main girl character off of her feet. Sure sappy love stories have their place, but I appreciate good romantic comedies that have some substance to the characters lives. We were not at all disappointed with "Dan in Real Life". This movie was great. The characters are well-played, and very true-to-life at times, and the story isn't boring at all and moves along very well. The main plot of the story is a guy named "Dan" who is the single father of three girls and also works as a newspaper columnist. Dan is just trying to do a good job as a dad to his three girls when he meets this intriguing woman at a bookstore and really hits it off talking to her. He thought all was going well, until he finds out that his brother is dating her. I won't go any further than that, but this movie did a wonderful job showing how awkward and weird falling in love can be (especially around your close family). I thought the family relationships shown in this movie were really shown in a great 3 dimensional way, and yet it still showed that the extended family cared about each and every person. Dan has trouble throughout with his feelings, but one of the characters wisely shares with him that "love isn't just a feeling, it is an action you take" (my paraphrase). I have to agree with that message, and hope that more movies like this one are released. Two thumbs up.

Jerry Maguire Review

Another movie that it took me some time to actually watch all the way through. I finally did after much coaxing from my wife, and was pretty impressed with this movie. As most probably know, it is the story of a sports agent who ends up hitting rock bottom and through the power of a dream and some loyal friends, decides to change his life. I guess this movie could pass as a romantic comedy, but it also has many other "just plain drama" moments. Unfortunately, it also has some things that detract from the morals and message (such as pre-marital sex, and quite a bit of foul language). The negative parts are unfortunate, because the acting is top-notch and some of the messages are really redemptive. A few things I liked about this movie were :

1. I won't go into how, but one of the strongest themes throughout the movie was the importance of sincere honesty when relating to others. Acting like nothing is wrong or refusing to say anything that might hurt or offend can actually hinder rather than help growth in life and character.

2. Another thing this movie shows was that sometimes you can't grow until you hit rock bottom. Jerry Maguire did hit rock bottom in this movie, and although he turned to alcohol and depression when unsure of the next steps, it did show that once he reached the end of of his abilities, it was the beginning of his career and life starting to take a turn in the up direction.

3. Many dialog lines that pop culture has picked up. Although I don't go around repeating "Show me the money!" (Cuba Gooding Jr.) or "help me to help you" (Tom Cruise), I admire the delivery and catchiness of some of the lines used in this movie.

All in all, this movie does have a redemptive finish and I found I thought the theme did reinforce some good points about life. Not a movie, in my top 10 list, but yet if you find it on TV (with edited content), I would recommend sitting through it to see what "Jerry Maguire" is all about.

Shattered Glass Review

Well as mentioned before, I haven't completely given up movies. I caught this great movie on TV the other night, and was pleasantly surprised how well-written and directed it was. It is the true story of a journalist by the name of Stephen Glass and a look at his career and how he was discovered to have fabricated some of his stories. It does a phenomenal job of showing how Mr. Glass was probably thinking in order to justify his false journalism, and how he really loved to just tell a great story and have everyone laugh and be entertained. The movie is very well-done in my opinion and very engaging as it shows the publications he writes for become more and more suspicious that he is making up his "facts". I was really drawn into this movie that shows how some people become so desirious for public approval and praise that they are willing to lie in order to be recognized. Watching this movie made me think about my own temptation at times to be hypocritical and to appear differently than I truly am -merely because I want people to think well of me. I do feel sorry that Mr. Glass felt the need to lie in order to impress others, yet I know that he isn't alone in thinking that that will make you popular and well-liked. However, people do want the truth in the long run, and fortunately in journalism that need is pretty emphasized. Although everyone wants to believe that they can get away with things that they know are wrong, I think Numbers 32:23 says it very well ....

"But if you fail to keep your word, then you will have sinned against the Lord, and you may be sure that your sin will find you out." NLT

and the good news is contained in Romans 6:23

"For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. NLT.

This movie gets two thumbs up in my view.

What I'm Reading

Currently I've picked up the book on the left at my local library, and have been surprised with how involved in the story I am becoming. This story revolves around a young man who's mother has passed away and she has left him a note to go find his uncle and live with him. So, the boy (Jeremy) decides to head across country and find his uncle - who happens to be working at a mine. I haven't finished this story, but I must say the characters are pretty engaging, and the story moves along without too much descriptive language as some novels have a tendency to do. So far I'm really enjoying this book and look forward to finishing it soon.

As far as the comments I have received (re: last post)....

I would like to clarify that I have not given up all movies, just decided to use less of my time to watch movies. I recommend using your time to further creativity, not just watching the ideas of others.

What's been going on

Hello to everyone out there in bloggerville. Just thought I would post some news of what is happening in my life. Due to my increase in movie watching of late, and how little free time I have after I watch the quantity of movies I am accustomed to watching, I have decided to take a break from my online movie subscription. I have cancelled it. Instead of trying to watch 3 movies a month, I intend to watch less TV/movies and read more good books, visit my library, tour the area, and stay involved in my church more. I'm not saying that movies will never have a place in my life - I just want to make sure that movies have a much smaller place than they have been taking of late. I will still post movie reviews from time to time, but now I will probably intersperse movie reviews with book reviews and life stories of my adventures in living (however boring that might be). I also enjoy writing, so I may devote some time to actually write some blog postings that are more than my two cents on the latest from Hollywood. This is very appropriate (at least imho) also due to the writer's strike that is making TV boil down to nothing more than re-runs, news shows, sports, and reality TV. No this isn't a New Years Resolution. This is something that has dawned on me as I came home day after day plopped myself down on the couch and keep hoping that there is something worthwhile on television to numb my brain to another night. I'm sick of it I tell you! Creativity in America is suffering due to the amount of TV watching our country does. It is time to meet your neighbors, try new recipes, go for hikes in the woodlands, and find out what quality novels are being written and are freely available at your local library. Movies have their place, but in my case they were becoming a time drain that I can not afford to keep feeding. Life has too much to offer for me to stay cooped up in the house all evening!! A few movies I have seen parts of, I will now comment on briefly:

Life is Beautiful - excellently done movie about the Holocaust. Very touching and worth watching in my opinion.

Picture Perfect - amusing romantic comedy with Rachel from Friends. Didn't watch all of it, but Chrystal really enjoyed this one.

Labyrinth - Old classic movie by Jim Henson. Kind of strange, but interesting if you like fantasy. If you don't like fantasy and fairy tales, you should probably skip it. Fun songs.

Live Free or Die Hard Review

This movie is essentially considered "Die Hard 4". Since I had seen the other ones (except I haven't watched Die Hard 2 through completely) I wanted to see if Bruce Willis still could kick the same kind of butt as he did back in the day. I liked this movie a lot. The action was non-stop and the stunts were very impressive. Sure, you have to put believability to rest for a while, but the Die Hard series has never been about ultra realistic stunts and stories. Bruce Willis did a very impressive job reprising his old role from the earlier movies. He was great - had wonderful one-liners like usual, and kept the action moving throughout. In this movie, the bad guy is an exceptional computer hacker/genius who is trying to cause national chaos and terrorism and Bruce Willis has to do all sorts of things to stop him. In order to do this, he teems up with a super-smart genius computer savy young man who turns out to be just what he needs to get to the bad guy. I think the team-work between the young man and Bruce was superb and really helped the story to have a broader appeal to the younger ages. Allthough there is a fair amount of bad language and violence, I don't think the bad outweighs the good in this movie. Great action, great acting, and a great closure to the entire Die Hard series. Two thumbs up.

Blades of Glory Review

Over the holidays I rented the movie "Blades of Glory" and finally had a chance to sit down and watch it. I was actually surprised about how much I laughed at this movie. I am not a big fan of ice skating and thought a funny spoof movie about it would be hilarious. I enjoyed "Napolean Dynamite" and some of the Will Farrell's movies, so I figured this movie had a lot of potential in the laugh department. It did not disappoint in the laughs, but unfortunately the writers had to add a lot of sexual humor to this movie that wasn't necessary at all. Basically the plot involves Will Farrell and Jon Heder getting kicked out of solo skating tournaments due to getting in a huge fight during an awards ceremony. Their licenses for competing in tournaments are banned for life until someone finds that that ruling only applies to solo tournaments and that they could skate together in couples tournaments with no legal issues. What results are some of the funniest skating moments I have ever witnessed in a movie. This movie had me laughing so hard that I even rewound parts to rewatch how funny they were. Due to some parts having a lot of inappropriate innuendo I probably wouldn't buy this movie, but some of the scenes are really laugh-out-loud funny (as long as you don't mind making fun of ice skating). Minus some of the inappropriate material, this is a very funny movie. Unfortunately due to some of the content, this movie gets a "B-" from me. Too bad the writers have to include inappropriate humor in modern comedies.

Secondhand Lions Review

I was given a recommendation to see this 2003 film by a friend who said it was really a good movie. I wasn't quite sure what to expect from a film where a boy goes to spend some time with two old quirky men who are his great-uncles (supposedly). However, this movie was very well done, and the acting did not disappoint at all. The plot is that this neglected young man is sent to live with his two great uncles who everyone believes are loaded with money (yet who remain kind of strange and reclusive). As he gets to know them, he really begins to like them for who they are, and enjoys learning about their hobbies, their passions, and their history. The film sort of bordered on fantasy with all the storytelling and adventures that the characters get into, yet never to the point that a movie like Mary Poppins would go. I enjoyed the movie, yet sometimes wondered where the story was going. It had a good ending and kept you pretty entertained, yet it wasn't one I would necessarily laugh-out-loud too, nor one I would necessarily want to rewatch. What was refreshing about this movie was that it was very clean and interesting for a family movie without resorting to special effects to tell a good story. It also showed two older men who had many ambitions and loved to live life, and how long that allowed them to live. I am a firm believer that having goals and ambitions in life help you to live long and live life to the fullest and this movie clearly portrayed it in the characters. Yet, sadly this movie did gloss over one of the most important questions a person can ask ... how can I know God personally? Although the men in this movie were out to seek adventure, they failed to look toward God as a person they could relate to and who could lead them on the greatest adventure in life that any man/woman could ever know.

Through him [Jesus] all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. - John 1:3-4 NIV

Early Christmas presents

I love early Christmas presents! This wonderful movie was presented to me by my wonderful wife as an early Christmas present. I have to say that Transformers was one of the best movies of Summer 2007 in my opinion. The effects were great, the story was well-done (even though it was a tad long), and you just can't argue with how cool transforming robots are who come to save the world. What could be better in the fictional Hollywood world where all things work out in the end? I actually never followed the toys and cartoon in the 80s, but I fondly remember how much of a rage they caused among my friends and peer group of the time. I personally was more into G.I. Joe, but I have to say that given the chance, I may have been seriously into Transformers as well. In any case, I think the new movie was well worth watching several times. There are a few parts that definitely seem to cater to the MTV crowd, and unfortunately the writer thought that things like that had to be included in this movie. However, I still don't think it ruins the movie as a whole. Great action, fun story, rocking music. Sounds like a blockbuster to me.