Little Children

• Directed by Todd Field
• Starring Kate Winslet, Patrick Wilson, Jennifer Connelly
• The movie tells a story of three people, a disappointed housewife whose husband prefers sex phones to her, a househusband who has to rely on his wife's income, and a former policeman who keeps harassing a convicted sex offender, and the relationship between them. It's an honest film that tells the dark side of human behavior. Excellent scriptwriting and fantastic performance of Kate Winslet.
  

The Bourne Ultimatum

• Directed by Paul Greengrass
• Starring Matt Damon, Julia Stiles, Joan Allen, David Strathairn
• Matt Damon is back as Jason Bourne. This time he hardly talks, eats, or sleeps and wastes no time with girls. It's a non-stop action movies and the most exciting for the trilogy. The most exciting part is when he fights with another assasin. So sad there is no more Jason Bourne.
  

Harry Potter and the Order of The Phoenix

• Directed by David Yates
• Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Ralph Fiennes, Gary Oldman, Alan Rickman
• The comment of this movies is supposed to be written by Dear, because he is a big fan of the Harry Potter series. However, since he keeps postponing writing the comments, I think it is my responsibility to write some for the time being, although he may not agree. Well, it's more fun than the past four series because Harry is old enough to kiss a girl. How about that?
• Comment from Dear: I don't consider myself BIG fans of the franchise. For fantasy, I'd recommend George R. R. Martin's 'A Song of Ice and Fire' series or Steven Erikson 'Malazan book of the Fallen' series. Harry Potter sure is fun as a blockbuster book, but is not something that sticks with you. I do think that this is one of the more entertaining movies in the Potter franchise, especially after the disappointing fourth movie. The film is smart in that when it chooses to cut something of the book from the film, they do it in entirety, not leaving plot lines that are undeveloped and premature. Fight at the end is also fun in a kung-fu kind of way.
  

Die Hard 4.0 (Live Free Or Die Hard)

• Directed by Len Wiseman
• Starring Bruce Willis, Justin Long, Maggie Q
• Before watching the movies, I had thought it would be boring, like the second and the third sequels. It turns out to be the best Die-Hard sequel, or at least as good as the first one. The story is action-packed, no time wasted for love or drama things. Bruce Willis is fantastic. It is so entertaining that I wish there would be Die-Hard Part 5,6,7,... with Bruce Willis as John McClane forever.
• Dear's Comment: I wish that John McClane and Jack Bauer can team up and pretty much die hard for 24 hours.
  

Transformers

• Directed by Michael Bay
• Starring Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox
• Great special effects. Fun to watch.
  

Fracture

• Directed by Gregory Hoblit
• Starring Anthony Hopkins, Ryan Gosling, David Strathairn
• Anthony Hopkins's role as a successful engineer Ted Crawford is so familiar. It's like watching Dr. Hannibal Lecter playing games with the detective again. Despite solid performances of the casts, I think the twist at the end is not good enough. I had thought it would be more complicated. Had it be, it would be more fun.
  

The Fantastic Four: Rise of The Silver Surfer

• Directed by Tim Story
• Starring Michael Chiklis, Jessica Alba, Ioan Gruffudd, Chris Evans
• If you don't expect anything serious, this summer movie is fun to watch with great special effects.

Ocean's Thirteen

• Directed by Steven Soderbergh
• Starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Al Pacino, Ellen Barkin
• The movie's only major flaw is that there are literally no real obstacles to Ocean's 13. We never get any doubt that the group wouldn't succeed. Apart from that, the talented cast supplies the movie with classy humor and charm. It would have been nice if it is more exciting, though. -Comment written by Dear.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

• Directed by Gore Verbinski
• Starring Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Geoffrey Rush, Bill Nighy, Chow Yun-Fat
• Although the film spends too much time on too many irrelevant plot threads, the final act features some very exciting climatic action sequences. Combining that with terrific cinematography, great visual effects and imaginative costume designs make this trilogy ending a good summer epic movie. -Comment written by Dear.

Next

• Directed by Lee Tamahori
• Starring Nicholas Cage, Julianne Moore, Jessica Biel
• Next will be one of the funniest movie of the year. I don't even need to look into the future to know that. Of course, everything about it is absurd. The plot is full of holes, over-acting splashed all over, and Cage sports the worst hair-do since Tom Hanks' in The Da Vinci Code. By the end, the absurdity of it all adds up to create a surreal blockbuster where the audience isn't sure what's happening, and not in a good way. Bizarrely, the last minute decision to add in action sequences into the film also brings about ninja-like cloning techniques and even some special effects that look like how The Matrix would be if they were made 20 years ago. This movie is a real mess, but hey, everybody in the theatre had a good time laughing at the film afterwards, so I'm going to have to recommend this. Next! - Comment written by Dear.

Spider-Man 3

• Directed by Sam Raimi
• Starring Tobey Maguire, Kristen Dunst, James Franco
• Spider-Man 3 is a case where the sum of individual parts don't add up to a solid well-made film. Certain elements in the movie (Villain Sandman and a bizarre dance number) should have been cut or trimmed out entirely. In comparison, Spider-Man 2 as a whole is much better at weaving a coherent story. However, I like some of the parts in Spider-man 3 so much that I find myself preferring it over the first two films. James Franco's role as the second green goblin is brilliantly scripted and acted. The fight chloreography is also exceptionally done. On the whole, I prefer this movie over the first two. -Comment written by Dear.

Pan's Labyrinth

• Directed by Guillermo Del Toro
• Starring Sergi Lopez, Ariadna Gil
• A fantasy film done right. Never once does the special effects threathen to overstage the drama. The movie makes it clear from the beginning that you're supposed to take it very seriously. The plot is a depressing, harrowing one, but not overly so as to be excessive.
• The thing with fantasy genres is that they left themselves for many types of intepretation. I always felt that the scholars usually overanalyzed these films, stretching themselves to find meanings in every irrelevant details. To me, however, this movie is probably one that should be analyzed, and will be rewarding to those who tries to.-Comment written by Dear.

Alone (FADD)

• Directed by Banjong Pisanthanakun, Parkpoom Wongpoom
• Starring Marsha Wattanapanich, Witaya Wasukraipaisan
• This Thai movie tells a story of Siamese twins, one of which managed to survive after the surgery to separate them from each other. Marsha Wattanapanich makes a great comeback after staying out of the movies business for more than 10 years. She proves that her acting capability does not fall short of her charm. The overall production is also good although it should be a lot better should the story tell more of the twins' biological organs and their relationship.
  

The Good Shepherd

• Directed by Robert De Niro
• Starring Matt Damon, Angelina Joli, Alec Baldwin, Robert De Niro, William Hurt
• This drama movie tells a serious political inside story of the CIA in their first years. Although the story is interesting and thrilling, the movie is too long. Matt Damon doesn't grow any older during 1939 and 1961, making me confused trying to figure out the timing of the scenes. He also looks much better when he is Jason Bourne in The Bourne Identity.

Music & Lyrics

• Directed by Marc Lawrence
• Starring Hugh Grant, Drew Barrymore
• This is an entertaining romantic comedy movie. Hugh Grant is charming, warm, and funny and he proves that he can sing very well. Drew Barrymore is also charming but there is not enough chemistry between the two. The best part is the closing credits which is very funny. Be sure you see it before leaving the theatre.
  

Volver

• Directed by Pedro Almodovar
• Starring Penelope Cruz, Carmen Maura
• This Spanish film is a pleasure to watch. It tells a story about women -- mothers and daughters, families and friends. The film has everything -- comedy, drama, murder, and ghost! Penelope Cruz delivers the best performances she has done so far. The character is made for her -- charming, strong, energetic, funny and vulnerable woman. It's not a surprise that she has been nominated for the Best Leading Actress in the Academy Awards this year.

Tamnan Somdej Phra Naresuan II: Prakaad Israparp (The Legend of King Naresuan II: Declaration of Independence)

• Directed by MC Chatrichalerm Yukol
• Starring Captain Wanchana Sawasdee, Nopachai Jayanama, Inthira Chaoroenpura, Napasorn Mitraim
• This movie is much easier to watch and enjoy than its prequel, mainly because there's enough action and unintentional comedy to smooth the same flaws that plague the first movie. Since there are no more child actors around, the acting has also generally improved. What this movie really lacked though, is a capable villain. The villains here are all either totally incompetent and/or lack any screentime. So there are really no challenge to King Naresuan's battles. The "rifle scene", which should have been a classic, if done right, also fell way short of its potential.
• Overall, this movie is your average war movie that is still too overlong for its own good. The only really unique thing this movie did was setting up a scenario where tribal VooDoo headhunters must fight with Mon Amazoness warriors.....in Thailand...with wire-fu actions even! Truly an international epic! -Comment written by Dear-

Dreamgirls

• Directed by Bill Condon
• Starring Jamie Foxx, Beyonce Knowles, Eddie Murphy, Jennifer Hudson
• Adapted from a real story of a popular musical group, "The Supremes", in the late Motown Era, this movie tells a story about three girlfriends from Chicago forming a singing trios under the management of a former car salesman. This movie is a great musical drama, entertaining and educational, with strong preformances of actors and actresses. Beyonce, despite her fine performances, is overshadowed by Jennifer Hudson, who plays a remarkable singer "Effie White" and is most likely to get The Oscar Award this year.

Tamnan Somdej Phra Naresuan I: Ong Prakan Hongsa (The Legend Of King Naresuan I: Hostage of Hongsawadi)

• Directed by MC Chatrichalerm Yukol
• Starring Somphop Benjathikul, Sorapong Chatree, Chatchai Plengpanich
• This first movie of the grand Naresuan trilogy came off as being more like a live action history book than a movie. That's not to say that the history book is boring. No, the story is told with enough production value likely to keep even 14-year old Thai boys interested for the whole duration of this very long movie. Before your imagination runs wild, this is still nothing in comparison to epic Hollywood movies in terms of production value. Return of the King has like 100 siege towers. The legend of Naresuan: Vol. 1 has 2. Since we're so used to the Hollywood mega war scenes, this difference shows up very clearly on screen. It gives the impression that we're seriously overreaching ourselves. Heck, if you don't have the money, why bother making half-assed war scenes? There's better areas to spend them on, like....the story. Ah, yes, the story.
• To its credit, this movie is clearly superior, plot-wise, to its spiritual predecessor "The Legend of Suriyothai". The characters are more interesting and possess more depth. The star that holds everything together in this movie is Buyinnong, the Burma king who is at once both ruthless and benevolent. He proves to be quite an interesting character. The conflicted-king Thammaracha is also a multi-dimensional character, something not seen at all in Suriyothai. The problem though, is that this is still not nearly enough. A movie becomes extremely boring when your "hero" is a pampered 2-dimensional goody-two-shoes with the almighty power of plot devices. Similarly to Suriyothai, the filmmaker considers it taboo to add any kind of faults to Naresuan, making him all wise and kind, while making the potential villain Mangsamkiat the evil cousin archetype. This is not the model for a movie, but for a cheap soap opera. These two characters could have had some great conflicts that draw empathy to both sides, but no, the message we get is "Nareusuan: good; Mangsamkiat: spoiled brat". This could of course really be the case, but why doesn't the movie try to dig into why Mangsamkiat is a spoiled brat, and why does he hate Naresuan so much?
• I guess the key-word here is "conviction". Naresuan and all the other "good Thai" characters in this movie say patriotic lines in like half the 3 hours screenplay. I can understand what they're saying, but I can't believe them. I don't see enough reason why these princes and princesses could think so much of freedom and such, when they've always enjoyed a luxurious life, especially Naresuan who is treated better than Buyinnong's own sons and heirs. I don't see how they could be so fixated on winning freedom for the Thai people. Of course, you can tell me, "It's because they are great and patriotic yada yada yada". Fine, I get what you're saying, but I can't believe in it because I can't relate to them at all. A character becomes believably patriotic when despite overwhelming desire not to be one, he/she still chooses to be one. There has to be a price for that decision. That is the condition where being patriotic actually means something besides being a load of impressive words.
• Throughout the movie, Naresuan has shown no other desire but to return Thai to Thai people. His characters is a straight arrow all the way, always sure of his target. This might have made him a hero, or even a saint, but this doesn't make him "great". We can't relate to someone who's so sure of his goals and is without any flaws. Granted, King Naresuan may have been like that in real life, god bless him for that, but his kind of character makes for an enormously boring character. He doesn't possess any internal conflict. Screenwriting 101 teaches everybody this, you know. This is why Thammaracha and Buyinnong are such fascinating characters, and why the rest of them are more like characters taken out of a soap opera. I'm here to see a good movie, not a glorified history textbook. I don't care how you need to add your own things to history to make it interesting, as long as it becomes interesting. There's no merits in making a movie as historically accurate as possible when it turns out to be boring. None whatsoever. I wanted to like King Naresuan. I really do. I want to be proud of him like the movie obviously wanted me to do. But since I can't even relate to him as a human being, I could not bring myself to like him at all. Even Mangsamkiat draws more sympathy out of me than our main character.
• This being the first part of trilogy, of course there's always room for improvement. Despite all that I've said, I'm really looking forward to the second part. I hope there's some huge improvement. If that's not to be, heck, I could always enjoy some more Tony Jaa-style action. -Comment written by Dear-

Blood Diamond

• Directed by Edward Zwick
• Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Connelly, Djimon Hounsou
• This action-packed drama film is thrilling, tragic, educational, and entertaining. Leonardo DiCarprio delivers stunning performances, both in action and drama scenes. He has proved himself to be a highly-capable actor and take away his picture as a young lover boy in "Titanic", "Romeo and Juliet", or "Catch Me If You Can".

The Black Dahlia

• Directed by Brian De Palma
• Starring Josh Harnett, Scarlett Johansson, Hilary Swank, Aaron Eckhart
• The story is about two LAPD detectives assigned to go after the 1947 murder of a Hollywood actress. The director tries to put in so many subplots and characters that it feels like watching more than one movie--a cruel murder which is the theme of the movie, a love triangle, a police corruption, a story of an insane family, etc.

The Holiday

• Directed by Nancy Meyers
• Starring Camiron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Jack Black
• This 2-hour romantic comedy is boring. It's like watching two movies, unrelated and unfunny. Too many characters and absolutely too long.

Deja Vu

• Directed by Tony Scott
• Starring Denzel Washington, Val Kilmer, Jim Caviezel
• The premise of the story is class A sci-fi material. However, director Tony Scott dumbed down the complexity and depth of the plot in favor of more action sequences, all which felt tagged on to the movie. In the end, what would have become a great sci-fi movie could only be a mildy interesting (albeit confusing) movie. If the time travelling concept is stripped away, all that is left of this movie is a barely convincing and rather shallow cop story. Telling a story with style is great, but first you got to have the story first. This movie got it the other way around. -Comment written by Dear-

The Possible (Kao Kao)

• Directed by Wittaya Thong-Yooyong
• Starring Apisit Opas-Eiamlikit (Joey Boy)
• This film tries to bring back old memories of string combo music, Afro hairstyles, bellbottom pants, platform shoes, etc., which is rather successful. However, the scriptwriting is so weak that the nostalgia isn't there. Most of the times it looks like the film is made and the script is written at the same time, or perhaps with no script at all. Some scenes, roles, and characters were created, perhaps for the fun of the filmmakers, not the audiences. Joey Boy is good at singing and rapping, but not at acting.

Death Note 2: The Last Name

• Directed by Shusuke Kaneko
• Starring Tatsuya Fujiwara, Kenichi Matsuyama
• Death Note 2 is a good continuation of the first movie. While the movie felt overlong and poorly-scripted at many points, there are still enough exciting cat-and-mouse games between Kira and L to keep the viewers interested throughout. Manga readers should note that the ending is different from the manga version, and that it is even arguably better. L fans can also look forward to an L spinoff movie scheduled for 2008. -Comment written by Dear-

Casino Royale

• Directed by Martin Campbell
• Starring Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Mads Mikkelsen, Caterina Murino, Judi Dench, Jeffrey Wright
• This new Bond isn't neccessarily superior to the previous films, but it is a new brand of Bond altogether. While the old Bonds are cool gentlemen, Craig's Bond is something more like a deadly assassin. He can also get hurt, both physically and emotionally, unlike the previous Bonds. So while the other Bond movies are like superhero movies, Casino Royale is more grounded in reality. This gives more weight to his mission and tribulations. This is the first Bond movie where I can sympathize with Bond, and as a result, I was able to take the movie much more seriously than other Bond movies. Some may argue against this new Bond vision, but I welcome the change. -Comment written by Dear-

The Unseeable (Pen Choo Kab Pee)

• Directed by Wisit Satsanatieng
• Starring Siriphan Watanajinda, Supornthip Chuangrangsri, Tasawan Seniwongse
• This is a Thai-made movies about a pregnant country girl searching for her missing husband in Bangkok some 70 years ago. Everything was great at the beginning. You will feel like watching a classic horror film. However, there were soo many ghosts, shocks and twists at the end, that the feeling of horror disappeared. The story is quite familiar and you can guess the ending without any diificulty.

The Prestige

• Directed by Christopher Nolan
• Starring Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Scarlett Johansson, Michael Caine
• By focusing on character study, director Nolan made the many twists and surprises in this film to be not like mere movie tricks, but rather as something that is the natural consequence or the extension of the characters' actions. The audience are not only wowed by the surprises, but also stunned by the dramatic implication that those twists will have for the characters involved. Fitting for a movie about magicians, the twists define the characters. That is the real magic of this movie. Another great film from Christopher Nolan.-Comment written by Dear-

Deep Sea 3D

• Directed by Howard Hall
• Narrated by Johnny Depp, Kate Winslet
• This is a 40-minutes 3D movies shown at an IMAX Theatre about the undersea exotic sea creatures. Although the movies doesn't tell anything new, the underwater cinematography, combined with the IMAX 3D-technology, is very impressive and spectacular. Not to mention kids, adults will also feel like scuba-diving undersea without getting wet.

The Departed

• Directed by Martin Scorsese
• Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Alec Baldwin
• This remake of the Hong Kong hit thriller, Infernal Affairs, is one of the best hollywood remakes I've seen. Scorsese didn't merely copy the original movie, but instead tried to infuse it with his own ideas. This mostly came as a benefit to the film. Characters are more fully fleshed out, the mafia gang social interactions juicier and edgier. Nicholson and DiCaprio are spectacular in their roles, and will most likely at least be nominated for the Academy Awards this year. Matt Damon's acting, however, is outclassed by original HK actor Andy Lau. Supporting characters were also given more roles and dialogues in this version, and this gave the movie a more playful and complex tone.
• However, in the end, these little "twists" made the movie lost much of the original's honest simplicity and brutal irony. Both movies' core is really about the question of identity. What made you a cop? what made you a thug? Are you a good person who's pretending to be bad, or are you a bad person who's pretending to be good? Is there a difference really? The HK version was so memorable because these messages were very direct and very clear. Scorsese's version, however, had so many other little elements that this message became muddier. This is not to say that the movie is horrible by any means, but it's definitely less memorable than the original. - Comment written by Dear.

Death Note

• Directed by Shusuke Kaneko
• Starring Tatsuya Fujiwara, Kenichi Matsuyama
• While the acting and direction quality is mediocre at best, the smart and interesting script made this movie an exciting fun to watch. A concluding sequel is expected to be released later this year, but those who want to see sequel might do themselves a favor by checking out the original manga instead. -Comment written by Dear-
  

The Devil Wears Prada

• Directed by David Frankel
• Starring Meryl Streep, Anna Hathaway
• This movie tells an inside story about the fashion world, which is sure to be a top hit among fashion-conscious female audiences and gays but may be boring for straight men. Anne Hathaway plays a freshly-graduated girl who gets a job as assistant to a wicked, bitchy yet glamorous and charming fashion magazine editor played by Streep. The movie is amusing, enjoyable and fun, due mainly to the sensational performance of Streep. Without her, the movie may be a failure. She deserves an Oscar for this.

World Trade Center

• Directed by Oliver Stone
• Starring Nicholas Cage, Michael Pena, Maria Bello, Maggie Gyllenhaal
• In a surprising move for a movie about gigantic events like 9/11, Oliver Stone based this movie on a character study of the two protagonists and their families, rather than the actual event itself. This would have been fine if the drama was good, but here they are as boring and predictable as the soap operas you see on Thai TV, possibly even worse. At times, the movie looks like a Hallmark series rather than the grand epic it probably wants to be. The actings aren't bad. Cage did an admiring job, seeing that we only see his half-buried face (darkly lit too) for most of the movie, but the conflicts the characters find themselves in are so mundane and cliche that I want to scream "I don't care!!". As a result, the movie is neither successful as a movie about 9/11 nor about the human spirit. See United 93 for a much more intense example of a 9/11 movie, all done with no A-list stars around. On a side note, can anyone tell me why the heck is this movie called "World Trade Center"? -Comment written by Dear-

An Inconvenient Truth

• Directed by Davis Guggenheim
• Presented by Al Gore
• "This movie sucks!" -George W. Bush-

Seasons Change

• Directed by Nithiwat Tharathorn
• Starring Witawat Singhalampong, Chutima Teepanart, Yuwanart Arayanimitsakul
• The movie is cute and warm, and the music academy setting contributes in creating a romantic and stylized atmosphere. The general idea that the movie tries to convey is also familiar and even occasionally inspiring. However, in execution, the weak script lets down most of these ideas. It also doesn't help that the editing makes the movie feel like a series of short seperate stories. As a result, the movie lacks focus and unity. It's not that it's bad, but this movie could have been much better. -Comment written by Dear-

Snakes On A Plane

• Directed by David R. Ellis
• Starring Samuel L. Jackson
• This movie pretty much delivers on all its promise. There are a lot of snakes... and they're on one plane...to be used an assassination weapon... Anybody still taking this movie seriously from this point on shouldn't even be watching this movie. The concept is out of this world, the movie internal logic doesn't make any sense (the story development towards the end comes out nowhere), the acting senseless and unbelievable (most characters are created just to be disposed off in gory ways), the special effects 10 years behind its time (neither the snakes or the plane look even close to real). In short, this movie is totally ridiculous. The thing is, the movie also knows that it's totally ridiculous, so it never pretends to be something it's not, but rather tries to maximize its cheapness for comedic effect. Snakes on a Plane is great in a 'It's so very bad it's so very good' kind of way (reminiscence of "The Core"). So when Samuel Jackson's character exclaims "I'm sick of these mother%#$@# snakes on this mother&@#*( plane!!!!", you don't ponder about who the heck wrote this crap, you laugh and yell "Now bring on the next mother*&(@$ snake on this mother*&(@$ plane!!!!". Great campy fun. If you're the type who can have a good time laughing at a bad movie, see this now. -Comment written by Dear-

United 93

• Directed by Paul Greengrass
• Starring Polly Adams, Nancy McDoniel, Susan Blommaert, Ray Charleson
• Director Greengrass chose not to choose any well-known actors for this movie, which is a very risky decision. Usually when tragic events are adapted into movies, the temptation is to create central characters with interesting backgrounds for the audience to relate to. There are no such characters here, but this ends up working well for this movie. When you see nameless passengers desperately trying to survive, the impact is much more real and traumatic than seeing A-list actors pretending to die. Perhaps because of this, the movie side-steps the usual trap of making the main characters sacrifice his/her life for his country or whatever. The characters here aren't attacking the terrorists to save the people on the ground, but to save their own lives. They may not be heroic or patriotic as the media usually claimed them to be, but they are also wonderfully human, and that is what makes this movie memorable. -Comment written by Dear-

The Lake House

• Directed by Alejandro Agresti
• Starring Sandra Bullock, Keanu Reeves
• Adaptation of a famous Korean romantic fantasy "Il Mare", this movie is about a love relationship between two people in different time spans. This time-travel thing causes a few confusing plots and sometimes doesn't make sense. Somehow the chemistry between the two leads helps it work. Romantic and sweet with happy-ending. It is rather strange, though, for Sandra Bullock to play a serious and calm girl, rather than funny and clownish in her other comedy movies.

Miami Vice

• Directed by Michael Mann
• Starring Jamie Foxx, Colin Farrel, Gong Li
• As expected of Mann, this cop thriller is skilfully made. Jamie Foxx, Colin Farrel and Gong Li also deliver strong performances in their roles. Mann once again opted to use digital cameras instead of film, which gave Vice his trademark style. This worked particularly well in Collateral, where the video-look enhances the theme of confusion while also giving Los Angeles an appropriate hellish look. In Miami Vice, however, this made the bigger budget action film look a tad amateurish. Miami Vice also doesn't really try anything new. The plot is cleanly written, but uninspired and predictable. The characters constantly look like they're just one step away from delivering a great scene......only then to be yanked back by the tight leach of the script. Mann's intention was probably to create a classic genre piece, but perhaps by doing so, he limited his movie from ever reaching the standards set by his other thriller greats. As a result, overall, Miami Vice is competently made, is well-acted, is even occasionally exciting. Unfortunately, it's also utterly unmemorable. -Comment written by Dear-

Lady in the Water

• Directed by M. Night Shyamalan
• Starring Paul Giamatti, Bryce Dallas Howard
• The problem of this film is the story, which is boring, unbelievable and unthrilling.

The Break-Up

• Directed by Peyton Reed
• Starring Vince Vaughn, Jennifer Aniston
• Although the trailer looks like a romantic comedy which is supposed to be hilarious and fun, this movie is in fact serious and dull. There is not enough chemistry between the two leads. I can't see any sign of love in the first place. The story doesn't make sense.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

• Directed by Gore Verbinski
• Starring Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley
• This sequel is big on over the top action sequences, but as tradeoff, loses some of the original's story freshness. Every sequence with the horrendous Kraken is done exceptionally well. All characters except Depp's Captain Sparrow on the other hand, are generally a bore to watch. While the movie is seemingly way too long and too light on plot, the twists at the end surprisingly tie everything together, justifying many scenes that were seemingly unnecessary before. The whole movie might indeed turn out to be just a glorified trailer for part III, but it does work to make you care for the next movie. I'm already hyped for the final film of this trilogy. -Comment written by Dear-

Take The Lead

• Directed by Liz Friedlander
• Starring Antonio Banderas
• Based on a true story of Pierre Dulaine, a NYC ballroom dance teacher who tried to transform the troubled youths by way of teaching ballroom dancing to detention students. Antonio Banderas is charming and entertaining as expected. The music and the dance is great. Yet the story is too long and so familiar.

Superman Returns

• Directed by Bryan Singer
• Starring Brandon Routh, Kate Bosworth, Kevin Spacey
• The film's greatest merit, like other superhero greats (Spiderman and Singer's own X-men II comes to mind) is how it begs us to identify and relate with the hero. Brandon Routh's Superman may indeed be super (the film's SFX sequences are all spectacular), but he also has other issues to deal with just like the rest of us. Kudos to Singer who decided to give these other plotlines as much attention and screentime as the save-the-world part. The result is a well-balanced and polished film. Good superhero movies make you want to have superhero powers when you leave the theater. Great ones make you want to be the hero, sharing his/her ideals and beliefs. This is one such movie.
  
  The only real flaw is perhaps the utter uselessness of the main villain. Kevin Spacey did his best to make Luthor as memorable as he could, but when you are going against Superman, you need much more than that to stand out.
  
  IMPORTANT LESSON: When going to watch movies that children might also be present in the theater, either schedule for an evening showing or bring some transquilizer with you. Vicious elbow attacks could work too, to the child or the mother, or both. -Comment written by Dear-

Khan Kluay

• Directed by Konpin Khemkamnerd
• This 3D animation is by far the most successful local animated productions ever made in the Thai history. All the animated elephant characters are very cute and natural. Human characters are however unnatural and clumsy. The light, sound, and other special effects are above expectation. The story tells the adventure of a young elephant who tries to find his missing father before he becomes a brave and strong warrior elephant. The film might be funnier for children should Khan Kluay be an ordinary elephant whose adventure is in the forest, not in the battlefield.

X-Men: The Last Stand

• Directed by Brett Ratner
• Starring Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Famke Janssen, Halle Berry
• New director to the series Brett Ratner did a competent job juggling all the superheroes, screentimes and plot. While he faltered in quite a few areas, Ratner delivered in the area that action fans will like: explosion special effect action sequences (that don't always make sense). The movie would have benefited greatly from a reduced number of x-mens (Halle Berry in particular contributed pretty much nothing in the film), but this being the third film in the series, this flaw is understandable. Perhaps because of this, the movie went out of its way to annihilate the heroes and villains, which will surely cause discomfort to many of the fans. -Comment written by Dear-

The Da Vinci Code

• Directed by Ron Howard
• Starring Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou, Ian McKellen, Alfred Molina, Jean Reno, Paul Bettany
• Adapted from one of the most controversial bestsellers by Dan Brown, this movie is boring, dull, too long, too dark and not at all thrilling. The director's attempt to please everybody turns out that it pleases nobody. A lesson is derived; it is impossible to make a good and satisfying movie out of a good bestseller book.

Poseidon

• Directed by Wolfgang Petersen, John Seale
• Starring Josh Lucas, Kurt Russel, Richard Dreyfuss, Emmy Rossum
• Due to the fact that this movie is a remake of the most successful 1972 predecessor "The Poseidon Adventure" played by Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, and Shelley Winters, I cannot help feeling biased to conclude that this movie is boring and unthrilling. Very disappointing.

Mission: Impossible III

• Directed by J.J. Abrams
• Starring Tom Cruise, Ving Rhames, Phillip S. Hoffman, Billy Crudup, Laurence Fishburne
• Tom Cruise is back in the third sequel of the film "Mission: Impossible", which is the most satisfying and much, much better than the second sequel directed by John Woo. This one, smartly written and directed by J.J. Abrams, is action-packed, exciting, thrilling, fast, and fun, from the beginning to the end.

Match Point

• Directed by Woody Allen
• Starring Jonathan Rhys-Myers, Scralett Johansson, Emily Mortimer
• Written and directed by Woody Allen, this film is a dramatic thriller about sexual passion, obsession, ambition, hunger for wealth, and murder. It is outstanding and different from other suspense movies because it is so straight-forward and unpredictable. The ending twist is shocking and thrilling. The best part of the film, I think, is how it ends--it leaves the audiences to think and imagine what is going to be next.