Inception (3 1/2 stars)

 Cobb is a corporate spy-thief who is away from home for a while. He steals secrets in a very specific way - through your dreams. Cobb is offered a job to redeem himself enough to go back home - plant an idea into someone's mind. Inception. Most people think it's impossible, but he thinks not. Cobb takes his offer and assembles a team to create a dream within a dream within a dream. Someone to plant, someone who knows how to work that many dreams, someone who can build dreams, the person who offered the deal. The plan is solid, but things can go wrong. And there is more to Cobb than meets the eye. 

    I liked this movie because it has action, a whole new realm of science fiction, secrets, romance, a cliffhanger ending, and something to think about - are we in the real world, or are we only dreaming?

 

    

    Rating:

Buy here: Inception

Enemy Mine (3 stars)

Humans have been exploring the universe, but they found another species, Dracs exploring too. POOF! A war begins. Davidge crash lands on an unknown planet - but so did one of the enemy. Davidge tries to kill the Drac but he fails. The Drac tries to kill Davidge but fails. Then, a meteor shower causes them to hide together. As they bond, they eventually start to teach each other their own languages and other things. Friendship ensues.

    I liked this movie because it has an interesting main plot. Also, while the plot is pretty easy and basic to follow, the movie is absolutely not mundane. And don't worry - the entire movie isn't just Drac and Davidge living together and being friends. There are many more problems that make this movie exciting. 

 Rating:

Buy here: Enemy Mine

Planet of the Apes (3 1/2 stars)

 George Taylor is on a spaceship sent to whatever it finds. But, because of rule 89 (a) of the Official Space Rulebook, Taylor and his crew's journey lasts thousands of years on Earth, but only a few months for them. Finally, they crash land on a mysterious planet with seemingly no life. The crew only has a few day's worth of supplies, so the journey begins. Soon, they find a plant. And then more. Next, they find... scarecrows. Then people steal their clothes. And then, Taylor and company find a group of humans (yes, humans) including themselves, being captured by people on horseback. Finally, one of them turns, and you see... apes. 

    I liked the weird changing of places in this movie, which really gets you to think: Are we the only possible "big" species? Also, the special effects are pretty great for a movie made before the moon landing. There is something else I like, but it has to do with the ending, so no. 

 

 

Rating: 

    

 

 

 

Buy here: Planet of the Apes

Contagion (3 stars)

    A mysterious new virus has erupted in many different cities worldwide. It starts in Hong Kong, and then goes to London, and then one traveler spreads it throughout the U.S. Soon, it's an epidemic, then a pandemic, and yes, this is kind of weird. It is very very deadly and very very contagious (though it - phew! - isn't airborne). There is one person who keeps on spreading fake news about the virus. There is one dad who lost his wife to the virus, but he is immune. But, he is very careful not to infect his daughter. Soon, people start to panic, and there are fires in the streets and stores and robberies for food and water. There isn't only one pandemic going around - there's also fear. 

    This is eerie to watch now - they got a lot of things right. You need to stay 10 feet apart, (only four feet off!) you need to wear masks, you need to stay home, people stock up on supplies. But, it is well made and really captures what a pandemic feels like. And we would know.     

Rating:

Buy Here: Contagion

Edge of Tomorrow (3 stars)

    Private Cage is recruited to fight against aliens called Mimics (though he isn't happy about it). He is a beginner, having only been an officer, and has no idea what to do with his weapon. Therefore, he is not very prepared to fight o the beaches of Britain. Cage manages to kill one mimic, (a bigger and blue one) -- and then it explodes and soaks him in its blood, leaving him dead. 

     And then he wakes up, exactly where he started the day. He keeps dying, and waking up, and dying, and waking up, until one soldier, the face of the war, tells him, "Find me when you wake up." And then the adventure to win the war begins. 

    I liked this because it is an action movie and a time travel-ish movie all in one. It is kind of like Groundhog Day meets Source Code meets Aliens. One quote from the movie is, "We've never got this far before." Clearly, it's also like a video game -- getting as far as you can, dying, and then doing it again, trying a slightly different path. Except this is more, well, dire.

 

Rating:

 

 

Buy here: Edge of Tomorrow

Mission Impossible (3 stars)

    Ethan Hunt is part of a mission to catch people who are trying to steal a list of IMF agents in Eastern Europe. The mission fails, (but the people stealing it don't get it either) but also, he is accused of being a spy for the arms dealers who tried to steal the list. And then, Hunt is determined to prove his innocence. So, he goes to the dealer and agrees to help steal the NOC list for them. It seems impossible, but nothing is. 

    I liked this movie because it has time to think, action that seems unthinkable, and a fast paced last scene. Also, the ending is a great cliffhanger and precursor to the next movie. And finally, it has really good music.

        

Rating: 

 

 

Buy here: Mission Impossible

Avatar (3 1/2 stars)

   The US has discovered a new planet, named "Pandora". They want to relocate the native people to a different place on the planet because the tree in which they live rests on top of a huge ore deposit of a rare mineral. The movie follows a marine, Jake Sully, who is paralyzed from the waist down. He is chosen to participate in the Avatar program: people are "linked" to the bodies of the native people. The idea is that is will be easier to communicate if everyone looks the same. Sully is told to make friends with the natives (the Na'vi) and convince them to move away from their home. But, Sully starts to make friends a bit more than the military wanted, and then realizes who the real protagonists are. (Hint: not the humans.) 

    Overall, I liked this movie. Before watching it, I knew that it was the highest-grossing movie of all time. It also was one of the most expensive movies of all time. There were special effects in basically every scene, which makes sense considering all the new organisms on Pandora and the fact that it takes place in the future. Avatar has an interesting plot and story. And it also reminds us that humanity is not as great as we normally believe.

 

 Rating: 

 

 

 

 Buy here: Avatar