Movie Review: Friday Night Lights

Summary: True story about a high school football team and the pressures that can come from all around.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10

Review: Take the movie Varsity Blues (teen-oriented football film) and subtract out the humor, sex, and emotional attachment to characters and add in more football. That's Friday Night Lights in a nutshell. Lots of football. They take a very brief stab at some character backgrounds, but the viewer doesn't really care what happens to them in the end. Not that great of a movie. On another note, see if you can spot Tim McGraw (yes, the coutry singer). He does a great job of acting. Seriously.

Movie Review: The Departed

Summary: Two guys from opposite sides of the law meet with lots of bloodshed, violence, and twists.

Rating: 6.0 out of 10

Review: Huge cast of actors. Jack Nicholson was great. But, overall all, it was all blood and violence and not a great ending. The first third of the movie was kind of slow, but it was the setup. So, I'm okay with that. The middle half was good. Lots of twists and you didn't know how it was going to wrap up. Well, I guess the writer didn't know either. Disappointing ending.

Movie Review: Ocean's Thirteen

Summary: More of the same. Good plot, excellent thievery, and lots of twists.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Review: This is the third movie in the Ocean's movies. I don't want to give away anything, so I will not reveal any of the plot. Just take my word, if you liked the other movies, this will not disappoint. There is not much more I can say. Good Sinatra-era cinematography that has a sort of retro feel. Excellent cast of actors (including two great new additions, click here and here to see who). While this movie is not as hard to follow as the previous movies, it still has some good twists.

Movie Review: The Weatherman

Summary: A fairly depressing movie about a weatherman, his kids, and his divorce. Sounds like a good one to me (sarcasm implied).

Rating: 5 out of 10

Review: Not much to say about it. Weatherman starts to have a nervous breakdown and it affects his career, kids, and ex-wife. It's a comedy (not). Oh, and Nicholas Cage was in it. That doesn't help a movie. Oh well, feel free to skip this one. I've seen much worse, but it was not memorable.

Movie Review: Tenacious D and the Pick of Destiny

Summary: The story of how the greatest band in the world got together and saved the world by rockin'.

Rating: 6 out of 10

Review: If you like Tenacious D (a band consisting of two people, Jack Black and Kyle Gass) you will probably like this movie. Otherwise, probably not. The movie is full of music by the "D". But, most of it I have heard before. And the movie is very juvenile. I mean, really juvenile. And I thought they could have done a better job with the ending. Not as climactic as it should have been. But, it's fun. And there is a lot of good music. The "D" rock.

Book Review: Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crichton

Summary: A "true" telling about the vikings and the mist monsters.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10

Review: A fake true telling about how the vikings lived and the battle against a group of savages called the mist monsters. The story was told through an outsider visiting the vikings. He gets wrapped up in their feud against a warmongering tribe in the mountains. This book was interesting and held my attention through most of it. Fun but nothing that eye-opening.

Movie Review: The Fantastic Four

Summary: Another comic book turned movie.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Review: This was fun. Nothing very deep, at all. Four people get superhero powers and discover how to use them. What this movie is NOT about is the "Fantastic Four" team. It is about how the Fantastic Four got together. At least there is a sequel coming out where they get to do some Fantastic Four stuff. Plus the Silver Surfer will be in that one. Excellent.