Fantasy geek Gavin Gore (Jeremy Sumpter) and his friends find a set of outlandishly large footprints in the forest. Believing they have found evidence of the legendary Sasquatch they inform the police and local reporters in the hope of fame and recognition.

Written and directed by Tim Skousen, who was assistant director on Napoleon Dynamite, there’s going to be inevitable parallels between the two movies. Both look at the awkwardness of childhood and both are absolutely hilarious. Still, even if you didn’t like Napoleon you might find something to enjoy here. The direction is slickly done and follows each of the main characters through the simple plot by telling the story from each perspective. It allows each character to grow in a way that makes all their flaws become apparent but strangely acceptable at the same time.

Skousen captures the geek crowd of Gavin and his friends perfectly. They’re at their happiest with mock sword fights or playing games at the computer arcade. As always, once a girl enters the group the new addition can be painful and friendships have to change. Skousen hits the right note every time. Hobie Plumber’s (Hubbel Palmer) jealous rage and incomprehension of the fairer sex is very funnily done.

Zerk Wilder (Justin Long), the dim-witted hick is fantastic. His mullet touting, dodgy moustache wearing ineptitude is enjoyable from start to finish. He believes in the America where there is always a way to make a fast buck without having to do any work whatsoever. However, he’d be nothing if it wasn’t for his buddy Shirts (Joey Kern), the dubious brains of the pair, who I think has one of the best comedy falls in a movie I’ve seen for a long time.

The only character that fell completely flat was the Sasquatch expert, Dr. Artimus Snodgrass, over played by Carl Weathers. Which is a regrettable, maybe I just can’t get past seeing him as Apollo Creed smashing his fist into Rocky’s face. Watching him as a fame seeking charlatan just didn’t sit right for me.

I loved this movie. For all the comedy and hilarious characters, it’s actually a lovingly told tale of accepting who you are. Even though growing up might not be easy, it’ll be okay as your friends will pull you through. I’m confident that there will be people out there who will hate this movie. Don’t be one of them, don’t judge the characters when you first meet them, watch them grow and enjoy the consquences. I’ve no doubt this will end up being a cult classic.

In 2012, New York city is in ruins and only one man survives. An epidemic of biblical proportions has wiped out most of mankind, the survivors are either immune or have been turned into crazed night creatures. A scientist, Robert Neville (Will Smith), struggles alone to find a cure.

Will Smith’s portrayal of a man obsessed with finding a way to reverse the effects of the disease is the finest thing about this movie. Smith brings a vulnerability and craziness to Neville whose battle with loneliness and depression is a constant spiral downwards. This is no alien kicking, gung-ho, in your face performance and the change of pace is rewarding to watch.

The depiction of an empty and decrepit New York by director Francis Lawrence is superbly done. However, I think he missed an opportunity to make this into a really suspenseful horror movie. Even just the addition of a chilling soundtrack could have brought a whole new dimension to the film. In the end it feels more like an all out battle between Smith and the night creatures.

The script is based on the 1954 novel of the same name by Richard Matheson which turns the population of Los Angeles into vampiric monsters. Lawrence’s creatures retain the aversion to sunlight and a lust for blood but are let down by the CGI effects. Unfortunately they come across as if they have been hired straight out of DOOM. There is a real video game feel that strips away a large slice of realism from an otherwise effective world. Waves of these CGI characters don’t bring terror but the sense that you’ve just made it to the next level of the game.

It’s a shame as the script really does put Neville in some heart wrenching situations. The pace of the movie is perfect. With the drama and action scenes neatly stitched together, you’ll find yourself routing for this lone survivor and his bitterly sad life. If only his opposition put up more than a snarl and blood curdling sneer. Creeping out of the shadows they should have stolen the movie from Smith.

This is definitely worth a watch if for no other reason that to see Smith’s performance and the post apocalyptic setting. Taken as an entertaining way to spend a couple of hours you can’t go far wrong. I’ve given it a grade of B when I so wanted to see an A movie. Disappointing not for the movie it is but for what it could have been. This film should have had you sitting on the edge of your seat all the way through instead of comfortably snaffling popcorn on your sofa.

I was never a big fan of Speed Racer growing up.  Looking back, I can probably connect that to the fact that I’ve never liked Anime.  Having said that, I’ve seen at least of couple of episodes and know the theme song by heart, which was enough to qualify me to see the big screen version of Speed Racer.

The Racer family revolves around racing.  Pops Racer designs and builds the cars.  Rex Racer, (Speed’s older brother), races them, and young Speed idolizes his older brother and is totally preoccupied with racing.   When Rex is killed in a cross country rally, the Racer family almost falls apart.  But they pull it together and Speed grows up and fills his brothers shoes as the racing Racer of the family.

When an evil racing sponsor offers the Racers the opportunity of a lifetime and Speed turns him down, we are introduced to the seedy underbelly of the racing world.  Races are fixed and racers are eliminated all in the name of big business.  The mysterious Racer X is waging a one-man war against the racing bosses and recruits Speed to help.  Which brings us to two thrilling race sequences - the earlier mentioned cross country rally that killed Speed’s brother and the Grand Prix.  Will the good guys defeat the racing profiteers?  Will Speed win the ultimate race?  You’ll have to see the movie to find out.

I was excited to be able to take my two boys, (ages 6 and 8), to see Speed Racer since it is rated PG, (unlike most of the summer fare which is PG-13), and they loved it.  My six-year-old wanted to see it again as we were leaving the theater.  Aside from some minor foul language, a middle finger, and some possibly scary situations for really young kids, the movie is a winner in the family feature genre.

Directed by the Wachowski brothers, (the Matrix), the film has a truly unique look and feel to it - one that may not work for all viewers, but I found it very cool to watch.  The racing scenes are thrilling, and you want to stand up and cheer for Speed in the final race.  The fight scenes are fun to watch, but you really need to suspend your disbelief before walking into the theater.

The ensemble cast helps make the movie work so well, with John Goodman and Susan Sarandon and Pops and Mrs. Racer.  Scott Porter (Friday Night Lights) plays Rex, LOST’s Matthew Fox is Racer X, Christina Ricci (Sleepy Hollow) plays Trixie and Emile Hirsch is Speed.  Comic relief is provided by Paulie Litt as Speed’s younger brother Spritle and his simian companion, Chim Chim.

Speed Racer has humor, drama, action and, of course lots of racing.  It’s a fun, family film that mom and dad should like just as much as the kids do, which is a rare thing, and it gets a solid B rating from me.

Oh no, not another teenage pregnancy movie! Yeah, that’s what I thought when I first heard about Juno too. I gave it a chance anyhow: one, because I’m a sucker for teenage pregnancy movies (what can I say – I can get sucked into those Lifetime movies too, I’m not made of stone!) and two, because I wanted to see more of Ellen Page.   So I gave it a chance and I loved it.

 Page stars as Juno MacGuff, a 16-year-old girl who finds out she’s pregnant with her best friend Paulie Bleeker’s (Michael Cera, Superbad) child.  After weighing her options (keep the baby, abortion, or adoption) she decides to give the baby up for adoption, and even finds a couple in the local penny saver paper that fits the bill.  From here we follow Juno’s pregnancy and how she deals with it. We also see how Juno’s pregnancy affects those around her.  

Page really shines as the title character, and was even recognized with an Oscar nomination.  I first spotted Page in Hard Candy and was blown away at the talent and promise she showed, and her turn as Juno MacGuff did not disappoint.  She totally embodies Juno, and plays her with ease and confidence. I know people have criticized Diablo Cody’s script for the dialogue, saying that no teenagers actually talk that way or that the script was trying too hard to be cool, but I think Page makes the dialogue believable.  She seems like that type of hip, sarcastic, edgy girl that would talk that way.  Apparently I’m not the only one who thought so, as Cody also won an Oscar for this movie – her very first screenplay!

Not everyone in this movie needs an Oscar nomination, or trophy, to show that they were wonderful.  All of the supporting actors in Juno are very well played, including J.K. Simmons (Spiderman) and Allison Janney (The West Wing) as Juno’s parents and Jennifer Garner (Alias) and Jason Bateman (Arrested Development) as the adoptive parents.  Both couples help show two different types of relationships that Juno can observe and decide what she wants for her own life, and her baby’s life.  Everyone’s performance is this movie is pitch perfect, down to the actors with only a couple lines.   

Another thing I really enjoy about this movie is the title sequence.  I found it refreshing and different and helped show that Juno would be on a journey though this movie.  Director Jason Rietman (Thank You for Smoking) is the man behind the journey.  Rietman really seems to understand this character, and tries to show the audience all sides of Juno – the good, bad, and ugly. 

I realize that this movie may not be for everyone, but I can’t help but love pretty much everything about it.  The only couple criticisms I can really come up with are that the movie ends too happily, everything is just tied up so nicely for Juno.  This whole movie seemed like it was trying to be close to real life, but that part just seemed a little much for me (although I enjoyed it and it still made me tear up a bit).  Then there is Cera’s performance. I like Michael Cera.  I think he’s a funny guy, but he plays the same character in every movie he’s in.  Just like his character on Arrested Development, and his character in Superbad he is kind of meek, unsure of himself and pining over some girl.  You can’t really blame him for that though, just the casting directors, but I can’t wait to see him break out of that shell.   

Overall, I’d have to give this movie an A.  I may be biased as I’ve watched this movie a number of times now, but I will stand by this and hope you enjoy it as much as I do.  Also, if you like the music in the movie be sure to check out the soundtrack - I think it’s almost as great as the movie and introduced me to the amazing Kimya Dawson.