Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

This is the fourth episode of the ever-popular Indiana Jones series. When I heard they were making a fourth one, I was really doubtful that it would be that good since it's been like 15 or 20 years since the original three came out. However, I was really impressed with this movie, and it's probably the best come-back-later movie I have ever seen. It had a bit of language in it, but not too much. If you liked the old Indiana Jones movies, you will like this one just as much, if not better. If not, you should see the others first because this one will be millions times better if you've seen the originals. Having the same actors as were in the first ones was a major plus. Harrison Ford will always be the only guy capable of playing Indiana Jones, just like Johnny Depp is the only guy who could play Jack Sparrow. I was pretty happy with this movie as a whole. It had some kinda strange extra-terrestrial alien thingys in it, but it's a fiction movie, so it was cool. The other Indy movies had similar stuff too. All my teenage siblings and my parents saw all these movies and thought they were really cool, but for younger kids this is not that great of a movie to let them watch. Some people might get get a creepy feeling on their skin watching one scene of the movie when a guy gets covered by a swarm of ants and dragged into their huge nest and killed.. it wasn't graphic or anything, but some people may not like it too much. My sister saw it and thought it was fine though, so it wasn't too bad. I rate this one 8 out of 10.

Iron Man

As an action fan, I knew it was very unlikely that I would dislike this movie, and I was right :) There were several parts that I would've been MUCH more pleased with it if they had left out, (eg. making the main character be quite the womanizer...) and there was some language, but other than that it was REALLY good! The action was realistic yet not gratuitously gory, and the storyline was impressive. There were a few parts of the movie that were almost overdone, where the first reaction was to say "that's SO impossible!" but hey, it was still pretty cool. Mr. Stark is a high-tech weapon designer, but he gets captured by terrorists wanting to force him to build them high-tech weapons. However, he goes under their noses and builds a special suit for himself, using a special arc-reactor that kept his heart beating since it had been damaged when he was captured, he built a powered suit that was bulletproof, and gave him lots of strength. However, after he got away the suit malfunctioned and pretty much got destroyed. After that though, Mr. Stark realized that the enemy could capture his technology, and he decided to temporarily shut down weapons manufacture, and secretly build himself a much better suit in the basement of his huge, high-tech house in California. Soon, he got involved in some major anti-terrorist battles, and ended up fighting people he had thought were his best friends.
The movie was not particularly child-friendly because of the language, and some violence, but for teens and up it was great! Probably one of my favorite action movies I've seen so far. It is more of a "guy thing" movie though, so girls may get bored by it. However, I loved it, and suggest you try it out, if you're a fan of superhero stuff, or action movies, you will like this a lot.
Because of the language, sexual content, and mild violence, I can't approve this as a full 10 point, family-friendly movie, but it gets 9 points.

A Walk To Remember

Now before I can even start writing a review on this movie, I have to say I'm not usually a fan of romantic movies. I've always been a hard-core action fan. However, this movie touched me like none other. I had trouble not crying by the end of the movie. I cannot recommend it highly enough. This is the story of Landon Carter, a wild rebel and prankster, constantly making bad choices, and how his life is turned around by the faith and love of Jamie Sullivan. Eventually they fall in love, and every day his life is touched more and more by her. He starts to take her faith on as his own. Then, one fateful day, Jamie tells him she has a terminal disease, and has had for the last two years. Landon is torn up inside, but he still loves her whole-heartedly. I don't want to ruin the movie, but without knowing a little bit about the end, you might not think this movie would be any good. All I can say is that the last five minutes of the movie make up for anything less desirable in the rest of the movie. There is some language throughout this movie, but compared to most movies out there today it was pretty mild. Whether you are a crazy action fan like me, or a romantic, or even not a movie watcher at all, I think you should watch this movie. It will probably move you to at least wanting to cry. I know it did me, and I am not one to be emotionally stirred in that way by any means. This movie was friendly for most of the family, the only objectionable part as far as that goes was the little bit of language. I give this movie a 9.5 out of ten. I really enjoyed it, and I'm sure you will too!

Prince Caspian

I thought this movie was pretty good. It didn't have as much action as the movies that I really like, but it was family-friendly, and it was still pretty good. The script writers changed the story a little more than they did in "The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe", but it was still a lot closer than most movies are. It's really hard to make a movie that actually follows the book closely, especially when the book is a lot of narrative like C.S. Lewis' Prince Caspian was. There were a few parts that I missed from the book, but most of the story was there, they just had to add some stuff to take up the time that the book described all that was going on. I'm not sure if I liked it or not when they made it so that Prince Caspian had a crush on Susan.. it was kinda funny, but kinda weird. It did make for a very funny line when Susan told him it would never have worked out anyway because she was 1,300 years older than him in Narnian time. I thought that was pretty funny. Really they didn't change that much, it's just that Lewis wrote things like "they battled on for hours" that then they have to make up as they go along when they write the movie. There were a few parts in some of the battles that were pretty ridiculous like Susan flinging arrows by hand that actually did some damage... but it's not supposed to be a realistic movie since it's fantasy, so I didn't mind. Hopefully they'll make the rest of the series as well! I was very pleased with this movie, and highly recommend it. The battles are far from gory, but some young children may be frightened. Other than that, anybody could watch this movie. I think it's worth going to see it on the big screen now, but if not, at least get it when it comes out on DVD, you won't regret it.

Live Free or Die Hard

This movie was absolutely incredible. Although there wasn't nearly as much blood as some action movies out there, they did a really good job of making the action very realistic and believable without getting too graphic and gory. It's the fourth of July: a former U.S. national security worker hacks the entire U.S. computer system in order to steal hundreds of billions of dollars. John McClane (Bruce Willis) is suddenly dragged into the midst of a major battle against the hackers after he was deployed to pick up a suspected hacker who actually turned out to be McClane's best tool to eliminate the hackers. The action is non-stop, and the stunts and effects are just to where you would say "That would be almost impossible!" but yet not so unrealistic as to make it dumb. If you're an action fan, this movie was awesome. Like nearly all action movies, there was some language, I don't really pay too much attention to counting words or anything, but there was a sprinkling of some dirty words. Other than that, I thought the movie was spectacular. The violence was too much for kids, but for teens and adults this was one of the better action flicks I've seen. I give this one an 8.5 out of 10 stars. It would be higher, other than entire-family oriented objectionable material.

Mummy

The only reason I even watched this movie was because I couldn't find a good christian review on it anywhere I looked, so I decided to give it one. I got it for free (on my ipod again) so I decided to try it out. I didn't think it was too bad, but a lot of people would freak out seeing this movie. It's kindof a mix between a horror thriller and an action flick. There were plenty of parts that even made me shudder, and I'm not easily upset by stuff like that. Several people get eaten alive by scarab flesh-eating beetles, mummies come to life etc.. surprisingly in this movie there was almost no blood at all. However, the cursed mummy guy who comes to life would probably freak out most people trying to watch it. The storyline of the movie was pretty good, and the computer generation was incredible, however, this was not a movie that I would say "You've got to see this!" by any means. It was ok, but really pretty much a waste of time to see it. The "creepy" factor was pretty high as well, so definitely this is not a children's movie. If you want to watch it, go ahead, the only warnings I have are that in the beginning the pharaoh's mistress is somewhat inappropriately dressed for a short introductory scene, and the dead people coming to life are pretty creepy. Other than that, very little blood, and no language that I can think of. This movie gets 4 out of 10

Fantastic 4: Rise of the silver surfer

This sequal to the first F4 movie was really good. In fact, I liked it better than the first one. In this part of the story, a new enemy arises with a very strange power that the 4 have trouble finding the scientific meaning for. I can't tell too much about the actual story without giving it away, but I highly recommend this movie. This one was more family-friendly than the first, but it wasn't quite stand-alone enough to understand it without having seen the first one. Therefore, if you decide not to let the family see the first one, there's not much point in letting them see this one. The language is toned down a bit from the first one, though it's still strong in a few parts. Overall, I recommend this movie if you even sort-of liked the first F4. Well, I give this one an 8 out of 10, it was definitely worth watching.

Fantastic 4

Fantastic 4 was one of my favorite superhero movies ever. It was really similar to the Incredibles, only with real people, and stunning graphics. A team of scientists go to outer space to explore a strange DNA-based radioactive space cloud that has appeared near the earth. However, something in their calculations was wrong, and the cloud reacted sooner than they had expected. The scientists were all affected, their DNA code was changed, and they had unusual powers. Each one of them had different results, but together they worked as a team and accomplished a lot. I can't tell much about who the enemy is, or anything else without giving away the story, but it was a really good movie. There is some language, and some violence to a degree, though it's not bloody at all. There are several scenes which could be frightening to young children, but a lot of people will enjoy this movie. If it weren't for the language I'd give this one a 9, but because of that and a few other un-family-friendly parts I have to give it a 7.5 out of 10.

Blue Streak

This movie is about a hard-core bank robber who's team-mate plays traitor, causing him to loose a several hundred thousand dollar diamond. After spending two years in prison, he tries to go find the diamond again, but it ends up that he has to impersonate a police detective to do so. He does really well, because he knows all about how criminals think, so the police station all admires him. However, he is constantly in search of the diamond, so while on one side he is fighting for justice, on the other he's fighting against it. The story was actually kinda cool, and it had a lot of funny parts. However, if it had not come with my ipod I wouldn't have bothered to watch it. It was nothing spectacularly wonderful, though it was pretty good. The downsides of the movie: for starters, it has a lot of crude language. Also, it doesn't help that the main character is a crook. However, it was an ok movie if you don't mind having to go through hearing a lot of language and crude humor in a few places. This movie was not whole-family friendly because of the amount of language, and there is a little bit of violence. However, for older kids it was an ok movie. I give this one a 5.5

The Patriot

This movie is by far one of the best revolutionary war movies that I have ever seen. The emotional pull is huge. When watching this movie, it's hard not to want to go shoot some redcoats yourself! This is the story of Benjamin Martin, a man who does not want to go to war, but ends up leading one of the most successful bands of militia men in the rebel army when his son is killed by a brutal Redcoat leader. I've seen this movie twice now. The first time I saw it was many years ago, and it didn't touch me like it did this time. The uniforms, explosions, blood, weapons, acting, and scenery all look like it's the real thing in this movie. The storyline is a little bit predictable, but still very good. There were many times when I wanted to start cheering along with the men in the movie. It's one of those that makes you feel very patriotic, especially one scene where Mel Gibson (Ben Martin) rides up on his horse, bearing the flag that his dead son had rescued and kept in his saddle bag. All the American soldiers start cheering as the flag passes, hats in the air, and morale high. It was really a great scene. The movie had plenty of parts that made me very angry as well, like when the British officer crowded a whole village into the church, locked them in, and burned the church down to the ground, killing all inside. I could relate to the feelings of the militia soldiers in that part. One other scene of questionable appropriateness was when Ben goes on a rampage, killing about 25 british soldiers mostly with his tomahawk after they had killed one of his sons for no good reason. That was when he decided that this was now his war, and he took action. I could relate to his actions, I would probably have done beyond that if somebody murdered someone I care about, but as far as being in this movie, it did get a little gory for being entertainment. I highly recommend this movie for 12+ children/adults. One other interesting thing about this movie is that I personally know one of the actors in it. He's just an extra basically, but it's fun to know he's in the movie on screen :)
Because of the violence this film was not family friendly, but It was really really good, so I give it an 8.

The Kingdom

This movie was a very touching film. I thought it was really good. The violence was not nearly as bad as some reviews made it out to be, though still not quite family-friendly in that respect. The language was very realistic, making it unacceptable for children, I didn't count, but I'd guess I heard the "f" word probably somewhere around 30 times in the film, besides a sprinkling of Jesus' name used disrespectfully, G-D, D**n, S**t, Ba***rd, B**ch, etc... Being that I'm in the army, and that's about how a lot of soldiers do talk, I'm kinda 'used' to it you might say, but I wish they didn't have to put so much in this movie. However, I strongly recommend this movie if you can look past the language. It really makes you think, and it has a great plot. The story revolves around a small group of special ops FBI agents who go to Saudi Arabia to investigate a major terrorist bomb attack on an American oil base. There are three factions in this story- the Saudi Police/military, the U.S. FBI, and the Saudi Muslim terrorist extremists. One of the hard things about watching this movie was that this could all be happening for real as I watched it, as the type of terrorist weaponry such as car bombs and suicide bombers are being used by the terrorists right now against my fellow soldiers in the middle east. The graphics were very realistic in this film, the explosions were awesome, and I could almost swear I felt the rush of bullets flying past me in high-speed gunfights. I must say this movie, besides the over-usage of inappropriate language was one of my favorite films ever. I didn't mind the violence level, though I wouldn't let my kids see it if I were you. Once again, this was a great movie that can't get a high rating because of it's abuse of language, and the un-family-friendly violence. I say this movie deserves an 8 or 9 for great story and acting and such, but because of the language and other family-minded problems, i give it a 7.

The Water Horse

This movie is the story of a boy during world war II, and his pet, Crusoe, the Loch Ness monster. Crusoe starts out as a tiny animal, a few inches long, but he grows at an incredibly fast rate. English soldiers occupy the house when Crusoe is, and before long, he had to be released into the lake for his own protection. I really liked this movie. It was family-friendly, most of my younger siblings saw it. I'm one of those people who actually think the Loch Ness monster does exist, or at least did in recent years. Unfortunately, the water in the real lake is about the color of dark coffee, and even high-tech radar can only go a few yards. The graphics in this film were pretty cool. The story was almost a little cheesy, but it was still really good. This was a great family movie, I recommend it for almost anybody, unless some young children might be frightened by Crusoe when he "goes wild" for a little while and is really mean and stuff. I give this movie an 8 on the scale.

The Bourne Ultimatum

This, the final segment of the Bourne series capped it off in shining glory. I'd love to tell what happens in the end, but it would ruin the story for anybody else watching the movie. In the ultimatum, Bourne remembers everything, his real name is David Webb, but his name was changed to Jason Bourne. Jason again is fighting the very organization he was working for to save his own life. I was really impressed that they didn't ruin the third segment like they do to most trilogies. In fact, I think this one was the best of all three. Even though it's nearly midnight, and I was up until midnight last night and up at 6 this morning, I had no trouble staying awake for this movie. The action is so real it feels like I should dodge to miss the gunshot aimed in the direction of the camera. The storyline is not the very best I've ever viewed, but it's right up there. Familywise, this one was the most family-friendly of the three, though I still would keep it for an older audience. The language was toned down a bit from the first two, and although there was more high-speed violence throughout the entire film, the blood/gore was a little less than the first two. I highly suggest you watch this series if you like action movies at all. This one, because it was more family friendly can get a higher rating than Supremecy and Identity. I give it a 9 on the 0-10 scale.

The Bourne Supremacy

This is the second installment of the Bourne Series. Here, Jason remembers more of his past, but has to fight to survive, yet he doesn't even know who to run from, because still most of his past is erased from his memory. The action again is great, the storyline continues strong, unlike many series of movies, this one was just as good as the first, if not even a little better. I recommend this one as well. Definitely if you've seen the first one and liked it, you should watch this one too. This movie does not suffer from slow spots like many action movies do, it's straight-up action-packed from beginning to the end. Matt Damon is the perfect actor for the role of Jason, I really think he does well at it. Again, violence, blood, and language prevent this from being considered fully family-friendly, but for teens and adults, go for it! same as the first, this one gets an 8.

The Bourne Identity

This movie was one of the best action flicks I've seen in a long time. It's the first in a series of movies following the story of a man named Jason Bourne who has forgotten his past, but still remembers how to read, cook, fight, shoot, and remembers the names of places, all the license plate numbers of the cars in the parking lot outside the gas station at his hometown etc. Eventually, small bits and pieces of his story start coming back, but it turns out he had failed his last mission, and the CIA wanted to get rid of him because he was a dangerous leak for their security. Overall the storyline was great, the acting superb, and the action was awesome. I highly reccomend this movie, although because of the blood, violence, and language I highly recommend that younger children not see it. It is a great movie for teens and adults though.
I give this movie an 8. It would get higher, but I have to keep in mind the family-friendlyness of films that I rate.