Serenity (script)
"Perhaps the single most impressive aspect of the script is how it manages to maintain just the right balance between giving those familiar with the T.V. series plenty of new material to chew on even as it draws in complete newbies to its world. My buddy had never seen the show before he procured the script, but after reading it he immediately went out and bought the DVD box set - and actually thought that the movie played better without having seen the series first. The script seems to err generally in favor of the new viewer, which is as it should be, even while it reads like Firefly through and through. Whedon resists the Star Trek temptation to put in a bunch of distracting fan in-jokes, and the story is all the stronger for it...." (full review)

The Chronicles of Riddick
"The Chronicles of Riddick needs work.  It's not a bad movie to attend on a hot summer afternoon, but you won't walk out counting the days before you can own it on DVD.  What you see in the ads is what you get.  The movie should have stuck with its original R rating.  There are visible edits that take away from the "violent" scenes.  Riddick would hang his head in shame..." (full review)

"The film itself seems inspired by Lynch's take on Dune, the 1980's Flash Gordon, and Fincher's Alien 3. Balancing the camp with just the right amount of contemporary nihilism, the film tries earnestly to be taken seriously. But with Sci-Fi such as this, unintentional comedy is to be expected..." (full review)

""The Chronicles of Riddick" is such a dense, gigantically mounted fantasy film that the sheer size of it is impressive enough to recommend. An unlikely sequel to the awful B-list horror film, "Pitch Black," "Riddick" shows writer/director David Twohy improving on his genre ideas, but it still stars Vin Diesel, and that isn't a good thing..." (full review)

"Somewhere between "Starship Troopers" and "Star Wars," between Chuck Palahniuk and William Shakespeare, writer/director David Twohy attempts to make his new film, "The Chronicles of Riddick," something more than just a mindless summer film. While he is only mildly successful creating a new philosophical order, the film works marvelously when our anti-hero Riddick (Vin Diesel) is throwing down for the good fight. Fans of "Pitch Black" are likely to find this new film a worthy successor, while those who have never seen the first film will be able to jump right into the story and follow along..." (full review)

"As soon as this guy shows up on the screen, as soon as he utters his first few deeply-voiced and undecipherable words, as soon as he punches the first Necro-asshole in the face, Riddick, his charm and his all-out anti-hero self had me tied to his ass (what the fuck?) and riding the whole way along! He's the ultimate badass with the ultimate chip on his shoulder and I couldn't get enough of him. In fact, I would actually have liked to have seen more of him, since the film wanders into Trekkie-like exposition every now and again, only to be wrestled back to the man with the ultimate plan: Riddick!!!..." (full review)


Dodgeball
"One of the nice things about Dodgeball is the pacing, as the movie doesn't waste much time with story components that we don't care about (when other similar movies uselessly dive into those), leaving many scenes simply meant to make you laugh (or grin). And with the many outbursts of laughter at this screening..." (full review)

"I know I'm coming across like some kind of paid shill for this movie, but honestly it had me laughing from the beginning to the end.  It's the perfect summer popcorn comedy, deftly embracing and playing with character conventions.  After this movie gets released, I wouldn't be shocked to see scores of local Dodgeball clubs start up across America.  Quite frankly, the movie should be commended just for that...." (full review)


The Stepford Wives
"While I didn't feel as strongly against the look of the new Stepford Wives, there was no denying its assault on my patience. Unrelentingly annoying humor, seemingly ripped from today's worst sitcom fare, the film seems tailor made to satisfy the intellects of the world's lowest common denominator: suburban-housewives addicted to television (aka: S.H.A.T.). Directed by Fozzie Bear himself, the film would be better suited in NBC's Summer lineup as "Geeks Love Robots" than a remake of the eerie 70's classic..." (full review)

"The new Stepford Wives is supposed to be funny... sometimes.  The film goes from very broad comedy to serious drama every five minutes, never able to settle down with a filmmaking technique long enough for audience members to decide if it's the drama that sucks, or the comedy.  Usually, it's both.  With a few biting jabs taken at AOL, the state of Connecticut and a famous Bette Midler tune, the movie does have an edge in the comedy department.  It fails completely as a thriller and as a character piece..." (full review)

"Ruined by tacky, shticky screenwriting from the poisoned keyboard of Paul Rudnick, the new "Stepford Wives" is a campy misfire. The once juicy horror, comedy, and science fiction concoction has been replaced with a silly twist-on-a-twist, AOL and dumb blonde jokes, and Bette Midler. This is hardly an upgrade..." (full review)


Garfield
"The film replicates all of Toy Story's major plot points - particularly the stuff involving Woody's quest to rescue Buzz, which he initiates both out of guilt and to win back the respect of his friends - though the cleverness and emotional resonance of that movie is absent here. The first half of the film, in fact, is peppered with the sort of lame humor and broad characterizations that seem to plague kid-oriented movies like this. Peter Hewitt's bland direction only exacerbates this problem, giving the film a distinctly made-for-television feel..." (full review)

"The movie is very short and simple. It does move very fast. the movie mostly focus on garfield. We don't really get to know Jon and liz that much. The movie is from Garfield's point of view, so it does make sense that we don't get much from liz or jon. They have a few scenes together and some good chemtry. Hopefully in the sequel we will. I did notice some scenes were kinda choppy. I think the scenes that were cut, could have added more character delopment to Liz and Jon and odie..." (full review)

"If you're a fan of "Garfield," then I suggest you stay away from the fat cat's big screen debut. Stripping away the essential cartooish nature of the character and his world, and replacing it with a wheezy story and shameless product placement, this new "Garfield" feature might not immediately offend children who are unfamiliar with the feline, but for the already initiated, this movie is an insult..." (full review)