Again, Al Pacino takes on a completely unique persona in this epic tale of a criminal’s rise to power. He’s good at that - but Carlito still manages to be captivating; the character rises to the level and competes easily with the likes of Tony Montoya and Michael Corleone. This is a classic “things fall apart” tale, just like the others amid Pacino’s body of work, and it manages to be just as convincing and interesting as its counterparts.

One thing that sucks about movies that make an attempt at the fantastical is when they err too far into such “unrealistic” territory. On the other hand, you shouldn’t have to expect that a movie like this would get too serious either. The Quick and the Dead really cannot be taken very seriously if you want to have any fun watching it. At certain moments, however, you’re forced to follow the storyline into both utterly solemn and completely ridiculous ends of the spectrum. To me, that kind of spoiled the film as a whole. Other than that, most of it was a lot of fun.

I wouldn’t say this is quite as scary as it is… er, creepy. Perhaps one of the creepiest movies I’ve ever seen. Creepier than all eighty-three SAW movies combined, actually. Two FBI agents arrive at the police station of a small town to investigate the events of the past couple of days. You, the viewer, are in for a mildly boring time until the flashbacks start heating up and the story gets exciting. You aren’t sure where it’s going until it gets there. Highly recommended if you like a nice twist.

This film is too ridiculous for words. Unfortunately for you, dear reader, I’m unable to stand before you and make crude/obscene gestures along with primitive grunts, squeaks, and bodily noises to describe how I feel about it. I started watching this, and it seemed normal enough at first. The f At first I was like okay, “when is something interesting going to happen.”

DeNiro and Pacino form their usual powerhouse acting team in this crime thriller with a twist. The ending was so cool I didn’t even see it coming… and as anyone who reads my reviews knows, I love movies with twist endings. Call me an idiot, but they had me fooled all the way until the big reveal. The great thing about this movie is that it has great acting by both of these mega-stars, and some not-so-fantastic acting by the lock-jawed 50 Cent, a.k.a. Curtis Jackson. He’s a pretty cool guy, but he should stick to rapping and being thugged out.

This action-thriller stars Bruce Willis, Radha Mitchell, and Rosamund Pike in an alternate world where people live their lives from inside the safety of their homes through the use of highly sophisticated androids. These surrogates, after which the film is named, allow people to assume practically any identity they choose. Everyone has perfect skin, a ridiculous body, and super-human strength and speed, although the ability to run fast or jump high is only used when necessary. A couple of well-timed plot twists were enough to keep me surprised, while the relatively quick pace of the storyline and believable special effects had my interest. Most importantly of all, this film makes you think - about identity, about how technology shapes our relationships with other human beings, and about the dangers of using machines as a buffer for real, old-fashioned interpersonal communication. This was well worth the watch.

Just as thrilling as the first in terms of the depth this movie goes to in exploring the legends of our country’s past. A compelling treasure hunt surrounds some of our most well-known relics, and involves the Resolute Desks, the Statue of Liberty, Mount Rushmore, and the City of Gold. Nicholas Cage is, well, Nicholas Cage, but still… his persona is almost a perfect fit for this type of character - excitable, yet intelligent and methodical. Some of the humor struggles, but a lot of it pays off. Worth the watch with a four on our flamescale.

A very well put-together film with a storyline that is unique enough to stand out amid the mindless drivel and overdone plot themes that are repeated throughout action dramas. Morgan Freeman is a hitman who finds himself in custody after a vehicle wreck hospitalizes him. Some of his friends attempt to free him and he ends up on the shores of a wilderness stream, only to be found by a backpacking father (John Cusack) and his son. They decide to get involved and escort him back to civilization where he can be apprehended, but first they must overcome the obstacle of having a team of four professionally trained hitmen following them.

Kind of a cheese-tacular title for a film, no? Well the film itself was almost as cheesy as the title, but since Ryan Reynolds was the main character I decided to plow through the whole thing anyway. The ending was surprisingly touching or whatever, I guess, but Reynolds didn’t really get to go all out in his usual cocky, sarcastic demeanor. After watching I found out it was a made-for-TV movie before its DVD release, so it rounds out at 2.5 flames due to bonus points for not being completely bollocks, as most MFTV’s are.

So ridiculous and over-the-top, I’m immediately giving this film 4 flames out of 5 because it kept me so entertained. Jason Statham has been poisoned, but for whatever reason (I guess because a movie has to be at least 90 minutes to count as a movie) his adrenaline postpones the effects of this particular poison. As long as he keeps his glands releasing adrenaline, he won’t pass out and go into cardiac arrest. Statham’s character uses a plethora of techniques to keep his heart pumping while he tracks down the bloke who poisoned him to take revenge, including daredevil stunts, having sex in public, and burning himself on purpose.