Land of the Dead ***
Cast: Simon Baker, John Leguizamo, Asia Argento, Robert Joy, Dennis Hopper, Eugene Clark
Director: George A. Romero
Running Length: 1:33
MPAA Classification: R

Kaufman (Hopper) is a very wealthy man who owns a high-rise in zombie-free Pittsburgh called Fiddler's Green. All the privlidged live there, while the rest live on the streets. Riley (Baker) and Cholo (Leguizamo) are two of Kaufman's henchmen. Their job is to journey outside the city and bring supplies back while avoiding the zombies. They are two sides of the same coin, Riley wants to help people and Cholo wants to help himself. Both manage to anger Kaufman though. Riley saves a woman (Argento) from being thrown to the zombies, and Cholo's ambition marks him as a threat to Kaufman.

Cholo steals Dead Reconing, a armored vehicle capable of doing some serious damage in the wrong hands, and Kaufman must ask Riley for help. After all, Riley created Dead Reconing. This involves leaving the city again to find Cholo. Of course the zombies are not helpful as they stalk the living and find out that perhaps thay can get into the city after all. All to this the beginnings of thought abongst the undead, and there is a whole lot of trouble brewing.

This is the fourth zombie movie from George A. Romero, creater of "Night of the Living Dead". Those with a fondness for zombie movies will not be disappointed, although I found it inferior to last year's "Dawn of the Dead" remake. There are lots of zombies and clever deaths, and the story takes us down a somewhat new path in the zombie genre. Dennis Hopper is great as the Trump-lik Kaufman, and he steals every scene that he is in. The rest of the cast gets the job done, but they are nothing spectacular.

"Land of the Dead" gives you exactly what you would expect, and perhaps a bit more. There is some commentary on the world today, but not enough to interfere with a good old fashioned zombie movie. I recommend to fans of the genre.

Bewitched **1/2
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Will Ferrell, Shirley MacLaine, Michael Caine, Jason Schwartzman, Kristin Chenoweth
Director: Nora Ephron
Running Length: 1:41
MPAA Classification: PG-13

Isabel Bigelow (Kidman) wants to live in the real world. She wants to give up being a witch and just be normal. Her father, Nigel (Caine) does not think she could or should do it. She gives it a go anyway, and is soon living a domewhat normal life, even if she cheats every once and a while.

Jack Wyatt (Farrell) is an actor whose career is on the downswing. He agrees to do a remake of "Bewitched" as long as Darren is the star. He sets out to find an unknown actress for the role of Samantha so that he is not upstaged.

Isabel and Jack meet, and he quickly signs her up for the role, not knowing that she is indeed a real witch. They end up falling in love, but when he upsets her, he soon finds out that hell hath no fury like a witch scorned.

I was hopeful of this film, as they decided to take a different approach to the transition to the big screen. "Bewitched" is the show that everyone knows about, and at first glance the movie seems to take a Charlie Kaufman-like approach to the subject. The problem is that as the movie goes along, it loses its originallity. The typical romantic comedy "rules" take over and the film loses something. Kidman and Ferrell try their hardest, but that's not enough to save the romantic comedy formula. "Bewitched" has some laughs, but in the end it leaves you feeling empty. This could have been much better than it is, but fans of the romantic comedy will probably not be disappointed.

Batman Begins ****
Cast: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, Ken Watanabe, Katie Holmes, Cillian Murphy, Tom Wilkinson, Rutger Hauer
Director: Christopher Nolan
Running Length: 2:20
MPAA Classification: PG-13

Bruce Wayne (Bale) is a man troubled by the deaths of his parents at the hands of a local thug. He blames himself, and has been travelling the world, picking fights. The movie opens with Bruce being rescued from prison by Henri Ducard (Neeson). Ducard aims to train Bruce in the art of fighting and have him join the League of Shadows, an organization presided over by the mysterious Ra's Al Ghul (Watanabe). They are dedicated to restoring balance to a world overrun by criminals.

Bruce trains incredibly hard, but declines the offer to join the League. He returns to Gothan City with the desire to ride the city of crime. With the help of his faithful butler Alfred (Caine) and inventor Lucius Fox (Freeman), Bruce develops an alter-ego that will help him install fear into the criminals of the city. The two biggest are crime lord Carmine Falcone (Wilkinson) and The Scarecrow (Murphy), a twisted psychiatrist who works for a mysterious employer.

The establishment of Batman is fully fleshed out, in this excellent film from director Christopher Nolan. Almost no stone goes unturned as we learn how and why Batman does what he does. Nolan has yet to make even an average movie, and was a great choice to re-boot the franchise. And re-boot it he does. The previous four films are ignored and a fresh look at the superhero is given.

Bale is perhaps the best Batman, pulling off both Bruce and Batman convincingly. His anger, pain, and determination are very real. Neeson is excellent in the role of teacher, perhaps channelling his inner Qui-Gon. Caine brings dignity and compassion to Alfred the butler. Murphy is absolutely perfect as the crazed Scarecrow (a villian I knew nothing about). The film is dark, gritty, and violent; just as it should be. There are even some scary moments. And of course, the ending sets up another film. Nolan has said that he envisions a trilogy, and I for one hope that he stays with the franchise for a while.

"Batman Begins" is one of the best superhero movies ever made. It is also one of the best movies I have seen in a while. I highly recommend this film. See it at once!

Madagascar **1/2
Cast (voices): Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric the Entertainer, Andy Richter
Directors: Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath
Running Length: 1:25
MPAA Classification: PG

Alex the Lion (Stiller) is the star of the Central Park Zoo. He lives a movie star type of life. His friend, Marty the Zebra (Rock) just wants to leave. He dreams of a life in the wild. One day, Marty manages to escape, and Alex goes after him to stop him from doing something stupid. Withe the help of Melman the giraffe (Schwimmer) and Gloria the Hippo (Smith) he catches up to Marty, only to be captured by the zookeepers. Deeped too dangerous, they are sent to an animal preserve in Kenya..

On the way, the penguins hijack the boat and divert to Antarctica, and drop the foursome off in Madagascar. They befriend some lemurs and must adjust to life in the wild. A task made all the more difficult by Alex's lack of daily feedings. His wilder side starts to emerge, and his friends may have some troubles ahead of them.

"Madagascar" is the latest in what now seems like an endless stream of computer animated movies. Despite all the start providing voices, it falls a bit short of expectations. There are laughs , but they don't come as readily as more recent childrens' fare. While not a bad movie, "Madagascar" could have been better. Wait for DVD and see for yourself.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith ***1/2
Cast: Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Vince Vaughn, Kerry Washington
Director: Doug Liman
Running Length: 2:03
MPAA Classification: PG-13

John (Pitt) and Jane Smith (Jolie) have been married for five or six years, depending on which one you ask. Their relationship, which started out firey, has settled into less-than-exciting, average marriage. The spark is gone, and they are both unhappy. Through these years of marriage, they have kept a major secret from each other. Each of them is a professional assassin. One day, when they are both hired to kill the same person, their secrets are revealed to each other. They decide to come after each other, and quickly find out that the spark is back.

The chemestry between Pitt and Jolie lights up the screen in every scene. Whatever may be going on in their personal lives, onscreen they are great together. Filled with action and humor, "Smith" proves to be quite good. My only quibble is with the ending which really doesn't solve the main problem. But then, maybe it is not supposed to. Clearly, the tension and excitement between the two Smiths is what fuels the excitement in their relationship. For those looking for a good, entertaining movie, "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" will not disappoint.

High Tension (Haute tension) ***1/2
Cast: Cécile De France, Maïwenn
Director: Alexandre Aja
Running Length: 1:30
MPAA Classification: R

Marie (de France) and Alex (Maïwenn) are heading home to Alex's family's farm house, isolated in the French countryside. The first night there, a killer enters the house, kills Alex's family, and takes her hostage. Marie goes unnoticed, since the killer doesn't know about her and she is hiding. When Marie tries to untie Alex in the killer's truck, she is accidentally trapped, and taken along for the ride. Marie is now in a battle of wits with the killer, as she attempts to save Alex and escape the killer.

While not completely original story-wise (I was reminded of Dean Koontz's "Intensity" specifically), "High Tension delivers just that...high tension. From the beginning the very end, the feeling of unease permeates the film. It is excellently directed, with no cheap scares. The killer is ruthless, from the first kill to the last. And there is blood galore. This movie is a hard R for violence and gore, having been trimmed from the original NC-17, and is not for the faint of heart. What makes this movie so great is the execution (pardon the pun). Horror fans will delight in this movie and I recommend this specifically for them.

The biggest complaint I have with the film is the subtitles & dubbing. This is a French movie, so you know that you are getting one or the other, but for some reason, the filmmakers chose to use BOTH. It seems kind of odd, but fortunately, there is not much dialogue for this to become too large of an issue. Some will also argue that the ending does not support what has gone before, but I disagree. I don't want to give too much away, so I will not go into specifics. If you are a horror fan, check this movie out.

Cinderella Man ***1/2
Cast: Russell Crowe, Renée Zellweger, Connor Price, Paddy Considine, Paul Giamatti
Director: Ron Howard
Running Length: 2:24
MPAA Classification: PG-13

Jim "Bulldog" Braddock (Crowe) is a figher making his way up the ranks in 1928 to become a viable challenger for the boxing championship. His wife Mae (Zellweger) cannot bear to watch him in the ring, and waits at home for him to return after every match. They are happy. Five years later, the Great Depression plagues the country. Jim no longer is on the fast track. He gets paid little for poor fights. Breaking his hand ends his time in the ring, and he soon finds himself as a longshoreman.

That job does not pay enough, and soon the electricity is cut off in their apartment, and the kids are sent to his in-laws to live. One day, former manager Joe Gould (Giamatti) sets him up as a last minute replacement in a match with a contender. He is expected to get pummelled, but surprises the crowd and himself with a victory. Pretty soon he is on the fast track again, and who knows how far he will go?

"Cinderella Man" is based on the true life story of Braddock, and is more than just a boxing movie. I found the treatment of the Great Depression to be absolutely fascinating. Director Ron Howard gives a very real feeling of what that era was like. Crowe and Giamatti shine in their respective roles, and the boxing scenes are top notch. This is a very good film that will be remembered come Oscar time.

THE 13 BEST MOVIES I HAVE SEEN SO FAR IN 2005
It's time for my list of best movies for the first five months of the year. There are 13 on the list because three are from 2004.

1. Crash ****
2. Million Dollar Baby **** (from 2004)
3. Hotel Rwanda **** (from 2004)
4. Sin City ***1/2
5. The Aviator ***1/2 (from 2004)
6. Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith ***1/2
7. Robots ***1/2
8. The Jacket ***
9. The Interpreter ***
10. Sahara ***
11. In Good Company ***
12. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ***
13. Hitch ***

The Longest Yard ***
Cast: Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Burt Reynolds, James Cromwell, Walter Williamson, Michael Irvin, Nelly, Edward Bunker
Director: Peter Segal
Running Length: 1:57
MPAA Classification: PG-13

Paul "wrecking" Crewe (Sandler) is a former NFL star quarterback that left the league in scandal after being caught point shaving. He has been down on himself ever since, and after a drunken car chase, he finds himself in prison with a chance at redemption. He has been "recruited" by Warden Hazen (Cromwell) to coach the prison guard's team. This leads to him putting together a team on inmates to scrimmage against the guards before their season starts to give them confidence. Of course, along the way the Crewe and the inmates start to show the desire and ability to win. The game will be a free-for-all, guards against inmates on national television.

"The Longest Yard" is a remake of the movie of the same name from 1974. Having not seen the original, I cannot make a comparison. I have a feeling that this one packs a few more laughs with the likes of Sandler and Rock in the cast. Burt Reynolds (who was also in the original) rounds out the cast of inmates. Full of football action and laughs, "The Longest Yard" succeeds at what it sets out to do. This is not a great movie, but it is an entertaining way to spend a few hours.