The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie

Last night we watched “The SpongeBob Squarepants Movie“.

I’m a big fan of cartoons and animation, so when our DVD rental place got this one at last, I just had to rent it.

There was a lot of hype around the movie when it was released, so I was expecting something very very good. And well it turned out quite a nice movie to watch. Not as good as I expected, but still good.

The story is about SpongeBob SquarePants and his friend Patrick Star taking leave from the town of Bikini Bottom in order to track down King Neptune’s stolen crown.

It’s fun, funny, cute and well animated. I enjoyed seeing it, although I don’t think it’s the kind of movie you could see many times.
But then again, maybe one more time would be nice ๐Ÿ˜‰

My score for it would be: 6.5/10.

Taxi

Last night, we watched the Hollywood version of Luc Besson’s Taxi starring Queen Latifah and Jimmy Fallon.

The story follows along the lines of the first French movie with some changes here and there. Queen Latifah plays the role of the speed-crazed taxi driver and Jimmy Fallon plays the dumb cop who doesn’t know how to drive.

The movie turned out pretty ok. I like Queen Latifah’s comedy roles and Jimmy Fallon does a not-bad job. The movie has some good laughs in it. Anyway I still think the original French version is a lot better, more fun and more enjoyable.
I guess it’s always like that though. Originals are always better than the remakes.

My score for this movie would be: 6.5/10.

Office Space

Yesterday, I watched “Office Space” again. And man, do I love this movie, lol…

It’s a comedy about a programmer who works in a tech company, hates his job like hell and just wants to break out of it all.

It hits all the right chords, making fun of all the stuff that can really make any job a shitty one.
It’s really funny, the acting is very good, the soundtrack is cool; in short it’s a great movie.

I totally recommend watching this movie.
My score for it would be: 9/10.

Million Dollar Baby

I finally got to watch “Million Dollar Baby” last night.
The movie won a bunch of oscars this year, is directed by Clint Eastwood, features Clint himself, Hillary Swank and Morgan Freeman, and well everyone I know who has seen it has been constantly raving about how great it is.

So what did I think of it?
Well, of course it was great!
As in all Client Eastwood movies, he takes it easy and slow, giving time to develop the characters, enriching the story, engaging the viewers and letting them use their imaginations to further develop the story in their minds.

The story is a strong and moving one, and it tackles a number of interesting and touching issues.
It’s a drama about a hardened trainer/manager (Clint Eastwood) and his work and relationship with a determined woman (Hillary Swank) in her attempt to establish herself as a professional boxer.

You go through a number of different feelings throughout the movie, from excitement to happiness to hope to shock to sadness…etc, making it such a great and moving cinematic experience.

I really recommend this movie.
My score for it is: 8.5/10.

Ocean’s Twelve

Everyone said Ocean’s Twelve was no way as good as Ocean’s Eleven, but still I had this thought that: well, ok, it might not be as good as the first (like all sequels), but with this all-star cast on-board, I don’t think it’s going to be too bad either.

Hmmm, well I was wrong!

I’m maybe the biggest fan of heist movies, and before “The Big Bounce“, I had loved every heist movie I ever saw.
This movie joins the ranks of “The Big Bounce”. Of course, it’s relatively a lot better, but still, it sucks.

Ocean’s Eleven was a really good movie. Fun, good acting, the storyline and heist were cool and everyone enjoyed it.
Ocean’s Twelve goes the opposite way and does everything wrong. The storyline is uninteresting, there’s no fun and the heist sucks.
So, what’s the point?!

Unless you definitely have to choose between “The Big Bounce” and “Ocean’s Twelve”, there’s no need to see this one ๐Ÿ˜›

My score for this movie is: 4/10.

Egyptian Actor Ahmad Zaki Dies

Acclaimed Egyptian actor Ahmad Zaki died today Sunday, March 27th 2005, at the age of 57, after a long and ferocious battle with lung cancer.

The actor had been in a coma for eight days and finally his body gave up and his heart stopped beating.

Before slipping into a coma earlier this month, Zaki had received calls from President Husni Mubarak. Egypt’s most prominent celebrities and cultural figures had flocked to his hospital room for weeks before his death.

Ahmad Zaki was one of the Arab world’s greatest actors and his career is full of great movies and roles.
As Director Muhammad Khan, who worked with Zaki on six films, said: he had a natural instinct for acting.

Zaki died before accomplishing one of his dreams – the making of the film “Halim” about the life of the celebrated Egyptian singer Abd al-Halim Hafidh.

Rest in peace Ahmad Zaki, may God bless your soul.
You’ll always be a shining star in the sky of Arab cinema.

Alfie

Last night I watched “Alfie“, featuring Jude Law, Marisa Tomei, Susan Sarandon and Nia Long.

I read a bit about this movie before and saw its trailer. The trailer looked fun but the reviews weren’t that good. I rented it anyways as I don’t always trust reviews.

I like movies in which the character has this ongoing dialogue with the viewers, I think it’s really fun and cool. This movie does that and I really liked that about it.

The movie is about an English womanizer and how he comes to learn the consequences of his actions the hard way.
I really liked Jude Law in this role, he did a really cool job in it.

The movie starts off really promising and is quite fun, but the pace slows down and it becomes just a bit boring towards the end.
Anyway, all in all, it’s a nice light movie to watch with some fun and cool moments. Not a blockbuster but still ok.

My score for it would be: 6/10.

Hero

Yesterday, I watched “Hero” featuring Jet Li and Ziyi Zhang.

I heard a lot about this movie and have had it lying around in VCD format for a while now, but never got around to watching it till yesterday.

It’s a martial arts action fantasy, along the lines of “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon“, about how one man defeated three assassins who sought to murder the most powerful warlord in pre-unified China.

I really enjoy movies of this genre when they’re done right, with a nice story, well choreographed fight sequences, cool cinematography and good acting.

I hate the parts when they start flying around, running on water or bouncing off thin tree branches. But other than that, I like movies like this.

If you’re a fan of Jet Li or of this genre, I truly recommend this movie. You’ll really enjoy it.

My score for it is: 8/10.