Because they are long overdue:
Movie Reviews!!!
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
The special effects were great, the acting was great, the cast was great, the dialogue was great, the eye candy was great, the fight scenes were great, Johnny Depp was superb. The story line absolutely sucked. So, if you don't care at all about any kind of plot cohesion, this is an excellent movie and you should go see it multiple times. And considering that it's based on a theme park ride, plot cohesion may not matter to a large portion of the people who want to see it and that's fine.
If, however, you liked the first movie because it had a decent plot, liked the second movie because it did interesting things with the first plot, and expected any sort of resolution from this movie at all you will be disappointed. You will also need you will also need a ladder, 150 feet of rope, some repelling gear, and an emergency floatation device to safely navigate the plot holes.
24 Hour Photo
Robin Williams as creepy stalker guy. Very strange film, but kinda cool to see Williams not being funny. If he didn't have acting as an outlet, I think this character is who he would be. Except maybe he would talk to himself more. There isn't much action in the movie though, so it gets a little slow. I'm not exactly sure I'd call it suspense/thriller/horror either. Just mildly creepy in a laid back sort of way.
Silent Hill
High creepiness factor, not a bad horror flick, especially if you're going to half pay attention to it at a movie night or something. The biggest problem was that it didn't offer any sort of emotional release. Most horror movies have emotional build up that is released in little places (when the creepy music plays but it's just friendly farmer Joe behind the door) and at the end (when the bad thing dies or at least is temporarily gotten rid of in a way that will not preclude a sequel). This movie had none of those things. It just kept building tension and building tension and then it ended. And the end didn't really relieve the tension... So that was kinda weird.
The Number 23
This was a great movie. It was hilarious, although I don't think intentionally hilarious, so if you're not easily amused you might not find it so funny. Jim Carrie does an excellent job in the horror story protagonist role (and he's actually got a lot of sexy gothiness going on in several scenes). The end was also good, surprisingly. Which probably makes it worth seeing even if you don't expect to find numerological conspiracy theories funny.
Akira
I didn't actually watch this recently, but Casa Imbri did and I thought I would post a short review. It's a quintessential 80's anime, i.e. kinda bloody and disturbing, and pretty incomprehensible. Worth watching just for the cultural value of knowing what it is. It is also easiest to understand if you watch it while slightly intoxicated at 3:00 in the morning.
May
Ew. Um, I did not make it through this movie. It was icky and disturbing without really having any of the fun jumpy part of horror movies to make up for it. It looks like it's a creepy doll movie, but really it's about cannibalism and creepy stalker people who need good psychiatric care. The best part was the movie in the movie with the cute little couple eating each other. Also Jeremy Sisto is pretty cute. But otherwise not so much. Ew.
Stranger than Fiction
Surprisingly excellent cast despite Will Ferrell (who was actually very good), including Emma Thompson, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Queen Latifah, and Dustin Hoffman. It was an interesting story. Intriguing plot and funny with a well-done, mildly serious undertone. Definitely worth renting.
The Prestige
Probably the best movie I have seen this year. (Or at least a very close second to Pan's Labyrinth). The best way to sum up how great this movie is: David Bowie plays Nikola Tesla. So awesome. I don't want to say too much because I don't want to give anything away, but the acting was wonderful and the story was brilliant. Plus, you should probably watch it at least twice. Definitely worth owning.
In the Que:
So the next movies I am thinking look interesting are: Jindabyne, Wind that Shakes the Barley, Blades of Glory, and Blood Diamond. Anyone seen any of these and have any comments?
Edit: Blades of Glory was hilarious. Really awful, but hilarious. The mane and tail reference was completely worth my $2.