Serenity (2005)

Serenity (2005)
Joss Whedon

Based on the TV-series Firefly, this film is a science fiction adventure that manages to stimulate almost all the different emotions one movie can; happiness, fear, sadness, laughter, etc.. While different than Star Wars, the theme is similar; the crew of a spaceship crosses the galaxy, while running from the government, to uncover a mystery that changes them all.

You know that movie that you know you have heard of before, and every time you see it at Blockbuster you say "maybe I should get that one night" but its not tempting enough to actually rent? Well I finally rented Serenity and boy was I glad that I did! I have never seen the show Firefly, but after only a few scenes, I already loved most of the crew, and once the movie ended I wanted to go watch the show. Every minute of this movie I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see what would happen next. The acting was great, I really connected with the characters. The visual and audio effects were decent, but could have been a little better. The story was also great, and even though this movie probably won't be on any historic lists, it is entertaining enough to earn 5 Parney Points. Definitely give it a chance.

Acting: A
Audio: B+
Visual: B+
Story: A
Other: A

Parney Points: 5

To visit the imdb listing for this film, click here.

The Usual Suspects (1995)

The Usual Suspects (1995)
Bryan Singer

Sometimes referred to as the greatest mystery/thriller of all time, The Usual Suspects presents the viewer with a crime and a handful of suspects at the very start of the movie, but it takes the entire movie, and then some thinking afterward before the viewer really solves the mystery.

This is one of the few movies that actually lives up to the high expectations I had for it. Even if you figure out the mystery before the end of the movie, it is still a pretty good ending. Each and every one of the actors did a solid job as did the audio and visual editors. The writer's should get the most credit though for coming up with such a thrilling story. Other than the small fact that I thought the ending was pretty obvious the whole movie, I was pretty impressed. Definitely a movie worth seeing

Acting: A
Audio: B+
Visual: B+
Story: A+
Other: B

Parney Points: 4

To visit the imdb listing for this film, click here.

The Black Dhalia (2006)

The Black Dhalia (2006)
Brian De Palma

A thrilling film about two cops who become obsessed with the murder of Elizabeth Short. Based on the novel by James Ellroy

I feel sorry for Josh Hartnett; he is a great actor who again did a great job, but even he couldn't save this movie. I can't seem to pick out what things in this movie were bad, but it just was not a good movie at all. Some of the visual effects were good but the movie was just not interesting at all. For a mystery/thriller it was incredibly boring and whomever adapted the writing to film did not do a very good job of it. This film reminded me of the Da Vinci Code movie, because there was nothing particularly wrong with it, but it was just a failure as a movie.

Acting: B+
Audio: C
Visual: B+
Story: C
Other: F

Parney Points: 1

To visit the imdb listing for this film, click here.

Unknown (2006)

Unknown (2006)
Simon Brand

Five men wake up in an abandoned warehouse, one is shot and handcuffed, one is tied to a chair, another has been beaten badly, some are the kidnappers and some are the prisoners, but none of them can remember anything.

The previews of this movie were great, and I couldn't wait to see this film. While it was not the 5 star film that I thought it would be, I was still very impressed. The acting was fantastic; Jim Caviezel again did a superb job. The audio and visual techniques were great and the story was clever and thought provoking. On the negative side, the writers had a good premise but probably could have done a little more with the story. Also, I will not give away the ending but I usually don't enjoy it when there is a useless second twist thrown at the audience just before the credits come on. Other than that, the movie was fantastic and definitely worth seeing.

Acting: A
Audio: A-
Visual: B+
Story: A
Other: C

Parney Points: 4

To visit the imdb listing for this film, click here.