Twelve years since the groundbreaking second film and nearly 20 since the series started Terminator returns to the silver screen in Rise of the Machines, an action packed romp for nearly two hours that brings closure to certain parts of the series while opening the door for future films in the franchise.

Regardless of your feelings about this film, not bringing back Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong, or director James Cameron, you need to leave them at the door and take what you will from this entirely worthy addition to the series. Rise of the Machines can be held back by possibly taking too many plot elements from the successful second movie (two terminators hunt a man, battle along the way, etc.) but after viewing T3 you will see that Jonathon Mostow’s creative interjection into the series is both welcomed and perfect for the evolution of the franchise.

Terminator 3 finds John Connor (Nick Stahl) living apart from society, drifting from place to place and keeping his name out of credit card databases and mortgage payments. He doesn’t exist to society, and only a select few who know him from his days in junior high even remember that he exists. The events of August 29th, 1997 never happened and we meet up with John in his early 20s trying to survive, viewing each day after Judgment Day’s belated arrival as a blessing. Belated? It appears as though destiny has one again caught up with John, and now the machine army has sent back it’s most high tech terminator yet to destroy him, the T-X (Kristanna Loken), and like the T-1000 before her, she will stop at nothing to complete her mission. The T-800 (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is then sent back again to protect John from this new nemesis and preserve the future.

If you sit back and really think about Terminator 3’s storyline you eyes go cross-eyed much like Austin Powers. There are so many ways for a paradox to be created and completely destroy the universe. We learned about this kind of stuff from Doc Brown in Back to the Future. Still if you can hold back on critiquing even the smallest plot holes and paradox points you will fully enjoy the experience that you receive. Sure the character development seen in T2 isn’t as strong, or nearly as fleshed out, but we know who these characters are for the most part, with the exception of Kate Brewster (Claire Danes) who serves as one of the T-X’s targets and holds ties to Connor in the future. For the most part not having James Cameron working on the film doesn’t detract from the mythology of the series in any way.

Series newcomer Kristanna Loken pulls off the expressionless T-X with total ease. She looks amazing, and while she only has a few lines throughout the film she provides a interesting, exotic menace when compared to the original T-800 in Terminator and Robert Patrick’s T-1000 in T2. Of course, it also helps a bit that she is beautiful.

The special effects, as previously described by Editor entopia_john’ review, were very tastefully done without the constant overuse we see in the days of CGI characters being credited in movies. For the most part CG is only used when it is needed and when it is used it is very, very well done. The art house behind these effects should be very happy with themselves as they have crafted some of the best F/X seen this summer, especially the opening battle sequence in the future with an army of machines traverses a barren wasteland.

Another welcome addition, only hinted upon in the second film, is the added humor to the series, but not a laugh-out-loud Farrelly Bros. kind of way, it is more influenced by the Terminator’s lack of human understanding. There will be times when you find Arnold’s one liners completely amusing, and other times they just sort of drift off, like the much criticized “She’ll be back.”

Some may be a bit thrown off by the ending, as I was initially, but when you sit down and think about those paradoxes I mentioned before you will get it, just before your head explodes. Also, one other gripe, is the writing off of a certain character in a clever, yet annoying way. We knew this character wouldn’t be coming back, but you still feel really disappointed that a piece of the franchise’s mythology is missing, and you have to totally disregard the “happy” ending from Terminator 2 (which was never suppose to be included in the final print of the movie anyway).

Based on everything you have read here and around the web, Terminator 3 will still prove to be an action packed, fulfilling experience that acts as a bookend to one trilogy and the possibility of bridging to another. Forget that some of the previous two film’s principle characters and production people aren’t with this one and have a good time, you might be surprised how well you actually like it.

The original Charlie’s Angel blasted on to the scene in November 2000 and popped the box office for $40.1 million dollars. Not a bad sum for a remake of a 1970’s TV show and director McG’s first gig. Now the angels are back in Full Throttle a movie that promised to be bigger, faster, sexier, and better than the original which set the precedents for campy action movies. Unfortunately it doesn’t appear as though the new film is firing on all cylinders.

Charlie’s Angels was a cheesy action movie that featured over the top stunts, post-Matrix slow motion martial arts, and a story that caused a major disassociation from reality, but it had charm. Full Throttle tries to embark on the sequel road by taking everything that work from the first film and building upon it, but some of the stuff that they believe worked didn’t need a 10 minute exposé. McG tries really hard to rekindle the magic felt in the original, but most of the time he goes too far resorting to dance numbers and far too many excuses for the girls to dress up in skimpy clothing and defy the laws of physics.

The story begins in Mongolia where the angels have been entrusted to rescue Ray Carter (Robert Patrick) one of two men holding the keys to the Witness Protection Program. The movie plays out from here as a cheesy knock off of the original Mission Impossible where undercover agents (here, protected witnesses) could be exposed if the keys fell into the wrong hands. When Natalie (Cameron Diaz), Dylan (Drew Barrymore), Alex (Lucy Liu), and Bosley (Bernie Mac) are confronted with a new problem associated with the keys (which happen to be titanium rings) the trail leads them to a man from Dylan’s past, Thin Man (Crispin Glover), and fallen angel Madison (Demi Moore).

Through the thinly laced plot McG does offer some awesome visuals and fight sequences that boggle the mind, while entertain it. Let it be known, Full Throttle isn’t a thinking man’s movie, in fact watching it could actually cause your IQ to diminish, but to see scantily clad females washing cars and dancing around in Pussycat outfits would you give up a few brain cells?

The best part of the film is Bernie Mac’s Bosley which offers up both the comic relief and highest caliber acting, and while I respect Bernie Mac’s talents, that isn’t saying a whole lot. At best the film is a glorified music video, making former vid director McG feel right at home. And while I like slow motion action as much as the next guy, being a devoted fan of McG’s “Fastlane,” some of the stunt work in Full Throttle appears to hamper the progression of the film more than ease it along. The first hour plays out, as the angels try and locate the rings, as nothing more than a series of clips with blaring rock music and shameless cameos from Bruce Willis, the Olsen Twins, and Pink (who is never allowed in a movie again).

The most hyped point of the entire film is the return of Demi Moore, but she is in the film for nearly 15 minutes tops and looks as though the F/X buffs at ILM couldn’t quite get that skin looking natural enough. Hulk jokes aside, her role in the film is minor at best and only seems to serve as a gateway for something to go on her resume this century.

Full Throttle isn’t anywhere near a bad film, but the charm and fun set up by the first are sorely lacking in this cash-cow-beating follow-up which seems to appeal to something other than your brain. I’m all for leading ladies in action roles where they can kick ass but three spontaneous dance numbers, a very limited two minute appearance by Thin Man (one of the shinning parts of both films), and a general lack of anything but a cliché ploy to get women to remove clothes hurts the standing of the film as a campy, yet enjoyable experience. You know you want to see it for certain reasons, and you will love what is in there, but when you stand back and take another look the only thing passing through your mind is where the thing is you use to dig food, and that can’t be good.

Once in a great while a movie comes along that revolutionizes a genre. Even more difficult is a movie that breaks the mold of the tried and true method of genre film making with over fifty years of canon (history). 28 Days Later from director Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, The Beach) is this kind of movie. With a few simple bends and breaks in the rules of zombie movies, 28 Days Later serves as one of the best new films based on the ancient lore of zombies, and, quite possibly, one of the best films that will be released this year.

It seems rare that such an intellectual film would hit during the popcorn movie summer season when big, brainless movies take to the big screen in order to break records and bring in massive audiences. Yet, most of these movies lack the substance to create a memory in the minds of the viewer that won’t dissipate even an hour after leaving the cinema. I already can’t remember what movies I saw a few months ago. As it is with being a film critic/reviewer, you have to see so much it takes an outstanding film to really make you stand up and say, “This is something special, this deserves recognition.” Only a few movies have done that for me over the years. Fight Club, The Matrix, Army of Darkness, and Final Destination are just some of the very select few that remind me why I do what I do. I can now safely add 28 Days Later to that list.

28 Days Later tells the story of a few survivors after a viral outbreak leaves the world devastated with zombies. After a group of animal activists break into a highly volatile lab and attempt to free some experimental specimens. When something goes wrong, as they always appear to, a virus called “Rage” is released into the human population. The similarities to other zombie movies can clearly be seen, but it is from this point on where things get interesting. The virus effects the human body in a much different way than that of previous zombie flicks. Within 30 seconds a typical person is transformed into a crazed being bent on feeding and with the ability to run. Who know transforming the undead from lumbering pacifists to hunger crazed marathon runners could add such an element to the movie. 28 days after infection the entire island of England has been deserted leading to some very cool scenes of our central characters examining the aftermath of such a biological assault.

The movie’s central character, Jim (Cillian Murphy), has so many things to deal with at once, and Boyle takes careful steps to exam each one of them. After being hit by a car on a courier route Jim, presumably, was in a coma for a number of weeks (four to be exact) and wakes up to find the entire country devastated. TV and radio have stopped broadcasting, newspapers read of “Evacuation” and churches are scrawled with text proclaiming the end is near. Its all standard post apocalyptic stuff, but this is all that mixed with some jet fuel and crack blast your brains out with just how good the film really is. Jim eventually meets up with a few other survivors who hear, on the radio, that a brigade of Army personnel are still alive and are able to protect any other survivors. They make a choice to seek out these soldiers and hopefully escape.

The movie holds a very important message that is reiterated in the films opening. People, even when not under the undue influence of antigens, have a general hatred for other people. It just seems to be our nature. While the first part of the film is a superb zombie movie, the second half dives into more of a psychological portrayal of the human brain and what really drives us. Without giving too much away, some things are just too good to be true.

The movie does suffer through a few things in the writing department that would scream out to be obvious. London has rivers and lakes surrounding it. Wouldn’t it be prudent to just get in a boat and drop anchor right in the middle of these bodies of water? Also the ending opens up some continuity problems with statements made earlier in the movie, but none of this detracts from the overall pleasure you get from seeing this film. While not relying too much on scare tactics such as people jumping out of places, there are a good number of “crash” moments that make you jump.

28 Days Later is a refreshing breath of fresh air into an increasingly stale genre. If you can drop any preconceptions that zombie movies have to be mindless decapitation fests you will enjoy 28 Days Later for the storytelling and the revelations that Boyle reveals about humans and our cherishing of life only at the point when it may slip away.

Ang Lee’s The Hulk has to be the most stylish film based off of a comic book. Where Blade went balls out to create the perfect transition, X-Men touched on some origin and gave fans what they wanted, and where Spider-Man delivered the first of many chapters based on the amazing character, The Hulk has the style and story to make it the most memorable of all the comic transitions.

The Hulk tells the story of Bruce Banner (Eric Bana) and his alter-ego The Incredible Hulk. After Bruce’s father, David, experiments on himself with his genetic research focusing on regeneration and such, he impregnates his wife with Bruce and fears that he may have passed certain elements of that research on to his son. Bruce only shows certain signs of this genetic manipulation until a lab accident exposes him to a high level of gamma radiation which unleashes the Hulk inside.

What I believe to be the best part of the film is it is much darker than both X-Men and Spider-Man, but not in such a way as Daredevil where the story is completely destroyed by darkness for the sake of making it dark. The Hulk features a very intriguing story that actually creates characters much deeper than previously created in any of the aforementioned movies. Bruce faces the internal conflict of the Hulk being loose when he loses control of his emotions but also has to deal with the realization that his father isn’t dead and a government contracted organization is looking to take over his research. The screen writers need to be given full credit for bringing yet another intellectual movie to the table this summer without shying away from the popcorn movie many comic book fans and critics where expecting.

Yet another strong point of the movie is the supporting cast. Betty Ross (Jennifer Connelly) as Bruce’s love interest and, seemingly, the only thing that can calm Bruce down enough to return to normal. The beautiful Connelly delivers a very commendable performance for a film many thought to bring 2D “filler” characters to the table. General Ross (Sam Elliott) as the overbearing father looking to contain this “creature” as a weapon also delivers a great performance and we can see as the film goes on that he feels more and more guilty about what he may ultimately have to do. David Banner played by Nick Nolte (doing his best Whistler impression, no doubt) rounds things out with an outstanding performance as Bruce’s unstable, yet brilliant father looking to obtain the secrets of his son’s transformations to use on himself.

The biggest debate of the film was going to be the CGI no matter now good the actual movie was, but for those looking for a near seamless realism to the character, look elsewhere. The Hulk doesn’t look perfect, but that is how it should be. He is a comic book hero represented on film in the most lifelike manner you could give to a 15 foot, green mass. Overall the computer generated work is excellent, and much better than last year’s Spider-Man. The way the green-meanie interacts with he real world environment (pelted with bullets, running over sand dunes, interacting with other characters) is very well done and you can see a lot of time was placed in making it perfect.

While the story is the best part it also is the biggest drawback in some parts. The movie clocks in at well over two hours which is bordering on the long side of things and there are several points which just seemed to bother me. The film makes a point to show a near zero body count. After The Hulk chucks a tank nearly half a mile into a sand bank the operator stumbles out shaking his head as though he is just dazed. Somehow I think he would be looking for his brain matter scattered all over the interior as the force in which that tank was thrown would have surely done more damage than a simple headache. In fact, as far as I can remember, there is only one causality in the entire film. Somehow this seems like a way to show that Bruce isn’t such a bad guy as The Hulk, he is just angry, but so is Wolverine and he skewered a great many of Stryker’s forces in X2. Also, as you may have heard other places, the ending is atrociously laughable. Going from a heart to heart conversation into a huge battle proved to be the films, “What the?” moment as no one had a clue what was going on. Its just the little things that peck away at your during the movie and bring it down a notch.

What makes this movie so stylish is the cinematography. Utilizing a direct reference to the comic in which the film was ripped, Lee plays with nifty little transitions and the feeling as though you are progressing through “panels” of a comic book. At certain points the camera zooms out to show, seemingly, and entire page of panels and then zooms in on the next appropriate one. Many movies use these types of transitions, and even the multiple camera angles a la “24,” but combined with the panel feel of the film you are left with a giddy sense inside.

You may be surprised that you enjoy The Hulk much more than you want yourself to believe. As the first Marvel comic fully interjected with somewhat believable story and supporting characters to add life you appreciate the work that went into creating such a good film. The action sequences keep you happy, especially the mutant dog attack, and the storytelling draws you in to one of the summer’s best movies thus far. Hold your breath through the completely dumb ending battle and let the rollercoaster slide you in perfectly to the inevitable sequel.

Dumb and Dumber is a classic to anyone who loves a good, fun movie. Sure the film isn’t anything more than a string of jokes based on two dumb characters who can’t even read a briefcase correctly, but through the course of the movie you begin to really fall for the characters who stand out as more than your simple comic fare. Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd is a prequel to the original which brings in younger versions of the characters who still lack the intelligence to even be born.

The greatest part about this film is not particularly the story, or the laughs, but just how good of a Jim Carrey impersonation Eric Christian Olsen is able to pull off. That seemed to be the biggest draw to the film only seeing preliminary posters and a small teaser trailer. Olsen pulls off Carrey better than Carrey could pull off Carrey. It is just uncanny how well both actors are able being younger versions of Jeff Daniels and Carrey.

Dumb and Dumberer finds us back in High School on Harry’s (Derek Richardson) first day after being home schooled for his entire life. Along the way, following his treasure map, he runs into, literally, Lloyd Christmas (Olsen) who instantly becomes his dim-witted friend. Through a series of misadventures Lloyd and Harry are tricked by Principal Collins (Eugene Levy) into recruiting other social misfits for a fake Special Needs program which will get him a grant for $100,000 which he plans to buy a condo with. For the most part the story takes a backseat to the laughs, in which the movie is full of, but to get most of them you must, once again, return to the lowest common denominator.

While some of the jokes fail to make their mark on the audience, but there are some shinning moments that really put you in tears. One in particular is a rather funny episode with Harry and a melted chocolate bar at the beautiful Jessica’s (Rachel Nichols) house and her uptight Dad’s (Bob Saget) reaction to the whole mess. Jessica serves as the movies love interest for Harry and, to a lesser extent, Lloyd. The gross out humor and bodily function jokes are the most prevalent, but sometimes you notch the film up a level with some clever plays on words and intelligent jokes.

Still if it weren’t for the likeable characters and sometimes hilarious dialog the movie pales with comparison to just about every other movie out there. But if you are attending this for intriguing drama and classical characters you are in the wrong place. Dumb and Dumberer knows what it is and never attempts to go above or beyond that. For such a low budget movie, roughly around $30 million, the film brings in a surprising amount of talent including Luis Guzman as Lloyd’s father and school janitor and Mimi Rogers as Harry’s Mom.

Dumb and Dumberer lacks originality and anything resembling a memorable plot, but that is what you expect when you are laughing for 90 minutes straight. Granted that the movie is sure to be critically panned because of it’s low brow comedy and lack of older people “getting it,” but what they don’t realize is for every Matrix and Mulholland Drive we need a good comedy to express ourselves and a good comedy with poop jokes and stupid characters is just what the doctor ordered. Don’t expected a second renaissance of film making, but do expect to have a good time.

Hollywood Homicide will forever be billed as a new millennium Lethal Weapon, and Sony seems to be keen on that fact looking over the films recent television campaign. Not that being a Lethal Weapon clone is a bad thing, but would it totally kill the screenwriter to include something original?

Homicide as a film feels as though it is lost finding a voice to speak above and beyond that of other buddy comedies that have come and gone over the years. Rush Hour, Shanghai Noon, Rush Hour 2, Shanghai Knights, oh hell anything with Jackie Chan and some other guy can qualify for this distinction. The pairing of Harrison Ford and Josh Hartnett provides some good onscreen chemistry, and plenty of laughs, but as the film progresses you absolutely loose sight of where it is going.

Joe Gavilan (Harrison Ford) is a detective by day and real estate agent by night who gets the call to investigate the shooting of an up and coming hip-hop group, H20 Klick, with his young partner K.C. Calden who moonlights as a Yoga instructor, when not solving murders. The majority of the movie is based on finding one witness who saw the shooters and may have some information on Sartain, the record label executive who may or may not have been involved in the shooting. Realistically the movie plays out as an extended episode of Law & Order with more humor and needless “romance” scenes.

The film seems merely content with just cracking an extreme line of jokes about certain aspects of Hollywood culture while straying away from anything relating to the plot. In fact, if it wasn’t for the trailer and the initial killing in the beginning you couldn’t even assume there was a script for this movie. Granted, the jokes almost always hit their mark and are funny, but then the audience is thrown a curve ball in the form of Gavilan being investigated by Internal Affairs because the head honcho over there has an axe to grind. Then we learn about a certain ex-cop who killed his partner, conveniently Calden’s father, who is working for Sartain’s record company. It’s leaps like this that really sheds light on the fact that actors were chosen first and the script was worried about later.

Not all is bad in Hollywood though. There is a very cool car chase scene towards the end of the film with an Escalade and a Saleen Mustang (which is horrifying to watch as it gets smashed) and a particularly funny foot pursuit over a series of bridges also adds to the fun. Also, as stated before the jokes do manage to hit their mark with surprising accuracy and you do have fun watching the film, but as a whole you are left to wonder what in the hell is going on before you are able to understand anything.

Hollywood Homicide is your standard summer fare, and a semi-worthy diversion to the norm, but it isn’t something that couldn’t wait till DVD or even cable to spend your money on to rent or view. The relationship between the two characters works well enough that the film just screams “sequel” but hopefully they won’t forget to write a script next time.

For all of you that saw The Fast and the Furious, good for you, you saw a great movie that has nothing to do with it’s stupidly titled sequel, 2 Fast 2 Furious. It seems that every letter of the alphabet included in a movie’s title costs distributors money, maybe there isn’t a premium on numbers, yet. Regardless of the kindergarten title, 2 Fast 2 Furious does excel in many areas that require you to put your brain aside and replace it with a squished orange to get the needed effect created by the chase sequences, shoot-outs, and general disregard for the English language. That response is you drooling over yourself in anticipation of which law of physics the cars will break next. Yet, none of this matters as it doesn’t detract from the fun you will have watching such a harmless movie.

Be warned anyone entering with the expectations of a Fight Club or The Matrix you will be very, very disappointed. Even patrons entered with the expectation 2 Fast is comparable to its predecessor will find themselves somewhat disappointed by the hack-job editing and so-so direction, but you don’t go see a movie like this for drama and award winning performances. You are here to see hot girls on hot cars and you get plenty of both.

2 Fast 2 Furious moves the racing scene from LA to sunny Miami where disgraced cop Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) is a big man in the scene. Pulling in thousands of dollars a night by showing up other racers with his Skyline (and it is one hot car). When Brian is nabbed by his former employers (that crazy FBI guy from the first movie) he is given the cliché choice. Work for US Customs and the FBI to bring down drug runner Carter Verone (Cole Hauser) or go to jail for his actions in both LA and Miami. Obviously Brian chooses the latter or this would be 2 Fast 2 Jail and not much fun to watch as inmates race around the shower-room power sliding to avoid getting their clutched popped.

Coming along for the ride is model turned singer tuned actor Tyrese playing Roman Pierce, one of Brian’s old buddies from the ‘hood, apparently they have those in surfer towns, and Agent Monica Clemente (Eva Mendes) who may or may not have flipped in the presence of Verone. Also showing up is model turned actress (and I use that term very loosely) Devon Aoki who looks like her face was attacked by a hive of killer bees and swelled up to the size of a bag of potatoes. If you think she looks bad, wait till she talks. A paper bag and a muzzle might come in handy with this one. Through this loosely based chain of events that director John Singleton calls “plot” we find out that Verone needs two drivers to run drug money for him and, surprise, Roman and Brian get the call.

As a film being analyzed by the harshest critic it is absolutely horrible. A movie plagued with quick editing cuts, very bad direction, lack of a real staple character, and the list goes one. Yet, when you look at it from a person who obviously has had a few too many brain cells killed off you find that there is a certain charm to watching $100,000 dollar cars you will never be able to afford race around on screen and defy the laws of physics.

2 Fast, in all actuality, is no where near a bad film, but it is even farther from a good one. If you want to have a good time enjoying yourself and making fun of what is happening on screen this movie will do just that for you. Don’t expect a cerebral action spectacular, but do expect to be fulfilled on the promise of lollypop girls in shiny expensive cars and enough product placement and promotion to make a person sick to their stomach. Really, when was the last time you saw a Pepsi billboard, and what are the odds of a car crashing into it?

Without a brain 2 Fast 2 Furious excels past the finish line, but those with one should expect to loose a piece of it. You can also expect to have a good time viewing a film that doesn’t try to be anything more than it really is.

Forget what you may have heard in the press about The Italian Job before it was released and go into it with a clear mind. You will find that you have a far more enjoyable experience when you don’t let the media preconceptions influence your judgment on this great film. In the same vein of Ocean’s 11 and Guy Ritchie’s excellent Snatch, The Italian Job has you following the bad guys as they complete an incredible score and use all of the high tech gadgets available to get it done while sparing us from the cerebral melodrama and forced comedy. The Job is a balls-out fun movie that showcases the strengths of its cast and knowing its target audience to a “t”.

The movie starts off with a big job being pulled up by a crew of crooks consisting of Charlie (Mark Wahlberg), Handsome Rob (Jason Statham), Lyle (Seth Green), Steve (Edward Norton), Left Ear (Mos Def), and leader John Bridger (Donald Sutherland). As you have seen, no doubt, in the trailers Edward Norton’s character pulls a double cross on the rest of the crew and leaves Bridger dead and the rest of the crew looking to get back what is rightfully theirs.

The great thing about the film is everyone is just who you would expect. Seth Green’s Lyle is a computer genius and the “tech” guy on the squad whose purpose is to map out the plan and play havoc with Los Angeles’ traffic system. Mr. Bad Ass himself, Jason Statham, is just the character you would expect. With the driving skills he learned in last fall’s The Transporter firmly intact he doesn’t wrestle anyone in grease this time, but the sure does whoop some ass. Mark Wahlberg’s Charlie is the cool, calm leader of the group after Bridger is killed and keeps everyone working even with the revenge flowing through their veins to get back at Norton’s shifty Steve. No one wants revenge more than Charlize Theron’s Stella who looks stellar (excuse me) and plays the part of the abandoned daughter very, very well.

The style of the movie is its highest point. With cool, easy camera transitions you hardly ever feel a scene has ended before you are thrown into a new one. Some of them are clearly “throwbacks” (Hollywood for ripped-off) of other movies, and TV shows, but they work well in the film. A particular favorite is the transition from Europe to LA with just a swipe of the sky by the camera. The movie never lets you go after it begins and before you know it the highly publicized Mini chase scene is on the screen and the final double cross by the rest of the team as they steal back the gold.

Comedy is provide by, mostly, Seth Green who presents a very, very funny anecdote about the true origins of Napster and the film revisits this for all its comedy worth throughout the film but it never seems to get old. Even a surprise cameo by Shawn Fanning brings the joke to fruition. There is something about Seth Green that enables him to bring life to even the dullest of the dull, Greg the Bunny anyone?

The film does suffer through a few problems that do bring you back down to earth, but nothing too serious that you will detour your mind away from all the fun you are having while tuning into this 100 minute joyride. There are several times when you get those convenient plot clichés that plague so many movies these days, and other times when the movie is really slowed down from the brisk pace that you are used to by watching the first thirty minutes, but this doesn’t last long. Also the highly tacky “Hollywood” ending is, well, tacky.

All in all there isn’t much that can detract from the fun you will have while watching The Italian Job. The movie is a breath of fresh air in to a highly stale summer movie season and should succeed like other movies in the genre. Leave your brain at home and take in a truly enjoyable film that promises nothing and delivers everything you could want. Action, drama, comedy, and a light love interest equal a movie you should be seeing on your much earned weekend.