Review: The Simpsons Movie

Well folks, it took 18 years and lots of petitioning but, The Simpsons have done it! On July 27 Homer and the gang (and I mean ALL the gang) took their antics to the big screen. Before I begin reviewing this movie, let me say something about it. If you have ever talked to my good friend Emily Barber online via AIM then you'll know one of her favorite phrases (at least when talking to me) is "*headdesk*" which she uses (once again frequently in our conversations) to illustrate frustration/lack of intelligence in response to something one (usually me) says. That being said, The Simpsons takes *headdesk* and then puts it to the power of Pi. The Simpsons movie is a testament to stupidity while also being a brilliant satire of our society. Every writer (except two) that has ever written for the television series worked on the script for the film. And I have to say, it shows! The writing on the Simpsons has always been lettuce-crisp, but in The Simpsons Movie, it's straight from the farm fresh! Some lines/scenes have been added to please fans of outright stupid humor (Spider-pig! Spider-pig!) and the rest are bitingly satirical. All of them are hysterically funny no matter what. The Simpsons movie is what every fan of the show has been expecting for years and to watch it play out is like a dream we never thought would come true. My favorite line? Todd Flanders: "I wish Homer was my daddy!" Ned Flanders: "AAAAAAAAAAAand I wish you didn't have the devil's curly hair!"

my rating: 9/10

Review: The Bourne Ultimatum

Bourne is back and ready to kill the guys that tried to kill him. For good. The Bourne Ultimatum picks up right where Supremacy left off, with Bourne in Moscow still trying to figure out why he's so good at killing people. That's about it. There is really absolutely nothing new about this installment in the Bourne series whatsoever except the fact that all truth is revealed by the end of the film. It's more of the same, worldwide cat and mouse game and Bourne beating (A LOT of) people up and then running away on various vehicles or on foot. Rest assured, I am NOT complaining about this by any means! This is one intelligent action-packed spy thriller and not just a mindless summer action flick. I was on the edge of my seat the entire film wondering if Bourne and his partner in crime Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles) were going to make it to their next location. The reason they didn't change anything about the Bourne series is because they paid attention to the old phrase "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." and that's refreshing to see in Hollywood now. The producers/writers/directors knew what worked in the previous two films and used those same elements to make Ultimatum a thrill ride worth seeing. However, there were two problems I had with all of this, first off is the "shaky cam" from Supremacy is back and more motion-sickness inducing than ever which really bothered me at some points in the film. Second, everyone seemed a little TOO eager to act. Everyone overacted to some small event at some-point in the film, luckily it only happened to every character once instead of everybody all the time. While not perfect, The Bourne Ultimatum is definetly a summer blockbuster that shouldn't be lost among the Rush Hours and Transformers and should especially be checked out if you were a fan of the first two or like a good spy-thriller with some crazy action thrown into the mix.

My rating: 8.5/10