500 Days of Summer

I went into this movie with low expectations. It looked like just another rom-com - an indie version of The Breakup.
I was pleasantly surprised. The characters are quirky without being weird. The story, although it follows a standard arc, has enough smart humor. I even liked the nod to Salinger. The precocious little sister is perfect.

Moon

This is a must see for fans of classic sci-fi. It is a thoughtful piece that entertains and makes the audience think. It has hints of Silent Running, 2001, Alien, and Blade Runner.
The acting is top notch. The character is played with tenderness and subtlety. Kevin Spacey is the perfect voice for the robot-kind but flat.
Moon shows that good sci-fi doesn't have to cost a billion dollars and have lots of explosions to be excellent. It just needs a good story and the talent to tell the story well.

Quarentine

Creepy like the "Blair Witch Project", but not as good. The pacing kept things suspenseful. The movies big problem is that it is merely dirvitive. The framing device has been done too many times to be edgy. People turned into zombies by a mysterious illness have been done better.
This is a decent thriller but not a great one.

Terminator Salvation

The newest entry in the Terminator series lives up to its legacy. The action is top notch. The darkness permeates the movie, as does the twisted hope.
The acting in this entry is better than the previous movies. The story is also better written and more complex. The central dilemma of the film is what makes us human. Is John Connor less human at the end of the movie?
There are a few weak spots such as the coincidence that Marcus stumbles into Kyle Reese. I also found the fact that Marcus has a real heart a little trite.

Star Trek

This "reboot" of Star Trek is good. I think it comes in just after "Wrath of Khan".
The new cast deliver a fun ride that pays homage to the original without slipping into the realm of a cheap copy. I particularly liked the new Kirk, Bones, and Uhura. The new Scotty and Sulu showed promise. Quinto's Spock was OK, but not a real standout.
The script is also good. The pacing is taught and has plenty of action. I also liked the few little touches that are tossed in to show the lineage. The 3rd space diver was a nice touch. I also liked the shout out to Star Wars fans when Kirk has his Skywalker moment on the ice.
There are a few things that I found disappointing. The first was the device the plot revolve around. I think time travel is a tired plot device. Sure it frees Abrahms from the baggage of the Star Trek universes history, but a really creative film maker could have stuck with the baggage and still made good movies. I also found the "relationship" between Uhura and Spock flat and troubling. It seemed like little more than a way to trump up the rivalry between Kirk and Spock.

Burn After Reading

Maybe I missed something, but this movie was dreck. A bunch of terrible, uninteresting, stupid people doing terrible, uninteresting stupid things eventually wind up being killed for terrible, uninteresting, stupid reasons.
The only character I felt any thing other than contempt for was the poor gym manager. He may have been pathetic, but he was genuine.

Alone in the Dark

This movie has all the things that make for a horror movie that is bad enough to be on SciFi Saturday. The acting is terrible, the script is banal, and it stars Stephen Dorf and Tara Reid.
What makes this worse is that it had a big budget and at least an A- list star. The typical SciFi fare is way low budget.