Shade ( Sylvester Stalone, Melanie Griffith, Jamie Fox, Stuart Townsend, Gabriel Byrne, Thandie Newton )
The first feature film from real-life card shark Damian Nieman, who wrote and directed the picture, stars Gabriel Byrne and Thandie Newton as a duo of con artists looking to beat the "Dean" (Sylvester Stallone), a legendary card shark, in a high-stakes poker game. Their first step is hiring two fellow tricksters -- Jamie Foxx and Stuart Townsend -- to provide the smooth talking and to procure the necessary funds. Unfortunately, Larry (Foxx) blows his hand and finds himself with 85,000 dollars worth of debt owed to a local crime boss.
I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, it really takes you into the back parlors of card sharks. There was some great plot twists, and plenty of shootem' up action to keep action lovers interested. A slick crime thriller that keeps you guessing who is double crossing who.

Movie Watcher Rating:
****

My Baby's Daddy ( Eddie Griffin, Anthony Anderson, Michael Imperioli) Rated PG-13
Lonnie (Eddie Griffin), G (Anthony Anderson), and Dominic (Michael Imperioli) are three slacker bachelors who aren't quite ready to grow up. Their lives basically revolve around smoking weed and trying to pick up women. By some stroke of luck, each of their respective girlfriends (Paula Jai Parker, Bai Ling, and Joanna Bacalso) get pregnant at the same time. As they stumble toward fatherhood with comic effect, the three men struggle with becoming adults themselves.
This was a comedy that tried it's best, but just didn't really go anywhere. the acting was marginal, and I don't think I laughed hard even onetime.

Movie Watchers Rating:
**

Mystic River ( Sean Penn, Kevin Bacon, Tim Robbins ) Rated R
Directed by Clint Eastwood, the mysterious drama Mystic River is based on the novel by Dennis Lehane and adapted by screenwriter Brian Helgeland. Set in an Irish neighborhood in Boston, Jimmy, Sean, and Dave are three childhood friends who are reunited after a brutal murder takes place. Reformed convict Jimmy Markum (Sean Penn) and his devoted wife Annabeth (Laura Linney) find out that their teenage daughter Katie (Emmy Rossum) has been beaten and killed. Jimmy's old friend Sean Devine (Kevin Bacon) is the homicide detective assigned to the case, along with partner Whitey Powers (Laurence Fishburne). Jimmy also gets his relatives, the Savage brothers (Adam Nelson and Robert Wahlberg), to conduct an investigation of their own. Jimmy and Sean both start to suspect their old pal, Dave Boyle (Tim Robbins), who lives a quiet life with his wife Celeste (Marcia Gay Harden) but harbors some disturbing secrets.
This was a great movie for suspense lovers. There are plot twists, that keep you guessing to the end. Sean Penn turns in an Oscar winning performance. The supporting cast is also great. A very well scripted movie, and a great job with the casting.

Movie Watchers Rating:
*****

Dummy ( Adrien Brody, Milla Jovovich, Illeana Douglas )
Dummy stars Oscar winner Adrien Brody (The Pianist, Summer of Sam) as Steven, a recently unemployed ne'er-do-well who has difficulty expressing himself. Steven's best friend is Fanny, an aspiring singer played by Milla Jovovich (The Fifth Element, Resident Evil) who, along with Steven, is just looking for her niche. Eventually Fanny takes a shine to Yiddish music and Steven finds he has a knack for ventriloquism. Through his newfound talent, Steven discovers that he is able to overcome his social problems through his dummy and decides to try impressing and winning the heart of Lorena, played by Vera Farmiga (Autumn in New York, 15 Minutes).
I liked the premise of this movie. It has good dialogue, funny skits with the dummy, likeable characters, an overall solid comedy.

Movie Watchers Rating:
***

Bad Santa ( Billy Bob Thornton, Tony Cox, Brett Kelly, John Ritter )
The Christmas season just got a lot less joyous in this very dark comedy. Willie T. Soke (Billy Bob Thornton) is a con man and a thief who teams up with his friend Marcus (Tony Cox), a midget, for a very special scam each year during the holiday season. Willie gets a job as Santa Claus at a shopping mall, his pal tags along as an elf, and they use their employee status to crack mall security and rob stores blind just before Christmas. However, there's one flaw to this plan -- Willie is a bitter, foul-mouthed and perpetually grouchy alcoholic who doesn't care for kids, and it's all he can do to keep himself from getting fired while on the job. The mall's manager (John Ritter, in his last film appearance) is certain something's wrong with the Santa he's hired, so he asks the mall's chief of security (Bernie Mac) to do some research on Willie. Meanwhile, one of the kids Willie is forced to talk to becomes a regular customer; overweight, awkward, and the frequent target of bullies, the boy manages to arouse something like sympathy from Willie, who tries to give him some advice and develops something vaguely resembling Christmas sprit along the way.
This had to be one of the most dissappointing movies I've seen by Billy Bob Thornton. There is just way too much vulgarity for my taste. The director seems to think, that the more swearing in a movie the funnier it is. I would not recommend this to anyone.

Movie Watchers Rating:
*

Cold Mountain ( Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, Renée Zellweger ) Rated R
Based on the novel by Charles Frazier, Anthony Minghella's star-studded Cold Mountain is a sweeping tale set in the final days of the American Civil War. Jude Law stars as Inman, a young soldier who, despite an injury, is struggling to make his way home to Cold Mountain, NC, where his beloved Ada (Nicole Kidman) awaits. In Inman's absence, Ada befriends Ruby (Renée Zellweger), who helps her keep up her late father's farm. Meanwhile, in his travels, Inman encounters a menagerie of interesting folks. Also starring Natalie Portman, Giovanni Ribisi, Donald Sutherland, and Philip Seymore Hoffman. I found this movie interesting, and entertaining. It has it's share of top notch actors, and a good script. The cinematography is the movies strong point. While the constant flashbacks that have you jumping back and forth from present and past seemed beleagured, and overkill at times.

Movie Watchers Rating
***

Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones ( Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Samuel L. Jackson ) Rated PG
The second prequel to the original Star Wars trilogy takes place ten years after the events depicted in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Now 20, young Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) is an apprentice to respected Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor). Unusually powerful in the Force, Anakin is also impatient, arrogant, and headstrong, causing his mentor a great deal of concern. The pair are ordered to protect Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman), the former queen of the planet Naboo, now representing her world in the Galactic Senate. Someone is trying to assassinate her on the eve of a vote enabling Supreme Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) to build a military force that will safeguard against a growing separatist movement led by mysterious former Jedi Count Dooku (Christopher Lee). After another attempt on Padme's life, Obi-Wan and Anakin separate. The young Jedi and Padme fall in love as he escorts her first to the security of Naboo and then to his home world of Tatooine, where the fate of his mother leads him to commit an ominous atrocity. Meanwhile, Obi-Wan travels to the secretive planet Kamino and the asteroid-ringed world of Geonosis, following bounty hunter Jango Fett (Temuera Morrison) and his son, Boba (Daniel Logan), who are involved in an operation to create a massive army of clones. A vicious battle ensues between the clones and Jedi on one side and Dooku's droids on the other, but who is really pulling the strings in this galactic conflict? Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones marks the first major motion picture to be filmed entirely in digital video, with director George Lucas using cameras modified for him by the manufacturer.

Epoch: Evolution ( David Keith, Billy dee Williams ) Rated R
A decent science fiction movie, the special effects make it worth watching. The USA and Russia are on the brink of war with China, at the same time there are moniliths appearing around the world. Are they from another world, or weapons to be used? Only one man holds the answer to that question. His name is Mason and his son seems to be the key to it all. Oh, by the way there is also another key needed, and Mason seems to have that covered also. Will he be able to figure out what needs to be done before the world is destroyed by the monilith.
This movie makes you think of possible, would be scenarios in the military arena. The special effects are real good, and the cast is not too bad. It could have been made a little easier to understand though. The director has you jumping from scene to scene, with lightning fast changes, that don't always flow well. It leaves you guessing who is after who and why. Still I would reccommend at least checking it out.

Movie Watchers Rating:
***

Duplex ( Ben Stiller, Drew Barrymore ) PG-13
They found just the duplex they were looking for. However they weren't looking for the upstairs tenant that came with the purchase. Ben and Drew at their comedic best in this comedy. They just wanted a quiet place for Alex ( Stiller ) to finish writing his book. That ends up being an impossibility with the ever demanding elderly lady upstairs. This movie had me laughing pretty hard at times. It had a good storyline, and plenty of funny moments. I really liked this Danny Devito movie. Yes it has minor flaws, but still a definite must see.

Movie Watchers Rating
****

Peter Pan ( Jason Isaacs, Jeremy Sumpter, Rachel Hurd-Wood ) PG
This is a fantasy, childrens'/family movie. The one thing I did like about this movie was the special effects and scenery. That unfortunately, is about the only thing in this movie I liked. It is the classic story of Peter Pan, Tinkerbell, and Captain Hook ( all from Neverneverland ), and Wendy, John, and Peter all from this world. It follows the original storyline, but just never takes off. I was expecting more from a childrens movie that is touting itself as the best family movie of the year. Overall I would say the movie is just boring, you just can't get into it. The characters are played out, and just blah!. They should have spent less on the special effects and more on presenting a more interesting, fun movie. What I look for in a good family movieis, fun, adventure, and a feeling of relating to the characters. I just didn't relate to the characters. I did like the parrot, he made me chuckle a few times.

Movie Watchers Rating:
**