Movie Review: **** Men In Black II (2002)

 Men in Black are back with more of the same; but of course with some twists.  Serleena (Lara Flynn Boyle) has been looking for the Light of Zartha, thinking it will give her power to destroy the Zarthians.  She has been looking for it for 25 years, and finally decides it is on earth.  Kay (Tommy Lee Jones) was involved in hiding it.  Jay (Will Smith) realizes that they need Kay's memories, and so they retrieve him and Jeebs (Tony Shalhoub) help them with this, and gets his head blown off for his troubles (it grows back).  Jay meets and falls for Laura Vasquez (Rosario Dawson).  He witnessed a murder of her boss, who in fact is an alien and helped keep the light safe.  In the end they take her with them to keep her safe.  Serleena takes over the agency with her many tentacles, and Kay and Jay escape to fight another day.  

It takes both of them to overcome Serleena, which they barely do.  Turns out Laura is the light, and she has to leave to avoid blowing up the planet.  She returns to her own kind.  Kay had something for her mother who was murdered by Serleena.  Could she be Kay's daughter?

Fun ride again

Movie Review: **^Spy Kids (2002)

This is the first in a series of five movies.  THe first three feature the original actors.  I can see how this movie might entertain a certain age group of people; but for me it was just too much.  The bad people were over the top as the evil scientist kept designing them that way.  They were actually spies that he had captured and then transformed into strange creatures for his cartoon show.  

Anyway back to the story.  A family of four.  The mother tells the children of a Spy Couple who fall for eachother and are married.  This is Gregorio Cortez and Ingrid Cortez (Antonio Banderas and Carla Gugino).  This is actually their own story.  They pretend to have left the spy game, but keep their toes in the water.  As a resut they are both captured by Fegan Floop (Alan Cumming) and his henchman Alexander Minnion (Tony Shalhoub).

When the parents are taken the children Carmen and Juni (Alexa PenaVega and Daryl Sabara) are accosted by thugs, literally thumb men, and discover quickly they are a family of spies.  They get into their parent's lair and take off in a funny looking amphibious vehicle.  They are on their way to rescue their parents.

Ont their journey they are taken to Uncle Machete (Danny Trejo)who provides spy tech gadgets.  It is Uncle Machete who makes the difference in the end.  There are numerous robots created by Minnion just laking intelligence.  They are made to look like others and the pair that look like Carmen and Juni manage to get the third brain from them.  With this device, after replicating it they are able to give the robots intelligence.  zThey make a formidab le force.  However after Minnion turns on Floop, he begins putting brains in all his robots.  THe brother and sister rescue Floop, who then reprograms the robots to have a conscience.

If you can follow that you would likely enjoy this movie.  

Movie Review: Galaxy Quest

This movie is made on a very outlandish premise, but it actually works, and is very enjoyable.  What if an alien race had been watching your old space television episodes, and had seen your exploits, and heroics, as shown in the t.v. series?   And this race of people were in bad need of heroes and rescuing?  And they had built a ship to all the specifications mentioned in the show?  Even if they were stupid?  And all they needed were the people from those ships to captain and pilot the vessel.  And they had the means to travel over large distances and come and get you?  Of course the would do so.  And would you actually be the hero you had portrayed in the t.v. episodes?  Or would you just be an old has been who goes around to old sci-fi conventions were you mingle with all the nerds?
Tim Allen stars as the Captain.  Other crew members are Gwen DeMarco (Sijourney Weaver), Alexander Dane (Alan Rickman) and Fred Kwan (Tony Shalhoub).