The X-Files: I Want To Believe

Starring: David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Amanda Peet, Billy Connolly, Xzibit
Written By: Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz
Directed By: Chris Carter
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Buy on Amazon.com: link

Six years after the end of the X-Files TV series, Mulder and Scully are dragged back into the business that they have been trying to get away from for the past ten years. When an FBI agent goes missing, the only one that can find her is Fox Mulder and a child molesting psychic priest.

After watching this movie and, like everyone else, expecting something at least half decent, I was very disappointed that this is all that Chris Carter has left in the tank for The X-Files. You could probably assume that this is pretty much going to be the last shot that anyone is going to take with The X-Files series and would be most likely the last time that we see Scully and Mulder together again. So, with that being the case, one would not be so crazy as to go out on a limb and give the fans everything that they have ever wanted, to wrap things up and to go out with a bang would they? I guess that wasnnt possible for some reason. Instead, much like the Star Trek: The Next Generation franchise, The X-Files are left to fizzle out into nothingness. Instead doing something like say, solving the mystery of Mulderns sister once and for all or bringing back some older characters like the Smoking Man and closing with a compelling story that proves once and for all that aliens do indeed exist or something of the sort, we are left with a movie that pretty much boils down to an episode of CSI with a pedophile psychic priest solving nothing more than a Frankenstein case. There really wasnnt anything supernatural or paranormal about this movie that made me want to believe in anything.
Without giving away too much in the way of spoilers, the plot revolves around former agent Fox Mulder being dragged back into helping the FBI, not really the X-Files Department in order to solve the mystery of an agent that went missing. As ridiculous as it may sound, the FBI has decided to clear Mulder of any and all of his past misgivings and is offered a clean slate if he helps them find a missing agent of insignificant importance. A psychic pedophile ex-priest tags along providing information when he feels like it, which is usually when they donnt need it or cannt do anything about it not when they really need it. Scully had a story arc that ran parallel to Mulderns story and, even though it provided the breakthrough in Mulderns case, fizzled out by the end of the movie. I felt that it could have carried a heavier weight in the moviens ending but it felt rushed when the loosed ends were wrapped up.

I really donnt think that any part of this movie made it feel like any of the older X-Files episodes other than a cameo or two from past characters. Both Mulder and Scully want out of having to deal with the FBI yet they keep coming back to help them and not for a case where pod people are taking over the world, but for a couple of demented scientists who enjoy playing Mr. Potato Head with animals. As I mentioned before, I expected this to be the big finish for the X-Files franchise. Instead, it was a big disappointment. Inm left believing that there may have been a possibility to put the icing on the cake with I Want To Believe but with the major bomb that this movie was in theaters, this is the last that were going to see of Mulder and Scully. Maybe in twenty years, wenll get a remake of the first movie

Features:
On Disc 1:
Feature-length audio commentary with director Chris Carter and producer Frank Spotnitz

Deleted Scenes

Chris Carter: Statements on Green Production

Body Parts: Special Makeup Effects

Gag Reel

Dying 2 Live music video by Xzibit

Still Galleries

Domestic and International Theatrical Trailers

On Disc 2:
Trust No One: Can ‘The X-Files’ Remain a Secret?: A documentary about bringing the X-Files back to life with interviews by the cast and crew.

Audio:
English (Dolby Digital 5.1)

Video:
Widescreen 2.40:1

Subtitles:
English, Spanish

RATING & SUMMARY:

Favorites: Scullyns first encounter with Father Joe, Mulder in his crazy room, the classic X-Files chase scene through the streets.
Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 104 minutes
Extras Rating:
Overall Rating:

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Starring: Matt Lanter, Ashley Eckstein, James Arnold Taylor, Dee Bradley Baker
Written By: Henry Gilroy, Steve Melching and Scott Murphy
Directed By: Dave Filoni
Studio: Warner Brothers/Lucasfilm
Buy on Amazon.com: link

Forget the last three Star Wars movies blotches, The Clone Wars is questionably the best movie in the franchise since Ewoks celebrated with a festive dance at the end of Return of the Jedi. There are no Ewoks in this one though, thankfully. And no Jar Jar either.

From start to finish, Star Wars: The Clone Wars is visually stunning. The animators seem to have taken a cue from the style of the recent TMNT animated movie. Characters are stylized in very creative ways all the while maintaining their recognizable looks. Obi Wan, for example, has a long face and an Abe Lincoln beard but you can instantly recognize that it is in fact Obi Wan. Count Dooku has a similarly stylized face but his thick body and wrinkled face provide his distinguished look. The animation style works even better when it comes to battle droids and the creatures of the Star Wars universe.

The Clone Wars falls somewhere between episode 3 and 2003ns Clone Wars TV series, presumably around the same time. I was a big fan of the original Clone Wars and was living off of my expectations of that series. Although the Clone Wars movie didnnt have the massive cast of characters and as much all-out action as the n03 series, I was very pleased to see a story that revolved around one of my favorite SW characters, Jabba the Hutt. I was kind of expecting the story to disappoint and lean more towards a younger audience with the introduction of Ahsoka Tano, but I was again pleasantly surprised by a story that contained some interesting plot twists and a few not so kid friendly moments (i.e. severed bounty hunter heads on a stretcher). The characters were very true to their movie counterparts with the exception of Anakin being a little less whiny and I wonnt complain about that.

If I had to point out the few things that I disliked about the movie, it would be nothing more than a few gripes that I would be nitpicking about. I thought that at time Ahsoka was a little annoying. Some of her dialogue with Anakin made it seem like the two of them were brother and sister and were bickering over things. I was also expecting more of Asajj Ventress and maybe a possible cameo by General Grievous but the Obi Wan/Ventress fight was fleeting and Grievous must have been getting some smoker treatments or something.

The two-disc Special Edition is freakinn loaded with special features and some very good ones if I may say so myself. A lot of the features deal with the Clone Wars series that follows this movie. There is a feature that previews the upcoming series, a feature on the voiceover actors, a feature on scoring the new series, deleted scenes and making-of featurettes just to name a few.

If you are fan of the Star Wars universe, then you most likely saw Star Wars: The Clone Wars in theatres and already own the DVD (I hope you got the special edition. If not, shame on you!). If you are a casual fan and not sure about the quality of a Star Wars movie that appeared under the radar, then I would like to inform you kind sir or madame, The Clone Wars is right up there with the top tier Star Wars stuff. It has a feel to it that reminds me a lot of the earlier movies, but with the new characters. If that hasnnt sold you, then check it out for the animation alone. Star Wars: The Clone Wars is definitely like nothing else in the Star Wars U.

Features:
Disc One
Commentary by Director Dave Filoni, Producer Catherine Windber, Writer Henry Gilroy and Editor Jason W. A. Tucker
Languages and Subtitles

Disc 2
The Clone Wars: The Untold Stories-Preview stories, vehicles, planets and battles of Season One of Star Wars: The Clone Wars TV series.
The Voices of the Clone Wars-Voiceover actors and animated characters in split-screen performances
A New Score-Composer Kevin Kiner establishing a new musical identity for the series
Gallery of Concept and Production Art
Webisodes-6 making-of featurettes
Deleted Scenes
Trailers

Audio:
Dolby Digital 5.1

Video:
Widescreen (16×9 2.4:1)

Subtitles:
English, French, Spanish

RATING & SUMMARY:

Favorites: The battle for the monastery, the Anakin/Dooku battle, anything with Yoda in it.
Rating: PG
Running Time: 98 minutes
Extras Rating:
Overall Rating: