Sylvester Stallone returns in, Rambo, the fourth part of the Rambo series which began in 1982. In this installment, Stallone co-writes, directs, and stars as John Rambo. The film was released on January 25, 2008 in both USA and Germany, grossing $112,481,829 worldwide. Rambo is said to be the most violent story in the series with 262 kills. This amount represents more killings than the three preceding movies combined!

The film begins with an introduction to the horrors taking place in Burma under the rule of Than Shwe. People are viciously being executed for rebelling against Than Shwe authoritarian dictum. John Rambo, a Vietnam veteran has tried to take it easy since he retired from his former role as a soldier. He seeks now only to live a peaceful, secluded life and works gathering snakes to sell to local villages. On occasion, Rambo also transports people from place to place on his boat.

It is precisely his boating services that missionary, Michael Burnett (played by Paul Schulze) seeks. Burnett and the others in the group wish to be taken to Burma for a humanitarian mission. Rambo is reluctant to grant their request as Burma is a war zone, which is exactly the life he has been trying to avoid since his days as a soldier. He eventually agrees to take them and is called back “into action” when pirates attack the boat forcing Rambo to kill them.

Soon after the missionaries arrived at Burma, the Burmese army attacked the villagers killing several of them and capturing the rest. A worried pastor comes to visit Rambo concerned that his missionaries have not yet returned. He asks Rambo to direct the mercenaries to the location where he transported Burnett and the group. It is here, where the story truly begins.

One of the top rated films in 2007, There Will Be Blood, was recently released on Blu-Ray DVD on June 3rd.

The premise of the story is an oil-tycoon's journey for power. The main character is, Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis). Plainview tries to buy a family's land after he discovers that there is oil on it. When he approaches them, the family is unwilling to sell. At this point the audience is introduced to the characters, Paul and Eli Sunday (twins), both played by Paul Dano (Little Miss Sunshine). The director didn't originally plan this casting decision, however, the single actor playing two characters adds to the movie's theme of inner struggle, by giving a glimpse of a divided family. One of the twins helps Plainview learn of the oil on the family land and the other fights against the purchase of it.

As the story continues, Plainview murders a man, disowns a family member, and beats a man to death as he continues on his path towards riches and power gained from oil. This movie placed in the top ten list of movies from 2007, from such critics as Entertainment Weekly and USA Today. The film was inspired by Upton Sincliar's book, Oil! During the filming of the movie the director changed it from the book's title to the existing movie title because the movie does not stay completely true to the original story.

Some critics and viewers think that the movie produces more violence then plot, but in doing that it mirrors reality. The pursuit of power in an industry such as oil can produce a struggle, turmoil, and a ruthless display of determination and even violence.

“The Air I Breathe” was released January 25, 2008 and was mostly negatively reviewed in the US. Outside the US the movie was generally favorably received. It was released on DVD May 27, 2008.

The movie flows from a Chinese proverb about the four categories of life: happiness, pleasure, sorrow, and love. There are four vignettes, one for each category, and the characters are intertwined from story to story with Andy Garcia’s character, Fingers, present in all four. Forrest Whitaker stars in the happiness story, where he overhears a racing tip. He bets and loses, then robs a bank to pay up and is killed.

The pleasure segment stars a man who works for Fingers, Brendan Fraser, as someone who can see the future of the people he meets. The ability prevents him from enjoying even the small surprises in life. He can see the future of everyone except that of Sarah Michelle Gellar, who stars in the sorrow segment. She is a stage performer whose manager gives her contract to Fingers as debt payment. Fraser helps her escape from Fingers by letting her hide in his house.

In the final tale, love, Kevin Bacon plays a doctor who is in love with a woman who is bitten by a poisonous snake. She has a very rare blood type, which Gellar also has. Gellar arrives at the hospital with injuries from attempting to escape Fingers. Bacon saves her and she provides the blood he needs for the transfusion.

Because Fingers is the unifying character, the movie has a gangster feel.

P. S. I Love You, the novel, was written by, Cecilia Ahern, an Irish writer with several books to her credit. Her novel was adapted to the screen, and was released Dec 21, 2007 in time for holiday movie goers.

The movie stars Hilary Swank, as Holly, and Scottish actor, Gerard Butler as her husband, Gerry Kennedy. As the movie opens, the couple argues about a discussion that had taken place at her mother’s where they had eaten dinner. After the heated debate, they have a romantic reconciliation. And the next scene is that of Gerry’s memorial service after he died from a brain tumor. Holly suffers from a deep depression that affects every aspect of her daily life. Her family visits her on her 30th birthday, bringing balloons and gifts, and they help her clean her apartment and try to get her life back in order.

A cake arrived on Holly’s birthday, with a tape recorded message from Gerry, urging her to “celebrate herself.” Throughout the rest of the movie, a series of letters Gerry had written to her are delivered to Holly one by one, in some unusual way. Each letter closes with “P.S. I Love You.” Each new letter gives Holly a fresh perspective on some part of her life and helps her embrace her new life with a sense of understanding.

The movie was not particularly well received in critic’s circles, the main criticisms being the length of the movie (126 minutes), sappy love moments, and lame attempts at humor. However, as chick-flicks go, it does very well with reviews, and those who like the movie are adamant about it.

In the movie, Cleaner, Jake, played by Cedric the Entertainer, is depicted as an amnesiac. He doesn’t know who he is or what he did for a living. He wakes up in a hotel room near a dead FBI agent having flashbacks of his combat service training. He is confused and tries to ascertain the truth about his life. He wonders, "am I a secret agent, janitor, comic, rapper, or what?" Near the dead agent is a briefcase full of money, and Jake presumes he is an undercover agent. He feels he has to figure out what has happened and where the computer chip is that everyone is looking for. He finally realizes he's one of the major players and the missing computer chip is a weapon of mass destruction. It becomes a race against the clock.

Jake comes in contact with a beautiful blond that is apparently his wife, and a mistress that works as a waitress. There is plenty of sex appeal in the film and it is inundated with some scenes of provocative sexuality and steamy content.

This is a good-natured, funny film that offers no big surprises. It is spicy, repetitious, and has martial arts episodes that are out in left field. It also lacks car chases, but has some pleasurable scenes of clog-dancing, and races, and has a scene that is very surprising and unexpected of an old lady spanking someone. It has a gunfight scene that’s so insane it’s unbelievable. There is no plot to the movie but it does provide plenty of one liners and outrageous predicaments. It has hilarious moments and comic appeal especially for those against the James Bond movie series.