Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Maidexpl Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

FuzzyTagz If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Doomtomylo a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

adrian-43767 There is much to recommend about this film: asssured direction, competent cinematography, one great chase through backyards, good dialogue, and credible screenplay. The single greatest asset is, however, acting of the highest quality even if, sadly, Sarandon is underused, as is James Franco, and one wonders why they were in the film at all. That aside, Tommy Lee Jones and Charlize Theron probably have the best performances of their careers IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH.

gtylerpayne I watched this right after watching "The Next Three Days" and being very impressed. To my surprise, I actually found this movie to be even better. Not only is it thrilling, suspenseful, and contains great acting and writing, but it deals with powerful issues that stick with you.I found "The Next Three Days" To be surprisingly thoughtful for a thriller, but this movie even more so. I tend to not watch a lot of war movies and depressing films, even if they are good, because I'm not always in the mood for something depressing or sad, but this movie stays fun and entertaining, while slowly introducing important and deep issues that need to be addressed. It's basically a suspenseful thriller, and a really good one at that, but as the movie goes along, you slowly appreciate what these boys went through in Iraq, the horrible things they saw, and the horrible effects it really has. The war may be in the Middle East, and they definitely see the worst of it, but the horrible effects come back home with the soldiers and affect us here as well.I think this movie is rated unfairly low, because veterans, patriots, and conservatives write it off as liberal propaganda. It ends with a very controversial shot, but I love that Haggis had the balls to do this because it gave me even more to think about after the film was over.The film is based on a true story and is actually very realistic, so anyone who writes it off as liberal or anti-America is in denial about the real issues and the fact that war is never a good thing. Sending young boys off to war is something that governments have always brainwashed their citizens to believe is a good thing and should be honored, when in reality it is horrible and tragic. This film makes that apparent, but does not make it the central plot of the film.I really think Haggis is a brilliant writer who puts a lot of thought and effort into his writing. He is one of the best film-makers at creating movies that are fun to watch and entertaining, but also deal with important issues and leave you with something to think about.I have recently watched "The Next Three Days" and "Crash" and this movie, all three of which were written and directed by Haggis, and although this has the lowest IMDb rating of the three, I personally thought it was the best of the three. In fact, I could easily put it as one of my favorite movies of all time. Crash deals with racism and has a clever script, but I find it to be less entertaining and more depressing. This movie deals with a depressing topic, but does not bog down the movie with sad moments, but instead leaves you to think about it at your leisure after the film is over.If you haven't seen this movie, GO SEE IT! And I hope it eventually gets a higher rating like it deserves.

denvergrown303 This movie is SO boring! The plot has some intense moments, but mostly just long awkward silences with the actors staring at each other with blank stares or doing the thousand yard stare off into the distance. The score for this film is like 4 keys on a piano played at a snails pace. Ding.... bomm.....ding.... bomm..... If I hadn't drank a cup of coffee I would have fallen asleep watching this movie. This movie really is 2 hours of long pointless periods of emptiness, interspersed with slow conversations. I can appreciate a pause for effect as you reveal another revelation in the plot, but this is too much. They walk into a restaurant, pause as the camera pans for 60 seconds. They walk out into the parking lot and sit in the car. Stare off into the distance for 30 seconds. There's nothing to digest, no plot development, just them sitting there.... not talking... The pace was so slow it was actually annoying. Unless you have nothing better to do with your time, and you've already watched every other movie, you should pass on this one.

Jackson Booth-Millard From director Paul Haggis (Crash), I knew the leading actor of this film, but I did not remember any of the other good names of the cast, or that the lead actor was nominated an Academy Award (the only big award for the film), and I was definitely looking forward to watching and finding out if this was deserved. Basically Monroe, Tennessee ageing war veteran Hank Deerfield (Oscar nominated Tommy Lee Jones) is told by the military that his son Mike (Jonathan Tucker) has recently returned from a tour of duty in Iraq, but he has gone AWOL and disappeared, so Hank starts a search for him. He keeps his wife Joan (Susan Sarandon) updated with phone calls telling her what he finds, and he gets aid in the investigation and personal involvement in the case from police detective Emily Sanders (Charlize Theron). Hank himself is retired from the military, he used to be an investigator, so he knows how they work, and he is becoming frustrated and concerned that both the military and the police do not seem to take interest in the case for his missing son. They do manage to find Mike, but he has been murdered, and his body has been mutilated and burned, so it cannot be identified physically, but they conclude the identity from possessions, but the military are suggesting that he was killed in drug related violence, and they try to stop the police investigating the death. Hank, obviously distraught, is still determined to find out the truth about the death of Mike, beginning with his platoon fellow soldiers who are all lying to the him and the authorities about what the young man was doing with them on the last night they were with him, but Deerfield does not believe they are the murderers. In the end, after all the conclusions about what they were doing on the last night Mike was alive, it turns out the soldiers with him did murder and dismember his body after some kind of argument, one in particular admits to suffering strong post-traumatic stress disorder from events of the war, and it was all a cover-up, so the right people are arrested, and Hank can at least settle because justice has been done. Also starring James Franco as Sgt. Dan Carnelli, Titanic's Frances Fisher as Evie, Speed 2: Cruise Control's Jason Patric as Lt. Kirklander, Men in Black 3's Josh Brolin as Chief Buchwald, Wes Chatham as Corporal Steve Penning, Barry Corbin as Arnold Bickman and Jake McLaughlin as Spc. Gordon Bonner. Jones gives a terrific gritty performance that we have seen many times from him before, but obviously with a more personal mission, Theron (who does not wear makeup or attempt to look gorgeous) does really well as the small town cop eventually determined to get to the bottom of the investigation into a suspicious military death, and the supporting cast members all ass their good moments as well, the story has the smallest political and difficult to understand bits, but all in all it is a well-paced traditional detective style plot, with some disturbing and prolific scenes to keep you watching, a compelling crime drama. Very good!