I dunno. Sometimes I’m utterly convinced that something’s fishy with major movie critics – as in those who are paid to give their opinions, as opposed to me and my price free words. I realize that two people can see the same movie and one come away thinking they’d just seen a winner and the other laughing at just how bad they thought it was.

For example, my husband and I often disagree on movies. He hated Wanted and Burn After Reading and I absolutely loved them. Wanted’s one of my favorite movies of all-time and B.A.R. was hilarious, with performances by Brad Pitt and George Clooney that I’ll never forget.

Heck, we don’t even agree on who the best James Bond is. B is for Brosnan and B is for Best – I’m just saying…

We completely agreed on Max Payne, though. We both thought it was one of the best movies of the year. Mark Wahlberg has always been one of my husband’s favorite actors, but I’d really never seen him in anything so I didn’t really even have an opinion about him one way or antoher. After Max Payne, though, I more than see what all the fuss is about. This actor has an intensity about him that puts him in a very special league with very special actors.

Normally I don’t read critic’s thoughts before going to a movie – because I don’t want to be swayed one way or another. However, there were several movies I wanted to see this past weekend, so I thought a little homework wouldn’t hurt. After reading about 4 bad reviews, I tried to convince Mr. “If Wahlberg’s in it, I must see it” that Max Payne might be a good one to miss.

He was having none of it.

So, off we went. I honestly was sort of looking forward to a bad movie and a bad review. I hadn’t taken my wrath out on a movie since The Love Guru and I was anxious to give the guru a little company. After some really cool looking trailers, the movie started. By the 10 minute mark, I knew that (as is the case so often) the critics had missed the boat. And the point.

This is an incredible movie with stunts and effects that I’d put on par with any movie EVER. There were about 6 different times when I thought, “That’s one of the coolest stunts I’ve ever seen.” In fact, the character of Max Payne is one of the coolest characters I’ve seen. He’s the sort of character (played by the sort of actor) that you want to see more of.

A few of the critics seemed unable to get past the darkness of the movie. One said that it was a good thing no one had to go to the restroom during the movie, because there wasn’t enough light on the screen to see. Frankly, I don’t care if a movie is dark – I don’t go there to read, I go to see a movie. And as for restroom visits, I learned several years back that going to the potty before a movie starts is the best way to fly.

The darkness set the tone. I mean, this isn’t Kung Fu Panda. The story is an intense storyline – dealing with life, death, revenge, violence… Just where would the lightness come in?

Without being unkind, I think maybe some critics (not all, of course) just didn’t “get” it. That, or, let’s be honest, Mark Wahlberg is somewhat of a controversial actor (from where I sit, he’s just outspoken, but some think that’s a negative). Maybe some critics simply have a closed mind when it comes to him.

Or, maybe they felt the need to chase a little movie ranting around the page. Maybe their “Love Guru” column was getting left out, too.

I don’t know – but I DO know that Max Payne is a darned good movie – one that I can’t imagine an action movie fan not loving. It stormed its way into being one of my favorite movies – not just this year, but ever. As I’ve said before, I often judge a movie by asking myself if I’d ever see it again. I loved Wanted and Iron Man so much that I made return trips. I most certainly would do the same with Max Payne… In fact I’d love to see it again. When there’s so much action, I think a second time would be a great idea.

Not only was Mark Wahlberg sensational as Max Payne, the rest of the cast was superb as well. Mila Kunis has secured herself future leading lady roles and I’ll line up to see anything she’s in. Beau Bridges was also perfect as were Ludacris. Yes, that Ludacris, the rapper – although I now think of him as an actor who happens to sing rather than a singer who happens to act. He more than held his own and I hope to see him in a lot of future films as well.

Chris O’Donnell has fought off the “Robin” curse and turned in a wonderfully tortured performance. He did a great job losing himself in his character. I wish he’d been on the screen more. Someone else I wish had been on the screen more was Olga Kurylenko. I really love this lovely actress. You may remember her as the leading lady in Hitman. She’ll also be in the new James Bond movie.

Nelly Furtado turned in a fantastic performance – albeit she was just in one scene. But, WOW. She has some serious natural talent that I’m certain will be explored in future movies.

Finally, Amaury Nolasco – a 30-something year old actor from Puerto Rico did a great job as a menacing, scowling villain. He was actually on a 2004 list by USA Today of the 26 guys to watch, alongside Justin Timberlake, Ashton Kutcher, Josh Harnett and Jake Gyllenhaal, to name a few.

I honestly have nothing bad to say about this movie. Like all movies, some will like it, some will love it, some will hate it – but as for me, I’ve got nothing but love for it.

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One of my favorite types of movies to watch is a horror movie. It can make it challenging sometimes because they’re my husband’s LEAST favorite movie to watch. Put another way, he flat out refuses to watch them.

The most horrific movie I ever drug him to was Snakes On a Plane and he was NOT a happy guy. At one point he goes, “I. Hope. You’re. Happy.” I was.

Fortunately, everyone else in our family loves horror movies, so a few days ago, we gathered in the living room, ate salsa and chips, turned off the lights and watched The Messengers starring Kristen Stewart, Dylan McDermott, and Penelope Ann Miller.

It was really very good. The cool thing about it was that it had an actual plot and a pretty neat, unexpected twist. I was also really happy with the ending – that can’t be said of a lot of horror films.

Kristen Stewart proved herself as a really good actress as the lead character Jess. That bodes well since she’ll have a starring role in the upcoming “Twilight” – which has a great deal of momentum and excitement surrounding it.

Dylan McDermott played Jess’ dad and Penelope Ann Miller played her mom. Jess’ adorable little brother was played by twins Evan and Theodore Turner. You can’t believe how cute these little boys are. Take every adjective you’d ever say about a kitten and mulitply it by 10.

If you’re looking for a fun horror movie to watch during “Halloween Season,” The Messengers is a great choice.

Something else a lot of people might appreciate about this movie is that it isn’t one of those movies that “stays with you” after you watch it – no checking behind doors (Silence of the Lambs), sleeping with the lights on, or nightmares (Snakes on a Plane). Like The Hills Have Eyes, once the movie’s over, it’s over.

Now that I think about it, some people might find that to be a minus!

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