The Last Song

The Last Song is set in a small Southern beach town where an estranged father (Greg Kinnear) gets a chance to spend the summer with his reluctant teenaged daughter (Miley Cyrus), who'd rather be home in New York. He tries to reconnect with her through the only thing they have in common—music—in a story of family, friendship, secrets and salvation, along with first loves and second chances.

This is nothing more than your generic tear jerker. Its got all the usual Nicolas Sparks stuff. Two youngsters fall in love. There's a beach. Someone dies. Its really not much different from his other movies except for that whole Miley Cyrus playing something other than herself or Hannah Montana. She wasn't outright horrible. She wasn't too great either. The movie and her performance in it were just kind of there.

I wouldn't recommend that anyone blindly go running out for this bad boy. Teenage girls and Nicolas Sparks fans are going to flock to it regardless I'm sure, but the rest of us could pretty much just wait for cable.

The Runaways

Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning star in this music-fueled story of the ground-breaking, all girl, teenage rock band of the 1970s: The Runaways. The film follows two friends, Joan Jett and Cherie Currie, as they rise from rebellious Southern California kids to rock stars of the now legendary group that paved the way for future generations of girl bands. Joan and Cherie fall under the Svengali-like influence of rock impresario Kim Fowley, played by Michael Shannon, who turns the group into an outrageous success and a family of misfits. With its tough-chick image and raw talent, the band quickly earns a name for itself—and so do its two leads: Joan is the band’s pure rock 'n' roll heart, while Cherie, with her Bowie-Bardot looks, is the sex kitten. Written and directed by Floria Sigismondi, the film chronicles Joan and Cherie's tumultuous relationship on and off stage, as the band starts to break out.

This was a decent movie considering I felt like I was watching a home made movie for most of it. Oh wait, it wasn't a home made movie? I guess that makes it kind of cruddy then. But then again - how in the blue hell could this movie have been that good anyway. Were we in a very high demand for a Joan Jett biopic/Cherie Currie biopic? Why would anyone cast Kristen Stewart in anything? She's like the female Hayden Christiansen. All kidding aside, the movie is somewhat watchable as a rockumenatary type film . . . . . not as a wide release film whatsoever though.

I really wouldn't recommend anyone checking this movie out unless you are TRULY in to rockumentary type movies. I went solely because I had an addiction to seeing all movies that come out in theatres. If you don't suffer from this - wait for cable

Chloe

Chloe centers on a married woman (Julianne Moore) who hires a prostitute (Amanda Seyfried) to find out whether her husband (Liam Neeson) is cheating on her. The prostitute, however, cons her about the nature of her husband's fidelity, a move that puts the family in jeopardy.

I really don't have much to say about this movie at all. Its just one of those. I feel like I should simply say yes I saw that movie and leave it at that. Its not the worst movie ever made. There were some artistic moments and 2 out of the 3 actors are pretty good. Side bar - I really don't like Julianne Moore. There isn't a single part of the movie that you don't see coming. Its just kind of there.

Would I recommend it? Probably not I guess. Again . . . I saw it and I really don't have anything to say about it.

How To Train Your Dragon

Set in the mythical world of burly Vikings and wild dragons, How To Train Your Dragon is an action comedy that tells the story of Hiccup, a Viking teenager who doesn’t exactly fit in with his tribe's longstanding tradition of heroic dragon slayers. Hiccup's world is turned upside down when he encounters a dragon that challenges he and his fellow Vikings to see the world from an entirely different point of view.

I loved this movie! Loved it! The story was great. The characters/voices were great. The animation was amazing. And for the first time since I think Monster House, I can say that the 3D technology was actually worth it in an animated movie. And to make the whole thing even better, the main dragon literally looks like my cat in dragon form. Loved this movie!

I couldn't possibly recommend this movie any more to everyone. Adults will love it. Kids will love it. I definitely think this is going to end up on my Top 10 list at the end of the year.

Hot Tub Time Machine

Hot Tub Time Machine follows a group of best friends who've become bored with their adult lives: Adam (John Cusack) has been dumped by his girlfriend; Lou (Rob Corddry) is a party guy who can't find the party; Nick's (Craig Robinson) wife controls his every move; and video game-obsessed Jacob (Clark Duke) won't leave his basement. After a crazy night of drinking in a ski resort hot tub, the men wake up, heads' pounding, in the year 1986. This is their chance to kick some past and change their futures – one will find a new love life, one will learn to stand up for himself with the ladies, one will find his mojo, and one will make sure he still exists!

I'll admit I didn't have too high expectations for this movie. I thought it might be good for a few small laughs - most of which were in the ads - and thats about it. I ended up being very surprised. The story of the movie is ridiculous. There is no effort put in to the time travel angle and it just sort of happens. I found myself actually appreciating that because it would have just been a lame attempt at science fiction and what not and taken away from the laughs. Instead they just sort of had it happen and went with it. The 80s nostalgia was HILARIOUS! The posters on the walls, the way every one was dressed, the music, and the ski patrols thinking that they were "Russkies" from watching Red Dawn too much was priceless. The relationships/dialogue between the four guys was great. However, I found that my favorite part of the movie was that there was a bellhop that was missing an arm in the present but had the arm in 1986 and the anticipation of the numerous times that it might have been when he loses it (both by the audience and the movie cast on screen) was hysterical.

I never thought I'd be writing this, but I highly recommend the everyone check this movie out for big laughs. There are some really raunchy sight gags and scenes so be warned. However, they don't ruin the overall movie.

Greenberg

Roger Greenberg (Ben Stiller), single, fortyish and at a crossroads in his life, finds himself in Los Angeles, house-sitting for six weeks for his more successful/married-with-children brother. In search of a place to restart his life, Greenberg tries to reconnect with old friends including his former bandmate Ivan (Rhys Ifans). But old friends aren't necessarily still best friends, and Greenberg soon finds himself spending more and more time with his brother's personal assistant Florence (Greta Gerwig), an aspiring singer and also something of a lost soul. Despite his best attempts not to be drawn in, Greenberg and Florence manage to forge a connection, and Greenberg realizes he may at last have found a reason to be happy.

This is one of those artsy movies that I could totally see a film class using as a character study or something one day. Unfortunately, I hated it. About half way through - I threw in the towel and took a nap. I didn't doze off because of boredom. I actually said I'm going to sleep for a while wake me up if it gets any better. It didn't. I woke up anyway and still saw more of this movie than I wish I had. It really just circled the drain for a little less than 2 hours going nowhere. Ben Stiller was completely different than any other role he's done. I'll give him that. However, thats about all that I can say positively about this movie. Its a boring waste of time.


I wouldn't recommend that anyone bother checking this one out. Its way too artsy. Its way too boring. And there are so many better thnings you could be doing with your time.

Repo Men

In the futuristic action-thriller Repo Men, humans have extended and improved our lives through highly sophisticated and expensive mechanical organs created by a company called The Union. The dark side of these medical breakthroughs is that if you don't pay your bill, The Union sends its highly skilled repo men to take back its property... with no concern for your comfort or survival. Jude Law plays Remy, one of the best organ repo men in the business. But when he suffers a cardiac failure on the job, he awakens to find himself fitted with the company's top-of-the-line heart-replacement... as well as a hefty debt. But a side effect of the procedure is that his heart's no longer in the job. When he can't make the payments, The Union sends its toughest enforcer, Remy's former partner Jake (Forest Whitaker), to track him down.

You pretty much get exactly what you expect from this movie . . . . . until the last couple of minutes. Its rare that "twist" endings get me. This one did. Its not like the twist makes the movie any better than it is or something more than it is. It just caught me off guard. I really won't say too much more about it than that because its better not to give it away. As for the rest of the movie, there is lots of action, crazy fight scenes, lots of blood and badassness. There are definitely parts of it where it dragged and the movie easily could have been shorter.

I would recommend this movie to anyone in to action and fighting. If that's up your alley, you will probably like this movie. Its not great by any means but its not completely horrible either.

The Bounty Hunter

Milo Boyd (Gerard Butler), a down-on-his-luck bounty hunter, gets his dream job when he is assigned to track down his bail-jumping ex-wife, reporter Nicole Hurly (Jennifer Aniston). He thinks all that's ahead is an easy payday, but when Nicole gives him the slip so she can chase a lead on a murder cover-up, Milo realizes that nothing ever goes simply with him and Nicole. The exes continually one-up each other – until they find themselves on the run for their lives. They thought their promise to love, honor and obey was tough – staying alive is going to be a whole lot tougher.

Wow! This was a giant piece of garbage. I don't even feel like writing about it. It was that bad. No chemistry. No hook to the characters. The most cliche script ever. Just a total waste of time and "talent". This goes to show even more that Jennifer Aniston's biggest claim to fame outside of Friends was that Brad Pitt left her for Angelina Jolie.

I wouldn't recommend anyone checking this out. Its a straight up stinker.

Our Family Wedding

"Our marriage, their wedding." It's lesson number one for any newly engaged couple, and Lucia (America Ferrera) and Marcus (Lance Gross) are no exception. In Our Family Wedding, they learn the hard way that the path to saying "I do" can be rife with familial strife. When they return from college and too suddenly announce their marriage plans, they soon discover that their fathers - two highly competitive over-the-top egos - can wreak a major amount of havoc on their special day.

This is one of the most formula movies made across the board. There isn't a single thing that takes place in this movie that you don't expect or didn't know would happen from watching a 90 second spot on television. That being said, there were some pretty big laughs fit in there. Forest Whitaker and Carlos Mencia played really well off of each other. I wasn't expecting that at all.

I'm not outright going to recommend that everyone check this out because its not that good of a movie. However, there is a lot of worse stuff out there and this is a quick 90 minutes with some really good laughs in it.

Diary Of A Wimpy Kid

Meet the kid who made "wimpy" cool, in a family comedy based on the best-selling illustrated novel "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" by Jeff Kinney, the first in a series that has thus far sold 24 million copies. Diary of a Wimpy Kid chronicles the adventures of wise-cracking middle school student Greg Heffley, who must somehow survive the scariest time of anyone's life: middle school.

I am a huge fan of these books. Stinka got me in to them and I've read all four so far. It takes an adult maybe 30-45 minutes to read one of them. Its half written and half cartoon like seen in the poster. However, the stories are so on point to how kids feel at this age and totally take you back to that time in your life. As for the movie, I can't remember the last time that a movie was this true to the book. There are always liberties taken and what not, but not here. It was cute. It was silly. It was funny. Adults will like this just as much as the kids. And I want to also give them big props for not throwing the word 3D on there to get parents to take their kids to it. I wish more kids fare wouldn't go the route of milking that.

I very strongly recommend everyone checking out this one. Its a great family film and will be enjoyed by all.

She's Out Of My League

Kirk (Jay Baruchel), an average Joe, can't believe his luck. Though he's stuck in a seemingly dead-end job as an airport security agent, against all odds Molly (Alice Eve), a successful and outrageously gorgeous babe falls for him. Kirk is stunned. So are his friends, his family and even his ex-girlfriend. Now he has to figure out how to make the relationship work, even though he's the first to admit "She's Out of My League."

I thought for sure that this would be one of those "sex" comedies that would push the envelope too far and end up being disappointed. Not sure if it was based on what I was expecting or not, but I ended up really liking this movie. There were two sex related scenes that I wouldn't feel comfortable with the kids seeing, but outside of that the envelope wasn't pushed. The yapping back and forth between the group of friends was incredibly real and very funny. The supporting characters always make or break a movie like this for me and the ones here did a good enough job to make this a fun watch.

I would recommend people checking this movie out. I found it to be a lot funnier than I expected and enjoyed it a lot.

Green Zone

During the U.S.-led occupation of Baghdad in 2003, Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller (Damon) and his team of Army inspectors were dispatched to find weapons of mass destruction believed to be stockpiled in the Iraqi desert. Rocketing from one booby-trapped and treacherous site to the next, the men search for deadly chemical agents but stumble instead upon an elaborate cover-up that inverts the purpose of their mission. Spun by operatives with intersecting agendas, Miller must hunt through covert and faulty intelligence hidden on foreign soil for answers that will either clear a rogue regime or escalate a war in an unstable region. And at this blistering time and in this combustible place, he will find the most elusive weapon of all is the truth.


This was a really good political suspense drama. I had been knocking this movie for the last couple of months based on the ads for it that it was The "Bourne" Zone. It had the same actor, director and film style. Who were they trying to kid. (Side note - same thing goes for the forthcoming Robin Hood. Felt like I was watching a trailer for Gladiator with him wearing green and shooting arrows instead . . . . Gladiator Hood?) I could not have been more wrong. This movie was nothing like the Bourne movies but equally as enjoyable. Usually, heavy political action movies tend to fall short. This one did not. It was very believable with great performances across the board. You could totally buy Matt Damon in this role.


I would definitely recommend people checking this bad boy out. Regardless of whether you find the movie to be fact or fiction, it is definitely entertaining as hell.

Remember Me

In Remember Me, Robert Pattinson plays Tyler, a rebellious young man in New York City who has a strained relationship with his father (Pierce Brosnan) ever since tragedy separated their family. Tyler didn't think anyone could possibly understand what he was going through until the day he met Ally (Emilie de Ravin) through an unusual twist of fate. Love was the last thing on his mind, but as her spirit unexpectedly heals and inspires him, he begins to fall for her. Through their love, he begins to find happiness and meaning in his life.

This movie is nothing more than a wannabe Nicholas Sparks book/movie. Its all about family issues with the dad being emotionally disconnected, the sister being some kind of artistic savant and the brother having died a couple of years ago until a new love interest shows up and everything becomes okay but suddenly the main character dies at the end to gut wrenchingly remind us just how fragile life is. However, this movie makes Nicholas Sparks look beyond generous with the mudslide, car accident, or cancer deaths. I'm going to go ahead and spoil a major point of this movie because I think it is inhumane not to for anyone who would be devastated by it. The dude ends up being in one of the towers on the morning of 9/11. What the f were they thinking!?! I can't get over how many people are going to have a "girls night out" and go see hottie Edward from Twilight and get punched in the stomach over the loss of a brother, sister, father, mother, husband, wife, son or daughter on that day. I knew about it going in and still couldn't believe what I was watching as it all panned out. This is not the type of thing that you can throw in a movie and not let people know. This is not a proper swerve/sudden ending! You go in to see a "heartwarming romance" and have wounds torn back open and pounds of salt poured in to them.

I wouldn't recommend anyone seeing this movie. Its a textbook sapfest with a unecessary gut shot of an ending that will open a lot of wounds and thoughts after watching a movie that is totally not worth your time or money.

Brooklyn's Finest

Burned out veteran Eddie Dugan (Richard Gere) is just one week away from his pension and a fishing cabin in Connecticut. Narcotics officer Sal Procida (Ethan Hawke) has discovered there's no line he won't cross to provide a better life for his long-suffering wife and seven children. And Clarence "Tango" Butler (Don Cheadle) has been undercover so long his loyalties have started to shift from his fellow police officers to his prison buddy Caz (Wesley Snipes), one of Brooklyn's most infamous drug dealers. With personal and work pressures bearing down on them, each man faces daily tests of judgment and honor in one of the world's most difficult jobs. When NYPD's Operation Clean Up targets the notoriously drug-ridden BK housing project, all three officers find themselves swept away by the violence and corruption of Brooklyn's gritty 65th Precinct and its most treacherous criminals. During seven fateful days, Eddie, Sal and Tango find themselves hurtling inextricably toward the same fatal crime scene and a shattering collision with destiny.

This movie is just kind of there. I didn't get remotely hooked by any of the stories or characters. It was some of the most overdramatic stuff I've seen in a long time. The movie is also waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too long. This could have easily been a tighter 90 minute movie and I probably would have been much more in to it. Running at a little over 2 hours, I was dying to find out that there was still an hour left when I was ready to pull the plug. I still watched the whole thing and even though all the seperate stories come together somewhat, I really didn't care about any of them enough to be too interested.

I wouldn't really recommend this movie to anyone. You can just go ahead and wait for it to be on cable one night when you can't fall asleep or one morning if you are being too lazy to get out of bed.

Alice In Wonderland

Alice in Wonderland is a magical and imaginative twist on one of the most beloved stories of all time. Johnny Depp stars as the Mad Hatter and Mia Wasikowska as 19-year-old Alice, who returns to the whimsical world she first encountered as a young girl, reuniting with her childhood friends: the White Rabbit, Tweedledee and Tweedledum, the Dormouse, the Caterpillar, the Cheshire Cat, and of course, the Mad Hatter. Alice embarks on a fantastical journey to find her true destiny and end the Red Queen's reign of terror.


This is one of those tough to review movies. Was it watchable and entertaining? Yeah. Was it a great and worthwhile movie? Not really. It was a visually intriguing movie that sped along on a fun little story. However, it was completely pointless across the board and basically a giant excuse for Johnny Depp to play the Mad Hatter. That's pretty much what I expected and it met my expectations because Johnny Depp was lots of fun to watch (honestly - when the hell is he not?). Helena Bonham Carter was also a lot of fun to watch as The Red Queen which was a surprising bonus because I'm not a big fan of her at all.


Would I recommend this movie? Still not so sure. If you just want to watch Johnny Depp play the Mad Hatter or see a movie similar to the two Narnia movies - then yes. If you are looking for a great movie or - even worse - have really high hopes for this movie, then no.

Cop Out

Two longtime NYPD partners on the trail of a stolen, rare, mint-condition baseball card find themselves up against a merciless, memorabilia-obsessed gangster. Jimmy (Bruce Willis) is the veteran detective whose missing collectible is his only hope to pay for his daughter's upcoming wedding, and Paul (Tracy Morgan) is his "partner-against-crime" whose preoccupation with his wife's alleged infidelity makes it hard for him to keep his eye on the ball.

This movie ends up being one of those movies that is just kind of there. Its basically a shout out to buddy cop movies from the 80s and 90s. All of the same cliches are there. They go more the comedy route instead of the action with laughs route. Unfortunately, there weren't enough laughs to keep me fully interested in where this was going. Don't get me wrong - some of the laughs were huge. But I just wasn't in to the movie as all because of how much it seemed to just be going through the motions right off the bat.

I wouldn't really recommend anyone rushing (or paying) to check this out. You can wait until this one lands on cable. Its not bad by any means but its just really not worth your time or money.

The Crazies

David Dutton (Timothy Olyphant) is sheriff of Ogden Marsh, a picture-perfect American town with happy, law-abiding citizens. But one night, one of them comes to a school baseball game with a loaded shotgun, ready to kill. Another man burns down his own house…after locking his wife and young son in a closet inside. Within days, the town has transformed into a sickening asylum; people who days ago lived quiet, unremarkable lives have now become depraved, blood-thirsty killers, hiding in the darkness with guns and knives. Sheriff Dutton tries to make sense of what's happening as the horrific, nonsensical violence escalates. Something is infecting the citizens of Ogden Marsh... with insanity. Now complete anarchy reigns as one by one the townsfolk succumb to an unknown toxin and turn sadistically violent. In an effort to keep the madness contained, the government uses deadly force to close off all access and won't let anyone in or out – even those uninfected. The few still sane find themselves trapped: Sheriff Dutton; his pregnant wife, Judy (Radha Mitchell); Becca (Danielle Panabaker), an assistant at the medical center; and Russell (Joe Anderson), Dutton's deputy and right-hand man. Forced to band together, an ordinary night becomes a horrifying struggle for survival as they do their best to get out of town alive.

I really enjoyed this movie. I always feel like that makes me some kind of a sicko with all the violence and the killings but I have always liked zombie type movies. Even though they aren't necessarily zombies in this movie and its a biological weapon that a government plane's crash landing caused the whole thing, it still has that same feel. The infection starts . . . . . it spreads and gets worse . . . . . few are left uninfected . . . . . . they run from infected people. The government also trying to contain (aka kill everyone) just adds a whole other exciting level to the whole thing. There was one problem that I had with the movie. The biological weapon took over people based on being ingested through the water supply. At one point, the main guy kills one of the "zombies" by stabbing her open palm with a knife that has already been stabbed through his open palm. I'm just shooting here but wouldn't that direct blood transfer be enough for him to have the disease. I figured that was eventually going to play out and never did which led to me of course ranting about the silliness of that.

Regardless, I would definitely recommend this movie to anyone in to horror movies or zombie movies. They aren't necessarily zombies but you enjoy the same ride anyway.