The Rum Diary

• Based on the debut novel by Hunter S. Thompson, The Rum Diary tells the increasingly unhinged story of itinerant journalist Paul Kemp (Johnny Depp). Tiring of the noise and madness of New York and the crushing conventions of late Eisenhower-era America, Kemp travels to the pristine island of Puerto Rico to write for a local newspaper, The San Juan Star, run by downtrodden editor Lotterman (Richard Jenkins). Adopting the rum-soaked life of the island, Paul soon becomes obsessed with Chenault (Amber Heard), the wildly attractive Connecticut-born fiancée of Sanderson (Aaron Eckhart). Sanderson, a businessman involved in shady property development deals, is one of a growing number of American entrepreneurs who are determined to convert Puerto Rico into a capitalist paradise in service of the wealthy. When Kemp is recruited by Sanderson to write favorably about his latest unsavory scheme, the journalist is presented with a choice: to use his words for the corrupt businessmen's financial benefit, or use them to take the bastards down.


• This was an up and down movie and honestly if it wasn't for Johnny Depp, I probably would have pulled the plug due to total loss of interest. The movie would drag for a while and then pick up in both laughs and tempo and then go back to blah. It did this like 3 or 4 times and it wasn't nearly as trippy (a la Fear & Loathing In Las Vegas) as I had expected. Regardless, I will pretty much watch anything with Johnny Depp and his facial expressions/delivery. That held up this movie for me but I was honestly kind of disappointed.


• I would lukewarmly recommend people checking this one out. It's not a must see and those just wanting to see Depp will be bored by the story while those who are going for the story will probably leave having expected more.

In Time

• In a future where time is literally money, and aging stops at 25, the only way to stay alive is to earn, steal, or inherit more time. Will Salas lives life a minute at a time, until a windfall of time gives him access to the world of the wealthy, where he teams up with a beautiful young heiress to destroy the corrupt system.


• Rules of a great sci-fi movie . . . . . 1 - Make believe that the alternate world could be true. Check. 2 - Have a philosophical theme that could be applied to our actual world. Check. 3 - Have characters that are developed enough that I care about them and/or root for them. Check. I loved this movie because of the above three factors. It was a great ride. It was a smart ride. And even though it was a sci-fi movie the underlying philosophy of the rich being more important than the expendable poor was a great kick to the face of those of us watching whether you be rich or poor. And I really hate to admit this but I guess that I now like Justin Timberlake. I really didn't want to. Damn him. But he plays a great "hero" in this movie about hope and living each day like it's your last.


• I strongly recommend everyone checking this out. It's a fun, fast, sci-fi movie and one of my favorites of the year.

Puss In Boots

• Long before he even met Shrek, the notorious fighter, lover and outlaw Puss In Boots becomes a hero when he sets off on an adventure with the tough and street smart Kitty Softpaws and the mastermind Humpty Dumpty to save his town. This is the true story of The Cat, The Myth, The Legend... The Boots.


• This movie was decent. It was definitely watchable but it also could have been better. You can kind of tell that this was intended as a direct to DVD movie that was tweeked a little for a big screen release. There were some good laughs (especially the Oooooooooh cat in the background 3 or 4 times) but not enough of the humor that was in the Shrek movies that I was kind of hoping for. Can you sense yet how middle of the road I am on this movie?


• I would lukewarmly recommend checking this movie out. It's not a must see by any means but there are enough laughs to make it watchable and you could do much worse.

Paranormal Activity 3

• The third film is being envisioned as an origin story set in the 1980s that will detail how the "activity" began.


• I'm a huge fan of these movies. The first two scared the hell out of me and I was shocked at how good the continuity was from the first to the second and that it wasn't just another ghost story but instead an evolving story. Now comes this third one that is a prequel of what happened to the sister from 1 and the sister from 2 when they were kids that led to those two movies. This movie was not as creepy and psychological as the first two. The first two legitimately made me lose sleep. This one was by far the scariest of the three though. There were a LOT more scenes that make you jump. As opposed to the first two where it was just tension build up to the last holy $hit 10-15 minutes, this one had moments like that throughout and then the crazy holy $hit last 15 minutes. The use of a rotating camera by hooking it up to an oscillating fan made those scenes beyond unnerving to watch. And once again the overall story evolving was great.


• I loved this movie. I have loved all three of them. I am extremely grateful though that this one had more of a less psychological fear installation because I was able to sleep last night. Scary as hell but not as scarring.

The Son Of No One

• A young cop is assigned to a precinct in the working class neighborhood where he grew up, and an old secret threatens to destroy his life and his family.


• This will probably go down in history as one of the strangest cast lists of all time. You have no talent (Channing Tatum/Katie Holmes), comedic talent only (Tracy Morgan), artsy talent only (Juliette Binoche) and major actors (Ray Liotta and Al Pacino). It was just downright strange watching all of them on screen together. And the really unfortunate thing is that the lack of legit actors throughout the cast kind of held the movie back. The story was great and there was a good back and forth between past and present thoughout the movie. However, Channing Tatum and Katie Holmes as the "emotional" leads were just as painful as you would expect. And I will be the first to admit that there are single parts of movies that can annoy the living hell out of me and I can't let go of them. Ray Liotta plays Channing Tatum's police captain. He also places threatening calls to Tatum and Holmes and they don't know who it is in the movie. The voice is blatantly Ray Liotta's voice on the phone. No effort to cover it up at all. I could not stop ranting about this the whole movie.


• I would lukewarmly recommend people checking this out. Again, it's a decent/short story but the acting kind of poo poos all over it.

Margin Call

• Set in the high-stakes world of the financial industry, Margin Call is a thriller entangling the key players at an investment firm during one perilous 24-hour period in the early stages of the 2008 financial crisis. When entry-level analyst Peter Sullivan (Zachary Quinto) unlocks information that could prove to be the downfall of the firm, a roller-coaster ride ensues as decisions both financial and moral catapult the lives of all involved to the brink of disaster.


• This was one hell of a cast for a limited release/simultaneous medium release (the movie hit theaters/dvd/home cable at the same time). Every time a new actor would come in, I was like whaaaaaaaaaat? The movie takes place overnight in some kind of an analytical firm with a bunch of people talking about what to do about this major issue that was found. They all talk around what the thing actually is. Honestly, the movie is a whole lot of nothing but talking. Normally that would annoy the hell out of me but with this cast, I was intrigued enough to keep watching.


• I would lukewarmly reccommend people checking this out. It's not a must see and it's a whole lot of talky talky. The star power does make it watchable though.

Trespass

• In a private, wealthy community, priority is placed on security and no exception is made for the Miller family's estate. Behind their pristine walls and manicured gardens, Kyle (Nicolas Cage), a fast-talking businessman, has entrusted the mansion's renovation to his stunning wife, Sarah (Nicole Kidman). But between making those big decisions and keeping tabs on their defiant teenage daughter (Liana Liberato), Sarah often finds herself distracted by a young, handsome worker (Cam Gigandet) at their home. Nothing is what it seems, and it will take a group of cold-blooded criminals led by Elias (Ben Mendelsohn), who have been planning a vicious home invasion for months, to bring the Miller family together. When they storm the manor, everyone is tangled up in betrayal, deception, temptation and scheming. Kyle, Sarah and Avery will take the ultimate risk to make it out with their lives – and their family – intact.


• This is another one of those in theaters and at home movie releases. Unlike Margin Call, this one has stars in it but is total poop. Nicolas Cage is just as horrible as he has alwasy been and how far has Nicole Kidman's screen credibility fallen!?! This movie is basically a 10-15 minute scene dragged out for 90 minutes. The home invasion happens like 15 minutes in to the movie and then it's just a bunch of back and forth yelling between the criminals and the homeowners. I didn't even bother watching how it turned out because there were so many other things I could be doing.


• I wouldn't recommend anyone watching this. Not at theaters. Not at home. Not with a fox. Not in box. Not in a house. Not with a house. You would definitely be better off watching them with Green Eggs and Ham. Where did that just come from?

The Thing

• Paleontologist Kate Lloyd (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) has traveled to the desolate region for the expedition of her lifetime. Joining a Norwegian scientific team that has stumbled across an extraterrestrial ship buried in the ice, she discovers an organism that seems to have died in the crash eons ago. But it is about to wake up.When a simple experiment frees the alien from its frozen prison, Kate must join the crew's pilot, Carter (Joel Edgerton), to keep it from killing them off one at a time. And in this vast, intense land, a parasite that can mimic anything it touches will pit human against human as it tries to survive and flourish.


• I still am not sure if I liked this or didn't. It was just kind of there. Crazy gore and creepy sci-fi alien effects throughout but I didn't care at all about the characters or where the story was going. It was basically like a serial killer movie but it was an alien.


• I guess I wouldn't really recommend this movie to anyone outside of fanboys of Fangoria magazine. That's really all it ended up being - gore effects.

Footloose

• Writer/director Craig Brewer delivers a new take of the beloved 1984 classic film, Footloose. Ren MacCormack (played by newcomer Kenny Wormald) is transplanted from Boston to the small southern town of Bomont where he experiences a heavy dose of culture shock. A few years prior, the community was rocked by a tragic accident that killed five teenagers after a night out and Bomont's local councilmen and the beloved Reverend Shaw Moore (Dennis Quaid) responded by implementing ordinances that prohibit loud music and dancing. Not one to bow to the status quo, Ren challenges the ban, revitalizing the town and falling in love with the minister's troubled daughter Ariel (Julianne Hough) in the process.


• This movie is criminal. CRIMINAL! To take something as classic as Footloose and remake it like this should be punishable by law. Not that the original wasn't corny. It's a movie about fighting for your right to dance in a small hick town. But back in the 80s - this was great. And the soundtrack was one of the best of all time. Fast forward to now and here is what we got:


• 1 - Bus derby instead of the tractor scene


• 2- Ren McCormack (no first names only please because clearly there are several Rens in the town of Bomont) having a Boston accent that comes and goes.


• 3 - A small hick town that knows how to get krunk, stomp the yard and step up.


• 4. The worst possible rendition of the dancing out your anger warehouse scene.


• 5. The worst concerned dad acting ever by Dennis Quaid.


• The only good part of the movie was Willard. He was the only one that did a good job of filling the role from the original. This is easily one of the worst movies of the year. Now, all of that being said, this was one of the most hysterical movie going experiences ever because of the group of friends I watched it with. All eight of us realized the movie for the giant turd that it was and were riffing on the movie throughout. I had chest pains from laughing so much at the running commentary.


• I would never recommend anyone seeing this criminal remake. It really is that painful and I know our posse of eight will not be going to see it again so we can't make it a fun experience for you.

Dolphin Tale

• Dolphin Tale is inspired by the amazing true story of a brave dolphin and the compassionate strangers who banded together to save her life. Swimming free, a young dolphin is caught in a crab trap, severely damaging her tail. She is rescued and transported to the Clearwater Marine Hospital, where she is named Winter. But her fight for survival has just begun. Without a tail, Winter's prognosis is dire. It will take the expertise of a dedicated marine biologist, the ingenuity of a brilliant prosthetics doctor, and the unwavering devotion of a young boy to bring about a groundbreaking miracle—a miracle that might not only save Winter but could also help scores of people around the world. The real Winter, who plays herself in "Dolphin Tale," today serves as a symbol of courage, perseverance and hope to millions of people—both able and disabled—who have been touched by her remarkable story of recovery and rehabilitation.


• This is one of the biggest heartstring movies to come out in a long time. They pulled absolutely no punches to make you cry. It was textbook. You also pretty much saw the movie by seeing the commercial. I mean honestly - anyone think that the dolphin is not going to be okay in the end? Am I spoiling that for anyone? Come on now. The movie is somewhat watchable but ended up just kind of being there because I wasn't really hooked.


• I would recommend this to anyone who likes weepy feel good movies. It's a great family movie if you have younger children. Sadly, Stinka has gotten to an age where she doesn't really have interest in this anymore. Beginning of the end, people. Beginning of the end.

What's Your Number?

• Ally Darling embarks on a quest to find the best "ex" of her life, by any means necessary, when she reads a magazine article warning that people who have had 20 or more relationships have missed their chance at true love.


• This is one of those silly romantic comedies where everyone and their mother knows how it's going to play out just by watching the trailer. That being said, movies like this are either made or broken by the level of chemistry between the leads. I thought that there was really good chemistry between Anna Farris and Chris Evans and there were more than enough laughs to keep my attention throughout the movie.


• I would lukewarmly recommend people checking this one out. It's not a must see by any means but was enjoyable enough and had enough laughs that I wasn't looking at my watch and wondering how much time was left in the movie.

The Three Musketeers

• The hot-headed young D'Artagnan (Logan Lerman) joins forces with three rogue Musketeers (Matthew MacFadyen, Luke Evans and Ray Stevenson) in this reboot of Alexandre Dumas' story. They must stop the evil Richelieu (Christoph Waltz) and face off with Buckingham (Orlando Bloom) and the treacherous Milady (Milla Jovovich).


• Poop. Total poop. And I love the story of The Three Musketeers. This was literally as if the actors sat down and watched the version with Kiefer Sutherland and Charlie Sheen from the 90s and tried to see how much of the lines/scenes they remembered. Really disappointing. But then again Milla Jovovich is in it so I guess that this should surprise nobody.


• You should absolutely not waste your time with this steaming pile of cow dung. And that is again coming from someone who really wanted to see it.

Real Steel

• Real Steel stars Hugh Jackman as Charlie Kenton, a washed-up fighter who lost his chance at a title when 2000-pound, 8-foot-tall steel robots took over the ring. Now nothing but a small-time promoter, Charlie earns just enough money piecing together low-end bots from scrap metal to get from one underground boxing venue to the next. When Charlie hits rock bottom, he reluctantly teams up with his estranged son Max (Dakota Goyo) to build and train a championship contender. As the stakes in the brutal, no-holds-barred arena are raised, Charlie and Max, against all odds, get one last shot at a comeback.


• Let me just say for the record that if you are looking for a movie of quality - this is a big giant turd. Anyone who didn't think that already is an idiot. That being said - I still was able to enjoy it for what it was. It was a heartstring pulling, action, popcorn movie. I turned off my brain for two hours and laughed at the jokes, cared about the characters (even the robots) and was rooting for them all along.


• Would I recommend it? Depends on what you are looking for. You want to see a quality movie. Then no. You want to see a souped up, badass action movie. Still no then. You want to see a fun, family film that is entertaining to the kids and the adults that take them - then yes.