War Horse

From director Steven Spielberg comes War Horse.  Set against a sweeping canvas of rural England and Europe during the First World War, War Horse begins with the remarkable friendship between a horse named Joey and a young man called Albert, who tames and trains him. When they are forcefully parted, the film follows the extraordinary journey of the horse as he moves through the war, changing and inspiring the lives of all those he meets; British cavalry, German soldiers, and a French farmer and his granddaughter before the story reaches its emotional climax in the heart of No Man's Land.

This was a really great, emotional ride of a movie. It sounds ridiculous to say this – but the horse (Joey) performed so well that you pretty much find yourself rooting and caring for him from beginning to end. Honestly, I cared more about the horse than the humans. There was a scene in here with the horse in such physical peril that I thought I was going to puke and could barely watch. Any animal lover will identify with this story and love it as much as I did. If you don’t – you have no heart!!!

I would definitely recommend people checking this out. I was beyond pleasantly surprised and enjoyed it from beginning to end.

We Bought A Zoo

Cameron Crowe directs this true story about a single dad who decides his family needs a fresh start, so he and his two children move to the most unlikely of places: a zoo. With the help of an eclectic staff, and with many misadventures along the way, the family works to return the dilapidated zoo to its former wonder and glory.

This was a fun movie. Granted, it was the definition of heartstring pulling, but I expected that going in and was able to enjoy it. The dynamics between the dad and the two kids were very realistic and you find yourself caring about their journey enough to be okay with the purposeful emotional punches. 

I would recommend people checking this out. It’s actually a really good, non-animated family movie at the best time of year for something like that.

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

This is not just another mission.  The IMF is shut down when it's implicated in a global terrorist bombing plot. Ghost Protocol is initiated and Ethan Hunt and his rogue new team must go undercover to clear their organization's name. No help, no contact, off the grid. You have never seen a mission grittier and more intense than this.

This was a very entertaining popcorn movie.  Lots of action.  Lots of build up.  Fun characters.  Cool technology.  There really isn't too much to go in to detail here.  The movie's goal was to entertain and I was pretty much entertained from beginning to end even though I find Tom Cruise pretty annoying.  Mission accomplished . . . . . . pun intended.

I would definitely recommend people checking this out.  Movies like this are why action movies were started.  Its just a fun ride.

The Darkest Hour

The Darkest Hour is the story of five young people who find themselves stranded in Moscow, fighting to survive in the wake of a devastating alien attack.

Holy giant turd!!!  This started out like a somewhat decent alien attack type movie with one cool effect.  I repeat - ONE - cool effect.  It was somewhat watchable.  However, about halfway through instead of just having the people get killed off one by one as they try to find an escape, they decided to add new characters as the movie went along.  Words do no justice to how more off the wall these people got.  First there was a Russian girl whose only point in the movie was to be angry when she was called a kid.  Then there was the mad scientist who somehow during the five days that had past since the alien invasion managed to turn his apartment into a farraday coge surrounding it with metal wiring and what not and created a microwave gun that looked a hell of a lot like the guns from Ghostbusters.  After those guys they ran in to the metal shielded army led by General Key Vest.  No joke - it was all keys.  This guy had a vest that was pretty much made of 7,000 keys.  That's like extreme janitoring.  The movie just downward spiralled in to a giant mess that the only source of enjoyment was making fun of how bad it was.

I wouldn't recommend even someone I hate seeing this.  It's absolutely horrible.  Unless you love the new Key Vest style from Russia.  Then it's awesome.

Alvin & The Chipmunks - Chipwrecked

The vacationing Chipmunks and Chipettes are turning a luxury cruise liner into their personal playground, until they become 'chipwrecked' on a remote island. As the 'Munks and Chipettes try various schemes to find their way home, they accidentally discover their new turf is not as deserted as it seems.

Not going to sugarcoat this.  It was pretty painful to sit through this movie.  At this point it's nothing more than a chipmunk voiced showing of Glee where the only goal is to sell soundtracks along with taking parents' money at the theater.  The only positive thing that I can say is that the movie is super short.  Outside of that - it was pretty much poop.  Don't get me wrong - littler kids will love it but not the adults stuck taking them.

If you have little kids - you really don't have a choice in the matter.  However, I really wouldn't recommend anyone bothering their time with this movie.

The Sitter

The irreverent comedy follows a college student, suspended for the semester and living back at home with his single mom, who has a night to remember when he gets talked into baby-sitting the eccentric kids next door -- two boys and a wild 8-year-old girl.

This movie is essentially Adventures In Babysitting with a guy babysitter.  The movie was super short and there were more than enough laughs to keep me entertained although I've never been a really big fan of Jonah Hill.  The silly thing with this movie is that they could have toned down or cut 1-2 scenes and this would have been a PG-13 movie and probably much more successful. 

I would lukewarmly recommend people checking this out.  It's not a must see but it is kind of funny.  And you don't feel like you are wasting your time because of the hour and 20 minute run time.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is the first film in Columbia Pictures' three-picture adaptation of Stieg Larsson's literary blockbuster "The Millennium Trilogy." Directed by David Fincher and starring Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara, the film is based on the first novel in the trilogy, which altogether have sold 50 million copies in 46 countries and become a worldwide phenomenon.

This was one of the movies I was looking forward to more than any other this year.  I read all three books and loved them.  As if that wasn't exciting enough - David Fincher was directing it.  Him and Christopher Nolan's are pretty much the two golden Gods of filmmaking right now.  This movie did not disappoint.  Fincher did a great job of translating the movie to the screen.  He managed to play out the investigative part of the movie in an intriguing fashion while still putting maximum effort in to developing one of the most tortured characters I've ever read or seen in film.  Lisbeth Salander is one of my favorite characters ever.  She is such a dysfunctional badass and it was just as painful watching her plight as it was reading it.  You can't help but root for her even though she is not the type of person that you would be rooting for on sight.  The story ultimately becomes all about her and this movie was tough at many points to watch because Fincher really didn't hold back too much. 

I loved this movie and would fully recommend it to everyone.  I also very much so recommend the books.  You don't have to read the books to be able to enjoy the movie because Fincher is amazing at what he does, but it definitely makes it more enjoyable.  Side note - this movie is a super strong R movie.  There are 3-4 scenes of intense uncomfortability.  Ye have been warned.

The Adventures Of TinTin

The Adventures of Tintin is directed by Steven Spielberg from a screenplay by Steven Moffat and Edgar Wright & Joe Cornish. Starring Jamie Bell as Tintin, the intrepid young reporter whose relentless pursuit of a good story thrusts him into a world of high adventure, and Daniel Craig   as the nefarious Red Rackham.

This was an enjoyable movie but it was like an animated version of Indiana Jones on speed. There was so much ups and downs and the pacing was way too fast. If this were paced a little better with some more downtime it would have been much better. It's a shame because the animation and action were great but it was like a script with a.d.d.

I would lukewarmly recommend people seeing this. It's not a must see and could have been much better, but you could do worse.

New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve  celebrates love, hope, forgiveness, second chances and fresh starts, in the intertwining stories told amidst the pulse and promise of New York City on the most dazzling night of the year.

This was literally the same thing as the movie Valentine's Day from a couple years ago. Most of the cast is the same too. It's a bunch of seperate somewhat interesting stories that culminate together on the titled holiday.

I would lukewarmly recommend this movie. It's not great. It's not bad. It's just sort of there. Watchable but not a must see by any means.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows

Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) has always been the smartest man in the room... until now. There is a new criminal mastermind at large Professor Moriarty (Jared Harris) and not only is he Holmes' intellectual equal, but his capacity for evil, coupled with a complete lack of conscience, may actually give him an advantage over the renowned detective. When the Crown Prince of Austria is found dead, the evidence, as construed by Inspector Lestrade (Eddie Marsan), points to suicide. But Sherlock Holmes deduces that the prince has been the victim of murder, a murder that is only one piece of a larger and much more portentous puzzle, designed by Professor Moriarty. The cunning Moriarty is always one step ahead of Holmes as he spins a web of death and destruction, all part of a greater plan that, if he succeeds, will change the course of history.

I really enjoyed this movie. I think I liked it even more than the first one. Downey Jr was great again with all his silly quirks but then amazing fighting. Jude Law played perfectly off of him again. I thought the Dr Moriarity villain was great and the movie was perfectly paced.

I would definitely recommend everyone checking this out. It's a very fun and enjoyable ride that won't disappoint.