Silent Hill: Revolution

 

Heather Mason (Adelaide Clemens) and her father (Sean Bean) have been on the run, always one step ahead of dangerous forces that she doesn't fully understand. Now on the eve of her 18th birthday, plagued by horrific nightmares and the disappearance of her father, Heather discovers she's not who she thinks she is. The revelation leads her deeper into a demonic world that threatens to trap her forever.

Not going to even bother here.  The first one was a somewhat decent gorefest based on a video game.  This is a sequel that was literally made to pull in quick first weekend 3d prices.  It was horrible across the board and I walked out after compiling a list of things that I could be doing instead of watching the rest of the rank turd.

No, I wouldn't recommend it.  I can't even come up with one reason other than my movie seeing obsession that even made me sit through the 45 minutes that I did.

Cloud Atlas

 

Cloud Atlas explores how the actions and consequences of individual lives impact one another throughout the past, the present and the future. Action, mystery and romance weave dramatically through the story as one soul is shaped from a killer into a hero and a single act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution in the distant future.

I wanted so very badly to like this movie.  I knew that it was going to either be completely awesome or way too far out there and suck.  The movie is three hours long and after a little over an hour, I had no clue what was going on, I wasn't even sure that they were speaking english half the time and I simply couldn't see sitting through this for another two hours.  The plug was pulled and maybe one day I will try to brave the rest of this movie, but I doubt it.

Unless you are the most dedicated of movie watchers - I would not recommend checking this out.  Like I said - I was pretty much staring at the screen with a "what?" face for a little over an hour before my frustrations took over and I bailed.

Alex Cross

 

"Alex Cross" follows the homicide detective/psychologist (Tyler Perry), from the worldwide best-selling novels by James Patterson, as he meets his match in a serial killer (Matthew Fox). The two face off in a high-stakes game of cat and mouse, but when the mission gets personal, Cross is pushed to the edge of his moral and psychological limits in this taut and exciting action thriller.

Words do no justice to just how lame/bad this movie was.  No matter what angle you look at it from - it was poop.  I am a huge James Patterson fan and have read all the Alex Cross books.  Having a background knowledge of Alex Cross was kind of a prerequisite for this movie because they really didn't bother with any of his character development.  You were just supposed to kind of know who he was.  That being said - the movie was all over the place in terms of the books.  The "wife" was never known in the books.  Referred to but not known.  His partner/best friend was a huge black guy named Sampson - not Ed Burns.  His kids ages were all out of sync.  They were in Detroit instead of Washington DC.  It was beyond frustrating in so many ways.  Was this supposed to be like a prequel to the Alex Cross in the books?   As a stand alone movie - it was still horrible.  The acting was sooooooo over the top.  Especially Matthew Fox.  Tyler Perry is atrocious casting as Alex Cross.  He would have been better as the aforementioned non-existent Sampson.  The story was just there and everything was pretty much happening haphazardly.  This was like a lame 80's action movie that should have had Sylvester Stallone as a random cop or something. 

I would not recommend anyone bothering with this.  It was so beyond disappointing in every way.  I just don't get it.  If they were to just recreate the books like they did with Kiss The Girls and Along Came A Spider this could be the most easy to make 11 movie franchise at this point.  Baffling how this can be so screwed up.

The Perks Of Being A Wallflower

 

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a modern classic that captures the dizzying highs and crushing lows of growing up. Starring Logan Lerman, Emma Watson and Ezra Miller, The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a moving tale of love, loss, fear and hope-and the unforgettable friends that help us through life.

This is one of those artistic character dramas.  But what made it so good is that the actors were all so young yet put in amazingly adult like performances.  Emma Watson shows to me how she will be the only one from the Harry Potter kiddies that will go on to have a legitamite acting career.  She was great with the teenage rollercoaster/angst portrayal and played well off of all the other characters. 

I would recommend anyone interested in a very high quality character drama check this out.  It was a well acted movie with great performances throughout.

Argo

 

Based on true events, Argo chronicles the life-or-death covert operation to rescue six Americans, which unfolded behind the scenes of the Iran hostage crisis--the truth of which was unknown by the public for decades. On November 4, 1979, as the Iranian revolution reaches its boiling point, militants storm the U.S. embassy in Tehran, taking 52 Americans hostage. But, in the midst of the chaos, six Americans manage to slip away and find refuge in the home of the Canadian ambassador. Knowing it is only a matter of time before the six are found out and likely killed, a CIA "exfiltration" specialist named Tony Mendez (Affleck) comes up with a risky plan to get them safely out of the country. A plan so incredible, it could only happen in the movies.

This movie was great.  And I didn't even realize how much I was enjoying it until the tension that had been building for so long finally passed.  I literally felt relieved.  That is good film making when you get someone to feel that way and totally reel them in without them knowing it's even happening.  I continue to be amazed at how much better Ben Affleck is as an actor than a director and the fact that when he is directing himself, he makes himself a better actor.  So weird. 

I would definitely recommend people checking this out.  It's a pretty intense true story that is excellently directed and acted throughout.  I'm pretty sure this movie is going to show up on a lot of top ten lists at the end of the year.

Paranormal Activity 4

 

The fourth film in the supernatural franchise.

That is literally the synopsis that I found.  Does the synopsis really matter for these movies at this point.  If you are into them - you know the deal.  If not - why would you start with number four?

I have really enjoyed this franchise until this point.  The first one scared the living hell out of me.  The second one was very creepy.  The third one (a prequel) backtracked a little but still had more than it's fair share of creep out moments.  This one was more of a sequel to part 2 and started off with great promise, but for the first time I wasn't scared.  I didn't find myself dreading what was going to happen.  I didn't find myself jumping.  It was basically a 90 minute set up to the final scene that actually made the story movie forward ever so slightly.

Again - whether I recommend it or not doesn't really matter.  If you saw the others and liked them - you will see this one.  If you didn't - then you probably won't.

Sinister

 

Sinister is a frightening new thriller from the producer of the Paranormal Activity films and the writer-director of"The Exorcism of Emily Rose" Ethan Hawke plays a true crime novelist who discovers a box of mysterious, disturbing home movies that plunge his family into a nightmarish experience of supernatural horror.

This movie had great scares.  Not like a lose sleep kind of stuff like Paranormal Actitivty or last year's Insidious, but the kind that makes the whole audience jump.  The story was pretty good and easy enough to follow.  The only real problem I had with the movie was the constant waa-waa between Ethan Hawke and his wife.  They basically had the same discussion/fight 17 times.  It took away from the overall feel of the movie.

I would still recommend that fright fans check this one out.  It is a more than decent enough watch and the jump scares are enjoyable.  It's just a shame that they couldn't stick more to the story instead of the waa-waa this is my big break speeches made by Ethan Hawke.

Here Comes The Boom

 

In the comedy Here Comes the Boom, former collegiate wrester Scott Voss (Kevin James) is a 42-year-old apathetic biology teacher in a failing high school. When cutbacks threaten to cancel the music program and lay off its teacher (Henry Winkler,) Scott begins to raise money by moonlighting as a mixed martial arts fighter. Everyone thinks Scott is crazy - most of all the school nurse, Bella (Salma Hayek) - but in his quest, Scott gains something he never expected as he becomes a sensation that rallies the entire school.

This is by no means a good movie.  It's beyond formula.  It's beyond unrealistic and silly in terms of credibility.  You pretty much have seen the movie by watching the trailers.  That being said - I LOVE watching Kevin James so I just decided to shut off my brain and watch the movie.  By doing that, I was actually able to enjoy it quite alot.   I found myself cheering for him and enjoying the ride of the movie knowing full well how silly/lame it really was.

I would recommend this movie to anyone who is able to do what I mentioned above.  Not being able to turn off the analytical part of your brain will make this probably one of the dumbest movies ever.

Trouble With The Curve

 

Gus Lobel (Clint Eastwood) has been one of the best scouts in baseball for decades, but, despite his efforts to hide it, age is starting to catch up with him. Nevertheless, Gus, who can tell a pitch just by the crack of the bat, refuses to be benched for what may be the final innings of his career. He may not have a choice. The front office of the Atlanta Braves is starting to question his judgment, especially with the country's hottest batting phenom on deck for the draft. The one person who might be able to help is also the one person Gus would never ask: his daughter, Mickey (Amy Adams), an associate at a high-powered Atlanta law firm whose drive and ambition has put her on the fast track to becoming partner. Against her better judgment, and over Gus's objections, Mickey joins him on his latest scouting trip to North Carolina, jeopardizing her own career to save his. Forced to spend time together for the first time in years, each makes new discoveries, revealing long-held truths about their past and present that could change their future.

This was a great character drama.  Clint Eastwood played pretty much the same role that he has in his last couple of movies.  Hey - if it ain't broke - don't fix it.  Amy Adams was great as the daughter to the dad that was never there.  The baseball intricacies were great and Justin Timberlake continues to get better and better as an actor. 

I would definitely recommend that people check this out.  It is an amazing father/daughter movie.  The story was simple yet touching.  The main characters all had great hooks that make you care.  And all of the main actors played very well off of each other.

Pitch Perfect

 

Beca (Anna Kendrick) is that girl who'd rather listen to what's coming out of her headphones than what's coming out of you. Arriving at her new college, she finds herself not right for any clique but somehow is muscled into one that she never would have picked on her own: alongside mean girls, sweet girls and weird girls whose only thing in common is how good they sound when they sing together, in the new out-loud comedy Pitch Perfect.

This movie was soooooooooo much fun.  I loved the music.  I loved the characters.   I laughed my ass off.  This is easily one of the biggest surprises of a movie I've seen in a long, long time.  I'm not by any stretch of the imagination willing to say that in terms of good filmmaking this is a phenomenal movie.  But in terms of just pure fun and laughs - this is one of the more enjoyable movies that I have seen this year.

I would absolutely recommend people checking this movie out.  It was so much fun and I am now officially the hugest fan of "Fat Amy".

Taken 2

 

Liam Neeson returns as Bryan Mills, the retired CIA agent with a particular set of skills who stopped at nothing to save his daughter Kim from Albanian kidnappers. When the father of one of the kidnappers swears revenge and takes Bryan and his wife hostage during their family vacation in Istanbul, Bryan enlists Kim to help them escape, and uses the same advanced level of special forces tactics to get his family to safety and systematically take out the kidnappers one by one.

It is hard to believe how God awful this movie was.  The first one was a great paced, simple story bada$$ movie.  How could they manage to screw up the simplest sequel in the world to make like this?  Answer - push way too much of the wife and the daughter and tone it down for a PG-13 rating.  All enjoyment was pretty much non-existent in this and a barely 90 minute movie seemed like forever long.

I would absolutely not recommend anyone bothering with this.  It's pretty much a big giant turd and easily one of the most disappointing movies to come out this year.

Frankenweenie

From creative genius Tim Burton comes Frankenweenie, a heartwarming tale about a boy and his dog. After unexpectedly losing his beloved dog Sparky, young Victor harnesses the power of science to bring his best friend back to life with just a few minor adjustments. He tries to hide his home-sewn creation, but when Sparky gets out, Victor's fellow students, teachers and the entire town all learn that getting a new leash on life can be monstrous.

Personally, I enjoyed this movie.  I have pretty much always enjoyed Tim Burton's stuff like this.  It was a simple enough story.  One that definitely hits home with me because of my closeness with my cat.  It was definitely short enough that it didn't go on and on.  That being said . . . . this movie is soooooooo not for young kids as advertised.  The last 15-20 minutes of this movie are really creepy and kind of violent. 

I would still recommend that people go and check this out.  It was a very enjoyable movie.  Just do NOT bring young children to see it.