Frozen

Walt Disney Animation Studios presents Frozen. When a prophecy traps a kingdom in eternal winter, Anna (Kristen Bell), a fearless optimist, teams up with extreme mountain man Kristoff (Jonathan Groff) and his sidekick reindeer Sven on an epic journey to find Anna's sister Elsa (Idina Menzel), the Snow Queen, and put an end to her icy spell. Encountering mystical trolls, an amazing and comedic snowman named Olaf, Everest-like conditions and magic at every turn, Anna and Kristoff battle the elements in a race to save the kingdom from destruction.

This was another great entry in the line of Disney princesses.  And I love that for once they made it about more than one with the sister angle.  There wasn't really a bad guy/girl in this movie.  That made it very different and fresh.  As always, Disney movies like this are usually dictated by the comedic side characters and Olaf the snowman pretty much carried this one.  I liked most of the songs but hated how they were scripted into the movie like dialogue.  The two or three main ones could have been really good, classic Disney songs but they were woven into the characters talking to each other and kind of took away from that.

I would recommend people checking this movie out.  It's worth the time and money.  Adults will absolutely enjoy it as much as the kids. 

The Book Thief

Based on the beloved bestselling book, The Book Thief tells the inspirational story of a spirited and courageous young girl who transforms the lives of everyone around her when she is sent to live with a new family in World War II Germany.

This was a great movie told about Nazi Germany in one of the more light hearted ways considering the subject matter.  It was all basically through the eyes of a child and it put a different perspective on everything and really hooked you in.  Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson were great as the adopting parents and the girl was perfectly cast with her innocent look.  There were times where I felt the movie was too simple or too fluffy considering what was happening, but they still had you hooked and you cared about all the characters and what they were going through.

I would definitely recommend people checking this movie out.  I thought it would be better and maybe it's level of greatness might have been effected by that but I still enjoyed it very much.

The Best Man Holiday

After nearly 15 years apart, Taye Diggs, Nia Long, Morris Chestnut, Harold Perrineau, Terrence Howard, Sanaa Lathan, Monica Calhoun, Melissa De Sousa and Regina Hall reprise their career-launching roles in The Best Man Holiday, the next chapter to the film that ushered in a new era of comedy. When the college friends finally reunite over the Christmas holidays they will discover just how easy it is for long-forgotten rivalries and romances to be ignited.

This was another movie where exactly what you see in the trailer is what you get.  Group of friends and couples each battling their own issues or demons with laughs along the way.  Don't get me wrong some of the laughs were great and some of the drama was very heart touching, but its just more of the first movie that I never considered to be sequel worthy.  I feel like these actors can accomplish so much more instead of playing the same stereotypical roles over and over again.

I would somewhat recommend people checking this movie out.  It's a very watchable movie but its just a blatant retread of stuff that we've already seen.

Catching Fire

Catching Fire begins as Katniss Everdeen has returned home safe after winning the 74th Annual Hunger Games along with fellow tribute Peeta Mellark. Winning means that they must turn around and leave their family and close friends, embarking on a "Victor's Tour' of the districts. Along the way Katniss senses that a rebellion is simmering, but the Capitol is still very much in control as President Snow prepares the 75th Annual Hunger Games (The Quarter Quell) - a competition that could change Panem forever.

This movie was awesome.  I had high hopes for it since I thought that this book was the best of the series and they completely met them.  This movie served as a perfect "Empire Strikes Back" to the series where it amped up the overall story while developing the characters and their relationships more and more.  The action was great and it even looked better than in the first one.  You could noticeably see the budget difference due to the first one's success.  

I would definitely recommend everyone checking this movie out.  Fans of the book are going to see it regardless but even non-readers should really check these movies out.  Even though its based on a young adult novel, the story is really good and has so many different layers to it that viewers of all ages can enjoy it as it all plays out.

Delivery Man

Delivery Man stars Vince Vaughn as affable underachiever David Wozniak, whose anonymous donations to a fertility clinic 20 years earlier resulted in 533 children. David must now embark on a journey that leads him to discover not only his true self but also the father that he could become.

If you saw the trailer for this one then you saw the movie.  There really was nothing more of substance to it.  They tried to pull a bunch of heartstrings that didn't work.  The only guy that was funny was Chris Pratt who plays his friend/lawyer.  He was also the only funny part of the trailer.  I wanted so desperately to find Vince Vaughn amusing again, but it just didn't work.  Like not at all.  I was bored pretty much the whole time and only laughed 3 times - none of which were from him.  

I wouldn't recommend anyone wasting their time with this movie.  It's formula in every way and you can just decide how you liked the movie from watching the commercial since there is nothing more that it brings to the table.

Last Vegas

Starring four legends like you've never seen them before, Last Vegas tells the story of Billy, Paddy, Archie and Sam (played by Academy-Award winners Michael Douglas, Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman and Kevin Kline), best friends since childhood. When Billy, the group's sworn bachelor, finally proposes to his thirty-something (of course) girlfriend, the four head to Las Vegas with a plan to stop acting their age and relive their glory days. However, upon arriving, the four quickly realize that the decades have transformed Sin City and tested their friendship in ways they never imagined. The Rat Pack may have once played the Sands and Cirque du Soleil may now rule the Strip, but it's these four who are taking over Vegas.

This was a very, very enjoyable movie about friendship and growing old.  The movie is pretty much just as formula as you would have expected from the trailer, but the four actors all provide plenty of laughs and their friendship portrayed onscreen was completely believable since they all played off of each other so well.  My biggest fear going in to this was that it would turn out to be a dramedy with someone's health becoming an issue or something.  My fears were not answer and this comedy didn't swerve down that road.

I would definitely recommend people checking this movie out.  It really was a lot of simple fun at the movies and I liked it very much.

Free Birds

In this adventurous buddy comedy for audiences of all ages, two turkeys from opposite sides of the tracks must put aside their differences and team up to travel back in time to change the course of history - and get turkey off the Thanksgiving menu for good.

This was a surprisingly entertaining movie.  I usually don't have really high hopes for animated movies that don't come from Disney, Pixar or Dreamworks animation but this one felt like it did.  The story was simple and flowed.  The main characters as well as the side characters were perfectly crafted and developed.  And most importanly the humor was there in abundance.  That made this animated movie just as much fun for the adults as the kids.

I would definitely recommend people checking this movie out.  Nice, short movie with plenty of laughs.  If you have children they are guaranteed to love it.

Thor: The Dark World

Thor: The Dark World continues the big-screen adventures of Thor, the Mighty Avenger, as he battles to save Earth and all the Nine Realms from a shadowy enemy that predates the universe itself.  In the aftermath of Thor and The Avengers, Thor fights to restore order across the cosmos...but an ancient race led by the vengeful Malekith returns to plunge the universe back into darkness.  Faced with an enemy that even Odin and Asgard cannot withstand, Thor must embark on his most perilous and personal journey yet, one that will reunite him with Jane Foster and force him to sacrifice everything to save us all.

Thor has managed to surprise me yet again.  I liked this movie a lot and I actually think its one of the better Marvel era sequels.  It didn't just redo the original story.  It expanded Thor's world and used all the characters to make you hooked into what was a VERY sci-fi movie.  Loki was of course back and was once again the best part of the movie.  He stole every scene he was in and the movie picked up tremendously when he was on screen.  The story, tempo and side characters were all great.  And even though the new villains were basically explained by the opening narration, I still thought that they were great too.

I would absolutely recommend any Marvel fans checking this out.  It's a great continuation of the Thor and Marvel universe stories.

12 Years A Slave

12 Years a Slave is based on an incredible true story of one man's fight for survival and freedom. In the pre-Civil War United States, Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery. Facing cruelty (personified by a malevolent slave owner, portrayed by Michael Fassbender), as well as unexpected kindnesses, Solomon struggles not only to stay alive, but to retain his dignity. In the twelfth year of his unforgettable odyssey, Solomon's chance meeting with a Canadian abolitionist (Brad Pitt) will forever alter his life.

This was one of those amazing and beyond emotional movies about a period of time (12 years obviously) in a man's life.  The trials and tribulations of this man showed the absolute worst and best in fellow human beings.  There were numerous beyond uncomfortable scenes of slavery and phenomenal acting throughout the movie.  This movie will absolutely end up on most top ten lists at the end of the year and get a bunch of Oscar nominations.  The only knock I would make against this movie is that there were too many of the artsy staring off deep in thought type of moments.  Outside of that it was an amazing movie.

I would absolutely recommend everyone checking out this movie. The realistic gruesomeness is rough to watch at times but the movie was excellent.

Ender's Game

In the near future, a hostile alien race called the Formics have attacked Earth. If not for the legendary heroics of International Fleet Commander Mazer Rackham (Ben Kingsley), all would have been lost. In preparation for the next attack, the highly esteemed Colonel Hyrum Graff (Harrison Ford) and the International Military are training only the best young minds to find the future Mazer.  Ender Wiggin (Asa Butterfield), a shy but strategically brilliant boy, is recruited to join the elite. Arriving at Battle School, Ender quickly and easily masters increasingly difficult challenges and simulations, distinguishing himself and winning respect amongst his peers. Ender is soon ordained by Graff as the military's next great hope, resulting in his promotion to Command School. Once there, he's trained by Mazer Rackham himself to lead his fellow soldiers into an epic battle that will determine the future of Earth and save the human race.

I thought this was a really good movie in terms of sci-fi standards.  They did a great job of taking you to the world where the story took place in.  You felt connected to the story and the characters and you were definitely interested in where it would take you.  I also liked the tapping of the children as our potential soldiers/generals based on how they were able to see things develop during battle.  It's a pretty direct link to first person video games and online play that really have taken our younger generations to a different way of seeing things based on their "game play".  I can't really do into too much detail without giving away certain things that deliver quite well as the movie plays out.  I wish that I would have read the book or books that this is based on because I feel I would have enjoyed it even more. 

I would recommend this movie to fans of sci-fi.  Its definitely not a movie for all because of its specific subject matter, but it is an enjoyable watch for its target audience.