The Movie Aisle

Safe House

2012-02-13T06:47:00.001-05:00

Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds star in the action-thriller Safe House. Washington plays the most dangerous renegade from the CIA, who comes back onto the grid after a decade on the run. When the South African safe house he's remanded to is attacked by mercenaries, a rookie operative (Reynolds) escapes with him. Now, the unlikely allies must stay alive long enough to uncover who wants them dead.

Now these kind of political suspense/intrigue movies I like. As long as there is enough action (as well as not too many talky talky suits) to keep a story moving - I'm all in. I like both actors regardless and they played surprisingly well off of each other. At no point did I feel myself bored or not caring about where it was going to go. This was a nice breath of fresh movie going after an atrocious month of January.

I would definitely recommend people checking this movie out. It's a fun watch.

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island

2012-02-12T10:29:00.002-05:00

In this follow-up to Journey to the Center of the Earth, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island begins when 17-year-old Sean Anderson (Josh Hutcherson) receives a coded distress signal from a mysterious island where no island should exist. It's a place of strange life forms, mountains of gold, deadly volcanoes, and more than one astonishing secret. Unable to stop him from going, Sean's new stepfather, Hank (Dwayne Johnson), joins the quest. Together with a helicopter pilot (Luis Guzman) and his beautiful, strong-willed daughter (Vanessa Hudgens), they set out to find the island, rescue its lone inhabitant and escape before seismic shockwaves force the island under the sea and bury its treasures forever.

This movie is exactly what you thought it would be. A quick, no real story, creature effects heavy movie for young teens. However, they put The Rock in it. Therefore, it was much more watchable. I absolutely love this guy and his going back and forth with Michael Caine and Luis Guzman was vintage stuff from his WWE days. In terms of continuity - there really is none from the first movie. I don't remember any explanation as to why Brandon Fraser wasn't in this or what happened post Journey 1, but I didn't care because The Rock was in it.

I would somewhat recommend this movie to anyone that was interested in it. There are some scenes that might be a little too scary for little kids and it's overall a pretty cheesy movie. However, The Rock is in it so that always makes everything better.

The Vow

2012-02-11T13:26:00.001-05:00

Paige and Leo (Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum) are a happy newlywed couple whose lives are changed by a car accident that puts Paige in a coma. Waking up with severe memory loss, Paige has no memory of Leo, a confusing relationship with her parents (Sam Neill and Jessica Lange), and an ex-fiance (Scott Speedman) she may still have feelings for. Despite these complications, Leo endeavors to win her heart again and rebuild their marriage.

This movie was not nearly the massive waa-waa tear jerker that I thought it would be. Honestly, I don't think that anyone got choked up at any point. It was more of a character drama that is textbook predictable and somewhat watchable. Wasn't great . . . . wasn't bad . . . . . it was decent and watchable - mostly because I like Rachel McAdams I guess in these types of roles.

I would somewhat recommend people checking this out. It's a decent watch but nowhere near the level of must see stature of other chick flicks like The Notebook.

Chronicle

2012-02-07T10:21:00.000-05:00

Three high school students make an incredible discovery, leading to them developing uncanny powers beyond their understanding. As they learn to control their abilities, and use them to their advantage, their lives start to spin out of control, and their darker sides begin to take over.

This was a surprisingly entertaining movie. I say surprisingly because most of these catchy/home video camera type movies end up being great trailers and then garbage movies. This movie definitely delievered. It was super short, had a super simple story and the effects were awesome because of - again - how simple they were. Imagine an X-Men movie without the crazy over the top explosions. I really enjoyed it.

I would definitely recommend people checking this out. It's a surprisingly fresh and short take on "superpower" movies.

The Woman In Black

2012-02-07T09:19:00.002-05:00

The story follows a young lawyer, Arthur Kipps (Radcliffe), who is ordered to travel to a remote village and sort out a recently deceased client's papers. As he works alone in the client's isolated house, Kipps begins to uncover tragic secrets, his unease growing when he glimpses a mysterious woman dressed only in black. Receiving only silence from the locals, Kipps is forced to uncover the true identity of the Woman in Black on his own, leading to a desperate race against time when he discovers her true intent.

This was pretty good for one of those PG-13 creepy movies. It took a little while to get there and the ending was a little bit eh, but the part with all the fright/creeps was more than good enough for me to enjoy the movie. And it needs to be said how completely weird it is watching Harry Potter not play Harry Potter. I give him kudos for picking a role to completely break out of that typecast, but it's going to take awhile.

I would definitely recommend this movie to people into creepy/scary movies like this. It has a decent story and the scares are good.

One For The Money

2012-01-28T22:39:00.001-05:00

A proud, born-and-bred Jersey girl, Stephanie Plum's got plenty of attitude, even if she's been out of work for the last six months and just lost her car to a debt collector. Desperate for some fast cash, Stephanie turns to her last resort: convincing her sleazy cousin to give her a job at his bail bonding company... as a recovery agent. True, she doesn't even own a pair of handcuffs and her weapon of choice is pepper spray, but that doesn't stop Stephanie from taking on Vinny's biggest bail-jumper: former vice cop and murder suspect Joe Morelli - yup, the same sexy, irresistible Joe Morelli who seduced and dumped her back in high school. Nabbing Morelli would be satisfying payback - and a hefty payday - but as Stephanie learns the ins and outs of becoming a recovery agent from Ranger, a hunky colleague who's the best in the business, she also realizes the case against Morelli isn't airtight. Add to the mix her meddling family, a potentially homicidal boxer, witnesses who keep dying and the problem of all those flying sparks when she finds Morelli himself... well, suddenly Stephanie's new job isn't nearly as easy as she thought.

This was a pretty crappy movie. I didn't expect much but I thought that the characters wouldn't be this cliche. I mean it was like drowning in lame dialogue and puns. And the slow pacing just made it that much mire painful. This is just another log on the fire of Katherine Heigl sucking.

I wouldn't recommend anyone bothering with the movies. I never read any of the books but I can't imagine them being this lame/cliche across the board.

Man On A Ledge

2012-01-28T22:37:00.001-05:00

In the thriller, Man on a Ledge, Nick Cassidy (Sam Worthington) makes a desperate and life-threatening move to prove his innocence after he is framed for the theft of a rare, prized diamond. Recently escaped from prison and with nowhere else to go, Nick climbs onto the ledge of a towering skyscraper, inviting the eyes of New York City to anxiously watch as one wrong step could mean plunging to his death. But as one police negotiator soon learns, Nick's daredevil stunt, captivating the eyes of the public and media, masks a dangerous ploy to reveal the truth about his tarnished name.With the help of his brother and with time running out, Nick's intricate plan must work perfectly, but when you're on the 25th floor ledge of a building, going down takes on an entirely more hair-raising meaning.

I really enjoyed this movie. Sure, you really need to shut off your brain to enjoy it because they pretty much tossed reality out the window. But the characters were interesting, the pacing was great, and the story played out well.

I would reccomend people checking this out. It's not a must see at all but was the most enjoyable movie I've seen in the movie release cesspool that is January.

The Grey

2012-01-28T13:26:00.002-05:00

In The Grey, Liam Neeson leads an unruly group of oil-rig roughnecks when their plane crashes into the remote Alaskan wilderness. Battling mortal injuries and merciless weather, the survivors have only a few days to escape the icy elements and a vicious pack of rogue wolves on the hunt before their time runs out.

This movie was a pretty decent watch. I have to be honest. This is one of the most overadvertised movies I can ever remember and I'm so relieved that it's finally in theaters. I feel like I have seen the trailer for this movie before every movie I've seen in the last 2-3 months. As you can tell from the blog - that's ALOT of trailer views. There were many, many times throughout the movie where I felt like I had already seen it because of how many times I viewed the trailer. And the fact that it was one of those "you see the trailer - you've seen the movie" type of movies didn't really help either. Regardless of my rant, the movie was definitely watchable from that struggling to survive type of mentality. It was too melodramatic though and way too long. If they could have cut this down to 90 minutes and more tension instead of the day dreaming stuff, I probably would have liked it a lot more.

I would somewhat recommend this movie. Again, it wasn't a necessarily bad watch, but if you've see the ads - you have seen the movie.

Joyful Noise

2012-01-27T07:59:00.003-05:00

Joyful Noise is a story of music, hope, love and renewal. The small town of Pacashau, Georgia, has fallen on hard times, but the people are counting on the Divinity Church Choir to lift their spirits by winning the National Joyful Noise Competition. The choir has always known how to sing in harmony, but the discord between its two leading ladies now threatens to tear them apart. Their newly appointed director, Vi Rose Hill (Latifah), stubbornly wants to stick with their tried-and-true traditional style, while the fiery G.G. Sparrow (Parton) thinks tried-and-true translates to tired-and-old. Shaking things up even more is the arrival of G.G.'s rebellious grandson, Randy (Jeremy Jordan). Randy has an ear for music, but he also has an eye for Vi Rose's beautiful and talented daughter, Olivia (Keke Palmer), and the sparks between the two teenagers are causing even more friction between G.G. and Vi Rose. If these two strong-willed women can put aside their differences for the good of the people in their town, they--and their choir--may make the most joyful noise of all.

This movie is the dictionary definition of just there. I can't even really say it was terrible or ok because I honestly didn't care. The version I saw had the last 20 minutes cut off and again - I didn't care. I'm sure it all works out in the end since the movie was textbook from beginning to the end part I saw. The only thing that I kep saying was Dolly Parton and Queen Latifah in a movie together? Really?

I wouldn't recommend anyone wasting their time with this movie. It's another pointless January release.

Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close

2012-01-25T07:46:00.001-05:00

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close is a story that unfolds from inside the young mind of Oskar Schell, an inventive eleven year-old New Yorker whose discovery of a key in his deceased father's belongings sets him off on an urgent search across the city for the lock it will open. A year after his father died in the World Trade Center on what Oskar calls "The Worst Day," he is determined to keep his vital connection to the man who playfully cajoled him into confronting his wildest fears. Now, as Oskar crosses the five New York boroughs in quest of the missing lock - encountering an eclectic assortment of people who are each survivors in their own way - he begins to uncover unseen links to the father he misses, to the mother who seems so far away from him and to the whole noisy, dangerous, discombobulating world around him.

I still don't know what to think of this movie. I loved the story as gut wrenching as it was. I loved the journey of the kid and the different people he met and effected. I loved the coming together towards the end with the kid and the mother. However, I hated the kid. I feel horrible saying that because A - he's a kid and B - look at what he went through in the context of the movie. But - this was seriously one of the most annoying kids I've ever seen. Did they have to make him so quirky? If this is just a random kid doing this, this movie could have made my top ten. Unfortunately, the weirdness of this kid made me want to punch someone in the face and definitely took away from the movie for me.

I don't know that I would recommend people checking this out. I'm baffled by the Best Picture nomination too. Again - the story is great, but easily the most annoying child I've ever seen.

The Artist

2012-01-22T14:49:00.000-05:00

Hollywood 1927. George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) is a silent movie superstar. The advent of the talkies will sound the death knell for his career and see him fall into oblivion. For young extra Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo), it seems the sky's the limit - major movie stardom awaits. The Artist tells the story of their interlinked destinies.

This was a great throwback to silent movies. I was not frustrated by the not talking at all and it kept my interest throughout. However, I feel like that was the pull of the movie. If this was a talking movie - it's poop. It managed to cash in on it's one trick hook well enough for it to be an enjoyable movie. I am having a problem though with how gaa-gaa people are for it. Is this what we've come to? Best picture nominations based on making a movie like they used to 80-90 years ago? This really was a rough year I guess.

I would definitely recommend people checking this one out. Don't get me wrong. It is a very entertaining movie with the silent factor added in and I definitely enjoyed it. I just am thrown off by the very high critical praise for it.

Red Tails

2012-01-22T14:41:00.000-05:00

1944. World War II rages and the fate of the free world hangs in the balance. Meanwhile the black pilots of the experimental Tuskegee training program are courageously waging two wars at once � one against enemies overseas, and the other against discrimination within the military and back home. Racial prejudices have long held ace airman Martin "Easy" Julian (Nate Parker) and his black pilots back at base - leaving them with little to do but further hone their flying skills - while their white counterparts are shipped out to combat after a mere three months of training. Mistakenly deemed inferior and assigned only second-rate planes and missions, the pilots of Tuskegee have mastered the skies with ease but have not been granted the opportunity to truly spread their wings. Until now. As the war in Europe continues to take its dire toll on Allied forces, Pentagon brass has no recourse but to reconsider these under-utilized pilots for combat duty. Just as the young Tuskegee men are on the brink of being shut down and shipped back home, Col. A.J. Bullard (Terrence Howard) awards them the ultimate chance to prove their mettle high above. Undaunted by the prospect of providing safe escort to bombers in broad daylight - a mission so dangerous that the RAF has refused it and the white fighter groups have sustained substantial losses - Easy's pilots at last join the fiery aerial fray. Against all the odds, with something to prove and everything to lose, these intrepid young airmen take to the skies in a heroic endeavor to combat the enemy and the discrimination that has kept them down for so long.

Did you see how long winded that synopsis was? The movie was equally long winded. For something that was as simple as this movie basically is - there was no need for it to be 2 plus hours long. They put so much time in to character development but there was not a single character that I cared about at all. This was basically a chance for George Lucas to have actual planes in action scenes instead of the flying machines of the Star Wars universe. And he's "been working on this for years". Really? Because the plane fight scenes seems to have the exact soundtrack as any space battle in Star Wars. The bad guys sounded just like Tie fighters from the Empire. I was basically waiting for the Red Tails leader to yell "Keep on target. Stay on target".

No - you should not see this. Just like you pretty much shouldn't see any movie that is released in the month of January. It was poop. It was a very long poop.

Haywire

2012-01-22T14:29:00.000-05:00

In Haywire, a female covert ops specialist (Carano), who works in the deadly world of international operatives, strikes back after discovering she's been double-crossed by someone close to her in the agency.

I was very excited to see this movie. There was a lot of good buzz about it and the trailer made it look pretty kick ass. Maybe my heightened level of anticipation ruined it. Maybe the game of hilarious commentary with me and my two friends ruined it. Or maybe the movie actually was that bad. I don't know why everyone loves Steven Soderbergh so much. It's like because the cast of Ocean's 11 loves him so much, everyone wants to work with him. There really is no reason for Michael Fassbender, Michael Douglas, Ewan McGregor, Antonio Banderas and even Channing Tatum to be in this movie. It's pretty much a direct to dvd quality of movie. The timeline was ridiculously choppy and pretty much destroyed any ability to really get in to the movie. The fight scenes were supposed to be very genuine/real. Well, apprantly I need to see some special effects in fighting because the fight scenes were boring as hell and seemed to be in slow motion. And for my final rant - what is the deal with Soderbergh loving yellow tint. He does this in almost all of his movies. It's as if he either has a sheet of yellow cellophane over the camera lens or has actually peed on the lens and is shooting throught it after. Everything is tinted. It got to a point where I started pointing it out the whole time. I was literally pointing at the screen non-stop.

No - you absolutely should not see this. It's garbage and a total waste of time. Unless you are a huge fan of the color yellow. If that is the case - this is the greatest movie of all time.

Underworld: Awakening

2012-01-22T14:19:00.002-05:00

Kate Beckinsale, star of the first two films, returns in her lead role as the vampire warrioress Selene, who escapes imprisonment to find herself in a world where humans have discovered the existence of both Vampire and Lycan clans, and are conducting an all-out war to eradicate both immortal species.

This movie is nothing more than another entry in a franchise that has made it's entire existence during the month of January because they know that there is nothing else out there. The funniest part of this movie is that they had to do a "previously on" type of segment to remind us viewers what the story was from parts 1 and 2 since the last entry had nothing to do with it at all. Like I said - it's just more of the same. There are vampires. There are Lycans (aka - werewolves). They fight each other and the humans. The end.

If you like the first two entries - this is just as watchable. If you didn't or didn't see them - why in the world would you start watching these now?

The Descendants

2012-01-17T07:15:00.000-05:00

From Alexander Payne, set in Hawaii, The Descendants is a sometimes humorous, sometimes tragic journey for Matt King (George Clooney) an indifferent husband and father of two girls, who is forced to re-examine his past and embrace his future when his wife suffers a boating accident off of Waikiki. The event leads to a rapprochement with his young daughters while Matt wrestles with a decision to sell the family's land handed down from Hawaiian royalty and missionaries.

This was a really great movie. The performances were awesome and it all felt very genuine on an emotional level. As twisted as it got sometimes, you believed in the character's decisions and ability to move past situations even with the feelings attached to them. Would this be a favorite for Best Picture in any other year? Probably not. Can I see it being one this particular lame year? Yes.

I would definitely recommend people checking this movie out. It's very well done across the board and is a deserving favorite for most of the year end awards.

Contraband

2012-01-14T16:06:00.000-05:00

Chris Farraday (Wahlberg) long ago abandoned his life of crime, but after his brother-in-law, Andy (Caleb Landry Jones), botches a drug deal for his ruthless boss, Tim Briggs (Giovanni Ribisi), Chris is forced back into doing what he does best--running contraband--to settle Andy's debt. Chris is a legendary smuggler and quickly assembles a crew with the help of his best friend, Sebastian (Ben Foster), to head to Panama and return with millions in counterfeit bills. Things quickly fall apart and with only hours to reach the cash, Chris must use his rusty skills to successfully navigate a treacherous criminal network of brutal drug lords, cops and hit men before his wife, Kate (Kate Beckinsale), and sons become their target.

I am still not sure how to feel about this movie. It was definitely a decent watch but I felt disappointed because of the amount of action that was advertised. The movie was more of a drama/intrigue type of movie than an action movie. Yet there really were not any curves you don't see coming so that kind of took away from that.

I would lukewarmly recommend this movie. It is a decent watch and I still can't wrap my head around Mark Wahlberg having become a legit actor. But I think I had higher expectations for it.

The Iron Lady

2012-01-14T16:01:00.001-05:00

The Iron Lady is a surprising and intimate portrait of Margaret Thatcher (Meryl Streep), the first and only female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. One of the 20th century's most famous and influential women, Thatcher came from nowhere to smash through barriers of gender and class to be heard in a male dominated world.

This is one of those great autobiographical performanes. Meryl Streep is great as Margaret Thatcher. However, there isn't much more substance besides that. At least there wasn't for me. Maybe history buffs would be much more in to it. What I watched was a prominent historical figure going over the events of her life while trying to come to grips with her husband no longer being alive.

I would lukewarmly recommend this movie to people solely for Meryl Streep's performance. Outside of that, the movie is just kind of there.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

2012-01-06T18:49:00.001-05:00

The time is 1973. The Cold War of the mid-20th Century continues to damage international relations. Britain's Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), a.k.a. MI6 and code-named the Circus, is striving to keep pace with other countries' espionage efforts and to keep the U.K. secure. The head of the Circus, known as Control (John Hurt), personally sends dedicated operative Jim Prideaux (Mark Strong) into Hungary. But Jim's mission goes bloodily awry, and Control is forced out of the Circus, as is his top lieutenant, George Smiley (Gary Oldman), a career spy with razor-sharp senses. Estranged from his absent wife Ann, Smiley is soon called in to see undersecretary Oliver Lacon (Simon McBurney); he is to be rehired in secret at the government's behest, as there is a gnawing fear that the Circus has long been compromised by a double agent, or mole, working for the Soviets and jeopardizing England. Supported by younger agent Peter Guillam (Benedict Cumberbatch), Smiley parses Circus activities past and present. In trying to track and identify the mole, Smiley is haunted by his decades-earlier interaction with the shadowy Russian spy master Karla. The mole's trail remains cold until maverick field agent Ricki Tarr (Tom Hardy) unexpectedly contacts Lacon. While undercover in Turkey, Ricki has fallen for a betrayed married woman, Irina (Svetlana Khodchenkova), who claims to possess crucial intelligence. Separately, Smiley learns that Control narrowed down the list of mole suspects to five men. They are the ambitious Percy Alleline (Toby Jones), whom he had code-named Tinker; suavely confident Bill Haydon (Colin Firth), dubbed Tailor; stalwart Roy Bland (Ciar'n Hinds), called Soldier; officious Toby Esterhase (David Dencik), dubbed Poor Man; and Smiley himself. Even before the startling truth is revealed, the emotional and physical tolls on the players enmeshed in the deadly international spy game will escalate.

Was that summary confusing enough for you? I am not going to lie. I didn't even finish watching this movie because I was so bored and had no clue what was going on. This kind of movie is so not my cup of tea. It's one of those political espionage movies with no action and it was just a whole lot of talky talky. These are second only to old english period pieces as far as killing my attention span.

My recommendation of this movie shouldn't matter. I'm sure that this is a good movie with good performances but I just didn't care at all.

The Devil Inside

2012-01-06T18:44:00.001-05:00

In 1989, emergency responders received a 9-1-1 call from Maria Rossi (Suzan Crowley) confessing that she had brutally killed three people. 20 years later, her daughter Isabella (Fernanda Andrade) seeks to understand the truth about what happened that night. She travels to the Centrino Hospital for the Criminally Insane in Italy where her mother has been locked away to determine if her mother is mentally ill or demonically possessed. When she recruits two young exorcists (Simon Quarterman and Evan Helmuth) to cure her mom using unconventional methods combining both science and religion, they come face-to-face with pure evil in the form of four powerful demons possessing Maria.

This movie was not what was advertised. It was not a Paranormal Activity of exorcist movies. It wanted to be. It was advertised (very creepily well) as being so. But it absolutely was not. It was pretty much garbage. It was three creepy or exorcist scenes - which were all in the trailer - and a couple of people running around with a camera. There was pieces of a story thrown in there but they pretty much stopped following that after a while. And the movie just sort of ends. The theater I saw it in was packed and I can't remember the last time that an audience was so out loud pissed at a movie. I've never been happier to not be working at a theater anymore than being able to not deal with the backlash from people dropping money on this.

I wouldn't recommend anyone wasting 90 minutes of thier life on this. Ever. The crowd was near rioting at the end of this. That's how bad it was.

Young Adult

2012-01-03T18:49:00.000-05:00

Charlize Theron plays Mavis Gary, a writer of teen literature who returns to her small hometown to relive her glory days and attempt to reclaim her happily married high school sweetheart (Patrick Wilson). When returning home proves more difficult than she thought, Mavis forms an unusual bond with a former classmate (Patton Oswalt) who hasn't quite gotten over high school, either.

This is one of those movies where you hear so much about how great it was, especially the acting performance, and you watch it saying - Really? I'm not saying the movie was terrible. It was decent. But Charlize Theron got all these rave reviews for playing a egomaniacal high school prom queen who never really moved on. That doesn't seem like it would be too much of a stretch for any actress. I actually liked Patton Oswalt a lot more than her in this movie.

I would somewhat recommend people checking this movie out. It's not a must see by any means. There are much worse things out there than this decent character drama. And it's super short.

The Ten Best Movies Of 2011

2012-01-01T17:02:00.000-05:00

Honorable Mention - Just Go With It

This movie had everything going against it. I don't like Jennifer Aniston at all. Adam Sandler movies are all the same. Worst pairing of a couple ever in the two of them. However, I was wrong on all counts and this movie had me laughing my a$$ off. I thought maybe I was just surprised by really low expectations so I watched it again and still loved it just as much. It's my favorite comedy of a year where there were a lot of high profile ones that failed to meet expectations for me.

10. Insidious

This movie terrified me. The movie wasn't gory. The movie wasn't too hokey. It used old school fear tactics and it paid off tremndously for the first 4/5 of the movie. Then it was completely off the wall creepy for the last 1/5 of the movie. Lost sleep after this one.

9. Super 8

This movie felt like such a throwback to the movies when I was a kid that Stephen Spielberg used to churn out all the time. Those adventure movies, usually with a cast of teenagers, against crazy odds and what not. It's a shame that I've had to wait as long as I did for a movie like this and I still feel that it didn't get the respect that it deserved.

8. Fast Five

Nobody is more shocked than me that this movie is on my top ten list. I'm basing this on adrenaline alone and this movie was just pure, fun, badass, adrenaline on film. I've enjoyed the Fast & Furious franchise for the most part but bringing in The Rock with Vin Diesel was amazing. I can't remember the last time that I sat in a theater where the whole audience was cheering throughout the movie like that.

7. The Adjustment Bureau

I don't know why I loved this movie as much as I did. I've watched it a ton of times and I still can't really explain it. It really made me think about my beliefs in a higher power and what not and that we ultimately do control our own destinies no matter what. Too deep? Sorry. Like I said - this movie has some ridiculous spot with me.

6. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

I loved the books and this was probably the second most looked forward movie for me this year because of the combination of the story and director David Fincher. This guy is phenomenal across the board and this movie was no different. His attention to detail brought the character of Lisbeth Salander (one of the most complicated characters ever) to the screen perfectly. The second and third installments of this movie are going to be awesome.

5. The Muppets

This was by far my most anticipated movie of the year. I have always been a HUGE fan of the Muppets and have no idea how they fell out of the spotlight for so long. I was thrilled just to see them back and the fact that movie was actually incredibly well written that they were mocking the whole situation of them not being as famous anymore was brilliant.

4. Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows - Part 2

My favorite two movie franchises are Star Wars (only the original trilogy) and Lord Of The Rings. However, Harry Potter is easily the best 8 movie franchise ever. Think about how good these movies have been throughout and this was one of the better entries. They stuck to the book which was great and this was literally a big ride. This was the most action packed one and I am so lost knowing that it's over.

3. X-Men: First Class

Of all the high profile summer movies that came out this year, this was probably the one that I expected the least from. I figured it would be on par with the Wolverine movie and just be a popcorn type action movie. What I got instead was easily the best "prequel" of all time. Why can't all the other ones or the numerous relaunches be half as good as this one. The story was awesome, tied directly in to actual history and the character development was some of the best ever.

2. The Help

This movie should go on to win Best Picture this year. The acting was top notch across the board. The story was great with all the different classes and exploring their lines of thinking regarding racism. What made this movie the most enjoyable was that even with the serious tone and drama thoughout, there were some of the biggest laughs in this movie at the same time. That balance really made this an amazing watch.

1. Warrior

I know, right? What? Has anyone even heard of this movie? Well, you should!!! I only went to see this based on a shocking recommendation from a friend of mine. I went based solely on his word and am so glad that I did since I really only had like 10 days to see it in theaters. This movie was so well written, directed, and acted. I was torn in all different directions. I felt equally bad and rooting for both brothers as the movie built towards such an awesome conclusion. I'm sure that this movie will not be on most other's lists or any critics. It will get no end of year recognition, but this is my favorite movie of 2011 by far.

The Ten Worst Movies Of 2011

2012-01-01T15:43:00.003-05:00

Dishonorable Mention - Footloose

The only thing that kept this from being legitamitely in the Bottom 10 is that it also happened to be the most fun movie going experience of the year. If it wasn't for the friends that we saw this with and ragging on the movie throughout - I probably would have walked out on possibly the worst remake of an iconic classic.

10. The Darkest Hour

Had my list all made and then saw this absurd downward spiral of a movie about some sort of an electric end of the world assault. It was watchable for the first half but then had people who somehow turned their houses in to farraday cages in 5 days, cats with wired suits and army guys wearing key vests. I wish that I was kidding about all of this.

9. 30 Seconds Or Less

This is going to be on that list of horrible post Oscar nomination career choices. How does someone come off of The Social Network to star in this? And how does something with this much comedic talent in the cast end up like a really bad tv pilot that would have trouble getting picked up by any network?

8. Sanctum

This was the most boring "action" movie I've ever seen. These people are stuck in a cave trying to get out and I was fighting off falling asleep.

7. The Tree Of Life

This snoozefest keeps showing up on most critics Top 10 lists and is alot of their number one overall. I don't get it. I don't get why critics love Terrance Mallick so much. This guy could put a 7 year old hopped up on Red Bull to sleep with his boring ass movies. He literally films blades of grass blowing back and forth for like 10 minutes. I can't stand this guy's movies.

6. Apollo 18

When movies get pushed back over and over again there is usually a reason why. I'm pretty sure that this movie was originally supposed to come out in 2010. Got pushed to February 2011, then April 2011 and then September (the biggest wasteland of movie releases) 2011. This was total garbage. I liked the premise and it might have been okay if they followed the specific camera shots like the Paranormal Activity franchise. But the random camera shots popping up just made it sillier and sillier.

5. Shark Night

You can't just have sharks attack people anymore? Even absurdly in a lake? No - they had to have a bunch of hillbillies that groom the sharks and lure people there for them to kill . . . . . to put on the internet. Oh - and tehy made it in 3D. Total garbage.

4. Sucker Punch

I was hoping that this would be one of the better wannabe 300 movies. I was wrong. The whole movie was all imaginary. All the kick ass fighting and what not was in their heads while the girl danced the guards in to some kind of a hypnotized state. Again - wish I was kidding here. It was so grossly overacted. All we did was make fun of it from beginning to end.

3. A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas

This is really a 3 movie franchise at this point? A franchise with a Christmas entry AND 3D effects? Unreal. Do I really need to go in to detail of what garbage this was?

2. Spy Kids: All The Time In The World

This is really a 4 movie franchise at this point? And 3D isn't enough . . . . they needed to try and bring back scratch and sniff too? Just watch the first 10 minutes of the movie. I dare you. If you can make it through Jessica Alba being pregnant and fighting off a bunch of bad guys, you are a more patient person than me. This being a kids franchise does not excuse something this horrible.

1. Nicolas Cage in . . . . . . . . (Drive Angry/Season Of The Witch/Trespass)

What is the f'n deal with this guy!?! Does he purposely look for the worst possible movies. I sat through all three of these movies (well - 2 1/2 because I couldn't make it past the first 1/3 of Drive Angry) with a look of disgust on my face from beginning to end. The only good Nicolas Cage thing that came out of this year was catcing SNL making fun of him on one of their episodes.

War Horse

2011-12-26T09:46:00.002-05:00

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

2011-12-26T09:45:00.000-05:00

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

2011-12-26T09:43:00.002-05:00

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

2011-12-26T09:42:00.000-05:00

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

2011-12-22T20:08:00.004-05:00

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

2011-12-22T08:01:00.001-05:00

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

2011-12-15T07:55:00.001-05:00

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

2011-12-15T07:52:00.004-05:00

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

2011-12-15T07:50:00.000-05:00

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

2011-12-15T07:47:00.001-05:00

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.

J. Edgar

2011-11-23T07:33:00.001-05:00

J. Edgar explores the public and private life of one of the most powerful, controversial and enigmatic figures of the 20th century. As the face of law enforcement in America for almost fifty years, J. Edgar Hoover (DiCaprio) was feared and admired, reviled and revered. But behind closed doors, he held secrets that would have destroyed his image, his career and his life.

The first thing I have to say is that the makeup job on older J Edgar and company is one of the worst I've ever seen. It looked so fake. Very lame. That being said, this was a pretty decent movie. Good performances by the whole cast and there was really good back and forth between past and present and through lots of historical cases. One thing I absolutely am not is a history buff so at no point was I wrapped up in the accuracy of any of it. I just enjoyed watching this very complex character work through his sexuality, obsessiveness and awkwardness.

I would recommend people checking this out. Again, I'm not sure how much history buffs might be bothered by its accuracy levels but I enjoyed it enough to watch the whole thing.

Arthur Christmas

2011-11-23T07:31:00.001-05:00

Set on Christmas night, the story of Arthur Christmas at last reveals the incredible, never-before seen answer to every child's question: 'So how does Santa deliver all those presents in one night?' The answer: Santa's exhilarating, ultra-high-tech operation hidden beneath the North Pole. But at the heart of the film is a story with the ingredients of a Christmas classic - a family in a state of comic dysfunction and an unlikely hero, Arthur, with an urgent mission that must be completed before Christmas morning dawns.

This movie decided to push the whole dysfunctional family bit using the Claus family this time. Apparantly they are a bunch of selfish, thick headed men who are really the opposite of "Christmas spirit" except for the youngest son Arthur who is a textbook clutz. All the grandfather cares about it showing the oldest son and heir apparant Steve that he is right. Steve just wants to be named Santa because he knows everything and Santa is portrayed as a lazy one that just wants to sleep after not really doing anything. It was all a little too much waa-waa for me. The elves were cool and provided most of the funny lines, but that was really about it.

I wouldn't really recommend anyone rushing to see this. It's not horrible. It's somewhat watchable but there has to be better movies you could see or just pop in a much better Holiday movie.

Hugo

2011-11-23T07:29:00.001-05:00

Hugo tells the story of an orphan boy living a secret life in the walls of a Paris train station. With the help of an eccentric girl, he searches for the answer to a mystery linking the father he recently lost, the ill-tempered toy shop owner living below him and a heart shaped lock, seemingly without a key.

This is a tough one to review. I felt myself wanting to like it throughout out because the movie was awesome visually with all the inner gear workings of the clocks, the cinematography was great and I really liked how they took us in to this train station and built a whole world of intriguing characters within its walls. I stayed very intrigued to these characters for over an hour before I started wondering where this movie was going. Then I played the game of checking to see how much longer there was and getting more and more disenchanted by how it wasn't really going anywhere and there was no actual storyline. The movie was about 2 hours long - MUCH longer than it needed to be and it ended up being really artsy fartsy.

I wouldn't recommed anyone bothering with this movie. It started off really good and had a ton of potential but ultimately ended up going nowhere.

The Muppets

2011-11-23T07:27:00.001-05:00

On vacation in Los Angeles, Walter, the world's biggest Muppet fan, and his friends Gary (Jason Segel) and Mary (Amy Adams) from Smalltown, USA, discover the nefarious plan of oilman Tex Richman (Chris Cooper) to raze the Muppet Theatre and drill for the oil recently discovered beneath the Muppets' former stomping grounds. To stage The Greatest Muppet Telethon Ever and raise the $10 million needed to save the theater, Walter, Mary and Gary help Kermit reunite the Muppets, who have all gone their separate ways: Fozzie now performs with a Reno casino tribute band called the Moopets, Miss Piggy is a plus-size fashion editor at Vogue Paris, Animal is in a Santa Barbara clinic for anger management, and Gonzo is a high-powered plumbing magnate.

There is no movie that I was looking forward to this year more than this movie. I have been a lifelong Muppets fan. It was baffling to me how they have been just kind of back there on the backburner for so many years. There have been a bazillion remakes, relaunches, etc over the last several years and I couldn't understand how this was left alone - especially with Disney having the rights to it. God bless, Jason Segel for bringing them back to the forefront of entertainment where they belong. All the spoof trailers and posters leading up to the movie were textbook Muppets and what I grew to love as a child. The movie capitalized on that even more because they were mocking their loss of popularity throughout with an ending that explained the exact joyfulness that I - and any other true fan of them for the last 25-30 years will - felt watching this on the big screen again. Hopefully they can get back to churning out movies or television specials again like they used to.

I couldn't recommend this movie more if I tried. Its an absolute joy for adults and children alike and is so long overdue. I had super high expectations and the movie completely met them. Get out there and welcome the Muppets back, people!

A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas

2011-11-21T07:01:00.001-05:00

The new Harold & Kumar comedy picks up six years after the duo's last adventure. After years of growing apart, Harold Lee (John Cho) and Kumar Patel (Kal Penn) have replaced each other with new friends and are preparing for their respective Yuletide celebrations. But when a mysterious package mistakenly arrives at Kumar's door on Christmas Eve, his attempt to redirect it to Harold's house ends with the "high grade" content and Harold's father-in-law's prize Christmas tree going up in smoke. With his in-laws out of the house for the day, Harold decides to cover his tracks, rather than come clean. Reluctantly embarking on another ill-advised journey with Kumar through New York City, their search for the perfect replacement tree almost blows Christmas Eve sky high.

I tried. I did. I had zero interest in seeing this movie. How is this a franchise at this point? It was a couple of laughs one trick pony that got a sequel that was garbage. Now there is a third one that on top of the one trick pony joke of getting high - it wants to be a spoof on 3D now too. I made it literally 15 minutes in and just couldn't be bothered anymore. There are so many other things I could do with my time.

I wouldn't recommend anyone wasting their time with this. Not even the 15 minutes I did. This is just plain lame.

Breaking Dawn - Part 1

2011-11-16T19:09:00.001-05:00

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn illuminates the secrets and mysteries of this spellbinding romantic epic that has entranced millions.

They don't even bother giving these movies legit plot summaries anymore. Basically, there isn't one. This is literally a "you read the book so you are going to see the movie" franchise. This one was really nothing more than a three scene set up for the second part. They get married. They go on a honeymoon. She has a baby. That's it. Seriously. I was pretty bored by this one. Definitely more so than the previous three installments. But none of that matters because if you love the story - you love the movie. If you don't - then you don't.

Like I said - my recommendation really doesn't matter whatsoever. You either live for this "story" or you have no interest whatsoever. I felt like it was just a set up but Part 2 really won't make much sense without this three scened movie.

Happy Feet Two

2011-11-16T19:08:00.001-05:00

Happy Feet Two returns audiences to the magnificent landscape of Antarctica. Mumble, The Master of Tap, has a problem because his tiny son Erik is choreo-phobic. Reluctant to dance, Erik runs away and encounters The Mighty Sven - a penguin who can fly!! Mumble has no hope of competing with this charismatic new role model. But things get worse when the world is shaken by powerful forces. Erik learns of his father's 'guts and grit' as Mumble brings together the penguin nations and all manner of fabulous creatures - from tiny Krill to giant Elephant Seals - to put things right.

I think I might have liked this more than the first one. The first one was enjoyable only because of the music. The cuteness factor fizzled out after a while. This one didn't rely on the cuteness as much. The story was good, the music was great and the traveling through all different characters was awesome. I think that was what made the movie more enjoyable. And the two krill recurring throughout like Scrat in the Ice Age movies were also very funny.

I would definitely recommend people checking this out. It has great music, big laughs and very entertaining for both kids and adults.

Jack And Jill

2011-11-16T19:06:00.001-05:00

Jack and Jill is a comedy focusing on Jack Sadelstein (Adam Sandler), a successful advertising executive in Los Angeles with a beautiful wife and kids, who dreads one event each year: the Thanksgiving visit of his identical twin sister Jill (also Adam Sandler). Jill's neediness and passive-aggressiveness is maddening to Jack, turning his normally tranquil life upside down. Katie Holmes plays Erin, Jack's wife.

This was one of the most utterly pointless and stupid movies I've ever seen. It's basically just another Adam Sandler movie with all the usual stupidity and two Adams in it. The fact that Al Pacino was in this was beyond baffling. It's not that the movie didn't have laughs. There were a couple, but this is pretty much a big waste of time.

I wouldn't really recommend anyone wasting their time with this movie. There are much better options out there and this is definitely one of Sandler's lamer offerings.

Like Crazy

2011-11-15T07:56:00.001-05:00

A love story is both a physical and emotional tale, one that can be deeply personal and heartbreaking for an audience to experience. Like Crazy illustrates how your first real love is as thrilling and blissful as it is devastating. When a British college student (Felicity Jones) falls for her American classmate (Anton Yelchin) they embark on a passionate and life-changing journey only to be separated when she violates the terms of her visa. Like Crazy explores how a couple faces the real challenges of being together and of being apart.

Another artsy snoozefest. This one is one of those "raw emotion" movies about longing lovers. I didn't care about the characters whatsoever. Didn't care what ended up happening to them. I could see artsy fartsy fans loving the range of emotions on the characters. I didn't.

I obviously wouldn't recommend people checking this one out. Again - my level of boredom might not be shared by all so if you were interested in seeing this - perhaps you should not heed my review here. It was a giant nap though.

A Dangerous Method

2011-11-13T21:40:00.002-05:00

On the eve of World War I, Zurich and Vienna are the setting for a dark tale of sexual and intellectual discovery. Drawn from true-life events, A Dangerous Method takes a glimpse into the turbulent relationships between fledgling psychiatrist Carl Jung, his mentor Sigmund Freud and Sabina Spielrein, the troubled but beautiful young woman who comes between them. Into the mix comes Otto Gross, a debauched patient who is determined to push the boundaries. In this exploration of sensuality, ambition and deceit set the scene for the pivotal moment when Jung, Freud and Sabina come together and split apart, forever changing the face of modern thought.

This is another one of those artsy character pieces. I get that Kiera Knightley was technically putting forth a great performance with her psychosis and what not, but it annoyed the living hell out of me and I could barely watch. And even though I'm becoming a huge Michael Fassbender fan - this movie was just too boring and annoying to finish. Pulled the plug about halfway through.

I obviously wouldn't recommend the movie because I was too annoyed/bored. I do realize that they were actually pretty good performances and my level of boredom and annoyance might not be shared by all. If you are into autobiographical movies like this - you will probably enjoy this a lot more than I did.

Immortals

2011-11-13T21:39:00.001-05:00

The brutal and bloodthirsty King Hyperion (Mickey Rourke) and his murderous Heraklion army are rampaging across Greece in search of the long lost Bow of Epirus. With the invincible Bow, the king will be able to overthrow the Gods of Olympus and become the undisputed master of his world. With ruthless efficiency, Hyperion and his legions destroy everything in their wake, and it seems nothing will stop the evil king's mission. As village after village is obliterated, a stonemason named Theseus (Henry Cavill) vows to avenge the death of his mother in one of Hyperion's raids. When Theseus meets the Sybelline Oracle, Phaedra (Freida Pinto), her disturbing visions of the young man's future convince her that he is the key to stopping the destruction. With her help, Theseus assembles a small band of followers and embraces his destiny in a final desperate battle for the future of humanity.

This is another one of those wannabe 300 movies. It had that same visual flair as 300 and the other attempts at something like it. This one is probably the closest to 300 because it actually had a story not just a bunch of buff dudes running around and lots of gore. I was one of the people that thought 300 was amazing visually but not as totally awesome as many others did. I feel pretty much the same way about this one. I guess I'm just not in to the whole Greek Gods thing enough to really get in to the story.

I would lukewarmly recommend people checking this out. But that is based on my lessened level of interest in the subject matter. I have no doubt that those of you that liked 300 will be sure to like Immortals as well.

Tower Heist

2011-11-13T21:37:00.002-05:00

Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy lead an all-star cast in "Tower Heist," a comedy caper about working stiffs who seek revenge on the Wall Street swindler who stiffed them. After the workers at a luxury Central Park condominium discover the penthouse billionaire has stolen their retirement, they plot the ultimate revenge: a heist to reclaim what he took from them.

This is another one of those you see the trailer - you see the movie type deals. There were no great laughs or scenes that were you didn't see already. There was no real big twists that you didn't see already or weren't telegraphed long in advance. The movie wasn't horrible. It was somewhat watchable but really ended up just kind of being there.

I would lukewarmly recommend people checking this out. It's not really worth the time or money and you might be better just waiting to watch this one at home.

11-11-11

2011-11-05T08:46:00.002-05:00

After the tragic death of his wife and child, famed American author Joseph Crone travels from the United States to Barcelona, Spain to reunite with his enstranged brother Samuel and dying father, Richard. However, fate has a different plan for Joseph as his life becomes plagued with strange happenings, and the constant sightings of the number 11. Curiosity quickly turns to obsession, and Joseph soon realizes that this number holds a horrific meaning not only to himself but possibly to all of religion. Isolated in a foreign country with only the support of his companion, Sadie, Joseph soon realizes that 11/11/11 is more than just a date, it's a WARNING!

This movie didn't really have any legitamite actors in it. The only guys I recognized played a cop in Final Destination 2. I'm not sure if this is going to be one of those same release in theaters and at home or not but it felt like one of those. Regardless, the movie was surprisingly good for a while. Lots of cheesy scary movie jumps. No excessive gore or anything like that and they kept you pretty interested in how it was progressing. I don't want to say that the ending ruined it but it did get a little over the top with the "spirits/creatures" and I was felt like they kind of lost me although the twist ending brought me back somewhat.

I would lukewarmly recommend people checking this out. Its not a must see by any means but it was short enough and watchable enough for me.

The Rum Diary

2011-10-29T08:40:00.003-05:00

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

2011-10-26T20:34:00.002-05:00

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

2011-10-26T20:32:00.003-05:00

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

2011-10-23T10:34:00.003-05:00

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

2011-10-23T10:27:00.003-05:00

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

2011-10-23T10:26:00.003-05:00

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

2011-10-23T08:59:00.003-05:00

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

2011-10-13T06:35:00.002-05:00

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

2011-10-13T06:34:00.002-05:00

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

2011-10-13T06:32:00.003-05:00

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?

2011-10-12T06:19:00.003-05:00

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

2011-10-11T18:08:00.003-05:00

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

2011-10-05T07:03:00.003-05:00

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.

Dream House

2011-09-30T06:00:00.003-05:00

Successful publisher Will Atenton (Craig) quit a job in New York City to relocate his wife, Libby (Weisz), and two girls to a quaint New England town. But as they settle into their new life, they discover their perfect home was the murder scene of a mother and her children. And the entire city believes it was at the hands of the husband who survived.When Will investigates the tragedy, his only lead comes from Ann Paterson (Watts), a neighbor who was close to the family that died. As Will and Ann piece together the disturbing puzzle, they discover that the story of the last man to leave Will's dream house will be just as horrifying to the one who came next.

I cannot for the life of me remember the last time that a trailer for a movie ruined a movie more than this one. In the trailer - they blatantly tell you that the guy's family is really dead and he is imagining seeing them. So, please explain to me why the movie is on for about 50 minutes before they reveal this? I was so bored out of my mind for 50 minutes because of the big twist that was revealed two months ago when I first saw the trailer making everything I was seeing completely obsolete. And then the rest of the movie was pretty much just a cheesy Lifetime movie with how it played out and what not. Total waste of time.

I wouldn't recommend anyone bothering with this big turd. It's a total waste of time and you can just watch the trailer instead.

Moneyball

2011-09-30T05:57:00.003-05:00

Based on a true story, Moneyball is a movie for anybody who has ever dreamed of taking on the system. Brad Pitt stars as Billy Beane, the general manager of the Oakland A's and the guy who assembles the team, who has an epiphany: all of baseball's conventional wisdom is wrong. Forced to reinvent his team on a tight budget, Beane will have to outsmart the richer clubs. The onetime jock teams with Ivy League grad Peter Brand (Jonah Hill) in an unlikely partnership, recruiting bargain players that the scouts call flawed, but all of whom have an ability to get on base, score runs, and win games. It's more than baseball, it's a revolution – one that challenges old school traditions and puts Beane in the crosshairs of those who say he's tearing out the heart and soul of the game.

I enjoyed this movie alot. However, I was completely familiar with the whole story and am a huge baseball fan. I honestly don't see how a non-baseball/sports fan can really enjoy/understand this movie. It was advertised as a fell goodish sports movie - a la The Blind Side, but anyone could truly enjoy that movie. This one - not so much. It's very heavy in to the operation of a baseball franchise and how the philosophy was changed by Billy Beane when dealt a really crappy hand regarding team payroll in a small market.

Again - I really liked this movie and I would definitely recommend that any big sports/baseball fans check this out. If you are not too familiar with all of that - you won't really enjoy this nearly as much.

Killer Elite

2011-09-26T13:17:00.003-05:00

Based on a true story, Killer Elite races across the globe from Australia to Paris, London and the Middle East in the action-packed account of an ex-special ops agent (Jason Statham) who is lured out of retirement to rescue his mentor (Robert De Niro). To make the rescue, he must complete a near-impossible mission of killing three tough-as-nails assassins with a cunning leader (Clive Owen).

You can throw the based on a true story and add legit actors in to this, but it's still pretty much just another Jason Statham movie. If you like his movies - you will like this one. If you don't - you won't. Pretty much that simple. It had a basic story but kind of made it complicatingly annoying with a lot of back and forth in the past/present. The action was there and enjoyable as always (since I'm one that finds his type of movies entertaining). Bottom line - it's was watchable. I wasn't fully invested in every thing going on but enjoyed it enough to not turn it off.

I would lukewarmly reccomend it to Jason Statham fans. That's really about it though.

Abduction

2011-09-25T09:11:00.002-05:00

For as long as he can remember, Nathan Harper (Taylor Lautner) has had the uneasy feeling that he's living someone else's life. When he stumbles upon an image of himself as a little boy on a missing persons website, all of Nathan's darkest fears come true: he realizes his parents are not his own and his life is a lie, carefully fabricated to hide something more mysterious and dangerous than he could have ever imagined. Just as he begins to piece together his true identity, Nathan is targeted by a team of trained killers, forcing him on the run with the only person he can trust, his neighbor, Karen (Lily Collins). Every second counts as Nathan and Karen race to evade an army of assassins and federal operatives. But as his opponents close in, Nathan realizes that the only way he'll survive – and solve the mystery of his elusive biological father – is to stop running and take matters into his own hands.

This movie is exactly what the trailer showed you. Formula in every way. No suspense at all. Pretty much just an excuse to have Jacob from Twilight (why even bother giving him a real name mention - that's all the kid is ever going to be) run around and what not. There was no hook. I couldn't have cared less about any characters and I could have wrote this same review from watching the 2 minute trailer.

I wouldn't recommend anyone bothering with this. It's a pretty big waste of time.

Drive

2011-09-25T09:09:00.002-05:00

Drive is the story of a Hollywood stunt driver by day (Ryan Gosling), a loner by nature, who moonlights as a top-notch getaway driver-for-hire in the criminal underworld. He finds himself a target for some of LA's most dangerous men after agreeing to aid the husband of his beautiful neighbor, Irene (Carey Mulligan). When the job goes dangerously awry, the only way he can keep Irene and her son alive is to do what he does best—Drive!

What a big turd. This movie is the definition of those movies that could be really good if the director didn't have the need to make it artsy. Seriously. I was ready to pull the plug on this movie long before any of the action started happening. And when it did - it was way over the top gore. The score to this movie is easily one of the most annoying things I've ever had to listen to while watching a movie. So disappointing.

Hell no, I wouldn't recommend people watching this. It's a total waste of 90 minutes that I can never get back now.

Warrior

2011-09-13T18:08:00.003-05:00

Haunted by a tragic past, Marine Tommy Conlon (Hardy) returns home for the first time in fourteen years to enlist the help of his father (Nick Nolte) to train for Sparta, the biggest winner-takes-all event in mixed martial arts history. A former wrestling prodigy, Tommy blazes a path toward the championship while his brother, Brendan (Edgerton), an ex-fighter-turned teacher, returns to the ring in a desperate bid to save his family from financial ruin. But when Brendan's unlikely, underdog rise sets him on a collision course with the unstoppable Tommy, the two brothers must finally confront each other and the forces that pulled them apart.

Holy $hit!!! At no point did I expect to walk out a movie about MMA fighting released in the movie going wasteland that is September feeling like I just witnessed greatness much less announcing the following statement . . . . . WARRIOR IS THE BEST MOVIE OF THE YEAR! Seriously. This is not a joke. I'm not some MMA fanboy who is biased. Honestly, I've never even watched it. This movie is hands down one of the best sports movies and family character dramas at the same time I've ever seen. Every character had so many levels and were all so well developed. The tension was unbelievable and just kept going as the fight tournament built towards it's conclusion. I've never been so torn with how I wanted a story to turn out. I was equal parts cheering and crying inside for the two main characters and their quests. Hell, I was cheering out loud and got totally choked up at the same time.

This movie is an absolute must see for all. The movie is simply that phenomenal in story, direction and acting. As of right now - my pick for best movie of the year.

Contagion

2011-09-13T18:06:00.002-05:00

When Beth Emhoff (Gwyneth Paltrow) returns to Minneapolis from business in Hong Kong, what she thought was jet lag takes a virulent turn. Two days later, she's dead in the ER and the doctors tell her shocked and grieving husband (Matt Damon) they have no idea why.Soon, others exhibit the same mysterious symptoms: hacking coughs and fever, followed by seizure, brain hemorrhage...and ultimately, death. In Minneapolis, Chicago, London, Paris, Tokyo and Hong Kong, the numbers quickly multiply: one case becomes four, then sixteen, then hundreds, thousands, as the contagion sweeps across all borders, fueled by the countless human interactions that make up the course of an average day. A global pandemic explodes.

I really enjoyed this movie. Movies like this about mass panic, if done right, are always entertaining and make you wonder what if. This was more of an artistic and political look at a global epidemic. It included doubting what the government says, questioning the integrity of the internet and how debilitating red tape can be in regards to simply doing what is right or what is necessary. The characters were all well developed and the whole thing seemed very realistic. The only knock that I would make against this movie would be that it ended more artistic with the life will go on line of thinking in a pretty mushy way instead of a pretty little bow. Then they actually showed you just how simply the whole thing started. That to me was more terrifying than anything.

I would definitely recommend people checking this out. Again, don't have your expectations too high because it's not the pretty little package that you would expect. I really liked it though.

The Debt

2011-09-05T15:42:00.005-05:00

The espionage thriller begins in 1997, as shocking news reaches retired Mossad secret agents Rachel (Helen Mirren) and Stephan (Tom Wilkinson) about their former colleague David (Ciarán Hinds). All three have been venerated for decades by their country because of the mission that they undertook back in 1966, when the trio (portrayed, respectively, by Jessica Chastain, Marton Csokas, and Sam Worthington tracked down Nazi war criminal Vogel (Jesper Christensen) in East Berlin. At great risk, and at considerable personal cost, the team's mission was accomplished - or was it? The suspense builds in and across two different time periods, with startling action and surprising revelations.

This movie was a decent watch. The suspense wasn't all that suspenseful, but the story playing out was more than intriguing enough to keep my attention throughout. You care about the characters and the back and forth between the present and the past was well put together.

I would lukewarmly recommend this movie. It's not a must see by any means whatsoever, but there are many worse things out there.

One Day

2011-09-04T15:19:00.002-05:00

Adapted from the bestselling novel, One Day charts an extraordinary relationship. Emma (Anne Hathaway) and Dexter (Jim Sturgess) meet on the night of their college graduation – July 15th, 1988. She is a working-class girl of principle and ambition who dreams of making the world a better place. He is a wealthy charmer who dreams that the world will be his playground. For the next two decades, every July 15th reveals to us how "Em" and "Dex" are faring, as their friendship ebbs and flows with the passing of the years. Through love and loss, heartbreak and success, hopes fulfilled and dreams shattered, they experience the grandeur of life. Somewhere along their journey, these two people realize that what they are searching and hoping for has been there for them all along.

To be fair - I left this movie after 30 minutes because we had Stinka with us and this is not the simple/easy romantic comedy that was advertised. It was alot more about hooking up and what not and after seeing the third and fourth bare asses at a nude beach scene we ran like hell. However, I had seen more than enough to know that I will probably never bother watching the rest of it. It's about as textbook as you can get and there was pretty much no chemistry between Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess and it all felt really forced, which is pretty sad because I really like both of them.

I wouldn't recommend anyone bothering with this . . . . . at least I think not based on my 30 minutes of viewing.

Our Idiot Brother

2011-09-04T15:18:00.003-05:00

Every family has one: the sibling who is always just a little bit behind the curve when it comes to getting his life together. For sisters Liz (Emily Mortimer), Miranda (Elizabeth Banks) and Natalie (Zooey Deschanel), that person is their perennially upbeat brother Ned (Paul Rudd), an erstwhile organic farmer whose willingness to rely on the honesty of mankind is a less-than-optimum strategy for a tidy, trouble-free existence. Ned may be utterly lacking in common sense, but he is their brother and so, after his girlfriend dumps him and boots him off the farm, his sisters once again come to his rescue. As Liz, Emily and Natalie each take a turn at housing Ned, their brother's unfailing commitment to honesty creates more than a few messes in their comfortable routines. But as each of their lives begins to unravel, Ned's family comes to realize that maybe, in believing and trusting the people around him, Ned isn't such an idiot after all.

Overall - this movie was about as pointless as you can get. There was a simple moral of love your family but there was nothing outside of that. That being said, I really enjoyed it simply because the characters were funny and I have always liked Paul Rudd. His delivery is just as good in this movie as it always is and all his sisters played off of him very well.

I would lukewarmly recommend people checking this out. It's not a must see by any stretch of the imagination but it is one of the better movies by default right now simply because of the amount of garbage that is in theaters right now.

Apollo 18

2011-09-01T16:40:00.002-05:00

Officially, Apollo 17, launched December 17th, 1972 was the last manned mission to the moon. But in December of 1974, two American astronauts were sent on a secret mission to the moon funded by the US Department of Defense. What you are about to see is the actual footage which the astronauts captured on that mission. While NASA denies its authenticity, others say it's the real reason we've never gone back to the moon.

Exhibit B of why going to the movies in September sucks. This movie has been bounced back for over a year and half at this point and there is definitely a reason why. It is a complete and total waste of 90 minutes of your life. It is set up as old 8mm camera footage so that gets old and annoying about 2 minutes in to the movie. It takes like 7 years to get to the creepy part and then once it gets there it's really not that creepy anymore. This movie was basically an attempt at doing Paranormal Activity in space and it failed miserably.

Hell no I wouldn't recommend anyone seeing this. The audience was collectively bitching about the movie out loud at the end of it because it was so lame.

Shark Night

2011-09-01T16:37:00.003-05:00

Arriving by boat at her family's Louisiana lake island cabin, Sara (Sara Paxton) and her friends quickly strip down to their swimsuits for a weekend of fun in the sun. But when star football player Malik (Sinqua Walls) stumbles from the salt-water lake with his arm torn off, the party mood quickly evaporates. Assuming the injury was caused by a freak wake-boarding accident, the group realizes they have to get Malik to a hospital on the other side of the lake, and fast.But as they set out in a tiny speedboat, the college friends discover the lake has been stocked with hundreds of massive, flesh-eating sharks! As they face one grisly death after another, Sara and the others struggle desperately to fend off the sharks, get help and stay alive long enough to reach the safety of dry land.

Exhibit A of why going to the movies in September sucks. I expected a schlocky, possibly guilty pleasure type movie of people getting attacked by sharks. Instead, they actually tried to give this movie some kind of an absurd story and wasted precious minutes of my life trying to develop the characters. I was rooting for all of them to die in crazy shark scenes. Ended up getting only two good ones. Total poop.

Hell no I wouldn't recommend anyone seeing this. It's total garbage and opened up in September for a reason.

Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark

2011-08-24T17:31:00.003-05:00

Based on the 1973 telefilm that Guillermo del Toro believes is the scariest TV production ever made, the story follows Sally (Madison), a young girl who moves to Rhode Island to live with her father (Pearce) and his new girlfriend (Holmes) in the 19th-century mansion they are restoring. While exploring the house, Sally starts to hear voices coming from creatures in the basement whose hidden agenda is to claim her as one of their own.

This was one of the better creepy/scary movies that has hit theaters. I wish that they would make more like this instead of the gorefests and lame remakes. I wouldn't say that it was jump out of your seat scary but it was creepy as hell. There is always something about kids being the target of the "monsters" that rachets up the fear factor tremendously. As for the monsters - they are pretty much the most original looking ones I've seen in the longest time. The movie was fast paced, well told in terms of the story development and character developments and they even managed to make Katie Holmes not one of the most painful actressed to watch.

I would definitely recommend people checking this out. It's a creepy, tight story that horror/scary movie fans should love.

Colombiana

2011-08-24T16:55:00.003-05:00

In Colombiana, Zoe Saldana plays Cataleya, a young woman who has grown up to be an assassin after witnessing the murder of her parents as a child. Turning herself into a professional killer and working for her uncle, she remains focused on her ultimate goal: to hunt down and get revenge on the mobster responsible for her parents’ deaths.

This is one of your textbook August/September adrenaline movies. Honestly, this was basically a Jason Statham movie with the girl from Avatar in it instead of him. Cool action, badass characters, simple revenge story . . . . . with a girl.

I'd lukewarmly recommend people checking this bad boy out. It's not a must see by any means but if you like action/espionage type movies, this is definitely watchable.

Fright Night

2011-08-22T16:22:00.002-05:00

Senior Charlie Brewster (Anton Yelchin) finally has it all going on: he's running with the popular crowd and dating the most coveted girl in his high school. In fact, he's so cool he's even dissing his best friend. But trouble arrives when Jerry (Colin Farrell) moves in next door. He seems like a great guy at first, but there's something not quite right-but everyone, including Charlie's mom (Toni Collette), doesn't notice. After observing some very strange activity, Charlie comes to an unmistakable conclusion: Jerry is a vampire preying on the neighborhood. Unable to convince anyone, Charlie has to find a way to get rid of the monster himself in this Craig Gillespie-helmed revamp of the comedy-horror classic.

The movie started off great. It was creepy and campy. It felt like that movie Disturbia from a couple of years ago but with a vampire instead. I was looking forward to the cat and mouse type game of seeing if the guy really was a vampire. Unfortunately, they sped that up way too much and he was an acknowledged vampire with the whole second half of the movie left. At that point, the movie pretty much went right into the crapper, dragged like a slug and ended up stinking.

I wouldn't really recommend this movie to anyone. It is a lot of fun for 45 minutes but is total garbage for the other 45 minutes.

Spy Kids: All The Time In The World

2011-08-22T16:21:00.003-05:00

On the surface, Marissa Cortez Wilson (Jessica Alba) has it all...married to a famous spy hunting television reporter, a new baby and intelligent twin step kids. But in reality, trying to mother Rebecca (Rowan Blanchard) and Cecil (Mason Cook), who clearly don't want her around, is her toughest challenge yet. Also, her husband, Wilbur (Joel McHale), wouldn't know a spy if he lived with one which is exactly the case - Marissa’s a retired secret agent. Marissa's world is turned upside down when the maniacal Timekeeper (Jeremy Piven) threatens to take over the planet and she's called back into action by the head of OSS, home of the greatest spies and where the now-defunct Spy Kids division was created. With Armageddon quickly approaching, Rebecca and Cecil are thrust into action when they learn their boring stepmom was once a top agent and now the world's most competitive ten year olds are forced to put their bickering aside and rely on their wits. With a little help from a couple of very familiar Spy Kids, Carmen (Alexa Vega) and Juni Cortez (Daryl Sabara), and some mind-blowing gadgets, they just may be able to save the world and possibly bring their family together while they're at it.

Oh My God!!! This is seriously one of the most god awful kid/family movies of all time. Even with rock bottom expectations, this was sooooooooooooooo much worse than that. I was a big fan of the first one and the 2nd and 3rd ones were watchable sequels. More for kids, but not outright painful. This is beyond horrible. I don't even know that kids would like this. It's like a bad episode of a Saturday morning live action kids show that aren't on the air anymore for a reason.

I would never recommend this movie to anyone regardless of how young they are. This is a lock for my Bottom 10 of the year. It's downright brutal.

Conan The Barbarian

2011-08-19T23:19:00.004-05:00

A quest that begins as a personal vendetta for the fierce Cimmerian warrior soon turns into an epic battle against hulking rivals, horrific monsters, and impossible odds, as Conan realizes he is the only hope of saving the great nations of Hyboria from an encroaching reign of supernatural evil.

This movie is exactly what you would think it is. Barbarian action with some modern day gore added in. Horrible overacting throughout. A couple of decent fight scenes. And that is about it. Pretty much the straight up poop that the trailer made it look like. The only thing the movie accomplished is making me wish the guy that played conan was still going to be on Game Of Thrones moving forward.

No, I would definitely not reccomend anyone wasting 90 minutes of there life watching this. It just a whole lot of noise.

30 Minutes Or Less

2011-08-14T13:04:00.003-05:00

In the action-comedy 30 Minutes or Less, Nick (Jesse Eisenberg) is a small town pizza delivery guy whose mundane life collides with the big plans of two wanna-be criminal masterminds (Danny McBride and Nick Swardson). The volatile duo kidnaps Nick and forces him to rob a bank. With mere hours to pull off the impossible task, Nick enlists the help of his ex-best friend, Chet (Aziz Ansari). As the clock ticks, the two must deal with the police, hired assassins, flamethrowers, and their own tumultuous relationship.

This movie was pretty much poop. There were a couple of laughs in there but they were mostly cheap and forced. The movie was barely over an hour long and still felt like a big fat waste of time. Jesse Eisenberg needs to pretty much fire his agent. How does one go from The Social Network and an oscar nomination to this?

I would absolutely not recommend anyone else bothering to waste their time with this. It's one of those end of summer duds that are going to be flooding theaters over the next couple of weeks.

Glee 3D: The Concert Movie

2011-08-14T13:02:00.002-05:00

The multi-generational phenomenon that has inspired millions to embrace their inner-Gleek will soon bring them together to experience Glee a whole new way.

I was shocked at how much I enjoyed this movie. I had taken Stinka to see the concert with our friends and really enjoyed how it was more of a production than just a concert. Still, I figured the movie would just be the same as the concert. Instead I found myself enjoying the production part of the whole thing just as entertaining and they had these great little vignettes from a couple of Gleeks throughout showing how the show and it's characters/messages had touched them.

I would definitely recommend this movie just like the show and the concert. It's got great characters, great performances and all these kids have a whole lot of talent.

The Help

2011-08-10T16:37:00.005-05:00

Based on one of the most talked about books in years and a #1 New York Times best-selling phenomenon, The Help stars Emma Stone ("Easy A") as Skeeter, Viola Davis ("Doubt") as Aibileen and Octavia Spencer as Minny—three very different, extraordinary women in Mississippi during the 1960s, who build an unlikely friendship around a secret writing project that breaks societal rules and puts them all at risk. From their improbable alliance a remarkable sisterhood emerges, instilling all of them with the courage to transcend the lines that define them, and the realization that sometimes those lines are made to be crossed—even if it means bringing everyone in town face-to-face with the changing times.

This movie was awesome. I keep debating back and forth over whether or not Super 8 or X-Men: First Class are my best movie of the year on a "favorite" scale. This movie is technically the best movie of the year in terms of year end awards. This was an excellent story and I could see the entire Best Supporting Actress field being filled from this movie alone, as well as a Best Actress nomination for Viola Davis. And I'm not even counting Emma Stone who has completely solidifed herself as the best young up and coming actress in Hollywood.

I absolutely recommend this movie. It's easily one of the best movies of the year and a must see.

Final Destination 5

2011-08-10T16:33:00.003-05:00

In Final Destination 5, Death is just as omnipresent as ever, and is unleashed after one man's premonition saves a group of coworkers from a terrifying suspension bridge collapse. But this group of unsuspecting souls was never supposed to survive, and, in a terrifying race against time, the ill-fated group frantically tries to discover a way to escape Death's sinister agenda.

Do I even have to bother reviewing this? Did you like the first four? Do you like these types of shocking death movies? Then this is an entertaining watch. Do you not like them? Then don't touch this with a ten foot pole. It's a bunch more crazy deaths put on the screen including the big bridge going down (WHY MUST YOU TORTURE ME WITH THESE VISIONS!?!) that starts it all. Lots of gore. Lots of build up suspense and then blatant over the top nastiness. I could have done without the cheating death plot twist they factored in towards the end. Just kill the people off and we'll be good at this point. No need to switch it up and what not. There is also one of those clever little karate chops at the viewer's brain towards the end.

Like I said - I would recommend this to anyone liking the others. I'm sure you will like this one just as much. If not - don't start watching it now.

Crazy, Stupid, Love.

2011-08-09T09:39:00.003-05:00

At fortysomething, straight-laced Cal Weaver (Steve Carell) is living the dream--good job, nice house, great kids and marriage to his high school sweetheart. But when Cal learns that his wife, Emily (Julianne Moore), has cheated on him and wants a divorce, his "perfect" life quickly unravels. Worse, in today's single world, Cal, who hasn't dated in decades, stands out as the epitome of un-smooth. Now spending his free evenings sulking alone at a local bar, the hapless Cal is taken on as wingman and protege to handsome, thirtysomething player Jacob Palmer (Ryan Gosling). In an effort to help Cal get over his wife and start living his life, Jacob opens Cal's eyes to the many options before him: flirty women, manly drinks and a sense of style that can't be found at Supercuts or The Gap. Cal and Emily aren't the only ones looking for love in what might be all the wrong places: Cal's 13-year-old son, Robbie, is crazy about his 17-year-old babysitter, Jessica, who harbors a crush on Cal. And despite Cal's makeover and his many new conquests, the one thing that can't be made over is his heart, which seems to keep leading him back to where he began.

This was not really the straight up comedy it was advertised to be. At least not at first. It was more of an artsy character driven comedy. There were a couple of different stories going on. It started out good but kind of hit the where is this going wall about an 1/2 way through. However, all the stories came together with absolute hilarity for about 10 minutes. That ten minutes completely made the movie. I didn't realize how hooked I was by all the characters until that point. The rest of the movie was great after that and Steve Carrell was great as always. God, I'm going to miss him on The Office.

I would recommend people checking this out. Just be warned that it rides that artsy vibe for awhile but is completely worth it in the end.

Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes

2011-08-07T07:30:00.002-05:00

A single act of both compassion and arrogance leads to a war unlike any other -- and to the "Rise of the Planet of the Apes." The Oscar-winning visual effects team that brought to life the worlds of "Avatar" and "Lord of the Rings" is breaking new ground, creating a CGI ape that delivers a dramatic performance of unprecedented emotion and intelligence, and epic battles on which rest the upended destinies of man and primate.

This movie was very well done. It didn't waste time with too much bla-bla build up. The characters were very well developed - especially considering that at least 3/4 of them were monkeys. The effects were awesome and I found myself gawking at the heavily ape featured scenes. The only knock I can make on this is that it's a straight up remake and you know every step this movie is going to make. There is not a single twist or variation you don't see coming. Regardless, it's still entertaining as hell.

I would definitely recommend this movie because it's a great watch. Not remotely original but done so well you find yourself legitimately rooting/caring for the monkeys.

The Change-Up

2011-08-07T07:28:00.003-05:00

Growing up together, Mitch (Reynolds) and Dave (Bateman) were inseparable best friends, but as the years have passed they've slowly drifted apart. While Dave is an overworked lawyer, husband and father of three, Mitch has remained a single, quasi-employed man-child who has never met a responsibility he liked. To Mitch, Dave has it all: beautiful wife Jamie (Leslie Mann), kids who adore him and a high-paying job at a prestigious law firm. To Dave, living Mitch's stress free life without obligation or consequence would be a dream come true. Following a drunken night out together, Mitch and Dave's worlds are turned upside down when they wake up in each other's bodies and proceed to freak the &*#@ out. Despite the freedom from their normal routines and habits, the guys soon discover that each other's lives are nowhere near as rosy as they once seemed. Further complicating matters are Dave's sexy legal associate, Sabrina (Olivia Wilde), and Mitch's estranged father (Alan Arkin). With time not on their side, Mitch and Dave comically struggle to avoid completely destroying each other's lives before they can find a way to get their old ones back.

This movie is pretty much the same act as Vice Versa, Like Father Like Son and Freaky Friday. The only difference - and it's a pretty big one - is this movie is a very rated R version of the switching bodies story. It was very funny throughout and still managed to be touching at parts when it wanted to be. The only disappointment was that Ryan Reynolds seemed to be holding back. He was lesser in both roles compared to Jason Bateman. Bateman was hilarious in both roles - especially as the single guy and really carried the movie.

I would definitely recommend this movie to people looking for a laugh. It's definitely rated R and it's the same old body switching story but still very funny.

The Smurfs

2011-07-29T22:24:00.003-05:00

Audiences everywhere are in for a Smurfy good time as the Smurfs make their first 3D trip to the big screen. When the evil wizard Gargamel chases the tiny blue Smurfs out of their village, they tumble from their magical world and into ours – in fact, smack dab in the middle of Central Park. Just three apples high and stuck in the Big Apple, the Smurfs must find a way to get back to their village before Gargamel tracks them down.

I'll be honest. I was a little excited about this just because of how much I used to like The Smurfs when I was a kid. I knew I had to temper that because spade a spade this is a movie for kids. I was hoping it was more Alvin & The Chipmunks than Yogi Bear and that was exactly what I got. You see the trailer and you see the movie. Tons of overacting, but I did find Hank Azaria pretty stupid funny as Gargamel.

I would recommend this movie for anyone with kids. It's not the best watch for the parents but I've seen much worse.

Cowboys & Aliens

2011-07-29T22:21:00.003-05:00

1873. Arizona Territory. A stranger (Craig) with no memory of his past stumbles into the hard desert town of Absolution. The only hint to his history is a mysterious shackle that encircles one wrist. What he discovers is that the people of Absolution don't welcome strangers, and nobody makes a move on its streets unless ordered to do so by the iron-fisted Colonel Dolarhyde (Ford). It's a town that lives in fear.But Absolution is about to experience fear it can scarcely comprehend as the desolate city is attacked by marauders from the sky. Screaming down with breathtaking velocity and blinding lights to abduct the helpless one by one, these monsters challenge everything the residents have ever known. Now, the stranger they rejected is their only hope for salvation. As this gunslinger slowly starts to remember who he is and where he's been, he realizes he holds a secret that could give the town a fighting chance against the alien force. With the help of the elusive traveler Ella (Olivia Wilde), he pulls together a posse comprised of former opponents—townsfolk, Dolarhyde and his boys, outlaws and Apache warriors—all in danger of annihilation. United against a common enemy, they will prepare for an epic showdown for survival.

I really enjoyed this movie. This is a straight up summertime popcorn movie. With all the reboots and origins and sequels and remakes that have truly destroyed any sense of creativity, this one was equal parts creative and simple. Take a western and throw aliens in there. Enjoy the ride. Different and simple and fun as hell. They develop all the characters enough so that you care and the action looked really good. This movie was straight up fun. The only warning is that alot of the alien stuff was too scary for younger ones. WW jumped numerous times.

I would definitely recommend people checking this out. It's definitely one of the better movies of the summer on an entertainment level.

Friends With Benefits

2011-07-19T16:31:00.002-05:00

Dylan (Justin Timberlake) and Jamie (Mila Kunis) think it's going to be easy to add the simple act of sex to their friendship, despite what Hollywood romantic comedies would have them believe. They soon discover however that getting physical really does always lead to complications.

I really liked this movie. It's easily the best romantic comedy of the summer - although it's definitely a rated R movie. It has more than enough laughs. Most importantly, the chemistry between Timberlake and Kunis was awesome and they played off of each other so well. They were both flawed and you totally understand why and root for both of them because they are perfect for each other.

I would definitely recommend people checking this one out. Again - it's a legit rated R but it is a great romantic comedy for adults.

Captain America: The First Avenger

2011-07-19T16:29:00.003-05:00

Captain America: The First Avenger will focus on the early days of the Marvel Universe when Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) volunteers to participate in an experimental program that turns him into the Super Soldier known as Captain America. As Captain America, Rogers joins forces with Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) and Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) to wage war on the evil HYDRA organization, led by the villainous Red Skull (Hugo Weaving.)

This is a tough one. I really wanted to like this movie. However, I expected it to be not so good. I was not a fan of casting Chris Evans as Captain America. The trailer gave me a pretty big "eh" feeling, but I always loved Captain America growing up. Like I said, I really wanted to like it. The movie ended up being kind of middle of the road for me. Chris Evans wasn't that bad although I still can't for the life of me see him "leading" The Avengers. It was entertaining, but I definitely feel like they kind of mailed it in overall. You can say that it was because of them trying to make it all 1940s nostalgia-like but it still looked really cheesy, especially the effects. So sick of saying this, but . . . . It could have been better.

I would lukewarmly reccomend this movie. It's watchable and entertaining, but is easily the weakest of The Avengers lead-ins. It felt alot more like Green Lantern than the Marvel series of films.

Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows - Part 2

2011-07-17T14:15:00.002-05:00

In Part 2 of the epic finale, the battle between the good and evil forces of the Wizarding world escalates into an all-out war. The stakes have never been higher and no one is safe. But it is Harry Potter who may be called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice as he draws closer to the climactic showdown with Lord Voldemort. It all ends here.

This was an amazing send off to the most consistently excellent franchise ever. Seriously, eight movies in and all of them great and entertaining movies. You could make the compared to the books knocks just like all of the others, but the movies are always top ten list worthy. This one is no different. I've spent the last 12 years with these characters so this movie had an intensity about it right from the beginning and didn't let up throughout. This was definitely the best paced one and played much more like an action movie. The only major knock against it is . . . . . . What now?

Would I recommend this movie? Does it matter? If you are a fan - you have probably already seen it. If you are not, you are not going to start watching now. I loved it and have been a big fan from the beginning. It has been one of the most entertaining rides ever.

Winnie The Pooh

2011-07-06T16:08:00.005-05:00

Walt Disney Animation Studios returns to the Hundred Acre Wood with Winnie the Pooh. Featuring the timeless charm, wit and whimsy of the original featurettes, this all-new movie reunites audiences with the philosophical "bear of very little brain" and friends Tigger, Rabbit, Piglet, Owl, Kanga, Roo—and last, but certainly not least, Eeyore, who has lost his tail. "Ever have one of those days where you just can't win, Eeyore?" asks Pooh. Owl sends the whole gang on a wild quest to save Christopher Robin from an imaginary culprit. It turns out to be a very busy day for a bear who simply set out to find some honey.

To someone looking for something different - this is not. It is basically just another Winnie The Pooh movie. However, I have always liked Winnie The Pooh and I really enjoyed this movie . . . . . . especially since Eeyore gets his due. This is still as far as I'm concerned the greatest thing for young children ever. Screw all the purple Dinosaurs and the Gabba Dabbas and whatever other crap comes up the pipeline to keep kids entertained while burnt out moms and dads try to get some stuff done. This is the one. It will always be the one and I really enjoyed it. This is a wonderful first time to the movies for kids. Granted, it's only about an hour long so maybe not worth the prices to watch it, but the music is great, the characters are great and the story is as cute as always.

I would definitely recommend any Winnie The Pooh fan checking this out. It's another great chapter to one of the cutest group of characters ever.

Horrible Bosses

2011-07-06T16:06:00.002-05:00

For Nick (Jason Bateman), Kurt (Jason Sudeikis) and Dale (Charlie Day), the only thing that would make the daily grind more tolerable would be to grind their intolerable bosses (Kevin Spacey, Colin Farrell, Jennifer Aniston) into dust. Quitting is not an option, so, with the benefit of a few-too-many drinks and some dubious advice from a hustling ex-con (Jamie Foxx), the three friends devise a convoluted and seemingly foolproof plan to rid themselves of their respective employers...permanently. There's only one problem: even the best laid plans are only as foolproof as the brains behind them.

Finally!!!! Although the other highly anticipated summer comedies have failed for the most part to live up the laugh expectations based on the trailers, this one definitely comes through the most. The trio of guys are very funny - especially Charlie Day. I pray to god that this guy will get recognized for his level of comedy after this one. The scene where he is singing "That's Not My Name" in the car had me peeing my pants. They all played so phenomenally well off of each other. Then, the three bosses were all great (can it be that I have actually enjoyed Jennifer Aniston in 2 straight movies!?!) and so was Jamie Foxx. His character's name alone might be my favorite part of this movie. And it's not like the premise of the movie is not something that all of us can identify with on a certain level. That alone makes it funny but the performances and banter make it hilarious.

I definitely recommend this movie. It's a very funny comedy and definitely the one I've been waiting for all summer.

Zookeeper

2011-07-06T16:04:00.004-05:00

In Zookeeper, the animals at the Franklin Park Zoo love their kindhearted caretaker, Griffin Keyes (Kevin James). Finding himself more comfortable with a lion than a lady, Griffin decides the only way to get a girl in his life is to leave the zoo and find a more glamorous job. The animals, in a panic, decide to break their time-honored code of silence and reveal their biggest secret: they can talk! To keep Griffin from leaving, they decide to teach him the rules of courtship - animal style.

This movie is exactly what you would expect from the trailer. It's part Paul Blart, part Doctor Dolittle, and part Night At The Museum. Kevin James is Kevin James. If you like him - you will like this movie. The animals were all funny, especially the monkey voiced by Adam Sandler. There isn't any part of the story that you don't see coming from a mile away but there are enough laughs thoughout to make it watchable enough for adults. Kids will love it.

I would recommend people checking this out if they like these kinds of movies. Again, you won't be disappointed because it is exactly what you would expect the movie to be.

Larry Crowne

2011-07-01T08:55:00.002-05:00

Until he was downsized, affable, amiable Larry Crowne (Hanks) was a superstar team leader at the big-box company where he's worked since his time in the Navy. Underwater on his mortgage and unclear on what to do with his suddenly free days, Larry heads to his local college to start over. There he becomes part of a colorful community of outcasts, also-rans and the overlooked all trying to find a better future for themselves...often moving around town in a herd of scooters. In his public-speaking class, Larry develops an unexpected crush on his teacher Mercedes Tainot (Roberts), who has lost as much passion for teaching as she has for her husband. The simple guy who has every reason to think his life has stalled will come to learn an unexpected lesson: when you think everything worth having has passed you by, you just might discover your reason to live.

This is a kind of tough to review movie. I enjoyed it while watching it but the movie is really just kind of there. There isn't any real point. I can't see myself raving about what a great movie it was, but I did enjoy it for the 100 minutes or so that I was watching it. I liked the characters. It was funny and touching and pretty accurate with today's job market. But once it was over, it is one of those forgotten type of movies.

Like I said, I don't know that I could blatantly recommend people seeing this. It's not a bad movie, but it's not a must see by any means. It's just kind of there and I enjoyed it while watching it probably never to think of it again once I post this.

Monte Carlo

2011-07-01T08:53:00.002-05:00

Monte Carlo tells the story of a girl and her best friend who travel to Paris, accompanied by her future, uptight stepsister. When one of the girls is mistaken for a spoiled British heiress, they are caught up in a whirlwind of attention and find themselves going on a dream vacation to Monte Carlo.

This movie is literally Lizzie McGuire with Selena Gomez in it. Same side characters. Same story line. Same laughs. I took Stinka to see The Lizzie McGuire movie years ago and ended up liking it for it's light, silly playing out of the story and I felt the same way about this one.

If you are a girl, I would definitely recommend checking this out. If you are a guy, I wouldn't bother unless you are taking your daughter. Thank God I have that excuse, huh?

Transformers: Dark Of The Moon

2011-06-18T09:53:00.003-05:00

Shia LaBeouf returns as Sam Witwicky in Transformers: Dark of the Moon. When a mysterious event from Earth's past erupts into the present day it threatens to bring a war to Earth so big that the Transformers alone will not be able to save us.

I know that sequels for the most part are never as good as the original. But do they have to be this crappy? The first Transformers is one of my favorite movies. It felt like an event movie. The effects were great. The story was cool. They had the perfect amounts of comedy/sarcasm and side characters - including the Transformers themselves. Shia LaBeouf was on track to become Will Smith/Tom Hanks-ish. The second one was too much . . . . . of everything. Too much Megan Fox. Too much of the slapstick comedy and side characters. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too many robots. Too much story crammed in there. Shia was still good though. So they got rid of Megan Fox. Thank God. They limited the side characters. Thanks again. The story was actually really strong and they even factored it in to past American history. Thank you. All in all - this one was definitely a better movie than the second one. HOWEVER . . . . . . that is pretty much the only good thing that can be said about this movie. No. I'm sorry. There are two more things. Shia is still great. I really love this kid. His delivery of sarcasm and comedic fear are awesome. And for once, I have to admit that the 3D effects mattered. Normally, I'm just annoyed to be wearing the glasses and don't care at all about the effects. This movie definitely made it worth having to wear the glasses. That being said - the bad . . . . . They replaced Megan Fox with some random model who - I never thought I would say this - was worse than her. The movie was like seven years long. I went to a 7pm showing and felt like it was 3am when it was over. The action was still way too much. The ending of the movie with the crazy destruction of Chicago was insane. It was just non-stop and became annoying overall.

Would I recommend this movie? No. Hell no. I wish that they could go back in time and not make this one or the second one and leave Transformers as a stand alone movie with all of its awesomeness intact. Sequels like this ruin the original. It's like the Star Wars prequel dampening Star Wars or that Crystal Skull garbage tainting Indiana Jones. Just stop already.

Bad Teacher

2011-06-18T09:51:00.003-05:00

Some teachers just don't give an F. For example, there's Elizabeth (Cameron Diaz). She's foul-mouthed, ruthless, and inappropriate. She drinks, she gets high, and she can't wait to marry her meal ticket and get out of her bogus day job. When she's dumped by her fiancé, she sets her plan in motion to win over a rich, handsome substitute (Justin Timberlake) – competing for his affections with an overly energetic colleague, Amy (Lucy Punch). When Elizabeth also finds herself fighting off the advances of a sarcastic, irreverent gym teacher (Jason Segel), the consequences of her wild and outrageous schemes give her students, her coworkers, and even herself an education like no other.

I enjoyed this movie alot. The bluntness of Cameron Diaz was hilarious. And I am a huge fan of Jason Segel. The one that really stole the movie though was Lucy Punch. I only know her name because it's listed in the synopsis above. I know her as the crazy girl from Dinner For Schmucks. She pretty much plays the same character in this one and I couldn't help but laugh at how over the top she was and it played very well off of Jason Segel and Cameron Diaz's straight faced characters. The movie still could have been funnier though and Justin Timberlake was kind of wasted in this. They definitely could have tweaked his character for bigger laughs. The other two actors (Phyllis from The Office and the camp director from Fired Up) provided a ton of laughs too. The only knock I would really make against this movie is that they should have decided to either make the movie a straight up R comedy or a walking the line PG-13 movie. It was rated R but pulled up on a lot of the jokes. If they would have really committed one way or the other, this movie could have been even funnier.

I would definitely recommend this movie for people looking for some laughs.

Cars 2

2011-06-18T09:47:00.002-05:00

Star racecar Lightning McQueen (voice of Owen Wilson) and the incomparable tow truck Mater (voice of Larry the Cable Guy) take their friendship to exciting new places in "Cars 2" when they head overseas to compete in the first-ever World Grand Prix to determine the world's fastest car. But the road to the championship is filled with plenty of potholes, detours and hilarious surprises when Mater gets caught up in an intriguing adventure of his own: international espionage. Torn between assisting Lightning McQueen in the high-profile race and towing the line in a top-secret spy mission, Mater’s action-packed journey leads him on an explosive chase through the streets of Japan and Europe, trailed by his friends and watched by the whole world. Adding to the fast-paced fun is a colorful new all-car cast that includes secret agents, menacing villains and international racing competitors.

This is yet another one of those movies that your feelings about it will be dependent on how you are watching it. If you are watching it excited for another Pixar movie than it is garbage. Pixar movies have always landed in my Top Ten movies of the year and in most cases have been worthy of Best Picture consideration. They are well written with amazing messages and are often just as enjoyable (if not more) for the adults as they are for the kids. This movie had none of that. I felt like I was watching a Saturday morning cartoon or a 2 hour ad campaign for a bunch of cool new playsets available at a toy store near you. This is essentially Pixar's first mailing it in movie. This was simply put out there to make alot of money. The creativity that is usually their trademark simply wasn't there. Even the short before the movie - Toy Story Hawaiin Vacation - was mailing it in. Don't get me wrong. I loved it, but the shorts are usually creative and artistic and this one was just more marketing. All of that being said - the movie is watchable . . . . . . . as long as you accept that this is not the normal annual Pixar entry that I've grown accustomed to seeing. This one is pretty much just a James Bond movie with the characters from Cars in it.

I would recommend people seeing it as long as they have read this and are aware to put a different kind of glasses on when watching it. As a kids movie - watchable. As a Pixar entry - saddened greatly. It's easily the bottom of their list to date.

Green Lantern

2011-06-14T18:10:00.002-05:00

In a universe as vast as it is mysterious, a small but powerful force has existed for centuries. Protectors of peace and justice, they are called the Green Lantern Corps. A brotherhood of warriors sworn to keep intergalactic order, each Green Lantern wears a ring that grants him superpowers. But when a new enemy called Parallax threatens to destroy the balance of power in the Universe, their fate and the fate of Earth lie in the hands of their newest recruit, the first human ever selected: Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds). Hal is a gifted and cocky test pilot, but the Green Lanterns have little respect for humans, who have never harnessed the infinite powers of the ring before. But Hal is clearly the missing piece to the puzzle, and along with his determination and willpower, he has one thing no member of the Corps has ever had: humanity. With the encouragement of fellow pilot and childhood sweetheart Carol Ferris (Blake Lively), if Hal can quickly master his new powers and find the courage to overcome his fears, he may prove to be not only the key to defeating Parallax...he will become the greatest Green Lantern of all.

This is a tough one to review because it really depends on how you are looking at the movie. It's a dictionary definition of expectations deciding how you feel about the movie. I went in to it expecting at best a Fantastic Four type of feeling and I actually ended up liking it more than that movie. Again - it's how you are looking at it. If you are looking at this movie in the same light of amazing all around movies that the comic book genre has been raised to recently with The Dark Knight, Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Spider Man 1 & 2, X-Men and X-Men: First Class - then the Green Lantern is fluffy crap. If you are looking at this movie as a starting tentpole to a Justice League Of America (DC's version of The Avengers) - then you will be disappointed. It's just not of that kind of quality. If you are looking at it as a cartoonish super hero movie - it is a fun and enjoyable watch. I went in to it expecting it to fail even that and was pleasantly surprised.

I would recommend people checking it out . . . . . . as long as you have the same expectation level that I had. You should be able to enjoy it then. Don't expect more than that though.

Mr. Popper's Penguins

2011-06-14T18:09:00.003-05:00

In this family comedy, Jim Carrey is Mr. Popper, a driven businessman who is clueless when it comes to the important things in life – until he inherits six penguins. Popper's penguins turn his swank New York apartment into a snowy winter wonderland – and the rest of his life upside-down.

This movie is formula in every way. If you have seen the trailer, you have pretty much seen the movie. It pulls on every heartstring it possibly can. That being said - it's still an enjoyable family comedy. There are laughs. Not the usual amount associated with Jim Carrey, but they are definitely there. The penguins are cute as is the father trying to connect with his kids and dealing with his own daddy issues. It really is a movie for kids or families.

I would recommend those that fit the above bill check this movie out. It's not a horrible watch but it's definitely family geared as opposed to straight up comedy.

Super 8

2011-06-07T19:41:00.002-05:00

In the summer of 1979, a group of friends in a small Ohio town witness a catastrophic train crash while making a super 8 movie and soon suspect that it was not an accident. Shortly after, unusual disappearances and inexplicable events begin to take place in town, and the local Deputy tries to uncover the truth – something more terrifying than any of them could have imagined.

Of all the big summer movie blockbusters, this was one of the movies that I was the most excited to see for a couple of reasons. A - the trailer made this look amazing. It didn't tell you everything but left you with that "holy $hit - I want to see that" feeling. The more commercials/trailers that showed up for it made it look like a throwback to the kinds of movies I loved growing up in the 80s, which leads me to . . . . . . . B - Steven Spielberg provided most of my most favorite movie going memories growing up (along with the late John Hughes). As he has matured, he has tended to do smarter and more noteworthy movies instead of the rollercoaster adventure types. Seeing his name attached to this kind of a movie again got me beyond exctied. JJ Abrams apparantly felt the same way growing up as I did and said that this movie was an omage to the aforementioned movies. After seeing this, I will gladly accept Spielberg passing the baton on to him because this movie was as awesome as I hoped it would be. I felt like I was a young teenager again going to the movies with my dad with how glued to the screen I was as this well done in every way story played out with a bunch of unknown kids completely holding their own in terms of fear, love, laughs, and heroism. The only small knock that I would make against this movie is that the alien (that takes forever to actually be seen) is a little too scary/violent). Younger kids will be terrified by a movie that with that changed would be appropriate for all ages.

I absolutely recommend this movie to everyone. It's easily one of the top two or three movies of the year so far and will probably be on my top 10 list at the end of it.

Judy Moody & The NOT Bummer Summer

2011-06-07T19:39:00.003-05:00

The film chronicles Judy Moody's (Jordana Beatty) adventures in which she sets out to have the most thrilling summer of her life with the help of her little brother Stink (Parris Mosteller) and fun-loving Aunt Opal (Heather Graham).

This movie is exactly what you would think it is. It's a slightly more silly/goofy version of Diary Of A Wimpy Kid. It has the same poor me middle schooler and the same narration and simple kid wanting something better storyline. It's watchable and enjoyable as long as you are still able to remember what it was like for you when you were in middle school. Kids are guaranteed to like it because of how spot on it probably is for them.

I would definitely recommend people taking their kids to see this. As for the adults that take them - it's really not that painful at all to sit through.

X-Men: First Class

2011-06-01T05:52:00.003-05:00

X-Men: First Class charts the epic beginning of the X-Men saga, and reveals a secret history of famous global events. Before mutants had revealed themselves to the world, and before Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr took the names Professor X and Magneto, they were two young men discovering their powers for the first time. Not archenemies, they were instead at first the closest of friends, working together with other Mutants (some familiar, some new), to prevent nuclear Armageddon. In the process, a grave rift between them opened, which began the eternal war between Magneto’s Brotherhood and Professor X's X-Men.

FINALLY!!!!! A summer blockbuster this year that not only meets expectations of greatness but exceeds them (this is not counting Fast Five because it opened in April). I left this movie beyond satisfied. It's also one of those comic books movies that is more than just a comic book movie. Ok - the comparisons to The Dark Knight are absurd. They should simply never do that. Putting that aside, this movie was phenomenally done. It's easily the best "prequel" ever. This movie is everything that the Star Wars prequel should have been. You know how it is going to end. Erik is going to become Magneto. Charles is going to end up in a wheelchair. Mystique is going to end up with Magneto yet it is so well put together that you are still thrown back when it happens. They developed the perfect amount of supporting characters/mutants. The effects were "simple" compared to over the top stuff you see nowadays but perfect. The way that the movie was weaved in to actual U.S. history was a hugely added bonus and the 1960s look that stayed consistent throughout the movie was great. I can't say enough good things about this movie. It was excellently done across the board and is easily the best movie of the year at this point.

I couldn't possibly recommend people checking out this movie more. Even those of you who are not usually in to the comic book thing - the US history aspect of this movie will make in entertaining for you as well and the story is so tight and well done from beginning to end.