Bad Grandpa

86-year-old Irving Zisman is on a journey across America with the most unlikely companions, his 8-year-old Grandson Billy in Bad Grandpa. This October, the signature Jackass character Irving Zisman (Johnny Knoxville) and Billy (Jackson Nicholl) will take movie audiences along for the most insane hidden camera road trip ever captured on camera. Along the way, Irving will introduce the young and impressionable Billy to people, places and situations that give new meaning to the term childrearing. The duo will encounter male strippers, disgruntled child beauty pageant contestants (and their equally disgruntled mothers), funeral home mourners, biker bar patrons and a whole lot of unsuspecting citizens.

This movie was split in half for me.  I loved the prank scenes like always.  Some were simple and the reactions to them made me laugh my ass off.  These were the types of things that I always loved about Jackass.  Some were a little gross and/or sexual but they were much more tame than usual so I even enjoyed those.  The only bad thing about the movie is that instead of a series of pranks, they tried to make it an overall legit movie about the grandpa bonding with the son.  So any time they were on that track, I found myself bored and just wanting them to get back to pranks becuase these two characters are already established as fictional masters of prank.  Why would I feel any sort of emotional connection to their "story"? 

I would still recommend anyone that likes the Jackass show/movies check this out because there are some really big laughs in it.  Just be warned that this is a lot more like Dictator with Sasha Baron Cohen where the "story" of the movie gets annoying inbetween the laughs.

Machete Kills

Danny Trejo returns as ex-Federale agent Machete, who is recruited by the President of the United States for a mission which would be impossible for any mortal man - he must take down a madman revolutionary and an eccentric billionaire arms dealer who has hatched a plan to spread war and anarchy across the planet.

Just like the first movie, this is one of those it is what it is movie.  In terms of those 70s grind house type movies, this is great.  Totally over the top acting with really cheesy story and action.  If you like those types of  movies, I'm sure you will enjoy the filming style and silliness of it all.

I would only recommend this to people that specifically enjoy these types of movies.  If you don't or have not seen any movies of this "genre", I don't think you should touch this movie with a ten foot pole.

Escape Plan

One of the world's foremost authorities on structural security agrees to take on one last job: breaking out of an ultra-secret, high-tech facility called "The Tomb." Deceived and wrongly imprisoned, Ray Breslin (Sylvester Stallone) must recruit fellow inmate Emil Rottmayer (Arnold Schwarzenegger) to help devise a daring, nearly impossible plan to escape from the most protected and fortified prison ever built.

This is yet another throw back wannabe 80s action movies from two guys that really need to let go.  This movie is formula from beginning to end. You could walk out of the theater for like 20 minutes and come back and I guarantee you that you didn't miss anything and can still be well aware of where the story is and is going to go.  Stallone was much better in this than Schwartzenegger but its just sad watching these guys trying to hold on.  I've said it before and I'll say it again - The Expendables was only good because they didn't take themselves serious and were very tongue in cheek about the movies that they made a career out of.  When they attempt to take themselves seriously - it ends up just being painful.

I wouldn't really recommend anyone checking this out.  Even those of you that are big fans of throwback 80s movies will probably still find this movie dull, forced and formula. 

Carrie

A reimagining of the classic horror tale about Carrie White (Chloe Grace Moretz), a shy girl outcast by her peers and sheltered by her deeply religious mother (Julianne Moore), who unleashes telekinetic terror on her small town after being pushed too far at her senior prom. 

Yeah - this is pretty much total garbage.  I was never that big a fan of the original movie or any of the pointless remakes or sequels to it.  This was probably the worst of them all because I would think that a modern version of this story could at least look better.  But no.  They thought it would be better to make it look 1970s like.  Ugh.

Don't see this.  Don't ever see this.  Total waste of time.

Captain Phillips

Captain Phillips stars Tom Hanks in the true story of Captain Richard Phillips and the 2009 hijacking by Somali pirates of the US-flagged MV Maersk Alabama, the first American cargo ship to be hijacked in two hundred years.

This was a really intense movie.  The direction kept you on the edge of your seat the whole time and it was great to see Tom Hanks back in a role that you could really get behind and care about.  Even knowing how the story was going to play out because of it being a true story didn't remotely make you more comfortable with how the story was playing out simply because the level of intensity and especially the filming style in the cramped space of the life boat thing. 

I absolutely recommend people checking this movie out.  It's definitely one of the best movies of the year and a great return to true prominence for Tom Hanks as far as I'm concerned.

Runner Runner

Princeton grad student Richie (Justin Timberlake), believing he's been swindled, travels to Costa Rica to confront online gambling tycoon Ivan Block (Ben Affleck). Richie is seduced by Block's promise of immense wealth, until he learns the disturbing truth about his benefactor. When the FBI tries to coerce Richie to help bring down Block, Richie faces his biggest gamble ever: attempting to outmaneuver the two forces closing in on him.

Was this movie beyond predictable at every turn?  Absolutely.  Did it follow the nice, pretty path where the protagonist beats the antagonist?  Absolutely.  Was it still somewhat enjoyable?  Yes.  Granted if you go into this with any kind of high expectations, you will be disappointed.  I did not so it ended up being a pretty decent watch.  Timberlake was his usual charismatic self and Ben Affleck was pretty entertaining as the over the top "bad" guy. 

I wouldn't outright recommend this movie for everyone.  There are definitely better movies out there that you could be seeing.  However, this wasn't a total waste of time . . . . . with your expectations being in check.

Gravity

Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) is a brilliant medical engineer on her first shuttle mission, with veteran astronaut Matt Kowalsky (George Clooney) in command of his last flight before retiring. But on a seemingly routine spacewalk, disaster strikes. The shuttle is destroyed, leaving Stone and Kowalsky completely alone--tethered to nothing but each other and spiraling out into the blackness. The deafening silence tells them they have lost any link to Earth...and any chance for rescue. As fear turns to panic, every gulp of air eats away at what little oxygen is left. But the only way home may be to go further out into the terrifying expanse of space.

This was one of the most stunning visual movies I've ever seen.  The way that it was filmed made it feel as if you were out in space with Sandra Bullock.  The pacing of the movie between being out in space all alone and the beyond intense scenes of action when the orbiting shrapnel attacked the satellites made you go back and forth between total desperation and sitting on the edge of your seat.  And even though this movie was so well done artistically, they didn't get wrapped up in an overdone running time.  The movie was a perfectly paced/timed 90 minutes and the end result was easily one of the best movies of the year.

I would absolutely recommend everyone checking this out.  It is pretty much a must see and a truly excellent job of film making in every way. 

Battle Of The Year

Battle of the Year is an international dance crew tournament that attracts all the best teams from around the world, but the Americans haven't won in fifteen years. Los Angeles Hip Hop mogul Dante (Alonso) wants to put the country that started the Sport back on top. He enlists his hard-luck friend Blake (Holloway), who was a championship basketball coach, to coach his team. Armed with the theory that the right coach can make any team champions, they assemble a Dream Team of all the best dancers across the country. With only three months until Battle of the Year, Blake has to use every tactic he knows to get twelve talented individuals to come together as a team if they're going to bring the Trophy back to America where it started.

This is a textbook underdog movie with dancing.  It's pretty much Step Up 5 with an all guy dance crew.  You have the troubled but excellent coach dealing with demons and a cast of guys that either have to work really hard, are crazy talented but need to embrace the team and Yada yada yada.  It's formula in every way.  Some of the dance scenes were pretty impressive but the movie really isn't anything to write home about.

I really wouldn't recommend anyone bothering with this movie.  If you saw the trailer, you saw the movie.

Rush

Set against the sexy and glamorous golden age of Formula 1 racing, Rush portrays the exhilarating true story of two of the greatest rivals the world has ever witnessed—handsome English playboy Hunt and his methodical, brilliant opponent, Lauda. Taking us into their personal lives on and off the track, Rush follows the two drivers as they push themselves to the breaking point of physical and psychological endurance, where there is no shortcut to victory and no margin for error. If you make one mistake, you die.

This felt at times like a Formula One version of Days Of Thunder.  You saw how the two drivers grew up professionally and personally on two very different paths.  The back and forth between them was great and even though the movie was advertised so heavily about Chris Hemsworth, the actor that played Lauda was more enjoyable and I found myself rooting for him much more.  The intensity of the racing scenes was great and the camera work was amazing at points. 

I would recommend people check this movie out.  It's not a must see by any means but it was a very enjoyable character drama.  I have never been a racing fan but I would have to think that if it got me into it that any racing fans would love this movie.