RED 2

In RED 2, the action-comedy sequel to the sleeper hit, retired black-ops CIA agent Frank Moses reunites his unlikely team of elite operatives for a global quest to track down a missing portable nuclear device. To succeed, they'll need to survive an army of relentless assassins, ruthless terrorists and power-crazed government officials, all eager to get their hands on the next-generation weapon. The mission takes Frank and his motley crew to Paris, London and Moscow. Outgunned and outmanned, they have only their cunning wits, their old-school skills, and each other to rely on as they try to save the world-and stay alive in the process.

While I must say this will be on one of the why did they make this sequel lists, it was very entertaining.  Just like the first one, it was funny watching these "seniors" kicking ass.  The best part was that they decided to push the comedy more than the action.  All the actors definitely came through with their deliveries and there were plenty of laughs.

While I wouldn't wholeheartedly recommend anyone rushing to see this because it definitely is not a "must see", it definitely is entertaining.  If you liked the first one, you will definitely like this one.

Turbo

From the makers of Madagascar and Kung Fu Panda, Turbo is a high-velocity comedy about an underdog snail whose dreams kick into overdrive when he miraculously attains the power of super-speed. But after making fast friends with a crew of streetwise, tricked-out es-car-goes, Turbo learns that no one succeeds on their own. So he puts his heart and shell on the line to help his pals achieve their dreams, before Turbo-charging his own impossible dream: winning the Indy 500.

This movie was watchable but there really wasn't much more to say about it.  There were one or two good laughs.  But that was it.  The movie was really lacking the usual fun hook that Dreamworks animation has with its characters.  And that was really necessary in a movie about snails.

I wouldn't really recommend people bothering with this.  There are much better family movies out there than this one.  Go see one of them again instead.

The Wolverine

Based on the celebrated comic book arc, this epic action-adventure takes Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), the most iconic character of the X-Men universe, to modern day Japan. Out of his depth in an unknown world, he will face a host of unexpected and deadly opponents in a life-or-death battle that will leave him forever changed. Vulnerable for the first time and pushed to his physical and emotional limits, he confronts not only lethal samurai steel but also his inner struggle against his own immortality.

At first I was kind of not enjoying this movie.  I wasn't too familiar with the comic book arc or the area that the story was taking place in.  On top of that, the pacing was really slow.  After a little bit, it picked up big time and ended up being a great ride with well developed characters with great chemistry.  While some people may think this is getting stale at this point, I still think Hugh Jackman cast as Wolverine is one of the best casting calls of all time.  He still has the ability to carry this character and the movies and I enjoyed this one a lot more than the X-Men: Origins offering a few years back.

I would recommend people checking this out.  I wouldn't say it's a must see but it was more than entertaining enough to get my recommendation.

R.I.P.D.

Veteran sheriff Roy Pulsifer (Bridges) has spent his career with the legendary police force known as R.I.P.D. tracking monstrous spirits who are cleverly disguised as ordinary people. His mission? To arrest and bring to justice a special brand of criminals trying to escape final judgment by hiding among the unsuspecting on Earth. Once the wise-cracking Roy is assigned former rising-star detective Nick Walker (Reynolds) as his junior officer, the new partners have to turn grudging respect into top-notch teamwork. When they uncover a plot that could end life as we know it, two of R.I.P.D.'s finest must miraculously restore the cosmic balance...or watch the tunnel to the afterlife begin sending angry souls the very wrong way.

This movie is exactly what you would expect from the trailer.  It is a wannabe Men In Block with the dead instead of aliens.  Pretty much exactly the same story throughout.  The effects were decent.  The action was decent.  The characters were decent.  Really not much more to say.  It was just a decent, wannabe Men In Black.

I wouldn't recommend anyone rushing to see this.  There are much better options out there.  You could pretty much just wait for this to show up on television for when you are just chilling and don't have anything else to do.

The Conjuring

Before there was Amityville, there was Harrisville. The Conjuring tells the true story of Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga), world renowned paranormal investigators, who were called to help a family terrorized by a dark presence in a secluded farmhouse. Forced to confront a powerful demonic entity, the Warrens find themselves caught in the most horrifying case of their lives.

This movie was just as creepy as advertised.  There was great build up of suspense throughout so you never knew if you were going to jump out of your seat or laugh at how they messed with you.  I will say I was surprised that I wasn't terribly terrified (except for the stupid creepy ass doll).  Scared at points?  Absolutely.  Terrified or losing sleep?  Not so much.

I would definitely recommend people checking this one out.  It was a great watch and definitely scary enough for any fans of these type of movies.

Only God Forgives

Julian (Ryan Gosling) is a former kickboxer and gangster living in Bangkok. When his brother is murdered by a ruthless Thai police lieutenant, Julian is forced to seek vengeance or risk his own death.

This was a strangely filmed movie just like Drive from a few years back by the same director/actor.  There was a lot more closeups on people's faces or them thinking instead of actual dialogue.  However, it was done in such a way that the intensity and anticipation bar for what was going to happen was pretty awesome.  The Thai police lieutenant totally kept you dialed in every time he was on screen (kind of like Javier Bardem in No Country For Old Men) and Ryan Gosling's back and forth between intensity and deep thought was awesome as always.  Besides the filming style and the score build up in the background, there were parts of the movie that were so violent, I had to look away. 

I would definitely recommend people checking this movie out.  It's pretty violent at times and very artistic/not mainstream, but I was surprised by how dialed in I was to this movie and enjoyed it alot.

Before Midnight

In Before Midnight, we meet Celine and Jesse 9 years on. Almost 2 decades have passed since that first meeting on a train bound for Vienna, and we now find them in their early 40's in Greece. Before the clock strikes midnight, we will again become part of their story.

How is this a three movie deep franchise at this point?  I loved the first one and actually felt like you were there with the two of them while they were talking.  I liked the second one to see what had become of them and them catching up.  This one kind of lost the magic from the first two and it was a little too forced and strained when compared to the other two.  Perhaps that was the point that the director was going for, but it just failed to hook me.

I wouldn't really recommend people checking this movie out.  It's not nearly as enjoyable as either of the other two.

Killing Season

Deep in the Appalachian mountains, a reclusive American military veteran (Robert De Niro) and a European tourist (John Travolta) strike up an unlikely friendship. But when the tourist's true intentions come to light, what follows is a tense battle across some of America's most forbidding landscape proving the old adage: the purest form of war is one-on-one.

This movie is pretty much formula across the board.  There was a pretty good build up and then it was intense for a little bit but the action gave way to too much talky talky and my interest level pretty much bottomed out.  I found myself watching it wondering how in the blue hell these two actors were in a made for tv movie like this for the whole last half of the movie.

I would recommend anyone bothering with this.  It's not necessarily a bad movie, but it's definitely not worth your time if you have other stuff you could be doing.

Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain

Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain captures the laughter, energy and mayhem from Hart's 2012 concert tour, which spanned 10 countries and 80 cities, and generated over $32 million in ticket sales. Hart's "Let Me Explain" tour was one of the most successful comedy tours of all time, with more than 540,000 tickets sold. Both of his shows at New York's Madison Square Garden and his performance at London's O2 Arena sold out, as well as his appearances in Canada, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Amsterdam. The tour concluded this past New Year's Eve in Los Angeles by selling out the Staples Center and grossing over $1 million in revenue in one night. Only five other comedians – Andrew Dice Clay, Dane Cook, Chris Rock, Russell Peters and Eddie Murphy – have sold out Madison Square Garden where Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain was filmed.

I think that Kevin Hart is hilarious and his story telling on stage completely destroys me.  This movie did not fail to do the same.  There were numerous parts where I was laughing so hard I was in physical pain.

I absolutely recommend anyone looking for a laugh check this out.  It's unfortunately only  an hour long but it is one very funny hour.

Pacific Rim

When legions of monstrous creatures, known as Kaiju, started rising from the sea, a war began that would take millions of lives and consume humanity's resources for years on end. To combat the giant Kaiju, a special type of weapon was devised: massive robots, called Jaegers, which are controlled simultaneously by two pilots whose minds are locked in a neural bridge. But even the Jaegers are proving nearly defenseless in the face of the relentless Kaiju. On the verge of defeat, the forces defending mankind have no choice but to turn to two unlikely heroes—a washed up former pilot (Charlie Hunnam) and an untested trainee (Rinko Kikuchi)—who are teamed to drive a legendary but seemingly obsolete Jaeger from the past. Together, they stand as mankind’s last hope against the mounting apocalypse.

This was a straight up throwback summer blockbuster.  Crazy special effects.  Insane action scenes.  It pretty much oozes testosterone.  The futuristic story is developed enough that you are hooked.  Sure there isn't much deep substance to the story at all and there are a bazillion cliches but you enjoy those things in a movie like this.  The characters are totally developed enough and it was awesome to finally see Jax from Sons Of Anarchy (favorite show on tv, people!!!) in a movie.  And Charlie Day was perfect in the Rick Moranis from Ghostbusters kind of role.  

I enjoyed this movie very much.  I think that some of the over the top hype that went nuts the week before it was released may have set expectations too high.  But it was still a very entertaining and enjoyable summer blockbuster type of movie.  

Grown Ups 2

The all-star comedy cast from Grown Ups returns for more summertime laughs. Lenny (Adam Sandler) has relocated his family back to the small town where he and his friends grew up. This time around, the grown ups are the ones learning lessons from their kids on a day notoriously full of surprises: the last day of school.

Wow.  What a drop off.  I'll be the first to admit that the original Grown Ups was not a "good" movie but for whatever reason I found it hilarious and entertaining as hell.  It was one of Sandler's better movies since Big Daddy where it wasn't just the silliness of the movie but the family stuff made it fun to a broader audience.  Since that movie he has made a couple of really horrible movies (except for Just Go With It).  I was hoping that this would be more like the aforementioned movies and/or the original.  Unfortunately, it was more like his potty humor that runs its course and ends up being more annoying than entertaining.  As if that wasn't disappointing enough - there is the absence of Rob Schneider from this sequel.  There is no mention of him whatsoever.  Is he too busy or something?   He has literally been in every Happy Madison Productions movie.  That's like the extent of his career.  But he couldn't be in this movie?  And a major character (out of the 5 friends) gets no mention whatsoever?  Strange.

I would not recommend anyone checking this out.  It's pretty much a giant turd and not worth anyone's time.  I'm praying the next time that I see the original - it won't be tainted by how lame the sequel was.  

Despicable Me 2

In Despicable Me 2, Chris Meledandri and his acclaimed filmmaking team create an all-new comedy animated adventure featuring the return of Gru (Steve Carell), the girls, the unpredictably hilarious minions... and a host of new and outrageously funny characters.

I LOVE THE MINIONS!!!!  Seriously.  They might be my favorite animated characters of all time.  These guys crack me up.  Sure, the stuff with Gru wasn't as funny as it was in the first one.  Sure, the cuteness of the girls wasn't as adorable as the first one (although Agnes really gets me with how similar she is to Stinka).  Sure, the villain was nowhere near as good as Vector from the first one.  But the minions were awesome/hysterical.  And that really is all that mattered to me.  I was straight up belly laughing at multiple points during the movie.

I absolutely recommend people checking this movie out.  Respect the minions!!!!

Lone Ranger

The Lone Ranger is a thrilling adventure infused with action and humor, in which the famed masked hero is brought to life through new eyes. Native American spirit warrior Tonto (Johnny Depp) recounts the untold tales that transformed John Reid (Armie Hammer), a man of the law, into a legend of justice—taking the audience on a runaway train of epic surprises and humorous friction as the two unlikely heroes must learn to work together and fight against greed and corruption.

Wow!  This was pretty much garbage.  Never thought I would say that about any movie that starred Johnny Depp playing a quirky character in it but I now can.  The movie was way too long, you really didn't care at all about any characters outside of Tonto, and the narrative back and forth of the story was completely unnecessary.  The timing and pacing was pretty much off throughout the movie making all the action scenes silly and making a lot of Depp's comedic scenes/lines fall flat. 

I wouldn't recommend anyone wasting their time with this movie.  The only entertaining part of the whole experience was that Armie Hammer's head was dragged through horseshit at one point while he is unconscious and I just kept commenting out loud that he still has shit in his hair.  Seriously.  That was all that I enjoyed from this movie.

The Heat

Uptight and straight-laced, FBI Special Agent Sarah Ashburn (Sandra Bullock) is a methodical investigator with a reputation for excellence--and hyper-arrogance. Shannon Mullins (Melissa McCarthy), one of Boston P.D.'s "finest," is foul-mouthed and has a very short fuse, and uses her gut instinct and street smarts to catch the most elusive criminals. Neither has ever had a partner, or a friend for that matter. When these two wildly incompatible law officers join forces to bring down a ruthless drug lord, they become the last thing anyone expected: buddies. 

At this point I think that it is pretty much official that nobody makes me laugh harder than Melissa McCarthy.  She was beyond hilarious in this movie with her obnoxious bad ass character.  Even the points in the movie that were supposed to be touching or heartfelt, she still managed to make you laugh your ass off a split second later.  The combination of her with Sandra Bullock as the straight arrow is casting excellence.  I literally laughed from the beginning to the end of this movie. 

I strongly recommend everyone see this movie.  Easily the funniest movie of the year.  It's a must see for huge laughs.

White House Down

In White House Down, Capitol Policeman John Cale (Channing Tatum) has just been denied his dream job with the Secret Service of protecting President James Sawyer (Jamie Foxx). Not wanting to let down his little girl with the news, he takes her on a tour of the White House, when the complex is overtaken by a heavily armed paramilitary group. Now, with the nation's government falling into chaos and time running out, it's up to Cale to save the president, his daughter, and the country.

This movie was a throwback action movie with lots of silly one liners and overdramatic action.  It was watchable but not really much more that I can say than that.  There was NO reason for this to be over 2 hours long.  They spent way to much time developing a bunch of stuff that could have taken 5 minutes. 

I would very lukewarmly recommend people checking this out.  In the end, it really is just kind of there and formula/predictable in every way.  There are much better options out there.

Monsters University

Ever since college-bound Mike Wazowski (voice of Billy Crystal) was a little monster, he has dreamed of becoming a Scarer—and he knows better than anyone that the best Scarers come from Monsters University (MU). But during his first semester at MU, Mike's plans are derailed when he crosses paths with hotshot James P. Sullivan, "Sulley" (voice of John Goodman), a natural-born Scarer. The pair's out-of-control competitive spirit gets them both kicked out of the University's elite Scare Program. To make matters worse, they realize they will have to work together, along with an odd bunch of misfit monsters, if they ever hope to make things right.

Redemption for Pixar.  After Cars 2, I was afraid that part of Pixar had kind of mailed it in and they would start churning out less than par sequels just to make money off of their characters.  In this prequel, the story was just as rich.  It gave you even more depth to characters that you already loved from Monsters Inc and besides the entertainment value - it taught younger moviegoers that would see this so many important life lessons.  And did I mention how funny it was?   Just as great as the first entry with the monsters.

I would absolutely recommend everyone check this out.  It was easily one of the best "origin" movies ever and Pixar has gotten back to their roots of great story and great laughs for both the children and the adults that take them . . . . . or go see it by themselves.

World War Z

The story revolves around United Nations employee Gerry Lane (Pitt), who traverses the world in a race against time to stop a pandemic that is toppling armies and governments and threatening to decimate humanity itself.

I had tried to keep my expectations realistic for this movie and I don't know how much that played a part in my enjoyment level of the movie but I liked this movie alot.  When I saw that it was a zombie movie that was rated PG-13, I figured that it would be decent at best.  Not that I'm a gore junkie but how can you have a zombie movie with no blood/violence.  Answer . . . . . World War Z.  They managed to do alot of the zombie attacks from far away or in such a sped up manner that you ended up completely enthralled in what was going on without even realizing that there was no graphic violence.  Hell, someone even got their hand cut off and you felt the power of all that without actually having to see it happen.  It was great that they could still have you sitting on the edge of your seat without all the over the top shock value of showing you it.  And the best part of the movie was the pacing.  They started right off with the whole zombie infection and every time you would think that it would get all slowed down with too much dialogue some crazy scene would unfold again to get you sitting back on the edge of your seat.

I very strongly recommend people checking this out.  It was a great movie and a hell of a ride.

Man Of Steel

A young boy learns that he has extraordinary powers and is not of this Earth. As a young man, he journeys to discover where he came from and what he was sent here to do. But the hero in him must emerge if he is to save the world from annihilation and become the symbol of hope for all mankind.

There are two parts to this review.  First - the movie . . . . . . I loved it.  It was easily the best Superman movie since Superman II.  I thought Cavill, Shannon and Adams were greatly cast as Superman, Zod and Lois Lane.  The back and forth between present and Clark growing up kept the pacing fresh.  I did think the movie was a little bit too sci fi overall and I was stunned by something that happened at the end that kind of was different from everything I ever knew to be Superman.  Won't spoil it but I was definitely thrown off by it . . . . and the lack of development on it after the fact.  Maybe it will be a big part of the sequel?   I'm glad that they were finally able to pull off relaunching a character that has always been so difficult to do for some reason.  Second part - the epic failure of DC Comics yet again.  This could have easily been their Iron Man to launch towards a Justice League and they epically failed.  No mention of any of the other players in JL.  No mention of Gotham City.  Hell - you could have had Ryan Reynolds show up as Hal Jordan and just show some sort of a commitment to it that would have been similar to The Avengers.  Who cares if you are following the same model!?!  Just do it already.  Do something.  Now there are no other JL related projects in the pipeline except for a sequel to this that will be years off.  This is pretty much one of the biggest ball droppings in movies as far as I'm concerned. 

I enjoyed the movie very much and would definitely recommend people checking it out.  It was a good reinventing even with the WTF moment towards the end and the failure to connect this to a possible JL timeline.

This Is The End

The comedy This is the End follows six friends trapped in a house after a series of strange and catastrophic events devastate Los Angeles. As the world unravels outside, dwindling supplies and cabin fever threaten to tear apart the friendships inside. Once they discover that they are experiencing the Apocalypse, they must come to terms with why they were left behind. Eventually they are forced to leave the house, facing their fate and the true meaning of friendship and redemption.

I thought for sure that the premise of all these actors "playing" themselves would get old 15 minutes into the movie.  However, I was dead wrong and this is one of the funnier movies that has come out in a while.  While the movie was pretty raunchy at times (whether it be the dialouge or the physical stuff shown on screen), the comedy was based in that they were all famous people reacting to the situation and just blatantly making fun of each other.  What made it even funnier was the random pop ups of the celebrities NOT in the poster above.  Michael Cera totally stole every scene he was in.  You can completely tell that all these guys are friends and really enjoyed making this.   

I would definitely recommend people checking this out if you are looking for some great laughs.  It's such a simple concept but handled in the right way that delivers the laughs throughout the movie. 

The Internship

Billy (Vince Vaughn) and Nick (Owen Wilson) are salesmen whose careers have been torpedoed by the digital world. Trying to prove they are not obsolete, thet defy the odds by talking their way into a coveted internship at Google, along with a battalion of brillian college students. But, gaining entrance to this utopia is only half the battle. Now they must compete with a group pf the nation's most elite, tech-savvy geniuses to prove that necessity really is the mother of re-invention.

This movie was a decent watch.  Totally formula across the board.  Most of the funny parts were in the trailer and you pretty much have seen the movie just by seeing said trailer.  But all that being said, I still enjoy Vince Vaughn.  Even though I didn't laugh nearly as much as I would have liked to, I was still entertained by him, Wilson and their misfit group underdog story.

I wouldn't necessarily recommend people checking this movie out because its not great or even really a good movie.  It was a decent and sometimes entertaining movie only if you are a fan of Vince Vaughn.

The Purge

In an America wracked by crime and overcrowded prisons, the government has sanctioned an annual 12-hour period in which any and all criminal activity—including murder—becomes legal. The police can't be called. Hospitals suspend help. It's one night when the citizenry regulates itself without thought of punishment. On this night plagued by violence and an epidemic of crime, one family wrestles with the decision of who they will become when a stranger comes knocking.  When an intruder breaks into James Sandin’s (Ethan Hawke) gated community during the yearly lockdown, he begins a sequence of events that threatens to tear a family apart. Now, it is up to James, his wife, Mary (Lena Headey), and their kids to make it through the night without turning into the monsters from whom they hide.

This was one of the cleverest (albeit creepy) premises for a "horror" movie in a while.  I remember thinking holy $hit when I first saw the trailer.  The movie definitely delivered on the premise.  This was not just a horror movie.  It had very heavy political/psychological themes throughout that at times worked out awesomely with the scary parts but at other times (unfortunately towards the end of the movie) kind of held the movie back from committing one way or the other.  Not sure if that makes sense.  At times you were totally engrossed in the political/psychological stuff but at others you were totally wrapped up in the defend your house/family at any costs angle and you just wanted it to be a straight up payback type of movie.  I can't really go into too much more detail without blatantly telling you what happens but I was a little put off by the end of the movie because I had chosen in my head what way I wanted the movie to go and it didn't go that way. 

I would definitely recommend anyone who was intrigued by the trailer going to check out this movie.  I did enjoy it very much even though I didn't like the last 5-10 minutes.  There was good creepyness and covered all the different angles of looking at the situation that the premise presented evenly.

Now You See Me

Now You See Me pits an elite FBI squad in a game of cat and mouse against "The Four Horsemen," a super-team of the world's greatest illusionists. "The Four Horsemen" pull off a series of daring heists against corrupt business leaders during their performances, showering the stolen profits on their audiences while staying one step ahead of the law.

This was a very smart and fun movie.  They also waste no time getting right into things.  They took just enough time for a little character introduction/development and then took off running.  The build up of each magic show/heist got better and better.  The chemistry between The Four Horsemen and the FBI chasing them was perfect.   I can't really go into too much detail without giving stuff away so I won't, but the ads referring to this as a modern day Ocean's Eleven are very accurate.

I enjoyed this movie alot and actually wanted to watch it again to see if I pick up on more stuff.   I would definitely recommend that people check this movie out.

After Earth

A crash landing leaves teenager Kitai Raige (Jaden Smith) and his legendary father Cypher (Will Smith) stranded on Earth, 1,000 years after cataclysmic events forced humanity’s escape. With Cypher critically injured, Kitai must embark on a perilous journey to signal for help, facing uncharted terrain, evolved animal species that now rule the planet, and an unstoppable alien creature that escaped during the crash. Father and son must learn to work together and trust one another if they want any chance of returning home.

I don't really know how to review this movie.  I enjoyed it for what it is (a sci-fi survival of the fittest movie with dramatic family elements added in) while I was watching it.  It wasn't a great movie.  But it wasn't bad either.  I didn't really have any expectations for it.  Don't know if that made it more watchable.  I will make one major knock against it though - Jaden Smith is no Will Smith.

I would sort of recommend people checking this out.  Basically, it's just kind of one of those movies that is just there.

Fast & Furious 6

Since Dom (Diesel) and Brian's (Walker) Rio heist toppled a kingpin's empire and left their crew with $100 million, our heroes have scattered across the globe. But their inability to return home and living forever on the lam have left their lives incomplete. Meanwhile, Hobbs (Johnson) has been tracking an organization of lethally skilled mercenary drivers across 12 countries, whose mastermind (Evans) is aided by a ruthless second-in-command revealed to be the love Dom thought was dead, Letty (Rodriguez). The only way to stop the criminal outfit is to outmatch them at street level, so Hobbs asks Dom to assemble his elite team in London. Payment? Full pardons for all of them so they can return home and make their families whole again.

How the hell does a franchise fall completely off the tracks three movies in, rebound and get better and better like this?  I think I probably still liked Fast Five better but this movie was awesome and second best in the franchise.  The action was awesome.  The fights were awesome.  The humor (especially from Tyrese) was hysterical.  Vin Diesel and The Rock really are the greatest tag team of all time.  But the most mind blowing part of it all is that the writing and continuity of it all was awesome.  You are not supposed to be able to say that about mindless action popcorn flicks like this, but these guys even managed to tie in Tokyo Drift incredibly and make that pointless garbage entry matter and suddenly seem awesome like 6 years later.  And I will go on record as saying this franchise is pretty much the only one that I prefer to see in a crowded theater so that I can geek out along with everyone else with the constant adrenaline oohs and aahs the movie delivers.

I would absolutely recommend everyone check out this awesome roller coaster ride of a movie.  Brainless, action summer blockbusters are what made me love going to the movies in the first place.  This movie was awesome like that.

The Hangover Part III

The Hangover Part III is the third and final film in director Todd Phillips' record-shattering comedy franchise. This time, there's no wedding. No bachelor party. What could go wrong, right? But when the Wolfpack hits the road, all bets are off. 

This movie franchise has officially passed Transformers as the one that I would give anything for no sequels to be made.  This movie was pretty much awful.  They made Chow basically the main character. And Zach Galafanakis has gone from awkward/silly funny to just blatantly dumb not funny.  They didn't even have the wild night thing from the first two movies.  The few times I so much as giggled (since there really were no good laughs), it was at Bradley Cooper or Ed Helms who really didn't even seem to have major roles.  

I would not recommend anyone waste their time with this.  After the disappointment of the second one, my expectations were really low for this entry and it was still crappier than expected.  So sad because the first one is one of the funniest movies of all time and everything since has been garbage.

Epic

Epic is an action-adventure comedy that reveals a hidden world unlike any other. From the creators of "Ice Age" and "Rio," Epic tells the story of an ongoing battle deep in the forest between the forces of good and the forces of evil. When a teen age girl finds herself magically transported into this secret universe, she must band together with a rag-tag team of fun and whimsical characters in order to save their world…and ours.

This was a decent movie.  The animation was good.  The comedy provided by the slugs was good.  And the premise was good (although pretty much ripped off from a much better movie from a few years back called Arthur & The Invisibles).  But that's really it.  It was a good movie but not really much else to say about it.

I would somewhat recommend people checking this out.  For parents with younger kids, there really isn't much else out there.  Don't get too excited that this will be one of those equally as great for the parents animated movies.  It's watchable but ultimately just kind of there.

Black Rock

Three young women – Sarah (Kate Bosworth), Abby (Katie Aselton) and Lou (Lake Bell) – get together for a private campout at one of the iconic settings of their childhood, an empty island off the coast of Maine, to renew their bond of sisterhood. They quickly learn, though, that the island is anything but empty, when they encounter three recently-returned servicemen, who have come to the island to hunt. A misunderstanding quickly turns to tragedy, and the three women soon find themselves the targets of the hunt. What started as a simple getaway to recall old times is now a race for survival as three ordinary woman must find extraordinary strength in order to beat the odds against violence and the elements.

This movie had an incredibly simple premise.  It didn't waste too much time getting to the action.  And even the tension/drama was kept simple and seemed much more realistic because of that.  The movie was super short which made it even better.  I was very surprised how this movie managed to keep my attention the whole time.

I would recommend people checking this out.  It's not a must see (and didn't open wide anyway), but its worth checking out if you can find it online or when it's released on video.

Star Trek Into Darkness

In the wake of a shocking act of terror from within their own organization, the crew of The Enterprise is called back home to Earth. In defiance of regulations and with a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads his crew on a manhunt to capture an unstoppable force of destruction and bring those responsible to justice.  As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew.

JJ Abrams is clearly a genius.  Never throughout my childhood did I think I would put these words in writing . . . . . Star Trek Into Darkness is bad a$$!!!  Seriously, I was never a fan of Star Trek.  I watched them because they were there.  I was and will always be all about Star Wars.  Yet - JJ Abrams comes along and puts out the amazing relaunch of Star Trek a couple years ago with a greatly cast group of non-big Hollywood names.   Then comes this amazing action movie with TONS of laughs sprinkled in due to the banter between the characters and I'm now officially hooked.  This was an awesome summer blockbuster movie.  The cast continued to be awesome in their roles from the original JJ Abrams entry.  And when you want to talk about breakout performances - the dude that plays the bad guy (I won't give away who he is but I will say I actually cheered out loud when it was revealed), Benedict Cumberbatch, was amazing every time he was on screen.  This guy is like Michael Fassbender was as he broke out a few years ago. 

I completely recommend people checking this movie out.  As of now - it is my favorite movie of the year.  Still can't get over that.  A Star Trek movie is my favorite move of the year so far.  If my teenage self could travel into the future - I would kick my elder self's a$$.

The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby follows Fitzgerald-like, would-be writer Nick Carraway as he leaves the Midwest and comes to New York City in the spring of 1922, an era of loosening morals, glittering jazz and bootleg kings. Chasing his own American Dream, Nick lands next door to a mysterious, party-giving millionaire, Jay Gatsby, and across the bay from his cousin, Daisy, and her philandering, blue-blooded husband, Tom Buchanan. It is thus that Nick is drawn into the captivating world of the super rich, their illusions, loves and deceits. As Nick bears witness, within and without the world he inhabits, he pens a tale of impossible love, incorruptible dreams and high-octane tragedy, and holds a mirror to our own modern times and struggles. 

This had all the usual Baz Luhrman quirks.  Visually it was amazing.  I've always been a big fan of how he films/edits his movies and this one was no different.  I'm not that big of a fan of the book nor did I remember too much of it so I can't really review it from that standpoint.  I really liked the telling of the story and DiCaprio was awesome as Gatsby.  He alternated so well between being totally confident at all times and then completely insecure around Daisy.  Although the pacing slowed down way too much about 3/4 of the way through with all the main characters kind of hashing things out in a hotel room, it picked up again after that and wrapped up greatly.

I would recommend people checking this out.  It's a little long and I don't remember the book enough to compare, but I enjoyed the movie a lot.

Aftershock

Chile has it all: gorgeous landscapes, smokin'- hot women, cool dudes, great wine, and the wildest parties. For a hapless American tourist, nicknamed Gringo (Eli Roth) by his two Chilean pals Ariel (Ariel Levy) and Pollo (Nicolás Martínez), the trip has been heaven on earth — except that he just can't hook up with the ladies. Gringo's luck seems to change when the group meets a trio of babes — Russian model Irina (Natasha Yarovenko), non-stop party girl Kylie (Lorenza Izzo) and her serious sister Monica (Andrea Osvárt) — who agree to accompany them on a trip to the coastal town of Valparaíso. The new friends are having the best of times whooping it up in a dance club, until a violent earthquake brings the entire city down around them. With this one-time paradise now a landscape of death and destruction that's seething with terror and panic, our unlucky heroes must run for their lives from looters, escaped convicts, and the inevitable aftershocks.

This was kind of like Eli Roth's other movies with total brutality once the chaos started post earthquake.  The group of friends suffered massively as they were taken out one by one via amputations, burning alive, rape, etc.  This movie was decent for what it was supposed to be after a truly brutal 35 minutes of "character development" before the earthquake.  Are we really supposed to care about any of them?

I would only recommend die hard Eli Roth fans taking the time to check this out.  It's pretty much a lame yet watchable B movie.

Peeples

Sparks fly in the Hamptons when "regular guy" Wade Walker (Craig Robinson) crashes the preppy Peeples family reunion to ask for their precious daughter Grace's (Kerry Washington) hand in marriage. Wade might be a fish out of water among this picture-perfect East Coast clan always trying to keep up appearances, but he's not about to let himself sink. Instead, in a wild weekend of fun, dysfunction and hilarious surprises, Wade is about to discover there's room for all kinds of Peeples in this family, no matter their differences. Writer and first-time director Tina Gordon Chism (writer of "Drumline") joins forces with Tyler Perry to present a laugh-out-loud look at the family ties that freak us out... but bind us together with love.

Hate to review this so bluntly, but this movie is literally a black version of Meet The Parents.  Same father/daughter stuff.  Same boyfriend/dad stuff.  Same family member hijinks.  I like Craig Robinson so the movie was somewhat entertaining.  There were some decent laughs here and there.  Would have been funnier if it wasn't a carbon copy of Meet The Parents.

I wouldn't necessarily recommend anyone rushing to see this.  There are much better movies out there.  You can just watch any of the Meet The Parents movies for free and wait for this one to show up on tv.

The Big Wedding

With an all-star cast led by Robert De Niro, Katherine Heigl, Diane Keaton, Amanda Seyfried, Topher Grace, with Susan Sarandon and Robin Williams, "The Big Wedding" is an uproarious romantic comedy about a charmingly modern family trying to survive a weekend wedding celebration that has the potential to become a full blown family fiasco. To the amusement of their adult children and friends, long divorced couple Don and Ellie Griffin (De Niro and Keaton) are once again forced to play the happy couple for the sake of their adopted son's wedding after his ultra conservative biological mother unexpectedly decides to fly halfway across the world to attend. With all of the wedding guests looking on, the Griffins are hilariously forced to confront their past, present and future - and hopefully avoid killing each other in the process.

This movie is just as formula as the ads made it seem.  All the actors played the same characters that they seem to in all of their movies.  Barely laughed throughout.  Honestly, I don't think I laughed at all.  The movie is pretty much just kind of there.

I wouldn't recommend anyone wasting their time with this.  The movie isn't awful but not really worth the time at all.  Watch the ad and you could have easily wrote the same review.

Trance

Fine art auctioneer Simon (McAvoy), in league with a gang led by underworld boss Franck (Cassel), plots the audacious theft of a masterpiece by Goya from a major public auction. When Simon double-crosses the gang during the robbery, Franck retaliates violently and knocks him unconscious.  In the aftermath of the heist, Simon sticks stubbornly - and perhaps shrewdly - to his claim that the violent trauma has left him with no memory of where he stashed the artwork.  Unable to coerce the painting's location from Simon, Franck and his associates reluctantly join forces with a charismatic hypnotherapist (Dawson) in a bid to get him to talk. But as they journey deeper into Simon's jumbled psyche the boundaries between reality and hypnotic suggestion begin to blur and the stakes rise faster and far more dangerously than any of the players could have anticipated. 

This was a very smart and edgy movie.  McAvoy, Cassel and Dawson all put forth great performances and kept you totally dialed in to where the story was going to go and unsure of who you could trust.  The tension throughout the movie and how it was intertwined with emotions of love, anger, betrayal, etc was very well done.

I would definitely recommend people checking this out.  It was a very entertaining watch.

Iron Man 3

Iron Man 3 pits brash-but-brilliant industrialist Tony Stark/Iron Man against an enemy whose reach knows no bounds. When Stark finds his personal world destroyed at his enemy's hands, he embarks on a harrowing quest to find those responsible. This journey, at every turn, will test his mettle. With his back against the wall, Stark is left to survive by his own devices, relying on his ingenuity and instincts to protect those closest to him. As he fights his way back, Stark discovers the answer to the question that has secretly haunted him: does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man?

This was a great movie for a third installment and a change of directors.  Honestly, I liked it a lot more than Iron Man 2.  The second one was a fun movie to watch but it was basically just a continuation of the story from the first one with a cooler villain.  There was a definite lack of story substance.  This movie had a lot more of that and built great off of The Avengers.  The continuity that Marvel has created where that timeline is a vital part of this movie and what Tony Stark is going through is awesome.  I also liked that they pretty much took him out of the suit for most of this movie.  All of the action was still great and there was plenty of Iron Man battle scenes, but it was a great change of pace to see him have to get through stuff without being able to use the suit.  As always, Robert Downey Jr's wit/delivery stole the show and this movie was downright hilarious at times.  His reaction to a sad boy that he meets in this movie might be one of the out of the blue funniest one liners ever.  There was one part of the movie that was equal parts impressive, disappointing and comical all at the same time.  I can't go too much into it without ruining it but it has to do with the villain Mandarin.  The only knock I can make against this movie would be the partial disappointment regarding that, but it was still very impressively done/marketed and provided some of the huge laughs in the movie. 

I would absolutely recommend everyone check this bad boy out.  It's another phenomenal entry in the Marvel universe.

Pain & Gain

Based on a true story, Pain & Gain follows a group of bodybuilders who engaged in a campaign of kidnapping, extortion and murder in Florida.

This movie is a tough one to review.  The movie was really dumb since it was about a couple of complete bumbling idiots.  It was pretty much like an out of control car wreck that just kept spinning over and over. However, because the acting of Mark Wahlberg, The Rock and Anthony Mackie as the three bumbling idiots was so well done - it made the movie very funny at times and entertaining throughout.  Every part of my brain wanted to think that the movie was horrible, but the three actors kept making me laugh and wanting to see where it goes.  I didn't think that The Rock could be more entertaining but pleying a dumb ass with a cocaine problem made him even more entertaining.  The only thing that I wish could have been changed about this was the running time.  It was a little over two hours long and this could have easily been 90 minutes long.

I don't know that I would recommend this movie to people.  It's not a good movie.  Its pretty silly and overall stupid, but at times I felt that it was so bad that it was good.  And the three actors did a great job of being roided meatheads. 

Scary Movie 5

The latest installment of the Scary Movie franchise includes send ups of "Paranormal Activity," "Mama," "Sinister," "The Evil Dead," "Inception," "Black Swan" and pop culture featuring Ashley Tisdale, Charlie Sheen, Lindsay Lohan, Snoop Dogg, Katt Williams, Molly Shannon, Terry Crews, Simon Rex, Jerry O'Connell, Sarah Hyland, Katrina Bowden, Tyler Posey, Shad Moss aka Bow Wow, Kate Walsh, Heather Locklear, Mac Miller and Mike Tyson.


This movie was awful.  I didn't laugh once.  Hell, I didn't even smile.  They really have to stop making these movies.  Even the movies that they are parodying are totally unworthy or remotely memorable enough for anyone to care and for any of the jokes to stick.

I wouldn't recommend anyone wasting their time with this total garbage.  Why do they keep making this crap!?!

Oblivion

Jack Harper (Cruise) is one of the last few drone repairmen stationed on Earth. Part of a massive operation to extract vital resources after decades of war with a terrifying threat known as the Scavs, Jack's mission is nearly complete.Living in and patrolling the breathtaking skies from thousands of feet above, his soaring existence is brought crashing down when he rescues a beautiful stranger from a downed spacecraft. Her arrival triggers a chain of events that forces him to question everything he knows and puts the fate of humanity in his hands.


Let me state for the record that this movie was visually awesome.  The sci-fi future presented in this was very well designed.  Unfortunately, that was pretty much it.  The story was way to artsy at first and then became way too convuluted.  Tom Cruise was very much miscast.  And it was way too long.  The futuristic world was set up easy enough that nowhere near that much time was needed to expand/develop it.

I wouldn't really recommend people checking this out.  It wasn't horrible but it wasn't too good either even though the visual  effects and the futuristic cinematography were great.

The Place Beyond The Pines

Luke (Academy Award nominee Ryan Gosling) is in constant motion, a high-wire motorcycle stunt performer who travels from town to town with the carnival. Passing through Schenectady in upstate New York, he tries to reconnect with a former lover, Romina (Eva Mendes), only to learn that she has in his absence given birth to their son Jason. Luke resolves to forsake life on the road and to provide for his newfound family, taking a job as car mechanic with Robin (Ben Mendelsohn). 
Robin soon discovers Luke’s special talents, and proposes to partner with him in a string of spectacular bank robberies.
But it is only a matter of time before Luke will run up against the law – which comes in the form of Avery Cross (Bradley Cooper).  Avery is an ambitious rookie cop navigating a local police department ruled by the menacingly corrupt detective Deluca (Ray Liotta). When Avery, just beginning to balance his profession and his family life with wife Jennifer (Rose Byrne) and their infant son AJ, confronts Luke, the full consequences will reverberate into the next generation. It is then that the two sons, Jason (Dane DeHaan) and AJ (Emory Cohen), must face their fateful, shared legacy.

This was a very well done movie.  Great acting.  Great storytelling.  Very well developed characters and drama.  Now that I've given all the positives, there were two things that hurt this movie for me.  One was that it was waaaaaay too long.  I realize that the multilayered story needed to play out but I was shocked when it was almost 10pm when the 7:15pm showing I went to ended.  The other thing was that you had Ryan Gosling and Bradley Cooper putting great performances in yet without giving away too much they were only on screen together for like 30 seconds.  I wish there could have been more on screen time for these two great characters.

I would definitely recommend people checking this out.  It's excellent storytelling on many levels/layers.  Just be warned that it is a pretty long movie.

42

Hero is a word we hear often in sports, but heroism is not always about achievements on the field of play. 42 tells the story of two men—the great Jackie Robinson and legendary Brooklyn Dodgers GM Branch Rickey—whose brave stand against prejudice forever changed the world by changing the game of baseball. In 1946, Branch Rickey (Harrison Ford) put himself at the forefront of history when he signed Jackie Robinson (Chadwick Boseman) to the team, breaking Major League Baseball's infamous color line. But the deal also put both Robinson and Rickey in the firing line of the public, the press and even other players. Facing unabashed racism from every side, Robinson was forced to demonstrate tremendous courage and restraint by not reacting in kind, knowing that any incident could destroy his and Rickey's hopes. Instead, Number 42 let his talent on the field do the talking—ultimately winning over fans and his teammates, silencing his critics, and paving the way for others to follow.

This was a truly great movie. Sure, you know the story going in. You know it will be about Jackie Robinson's struggle against racism. Yet, it's done in such a way that you are so uncomfortable watching the tough racism scenes and develop an actual hatred for the actors/characters displaying it. You also get that awesome feeling of joy when he succeeds. The real surprise of the movie is the spectacular performance of Harrison Ford as the owner of the Dodgers. This was seriously his best performance in years and you cant help but love the wisdom and strength that the character played behind the scenes of Jackie Robinson.

I fully recommend that everyone take the time to watch this movie. It was amazingly done and did absolute justice to such an important part of sports history.