Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince

Voldemort is tightening his grip on both the Muggle and wizarding worlds and Hogwarts is no longer the safe haven it once was. Harry suspects that dangers may even lie within the castle, but Dumbledore is more intent upon preparing him for the final battle that he knows is fast approaching. Together they work to find the key to unlock Voldemort's defenses and, to this end, Dumbledore recruits his old friend and colleague, the well-connected and unsuspecting bon vivant Professor Horace Slughorn, whom he believes holds crucial information. Meanwhile, the students are under attack from a very different adversary as teenage hormones rage across the ramparts. Harry finds himself more and more drawn to Ginny, but so is Dean Thomas. And Lavender Brown has decided that Ron is the one for her, only she hadn’t counted on Romilda Vane's chocolates! And then there's Hermione, simpering with jealously but determined not to show her feelings. As romance blossoms, one student remains aloof. He is determined to make his mark, albeit a dark one. Love is in the air, but tragedy lies ahead and Hogwarts may never be the same again.

Harry Potter movies are always awesome. The books were awesome and every installment in the movie franchise always makes my top ten list at the end of the year. This movie is no different. The magical effects are great and not too over the top. We are just as attached to the characters as we've always been and its actually pretty amazing to see how much the kids have grown as actors. The back and forth between Harry and Ron in this movie was some of the funniest moments in the franchise. There really is only one knock that I can make against this movie and its only because of how I felt about the book. The movie standing alone is awesome. However, my favorite part of the book was the battling at Hogwarts that led to the climactic scene in the tower. I couldn't wait to see that all played out on screen. Apparantly I'll never get to see it though because that was what ended up on the editing room floor. The bad guys showed up and the next thing you know they are in the tower talking to Dumbledore. It was a little disappointing because of how excited I was to see that part from the book. Outside of that, this movie is just as good as the others. If I had to rank them in order, this would probably be in the top three for me with Prisoner Of Azkaban and Goblet Of Fire.

I don't really think it matters if I recommend this movie or not. Most people are going to see it and the ones that haven't seen any of the Harry Potters probably won't. Its yet another great addition to an already amazing franchise.

Public Enemies

In the action-thriller Public Enemies, we are shown the story of legendary Depression-era outlaw John Dillinger (Depp)—the charismatic bank robber whose lightning raids made him the number one target of J. Edgar Hoover's fledgling FBI and its top agent, Melvin Purvis (Bale), and a folk hero to much of the downtrodden public. No one could stop Dillinger and his gang. No jail could hold him. His charm and audacious jailbreaks endeared him to almost everyone—from his girlfriend Billie Frechette (Cotillard) to an American public who had no sympathy for the banks that had plunged the country into the Depression. But while the adventures of Dillinger's gang—later including the sociopathic Baby Face Nelson (Stephen Graham) and Alvin Karpis (Giovanni Ribisi)—thrilled many, Hoover (Billy Crudup) hit on the idea of exploiting the outlaw's capture as a way to elevate his Bureau of Investigation into the national police force that became the FBI. He made Dillinger America's first Public Enemy Number One and sent in Purvis, the dashing "Clark Gable of the FBI." However, Dillinger and his gang outwitted and outgunned Purvis' men in wild chases and shootouts. Only after importing a crew of Western ex-lawmen (newly baptized as agents) and orchestrating epic betrayals—from the infamous "Lady in Red" to the Chicago crime boss Frank Nitti—were Purvis, the FBI and their new crew of gunfighters able to close in on Dillinger.


This was a very enjoyable movie. I have always been of fan of Michael Mann directed movies. I just like the look that his movies have. Johnny Depp is one of the top three actors in Hollywood and has pretty much reached that "We'd watch this guy take a $hit" status. Christian Bale finally shed the Batman overacting voice and was a solid supporting actor in this. The bank scenes and action scenes were great and the tension going back and forth between the bank robbers and the cops getting towards their eventual climax was very well done. The one real downer of this movie was the lovey dovey garbage between John Dillinger and his girlfriend. The movie would be trucking along at a great pace and then would hit such a wall when the two of them were on screen together. It really didn't seem to work at all. Its unfortunate because this movie would have been excellent without that major distraction that kept rearing its head every time the movie would build up a great head of steam.


I would still recommend people checking this bad boy out. Its not a must see by any means, but is a pretty good watch.

Julie & Julia

Meryl Streep is Julia Child and Amy Adams is Julie Powell in writer-director Nora Ephron's adaptation of two bestselling memoirs: Powell's "Julie & Julia" and "My Life in France," by Julia Child with Alex Prud’homme. Based on two true stories, Julie & Julia intertwines the lives of two women who, though separated by time and space, are both at loose ends...until they discover that with the right combination of passion, fearlessness and butter, anything is possible.

This was a very simple, enjoyable movie. On a side note, I have never watched anything that has made me so hungry in all my life. Seriously. I was ready to start gnawing on my own arm while watching this with all the delicious looking cooking. Anywho, the movie wasn't necessarily a chick flick. Pretty much anyone can enjoy this as long as you don't expect some sort of an eye-opening biographical thing. Meryl Streep will no doubt be nominated for an academy award as she was perfect playing Julia Child. Amy Adams was a little over the top whiny at times but represented the world of blogging quite well. I would have to say that was one of my favorite parts of the movie with her and her husband debating about her "readers". How many are there? How much do they care? I found it all very accurate and funny when related to blogging.

I would definitely recommend people checking this out. Its not a must see by any means but is a pretty enjoyable visit to the theaters.

Carriers

Four friends fleeing a viral pandemic soon learn they are more dangerous than any virus.

This movie is one of those spreading infectious disease movies that is just kind of there. Its not all out gore/horror. Its not done well enough to be like a psychological suspense type movie. You don't really care enough about the characters for it to be a character drama. Its watchable, but it really is the definition of just being there. I would assume that's why this movie never got a wide release.

I wouldn't really recommend anyone paying to watch this. If you have netflix - go ahead and put it on your wish list . . . . but just way towards the bottom. Or you just wait for a rainy day where you aren't doing anything else once its on cable.

Night At The Museum: Battle Of The Smithsonian

It's a new night and museum for Ben Stiller, who is joined by several other stars from the original film, as well as new characters from history -- including Amy Adams as famed aviatrix Amelia Earhart, Hank Azaria as villainous Egyptian pharaoh Kahmunrah, Christopher Guest as Russian tyrant Ivan the Terrible and Alain Chabat as Napoleon. Owen Wilson is back as cowboy Jedediah, and Robin Williams again rides into history as Teddy Roosevelt. The centerpiece of the film will be bringing to life the Smithsonian Institution.

This movie was essentially just a redo of the first one. More museum things come to life. They argue over something that really doesn't matter. There's some big laughs. There are some cool characters involved. Ben Stiller plays himself yet again. And it ends happy. The only real stand out part of this movie was Hank Azaria as Kamunrah. He (and his accent) were hilarious. Outside of that, it was just your basic, run of the mill, simple minded summer movie entertainment.

I'd would lukewarmly recommend this movie to everyone. Like I said - its entertaining but has pretty much no substance at all. If you have kids they will love it but if you are out to see a "good" movie, this really isn't it.

Terminator: Salvation

John Connor is the man fated to lead the human resistance against Skynet and its army of Terminators. But the future that Connor was raised to believe in is altered in part by the appearance of Marcus Wright, a stranger whose last memory is of being on death row. Connor must decide whether Marcus has been sent from the future, or rescued from the past. As Skynet prepares its final onslaught, Connor and Marcus both embark on an odyssey that takes them into the heart of Skynet's operations, where they uncover the terrible secret behind the possible annihilation of mankind.

This is another tough summer movie to review. Is it entertaining. Absolutely. Is it a good movie. Not really. The special effects were awesome. They really went all out with trying to make new variations of the terminators. The water snake ones literally had my mouth hanging open with awe at how they did that. The motorcycle ones were pretty bad ass too. Sam Worthington was great, but Christian Bale was pretty much completely wasted in this movie. The preview didn't do the movie any favors by pretty much giving away the only story of the movie. If they wouldn't have given away that Sam Worthington was actually a terminator, the first half of the movie would have been a lot more intriguing as they led towards the big reveal that again was shown in the trailer for the movie for the last 3 months. Outside of the build up to Sam Worthington being a terminator and not knowing it, there really wasn't any susbtance to the story whatsoever Its just more of man fighting against machine. This was completely not a stand alone movie. It was just another add on full of special effects to the other Terminator movies. And there was no attention paid to continuity at all. About half way through the movie, I started asking myself how the hell the machines knew about John Connor. I know that we know about his prophecy but how do the machines know? Kind of lost on that. All of those negatives being said, the biggest problem I had with the movie was the editing. There were scenes where I actually though I must have blinked for really long because it was as if chunks of the movie were left out. At one point, two characters are alone in the rain and the woman tells the guy to get firewood. The next second, the rain is over, the ground has dried up and the woman is about to get assaulted by three other guys. Something like this happened a couple more times throughout the movie and was very annoying.

Even with all the knocks on the movie, it still is watchable and entertaining as a thoughtless summer popcorn movie because of the effects and Sam Worthington. As long as you go in to it letting go of any hopes for continuity and/or quality - I would recommend watching it. If you are looking for a great movie - don't waste your time with this though.

Paper Heart

Charlyne Yi does not believe in love. Or so she says. Well, at the very least, she doesn’t believe in fairy-tale love or the Hollywood mythology of love, and her own experiences have turned her into yet another modern-day skeptic. "Paper Heart" follows Charlyne as she embarks on a quest across America to make a documentary about the one subject she doesn’t fully understand. As she and her good friend (and director) Nicholas search for answers and advice about love, Charlyne talks with friends and strangers, scientists, bikers, romance novelists, and children. They each offer diverse views on modern romance, as well as various answers to the age-old question: does true love really exist? Then, shortly after filming begins, Charlyne meets a boy after her own heart: Michael Cera. As their relationship develops on camera, her pursuit to discover the nature of love takes on a fresh new urgency. Charlyne risks losing the person she finds closest to her heart.

This was a very cute movie. I would have to say that this was the easiest to watch "documentary" I've ever seen. It was simple. It was understandable. You could connect to the people and their different lines of thought regarding love. You were also able to enjoy the friendships between Charlyne and the director and the connection between her and Michael Cera.

I'd recommend people checking this out. Its not a must see by any means but its a very cute watch if you don't mind taking an hour and half to just chill and watch this.

Angels & Demons

When Langdon (Tom Hanks) discovers evidence of the resurgence of an ancient secret brotherhood known as the Illuminati - the most powerful underground organization in history - he also faces a deadly threat to the existence of the secret organization's most despised enemy: the Catholic Church. When Langdon learns that the clock is ticking on an unstoppable Illuminati time bomb, he jets to Rome, where he joins forces with Vittoria Vetra, a beautiful and enigmatic Italian scientist. Embarking on a nonstop, action-packed hunt through sealed crypts, dangerous catacombs, deserted cathedrals, and even to the heart of the most secretive vault on earth, Langdon and Vetra will follow a 400-year-old trail of ancient symbols that mark the Vatican's only hope for survival.

Every review of this movie will ultimately involve it being compared to The DaVinci Code. There's simply no way around it. So, I might as well start by saying that this movie was better than The DaVinci Code. I read both books and also enjoyed this book a thousand times better. However, it ran in to the same problem as its predecessor in that all of the "suspense" in both books came from intense conversations. Unless you are Quentin Tarantino it is impossible to convey that kind of dramatic dialogue to film. Ron Howard is a phenomenal director. Tom Hanks is the greatest actor of our generation. I still think that neither one of them should be associated with the stories of Robert Langdon. This movie was waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too talky just like the first one and it ends up making the movie too smart for its own good. They definitely did a much better job of unfolding the story in this one but there were too many scenes where I could have taken a nap simply because I barely understood what they were talking about and wasn't made to care too much either.

I would somewhat recommend this movie to people. Its not a great movie. Its definitely not a bad movie. I want to say its good but then I feel like I'm rewarding it more than it should be. Its somewhere between OK and good.

Funny People

Judd Apatow directs Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen and Leslie Mann in Funny People, the story of a famous comedian who has a near-death experience.

This movie was completely great . . . . . . . for the first 2/3 of the movie. It was more of a drama than a comedy, but I was totally in to the characters and the one liners were all perfectly delivered by the great cast and were hilarious. I was really impressed with Adam Sandler actually acting and not being over the top silly like he always is. The relationship between him and Seth Rogen seemed very genuine. You really felt for Sandler as he coped with death coming. You were excited when he found out that he wasn't going to die. And then the movie just kind of hit a wall and had no idea where it wanted to go. It just sort of stopped and treaded water. It was so disappointing considering how in to the first 2/3 of the movie I was. I ended up not caring what was going to happen with Adam Sandler and Leslie Mann and was generally annoyed at how it turned out.

I fully recommend that everyone check out the first 2/3 of this movie. Its awesome. Just be sure to stop watching after Adam Sandler ends up being okay because it becomes rather pooptastic from there on.

Shorts

Shorts is set in the suburb of Black Falls, where all the houses look the same and everyone works for BLACK BOX Unlimited Worldwide Industries Incorporated, whose Mr. Black's BLACK BOX is the ultimate communication and do-it-all gadget that's sweeping the nation. Other than keeping his parents employed, however, Mr. Black's BLACK BOX has done nothing for 11-year-old Toe Thompson, who just wants to make a few friends...until a mysterious rainbow-colored rock falls from the sky, hits him in the head and changes everything. The Rainbow Rock does Mr. Black's BLACK BOX one better: it grants wishes to anyone who holds it. Before long, wishes-gone-wrong have left the neighborhood swarming with tiny spaceships, crocodile armies, giant boogers...and outrageous magical mayhem around every corner. But it's not until the grown-ups get their hands on the Rock that the trouble really starts. Now Toe and his newfound friends must join forces to save their town from itself, discovering along the way that what you wish for is not always what you want.

This is an enjoyable off the wall kids movie. It could have pretty much been called Spy Kids 3 with it having the same look and feel as the other movies. Its heavy on the sight gags and silly makeup/effects. This one was actually told in a non-linear fashion which actually made it slightly more interesting than it would have been. The best part of the movie was that the bad girl (Hellvetika)had a theme song that they kept playing for her and I haven't stopped singing it since.

If you have kids - they will enjoy this. You will not enjoy it as much as them but you've definitely suffered through much worse on their behalf.

Four Christmases

When upscale, happily unmarried San Francisco couple Kate and Brad find themselves socked in by fog on Christmas morning, their exotic vacation plans morph into the family-centric holiday they had, until now, gleefully avoided. Out of obligation—and unable to escape—they trudge to not one, not two, but four relative-choked festivities, increasingly mortified to find childhood fears raised, adolescent wounds reopened... and their very future together uncertain. As Brad counts the hours to when he can get away from their parents, step-parents, siblings and an assortment of nieces and nephews, Kate is starting to hear the ticking of a different kind of clock. And by the end of the day, she is beginning to wonder if their crazy families' choices are not so crazy after all.

Vince Vaughn has always killed me. He really has the best sarcasm delivery ever. This movie was no different. He had me laughing out loud numerous times and the couple finding out embarrassing things about each other through their families was great too. The only problem I had with this movie was that while it was hysterical for the first hour - it really hit a wall when it decided to get all serious and what not. I realized then that I was just enjoying the laughs and not the movie as a whole because once the laughs stopped I wasn't as in to the characters.

I'd still recommend that people go and check this one out. Its good laughs for the holiday season.

Star Trek

The greatest adventure of all time begins with Star Trek, the incredible story of a young crew's maiden voyage onboard the most advanced starship ever created: the U.S.S. Enterprise. On a journey filled with action, comedy and cosmic peril, the new recruits must find a way to stop an evil being whose mission of vengeance threatens all of mankind.The fate of the galaxy rests in the hands of bitter rivals. One, James T. Kirk (Chris Pine), is a delinquent, thrill-seeking Iowa farm boy. The other, Spock (Zachary Quinto), was raised in a logic-based society that rejects all emotion. As fiery instinct clashes with calm reason, their unlikely but powerful partnership is the only thing capable of leading their crew through unimaginable danger, boldly going where no one has gone before!


At no point was I ever anywhere near being a "Trekkie". I have always been a huge fan of science fiction but always found Star Trek to be too much. I was also a die hard Star Wars fan. I loved the characters and chemistry of Star Wars along with the science fiction. I always found Star Trek too be too nerdy and silly. This movie changed all of that for me. It was awesome! The special effects kicked ass. The young up and coming cast filled with "the guy from that movie" or "the girl from that show" was so well cast and played off of each other exceptionally well. And the story managed to tame down the nerdiness. It was heavy science fiction but done in such an action packed way that you don't have to have a PhD in order to understand what's going on. It was also written in that sarcastic kind of a way that you find yourself laughing thoughout the movie and the references to catch phrases from Star Treks past was priceless.


I couldn't possibly recommend this movie more. I loved it and as I said I've never been a big fan of Star Trek, but I definitely will be moving forward with this cast and director.

Bruno

Sacha Baron Cohen's gay Austrian supermodel Bruno comes to the big screen with similar hijinks and celebrity interviews as seen on "Da Ali G Show."


The first thing that I can't help but wonder after seeing this movie is how in the blue hell it didn't get a NC-17 rating. I mean really . . . . . a penis speaks after spinning and slapping about. I would think that would be the bottom line guideline in terms of rating. Its inevitable that this movie will constantly be compared to Borat, which I absolutely loved (and as a bit of a history lesson was the movie that started this blog site people. Show the love!), so I'll go on record as saying that I didn't find this movie nearly as funny as Borat. Don't get me wrong, there were some really big laughs in it. Unfortunately, this movie played a hell of a lot more like that one "oh my god - why am I watching this" scene from Borat with the naked wrestling and running. 3/4 of this movie are more scenes like that. I found the other 1/4 very funny but really wasn't too entertained by the over pushing of the rest of the movie. I can't really recommend that anyone see this not.


This is one of those movies where you really have to know who you are recommending it to before doing so. I know people that would love this movie and I know people that would think I was out of my mind if I told them to see it. Just be forewarned that this movie is beyond raunchy in a full frontal male nudity kind of way and see at your own risk.

My Sister's Keeper

Sara and Brian Fitzgerald's life with their young son and their two-year-old daughter, Kate, is forever altered when they learn that Kate has leukemia. The parents' only hope is to conceive another child, specifically intended to save Kate's life. For some, such genetic engineering would raise both moral and ethical questions; for the Fitzgeralds, Sara in particular, there is no choice but to do whatever it takes to keep Kate alive. And what it takes is Anna.Kate (Sofia Vassilieva) and Anna (Abigail Breslin) share a bond closer than most sisters: though Kate is older, she relies on her little sister--in fact, her life depends on Anna.Throughout their young lives, the sisters endure various medical procedures and hospital stays--just another part of their close-knit family's otherwise normal life. Sara (Cameron Diaz), a loving wife and mother who left her career as an attorney to care for her daughter, is sometimes lost inside the single-minded caregiver she has become in her efforts to save Kate. Her strong, supportive husband, Brian (Jason Patric), is often rendered powerless and passive by his wife's strength and determination. And their only son, Jesse (Evan Ellingson), drifts, at times all but forgotten as Kate and Anna take center stage.Until Anna, now 11, says "no." Seeking medical emancipation, she hires her own lawyer (Alec Baldwin), initiating a court case that divides the family and that could leave Kate's rapidly failing body in the hands of fate.

I watched about 20 - 30 minutes of this movie while at work the last two shifts. From what I saw, the performances all seemed pretty solid and it showed all the different fractures that a family can make when going through things like what is shown in the movie. I'm sure that overall its a pretty good movie. I just don't for the life of me understand how anyone can watch it. It was possibly the saddest 20 - 30 minutes of my life. It was just downright gut wrenching. This is just an all out assault on your heart and tear ducts. The only good thing that came from watching the brief parts of this movie emotionally was that I realized that things could be so much worse.

So I guess that if you are down in the dumps about your life you should go check this one out. It will definitely help you get your head out of your ass. Outside of that - its really just two hours of your life spent crying.

Up

Up is a comedy adventure about 78-year-old balloon salesman Carl Fredricksen, who finally fulfills his lifelong dream of a great adventure when he ties thousands of balloons to his house and flies away to the wilds of South America. But he discovers all too late that his biggest nightmare has stowed away on the trip: an overly optimistic 9-year-old Wilderness Explorer named Russell.

There are few things in life that you can count on. One of those things is that Pixar doesn't do bad movies. This is their tenth movie and if I was to rank all ten movies in order (I believe I smell a self-challenge there) the last place one would still have been one of the best movies to come out that particular year. Up is no different. In fact, Up might be the most touching of all the stories that Pixar have brought to life so far. Only Pixar could pull off a movie about a 78 year old man having to let go of his lost love that keeps the audience going back and forth between being about to cry and then laughing out loud all while being amazed by the beautiful animation. This is easily one of the best movies of the year so far. As for the 3D part of the movie, it wasn't a necessity whatsoever. I'm sure the movie would be just as amazing in 2D.

I don't just recommend that everyone check this out. I stamp it as a must see by all. Just be warned that it is incredibly sad at times.