Jackass Number Two

After smearing the world with all sorts of ridiculous crap, the original creators and cast of the MTV series jackass and jackass the movie go one louder in jackass: number two. Significantly raising the stakes and lowering the bar, jackass: number two unleashes a spirited mess of absurdity as the cast and crew gets even more ugly around the globe.

I really can't even believe that this (or the first one) is a movie. It's totally one of the signs that the end of the world is upon us when not only is this made in a feature length movie, but that it makes millions upon millions of dollars at the box office. It's basically a crew of total moronic adults acting like a couple of fourteen year olds coming up with insane stunts and pulling pranks on each other. Some of them are completely perverse and assinying. Some of them are actually pretty funny.

I would never recommend anyone paying to see this stuff, but if you can catch it on cable and can bypass the gross ones - the stunts like being sent off a pier in a shopping cart with a rocket attached are pretty funny.

Haven

With federal agents on his heels, a corrupt Miami businessman (Bill Paxton) tapes a million dollars to his midsection and flees to the exotic Cayman Islands, his unsuspecting daughter Pippa (Agnes Bruckner) reluctantly in tow. But while her father is desperately laundering his dirty money with a British investment banker (Stephen Dillane), Pippa runs off to explore the island and its wild party scene with native Caymanian Fritz (Victor Rasuk). This island bad-boy is a real charmer with a dark side that's liable to get Pippa and her father in serious trouble. He's also an ominous thread connecting a sinister drug lord to Shy and Andrea (Orlando Bloom and Zoe Saldana), two innocent lovers whose forbidden passion ignites a violent chain reaction across the West Indies paradise and turns the tropical haven into a refuge that's anything but safe.

You got all that? No? I don't either and I sat through the movie. Basically this movie was an attempt at making a movie like "Crash" but setting in a caribbean location. It was a bunch of random stories, told in a non sequential order that were supposed to all tie in at the end. However, you care so little by the time that you get to the end none of it matters. Orlando Bloom needs to keep making movies with Johnny Depp because he was pooptastic in this one without him.

I wouldn't recommend anyone going out to rent this . . . . . . or bothering to watch it on cable when it's on there either.

The Last Kiss

The Last Kiss is a contemporary comedy-drama about life, love, infidelity, forgiveness, marriage, friendship... and coming to grips with turning 30.

I was really disappointed with this movie. I thought that it would be very funny after seeing the trailer and how could it not be with Zach Braff of Scrubs fame (if you are not watching this show on NBC - you really must start now, people!). Instead it ended up being about him cheating on his pregnant girlfriend and realizing how wrong he was. The supporting characters also had a whole lot of potential to be funny, but consistently fell short. It was almost as if the writing and direction intentionally kept setting up scenes for hilarity and then dropping the ball.

I wouldn't really recommend anyone running out to Blockbuster or Hollywood Video (my new favorite rental place!) for this movie. You could check it out on cable maybe.

The Descent

The Descent tells the story of an all-female caving expedition that goes horribly wrong. Six girlfriends meet in a remote part of the Appalachians for their annual caving trip. Deep below the surface of the earth, disaster strikes when a rock falls and blocks their route back to the surface. The girls soon learn that Juno, the thrill-seeking leader of the expedition, has brought them to an unexplored cave and that as a result nobody knows where they are to come rescue them. The group splinters and each push on, praying for another exit. But there is something else lurking under the earth – a race of monstrous humanoid creatures that are adapted perfectly to life in the dark. As the friends realize they are now prey, they are forced to unleash their most primal instincts in an all-out war against an unspeakable horror.

I went in to this one expecting it to be another one of those movies that is advertised as deeply disturbing, very gory, and scary as hell and ends up being an hour and a half of something that wouldn't even interest my 12 year old future stepson (i.e. - The Cave, Wolf Creek, High Tension). You see . . . . . my beloved WW happens to be a closet horror movie junkie. So we get really psyched when we see commercials for scary movies and are more often than not totally disappointed. I'm sorry to have outed you, my dear, but the truth shall set you free. Anywho . . . . . this movie ended up NOT being one of those movies. We ended up really liking this. It delivered as promised. It was pretty gory, very creepy, and left me with no desire whatsoever to even think about hiking in a cave.

I would very strongly recommend this to anyone in to scary movies. This is actually a really good movie regardless of whether or not you are in to these kind of movies because the suspense/tension is very well developed. It is totally worth the rental fee.

The Black Dahlia

The Black Dahlia weaves a fictionalized tale of obsession, love, corruption, greed and depravity around the true story of the brutal murder of a fledgling Hollywood starlet that shocked and fascinated the nation in 1947 and remains unsolved today. Two cops, Lee Blanchard (Aaron Eckhart) and Bucky Bleichert (Josh Hartnett), are called to investigate the homicide of actress Betty Ann Short (Mia Kirshner) A.K.A. "The Black Dahlia"-an attack so grisly that images of the killing were kept from the public. While Blanchard's growing preoccupation with the sensational murder threatens his marriage to Kay (Scarlett Johansson), his partner Bleichert finds himself attracted to the enigmatic Madeleine Linscott (Hilary Swank), the daughter of one of the city's most prominent families-who just happens to have an unsavory connection to the murder victim.

I thought that this movie looked awesome from the previews, but as you can tell just from reading the synopsis on the film that it was all over the place. The film really failed to focus on any of the many different subplots and ended up drowning itself. If they could have just looked in to the grisly murder - this probably would have ended up being a really great film. Unfortunately, I watched the time a hell of a lot more than the screen praying for this mess of a movie to come to an end.

I wouldn't recommend anyone paying the rental fee for this one. If you were interested in seeing it - wait for cable.

The Wicker Man

Out patrolling a California highway, police officer Edward Malus (Nicolas Cage) stops a station wagon to return a little girl's lost doll. Moments later, a runaway truck slams into the station wagon, igniting it into a fiery wreck with the mother and child trapped inside. Edward fails to save them before the car explodes...and then spends months of his life choking down pills to get the image of their faces out of his head. But Edward is about to get a second chance.A desperate letter from his former girlfriend, Willow (Kate Beahan), arrives at his home with no postmark. Willow came into his life and left just as unexpectedly years before. But now, her daughter Rowan has gone missing, and Edward is the only person she trusts to help locate her. She asks him to come to her home on a private island - Summersisle - a place with its own traditions where people observe a forgotten way of life. But nothing is what it seems on isolated Summersisle.

This is by far one of the worst movies to come out in 2006. It might be one of the worst movies that I have ever fully sat through in theaters. I was actually annoyed when walking out of the theater after seeing this that I lost two hours of my life that I could never get back. The movie just sort of plodded along in the most boring of ways. Things would happen for no connected reason whatsoever, and the ending was beyond mindblowingly horrid. What in the blue hell would make Nicolas Cage decide to do this movie?

I wouldn't recommend this movie to anyone. Ever. Seriously. All copies of it should be seized and destroyed to save the eyes of society.

Step Up

In Step Up, Tyler Gage (Channing Tatum) is a rebel from the wrong side of Baltimore's tracks – and the only thing that stands between him and an unfulfilled life are his dreams of one day making it out of there. Nora (Jenna Dewan) is a privileged ballet dancer attending Baltimore's ultra-elite Maryland School of the Arts -- and the only thing standing in the way of her obviously brilliant future is finding a great dance partner for her senior showcase. When trouble with the law lands Tyler with a community service gig at Maryland School of the Arts, he arrives as an angry outsider, until his skills as a gifted street dancer draw Nora's attention. Now, as sparks fly between them, both on and off stage, Tyler realizes he has just one performance to prove that he can step up to a life far larger than he ever imagined.

This is another one of those feel good underdog movies like Invincible, but instead of football it's about dancing. This is also another one of those movies that I am embarassed to say I kind of enjoyed. It's a girly movie for the most part, but you definitely find yourself rooting for the lead guy to pull through and make it.

I'd bashfully recommend people renting this movie. It's a pretty well done feel good movie and is worth the rental fee.

A Scanner Darkly

A Scanner Darkly is set in suburban Orange County, California in a future where America has lost the war on drugs. When one reluctant undercover cop is ordered to start spying on his friends, he is launched on a paranoid journey into the absurd, where identities and loyalties are impossible to decode. It is a cautionary tale of drug use based on the novel by Philip K. Dick and his own experiences.

I would have to think that watching this movie could possibly be compared to watching something while tripping on acid. The look of the movie was so weird. It was some sort of new animation where it looked like the real actors were wearing the animation themselves. It's the same kind of animation that has been used in those commercials recently where you can't tell if it's the real actor or a drawing. The movie itself was a tad bit confusing because all of the characters/narrators were on drugs and it was hard at times to follow what was going on.

I would loosely recommend this movie as a rental. It's worth watching just because of the visuals, but most people might be better off checking this one out on cable.

My Super Ex-Girlfriend

Breaking up is hard to do, but sometimes it can be downright dangerous. In the Ivan Reitman comedy My Super Ex-Girlfriend, Matt Saunders (Luke Wilson) thinks he's finally found the perfect girlfriend, the beautiful Jenny Johnson (Uma Thurman) - who just so happens to be a superhero. When Jenny/G-Girl becomes overly possessive, Matt wants to call it quits – but how do you break up with a superhero? A scorned woman, Jenny/G-Girl unleashes on her ex the full fury of her super-powered wrath as she sets out on a no-holds-barred mission to bust up Matt's budding romance with his co-worker Hannah (Anna Faris).

This movie started off really good. The relationship between Uma and Luke Wilson was very funny and the break up part was even funnier. The best part of the movie was Raain Wilson (Dwight from The Office - again - you really need to be watching this tv show, people!) as the friend of Luke Wilson trying to coach him. However, the movie goes too far and ends up ruining the whole thing with the last twenty minutes to half hour because it basically spirals out of control with someone else getting super powers and fighting with Uma Thurman.

I would recommend that anyone who rents this should only watch the first half of the movie. If you do that - it's very funny and enjoyable. If you watch the whole movie you are going to be pretty annoyed that you spent the $4 on it.

Little Miss Sunshine

Little Miss Sunshine tells the story of the Hoovers, one of the most endearingly fractured families ever. Together, the motley six-member family treks from Albuquerque to the Little Miss Sunshine pageant in Redondo Beach, California, to fulfill the deepest wish of 7-year-old Olive, an ordinary little girl with big dreams. Along the way the family must deal with crushed dreams, heartbreak, and a broken-down VW bus, leading up to the surreal Little Miss Sunshine competition itself. On their travels, the Hoovers learn to trust and support each other along the path of life, no matter what the challenge.

This is probably one of the best movies to come out in 2006. It's very quirky, but so beyond funny at times. This family is the poster of dysfunction. Steve Carell (from The Office - if you are not watching this show - you are sooooo missing out) is hilarious as always and the child that plays Olive is the definition of cute. You find yourself laughing throughout the movie and completely beside yourself at the finale.

I very strongly recommend this movie to everyone. This could be considered the must rent of the week.

Lady In The Water

Lady in the Water, a story from writer-director M. Night Shyamalan, revolves around a modest building manager named Cleveland Heep (Paul Giamatti) who rescues a mysterious young woman (Bryce Dallas Howard) from danger and discovers she is actually a narf, a character from a bedtime story who is trying to make the treacherous journey from our world back to hers. Cleveland and his fellow tenants start to realize that they are also characters in this bedtime story. As Cleveland falls deeper and deeper in love with the woman, he works together with the tenants to protect his new fragile friend from the deadly creatures that reside in this fable and are determined to prevent her from returning home.

I know that people tend to run really hot or cold when it comes to liking Shyamalalanalalalanan's movies but I happened to really like this one. The ironic thing was that this one was his first movie that didn't have one of those crazy twist endings. I think that a lot of the blah reactions to this movie were because people were waiting for that to happen. Regardless, this movie is a nicely told fairy tale/fable and I liked it a lot.

I would recommend paying the rental fee for this one. Just be warned that there isn't his traditional twist ending so don't miss out on enjoying the movie by looking for it. Trust me - it's not going to happen.

Invincible

Invincible is inspired by the true story of Vince Papale (Mark Wahlberg), a man with nothing to lose, ignored the odds and made his dream come true. When the coach (Greg Kinnear) of Papale's beloved hometown football team, the Philadelphia Eagles, hosted an open tryout, the public consensus was that it was a waste of time -- no one good enough to play professional football was going to be found this way. Certainly no one like Papale -- a down-on-his-luck, 30 year-old, substitute teacher and part-time bartender who never even played college football. But against these odds, Papale made the team and soon found himself living every fan's fantasy -- moving from his cheap seats in the upper deck to standing on the field as a professional football player.

This is your typical underdog sports movie. I happen to be a huge fan of this kind of movie though and don't seem to ever get sick of them. I enjoyed this movie a lot. I think that Mark Wahlberg is a pretty poopish actor but was somewhat decent in this one. Greg Kinnear was awesome as Dick Vermeil and the football scenes were pretty intense at times. The only knock I could really make against this movie was that it was a little bit too long. Once you get around the two hour mark, the audience is ready for the credits.

I would recommend this to everyone. It's a feel good movie and is worth the rental fee.

All The King's Men

Based on Robert Penn Warren's novel, All the King's Men tells the story of an idealist's rise to power in the world of Louisiana politics and the corruption that leads to his ultimate downfall.

I was so excited to see this movie because the preview looked awesome and Sean Penn looked great as one of those politicians who rises based on the power of the people and believes that he is going to fix everything. Unfortunately, the movie ended up a hell of a lot more about the relationship between the reporter covering him (Jude Law) and a supporter of his (Kate Winslett). This is one of those movies where the preview/commercial totally ruined the movie. Not because it gave too much away but because it advertised a totally different movie than what you got.

I really wouldn't recommend this movie to anyone via rental. You could check it out on cable if you are doing absolutely nothing, but other than that I'm not a big fan of checking this one out.

World Trade Center

Oliver Stone tells the true story of the heroic survival and rescue of two Port Authority policemen – John McLoughlin and Will Jimeno – who were trapped in the rubble of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, after they went in to help people escape. The film also follows their families as they try to find out what happened to them, as well as the rescuers who found them in the debris field and pulled them out. Their story shows how the best in people rose above the tragic events of that day.

I couldn't watch the whole movie. It's not that the movie was bad. The parts that I saw were actually pretty amazing from a film perspective. The scene of the tower actually falling and them trying to get out of the lobby was visually mind blowing, but mentally gut wrenching. It was just too painful. It was about 40 minutes in to the movie and the two firefighters were already trapped, they were screaming in pain, and their families were trying to find out about them. I just couldn't stomach watching it for another hour and 20 minutes.

If anyone thinks that they are up to or ready for seeing this, then I would recommend it because it is a very well done film. If you are not though - please do yourself the favor and stay as far away from this movie as you can.

Talladega Nights: The Ballad Of Ricky Bobby

Ricky Bobby (Will Ferrell) has always dreamed of driving fast - real fast - like his father, Reese Bobby, who left the family to pursue his racing dreams. Early on, Ricky's mother, Lucy Bobby worried that her boy was also destined to end up as a professional daredevil on wheels.Ricky Bobby first enters the racing arena as a "jackman" for slovenly driver Terry Cheveaux and accidentally gets his big break behind the wheel when Cheveaux makes an unscheduled pit stop during a race to gorge on a chicken sandwich. Ricky jumps into the car and... so begins the ballad of Ricky Bobby.

There are few people that mess with your expectations going in to a comedy like Will Ferrell does. I expected nothing when I went to see Elf and now that movie has to be considered top three holiday movies for me. I expected to laugh non stop when I went to see Anchorman, but didn't really find it funny until I watched it a couple more times on cable (It is beyond funny now for the record). After being initially disappointed with Anchorman, I went in to this with pretty low expectations and was once again totally surprised. This movie was hysterical. Will Ferrell was awesome. His sidekick (John C. Reilly) was equally funny. And before he exploded as Borat, Sasha Baron Cohen played the priceless french race car driver in this movie. The scenes between him and Will Ferrell are worth watching this movie alone.

I strongly recommend that anyone looking for a laugh go and rent this bad boy. It's definitely worth the rental fee and is even purchase worthy.

Material Girls

For Ava and Tanzie Marchetta (Hilary and Haylie Duff), life is all about fun parties, cute guys and gorgeous clothes and makeup. Celebutantes who have inherited their father's multi-million-dollar cosmetics industry, Ava and Tanzie only have to show up at the occasional board meeting and let the grownups do the rest. But when an awful scandal takes away their house, their car and all their money, Ava and Tanzie have to learn how to live in the real world... and have the opportunity to discover what they're made of and realize the potential they never knew they had.

This is the dictionary definition of a teeny bopper movie. I can't really do any justice reviewing this because I literally passed out 20 minutes in to the movie and woke up 10 minutes before it ended. However, I took my future stepdaughter and her surgically attached at the hip best friend and they LOVED this movie. They still "play" Material Girls when they are hanging out.

Based on that - I would recommend that anyone having a daughter between the ages of 8 and 15 should rent this for them and enjoy the ensuing nap that is sure to land right on their heads.

The Devil Wears Prada

Based on the best-selling novel, The Devil Wears Prada stars Meryl Streep as high-powered fashion magazine editor Miranda Priestly, and Anne Hathaway, as Miranda's new assistant – a small-town girl trying to survive her impossibly demanding new boss.

I had actually read the book before seeing the movie and think that they could have a done a better job. Meryl Streep was awesome as the nasty boss and should probably get some oscar consideration. The unfortunate part was that the movie made the employee pretty bland. She was a lot edgier in the book. It is not a bad movie by any means, but I think that they could have put a little bit more emphasis on the employee trying to find her way instead of focusing so much on the nasty boss.

I would recommend this movie to all. It's definitely worth the rental fee, but I don't think it's as good as all the buzz its been getting.

Barnyard

Barnyard is a hilarious look at what really happens in a barnyard when the farmer's back is turned. It is centered around Otis (voiced by Kevin James), a party cow, who enjoys singing, dancing and playing tricks on humans. Unlike his father Ben (voiced by Sam Elliott), the respected leader of the farm, and Miles, the wise old mule (voiced by Danny Glover), Otis is unconcerned about keeping the animals' humanlike talents a secret. But when suddenly put in the position of responsibility, the irresponsible cow finds the courage to be a leader.

This movie was very funny. The voice choice of Kevin James for the lead character was perfect. I truly believe that he is the funniest man ever born. This is one of those animated movies that you can watch with your kids and laugh your a$$ off at the random one liners.

I strongly recommend that anyone with kids go right ahead and rent this. It's even purchase worthy.

Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Do you really not know what this movie is about? Seriously?

This was probably the most hot and cold movie to come out in 2006. Everyone either loved it or hated it. I happened to be one of the people that loved it. I could see someone having sky high expectations after the first one ending up being disappointed. Fortunately for me, I kept my expectations in check and simply chose to enjoy watching Johnny Depp play Captain Jack Sparrow (one of my favorite movie characters of all time). He was just as awesome in the first one. The only thing that ate at me was that I wish that I would have known that this was like the Empire Strikes Back of the trilogy and is a total cliffhanger. When the credits rolled, I couldn't believe that I had to wait until next Memorial Day for the final part of the trilogy.

I would fully recommend that everyone run to their local Blockbuster for this one. I actually have to run there to buy the DVD for my family and I.

Pulse

Imagine our wireless technologies made a connection to a world beyond our own. Imagine that world used that technology as a doorway into ours. Now, imagine the connection we made can't be shut down. When you turn on your cell phone or log on to your e-mail, they'll get in, you'll be infected and they'll be able to take your life.

Unfortunately, the preview for this movie - just like the above synopsis - made this movie look a hell of a lot better than it ended up being. This movie was very weak in all scary/horror movie requirements. It wasn't gory. It wasn't scary. It wasn't simple. They tried to do too much and ended up making a poopy movie.

I wouldn't recommend this movie to anyone. You could check it out on cable, but it's still not going to be any good.

Miami Vice

Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx portray the characters of Crockett and Tubbs from the 80s television series Miami Vice. The movie is about undercover narcotic cops and explores how far and deep they will go to get the bad guys.

I loved this movie! Michael Mann (Heat, The Insider, Collateral) is one of my favorite directors. He seems to do something special with the look of his movies and that alone seems to suck you in that much more. I was a huge fan of the television series, but thought that this movie was so much better than the show ever was. Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx were both awesome and the action scenes were beyond intense. This will definitely be one of my favorite movies of 2006.

I strongly recommend this movie to all and suggest that you should get your butt over to the nearest Blockbuster and rent it right now.

How To Eat Fried Worms

Based on the hugely popular children's book, How to Eat Fried Worms brings the story of Billy who lands in a difficult predicament. Billy challenges the school bully on his first day at a new school. In order to save face and earn the respect of his new classmates, Billy agrees to a bet that calls for him to eat 10 worms in one day.

This was a pretty good kid movie. I wouldn't say that any adult should rush out to the store, but it was one of the movies that my future stepchildren ended up enjoying a whole lot more than I thought that they would. Pretty much any kid would enjoy this movie and it's not brutal for the adults to watch it with them.

I would recommend this movie for anyone with kids. Them giggling at the silliness in this movie is more than worth the rental fee.