In An American Carol, a cynical, Anti-American filmmaker sets out on a crusade to abolish the 4th of July holiday. He is visited by three ghosts who take him on a hilarious journey in an attempt to show him the true meaning of America.
This is essentially a spoof of Michael Moore movies. It started off pretty funny honestly. I couldn't believe how hard I was initially laughing during this movie. However, all the humor in the movie got old REALLY fast and by twenty minutes in I wasn't even smiling anymore. I mean how long did you think spoofing Michael Moore could really last?
I wouldn't really recommend anyone bothering to rent this bad boy. Go ahead and wait for cable on this one.
American Teen
Hannah Bailey is smart and beautiful, but a misfit in her high school. She is a liberal, atheist living in a traditional, Christian, conservative town and dreams of moving to California after graduation. Colin Clemens is the star of the high school basketball team - and in Indiana, basketball is everything. Colin is under enormous pressure this year playing not only to make his town, his school, and his father proud, but for a college scholarship. Jake Tusing is considered to be a nerd in high school. Though quite funny and charming one-on-one, he is painfully shy in group situations and crushed with self-doubt. In his senior year he vows that nothing will stand in the way of him finding a girlfriend. Megan Krizmanich is the student council Vice President and the youngest daughter of a prominent local surgeon, anxiously awaiting word from Notre Dame University admissions. Wealthy, pretty, smart and popular, she rules her high school - just don't get on her bad side. When Megan’s peers challenge her authority, she can’t help but take action, even if it means risking her future. Mitch Reinholdt is an attractive and charming Varsity basketball jock with a soft side. When he puts his social status on the line, avoiding his popular friends for dates with artsy Hannah Bailey, he strains to maintain his reputation while discovering a new side of himself.
This was a pretty good idea for a documentary. I can only imagine how different being a teenager is in today's world and this documentary sought out to show that to us. It did a really good job for the first half of the movie. You started to identify with these kids lines of thought and pulling for them to accomplish their goals. Unfortunately, the movie started to tailspin and feed in to showing the waaa waaa drama too much and it started to feel more like an episode of 90210 than a documentary. It was pretty disappointing after starting off pretty strong.
I wouldn't really recommend anyone rushing to rent this movie. You can go ahead and wait for cable I think.
Ghost Town
In the comedy Ghost Town, Bertram Pincus (Ricky Gervais) is a man whose people skills leave much to be desired. When Pincus dies unexpectedly, but is miraculously revived after seven minutes, he wakes up to discover that he now has the annoying ability to see ghosts. Even worse, they all want something from him, particularly Frank Herlihy (Greg Kinnear), who pesters him into breaking up the impending marriage of his widow Gwen (Téa Leoni).
I really enjoyed this movie, even though it went in to the blatant heart string pulling realm and was very predictable. Ricky Gervais was so spot on as a miserable loner. His facial expressions of disgust and under his breath zingers were perfectly delivered. He also might be one of the funniest loners trying to hit on a girl ever. His ineptitude to flirt with Tea Leoni was hysterical. Besides the obvious laughs - this movie definitely hit you with something that makes you think about the whole death process with the ghosts "unfinished business". I don't really want to give it away to anyone who might want to see this movie. Its not like a big Sixth Sense type of swerve but it definitely makes you open your eyes and rethink some things about your life outside of the movie.
I fully recommend people checking this movie out. It is good laughs with a bunch of very touching moments and more than worth your time.
I really enjoyed this movie, even though it went in to the blatant heart string pulling realm and was very predictable. Ricky Gervais was so spot on as a miserable loner. His facial expressions of disgust and under his breath zingers were perfectly delivered. He also might be one of the funniest loners trying to hit on a girl ever. His ineptitude to flirt with Tea Leoni was hysterical. Besides the obvious laughs - this movie definitely hit you with something that makes you think about the whole death process with the ghosts "unfinished business". I don't really want to give it away to anyone who might want to see this movie. Its not like a big Sixth Sense type of swerve but it definitely makes you open your eyes and rethink some things about your life outside of the movie.
I fully recommend people checking this movie out. It is good laughs with a bunch of very touching moments and more than worth your time.
Eagle Eye
Eagle Eye is a race-against-time thriller starring Shia LaBeouf, Michelle Monaghan, Rosario Dawson, Anthony Mackie and Billy Bob Thornton. Jerry Shaw (LaBeouf) and Rachel Holloman (Monaghan) are two strangers thrown together by a mysterious phone call from a woman they have never met. Threatening their lives and family, she pushes Jerry and Rachel into a series of increasingly dangerous situations – using the technology of everyday life to track and control their every move. As the situation escalates, these two ordinary people become the country's most wanted fugitives, who must work together to discover what is really happening – and more importantly, why.
Before going to see this movie, you have to be willing to let go of your brain and any sense of reality. As long as you do that - this movie is straight up action and entertainment. If you don't do that - you will be finding it overly silly and ridiculous. I let go of my brain and enjoyed the ride very much. I kind of have a man crush on Shia LaBeouf. I see him ascending to the same level of Tom Hanks and Will Smith in terms of actors that I would watch in anything. He's was just as witty and sarcastic with his dialogue delivery in this as he was in his prior efforts. The action was awesome. Honestly, this could have easily been a summer movie and I'm not sure why the movie studio passed on the additional 50 million this movie would have made with a mid-August release, but its a welcome early fall popcorn movie amongst the usual overflow of serious movies.
I recommend that everyone check this movie out. Its a fun and entertaining roller coaster ride.
Before going to see this movie, you have to be willing to let go of your brain and any sense of reality. As long as you do that - this movie is straight up action and entertainment. If you don't do that - you will be finding it overly silly and ridiculous. I let go of my brain and enjoyed the ride very much. I kind of have a man crush on Shia LaBeouf. I see him ascending to the same level of Tom Hanks and Will Smith in terms of actors that I would watch in anything. He's was just as witty and sarcastic with his dialogue delivery in this as he was in his prior efforts. The action was awesome. Honestly, this could have easily been a summer movie and I'm not sure why the movie studio passed on the additional 50 million this movie would have made with a mid-August release, but its a welcome early fall popcorn movie amongst the usual overflow of serious movies.
I recommend that everyone check this movie out. Its a fun and entertaining roller coaster ride.
The Women
AKA . . . . Sex & The City decaf
Didn't see it.
Won't ever be seeing it.
You are on your own.
Didn't see it.
Won't ever be seeing it.
You are on your own.
Hamlet 2
Steve Coogan portrays Dana Marschz. Dana is a failed actor-turned-high school drama teacher. Shortchanged in the talent department, Dana still harbors ambitions and passions. At work, that is; his personal life, with his dissatisfied wife Brie (Keener) and their boarder Gary (Arquette), leaves much to be desired. At Tucson, AZ's West Mesa High School, Dana sees himself as an inspirational teacher. After much perspiration, he conceives a sequel to Shakespeare's "Hamlet" – a musical-theater extravaganza that will disdain both political correctness and dramatic credibility. Rallying and rousing his class, Dana casts a wider net by recruiting transfer students for key roles. With rehearsals underway, objections from school officials and the community are soon raised, but Dana will not be denied his freedom of artistic expression. Dana gets unexpected support from ACLU attorney Cricket Feldstein (Poehler) and his favorite actress, Elisabeth Shue. Above all else, he fervently believes that his opus must be staged, and nothing can break his optimistic spirit.
This movie came out at the time of year where it is soooooooooooooooo quiet at the movie theater that you start going insane if you don't find something to do. So what I've decided to do is give those movies that not even I would bother seeing in theaters a twenty minute window to capture my attention enough to make me want to bother renting this movie to see the rest of it in a couple of months. This was my initial test and it failed miserably. I was sitting there twenty minutes in to the movie having not the slightest clue why this movie was ever made. So, I threw in the towel and started finding other things to do when I remembered that I was told to specifically watch the musical at the end. So, I went and watched the last 1/2 hour of the movie and to be completely honest - that part was actually pretty funny. It was so over the top that you had no choice but to laugh at it. This also coincided with when Amy Poehler showed up in the movie. She is as funny as she always is and helped the movie end well. Unfortunately, the rest of the movie is pretty much crapola.
I wouldn't really recommend this movie to anyone. The musical finale is really funny, but there's no reason to pay and watch the rest of the movie just to get there. This is totally a wait for cable movie.
This movie came out at the time of year where it is soooooooooooooooo quiet at the movie theater that you start going insane if you don't find something to do. So what I've decided to do is give those movies that not even I would bother seeing in theaters a twenty minute window to capture my attention enough to make me want to bother renting this movie to see the rest of it in a couple of months. This was my initial test and it failed miserably. I was sitting there twenty minutes in to the movie having not the slightest clue why this movie was ever made. So, I threw in the towel and started finding other things to do when I remembered that I was told to specifically watch the musical at the end. So, I went and watched the last 1/2 hour of the movie and to be completely honest - that part was actually pretty funny. It was so over the top that you had no choice but to laugh at it. This also coincided with when Amy Poehler showed up in the movie. She is as funny as she always is and helped the movie end well. Unfortunately, the rest of the movie is pretty much crapola.
I wouldn't really recommend this movie to anyone. The musical finale is really funny, but there's no reason to pay and watch the rest of the movie just to get there. This is totally a wait for cable movie.
Death Race
Three-time speedway champion Jensen Ames (Statham) is an expert at survival in the harsh landscape that has become our country. Just as he thinks he has turned his life around, the ex-con is framed for a gruesome murder he didn't commit. Forced to don the mask of the mythical driver Frankenstein -- a crowd favorite who seems impossible to kill -- Ames is given an easy choice by Terminal Island's warden (Joan Allen): suit up or rot away in a cell. His face hidden by a metallic mask, one convict will be put through an insane three-day challenge. Ames must survive a gauntlet of the most vicious criminals in the country's toughest prison to claim the prize of freedom. Driving a monster car outfitted with machine guns, flamethrowers and grenade launchers, one desperate man will destroy anything in his path to win the most twisted spectator sport on Earth.
If it were physically possible to bottle testosterone, pour it on to movie film and run it through a projector - I'm pretty sure it would turn out looking exactly like this. Seriously. This movie is a textbook, old school 80s action movie. Total badass characters, start to finish action, no story development, pretty much no script, female navigators sprinkled in for no reason whatsoever, and the good guy beating the bad guy as violently as possible. All of that being said - I really liked the movie because I really liked these kinds of movies (think Stallone's and Schwartzenegger's early movies) from back in the day. It is by no means a good movie in terms of quality. I just found myself thoroughly enjoying it. Jason Statham plays pretty much the same character he does in every movie. I have always enjoyed watching Ian McShane talk since Deadwood started on HBO a couple of years back. Can't for the life of me figure out why Joan Allen decided to be in this, but she was entertaining as the bitchy warden. The only real problem I had with the movie was that for all of the tough guys in the race and the prison, Joan Allen's number one prison guard was the dorkiest looking bad guy I've ever seen in a role like that. I found myself getting annoyed every time I saw him.
I would fully recommend this movie to anyone who loves straight up action movies. If you aren't one of those people, I wouldn't touch this bad boy with a ten foot pole.
If it were physically possible to bottle testosterone, pour it on to movie film and run it through a projector - I'm pretty sure it would turn out looking exactly like this. Seriously. This movie is a textbook, old school 80s action movie. Total badass characters, start to finish action, no story development, pretty much no script, female navigators sprinkled in for no reason whatsoever, and the good guy beating the bad guy as violently as possible. All of that being said - I really liked the movie because I really liked these kinds of movies (think Stallone's and Schwartzenegger's early movies) from back in the day. It is by no means a good movie in terms of quality. I just found myself thoroughly enjoying it. Jason Statham plays pretty much the same character he does in every movie. I have always enjoyed watching Ian McShane talk since Deadwood started on HBO a couple of years back. Can't for the life of me figure out why Joan Allen decided to be in this, but she was entertaining as the bitchy warden. The only real problem I had with the movie was that for all of the tough guys in the race and the prison, Joan Allen's number one prison guard was the dorkiest looking bad guy I've ever seen in a role like that. I found myself getting annoyed every time I saw him.
I would fully recommend this movie to anyone who loves straight up action movies. If you aren't one of those people, I wouldn't touch this bad boy with a ten foot pole.
Burn After Reading
A dark spy-comedy starring the likes of George Clooney, Frances McDormand, Brad Pitt, Tilda Swinton and John Malkovich from Academy Award winners Joel and Ethan Coen. An ousted CIA official's memoir accidentally falls into the hands of two unwise gym employees intent on exploiting their find.
I can't remember the last time that I watched a movie getting more and more frustrated at where it was going yet magically walking out of the theater cracking up and loving it. Its really hard to review the absolute joy of this movie without giving the whole thing away. Its a very quirky comedy with great over the top performances (especially by Brad Pitt) and it really just keeps going with no heads up to where it could possibly end up whatsoever. However, when the movie does culminate with two high up government officials having a conversation - it is one of the funniest scenes I've ever seen. They manage to completely mock the viewers as well as our crazy government and is exceptionally written.
This is a hard movie to recommend. I ended up truly enjoying it, but its not simple straight up laughs. It also takes a lot of patience to get to the huge payoff at the end. I would like to recommend it just because I liked it but it really depends on your kind of humor.
I can't remember the last time that I watched a movie getting more and more frustrated at where it was going yet magically walking out of the theater cracking up and loving it. Its really hard to review the absolute joy of this movie without giving the whole thing away. Its a very quirky comedy with great over the top performances (especially by Brad Pitt) and it really just keeps going with no heads up to where it could possibly end up whatsoever. However, when the movie does culminate with two high up government officials having a conversation - it is one of the funniest scenes I've ever seen. They manage to completely mock the viewers as well as our crazy government and is exceptionally written.
This is a hard movie to recommend. I ended up truly enjoying it, but its not simple straight up laughs. It also takes a lot of patience to get to the huge payoff at the end. I would like to recommend it just because I liked it but it really depends on your kind of humor.
Traitor
Don Cheadle and Guy Pearce star in Traitor, a taut international thriller set against a jigsaw puzzle of covert counter-espionage operations.
You can tell by the above summary and the fact that you've probably never seen anything about this movie that it wasn't really marketed too much. That is truly a shame because this was a phenomenal movie. This is one of the better political action thrillers without the word Bourne in the title I've ever seen. Don Cheadle and Guy Pearce were their usual awesome selves. The thing that made this movie so awesome is that it felt so beyond real. It didn't feel like you were watching a movie. That's also the scary part. As you are watching this movie and completely enjoying the suspense of it - there is that part of your brain that is freaking out because all of these things are currently happening all around us. This movie made me even more paranoid than I usually am about getting on any planes, buses or trains.
I fully recommend everyone checking this one out. It was by far and away the best end of summer release and completely worth the trip to a video store.
You can tell by the above summary and the fact that you've probably never seen anything about this movie that it wasn't really marketed too much. That is truly a shame because this was a phenomenal movie. This is one of the better political action thrillers without the word Bourne in the title I've ever seen. Don Cheadle and Guy Pearce were their usual awesome selves. The thing that made this movie so awesome is that it felt so beyond real. It didn't feel like you were watching a movie. That's also the scary part. As you are watching this movie and completely enjoying the suspense of it - there is that part of your brain that is freaking out because all of these things are currently happening all around us. This movie made me even more paranoid than I usually am about getting on any planes, buses or trains.
I fully recommend everyone checking this one out. It was by far and away the best end of summer release and completely worth the trip to a video store.
The House Bunny
Shelley is living a carefree life until a rival gets her tossed out of the Playboy Mansion. With nowhere to go, fate delivers her to the sorority girls from Zeta Alpha Zeta. Unless they can sign a new pledge class, the seven socially clueless women will lose their house to the scheming girls of Phi Iota Mu. In order to accomplish their goal, they need Shelley to teach them the ways of makeup and men; at the same time, Shelley needs some of what the Zetas have – a sense of individuality. The combination leads all the girls to learn how to stop pretending and start being themselves.
This was a textbook end of the summer comedy. The type of movie that they make just to sort of throw out there for the girlies who are tired of all the non stop action at theaters and make a couple million dollars in the process. This movie wasn't necessarily bad, but it wasn't all that good either. The part that really saved it for me was watching Anna Farris interact with the misfit sorority girls. There were a couple of times where I was belly laughing. However, once she had them all transformed - it went back to being nowhere near as funny.
I wouldn't have really recommend people checking this out in theaters because it really would be a waste of time. Its not too bad for a rental though.
This was a textbook end of the summer comedy. The type of movie that they make just to sort of throw out there for the girlies who are tired of all the non stop action at theaters and make a couple million dollars in the process. This movie wasn't necessarily bad, but it wasn't all that good either. The part that really saved it for me was watching Anna Farris interact with the misfit sorority girls. There were a couple of times where I was belly laughing. However, once she had them all transformed - it went back to being nowhere near as funny.
I wouldn't have really recommend people checking this out in theaters because it really would be a waste of time. Its not too bad for a rental though.
Mamma Mia!
An independent, single mother who owns a small hotel on an idyllic Greek island, Donna (Streep) is about to let go of Sophie (Amanda Seyfried), the spirited daughter she's raised alone. For Sophie's wedding, Donna has invited her two lifelong best girlfriends--practical and no-nonsense Rosie (Julie Walters) and wealthy, multi-divorcee Tanya (Christine Baranski)--from her one-time backing band, Donna and the Dynamos. But Sophie has secretly invited three guests of her own. On a quest to find the identity of her father to walk her down the aisle, she brings back three men from Donna's past to the Mediterranean paradise they visited 20 years earlier. Over 24 chaotic, magical hours, new love will bloom and old romances will be rekindled on this lush island full of possibilities. Inspired by the storytelling magic of ABBA's songs from "Dancing Queen" and "S.O.S." to "Money, Money, Money" and "Take a Chance on Me," Mamma Mia! is a celebration of mothers and daughters, old friends and new family found.
This movie was just plain annoying. I have no problem with ABBA's songs or musicals whatsoever. However, this movie just seemed so forced that it was annoying. They would just shoot in to the singing parts randomly and they were absurdly over the top. The whole thing with musicals is that you should be so into the story that you don't even care that the actors are now singing. I found myself rolling my eyes every time that they would burst in to song thinking here we go again. As for the full story being told through the songs of ABBA - again it all felt forced. When Across The Universe did this with the Beattles music, it was completely fluid and the progression of the movie benefitted royally from it. In this movie, the polar opposite happened. It seemed like they were trying to work the script around what song they wanted them to sing. To summarize again with one word . . . . . . annoying.I
really didn't like this movie, but can't really recommend whether or not to see this because I'm sure that this will be one of those 50/50 movies where half the people hate it like I did while the other half think it is the best thing since sliced bread. Hence, view at your own risk but don't say I didn't warn you.
This movie was just plain annoying. I have no problem with ABBA's songs or musicals whatsoever. However, this movie just seemed so forced that it was annoying. They would just shoot in to the singing parts randomly and they were absurdly over the top. The whole thing with musicals is that you should be so into the story that you don't even care that the actors are now singing. I found myself rolling my eyes every time that they would burst in to song thinking here we go again. As for the full story being told through the songs of ABBA - again it all felt forced. When Across The Universe did this with the Beattles music, it was completely fluid and the progression of the movie benefitted royally from it. In this movie, the polar opposite happened. It seemed like they were trying to work the script around what song they wanted them to sing. To summarize again with one word . . . . . . annoying.I
really didn't like this movie, but can't really recommend whether or not to see this because I'm sure that this will be one of those 50/50 movies where half the people hate it like I did while the other half think it is the best thing since sliced bread. Hence, view at your own risk but don't say I didn't warn you.
The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor
Doomed by a double-crossing sorceress (Michelle Yeoh) to spend eternity in suspended animation, China's ruthless Dragon Emperor and his 10,000 warriors have laid forgotten for eons, entombed in clay as a vast, silent terra cotta army. But when dashing adventurer Alex O'Connell is tricked into awakening the ruler from eternal slumber, the reckless young archaeologist must seek the help of the only people who know more than he does about taking down the undead: his parents.As the monarch roars back to life, our heroes find his quest for world domination has only intensified over the millennia. Striding the Far East with unimaginable supernatural powers, the Emperor Mummy will rouse his legion as an unstoppable, otherworldly force...unless the O'Connells can stop him first.
This was honestly the worst acting by an entire cast that I think I have ever seen. Not only that, but there are few things more insulting than when a movie franchise thinks that they can continue a character by just plopping another actress in there. Maria Bello trying to fill Rachel Weisz's shoes seemed so over the top and forced that she actually made Brandon Fraser seem like a great actor. I was a big fan of the first Mummy movie and even though the second one was incredibly silly - it was an entertaining movie. This third venture was atrocious. Not even the CGI special effects could save this movie.
I wouldn't recommend anyone checking out this movie out. Its total garbage and a complete waste of time.
This was honestly the worst acting by an entire cast that I think I have ever seen. Not only that, but there are few things more insulting than when a movie franchise thinks that they can continue a character by just plopping another actress in there. Maria Bello trying to fill Rachel Weisz's shoes seemed so over the top and forced that she actually made Brandon Fraser seem like a great actor. I was a big fan of the first Mummy movie and even though the second one was incredibly silly - it was an entertaining movie. This third venture was atrocious. Not even the CGI special effects could save this movie.
I wouldn't recommend anyone checking out this movie out. Its total garbage and a complete waste of time.
Horton Hears A Who
Horton Hears A Who is a film based on the beloved book by Dr. Seuss. It is about an imaginative elephant who hears a cry for help coming from a tiny speck of dust floating through the air. Suspecting there may be life on that speck and despite a surrounding community which thinks he has lost his mind, Horton is determined to help.
I enjoyed this movie a lot. That's not to say that it is in or near the ballpark of animated greats like Shrek, Finding Nemo or Aladdin. The thing that seperates those movies with this one is that the characters voices are perfectly cast for their animated counterparts. I was totally psyched about Jim Carrey and Steve Carrell voicing animated characters, but to be completely honest they didn't really bring much to the parts. Their two characters could have been voiced by anyone. That being said - this is definitely one of those animated movies where the adults aren't suffering while the kids enjoy it. There were plenty of laugh out loud moments and a lot of them were moments that were put there for us because the kids weren't laughing nearly as hard. Its a great family film with a couple of really strong messages about friendship and respect along with the laughs.
I'd recommend everyone checking this out. Its definitely worth your time. Anyone with children should go out of their way to check this bad boy out.
I enjoyed this movie a lot. That's not to say that it is in or near the ballpark of animated greats like Shrek, Finding Nemo or Aladdin. The thing that seperates those movies with this one is that the characters voices are perfectly cast for their animated counterparts. I was totally psyched about Jim Carrey and Steve Carrell voicing animated characters, but to be completely honest they didn't really bring much to the parts. Their two characters could have been voiced by anyone. That being said - this is definitely one of those animated movies where the adults aren't suffering while the kids enjoy it. There were plenty of laugh out loud moments and a lot of them were moments that were put there for us because the kids weren't laughing nearly as hard. Its a great family film with a couple of really strong messages about friendship and respect along with the laughs.
I'd recommend everyone checking this out. Its definitely worth your time. Anyone with children should go out of their way to check this bad boy out.
The Dark Knight
The Dark Knight reunites director Christopher Nolan with star Christian Bale, who returns to continue Batman's war on crime. With the help of Lieutenant Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) and District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), Batman sets out to destroy organized crime in Gotham for good. The triumvirate proves to be effective, but they soon find themselves prey to a rising criminal mastermind known as the Joker (Heath Ledger), who thrusts Gotham into anarchy and forces the Dark Knight ever closer to crossing the fine line between hero and vigilante.
Wow! Seriously. Wow! This movie pretty much surpassed the original Batman movie as my favorite comic book movie of all time. Never did I think anyone would be able to top Jack Nicholson as a comic book villain, but Heath Ledger made him actually seem tame. His performance as The Joker was the best bad guy performance since Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter in Silence Of The Lambs. I can't remember the last time that I so thoroughly enjoyed a performance like this. The rest of the cast was also phenomenal (even though Aaron Eckhart started out a little too over the top and then settled in excellently). Chris Nolan's development of multi-tiered levels of suspense over and over again throughout the movie was amazing and even though the movie was long at 2 and 1/2 hours - I would have gladly kept watching. This will probably be the hands down best movie of the year and is a must see by all.
I recommend that everyone see this amazingly done movie. Be warned that it really isn't for kids though. Its very violent and has a really in depth dealing with the mob storyline that will be way over most of their heads.
Wow! Seriously. Wow! This movie pretty much surpassed the original Batman movie as my favorite comic book movie of all time. Never did I think anyone would be able to top Jack Nicholson as a comic book villain, but Heath Ledger made him actually seem tame. His performance as The Joker was the best bad guy performance since Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter in Silence Of The Lambs. I can't remember the last time that I so thoroughly enjoyed a performance like this. The rest of the cast was also phenomenal (even though Aaron Eckhart started out a little too over the top and then settled in excellently). Chris Nolan's development of multi-tiered levels of suspense over and over again throughout the movie was amazing and even though the movie was long at 2 and 1/2 hours - I would have gladly kept watching. This will probably be the hands down best movie of the year and is a must see by all.
I recommend that everyone see this amazingly done movie. Be warned that it really isn't for kids though. Its very violent and has a really in depth dealing with the mob storyline that will be way over most of their heads.
First Sunday
In this comedy, Durell (Ice Cube) and LeeJohn (Tracy Morgan) are best friends and bumbling petty criminals. When told they have one week to pay a $17,000 debt or Durell will lose his son, they come up with a desperate scheme to rob their neighborhood church. Instead, they end up spending the night in the presence of the Lord and are forced to deal with much more than they bargained for.
This movie was just plain dumb. Even though Tracy Morgan and Katt Williams were funny at first, even their acts grew tired and this movie bored the hell out of me. Honestly, I stopped really paying attention as the movie went on and I might have fallen asleep out of boredom for a while there too.
I really wouldn't bother recommending this movie to anyone. Its pretty much poop . . . . . even when I watched it on cable.
This movie was just plain dumb. Even though Tracy Morgan and Katt Williams were funny at first, even their acts grew tired and this movie bored the hell out of me. Honestly, I stopped really paying attention as the movie went on and I might have fallen asleep out of boredom for a while there too.
I really wouldn't bother recommending this movie to anyone. Its pretty much poop . . . . . even when I watched it on cable.
The Longshots
The Longshots is a funny and heartwarming story of the the first and only girl quarterback in Pop Warner football history. Curtis Plummer (Ice Cube) - a down-on-his-luck former high school football star - turns his niece, Jasmine (Keke Palmer), into the quarterback of the local team, the Minden Browns, and gets his stride back when he becomes the team coach. With Curtis as their new leader and their pigtail-wearing star player, this team of misfits wins its way to the the Pop Warner Super Bowl and the small city of Minden, Illinois, is ignited with team spirit, town pride and the glory it once knew.
This is your typical underdog sports movie. You know full well how its going to turn out and all of the hurdles that will be taken to get there. It really makes no difference that it was a girl doing it all. Its the same song and dance. I still somehow end up enjoying these movies no matter what. Its a pretty good message movie for kids . . . . . especially young girls.
I'd recommend people checking this out via rental. Its not a must-see by any means and could wait for cable, but if your interests were piqued by the ads for it - go ahead and rent it.
This is your typical underdog sports movie. You know full well how its going to turn out and all of the hurdles that will be taken to get there. It really makes no difference that it was a girl doing it all. Its the same song and dance. I still somehow end up enjoying these movies no matter what. Its a pretty good message movie for kids . . . . . especially young girls.
I'd recommend people checking this out via rental. Its not a must-see by any means and could wait for cable, but if your interests were piqued by the ads for it - go ahead and rent it.
The X-Files: I Want To Believe
The X-Files: I Want to Believe is a stand-alone story in the tradition of some of the show's most acclaimed and beloved episodes, and takes the complicated relationship between Fox Mulder (Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Anderson) in unexpected directions. Mulder continues his unshakable quest for the truth, and Scully, the passionate, ferociously intelligent physician, remains inextricably tied to Mulder's pursuits.
This movie should have been called The X-Files: I Just Want You To Waste Your Money. This was horrible. It would have even been a really lame two part episode back when the show was on. There wasn't even anything alien related!?! The movie was about Russian organ harvesters. It was like I was watching an episode of Criminal Minds but it was labeled X-Files and they threw Mulder and Scully in there. Why in the blue hell they would randomly make this movie with no sort of a big payoff whatsoever years later is completely beyond me. I could see the die hard fanboys getting violent and attacking the screen after seeing this because of how downright insulting it was.
I wouldn't recommend this movie to anyone. Ever. Not fans of the show. Not even people who enjoy those FBI type movies because you'll still be annoyed with the whiny, repeated banter between Mulder and Scully.
This movie should have been called The X-Files: I Just Want You To Waste Your Money. This was horrible. It would have even been a really lame two part episode back when the show was on. There wasn't even anything alien related!?! The movie was about Russian organ harvesters. It was like I was watching an episode of Criminal Minds but it was labeled X-Files and they threw Mulder and Scully in there. Why in the blue hell they would randomly make this movie with no sort of a big payoff whatsoever years later is completely beyond me. I could see the die hard fanboys getting violent and attacking the screen after seeing this because of how downright insulting it was.
I wouldn't recommend this movie to anyone. Ever. Not fans of the show. Not even people who enjoy those FBI type movies because you'll still be annoyed with the whiny, repeated banter between Mulder and Scully.
Fly Me To The Moon 3D
The year is 1969 and like everyone else in the world, Nat (Trevor Gagnon) and his pals IQ (Philip Daniel Bolden) and Scooter (David Gore) are abuzz over the upcoming launch of the first manned mission to the moon. Inspired by his Grandpa's (Christopher Lloyd) oft-told tale of hiding aboard Amelia Earhart's plane during her famed solo cross-Atlantic flight, Nat hatches a secret plan for the three young flies to stow away on the Apollo 11 rocket.Thinking the trip will be over in a matter of minutes, the fly boys—and their earthbound families—are shocked to learn they will be in space for closer to a week. When a N.A.S.A. Ground Control official catches sight of the three winged stowaways, he instructs the astronauts to store them in a test tube for later study. But after an electrical short causes the ship’s engine to malfunction, the three intrepid insects manage to escape from their glass mini-brig just in time to discover the wiring problem and fix it.After a difficult lunar landing, Nat tags along with Neil Armstrong on his legendary moon walk. Although the flies face a few more close calls, the mission appears to be a success. At least until Grandpa’s old flame Nadia (Nicolette Sheridan) arrives from Russia to warn him that her government, angry over losing the space race, has dispatched fly-spy Yegor (Tim Curry) to Cape Canaveral to sabotage the computer flight plans. With the Apollo hurtling toward Earth, it falls to Nat’s family to save the mission—and the trio of brave flies—from disaster.
This movie was decent. It was definitely more for younger kids though. The story seemed like a kid friendly NASA tour movie. It could have easily been 1/2 hour long. What really saved the movie for me was the animation. It was awesome. The 3d effects were pretty cool as well. I wasn't sure what to think since this movie was barely advertised and didn't really get released wide. I couldn't figure out why they would do that for a movie with the whole 3d thing going on. I figured it was going to outright suck. But it was watchable.
I would lukewarmly recommend people seeing this . . . . . especially those with younger kids. However, I'm pretty sure it will be out of theaters within the next week or so and I'm usually not a big fan of 3d movies on dvd.
This movie was decent. It was definitely more for younger kids though. The story seemed like a kid friendly NASA tour movie. It could have easily been 1/2 hour long. What really saved the movie for me was the animation. It was awesome. The 3d effects were pretty cool as well. I wasn't sure what to think since this movie was barely advertised and didn't really get released wide. I couldn't figure out why they would do that for a movie with the whole 3d thing going on. I figured it was going to outright suck. But it was watchable.
I would lukewarmly recommend people seeing this . . . . . especially those with younger kids. However, I'm pretty sure it will be out of theaters within the next week or so and I'm usually not a big fan of 3d movies on dvd.
The Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian
The characters of C.S. Lewis' timeless fantasy come to life once again in this newest installment of the Chronicles of Narnia series, in which the Pevensie siblings are magically transported back from England to the world of Narnia, where a thrilling, perilous new adventure and an even greater test of their faith and courage awaits them. One year after the incredible events of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, the Kings and Queens of Narnia find themselves back in that faraway wondrous realm, only to discover that more than 1300 years have passed in Narnian time. During their absence, the Golden Age of Narnia has become extinct, Narnia has been conquered by the Telmarines and is now under the control of the evil King Miraz, who rules the land without mercy. The four children will soon meet an intriguing new character: Narnia's rightful heir to the throne, the young Prince Caspian, who has been forced into hiding as his uncle Miraz plots to kill him in order to place his own newborn son on the throne.
Let me start by saying that this movie was great. The story was very well done and the action scenes were amazingly choreographed. The final battle scene was honestly one of the all time bests. The only things that kept me from over the top loving this movie was that it was a good 1/2 hour too long and its marketed totally towards children and couldn't have been less of a kids movie if they tried. This didn't have the cuteness of the first one or really push the sibling care that was in the first one. This one was much more aggresive and pretty violent.
I would recommend that everyone check this out because it is a very well done fantasy epic type movie. However, it is nowhere near the family friendly movie that the first one was so be warned.
Let me start by saying that this movie was great. The story was very well done and the action scenes were amazingly choreographed. The final battle scene was honestly one of the all time bests. The only things that kept me from over the top loving this movie was that it was a good 1/2 hour too long and its marketed totally towards children and couldn't have been less of a kids movie if they tried. This didn't have the cuteness of the first one or really push the sibling care that was in the first one. This one was much more aggresive and pretty violent.
I would recommend that everyone check this out because it is a very well done fantasy epic type movie. However, it is nowhere near the family friendly movie that the first one was so be warned.
Wanted
25-year-old Wes (James McAvoy) was the most disaffected, cube-dwelling drone the planet had ever known. His boss chewed him out hourly, his girlfriend ignored him routinely and his life plodded on interminably. Everyone was certain this disengaged slacker would amount to nothing. There was little else for Wes to do but wile away the days and die in his slow, clock-punching rut. Until he met a woman named Fox (Angelina Jolie). After his estranged father is murdered, the deadly sexy Fox recruits Wes into the Fraternity, a secret society that trains Wes to avenge his dad's death by unlocking his dormant powers. As she teaches him how to develop lightning-quick reflexes and phenomenal agility, Wes discovers this team lives by an ancient, unbreakable code: carry out the death orders given by fate itself. With wickedly brilliant tutors--including the Fraternity's enigmatic leader, Sloan (Morgan Freeman)--Wes grows to enjoy all the strength he ever wanted. But, slowly, he begins to realize there is more to his dangerous associates than meets the eye. And as he wavers between newfound heroism and vengeance, Wes will come to learn what no one could ever teach him: he alone controls his destiny.
This movie was pure adrenaline. When I first saw the preview, I was scared that the movie would be another one of those kick ass action movies that looks awesome and then degenerates in to a pointless pile of dung a la Crank or Shoot Em Up. I was so glad to be dead wrong. This movie was straight up action from the start and had an equally great story line. Are parts of absolutely absurd and far fetched? Of course they are. However, its filmed in such a way that you are able to let go of that silliness and fully immerse in the roller coaster ride anyway. Although they are blatantly using Angelina Jolie to market this movie, the thing that really made this movie was the performance of James McAvoy. His transformation from anxiety ridden cubicle worker to nerves of steel assassin is the true backbone of this movie. The only knock that I would make against this movie is that the buzz and comparisons to The Matrix is a little too much. As awesome as the action is, some of the scenes not in slow motion are a little bit too choppy . . . . . especially the car chases. The car chases in The Matrix Reloaded and The Bourne Ultimatum were edited much better and if they wouldn't have put a little more of that in to this movie, I would stamp it a must see.
I very strongly recommend this movie for anyone looking for a kick ass adrenaline ride. It is definitely worth the trip to the video store.
This movie was pure adrenaline. When I first saw the preview, I was scared that the movie would be another one of those kick ass action movies that looks awesome and then degenerates in to a pointless pile of dung a la Crank or Shoot Em Up. I was so glad to be dead wrong. This movie was straight up action from the start and had an equally great story line. Are parts of absolutely absurd and far fetched? Of course they are. However, its filmed in such a way that you are able to let go of that silliness and fully immerse in the roller coaster ride anyway. Although they are blatantly using Angelina Jolie to market this movie, the thing that really made this movie was the performance of James McAvoy. His transformation from anxiety ridden cubicle worker to nerves of steel assassin is the true backbone of this movie. The only knock that I would make against this movie is that the buzz and comparisons to The Matrix is a little too much. As awesome as the action is, some of the scenes not in slow motion are a little bit too choppy . . . . . especially the car chases. The car chases in The Matrix Reloaded and The Bourne Ultimatum were edited much better and if they wouldn't have put a little more of that in to this movie, I would stamp it a must see.
I very strongly recommend this movie for anyone looking for a kick ass adrenaline ride. It is definitely worth the trip to the video store.
Step Brothers
Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly star in Step Brothers. Ferrell plays Brennan Huff, a sporadically employed thirty-nine-year-old who lives with his mother, Nancy (Mary Steenburgen). Reilly plays Dale Doback, a terminally unemployed forty-year-old who lives with his father, Robert (Richard Jenkins). When Robert and Nancy marry and move in together, Brennan and Dale are forced to live with each other as step brothers. As their narcissism and downright aggressive laziness threaten to tear the family apart, these two middle-aged, immature, overgrown boys will orchestrate an insane, elaborate plan to bring their parents back together. To pull it off, they must form an unlikely bond that maybe, just maybe, will finally get them out of the house.
Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly have to be considered one of the funniest on screen duos ever. They play so well off of each other and I would give anything to see blooper reels of these two cracking mid scene. The two of them playing big kids who still live at home was so picture perfect. The way that they would go back and forth between hating each other and then being best friends just like typical 10 year olds was hysterical. The only knock I'll make against this movie is that some of the funniest lines were delivered after huge laughs and you end up missing most of them. Even when the movie seems to go down that unavoidable dramatic downward spiral - they still manage to rebound and make you laugh your ass off.
I fully recommend everyone checking this out. Its not for kids at all though. There are some really awkward moments and at the risk of spoiling it for people - you need to be warned that you see Will Ferrel's testicles. Seriously. You've been warned.
Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly have to be considered one of the funniest on screen duos ever. They play so well off of each other and I would give anything to see blooper reels of these two cracking mid scene. The two of them playing big kids who still live at home was so picture perfect. The way that they would go back and forth between hating each other and then being best friends just like typical 10 year olds was hysterical. The only knock I'll make against this movie is that some of the funniest lines were delivered after huge laughs and you end up missing most of them. Even when the movie seems to go down that unavoidable dramatic downward spiral - they still manage to rebound and make you laugh your ass off.
I fully recommend everyone checking this out. Its not for kids at all though. There are some really awkward moments and at the risk of spoiling it for people - you need to be warned that you see Will Ferrel's testicles. Seriously. You've been warned.
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