Monsters Vs. Aliens

When California girl Susan Murphy is unwittingly clobbered by a meteor full of outer space gunk on her wedding day, she mysteriously grows to 49-feet-11-inches tall. The military jumps into action and Susan is captured and secreted away to a covert government compound. There, she is renamed Ginormica and placed in confinement with a ragtag group of Monsters: the brilliant but insect-headed Dr. Cockroach, Ph.D.; the macho half-ape, half-fish The Missing Link; the gelatinous and indestructible B.O.B.; and the 350-foot grub called Insectosaurus. Their confinement is cut short, however, when a mysterious alien robot lands on Earth and begins storming the country. In a moment of desperation, the President is persuaded to enlist the motley crew of Monsters to combat the Alien Robot and save the world from imminent destruction.

This movie was awesome. This is one of those animated movies where the humor is so satisfying for the adults that they enjoy it just as much (if not more) than the kids. The president and his advisors had me laughing my ass off throughout this movie. The voice casting was great, the story was tight and that kept the movie to the perfect running time. B.O.B. voiced by Seth Rogen is sure to be a major crowd pleaser.

I fully recommend this movie to everyone. The adults will enjoy it just as much as the kids.

Away We Go

Away We Go is a film follows the journey of an expectant couple (John Krasinski from The Office and Maya Rudolph from Saturday Night Live), as they travel the U.S. in search of the perfect place to put down roots and raise their family. Along the way, they have misadventures and find fresh connections with an assortment of relatives and old friends who just might help them discover "home" on their own terms for the first time.


I really liked this movie. The couple played amazingly well off of each other and were completely believable. The cast of characters that they meet along the way on their journey are totally off the wall and hysterical. Its not your run of the mill straight up comedy, but its smart funny. A lot of humor is in the reactions to what the people are saying and the two main characters delivered perfectly with this. It also did a really good job of displaying the emotions that couples go through when starting a family.


I totally recommend that everyone check this out if they have the chance to do so. I'm not sure how wide it is opening but it is a fun and touching comedy about life and relationships.

The Brothers Bloom

For as long as they can remember, the Brothers Bloom have had only each other to depend on. From their childhood in a long series of gloomy foster homes to their highflying lives as international con artists, Stephen (Mark Ruffalo) and Bloom (Adrien Brody) have shared everything. Stephen brilliantly concocts intricate stories that the brothers live out, but he's still searching for the perfect con, the one where "everyone gets what they want." Meanwhile, Bloom yearns for "an unwritten life"—a real adventure, one not dreamed up by his old brother. Eager to retire, Bloom agrees to take part in one last grand scam. He insinuates himself into the life of Penelope (Rachel Wiesz), a bored, single New Jersey heiress. When a genuine romance begins to blossom between them, he is reluctant to exploit her naiveté, but Penelope has already taken the bait: She impulsively joins Bloom, Stephen and their "associate," a Japanese explosives expert named Bang Bang (Rinko Kikuchi), on an ocean liner to Greece. Penelope is convinced she's happened upon the adventure of a lifetime and offers to bankroll a million dollar deal. As the quartet makes their way from Athens to Prague to Mexico to St. Petersburg, Penelope quickly becomes addicted to the illicit thrills. But as Stephen's elaborate web of deceit pulls tighter, Bloom begins to wonder if his brother has devised the most dangerous con of his life.

I have no clue how this movie didn't get a wider release when it came out in theatres back in May. With all of the garbage that gets put out there and makes millions of dollars, how does a well made and written movie like this with quality actors fall through the cracks. Its ridiculous. Anywho, this movie was just plain fun. It went back and forth between the scams and real emotions that you couldn't tell which was real and never got bored of it. Adrian Brody, Mark Ruffalo, and Rachel Weisz are all great actors that made you really get in to each of the characters and the script/story development was very well done and entertaining.

I would definitely recommend that people check this one out on rental. Its lots of fun and definitely worth your time.

Ghosts Of Girlfriends Past

Celebrity photographer Connor Mead (Matthew McConaughey) loves freedom, fun and women...in that order. A committed bachelor with a no-strings policy, he thinks nothing of breaking up with multiple women on a conference call while prepping his next date.Connor's brother Paul is more the romantic type. In fact, he's about to be married. Unfortunately, on the eve of the big event, Connor's mockery of romance proves a real buzz-kill for Paul, the wedding party and a houseful of well wishers--including Connor's childhood friend Jenny (Jennifer Garner), the one woman in his life who has always seemed immune to his considerable charm.Just when it looks like Connor may single-handedly ruin the wedding, he gets a wake-up call from the ghost of his late Uncle Wayne (Michael Douglas), the hard-partying, legendary ladies man upon whose exploits Connor has modeled his lifestyle. Uncle Wayne has an urgent message for his protege, which he delivers through the ghosts of Connor's jilted girlfriends--past, present and future--who take him on a revealing and hilarious odyssey through a lifetime of failed relationships. Together, they will discover what turned Connor into such a shameless player and whether he has a second chance to find - and this time, keep - the love of his life.


This is your textbook romantic comedy where you know damn well everything that is going to happen before the house lights even dim in the theater. Its just a rehash of A Christmas Carol with McConaughey and Garner playing the same role they play in every movie. There are the over the top/cheesy supporting characters. There is the obligatory happy ending and if you think that I ruined that for you now you are an idiot for not knowing how this would turn out in the first place. All of that being said - I still enjoyed the movie. Sometimes you're just able to "enjoy" a movie regardless of how formula/predictable it is. This is one of those movies.


I would recoomend anyone who was interested in checking this movie out go ahead and do so. Its an enjoyable watch and would make a pretty good date movie.

Observe And Report

At the Forest Ridge Mall, head of security Ronnie Barnhardt patrols his jurisdiction with an iron fist, combating skateboarders, shoplifters and the occasional unruly customer while dreaming of the day when he can swap his flashlight for a badge and a gun. His delusions of grandeur are put to the test when the mall is struck by a flasher. Driven to protect and serve the mall and its patrons, Ronnie seizes the opportunity to showcase his underappreciated law enforcement talents on a grand scale, hoping his solution of this crime will earn a coveted spot at the police academy and the heart of his elusive dream girl Brandi, the hot make-up counter clerk who won't give him the time of day. But his single-minded pursuit of glory launches a turf war with the equally competitive Detective Harrison of the Conway Police, and Ronnie is confronted with the challenge of not only catching the flasher, but getting him before the real cops do.


When I saw the preview for this all I could think to myself was that this was going to be an R-rated Paul Blart: Mall Cop . . . . . and I wasn't too off with that assumption. There are more curses, drug use, sex and way too much full frontal male nudity. Other than that - the story is pretty parallel. The movie wasn't even really a comedy though. There were parts that I was laughing but there were a lot more parts where I just had a "huh" face on and wasn't sure what to think or feel about what was on the screen. At this point, I think Seth Rogen just needs to take a year or so off because he's reaching a Samuel L Jackson level of overexposure here.


I wouldn't really recommend this movie to anyone. Its almost like a independent studio release except its not. You can go ahead and wait for cable for this one.

Battle For Terra

The film tells the story of Senn (Justin Long) and Mala (Evan Rachel Wood), two rebellious alien teens living on the beautiful planet Terra, a place that promotes peace and tolerance, having long ago rejected war and weapons of mass destruction. But when Terra is invaded by human beings fleeing a civil war and environmental catastrophe, the planet is plunged into chaos. During the upheaval, Mala befriends an injured human pilot (Luke Wilson) and each learns the two races are not so different from one another. Together they must face the terrifying realization that in a world of limited resources, only one of their races is likely to survive.


This is another one of those under the radar sci-fi animated movies that banked on 3D effects and then got buried on the release calendar. Its actually not that bad of a story from a sci-fi stand point. The action animation is't too shabby either. Its pretty cool and I would imagine would have been cooler in 3D. The basic animation was a little bit on the lame side though. Ultimately, the movie is just kind of there.


I wouldn't necessarily recommend anyone rushing to check this out. Its not that the movie is bad. Its a decent watch. Its just not really good enough for me to be recommending that you put your time towards watching it.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Hugh Jackman reprises the role that made him a superstar - as the fierce fighting machine who possesses amazing healing powers, retractable claws and a primal fury. Leading up to the events of X-Men, "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" tells the story of Wolverine's epically violent and romantic past, his complex relationship with Victor Creed, and the ominous Weapon X program. Along the way, Wolverine encounters many mutants, both familiar and new, including surprise appearances by several legends of the X-Men universe whose appearances in the film series have long been anticipated.

This is a tough movie to review. Let me just state for the record that I was able to simply watch and enjoy the movie. I kept my expectations rock bottom and was 110% sure that there was no way this movie would be anywhere near the level of quality shown with some of the recent comic book movies. I figured it would be more on par with X-Men: The Last Stand and the two Fantastic Four movies and thats what I got. Its not a great movie in terms of quality, but I felt it was a good movie in terms of summer popcorn movie watchability. Now that I have gotten that out of the way . . . . . Most of the other mutants in the movie were just there for filler which is pretty mind blowing considering that the movie was only barely over an hour and half WITH THE FILLER. The special effects were really lame considering the high profile standing of the movie. The weird thing was that they were the lamest when you didn't really need the special effects. There is a part towards the end with kids running towards a helicopter that is honestly the worst green screen effect I've ever seen. I don't know if the lameness of the effects was because of the fact that the movie leaked online through the special effects company and 20th Century Fox had to scramble to finish the movie or not, but they were cheesy regardless. The biggest problem that I have with the movie is actually an extension of the only problem I had with the original X-Men movie. The character of Sabretooth was always Wolverine's arch nemesis in the comics. I felt that they screwed the pooch with Sabretooth in the original by making him this big, dumb, overly hairy guy that doesn't even speak. This movie did an awesome job explaining Sabretooth and his rivalry with Wolverine. This movie also did a great job in terms of "continuity" considering its a prequel . . . . . except with Sabretooth. You can watch this movie and then go watch the X-Men trilogy and the story jells except we'll never know how Sabretooth went from being a pretty bad ass villain/arch-nemesis played by Liev Schreiber to the aforementioned big, hairy dumb speechless lackey for Magneto. Now that my ranting has been put down there.

I would still recommend this movie. Its simple fun at the movies and is what going to the movies in summer is all about. Just be sure to keep your expectations super low because this is not remotely a comic book movie on the level of The Dark Knight, Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, or the first two X-Men movies.

Next Day Air

When two bumbling criminals (Mike Epps and Wood Harris) accidentally receive a package of grade-A cocaine, they think they've hit the jackpot. But when they try to cash in on their luck, it triggers a series of events that forever changes the lives of ten people in Next Day Air.

This is essentially another one of those spiraling out of control comedies. A bunch of characters are introduced and then involved in a storyline that just keeps getting sillier and sillier and they are all ultimately involved in the big conclusion. The only reason that I even bothered watching this is that I love Donald Faison from Scrubs - one of the funniest shows ever, people! Let's have a moment of silence in case the show is now done for good . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Now back to the movie. There were a couple of times where I laughed, but definitely not enough. The running time of the movie was very short which I appreciated greatly and helped to make the movie minimally watchable.

I wouldn't really recommend that anyone rush to check this out. Its nowhere worth the time and money. You can just wait for cable.

Crank: High Voltage

In this high-octane sequel, hitman Chev Chelios' (Statham) launches himself on an electrifying chase through Los Angeles in pursuit of the Chinese mobster who has stolen his nearly indestructible heart.

Oh my God this movie is downright atrocious. I really wasn't expecting much after how absurdly horrid the first one was, but I have an addiction so I gave this one a shot anyway. I knew it would be bad but maybe it could be a so bad you have to see the movie (aka - guilty pleasure) type of movie like Shoot Em Up, the first Crank or most other Jason Statham movies. I sat there with a disgusted look on my face for about 25 minutes before realizing that there was still another hour to go and deciding to pull the plug on it. During the 25 minutes that I did see, a guy had his heart removed while awake, a guy flicked his cigarette and spit in to the aforementioned open chest, a guy had a shotgun lubed with oil and shoved up his ass for interrogation purposes, a man was beaten with a bicycle repeatedly in the groin until he was bleeding through his pants, and the wonderful scene that is depicted in the poster. One can only wonder what kind of delirious crap happens during the rest of the movie. I'm thinking I'm going to go ahead and never find out.

I wouldn't recommend this movie to anyone. Its horrible. Absolutely horrible. Its almost as if they are trying to start a new genre of film called adrenaline porn.

Dance Flick

In Dance Flick, a young street dancer, Thomas Uncles (Damon Wayans, Jr.), from the wrong side of the tracks and a beautiful young woman, Megan White (Shoshana Bush), are brought together by their passion for dancing and put to the test in the mother of all dance battles.

This movie was horrible. Its not like I went in there with high expectations. I went in to this thinking it would be horrible and it actually ended up being worse. I only laughed twice. Once was a musical number by the Zac Efron-ish guying singing Gay instead of Fame and the other one was a tremendously fat guy singing You're Gonna Feed Me instead of You're Gonna Love Me from Dreamgirls. If I wanted to hear funny song parodies though I would listen to Weird Al. This movie was a humongous pile of dung.

I wouldn't recommend this movie to anyone. Ever. Not even people I hate. Its just plain crap.

State Of Play

Russell Crowe plays D.C. reporter Cal McAffrey, whose street smarts lead him to untangle a mystery of murder and collusion among some of the nation's most promising political and corporate figures. U.S. Congressman Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck) is the future of his political party: an honorable appointee who serves as the chairman of a committee overseeing defense spending. All eyes are upon the rising star to be his party's contender for the upcoming presidential race. Until his research assistant/mistress is brutally murdered and buried secrets come tumbling out.McAffrey has the dubious fortune of both an old friendship with Collins and a ruthless editor, Cameron (Helen Mirren), who has assigned him to investigate. As he and partner Della (Rachel McAdams) try to uncover the killer's identity, McAffrey steps into a cover-up that threatens to shake the nation's power structures. And in a town of spin-doctors and wealthy politicos, he will discover one truth: when billions are at stake, no one's integrity, love or life is ever safe.

This was a really good political suspense movie. The cast was great. I'm still shocked at how many big names were in this movie. The story was very well scripted. You bought in to all of the characters, especially Crowe - even with that ridiculous hair. Even though some of the twists and turns were visibly coming it still played out really well. The only knock that I would make against this movie was that a ran a bit too long and could have cut some of the reporter integrity/ethics stuff out. Other than that this is great suspense/drama at the movies.

I would fully recommend that people check this bad boy out. Its more than worth your money and time.

Earth

The first film in the Disneynature series, Earth, narrated by James Earl Jones, tells the remarkable story of three animal families and their amazing journey across the planet we all call home. Earth combines rare action, unimaginable scale and impossible locations by capturing the most intimate moments of our planet's wildest and most elusive creatures.

This movie started off really good. I was loving the cinematography. The shots were awe inspiring and there were numerious times where I caught myself with that WOW look on my face. Both Stinka and I were really enjoying the movie. Then it just seemed to hit a massive wall as most nature documentaries do. Once you hit the 45 minte to an hour mark most of the awe fades away and you are left wondering how much longer until the credits show up on the screen. The other thing that needs to be mentioned for adults taking their kids to see this - there are a lot of survival of the fittest moments in this movie that while they don't get graphic might scare a lot of the younger kids that see this.

I would somewhat recommend this movie. Like I said, it was really interesting at the start and lasted for a solid hour or so before the boredom took over. Maybe check it out but leave halfway through?