The Informant!

Based on the book by Kurt Eichenwald. What was Mark Whitacre thinking? A rising star at agri-industry giant Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), Whitacre suddenly turns whistleblower. Even as he exposes his company's multi-national price-fixing conspiracy to the FBI, Whitacre envisions himself being hailed as a hero of the common man and handed a promotion. But before all that can happen, the FBI needs evidence, so Whitacre eagerly agrees to wear a wire and carry a hidden tape recorder in his briefcase, imagining himself as a kind of de facto secret agent. Unfortunately for the FBI, their lead witness hasn't been quite so forthcoming about helping himself to the corporate coffers. Whitacre's ever-changing account frustrates the agents and threatens the case against ADM as it becomes almost impossible to decipher what is real and what is the product of Whitacre's rambling imagination. Based on the true story of the highest-ranking corporate whistleblower in U.S. history.

This movie was both better and worst than I expected. Make sense? Lets try to explain. I think this movie suffered from really bad marketing. I was expecting it to be a lot more blatantly funny. This is in no way a normal comedy. The ads went out of their way to make it look like a witty laugh fest like Ocean's 11, 12 and 13. Its not. However, it is a very good dark comedy. The bottom line is that this dude was nuts. He couldn't stop lying. You find yourself laughing at how out of control everything was getting when it is in fact horribly sad that this guy just can't stop himself. There was a while there where I couldn't tell what was a lie and what was true. I enjoyed watching him spiral out of control but then genuinely felt bad for him when he hit rock bottom . . . . . only to be laughing at it all again just before the movie ended. The narration by Matt Damon throughout the movie was the best part of the movie. Especially at points when he's mid lie and starts wondering about indoor pools or where he should buy his ties only to snap out of it and keep the lie going.

I really enjoyed this movie but think that its marketing campaign hurt it big time. If you can go in to the movie knowing what it really is about, you would probably really enjoy this movie.

Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant

Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant, based on the popular series of books by Darren Shan, is a fantasy-adventure about a teenager who unknowingly breaks a 200-year-old truce between two warring factions of vampires. Pulled into a fantastic life of misunderstood sideshow freaks and grotesque creatures of the night, one teen will vanish from the safety of a boring existence and fulfill his destiny in a place drawn from nightmares.

I hadn't read this series of books so I had no advanced ties to the story or the characters. I would like to think that maybe I would have enjoyed this better if I had read the book though because there really was no hook with this movie whatsoever. The main kid was annoying. The special effects were pretty cheesy to say the least. The assortment of freaks, some actually played by legit actors, weren't on screen nearly enough. The only thing that made this movie the slightest bit watchable was John C Reilly's vampire. Unfortunately, most of his screen time was shared with the really annoying main kid.

I wouldn't recommend that anyone check this out. Its just kind of there and is in no way worth your money much less your time.

The Box

What if someone gave you a box containing a button that, if pushed, would bring you a million dollars...but simultaneously take the life of someone you don't know? Would you do it? And what would be the consequences? The year is 1976. Norma Lewis is a teacher at a private high school and her husband, Arthur, is an engineer working at NASA. They are, by all accounts, an average couple living a normal life in the suburbs with their young son...until a mysterious man with a horribly disfigured face appears on their doorstep and presents Norma with a life-altering proposition: the box. With only 24 hours to make their choice, Norma and Arthur face an impossible moral dilemma. What they don't realize is that no matter what they decide, terrifying consequences will have already been set in motion. They soon discover that the ramifications of this decision are beyond their control and extend far beyond their own fortune and fate.

This movie was an absolutely awesome psychological thriller . . . . . . for the first hour of the movie. It was like watching one of Alfred Hitchcocks movies. Just the old school tension music alone was awesome at getting you amped up to see what the couple was going to do. Then the movie turned in to this really weird over the top pile of poop that spiraled insanely out of control. I had no clue what was going on and even though I was so into the first hour of the movie - they managed to have me completely not caring at all by the end. I was just relieved that the credits were finally on. Its really unfortunate for a movie that started off this good to end so horribly bad.

I wouldn't recommend anyone going to check this movie out . . . . unless you want to go watch the first hour and then just leave pretending that the movie ends much better than it does. If you are up to doing that - this is an awesome movie. Staying to the end will make you want to punch a small child.

Sorority Row

When five sorority girls inadvertently cause the murder of one of their sisters in a prank gone wrong, they agree to keep the matter to themselves and never speak of it again, so they can get on with their lives. This proves easier said than done, when after graduation a mysterious killer goes after the five of them and anyone who knows their secret...

Sorority Row is what it is. If you are going to see a quality movie - you should absolutely not see this. If you are going to see a smart or edgy horror movie - you should absolutely not see this. If you are going to see your textbook girls getting killed off one by one horror movie - then you should see this. It was essentially a remake of I Know What You Did Last Summer but it takes places in a sorority. The acting is atrocious. Its so bad in fact that I found myself wanting to see all the girls get killed and loving it when they were. Unfortunately, that was really the only good part of the movie. I guess that is a sign of poopage when the only satisfaction found in a movie is the characters getting killed off.

I really wouldn't recommend anyone checking this turd out . . . . unless you want to see a couple of girls get killed off and really bad acting. If thats the case - you should rush to see this.

Everybody's Fine

Everybody's Fine follows a widower (De Niro) who embarks on an impromptu road trip to reconnect with each of his grown children only to discover that their lives are far from picture perfect.

When I saw the trailer for this movie, it did nothing other than open up the massive scars from "The Family Stone". Not sure if anyone remembers that movie. I sadly will never forget it. It was advertised as a feel good, family comedy for the holidays. WW and I were all psyched to see it. Turns out the movie was about the kids finding out that their mother was dying of cancer and this would be the last holiday that they would spend with her. It might honestly be the most devastating movie going experience ever. I saw the trailer for this and immediately assumed that Robert DeNiro was going to die. SPOILER ALERT . . . . . . . . . . . I was wrong. He makes it. However, this movie is horribly misadvertised. Its marketed as a comedy drama. There is NO comedy in this whatsoever. Actually, I'm wrong. I laughed at one scene that DeNiro has with his grandson about 15 minutes in to the movie. Outside of that there was nothing. Even the title is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay off. It should have been called Everybody's Not Fine. Putting my rambling aside - this is a watchable movie - IF you can identify with the crazy family dynamics. Essentially the mother passes away and the father who never really had a connection with any of the kids is trying to establish one now and the kids are trying to shield him from all the tough things in their lives.

As for my recommendation, if that last part above strikes an understanding nerve with you then you could check this movie out. If you have no idea what I mean by that or don't understand it - you won't enjoy this movie at all. Its purely a situational watch.

Motherhood

Eliza Welch (Thurman) is like any other mom with two kids, a loving but absent-minded husband (Edwards), and her own mom-blog ("The Bjorn Identity") - yet she's having a day that would challenge even the toughest multi-tasker. Eliza has to throw her daughter's 6th birthday party while a movie crew takes over her block, chase her tireless two-year-old son, navigate playground politics, walk an incontinent dog, juggle a new career opportunity, and realize what is truly valuable in her life... all in one day.

This was a fun watch about how manic motherhood can be. I feel like it caught everything rather well and then factored in doing it in a major city. I could only imagine what that must be like. I'm not really sure how this movie didn't get a wider release. They should have marketed it around Mother's Day or something. Its not that its a good movie. Its not a bad watch either. It is ultimately just kind of there but there definitely could have been an audience for this if it was marketed better.

I would lukewarmly recommend people checking this out . . . . . . especially mothers trying to prove a point to their kids, husbands or friends.

Law Abiding Citizen

Clyde Shelton (Gerard Butler) is an upstanding family man whose wife and daughter are brutally murdered during a home invasion. When the killers are caught, Nick Rice (Jamie Foxx), a hotshot young Philadelphia prosecutor, is assigned to the case. Over his objections, Nick is forced by his boss to offer one of the suspects a light sentence in exchange for testifying against his accomplice.Fast forward ten years. The man who got away with murder is found dead and Clyde Shelton coolly admits his guilt. Then he issues a warning to Nick: Either fix the flawed justice system that failed his family, or key players in the trial will die.Soon Shelton follows through on his threats, orchestrating from his jail cell a string of spectacularly diabolical assassinations that can be neither predicted nor prevented. Philadelphia is gripped with fear as Shelton's high-profile targets are slain one after another and the authorities are powerless to halt his reign of terror. Only Nick can stop the killing, and to do so he must outwit this brilliant sociopath in a harrowing contest of wills in which even the smallest misstep means death. With his own family now in Shelton's crosshairs, Nick finds himself in a desperate race against time facing a deadly adversary who seems always to be one step ahead.

This movie is beyond formula. You have essentially seen the movie just by watching the commercial. It is also filled with every possible cliche. Putting all of that aside, its still a decently enjoyable watch. As farfetched as Gerard Butler's character plannings are - I know that I would do everything in my means to get someone if they did anything to my WW or Stinka. As long as you can leave your brain at the door and enjoy that adrenaline part of this movie, its fun to watch.

I'd somewhat recommend people checking this out. Its not a must see by any means, but is not a total waste of your time.

More Than A Game

More Than a Game tells the true story of five talented young basketball players, including future NBA superstar LeBron James, and their remarkable journey from Akron, Ohio to the national high school championship series.


Besides movies, following sports is my biggest hobby. Although I love "playing" basketball, I have little interest in watching the NBA. I follow it but I just can't watch it. With all the constant player movement and what not I can't stand how different it is from when I was a kid and it was Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and of course Michael Jordan. That being said - the one player that I love to watch now is LeBron James. The man is amazing in terms of talent and maturity at such a young age. I considered myself privileged to have grown up watching Michael Jordan play and never thought anything would ever come close to that. However, getting to watch this guy in my adult years is just as big of a privilege. This movie captures that maturity and charisma excellently. It also does a great job of explaining why and how he is so unselfish - a true rarity in the world of sports/superstardom. This was a great documentary especially since it spent just as much time on everyone else involved besides LeBron James.

I very strongly recommend people checking this out. Its a very well done documentary on the start of someone that will go down in history as one of the greatest atheletes of all time.

Couples Retreat

Vince Vaughn, Jason Bateman, Jon Favreau, Malin Akerman, Kristin Davis, Kristen Bell and Faizon Love star in Universal Pictures' upcoming comedy "Couples Retreat." Based on an original idea of Vaughn's, the comedy follows four Midwestern couples who embark on a journey to a tropical island resort. While one of the couples is there to work on their marriage, the other three set out to jet ski, spa and enjoy some fun in the sun. They soon discover that participation in the resort’s couples therapy is not optional. Suddenly, their group-rate vacation comes at a price. What follows is a hilarious look at real world problems faced by all couples.


I am a huge fan of Vince Vaughn's ranting. It just doesn't get old for me. I'm also a big fan of Jason Bateman and Jon Favreau. The parts of this movie where they were all playing off of each other were hilarious. Unfortunately, as the movie treaded on they started to keep these guys interactions too controlled and it took away from the enjoyment of the movie as a whole. The couples are all realistic and you do somewhat enjoy seeing them figure things out, but the laughs that were plentiful at the start dissipate way too much as the movie progresses.


I would still say its a go to check this one out. Its a great date movie and the laughs are good. Just keep your expectations in check that they won't be there the whole movie.

The Stepfather

Michael Harding (Penn Badgley) returns home from military school to find his mother (Sela Ward) happily in love and living with her new boyfriend, David (Dylan Walsh). As the two men get to know each other, Michael becomes more and more suspicious of the man who is always there with a helpful hand. Is he really the man of her dreams or could David be hiding a dark side?


Yet another movie this month that is just kind of there. This might really be one of the most boring "thrillers" of all time. At no point was I scared, thrilled, or actually interested in what was going on. You knew everything that was going to happen a good 20 minutes before it did. Who am I kidding? You knew everything that was going to happen before you even sat down in the theater.


I wouldn't recommend this movie to anyone. Its really boring and is a total waste of your time.

The Time Traveler's Wife

The Time Traveler's Wife is based on the best-selling book about a love that transcends time. Clare (Rachel McAdams) has been in love with Henry (Eric Bana) her entire life. She believes they are destined to be together, even though she never knows when they will be separated: Henry is a time traveler—cursed with a rare genetic anomaly that causes him to live his life on a shifting timeline, skipping back and forth through his lifespan with no control. Despite the fact that Henry's travels force them apart with no warning, Clare desperately tries to build a life with her one true love.


This movie is just plain dumb. Seriously. This is a movie that only girls who like to cry just for the sake of crying could like. It was a silly sapfest that the director/editor barely bothered to actually put together. It was essentially a bunch of vignette conversations between Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana that were just mushed together and thrown up on the screen. There were numerous times where you couldn't even tell at what point in the overall "story" the scene was taking place. Then, as if the movie wasn't absurd enough, they introduced the baby portion of the "story" that just made me get that "what the f@ck" look on my face. It then stayed there for the rest of this movie as it continued to get dumber and dumber.This movie is garbage.


I wouldn't recommend anyone wasting their money or time on this. Its just plain silly. They try to take themselves seriously but when audience members are laughing out loud at some of the most serious scenes - you've clearly missed your mark.

A Serious Man

A Serious Man is the story of an ordinary man's search for clarity in a universe where Jefferson Airplane is on the radio and F-Troop is on TV. It is 1967, and Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg), a physics professor at a quiet Midwestern university, has just been informed by his wife Judith (Sari Lennick) that she is leaving him. She has fallen in love with one of his more pompous colleagues, Sy Ableman (Fred Melamed), who seems to her a more substantial person than the feckless Larry. Larry's unemployable brother Arthur (Richard Kind) is sleeping on the couch, his son Danny (Aaron Wolf) is a discipline problem and a shirker at Hebrew school, and his daughter Sarah (Jessica McManus) is filching money from his wallet in order to save up for a nose job. While his wife and Sy Ableman blithely make new domestic arrangements, and his brother becomes more and more of a burden, an anonymous hostile letter-writer is trying to sabotage Larry's chances for tenure at the university. Also, a graduate student seems to be trying to bribe him for a passing grade while at the same time threatening to sue him for defamation. Plus, the beautiful woman next door torments him by sunbathing nude. Struggling for equilibrium, Larry seeks advice from three different rabbis. Can anyone help him cope with his afflictions and become a righteous person – a mensch – a serious man?


This was actually a really great (and actually funny) movie . . . . . . once you make it through the first 40 minutes. I was very close to pulling the plug on this because it was all about being Jewish and I was convinced that since I wasn't there was no way this movie was going to be be understandable. However, once they waded through the very thick religious portion of the movie, it became a character study about a guy who had no control whatsoever about what was going on with his marriage, kids, friendships or career. Michael Stuhlbarg was hilarious as the pressure got to him more and more and you find yourself dying to see him pop.


I would recommend this movie to artistic movie fans. Its not mainstream by any means and while I'm not sure that it was worthy of a Best Picture nomination for 2009 it is very well crafted . . . . . . once you get past the first 40 minutes.

Zombieland

Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) has made a habit of running from what scares him. Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson) doesn't have fears. If he did, he'd kick their ever-living ass. In a world overrun by zombies, these two are perfectly evolved survivors. But now, they're about to stare down the most terrifying prospect of all: each other.

This movie was fun. Its exactly what is advertised. Its a zombie movie with laughs. Sure that sounds pretty demented, but it was a lot of fun even with the nasty gore. The characters were very enjoyable, especially Columbus. His narration was very well written and delivered. The movie is also super short. Always a huge bonus for me. I don't want to give anything away to anyone interested in seeing this, but I must say that the part of the movie featuring Bill Murray was hysterical.

I would definitely recommend people checking this out. It is ultimately a zombie movie so if you aren't in to that - you should definitely pass on it. But if you like those kind of movies - this one is great and very, very funny.

Love Happens

Aaron Eckhart and Jennifer Aniston star in the romantic drama Love Happens. When a self-help author arrives in Seattle to teach a sold-out seminar, he unexpectedly meets the one person who might finally be able to help him help himself. Dr. Burke Ryan (Eckhart) is on the precipice of a major multimedia deal, but the therapist who asks his patients to openly confront their pain is secretly unable to take his own advice. Eloise Chandler (Aniston) has sworn off men and decided to focus on her floral business. However, when she meets Burke at the hotel where he's speaking, there is an instant attraction. But will two people who have met the right person at exactly the wrong time be able to give love another chance? As each struggles with the hurt of love and loss, they realize that in order to move forward, they need to let go of the past. And if they can, they'll find that, sometimes, love happens when you least expect it.

This movie is beyond falsely advertised. It is in no way romantic. Jennifer Aniston is only in about 1/4 of the movie. The movie ends up being all about Aaron Eckhart (who at this point should probably just go ahead and legally change his name to Harvy Dent) dealing with the loss of his wife. The chemistry between Jennifer Aniston and Harvy Dent is totally forced and unrealistic . . . . . and barely on screen. The movie starts off slightly promising but rolls in to a giant ball of hot mess.

I wouldn't recommend anyone wasting their time of this giant, steaming turd. Its a blatant waste of time and you will not be happy.

Amelia

After becoming the first woman to fly across the Atlantic, Amelia was thrust into a new role as America's sweetheart - the legendary "goddess of light," known for her bold, larger-than-life charisma. Yet, even with her global fame solidified, her belief in flirting with danger and standing up as her own, outspoken woman never changed. She was an inspiration to people everywhere, from First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt (Cherry Jones) to the men closest to her heart: her husband, promoter and publishing magnate George P. Putnam (Richard Gere), and her long time friend and lover, pilot Gene Vidal (Ewan McGregor). In the summer of 1937, Amelia set off on her most daunting mission yet: a solo flight around the world that she and George both anxiously foresaw as destined, whatever the outcome, to become one of the most talked-about journeys in history.

This was really one of the more boring biopic movies I've ever seen. At the risk of offending those who do, I never really cared about Amelia Earhart prior to this movie. I certainly do not care about her anymore now after seeing the movie. I'm also not a big fan of Hilary Swank or Richard Gere so that just put even more nails in the coffin of this movie.

I wouldn't really reccomend anyone checking this movie out. Just wait for cable and you are too lazy to get out of bed or change the channel.

New York, I Love You

In New York, I Love You, 12 segments will be connected together via transitional linking sequences. New York City is the main unifying character and the Film will show the city as a living, breathing and loving whole. In the end, the audience will not only understand each individual story, but they will also see the integrated whole of chance encounters through these unique transitions.

This movie was just plain boring. You are not able to really connect with any of the different segments even though this movie has stars galore in it. I couldn't believe some of the people that kept popping up in this. I kept wishing that it would all come together in some way but it never does. Its literally 12 "short stories" that all take place in New York . . . . . . without any real hook to pull you in.

I wouldn't really recommend anyone checking this out. Its not a horrible movie, but it is ultimately pretty boring.