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Limitless

Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro star in Limitless, a paranoia-fueled action thriller about an unsuccessful writer whose life is transformed by a top-secret smart drug that allows him to use 100% of his brain and become a perfect version of himself. His enhanced abilities soon attract shadowy forces that threaten his new life.

This movie had a great premise and a good start . . . . . even if it was annoying as hell looking at Bradley Cooper's strung out appearance. Unfortunately, I really lost interest about an hour in and the movie just kind of slowly starting circling the drain. It was still watchable overall but the sluggish pace kind of ruined the movie. I was more interested in seeing the credits start than actually seeing what happened in order to wrap up the movie.

I would lukewarmly recommend this movie to people. Or maybe I should just say to lower your expectations because mine were probably higher than they should have been ruining the movie for me.

Take Me Home Tonight

As the summer of 1988 winds down, three friends on the verge of adulthood attend an out-of-control party in celebration of their last night of unbridled youth. Starring Topher Grace, Anna Faris, Dan Fogler and Teresa Palmer, Take Me Home Tonight is a raunchy, romantic and ultimately touching blast from the past set to an awesome soundtrack of timeless rock and hip-hop hits. Recent MIT grad Matt Franklin (Topher Grace) should be working for a Fortune 500 company and starting his upward climb to full-fledged yuppie-hood. Instead, the directionless 23-year-old confounds family and friends by taking a part-time job behind the counter of a video store at the Sherman Oaks Galleria. But Matt's silent protest against maturity comes to a screeching halt once his unrequited high school crush, Tori Frederking (Teresa Palmer), walks into the store. When she invites him to an epic, end-of-summer party, Matt thinks he finally might have a chance with the girl of his dreams. With his cynical twin sister Wendy (Anna Faris) and best friend Barry (Dan Fogler), Matt embarks on a once-in-a-lifetime evening. From stealing a car to a marriage proposal to an indescribable, no-holds-barred dance-off, these friends share experiences that will change the course of their lives on one unforgettable night in the Go-Go '80s.

I enjoyed this movie but can honestly say its because I grew up through this time. This is a fun movie for anyone who went through this era. If you didn't - this movie is totally pointless and you won't get at least 1/2 of the jokes. For me . . . . . The music is great. The laughs are pretty good. Unfortunately, they don't carry throughout the movie as it tries a little too hard to become John Hughes-ish. I still found myself able to not think I wasted my time.

I would lukewarmly recommend this movie. It is not a must see by any means of the imagination but is a fun watch for those of us that lived through stuff like this.

Rango

A chameleon that aspires to be a swashbuckling hero finds himself in a Western town plagued by bandits and is forced to literally play the role in order to protect it.

I enjoyed this movie. I liked how quirky it was. I liked how random many of the scenes and lines were. I enjoyed the different characters and the old western setting. That being said, I could see this movie not being enjoyed by everyone. A lot of the script is high brow humor that will get lost on most of the audience. Also, this movie is so NOT for kids. It has a cast made of lizards and snakes. Younger kids are going to run out of the theater crying and have nightmares for days. The movie is also waaaaaaaay too long. This one came in at 2 hours. For an animated movie!?! That's just plain silly.

I would lukewarmly recommend this movie I guess. The comedy wasn't really mainstream and it's too long but I did still really enjoy it.

Arthur

Irresponsible charmer Arthur Bach (Russell Brand) has always relied on two things to get by: his limitless fortune and the good sense of lifelong nanny Hobson (Helen Mirren) to keep him out of trouble. Now he faces his biggest challenge--choosing between an arranged marriage that will ensure his lavish lifestyle or an uncertain future with the one thing money can't buy, Naomi (Greta Gerwig), the only woman he has ever loved. With Naomi's inspiration and some unconventional help from Hobson, Arthur will take the most expensive risk of his life and finally learn what it means to become a man.

This movie was just there. It is the definition of a movie that is just there. I've seen much worse than this movie. I've seen much better than this movie. There were a few light laughs here and there. Outside of that, it was about as entertaining as watching paint dry. It was essentially just on the screen in a dark theater while I played Words With Friends on my phone.

I would really recommend anyone bothering with this. Unless you literally have absolutely NOTHING to do for two hours and have seen most other movies out in theaters.

The writer-director team behind Saw and the filmmakers of Paranormal Activity redefine the haunted house genre in Insidious. This horror film is the terrifying story of a family who shortly after moving discover that dark spirits have possessed their home and that their son has inexplicably fallen into a coma. Trying to escape the haunting and save their son, they move again only to discover that it was not their house that was haunted.
This movie terrified me. Completely terrified me. I wouldn't look at the screen for massive portions of the movie. I wish that they would make more scary movies like this. No gore. No crazy psycho killers. Just straight up creepy ghosts, music and sudden sight scares. I thought that it was going to fall flat towards the end because it started to go in to that ghost hunters/spirits from the beyond type stuff that if you aren't into it seems like the most hokey bs around. However, it pulled through and stayed creeptastic from start to finish. I will probably not be sleeping too well tonight.
I completely recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys scary movies. Its legit scary and an awesome watch.

The Lincoln Lawyer

In the The Lincoln Lawyer, Matthew McConaughey stars as Michael "Mick" Haller, a slick, charismatic Los Angeles criminal defense attorney who operates out of the back of his Lincoln Continental sedan. Having spent most of his career defending petty, gutter-variety criminals, Mick unexpectedly lands the case of a lifetime: defending a rich Beverly Hills playboy (Ryan Phillippe) who is accused of attempted murder. However, what initially appears to be a straightforward case with a big money pay-off swiftly develops into a deadly match between two masters of manipulation and a crisis of conscience for Haller.

This movie was a lot better than I thought it would be. I think Matthew McConaughey should stick to playing southern lawyers because this was probably his best acting performance since A Time To Kill. His usual ineptitude wasn't on display in this movie. There was also a pretty good staff around him. The story had so many twists and turns that it kept you interested. I'm not saying this is a must see awesome movie. Its more like one of the much better episodes of a television procedural like CSI or Law & Order: SVU.

I would definitely recommend people checking this out. Again, it's not remotely a must see but it's definitely a good enough watch for your time.

Sucker Punch

Sucker Punch is an action fantasy that takes us into the vivid imagination of a young girl whose dream world provides the ultimate escape from her darker reality. Unrestrained by the boundaries of time and place, she is free to go where her mind takes her, and her incredible adventures blur the lines between what's real and what is imaginary.

This is one of the biggest train wrecks I've ever sat through from beginning to end. Seriously. I saw this with WW and one of my best friends (that's right - I said it, guy) and we were about 30 minutes in where we all turned to each other and said "what the hell is going on". From that point on we did nothing but laugh at the absurdity of this movie. Apprantly, Baby Doll has magical dancing powers that when she dances it puts everyone in a trance and her and her overly makeup faced, tight clothes wearing posse can go to battle in some weird ass worlds to obtain the things necessary to escape. Following me? It gets better. To get advice from Scott Glenn (who I never noticed how much he looks like a short haired David Carradine) on how to get out she had to do battle with three Kung Fu Pandas in Pinnochio formIn order to get the map, they have to battle a squad of zombie nazis led by Freddy Krueger. In order to get fire they had to battle the orcs from Lord Of The Rings. I'm pretty sure I saw Legolas and Gimli in there. Seriously. This all happened. It was great visually like all of Zack Snyder's movies are, but that was really about it. Correction, I have to admit I was enjoying the covers of a bunch of songs throughout the movie. But now that's really it.

I would definitely not recommend people checking this out. Again, I would have bailed if it wasn't for the three of us laughing so hard at the movie. Its just a bunch of brain farts thrown up on the screen for 14 year old boys. No substance at all.

Beastly

Kyle Kingson (Alex Pettyfer) has it all - looks, intelligence, wealth and opportunity - and a wicked cruel streak. Prone to mocking and humiliating "aggressively unattractive" classmates, he zeroes in on Goth classmate Kendra, inviting her to the school's extravagant environmental bash. Kendra accepts, and, true to form, Kyle blows her off in a particularly savage fashion. She retaliates by casting a spell that physically transforms him into everything he despises. Enraged by his horrible and unrecognizable appearance he confronts Kendra and learns that the only solution to the curse is to find someone that will love him as he is - a task he considers impossible. Repulsed by his appearance, Kyle's callous father banishes him to Brooklyn with a sympathetic housekeeper and blind tutor. As Kyle ponders how to overcome the curse and get his old life back, he chances upon a drug addict in the act of killing a threatening dealer. Seizing the opportunity, Kyle promises the addict freedom and safety for his daughter, Lindy (Vanessa Hudgens) if she will consent to live in Kyle's Brooklyn home.

This is really lame retelling of Beauty & The Beast. The acting is just as atrocious as you would expect. Whoever took the time to actually "write" this should be shot. The movie is super short but feels long as hell. The only reason I was remotely able to enjoy this is how hard we were all laughing at how bad the movie was.

I wouldn't recommend anyone wasting their time with this. It's not worth your time at all . . . . . unless you and a group of friends get the same level of enjoyment out of laughing at garbage like we did.

Season Of The Witch

Nicolas Cage and Ron Perlman star in this supernatural action adventure about a heroic Crusader and his closest friend who return home after decades of fierce fighting, only to find their world destroyed by the Plague. The church elders, convinced that a girl accused of being a witch is responsible for the devastation, command the two to transport the strange girl to a remote monastery where monks will perform an ancient ritual to rid the land of her curse. They embark on a harrowing, action-filled journey that will test their strength and courage as they discover the girl's dark secret and find themselves battling a terrifyingly powerful force that will determine the fate of the world.

Bla bla bla goes the plot bio of this movie. This movie is a textbook January release. Its release has been pushed back numerous times. It has one little hook of medieval times/witchcraft. It stars Nicolas Cage. Seriously, this guy's movies are made for either January or September. I expected very little going in to this movie and I got exactly that. I figured it would be garbage and it pretty much was.

I wouldn't recommend anyone wasting their time with this. The action is lame. The story is fast forwarded and forced. The acting is par level with the rest of Nicolas Cage movies. You were warned.

The Warrior's Way

The Warrior's Way is a modern martial arts western starring Korean actor Dong-gun Jang who plays an Asian warrior assassin forced to hide in a small town in the American Badlands.

I have always been a big fan of Kung Fu movies. Usually I don't care about the story. I just want to see some bad a$$ fights and I'll be good. I accept them for what they are and manage to enjoy them. That being said, I have no clue what the hell this giant piece of garbage was. There are actual actors in this giant turd. It was sooooooooooooooo bad. The only good part was that there was a midget somehow involved but at the risk of spoiling a movie that nobody cares about - they kill the f'n midget!!! That's right up there with harming animals in movies for me. That's just not necessary!!!

I wouldn't recommend this movie to anyone. Ever. I have not the slightest clue why crap like this gets made . . . . . . . or released.

The Adjustment Bureau

On the brink of winning a seat in the U.S. Senate, ambitious politician David Norris (Damon) meets beautiful contemporary ballet dancer Elise Sellas (Emily Blunt)--a woman like none he's ever known. But just as he realizes he's falling for her, mysterious men conspire to keep the two apart. David learns he is up against the agents of Fate itself--the men of The Adjustment Bureau--who will do everything in their considerable power to prevent David and Elise from being together. In the face of overwhelming odds, he must either let her go and accept a predetermined path...or risk everything to defy Fate and be with her.

I really liked this movie. It's more of a love story than the conspiracy/action stuff they advertised, but the love story has a big enough hook to keep you interested. The actual adjustment bureau part of the story is great and the thought of us all being watched so we stay on the right track is beyond intriguing. Really makes you think . . . . . . and kind of makes me want to kick the guy's ass that has been pulling my strings for the the last year or so.

I would definitely recommend people checking this one out. Again - don't expect a whole lot of action and what not. It really does end up being a love story with faith undertones.

Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules

In this sequel to 2010's surprise hit, Greg Heffley, the kid who made "wimpy" cool is back in an all-new family comedy based on the best-selling follow-up novel by Jeff Kinney. As he begins seventh grade, Greg and his older brother - and chief tormentor - Rodrick must deal with their parents' misguided attempts to have them bond.

I loved this movie just as much as the first one and all of the books. This is a throwback to those awesome fun family movies from back in the day. Very simple lesson (get along with your siblings) . . . . . very funny situations . . . . . . enjoyable side characters . . . . . . . morals . . . . . . I really wish that there were more of these kinds of movies instead of millions of awkward moments with your kid sitting next to you at a "family" film. This is just basic enjoyment on a very simple level and I look forward to the rest of the books being turned in to movies.

I would definitely recommend people checking this out. Its short, simple, fun, and awesome for all families.

The Eagle

In 140 AD, two men - master and slave - venture beyond the edge of the known world on a dangerous and obsessive quest that will push them beyond the boundaries of loyalty and betrayal, friendship and hatred, deceit and heroism. 20 years earlier, Rome's 5,000-strong Ninth Legion, under the command of Flavius Aquila, marched north carrying their treasured golden Eagle emblem. They never returned; Legion and Eagle simply vanished into the mists. Hearing a rumor that the Eagle has been seen in a tribal temple in the far north, Flavius' son Marcus (Tatum), determined to restore the tarnished reputation of his father, is galvanized into action. Accompanied only by his slave Esca (Bell), Marcus sets out into the vast and dangerous highlands of Scotland - to confront its savage tribes, make peace with his father's memory, and retrieve the hallowed Eagle.

See now from that plot description, you would expect a pretty good Roman empire type of movie. And for the record - this movie could have actually been really bada$$. However, they decided to target an audience of 17 year old girls by casting Channing Tatum. I actually could have possibly accepted him in this role. However, since they were targeting teenage girls, they had to make it rated PG-13. So this led to a whole bunch of awesome fights where nothing was ever shown. And a whole bunch of dialogue that was right out of Twilight instead of ancient Rome. Therefore, unless you are a teenage girl with a big crush on Channing Tatum - this movie that could have been awesome is basically poop.

I wouldn't recommend anyone bothering to see this except for the aforementioned teenage girls. Its pretty painful to be honest.

Cedar Rapids

To call insurance agent Tim Lippe (Ed Helms), "naive" is a gross understatement. He's never left his small hometown. He's never stayed at a hotel. And he's never experienced anything like Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Sent to represent his company at the annual insurance convention, Tim is soon distracted by three convention veterans (John C. Reilly, Anne Heche and Isiah Whitlock Jr.) who will show him the ropes and push his boundaries. For a guy who plays everything by the book, this convention will be anything but conventional.

This is one of those artsy comedies. Overall, it's completely pointless, but there are some one liners and scenes that do make you laugh. John C Reilly is his usual self and I'm a big fan of Ed Helms but was kind of put off by how straight laced he was. Isiah Whitlock Jr completely stole the show honestly.

I would lukewarmly recommend people checking this out. Its not a must see by any means. Its super short and there are some good laughs.

Unknown

Dr. Martin Harris (Liam Neeson) awakens after a car accident in Berlin to discover that his wife (January Jones) suddenly doesn't recognize him and another man (Aidan Quinn) has assumed his identity. Ignored by disbelieving authorities and hunted by mysterious assassins, he finds himself alone, tired and on the run. Aided by an unlikely ally (Diane Kruger), Martin plunges headlong into a deadly mystery that will force him to question his sanity, his identity, and just how far he's willing to go to uncover the truth.

When did Liam Nesson become such a believable bada$$? I'm still reeling from Taken last year and here comes another slice from a very similar pie. This movie is a great suspense thriller. You find yourself completely tuned in the entire time wanting to know where the story is going. It doesn't pull up lame at the end. Great action throughout. It's a really fun and smart ride.

I would definitely recommend people checking this movie out. It's smart, fun, action packed and you won't be disappointed.