Hotel Transylvania

Welcome to the Hotel Transylvania, Dracula's lavish five-stake resort, where monsters and their families can live it up, free from meddling from the human world. But here's a little known fact about Dracula: he is not only the Prince of Darkness; he is also a dad. Over-protective of his teenage daughter, Mavis, Dracula fabricates tales of elaborate dangers to dissuade her adventurous spirit. As a haven for Mavis, he opens the Hotel Transylvania, where his daughter and some of the world's most famous monsters, Frankenstein and his bride, the Mummy, the Invisible Man, a family of werewolves, and more, can kick back in safety and peace. For Drac, catering to all of these legendary monsters is no problem - but his world could come crashing down when one ordinary guy stumbles on the hotel and takes a shine to Mavis.

This was a simple, fun kids movie that the adults can enjoy as well. It wasn't a bunch of stupid toilet humor because of the Adam Sandler factor. It was funny more because of the incorporating of all the "monsters" that we have come to know through numerous forms of presentation. Dracula bugging out when he got mad for a couple of seconds didn't get old, the Wolfman stuff was really funny and the zombie's throughout it all were great. The story was cute and the run time was perfectly short.

I would definitely recommend people checking this out - especially those of you with kids. Hopefully this movie marks the end of the black hold of movie going that the first 2/3 of September represent and there will be more worthwhile stuff for the families like this to go check out.

Paranormal Activity 4

The fourth film in the supernatural franchise.

That is literally the synopsis that I found. Does the synopsis really matter for these movies at this point. If you are into them - you know the deal. If not - why would you start with number four?

I have really enjoyed this franchise until this point. The first one scared the living hell out of me. The second one was very creepy. The third one (a prequel) backtracked a little but still had more than it's fair share of creep out moments. This one was more of a sequel to part 2 and started off with great promise, but for the first time I wasn't scared. I didn't find myself dreading what was going to happen. I didn't find myself jumping. It was basically a 90 minute set up to the final scene that actually made the story movie forward ever so slightly.

Again - whether I recommend it or not doesn't really matter. If you saw the others and liked them - you will see this one. If you didn't - then you probably won't.

Seven Psychopaths

Seven Psychopaths follows a struggling screenwriter (Colin Farrell) who inadvertently becomes entangled in the Los Angeles criminal underworld after his oddball friends (Christopher Walken and Sam Rockwell) kidnap a gangster's (Woody Harrelson) beloved Shih Tzu. 

This is one of those off the wall dark comedies where there are a bunch of really good actors/characters and you just watch them play off of each other as the story spirals completely out of control.  Christopher Walken was easily the best part of this movie filled with lots of laughs based on how ridiculous everything falling apart was.

I would recommend someone checking this out.  You really wouldn't be wasting your time or disappointed by it at all.

The Cold Light Of Day

Will Shaw (Henry Cavill) goes to Spain for a weeklong sailing vacation with his family but his whole world turns upside down when the family is kidnapped by intelligence agents hell-bent on recovering a mysterious briefcase and Will suddenly finds himself on the run.

My how far some big name actors have fallen. Bruce Willis and Sigourney Weaver were useless in this movie. Honestly, the whole movie was useless and this was not a good start for the guy that is taking over Superman. This movie had been pushed back over a year and it was not hard to understand why. There was zero suspense in this "suspense" movie.

I wouldn't recommend anyone wasting their time with this one. It is pretty much pointless and not worth the time at all.

End Of Watch

Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena star in End of Watch as young Los Angeles police officers Taylor and Zavala as they patrol the city's meanest streets of south central Los Angeles. The film creates a riveting portrait of the city's most dangerous corners, the cops who risk their lives there every day, and the price they and their families are forced to pay.

This movie was awesome. It seemed so real. They did such an amazing job of hooking you into these two characters that the intensity you felt when they were in action was amazing and the laughs you had while they were busting each other's chops were equally as great. There were a couple of times where I started to wonder where the movie was ultimately going but I didn't really care because I would gladly keep watching the daily events in these two cops lives.

I would absolutely recommend people checking this movie out. Granted this has been a pretty bad year for movies so take this with a grain of salt - but this is easily one of the best movies that I have seen this year.

Won't Back Down

Maggie Gyllenhaal and Viola Davis play two determined mothers, one a teacher, who will stop at nothing to transform their children's failing inner city school. Facing a powerful and entrenched bureaucracy, they risk everything to make a difference in the education and future of their children.

This movie was the dictionary definition of a formula, heart string pulling movie.  You pretty much saw the movie by watching the trailer.  Even with that being said - it's still somewhat watchable due to the actresses and the storyline being about schools/children.

I would recommend people checking this out.  I mean you could definitely wait a couple months until it shows up on cable since there really is no need to pay for this, but it's not all that bad.

Taken 2

Liam Neeson returns as Bryan Mills, the retired CIA agent with a particular set of skills who stopped at nothing to save his daughter Kim from Albanian kidnappers. When the father of one of the kidnappers swears revenge and takes Bryan and his wife hostage during their family vacation in Istanbul, Bryan enlists Kim to help them escape, and uses the same advanced level of special forces tactics to get his family to safety and systematically take out the kidnappers one by one.

It is hard to believe how God awful this movie was. The first one was a great paced, simple story bada$$ movie. How could they manage to screw up the simplest sequel in the world to make like this? Answer - push way too much of the wife and the daughter and tone it down for a PG-13 rating. All enjoyment was pretty much non-existent in this and a barely 90 minute movie seemed like forever long.

I would absolutely not recommend anyone bothering with this. It's pretty much a big giant turd and easily one of the most disappointing movies to come out this year.

The Possession

Clyde (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and Stephanie Brenek (Kyra Sedgwick) see little cause for alarm when their youngest daughter Em becomes oddly obsessed with an antique wooden box she purchased at a yard sale. But as Em's behavior becomes increasingly erratic, the couple fears the presence of a malevolent force in their midst, only to discover that the box was built to contain a dibbuk, a dislocated spirit that inhabits and ultimately devours its human host.

I tend to not look forward to these PG-13 exorcism type movies because they never hit the mark. Anything remotely creepy is usually shown in the trailers and it's a waste of 90 minutes. Finally, this one was enjoyable. It had plenty of creeped out moments. It had to do with a kid which for whatever reason is always that much more terrifying. The story wasn't over the top too much that it slowed the movie down too much. Pretty surprising.

I would definitely recommend creepy movie fans check this one out. It was a pretty entertaining watch.

Beasts Of The Southern Wild

In a forgotten but defiant bayou community cut off from the rest of the world by a sprawling levee, a six-year-old girl exists on the brink of orphanhood. Buoyed by her childish optimism and extraordinary imagination, she believes that the natural world is in balance with the universe until a fierce storm changes her reality. Desperate to repair the structure of her world in order to save her ailing father and sinking home, this tiny hero must learn to survive unstoppable catastrophes of epic proportions.

I cannot for the life of me put my finger on exactly why but I loved this movie. It was like a alternate version of Where The Wild Things Are but in the real world. Half of me kept thinking WTF and the other half was dying to see where this movie was going to go. It was like watching real life struggles through the eyes of a strong willed six year old . . . . . and being about to identify with it or understand it.

I would absolutely recommend people checking this out. If I were to go back and adjust my 2012 best of list, this movie would probably crack the top ten.

Frankenweenie

From creative genius Tim Burton comes Frankenweenie, a heartwarming tale about a boy and his dog. After unexpectedly losing his beloved dog Sparky, young Victor harnesses the power of science to bring his best friend back to life with just a few minor adjustments. He tries to hide his home-sewn creation, but when Sparky gets out, Victor's fellow students, teachers and the entire town all learn that getting a new leash on life can be monstrous.

Personally, I enjoyed this movie. I have pretty much always enjoyed Tim Burton's stuff like this. It was a simple enough story. One that definitely hits home with me because of my closeness with my cat. It was definitely short enough that it didn't go on and on. That being said . . . . this movie is soooooooo not for young kids as advertised. The last 15-20 minutes of this movie are really creepy and kind of violent.

I would still recommend that people go and check this out. It was a very enjoyable movie. Just do NOT bring young children to see it.

House At The End Of The Street

Seeking a fresh start, newly divorced Sarah (Elisabeth Shue) and her daughter Elissa (Jennifer Lawrence) find the house of their dreams in a small, upscale, rural town. But when startling and unexplainable events begin to happen, Sarah and Elissa learn the town is in the shadows of a chilling secret. Years earlier, in the house next door, a daughter killed her parents in their beds, and disappeared - leaving only a brother, Ryan (Max Thieriot), as the sole survivor. Against Sarah's wishes, Elissa begins a relationship with the reclusive Ryan - and the closer they get, the deeper they're all pulled into a mystery more dangerous than they ever imagined.

This movie started off as a decent creepy movie with the sister still being alive and the brother trying to cover for her and keep her hidden. It wasn't really good, but decent. Then there was a twist that pretty much dumped this movie right in to the crapper and I felt like I was watching a repeat of that show Criminal Minds. Can't really go in to much more detail without playing the whole Spoiler Alert thing and to be honest - the movie was too crappy to waste my time going in to any more detail.

I would absolutely not recommend anyone bothering with this movie. It is pretty pointless and a big pile of poop. Any hope it might have had left once they did their stupid swerve.

Dredd

The future America is an irradiated waste land. On its East Coast, running from Boston to Washington DC, lies Mega City One- a vast, violent metropolis where criminals rule the chaotic streets. The only force of order lies with the urban cops called "Judges" who possess the combined powers of judge, jury and instant executioner. Known and feared throughout the city, Dredd (Karl Urban) is the ultimate Judge, challenged with ridding the city of its latest scourge - a dangerous drug epidemic that has users of "Slo-Mo" experiencing reality at a fraction of its normal speed. During a routine day on the job, Dredd is assigned to train and evaluate Cassandra Anderson (Olivia Thirlby), a rookie with powerful psychic abilities thanks to a genetic mutation. A heinous crime calls them to a neighborhood where fellow Judges rarely dare to venture- a 200 story vertical slum controlled by prostitute turned drug lord Ma-Ma (Lena Headey) and her ruthless clan. When they capture one of the clan's inner circle, Ma-Ma overtakes the compound's control center and wages a dirty, vicious war against the Judges that proves she will stop at nothing to protect her empire. With the body count climbing and no way out, Dredd and Anderson must confront the odds and engage in the relentless battle for their survival.

Most unnecessarily long plot summary ever for a movie with no story/plot whatsoever. This is total garbage. Acting poop. Writing poop. Action even poop. This was just a cheap excuse to show gunshots and exploding blood in slow motion 3D. Total garbage.

Should anyone see this? Absolutely not. Pretty much a lock for the Bottom 10 at the end of the year.

Hit And Run

Hit and Run is the story of Charlie Bronson (Shepard), a nice guy with a questionable past who risks everything when he busts out of the witness protection program to deliver his fiance' (Kristen Bell) to Los Angeles to seize a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Their road trip grows awkwardly complicated, when they are chased by the feds (led by Tom Arnold) and increasingly dangerous, when Charlie's former pals, a band of gangsters (led by Bradley Cooper), enter the fray.

I sat through this movie for the first 30-40 minutes with that "how bad can this movie really be" face on and begging WW to leave. The acting was god awful. Don't know if you read in the synopsis above that Tom Arnold was in it. After seeing his 4th or 5th rant of the movie, I finally realized that I had the car keys on me and was able to use that leverage to pull the plug before Bradley Cooper even came on screen.

I would not recommend that anyone even waste the half hour that I did on this movie. This is one of those movies that will be etched in my mind under the category of how the hell do movies like this even get made in the first place. The budget that was spent on something like this could probably cure hunger in Ethiopia or something for Christ's sake!!!