The Master

Set in America in the years following World War II, a charismatic intellectual (Philip Seymour Hoffman) launches a faith-based organization and taps a young drifter (Joaquin Phoenix) as his right-hand man. But as the faith begins to gain a fervent following, the onetime vagabond finds himself questioning the belief system he has embraced, and his mentor.

What a weird, weird movie. Paul Thomas Anderson is another one of those directors that critics love no matter what he does but I end up watching his movies with that confused dog, tilted head face the whole time. Again as with most of the movies that came out in 2012 - the acting was great. I mean, outside of Daniel Day-Lewis, I don't know if there is a better actor in terms of fully engrossing himself in the character than Joaquin Phoenix. There were many times where I started to really get in to this movie and the cult following type of stuff but then it kind of swerved off track and the annoyingly over the top score ended up just turning me off from the movie that much more.

I don't know that anyone should go off of my recommendation on this one. This is one of those movies for me where you heard so much good about it that you end up watching it questioning why people would say it was so good. I wasn't a very big fan of it though.

Chasing Mavericks

Based on the inspirational true story of surfing icon Jay Moriarty, Chasing Mavericks tells the story of a young man's quest to surf Northern California's most dangerous wave, and the local legend who takes him under his wing. What begins as a mentorship turns into a unique lifelong bond, as the two unlikely friends discover that there is nothing more powerful than pushing your limits and chasing a nearly impossible dream.

This was a cutesy, heartstring pulling movie. Think Karate Kid but with surfing. You know the story from the trailer. There are no surprises. Just a good build up to a completely expected outcome. The footage of the waves was amazing.

I would somewhat recommend people checking this out. It is not a must see by any means, but there are much worse things that you could be watching.

Argo

Based on true events, Argo chronicles the life-or-death covert operation to rescue six Americans, which unfolded behind the scenes of the Iran hostage crisis--the truth of which was unknown by the public for decades. On November 4, 1979, as the Iranian revolution reaches its boiling point, militants storm the U.S. embassy in Tehran, taking 52 Americans hostage. But, in the midst of the chaos, six Americans manage to slip away and find refuge in the home of the Canadian ambassador. Knowing it is only a matter of time before the six are found out and likely killed, a CIA "exfiltration" specialist named Tony Mendez (Affleck) comes up with a risky plan to get them safely out of the country. A plan so incredible, it could only happen in the movies.

This movie was great. And I didn't even realize how much I was enjoying it until the tension that had been building for so long finally passed. I literally felt relieved. That is good film making when you get someone to feel that way and totally reel them in without them knowing it's even happening. I continue to be amazed at how much better Ben Affleck is as an actor than a director and the fact that when he is directing himself, he makes himself a better actor. So weird.

I would definitely recommend people checking this out. It's a pretty intense true story that is excellently directed and acted throughout. I'm pretty sure this movie is going to show up on a lot of top ten lists at the end of the year.

Sinister

Sinister is a frightening new thriller from the producer of the Paranormal Activity films and the writer-director of"The Exorcism of Emily Rose" Ethan Hawke plays a true crime novelist who discovers a box of mysterious, disturbing home movies that plunge his family into a nightmarish experience of supernatural horror.

This movie had great scares. Not like a lose sleep kind of stuff like Paranormal Actitivty or last year's Insidious, but the kind that makes the whole audience jump. The story was pretty good and easy enough to follow. The only real problem I had with the movie was the constant waa-waa between Ethan Hawke and his wife. They basically had the same discussion/fight 17 times. It took away from the overall feel of the movie.

I would still recommend that fright fans check this one out. It is a more than decent enough watch and the jump scares are enjoyable. It's just a shame that they couldn't stick more to the story instead of the waa-waa this is my big break speeches made by Ethan Hawke.

Anna Karenina

The third collaboration of Academy Award nominee Keira Knightley with acclaimed director Joe Wright, following the award-winning boxoffice successes "Pride & Prejudice" and "Atonement," is a bold, theatrical new vision of the epic story of love, adapted from Leo Tolstoy's timeless novel by Academy Award winner Tom Stoppard ("Shakespeare in Love"). The story powerfully explores the capacity for love that surges through the human heart. As Anna (Knightley) questions her happiness and marriage, change comes to all around her.

Another massive snoozefest that I'm so glad showed up online preventing me from watching this in the theatre. I'm really not the best person to review these pretentious old English type movies. I am just completely bored by them 95% of the time and this movie was no different.

I wouldn't recommend people wasting their time with this. Like I said - I was barely interested enough to even acknowledge that it was on at all.

Fun Size

Fun Size is a teen comedy centered on a sarcastic high school senior, Wren (Victoria Justice), who is eager to distance herself from her dysfunctional family by going off to college. Before that can happen, Wren's mother, Joy, insists that she watch her little brother Albert on Halloween night, so Joy can go to a rager with her much younger boyfriend. When Wren gets distracted by an invitation to the party of the year, Albert disappears into a sea of trick-or-treaters. Frantic to locate him before their mother discovers he's missing, Wren enlists the help of her sassy best friend April, as well as Peng, an aspiring ladies man and co-captain of the debate team, and Peng's best friend, Roosevelt, a sweet nerd whose crush on Wren clouds his better judgment. This unlikely foursome embarks on a high-stakes, all-night adventure to find Albert, crossing paths with outrageous characters every step of the way.
This is a pretty pointless teenage comedy. It's like a teenage Adventures In Babysitting based on Halloween. There is literally nothing more that can be said about this movie.

I wouldn't really recommend it . . . . . . unless you are a teenager.

Skyfall

Daniel Craig is back as Ian Fleming's James Bond 007 in Skyfall, the 23rd adventure in the longest-running film franchise of all time. In Skyfall, Bond's loyalty to M is tested as her past comes back to haunt her. As MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost.

This was a pretty kick a$$ Bond movie. It was very straight forward with a ton of great action. There was no heavy espionage story. We got a lot more of M (Judi Dench) which was pretty cool and Javier Bardem was awesome as the bad guy. Daniel Craig has really grown on me as Bond. He might be my favorite one at this point. The only real knock I can make on this movie was that it was about 20-30 minutes too long. The pacing could have been kicked up and the movie kept shorter.

I would definitely recommend people checking this out. It was great and very entertaining popcorn type movie to just get away from everything else and enjoy for 2 plus hours

The Sessions

Based on the poignantly optimistic autobiographical writings of California-based journalist and poet Mark O'Brien, The Sessions tells the story of a man confined to an iron lung who is determined at age 38 to lose his virginity. With the help of his therapists and the guidance of his priest, he sets out to make his dream a reality.


This was an amazingly acted movie across the board.  The craziest part of this movie is not watching the guy deal with the iron lung and all that, it was the absolute casualness of all the sex stuff.  It was like watching the most awkward love scenes of all time but somehow at the same time thinking aaaaah how sweet.  My brain kept thinking wait - what the f$%k?  

I would definitely recommend people checking this out.  The story is paced well and the emotional hook is definitely there with the phenomenal acting.  There is a LOT of nudity so be warned if you have little ones around while trying to watch this.

The Perks Of Being A Wallflower

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a modern classic that captures the dizzying highs and crushing lows of growing up. Starring Logan Lerman, Emma Watson and Ezra Miller, The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a moving tale of love, loss, fear and hope-and the unforgettable friends that help us through life.

This is one of those artistic character dramas. But what made it so good is that the actors were all so young yet put in amazingly adult like performances. Emma Watson shows to me how she will be the only one from the Harry Potter kiddies that will go on to have a legitamite acting career. She was great with the teenage rollercoaster/angst portrayal and played well off of all the other characters.

I would recommend anyone interested in a very high quality character drama check this out. It was a well acted movie with great performances throughout.

The Man With Iron Fists

Since his arrival in China's Jungle Village, the town's blacksmith (RZA) has been forced by radical tribal factions to create elaborate tools of destruction. When the clans' brewing war boils over, the stranger channels an ancient energy to transform himself into a human weapon. As he fights alongside iconic heroes and against soulless villains, one man must harness this power to become savior of his adopted people.

This is one of those "it's good for what it is" movies. It's a throwback kung fu movie with lots of great fights and gore. The story is kind of there but doesn't matter. The acting a dialogue is nothing more than filler between the fights.

If you like pointless kung fu movies - then you should definitely check this one out. If you don't - I don't see why you would need me to tell you not to bother.

Silent Hill: Revelation

Heather Mason (Adelaide Clemens) and her father (Sean Bean) have been on the run, always one step ahead of dangerous forces that she doesn't fully understand. Now on the eve of her 18th birthday, plagued by horrific nightmares and the disappearance of her father, Heather discovers she's not who she thinks she is. The revelation leads her deeper into a demonic world that threatens to trap her forever.

Not going to even bother here. The first one was a somewhat decent gorefest based on a video game. This is a sequel that was literally made to pull in quick first weekend 3d prices. It was horrible across the board and I walked out after compiling a list of things that I could be doing instead of watching the rest of the rank turd.

No, I wouldn't recommend it. I can't even come up with one reason other than my movie seeing obsession that even made me sit through the 45 minutes that I did.

Flight

 

Flight tells the redemption story of "Whip" (Washington), a commercial airline pilot who pulls off a heroic feat of flying in a damaged plane, saving 98 lives on a flight carrying 106 people. While the world begs to embrace him as a true American Hero, the everyman struggles with this label as he is forced to hold up to the scrutiny of an investigation that brings into question his behavior the night before the doomed flight.

This movie was tough to watch although an amazing movie acting wise overall.  A - Anyone with a fear of flying will only have that fear multiplied by like a million after watching the plane crash in this movie.  B - It was very tough to watch so many people try to cover for an out of control alcoholic for about two hours.  It speaks volumes of how great Denzel Washington's performance was that I legitamitely hated him so much throughout the movie.  I wanted to see his character get his a$$ kicked at some point for his alcoholic behavior and blatant disrespect for all of the people trying to help him.

I would recommend it because it really was a well directed and amazingly acted movie.  But I am dead serious when I say that this is a very hard to watch movie on a fear level and a human being level.

Here Comes The Boom

 

In the comedy Here Comes the Boom, former collegiate wrester Scott Voss (Kevin James) is a 42-year-old apathetic biology teacher in a failing high school. When cutbacks threaten to cancel the music program and lay off its teacher (Henry Winkler,) Scott begins to raise money by moonlighting as a mixed martial arts fighter. Everyone thinks Scott is crazy - most of all the school nurse, Bella (Salma Hayek) - but in his quest, Scott gains something he never expected as he becomes a sensation that rallies the entire school.

This is by no means a good movie.  It's beyond formula.  It's beyond unrealistic and silly in terms of credibility.  You pretty much have seen the movie by watching the trailers.  That being said - I LOVE watching Kevin James so I just decided to shut off my brain and watch the movie.  By doing that, I was actually able to enjoy it quite alot.   I found myself cheering for him and enjoying the ride of the movie knowing full well how silly/lame it really was.

I would recommend this movie to anyone who is able to do what I mentioned above.  Not being able to turn off the analytical part of your brain will make this probably one of the dumbest movies ever.

Alex Cross

 

"Alex Cross" follows the homicide detective/psychologist (Tyler Perry), from the worldwide best-selling novels by James Patterson, as he meets his match in a serial killer (Matthew Fox). The two face off in a high-stakes game of cat and mouse, but when the mission gets personal, Cross is pushed to the edge of his moral and psychological limits in this taut and exciting action thriller.

Words do no justice to just how lame/bad this movie was.  No matter what angle you look at it from - it was poop.  I am a huge James Patterson fan and have read all the Alex Cross books.  Having a background knowledge of Alex Cross was kind of a prerequisite for this movie because they really didn't bother with any of his character development.  You were just supposed to kind of know who he was.  That being said - the movie was all over the place in terms of the books.  The "wife" was never known in the books.  Referred to but not known.  His partner/best friend was a huge black guy named Sampson - not Ed Burns.  His kids ages were all out of sync.  They were in Detroit instead of Washington DC.  It was beyond frustrating in so many ways.  Was this supposed to be like a prequel to the Alex Cross in the books?   As a stand alone movie - it was still horrible.  The acting was sooooooo over the top.  Especially Matthew Fox.  Tyler Perry is atrocious casting as Alex Cross.  He would have been better as the aforementioned non-existent Sampson.  The story was just there and everything was pretty much happening haphazardly.  This was like a lame 80's action movie that should have had Sylvester Stallone as a random cop or something.  

I would not recommend anyone bothering with this.  It was so beyond disappointing in every way.  I just don't get it.  If they were to just recreate the books like they did with Kiss The Girls and Along Came A Spider this could be the most easy to make 11 movie franchise at this point.  Baffling how this can be so screwed up.