Don Jon

Jon Martello (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a strong, handsome, good old fashioned guy. His buddies call him Don Jon due to his ability to "pull" a different woman every weekend, but even the finest fling doesn't compare to the bliss he finds alone in front of the computer watching pornography. Barbara Sugarman (Scarlett Johansson) is a bright, beautiful, good old fashioned girl. Raised on romantic Hollywood movies, she's determined to find her Prince Charming and ride off into the sunset. Wrestling with good old fashioned expectations of the opposite sex, Jon and Barbara struggle against a media culture full of false fantasies to try and find true intimacy in this unexpected comedy written and directed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

I think this is one of those movies that I had heard/read too much great stuff about.  I kept asking myself why all the critics had raved about this.  It was definitely a good directorial debut by Godon-Levitt.  And it was not a bad movie by any means.  I liked a lot of the characters as well as the Italian family dynamics.  But about halfway through any funniness about the relationship life vs single life had kind of faded and the story progression kind of hit a wall.  

I would somewhat recommend people checking this out.  I think my viewing was ruined by high expectations.

Insidious Chapter 2

The famed horror team of director James Wan and writer Leigh Whannell reunite with the original cast of Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Lin Shaye, Barbara Hershey and Ty Simpkins in Insidious Chapter 2, a terrifying sequel to the acclaimed horror film, which follows the haunted Lambert family as they seek to uncover the mysterious childhood secret that has left them dangerously connected to the spirit world.

Insidious scared me more than any movie in a long, long time. Like lose sleep because of shadows in the corner kind of sleep. This movie was just as good as the first one, if not better because of the story development incorporating the first and even giving you more background information prior to that movie. The going back and forth between the three times was done very fluidly and actually made the movie, and the scary moments, that much better. I absolutely had to pull my hat down so I was only watching the bottom third of the screen numerous times because I was trying to protect myself from shitting my pants. It didn't even help 3-4 times because I still jumped in my seat. The only knock I'll make against the movie is that they did a great job providing closure but then threw on a pointless open ending since there will obviously be a Chapter 3 since Hollywood doesn't know how to leave well enough alone.

I would absolutely recommend anyone that liked the first one see this one. You will not be disappointed. If you have not seen either and like a good scare, you should definitely go check out both of them.

Lone Ranger

The Lone Ranger is a thrilling adventure infused with action and humor, in which the famed masked hero is brought to life through new eyes. Native American spirit warrior Tonto (Johnny Depp) recounts the untold tales that transformed John Reid (Armie Hammer), a man of the law, into a legend of justice—taking the audience on a runaway train of epic surprises and humorous friction as the two unlikely heroes must learn to work together and fight against greed and corruption.

Wow! This was pretty much garbage. Never thought I would say that about any movie that starred Johnny Depp playing a quirky character in it but I now can. The movie was way too long, you really didn't care at all about any characters outside of Tonto, and the narrative back and forth of the story was completely unnecessary. The timing and pacing was pretty much off throughout the movie making all the action scenes silly and making a lot of Depp's comedic scenes/lines fall flat.

I wouldn't recommend anyone wasting their time with this movie. The only entertaining part of the whole experience was that Armie Hammer's head was dragged through horseshit at one point while he is unconscious and I just kept commenting out loud that he still has shit in his hair. Seriously. That was all that I enjoyed from this movie.

The Family

In the dark action comedy The Family, a mafia boss and his family are relocated to a sleepy town in France under the witness protection program after snitching on the mob. Despite the best efforts of Agent Stansfield (Tommy Lee Jones) to keep them in line, Fred Manzoni (Robert DeNiro), his wife Maggie (Michelle Pfeiffer) and their children Belle (Dianna Agron) and Warren (John D’Leo) can't help but revert to old habits and blow their cover by handling their problems the “family” way, enabling their former mafia cronies to track them down. Chaos ensues as old scores are settled in the unlikeliest of settings in this darkly funny film by Luc Besson ("Taken," "Transporter").

Was this movie supposed to be a comedy? Or a drama? Or an action movie? It really couldn't decide and ended up going back and forth way too much. This pretty much ruined the movie and made it be one of those movies that are just kind of there. The climactic scene was great but the movie was way to scattered for the 90 minutes prior.

I wouldn't recommend anyone bothering with this movie. It had some decent moments but nothing but muddled mess outside of them.

Elysium

In the year 2154, two classes of people exist: the very wealthy, who live on a pristine man-made space station called Elysium, and the rest, who live on an overpopulated, ruined planet. The people of Earth are desperate to escape the crime and poverty that is now rampant throughout the land. The only man with the chance to bring equality to these worlds is Max (Matt Damon), an ordinary guy in desperate need to get to Elysium. With his life hanging in the balance, he reluctantly takes on a dangerous mission – one that pits him against Elysium's Secretary Delacourt (Jodie Foster) and her hard-line forces – but if he succeeds, he could save not only his own life, but millions of people on Earth as well.

The number one rule of a good sci-fi movie is that it makes its "world" seem real. This movie nailed that. It also nailed good vs evil, upper class vs lower class and how self sacrifice is good for the greater good story points with great pacing and performances. The action was awesome and Sharlito Copley as the crazy mercenary was so totally badass. He really stole the show.

I would definitely recommend people checking this movie out. It was a great sci-fi movie with awesome action and a great future line of thinking that can be compared to present day on a smaller scale.

Prisoners

Keller Dover is facing every parent's worst nightmare. His 6-year-old daughter and her young friend are missing, and as minutes turn to hours, panic sets in. The only lead is a dilapidated RV that had been parked on their street. Heading the investigation, Detective Loki arrests its driver, but a lack of evidence forces the only suspect's release. Knowing his child's life is at stake, the frantic Dover decides he has no choice but to take matters into his own hands. The desperate father will do whatever it takes to find the girls, but in doing so, may lose himself, begging the question: When do you cross the line between seeking justice and becoming a vigilante?

This was a great movie. Great acting across the board and a realistic story. You could relate to all of the characters reactions to this very traumatic event. You get very hooked and tuned in to the movie the whole time wanting to see how it will all play out. There were a couple of twists and turns that kept you on your toes although I was able to figure out the main twist way in advance. There are two big knocks against this movie though. First, the movie was waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too long. There was no need for the movie to be two and a half hours long. Two hours maybe. Possibly even less. As much as you were hooked by the movie, you totally felt how long it was. Secondly, the movie literally ended in the middle of a scene. Won't give anything away but the detective hears something, turns to look and the credits begin. Very strange. Like I said - the movie was more than long enough and then they end it so abruptly? It made no sense.

I would still recommend this movie because of how good it was overall. Anyone who loves character dramas or procedural shows like Criminal Minds will undoubtedly enjoy this movie.

Percy Jackson: Sea Of Monsters

Based on the publishing phenomenon, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters continues the young demigod's epic journey to fulfill his destiny. To save their world, Percy and his friends must find the fabled and magical Golden Fleece. Embarking on a treacherous odyssey into the uncharted waters of the Sea of Monsters (known to humans as the Bermuda Triangle), they battle terrifying creatures, an army of zombies, and the ultimate Evil.

This was pretty much more of the same from the first one. I read all the books and enjoyed them so I was glad they decided to continue the franchise. It's got good characters, story and effects. It's like Harry Potter lite with Greek mythology instead of magic.

Anyone who enjoyed the first one is sure to enjoy this one as well. I definitely recommend this movie to those people.

Kick-Ass 2

When we last saw junior assassin Hit-Girl and young vigilante Kick-Ass, they were trying to live as normal teenagers Mindy and Dave. With graduation looming and uncertain what to do, Dave decides to start the world's first superhero team with Mindy. Unfortunately, when Mindy is busted for sneaking out as Hit-Girl, she's forced to retire—leaving her to navigate the terrifying world of high-school mean girls on her own. With no one left to turn to, Dave joins forces with Justice Forever, run by a born-again ex-mobster named Colonel Stars and Stripes. Just as they start to make a real difference on the streets, the world's first super villain, The Mother F-er, assembles his own evil league and puts a plan in motion to make Kick-Ass and Hit-Girl pay for what they did to his dad. But there's only one problem with his scheme: If you mess with one member of Justice Forever, you mess with them all.

This was mostly more of the same from the first. The main difference was that the first one was an "original" idea that went along with the over the top foul language and violence. So this one is much more campy with the language and violence playing out without the originality from the first one. It's still fun for anyone that enjoyed the first movie, but it's much more predictable and silly.

I would definitely recommend anyone who enjoyed the original to check this out. It's still funny/enjoyable and Hit Girl is still awesome. Just don't expect much in the line of a storyline or anything like that.

Despicable Me 2

In Despicable Me 2, Chris Meledandri and his acclaimed filmmaking team create an all-new comedy animated adventure featuring the return of Gru (Steve Carell), the girls, the unpredictably hilarious minions... and a host of new and outrageously funny characters.

I LOVE THE MINIONS!!!! Seriously. They might be my favorite animated characters of all time. These guys crack me up. Sure, the stuff with Gru wasn't as funny as it was in the first one. Sure, the cuteness of the girls wasn't as adorable as the first one (although Agnes really gets me with how similar she is to Stinka). Sure, the villain was nowhere near as good as Vector from the first one. But the minions were awesome/hysterical. And that really is all that mattered to me. I was straight up belly laughing at multiple points during the movie.

I absolutely recommend people checking this movie out. Respect the minions!!!!

Fast & Furious 6

Since Dom (Diesel) and Brian's (Walker) Rio heist toppled a kingpin's empire and left their crew with $100 million, our heroes have scattered across the globe. But their inability to return home and living forever on the lam have left their lives incomplete. Meanwhile, Hobbs (Johnson) has been tracking an organization of lethally skilled mercenary drivers across 12 countries, whose mastermind (Evans) is aided by a ruthless second-in-command revealed to be the love Dom thought was dead, Letty (Rodriguez). The only way to stop the criminal outfit is to outmatch them at street level, so Hobbs asks Dom to assemble his elite team in London. Payment? Full pardons for all of them so they can return home and make their families whole again.

How the hell does a franchise fall completely off the tracks three movies in, rebound and get better and better like this? I think I probably still liked Fast Five better but this movie was awesome and second best in the franchise. The action was awesome. The fights were awesome. The humor (especially from Tyrese) was hysterical. Vin Diesel and The Rock really are the greatest tag team of all time. But the most mind blowing part of it all is that the writing and continuity of it all was awesome. You are not supposed to be able to say that about mindless action popcorn flicks like this, but these guys even managed to tie in Tokyo Drift incredibly and make that pointless garbage entry matter and suddenly seem awesome like 6 years later. And I will go on record as saying this franchise is pretty much the only one that I prefer to see in a crowded theater so that I can geek out along with everyone else with the constant adrenaline oohs and aahs the movie delivers.

I would absolutely recommend everyone check out this awesome roller coaster ride of a movie. Brainless, action summer blockbusters are what made me love going to the movies in the first place. This movie was awesome like that.

Battle Of The Year

Battle of the Year is an international dance crew tournament that attracts all the best teams from around the world, but the Americans haven't won in fifteen years. Los Angeles Hip Hop mogul Dante (Alonso) wants to put the country that started the Sport back on top. He enlists his hard-luck friend Blake (Holloway), who was a championship basketball coach, to coach his team. Armed with the theory that the right coach can make any team champions, they assemble a Dream Team of all the best dancers across the country. With only three months until Battle of the Year, Blake has to use every tactic he knows to get twelve talented individuals to come together as a team if they're going to bring the Trophy back to America where it started.

This is a textbook underdog movie with dancing. It's pretty much Step Up 5 with an all guy dance crew. You have the troubled but excellent coach dealing with demons and a cast of guys that either have to work really hard, are crazy talented but need to embrace the team and Yada yada yada. It's formula in every way. Some of the dance scenes were pretty impressive but the movie really isn't anything to write home about.

I really wouldn't recommend anyone bothering with this movie. If you saw the trailer, you saw the movie.

The Wolverine

Based on the celebrated comic book arc, this epic action-adventure takes Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), the most iconic character of the X-Men universe, to modern day Japan. Out of his depth in an unknown world, he will face a host of unexpected and deadly opponents in a life-or-death battle that will leave him forever changed. Vulnerable for the first time and pushed to his physical and emotional limits, he confronts not only lethal samurai steel but also his inner struggle against his own immortality.

At first I was kind of not enjoying this movie. I wasn't too familiar with the comic book arc or the area that the story was taking place in. On top of that, the pacing was really slow. After a little bit, it picked up big time and ended up being a great ride with well developed characters with great chemistry. While some people may think this is getting stale at this point, I still think Hugh Jackman cast as Wolverine is one of the best casting calls of all time. He still has the ability to carry this character and the movies and I enjoyed this one a lot more than the X-Men: Origins offering a few years back.

I would recommend people checking this out. I wouldn't say it's a must see but it was more than entertaining enough to get my recommendation.

The Mortal Instruments: City Of Bones

Set in contemporary New York City, a seemingly ordinary teenager, Clary Fray (Lily Collins), discovers she is the descendant of a line of Shadowhunters, a secret cadre of young half-angel warriors locked in an ancient battle to protect our world from demons. After the disappearance of her mother (Lena Headey), Clary must join forces with a group of Shadowhunters, who introduce her to a dangerous alternate New York called Downworld, filled with demons, warlocks, vampires, werewolves and other deadly creatures. Based on the worldwide best-selling book series.

I expected this movie to basically be Twilightish because of the whole teen/young adult reading connection and what not. For the first half of the movie, I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't like that at all. They did a good job of setting up the story and the pacing was really good with all the information needed to properly establish everything. Then, about halfway through the movie, it flipped very hard core into the Twilightish realm I was expecting and it really slowed the movie down for about 1/2 hour before picking up again with tons of crazy action at the end with the shadow hunters and werewolves fighting the demons.

I would actually recommend people checking this out though. Even though there is the Twilight vibe for parts of it, the movie did a great job of creating this world with all the different supernatural types are involved and established a lot of connections between the main characters that could lead to some interesting payoffs be it in the books they are based on or future installments of the movie.

The Smurfs 2

In this sequel to Columbia Pictures/Sony Pictures Animation's hybrid live action/animated family blockbuster comedy "The Smurfs," the evil wizard Gargamel creates a couple of mischievous Smurf-like creatures called the Naughties that he hopes will let him harness the all-powerful, magical Smurf-essence. But when he discovers that only a real Smurf can give him what he wants, and only a secret spell that Smurfette knows can turn the Naughties into real Smurfs, Gargamel kidnaps Smurfette and brings her to Paris, where he has been winning the adoration of millions as the world's greatest sorcerer. It's up to Papa, Clumsy, Grouchy, and Vanity to return to our time, reunite with their human friends Patrick and Grace Winslow, and rescue her! Will Smurfette, who has always felt different from the other Smurfs, find a new connection with the Naughties Vexy and Hackus – or will the Smurfs convince her that their love for her is True Blue?

This was pretty much just an extension of the first one. It's a family movie for those of you with younger kids. It's not awful for the parents to sit through, but it's not really enjoyable for you either. It's just kind of there. There are some laughs sprinkled here and there but this one is really for the kids.

I would recommend anyone with kids 8 or under going to check this out. Can't go wrong with The Smurfs for the young ones. Enjoy it while you can.