Gravity

Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) is a brilliant medical engineer on her first shuttle mission, with veteran astronaut Matt Kowalsky (George Clooney) in command of his last flight before retiring. But on a seemingly routine spacewalk, disaster strikes. The shuttle is destroyed, leaving Stone and Kowalsky completely alone--tethered to nothing but each other and spiraling out into the blackness. The deafening silence tells them they have lost any link to Earth...and any chance for rescue. As fear turns to panic, every gulp of air eats away at what little oxygen is left. But the only way home may be to go further out into the terrifying expanse of space.

This was one of the most stunning visual movies I've ever seen. The way that it was filmed made it feel as if you were out in space with Sandra Bullock. The pacing of the movie between being out in space all alone and the beyond intense scenes of action when the orbiting shrapnel attacked the satellites made you go back and forth between total desperation and sitting on the edge of your seat. And even though this movie was so well done artistically, they didn't get wrapped up in an overdone running time. The movie was a perfectly paced/timed 90 minutes and the end result was easily one of the best movies of the year.

I would absolutely recommend everyone checking this out. It is pretty much a must see and a truly excellent job of film making in every way.

Thor: The Dark World

Thor: The Dark World continues the big-screen adventures of Thor, the Mighty Avenger, as he battles to save Earth and all the Nine Realms from a shadowy enemy that predates the universe itself. In the aftermath of Thor and The Avengers, Thor fights to restore order across the cosmos...but an ancient race led by the vengeful Malekith returns to plunge the universe back into darkness. Faced with an enemy that even Odin and Asgard cannot withstand, Thor must embark on his most perilous and personal journey yet, one that will reunite him with Jane Foster and force him to sacrifice everything to save us all.

Thor has managed to surprise me yet again. I liked this movie a lot and I actually think its one of the better Marvel era sequels. It didn't just redo the original story. It expanded Thor's world and used all the characters to make you hooked into what was a VERY sci-fi movie. Loki was of course back and was once again the best part of the movie. He stole every scene he was in and the movie picked up tremendously when he was on screen. The story, tempo and side characters were all great. And even though the new villains were basically explained by the opening narration, I still thought that they were great too.

I would absolutely recommend any Marvel fans checking this out. It's a great continuation of the Thor and Marvel universe stories.

Nebraska

After receiving a sweepstakes letter in the mail, a cantankerous father (Bruce Dern) thinks he's struck it rich, and wrangles his son (Will Forte) into taking a road trip to claim the fortune. Shot in black and white across four states, Nebraska tells the stories of family life in the heartland of America.

This is one of those movies that you know is great as you are watching it because of the simplistic way of filming and non-spoken acting in family dynamics. It's also one of those movies that I didn't find nearly as great of a watch as I knew the filmmaking was. That's not to say it was a bad movie. I enjoyed it and thought that the family dynamics portrayed were very honest and real. I would say it was a good movie - but not great like most critics would promote. The story is very simple and its really the characters in the family that carry the whole thing. The one knock I can honestly make is that this movie did not need to be nearly 2 hours long. They could have shaved off like 20 minutes and it would have been much better.

I would somewhat recommend people checking this out. Again - it's not a bad movie. It's just not a Best Picture worthy movie in my book even with the great style of simple, basic filmmaking that it went with.

Ender's Game

In the near future, a hostile alien race called the Formics have attacked Earth. If not for the legendary heroics of International Fleet Commander Mazer Rackham (Ben Kingsley), all would have been lost. In preparation for the next attack, the highly esteemed Colonel Hyrum Graff (Harrison Ford) and the International Military are training only the best young minds to find the future Mazer. Ender Wiggin (Asa Butterfield), a shy but strategically brilliant boy, is recruited to join the elite. Arriving at Battle School, Ender quickly and easily masters increasingly difficult challenges and simulations, distinguishing himself and winning respect amongst his peers. Ender is soon ordained by Graff as the military's next great hope, resulting in his promotion to Command School. Once there, he's trained by Mazer Rackham himself to lead his fellow soldiers into an epic battle that will determine the future of Earth and save the human race.

I thought this was a really good movie in terms of sci-fi standards. They did a great job of taking you to the world where the story took place in. You felt connected to the story and the characters and you were definitely interested in where it would take you. I also liked the tapping of the children as our potential soldiers/generals based on how they were able to see things develop during battle. It's a pretty direct link to first person video games and online play that really have taken our younger generations to a different way of seeing things based on their "game play". I can't really do into too much detail without giving away certain things that deliver quite well as the movie plays out. I wish that I would have read the book or books that this is based on because I feel I would have enjoyed it even more.

I would recommend this movie to fans of sci-fi. Its definitely not a movie for all because of its specific subject matter, but it is an enjoyable watch for its target audience.

The Best Man Holiday

After nearly 15 years apart, Taye Diggs, Nia Long, Morris Chestnut, Harold Perrineau, Terrence Howard, Sanaa Lathan, Monica Calhoun, Melissa De Sousa and Regina Hall reprise their career-launching roles in The Best Man Holiday, the next chapter to the film that ushered in a new era of comedy. When the college friends finally reunite over the Christmas holidays they will discover just how easy it is for long-forgotten rivalries and romances to be ignited.

This was another movie where exactly what you see in the trailer is what you get. Group of friends and couples each battling their own issues or demons with laughs along the way. Don't get me wrong some of the laughs were great and some of the drama was very heart touching, but its just more of the first movie that I never considered to be sequel worthy. I feel like these actors can accomplish so much more instead of playing the same stereotypical roles over and over again.

I would somewhat recommend people checking this movie out. It's a very watchable movie but its just a blatant retread of stuff that we've already seen.

All Is Lost

Robert Redford stars in All Is Lost, an open-water thriller about one man's battle for survival against the elements after his sailboat is destroyed at sea. The film is a gripping, visceral and powerfully moving tribute to ingenuity and resilience. Deep into a solo voyage in the Indian Ocean, an unnamed man (Redford) wakes to find his 39-foot yacht taking on water after a collision with a shipping container left floating on the high seas. With his navigation equipment and radio disabled, the man sails unknowingly into the path of a violent storm. Despite his success in patching the breached hull, his mariner's intuition, and a strength that belies his age, the man barely survives the tempest. Using only a sextant and nautical maps to chart his progress, he is forced to rely on ocean currents to carry him into a shipping lane in hopes of hailing a passing vessel. But with the sun unrelenting, sharks circling and his meager supplies dwindling, the ever-resourceful sailor soon finds himself staring his mortality in the face.

This movie was one of the quietest intense movies ever. There really is no speaking in it and all emotions are shown via Redford's facial expressions and body demeanor. I have never been a fan of being on the water and this movie is a prime example why. The playing out of his experience continues to get dreary and drearier and it is a real testament to Redford's silent action and the direction of the film that at no point do you get bored of it.

I would recommend people checking this movie out. It is very well made and acted and has one hell of a hook to it that doesn't let go even though every part of it is so simple.

Free Birds

In this adventurous buddy comedy for audiences of all ages, two turkeys from opposite sides of the tracks must put aside their differences and team up to travel back in time to change the course of history - and get turkey off the Thanksgiving menu for good.

This was a surprisingly entertaining movie. I usually don't have really high hopes for animated movies that don't come from Disney, Pixar or Dreamworks animation but this one felt like it did. The story was simple and flowed. The main characters as well as the side characters were perfectly crafted and developed. And most importanly the humor was there in abundance. That made this animated movie just as much fun for the adults as the kids.

I would definitely recommend people checking this movie out. Nice, short movie with plenty of laughs. If you have children they are guaranteed to love it.

Dallas Buyers Club

Matthew McConaughey stars in Dallas Buyers Club as real-life Texas cowboy Ron Woodroof, whose free-wheeling life was overturned in 1985 when he was diagnosed as HIV-positive and given 30 days to live. These were the early days of the AIDS epidemic, and the U.S. was divided over how to combat the virus. Ron, now shunned and ostracized by many of his old friends, and bereft of government-approved effective medicines, decided to take matters in his own hands, tracking down alternative treatments from all over the world by means both legal and illegal. Bypassing the establishment, the entrepreneurial Woodroof joined forces with an unlikely band of renegades and outcasts - who he once would have shunned - and established a hugely successful buyers club. Their shared struggle for dignity and acceptance is a uniquely American story of the transformative power of resilience.

This is easily Matthew McConaughey's best role in his career. He was so physically and mentally into this role and it showed. It was weird going back to the start of AIDS and how ignorant all the thinking was and seeing his character deal with it. Then it was even better to watch this person adjust to the cards he had been dealt and to completely change his ways and accept people that he otherwise would have had nothing to do with. It was also amazing how dedicated he was to saving himself and others around him and wouldn't accept any government red tape answers of no.

I would absolutely recommend that people check this movie out. It is a great story with awesome acting. You really get hooked by it all and rooting for him and him bypassing the system to help others.

Escape Plan

One of the world's foremost authorities on structural security agrees to take on one last job: breaking out of an ultra-secret, high-tech facility called "The Tomb." Deceived and wrongly imprisoned, Ray Breslin (Sylvester Stallone) must recruit fellow inmate Emil Rottmayer (Arnold Schwarzenegger) to help devise a daring, nearly impossible plan to escape from the most protected and fortified prison ever built.

This is yet another throw back wannabe 80s action movies from two guys that really need to let go. This movie is formula from beginning to end. You could walk out of the theater for like 20 minutes and come back and I guarantee you that you didn't miss anything and can still be well aware of where the story is and is going to go. Stallone was much better in this than Schwartzenegger but its just sad watching these guys trying to hold on. I've said it before and I'll say it again - The Expendables was only good because they didn't take themselves serious and were very tongue in cheek about the movies that they made a career out of. When they attempt to take themselves seriously - it ends up just being painful.

I wouldn't really recommend anyone checking this out. Even those of you that are big fans of throwback 80s movies will probably still find this movie dull, forced and formula.

Baggage Claim

Determined to get engaged before her youngest sister's wedding, flight attendant Montana Moore (Paula Patton) finds herself with only 30 days to find Mr. Right. Using her airline connections to "accidentally" meet up with eligible ex-boyfriends and scour for potential candidates, she racks up more than 30,000 miles and countless comedic encounters, all the while searching for the perfect guy.

This was pretty much a total formula romantic comedy. There is nothing that happens that you don't see coming a mile away. Most of the humor is provided by the main characters sidekicks. It's not a bad movie but it's not really a good watch either.

I wouldn't really recommend people rushing to see this movie. It's a somewhat decent watch but definitely falls under the dime a dozen romantic comedies.