Contraband

Chris Farraday (Wahlberg) long ago abandoned his life of crime, but after his brother-in-law, Andy (Caleb Landry Jones), botches a drug deal for his ruthless boss, Tim Briggs (Giovanni Ribisi), Chris is forced back into doing what he does best--running contraband--to settle Andy's debt. Chris is a legendary smuggler and quickly assembles a crew with the help of his best friend, Sebastian (Ben Foster), to head to Panama and return with millions in counterfeit bills. Things quickly fall apart and with only hours to reach the cash, Chris must use his rusty skills to successfully navigate a treacherous criminal network of brutal drug lords, cops and hit men before his wife, Kate (Kate Beckinsale), and sons become their target.

I am still not sure how to feel about this movie. It was definitely a decent watch but I felt disappointed because of the amount of action that was advertised. The movie was more of a drama/intrigue type of movie than an action movie. Yet there really were not any curves you don't see coming so that kind of took away from that.

I would lukewarmly recommend this movie. It is a decent watch and I still can't wrap my head around Mark Wahlberg having become a legit actor. But I think I had higher expectations for it.

11-11-11

After the tragic death of his wife and child, famed American author Joseph Crone travels from the United States to Barcelona, Spain to reunite with his enstranged brother Samuel and dying father, Richard. However, fate has a different plan for Joseph as his life becomes plagued with strange happenings, and the constant sightings of the number 11. Curiosity quickly turns to obsession, and Joseph soon realizes that this number holds a horrific meaning not only to himself but possibly to all of religion. Isolated in a foreign country with only the support of his companion, Sadie, Joseph soon realizes that 11/11/11 is more than just a date, it's a WARNING!

This movie didn't really have any legitamite actors in it. The only guys I recognized played a cop in Final Destination 2. I'm not sure if this is going to be one of those same release in theaters and at home or not but it felt like one of those. Regardless, the movie was surprisingly good for a while. Lots of cheesy scary movie jumps. No excessive gore or anything like that and they kept you pretty interested in how it was progressing. I don't want to say that the ending ruined it but it did get a little over the top with the "spirits/creatures" and I was felt like they kind of lost me although the twist ending brought me back somewhat.

I would lukewarmly recommend people checking this out. Its not a must see by any means but it was short enough and watchable enough for me.

Mission: Impoosible - Ghost Protocol

This is not just another mission. The IMF is shut down when it's implicated in a global terrorist bombing plot. Ghost Protocol is initiated and Ethan Hunt and his rogue new team must go undercover to clear their organization's name. No help, no contact, off the grid. You have never seen a mission grittier and more intense than this.

This was a very entertaining popcorn movie. Lots of action. Lots of build up. Fun characters. Cool technology. There really isn't too much to go in to detail here. The movie's goal was to entertain and I was pretty much entertained from beginning to end even though I find Tom Cruise pretty annoying. Mission accomplished . . . . . . pun intended.

I would definitely recommend people checking this out. Movies like this are why action movies were started. Its just a fun ride.

Shame

Brandon (Michael Fassbender) is a New Yorker who shuns intimacy with women but feeds his desires with a compulsive addiction to sex. When his wayward younger sister (Carey Mulligan) moves into his apartment stirring memories of their shared painful past, Brandon's insular life spirals out of control.

This was a textbook artsy character drama.  I liked it at parts and then was kind of feeling disturbed watching it at others.  Honestly, I think that is what the director was going for so I guess he did a good job.  Michael Fassbender really has evolved into an awesome actor over the last year or so. 

I would somewhat recommend this movie to people.  Again - it's super artsy and there is a lot of sex and a weird brother/sister dynamic so there is definite awkward feeling moments for the viewer.

The Darkest Hour

The Darkest Hour is the story of five young people who find themselves stranded in Moscow, fighting to survive in the wake of a devastating alien attack.

Holy giant turd!!! This started out like a somewhat decent alien attack type movie with one cool effect. I repeat - ONE - cool effect. It was somewhat watchable. However, about halfway through instead of just having the people get killed off one by one as they try to find an escape, they decided to add new characters as the movie went along. Words do no justice to how more off the wall these people got. First there was a Russian girl whose only point in the movie was to be angry when she was called a kid. Then there was the mad scientist who somehow during the five days that had past since the alien invasion managed to turn his apartment into a farraday coge surrounding it with metal wiring and what not and created a microwave gun that looked a hell of a lot like the guns from Ghostbusters. After those guys they ran in to the metal shielded army led by General Key Vest. No joke - it was all keys. This guy had a vest that was pretty much made of 7,000 keys. That's like extreme janitoring. The movie just downward spiralled in to a giant mess that the only source of enjoyment was making fun of how bad it was.

I wouldn't recommend even someone I hate seeing this. It's absolutely horrible. Unless you love the new Key Vest style from Russia. Then it's awesome.

The Iron Lady

The Iron Lady is a surprising and intimate portrait of Margaret Thatcher (Meryl Streep), the first and only female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. One of the 20th century's most famous and influential women, Thatcher came from nowhere to smash through barriers of gender and class to be heard in a male dominated world.

This is one of those great autobiographical performanes. Meryl Streep is great as Margaret Thatcher. However, there isn't much more substance besides that. At least there wasn't for me. Maybe history buffs would be much more in to it. What I watched was a prominent historical figure going over the events of her life while trying to come to grips with her husband no longer being alive.

I would lukewarmly recommend this movie to people solely for Meryl Streep's performance. Outside of that, the movie is just kind of there.

War Horse

From director Steven Spielberg comes War Horse. Set against a sweeping canvas of rural England and Europe during the First World War, War Horse begins with the remarkable friendship between a horse named Joey and a young man called Albert, who tames and trains him. When they are forcefully parted, the film follows the extraordinary journey of the horse as he moves through the war, changing and inspiring the lives of all those he meets; British cavalry, German soldiers, and a French farmer and his granddaughter before the story reaches its emotional climax in the heart of No Man's Land.

This was a really great, emotional ride of a movie. It sounds ridiculous to say this – but the horse (Joey) performed so well that you pretty much find yourself rooting and caring for him from beginning to end. Honestly, I cared more about the horse than the humans. There was a scene in here with the horse in such physical peril that I thought I was going to puke and could barely watch. Any animal lover will identify with this story and love it as much as I did. If you don’t – you have no heart!!!

I would definitely recommend people checking this out. I was beyond pleasantly surprised and enjoyed it from beginning to end.

We Bought A Zoo

Cameron Crowe directs this true story about a single dad who decides his family needs a fresh start, so he and his two children move to the most unlikely of places: a zoo. With the help of an eclectic staff, and with many misadventures along the way, the family works to return the dilapidated zoo to its former wonder and glory.

This was a fun movie. Granted, it was the definition of heartstring pulling, but I expected that going in and was able to enjoy it. The dynamics between the dad and the two kids were very realistic and you find yourself caring about their journey enough to be okay with the purposeful emotional punches.

I would recommend people checking this out. It’s actually a really good, non-animated family movie at the best time of year for something like that.

Alvin & The Chipmunks: Chipwrecked

The vacationing Chipmunks and Chipettes are turning a luxury cruise liner into their personal playground, until they become 'chipwrecked' on a remote island. As the 'Munks and Chipettes try various schemes to find their way home, they accidentally discover their new turf is not as deserted as it seems.

Not going to sugarcoat this. It was pretty painful to sit through this movie. At this point it's nothing more than a chipmunk voiced showing of Glee where the only goal is to sell soundtracks along with taking parents' money at the theater. The only positive thing that I can say is that the movie is super short. Outside of that - it was pretty much poop. Don't get me wrong - littler kids will love it but not the adults stuck taking them.

If you have little kids - you really don't have a choice in the matter. However, I really wouldn't recommend anyone bothering their time with this movie.

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close is a story that unfolds from inside the young mind of Oskar Schell, an inventive eleven year-old New Yorker whose discovery of a key in his deceased father's belongings sets him off on an urgent search across the city for the lock it will open. A year after his father died in the World Trade Center on what Oskar calls "The Worst Day," he is determined to keep his vital connection to the man who playfully cajoled him into confronting his wildest fears. Now, as Oskar crosses the five New York boroughs in quest of the missing lock - encountering an eclectic assortment of people who are each survivors in their own way - he begins to uncover unseen links to the father he misses, to the mother who seems so far away from him and to the whole noisy, dangerous, discombobulating world around him.

I still don't know what to think of this movie. I loved the story as gut wrenching as it was. I loved the journey of the kid and the different people he met and effected. I loved the coming together towards the end with the kid and the mother. However, I hated the kid. I feel horrible saying that because A - he's a kid and B - look at what he went through in the context of the movie. But - this was seriously one of the most annoying kids I've ever seen. Did they have to make him so quirky? If this is just a random kid doing this, this movie could have made my top ten. Unfortunately, the weirdness of this kid made me want to punch someone in the face and definitely took away from the movie for me.

I don't know that I would recommend people checking this out. I'm baffled by the Best Picture nomination too. Again - the story is great, but easily the most annoying child I've ever seen.

A Dangerous Method

On the eve of World War I, Zurich and Vienna are the setting for a dark tale of sexual and intellectual discovery. Drawn from true-life events, A Dangerous Method takes a glimpse into the turbulent relationships between fledgling psychiatrist Carl Jung, his mentor Sigmund Freud and Sabina Spielrein, the troubled but beautiful young woman who comes between them. Into the mix comes Otto Gross, a debauched patient who is determined to push the boundaries. In this exploration of sensuality, ambition and deceit set the scene for the pivotal moment when Jung, Freud and Sabina come together and split apart, forever changing the face of modern thought.

This is another one of those artsy character pieces. I get that Kiera Knightley was technically putting forth a great performance with her psychosis and what not, but it annoyed the living hell out of me and I could barely watch. And even though I'm becoming a huge Michael Fassbender fan - this movie was just too boring and annoying to finish. Pulled the plug about halfway through.

I obviously wouldn't recommend the movie because I was too annoyed/bored. I do realize that they were actually pretty good performances and my level of boredom and annoyance might not be shared by all. If you are into autobiographical movies like this - you will probably enjoy this a lot more than I did.

Hop

Blending state of the art animation with live action, Hop is a comedy about E.B. (voiced by Russell Brand), the teenage son of the Easter Bunny. On the eve of taking over the family business, E.B. leaves for Hollywood in pursuit of his dream of becoming a drummer. He encounters Fred (James Marsden), an out-of-work slacker with his own lofty goals, who accidentally hits E.B. with his car. Feigning injury, E.B. manipulates Fred into providing him shelter, and Fred finds himself with the world's worst houseguest.

I really enjoyed this movie for the first 3/4 of it. It was cute. It was funny. Great humor for the kids and the adults. Unfortunately, it kind of dovetailed in to your textbook holiday movie for the last 1/4 of it. It was like one of those yearly Christmas family movies but for Easter. It was very sad because up until that point I was all in and laughing a lot.

I would still recommend people checking this out. It is fun for the most part and had some huge laughs. Just really disappointing with the corny ending.

The Muppets

On vacation in Los Angeles, Walter, the world's biggest Muppet fan, and his friends Gary (Jason Segel) and Mary (Amy Adams) from Smalltown, USA, discover the nefarious plan of oilman Tex Richman (Chris Cooper) to raze the Muppet Theatre and drill for the oil recently discovered beneath the Muppets' former stomping grounds. To stage The Greatest Muppet Telethon Ever and raise the $10 million needed to save the theater, Walter, Mary and Gary help Kermit reunite the Muppets, who have all gone their separate ways: Fozzie now performs with a Reno casino tribute band called the Moopets, Miss Piggy is a plus-size fashion editor at Vogue Paris, Animal is in a Santa Barbara clinic for anger management, and Gonzo is a high-powered plumbing magnate.

There is no movie that I was looking forward to this year more than this movie. I have been a lifelong Muppets fan. It was baffling to me how they have been just kind of back there on the backburner for so many years. There have been a bazillion remakes, relaunches, etc over the last several years and I couldn't understand how this was left alone - especially with Disney having the rights to it. God bless, Jason Segel for bringing them back to the forefront of entertainment where they belong. All the spoof trailers and posters leading up to the movie were textbook Muppets and what I grew to love as a child. The movie capitalized on that even more because they were mocking their loss of popularity throughout with an ending that explained the exact joyfulness that I - and any other true fan of them for the last 25-30 years will - felt watching this on the big screen again. Hopefully they can get back to churning out movies or television specials again like they used to.

I couldn't recommend this movie more if I tried. Its an absolute joy for adults and children alike and is so long overdue. I had super high expectations and the movie completely met them. Get out there and welcome the Muppets back, people!

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is the first film in Columbia Pictures' three-picture adaptation of Stieg Larsson's literary blockbuster "The Millennium Trilogy." Directed by David Fincher and starring Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara, the film is based on the first novel in the trilogy, which altogether have sold 50 million copies in 46 countries and become a worldwide phenomenon.

This was one of the movies I was looking forward to more than any other this year. I read all three books and loved them. As if that wasn't exciting enough - David Fincher was directing it. Him and Christopher Nolan's are pretty much the two golden Gods of filmmaking right now. This movie did not disappoint. Fincher did a great job of translating the movie to the screen. He managed to play out the investigative part of the movie in an intriguing fashion while still putting maximum effort in to developing one of the most tortured characters I've ever read or seen in film. Lisbeth Salander is one of my favorite characters ever. She is such a dysfunctional badass and it was just as painful watching her plight as it was reading it. You can't help but root for her even though she is not the type of person that you would be rooting for on sight. The story ultimately becomes all about her and this movie was tough at many points to watch because Fincher really didn't hold back too much.

I loved this movie and would fully recommend it to everyone. I also very much so recommend the books. You don't have to read the books to be able to enjoy the movie because Fincher is amazing at what he does, but it definitely makes it more enjoyable. Side note - this movie is a super strong R movie. There are 3-4 scenes of intense uncomfortability. Ye have been warned.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

The time is 1973. The Cold War of the mid-20th Century continues to damage international relations. Britain's Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), a.k.a. MI6 and code-named the Circus, is striving to keep pace with other countries' espionage efforts and to keep the U.K. secure. The head of the Circus, known as Control (John Hurt), personally sends dedicated operative Jim Prideaux (Mark Strong) into Hungary. But Jim's mission goes bloodily awry, and Control is forced out of the Circus, as is his top lieutenant, George Smiley (Gary Oldman), a career spy with razor-sharp senses. Estranged from his absent wife Ann, Smiley is soon called in to see undersecretary Oliver Lacon (Simon McBurney); he is to be rehired in secret at the government's behest, as there is a gnawing fear that the Circus has long been compromised by a double agent, or mole, working for the Soviets and jeopardizing England. Supported by younger agent Peter Guillam (Benedict Cumberbatch), Smiley parses Circus activities past and present. In trying to track and identify the mole, Smiley is haunted by his decades-earlier interaction with the shadowy Russian spy master Karla. The mole's trail remains cold until maverick field agent Ricki Tarr (Tom Hardy) unexpectedly contacts Lacon. While undercover in Turkey, Ricki has fallen for a betrayed married woman, Irina (Svetlana Khodchenkova), who claims to possess crucial intelligence. Separately, Smiley learns that Control narrowed down the list of mole suspects to five men. They are the ambitious Percy Alleline (Toby Jones), whom he had code-named Tinker; suavely confident Bill Haydon (Colin Firth), dubbed Tailor; stalwart Roy Bland (Ciar'n Hinds), called Soldier; officious Toby Esterhase (David Dencik), dubbed Poor Man; and Smiley himself. Even before the startling truth is revealed, the emotional and physical tolls on the players enmeshed in the deadly international spy game will escalate.

Was that summary confusing enough for you? I am not going to lie. I didn't even finish watching this movie because I was so bored and had no clue what was going on. This kind of movie is so not my cup of tea. It's one of those political espionage movies with no action and it was just a whole lot of talky talky. These are second only to old english period pieces as far as killing my attention span.

My recommendation of this movie shouldn't matter. I'm sure that this is a good movie with good performances but I just didn't care at all.