Battleship

 

Battleship is an action-adventure that unfolds across the seas, in the skies and over land as our planet fights for survival against a superior force. Based on Hasbro's classic naval combat game, Battleship stars Taylor Kitsch as Hopper, a Naval officer assigned to the USS John Paul Jones; Brooklyn Decker as Sam, a physical therapist and Hopper's fiance; Alexander Skarsgard as Hopper's older brother, Commanding Officer Stone of the USS Samson; Rihanna as Lt. Raikes, Hopper's crewmate and a weapons specialist on the USS John Paul Jones; and international superstar Liam Neeson as Hopper and Stone's superior (and Sam's father), Admiral Shane.

I don't know if I just had super low expectations for this or what but I ended up enjoying it. I was actually flat out loving the movie until the aliens became mobile. The excitement that was there until that point kind of faded a little bit. And I really like Taylor Kitsch. He was always my favorite kid on Friday Night Lights and he could have a bright future. Hopefully this movie will make him a bigger name and people can forget that whole John Carter thing. This was a throwback to Jerry Bruckenheimer summer popcorn movies. Lots of action. Lots of young actors. Funny one liners. You know the drill. The effects were very Transformers like and to be honest - this movie was waaaaaaaaaay better than either of the Transformers sequels . . . . . . not that an accomplishment like that would be hard to pull off.

I would definitely recommend people checking this out. It's an entertaining summer movie for all to see.

Think Like A Man

 

Based on Steve Harvey's best-selling book, Think Like a Man follows four interconnected and diverse men whose love lives are shaken up after the ladies they are pursuing buy Harvey's book and start taking his advice to heart. When the band of brothers realize they have been betrayed by one of their own, they conspire using the book's insider information to turn the tables and teach the women a lesson of their own.

This was a funnier version of most Tyler Perry's movies. You could tell with how much they kept mentioning/mocking Tyler Perry movies. It was basicaly about four couples learning to be real with each other about their feelings and Kevin Hart was thrown in there purely for laughs. And he was a perfect mix in to keep this movie flowing. All of the couples had good chemistry and the movie was watchable but it was absolutely his commentary and riffing that carried this movie for me.

I would somewhat recommend people checking this out. It's not so heavy on the melodrama like most Tyler Perry movies are. It's light, the characters/relationships are believable and the laughs are aplenty.

The Lucky One

 

U.S. Marine Sergeant Logan Thibault (Efron) returns from his third tour of duty in Iraq, with the one thing he credits with keeping him alive--a photograph he found of a woman he doesn't even know. Learning her name is Beth (Schilling) and where she lives, he shows up at her door, and ends up taking a job at her family-run local kennel. Despite her initial mistrust and the complications in her life, a romance develops between them, giving Logan hope that Beth could be much more than his good luck charm.

This movie is exactly what you would expect it to be. It's a Nicolas Sparks adaptation. There's lots of drama, there are lots of emotions/drama, etc. etc. This one was definitely one of the less heavy ones. Neither one of the main characters died or had some disease slowly killing them like his other entries. It was a decent enough watch for a "chick" flick.

I would lukewarmly recommend people checking this out. It's not a must see by any means but it isn't awful either. It's probably the most credible acting that Zac Efron has done in his career to date. 

The Pirates! Band Of Misfits

 

In The Pirates! Band of Misfits, Hugh Grant stars in his first animated role as the luxuriantly bearded Pirate Captain - a boundlessly enthusiastic, if somewhat less-than-successful, terror of the High Seas. With a rag-tag crew at his side, and seemingly blind to the impossible odds stacked against him, the Captain has one dream: to beat his bitter rivals Black Bellamy (Jeremy Piven) and Cutlass Liz (Salma Hayek) to the much coveted Pirate Of The Year Award. It's a quest that takes our heroes from the shores of exotic Blood Island to the foggy streets of Victorian London. Along the way they battle a diabolical queen (Imelda Staunton) and team up with a haplessly smitten young scientist (David Tennant), but never lose sight of what a pirate loves best: adventure!

This was a decent watch kids movie. It wasn't great but it wasn't bad. It' entertaining enough and short enough that you are ok with it. Not really much more to say about this movie at all.

I would lukewarmly recommend people seeing this. It's not a must see by any means. Kids will like it. Adults won't hate it too much. Again - that's really all I've got.

The Dictator

The film tells the heroic story of a dictator who risked his life to ensure that democracy would never come to the country he so lovingly oppressed.

This was a slightly different Sacha Baron Cohen movie. I was expecting another of his mockumentary type movies. This was actually a movie with a "story" and other "actors." It kind of took away a little bit from the laughs when it was part of a script as opposed to the usual freelance rantings. There still were plenty of laughs and the usual sight gags and when it was funny - I was bellylaughing. Unfortuantely, it seemed held back by the actor interacting and the parts that weren't as funny, I found myself bored.

I would somewhat recommend people checking this movie out. It's nowhere near as funny as Borat was, but I definitely liked it more than Bruno. It's a shame that they decided to try and have a story. I feel like this could have been hilarious if they didn't.

The Hunger Games

Every year in the ruins of what was once North America, the evil Capitol of the nation of Panem forces each of its twelve districts to send a teenage boy and girl to compete in the Hunger Games. A twisted punishment for a past uprising and an ongoing government intimidation tactic, The Hunger Games are a nationally televised event in which "Tributes" must fight with one another until one survivor remains. Pitted against highly-trained Tributes who have prepared for these Games their entire lives, Katniss is forced to rely upon her sharp instincts as well as the mentorship of drunken former victor Haymitch Abernathy. If she's ever to return home to District 12, Katniss must make impossible choices in the arena that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

I loved this movie. I tore through all three books and had sky high expectations for this movie and it delivered across the board. The cast was great. The tension and story build up was there. There were definitely parts where reading the book helped, but in any good science fiction or "different" world stories - the trick is to make me believe that it could be like that and this movie delivered.

I would absolutely recommend peopled checking this out. It's easily the best movie of the year so far. You should read the books as well. I can't wait for the next two.

The Lorax

The Lorax is an adaptation of the classic tale of a forest creature who shares the enduring power of hope. The animated adventure follows the journey of a 12-year-old as he searches for the one thing that will enable him to win the affection of the girl of his dreams. To find it he must discover the story of the Lorax, the grumpy yet charming creature who fights to protect his world.

This is kind of tough one to review. It wasn't necessarily a bad movie because the animation was really good and there were laughs in there. However, it might be the longest hour and half movie I have ever seen and to be quite honest I was bored out of mind for massive portions of the movie. It ended up being a really long ad for taking care of the environment.

I don't really know that I would recommend this movie. At least not for adults I guess. My niece that saw it with us loved it and I that is ultimately what matters with movies like this. Sadly, this is one of those animated movies that really ends up being for the kids and the adults just kind of sit through it. Ah . . . . .the joys of parenting.

Silent House

Silent House is a uniquely unsettling horror thriller starring Elizabeth Olsen as Sarah, a young woman who finds herself sealed inside her family's secluded lake house. With no contact to the outside world, and no way out, panic turns to terror as events become increasingly ominous in and around the house.

Pretty much a big turd. I felt no fear whatsoever for the first hour. The hand held vamera thing is pretty much done for me scary wise unless the movie title is Paranormal Activity and has a number after it. Once the "fear" portion of it was over and they went it to the "swerve", I was beyond done and started reading my book on my phone.

I would absolutely not recommend anyone wasting there time with this garbage. These movies needs to stop.

The Three Stooges

Left on a nun's doorstep, Larry, Curly and Moe grow up finger-poking, nyuk-nyuking and woo-woo-wooing their way to uncharted levels of knuckleheaded misadventure. Out to save their childhood home, only The Three Stooges could become embroiled in an oddball murder plot... while also stumbling into starring in a phenomenally successful TV reality show.

This is one of those movies that is what it is. Were you expecting some sort of greatness? If so, you are a fool. It's a franchise that is based on stupidity and silliness. This movie was stupid and silly . . . . . . . but I was still able to laugh at it for what it was. It's rated PG so in all honesty, it's more for kids and is full of sight gags and the stooges sounds when goofing around. I was able to shut off my brain and laugh sometimes at the silliness that it was.

I would somewhat recommend people checking this out. It's not a must see. Kids will love it. You will laugh at times if you are able to shut off your brain like I was.

Lockout

Set in the near future, Lockout follows a falsely convicted ex- government agent (Pearce), whose one chance at obtaining freedom lies in the dangerous mission of rescuing the President's daughter (Grace) from rioting convicts at an outer space maximum security prison.

This was without a doubt - the WORST edited movie that I have seen in my entire life. Apparantly, they decided that they wanted a PG-13 rating at the last second and decided to cut back on the blood and/or foul language. However, they didn't do reshoots and just cut the scenes. The result is it going from scene to scene with no transition whatsoever. Pearce headbutts a guy - cut scene - they are running out of the room on the completely different side of where they are with people chasing them. The movie was a giant turn regardless but could have been a "guilty pleasure" type movie but the editing just makes it straight up unbearable.

I wouldn't recommend this movie to anyone. No - wait!!! Actually, I would. This is one of those movies that is so absurdly bad - that people should see it just to sit there going "What the f@ck?"

Casa De Mi Padre

Armando Alvarez (Will Ferrell) has lived and worked on his father's ranch in Mexico his entire life. As the ranch encounters financial difficulties, Armando's younger brother Raul (Diego Luna) shows up with his new fiance, Sonia (Genesis Rodriguez). It seems that Raul's success as an international businessman means the ranch's troubles are over as he pledges to settle all debts his father has incurred. But when Armando falls for Sonia, and Raul's business dealings turn out to be less than legit, all hell breaks loose as they find themselves in a war with Mexico's most feared drug lord, the mighty Onza (Gael Garcia Bernal).

This movie is blatantly a one trick pony. It's supposed to make you laugh because it's Will Ferrell in the middle of a telenovela. And it works. Even though it gets old pretty quick, I was still laughing just at seeing him in this from beginning to end. And the movie isnt even 90 minutes long. Its got all of the over the top drama that a telenovella would have and then there is Will Ferrell talking spanish standing out like a sore thumb.

I wouldn't blatantly recommend people see this because it really is a one trick, silly movie. I thought it was hilarious though.

Salmon Fishing In The Yemen

When Britain's leading fisheries expert (Ewan McGregor) is approached by a consultant (Emily Blunt) to help realize a sheikh's (Amr Waked) vision of bringing the sport of fly-fishing to the desert, he immediately thinks the project is both absurd and unachievable. But when the Prime Minister's overzealous press secretary (Kristin Scott Thomas) latches on to it as a "good will" story, this unlikely team will put it all on the line and embark on an upstream journey of faith and fish to prove the impossible, possible.

This was a cutesy movie.  There really isn't much more to say about it than that.  Emily Blunt is totally enjoyable as always.  You believe in the chemistry that she has with Ewan McGregor.  And the story is paced well enough that I wasn't spending more time looking at my watch than at the screen.

I would somewhat recommend people checking this out.  It's not a must see by any means and you could honestly wait for cable.  The only real sell in this is Emily Blunt, who is right behind Emma Stone as far as actresses that I really enjoy in whatever they are in.

The Intruders

Though no one can see him, Hollow Face lurks in the corners, desperately desiring love but only knowing how to spread fear and hate. He creeps into the life of John Farrow (Clive Owen) after Farrow's beloved 13-year-old daughter Mia (Ella Purnell) is assaulted in their home. The line between the real and the imaginary blurs as fissures start to open within the family unit. It seems that no security measure can keep Hollow Face out.

A surprisingly watchable creeper with the whole psychological twist. I had called it pretty early on but it was still well played out and it wasn't overly long. Although Clive Owen was supposed to be the acting that carried the movie, I actually really liked the daughter. She had to carry at least the first half plus of the movie and did a really admirable job.

This movie is only opening limited so I don't know how many people will actually get a chance to see this, but it is kind of worth it for those of you looking for a good scare flick.

American Reunion

It was summer 1999 when four small-town Michigan boys began a quest to lose their virginity. In the years that have passed, Jim and Michelle married while Kevin and Vicky said goodbye. Oz and Heather grew apart, but Finch still longs for Stifler's mom. Now these lifelong friends have come home as adults to reminisce about and get inspired by the hormonal teens who launched a comedy legend.

This move was a sad attempt at recapturing something that passed by a long time agao. American Pie was last decades' sex comedy for early 20 year olds. It was hilarious. I loved it. Both sequels were lamer than the original and the franchise ended. Then this decades' crazy over the top comedy came out. And The Hangover was a classic. Again - sequel nowhere near as good. And I have to honestly say that if those movies didn't come out - this movie never would have been attempted and wasted our time. It was more of the same recycled stuff and characters. It took way to long to get there. And I barely laughed at all except for anything non-Stifler related. Even that got pretty old pretty fast.

I wouldn't really recommend anyone bothering with this. It was a lame attempt at reincarnating something that should have just been left alone.

The Artist

Hollywood 1927. George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) is a silent movie superstar. The advent of the talkies will sound the death knell for his career and see him fall into oblivion. For young extra Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo), it seems the sky's the limit - major movie stardom awaits. The Artist tells the story of their interlinked destinies.

This was a great throwback to silent movies. I was not frustrated by the not talking at all and it kept my interest throughout. However, I feel like that was the pull of the movie. If this was a talking movie - it's poop. It managed to cash in on it's one trick hook well enough for it to be an enjoyable movie. I am having a problem though with how gaa-gaa people are for it. Is this what we've come to? Best picture nominations based on making a movie like they used to 80-90 years ago? This really was a rough year I guess.

I would definitely recommend people checking this one out. Don't get me wrong. It is a very entertaining movie with the silent factor added in and I definitely enjoyed it. I just am thrown off by the very high critical praise for it.