Should I See That?

Transformers: Dark of the Moon

2011-06-29T22:42:00.000-04:00

Review coming soon.

Bad Teacher

2011-06-24T22:41:00.000-04:00

Review coming soon.

Cars 2

2011-06-22T22:40:00.000-04:00

Review coming soon.

Green Lantern

2011-06-17T22:39:00.000-04:00

Review coming soon.

Super 8

2011-06-08T20:18:00.000-04:00

Review coming soon

Midnight in Paris

2011-06-06T20:20:00.000-04:00

Review coming soon.

X-Men: First Class

2011-06-02T02:35:00.000-04:00

Review coming soon.

The Hangover Part II

2011-05-25T19:00:00.000-04:00

Review coming soon.

Something Borrowed

2011-05-18T11:00:00.000-04:00

Review coming soon.

Bridesmaids

2011-05-13T00:03:00.003-04:00

Yes.

So, I actually got to see this movie about a month in advance and I absolutely loved it. Then I saw a new trailer for it and there was a scene that I didn't remember from the movie. I figured they made some changes so I kinda wanted to see it again before I reviewed it.

That didn't happen :-(

Based on what I saw, which gave me every impression that it was the final product at the time, I very highly recommend Bridesmaids. Is it the female answer to The Hangover? ... maybe, but it's got too much heart to really call it that. Bridesmaids is really a movie about friendship at it's core and if it wanted to be considered The Hangover's sister, they really needed to lose that. That being said, I'm glad they didn't.

Bridesmaids will have you laughing so hard you can't breathe; it's got everything from raunchy sex jokes to diarrhea and vomit, but it still remains classy and true. Definitely go check out Bridesmaids, but if you do, PLEASE get snacks from the concession stand. That'd be great, thanks!

Priest 3D

2011-05-12T22:16:00.018-04:00

No.

I don't quite understand the concept behind the movie. The movie is based on a series of graphic novels, but I'm not sure where the hell those crazy Koreans came up with this mismatched mash-up of genres. Is it a western? Is it Science-Fiction? Is it Horror?

It's actually all of those plus post-apocalyptic adventure. The addition of warrior priests weirds the thing up to completion. Throughout the entire movie I kept thinking to myself, "... what...?"

Paul Bettany is actually kind of a good actor, so I'm thinking it's time he fired his agent. Whoever green lit this shit storm should also be let go. Please don't waste your money on this garbage!

Thor

2011-05-06T00:01:00.036-04:00

Yes.

More and more, I dread the thought of a another superhero's origin story. Even having known absolutely nothing about Thor and needing to see where he came from in order to understand his story, I still was entirely disinterested in this movie... Thor is just fluff. It's a puzzle piece and the picture on the box is the poster for The Avengers.

That being said, I kinda enjoyed it. It has moments of simple humor, relatively cool special effects. The main characters are very likable and there's little to no cringe-worthy dialogue.

If you have to see Thor in order to get the full picture prior to the main event next summer, it could have been a lot worse. If it turns out that I didn't need to see Thor to understand The Avengers, I won't necessarily be angry... but I definitely won't be surprised.

Fast Five

2011-04-28T23:14:00.003-04:00

Yes.

This series continues to surprise me. I wasn't a huge fan of the original and actually ended up liking the first sequel a little more than it's predecessor (even though I was certain I couldn't possibly like a movie called 2 Fast 2 Furious). I'm pretty sure we can all agree that, while not completely unwatchable, the third in the franchise, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, was kind of a joke. With the original team in place, the fourth installment was fairly successful and possibly better than the first two, and now, Fast Five is definitely the best of the bunch.

Keep in mind that when I endorse some of these movies, it's based entirely on fun factor. There's really no substance to these movies at all. There's rarely ever any doubt that it's going to work out for the main characters in the end, so it's really all just adrenaline pumping action that makes Fast Five the first official popcorn movie of the year.

If you can suspend disbelief and get past the blatant disregard of physics, you'll have a blast watching Fast Five... and probably the next in the series as well. Yes, there will be another movie.

Water for Elephants

2011-04-22T19:41:00.001-04:00

No.

Water for Elephants is Titanic at the circus. The movie is set up exactly the same except with an old man reminiscing about the events that led up to a tragic circus accident rather than an old woman reminiscing about the events leading up to...

All of the players are there the poor homeless boy that shouldn't be there to begin with who then impresses a wealthy woman with his unforeseeable talents. The wealthy woman, controlled by an overbearing, tyrannical man who feels that he owns her, is easily seduced by, and falls in love with the poor penniless sitar player and the two must hide their love for fear of societal pressures and the wrath of her husband.

It's animal torture porn for a bit and then we slowly make our way to the "event" that defined this man's life... that changed everything... the event that brings him to tears from the mere sight of a picture of the old circus.

SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!!!!

Nothing happens. The dangerous animals get loose and scare the crap out of everyone, but as you learn early on, the cats have no teeth. The only person injured in the event is the asshole that was keeping the star-crossed lovers apart. Through narration, we learn that the circus was dismantled as a result and the two lovers have a long fulfilling life together raising children, leading to the eventual death of his wife from natural causes. That's how it ends.

There are several movies that I deem a waste of time because they are poorly made or unnecessary remakes. Water for Elephants is a waste of time because nothing happens in the entire 2 hour and 15 minute running time.

Scream 4

2011-04-15T08:48:00.002-04:00

Yes.

Let's get something out of the way. Scream is one of my favorite movies of all time. Scream 2 left a lot to be desired and Scream 3 was terrible.

While Scream 4 could never be as good as the original, it's light years better than 2 and 3.

The latest installment is comparable to the original in enjoyability, acting level, direction, and dialogue quality. Where 4 drops the ball is in the "spoofing" aspect of the film. They didn't take the "reboot" theme or the "torture porn" theme far enough to mimic the point of the original film which was really supposed to be mocking the concept while still being a high quality film within the genre.

There were a few missed opportunities that I wish they had given me the opportunity to consult them about, but when all is said and done, Scream 4 is a perfectly acceptable addition to the franchise.

Your Highness

2011-04-08T23:52:00.001-04:00

No.

Your Highness probably wouldn't have been as bad as it was if they had left out the pot jokes (and I guess changed the title) and they probably should have left out a few "fuck"s. I'm not against vulgarity... in fact I might actually thrive on it at this point, but if you use it too much, it becomes unfunny.

The movie wore out it's welcome pretty early on. I still laughed a few times, but not enough to keep me awake. That's right... I fell asleep. It was just too nonsensical. I immediately lost half of my interest in the movie when I saw the robot bird sidekick and the rest was gone when they got attacked by ninjas.

This team of film makers (James Franco, Danny McBride, and director David Gordon Green) try too hard. They have good ideas and a strong sense of what's funny, but just as they did with Pineapple Express, they pass the "good" mark and bring the movie all the way to "stupid".

Win Win

2011-04-06T19:06:00.000-04:00

Review coming soon.

Source Code

2011-03-31T11:43:00.001-04:00

Review coming soon.

Sucker Punch

2011-03-25T13:34:00.000-04:00

Review coming soon.

The Lincoln Lawyer

2011-03-23T13:31:00.000-04:00

Review coming soon.

Limitless

2011-03-19T11:24:00.019-04:00

Yes.

When I saw the trailer for Limitless, I thought it looked good, but I didn't think I'd enjoy it as much as I did.

Limitless is one of those stories that plays on your desire. I consider myself to be fairly to very smart. The concept of a drug that would help you to exceed the limits of human intelligence is intriguing to say the least.

Would you take it? I still don't think I would, even though I'd probably consider it long and hard. With the exception trying marijuana twice (the second time only to confirm that it would have little to no effect on me since I felt nothing the first time), I've only ever taken over-the-counter or prescription drugs that were prescribed to me. That doesn't mean that I can't imagine how awesome it would be to have endless knowledge and be able figure anything out. Then again I've seen this movie, so the downside has been made abundantly clear.

Limitless is fun, exciting, energetic, and surprising and you should definitely check it out.

Paul

2011-03-17T11:19:00.002-04:00

No.

Take Me Home Tonight

2011-03-15T11:18:00.002-04:00

No.

It's hard to imagine that upon it's release in, say 1951, a movie that takes place in 1928 would feel as corny as a movie that takes place in 1988 would feel to a viewer in 2011. Between Take Me Home Tonight and Hot Tub Time Machine, we've gotten the nostalgia out of the way; can someone now, please, make a serious period film that takes place in the 80's? Is it even possible?

I'm not 100% convinced it is, actually, but it's hard to believe there isn't a talented director who could get past the hair, clothes and popular music to create a meaningful film that doesn't rely on Max Headroom-esque gags.

Take Me Home Tonight was never intended to be a serious 1980's period film... but then why make it? Is it Topher Grace's quest to take part in a production, saturated with the pop culture and fashion of each specific decade? Did they feel like last year's Hot Tub Time Machine hadn't gotten it right?

There are a lot of unanswered questions in this review and I honestly don't have the answer for any of them. If you wanna see a party movie where a hopeless romantic uses his one last chance to try to get the girl of his dreams, check out Can't Hardly Wait. It's WAY better, PG-13, slightly more realistic, and significantly less corny. I wonder what it would have looked like if it were made in 2019.

Red Riding Hood

2011-03-12T11:38:00.003-05:00

No.

Red Riding Hood was just another excuse to have very pretty boys fighting over an average looking girl. Oh, and I forgot to say werewolf.

It is truly amazing how they are able to stay so clean living in the dirt. They all have perfect teeth and skin, even though this takes place in a time when the answer to all of your dental problems was to rip out the tooth and Lubriderm and Oil of Olay weren't consistently stocked in the skincare aisle at CVS. I don't think there was a single ugly person living in the town that Red Riding Hood takes place.

This is trite, rehashed Twilight crap for teenaged girls, and even they aren't buying into it. Don't even bother looking for this on DVD.

Battle: Los Angeles

2011-03-11T11:34:00.002-05:00

Yes.

Battle: LA is a pretty straight forward action flick. It's Saving Private Ryan with aliens. Gritty and realistic, the director succeeds in his attempt to merge the modern style shaky cam war footage like in The Hurt Locker with the special effects of an alien invasion.

The acting is not exactly top notch, but it's sort of covered up by the gunfire and explosions. There's really no story to speak of and I would have liked one, but I still didn't hate it.

Battle: LA definitely won't be anywheres near my top 20 at the end of this year, but it's still a fun ride.

Mars Needs Moms

2011-03-10T16:47:00.001-05:00

Yes.

I was pleasantly surprised by Mars Needs Moms. I really thought I was going to hate it and I didn't. Knowing that I would probably hate it might have lowered my expectations enough to actually give it a positive review, but that won't help this movie at all since it had the 12th worst opening weekend for a movie released on more than 3000 screens.

Clearly others weren't willing to give it the same chance I did, and with good reason. Other films that were created with the same motion capture animation have been horrible. The Polar Express, Beowulf and A Christmas Carol were filled with soulless, weightless characters; if you look into their eyes, you will see what death is like. The studio seems to be working it's way out of the uncanny valley, slowly but surely, as the characters in Mars Needs Moms are very much less creepy than in earlier films. I'm not sure, however, that Disney will be investing much more of their money into this style of animation.

Mars Needs Moms might already be out of theatres, but if you want a family night with your kids, give it a rent and help Disney make back some of the $150 million budget that it pretty much just flushed down the toilet.

The Adjustment Bureau

2011-03-09T11:40:00.001-05:00

Yes and no.

I really liked The Adjustment Bureau. I like the concept, story, the actors... almost everything. I didn't like the director, the screenplay and the end... so, almost everything.

I don't know if The Adjustment Bureau was too long or too short, but it definitely wasn't the right length, and then it just kind of ends. The end of the movie (which I won't give away even though it sucks) is really weak. Given the epic nature of the movie's concept, there should have been way more to it than there was.

I loved the whole idea behind the movie though; that we're all on a set path, but that it's possible to stray from that path in order to fight for something/one that we care about. I completely believed the chemistry between the actors and was rooting for them the whole time.

If the director and writer had done a better job, this would be an instant "must-see" recommendation. Alas, I can only recommend a video rental in a few months :-( .

Rango

2011-03-08T16:45:00.003-05:00

Ummmmm, yes.

Rango is a strange movie. I actually walked out of it not knowing if I liked it or not. It's rated PG and is animated, which implies that it's a kids movie, but, while it's definitely kid friendly, it's really geared more for adults.

The animation is outstanding. It's gritty and realistic, yet still quirky and fun to look at. The voice acting is good... the story is fine.

While it's certainly not the best movie of the year, Rango is an entertaining escape for a couple of hours. Kids may not really like it, though and adults probably won't know what to make of it.

Hall Pass

2011-02-28T14:38:00.002-05:00

No.

Hall Pass is bad. I rarely laughed and when I did, I was laughing at how ridiculous I felt for watching it. The screenplay isn't funny and the actors, for the most part, were wasted.

Everything about this movie was based on shock humor. The amount of full frontal male nudity is proof enough, but none of the dialogue was genuinely funny either. It was all about making you say "I can't believe they just said that."

I actually like Jason Sudeikis, Jenna Fischer and Christina Applegate. I hate Owen Wilson, though. Mostly because of his droll voice and crooked nose. I really don't like looking at him or hearing his voice so his acting talent is pretty moot.

As comedies go, Hall Pass is pretty terrible.

Unknown

2011-02-23T20:23:00.002-05:00

No.

The premise of this movie is way too weak to have made a whole movie about it... plus it sort of comes out of nowhere.

To be honest, I don't even remember what the actual plot of the movie is. Not because I saw Unknown last month and it's been so long that I forgot it... I forgot it immediately after the credits began to roll. It has something to do with the use of corn as a fuel source or something... a cheap method of taking advantage of eco-friendly moviegoers. Even the main plot of the film is over shadowed by the whole amnesia/conspiracy aspect of the film which has nothing to do with the "real" main storyline.

The fact that Liam Neeson develops amnesia isn't the driving force behind the action in the movie, nor does it expose any truths that we wouldn't have found out otherwise. He simply develops a conscience as a result of relearning about his past. I always end up comparing the big reveal in a movie to the big reveal in Scream. You could easily guess who the killer in the original Scream movie was if the writer and director hadn't done a brilliant job steering you away from the truth without ever lying to you. The story behind what's happening in Unknown is so convoluted that there is no way anyone could ever have guessed it... which kind of takes all of the fun out of watching it. It's not a good twist if there weren't hidden clues throughout the movie that you missed.

I thought this was going to be Neeson's follow up to his winning formula from Taken. It's not even close to the quality of that movie. Let this movie remain... Unknown.

I am Number Four

2011-02-18T10:17:00.004-05:00

Yes.

I Am Number Four isn't great, but it is entertaining enough to recommend.

The whole time I was watching it I kept getting a very "Smallville" vibe from the whole thing. I was not at all shocked to find out at the end of he movie that it was produced by the Smallville team. While I recognize that there are very few original stories left in the world, I can't even give the writers of I Am Number Four credit for trying since most of the plot points seem to be ripped straight out of the world of Superman.

The acting was fine, the writing was fine... I Am Number Four was fine. The special effects were really good... actually, don't bother with this. Wait to see if the sequel gets good reviews. If it does, rent I Am Number Four and then go see the sequel. If the sequel sucks there really no reason to invest any time into this one.

The Roommate

2011-02-17T10:16:00.001-05:00

No.

So, I learned a lesson last month (that is to say February as I write this review on March 7th). I seem to have forgotten everything I hated about The Roommate. The lesson is that I really should, at a minimum, jot down some notes so that I can form them into a worthy review in a more timely manner.

Suffice it to say, The Roommate was terrible you you should not see it.

The Rite

2011-02-16T10:16:00.002-05:00

Ummm....

Ok, so I know this is a little late, but I'm not gonna waste time with excuses. I'm just gonna say that if I had reviewed this on time I would have said, No, do not waste your money seeing The Rite in theatres. Since there's no chance of that happening, I'm gonna go ahead and say that when it comes out on DVD or cable, there's no reason you shouldn't give it a watch.

The Rite is NOT a good movie... but it's not so terrible, either. In fact, television has gotten so bad that, going forward, many reviews that get a "No" (you should NOT see that), may very well get a YES for home viewing. At this point just about anything scripted is gonna get some kind of positive review with regards to home viewing.

Sanctum 3D

2011-02-14T11:35:00.019-05:00

No.

There are two things the producer's of Sanctum should have insisted upon:

1. A PG-13 rating. There have been several times in my life when I got excited because I found out that a movie would be rated R and disappointed to find out that a movie wouldn't be rated R. Specifically in the cases of the film versions of Sweeney Todd and Rent. There's no reason this movie had to be rated R. It's almost as if they purposely added unnecessary gore and vulgarity in order to secure the R rating, which is bizarre behavior to say the least. A PG-13 rating would have drawn in a larger audience and, in this particular case, wouldn't have taken away from the realism of the movie. I never care about vulgarity, but gore is only needed if it's effective. It was effective in 127 Hours. It's not in Sanctum and feels extraneous.

2. A well known actor. I'm all for casting unknowns in major roles, but Sanctum needed someone to invest in and Reed Richards was not that someone. Give me Ed Harris, or a Hemsworth if you feel the need to keep it Australian. I just didn't feel any connection with any of the characters.

I think the ultimate shortfall for Sanctum was the screenplay, though. Just about every other line in the trailer was a cliche and it didn't end with the trailer. The dialogue is extremely trite, predictable and boring that the people delivering it ultimately become less interesting as a result.

Some of the 3D effects were cool, but not enough for me to recommend spending money to see this movie.

The Eagle

2011-02-13T11:35:00.002-05:00

No...

... but that's based off of 20 minutes of the movie. In fact, I spent a lot of that time looking around at the audience to see if they had any regret on their faces.

It's probably time to reevaluate your decisions when Channing Tatum isn't the worst part of your movie. It seemed like there was a lot of money put into this production, but the actor's just didn't care. Imagine an average day in your own life, but instead of jeans and a hoodie, everyone (yourself included) is wearing ancient Roman warrior uniforms. That's what the dialogue sounded like; modern Americans on Halloween.

I couldn't bare to stay past the 20 minute mark, and I've stuck it out through some pretty terrible movies, so...

Gnomeo & Juliet

2011-02-11T10:35:00.066-05:00

No.

This 84 minute movie is about an hour too long. I'd like to know what the thought process was leading up to the production of Gnomeo and Juliet. This concept is unoriginal, the title is NOT clever, the animation is pretty awful, and the inclusion of an entirely Elton John based score/soundtrack is pretty random and a strange decision. If they had included original Elton John songs, it might have been tolerable, but the whole movie is Rocket Man and Your Song and the score is, seemingly, a deliberate rip off of the score from Moulin Rouge!

At no point was I able to suspend disbelief enough to buy into this world. Why is there a laser security system in the red gnomes' yard? Was it put there by the homeowner? What are the legal ramifications of decapitating a child with a laser security system in your back yard if the kid loses a ball over the fence? Where are all of the bloody squirrel corpses?

Romeo and Juliet is a tragic love story. I honestly don't care if I give away the ending of Gnomeo and Juliet because I don't believe you should go see it anyway. If you're going to retell a classic tale, do it. You don't sugar coat Shakespeare. I probably sound snobbish, but I really don't care. I am not a Shakespeare scholar and I wouldn't even call myself a Shakespeare fan. I do, however, respect the work and would never bank on it's popularity in order to make a quick buck, and then change the whole story. No one dies in Gnomeo and Juliet. Gnomeo and Juliet has a happy ending. That has to be one of the most ridiculous, disrespectful ideas that has hit the screen as a G rated film. I'm really not surprised that Disney released this under the Touchstone banner; to rake in millions of dollars on a terrible product and not really be associated with it is sort of brilliant. The folks over at Disney are evil masterminds.

Do not take your kids to see Gnomeo and Juliet. Introduce them to Romeo and Juliet instead.

No Strings Attached

2011-01-29T02:06:00.014-05:00

Yes...

... although I say that, mostly because I thought it would be terrible and I didn't end up hating it. It's nice to see Portman lighten up a little bit since she tends to take on heavier roles. Kutcher is exactly the same as he always is... just kinda there.

There isn't a whole lot to say about No Strings Attached. It's a good date movie in that women will like it and men won't hate it. If you're looking for something like that, here it is.

The Green Hornet

2011-01-14T03:37:00.062-05:00

No.

Once again we have a director making a movie he shouldn't be making with an actor that shouldn't be in the movie. Michel Gondry directed one of my favorite movies of all time, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, a beautiful, mind bending science fiction love story with an Oscar nominated performance by Kate Winslet and an Oscar snubbed performance by Jim Carrey. He's had some fun in the past, helming Dave Chapelle's Block Party and episodes of Jimmy Kimmel Live and HBO's Flight of the Conchords, but he's known primarily for his quirky sensibilities, taking on projects like The Science of Sleep, Be Kind Rewind, and Eternal Sunshine; all lower budget dramedies. To see him take a step back and jump behind the wheel of this schlock is almost heartbreaking. It raises so many questions, namely, why he would give up on his art. The answer is obviously, money, and that's really, really sad.

The Green Hornet stars Seth Rogen which is also pretty bizarre. Whoever thought casting Rogen as an action hero (bumbling though he may be) was an acceptable alternative to just about anything else, should be shot.

The movie is choppy and all over the place. The movie opens wit a scene in the past in which Rogen's character (as a child) is being berated by his father... only so that Rogen could tell the story later. He could have just told the story; we didn't need to see it first. Later after his father's funeral, he apparently fires his entire household staff, an emotional scene during which we see the character's vulnerability, resentment and mourning... but they didn't show it. They told us it happened by having Rogen ask the only maid left where the staff is. The literally left every ounce of humanity on the cutting room floor, I assume because the cast couldn't act it.

The Green Hornet is solely a money machine and you are supposed to be the cogs. Don't be a cog.

The Dilemma

2011-01-13T03:33:00.086-05:00

Uhhh... no.

The Dilemma is sort of a weird film. It's really more of a drama with funny parts than it is a comedy.

The second weekend in January is a weekend of strange marriages between director and material. I thought it was odd from the get go that Ron Howard was attached to direct this movie. I find it hard to believe that, in his right mind, the Academy Award winning director of A Beautiful Mind, Apollo 13, and Frost/Nixon chose to produce this heaping pile of crud. The Dilemma is Ron Howard's version of a Corvette in the driveway and we're the disillusioned spouse who walk out of the theatre, looks at Ronny and asks, "Who's movie is that in the driveway?"

I don't like Vince Vaughn. Let me just take a minute to go over some movies that Vince Vaughn was actually in. Keep in mind that they aren't necessarily good movies, but the do show that he has a little bit more range than he's limited himself to. Here goes: Domestic Disturbance, Swingers, Return to Paradise, Jurassic Park II, Psycho, Made, The Cell, Clay Pigeons. Then he made Old School, which some people apparently liked, and Vince Vaughn's destiny was set. From that day forward, he's played the same fast talking clown in every movie he's made with the occasional acknowledgement of worthy projects like Thumbsucker and Into the Wild.

Kevin James has fallen into the wrong crowd. I hate that he's best friends with the Sandler clan and it's a little off putting. I loved his stand-up routine, but it's been pretty downhill since. Jennifer Connelly was clearly just doing a favor for the director responsible for her Academy Award and apparently Winona Ryder is on some kind of a comeback tour with small roles in Star Trek and Black Swan. She probably thought she'd found her very own version of John Travolta's Pulp Fiction when she landed a major role in a Ron Howard film. Unfortunately, the joke was on her.

I case you haven't figured it out yet, there's little to nothing that I can say I liked about The Dilemma... but that's just because it's a terrible movie.

Season of the Witch

2011-01-06T12:49:00.001-05:00

No.

I think the movie industry is the only group that doesn't believe in "starting the year off right". Season of the Witch is an enormously terrible piece of garbage.

My biggest issue is that Nicholas Cage is NOT the worst part of this movie. My biggest issue is actually with Stephen Graham. Stephen Graham is a british actor who has had roles in Gangs of New York, Snatch, and Public Enemies and most recently has been seen on Martin Scorsese's Boardwalk Empire playing Al Capone. I don't know why, but he uses the worst New York accent throughout the whole movie. I was expecting all of the actors to have British accents, but I guess when they realized that Cage and Ron Perlman couldn't do British accents, the decided it would be easier to have the British actors try to sound more like Cage and Perlman. That being said, I still hate Nicolas Cage. I also really hate Ron Perlman...

Season of the Witch is like a good Uwe Boll movie... and that's not a compliment. Once again, my message to the studio's is this: Stop making these crap movies and spread out the good ones. People go to the movies all year round. If you make a good movie, they'll go see it no matter what time of year you release it.

2010: The 20 Best Films of the Year

2011-01-03T16:48:00.265-05:00

2010 was a year fueled by powerful performances. What ultimately helped me decide which was my favorite movie of the year was the fact the most of the competitors were films that I liked mostly because of the amazing performances by their casts, but not necessarily the full package.

20. The Crazies

The Crazies represents how rational people in a small town might handle a zombie apocalypse. The characters never do anything thats blatantly stupid and any risks they take are necessary ones. This remake got pretty good reviews at the time of it's theatrical release but I was still skeptical and hence was very pleasantly surprised when it was as good as it was.

19. Dinner For Schmucks

Dinner for Schmucks is one of the most unrealistic movies of the year and it's chock full of characters that would never exist in real life. That doesn't mean it isn't one of the funniest movies of the year, though. The chemistry between Rudd and Carell is perfect and there are some scenes in it with the two of them that made me laugh so hard I couldn't breathe.

18. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is tailor-made for people suffering from attention deficit disorder in that there are no (or very few) scene transitions, it's very colorful and there's always something cool to grab your attention that pops onto the screen every couple of seconds. It's frenetic fun; visually exciting, aurally engrossing and intellectually numbing.

17. The Town

Ben Affleck is doing a great job as a director. This wasn't as good as his directorial debut (Gone Baby Gone), but both of his movies have made my top 20, so I guess that's saying something. It's actually gotten to the point where I kinda can't wait for him to direct another movie.

16. Easy A

Strangely, I actually really liked Easy A. It's seemingly geared towards teenage girls, but was still really entertaining. The writer very cleverly transformed very R-rated material into content that is PG-13 appropriate.

15. True Grit

I really don't enjoy westerns, but True Grit has enough really good portrayals of very interesting characters to keep me interested. That along with some great writing and directing from the Coen brothers puts this western at number 15.

14. The Kids Are Alright

Besides the stellar performances from the entire cast, The Kids Are Alright has an original, quirky storyline, great dialogue, and an intriguing look into the concept of family without ever exploiting its subject matter. As long as you have an open mind, this fresh look at the contemporary family unit has the perfect mixture of wit, charm, intelligence and earnest.

13. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

This is a dark, scary, depressing movie. Due to the nature of the story, it's lost some of it's charm, but from a technical standpoint, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 is the best in the series so far.

12. Iron Man 2

As a stand alone movie it's great. As a sequel? It's less great, but still OK. I feel like instead of Iron Man 2, it should have been called Iron Man Again. As entertaining, well written, acted and directed it was, Iron Man 2 doesn't do anything to move the characters or the story forward. It really didn't need to be made and so as a sequel, it leaves a lot to be desired. That doesn't mean you won't have a blast watching it. Iron Man 2 is highly entertaining.

11. The King's Speech

While The King's Speech may not be for everyone, the story is wonderful and the relationship between Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush is what propels the movie forward. The ability of the film makers to elevate the "buddy cop" genre and make a british period piece is what ultimately lands The King's Speech in my top 20 films of the year.

10. The Fighter

The Fighter is a success because of Christian Bale with really strong support from Amy Adams and Melissa Leo. The movie was well made, but the writing and direction were just average and Mark Wahlberg was only at his best (which isn't necessarily a compliment), but Bale, Adams, and Leo were exceptional.

9. Winter's Bone

Winter's Bone brought me into a world that I'd heard about, but then quickly dismissed as an exaggeration of how it used to be. This is an eye opening film about poverty in our country and it belongs to actors Jennifer Lawrence and John Hawkes. Lawrence is able to convey hope in a world that seems to have none and Hawkes embodies exactly how I would envision what a mountain man drug dealer would be. Winter's Bone relies almost entirely on the skill of it's cast, and the cast delivers.

8. Unstoppable

I'm just as surprised as you are that Unstoppable made it into my top 10 films of the year. The fact is, I was pleasantly surprised by Unstoppable. The movie is short, which is good. The very opening scene sets the plot in motion (pun intended) and it rolls along (pun intended again) for 98 minutes without ever letting up. Unstoppable is pure popcorn fun. It's easily forgettable, but definitely worth the trip (PUN).

7. Kick-Ass

It's in the title. Kick-Ass is kick-ass... it's just violent, vulgar fun.

6. Toy Story 3

The Toy Story trilogy has had messages ranging from friendship and family, to jealousy, to loss and moving on. Pixar has made family friendly films with mature themes and no pop-culture references. They have never sacrificed the integrity of the characters or the story and for these reasons, the Toy Story films are truly timeless. The end of Toy Story 3 is so overwhelmingly heartwarming, that even the most cynical viewers will be brought to tears. What a perfect way to say goodbye.

5. Black Swan

Black Swan is a horror movie for snobs. It's very slowly paced, but is sufficiently creepy. The entire cast is perfect and Darren Aronofsky's direction is spot on. If dark psychological thrillers that mess with your head as much as it messes with the characters is your thing, do not wait another day to see Black Swan.

4. How To Train Your Dragon 3D

From the first time I saw the trailer for How To Train Your Dragon, I knew I was going to love it. The scene where Hiccup is testing Toothless's boundaries and they become friends was so heartwarming I almost threw up. The animation is beautiful, the story is exciting, and friendship is refreshing.

3. The Social Network

The Social Network is essentially a Rock n Roll movie for a nerds. It's stylish, clever, and well written, directed and acted. The characters are all intelligent fast talking and quirky; thanks to both the talented cast, the amazing writer and director and, presumably the actual people they are based on.

2. 127 Hours

This is my version of a horror movie. Supernatural shit doesn't scare me; it may make me jump, but rarely frightens me to my core. What happens in 127 Hours represents one of my biggest fears. I'm claustrophobic, but there's more to it than just being in a confined space. It's being stuck and being alone. It's hopelessness that scares me. In the hands of such an electric director as Danny Boyle, my fears have come to glorious life.

1. Inception

There are no words to describe the epic nature of Inception, the closest I can get would be with "Brilliant", or "Mind-blowing", or "Astounding". Inception is one of the most extraordinary pieces of film making to hit the screen in... forever(?). The fact that anyone could put something like Inception together in a way that is even remotely coherent, is staggering. The writing and direction are unbelievably good. The acting is stellar all around; there isn't a single weak link in the cast. The visual and sound effects seamlessly bring you in the world of the dreams, and the orchestral score is emotive and exciting. The action sequences will keep you on the edge of your seat and the love story is absolutely heart-breaking.

2010: The Worst 20 Films of the Year

2011-01-02T11:53:00.000-05:00

These are the worst films of 2010. Just click on the link to see why...

20. Robin Hood

19. Brooklyn's Finest

18. Legion

17. Alice in Wonderland

16. The Last Airbender

15. Charlie St. Cloud

14. The Expendables

13. Leap Year

12. Jonah Hex

11. The American

10. The Bounty Hunter

9. A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)

8. You Again

7. Cop Out

6. The Warrior's Way

5. Skyline

4. When In Rome

3. Vampires Suck

2. MacGruber

1. Resident Evil: Afterlife

The King's Speech

2010-12-31T21:56:00.007-05:00

Yes.

Being British and set in the 1920's the film is rather dry. Even the quirky nature of Rush's character, while seemingly defiant, is still very proper, but when paired with the stern, strict, royal Duke of York, Rush's character comes off as a circus clown. This is a testament to both performances.

The King's Speech really is a "buddy cop" movie at it's core. When I see a movie that has two distinctly different personalities reluctantly trying to work together for a common goal, that movie automatically gets places in the "buddy cop" genre. I hate "buddy cop" movies, but this one is classy, heartfelt, and, well true, which helps a little too.

While The King's Speech may not be for everyone, the story is wonderful and the relationship between Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush is what propels the movie forward. The ability of the film makers to elevate one of my least favorite film genres and make a british period piece is what ultimately lands The King's Speech in my top 20 films of the year.

Little Fockers

2010-12-30T02:22:00.000-05:00

Review coming soon.

Winter's Bone

2010-12-29T18:51:00.009-05:00

Yes.

There is so little plot in Winter's Bone that it can be summed up in one sentence: An unflinching Ozark Mountain girl hacks through dangerous social terrain as she hunts down her drug-dealing father while trying to keep her family intact. With this little amount story, the film relies heavily on the performances of it's cast. This cast delivers.

This movie belongs to actors Jennifer Lawrence and John Hawkes. Lawrence is able to convey hope in a world that seems to have none and Hawkes embodies exactly how I would envision what a mountain man drug dealer would be.

Winter's Bone brought me into a world that I'd heard about, but then quickly dismissed as an exaggeration of how it used to be. This is an eye opening film about poverty in our country. Anyone affected by the Bush tax cuts should be required to move to this region and see how people in the United States of America are being forced o live, or, at a minimum, see Winter's Bone.

The Fighter

2010-12-28T10:39:00.025-05:00

Yes.

The Fighter is a success because of Christian Bale with really strong support from Amy Adams and Melissa Leo. The movie was well made, but the writing and direction were just average and Mark Wahlberg was only at his best (which isn't necessarily a compliment), but Bale, Adams, and Leo were exceptional.

The story, which I thought would be the same typical underdog sports story, actually has a little something extra with the unintentional sabotage of Mickey Ward's career by his immediate family (specifically his mother and brother). Some of the worst things have been done with the best intentions and Dickie Ecklund and Alice Ward were just too self-involved to really be on Mickey Wards side.

The Fighter is a remarkable film and is sure to make a few appearances this awards season.

Black Swan

2010-12-27T20:36:00.001-05:00

Yes.

Beautiful and haunting, Black Swan is a powerful film that explores the physical, emotional and mental sacrifices an artist will make for his/her art.

Natalie Portman is amazing in this. I honestly never thought I'd see the day when I'd hear someone refer to her as Academy Award winner Natalie Portman, but not only will she definitely be nominated, she is almost certain to win. Her character's (Nina) obsession with perfection slowly destroys her and Portman's portrayal of Nina's downfall is absolutely breathtaking. Add to that her apparent background in ballet and you get the most memorable performance of the year.

Black Swan is a horror movie for snobs. It's very slowly paced, but is sufficiently creepy. The entire cast is perfect and Darren Aronofsky's direction is spot on. If dark psychological thrillers that mess with your head as much as it messes with the characters is your thing, do not wait another day to see Black Swan.

True Grit

2010-12-21T20:33:00.002-05:00

Yes.

My recommendation of True Grit is based almost entirely around the fact that I really don't enjoy westerns. The fact is that I just don't find them enjoyable as a genre. The color palette is filled with drab tan and brown colors, everyone talks with a southern accent, and action scenes are difficult to make exciting because of the lack of technology (horses and 6 shooters are no sports cars and machine guns).

When I like a western, and it's rare (I can only think of 3 others and one of them doesn't count), it has more to do with the actor's performances and the characters they portray. If the characters aren't intriguing I won't care about anything that's going on. In this case I was really impressed by Hailee Steinfeld's portrayal of 14 year-old Mattie Ross. I enjoyed her character's persistence and her ability to take charge of a situation and control the older characters in the movie. Obviously this would have been impossible without the great writing that she was reading from, but it was her job to convince me believe that this young girl was capable of doing the things she was doing. She convinced me.

Jeff Bridges was good although I couldn't understand most of his drunken, southern, old man, raspy dialect, and Matt Damon was fine too although it really was a strange role for him. Josh Brolin's character was weird and I'm not sure he was the best choice for the role.

I haven't seen the original and I have no desire to. True Grit (2010) was enough for me and since I actually kinda liked it even though I hate westerns, it was probably a very, very good film.

Tangled

2010-12-17T10:27:00.052-05:00

Yeah.

Tangled, Disney's interpretation of Rapunzel, is a fun, colorful and entertaining addition to the holiday season. It's very girly and may not appeal to young boys, despite the suave, witty and adventurous swashbuckling male lead, who is actually going to appeal more to moms than he would to a young male demographic.

This is a princess movie through and through, and I have to say, it's about time Disney went back to their Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty roots. Other than The Princess and the Frog (which I really didn't like) the studio had abandoned their classic tendencies and relied heavily on Pixar or individual "talent" (Miley Cyrus, Jonas Brothers, Lindsey Lohan) to rake in the dough for them. While Tangled may not have appealed to me personally, it's success will, hopefully, encourage them to produce more titles like Aladdin, and The Lion King.

Tangled's one flaw is that it might be too quirky for it's own good. Movies like the aforementioned classics take place in a specific time period and region of the world and the characters act appropriately. Tangled is a cartoon and the characters "act" like they're in a cartoon instead of a medieval kingdom; making this movie lighter and cuter than the animated stories from the 1990's.

You should absolutely take the time to check out Tangled. It's beautifully animated and a fun story.

Tron: Legacy 3D

2010-12-16T01:08:00.001-05:00

sigh... No...

... I wanted so bad for this movie to exceed my dismally low expectations and sadly, it was only able to meet them.

Aside from the special effects, Tron: Legacy has very little to offer other that a cool score written by Daft Punk. The performances are either over-epically serious or sickeningly cutesy-cute. Why Disney would put this tent-pole holiday release into the hands of a first time director is mind-blowing, but I'm really not 100% sure that it would have been all that much better in the hands of a seasoned director, anyway.

I think the biggest disappointment is probably special effects related. While the movie was stunning to look at, there was never any huge special effects climax or overly impressive stunt to "wow" the audience beyond the pretty standard effects that fill the movie. The visual effects are just a stagnant aspect of the movie that you'll take for granted by the 30 minute mark.

The story was both overly complicated and irritatingly unoriginal and while the effects were enough to keep me engaged for the length of the movie, I wouldn't necessarily recommend that anyone spend money to see Tron: Legacy unless you are only looking for eye-candy and your standards for what qualifies as eye-candy is on the low side.

The Kids Are Alright

2010-12-15T01:07:00.026-05:00

Yes.

The Kids Are Alright was released in theatres on 7/30/10 and on DVD and Blu-ray on 11/16/10.

I really liked The Kids Are Alright. Besides the stellar performances from he entire cast, it has an original storyline, great dialogue and an intriguing look into the concept of family without ever exploiting its subject matter.

The Kids Are Alright is a perfect fit for the "dramedy" genre. As long as you have an open mind, this fresh look at contemporary family unit has the perfect mixture of wit, charm, intelligence and earnest. Highly recommended.

The Tourist

2010-12-13T09:57:00.002-05:00

No.

Really? A Golden Globe nomination for Best Picture... what a joke. There is nothing "best" about The Tourist. The only explanation for the nomination is that the movie was just released so it was fresh in the mind's of the Hollywood Foreign Press nominating committee.

That being said, I didn't absolutely HATE The Tourist. There was just nothing there to really like. The story was silly and we just arrived in the middle of it. There was so much going on before the cameras started rolling that they could have made a better movie just from what was left out. There was very little chemistry between Jolie and Depp, however, there was a very strange dynamic between Jolie and Paul Bettany; certainly there was a history (seemingly romantic, based on the tension) between the two of them that the writers failed to explore.

The action wasn't all that intense and the jokes weren't all that funny. I wouldn't even know what genre to classify The Tourist as. While I don't feel like I wasted 2 hours, if I had paid for a ticket, I would have been pissed.

Jonah Hex

2010-12-11T09:57:00.002-05:00

No, come on!.

Jonah Hex was released in theatres on June 18th and on Blu-ray and DVD on October 12th.

I had absolutely no interest in seeing Jonah Hex from the second the first trailer hit the screen. I had a hard time watching it and actually had to take a break somewhere in the middle of the less than 90 minute run time, just because I was bored.

If you don't like a genre, it's still possible for you to like the movie because of powerful performances or an interesting, original story. There's very little a movie can to get you interested in the story if you're just not interested. The story in Jonah Hex is... well, virtually non-existent. Since the characters were ALL mean-spirited and ugly and I hate westerns, it was impossible to care about anything that was going on.

Don't bother with this one. Jonah Hex will just make you angry.

The Warrior's Way

2010-12-08T15:50:00.001-05:00

No.

I have no idea what that was. It was like a western, kung fu stage play. All of the sets looked like they were backdrops and cardboard cutouts... as did the actors. I mean they must have just told the actors to be as stereotypically westerny/kung fuey as possible...

... and it wasn't so much western as it was a circus movie... there were carnies everywhere and all so that they could put a sniper in the half-built ferris wheel. THE WHOLE CONCEPT OF THE MOVIE WAS BASED AROUND A SINGLE SET PIECE.

Absolute garbage. The movie was greenlit so that the studio would have something to release on the weekend after Thanksgiving.

Love and Other Drugs

2010-12-07T15:48:00.003-05:00

No.

A good rule of thumb when writing a movie is that you should either put ordinary people in an extraordinary situation, or put extraordinary people in an ordinary situation. When you put ordinary people in ordinary situations, there isn't a whole lot to keep the audience engaged. A drug rep falling in love with someone with Parkinson's disease is a very specific version of an ordinary situation that could happen to anyone. Maybe he won't be a drug rep and maybe she has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. Are they gonna make a movie about that, too?

Love and Other Drugs isn't unbearable, but it's definitely not worth the price of a ticket.

Morning Glory

2010-12-06T15:47:00.002-05:00

No.

I get when celebrated actors feel the need to do something light, and I'm sure Diane Keaton is a nice lady, but why is she allowed to continue to make schlocky movies. She gets nominated for an Oscar once each decade. The last time was in 2004 for Something's Gotta Give... a romantic comedy... costarring Keanu Reeves and Amanda Peet. Maybe it's time she tries something a little more weighty than the last 5 movies she made (Mad Money, Because I Said So, The Family Stone, Something's Gotta Give and Town and Country). Anyway, she's barely in Morning Glory at all, so I'm not sure why she angered me so much...

... Maybe thats why I didn't like the movie, though. I truly wanted to care about these people, but really didn't have enough time to get to know them. The movie was too much about the show they producing and not enough about the people who were producing the show.

Morning Glory is one of those movies that, as a two hour film, is pretty inconsequential, but as an HBO or AMC character study, where we might learn to like some of these people and get to know them on a deeper level, it might have been entertaining.

Due Date

2010-12-05T15:42:00.010-05:00

Nah.

Due Date was funny... but not funny enough for me to recommend. It really is just a road trip movie with Alan Garner (from The Hangover) and Tony Stark (Iron Man). The wackiness that ensues is all clearly set up leaving no room for surprises.

I have to say that, with Due Date coming from the same director as The Hangover, I really had higher hopes than I should have, so it's partially my fault. At the end of the day, Due Date just misses the mark.

It'll make a fine rental one day, but don't waste a trip to the theatre.

127 Hours

2010-11-29T02:00:00.004-05:00

Yes.

When I heard about this movie a few months ago, I thought it was going to be terrible. I don't like James Franco, so a movie about him being trapped, alone, in the middle of the desert seemed like a red flag. I went to see it anyway and... well, 127 Hours is, possibly my favorite movie of the year.

While there's nothing spectacular about the writing, there is this constant electricity from the very beginning of the movie thanks to director Danny Boyle and an amazing performance by Franco. Franco's character has an infectious energy, a spirit that seems impossible to break. To see that spirit slowly deteriorate into fear, desperation and depression was absolutely heartbreaking. It's not until he's verging on insanity that he's able to do what needs to be done to survive.

For those of you who don't know how he escapes, you need to stop reading now. This is based on a true story, so I have no qualms talking about the end of the movie.

This is my version of a horror movie. Supernatural shit doesn't scare me; it may make me jump, but rarely frightens me to my core. What happens in 127 Hours represents one of my biggest fears. I'm claustrophobic, but there's more to it than just being in a confined space. It's being stuck and being alone. It's hopelessness that scares me. Nobody can say with absolute certainty how they would handle a situation like that on the day. I'd like to say that I'd have the strength to break my own arm and cut it off using only a dull leatherman. I honestly don't think I could. The scene in which Franco's character frees himself is one of the most gruesome visuals ever filmed.

Come Oscar season, I honestly think James Franco has a serious shot at winning. I think Boyle has a shot at taking home his second award for directing and I'm pretty sure 127 Hours will win best picture.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

2010-11-18T04:31:00.002-05:00

Well yes, but...

... it's really not fun... at all. The fact of the matter is, those of you who have stuck with the series through the first 6 movies are going to see the last two. There's no reason to think that you wouldn't. Those of you who haven't, should absolutely not see this one. You must see them all for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 to make any kind of sense at all.

Now that we've got the obvious disclaimer out of the way I'll tell you my biggest complaint. A lot of people walk out of Harry Potter movies feeling... betrayed... because they left out so much of the book... usually the insignificant parts that made the books so charming... but insignificant parts none the less. I never had that problem. I always knew they would leave that stuff out and with good reason... they weren't at all relevant to the plot. My issues were always with the acting and directing (after the first two, it was only the acting). I feel like the acting has FINALLY fallen into place. Even Radcliffe, who was always the weakest link in the cast has grown into his role and has learned to portray emotion. Unfortunately, with the splitting of the final book into two movies, it seems everyone else in the world has finally gotten their wish. They have found a way to include almost every detail from the 800 page book... make a 5 and half hour movie. I on the other hand was kinda bored. They included almost every detail and it was BORING. To be fair, this is the one book that I remembered practically none of at the time that I went to see the movie, so it's possible that they did actually leave a lot out that I just don't recall. There was also a lot of staring. Characters just staring at each other. They could have probably cut out 15-20 minutes if the writer didn't rely so heavily on facial expressions that the cast clearly weren't talented enough to pull off and just used his words.

My other issue, which was actually a bigger issue than what I've already complained about, is the lack of fun. There is absolutely no humor in the movie at all. This is a dark, scary, depressing movie.

Otherwise, I'd have to say that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 is the best in the series with regards to filmmaking. Maybe since the director wasn't confined inside the damp walls of Hogwarts castle, he was able to do more with the actors, I don't know what it is but it was well made considering what he had to work with.

As I said, you'll see it or you won't... so go see it... or don't. Whatever.

MegaMind 3D

2010-11-16T11:19:00.002-05:00

Ummm... yeah.

MegaMind isn't bad. It just isn't really good either. It's just as forgettable as Monsters vs. Aliens but not as forgettable as say... Ratatouille (that's right, I said it. A Pixar movie is forgettable). The fact of the matter is that with the onslaught of "original" superhero movies/television shows, MegaMind doesn't really stand out as anything spectacular.

If your kids really want to go to the movies, you could do a lot worse than MegaMind. But you may want to stall, cause they'll forget about it eventually... whether you take them to see it or not.

Unstoppable

2010-11-13T18:29:00.016-05:00

Yes.

I was pleasantly surprised by Unstoppable. The movie is short, which is good. The very opening scene sets the plot in motion... pun intended... and it rolls along for 98 minutes without ever letting up.

The movie stays pretty intense considering the fact that anyone going to see it knows there's no way either of the two lead characters are REALLY in any danger of getting killed.

Unstoppable is pure popcorn fun. It's easily forgettable, but definitely worth the trip.

Skyline

2010-11-12T11:51:00.020-05:00

God no.

Skyline has phenomenal special effects. Everything else about it is phenomenally bad. The story is nonexistent, but not for a lack of trying. The writer's attempts at a plot is pathetic at best as are the actors' attempts acting.

If you're looking for pure eye candy, Skyline will suit your needs. If you like a little substance in your movie going experience, look elsewhere.

Red

2010-11-03T11:50:00.023-04:00

Yeah...

Red has a fun concept, a great cast, and the film was pretty well executed, but it just misses the mark and I think the entire reason is: story.

There's too much and too interesting of a backstory for these characters for this to have been the first film in the franchise. I felt left out and not in a good way. The characters had a strong, exciting history together that we learn about as the movie progresses, but it's not a mystery to anyone except the audience. There's never any big revelation... it just is... it's discussed amongst the characters as if we'd known about it all along. Which is weird.

I had a hard time getting invested in the plot, but it's always fun to see people doing unexpected things. Young children cursing or carrying on a mature conversation is always cute, and Hellen Mirren killing government agents with a machine gun is just adorable.

I'd wait for rental; but if you have nothing else to do, go check out Red.

The Social Network

2010-10-27T01:03:00.063-04:00

Yes.

The Social Network Deserves the 97% "Fresh" rating it's earned on RottenTomatoes.com. It's a very good, well crafted film. I learned, however, that just because I movie rates high on RT doesn't mean it's the best movie ever. It simply means that several critics thought it was a very good movie.

When this movie was first in development, my initial reaction to the thought of a Facebook movie was the same as my reaction to the thought of a Monopoly movie... which is real and being directed by Ridley Scott. Once i learned that it was about the creation of the website and not just some romantic comedy set in some Facebook world, and that David Fincher was at the helm, I was immediately onboard.

After a single viewing of The Social Network, my one complaint is that it lacks emotion. The characters are all intelligent fast talking and quirky, specifically Zuckerberg who seems mildly autistic in the way he's portrayed. When I watch it again, I have a feeling that I'm going to notice some things that I didn't see the first time around.

What's absolutely mind-boggling to me is why Senior Citizens are flocking to see this. There is a significant amount of dialogue about code writing and computer hacking that even I, a computer savvy thirty-something with a blog, couldn't understand. I feel like a lot of older folk are seeing this because they heard it was good, and then are saying things like "It was wonderful" so as not to come across as irrelevant.

The Social Network is essentially a Rock n Roll movie for a nerds. It's stylish, clever, and well written, directed and acted. If you haven't already, go check out The Social Network.

Paranormal Activity 2

2010-10-22T02:36:00.001-04:00

I mean... yeah, I guess.

There isn't much in Paranormal Activity 2 that you didn't get in Paranormal Activity... it's pretty much the same tricks that get you to jump. What it does have (besides an awesome dog and an adorable baby) is a little bit of a story; an area where the first installment was lacking.

It does a great job of connecting the two films, which was a pleasant surprise since I thought there would be little to no connective tissue, but it also has a very anti-climactic ending which, of course, is open ended enough for a third installment.

If you're looking for something to make you jump, or as was in my case, you're just curious to see what happens next, definitely check out Paranormal Activity 2. Just try not to expect too much in the way of originality.

The Town

2010-10-20T23:24:00.001-04:00

Yes...

... but it really wasn't as good as you'd expect from the reviews it got. To be fair, I had a hard time understanding what they were saying due to the combination of poor sound quality and the fact that they were wearing masks. There were 5 other people in the theatre... 4 of them were right behind me and wouldn't shut up. I was a little distracted.

Ben Affleck is doing a great job as a director. This wasn't as good as his directorial debut (Gone Baby Gone), but still very good. Its actually gotten to the point where I kinda can't wait for him to direct another movie.

I definitely recommend checking out The Town when it's released on Blu-ray/DVD.

Jackass 3D

2010-10-15T01:39:00.052-04:00

No.

I really hate where society is headed. To be honest, I wouldn't really mind if it were just Jackass, but the amount of shows on TV about assholes is staggering. Thanks to shows from The Real World to Jersey Shore, we've started celebrating, not only mediocrity, but absolute idiocy. It's not abortion, homosexuality or socialism that's destroying America... it's "reality" TV.

That being said, I have to admit that I did laugh a little bit during Jackass 3D. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't jealous; these guys are millionaires and it's all because they're stupid... or smart, i guess... I can't say that if I had thought of it first that I would have gone through with it. I guess that's because I'm not an idiot... or maybe I am.

I don't know that the 3D effect was really necessary. It was there, but it never made me jump, laugh or throw up in my mouth any more than I would have if it were in 2D. The extra $3.00 for the 3D experience was a colossal waste of money for anyone who paid it.

If you watch more unscripted television than you do shows that require creativity and talent, and you enjoy gross-out humor, then Jackass is for you. It's not for me.

Let Me In

2010-10-04T01:31:00.003-04:00

Yes.

Let Me In is a dark, brooding fairy tale. It's a remake of 2008 Swedish film Let the Right One In in which a "young" girl moves into an apartment complex and befriends a boy who's parents are going through a divorce and who is constantly bullied at school. As their friendship blossoms, the boy comes to realize that the young girl is a actually a vampire.

Now I know what you're thinking... Twilight... but not even close. This movie follows all of the Vampire rules while telling an interesting story with complex characters. Let Me In is virtually a "frame for frame" remake except that since it's in English, I was able to follow the story more and pick up on some plot points that I didn't get while watching the original.

This is an atypical horror movie, more of a horror/drama/romance/fairy tale hybrid and it works. Check it out.

You Again

2010-09-24T01:37:00.002-04:00

No.

Easy A

2010-09-17T03:39:00.011-04:00

Yes.

So, strangely, I actually liked Easy A. It's seemingly geared towards teenage girls, but was still really entertaining.

I can, very surprisingly, recommend Easy A.

Resident Evil: Afterlife

2010-09-14T03:37:00.006-04:00

I fell asleep...

.. which is an amazing feat considering the fact that Resident Evil: Afterlife is one of the loudest most obnoxious movies I've ever gone to. It's just awful. As if it weren't bad enough, they torture the audience with slow motion; essentially doubling the actual length of the movie. Total crap.

The Last Exorcism

2010-09-06T03:37:00.013-04:00

Yeah.

I don't know, I guess I'm a sucker for the whole "Mocumentary" horror movie thing. I still like The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity... Quarantine was terrible, but I kinda dug The Last Exorcism.

The problem with most of these types of movies is the build-up. There needs to be the perfect amount of time to give you the information that you need and to lull you into a false sense of security, but not so much time that you get bored or frustrated. The Last Exorcism really pulls that off.

The acting is realistic and the shaky cam is effective. This one will really creep you out if you give in to it.

Machete

2010-09-04T10:51:00.025-04:00

No...

... which kinda sucks because I was looking forward to this one.

Machete misses the mark because, unlike in Piranha, it actually starts to take itself too seriously as the movie progresses. The first 15 minutes of the movie were hysterrically funny and a great homage to '70s B-movies. With immigration being such a hot topic, the writers couldn't resist trying to send a message. What that message is?... I really don't know... and thats where the movie takes a turn for the worse.

I fell asleep after the main character slices open a man's abdomen and, holding on to the end of the guy's intestines, jumps through a (closed) window and swings in through the (closed) window for the floor below. Other than the opening sequence, there were little winks throughout, but in the end, Machete just wasn't able to hold my attention.

The American

2010-09-01T11:01:00.005-04:00

No.

Welcome to Snorefest 2010 with special guest George Clooney. I'm pretty sure nothing actually happened in this movie... nothing.

DO NOT SEE THE AMERICAN.

Chloe

2010-08-26T09:29:00.010-04:00

Yeah.

Chloe was released in theatres on 3/26/10 and on DVD and Blu-ray on 7/13/10.

Chloe was full of great performances, but you'll definitely be able to predict excactly what happens throughout. No surprises here except for the soft core porn scene with Julianne Moore and Amanda Seyfried. Still, a well made, well acted movie.

The Switch

2010-08-26T09:25:00.042-04:00

No.

The Switch was sort of a disappointment for me. Hindsight being 20/20, I sort of regret getting my hopes up so high for this romantic comedy, but the premise seemed so unique that I thought it might actually be somewhat original.

Jennifer Aniston plays the same character she always plays, which is essentially a variation on Rachel from Friends. Bateman isn't nearly as witty as he usually is because his character is so damned depressed throughout the whole movie and the rest of the cast is just as "whatever" as the the leads.

The Switch isn't unwatchable, it's just a pretty big let down. It falls into the category of movies with original concepts that just aren't executed well; a category that actually angers me. Check this one out on cable, it's not worth the cost of a ticket or a rental.

Piranha 3D

2010-08-20T03:24:00.030-04:00

Yes...

... and by yes, I mean, "Shit, yeah!!!"

Piranha 3D is a remake of the 1978 cult classic that, based on the synopsis I read, is nothing like the "remake" at all. That's irrelevant though, because this new version is (I'm sure) just as silly, campy, gorey, and nude-y as it's predecessor.

The effects are terrible, the acting is over-the-top and the story is, obviously, ridiculous. However, Piranha 3D succeeds where, say, Snakes on a Plane failed because it never tries to take itself seriously. The producers knew what kind of movie they were trying to make and hired people who "got it".

You should run out and catch Piranha in 3D if you still can... it's fun.

Vampires Suck

2010-08-18T03:12:00.013-04:00

No.

FYI, there are spoilers in this review because I don't fuckin' care if you want to be surprised... you shouldn't see it anyway. Why do these movies have to exist? I feel like these parody's are more of a detriment to youth culture than any well made R-rated film regardless of the content.

There is a subtlety to comedy that's lost on a lot of people. I'm not trying to sound snobbish or condescending, but obvious jokes are not funny. They are even less funny when you explain them. There is one scene in Vampires Suck when the werewolf character takes his shirt off for (seemingly) no reason. The girl character asks why he took his shirt off and he says that he's required to for every 10 minutes of screen time as per his contract... Then he holds up a copy of his contract. They could have not said anything after he took his shirt off mid sentence and we still would have gotten the joke... they really didn't need to explain it twice.

There are a few glimmers of comedy (most of which are, again, explained to the apparently dumb as a board audience). I chuckled when the girl character accidentally kills Buffy the Vampire Slayer who was there to save her from the bad vampires. But then Buffy says, in the Buffyest way possible, something like "ech, I was, like, totally here to save you..." before she drops dead. As if we didn't already get the reference.

(This is where I may sound a little snobbish...) Maybe it's because I'm smart that movies like this insult me, (and now condescending...) but if this is the kind of entertainment that makes you laugh, you should totally go see Vampires Suck.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

2010-08-13T03:51:00.002-04:00

Yes.

I really liked Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. The plot is simple (but at least there is one), the humor is smart and goofy at the same time, and the performances are irrelevant.

Let's just get it out in the open so that it never has to be mentioned again... Michael Cera will never play a different character. Doesn't that feel good? Now, no one will ever have to be upset or surprised that he keeps playing the same character in every movie. I know it may seem hypocritical since I often complain about the likes of Nicholas Cage, Ben Stiller and Jack Black who also have made a career of playing the same role in whatever situations the new film they're in calls for. I guess what it ultimately boils down to is, "Do you like the character?" When it comes to Michael Cera, the answer for me is, "Yes... for now."

The movie as a whole, however, is just frenetic fun. It's visually exciting, aurally engrossing and intellectually numbing. It's tailor-made for people suffering from attention deficit disorder in that there are no (or very few) scene transitions. A characters will be in one scene talking with one person and once the point of the conversations is made clear to the viewer, the background behind the character will change mid-sentence and the same character will be in an entirely different location talking to different characters who have no idea what he's talking about.

While it may sound overwhelming, it's not and if you want to submerse yourself in crazy for a couple of hours I strongly recommend Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.

The Expendables

2010-08-13T03:49:00.003-04:00

Fuck no.

What a piece of garbage (and I mean that in the worst possible way). This throwback to 80's action films is so poorly conceived, written, and directed that I'm pissed I even thought it might be entertaining. The Expendables is a real disappointment.

Go ahead, ask me what it's about. I have no fuckin clue. Not because it's confusing or even mildly complicated, but because they never say what it's about. THERE IS NO PLOT. Rambo, Cobra, Commando... simple as they were, they all had a story. This movie was literally about a bunch of guys who get hired to kill a lot of people. No indication of who they work for, why they do what they do, who pays them... why the people who hire them want them to do what they hire them to do or what the end result of the job is and what kind of political ramifications it'll have.

Every scene with Randy Couture and Terry Crews should have been deleted. Not one thing that they say or do advances the nonexistent plot.

The scene that's supposed to set up some kind of story, the one in the church with Stallone, Willis and Schwarzenegger, was so poorly written and acted that it was unintentionally hysterically funny and I was uncontrollably laughing out-loud. They were trying to have this Heat moment (Pacino and DeNiro on screen together for the first time) and instead, they filled it with terrible dialogue that specifically designed to take shots at either the actors in real life or the characters they played in other movies, and the dialogue was separated by extraordinarily uncomfortable pauses.

I took a quick nap whenever Mickey Rourke showed up because, between his 10 minute crybaby monologues about the girl who got away and Jason Statham's moping about his girlfriend cheating on him, I thought I was watching the fuckin Devine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood.

Dolph Lundgren isn't a good enough actor to pull off a flip-flop-flip-flop-flip of that magnitude convincingly, not that the writers actually gave him any motivation to jump back and forth between good and bad... he just did. And finally, Jet Li was probably supposed to have a storyline and Stallone just got tired of writing. Li kept talking about how he needs more money, lies about why, admits to lying about why but insists that he needs more money and... that's it... they never revisit it.

If they had made this an origin story instead of throwing us right into the middle of their careers, this could have been the start of a fun franchise. The Expendables is full of cursing, tattoos, motorcycles, gunfire and explosions, but it's completely devoid of talent. You decide how you want to spend your money.

The Other Guys

2010-08-05T11:43:00.001-04:00

No.

I can't, for the life of me, understand why this is getting better reviews than Dinner for Schmucks. The Other Guys relies entirely on the comedy stylings of Will Ferrell so if you like a Will Ferrell movie, you'll love The Other Guys.

Sam Jackson and The Rock are the best part of this and they're only in the first 10 minutes. After that, it's all downhill. Ferrell's overly complicated rants tend to annoy the shit out of me rather than tickle my funny bone. I know the director just lets him do the same scene over and over again, a little differently each time, and then picks the one he thinks is funniest. I truly think Ferrell is at his best when he sticks to the script. Mark Wahlberg proves, once again, that his Oscar nomination was a fluke, and while Michael Keaton was very funny, the script did him a disservice by beating a dead horse, specifically the TLC gag.

As in most comedies, I laughed here and there, but not enough to recommend The Other Guys.

Dinner for Schmucks

2010-07-30T04:03:00.036-04:00

Yes.

Dinner for Schmucks isn't without it's faults, but those faults are easily forgotten while you're laughing so hard you can't breathe.

The movie is easily 15-20 minutes longer than it needs to be, but that time is filled with comedy. All of the slow parts were necessary if they wanted to tell an actual story. If the slow parts were left out we would have been complaining that there was no plot.

The two stars are cast perfectly for their roles, as is the entire supporting cast. Unfortunately, none of them are able to convince you that any of what happens in the movie would ever happen or that these characters could possibly exist in real life. Since it's completely unrealistic to begin with, the lack of a plot may have been a good thing... except that, without the boring plot development, we may all have died from laughter.

Go see Dinner for Schmucks, keeping in mind that the slow scenes may be saving your life.

Charlie St. Cloud

2010-07-29T04:07:00.002-04:00

No.

There isn't much to say about Charlie St. Cloud. It is as the preview suggests. It's about getting women to swoon over a hot guy who is vulnerable, sad, or damaged. Zac Efron spends a significant portion of the movie in tears, manipulating his target audience into crying along with him.

I, however, was completely unmoved. There wasn't a whole lot of setup. I didn't care enough about the characters before the accident to be affected by their struggle to move on... and it was not the fault of the actors. Efron does exactly what the story calls for. He plays a good looking, brooding, mysterious graveyard caretaker, who was once unbeatable in a sailing race, better than baseball camp for practicing, an excellent cook, can talk to the dead, and is capable of stitching up a wound, which is always helpful after he destroys in a bar fight, and does so convincingly, believe it or not. Unfortunately, the writing and directing took his hard work and flushed it down the tubes.

The whole thing was choppier than the stormy waters that swallow up Efron's love interest's boat. It was even choppier than that last sentence. I honestly don't know whose fault it is. Ignoring the fact that the story was kind of lame, it was just a terrible movie that wasn't made well. The script is corny and manipulative, the directing choppy and indulgent, and the movie was edited so poorly that there were times that I couldn't quite figure out how we had gotten to that point.

Don't bother with Charlie St. Cloud. I know it's been a while since we've had this kind of movie to fill the void left by Dear John, The Last Song and Letters to Juliet... Just re-watch those on DVD.

Salt

2010-07-23T09:16:00.001-04:00

Yes.

Salt is a straight forward action movie. Angelina tears up the screen performing insane stunts and the director gets some really exciting footage as a result. There isn't a lot of thinking involved in Salt, which is a nice break from the puzzle that is Inception. The plot twists are fairly evident from the very beginning, although they may keep you teetering back and forth between a couple of possibilities.

If you're looking for a fun time at the theatre with a movie that was, very suspiciously, able to rip it's plot straight out of current events, go check out Salt.

Inception

2010-07-16T02:15:00.089-04:00

Not only should you... I'm considering requesting that a bill be submitted to congress that would require every American to see Inception at least two times.

I'm behind on my reviews; I've seen The Sorcerer's Apprentice and Despicable Me and I just watched From Paris with Love at home... I'll go back to them, but I need to submit this post now because everyone needs to go out and experience this film as soon as possible.

I saw it twice. On Wednesday, I woke up and was at work by 10:30am. I worked until 9pm and then watched Inception, a two and a half hour film, at 1am (technically Thursday morning). I was exhausted, first from the day and then from trying to follow what was going on in the movie. I drifted off once or twice and needless to say, I had several questions at the end of the movie. I watched it again at 10:45pm on Thursday night and everything became clear. There are no words to describe the epic nature of Inception, the closest I can get would be with "Brilliant", or "Mind-blowing", or "Astounding".

When I say everything became clear, I don't mean to imply that I could verbalize the complex plot or the rules created by the genius writer/director that govern the world(s) the film takes place in... I just don't have the vocabulary or the articulation necessary to explain it. Suffice it to say Inception is one of the most extraordinary pieces of film making to hit the screen in... forever(?). The fact that anyone could put something like Inception together in a way that is even remotely coherent, is staggering.

Christopher Nolan. He hasn't made a "bad" movie yet. Memento was phenomenal, Insomnia was OK. Batman Begins was great and The Prestige was really good as well... you should know by now how I feel about The Dark Knight and now he pulls Inception out his hat. His next film will be the final entry in his Batman trilogy and if he is successful with "Batman 3", he may earn the coveted role of "Mike's favorite director". (Yes, it is coveted.)

Needless to say, the writing and direction are unbelievably good. The acting is stellar all around; there isn't a single weak link in the cast. The visual and sound effects seamlessly bring you in the world of the dreams, and the orchestral score is emotive and exciting. The action sequences will keep you on the edge of your seat and the love story is absolutely heart-breaking.

My suggestion to you is that when you go to see Inception... and you will go see Inception... you pay attention when the characters are talking... even some of the "throw away" lines of dialogue are important. Go see it tonight. And tomorrow... I'm going for a third time next week, let me know if you wanna tag along.

P.S. Warner Bros - Thank you for not releasing this in 3D.

Despicable Me 3D

2010-07-12T10:42:00.024-04:00

Yes.

Despicable Me is a fun, family friendly heist movie with adorable characters who get you to laugh, not because they're saying funny things, but because they are just SO cute. The kids are cute, the minions are cute as hell, and even Gru has his moments...

While it's a very entertaining 100 minutes, the only thing that will really stick with you when you leave the theatre is how cute it was. Despicable Me is great family fare for a rainy day when there is nothing else to do.

Predators

2010-07-09T21:06:00.042-04:00

No...

So Predators is by no means a good movie, but it's successful in that it was an unnecessary sequel that didn't destroy the mythology of the original, and actually could have held up on it's own without the original having already existed.

There were no weak links in the cast, and the writers and director were totally aware of the lack of necessity for another film in the Predator saga so they never took the film too seriously.

Should you see it? No; it didn't even need to be made... but you can. If you do you'll probably have fun.

The Last Airbender

2010-07-08T21:04:00.030-04:00

No.

But to be fair, I didn't think it was as bad as the critics made it out to be. The writing is hokey and the acting is terrible. I never saw the cartoon on Nickelodeon and knew absolutely nothing about the plot. Ignorance is bliss... with better dialogue and a different cast, The Last Airbender could have been phenomenal, but to be honest, I didn't hate it.

I'm not taking away my "no", but you should know that while it's not good, The Last Airbender isn't nearly as bad as some would have you believe.

From Paris with Love

2010-07-07T02:49:00.007-04:00

No.

To be honest, I really wasn't paying attention while it was on; The fact that it couldn't grab my attention on a 40" HD screen in a tiny room isn't a stirring endorsement...

Knight and Day

2010-06-24T10:09:00.044-04:00

No.

I didn't hate Knight and Day, it was just too silly to recommend. The plot is overly complex for the type of movie the filmmakers wanted to make.

They tried to do too much in too short a running time. As a result, we got a choppy story with characters traveling the world in seemingly too short a period of time. Diaz's character develops the skills of a super-spy way too quickly; especially considering the fact that everything she needed to learn to turn into the person she is at the end of the movie only happens while she's unconscious. Cruise's character's solution to the fact that she clearly can't handle the life of a super-spy is to drug her... which is also the director's solution to the problem of getting them to another continent. Just about every transition is Diaz losing consciousness and then regaining it on the other side of the world.

Knight and Day is fun, but less believable than some of the most unbelievable action movies ever made.

Toy Story 3

2010-06-18T08:03:00.011-04:00

Yes.

Very unlike the marketing campaign for Shrek 4 (which may have actually been called "Shrek: The Final Chapter"), Disney/Pixar hasn't stated outright that this is the final Toy Story movie. I'm really hoping it is, though.

Not because I hate the characters and never want to see them again. While the gang could go on any number of adventures in the future, the emotional end to every one of them would be a repeat of the journeys that they've already taken. Toy Story 3 provides a satisfying conclusion to the series. The Toy Story saga is complete and other than to make money, there is no reason to make another movie starring these characters.

The trilogy has had messages ranging from friendship and family, to jealousy, to loss and moving on. Pixar has made family friendly films with mature themes and no pop-culture references. They have never sacrificed the integrity of the characters or the story and for these reasons, the Toy Story films are truly timeless.

I can't blame them for releasing Toy Story 3 in 3D, but there really is absolutely no reason for it to have been except for, again, money. If you haven't seen it yet, definitely go, but don't stress about seeing it in 3D. Just see it.

The A-Team

2010-06-11T08:58:00.031-04:00

Yes?

I felt like I came in in the middle of something. I was confused from the beginning and was too tired to try to figure out what was going on, but I was entertained enough by the action sequences and witty banter to give it another shot as a rental.

From what I can tell, The A-Team movie is a prequel to the 1980's series that shows why the team became fugitives. The action scenes in the movie were ridiculous and exciting, Murdock and Face were hysterically funny, but the story was almost non-existent... and was kind of irrelevant.

The A-Team is a minor success. I wasn't expecting much, but I got what i expected.

The Karate Kid

2010-06-10T10:53:00.044-04:00

No.

No... No, why would you remake this? It doesn't make any sense, there are plenty of terrible concepts that turned into terrible movies that could use another shot at becoming successful entertainment. The original Karate Kid was sufficiently entertaining there is NO reason to try and fix it.

I have an idea, instead of rebooting it for a new generation, just re-release the original. Responsible parents should have a list of well-made family friendly films that their kids should see. They should then, take time and sit down and watch these movies with their kids. What they shouldn't do is rely on Hollywood to convince your kids that they want to see a new movie and then send your kids to the theatre with their friends to watch an inferior version of an already successful film.

Even if you forget that there was an original, this is still a failed attempt at entertaining cinema. The child actors are bad, the timeline is surprisingly rushed for a 2 hour and 20 minute running time and it's filled with unnecessary sub-plots that muddle the actual storyline.

Don't waste your time on this remake. Rent the original if you don't already own it; it's a classic that can never be outdone.

Get Him to the Greek

2010-06-04T10:51:00.027-04:00

Sure.

Get Him to the Greek is a funny movie. It will not, however, have any lasting impact. It's no Hangover.

I was really hoping I'd get over this by now, but I still have a problem with the fact that Russell Brand plays the same character that he played in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, but Jonah Hill doesn't. There are two very easy ways they could have resolved this. Hire a different actor to play Hill's part or have it be the same character. The guy was into music in the first one and was not shy about approaching celebrities. It's very possible that he could have networked his way into an entry level position in the music industry.

There were only a few laughs, but I did enjoy the whole movie. The only thing that I took from Get Him to the Greek is that "when life slips you a Jeffrey, stroke the furry wall." Which means nothing.

Robin Hood

2010-06-03T10:01:00.003-04:00

No...

...but to be fair, I slept through most of it. I'm curious as to how Universal got the exhibition industry to agree to the 7 month running time of the movie. I was expecting to see snow on the ground when I left the theatre.

Isn't the Robin Hood legend supposed to be a swashbuckling good time? I know this was technically a prequel, but come on, it's still Robin Hood. Lighten up a little bit.

I feel like the whole project was ill-conceived, anyway. I picture a sombre lunch meeting where Russell Crowe looks at Ridley Scott and says, "Remember Gladiator?"

Scott says "Yeah, those were some good times."

Crowe perks up a bit, "Let's do that again..."

"Well, we can't just make the same movie. Can we?"

They sit in silence, picking at the remnants of their meat lunch. Suddenly a weight is lifted as Crowe comes to an unfortunate realization.

"Why not?" says Crowe.

... and out of that meeting we got Robin Hood.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

2010-05-28T10:49:00.002-04:00

No.

A valiant attempt by Jake Gyllenhaal to break into the action/fantasy genre. While he wasn't the worst part of Prince of Persia, he wasn't that great either. Once again, I'm not sure what Ben Kingsley was thinking when he decided to make this movie and the same can be said for Alfred Molina.

I didn't care about this movie going in, but hoped that the movie itself would have been able to change my mind; it wasn't.

On the Mummy scale with The Mummy 1 being the "best" and The Mummy 3 being the worst, Prince of Persia is just above The Mummy 2. If you liked The Mummy 2, you'll probably like Prince of Persia. If you liked the Mummy 3, Prince of Persia is your Lord of the Rings and, in your opinion, should win multiple Academy awards. Enjoy.

MacGruber

2010-05-21T10:07:00.004-04:00

No.

I don't know why my expectations were so high for this crap fest. It's almost pointless to review it because it's already gone from theatres; it was gone after two weeks, so I'm going to keep this short. Also I have like 4 or 5 more reviews to write and have to be at work soon...

MacGruber only made me laugh at how ridiculous it was. I was embarrassed for the characters... and the actors, and I am stunned by the number of great reviews it got. STUNNED.

Date Night

2010-05-13T00:16:00.026-04:00

Yes.

I actually love Tina Fey and Steve Carell, so it's tough for them to disappoint me... actually, they could make Baby Mama and Evan Almighty... but then they'd make Date Night and all would be right with the world.

Date Night is definitely not the funniest movie I've ever seen, but it was super short and jam-packed with fun. If it's still playing at your local cineplex and you have NOTHING else to do, you won't be disappointed. Go catch a matinee of Date Night.

Iron Man 2

2010-05-07T01:52:00.003-04:00

Yes.

Iron Man 2 is highly entertaining. As a stand alone movie it's great. As a sequel? It's less great, but still OK. I feel like instead of Iron Man 2, it should have been called Iron Man Again.

Robert Downey Jr IS Tony Stark. If he ever decided to stop playing this character, Paramount would have a very difficult time getting an audience to accept another actor in the role. There was a lot of controversy surrounding the casting of Don Cheadle to replace Terrance Howard, and I have to say, it was pretty unnecessary. Cheadle's performance is flat and boring and while Howard wasn't much better, there's something to be said for keeping the cast intact.

I'll never understand why Paramount executives would have hired Jon Favereau to direct a major superhero summer blockbuster. The majority of his work consists of comedies and family fare. He started off as a comedic actor which is probably why the movie is so entertaining. There isn't a whole lot of action (probably the same amount as was in the first installment) and yet I was smiling and having fun throughout. The experiences that came from the director's roots in comedy really help keep the audience engaged.

As entertaining, well written, acted and directed it was, Iron Man 2 doesn't do anything to move the characters or the story forward. It really didn't need to be made and so as a sequel, it leaves a lot to be desired. That doesn't mean you won't have a blast watching it. Iron Man 2 is a great way to start off the summer season.

A Nightmare on Elm Street

2010-04-30T00:24:00.002-04:00

No.

Of all the remakes, horror or otherwise, that have been coming out lately, A Nightmare on Elm Street is the most pointless.

Luckily for the creators of the new version, I don't remember much about the substance; the actual plot, screenplay and acting in the original so there is little I can say about how this movie compares. This film lacks any imagination, fun, and genuine scares from the original and so even if it was at all well made, it still wouldn't have been well received. Fortunately for me, it wasn't well made at all, so I don't have to make the difficult decision of whether or not to recommend it based on its own merits or slam it because of it's inability to live up to the "classic" nature of it's predecessor.

Freddy Kruger was always more than just a monster. He was a menace. He loved what he did and he did it well. He was clever in the way he went about killing his victims and wasn't afraid to show pleasure in it. Not the sort of Hannibal Lechter pleasure where it genuinely made him feel "good" deep down inside, but more like how The Joker gets excited by committing a crime... giddy. This new Freddy is on a mission and you can tell. He isn't capable of smiling, but I didn't feel like he wanted to anyway. Killing is serious business to him and it shouldn't have been if the actor wanted to portray this iconic role the way it was intended.

The cast of relatively unknowns needs to stay that way. You shouldn't, and I don't expect much in the way of acting chops when it comes to this or any teen slasher movie, but these are terrible actors. We live in a world where it costs tens to hundreds of millions of dollars to make a movie and the cost of the ticket is reflected in that. The studios should respect its customers enough to put some money into the actual talent and less into CGI.

That being said, A Nightmare on Elm Street was successful in using modern technology to create more effective dream imagery and there were several instances when we were in a dream and I didn't know it until Kruger jumped out at me. Other than that, the director handled this genre classic with the grace and gentility of someone with blades on his fingers... and unfortunately, the new nightmare is A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010).