Eat Pray Love

As you know, I'm a food lover. So when the title of the movie has the word "eat" in it, I'm pretty tempted to go see it. Heather and I were able to go to the movies one night -- part of their frugal fall furlough (say that ten times fast).

This move is based off a woman's memoirs to "find herself." And the three titular elements are what help her find her balance in life. Julia Roberts plays Liz who ends her marriage and goes off to travel the world to find who she is and what's important in life.

Most of the women I talked to gave good reviews to this movie. And Julia Roberts' movies usually don't disappoint. I had never read the book before. But remember it getting good reviews when it came out. In Liz's first venture, she goes to Italy and rediscovers the joy of eating and the community that she builds there. It's the first step in changing her thinking about life. She then ventures India to learn how to pray. Finally she travels to Bali to relearn how to love. The scenery and backdrop of this movie are beautiful. It's always fun to see different places.

I don't know how invested I was in watching Liz try to find herself. Personally, I thought it was a little extreme the extents she went to to find meaning in her life again. Julia Roberts did a decent job. I think she shines most when her character was in Italy and seemed to be really enjoying herself. Roberts does her best work when her characters are happy and sunny.

Not a bad movie. Unless you're a big fan of the book or of Roberts, this movie can definitely wait to be rented and viewed at home. Of course, if you are a fan of the book, chances are the movie won't live up to the book.

The Town

Apparently there's a town in the surrounding region of Boston that outputs the most robbers in the country. That's the premise of The Town. Ben Affleck and his buddies are professional bank robbers. One heist goes wrong and they end up kidnapping a bank employee. To ensure she doesn't, Affleck must make sure that this bank employee didn't see anything and doesn't go to the FBI/police.

Preliminary reviews for this movie came back mostly positive. The trailers certainly looked enticing and this movie wasn't disappointing. The plot was actually really good and developed along nicely. The nice thing was that the characters were pretty compelling. They weren't just simple bank robbers with one thing on their mind. Other factors in life steered the decisions they made. Ok, maybe that was just Affleck's character, but he's the focus anyway.

I liked Rebecca Hall as Claire, the kidnapped bank employee. She has such a innocence and sweetness in her voice. Maybe she's just good at playing "the victim" like she did in The Prestige. Jeremy Renner also did a good job as the thug of the movie. He might be the so-called "villain" as his character's main drive is greed. He and Affleck were believable as childhood pals who got wrapped up in the world of thievery. I feel like Renner likes those kinds of tough-guy roles since he was sort of a rebel in The Hurt Locker. And let's not forget Mad Men's Jon Hamm as the FBI agent hot on the gangs trail. He did a commendable job, but his character seemed to get lost among all the other stars of the movie. And then there's Blake Lively who plays Renner's character's sister. She somewhat of a prostitute and definitely hooked on drugs. Lively had a lot of buzz about her performance and she did an incredible job as playing a strung out, high 20-something.

Overall, a great movie. One of my co-workers said that this and Inception were at the top of the movie list this year. And I wouldn't disagree. If it's still playing in the theatre, go see it. Of course you could wait until it comes out on video, but as much of an entertaining movie as this was, I wouldn't wait.

The American

Seen the trailer for this movie? It doesn't tell you a whole lot. And it looks like an action movie. But it has George Clooney in it, so it must be decent right? Nope. Ever see a movie called Men Who Stare At Goats. It had George Clooney AND Ewen McGreggor and it was terrible. Nonetheless, Wes and I went to go see this. Although we could've gone to see Eat, Pray, Love. But I digress.

Since I had no clue what this movie was about, I can't give a synopsis before I write my review. So I'll just go right into it. At the theatre, I ran into one of my co-workers who warned me that another co-worker had seen it and said that this is not an action movie. He likened it to more of a love story. Armed with that knowledge, we still bought tickets for this movie. Showing in one of the theatre's largest houses, this theatre wasn't near to being full.

The movie opened, it climaxed and it ended. And that's about all you need to know. This movie, an action movie it is not, is incredibly slow. Hardly any speaking, music or action. I think they put all the action scenes in the trailer, just like they put all the funny scenes in the trailer for comedies. Clooney's character was stoic the entire time. And I'm still not sure what his character's profession was. Was he an assassin? Did he build guns? Did he do both? It wasn't very clearly explained.

The movie slowly, almost painfully builds and actually by the last 30 minutes, it got fairly interesting while still maintaining little speaking, action, or music. Surprisingly I didn't fall asleep. It's definitely a different movie. George Clooney did a fine job I suppose. He didn't have to say a whole lot. I like to play a game during Clooney movies to see how many times he tries to hold back a smile/laugh during a scene. He was pretty successful at keeping this movie to a low number.

More of an artsy movie, I guess. I noticed that this was produced by Clooney (the movie is actually based off a book). I really think it was his excuse to "work" while really vacationing in Italy.

If you're really curious about this movie, definitely Red Box it. I guess it's worth a $1 to see. Oh, and be forewarned, there's a lot of nudity in this movie and one graphically violent scene.

The Expendables

The action star is not dead. That's the statement Stallone is making with his new movie The Expendables. This movie has the who's who of 90s action stars: Stallone, Stratham, Li, and crew. You don't need to know much more about this movie other than it's an action movie. Stallone has a crew called The Expendables, though they're never mentioned that way in the movie, that are basically hit men for hire. Maybe they have a conscience or not, but if the price is right, they'll do the job.

The movie opens with a job and ends with a job. There are a lot of explosions, car chases, guns, and fighting. The movie didn't end up being as gory as I thought it might be based on the opening scenes. The guys disagreed and thought it was gory enough. Maybe I'm becoming desensitized?

It was an entertaining movie. The return or final shout to the true action heroes. All of these guys have seen better days though and I'm sure a few have had some plastic surgery. Jet Li's fighting scenes were cool but very few. Jason Stratham's character's choice of weapon are knives and that was fun to watch.

I think this movie was best summed up by Eric: It seemed like this movie came about while all these guys were sitting around having a beer and said, "Hey, let's make a movie!" It was basically just all these guys hanging out blowing things up and being their former action hero characters. Though Mickey Rourke didn't do a whole lot other than sitting around talking. And I could've used more Bruce Willis. Of course there was the Ahhh-nold cameo, which was actually sort of a fun scene with the comments that Stallone makes. Something along the lines of, "He's busy trying to become president."

Of course this movie didn't encompass all the old 90s action heroes. They're missing Van Damme, Seagal, and maybe even Chuck Norris. But for these guys, guess it was good to relive old times. Today, it's the comic book hero's turn in the spotlight.

A fun movie to watch if you liked these guys' old movies. Maybe not worth it in the theatre unless you want the full sound of the explosions. I am a fan of the movie poster though.

Toy Story 3

The lovable Toy Story series continues with a third and maybe final installment of Woody, Buzz Lightyear and friends' adventures. The third movie picks up with Andy getting ready to leave for college. His mom tells him that he has to clean out his room and either store things in the attic, donate them or throw them out. And of course, the toys come into question.

Through a misunderstanding, they end up at a day care center where they think they'll be better off than in the attic or worse, in the trash. What happens to Andy's beloved toys? Do they end up finding a better life at the day care where toddlers chew, drool and mangle the toys or do they meet a fate much worse? You'll have to watch the movie to find out. But keep in mind. This is a Disney movie. *wink*

When I saw that they were making another Toy Story movie, I have to say I was a little disappointed. It had been years since Toy Story 2 came out. Maybe Pixar was grasping at straws for another movie? I'm not sure what prompted them to make a third, but of course the story didn't disappoint.

I wanted to see it because I had heard that it got great reviews. They were talking about it on the radio and people mentioned that they couldn't help but cry at the end too. Our friend saw that it had like a 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. So, it had to be good.

Every child who moves out after high school has parents who ask them to clean out their rooms. Maybe not so extensively, but at least a few items here and there. I think my mom finally got all of my stuff either to me, stored or thrown away. And yes, I even have some stuffed animals stored in the attic. Ones that I couldn't part with. And that's the same with Andy. While some toys have gone missing over the years, the key players are still there and Andy can't bare to throw them away or donate them.

But like I said, one misunderstanding lands the toys at a day care where they think they're better off. But the day care ends up being ruled by a stuffed bear who bitterly ended up at the day care by a series of events. Reviews have said that this Toy Story is much darker than the others. And it is, thanks to the tyrannical stuffed bear and an encounter with the town dump.

The movie still had its funny parts and humor. Probably one of the funnier things was Mr. Potato Head using a tortilla as a body. And fun trivia: Michael Keaton voices Ken. Don't think this movie is all dark. It's still a sunny Pixar/Disney movie.

I didn't cry in the movie, but I could see where people could get choked up. Pixar didn't disappoint and it kind of feels like closure for the 20 somethings who grew up with the first Toy Story movie. Definitely recommend seeing this. Especially if you've seen the first two. It's almost out of the theatres, so you'll have to wait until it comes out on DVD.

A classic Pixar movie.

The Other Guys

Will Farrell's new movie, or is it Mark Wahlberg's new movie, looked like a redeeming movie after Land of the Lost. Wahlberg's last movie, Date Night, needed no redemption. The trailers looked funny. With Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Samuel L. Jackson as the cool, hero cops playing against Will Farrell's accounting cop, the movie looked promising.

Basically, Will Farrell and Mark Wahlberg are partners. Farrell's character, Allen, is perfectly content to sit behind his desk without seeing any real action. He even happily volunteers to write up Johnson and Samuel's character's police report after an incident. Wahlberg's Terry, couldn't be more annoyed by Allen. After an unfortunate incident, Terry is forced to sit behind a desk and his career in homicide takes a nose-dive. But Terry gets the great idea to redeem himself and show Allen what it's like to be a "real cop."

Like I said before, the trailer was hilarious and seemed to be well received by audiences. So there seemed to be much anticipation to this movie. And the movie was funny. Much to my surprise (or not) the trailer is basically the first 10 minutes of the movie. Does that mean all the funny parts are in the trailer? I don't know that I'm one to really judge that. After all, I don't think I paid much attention to the movie because I was fighting to keep my eyes open after the first 10 minutes. I heard lots of laughter and it was a classic Will Farrell movie. But after the late night from Dinner with Schmucks, I couldn't concentrate on this movie. A full body twitch in the middle of the movie caused Wes to ask me if I had fallen asleep. So what if I closed my eyes for a few minutes?

Anyway, the movie's plot, from what I could discern, seemed to move a long at a snail's pace. After all, they needed to make room for all the crazy antics and comedy of Will Farrell. While he was in classic form, I did enjoy Mark Wahlberg in the movie as an up-tight cop. His comedy chops didn't quite come through, but I liked him enough in the movie. Michael Keaton, did an ok job as the police captain. Not sure if he's trying to revive his career or not. This wasn't the movie that's going to do that. I actually really enjoyed Dwayne Johnson and Samuel L. Jackson and wish there was more of them in the movie. I think their characters could have played against Farrell and Wahlberg nicely for a really funny aspect. But that would've been another movie.

If you like Will Farrell movies, then you'll probably like this one. It didn't quite live up to Wes's expectations, but had its funny parts. Me? I don't really have an opinion since I was half-conscious during the movie. (I have a knack for falling asleep during movies - at home or in the theatre.) So if you're even slightly curious, go see it in the theatre. It'll be funnier with a whole bunch of people who think it's hilarious. Or, wait until it comes out on video and watch it with friends.

But don't give this review too much credit. I was the one in the front row snoring.

Dinner for Schmucks

You've seen the trailer for this: Paul Rudd's character Tim is going to get promoted big time in his company. But before it's official, the owner or CEO throws a "Dinner for Idiots" party. The person who brings the "best idiot" wins. Enter Steve Carell's character, Barry. He's the lucky schmuck that Tim decides to take to dinner, much against the advice of his girlfriend.

I think I had somewhat high hopes for this movie. The last time Steve Carell and Paul Rudd were in a movie together, it was The 40 Year-Old Virgin, which is a classic to some. Paul Rudd has been on a roll with leads in various movies (I Love You Man) and Steve Carell wasn't doing to shabby either with Date Night. However, this movie didn't live up to expectations.

Steve Carell's character, Barry, is incredibly, incredibly socially awkward. He's a taxidermist and creates scenes with dead mice that he dresses up. He doesn't know when to shut up and butt out. The insanity begins when Barry mistakes the dinner party for the wrong night. And it just snowballs from there. Maybe I was tired (we saw a 10 PM show on Thursday night), but instead of Barry's antics being funny, I found myself getting incredibly stressed out by all the situations.

Paul Rudd's character, Tim, spends 90% of the movie trying to correct all of Barry's "good-intentions." He gets pulled between what's morally right and what he thinks is right for his future. Of course, a movie like this is somewhat predictable and what's morally right ends the movie. Sorry for the spoiler, if you call that one.

There were a few laughs during the movie. Mostly coming from Wes and mostly because other people in the theatre were laughing. Steve Carell did a good job of being a socially awkward person. He's usually able to play those goofy characters with no problem. Probably pulling from some of Michael Scott. I have to say that I really enjoyed Paul Rudd in this movie. It was refreshing to see him in a role where he's not always the goofball or sidekick. Really glad his career is taking off.

Dinner for Schmucks is probably funnier watching it with a bunch of people. If you enjoy I Love You Man and other Paul Rudd movies, you'll probably enjoy this movie. But maybe save it for a Redbox rental one night. Oh, and side note, I don't think the word "schmuck" was uttered once during the entire movie.

P.S. Saw a trailer for Little Fockers. Yes, Meet the Parents lives on!

P.P.S. Hopefully The Other Guys is a lot funnier than this movie. Stay tuned for a review of that.

Salt

Is she a Russian spy or isn't she? That's the premise of Angelina Jolie's new movie.

I think that's the easiest movie synopsis ever. Ok, it's not exactly that easy. Basically, Jolie's character, Evelyn Salt, is accused of being a Russian spy who is going to kill the Russian president at the United State's vice president's funeral. Don't ask me why. In fear, she runs. The CIA chases her and the story unfolds from there.

It was an entertaining movie. The action is non-stop, with little down time. I have heard it compared to the Bourne movies. Jolie does a good job as the title character. She is probably one of the few female actresses out there who can hold her own in an action movie. The only other actress I could think of that could possibly do this role would be Charlize Theron. Jolie does a lot of running and punching and general butt kicking. Wes's only thing with her as the lead was that she's such a tiny human that it's a little unbelievable that she can generate a lot of force to fight toe-to-toe with some of these bigger guys.

Although there's not a lot of downtime in between chase scene and chase scene, the movie does explain itself along the way. Some interesting things come up, and although Wes was able to predict it, I found myself second guessing everything. Hope that doesn't give things away.

Did you know that Tom Cruise was originally booked to play the lead role for this movie? He pulled out for whatever reason, probably to do his dud Knight and Day, and the role was re-written for Angelina Jolie. Knowing this, I tried to picture Tom Cruise in the role at various times during the movie. I have to say that I like Jolie better in this movie than I would Cruise. Having a woman in this role gives the movie a different dimension than if the lead was a man. No offense to you guys out there.

Overall, an entertaining movie. Not a have-to-go-see-it-in-the-theatre-movie, but if you want some entertainment, it's worth a rental.

Eclipse

Yes, I went to go see Eclipse. I'm no Twilight fan, but I have to admit, I am curious about what happens. Haven't read the books, but I did read the Wikipedia cliff notes, so I have a basic understanding of the conclusion.

Here's the synopsis of Eclipse: Bella and Edward love each other. Bella wants to become a vampire. Edward doesn't want her to be a vampire. Victoria, a vampire, wants to kill Bella to avenge her lover's death. Jake, a werewolf, is in love with Bella and wants her to choose him. Thus the teenage love triangle continues in this third movie of the Twilight installments.

I went to go see the second one, New Moon, with my co-workers and it was a lot of fun. Mainly because there were a bunch of teenage girls swooning over Edward and Jacob. I asked some of them if they had seen Eclipse and what they thought. They all said that it was a good movie. So I went and spared Wes the googly-eye and giggles of the movie patrons.

The movie was filled with teen angst and teen love and a battle of life and death. The acting was on par with the other movies, which isn't saying much. I think Kristen Stewart hardly ever looks at her co-stars. She's always staring at the ground. Maybe that's how she interprets how love-struck teenagers act. Jacob, still pines for Bella and I think Taylor Lautner spent 90% of the movie without a shirt on. And the group of teenage girls in the front row loved it. I think they're on Team Jacob. Best line of the movie: Edward to Jacob, "Don't you own a shirt?" Or something like that.

I do wish the fight scene was a little longer. That was probably the best part of the movie. The Cullen clan teamed up with the Werewolves to fight the evil newborn vampires (who are supposedly stronger the first few months of their "lives"). Another observation: to be cast as part of the Cullen clan I think you're required to wear really bad wigs and be pale. Good thing Kristen Stewart already has those two things. She'll be a shoo-in no problem. I did also appreciate more of the back stories of the Cullen clan. That was interesting.

Overall, not the greatest movie (are you surprised?). Acting was cheesy and the story-line didn't develop along like the first two movies. Definitely a rental if you're even into the Twilight franchise. And if you're a fan, you've probably already gone to see this in the theatres. Good thing the tickets were free.

Oh, and go Team Jacob!

Inception

Um.... Inception. Leonardo DiCaprio steals people's secrets by going into their dreams where people's minds are not as guarded. Except this time he's doing a job that requires him to implant an idea into someone's mind. That's the simple explanation of this movie.

Don't fall asleep during this movie. Because when you wake up, you will have no idea what is going on. This is a complex story line and concept to even grasp. This movie definitely requires you to pay attention. I've even heard that this movie may be too complex for moviegoers. But I'll take the benefit of the doubt.

I'm not sure that I was even quite sure what this movie was about when watching the trailers. The special effects seemed cool and the trailer was cool. So therefore, the movie must seem cool. Right? Right! Wes and I were kind of astounded (yes, I used the word "astounded") at how someone could think up this plot line and then interweave an underlying story in it as well. Christopher Nolan seems to be good at that. He did write the story for The Prestige, which also blended the lines between what was reality and what wasn't. Know who else also did a movie like that? Leonardo DiCaprio in Shutter Island.

Speaking of Leo, he did a good job as did the rest of the cast. I couldn't tell you who was the weakest. And while, Leo's character was probably the strongest dramatic character, Joseph Gordon-Levitt definitely had the coolest anti-gravity fight scenes. He is making quite a career for himself post-3rd Rock from the Sun era. Nevermind the flop of GI Joe. But he got some good practice in that movie for the Inception action scenes. I really enjoyed Ellen Page's character. Her character is new to the team and plays a pretty significant role in the movie and plot line. Ellen also stood up well to Leonardo and held her own in their scenes together - which were a lot. I could go on and on about the cast and how I felt they did, but let's just say collectively they all did a great job.

The special effects, while weren't in every scene, were very interesting and compelling. Of course, my favorite were Joseph Gordon-Levitt's fight scenes. But the bending of a subject's surroundings in a dream were fun to watch. Although this isn't necessarily a special effect, I liked that some parts of the movie were in smooth, slow motion. It added to the effect and helped in the story-line. Confused? You'll have to see the movie to get that.

Oh, and side note: Can I mention all the different ties in this movie? #1 Leo & Pete Postlethwaite worked together before in Romeo + Juliet. #2 Michael Caine, Cillian Murphy and Ken Watanabe have worked with Christopher Nolan before on the Batman movies. #3 This is Leo's second movie where his character married a crazy wife. #4 Also Leo's second movie in which it's difficult to tell what's real and what's not. You could also count this as Christopher Nolan's specialty. And I'm sure there's more. IMDB needs a version of the 6 Degrees to Kevin Bacon game.

This movie will probably be one of those movies you can watch again and again and pick up on new things each time you watch it. There are a lot of layers to this movie and will leave you discussing and pondering the ending for at least a couple of hours. If you're not wanting to spend the bucks for a movie ticket, definitely rent this one when it comes out.

Predators

When Wes and I first saw the trailer for this, I think two responses immediately came to us: "Oh, no they're making another one?!"and "This looks kinda cool. Wait, was that Adrian Brody?" And yes, Adrian Brody is in this movie along with Topher Grace and Laurence Fishburne.

Basically, it's a relaunch of the series and takes off from the second movie... I think. Wes made (yes, made) me watch the first two with him. This one opens with Adrian Brody waking up mid free-fall and tries to get his parachute to open. He ends up landing in this jungle and eventually finds other people who got there the same way as him. One guy wasn't so fortunate to get his 'chute to open in time. The movie plot is basically all these strangers trying to find out where they are and why they're there. Of course, the Predators end up hunting them.

Anyone want to take guesses as to who gets killed first and who survives? According to the Scream franchise, the black guy always gets killed first and the virgins live. Is that a hint? Maybe. Maybe not. So far, everyone I've talked to has guessed correctly as to who lives and who dies.

This movie wasn't bad. The plot was simple, but the action and suspense was entertaining. Adrian Brody didn't do a bad job of playing the tough-guy hero. He did buff up A LOT for this role though and somewhat proved he can do action movies instead of just dramatic stuff. Topher Grace plays his usual quirky self through most of the movie. But he takes a surprising turn at the end which was kind of refreshing. I won't spoil it with any further. Though maybe I already have. Alice Braga has had some success in playing opposite of some big name actors: Will Smith (I Am Legend), Jude Law (Repo Men) and now Adrian Brody & Laurence Fishburne. She doesn't do a bad job either as a tough chick. She seems to be drawn to those roles. But she adds a nice touch of humanity to this group of tough guys. Leave it to the women. Laurence Fishburne, while he seemed to be given a lot of credit in the previews, didn't have a huge role in this movie. Actually his part was short lived. And no, that's not really a hint.

The special effects were done well. They looked a lot more realistic and polished than the first couple of movies. Sadly Ahhh-nold didn't make a cameo. I did feel a little more scared though watching the first movies than I did this one. Maybe it's because I knew what to expect.

The movie was entertaining enough and Wes liked it. I had a tough time concentrating because we happened to find the spot in the theatre where everyone was talking. The lady to my left, who was sitting right next to me, kept making loud comments to her son and husband about how lame Adrian Brody looked and why was he talking the way he was. Then there was the boy and his dad two seats over from Wes's right. The son was constantly asking what was going on and the dad was constantly explaining. And no, they were not whispering. The boy seemed to think he was adding to the experience by drumming along to the music during the movie. Yes, drumming on his drink cup and tapping his feet on the ground.

I have a reputation of shushing people in movie theatres. I've even shushed kids for talking during a Disney movie. It's probably one of my biggest pet peeves: people who talk during a movie in the theatre. If you're whispering, I don't care. Unless you're whispering loud enough that I can hear you. But if you're only making a comment or two, it doesn't bother me. Have a conversation in the theatre and I will sush you.

Sadly, I didn't have the heart to sush either of these people. I resorted to staring at them when they did open their mouths. Bottom line, silence is golden. 'Kay, I'm getting off my soapbox. Go see Predators if you're a fan of the franchise. Otherwise, wait until it comes out on video to rent and maybe spend a buck at most.

The Last Airbender

The previews for this movie were pretty entertaining and M. Night Shyamalan usually doesn't disappoint in his movies. And this one didn't either. Though I have to admit, I usually don't like M. Night Shyamalan movies because they're too scary/suspenseful for me. Never saw the "I can see dead people" movie (aka The Sixth Sense) and watched the "Doesn't anyone want to know what happened to the bees?" movie (aka The Happening) through my fingers. But this didn't seem as scary and I was able to get through the whole thing without that sinking feeling of waiting for something to jump out at me.

This movie is about four nations that are able to manipulate, or bend, the four elements: earth, wind, fire (not the band) and water. There is one person who is able to manipulate all four elements, communicate with the spirit world and is destined to keep peace among all the nations. He is known as the avatar and reincarnates over the years. Sound familiar? Think Dalai Lama. Many years pass and the fire nation has basically declared war on all the other nations and is determined to take over the world. And the avatar has been missing. But then he shows up after being gone for 100 years and has to learn to to embrace his calling.

With pretty high expectations for this movie, I did not walk away disappointed. It was incredibly entertaining and a fluid movie. There are a lot of spiritual undertones with the similarity of the Dalai Lama story line, the tai chi type fighting, and the nations believing in spirits. I especially liked the movement and fighting scenes. People who can bend their respective elements use tai chi type moves to manipulate their element. It's actually really beautiful to watch on screen. Of course it's intricately choreographed along with the fight scenes. And they are very martial arts heavy as well.

The boy they think is the avatar does a great job. Noah Ringer is a newbie to the acting world. According to IMDB, this is his first movie. He does a beautiful job in the fighting scenes and it seems that he's studied some sort of martial arts before doing this movie. Wasn't the best acting in the world, but he got by. I think his chubby cheeks helped.

Dev Petel is probably the most recognizable face in this movie. He plays the Fire Nation prince who has been banished and can return if he brings his father the avatar. I never saw Slumdog Millionaire, but Dev did a great job in this movie. I hear he's pretty good in Slumdog too. He adds an interesting element to the movie and his character is pretty layered. I think his character will only get more interesting in further movies. Oops, did I spoil something? Of course there will be more of these movies. After all, the avatar has a lot to learn.

For you Twilight fans, Jackson Rathbone, who plays Jasper, is also in this movie. Though he's much more tan in this movie. But I don't think anyone who reads this blog knows what I'm talking about here. And that's ok. Yes, I still have to see Eclipse, but that's another post.

This is a very different road for M. Night Shyamalan. No surprises or unexpected turns, but still incredibly entertaining and family friendly! Minimal blood, if any, no cursing, characters are all pretty well clothed, morals are still important, and the fighting is very clean. --Whatever that means. There are a lot of cartoon and kid-related previews at the beginning. This could be based of a cartoon called Avatar: The last airbender. Shyamalan is credited with writing this as well as directing. I would definitely recommend watching this movie even if you just wait to rent it. It's fun to watch and the special effects are great as well.

Can't wait for the next one to come out!

Robin Hood

So this new version of Robin Hood is not the Robin Hood movies from the past. It's actually, in a sense, a prequel to the well known legend of Robin Hood. It starts off with Robin fighting in the Crusades with King Richard and it eventually leads him back to England to take up the life as Robin of Loxley. The movie basically leads up to how Robin becomes the man that we are all so familiar with.

It's an entertaining movie and quite an interesting way to tell the story of Robin Hood. Ridley Scott, who directed, definitely takes a different approach to all the characters. I don't know much of Scott's interpretation is based on the actual story of Robin Hood, but he tells an interesting story in this movie. I especially enjoyed Robin's buddies from the Crusades. When there is a sequel made, I think the band of Merry Men will be fun to watch.

Russell Crowe did a good job as usual. His role does seem a little similar to his Gladiator role, which I kept thinking of during the movie because my co-worker liked to refer to this movie as Gladiator 2. Cate Blanchet plays her typical strong heroine role. Can she play any other role? While she did a good job, I think I would rather see someone else in this role than her.

I admit, I fell asleep in the middle of the movie. It was long, got a bit slow in the middle and seemed to take a while to get to the resolution of all the problems. The ending was definitely entertaining and worthwhile, I just wished they got there a little sooner. It was fun to see all the characters develop into the characters we know now. Overall a good movie. Not a must-see in the theatre, but if worth it if you go. Definitely a rental though when it comes out.

Iron Man 2

The summer movie season is here with the opening of Iron Man 2. A few summers ago, Iron Man became a huge, surprise hit. Robert Downey Jr. is back this year to reprise his role as Tony Stark, aka Iron Man. The same cast returns with one change and a few editions. Terrance Howard, who played Col. James Rhodes, is replaced by Don Cheadle, and Scarlett Johansson, Mickey Rourke, and Sam Rockwell are among the new cast members.

There are big expectations for this movie considering the first one was such a big hit. However, the story is nothing new. And Wes said it best when he said it's basically the same movie: Tony Stark has to deal with saving his life and he fights another Iron-Man-machine-wanna-be. Yes, the movie was entertaining, but I felt the story wasn't as developed as the first. There were so many new characters and story lines to deal with, the movie didn't get to delve very deep and all the actors had to share screen time which meant very little acting necessary.

Wes and I were probably most interested in how Don Cheadle would do as Rhodey. We both agreed, that while replacing an actor for a character is a bit weird, Terrance Howard didn't have the action chops for this role. Don Cheadle is a bit more believable as an action figure and he didn't disappoint. It would be hard to imagine Terrance Howard as War Machine, fighting with Iron Man.

I'm sure a lot of fan boys also flocked to the theatre to see Scarlett Johansson kick some butt. But it was very obvious in her one fighting scene that it wasn't her, but a stunt double. Here's how the fighting scene went: Scarlett walks up to a bad guy, cut to stunt double kicking butt in some very cool moves, cut back to a close-up of Scarlett Johansson posing like she did the scene. Repeat about five times. She succeeded as eye candy, but failed in the action genre. Maybe she should stick to dramas and indies.

The one thing I did miss most about this movie was the banter between Tony and Pepper. They're both so stressed out in this movie, that their playfulness from the first movie gets lost. It's redeemed a little in the end, but doesn't satisfy. I think that was one thing I enjoyed most about the first one, the playful banter between those two characters.

Overall, a fun movie to go see. Not a have-to-go-see-it-in-the-theatre-movie, but definitely rent it at least. Personally, I liked the first one more and I liked the sneak peek in the first one WAY better than the teaser in the end of this one. So if you go see it in the theatre, stay to the end for a sneak peek.

Hot Tub Time Machine

Yep. We went to go see it. When you don't have to pay for movies, we take the approach that if we're curious, might as well go see it. Guess who was the curious one out of the two of us? I'll give you a hint: It wasn't me. We went to a Thursday evening movie and guess what? We're the only ones in there...

So you have to go into this movie not expecting a whole lot, which was easy to do. Basically these three guys who were best buds back in the day have drifted a part and it seems like all their lives suck. After an accident, they decide to take a trip back to their old haunting ground at a ski town - which has also seen better days. One thing leads to another and their transported back to the 80s to relive their lives.

This is definitely a guy movie with guy humor. There weren't a whole lot of pie-in-your-face type of jokes or cursing humor. But there were some male anatomy jokes and other male teasing that guys probably relate to. There was some nudity, but it wasn't over the top. Honestly, it was rather clean for what I was expecting. But it is rated R, so keep that in mind.

Our curiosity was satisfied and with our low expectations, the movie was rather enjoyable. I did think that it was weird that John Cusack was in this movie. That is, until I saw that he was a co-producer. Guess it was a project he really wanted to do....

The Losers

Wow, I am waaaaaaaay behind on my blogging. Lot's to catch up on. Let's start with a movie review: The Losers. Every time I saw this trailer, I always thought it was the trailer for the A-Team which is coming out this summer. Actually, I got The Losers, the A-Team, and MacGruber all mixed up. Gotta say though, I enjoyed this movie a lot more than I thought I would. It's based off a comic book, but what isn't these days?

So these guys are like special ops for the military. They all have super special abilities: sharp shooter, computer geek, knife handler... They end up getting framed and are stuck in a foreign country because everyone thinks they're dead. Oh, and they have no money. Until a mysterious girl (Zoe Saldana) offers her help to smuggle them back in the country in return for them killing Max. And from there the adventure begins.

I really enjoyed this movie. It was light-hearted comic book movie. Is that a genre now? I really enjoyed all the characters and actors that played them. Jeffery Dean Morgan does a good job as the leader who seems to be easily swayed. But he's rugged and wise beyond his years. There's a weird method to his madness. I really liked Chris Evans' turn as the nerdy, computer geek. It was a nice change from his other buff, cool-guy roles. And Zoe Saldana pulls off the tough chick role. My two favorites out of this movie were definitely Chris Evans and Oscar Jaenada who plays the sharp shooter. They were my favorite parts out of the whole movie.

There were some cheesy parts and they do sex Zoe Saldana up a lot. But it's a comic book movie, what do you expect? These guys seemed more relate-able and human than some other heroes. One of the guys has a pregnant wife and it's really warming to see him so concerned about getting back to her. They even sneak him into the hospital when she gives birth!

A great, fun movie that was funny and had action. Though, I liked it more than Wes did. Of course the ending left it open to a sequel. But what movie doesn't do that today? Bonus question: There are a few actors who have already been other comic book characters. Who are the actors and what were their other comic book alter-egos?

Date Night

I was afraid Date Night, starring Steve Carell and Tina Fey, was going to end up being a mish mash of The Office and 30 Rock writing. We saw the trailer a ton of times and I wondered if it was going to be one of those movies where all the funny parts are in the trailer. I am happy to say that all the funny parts are not in the trailer.

This movie was very entertaining. Steve Carell and Tina Fey may not be as convincing as a married couple named Phil and Claire Foster, but they are the right actors for those roles. As a married couple with two kids, they take regular date nights, like a lot of couples with kids do. But their date night is the same old thing and nothing very exciting. However, one spontaneous date night turns into mistaken identity which the trailers lead into. A lot of silly antics and clever uses of resources lead them to find the reason why the people they are mistaken for are being targeted.

There are a lot of other well known actors in this movie. James Franco and Mila Kunis play the couple who are the ones the Fosters are mistaken for - the Tripplehorns. They are nothing but over the top. Which is fitting for their roles. Phil Foster and James Franco's character exchange a very childish name calling battle, which is actually kind of funny. William Fitchner is very kooky in his role as the District Attorney. I really enjoyed him in this role and thought it very funny to see him in this when I most picture him as the banker from The Dark Knight bravely saying, "Oh, the criminals in this town used to believe in things..." A Taraji P. Henson plays the detective investigating the Foster's crazy story. She did a great job and I really liked her. Then there's Mark Wahlberg who we all see in the trailers with his shirt off. And that becomes a long running joke in the movie. I have to say the exchange between Claire and Mark Wahlberg's character got to be a bit cheesy. But that was the only cheesy part in this whole movie.

There were a lot of funny parts to this movie that didn't rely on farting or punching someone in the stomach humor *cough* Will Farrell movies *cough*. There was the awkward humor that Steve Carell does so well in The Office. But Tina Fey took a nice turn in her role. We didn't see a bit of the awkward, geeky Liz Lemon at all, which was refreshing. The movie was funny, but I also wonder how much funnier it got to be since we saw it in a crowded theatre.

After the movie, Wes made a comment asking how much more we appreciate and understand this movie after being married. I think the underlying story of this movie definitely is understood better by movie goers who are married and even more so by movie goers who have kids. The parents barely find time for each other, are tired when they get home, and have just generally lost that spark that was first there. There are a lot of issues that I think a lot of couples can relate to. The nice thing about this movie is that the Fosters work through it all and in the end, know that they would pick each other all over again.

This movie is definitely worth seeing. If not at the theatre, go rent it and watch it with a bunch of friends. If you enjoy Steve Carell in The Office and like Tina Fey, you won't be disappointed in this movie. At the end, through the credits, they show bloopers and out takes, which I always love watching. So I'm sure once this movie comes out on DVD, the blooper reel will be even better. Oh and something fun to keep an eye out on, when the Fosters are in Times Square, see how many tourists you can see in the background watching them film the scene or taking pictures. How cool would that have been to see them filming? Go take a date night and see Date Night. Corny line? Yep.

Clash of the Titans

It seems that Sam Worthington can only do blockbuster movies now. First Avatar and now Clash of the Titans. Wes and I opted not to see it in 3D since the movie was originally made in 2D. It seemed that only when 3D was such a hit with Worthington's other movie, that someone decided to convert the movie into 3D. I don't think the 3D version would've added anything to the movie going experience. I could see a couple of scenes where 3D would've been cool, but other than that I think this movie is perfectly fine going to see in regular old 2D.

If you're a fan of Greek mythology, then you'll definitely enjoy this movie. I can't be positive how accurate all the mythology in the movie is, but it does touch on a lot of it. From the creation of the titans who berthed the gods who berthed man to the story of Io and Medusa, they pack a lot of backstory into this movie. The movie centers around Persius, who is half man, half god. He is "the chosen one" to free man from the gods. I definitely saw a lot of Christian parallels throughout the movie. So, I could see a lot of Christians using this movie as potential symbolism for God's love, etc.

The movie was definitely action packed and it moved along at a quick pace. There was maybe a touch of romance in the movie, but I'm glad they didn't expound on it too much. It would've been cheesy to say the lease. There was a lot of fighting and killing of things - definitely an action movie. You won't be bored watching this movie. The acting was good: Liam Neeson as Zeus was powerful and commanding ("Release the Cragen!" tagline that Wes and I can't stop quoting), Ralph Finnes was dark and hateful as Hades and Worthington played Persius as the main character seeking vengeance on the gods for the death of his human family. I do wish they played more of the other gods into the movie. The only other god to have a speaking role other than Zeus and Hades was Apollo. And that was one line. They mention the other gods, but it would've been more interesting to hear more speak and interact in the story.

Not an Oscar worthy movie, but it was definitely entertaining and probably worth seeing in the theatres. I don't know if 3D would add anything to it, but if you're going to rent the movie, you won't miss out on the 3D version like Alice in Wonderland. This is a movie that if you're wanting to go to the movies, go see this. Otherwise, definitely go rent it when it comes out on video.

Though I do have one question: The titans were no where a part of the movie. So why is the movie called "Clash of the Titans"? Shouldn't it be "Clash of the Gods and Man"? Guess the original title sounds better, but someone help explain this to me.

Repo Men

So this movie is about two guys who work for a organ transplant company that creates organs out of machines. Their job is to reclaim the transplant company's, called The Union, property if people are unable to pay for their transplants - which is more often than not. It's a gruesome job, but someone has to do it. And these two guys are good at their job and have no remorse. It is after all, a job.

One of the guys, Jude Law's character named Remy, gets into an accident on the job and wakes up to find out he's been given a new heart, courtesy of his employer, The Union. This was a life or death situation and so Remy wasn't asked if he wanted this new heart. And he knows all too well the repercussions of having this new body part. Obviously, the story continues on with Remy unable to make the payments and so he becomes the people that he used to hunt down. A love story is involved, though it's not with Remy's cold-hearted (pun intended) wife. It's with a woman who's entire body (except her lips) are replaced with robotic body parts. She might as well be a robot. Ironic? I guess so.

The movie is an entertaining, action movie. Jude Law plays the tough, I-will-beat-the-system lead character. Forrest Whitaker plays his best friend, which we had doubts about him being an action character. But he did a passable job as the tough, wise-cracking, loyal to The Union, best friend. We do find out that his character has selfish ambitions and becomes a little darker than what I've seen Forrest Whitaker do before. And Jude Law and Forrest Whitaker being best buds? A stretch. It looked forced. But there were some parts of male jibbing that Wes found amusing. Probably because guys really do that stuff to each other in some sort of weird male bonding thing.

I have to admit, there was one part where Jude Law looked pretty cheesy: He's wearing a tight sleeveless shirt tucked into tight pants and a harness that holds knives and all sorts of weapons. He's about to take on 8 to 10 bad guys by himself and the shot is just a studly shot. Cheesy - unless you like Jude Law in tight clothes with muscles bulging. Me? It didn't do anything for me but make me laugh.

Overall, not a bad movie. It was a little more gory than I anticipated it being. They don't shy away from body parts being smashed and torn open. And the ending resolved some questionable parts of the storyline. It did open in one of the theater's largest houses and I'm pretty sure it wasn't even a quarter full. What does that tell you about the drawing power of Jude Law? Not that great. But this is worth a Red Box rental. Probably worth a couple extra bucks if you go through Blockbuster. But you wouldn't miss anything if you didn't see this on the big screen.

Of course, this poster is kind of cool:

Click on the image to see the details.

Remember Me

Ok, I admit it: I went to see Remember Me because of Robert Pattinson. Now I'm no Twilight fan, but I was a bit curious to see if Robert Pattinson could do more than just brood and be a moody vampire. I'm sad to report that he does maybe a little better in this movie than the Twilight movies.

So the trailers promoted this movie as pretty much a chick-flick with shots of Robert Pattinson and his love interest flirting and making out and all that stuff. Well, the movie is not a chick-flick. It's more in the drama genre. I'm not quite sure what the plot of the movie was. Robert Pattinson did a lot of brooding and was a moody twenty-something. His character, Tyler, lost his older brother and maybe that's the reason why he's so moody in this film? Tyler has no direction in life and really doesn't do much of anything except pick fights and get into trouble.

Well ultimately Tyler meets and dates this girl, Ally, who has also lost someone in her family. You'd think that's what this movie is about. But not really. Both Tyler and Ally also have issues with their dads. So is that what this movie is about? Well a little more so. I guess this is about a movie about Tyler dealing with life. Not at all what I anticipated going into this movie.

Well, Robert Pattinson and Emilie de Ravin, who plays Ally, have no chemistry. All of their scenes together are not that interesting and yeah, kind of cheesy. The flirting and romancing - it all looks forced and not so natural. Pierce Bronson plays Tyler's high-powered and disconnected dad. He's pretty much a jerk in the movie but eventually comes around to the charming James Bond we once knew. Chris Cooper plays Ally's dad who, as a cop, is way overprotective of his daughter. He wasn't bad in the movie, but expected him to be in better quality stuff. The best part of the movie was Tyler's interaction with his kid sister, Caroline. Caroline is definitely the sunshine in this kind of depressing movie. And the way Robert Pattinson interacts with her should be the chemistry he has with his on-screen girlfriend.

So the movie drags on and then the end of the movie comes and is incredibly sad and depressing. Robert Pattinson was an executive producer of this movie and I have a feeling a good chunk of his Twilight paycheck went into this downer of a movie. Definitely skip this at the theatre and at Blockbuster, unless you're a die-hard Twilight fan. Then maybe you'll enjoy drooling over Robert Pattinson as a moody, brooding human being.

I do like the poster for this movie though: