Scott Pilgrim vs The World (Charlie)

I am a huge fan of the comic book that this movie is based from. So i was going to be holding it to high standards. I kept saying to myself "this will not be as good as the comic." Like i said i am a huge fan of the comic.
Are you ready? It was better then the comic! I loved it. The things they changed i was very happy with. The ending to the movie is better then the end of the comic. I was worried that Michael Cera would totally screw it up but i think he made a great Scott Pilgrim. The music is really good and i ran out the next day after seeing it to buy the soundtrack. It is Directed by the same guy who did Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. So if you are a fan of those movies i bet you will like this one.

I am going to go see it again tomorrow night. That is how much i liked it.

The Expendables (Charlie)

If you are looking for a very smart film with Oscar worthy performances that will change your life then go see something else. If you are looking for a kick ass action movie with all the great action stars then this is the movie for you. It was like a throw back to the 80's. The cast is made up of Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren (no, we don't get a rematch between Rocky Balboa and Ivan Drago), Eric Roberts, Randy Couture, Steve Austin, Terry Crews, Mickey Rourke, Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzeneggers. How can you go wrong with a line up like that? Stallone wrote and directed this movie and he gets it. Sometimes we just want to see a lot of flashy action scenes.

Inception (Charlie)

I forgot to post about how awesome this movie is. I really could go on for hours. The cast was great. I will go see any movie with Ellen Page, Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ken Watanabe and Cillian Murphy. This was a damn good cast. Christopher Nolan you did it again. If you still have not seen it stop reading this and go see it now.

Toy Story 3 (Brodie)

Being that this is the most critically-acclaimed movie of all time according to Rotten Tomatoes' aggregate rating of 99%, it shouldn't be surprising that I loved this movie too. It's another great adventure filled with friendship and loyalty from Pixar's wonderful chest of characters and more of that surprising sincere sentimentality they so beautifully deliver. Why can't more kids' movies be this great? My favorite part was how it promoted and highlighted children's imagination as the most important part of any toy collection, no matter how old, used and tattered. It's simply a lovely movie.

Predators (Brodie)

I really enjoyed this movie, and it's because I liked the original Predator with Schwarzenegger. If you're a fan of the "get to the chopper" cheesey tough guy-ness of the first movie, you should like this one too. And the more familiar you are with the original--it's musical cues, it's characters (e.g., Billy)--the more you'll appreciate this one. It has some great throw backs and references. It's a pretty good action flick, albeit a little slow at times, and is pretty scary too. There are some new insights into the Predator species and a great fight sequence. 

Inception (Brodie)

This movie is phenomenal.  A total mind trip.  Chris Nolan is my favorite director.  Memento and Inception are stellar examples of how Nolan is a master of cinema.  They're not just good movies, they're good for movies as an art form.  He reveals the uniqueness and value of the motion picture medium by creating stories that no other medium could tell.  For that reason, Inception is more of an experience than a movie.

Super-brief summation: it's about people entering others' dreams.  There's surprising little else to say about the plot.  It's similar to The Matrix in notable ways: the difficulty in explaining the plot without it sounding flat or even silly; the philosophical examinations of reality; non-stop action yet interesting characters and relationships; the ground-breaking effects that redefine what's possible; and the exhilaration that lingers longs past the credits.  (Oh, and they are also currently rated the same on Rotten Tomatoes: 86%.)

There are layers upon layers of excitement and drama right up until the very last frame.  So yeah, I kind of liked it.

MacGruber

A sort of spoof of MacGyver and every other call-in-the-best-guy-we-got action flic.  It was stupid.  But if you saw the previews, you knew that.  Yes, I laughed, but it wasn't because of cleverness or creativity; it was mostly awkwardness or marveling at the stupidity.  I don't want to recommend that other people see this, but I can't say that I was not entertained.  I particularly loved what they did with the last two explosion sound effects--clearly, no one was taking this movie seriously.

Princess Kaiulani

I don't recommend this one.  The story of the last Hawaiian Princess was one worth telling and should be more widely known.  However, this version did the tale little justice--I'm a little hurt that the star was not Hawaiian or even Polynesian.  The acting was flat.  The characters lacked consistency, relateable motivations, and the concocted love story seemed just that.  Again, more people should know her story.  So click here to see what Wikipedia says about her (which I found to be more interesting than the movie), and save the $10--if it's even playing near you.

Iron Man 2 (Charlie)

Yes! Finally!
I have been looking forward to a lot of movies this year and most of them have been a let down. NOT this movie!
Iron Man 2 takes place about a year after the last movie. That's all i am going to tell you about the story! So go see it tonight!
Sam Rockwell and Mickey Rourke join the cast as Iron Man's new villains. They kind of steal the show. Don Cheadle takes over the roll that Terrence Howard played in the first movie. I don't like when they do this with movies but i did not even notice it. Cheadle fit right in and did a great job as usual.
And... did you think i was going to do a review on Iron Man 2 and not mention Scarlett? What can i say... How about... Ryan Reynolds is a lucky man. She also did a great job and has a kick ass fight scene.

I really had a fun time and recommend Iron Man 2

Make sure you stay through the credits when you go see it!

Green Zone (Charlie)

I went to this movie because i was suppose to hang out with some friends and they bailed on me. I went to the movie theater and it was the only one playing close to when i was there.
I loved this movie. I think it is the best thing i have seen this year.
Matt Damon plays a Marine? I think. Anyway he is a part of a team that is trying to find the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
(i am not going to go into my political views. This is a movie. Fiction based on true events. If you want to talk politics sometime you can find me at the bar.)
Well Matt Damon's character does not find any WMDs and starts to question the information he is getting.
I think Damon did a great job. Also in the movie are some favorites of mine Jason Isaacs, Brendan Gleeson, Amy Ryan and Greg Kinnear.
I was surprised and glad i ended up seeing this movie.

Clash of the Titans (Charlie)

When i saw the trailer for this movie i got so pumped i almost attacked some guy on the street. I love Greek Mythology and a remake of a classic film. Add in Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes. This should be the greatest movie ever made.

I hated this movie. I was hoping it would wash out the bad taste of Percy Jackson. I think it was the biggest let down since the third Pirates of the Caribbean movie. Ten minutes into the movie i realized they did no research into Greek Mythology. Hades goes up to Mount Olympus when ever he wants. This is just one example but i could go on for hours. You get nothing from the rest of the gods. Its Zeus and Hades and that's it. The original movie at least had all the politics of the gods.
The acting is boring and i think Ralph Fiennes phoned it in from the set of Harry Potter. The only person who stood out in the movie was Gemma Arterton who plays IO (Who is not even in the story of Perseus).
Also i hate when the main character of a story has the least amount of lines. Especially when they are suppose to become a great leader. He does have a Braveheart/Henry V speech towards the end of the movie which seems really out of the blue. I was waiting for one of the other soldiers to say "Oh Hey! I forgot you came along on this journey. You know if you stop being a little b**** and act like a demi-god maybe i would not have lost all my fellow soldiers. But thank you for your speech! The families of everyone we lost can hug your speech when we get home."
I would avoid this movie. There are a lot of other movies out there that have better plot, Characters, dialog, acting.... ok everything!

And I will say it again! The Greek Underworld is NOT Christianity's Hell!!!

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (Charlie)

I am slacking on my reviews.

I went to see this movie with a person who has read the whole Percy Jackson series. I recommend doing this. About three quarters into the movie i leaned over and said "We need to have a long talk when this movie is over." What i was told after the movie is that this movie is nothing like the books. They also seemed to think that the people that made this movie did not even read the books.

With that aside i thought this movie was terrible. I am a big fan of Greek Mythology and i was hoping they would do something creative with this story. Nope, this was just another attempt to find the next Harry Potter. If they plan on making the rest of the books into movies then i do plan to skip them.

This movie also had a huge cast. Sean Bean, Pierce Bronsnan, Brandon T. Jackson (the guy in love with Lance in Tropic Thunder), Steve Coogan, Rosario Dawson, Kevin Mckidd (my doppelganger), Joe Pantoliano (who is a really nice guy to work with), and Uma Thurman. None of them bring anything to the movie. Uma Thurman was painful to watch. She plays Medusa and the clay animated Medusa from the Original Clash of the Titans was more convincing.

I am told the books are really entertaining and clever. This movie was a waist of time.

And the Greek Underworld is not the same as Christianity's Hell. Hollywood gets this wrong all the time.

Date Night (Brodie)

(Quick synopsis: A couple feeling their marriage was in a bit of a rut find more adventure than they bargained for when they try to spice up their date night.)
Let me preface THIS review by saying, I laugh when Tina Fey breathes; therefore, it should be no surprise that I loved this movie.  I was laughing consistently throughout.  I think Carell and Fey are great together.  This movie has the funniest car chase and the funniest strip club scene I've ever seen.  "Sex robots", "fart in a shoebox".... I love the randomness of their humor.  There were also some fun cameos I wasn't expecting.  I highly recommend this one.

Kick-Ass (Brodie)

First, I've gotta say that I thought this was a superhero movie meant for teens, so I was kind of horrified by the amount of violence, even moreso after I realized that it WAS a movie meant for teens--three of the four main characters were all under 18.  (I'll leave my Brodie Buzzkill diatribe about our society's ills for another blog.)

It was entertaining; definitely had me laughing.  In truth, none of the characters were all that likable, but that's not why we go see superhero movies.  The action was good--more of that over the top load-gun-clips-in-midair nonsense we've come to expect.  There was definitely one character who was unlike our action flick cliches, and I do appreciate certain elements of that.  However, that same character, the most bad ass of them all, whose life was constructed around revenge, was denied the formulaic climactic kill of the bad guy.  If you're gonna be a violent, vigilante movie, at least do it right.

So in summary, if you're prepped for violence and nothing too clever, you'll enjoy this movie.

Shutter Island (Brodie)

(I actually saw this movie on March 5, and just forgot to post about it until now... Oops.)
A psychological suspense thriller about a detective investigating the disappearance of a patient at a high-security mental institution.

I liked it.  It was engaging and suspenseful.  I thought it dragged in the way that it took a while to learn anything new, but I suppose that gets explained. I recommend it.

The Wolfman (Charlie)

It was a little disappointing. Now I did say a little. Through the whole movie I felt like I missed something. Almost like I walked into it late and missed some beginning scene. I am looking forward to seeing if they come out with some Director's Cut DVD with 45 minutes of deleted scenes. Then it might be a really good movie.

The Book of Eli (Charlie)

It was the cast that drove me to see this movie. I think Gary Oldman is the best actor in Hollywood. I also really like both Denzel Washington and Mila Kunis. The three of them did a great job with the script they were handed.

As for this rest of this movie it is terrible. DO NOT PAY MONEY TO SEE IT!!!! Down load it off the internet or sneak in and see it for free. If you still think you might want to see it I will spoil the ending for you!!!

The movie takes place after a huge war (they do say the cause was religion) and now the world is left a waist land. Eli (who he refuses to tell people his name but as a viewer you know it before you walk into the theater, his name is the title of the damn movie) is traveling across the country with a book that he needs to deliver "out west" This book basically gives him super powers where he can fight 7 guys at the same time, dodge bullets and escape being locked up. Also the book has the ability to give you a bow and arrow when you need it (one sec Eli has it the next he doesn't, then it appears again). The Magical book is the King James version of the Bible.

Well, Carnegie (Oldman) knows the power this book has and wants to take it away from Eli. Most of the people left on earth are much younger and don't even know about religion. All the world religions have died (think you know where this movie is going). Now a world with out religion has driven people mad. Crime is a way of life and most people are cannibals.

Once Carnegie gets his hands on the book Eli looses his superpowers and is shot. Eli continues on his way slowly dieing while Carnegie takes the book back to his hideout. Eli travels to Alcatraz Prison where a group of people are collecting books in an attempt to rebuild society. Here is where you find out that The book was all in braille and Eli has it all memorized. So Carnegie cant read the book and his people rise up against him. Eli recites the bible while it is all written down and eventually reprinted.

In the end Christianity is the only religion and we have yet another translation of the friggin Bible. The only thing that surprised me about this movie was that Mel Gibson did not star in it.

There, now you don't have to see this POS movie.

Blind Side (Brodie)

Really liked it.  Ok, so it did have some overly sentimental parts, and the obligatory look-how-good-things-are-going-now montage.  But it was a great story with lovable characters.  I was also surprised and pleased by the lack of football in a movie about the beginnings of an NFL star.  It was less cheesy than Remember the Titans and Radio (which I compared it to in my mind from the previews), so that was good.  I got pretty wrapped up in this story and its sentimentality.  Nothing wrong with a feel-good movie.

Sherlock Holmes (Brodie)

Loved it.  I'll start by saying, I've never read a Holmes book.  But the movie... Witty, quick dialogue, great fights, and interesting glimpses into how his mind works.  Had all the components I need to love a movie.  I look forward to the next one.  (I'm really liking Robert Downey, Jr. as the super smart arrogant hero--liked the Iron Man 2 preview too.)

Avatar (Charlie)

Saw it and also loved it. I was worried about all the hype and that it would not be as good as everyone was saying. Well it went above and beyond. If you have not seen this movie yet make sure to see it on the big screen and in 3D.

I enjoyed the cast and their Avatar look a likes. One of my favorites is a Native American actor Wes Studi (Last of the Mohicans, Heat) and as soon as his CG character walked on the screen I knew who was doing his voice before he spoke. All the CG characters have facial features of their actors.

One thing I would like to have seen with this movie is more about the Na'vi (I think I spelled that right) and less with the battles. This coming from an action junky. I would have been happy sitting through a 3 hour drama about the Na'vi and no violence. Much of the movie (and some of my favorite parts) felt like i was watching a documentary on the Discovery Channel.

This is a beautiful movie. The landscape and CG was amazing to watch. Combined with a lot of actors that I really enjoy (Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Wes Studi and Giovanni Ribisi) made this movie well worth what I paid for the ticket.