Now playing in theaters, the weekend of August 10, 2012 are: The Bourne Legacy, The Campaign and Hope Springs.

The Bourne Legacy

Jeremy Renner stars in this latest sequel in the Bourne franchise (it’s #4), the first outing without popular franchise star Matt Damon as Jason Bourne. It’s not exactly a sequel, it’s more of another tale told within the same universe, this time focusing on another agent of Operation Outcome Aaron Cross. It runs parallel to events occuring in earlier Bourne movies rather than before or after. After Jason Bourne pulls apart Operation Blackbriar, the CIA decides to dispose of their other black ops programs. How do they do that? They kill anybody involved with it, one of those agents being Aaron Cross (Jeremy Renner), who must fight back and get away before they eliminate him.

If you’re a fan of the original movies, you’ll love seeing the “Bourne world” through different eyes, Renner’s alex Cross is a much different type of soldier than Jason Bourne was, more cocky, more arrogant, more self-assured. If you didn’t see the other movies, the movie still stands on it’s own and delivers a great action movie, it will make you want to see the earlier films though! All in all, a solid sequel that delivers.

The Campaign

A comedic look at the cuthroat campaigns between 2 candidates fighting for a seat in congress, starring Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis. Like most Will Ferrell comedies, it’s a bit over the top and goes for the easy laughs. Whether you like it or not, all depends on whether you’re the type of person that finds Will Ferrell hilarious or not.

Hope Springs

Meryll Streep and Tommy Lee Jones star as an older couple Kay and Arnold, whose relationship has gotten a little dull over the years. Rather than settle, Kay decides to drag her husband to a relationship specialist played by Steve Carell, in the hopes of revitalizing their relationship. Together, they strive to bring that spark back to their relationship.

If you’re under 40, it’s likely this film won’t do much for you, despite the incredibly talented cast. If you are a “mature movie goer”, there’s a lot to enjoy in it and you’ll leave the theater with something to talk about.

For the week of August 3, 2012 – we review the remake of Total Recall and the new Diary of a Wimpy Kid. We also take a look back at Dark Knight Rises.

Total Recall

Colin Farrell stars in this remake of the sci-fi trash classic that Arnold Scwarzenegger starred in over 20 years ago. Is it too early to call Arnie’s film a classic? Can we even call anything that Arnie was in a classic? Except for Maria of course! Comedic drum roll please!

It’s essentially the original film decorated with props from Blade Runner. It doesn’t stray too far from the first film, one wonders why bother making it then? They could have done something completely different with the source material by Philip K. Dick, but they went for the “easy” film instead. It’s fun, but nothing you haven’t seen before.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days

Based on the bestselling kid’s books, this movie will probably bore the adults out there to death, but your 8 year olds will love it. It’s easy to look down on stuff like this, but there’s worse things to do then make things that someone will enjoy, in this case – something for the preteens. This is the 3rd film in the series, expect a couple of more!

Dark Knight Rises

I’ve been thinking about it, and I’ve come to the conclusion that you really have to watch the Dark Knight Rises as the third act of a 9-hour story encompassing all 3 of Christopher Nolan’s Batman movies. Watching it as a whole, really makes you appreciate what Nolan was trying to do with these 3 movies, do the life story of Bruce Wayne – from him as a young boy watching his parents die before his eyes to what may be the end of his career. The 3rd film does stand alone quite well, but it works so well with the other 2, making it much more.

If I do have any complaints, it’s that that 3rd film doesn’t have enough Batman, nor James Gordon, but if you watch the 3 movies as a whole, it makes a lot of sense. The addition of Joseph Gordon-Levitt to the cast brings it even further. My one major complaint, was that there was absolutely no need at all for Ann Hathaway’s Catwoman in this movie, except for eyecandy of course, as she leaned over in skintight leather straddling a phallic shaped “Bat bike”.

All in all, an excellent film that you have to see!

The Dark Knight Rises

Of course Christopher Nolan’s last movie in the franchise is going to rock the house. Just based on his doing MEMENTO alone, you have to see this movie. The 3rd installment in Nolan’s rebooting of the Batman franchise, pulls no punches and ends with a bang (LITERALLY!). This time around, Catwoman (sexily played by Ann Hathaway) and Bane (played by Warrior’s Tom Hardy) join the fun, as does Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a young cop who.. but that would be telling. If you can stand the epic length 2 hr 45 minute running time, you’re in for some fun!

Ice Age: Continental Drift 3D

Like every other Ice Age movie, it is what it is and probably won’t appeal to you if you’re over the age of 10. That being said, your kids will probably enjoy it quite a bit.

The Watch

A neighborhood watch has a run-in with aliens invading their neighborhood, posing as locals, and they must fight to save the world – and their neighborhood from extermination. Sound like a dumb film? You’d be right! An ensemble cast of Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill and Richard Ayoade (some English guy I hadn’t heard of either) stars. Like EVERY other film Vince Vaughn has made since Swingers, this should be avoided like the plague.

Step Up Revolution

Like every other STEP UP film that’s come out, I’m avoiding this. If it follows the other film in the franchise, it involves some new to school or town, who arrives with dreams of becoming a professional dancer. Some loose plot is hung over what’s essentially a bunch of over-choreographed dance scenes. They win the competition somehow and get the guy/girl. Everybody dances. End credits. Someone must watch this stuff!

Killer Joe

A dark comedy directed by William Friedkin (The Exorcist, The French Connection, To Live & Die in LA) about a hit-man played by Matthew McConaughey who has the manners of a Southern gentleman, who’s hired by a down on his luck drug dealer to kill his universally hated mother in order to collect on her insurance plan. Supposedly has one of the best performances of McConaughey’s career and has a Tarantino-esque vibe to it. Supposed to be extremely enjoyable!

Ruby Sparks

A strange romantic comedy, about a writer who is amazed to find that his favorite “creation” has come to life and sitting on the couch in his living room, he can’t help but fall in love with her. All of a sudden it gets weird. Because he can, he can’t help but change her. It’s a quirky examination of what love and relationships are, sounds more like an indy film. If you like quirky, this may be your thing.

Director Marc Webb, who wowed us with (500) Days of Summer, replaces Sam Raimi as the director – Andrew Garfield, who was amazing in Red Riding Trilogy, replaces Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man/Peter Parker – Emma Stone replaces Kirsten Durnst as the love interest, this time playing Gwen Stacey instead of Mary Jane Watson. Like Christopher Nolan did with the Batman franchise, Marc Webb has come along and rebooted Spider-Man a mere 5 years after the last one Spider-Man 3, the BIG question is, was it necessary?

In terms of Sony’s maintaining the rights to keep making the movies and not letting the rights revert back to Marvel Entertainment/Disney, they had to make this film now or lose the rights. Director Sam Raimi couldn’t do it, so rather than having Tobey and the rest of the cast suit up under another director’s vision or force another director to ape Raimi’s unique style – the decision was made to reboot the whole thing including the kitchen sink. The fact that the last Spider-Man movie, part 3, was pretty much disliked by everyone, made it an even easier decision.

The result, is a Spider-Man movie that’s a bit different than what we’ve seen before. Garfield’s Peter Parker is still a bit of a geek and a loner than the Parker that Maguire played, but so has what we consider a “geek”. By comparison, Maguire was so much a social outcast, that he was almost unlikable outside the Spidey costume. At times it was hard to imagine someone cool like Harry Osborn being his friend or someone hot like MJ be interested in him. He’s still a social outcast, but you know it’s more by the fact of being socially awkward than anything else. This is a Peter Parker who’s brooding, who feels like his parents abandoned and dumped him on his much older aunt and uncle, played by Sally Fields and Martin Sheen, it goes more to explain why he is the way he is. When he plays Spider-Man, he’s a bit more sarcastic, a bit more of a rebel. His Spider-Man is cool, and with mechanical web-shooters, not organic yucky ones.

Emma Watson as Gwen Stacey, is a revelation compared to Durnst as Mary Jane, she’s the girlfriend that you’ll fall in love with. If you’re a comic book fan, you’re probably already depressed by what will surely be happening in upcoming films if they keep her as a character. Dennis Leary is incredible as Captain George Stacey, a NYC cop who considers Spidey a vigilante who shouldn’t be out there doing a cop’s job. He brings a “real world” perspective to the debate over whether or not we’d accept these so-called “heroes”.

Rhys Ifans plays Dr. Curt Connors, who becomes the monstrous Lizard that Spidey ends up fighting. Compared to the rest of the movie, he almost feels shoe-horned in, which is not to say that he didn’t do a great job, just that he wasn’t really needed.

The main difference between the reboot and the Sam Raimi movies, is the focus on Peter’s parents who seemingly abandoned him. This focus wasn’t touched at all in Raimi’s movies and is scarcely a part of the comics themselves. It’s something that helps explain why Peter is the way that he is, and does help connect a lot of things together that normally wouldn’t. Peter is more of a brooding young kid with abandonment issues than some social outcast that most of us would have a hard time liking.

It’s a much different Spider-Man movie than what we saw before , but that’s really what you need after a director with as distinctive a voice as Raimi had. If you miss Raimi’s vision, you can still buy Spider-Man DVD’s cheap, this is something new that you’ll have fun and be entertained by!

Oliver Stone is back and directing a story about a bunch of friends who are pot farmers, whose idyllic life is broken up when a Mexican cartel decides to essentially take them over. They decide to fight back with the aid of a dirty DEA agent played by John Travolta. It’s an over-the-top uber-violent movie that has dark humor and convincing performances. It’s a great crime thriller that will keep you watching and entertained.

Both a concert movie, as well as a “behind the scenes” documentary, it’s fun because it’s Katy Perry. If you’re a fan, you’ll have fun watching this, if you’re not – it won’t mean much to you anyways.

Somehow a young boy’s wish is granted, and his cherished Teddy Bear comes to life. They’re best friends who never leave each other’s sides. At first the world is shocked and Teddy becomes a celebrity of sorts, but time passes and he just becomes a normal schlub like any other former child star. Within 20 years, the two friends are just getting stoned and watching bad movies together, just trying to get by.

It’s essentially Calvin & Hobbes meets Harold & Kumar. It’s definitely not for young kids, no matter how cute Ted is.

Seth McFarlane of Family Guy fame makes his live-action directing debut in Ted, which he also wrote and does the voice of Ted (the Teddy Bear). Mark Wahlberg stars as his best friend John who’s seemingly stuck in a delayed adolescence, and the beautiful Mika Kunis stars as the girlfriend that comes between us and demands that John grow up and not just spend his days hanging out with his Teddy Bear.

It does sound ridiculous and over-the-top, but it’s actually quite funny and does have a lot of heart to it. The audience I saw it with, were laughing so hard so often and so hard, that we surely missed a bunch of jokes. Seth McFarlane proves that he’s here to conquer the big screen just like he did TV. And, we forgive you Mark Wahlberg for making The Happening and ruining The Planet of the Apes with Tim Burton, you’re back baby! Mile Kunis as the bitchy girlfriend, well- you’re beautiful?!? *LOL* And any movie that puts Flash Gordon, Savior of the Universe on a pedestal like this movie does, is worth seeing!

It’s about male strippers, it stars all of Hollywood’s beefcake stars such as Channing Tatum, Alex Pettyfer, True Blood’s Joe Manganiello and Matthew McConaughey. If you just saw the ad, it’d seem like this was just a funky dance movie with hot, well-oiled muscular studs gyrating to bad dance music for the ladies – and there is quite a bit of that, but it’s also a look at a subculture of stripping and sex much the same way that Boogie Nights did with the porn industry. With a director like Steven Soderbergh, you know that there’s going to be much more behind the “prettyboy” visage that draws most people into this movie. That being said, most of the crowd of ladies who swarmed the early preview on Wednesday night, were whooping and hollering as if there was a real show going on. Definitely a movie with a lot going on for it, that you can enjoy in a lot of different ways, mostly due to Soderbergh’s genius as a filmmaker.

It’s by Pixar, so that alone is almost a guarantee that it’s going to be good. Brave doesn’t disappoint, it’s a fun and entertaining movie. It concerns a young girl, who challenges her fate, who is brave enough to follow her dreams and forge her own path. A young princess is told that there will be a competition for her hand im marriage and rather than let the fates decide who will be her love everlasting, she decides to take her fate in her own hands and win the competition herself so she can make her own choices, of course – she has some help from an eccentric old witch who grants her this wish.

I’ve seen early promos for the film, and if that’s any indication of how the film is, it’s incredible looking. It’s lush, colorful and dreamy – it lends itself quite well to the 3D process. The voice cast includes Billy Connolly, Emma Thompson, Kevin McKidd, Craig Ferguson and Kelly Macdonald. The combination of cast and graphics by Pixar, make this a movie worth seeing for anybody.

A meteor is about to hit the Earth, and we’re expecting it. What would you do if you knew the end was coming up? Dodge (Steve Carrell) decides to seek out the woman who was the love of his life, Penny (Keira Knightley) decides to see her family one last time. They both decide to take this one last trip together so they seek out their last goals before the end of everything. Everybody on earth seems to be pursuing their own goals as the world comes to a close. It’s a weird mix of drama and comedy, that may have you at unease. It suspiciously sounds like a rip-off of Genie Award winning Canadian film Last Night starring Sandra Oh, which pretty much concerned itself with the same exact thing almost 15 years ago.

It’s a weird mash-up of vampire horror and historical epic, Buffy the Vampire Slayer with Abraham Lincoln as the lead. It sounds completely ridiculous, and mostly is, but there’s a lot of fun to be had along the way. Wicked action and a lot of fun, if you don’t mind something different, then you’ll probably really enjoy this movie.

That’s My Boy

Adam Sandler movies seem to be getting even dumber and grosser as time goes on, That’s My Boy seems to be continuing that downward trend, except this time SNL’s Andy Samberg is along for the ride.

The premise this time, a 13 year old boy ends up having a questionable relationship with his hot-to-trot teacher. They get caught. She goes to jail. She discovers she’s pregnant and has his baby in prison. The boy ends up being a single dad bringing up the boy, mostly on candy and bad tv. As soon as that baby boy hits 18, he takes off and starts his life fresh. Years pas, the boy gets engaged, and guess who shows up to his wedding – his dad. The dad is played by Adam Sandler, the son by Andy Samberg.

If you expected something gross, dumb and silly – this is the film for you. It is what it is. Whatever “edge” Sandler once had is completely gone, just as it disappeared for fellow SNL alumni Eddie Murphy years ago. Hopefully, Andy Samberg, fresh off SNL – doesn’t join him on that trip.

Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages is an adaption of the hit Broadway musical of the same name. It’s about a small town girl named Sherrie (played by Julianne Hough) who goes to the big city with dreams of becoming a famous singer in the late 80’s. Upon arriving, she ends up getting a job as a waitress at the famous Bourbon Room. She meets a city boy named Drew and they fall in love. Their story of love and their quest for fame is told through this musical starring an ensemble of Alec Baldwin, Russell Brand, Malin Ackerman, Paul Giamatti, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Diego Boneta. The music of the film, is the embarrassing but delightful soft metal music of the 80’s such as stuff by Journey, Foreigner, Joan Jet, Poison, Bon Jovi and Pat Benetar.

There’s honestly not much to the story, it’s just a great excuse to zone out to the cast having fun singing this music, kind of like an All-Star karaoke. Tom Cruise in particular will blow you away, he dominates in the role of an Axl Rose like singer on stage. It’s a shame that they couldn’t have just built a film around his character instead.

Prometheus

Director Ridley Scott returns to the Aliens universe with Prometheus, a kind of prequel to the Aliens saga. Back again (for the first time) is the Weyland Corporation, the evil Corporation that was a part of the other Aline movies. They send out a crew to explore a distant planet to seek answers to a mystery, answers that may prove Biblical in proportion. Along for the ride are Noomi Rapace (from the original The Girl With the Dragon tattoo), Idris Elba (The Wire and Luther), Michael Fassbender (Shame and X-Men: First Class) and Charlize Theron. Performances are top notch. The CGI and special effects are incredible and a nod to the weirdness of HR Giger who was responsible for the look of the original films. It’s an epic, creepy science fiction film that’s a great addition to the existing Aliens’ universe.

Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted

That lovable bunch of animals from the Central Park Zoo are still trying to get back home, except this time they’re traveling through Europe under cover of a traveling circus. As usual it’s a lot of fun and kids of all ages will love it. If anything, it’s an improvement over the others, a rarity in sequels.

Safety Not Guaranteed

In the classifieds of the newspaper, an ad reads:

*WANTED* Someone to go back in time with me. This is not a joke. You’ll get paid after we get back. Msut bring your own weapons. Safety not guaranteed. I have only done this once before.

Three cynical magazine employees see the article and decide to explore the mystery behind the article. They find the guy behind the ad, who believes he’s found the secret of time travel and wants to go on the journey soon. Together, they see what happens next.

It’s a small independent film with a lot of heart. It has a great cast including Parks and Recreation’s Aubrey Plaza (who shows great star potential with her deadpan, understated performance. It’s fun and quirky and has a lot of charm.

A re-imagining of the classic fairy-tale, but done in a much more epic Game of Thrones kind of way.

We’ve all heard or seen the classic story, it’s in this movie, but there are twists along the way. The evil Queen Ravena, played with evil delight by Charlize Theron, rules the land. She’s all but convinced that she’s the fairest of them all. Appreciating her beauty in her magic mirror, she is maddened to find out that not only is her stepdaughter Snow White (played by Twilight’s Kristen Stewart) fairer than her, but she threatens to end her reign as Queen. The only way that the Queen can continue her rule as fairest of them all and live forever as ruler, is to consume Snow White’s heart. To reach this end, she dispatches a Huntsman (played by Thor’s Chris Hemsworth) to dispatch of her. Upon meeting her, the Huntsman takes pity on her and trains her in the art of war. She bands together with a band of warrior elves and her love the Prince, to fight back against the Evil Queen and start a revolution.

It’s a very grim take on Snow White, more Grimm’s fairy tales than the classic Disney cartoon. It’s an entertaining and a rollicking adventure that you’ll no doubt enjoy. Kristen Stewart shows some promise that she’s moving beyond the Twilight movies and Charlize Theron proves yet again, that she’s more than a pretty face, she steals the show. It’s Snow White done as a Girl Power film. There’s a lot for everybody to enjoy in this movie.

Those swimming carnivores that tore apart the beach in the first Piranha remake are still hungry and back for seconds! This time it’s in a scandalous waterpark where David Hasslehoff is the celebrity lifeguard. Back for more are Christopher Lloyd and Ving Rhames, whose character has seen better days. The T&A is upped, as is how insanely ridiculous this movie is.

Should you see it?

If you loved the first movie, no doubt that you’ll love this too. It’s definitely not fine art, but if you dig mindless trashy comedies, you’ll enjoy yourself.

Men In Black III

Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones return for the 3rd installment of the MEN IN BLACK franchise as Agents J (Smith) and K (Jones). When all of a sudden Agent K’s life and the fate of the universe are going bad places, J has to travel back in time and team up with a young Agent K (played by Josh Brolin – who is a PERFECT match for Jones that you’ll be blown away) too save the future and his partner’s life.

Like any other sequel, whether you love or hate this film will depend on how much you loved the films that came before it. If you’re a fan, it’s a sequel worthy of the other films and must viewing. It’s extremely entertaining and fun, fans will have a lot to enjoy in this. For once, it’s a film that actually benefits from the use of 3D, so feel free to spend those extra couple of bucks to make the experience even better.

Chernobyl Diaries

From the creators that brought you Paranormal Activity and scared my girlfriend so bad that she couldn’t sleep for days, comes Chernobryl Diaries, another “found footage” film about an “extreme” tour where the guide takes 6 tourists through the former home of the workers of the Chernobryl nuclear reactor, a town that is completely deserted since the accident. It’s not long before the group finds out that they’re not alone in this town and…..

Moonrise Kingdom

Two twelve year olds fall in love and run away together. As a violent storm approaches, the authorities try to hunt them down and as usual for a Wes Anderson movie, craziness ensues. Along for the ride are Bruce Willis, Ed Norton, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Jason Schwartzman, Tilda Swinton and many others. A Wes Anderson film is an experience, it’s a dreamy fantasy world, full of peculiar moments that draw you in and capture you. Highly recommended!

Battleship

Director Peter Berg (of Friday Night Lights‘ fame) brings the Hasbro board game to life… kind of. With a huge cast starring Liam Neeson, Alexander Skarsgård, Rihanna, Brooklyn Decker and many more, it’s a combination of Pearl Harbor and Crimson Tide mixed up with a HUGE blast of Transformers. Transformer-like aliens invade the Earth, and we must fight for survival against their superior forces. Our main line of defense? The USS Sampson, a Battleship led by Admiral Shane (Liam Neeson).

It’s BIG! It’s LOUD! It’s OVER THE TOP! It sure ain’t fine art, but those looking for a great slam-bang-action film for their summer enjoyment will find a lot to enjoy in Battleship. I don’t really remember there being any aliens in my games of Battleship when I used to play it with my brother when I was a kid, but I quickly forgot that as the action on-screen almost blew me out of my seat. It’s a guilty pleasure that you’ll enjoy!

The Dictator

Like everything else that Sacha Baron Cohen does, whether or not you like this movie will depend on whether or not you’ve liked everything else he’s done from Da Ali G Show and Borat to Brüno. It’s a satirical exploration of what happens to a North African dictator who’ll do anything to make sure that democracy will never come to his country. It’s offensive, over the top and completely ridiculous, but if you liked his other stuff, you’ll find something to enjoy in this movie too. It packs enough laughs in it’s short 83 minutes on the screen to make it worth seeing.

What to Expect When You’re Expecting

It’s one of those huge ensemble romantic comedies that they usually build around a Holiday and gets directed by an aging Gary Marshall screaming “Now, everybody fall in love!” throughout the shooting, but this time instead of the focus being on Holidays, it’s around couples going through pregnancy and becoming parents. It’s not horrible, but you’ve pretty much seen everything in it a hundred times before. If you’re the boyfriend who gets dragged to this by his girlfriend, this is the test you must pass occasionally.

Dark Shadows

Dark Shadows was a gothic soap opera that ran on weekdays on ABC from 1966 to 1971. It was a spooky and moody show starring the vampire Barnabas Collins (played by the late Jonathan Frid). It had an intense cult following over the years.

Director Tim Burton has re-imagined the soap opera as a comedy starring Johnny Depp (as the vampire patriarch of the family Barnabas Collins), Michelle Pfeiffer (back from the dead herself it seems), Chloe Morentz (who wowed us as Hit-Girl in Kick-Ass), Eva Green and Helena Bonham Carter (amongst others).

Baranabas (Depp) is a rich, powerful playboy who is master of Collinswood Manor. He breaks the heart of Angelique, who happens to be a witch – and not a very forgiving one. She curses him to be a vampire and then buries him alive. He’s entombed for 200 years, until he’s revived in the groovy 1970’s. Things are different, as he returns to his estate and descendants, very different. The estate has become a mess in 200 years, so has his family.

Like most Tim Burton movies, it’s visually stunning and trippy. It’s fun and strange, more Twilight on acid than anything else. Let’s be honest, the original show was not fine art, it was definitely cheezy, over-the-top and cheap looking – but we tend to be trapped in the memories of what something meant to us when we were younger, so it’s likely that fans of the old series might not be overjoyed by a comedic re-imagination of their beloved show – but most of them are remembering a show that never really was as good as they thought. For everyone else, you’ll enjoy it.

God Bless America

Bizarre comedian Bobcat Goldthwait directs his commentary on America and what it’s become. Frank is an everyday putz who has nothing left to live for – his wife is gone, so is his job and as far as he knows.. he might be dying. Frank has nothing going for him at all. Rather than kill himself, he decides to go all Natural Born Killers and kill off all the morons that make life intolerable, starting off with reality TV stars (Big Brother contestants watch out!). Along the way, he teams up with a similar soul by the name of Roxy, who is a high school student just as pissed off at how things are as he is. They tour America on a quest to rid the world of the country’s most annoying celebrities.

It’s viciously funny and a great satire on what’s going on in pop-culture. It’s a revenge fantasy on acid, equal parts Natural Born Killers, Falling Down and Taxi Driver.










Girl in Progress

Eva Mendes stars as a single mom to a teenage girl, who seems to be growing up faster than her mother. It’s your standard coming-of-age story, but this time applies to both mom and daughter. We’ve seen it before, but it’s sweet and charming.

The Avengers

The ultimate team-up of superheroes – Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, the Incredible Hulk, Black Widow, Hawkeye, War Machine and Nick Fury. Marvel’s Avengers have been assembled to protect the world from the evils perpetrated by Thor’s evil half-brother Loki, to save us all.

Finally, we have the SLAM BAM THANK YOU MA’AM superhero movie that we’ve been waiting for all these years. We have an over-the-top psycho action film, with great actors – each of whom could support a film by themselves, a director/writer known for his skills with big ensembles and working in genre pieces (Joss Whedon of Buffy fame) and a sensibility that this will be the most explosive thing that we’ll see all summer, all year even!

It’s everything that we want in a superhero movie: FUN! It’s the most SUPERHERO movie ever made!

Mother’s Day

Thankfully, the director of Saw 2, 3 and 4 got to this holiday themed movie before Garry Marshall got to it and made a huge ensemble Mother’s Day movie where everyone falls in love, I just couldn’t take it anymore!!! Mother’s Day is a crazed horror story starring Rebecca De Mornay which is a remake of the Troma horror classic Mother’s Day.

After a heist gone bad, three bank robbers return home to hideout at their mother’s place, only to find out that she had lost the house in a foreclosure. They hold the new owners and their guests hostage. And then their sadistic, dangerous mother comes home to take control of the situation and things only get bloodier.

It’s a trashy gore-fest and Rebecca De Mornay is chilling in the lead performance as “mother”, she’ll scare the life out of you she’s so good. It’s not fine art, but if you like this sort of thing, you’ll find a lot to love in it.

The Five-Year Engagement

A quirky romantic comedy from the same people who brought you Bridesmaids, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Knocked Up and The 40-Year-Old Virgin and starring Jason Segel (who co-wrote it) and Emily Blunt. Just from the talent involved, you know it has to be good!

What happens when a couple in love gets engaged, and the day that they’re building towards.. gets further and further away. It’s both a wacky comedy and a sweet love story at the same time. The ultimate date movie!

The Lucky One

From Nicholas Sparks, the writer of Dear John, The Notebook and A Walk To Remember – comes another romantic drama about an unlikely couple that meets and falls heads over heels in love, a love that is challenged somehow, and ends up with them running into each other’s arms at the end pledging to love each other forever.

There you go, saved you over $80 on dinner, parking, movies and popcorn. To thank me, just send me crisp $20 bills to me c/o iNetVideo.com.

This time, a US Marine played by Zac Efron somehow avoids death in Iraq, he feels it’s due to a photograph he found of a woman he found while there. He’d never met or heard of her before, but somehow having that picture of her kept him alive. Somehow he learns who she is and swears to find her, to thank her. When he returns home, he shows up at her door and ends up working for her. Of course, romantic complications ensue.

If you’ve seen any movie based on a Nicholas Sparks novel and liked it, chances are you’ll enjoy this too. Everybody else will probably roll their eyes at the thought of it, but too bad for them – this movie wasn’t made for those people.

Think Like A Man

Based on comedian Steve Harvey’s best-selling non-fiction book Think Like A Man, which gives women the inside scoop on how men think. It’s an ensemble piece about a bunch of women who follow the book’s advice on how to deal with the men in their lives. When the men find out, they at first feel betrayed by one of their own spilling all their secrets, but then decide to use what’s said in the book to get back at the women they love and take control of the situation.

Great cast in many cheesy situations. It’s essentially a Tyler Perry movie that someone else has taken a crack at, you’ve definitely seen this several times before. The cast does have chemistry so it’s enjoyable enough. What you see is what you get.

The Moth Diaries

Based on the cult novel by Rachel Klein, this movie concerns a young girl named Rebecca who’s sent to a boarding school after the suicide of her mother. While she’s there she becomes friends with another student – Lucy – who helps her deal with it. A new student Ernessa comes to the school, she’s all mysterious and wanders the grounds of the school alone late at night. She seems to have some hold over Lucy that Rebecca can’t figure out. And then, other students seem to disappear.

Rebecca wonders if Ernessa is the cause, wonders if Ernessa is…. a vampire.

There’s hints of lesbianism and vampires in this movie, but I couldn’t be more bored, how could this happen. I nodded off twice while writing this. Sadly, the movie seems more like a luke-warm Vampire Diaries episode than anything worth watching.

The Cabin in the Woods

You’ve heard the story before, five friends go to a cabin alone in the woods and bad things happen. You’ve seen it before so many times, that you think you know what happens next. You’re wrong… dead wrong. Directed and co-written by Drew Goddard (Cloverfield) and produced and co-written by Joss Whedon (TV’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer and this summer’s The Avengers), this movie shakes up the slasher genre, deconstructs it and puts it back together in a completely unexpected way much the same way that SCREAM did over a decade ago. It’s smart, funny and scary as Hell – and even if you normally hate horror movies – you’ll find something to love in this film. Did we mention a pre-Thor Chris Hemsworth stars in this?

The Three Stooges

A modern day take on The Three Stooges starring Chris Diamantopoulos (American Dad!), Sean Hayes (Will & Grace), and Will Sasso (MADtv). Directed by the Farrelly Bros., the geniuses behind comedy classics There’s Something About Mary and Dumb and Dumber. It’s essentially The Three Stooges if they were making movies today.

Did I mention that Snooki from Jersey Shore has a role in the film?

This movie has been in the works for year, at one point both Sean Penn and Benicio Del Toro were supposedly cast in the roles of the Stooges. At that point, most people thought that it would be some type of biopic or crazed re-imagination of the crazed trio. With the Farrelly Bros. involvement, we knew for sure it’d be insane.

Upon looking at early promos, it seems that we just got Dumb & Dumber cast with weak Three Stooges rip-offs. It’s a shame, especially with people as talented as the Farrelly’s being involved. Was anyone really asking for The Three Stooges with dick and boob jokes? It looks so bad, that I’m afraid that children will cry. If it does anything, it showcases how really talented that the original Three Stooges really were, as compared to the “new & improved” trio that ape them for this movie.

Avoid.

Lockout

Guy Pearce stars as an ex-government agent who’s convicted of a crime that he didn’t commit. He gets offered a chance at freedom, rescue the President’s daughter who’s gotten trapped within an outer-space maximum-security prison when the convicts start rioting. It’s a mission that’s so dangerous it’s unlikely that he’ll return. The Fifth Element’s Luc Besson produces as well as co-writes.

From the description, it sounds like a cross between The Fifth Element and John Carpenter classic Escape From New York. While critics have not been kind to the film, it’s a fun throwback to those B-movie popcorn flicks that made us enjoy such sci-fi trash classics that the film is extremely derivative of.

It’s not great art, but it’s a lot of mindless fun. It’s a B-movie and meant to be enjoyed as such.

The Hunter

Willem Dafoe plays a mercenary sent to Tasmania to hunt down a particular type of tiger thought extinct for a shady corporation with plans to use it’s genetic material for their own questionable purposes. To get his mission done, he poses as a scientist exploring the region and stays with a a local family who’s father has gone missing. It’s moody and atmospheric and Dafoe as always gives an excellent performance. Based on the novel by Julian Leigh.

American Reunion

The first American Pie movie was in the summer of 1999, and concerned a bunch of friends on a quest to lose their virginity, we won’t even discuss the pie-lovemaking, haven’t had pie since! Well. more than a decade has come and gone, some got married and had kids, some left and others made their own paths. A reunion brings them all together as adults.

Whether you like this film or not, depends on how much you liked the original movies. If you’re a fan, it’s (hopefully) a nice capper for the series to go out on. Like most high school reunions, it’s not as great as you hoped it would be, but it’s not bad.

Titantic 3D

James Cameron’s Titantic is a bit schmaltzy at times, but it’s brilliant as a big, Epic with a capital E, it’s the kind of movie that we think that they used to make but only really seemed to happen once in a lifetime. Cameron framed a love story within this tragedy and captivated our hearts. Sure it was sappy, but you couldn’t help but be impressed by the grand scale of the whole story.

Most films today that are 3D are modified after the film is made, rather than be filmed for 3D. The result is that you don’t really get a film that takes full advantage of the process, feeling like a last-minute stick-on for extra sales. Few movies really take advantage of the process like Avatar did, ironically a horrible film when seen without the 3D. Titantic is one of those films that had the 3D process added after the fact like most films, but in this case – the man who did it was the man who essentially created the modern process of 3D, so it’s in good hands. Apparently, it really worked this time. Cameron applied the 3D touches like a fine artist, adding it where it could really show the crazy scale of what was happening, muting it where it wasn’t needed – the end result- making a great movie even better.

That being said, it’s worth seeing this movie in theaters, even if you don’t see the 3D version, it’s a classic that’s worth seeing on the big screen.

Wrath of Titans

The sequel to 2010’s mega-hit Clash of the Titans finally hits theaters, but this time without any of the baggage that saddled the initial installment which was trying too hard to be the second BIG HIT 3D movie out of the gate after Avatar, instead of realizing that it was more than ok just being a great popcorn flick to pass the afternoon with.

After the craziness of the battle with the Kraken, Perseus just wants to relax and take care of his kid. Unfortunately, being a demigod son of Zeus just does not let you do that, you know something will pop up eventually. Seems like the Gods are losing control of the imprisoned Titans, and turnaround is fair play as the Titans end up overpowering the remaining Gods. Dare we say, there is battle!

It’s great and campy fun, battles between the Gods galore, it’s great popcorn flare that won’t disappoint! Well worth going to the theaters to enjoy!

Mirror Mirror

The classic story of Snow White gets retold by director Tarsem Singh, who previously directed such movies as Immortals and The Cell. The Evil Queen rules over her captured Kingdom, forcing Snow White and several courageous dwarves to fight together to reclaim her birthright and to win her Prince. As expected, it’s visually stunning in much the same way that Tim Burton imbues his films. it’s weird and twisted and funny. Both Julia Roberts as the Evil Queen and Armie hammer as the Prince – eat up the scenery, hamming it up and stealing the show. Phil Collins daughter Lily does a great job as Snow White and a great cast of “little people” bring the seven dwarfs to life.

Bully

A documentary about the issue of bullying, a crisis of epic proportions across the nation. This movie follows the lives of 5 kids and families affected by bullying over a year, including the families of 2 kids who committed suicide because they couldn’t deal with the bullying that was a normal, everyday part of their lives. It’s an in-your-face film that can’t help but shock you. You won’t be able to leave this film without feeling rage at the stupidity of it all, and fight for the change that the film preaches. It’s an important film that should be required viewing.

Goon

Doug Glatt (played by American Pie’s Sean William Scott) gets signed on to play for a minor hockey league team. He lacks any hockey skills or ability to skate, what he is good at is fighting, he can kick the crap out of a guy no problem, which is why they signed him on. Doug is the team enforcer, the guy who is tasked with intimidating and fighting members of the other team who might otherwise take cheap shots and hurt his teammates. He’s the guy you slap the uniform on when you need protection. Based loosely on the autobiography of hockey enforcer Doug Smith, it’s a great rags to riches story of a guy who is a star only when he uses his fists. If you’re a fan of the classic Paul Newman film Slaps Sot, you’ll love this movie!

Based on an extremely popular young adult’s book, one that fans obsess over and promoted in association with the last Twilight release, you’d be forgiven for thinking this is another hot mess like Twilight is – crap masquerading as entertainment pandering to teen girl fantasies of sparkly vampires that take them away from everything bad in their lives. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth.

North America has gone through some disaster and re-emerged as the nation of Panem. The Capital of the nation is surrounded by 12 districts, each full of citizens struggling to survive day by day. Each year, each district has 2 of it’s children (aged 12-18 years of age) chosen to compete in the Hunger Games in the Capitol. The prize for the winner, prestige for them and their family, extra food for the people in their districts. For the loser, death. Only one person can survive the Hunger Games – it’s a fight to the death. Children against children till only one is left standing.

Now, does this sound like sparkly vampires crying tears of blood to you?

This is a kick-ass movie that will blow away everything else at the theaters. It’s a mix of Running Man, Battle Royale and bits of Romeo & Juliet for fun. The cast is amazing, and Jennifer Lawrence proves that early reviews praising her in Winter’s Bone were not a fluke. It’s action packed, fun and over the top. Highly recommended! While you’re at it, pick up the book by Suzanne Collins also, you’ll love it!

The Raid: Redemption

If we believe Roger Ebert, this film will blow away HUNGER GAMES this weekend, it’s supposed to be that good. While I doubt that happens in North America, no doubt that elsewhere (internationally, such as in Asia and Indonesia – where it was made) it’ll do crazy good. Either way, it won’t take away from this film that’s supposed to be one of the greatest action movies of the last 20 years. It’s been compared to the films of John Woo, The Matrix, The Dark Knight and a few other classics in that it makes violence almost an art form, something to be appreciated.

A SWAT team gets trapped in a 15-story apartment block while trying to bring down a ruthless gangster, Now that same gangster offers lifelong sanctuary to every other punk in the building in exchange for the heads of the SWAT team members. They must fight their way out to survive.

So, when you don’t get into The Hunger Games this weekend because it’s sold out, see this!

Casa de mi padre

Telenovelas are essentially Spanish soap operas, the difference being that they eventually come to an ending, usually after an extended run typically lasting less than a year. Like soap operas, they tend to be over-dramatic and a bit “cheezy”. In Casa de mi padre, Will Ferrell decided to do a homage to telenovelas much the same way that Scary Movie was a homage to slasher and horror movies.

Ferrell plays Armando Alvarez, a man who must save his father’s ranch from a powerful druglord.

It should be mentioned that the film is ENTIRELY IN SPANISH, Ferrell learned the language as best he could in the weeks leading up to filming. Of course, there’s subtitles. The film was made in 24 days for a cost of only six million dollar (what they spend on lunches for a normal movie) with another eight million dollars on advertising and PR.

Does it work? Not really. It’s essentially an 8-minute Saturday Night Live sketch stretched out to 84 minutes, it gets tiresome after about 10 minutes. There’s not much to it. That being said, expect many more movies like this to come out. There’s no way that this movie can’t make money. At the TOTAL cost of fourteen million dollars, including promotion, it’ll make it’s money back opening weekend no problem. When you add on DVD/blu-ray sales and international box-office, it’ll end up being one of the most successful movies of the year. Studios much rather put out 50 movies like this a year than one movie like John Carter, for the same money spent – they have MUCH much less risk and a much higher return on investment. For this movie, we won’t even mention how it taps into the growing Spanish market in the US, that will make it do huge!

21 Jump Street

Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum star in this remake of the popular 80’s TV show 21 Jump Street that brought Johnny Depp to national attention. Like most TV-to-movie adaptions, they’ve decided to do this as an action-comedy rather than as a straight cop-drama like the original show was. Usually with these type of adaptions it’s hit or miss, and rather than being homages to what made the original series work, they’re just making fun of them. Hill and Tatum play 2 youthful looking cops who become members of the secret Jump Street unit. As part of the unit, they both go undercover in a local high school posing as students, trying to investigate a dangerous drug ring. Going back to high school is a much different experience than they expected and hilarity ensues.

It sounds like a ridiculous concept, and early trailers promoting this movie did not make it look great, but apparently the movie is great fun. Channing and Tatum are a great comedic team and will keep you laughing throughout the movie. The decision to make this into a comedy, actually ends up being an inspired choice. More than just being a dumb remake about an old TV show, it’s about “what if” you were forced to confront the same issues you did when you were younger, but faced with the knowledge that you have now.

So not only does this movie work, but it’s damn funny as well!

Jeff, Who Lives at Home

Brought to you by the Duplass Brothers, the guys who did both Cyrus and Greenberg, comes this story of a guy who’s a bit of a loser who still lives at home, despite the fact that he’s way too old. jeff, played by Jason Segel (of How I Met Your Mother fame) spends most of his days playing with himself or getting stoned (or both). His brother, played by Ed Helms (of The Office fame) thinks that his wife is cheating on him. Not much happens during the film. Jeff shops for glue. His brother ends up stalking his wife to see if anyone is doing anything with her that they shouldn’t. It’s amusing, but not over the top, kind of like a depressing Woody Allen film. If you’re into that kind of thing you’ll love it, but otherwise, don’t bother.

John Carter

Disney brings Edgar Rice Burroughs’ John Carter to theaters. Based on the 100 year old serial adventure created by the guy who created Tarzan, Lord of the Apes – it concerns the story of a Confederate Captain during the Civil War who appears to all of a sudden die – and then is instantly and mysteriously transported to Mars (who the “martians” call Barsoom). Carter gets tossed amidst the conflicts of the dying planet. On Mars.. Barsoom, due to the lesser gravity, John Carter is a relative Superman – much stronger and able to jump great distances. On Barsoom, John Carter becomes the warrior he was born to be as he struggles to save his adopted home.

If there is a problem, it’s that it looks like a cross between (what they did with) Prince of Persia and Gladiator, and not distinctive in and of itself. For a movie based on a 100 year old story, it seems very derivative of recent movies.

That being said, it’s undeniably fun, it’s a popcorn film. Is it a start of a big franchise that will spawn more films? hard to say at this point, but the expectations are very high for a movie that cost $250 million. To have more films, it has to do crazy big! Is it worth seeing? Definitely!

A Thousand Words

We were all excited how Tower Heist seemed to bring back the old Eddie Murphy that we loved in such films as 24 Hours and Beverly Hills Cop, a more edgier and cutting edge comic that seemed to die when he took over Bill Cosby’s movie career. Well, that guy is gone again and Bill Cosby Murphy is back. Eddie “stars” in a movie about a fast-talking literary agent who gets cursed so that he’ll die as soon as he’s spoken 1000 more words. What’s he do? he has to find new ways to communicate or he’s a goner. Hilarity ensues – or it’s supposed to. Whoever green-lit a project where a star like Murphy, who’s known for his verbal wit, says absolutely nothing for a full movie – should be put out of his misery. What a DUMB idea. Why not go to a hockey game where the players can’t play hockey? Maybe a bad example – you can do that in Toronto any time the Leafs play, but I digress.

It’s badly written, too obvious and just not funny. Avoid.

Silent House

Elizabeth Olsen, the younger sister of the Olsen twins, stars in this horror thriller as a young woman who finds herself sealed in her family’s secluded lake house. She has no contact to the outside world, no way out and the terror builds up to crazy screaming moments that will shake you up. Olsen is the new horror scream queen and much has been said about her performance making her one to watch out for. It’s chilling!

The Lorax

Brought to you from the same fine folks who brought you Despicable Me, comes the 3D animated and musical version of Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, and opening on the anniversary of his birthday on top of it. This is an adaption of the classic Dr. Seuss tale about Ted (voiced by Zac Efron), a young man immersed in a fake, plastic and treeless city – one where nothing grows or is truly alive. He goes on a search to find a real, live tree for his childhood crush Audrey (voiced by Taylor Swift), the girl who’s been in love with since he was a wee lad. He goes on this search, a quest worthy of any Knight (or Hobbit for that matter) to find this miraculous gift from Mother Nature, and bangs into a furry orange creature called The Lorax (voiced by the uber-talented Danny DeVito), who helps him towards his goal of finding the tree for his one true love.

The movie is animated, which works as a plus, because the crazy, beautiful weirdness that dominates much of The Lorax would almost look distracting in live-action. Doing it animated, in CGI and 3D, creates a world where we can accept this reality and rejoice in it. Weirdly and wonderfully, it has a great message about the environment and what we have to do or lose everything. It’s a great kid’s film that will delight kids without making their parents suffer, in fact a lot of moms and dads will probably have a great time along with their kids.

Project X

They’ve been pushing this film as something mysterious and crazy, but essentially it’s just a “house party gone bad” film – which we’ve seen before maybe a million times, it’s the same old dog dressed in a brand new dress. You either love this kind of film or hate it, there’s no in-betweens. Definitely not a family film, but if you’re a teen looking for crazy, stupid nonsense to laugh at – you’ll love this movie! So, definitely not great art, but if you like this type of film – you’ll have a great time. Park your brain at the door and have fun!

This Is Not A Film

Jafar Panahi is an Iranian filmmaker, who’s important and influential in Iranian cinema. On December 20, 2010 he was handed a six-year jail sentence and 20 year ban on making movies, directing movies, writing screenplays, doing any interviews or leaving Iran. What did he do? He supported Iran’s opposition movement. How’d he do this? He gathered with other mourners near the grave of Neda Agha-Soltan, a woman who was killed during the 2009 Iranian election protests. His crime – mourning a victim. His punishment – essentially being banished and losing any voice that he once had.

While he was appealing his 20 year sentence, he documented his imprisonment and every day reality with the aid of an iPhone. This accounting of his life, this expression of what he was going through – was smuggled out of Iran and into France for submission into the Cannes Film Festival, so others could finally hear his voice despite it being unfairly quieted.

This is definitely art, and an expression of defiance that should be paid attention to. Even with the minimal of tools, he shows that the power of one voice can convey it’s message to many if it has to. Definitely, a must see.

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance

First, let’s deal with the elephant in the room – wasn’t the first Ghost Rider movie a critical and box-office failure? It’s true that the first Ghost Rider movie wasn’t a critical success, BUT… apparently at the end of the day – it made some money when you took international box office, merchandising and video sales into consideration. Add to that the fact that Nicolas Cage is a HUGE comic book fan himself (at one point he was signed on to play Superman based on a script by Kevin Smith, a project that was later kiboshed), the fact that Ghost Rider is visually a really cool looking character and the fact that Cage needs the money these days – and a new Ghost Rider movie coming out is a sure-thing!

That being said, this film seems a bit different from the first one – it seems like it has more of an edge. Not only is Ghost Rider more a spirit of vengeance as the devil’s bounty hunter, he seems more monster than super-hero, he’s scary as hell, a demon himself. They’ve changed how he looks visually, especially the “skull” part where it now seems more real and as if a human skull was literally burning to the point where it’s ash-covered. They’ve also brought the guys who made the CRANK movies so cool to direct the film, if you’ve seen the commercials you can already see that the movie will be action-packed insanity.

It has the potential to be awesome fun, I’ll be there to check it out. Hope to see you there at the theatre!

This Means War

Is it a romantic comedy? Is it a spy thriller? Seems like it’s both. Chris Pine (who wowed us as Kirk in the Star Trek reboot) and Tom Hardy (amazing in the recent movie Warrior and is playing Bat-villian Bane in this summer’s The Dark Knight Rises) are deadly CIA operatives who work as a team. Everything goes great for them until they fall for the same woman played by Reese Witherspoon, and then their only enemy is each other, they both use their incredible spy kills to one-up the other in order to land the girl for themselves.

Like anytime something tries to be something for everyone, you usually end up with less than the sum of it’s parts. What could have been a fun romantic comedy is squashed by what could have been a great spy thriller.. and vice versa. In doing a mash-up of 2 very different things, sometimes you get something very cool, usually you get something like a watered down version of both, which in this case is what I’d expect. And let’s be honest, both of these studs are competing for Reese Witherspoon – and both are prettier than her.

Meowwwwwwww! Hissssss! Hisssssssssssssssssssssssss!

The Secret World of Arrietty

Disney is releasing another great animated movie from the Studio Ghibli, the studio from Japan who brought you such classics as Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Howl’s Moving Castle and Ponyo. The animation is beautiful and like a dreamscape – and decidely old-school rather than CGI like the current run of films playing. And unlike most American cartoons, the story is incredibly well-written and imaginative.

It concerns some little people, who live a secret live under the floorboards. Occasionally they venture beyond their home to “borrow” some supplies from their human hosts, such as a small scrap of food. A young boy discovers them, and everything may change. It’s based on Mary Norton’s much-beloved book series The Borrowers.

Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (in 3D)

To paraphrase the great Cheech & Chong, if it looks like dog crap, feels like dog crap, smells like dog crap and tastes like dog crap, then it must be dog crap – thank God we didn’t step in it. In the case of Phantom Menace – easily the worst movie of the Star Wars franchise and a bad start to the second trilogy of films that acted as prequels to the first trilogy – we know the movie is crap, why would we bother to see it again, even if they retrofit it with “after the fact” 3D in the hopes of disguising the smell of dog crap? This is nothing more than George Lucas going back and trying to squeeze a few more bucks out of the franchise, don’t fall for it. Avoid like the plague.

SAFE HOUSE

A fun spy thriller along the lines of the Bourne movies starring Denzel Washington as a dangerous renegade CIA agent on the run, who comes back to the grid after spending years on the run. When the CIA safe house they keep him in is attacked, a young CIA operative (played by Ryan Reynolds) escapes with him and they try to stay alive. It’s pretty formulaic, it is what it is, but it’s a lot of fun nonetheless. Like most spy movies, there’s a twist that isn’t too much of a surprise if you have any common sense. Still, if you like stuff like the Bourne movies, no doubt you’ll have fun with this as well.

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island

A follow up to 2008’s Journey to the Center of the Earth, but this time instead of Brendan Fraser it stars Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson along with Vanessa Hudgens and the great Michael Caine. Josh Hutcherson from the first movie as Sean Anderson, who receives a coded distress signal, only to discover that it’s from a mysterious island where no island should exist. This island has strange creatures, mountains of gold and more secrets than can be dealt with. Sean goes along with his stepfather (played by “The Rock”), a helicopter pilot and his daughter to find the one inhabitant of this island (played by Michael Caine) before the island sinks into the sea forever and all it’s secrets are lost. This is great fun for the whole family to enjoy.

The Woman in Black

Daniel Radcliffe starts off his post-Harry Potter career in The Woman in Black, a movie in which he plays a young lawyer who travels to a remote village, only to discover that the ghost of a scorned woman is terrorizing the locals. It’s a very old-fashioned, gothic looking horror story, the type of movies that Hammer Films used to make with Christopher Lee (but less cheesy). It has quite a few good scares, but it’s nothing that you haven’t seen before.

Chronicle

It’s the superhero movie re-invented. If some teenage kids got super-powers, would they use it to fight cream and beat-up criminals? More likely they’d use it to goof around and impress girls. As they learn their powers, things start to go bad and spin out of control. Things get dark fast. It’s one of those “found footage” films like The Blair Witch Project, Apollo 18 or Paranormal Activity. For a relatively low-budget movie, they did an impressive job – helped out by a very talented young cast and good writing. My prediction is that this movie will achieve cult status.

Big Miracle

These whales are in trouble! Let’s help them out! Wow, I really identify with those whales, I love those whales. Let’s make sure we help them. Hey, I love you! Hey, I love you too! The end.

Liam Neeson stars in The Grey, the story of a bunch of oil-rig roughnecks whose plane crashes into the remote Alaskan Wilderness. Not only must they deal with their injuries and nightmarish weather, but they must struggle to escape and find safety – while they’re dealing with a pack of crazed wolves hunting them down. It’s a fight for their lives from beginning to end. It’s ALIVE (where those soccer players’ plane crashed into the Andes) without the cannibalism but with a savage struggle against crazed hungry wolves. What would you do to survive? Critics seem mixed about this film, saying it’s a bit cliché at times, but watching a struggle of man versus nature is always exciting to watch, especially with a talent like Neeson.

Sam Worthington stars as an ex-cop and wanted fugitive who stands on the edge of a high rise building while a police department negotiator (played by Elizabeth Banks) tries to talk him down. They’re essentially stretching out a scene that would have lasted 2 minutes in the latest Mission Impossible movie into 90 minutes. I’m not sure about you, but in real life if I see a guy standing on a ledge, if he doesn’t jump, chances are I’m leaving 10 minutes into it (yes, I’m cruel, go figure), but to sit down for 90 minutes watching it – no thanks, I’m gone.

Katherine Heigl stars in the “big movie adaption” of the series of books by Janet Evanovich about a Jersey girl who decides to work for her sleazy cousin as a “recovery agent” for a bail bondsman. Think Dog the Bounty Hunter with a really hot chick. Before seeing this movie you need to consider 2 things:

1) the studio didn’t screen the movie in advance for preview. This is NEVER a good sign. They want people going to theatres this weekend without hearing anything from the critics, before they hear what a mess it is.
2) Katherine Heigl made an announcement that she was hoping that she could make a return visit to play her character Izzie. First, she was trying to get some PR out of that to pimp her movie. Second, her film career has not done as great as she hoped it would. There’s no arguing that she’s beautiful, that’s a given, but most of her appeal is based on her looks, not acting ability or lack thereof. As Ms. Heigl gets older, she’s going to have problems landing projects. She thought Grey’s Anatomy would crash & burn after she left, it’s actually doing better, it’s doubtful that they’d even consider bringing her back- she left in a bad way and was a known diva. They don’t even mention her character’s name anymore.

Underworld Awakening

Kate Beckinsdale returns to the franchise that made her a superstar, having been in the first two but missing the last one. This time around, Beckinsdale as the vampire warrior Selene, returns after escaping imprisonment. She is faced with a world where the humans have discovered the existence of both the Vampire and Lycan clans, and are in the process of trying to kill them all. All in all, it’s not bad, but it doesn’t seem to strive to be much better than what we’ve seen up to now. It’s not much more than a bloody war. Of course, if you’re an Underworld fan, chances are you’ll enjoy this one as much as you did the others.

It looks a lot like Angelina Jolie’s recent thriller SALT, except instead of Jolie it stars Mixed Martial Arts superstar Gina Carano. Carano plays a government operative who gets put on the difficult and dangerous assignments. After one mission, she is betrayed and left for dead by someone in her agency. Suddenly she’s the target of assassins, and she must find the truth to stay alive.. and get revenge.

Carano’s acting is a bit wooden at times, but she shows a lot of potential for becoming a big name action star in her debut. She definitely can pull off the action, and amazingly she does a lot of her own stunts, it’s impressive. Doesn’t hurt that she’s directed by Steven Soderberg, or that her co-stars include Michael Fassbender, Ewan McGregor, Bill Paxton, Channing tatum, Antonio Banderas and Michael Douglas. Yes, it’s definitely a B-film, but a pretty damn good B-film, well worth your time seeing.

Tom Hanks plays a father who dies in the World trade Center in 9/11. He leaves behind his wife (played by Sandra Bullock) and son (played by Thomas Horn). The father leaves his son a mysterious key, which leads to somewhere in the city where he’s left him a final message. through this journey to find this message, the boy comes to an understanding of the world around him and the people in his life, including his dad who’s now gone.

It’s definitely over-sentimental. It’s a film that’s almost annoying in the way it’s tears for your heartstrings, it’s predictable and doesn’t challenge you. When you know exactly what a film is going to do, even before you see it – you’ve just wasted 2 hours of your life when you do. Tom Hanks has gone from being an actor who took real risks to say something meaningful, to a guy who just wants people to feel good while watching his movies (am I bitter for losing two hours of my life to Larry Crowne you think?). Yeah, it’ll probably make you cry, but so does cutting onions – and they have more taste!

George Lucas so wanted to bring his version of the story of the Tuskegee airmen, a group of African-American pilots during World War 2, that he financed the film himself. The plane and fighting sequences are awesome, as good as any of the ones seen in the Deathstar sequence in Star Wars, but ionce the film goes beyond that – the film just isn’t that great, which is a shame because it’s a story that deserved much better. Lucas claimed that the studios wouldn’t back his film because it featured a mostly black cast, but the sad truth is that it’s because it was just a mediocre film at best. Such a shame.

What can you say about a movie about Gospel music without one mention of the classic “Oh, Happy Day”? It’s a film about a Gospel choir led by 2 directors in the form of Rose Hill (Queen Latifah) and G.G. Sparrow (Dolly Parton), both have very different views on how the choir should go about their business, a much different way of doing things. G.G’s grandson Randy has an ear for music but also an ear for Rose’s daughter (predictable, but to the movie’s credit, it doesn’t make issue of the fact that it’s an interracial relationship, it just accepts it like it should be accepted – this might be a “Disney” view of the world, but it’d be a nice world to be in wouldn’t it?). Essentially this movie is GLEE for devout Christian teens, and when going to a movie who do teens love to see more than Dolly Parton and Queen Latifah? The movie is charming and fun in it’s own way, and you can’t help but have a smile on your face from the music alone, but there’s not much else going for this movie, aside from being harmless fluff that will pass the time.

What’s to say about this film, it’s a heist film starring “Marky Mark” Wahlberg, it’s essentially Ocean’s 11 without the “coolness” and “class” that film had in spades. It’s pretty standard as these type of films are, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not entertaining. Friends who saw advanced screenings have said it was a lot of fun, that it’s a great “popcorn” film. And, at the very least, it’s not THE HAPPENING, so you’re safe this time.

As usual, the 3D “upgrading” to the movie doesn’t change at all anything about the movie at all – it’s still the same movie that charmed us 20 years ago with it’s fairy tale romance, it’s great musical moments and it’s classic story of redemption, of love and friendship and how we need to look at what’s inside a person rather than what’s outside. If you’re seeing it for the 3D, don’t bother, if you’re out to see something that will delight the kid s in all of us, then rush to enjoy this masterpiece on the big screen as it should be.

Ely Vaugn, played by Dennis Quaid, has been revered as the hero of the small town he grew up in ever since his days being a star quarterback back in high school. In the last 2 years since his wife died, he’s become a little withdrawn, a little strange. When a bunch of local teens realize that he’s savagely murdered their best friend, they aim to expose the psychopathic killer that he is.. and hopefully keep from becoming his next victim.

Quaid does his best to channel Jack Nicholson’s craziness but mostly fails. It’s a rip-off of several “killer” films including Psycho, Vertigo, I Know What You Did Last Summer & Halloween, just not as good. The movie is just a bit too hammy, and not in an “aware” way that you could appreciate.

It’s essentially THE EXORCIST, but about what would happen 20 years later. A woman in Italy calls the police telling them that she’s responsible for 3 people dying. She claims that she was demonically possessed and they died trying to cast off her demons, but of course the police just lock her up in the Hospital for the Criminally Insane and try to throw the key away. Her daughter tries to find out whether or not her mom is just insane, or if she’s really demonically possessed, and brings along some exorcists to help cure her mother just in case. They find out that not only was her mother possessed by a demon, but 4 demons. While a lot of people have been possessed, few have been taken over by so many.

This movie sounds like a lot of fun, the concept is intriguing.. but the fact that few exorcism films ever match the classic original and suffer because of it is a root for worrying that it may not be so great, as is the fact that the movie is coming out this Friday and as of today (Thursday) hasn’t been officially reviewed yet – which is NEVER a good sign.

The story of one of the 20th Century’s most famous and influential women. No, it’s not about Oprah!!! The story focuses on Margaret Thatcher, who became the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, a woman much tougher than most of the men that surrounded her. Meryll Streep yet again puts in a virtuoso performance as the Iron Lady, but that’s to be expected from her, she could act out the telephone book and make it seem interesting. Besides Meryl being amazing in delivering her living portrait of Thatcher, the film is actually kind of boring and not something to rush out for.

Set during World War I in Europe, this movie focuses on a young man named Albert who tames and trains a horse named Joey, and the relationship that develops between the two of them. They get separated and the horse goes on his own journey that impacts the lives of several others including the British Cavalry, German soldiers and a French father and his daughter. Is it a horse film? Is it a film about war? Is there absolutely no way that I would pay good money to see a schmaltzy film like this that probably will only delight 10 year old girls into Black Beauty? It’s essentially Lassie with a horse, but set during World War I. If you’re a 10 year old girl, buy your ticket now!! Otherwise, why bother?

David Fincher of Se7en and Fight Club fame adapts the first novel in the bestselling Millennium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson. It should be pointed out that the Swedish version of this movie only came out 2 years ago and was excellent, but if anyone was to do an American adaption then Fincher is the man. It’s a very dark exploration into a killer of women and the search to find out what’s happened. Rooney Mara, who we saw in The Social Network, is completely transformed into the character of Lisbeth Salander, just as Noomi Rapace was in the Swedish version. Like Noomi Rapace, Rooney Mara becomes a star through this role, she’s incredible. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross have created a brilliant soundtrack, that is as much a character in the film as anyone else. It’s a riveting, dark thriller full of sex and violence, and not for the faint of heart. You can’t be blamed if you bring a night light into the theatre just to feel a bit safer. Highly recommended!

Directed by Steven Spielberg and produced by Peter Jackson (of Lord of the Rings), this is an animated adaption of the popular comic character Tintin (for more details on who Tintin is, check our Beginner’s Guide To Tintin). Tintin is essentially Indiana Jones for kids, which makes Spielberg’s involvement a major plus.

Rather than do it live-action, this film is done using the motion capture technique that you may remember from movies such as The Polar Express. Personally, I find the look of photo-realistic animation a bit creepy as do some others, but what I’ve seen of the film looks like they did a pretty good job translating the cartoon into something worthy of a big-budget movie. Like most Tintin books, it’s a non-stop rollicking adventure fulls of thrills and laughs to the point of where it’s almost hyperactive. Like Indiana Jones, it has an old-school cliffhanger movie feel and will certainly delight both kids and adults. Like any adaption, there was a lot of potential to screw up, but this time that risk produced a very entertaining movie that will delight everybody who takes a seat in a darkened theatre to see it.

Cameron Crowe, the director of Jerry Maguire, Almost Famous, and Fast Times At Ridgemont High – is back! He paid his penance for making the AWFUL Vanilla Sky, a movie I only watched to impress a girl who told me she loved that movie, and after I watched it I realized that I couldn’t date her for no other reason than she liked that film, so obviously he has a lot to make up for. This time he’s writing and directing a movie based on the true story that Benjamin Bree wrote about in his memoir We Bought a Zoo: The Amazing True Story of a Young Family, a Broken Down Zoo, and the 200 Wild Animals That Change Their Lives Forever. Obviously with a title like that, you know EVERYTHING that the movie is about, no need to read the back cover, it’s the true story about a single dad who decided that his family needs a fresh start and the way to do that is to move him and his 2 kids into… a zoo. Wacky adventures of course ensue. Matt Damon stars as the single dad, Scarlett Johansson obviously stars as the girl he meets in the zoo and falls in love with, guess she loves the tough roles eh?

It’s a family friendly film that’s sweet and very charming. Sure, it’s not great art, but sometimes sweet and charming helps soothe our souls.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

Guy Ritchie’s first try at Sherlock Holmes, along with Robert Downey Jr. in the title role aided by Jude Law as his sidekick Watson was not only a lot of fun, but exteremly successful. It didn’t take a genius of Sherlock Holmes intellect to guess that a sequel would be coming soon.. and here it is in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. This time British actor Jared Harris is along for the ride to star in the famous role of Professor Moriarty – Holmes’ brilliant, criminal nemesis. It’s definitely not for purists, but it’s rollicking fun that a lot of people are saying is better than the original.

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

With the last Mission Impossible film, despite JJ Abrams being involved – it was starting to get stale. Adding Brad Bird (of The Incredibles) to the mix as director seems to have been the thing needed to renew the franchise. Turning up the action to “11″ and turning it into what most critics are calling the best action-thriller of the year, the ultimate popcorn thriller, with a great cast including Jeremy (Hurt Locker) Renner and Simon (Shaun of the Dead) Pegg, and that’s not even including Cruise who proves without a doubt that he’s a movie star with this film.

It’s an intense and gritty movie that you have to see!

Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked

Jason Lee wonders what happened to his career.

Once again, Hollywood thinks that the best way to do cartoon characters is to mix digital representations of the characters with real-life actors. Once again, it doesn’t work at all and is just creepy. Sure, the same type of process worked 20 years ago for Roger Rabbit, but the whole point of that was the weirdness created when you mixed the 2 mediums together at the same time. Once again, Hollywood just doesn’t get it. And again, Hollywood decided once more to dust off Alvin & The Chipmunks which was nothing more than a novelty act in the 50’s and attempt to modernize it by having them sing Lady Gaga songs in high-pitched voices instead. Along for the ride again is Jason Lee, who obviously needs a better agent for getting him into this mess – as well as comedian David Cross who has officially lost his coolness cred for taking the money for this project.

If you’re under 6 years old, you’ll probably love this and beg your parents to bring you to see this. If you’re not 6, you’re probably the parent who’s kid will drag you to this mess and if you’re lucky will fall asleep 5 minutes into the film so you don’t have to suffer the pain of watching this dreck.

It’s an adaption of John LeCarre’s classic Cold War espionage novel. The last time it was done, it was an adaption done for the BBC, done as a mini-series and starring Sir Alec Guiness (the original Ben Kenobi from Star Wars, for those of you with no classic reference). It’s not Good Guys vs. Bad Guys like a James Bond film, it’s more shades of grey and more a dance between good and evil than anything else. Disgraced spy George Smiley is hired back secretly by his government in order to root out a possible Soviet double agent that may be hiding within their MI-6 division. If you enjoy thinks like The Spy Who Came in From The Cold, you’ll love this. While it’s been out in the UK since September and getting rave reviews and drawing crowds, we’re only getting it now. Gary Oldman starring as George Smiley is reason enough to see this film, the fact that talents such as Colin Firth, Tom Hardy and Mark Strong are also involved – means that you should rush out right now to see it.

Gary Marshall, the man behind TV classics such as Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley, as well as movies like Pretty Woman, Beaches and Valentine’s Day now brings us New Year’s Eve – the second in his series of Holiday Huge Ensemble films that he started with Valentine’s Day. Here’s the formula, grab a roomful of actors with a bit of spare time on their hands and split them amongst 20 mini-stories that we’ll forget as soon as we finish seeing the movie. They used to use this same formula for disaster epics such as Poseidon Adventure, as well as almost any Robert Altman film – now we do this with Holiday-themed romantic comedies. Selling themselves out for a few bucks this time is Halle Berry, Jessica Biel. jon Bon Jovi, Abigail Breslin, Josh Duhamel, Hector Elizondo, Katherine Heigl, Seth Meyers, Ashton Kutchner, Sarah Jessica Parker, Sofia Vergara, Ludacris, Zac Efron, Alyssa Milano, Leah Michelle, Sienne Miller, Ryan Seacrest and Carla Gugino. Academy Award winners such as Michelle Pheiffer (who we thought had dissapeared we hadn’t seen her for so long, and she comes back with this), Halle Berry and Robert De Niro – who continues his downward spiral – also appear. It’s essentially Love, Actually or Valentine’s Day in Christmas drag, and while chances are you’ll forget most of the 20 or so plot-lines that you see over the stretch of 2 hours, that it’s just harmless pap that will make a couple of hundred million dollars regardless of what the critics say. It’s not great art, but you’ll probably end up seeing it with your girlfriend anyways.

An irresponsible babysitter played by Jonah Hill is hired to take care of 3 of the worst kids ever to be babysat, and we watch as they have one crazy night in NYC. We saw this before in 1987 with Elizabeth Shues in Adventures in Babysitting, that was a great movie, this unfortunately from the few reviews it’s had – is not. The fact that it hasn’t been reviewed nationwide as of yet, and will probably be seen by critics on a Thursday night when it’s too late to do reviews before the weekend, is a sign that it’s a diseaster. Too bad, the trailer was pretty funny.

Shame is a movie about addiction, sex addiction. Michael Fassbender who wowed us as Magneto in X-Men:First Class plays Brandon, a New York guy who loves sex but hates intimacy, he spends the movie mostly completely naked, full frontal and all, going from one sexual encounter to another. Carey Mulligan stars as his sister Sissy who moves into his apartment when she needs a place to stay. Bad memories of their shared past resurface. It’s more a movie about the darkness of addiction rather than sex, it’s a movie that’s earned it’s NC-17 rating. While a brilliant movie, it’s not really sexy, it’s sad and painful and hard to watch at times. It’s a film about misery. Fassbender proves that the promise that we saw in him in X-Men:First Class would be proven one day, and this is the film that showcases the breadth of his talent, and may be one of the best performances of the year.

This is another one of those movies , like Paul Haggis’ Crash, where a huge ensemble is put together, and we look in on their lives as they interconnect in different ways, showing us that sometimes the sum of our actions are greater than the parts – that as a human being we’re part of something bigger. Unfortunately, this time that huge ensemble cast includes Dane Cook and the connections in this film feel a bit forced. Crash was awesome, this not so much. The name Answers To Nothing pretty much sums up everything you’ll walk away from this film with.

Yes, The Muppets are back.. finally. Sadly, The Muppets franchise has not really done anything spectacular since Muppet’s creator Jim Henson passed away in 1990. That’s not to say that people who’ve worked on it since his passing haven’t done good work – it’s just that something was missing, no one was really sure what. With this new movie, that magic is back, and it’s mostly because of Jason Segel’s involvement. You’ve seen Segel before in tv classic Freaks & Geeks, Knocked Up, Bad Teacher and CBS show How I Met Your Mother, but it was his involvement in Forgetting Sarah Marshall which he co-starred and co-wrote that showed that he really had the talent and passion needed to be involved in a project like The Muppets. It didn’t hurt that on top of showcasing his comedic skills, as well as writing ability, that it also put on his display his love and passion for puppetry. It was like he was submitting a resume for the Muppets job. It helped that he was a hardcore Muppets fan, who actually grew up loving The Muppets himself. That’s what’s been missing, someone who was as talented and in love with The Muppets as Jim Henson was, they have that in Jason Segel, who was signed on to co-star (along with the beautiful Amy Adams), as well as co-write the script and music in the new Muppets movie. It’s both a great homage to what made the Muppets great, as well as rebooting them for a generation of kids who never heard of them before. It’s a great comeback for something that we thought was gone forever, that will transport adults back to the childhoods at the same time that it makes your kids laugh in their seats.

See it if for no other reason, than it’s 2 hours that you won’t have to see Twilight!

Martin Scorcese adapts Brian Selznick’s bestselling book The Invention of Hugo Cabret in Hugo – a story about a young boy left alone in 1930’s Paris after his father dies, where he lives in the secret compartment of a train station where he takes over the duties of his drunken uncle who maintains the huge clocks in the station. Hugo and his best friend Isabelle (played by Chloe Grace Morentz who wowed us as Hit-Girl in Kick-Ass). This is possibly the only film since Avatar to truly use 3D to help tell the story, it’s impressively used and helps make us feel as if we’re immersed in a fairytale book, it’s that good. It’s pure movie magic that frames Scorcese’s great love for filmmaking.

Marilyn Monroe and famous actor Sir Laurence Olivier worked together to make classic film The Prince and the Showgirl back in 1956. Marilyn had just married famous playwright Arthur Miller (who is most famous for The Crucible and Death of a Salesman, amongst other works) and they were there doing their honeymoon at the same time. A young clerk Colin Clark was working as an assistant on the set. This film focuses on a week during filming, after Arthur Miller left England to return home, where Collin had the pleasure of escorting Marilyn around England trying to get her away from the pressures of working on the film, as well as away from all the hanger-ons that occupied her every moment, this is the story of that one week – that Clark later published as a memoir.

Michelle Williams plays Marilyn Monroe in a way that almost channels the sex goddess, she just captures her, whether it’s the inner Marilyn or the image that we saw on the screen. Williams proves that the promise that we saw her showcase in Blue Valentine was not a one-time thing and a sign that even greater things are to come for her. casting Kenneth Branagh as Olivier was inspired casting to say the very least. With this movie we see Marilyn in a way we’ve never really seen her before, and it only makes us regret her loss veen more. A great film that you should flock to.

George Clooney plays Matt King, a husband and father whose family suffers a tragedy when his wife gets into an accident and goes into a coma. It’s a mix of both comedy and drama as we watch what this family goes through as they deal with the events in their lives. Clooney puts in what some are calling one of his best performances ever, some saying he’s guaranteed an Oscar for what he does in this film, despite being cast completely against type. Alexander Payne, who wowed us with Election and Sideways, again proves us that he may be one of the best director’s of his generation (albeit one of the slowest as well). Definitely a must see. Bring your hankies!

The original Happy Feet was a really fun film that had great animation, was smart, sweet and nuanced, and full of songs and dancing penguins that almost everyone could love. This sequel is pretty much the same, just not as good as the magic that made singing and dancing films so magical in the first one, becomes a bit tired and redundant the second time around. Will the kids care? They’ll probably devour this second portion of Happy Feet with joy, and eagerly await a 3rd film, so it doesn’t matter what we think, no doubt your kids will get a kick out of it!

It really doesn’t matter what I say about this movie. If you’re a fan, you’re definitely going opening weekend and ignoring anything that I say. If you’re not a fan, you’re not even going to bother seeing it or waste your time reading what I’m writing, so why bother. That being said, it stays true to the books and explores the next step in the romance between Edward and Bella as they go through the next stages of their relationship of marriage, consummating their love on their honeymoon, as well as the dangerous birth of their child. Apparently, some consider this the best of the Twilight films, but to the rest of us who roll their eyes when they hear the terms Team Edward or Team Jacob, that’s still not much of a recommendation. For those of you who are going, can you ask my girlfriend to pick up a pizza on the way home from the film because I’m starving!

The Heraklion army led by the brutal and bloodthirsty King Hyperion are taking no prisoners as they ravage across Greece in search of the long lost Bow of Epirius, a weapon that they can use to overthrow the Gods of Olympus, that will allow them to become rulers of the world. Villages fall against their murderous rage in their search. One man, Theseus (played by Henry Cavill, who’s been signed on to play Superman in the rebooted Superman franchise) vows to avenge the death of his mother caused by King Hyperions search for this mythical weapon. An oracle has visions of a man who is the key to stopping King Hyperions’ rampage in search of this weapon, and it happens to be Theseus. He embraces his destiny and organizes his own band of followers to fight this battle against evil.

It’s an incredible looking film and the battles are bloody and spectacular, but the writing isn’t great. That being said, it’s a pretty solid warrior film that lovers of Spartacus: Blood & Sand and 300 will love.

J. Edgar Hoover was the most powerful man in the country when he was the head of the FBI. He made it a habit, a personal pleasure – destroying men for their own secrets, meanwhile he had his own secrets that kept him awake at nights in fears of others finding out. What happens when the man with the most power is not necessarily the best man to have that power. Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Clint Eastwood is sitting in the director’s chair this time, while Leonardo DiCaprio stars as J. Edgar Hoover (usually buried in layers of prosthetic latex). Armie Hammer, who wowed us in The Social Network as the twins, plays Clyde Tolson, Hoover’s assistant and “partner”. Critics say that DiCaprio gives an Oscar worthy performance as J. Edgar Hoover, that this role will be the one to finally get him the award. If there’s any criticism about the film it’s that Clint Eastwood deliberately avoided making a sensationalistic film, which for a character that was as polarizing and dangerous as Hoover was, was probably not the best of decisions. What we’re left with is a movie about a character so unlikable, that it’s not something we want to focus 2.5 hours of our lives on.

What’s worse than having to watch a movie with Adam Sandler in it? Answer: watching Adam Sandler play 2 roles in a movie. What’s worse than that? Answer: if he plays one of the characters is a worn-out typical comedy cliche like a guy playing a woman, in this case his character’s twin sister. Sandler’s character Jack Sadelstein is incredibly happy in his life, he has a great job, great family and great home. Once a year his life goes to HELL, on Thanksgiving when his annoying twin sister – also played by Sandler – visits for the holidays. It’s essentially a 3 minute SNL sketch stretched out to 90 minutes. If you think Sandler is a comedy genius and count the days down till his movies open, then this film is made for you – otherwise, avoid like the Black Plague.

A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas

Harold, NPH & Kumar

Harold & Kumar return for a third outing in the Harold & Kumar franchise. A couple of years have passed and it’s been almost as long since the guys have seen each other. Harold is living the responsible life – good job, pretty wife, nice house. Kumar on the other hand has lost his medical license, split up from his wife and spends most of his waking hours trying to decide whether or not he should get baked or stoned. When they finally come together, they accidentally burn down the prize Christmas tree that Harold’s father-in-law grew just for the occasion, so they must again go on a journey to find the perfect Christmas tree so Harold doesn’t disappoint his wife or in-laws. From there, like every Harold & Kumar movie, it just becomes a huge comedy of errors. Our stoner comedy duo is back, so is NPH – despite dying in the last movie – and reveals a SECRET that you’ll hear nowhere else!

Is it great art? Definitely not, it’s a dumb stoner comedy. That being said, it never promises to be anything but that. It’s fun, you can just park your butt down in your seat and have a good time. And as much as it’s a silly stoner comedy, it’s also a movie about friendship and staying true to who you are, about growing up and yes – it’s about Christmas and what that means to people. And yes, Santa is there – it’s Christmas after all. And did we mention, it’s in 3D! Usually I hate 3D, even though the use of 3D in AVATAR made us forget for a few moments that it was a boring and monotonous rip-off of the Pocahontas legend and would have been completely unbearable otherwise. Here they used it right, they used 3D to do all those dumb, cheesy and ridiculous things that just make the movie more fun – in fact the 3D almost becomes a character in and of itself when used like this. It’s a lot of fun and if you enjoyed the first 2 films (which it has nods to), you’ll will definitely enjoy this.

It’s a comedy ripped from the headlines, a Bernie Madoff-like millionaire (played by Alan Alda) gets caught for swindling millions off his investors. While he’s being investigated, he gets put under house arrest in his luxury Central Park penthouse. When the workers at the luxury condo realize that amongst the money he’s stolen – is their retirement savings – they decide to get revenge on him by stealing it back. They’ll get it back with the ultimate heist. This ensemble film stars Ben Stiller, Matthew Broderick, Casey Affleck and Gabourey Sidibe (from Precious) as the employees seeking revenge. Eddie Murphy is the kid that Ben Stiller’s Josh Kovacs knew as a kid, who became a career criminal who they go to for help.

Think Ocean’s 11, but a little less cool. A lot of people have marked this as a return to form for Eddie Murphy, who is far away from the Bill Cosby type roles he’s played the last few years and more the 48 Hours Eddie Murphy that we’ve been missing for too long. Eddie is great in this film, unfortunately he only appears in the second half of the movie. It’s too soon to say if this is his comeback, but he’s the saving grace for this movie. Heist movies are always fun, so you should check this out at the theaters.

For a long time, academics and historians have speculated on whether or not that William Shakespeare was really the man behind all the work that is credited towards his name. This movie examines this question in this historical re-examination of the legend through the eyes of Roland Emmerich – the man behind such blockbusters as Independence Day, Godzilla 2000 and 2012. Scandal, political intrigue, incest and conspiracy fill this tale of the Bard. It’s definitely not for everybody, but some fun can be had in this Bard-zilla, this Shakespeare as soap-opera! I know I’m looking forward to it.

Puss in Boots was the character that was the most obvious spin-off from the Shrek franchise of movies, so it’s no real surprise that he’s now the star of his own film. Antonio Banderas returns to add life to the character by lending his voice to the part and steals the show AGAIN in the process. It’s really just an old-time swashbuckling adventure as viewed through the eyes of the Shrek universe. Along for the ride are Zach Galifiankis as his sidekick Humpty Dumpty and Salma Hayek as his lady love Kitty Softpaws. If you’re a Shrek fan, there’s no real surprises here, but that’s not a bad thing in this case. It’s a movie that will be as much fun for adults as it is for the kids.

In a dystopian future where to live past 25, you must buy, cheat or steal from others to get to the next day, time is literally money. Justin Timberlake stars along with Amanda Seyfried, Cillian Murphy and Olivia Wilde. It’s a pretty cool concept where Logan’s Run meets Robin Hood, but the end result is a little bit of a mess. Olivia Wilde continues to spread her bad movie curse to yet another film she’s involved with. All in all, it’s not a horrible film, but just not one that you need to rush to the theater for.

Johnny Depp is back for yet another movie based on Hunter S. Thompson’s books (the first one being Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas). This time it concerns his time in Puerto Rico, when the journalist was recruited by a crooked entrepeneur ready to convert the islands into a capitalist Disneyland. Again, Depp dives into the role of the drunken and drug addled journalist. It’s fun, but not that big a step from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas to make it really worth seeing.

The third film in the Paranormal Activity series continues to deliver the same thrills and chills that you found in the first 2 films. This time around, the film is directed by Henry Joost & Ariel Schulman, the guys behind faux documentary Catfish. Their addition seems to have made the film more of a traditional film than the first 2, even though it’s still in the “found film” genre.

Chances are if you enjoyed the first 2 films, you’ll enjoy this one. While not great art, it delivers the scares, and what more can you ask out of a horror movie just in time for Halloween?

Alexander Dumas’ The Three Musketeers gets re-invented again, but this time for people who enjoyed The Pirates of the Caribbean. The desire to imitate the look and feel of that franchise is so strong, that one of it’s mainstays Orlando Bloom has a role in this film as well (though this time he’s a bad guy). Other bad guys include Milla Jovovich, which isn’t too surprising since her husband Paul W.S. Anderson is directing, as well as the excellent Christopher Waltz, who wowed us previously in Inglourious Basterds. The Musketeers themselves on the other hand, mostly unknowns. According to critics, it’s not that great, it’s been done so many times and usually much better. According to friends who saw it at an early preview, while not great art, it’s certainly a fun swashbuckler that you’ll have a good time watching. Ignore the fact that it’s in 3D, that’s no longer a big deal.

Remember when the original Johnny English film came out in 2003 and won Rowan (Mr. Bean) Atkinson universal acclaim, how it sold out in theaters everywhere, how it won a dozen Academy Awards? Remember all these people hoping and praying that they’d follow up with a sequel, cursing that they were waiting so long?

Sadly, neither do we. Didn’t stop them from making this sequel to what was a lackluster spy spoof with a taste of Mr. Bean added for good measure. If you liked the first film, you might enjoy this sequel, but maybe not. If you didn’t see the first film or hated it, may as well avoid this one too.

Footloose

Footloose 2011

Writer/director Craig Brewster who penned the excellent Hustle & Flow movie a couple of year’s back, is the man behind this remake of the early 80’s classic that made Kevin Bacon a star and Kenny Loggins a mainstay on “Top 40″ radio for too many years. Kenny Wormald stars in the Kevin Bacon role and Julianne Hough of Dancing With the Stars fame stars in the girlfriend and daughter of the reverend role that Lori Singer did and Dennis Quaid fills in for John Lithgow as the reverend/authority figure role. It’s pretty much the same story done over but updated with some more current music. A city boy is suddenly transplanted to a small country town and experiences “culture shock” at how different it is. Turns out that this small town had a tragedy several years ago when 5 kids coming back from a night out got killed in a tragic car accident. A grieving town under the watch of the town’s reverend banned loud music and dancing, not wanting anything connected with the tragedy, in order to stop it from ever happening again.

Sure, the dancing is incredible – helped by the fact that the 2 leads both have a career in dance – Julian Hough in DWTS and Kenny Wormald as a back-up dancer for Justin Timberlake for a couple of years, but besides that – this film is almost a scene by scene remake of the original Footloose film. As we’ve said before, there’s not much point in remaking a great movie, you’ll suffer by comparison. Even if you somehow make a better film, the fans will hate you for doing that. You’re much better off to remake a bad film, you can only go up from there. In this case, they remade Footloose – a classic 80’s film that still stands up today, what’s the point? Why bother? Is it scary that I sound like my father? Why am I asking so many questions? Can I stop asking questions? OMG, how do I stop this? Can anyone help me?

The Thing

The Thing 2011

I guess it’s 80’s movie remake week, this time we’re getting a remake of John Carpenter’s horror classic The Thing which starred Kurt Russell, which was in fact a remake of the classic 1951 film The Thing From Another World.

It’s actually a prequel to Carpenter’s The Thing, focusing on the original team of scientists who came across the remains of an alien organism buried in the ice amongst the wreckage of an alien ship.Wrongly though dead, this organism wakes up and escapes from it’s imprisonment in the ice and starts hunting down and killing off the team one by one – helped by the fact that this parasite can mimic anything it touches.

Again, despite being a “prequel”, this is essentially a remake of Carpenter’s film and doesn’t really offer anything that the original didn’t already have. It’s not a bad film, but it’s pretty much redundant when the Carpenter version is still around and has aged very well. If there is a difference, it’s that the prequel lacks the suspense that was inherent in the first film and is more of an action film. It’s not a movie I’m going to rush out to see, but being a fan of the original movie, I do eventually want to watch it.

Three very different men (played by Steve Martin, Jack Black and Owen Wilson) are all at a crossroads in their lives. All three decide to change their lives and dedicate a year to fulfilling their desires, to make changes, They go on a cross-country journey of wild and life-changing adventures.

Early reviews have said this film is charming, but definitely not something to rush out for, It’s ok but not great, more the sin for a movie that has this much talent involved.

Real Steel

Real Steel

It’s 5 minutes into the future, and the sport of boxing has changed a bit. Eight foot tall fighting robots have entered the ring replacing flesh and blood men. Old time fighters like Charlie Kenton (played by Hugh Jackman) end up has-beens overnight, gone any chance of success in the ring. Rather than give up the sport he loves completely, Charlie pieces together robot scraps into low-end fighters to fight in underground matches in the hopes of making enough money to get by. With the help of his estranged son he puts together some scraps and trains the bot hoping to make a championship contender.

As a whole, despite the addition of CGI robots, it’s essentially Rocky by way of Rock’em Sock’em Robots, with some father-son drama shot in for good measure. The main problem with this film, that the replacement of flesh and blood humans by machines – removes any sense of drama, of flesh and blood danger, of men sweating, fighting against the odds and their own bodies at times – a major factor of what makes the sport (and movies based on the sport) so fascinating.

It’s fairly predictable and really nothing we haven’t seen before, but it’s not a bad film – just not a particularly good film.

The Ides of March

The Ides of March

George Clooney both directs and stars in this political thriller co-starring the stellar cast of Ryan Gosling, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Marisa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood. It’s a story about a Presidential primary where the up and coming press secretary (played by Ryan Gosling) gets involved in a political scandal that threatens to upend his candidates shot at the primary (the candidate of course being played by Mr. Clooney).

Like most political thrillers, the juice of this film lies in the exploration of the political beast, backroom deals and dirty politics are the name of the game. Cynicism abounds in glorious splendor. Clooney proves to be a talented director yet again and the cast is superb. Well worth seeing!

Remember the controversial film The Human Centipede that director/writer Tom Fix did about 2 years ago? It concerned a crazed surgeon who grafted 3 kidnap victims together butt-to-mouth and removed their kneecaps to form a kind of “human centipede”. In case that wasn’t sick or controversial enough, Tom Fix decided to follow that up with a movie about a guy who was so sexually obsessed with what happened in the first film that he decided to create his own “human centipede”, but with 12 people. While the first film was interesting in a “how crazy would that be” kind of way, we’ve seen it and there’s no reason to expose yourself for a second take at it.

Moneyball

Brad Pitt & Jonah Hill star in MONEYBALL

Brad Pitt stars as Billy Beane, the general manager of the Oakland A’s, he’s the guy who puts together the team. Billy’s biggest problem, the Oakland A’s are not a team with money, so at the outset their chance of a successful season isn’t great. Rather than give up, Billy decides to defy conventional wisdom by choosing his team based on something other than budget. He hires an Ivy League grad Peter Brad played by Jonah Hill, who picks his players on statistics such as how often they get to base, how often they score, how many winning games are they in. He chooses these otherwise bargain players that are called “flawed” by recruiters, but suit his established profile, and turns the Oakland A’s into a team that become winner based more on heart than budget.

It’s been said that this film is one of the best movies about sports since Bull Durham. The cast is great, particularly Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill who are both standouts. It doesn’t hurt that Aaron Sorkin of West Wing and The Social Network fame is one of the writers, this is a guy who made a movie about Facebook into one of the best films of the last decade. He transforms what could have been a very dry film about statistics into a film about defying tradition and giving it your all.

What happens then?

Well, unfortunately the movie doesn’t stop sucking. Bad dialogue, poor writing, cliche but bloodless action and a leading man who unfortunately is not at a point where he can act his way out of a paper bag, this is a film that’s said to be one of the worst of the year. John Singleton, who showed such great promise in the classic film Boyz ‘N the Hood, shows that maybe his initial outing was a fluke as he continues his downward spiral. Definitely a film to avoid.

It’s a cool and slick noir-tinged film, with elements of great car chase films from the early 70’s such as Steve McQueen’s Bullit and Vanishing Point. It’s moody, stylistic and will keep you on the edge of your seats the whole time. And Ryan Gosling again proves he’s one of the best – and coolest – actors of his generation. And any film that has Albert Brooks as a friendly gangster, is bound for brilliance even before it hits the silver screen.

While not a bad film, it’s definitely not as good as the original. The original was definitely a classic and explored not only the innate nature of men and violence, but also the dangers of separating society into class structures to the point where they become opposing factions. The problem in remaking a great film, is that you can’t helped but be judged against it, which is the problem with this film, it doesn’t hold a candle to the original, not helped by the fact that James Marsden can’t bring half the talent that Dustin Hoffman brought to the same role. If you’re going to remake a film, remake a bad film, that’s the trick. Quentin Tarantino did this making Inglourious Basterds from little seen B-film Inglorious Bastards starring Bo Svenson and Fred Williamson, and created a masterpiece.

Might be a good rental or cheapie night movie, but not something to rush to.

It’s painfully predictable, we’ve seen this film a million times over the last 30 years. Once you get past the premise, nothing worth seeing really happens at all. Greg Kinnear does his best to lift this film out of the mediocrity, but in the end we can see that the film should have been called I Don’t Really Care How She Does It.

In CONTAGION, mankind gets hit by a killer virus that that causes an epidemic that spreads – and kills – faster than the medical community can fight it. Worldwide panic escalates as this virus ravages mankind, and people struggle to survive the world coming apart at the seams.

Steven Sodenberg does a great job of directing this epic-scale disaster movie starring an all-star ensemble cast of players like Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Lawrence “Don’t Call Me Larry” Fishburne and Jude Law. It’s a modern day throwback to the old Irwin Allen disaster films such as Earthquake and The Towering Inferno. The most recent comparisons are to the excellent OUTBREAK (starring Dustin Hoffman), as well as zombie thriller 28 Days Later. This is the film that The Happening WANTED TO BE, but failed miserably at. It’s scary and rivetting, because this is something that could very well happen.

As an added bonus, you get to see Gwyneth Paltrow die real early into the film, so you don’t have to worry about it becoming a “chick flick”, or worse – her singing.

At it’s heart, this isn’t a film about fighting as well, it’s about two brothers, as different as night and day, each fighting to get ahead for their own reasons, each battling for love, respect, family. One brother Brendon, played by Joel Edgerton, is an ex-fighter turned physics teacher, who turns back to fighting to save his family from losing their house, he’s been an underdog his whole life and has to fight every step of the way. His brother Tommy (played by Tom Hardy) is an ex-marine with something to prove, he has a natural ability to just pound people’s heads in. Both are powerful men, but each has lost their way. Each enters SPARTA, a winner-take-all mixed martial arts fighting event, in the hopes of winning so they can change their lives. Brendon always the underdog, claws his way up through the matches one by one. His brother Tommy, is an animal who slams his opponents down without a thought. One brother a thinker with heart, one a savage brute. At the end, they face each other to see who’s the ultimate fighter, the winner of everything.

Even if you’re not a UFC or fight fan, this is a film that will have you cheering throughout the film. When I saw the film, audiences were actually cheering as if they were at a match watching a real fight. It’s a rare film, that has you cheer for both of the fighters in battle. Tom hardy plays Tommy Conlon with a savage brutality and intensity that will remind audiences of a young Brando at his best. My bet, is that not only will this film make him a star, but it’ll win him an Academy Award as well.

Run, don’t walk, to see this film this weekend.

Hilarity ensues.

*sigh*

It says a lot about a film when you don’t see many reviews done before the Thursday night before a film opens. The studios tend to do this when they think they have a real turkey on their hands, if you can’t trust that you’ll get good reviews – you just don’t let people review your film. Films not reviewed before Thursday night by critics tend not to be reviewed in the media before Saturday, by then to late to dissuade audiences from seeing it. Lacking reviews, you’ll go to a film based on the preview trailers alone, which typically are not a great judge of how good or bad a film really are (and in some cases are put together by people not even involved with the film).

So, it hasn’t been reviewed yet – never a good sign. Worse – Adam Sandler co-wrote the script, which says something in and of itself.

Here’s the premise! Officially, Dec. 17, 1972 was the last manned mission to the moon. Those of us in the know, know that a year later after that “last” mission, that two more American astronauts were sent on a secret mission to the moon, but this time funded by the US Department of Defense. Apparently ACTUAL FOOTAGE has been found of this mission which is just mind-blowing. Of course, NASA completely denies it, but it makes you wonder why we haven’t gone back since doesn’t it?

This film is essentially APOLLO 13 meets THE BLAIR WITCH, it’s one of those fake documentary “lost footage” films that are always fun. It’s a horror movie with a really strange twist. Just based on the promos and what we’ve seen so far, it looks like it’ll be a lot of fun.

Back in 1966, 3 Mossad agents were sent to track down and kill Nazi war criminal Vogel, at great risk and personal cost to them. They accomplished their mission and were rewarded for it. Cut to 1997, 2 of the 3 agents are shocked to hear news regarding their other colleague. Was their mission accomplished, or did something else happen? The film goes back and forth between 1966 and 1997 as we find out what really happened and what happened next.

The great dame Helen Mirren stars in this well made spy film that features a great ensemble cast and is said to be Oscar worthy. A spy film is always a great way to pass the time, a well-made one like this – is a must-see!

A bunch of teenagers go to a cabin located in the middle of a saltwater lake ready to party. All of a sudden, one of their friends gets into an accident that tears his arm off. they’re not sure what happened, but know that they must get their friend to the local hospital on the nearby shore or risk him dying. They quickly find out what must have happened to their friend when they realize that the lake is infested with hundreds of huge man-eating sharks!

Scarier – is that people will pay good money to see this rip-off of Jaws and Piranha 3D – and pay the extra $3 to see it in 3D.

The only thing scarier, would be to watch SHAK Night 3D, featuring all the films of basketball legend SHAK!

Director Guillermo Del Toro co-wrote and cartoonist Troy Nixey direct this remake of the classic 1973 horror movie about Alex (played by the always excellent Guy Pearce) and his girlfriend Kim (played by Katie Holmes) who decide to restore the interiors of the gothic mansion that they just bought. Along for the ride is Alex’s young daughter Sally who decides to spend most of her time exploring the dark history and creepy corners of the mansion. All of a sudden, Sally starts hearing voices, mere whispers from the depths of the basement, telling her that they want to be her friend, that they’re very hungry and want to be free. Eventually she gives in to the voices and opens the doorway, letting them escape and then all hell breaks loose.

This is an above-average haunted house film that’s very atmospheric, weird and creepy. If there’s one mistake, it’s in using too much CGI in showing the demons that escape and then showing too much of them. In horror, it’s what you don’t see, what you just imagine – that’s beyond your nightmares. In showing too much of the demons to the audience, they’ve made them more goofy than scary. That being said, it’s still a fine horror film that will scare your socks off.

Our Idiot Brother

Paul Rudd is OUR IDIOT BROTHER

Paul Rudd plays Ned, the “idiot brother” who this movie is about. Every family has it’s own “Ned”, someone maybe a bit too simple, naive, too nice, too trusting. Ned lives on a farm with his girlfriend and then all of a sudden, she boots him out and he’s forced to live going back and forth between each of his sisters homes, the sisters played by Elizabeth Banks, Zooey Deschannel and Emily Mortimer. Of course his commitment to honesty combined with his lack of common sense, causes havoc for everyone concerned.

Hilarity of course ensues.

This film is refreshing, quirky, fun and sweet. Unlike most of the summer comedies this year, this is not a sex romp full of sexual deviants and sociopaths just ready to take their wrath out on society. It’s a simple film, but extremely likable.

Colombiana

Zoe Saldana is COLOMBIANA

Zoe Saldana, who we last saw as “Uhura” in the Star Trek reboot, plays Cataleya – a young girl who sees her parents gunned down before her eyes. She grows up to become an assassin and seeks revenge on those that murdered her parents, she hunts them down and kills them one by one.

It’s an action packed revenge flick with a hot chick and a gun, what’s not to love. Does it make us question anything deep, nope – but if you want that you can always rent The King’s Speech. It’s a fun popcorn movie that will keep you entertained and on the edge of your seats for a good 2 hours, and that’s more than most films will do.

Conan the Barbarian

Jason Mosoa as Conan the Barbarian

Jason Somoa of Game of Thrones and Stargate: Atlantis fame, stars in this latest updating of the Conan The Barbarian saga. If you saw the Schwarzenegger versions back in the 1980’s, and what sword & sorcery fan hasn’t, you know what to expect – barbarians fighting and drinking and womanizing (and repeat) for about 2 hours. The violence, blood and sex is amped up quite a bit from the original movies, but quite sadly the fun and excitement isn’t. Part of the problem is that the original film essentially the archetype for all Barbarian films that came after that, so you’re essentially competing against the master mold, which is a near impossible fight. Also missing, Schwarzenegger is so identified with the character, that anybody else who follows can’t help but have the impossible task of essentially attempting to play Arnie in the follow-up because in people’s minds – Arnie is Conan. It doesn’t help that television has become very good at doing these sword and sorcery epics, arguably even better than the movies can. Look at how brilliant shows like SPARTACUS and ROME does the same thing, you can’t match the quality or writing in a low to medium budget film, it’s impossible. What you end up with, is a half-assed remake of what was a trendsetting star vehicle for a future governor, and that’s not fun to watch at all.

And I won’t even bring up the fact that Ron Perlman, who was previously in tv’s Beauty and the Beast and Hellboy, looks like a violent and brutal drunken version of Will Ferrell playing Conan’s dad in the film.

Will Ferrell? Ron Perlman? Which is which?

It’s 80’s week at the cinema it seems. Yet another update of a “classic” 1980’s film, this time of a horror/comedy classic that originally had b-movie star Chris Sarandon in the bad guy role. It’s the story of Charlie (played by Star Trek’s Anton Yelchin), a teenager who’s living out the dream, he’s become super popular, he’s dating the hottest girl in school and he’s actually considered cool for the first time in his life. Then things change when a strange neighbour moves in next door to him, Jerry – played by Colin Farrell. Charlie finds to his horror that Jerry isn’t just strange, he’s a vampire, and realizes that he has to take him out before Jerry destroys his family and friends forever. Doctor Who’s David Tennant plays Peter Vincent, the horror host played by Roddy McDowell in the original movie, who’s knowledge of horror lore is used by Charlie to help him in his fight.

This is one of those cases where the remake is actually SUPERIOR to the original, they doubled the horror aspect and halved the comedic, and somehow it works great. The cast is great, but Collin Farrell in particular stands out in a masterful and scary performance. You don’t have to see it in 3D, but that could be true of every movie made since Avatar. really worth seeing!

Ann Hathaway and Jim Sturgess star in this adaptions of the bestselling book by David Nicholls. It’s the story of two people that meet and form a friendship, that lasts a lifetime. The movie picks up at several different points in their lives on the anniversary of their meeting over the next 20 years, as we trace what happens in their respective lives and relationships. There’s both highs and lows as the years go by (and bring your tissues, there’s definitely scene or two where you’ll cry). This device of looking into their lives that one same day each year, is one that doesn’t work as well on film as it did in the book, it feels a bit contrived to be honest. Jim Sturgess puts in an excellent performance, Ann Hathaway not so much. Not a fantastic film, but not horrible.

Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World

Spy Kids 4

Director Robert Rodriguez goes back to the SPY KIDS franchise with All the Time in the World. This time, Jessica Alba and Joe McHale star as the parents of the kid spies these movies are centered around. this time the film is in 4D, which is 3D plus SMELL-o-RAMA – which is actually a very old gimmick they tried ages ago – scratch and sniff cards you scratch to get different smells during the movie. John Waters used the same gimmick back in the 70’s, and his smells included dog feces, which is the reason we probably haven’t done it since then.

Unfortunately, the fourth time out is just a repeat of what we’ve already seen before, and just isn’t as good. The fact that I don’t want to see a 3D movie of Jessica Alba in tight leather, says a whole lot about how good this film is. Definitely one to wait until it hits DVD/blu-rat for.

The Help

A young writer named “Skeeter” (played by Amy Adams) returns home from college to a Civil Rights era Mississipi. She forms a bond with 2 black women, Aibileen (played by Viola Davis) and Minny (played by Octavia Spencer) when she decides that she wants to interview the people that are the “help” in the homes of the most prominent families of the South about the realities of their lives as servants. Obviously not so many people are happy about this “project” of theirs, but in going over these experiences, they go beyond the limits that define them at the time. Based on the best selling book by Kathryn Stockett.

Spectacular performances by everybody in an extremely strong ensemble and Amy Adams proves that she’s not just a one-note actor bound to light romantic comedies, she can do some serious work when she wants to. Viola Davis is the real stand-out for the film and will likely get a dozen awards for her efforts. And while the film may be a little bit melodramatic at times, it’s still very powerful and convincing and delivers the goods. Well worth seeing.

Jesse Eisenberg and Aziz Ansari star in 30 MINUTES OR LESS

Jesse Eisenberg (star of The Social Network and Zombieland) stars as Nick, a pizza delivery boy whose life is turned upside down when two would be “criminal geniuses” (played by Danny McBride and Michael Pena) strap a bomb to his chest to force them to rob a bank for them. To save his life, Nick somehow convinces his EX best friend Chet (played by the criminally underrated Aziz Ansari of Parks & Recreation and MTV’s Human Giant fame) to help him out.

It’s not a brilliant film, people who indulge in enjoying the delicious ironies inherent in Masterpiece Theatre probably won’t be bowled over by it, but that’s not the point of the film at all – they want you to have a good time with a bunch of silly laughs – and that it does. The critics this summer have been SAVAGE in regards to silly summer comedies such as The Hangover II, Horrible Bosses and The Change-Up, but judging from crowd reactions I saw in each of these films – the fans are really enjoying all these films, so who cares what the critics think. It’s as if it’s evil to not have a film where a poor italian man isn’t searching the streets of Rome for his stolen bike, which he needs to be able to work.30 Minutes or Less delivers the laughs and doesn’t disappoint. A particular standout in this film is Aziz Ansari who steals the show and promises to be a comedy force to be reckoned with in the future. If you want to park your brain at the door for a while, this is a great popcorn film for you and your friends to enjoy!

You just know things won't get any better in Final Destination 5

Here’s the story – a group of friends and acquaintances narrowly avoid a situation that should have killed them all, they somehow make a narrow escape from their fates. They cheat death, but death or fate or karma – isn’t happy about this at all – and starts making sure that these people who should have been killed… end up killed. And by ending up killed, I mean in the most bizarre and gross ways imaginable. Sounds like a cool idea for a movie? It’s a great idea, unfortunately this is the 5th time they’ve done the exact same movie and they’re running out of creative ways to kill people as death reclaims their fates. We’ve seen it all before, there’s absolutely nothing new here, but if you’re a fan of the other movies in the franchise you probably won’t be disappointed.

Ryan Reynolds can't believe he's in a sexy comedy with Jason Bateman, he was hoping for Drew Barrymore!

Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman star as Mitch and Dave, two best friends since childhood. Mitch is a ladies man, who despite being a ladies man is kind of a screw-up in life. He smokes a little too much pot, drinks a little too much booze and tends to have “questionable” relationships with women. Dave is a straight-laced family man, who busts his hump everyday at work so he can give his wife and kids the best life they can have. Despite their differences they are the best of friends for life. They also – are a bit jealous of how the other is going through life. One night they get drunk and urinate at the same time in a “magic fountain” (yes really) and at the same time both drunkily declare that they wish they had the other’s life. Surprise, the next morning – each of them wakes up as the other guy.

Hi-lar-i-ty of course ensues.

It’s yet another entry into the body-switching genre of films, imagine Freaky Friday as a sex comedy as imagined by the makers of Horrible Bosses (also with Bateman), The Hangover or The 40 Year Old Virgin. Like most R-rated comedies such as those mentioned, the critics haven’t been kind at all, but I don’t think that the intentions of the film-makers were to win an Academy Award anyways, I think they just wanted to make a film that people could escape for a while and have a good, stupid laugh with – and in that they’ve more than done their jobs. Sure, it’s kind of dumb, but you will be laughing from the first scene of the film to the end that I guarantee you. What helps, is that both Jason Bateman (of Arrested Development fame) and Ryan Reynolds (of Van Wilder, Blade: Trinity and Green Lantern fame) are not only naturally funny, but also extremely charismatic and likable. Ignore the critics, this is a film that delivers exactly what it promises – big laughs – and non-stop. Not everything has to be The King’s Speech after all, sometimes it’s ok for a movie to just be fun and entertaining.

CAESAR from the RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES

The original Planet of the Apes movies were incredible. They not only served as a great allegory for the times that they were created during, but they were damn fun science fiction films that were both social commentary and great popcorn fare for millions. In 2001, Tim Burton’s PLANET OF THE APES was done in order to reboot the franchise, unfortunately – the results of this remake were less than great and the franchise just stayed in hiding for the next couple of years.

Then we get the new that they’re remaking The Planet of the Apes movies, but more as a do-over of the series rather than a remake. James Franco stars in this “beginning chapter” of the Planet of the Apes saga, starting at a time just before men started to be overpowered by these primates, going over how they went from simple animals to thinking beings able to dominate us. It’s a great tribute to the original series while not being completely bound to it. Andy Serkis is even more impressive playing the role of the chimp Caesar – who starts a revolution against mankind that leads to the future where men are dominated by apes, he’s so good in fact that a lot of people think he’ll win an Academy Award for his efforts. And the CGI and special effects are just amazing.

This movie is creepy, scary, action-filled fun that will wow audiences. This is the big “popcorn” film that we’ve been waiting for all summer. If you’re not a fan of the Planet of the Apes films yet, then Rise of the Planet of the Apes will make you one.

Bellflower

Two friends eagerly await what they hope is an impending nuclear apocalypse, hoping that in this “brave new land” that they will be warrior leaders in charge of a gang that they will call “Mother Medusa”. They spend their time doing their best to build homemade flame-throwers and “weapons of mass destruction” in order to become these new “rulers”. This little fantasy of theirs gets interrupted when when one of the friends falls in love with a girl, and she joins the two friends in their delusions. This sets off the trio into a journey full of love, despair, betrayal, anarchy and craziness that will shock you.

Writer-director-actor Evan Globell makes an impressive debut with this film, showing his full potential to become one of the great filmmakers of tomorrow.

Daniel Craig in COWBOYS AND ALIENS

Jon Favreau of Iron Man and Swingers fame directed this movie adaption of “famous graphic novel” Cowboys & Aliens (which in truth was not a graphic novel at all. but a one-shot comicbook hastily slapped together by committee, and was not a well known book no matter what the filmmakers tell you). It’s mash-up of both the Western genre and alien invasion run of films. Years ago, Predator 2 hinted that the Predator aliens had come to earth generations before, in the old west, and many thought that would have made a fine addition to the predator franchise, unfortunately that film was never made. Instead, we got Cowboys & Aliens, a film that sold itself on the concept alone.

It sounds like a great idea for a film, but unfortunately not all great ideas work. Despite a talented ensemble (Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde and a line-up of fantastic character actors that would make most casting agents sweat to have a chance of getting – including Keith Carradine, Sam Rockwell, Clancy Brown and Walton Goggins of The Shield and Justified fame) – the film just never really gels. It starts off as your classic “man with no name” style western and then just goes nowhere once the “alien invasion” aspects are added to it. There’s absolutely no character development, in fact we really don’t know much about any of the characters at all, which makes it extremely hard to care about any of them, and what we do know about some of them, makes us want to care even less. Daniel Craig is great as Bond, but his aloof coldness in how he acts works against him in this film which should be a rollicking and fun adventure. One wonders how the film would have done if Robert Downey Jr. had stayed with the film as was originally pitched. Harrison Ford seemed to be pasted on just to add some star power and quite frankly looked bored to be in the film, not helped by the fact that the character he played was never portrayed the same any 2 scenes in the film.

The greatest loss was that this film had such great potential to be really fun. The concept of cowboys fighting aliens in the old west could have been very neat, but unfortunately was one note at best. And it’s a shame that with a cast of strong supporting actors like they had, that they were virtually unused in the movie. A scene chewer like Walton Goggins would have been amazing in the lead role, no doubt Keith Carradine could have played Harrison Ford’s role (and kept it straight) to great effect.

At it’s heart, it’s a popcorn film and fun to watch. It’s not a horrible film, it’s just the fact that it didn’t reach the potential of greatness it could have had. While not something to rush to see opening weekend with the crowds, it’d probably be great for a cheapie movie night or a rental once it comes to video stores.

Steve Carell and Ryan Gosling star in Crazy, Stupid, Love

Steve Carell stars as Cal Weaver in the romantic comedy Crazy, Stupid, Love. Cal is a guy in his 40’s, living a comfortable life with his lovely wife (Julianne Moore) and kids. He has a nice house, great job and is quite happy with how things are going on – when all of a sudden his wife tells him that not only did she cheat on him, but she wants a divorce as well. All of a sudden, happy Cal has to reboot his life again and starts off at the local singles bars. Having been out of the dating scene for decades, Cal finds a friend in Jacob (played by Ryan Gosling) a good looking guy that is very lucky with the ladies, he’s a real player. Jacob takes Cal on as a wingman. Of course, hilarity ensues.

It’s a relationship movie, not only between these 2 men, but also with the women in their lives. Emma Stone stars as a woman not so impressed by Jacob’s “playa” moves and Marisa Tomei as the crazy fling that Cal gets involved with (of course we’re not done with Cal’s ex-wife yet).

The movie’s a pleasant surprise and had the audience, both men and women, laughing from beginning to end. Love is never as easy as romantic comedies typically make it out to be, and this film’s core is that love is meant to be an alive, on-going thing that you need to participate in, not just be in it.

Everyone who saw the preview laughed from beginning to end, no doubt you will also. A date film that won’t have you rolling your eyes.

The Smurfs

Yet another of those live action/animation hybrids comes to theaters. No doubt if you liked the Garfield movies, Scooby Doo films, Alvin & The Chipmunk going-ons or Yogi Bear reboot- you’ll no doubt love this film. To me, it just feels weird no matter how far the technology has gone. Every time I see something for this, I long for the hand-drawn animation of an old Disney film.

If you’re a young kid, you’ll probably love this. If you’re a parent, guess what – you’re seeing this.

Chris Evans stars as Steve Rogers aka Captain America in this summer’s newest superhero film Captain America: First Avenger, inspired by the Marvel Comics superhero created by Simon & Kirby. In the early days of World War 2, like many other young Americans of the time Steve Rogers tries to enlist into the army after he sees the tragedy that was Pearl Harbor. Unfortunately, he gets classified “4F”, unfit for duty, because he’s the original “98 pound weakling”. He doesn’t give up and keeps on trying to get in, which catches the eye of someone higher up, who enlists him into an experimental program to create a “super soldier”.

Steve Rogers becomes that “super soldier”, he becomes the hero called Captain America. Along with his sidekick Bucky Barnes (played by Sebastian Stan) he fights against the Nazis, his main focus being against HYDRA – an evil organization led by the Red Skull, expertly played by Hugo Weaving (of The Matrix and Lord of the Rings fame).

This movie is a weird mash-up of patriotic World War 2 and superhero films, with a little bit of Indiana Jones shot in for fun. Somehow, it really works and is a lot of fun to watch. It’s definitely a slam-bang popcorn film that almost anyone can enjoy. Director Joe Dante is the perfect guy to have done this movie since he’s the same guy who did The Rocketeer, another comic/pulp inspired hero set in the early days of the war.

This is a fun and action packed film for all to enjoy!

Remember that movie that Natalie Portman did with Ashton Kutchner No Strings Attached that she did RIGHT AFTER HER ACADEMY AWARD PERFORMANCE IN BLACK SWAN, which she must have done in trade to the devil for her Academy Award rather than her soul? Well, imagine that film but with her Black Swan co-star Mila Kunis (who probably made the same deal that Ms. Portman did) and the uber-talented singer/actor/myspace God that is Justin Timberlake. Imagine that movie, but almost as a parody of the romantic comedy genre, kind of like what Scream did for horror movies. Just like the Portman/Kutchner film, two friends decide the ultimate question that’s been eluding mankind for ages – why not? The only relationship that you have that works is between you and your best friend? Why not, keep that friendship, but add “benefits” to the mix minus the “romance” stuff that you’re really bad at anyways. Sounds like the perfect friendship right? And all the guys reading nod YES! And then, hilarity ensues.

Of course, this satire of romantic comedies eventually becomes the films that it mocks, but it’s witty and fun, and the chemistry between the two leads is great. Is it great art? Definitely not! Is it light summer fluff that you’ll not hate yourself for laughing at, definitely.

Producer Ridley Scott and Director Kevin MacDonald issued a challenge to youtube viewers, put together a clip of you on this day of July 24, 2010 as part of an experiment to create the world’s largest user-generated feature film. 80,000 lives and 4500 hours of film were edited into a single film, a story of us, a single day in our world, of the global village that we are. That was their LIFE IN A DAY challenge. It’ll make you laugh, it’ll make you cry, it’ll inspire you, it’ll change you in ways that film should (but rarely does). It’s definitely something to see.

The final movie in the Harry Potter franchise is not only well worth the wait, it’s arguably one of the best of the franchise, which is high praise indeed since there hasn’t been a dud in the bunch. This is how great movie sagas are supposed to be done (and yes, I’m talking to you GEORGE LUCAS!!!).

Harry, Ron and Hermione are back. Actually, pretty much everybody who’s ever been in a Harry Potter film is back in this capper to the entire series. This is the epic battle between good and evil that’s been promised since the first novel/movie Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. What happens is a battle as horrifying as any shown in any war film, characters we’ve grown to love and adore get cut down in their prime as they fight the battle against the unspeakable evil of HE WHO MUST NOT BE NAMED. This film is a fine culmination of everything that’s led up to it, and it actually adds to what we’ve seen before rather than depend on it. And things are revealed which can’t help but make you re-examine the story in a completely different light. Unlikely heroes emerge from places we never expected.

The story of Harry Potter has always been one about fate and destiny, and how a person is shaped by all that. This film examines that notion and fights it, as we realize that the real point of the entire story, is that the only person that dictates their fate, is themselves, that life is about making your own path, about challenging anything that’s in your true path to happiness.

The 3D is not necessary to enjoy the film, but does a lot to add the the majesty of Hogwarts that we really haven’t seen before. There is of course, the requisite snowflake-like scene that we’ve seen in every film since we saw Avatar.

This final installment of Harry Potter ends on a high! Even the most jaded of you will likely cheer at the end. Highly recommended!

Winnie the Pooh is back. For that matter, so is Christopher Robin, Piglet, Owl, Kanga and Roo. Let’s not forget Tigger too!

The story of Winnie the Pooh returns back to the big screen. There’s no 3D, no enhances special effects, no fluff -- just the story of Pooh and his friends and the wonderful adventures they have. The classic stories are done in a simple hand-drawn animated style that prove that all you really need is good storytelling. While the movie only clocks in at 63 minutes, that’s perfect for kids -- who the movie was actually made for. No doubt, your kids will love it, and you won’t be able to smile and wax nostalgic while you’re enjoying it with them.

This documentary explores a year within The New York Times.

While newspapers were once the place where we went for our news and information. In this day and age of new media, such as twitter, blogging and facebook, we can easily get our information elsewhere for essentially free -- and instantaneous. It’s a time where newspapers are in a state of decline due to other media encroaching on their domain and falling ad revenues. Let’s not forget we’re probably in the worst recession we’ve ever had. This film explores life at the New York Times in these ever changing times and it’s fight for survival in an age where a kid with a cellphone can report as easily as any hardcore journalist. And while this is all happening, things get so bad that the paper has to make massive layoffs.

If you see any documentary this year, see this one. It not only shows what’s been happening, but where we’re going.

Alex O’Loughlin stars as fifty year old vampire Mick St. John who also happens to be a private eye, in a world where vampires exist, but live in a secret, almost occult, society. O’Loughlin’s performance is commendable and the writing is good, funny in some places, taut and fast-paced in others. During the beginning of the series he finds himself attracted to Beth Turner, played by Sophia Myles, whom he had saved from being turned into a vampire by his then-wife Coraline. They are joined by Mick’s mentor Josef, played to perfection by Jason Dohring.

The Beauty and the Beast trope used in Moonlight is one that has been used in similar series, but very places has it been used better than in Moonlight. Love interest Beth is introduced to the world of the vampire, which has somewhat of a religious structure with “freshies” offering up their own blood to the vampires that they worship. The flashy style of the series is one of the things that Moonlight does extremely well, and the widely accepted vampire lore is updated here in a fun way. There are also some supporting characters that are well played and well drawn, such as the clean up crew of female vampires that makes sure that vampires stay a secret.

The fact that Moonlight is set in the 21st century makes for an interesting setting, especially if you like post-modern landscapes, and the vampire myth has been done well. It gained a cult following while it was on the air and probably should have been renewed for another season and allowed to gain more viewers. If you like vampires and want to explore their lore in further detail, this is a good series to include in your DVD collection.

Fans of star Alex O’Loughlin can catch him in the new Hawaii Five-O show on CBS.

The film that this will be compared to by everybody is The Hangover. The comparison is obvious, it is a raunchy black comedy about 3 friends that go out and do something devious and the ramifications of their action, but there’s also elements of classic Hitchcock film Strangers on a Train, but it’s Billy Crystal-Danny Devito classic Throw Momma From The Train that it’s most similar in tone to.

Three friends find that each of their lives have become awful because of their nightmare bosses. Nick (Jason Bateman) has to deal with Dale Harkens (Kevin Spacey -- who hasn’t been this good in years, chewing up the scenery as he did in Glengarry Glenn Ross and Swimming With Sharks), who not only makes Nick work from 6am to after dark, but also steals the promotion Nick deserved -- for himself (not to mention not letting Nick see his gram-gram when she was dying). Kurt (Jason Sudeikis of SNL fame) has has a dream job and a mentor who’s grooming him to run the company, but when his mentor dies his loser coke-head son Bobby becomes his boss, interested more in stripping the company of any money he can than making it work. One of the first things he does is makes Kurt choose between firing all fat people in the office or all the handicapped. Ferrell is unrecognizable as the greasy scumbag with a bad comb-over. Dale (Charlie Day of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia fame) is a dental assistant who seems to have no problem at all according to his friends, but Dale can’t deal with his uber-sexy boss Julia sexually harassing him constantly. Julia is hot, but he’s too in love with his fiance to even take a glance at her -- and she’s demanding that he sleep with her or she’ll lie to his fiance telling her that they cheated together,

Their bosses are ruining their lives, they don’t know what to do! In a panic they decide that the only way to make things better is to kill their bosses. With the help of a “murder consultant” “MF” Jones (played by Jamie Fox) they decide the best way to do it is for each of them to kill the other one’s boss, that way they won’t be suspect. What happens from there has to be seen to be believed.

Just based on the crowd reaction to this film, I can guarantee that this is a film worth seeing -- you’ll be in stitches. The cast is incredible, they somehow make this trio of would-be killers guys you cheer for. Jennifer Aniston shows a completely different -- and incredibly sexy -- side to her that we haven’t seen before. Spacey is almost a force of nature as Harkens he’s so nasty. And Collin Farrell, plays Bobby as such a sleazebag, you almost feel as if you’d have to shower after meeting him. And the trio of Sudeikis, Bateman and Day, all amazing and each could easily be the center of their own film -- but it’s Charlie Day who’s the real star of this film, just like It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia fans have been telling us for years.

So see this film, you’ll laugh yourself silly. You deserve it.

We love Kevin James. He’s an incredibly funny and likeable comedian, he just.. has horrible taste in film projects (I just wish I could forget The Dilemma which stole 2 hours of my life away a few months back). He must have reached that point every comedian does when there career seems a bit stagnant -- he’s doing “the family comedy where the guy discovers he can talk to animals and learns a valuable lesson because of it” … the Doolittle Effect. Every comedian has done this.. most noticeably Eddie Murphy, Bill Cosby, Rob Schneider, etc. etc. etc.

Do we really have to say anymore? Seen it! Been disappointed before! This time I’m saving the $12 movie admission and keeping the 2 hours of my life that I would have lost seeing this mess.

Kevin James -- come on!

John Carpenter returns to direct again in this big screen thriller focusing on an institutionalized woman (played by the beautiful Amber Heard) who’s plagued by ghosts. There are obvious comparisons to Shutter Island, as well as Sucker Punch. Review of this film have not been kind, and the fact that the DVD of this movie is scheduled to come out in a month’s time, should be obvious enough warning for all.

Director Michael Bay caps his Transformers’ trilogy with Dark of the Moon, again starring Shia LaBouef, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson and almost EVERYBODY else who’s been involved in the TRANSFORMERS‘ franchise EXCEPT for Megan Fox -- who didn’t realize that all she added to the franchise was that she looked good in a wet t-shirt and jean shorts and started mouthing off in interviews, forgetting that there’s a few other girls out there who look good in jean shorts and wet t-shirts also.

In this one, we find out that apparently there was a mysterious event in the past -- possibly involving Transformers or enemies of them -- that erupts into the present day. What happened before, ends up bringing a war to our planet today that even the Transformers won’t be able to help us with.

Early glances at previews have showed us SENTINEL PRIME -- essentially Optimus Prime with Leonard Nimoy’s face and voice. Like we’ve found out in the last Star Trek reboot and Fringe -- old Spock always makes a movie cooler, especially for the geeks out there who eat stuff like this up anyways. Megan Fox’s replacement, we’ll call her Hot Chick #2, looks hot like she’s supposed to, and we’re pretty sure that she won’t win an Oscar for the role. Shia will be Shia, as expected, and hopefully won’t ruin the film by swinging along with monkeys in the jungle. Critics will no doubt trash the film, but it’ll make more money in a few weeks than most of us will make in a lifetime. It’s going to be a fun, exciting popcorn film, that will be nonetheless mindless -- but still pack in theatres for a few weeks. Will it be as good as the first film? No one really knows yet, but we do know that it has to be better than the second film!

Surprisingly, Academy Award Winners John Malcovich and Frances McDormand (of FARGO fame) appear in this film. We somehow doubt that they’ll win more for this film, but they can be forgiven because as Michael Caine has taught us -- sometimes we have to pay the rent.

Directed by Tom Hanks, written by Tom Hanks (and Nia Vardolos of My Big Fat Greek Wedding fame), and starring Tom Hanks -- this is a movie you should probably avoid if you hate Tom Hanks.

But that’s very few people, we even loved him in Bosom Buddies back in the day. Tom Hanks makes his return to romantic comedies with Larry Crowne -- a movie that’s about as current as a movie can be. Lke a lot of people, Larry Crowne loses his big time job when he gets downsized out of it and he finds that he has to start it all over again, and his first step is to complete his education at a local community college. It’s there that he finds himself part of a community of people all trying to better himself, and where he meets and falls for his public speaking teacher -- played by Julia Roberts.

Sound familiar? It’s essentially NBC’s COMMUNITY tv show crossed with a Tom Hanks film from the 90’s. Doesn’t mean it won’t be a fun film to see. No doubt it’s fluff, but with Tom Hank’s involvement -- we at least know it’s superior fluff.

Selena Gomez takes a break from posing for tabloid pictures with Justin Bieber to do a film that equal parts Lizzy McGuire and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants with her role in Monte Carlo co-starring Leighton Meester and Cory Monteith of GLEE fame.

You know that cliche movie plot where a normal. everyday person gets mistaken for someone rich and powerful -- and decides to take over their life for a while to see how the other side lives, and how it always ends up with the moral -- that money doesn’t buy you happiness, the same plot that’s been done over and over since Edison first screened his own home movies? Well… that plot is BACK… and starring Selena Gomez. I could go into more details, but what’s the point, you’ve seen this movie already at least a dozen times, and it hasn’t really been done well since Kevin Kline did the movie DAVE (which is still worth seeing!).

If the fact that it rips off the plot of every movie that Disney did back in the 50’s doesn’t deter you from seeing it, then you’re probably a 12 year old girl who’ll LOVE it!

The rest of you, just watch DAVE instead. Check out the trailer!

Based on the popular DC comics character, this is the story of pilot Hal Jordan, a man who becomes a member of the Green Lantern Corps when one of their best dies and chooses him as his replacement. He gets an all-powerful ring which allows him to turn his any thought into reality. He essentially becomes the superhero version of Aladdin and his magic lamp. When things go bad, he must become the hero he’s meant to be and save not only his city, but the universe. Ryan Reynolds plays Hal Jordan/Green Lantern -- and is supported by a great ensemble cast including Mark Strong, Peter Saarsgard, Tim Robbins and Blake Lively.

Sounds cool right?

Unfortunately, the reviews have not been too kind to this film. If you listened to the reviews, you’d avoid this film like the plague.

My advice, ignore the reviews, this film has it’s share of problems -- but most films of this kind do. Even the best of films about superheroes, films about men in tights, are hard for most to be taken seriously. Doing live action “men in tights” is a balancing act between “bizarre” and “ridiculous” at the best of times. It’s almost as if they have to apologize for being an actual film, for focusing on silly characters from the funny books.

While Green Lantern is known within the comic book community, outside of that he’s a character that isn’t really well known. Because of this, the film-makers are forced to deal with the issue that Green Lantern has an extremely complex history, that’s sometimes hard for fans to get a grasp on. Is he an action hero, is it pure superhero story, is it a space epic, is it the story of a lone man with incredible power or is it one man amongst an army of many -- it’s really hard to say. My feeling is that the filmmakers, tried to cram as much about Green Lantern as they could into the movie, much like Watchmen did last year.

In trying to do and show everything, they instead ended up with less. They would have been much better served doing JUST the origin story, only hinting at the Guardians of the Universe and the rest of Green Lantern Corps -- in fact save that for a possible 2nd or 3rd film. There’s enough material with a guy getting a magic ring from a dying alien -- without needing to descend into space opera.

I’ll admit that I wasn’t sold initially on Ryan Reynolds as Green Lantern, but he did ok. When I read that he was channelling Harrison Ford’s Indiana Jones character into his portrayal of Hal Jordan, I knew he understood him. I still think Nathan Fillon of Firefly and Castle fame, would have made a better choice, but that’s the fan-geek in me. Blake Lively is beautiful but dull as his girlfriend/boss Carol Ferris and could easily be replaced by a nice lamp. Both Peter Saarsgard and Mark Strong shine in their roles of Dr. Hector Hammond and Sinestro respectively, in fact they both steal the film.

Weirdest thing about the movie, is that when Hector Hammond becomes monsterous, he becomes the spitting image of adult film star Ron Jeremy (with a Celine Dion sized head). Just saying.

My one complaint, is an over-reliance on CGI effects, covering everything from his powers to his actual suit. I think the movie over relied on these effects. Somehow, when you use too much of them -- everything almost becomes cartoony -- which defeats the purpose of doing it live action rather than animated.

So, it’s a fun film that you’ll enjoy as long as you’re willing to enjoy something that’s fun. It’s obvious that the film makers were so enthralled in the character/movie that they felt the need to put everything in there, and you can take a certain joy in knowing that the people involved really dug what they were doing. Stay through the credits for an extra scene which tells you what’s upcoming if there’s a second film. My feeling, is that a second film won’t be hampered by this need to explain everything about the character -- and we’ll actually have a great film to look forward to.

So in sum: a fun film that showed a lot of promise, but didn’t quite reach where it could have. That being said, I really enjoyed it and you probably will as well.

There come’s a time in the career of every comedian who does comedy in film, when they start doing family movies with animals. Whether that means that they’re not as funny or as relevant as they once were, it’s hard to say, but it’s happening more and more often these days. Eddie Murphy did those Doolittle films, Bill Cosby did something along those lines as well -- as did Rob Schneider, Kevin James (of The King of Queens fame, not to mention John Goodman who got saddled into having Roseanne Barr as his co-star in the popular Roseanne show.

This time, it’s Jim Carrey -- co-starring with PENGUINS -- who live with him and his family in his swanky New York apartment. Hilarity ensues!

It’s charming and fun, even predictable -- and the kids will enjoy it, but there isn’t much else to it. While not worth rushing to the cinema over, if there’s nothing else playing or it’s “Cheapie Tuesdays” -- there’s much worse things you could see. When it comes out on DVD, the kids will go crazy for it.

In 1979, a group of young friends are filming a small movie with a super 8 camera, when all of a sudden they’re witness to a horrible train accident when a small pick-up truck hits a mysterious train. All of a sudden, locals start disappearing and it starts looking like the incident was anything but just an accident. When the truth emerges about what’s stalking the inhabitants of this small town, nothing will ever be the same again.

This movie is a return to the creature movies that guys like Steven Spielberg made in the 70’s. It should come as no surprise that Speilberg is the producer of the film, it’s such an obvious return to form, that his stamp seems all over the film. JJ Abrams, who is the man responsible for tv’s LOST and ALIAS, as well as the Star Trek reboot -- is the director and writer behind this movie.

Kyle Chandler of Friday Night Lights fame co-stars along with Elle Fanning.

It’s a great popcorn film. It’s an obvious homage to the films of late 70’s like Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T. that Spielberg became famous for, just a fun Capra-esque vision of America where suddenly something goes wrong and the heroes must find a way out of it. Some critics have complained that it adds nothing new to the genre, that it’s a bit derivative of earlier works -- and they may have a point, but if you just want to go to a film to be entertained, thrilled and maybe even a bit scared, this is the film for you.

Yet another popular kid’s book series (this one written by Megan McDonald) turned into a movie (co-scripted by McDonald). This latest entry into the kid’s book-to-movie genre chronicles the adventures of a young girl, Judy Moody, who decides to have the best summer of her life. Her brother Stinky and fun-loving aunt Opal tag along for the fun. Heather Graham co-stars as Aunt Opal, obviously she needed the work.

Like most of these types of movies, it’s not that great. There’s a lot of individual wacky moments glued together by a loose plot that doesn’t really go anywhere. As usual, it’s not as good as the book. As usual, it’s mindless pap that the kid’s will love, but that parents will want to run out from screaming.

So in sum: kids will love this, parents will be in HELL

This is a story of a group of Norwegian film students who discover a conspiracy -- that the government has been hiding the existence of a race of trolls from us all along -- so they decide to go out and capture these real-life trolls on film.

What follows is one of those Blair Witch Project “shaky cam” found-footage films, more documentary in look than film.

It’s definitely a low-budget film, but it works. It’s proof that you don’t need to spend $100 million to make an entertaining film, if you have a lot of creativity and passion behind your project. People who enjoyed films such as Blair Witch Project, Paranormal Activity, District 9 or MONSTERS will definitely find something in this film to enjoy. People who enjoy fun and entertaining film -- will probably dig it as well.

After 2 less than spectacular sequels in the X-Men franchise (part 3 and Wolverine:Origins), the studio did a complete reboot of the series and came out with X-Men: First Class. Actually, it’s more a re-imagining and prequel to the series than anything else. This film follows a pre-Professor X Charles Xavier and pre-Magneto Erik Lehnsherr, as they start to gather the forces that become the X-Men. The formation of the X-Men takes place during the Cold War in the sixties, and strangely -- it really works and adds a Sean Connery-ish 007 vibe to the whole event, mini-skirts, impending war and all. A great cast -- particularily McAvoy and Fassbender (as Xavier and Magneto respectively), fantastic script and directing, as well as being able to service the fanboys as much as they do the mainstream moviegoers -- make this the first big summer film to see!

*SPOILER* mid-way through the film, there’s a special surprise guest appearance by a MAJOR Marvel character -- no other hints! It’s worth it just to see this one scene with him (or her) though! As well, seeing January Jones in her underwear for 90% of the film, almost makes up for her acting!

Meooowwwwwwww! hiss! hiss!

A British coming-of-age film about a 15 year-old British boy who has 2 goals in life:

Save his parents marriage.
Lose his virginity before he’s 16.

It’s a sweet, quirky film that will surely charm all that give it a try. More “human” films like this we need.

Ewan McGregor plays Oliver. His father Hal (Christopher Plummer) was a man who only started to live life to the fullest after he came out of the closet as a gay man at the age of 75 -- after 44 years of marriage. This new dynamic of honesty and bravery in Hal’s life, only brings father and son much closer. Months after Hal dies, Oliver meets the love of his life…. Anna. He learns from his father that finding happiness, being brave and finding humour and joy in life -- is truly what’s important. It’s what allows him to truly find love with this woman. It’s a film about what’s important in life -- love.

The original The Hangover film was essentially the Citizen Kane of bachelor party films. People loved that film so much, that they had to bring the Wolfpack back for a second run. This time, Phil (Bradley Cooper) and Alan (Zach Galifianakis) are back to celebrate ANOTHER wedding of Stu (Ed Helms) -- and of course -- another bachelor party. Of course, Mr. Chow (Ken Jeung) is back as well.

They pretty much follow the formula of the first movie, but bring it up a few notches in intensity. Instead of Vegas, the wedding and bachelor party occur in Bangkok, which makes Vegas look like Disneyland. Like the first film, something goes incredibly bad on the night of the bachelor party and they wake up in a dank, dirty hotel room in Bangkok not knowing what happened. Somehow, they lose Stu’s future brother-in-law Teddy (played by Mason Lee, son of actor Ang Lee) and spend the rest of the movie trying to figure out what happened to them the night before. Adding to the craziness is Paul Giamatti -- excellent in a very menacing role -- and a smoking, drug-dealing monkey (played.. by a monkey).

There’s been a lot of whining by a lot of critics out there saying that this film adds nothing new to the film experience, that it’s repetitive, that you’ve seen it before… and while that may be somewhat true, it works anyways. It’s a lot of fun and you’ll enjoy the ride. I was at the premiere this week and people were laughing intensely from beginning to end. People loved it! Most people I talked to said they preferred it to the original. I personally see it as a modern Three Stooges film, and like the Stooges -- you either get it or you don’t.

Kid’s loved the original Kung Fu Panda movie, so of course -- it’s time for another! In the original movie, Po the Panda -- achieved his goal of becoming the Dragon Warrior, and became the protector of the Valley of Peace along with his friends and fellow kung-fu members “The Furious Five” (strangely, Vin Diesel isn’t one of them, guess they weren’t FAST enough). This dream is almost crushed when a great villain enters the scene and tries to conquer China -- and destroy kung-fu!

Great animation, thrilling battles and a lot of laughs -- plus incredible 3D -- will make this a great one for the kids this weekend. Of course, having a great cast voice the characters with such star-talent as Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Seth Rogen, Dustin Hoffman and Gary Oldman certainly doesn’t hurt either. It’s a lot of fun!

Directed by Terrence Malick (of Badlands, The Thin Red Line and Days of Heaven fame), this movie follows the life journey of an eldest son from childhood to adulthood. His innocence quickly becomes disillusionment as he gets older. The movie explores the relationship between Jack and his father (played by Brad Pitt), and we see it looking back from the older Jack played by Sean Penn -- as he’s trying to reconcile that relationship and essentially figure out what his life is.

You could say that this movie is artsy, pretentious and sometimes deliberately made hard to understand -- and you’d probably be right, but sometimes that’s good for the soul. Save this one for an afternoon, when you just want to ponder existence.

The 4th installment of the Pirates of Caribbean saga find Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow voyaging across the cruel seas searching out for the fabled Fountain of Youth. Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom are sadly absent this time, but Geoffrey Rush’s Captain Hector Barbossa returns joined for the adventure by the beautiful Penelope Cruz as Sparrow’s love interest/competition and ian McShane of Deadwood fame as the famous pirate Blackbeard. Strangely, the movie is based on the novel On Stranger Tides by fantasy novelist Tim Powers -- which has absolutely NOTHING at all to do with the Pirates franchise, but was a great book worth adapting to the franchise already in place.

Critics say that the 4th time, is unfortunately not the best of 4. It’s overlong, tedious and boring, as well as repetitive. “Predictable” is a word that’s often been bandied about in referring to this film. Still, there’s worse things you could do than watch a rollicking pirates adventure on a Saturday afternoon!

Written and directed by Woody Allen. Starring Owen Wilson, Adrienne Brody, Rachel McAdams, Kathy Bates & Carla Bruni. Essentially Woody Allen doing a film with the cast of a Wes Anderson (who directed/produced/wrote The Royal Tenebaums amongst other classics) film. It’s all about the “City of Love” and about how people think that somehow their life would be so different if they had someone else’s life. It’s funny, quaint and sweet, brilliantly written and acted -- and maybe one of the best films Allen has done in over a decade. There’s 2 types of people in this world, those that “get” Woody Allen -- and those that don’t. If you’re one of those that “get” him -- you’re in for a treat. If you’re one of those people who don’t “get” him, well -- at least you have another Transformers film to look forward to this summer.

A fantastic documentary that focuses on 4 Chicago high-school poetry teams as they prepare to compete in the world’s largest group “slam”. It’s not just about poetry readings. It’s an exploration of language, of kid’s creativity, of young people finding their voice -- and exploring that how this can change the world. People who loved Hoop Dreams will also find something that will touch them in this.

Paul Bettany who last donned robes as the albino monk in The DaVinci Code, once again dons holy garb in this post-apocalyptic western/sci-fi/vampire thriller based on the famous manga/comic about a Warrior Priest recovering from the last great Vampire War, who comes out of his retirement to save his niece from the foul vampires that have kidnapped her. It’s certainly not terrible -- a lot of the action sequences are cool, BUT if you saw Thor last week you NOW expect a higher-calibre for comic-inspired films. It is what it is, a fun B-film to enjoy on cheapiie Tuesdays at the local grindhouse.

Sure, you can see it in 3D, but there’s not much point to that. The only thing you’d get out of that is that you’d make your wallet $3 lighter.

They’re promoting this as “The Hangover for chicks”. SNL’s Kristen Wiig’s stars in this Judd Apatow (the guy who brought you hits like The 40 Year Old Virgin, Freaks & Geeks and Anchorman amongst others) produced film directed by Paul Feig -- who is known for not much more than That Thing You Do and the third Naked Gun film. Wiig leads the cast as Annie, a woman who’s life unravels as she’s asked to be the maid of honour when her best friend Lillian (played by the uber-talented SNL veteran Maya Rudolph, who lasted wowed us in indie hit Away We Go -- a small film that few have seen, but is worth seeing!). Of course, hilarity ensues. Along for the ride in this “out there” comedy, is Rose Byrne, Melissa McCarthy from Mike & Molly (who’s a real standout in this film) and Ellie Kemper (who’s great as Erin the receptionist on The Office).

Wiig, who’s starting to be annoying on SNL, just shines as an “everywoman” in this movie. This movie is the perfect solution to every “chick flick” that’s come out the last 10 years, and hopefully is a model of what should be done instead of what has. Boosted by a great cast and funny writing, this is a movie that will have you laughing. Highly recommended.

The great Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars as Hesher, a man with a questionable past who enters the life of a young boy T.J.and his pill-popping father (played by Rainn Wilson of The Office fame) after T.J. loses his mother in a car accident. He just starts squatting in their garage, uninvited, and they’re so grief stricken by their loss that they can’t muster the strength to get him out. Soon enough, Hesher not only becomes a regular fixture in their lives, but gets them past the grief to embrace life through the whirlwind of anarchy and excitement that his whole being is.

What nobody is saying about this film, is that it’s inspired by the late Metallica bassist Cliff Burton.

Natalie Portman not only co-stars in this film, but produced it as well.

See this, if for no other reason than to see how bloody talented Joseph Gordon-Levitt is! Recommended films to see by him are Brick and The Lookout, really these films are must-see movies!

When famed multi-Award winning actor/writer/director Kenneth Branagh does a film one can’t help notice it. When the same guy directs a superhero movie, you know you can prepare to be blown away.

Branagh brings the Marvel comics mainstay to the silver screen finally. This isn’t the tale of a mere mortal who gains powers beyond other men, someone who fights evil in all it’s guises. This is the story of a mighty God, banished by his father for his arrogance to spend his time on what they call Midgard -- what we call Earth. While he’s there, Earth gets attacked by evil beings -- and he must defend his new home. At it’s heart when you look past the flashy super-heroics, it’s really about relationships -- father-son relationships, brother-brother relationships, about what family really is. It’s also about growing up, being a part of things. It’s that -- PLUS an epic slam-banging battle-strewn superhero tale that reads like SHAKESPEARE directing the WWE!!!

Chris Hemsworth, who played the all too brief part as Captain Kirk’s father in the re-booted Star Trek fits quite admirably in the role of the Thunder God, he goes from arrogant son to glorious warrior over the 2 hours 10 minute running of the film. Who else could play the role of a Thunder God’s father than the great Sir Anthony Hopkins, and he shines as expected in this film? Tom Hiddleston from the Harry Potter films does a great job of playing Thor’s devious brother loki. Along for the ride are Natalie Portman as Jane Foster, who’s Thor’s love interest in the film, more than making up for EVERYTHING she’s done since wowing us in Black Swan, she should have just skipped Your Royal Highness and that ridiculous Ashton Kutchner film and just waited for this.

Superhero films are traditionally HIT(ie- Spider-Man, ) or MISS (ie- fantastic Four, Green Hornet) -- count this as a sure-fire hit!

UPDATE: just saw the sneak preview premiere last night and let me tell you, this film delivers. While I was unsure of them picking a relatively unknown Chris Hemsworth to play the role of THOR, he was excellent and shows a LOT of star potential in this. Tom Hiddleston as Loki was amazing, and in my opinion could certainly deliver a film just on his own. His Loki was complex and devious -- and even likeable -- all great characteristics for a memorable villain. Natalie Portman, who wowed us in Black Swan and not much else recently, was essentially pretty window-dressing playing the stock girlfriend character. Kat Dennings, who played a small supporting part in the film, would have made a much better choice in retrospect. The mighty WARRIORS THREE (in this film more aptly called the WARRIORS FOUR) were good enough to spin-off in their own series of films, something along the lines of The Three Musketeers. All in all, an amazing film that you’ll enjoy at the theatres this weekend. Also, stay till AFTER THE CREDITS -- there’s more to see, just saying!

This film opened a few weeks ago in limited release, but finally opens wide this week. Like the famed Snakes on a Plane, the title explains it all -- the great Rutger Hauer of B-movie fame plays… a HOBO with a SHOTGUN -- that’s all you really have to know. Spinning out of a fake trailer that ran during the Quentin Tarantino-Robert Rodriguez masterpiece Grindhouse, it joins the ranks of the recent hit Machete which wowed audiences last summer. It’s a B-movie masterpiece that has to be seen. Sure, it looks like it cost them $20 to make, but it’s just about the most fun you can have in a theatre with your pants still on. As a special bonus, since the film was primarily filmed in Nova Scotia, you’ll see a lot of actors and locations that normally inhabit the cult-cable show Trailer Park Boys -- in fact the movie starts off with one of the main TPB guys getting his head ripped off. Oh yeah, there’s a twisted love story somewhere in there too.

Highly recommended!

Yet another romantic comedy that follows the exact same formula that every other romantic comedy has recently. Along for the ride this time is John Krasinski, who wows us as Jim on NBC’s The Office, has proven to be mostly disappointing and box-office poison on the big screen (though he was AWESOME in small indie film Away We Go). Also there, Kate Hudson -- who showed great promise in Almost Famous but nothing since -- and Ginnifer Goodwin who was great on HBO’s Big Love but now seems doomed to do bad romantic comedies like this and He’s Just Not That Into You.

Something Borrowed borrows the plost of every other romantic comedy -- there’s the “I’m 30 and need to fall in love”, there’s the “Your with him, but he was really meant for me”, there’s the “We’re best friends and we share all our secrets -- oh no- we’re in love”. The only entertaining thing about watching this movie, is knowing that every other guy in the theatre was forced to see it by their girlfriend just like you were.

He’s baaaaaackkk! They said it’d never happen but Mel Gibson returns to the big screen after a few years of directing and general “bad behavior”. In The Beaver Mel stars along with his Maverick co-star Jodie Foster (who also directs). It’s a story about a man who suffers from the throes of depression so bad that it drives his family and loved ones away. He just can’t get his life back. But then, something crazy and wonderful happens, he finds this “beaver” hand-puppet -- which he uses to express his inner-self and allows him to find his way back. It’s a goofy premise, but it apparently works. A great script, Jodie Foster’s directing and Mel Gibson’s return as a SOLID and emotional actor -- makes this a great film to see. Will audiences flock to see this after all the crap Gibson has “apparently” done? That’s the question everybody is waiting to hear the answers of. Just know this, if you’re looking for a well-acted and directed film, full of emotional and family moments -- and you can look past what’s happened to the man rather than the actor -- then chances are this will be something you’ll enjoy. My guess -- is that despite how good this film looks, that it’ll disappear from the theatres within 2 weeks mostly because of how people see Mel now, which is a shame.

Yet another film in the Fast and the Furious franchise. In this one, pretty much anybody who’s been in a F&F film returns along for a crazy ride that is a welcome successor to earlier films in the franchise. Of course, the usual suspects return as Paul Walker, Vin Diesel & Jordana Brewster appear again as ex-cop O’Conner (Walker) and Mia (Brewster) break Dom (Diesel) out of custody and go on the run. For them to get their freedom, they must re-unite their old team of elite racers and pull one last job for a guy that’s the baddest of the bad. Chasing these racers are rough and tough federal agent Luke Hobb, played by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who’s pursuing them even though it’s at times blurred who’s the good guys and who’s the bad guys.

Fast Five follows the winning formula that made all the other films in the franchise so much fun. It’s just all out, B-movie action full of car chases and fights that will keep you on the edge of your seats the whole time. If you dug the other films, this is a must-see for you! This is the type of mindless, summer fluff that we look forward to each year. It’s just a shame that drive-ins aren’t around anymore to showcase great stuff like this.

Dylan Dog: Dead of Night

Starring Brandon Routh, who was the last guy who played Superman in the movies, stars as Dylan Dog -- a world famous P.I. who specializes in the supernatural. It’s based on the best-selling European comic book character of the same name -- which at last count sold 60 million copies, so it’s kind of cool Routh is back as a comic character again. In Superman Returns he was actually pretty good, but that couldn’t save the film from a lousy script or a director who just made bad choices (yes I’m talking about you Bryan Singer! You disappointed us all!) -- maybe this is the film that will bring him stardom, one only hopes. The premise of this, is that all those monsters you read about as a kid -- the werewolves, the vampires, the zombies -- they’re all real. Their whole key to survival is in all of us thinking they’re not real. This is a horror/comedy, in the same vein as Hellboy and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and bears a huge resemblance to the BBC show Being Human (and it’s American remake) -- but with a private investigator. Think Constantine, but with a comedic edge -- and good.

It’s a smaller film, but that might be one of it’s charms. This could quickly become a cult film just like Shaun of the Dead became.

13 Assassins

Cult Director Takeshi Miike of Ichi the Killer and Audition fame returns for this period piece set in feudal Japan about a group of unemployed Samurai warriors hired to bring down a sadistic overlord who seems fated to ascend to the throne and bring the country into a wartorn future. This is a grand-scale epic Samurai film, along the same vein of Red Cliffs, Once Upon A Time in China and Hero -- that is jam-packed full of the blood, violence & swordplay that we expect out of such a film. Unlike American films, the Japanese make historical films that are just as exciting and vibrant as anything set in modern times, maybe even more-so. Be prepared to be blown away by this!

Next week: THOR!

Based on the acclaimed novel by Sarah Gruen, Water for Elephants is the epic story of story of veterinary school student who drops out of school after his parents tragically die in an accident. He joins a travelling circus as their vet, which is where he meets and falls in love with their star performer Marlena. Unfortunately, Marlena is married to a very dangerous man.

This movie is a real throwback to the great rollicking adventure movies of the 30’s and 40’s, voyages to exotic lands, set in a travelling Big Top environment and a great love story. Unfortunately, it stars Robert Pattinson who can’t act his way out of a paper bag. Not much more can be said about co-star Reese Witherspoon’s ability as well. The one saving grace of the film is Christopher Waltz, who blew us away with his role in Inglourious Basterds as August -- Marlena’s charismatic but very dangerous husband.

It’s a shame, because this is a film, that could have been great -- but instead is just ok.

African Cats

Brought to you by the fine folks at DISNEYnature, this is a documentary about 2 families of African lions and how they bring up and protect their families. They’re pitching it as the “real life LION KING”, but it’s worth seeing for the fact that we’re now able to capture the beauty of these fellow creatures of the world and explore how they live on camera like we can now. Samuel L. Jackson narrates.

Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Big Happy Family

Tyler Perry makes yet another crappy film based on his Madea character, that will make him one step closer to being “Oprah” rich. To the lilly-white audiences out there that still don’t know what this whole Tyler Perry “Madea” nonsense is, Tyler Perry directs/writes/plays Madea -- a no-nonsense, tell it how it is, chunky African American matriach, who is immersed in the happenings and going ons of her extended family. It’s essentially Twilight for “urban audiences”. You may see it by accident on tv one weekend and think it’s another Klumps movie, don’t feel too embarrassed, happens to the best of us. Just know this, he’ll make millions upon millions making essentially the same film he’s made for the last 10 years, and probably make a dozen more like it. All the power to him I guess.

POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold

Morgan Spurlock of Super Size Me fame comes back with yet another cutting-edge documentary, this time about product placement, marketing & advertising in films. There is a catch however, this film is entirely financed by product placement, marketing & advertising -- you can’t get much more “meta” than that.

Most people don’t even realize how much of the entertainment they watch is financed by product placement. Some obvious examples are in shows like American Idol where the hosts seem to constantly be drinking out of Coca-Cola cups (though who knows what is inside those cups right?). Less obvious, are the cars they drive, clothes they wear, food they eat, etc. Even in comic books, there has been some product placement, as shown recently in some Marvel comics where certain characters were shown wearing a specific brand of shoe. The brands weren’t mentioned, but the labels were in quite plain view.

In exploring this modern trend, Spurlock goes one further, by making a film about product placement, completely financed by product placement. Marshall McLuhan would be proud!

Stars Academy Award Winner Saiirse Ronan as a 16 year old girl named Hanna, raised by her ex-CIA father in the wilds of Finland. Taught to hunt to hunt and survive through lessons in extreme self-defense, she is molded to become the perfect assassin. Her father sends her into the world on on a mission, she must elude ruthless intelligence agents in order to complete her task. The ultimate revenge thriller. Also stars Cate Blanchett as one of the agents tracking her down.

There are elements that seem similar to the classic thriller LEON:The Professional, but it still stands on it’s own and early reviews have been great.

ARTHUR

A re-invention of the original comedy classic Arthur (1981) which starred Dudley Moore, Liza Minelli and the amazing (and much missed) John Gielguld. This time the role of Arthur is played by British shock-comedian Russell Brand. The role of Hobson (played by the late John Gielguld) is changed into his nanny played by the great dame Helen Mirren, essentially having the same role in Arthur’s life.

Like the original, Arthur is a drunken, womanizing playboy -- a heir to a great fortune. Thinking that he’d end up nothing but a fool, his family gives him the ultimatum of marrying a wealthy heiress Susan (played by Jennifer Garner) who they hope will turn him around. He doesn’t love her, but if he doesn’t go along with his family’s plans, he’ll lose his inheritance. Of course, when you’re not looking for it, that’s when you fall in love -- unfortunately, it’s not with Susan but with a working class girl of whom his family disapproves.

Will he go for the money or go for love? What will he do when he’s caught between the moon and New York City?

Your Highness

There’s been many a story told of a handsome knight who seeks to rescue the fair maiden, and maybe fight a few dragons along the way. No one speaks of the handsome knight’s incompetent brother, who spends most of his time getting stoned and drunk and spends his free time with having sex with easy maidens just waiting for him. When the handsome knight (James Franco) has his love (played by the deliciously goofy Zoey Deschannel) captured, he must undertake the journey to get her back. Against all odds he must fight. Their father pushes his bumbling brother (played by Danny McBride) to join his brother on his quest, or get cut off from his wealth and power. Along the line they are joined by a female warrior, played by the beautiful Nathalie Portman, who helps them along with their task,

This is essentially a medieval stoner comedy. People who liked A Princess Bride or A Knight’s Tale will no doubt have fun with this as well. While not great art, it’ll definitely be a great, rollicking adventure that you’ll have fun with.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules

This is a sequel to the 2010 hit movie Diary of a Wimpy Kid, which itself was based on the bestselling kid’s book series by Jeff Kinney.

In this one, Greg’s parents want him and his brother Rodrick to start bonding together. Of course, when your brother’s a bully and your his target, this isn’t as easy as it sounds.

If you’re an adult, you’re probably hoping that your kid will settle for watching this on DVD. If you’re a 12 year old kid, chances are you’ll love watching this in the theatre. Either way, this movie is a license for the studios to make money. It’s definitely no masterpiece, but the kids -- who this movie is made for -- will love it.

Sucker Punch

A scared girl escapes her tortured existence by escaping into a dream world where she’s powerful and has the strength to fight back, to battle her way to freedom. babydoll (played by Emily Browning) takes along 4 of her friends along on this journey, battling everything from samurai to serpents.

Director Zack Snyder, of 300 and Watchmen fame, has with his team put together an impressive and visually stunning universe for Babydoll & friends to escape into. It’s really impressive to see the world he’s created, just as it was seeing what Ridley Scott & team created for Blade Runner. In terms of story, it’s not much deeper than a cool videogame, but it’s fun and entertaining nonetheless.

Hobo With a Shotgun

This movie is based on another fake trailer that was packed into the Canadian release of Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez’s Grindhouse movie, after it won a contest. Like Machete, it was so popular that they decided to spin it off into being a real film, but added Rutger Hauer to the main role of the Hobo.

Like Snakes on a Plane, this film is summed up by it’s title, it’s a Hobo -- with a shotgun. It doesn’t get any deeper than that. Directed by Jason Eisener, this film is a real homage to the classic B-films of the ’70s. It’s brilliant, over-the-top violent blood filled exploitation -- with a Hobo and a shotgun. Since it was filmed in Nova Scotia, you get the added bonus of seeing cast and scenery from the popular Trailer Park Boys tv show. In fact, the movie starts off with Rob Wells (who plays “Ricky” on TPB) having his head ripped off. That’s when you know you’re in for a classic film.

I could go more into the plot of the film, but what’s the point -- it’s a hobo with a shotgun, and that should be enough.

As a BONUS, I’ve included the original Hobo With a Shotgun trailer that inspired this film.

LIMITLESS

Imagine if you could take a pill, that changed everything. It allowed you to untap your inner potential that you never had access to before. You became smarter, better. All of a sudden you could learn a new language in a day, recall anything you’ve ever learnt or heard, solve complex equations with computer-like precision. In Limitless, that the situation that Eddie Morra (played by Bradley Cooper) finds himself in when he starts taking a drug called NZT. He pushes beyond any limits he once has. He uses his skills to play the stock market and becomes wealthy beyond his any dreams. Because of this, he gets noticed by wealthy and powerful people who see him as a threat to their own power, so they decide to make sure that doesn’t happen by any means. Robert De Niro plays one of these powerful men out to put him down.

Critics say that this is an entertaining film, and Bradley Cooper has gone a long way in proving that he’s leading man material.

If this sounds a bit familiar, it’s because they essentially did this movie over 40 years ago -- in the classic Academy Award winning movie Charly starring Cliff Robertson and Claire Bloom (based on the book “Flowers for Algernon”). In that film, a retarded man becomes a genius after some experiments are done on him. It’s more about what man could be, and what he really is -- as well as a tragic love story. Like Limitless, it’s also a commentary on the classic tale of Icarus, of man who tried to fly too close to the sun with wax wings.

The Lincoln Lawyer

Matthew McConaughey plays Mickey Holler, a Los Angeles based criminal defense attorney who operates out of the back of his Lincoln Sedan. Of course he’s jaded and burnt out, like every other lawyer film you’ve seen in the past 40 years, but then -- like always -- he encounters a case that changes everything. Yes, it’s completely predictable, but many critics say it’s very entertaining and a return to form that showcases the promise that many critics say that McConaughey had at the beginning of his career with such films as A Time To Kill, before he went the easy route of romantic comedies. Doesn’t hurt that he has a fantastic supporting cast in actors such as Marisa Tomei, Ryan Phillipe and the great William H. Macey.

Not only is this film a great vehicle for McConaughey, but it could also be the start of a franchise.

Paul

Yet another comedy starring the team of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost -- who both wowed us in Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. This time they star as 2 sci-fi geeks who are RV-ing on a pilgrimage across America’s UFO heartlands. Along the way, they encounter an escaped alien named Paul, who has escaped from government detainment and is en route to his mother ship so he can finally go home. Of course, federal agents are in pursuit.

Directed by Greg Motolla, the guy who did Super Bad.

This movie is essentially the anti-ET, but more rude. While funny, Seth Rogen as Paul, starts to get annoying about 30 minutes into it. Personally, I thought he started getting annoying about 30 minutes into The Green Hornet, but that’s just me. It’s entertaining, but defeinitely not anything to rush to the theatres for.

Battle: Los Angeles

Remember all those UFO sightings over the years that we wondered and laughed about? Turns out it was no laughing matter, as these once harmless sightings turn into a full-scale attack on Earth. We’re almost taken over. Los Angeles stands as the last battleground against the aliens, we must hold our ground.

Leading his platoon is Ssgt Michael Nantz played by Aaron Eckhart.

This is a great, old time “US versus THEM” type of movie, this time “THEM” being alien invaders instead of Nazis, Russians or any other enemy we’ve fought. Imagine War of the Worlds with a more militaristic angle.

Is is derivative of other movies we’ve seen? Of course -- it doesn’t really break any new ground. Then again, do we really expect a movie like this to do that? It’s over-the-top action-packed and explosion-laced popcorn fun, anyone wanting to just sit down and immerse themselves in 2 hours of slam-bang entertainment will get just that. Platoon it isn’t, but then again, I think Charlie Sheen is a bit too busy these days to do that again anyways.

Red Riding Hood

Amanda Seyfreid stars in this Twilight-inspired horror remake of the classic tale. Gary Oldman co-stars. Directed by Catherine Hardwicke, who was involved SURPRISINGLY in the Twilight franchise herself.

In this re-telling of the tale, a village makes monthly animal sacrifices to keep the beast at bay. Upon a blood red moon, the beast attacks and kills a human. The villagers decide to hunt and kill the beast that has plagued them for so long. The problem is -- the beast is one of them, but they don’t know who.

Mars Needs Moms

Martians needs moms for their young ones, so they start stealing ours. Their one mistake, kidnapping Milo’s mom, because he’ll do anything to get her back.

This animated comedy stars Seth Green as the voice of young Milo and the GREAT Joan Cusack as the voice of “mom”. It’s based on the best-selling book by Berkley Breathed, the creator of Bloom County. Unfortunately, they used that really creepy animation that they used in Disney’s A Christmas Carol and the Polar Express -- where everything looks kind of realistic, but leaves you with a creepy feeling as if they have no soul. With Berkley Breathed’s art as an inspiration, one wonders why they didn’t use more traditional animation, it would have suited the project more. And Seth Green and Joan Cusack are great, but mostly wasted in this by the book kid’s comedy. Will young kids like it, no doubt they’ll be entertained while it’s playing, but not much more beyond that.

What do you plan on seeing this week?

RANGO

A pet lizard goes on an adventure to discover his true self. He ends up having adventures in an “Old West” type setting populated by other creatures of the desert. Feeling like he’s fated to be a hero, he takes the job of Sheriff in a town where Sheriff’s don’t end up well.

Johnny Depp is featured as the voice of the lizard Rango. Other talents doing voices for this CGI animated feature are Isla Fisher, Bill Night, Alfred Melina and Harry Dean Stanton.

The film is just silly slapstick fun, and is a great homage to and satire of great westerns. A film it owes a great deal to is Mel Brook’s classic western comedy Blazing Saddles, which if you haven’t seen yet -- do so right away, it’s a classic!

It’s a film that adults will love as much as the kids, maybe more-so. It may be a little too adult for younger kids, but most of that will fly over their heads -- so you’ll be ok bringing them. This movie can be appreciated on a lot of different levels, and early reviews have said it’s very entertaining, some even say it could be an Oscar contender for next year’s Academy Awards.

The Adjustment Bureau

Matt Damon and Emily Blunt star in this adaption of a Philip K. Dick short story, the same guy who wrote the novels that inspired such films as Total Recall, Minority Report and Blade Runner. It’s all about a man who pursues a woman that he’s not fated to be with, only to be chased down by a group of mysterious men in suits who conspire to make sure fate isn’t changed. It’s all an exploration of free will versus fate, and what true love can do to change your life. Imagine a Matrix-lite crossed with The Time-Traveller’s Wife. It’s definitely a popcorn film that you’ll enjoy.

Beastly

Alex Pettyfer (I Am Number Four) and Vanessa Hudgens (High School Musical) star in this modern-day remake of the classical tale of Beauty & the Beast. Obnoxious and arrogant prettyboy Kyle Kingson (Pettyfer) is an obnoxious jerk to the wrong girl -- a goth girl with some witchy skills played by Mary-Kate Olsen (who I hope saved all that money she made before she hit puberty). Goth girl gets him back that places a curse that takes everything away from him -- steals his looks, wealth, everything. The only way he can get all this back, is if he finds true love as he is, without all that he had before. Hudgens plays the “beauty” part of the film.

It’s really not worth your time at all. It’s the same old tale, filtered through Twilight and Gossip Girl. And Alex Pettyfer is HORRIBLE in the lead, just horrible. Amazingly, he’s had the lead in 2 films within a month of each other’s release, and done a horrible job in both.

Would I recommend seeing it, definitely not. If you’re into Twilight type stuff, wait till a cheap movie night or it comes out on DVD.

Your marriage seems to be getting stale and your husband is distracted? For two wives (Jenna Fischer of The Office fame & the beautiful Christina Applegate) their solution to this problem is granting their idiot husbands, played by Owen Wilson and Jason Sudeikis (of SNL fame) a “hall pass”- permission to do anything (or anyone) for a week, no questions asked, no consequences to their relationship. Sounds like a dream come true to these guys, until they’re faced with the sad reality that faces most guys dating in their late 30’s deal with.

On top of this incredible cast, this film is directed by the Farrelly Bros., the comedy geniuses behind such classics as Dumb & Dumber and There’s Something About Mary.

While it’s not great art, it’s exactly what you’d expect out of a film coming from all the talent that’s involved -- a great, over-the-top laugh-your-ass off comedy that will keep you rolling in your seats. It’s something along the lines of Tom Hank’s Bachelor Party crossed with The Hangover as interpreted by the Farrelly Bros. skewed way of looking at life. It’s exactly what it seems to be, with no apologies, but sometimes that’s more than enough to give you a great time at the theatre.

Drive Angry (in 3D)

A vengeful father seeks revenge on those that hurt his family, that killed his daughter, that kidnapped his granddaughter…. we’ve seen this a dozen times before in cinema. The big difference this time, is that our “hero” (played by the ever-wigged Nicholas Cage) is dead himself and banished to Hell, so to get revenge he first has to escape from Hell and make sure he doesn’t get caught on his way out.

So it’s more than just a revenge flick, it’s a revenge flick from Hell! It’s B-movie exploitation roots are right up front, and with recent films such as Grindhouse and Machete delighting fans, it’s obvious that moviegoers will have a lot of fun watching this. This over the top and inspired lunatic action film has an extra plus -- incredibly over the top and cheesy 3D effects, which the film was created in mind of, not added as an after-effect to sell a few more tickets.

Again, not great art, more trashy entertainment than anything else -- but films like this make going to the movies fun again. Obviously not meant for everyone, but people that do enjoy this type of film will love it.

Shelter

The great and talented Julianne Moore stars as a forensic psychiatrist who discovers that all of her patient’s multiple personalities -- are those of recent murder victims. Sometimes you’re better not knowing things, and this knowledge puts her and her young daughter in danger grave enough to make them run for their lives.

Great cast (including Jonathan Rhys Meyers from The Tudors) and a really cool premise, unfortunately doesn’t make up for the gaping plot holes in this film. While not a horrible film, making a film that’s just “ok” with what it could have been, makes this film all the more damnable. This will probably be better seen on DVD than seen in theatre. To see something great with the uber-talented Julianne Moore that few have seen, I recommend picking up SAFE, about a woman who ends up increasingly sensitive and hyper-allergic to normal things in her environment -- or she may just be crazy, is up to you to figure out. Worth the insane amount of time you will spend searching for.

All in all, this week is really the first week of 2011 that offers 3 new films worth seeing. The upcoming few weeks, with such films as the animated Rango, the questionable Elektra Luxx, weird love story Beastly and Inception-like The Adjustment Bureau show March to be a very interesting one to look forward to in terms of film.

Have a great weekend! See you at the theatres!

This is a great Euro-type thriller starring Liam Neeson as Dr. Martin Harris -- a man who gets into an accident while he’s away at a conference in Germany, goes into a coma and wakes up four days later only to find out no one knows him, including his lovely wife played by January Jones (of MAD MEN fame). Not only that, but there’s another Dr. Martin Harris in his place -- and married to his wife as well. He’s ignored by the authorities and being chased by mysterious assassins.

Expect a lot of action and twists as you watch. Admittedly, not every twist makes complete sense and some stuff is pulled out of nowhere, but that’s pretty typical of the genre so it can be forgiven. Overall an excellent cast, Liam puts in an excellent and driven performance. Sadly, veteran actor Frank Langella and European actor Bruno Ganz are in the movie way too small a time. Diane Kruger puts in a great performance as well. January Jones, who showed such promise in MAD MEN, doesn’t do much to impress in this one.

The movie is mired in paranoia to a point where it almost bothers you. I detect hints of The Spy Who Came In From The Cold and The Fugitive tv show, especially with the veteran actors involved. All in all, a pretty decent film that you’ll enjoy. That all being said, the real reason any of you will see it is to see Liam Neeson kick the crap out of people -- and there’s plenty of that in the film as well!

I Am Number Four

Remember that TV show Roswell about alien kids hiding out on earth amongst us, while mysterious people were hunting them down? Take that, but do it as Twilight with aliens rather than vampires, add the cute blonde chick from Glee (Dianna Agron) and have it written by the same guy that Oprah invited her back on her show just so she could bitch-slap him around the stage for coming on before and claiming that his supposed autobiography A Million Little Pieces was real and not the lie it was later revealed to be. Those of you who’s eyes lighted up when I compared it to Twilight I expect already to have tickets to see it, most others should probably avoid it.

Big Momma: Like Father, Like Son

Oh LORDY!

Just when you least expected it, FBI Agent Malcolm Turner returns, as does his deep undercover alter-ego Big Momma. Along for the ride, is his teen-aged stepson, also dressing up as a “feisty & chunky black woman”.

*sigh*

Does anyone remember when Martin Lawrence (or Eddie Murphy for that matter) were seen as comedians challenging the medium? What happened? Now all these guys do it formulaic pablum of the lowest common denominator. Not only that, but when their garbage does well -- they do a zillion sequels just as bad.

Do me a favour, instead of watching this -- watch the original 48 Hours with Eddie Murphy to see the type of challenging and complex roles guys like Martin Lawrence and Eddie Murphy should be playing -- because they are that talented.

That’s it for this week. Keep entertained!

Justin Bieber: Never Say Never (in 3D)

My admission to you! Before I started writing this review, I was ready to crap all over this movie. It seems like it’s nothing more than pandering garbage manufactured to essentially be an ad for the latest fake flavour of the month.

But then I stood back for a minute and looked at it objectively. This is a film that’s part documentary/part concert film about the life and career of Justin Bieber. It’s not the first film of it’s kind, there’s been quite a few great films in this genre done by great acts such as The Beatles, Elvis, Metallica, Meat Loaf, U2 and a whole lot of others. The main difference this time, is that the focus of this film, Justin Bieber, actually grew up in a time where someone’s life could pretty well be documented quite easily from birth until death -- and we’re actually able to see Justin’s rise from a young kid growing up in Stratford, Ontario to becoming the megastar he is today. Forget about the fact that he sings “top 10″ pop and look beyond that, we finally are able to have a Truman Show-like experience with a talent evolving, such as Bieber’s. One of the reasons American Idol does so well, is that we get to see this as well.

It’s true, this film seems a bit manufactured -- as does Justin Beiber’s music/talent, but imagine if you were a fan -- how amazing it’d be to see something like this about someone you were a fan of, it’d be pure bliss. It’s true that the film is a little bit heavy handed in making Justin Bieber look like the second coming -- but would you expect any less? The film ends with a concert in 3D.

If you’re a big fan, you’re seeing this no matter what I say. If you’re not, chances are you won’t see this.. but that doesn’t matter -- they didn’t make this film for you at all. That being said, the film editors did an excellent and almost seamless job of putting the film together -- and even non-fans might enjoy it.

Just Go With It

Every guy has an angle in picking up women, and Adam Sandler’s character’s angle is that he pretends he’s married -- figuring hot women love the “forbidden fruit”. It works for him until he meets a woman that knocks his boots off, played by the beautiful Brooklyn Decker. When things get serious, she wants to meet his ex-wife -- problem -- that was the lie he used to get her. Rather than admit his lie, he continues it by pretending his assistant played by the lovely Jennifer Aniston -- is his ex-wife to be.

Comedy ensues.

Critics have not been too kind with this film at all, saying that it’s poorly written and COMPLETELY predictable -- despite having a decent (and likable) cast -- which includes Nicole Kidman who isn’t even in the ads for some reason. Adam Sandler, as always, plays Adam Sandler. Jennifer Aniston keeps on her descent into oblivion with yet another romantic comedy that isn’t that great -- more the loss when you see how fantastic she was in her performance in The Good Girl -- a film that few people have seen.

My recommendation -- wait for this film to hit blu-ray/dvd. If you’re in the mood for Sandler’s “wacky brand of comedy”, get 50 First Dates with Drew Barrymore. If you want to see a great film with Jennifer Aniston, watch the Good Girl.


Gnomeo & Juliet

It’s Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet, except this time done for cheap laughs with garden gnomes, where gnomes are either red gnomes or blue gnomes -- and never mix. Apparently, it’s better than it looks, full of easy laughs complimented by a soundtrack done with a mix of original and classic hits by Elton John -- because you know the kids love Elton John!

If you have young kids, you’ll likely see it. Hopefully, it’s not too rough an experience!

That’s it for this week, have a great Valentine’s!

The Roommate
Sanctum
Waiting For Forever

The Roommate

I’m actually feeling a sense of Deja Vu as I’m writing this…

Produced by movie mastermind James Cameron, this is a 3D action thriller about a team of underwater cave divers on an expedition to the largest, most beautiful .. and least accessible cave system on earth. Since this is an action-thriller, of course they end up trapped deep inside this cave when a tropical storm forces them even deeper in. At that point it becomes a race against time to get out of that cave while they still can.. if they can even find a way out, if there’s even a way out.

Cameron (and his team) developed the special technology used to film in extreme environments such as in this movie. As expected, it’s beautiful and visually stunning to watch. As expected in any film that promotes itself on the technology that it used to film ahead of anything else (yes, I’m looking at you AVATAR!), the writing is bad, the acting is atrocious and the film is packed full of no-name stars.

With the extra-gouge that the studios are charging for 3D or IMAX, I wouldn’t recommend seeing it on a regular movie night -- save a few bucks and see it on “cheapie movie night”.

Waiting For Forever

A boy and girl are best friends. Eventually, they lose touch and live their own separate lives. For one of these 2 friends, the young guy still believes that they’re forever linked and follows her, basing his life around hers and what she does.

It’s supposed to be a story about how true love lasts, but sounds creepy to me and I think she should get a restraining order in place.

Just in time for Valentine’s Day -- enjoy young lovers!

So -- there’s really no new films worth seeing this weekend. Take the opportunity and see Black Swan, 127 Hours or True Grit if you haven’t seen them yet. If you’re staying home -- curl up with an old classic movie and enjoy that. If you haven’t seen the Godfather films yet, now’s your chance (and may I recommend skipping part 3 -- your welcome!).

Have a great weekend!

The Rite
The Mechanic

As expected, like the rest of January -- there’s no big films out for a while -- nothing really HUGE until Battle: Los Angeles coming out mid-March. I’m of course not counting the Justin Bieber 3D bio-pic coming out in 2 weeks, but then again the only people looking forward to that are 12 year old girls and one of the guys I work with (who’s in the 40’s and married, don’t ask me to explain it, he’s amazing otherwise). What this means, is that amongst the batch being released you get a lot of crud, but amongst it, you can occasionally find a diamond in the rough (3D Bieber aside from this!).

The Rite

I make it a point of avoiding any movie whose ads start off with the phrase “starring Academy Award Winner….” -- that’s usually not a great sign that a movie can stand on it’s own. In this case that actor is Sir Anthony Hopkins and the movie he’s the Academy Award Winner in is The Rite. It’s your standard by-the-books exorcism film, elevated only by the performance by Anthony Hopkins into something a bit more. Another bad sign is the phrase “Based on a true story” being used, which so far has only worked for Fargo -- in which case it was a complete lie.

In this film, the story centers around a young priest played by Colin O’Donahue who is sent to the Vatican to study the practice of exorcism. The problem comes in that he’s very modern in his beliefs, and he believes that any case of possession is more based on a deranged psychological state than actual demonic possession. He gets his training under the guidance of Father Lucas (played by Hopkins), who’s had a long history of fighting off demonic threats. The young priest’s faith is suddenly challenged, when the two of them encounter something way worse than either of them could have foreseen.

Critics aren’t being too kind, saying that this film is just retreading ground we’ve already seen in other films, more the shame when it stars someone of Sir Anthony’s calibre. Worse is when the leading man (O’Donahue) lacks any charisma, especially when you have Hopkins by his side in a supporting role.

The Mechanic

In this remake, current action B-star Jason Statham stars in the remake of the 1982 film starring Charles Bronson and Jan-Michael Vincent. Statham stars as Arthur Bishop, a “mechanic” -- a professional who handles sketchy situations no one else can. Assassination is his specialty. When his mentor is killed, he’s forced to take his misfit son under his wing, to train him to be a killer like himself. Donald Sutherland makes an all too short cameo appearance as Statham’s mentor in the film.

It’s definitely not great art, but it’s not supposed to be. It’s just pure over-the-top action/violence, with absolutely no redeeming social value at all, no quiet examination of humanity’s place amongst the cosmos, just a great B-film that you can enjoy while munching on a bag of popcorn. Statham of course, is perfect for the part, he’s the current leader of the B-Action genre. Ben Foster is incredible in the role of the son/assassin-in-training, and at this point in his career it’s amazing that he can either do trashy B-parts or serious Academy-worthy roles. The only dissapointment in this film is Sutherland’s all too short screen time, because he chews up the scenery every moment he’s up on the silver screen. The soundtrack is incredibly diverse, with music ranging from South African to hard rock and classical, and one hopes that they release a soundtrack to accompany the film.

That’s it for this week’s new releases. Still playing and worth a view are Black Swan, True Grit and The King’s Speech.

Have a great weekend!

What’s out this week?

No Strings Attached
The Company of Men

No Strings Attached

This is yet another romantic comedy starring Ashton Kutchner, which like every other film he does will probably sell millions of movie tickets and dvds, but not stimulate any intellectual muscles we may have in place. The plot centers around 2 best friends of the opposite sex, who one day make the decision to have a physical relationship -- they decide to break the taboo and have sex together -- but without the complications of making it about being in “love”. As expected, once the friendship of these two attractive friends heats up with the addition of sex to the mix, feelings do start to change -- and that becomes the main *cough* “thrust” of the movie.

Essentially sounds like every other Ashton Kutchner film you’ve seen right?

What I forgot to mention, was the excellent cast.

Natalie Portman, who is just coming off an Award-worthy performance in Black Swan stars as the best friend who Ashton Kutchner gets involved with. To most film-goers this sounds like almost a backwards move, but even film greats like Clint Eastwood tend to do one trashy film that will make millions of dollars, just so they can do an art film next that will satisfy their artistic integrity/talent. She’s also a young actress, that only has a few more years to get the easy money that other lesser actresses like Jennifer Lopez, Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Garner and all the other Jennifers are making on this crap, so why not?

Also appearing are Mindy Kaling (who shines as “Kelly” in The Office), Carey Elwes (who showed amazing potential in The Princess Bride, but nothing really else since), Lake Bell (often thought of as a “poor man’s Jennifer Connelly”, but in my opinion extremely underrated) and the great Kevin Kline -- who surprisingly only tends to get second billings in films these days. Ivan Reitman, the man behind MEGA hits like Animal House, Ghostbusters and a dozen other films -- directs.

So what we get from this mix, is a “by the numbers” predictable romantic comedy, starring 2 extremely attractive leads with great chemistry, backed by an over the top talented supporting cast. While definitely not the best film of the year, it’s certainly far away from being the worst. It’s kind of like seeing Robert De Niro and Meryl Streep in your kid’s school play. It’s a date film that’s maybe a bit more.

Weird Trivia: both leads in this film -- Ashton Kutchner and Natalie Portman -- have kissed actress Mila Kunis on-screen (Kutchner on That 70’s Show, Portman in Black Swan), and the original title of No Strings Attached was Friends With Benefits, which was changed after producers realized that title was being used for a film coming out starring Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake.

The Company of Men

Starring a great ensemble cast of Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones, Chris Cooper, Kevin Costner and the uber-beautiful Maria Bello, that alone should sell you on going to this film. Even 3 years ago, you would have had to drag me screaming into the theater to see a film starring Ben Affleck (let alone Kevin Costner), but recent work by him has been nothing short of brilliant (if you haven’t seen The Town yet, shame on you -- it’s great! We won’t even go into how stunning his directorial debut on Gone Baby Gone was), good enough to make me anxious to see new films he’s doing.

This plot is simple, what happens when someone on top -- someone with that amazing job & salary, cool car, beautiful wife and kids -- all of a sudden has that carpet pulled out from under them and loses their job. Once you remove everything that’s defined you from your life, what happens next? What’s your new reality then as you go from corporate God to helping your brother-in-law with his construction business?

Great performances abound from a fantastic cast, out of which Tommy Lee Jones is a stand-out. Great writing and directing come out from John Well -- the co-creator of ER. Not exactly a great date film, but definitely worth seeing.

When they announced that Seth Rogen was heavily involved in the re-boot (re-invention?) last year, a lot of people were worried. He’s not exactly superhero material. Then again, a lot of people weren’t too excited when a young comedic Michael Keaton was signed up to play Batman, and arguably he’s been the best Batman on film so far. Michel Gondry, who was brilliant directing Jim Carrey in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was signed on as director – so we knew to expect a different version either way. Taiwan singer Jay Chou was signed to play the part Bruce Lee made famous 40 years ago.

So, now that it’s out – how does it hold together? Seth Rogen plays Britt Reid as the rich, spoiled, irresponsible and bumbling son of a newspaper magnate. Think of a male Paris Hilton and you have him. When his father suddenly dies, instead of seeking revenge – he dives further into booze and partying. He hires back his fathers man-servant Kato only because he likes the way he made his coffee every morning. They bond together as friends, out of a shared hatred out of Britt’s dad, who apparently was both a jerk as a father and as a boss. They become heroes essentially as a big “screw you” to Britt’s dad – and because they think they’d have a kick-ass time doing it. So, it’s different from what we’ve seen before.

So how’s it stand out? Firstly, it’s more Kick-Ass than Batman or Watchmen, there’s a lot more humour to it. At times, there’s maybe too much humour in the film – and it’s jarring amongst the heavy action scenes – takes you out of the film at parts in fact. As the film progresses, Seth Rogen gets more comfortable in the role as he evolves from reckless party-boy to hero – and it actually starts becoming a really entertaining film. Jay Chou as Kato is very charming and fun, and does great action scenes, but his english is pretty bad. Cameron Diaz, is just pretty fluff to watch on the screen.

And then, there’s the car – Green Hornet’s BLACK BEAUTY – which has to seen to be believed.

As for the 3D – it’s definitely not needed – and honestly wasn’t that impressive. If you see it in a theater without 3D, you’ve saved yourself a few bucks without losing anything.

Is it an excellent film? No, but it’s fun and entertaining. A sequel would definitely be worth watching.

Opening up this weekend is:

Green Hornet
The Dilemma

Let’s see if these films are worth seeing.

Green Hornet

This film has been making the rounds for a long time. Over the years, names such as George Clooney, Jet Li and Kevin Smith were attached to the film. A lot of time and money had been spent over the years trying to get this franchise started. Rumours were that on top of everything else, the owners of the Green Hornet property were very hard to please. Eventually, the film got pulled out of development hell when it was announced that Seth Rogen was attached to the project, and along the way other names such as director Michel Gondry (of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind fame), Chinese actor/singer Jay Chou and Cameron Diaz were added. People were a little bit befuddled by Seth Rogen getting cast as the Green Hornet, being that he wasn’t exactly in “superhero” shape, but he retaliated against these naysayers by dropping 30 pounds and working out.

So, is this film worth the wait?

Critics seem to be divided. The main problem seems to stem from the fact that Seth Rogen is involved, it’s that simple. As expected, Seth Rogen -- who was involved in writing the film -- plays the character of Britt Reid “aka” The Green Hornet with a bit of a comedic bent. The film is more a satirical homage to the superhero genre than straight out superhero fare, more Kick-Ass than Batman Begins. That being said, he set out to make a all-out fun action film that’d be perfect popcorn fare for a Saturday afternoon, and that’s what he brought to the silver screen. Jay Chou who plays Kato, doesn’t have the best english -- but he kicks ass in the role that Bruce Lee made famous.

One thing that the film makers did get, was the reason that the Green Hornet had his gas gun, but Kato didn’t. Put simply, Kato kicks ass and Green Hornet isn’t much of a fighter -- so he needs that gun, Kato doesn’t. Also, the car -- the BLACK BEAUTY -- is just amazing -- and a real return to cool cars in films and tv that James Bond’s cars and the original Batmobile had.

There’s not much point to Cameron Diaz in the film as a love interest, but that’s typical of this type of film, that’s expected.

As for the 3D, it was obviously tagged on to the end to add “more” to the film, but it’s not really needed.

So should you see this?

Being a long time Green Hornet fan, I’ll see it no matter what, it certainly couldn’t be worse than the 60’s tv show. I’d expect that those who loved Kick-Ass will no doubt love this movie as well. It’s definitely not Merchant Ivory type stuff, but anyone looking for a film where they can park their brain at the door and just enjoy a fun slam-bang action film -- will probably love it. Sure, it’s not as dark as Batman Begins or The Crow, but there’s room for all kinds of heroes.

The Dilemma

The talents involved:

Vince Vaughn, Kevin James, Jennifer Connelly, Winona Ryder, Channing Tatum.

And -- the great Ron Howard as director.

With all these people involved, all of them proven talents -- one SHOULD expect a half-decent film even if half of them were asleep at the wheel during filming. Unfortunately, the film is just bad. It’s all over the place, it can’t decide whether it’s a straight-out comical farce, a sly Woody Allen-esque commentary of relationships or serious drama about relationships -- one story about a relationship falling apart -- another about one just starting off. Is it a buddy comedy, a story about friends working together towards a great goal or it it aa tale of paranoia gone bad?

The answer is -- all these things. The film to it’s detriment tries to be all these movies squashed into one. And then on top of it, it tries to be a bad Queen Latifah comedy (not that you have to add the word “bad” when you say “Queen Latifah comedy” right?). Quite simply, this movie is much less than the sum of it’s parts. It’s as if editing just didn’t know what to do that day, that they decided to go out for lunch half-way through filming and just never came back. You can remove entire sequences of the film, without the film getting worse (in some instances, it gets better). For example, remove any sequence that Queen Latifah is in, it changes absolutely nothing about what’s going on in the film. Actually, it makes it better -- as the “over the top” aspect of those scenes don’t fit in at all with the “atmosphere” of the rest of the film. This film is more “glued together” moments than part of an actual film, something that would have worked much better for tv than in movies.

What’s good about the film? Kevin James shows a LOT of promise as a serious actor, but is completely under-used in this film. For what’s painted as a “buddy film” in the promos, you hardly see him and Vince Vaughn together in a scene. Channing Tatum also shows some serious chops in doing a comedic role, and one hopes that some more of this is in his future.

Ron Howard -- Opie -- what happened? We expected more from you my friend!

So, to sum up -- avoid this film as if it were the plague!

That’s it for this week -- what will you be seeing?

Opening up this week are:

Seasons of the Witch
Country Strong

Small week. Don’t expect much.

Seasons of the Witch

Nicholas Cage and Ron Perlman star in this medieval sorcery drama about two Crusader soldiers given the task of must transport a woman accused of being a witch to a remote monastery. Along the way they engage in battle after battle against those who would want this not to happen. The film purports to be a historical, yet the characters talk in modern language (unfortunately not ironically). Poor effects, dull plots and so-so acting make this one to avoid. Did I mention that this film stars Nicholas Cage? That should be enough for you to stay away. Here’s a hint, any film that promotes itself as starring Academy Award Winning Nicholas Cage in a way that it makes it sound like his whole name, should definitely be avoided.

And if she’s such a powerful witch, how is she trapped in a dumb cage anyhow?

Country Strong

If you’re in the mood for this type of film, may I suggest watching a copy of Crazy Heart or Coal Miner’s Daughter instead.

See, like I told you -- small week! Unfortunately, not much worth seeing. The only other things that seemed to open were international films, arthouse dramas and documentaries.

Can’t wait for Green Hornet next week!

Not least is Mike Leigh’s concentrated direction, with all the skill and insight he has brought to preceding films possibly culminating in ‘Another Year’. The main characters are just people with ordinary pleasures and triumphs along with the ordinary doubts, insecurities and angst that plague the human race.

Tom and Gerri (Jim Broadbent and Ruth Sheen) are a long-married and still loving couple with an enviable relationship, but life keeps throwing curveballs, the way it usually does. The film presents a sort of vignette during each of the four seasons of this particular year in their lives. It begins in the spring, when Mary, an old family friend played to perfection by Leslie Manville, comes to dinner and brings her own depths of confusion and dissatisfaction with her life to the table.

Summer brings Ken, (Peter Wright) another old friend of Tom’s with a totally different lifestyle but a strong bond with his childhood friend. By autumn he and Mary are involved, with inevitable conflicts arising. The winter brings a funeral to darken the skies, both literal and figurative.
Throughout the film, the cast is nothing short of marvelous, and ‘Another Year’ is deservedly a winner.

Now that all the big films have opened and we’re in the last week of the year, all we’re left is with much smaller, less over-the-top films. Weirdly, these 4 films that are being released are probably amongst the best reviewed films of the year.

Here’s what opens this week:

Blue Valentine
Another Year
The Strange Case of Angelica
The Way Back

Blue Valentine

This film has been in the news for a couple of months now due to censorship issues that have plagued it due to what censors deemed sex scenes that went too far. Regardless of that, it’s supposed to be a great film examining a relationship slowly becoming undone over the years -- tracing it from it’s initial spark to it’s ultimate fizzling out. Great performances (some say “Oscar winning” -- we’ll see) are given by the leads Ryan Gosling and Michel Williams, both are said to be terrific in their roles. Definitely not a great first date film, but still a great performance piece that should be seen.

Another Year

Essentially this is the flip-side of Blue Valentine, so see this if you get bummed by that and need something uplifting. Another Year focuses on a married couple who actually remain happy into their Autumn years despite being surrounded by friends and family who are going through some degree of miserableness themselves. The film follows a year of their lives. Great perfromances are given by Jim Broadbent and Ruth Sheen, and Mike Leigh (who directed the great Vera Drake) is said to have batted another one out of the park. It essentially sounds like a British Woody Allen type piece, but with much more subtlety.

The Strange Case of Angelica

Another foreign treasure hits our shores this week with The Strange Case of Angelica directed by MASTER filmmaker Manoel de Oliveira, who at the age of 101 has been said to have directed a masterpiece that everyone should see. This bizarre film concerns a young photographer who has been called by a bereaved family, wanting him to take some pictures of a family member -- a DECEASED young bride who has passed away. Struck by her beauty he can’t help but fall for her. Thankfully it doesn’t go all creepy there (thankfully!). When he looks through his lens at her -- she seems to come to life. Then things get strange…

the Way Back

This is the fact-based story about soldiers who escaped from a Siberian Gulag in 1940. These Gulags experienced mind-numbing coldness, inmates were forced to do labor from waking till sleep, thousands died from exposure and malnutrition. Director Peter Weir (of Master & Commander, The Truman Show and Dead Poets Society fame) has a great cast in Jim Sturgess, Collin Farrel and the great Ed Harris. While nothing groundbreaking, a story about men who fight against the adversity that these men did -- can’t help but be worth seeing.

So that closes 2010. From our little iNetVideo family to all of you -- we wish a fantastic New Year’s celebration and 2011. If we can only ask of you one favor, it’s just please don’t drink and drive. We’ll see you all next year.

The scariest thing about this monster movie is that it ever made it to the theaters. In this movie, reports of mysterious attacks on people and pets by a usually docile fruit bring in a special government task force to investigate these violent tomatoes. The crack team is made up of a lieutenant that is especially attached to his parachute, an underwater expert that never sheds his scuba gear, and a master of disguise with a leaning toward looking like a black Adolf Hitler. The team was probably scarier than the tomatoes.

Hitting the silver screen in 1958, this cult classic stars the surprising pairing of Steve McQueen and Aneta Corsaut, best known for her role as Sheriff Andy Taylor’s long-time girlfriend, Helen Crump, on the Andy Griffith show. Apparently, an ugly and mysterious creature arrives on Earth from another planet. It looks like a giant blob of jelly. Some teenagers that have seen the blob’s deadly power try to warn the residents of a small town nearby. However, the people refuse to listen and the blob just keeps growing. It is doubtful this blob managed to scare viewers even in the 1950’s, let alone in the 21st century.

Released on the unsuspecting public in 1988, this film involves a small town that is invaded by aliens. These outer space monsters all look like clowns, use weapons that look like clown toys, and have smiles painted on their faces. Why would anyone believe a handful of teenagers that are saying these things are dangerous? Taking off with an ice cream truck, they try to save their friends from being killed and turned into snacks and other cotton candy.

You have to wonder what they were drinking back in 1957 when they came up with this monster. Tabanga is a killer spirit that has been reincarnated as a frowning tree stump, which comes back to life. It goes on a killing rampage and takes out many natives living on an island in the South Seas. Enter 2 American scientists to rescue everyone. A tree stump? Seriously?

This 1966 gem was set deep in the rural swamps somewhere in Texas. Mad scientist Dr. Simond Trent is performing experiments on the local swamp people trying to find the secret of evolution. A group of oil surveyors stumbles onto his isolated laboratory and the good doctor decides to make the final leap and change one of them into a horrifying amphibious creature. This movie is more laughable than scary.

In 1968, this rather strange looking monster hit the theaters. The storyline is that a huge asteroid is careening to Earth. A few astronauts go from a nearby space station to attempt to destroy it first. They are able to blow up the asteroid but unknowingly return to the space station bearing an icky green matter that turns into one-eyed monsters with tentacles. These nasty things feed off of electricity. It isn’t long before the station is being overrun with these “scary” creatures.

In 1957, the story of electronics engineer Mitch MacAfee hits the screen. He spies a huge UFO from his Air Force plane. The Air Force rushes to investigate but find nothing on their radar, even though one of the jets is lost. The monster from this movie is an alien giant bird made from anti-matter. It really seems to love killing and destroying.

If you want to be truly scared of a movie monster, you may want to skip these films. You may laugh but you won’t be afraid.

Here’s what’s out this week:

Little Fockers
True Grit
Gulliver’s Travels
Somewhere

Little Fockers

This film centers around the mischievous son of Greg (Ben Stiller) and Pam (Teri Polo), who makes life just so crazy for them. As a result the film ends up as 2 films -- one a lame sex comedy -- the other a bad “Dennis the Menace” -- neither of them really fitting together -- or good.

It’s time for this franchise to die.

True Grit

This is the story of a young girl who gets a grizzled worn out US Marshall to help track down the man who killed her pa. While this is a remake of the original western that John Wayne did almost 40 years ago, critics are saying that it’s probably the best western since Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven. No doubt having Joel and Ethan Coen directing this film helped make this a masterpiece. Having the great Jeff Bridges in the role of the US Marshall Rooster Cogburn more than makes up for the nonsense that was Tron: Legacy. Hailee Steinfeld as the young girl who hires these men to track down her father’s killers puts in a masterful performance that some people are saying promises Oscar rewards. Having Matt Damon and Josh Brolin round off an already talented cast -- certainly doesn’t hurt. Expect a small western resurgence, just like when Unforgiven wowed us at the theaters so long ago.

Gulliver’s Travels

Yet another Jack Black comedy where he plays the slob that can’t get the girl, but set to the tone of Jonathan Swift’s “Gulliver’s Travels” -- but in a post-modern setting -- and played for laughs… and in 3D! Ok -- got it? I just saved you about $15 each at the local cinema. In lieu of sending that money to me, I’d appreciate you sending it to some charitable cause where it will at least make you feel better for doing so. Sure, it’s said to have some laughs and the 3D is supposedly not completely wasted on it like most films these days, but there’s only so many times you should have to see Jack Black play the same role in yet another half-assed comedy.

Somewhere

Ms.Coppola has already won a bunch of artsy awards we’ve never heard of before for this film in a couple of film festivals around the world. Based on the promise of Lost in Translation I think it’s safe enough to say that this film may be just as good, kind of a post-modern hipster Italian feminist Woody Allen for our times. I have no doubts that this will be a bit artsy, but it could be pretty good for the indy crowd.

So that’s it for this week at the theaters, a bit of something for everybody out there. Hope no matter what you see, that you have a great holiday!

Coming out this week:

Tron: Legacy
How Do You Know
Yogi Bear
Rabbit Hole

The first 3 of these films have been promoting themselves for months now, and we’ve been waiting with anticipation.

Tron: Legacy

We’ve been waiting for this for months now -- and here it is finally. The son of Jeff Bridge’s character in the original Tron film is 27 at this point. His father up and disappeared when he was just a boy, when he finally decides to look into wherever his long-lost father could be -- he finds himself pulled into the world of Tron where his own father disappeared almost 25 years ago. In this mysterious world of Tron, he finds his father (still played by Bridges) a prisoner, having been there since he disappeared. They must escape and face the dangers of this dangerous cyber universe together.

Yeah, it looks really cool and cutting edge -- we already know that from the trailers we’ve seen for the past year. Besides that, the film is a complete mess. It just doesn’t make much sense and wasn’t very well done, they spent most of their time on special effects and not story apparently. It’s not surprising really, have you watched the original film lately? We remember it as being magnificent and ground-breaking -- and certainly visually it stood out at the time, but besides that it’s a very awkward and poorly written film. Sequences in the original where computer programs are moaning about having to compete in battle, will make you both wince and laugh at the same time. It’s no wonder, that Disney has not re-released the original movie on DVD or Blu-ray to coincide with the release of the sequel, they didn’t want people to get the idea that they were seeing a sequel to a really bad film, so why bother with the sequel.

There is also the problem that the “alien world” of Tron that you get immersed into, is nothing really special to a generation that has grown up on movies like the Matrix and Avatar, and experienced games like Call of Duty that sometimes seem more real than reality does. Ten years ago this would have been amazing, now it just seems antiquated,

You’ll all see it anyways, it just looks too cool not to.

How Do You Know

How Do You Know is a romantic comedy about the romantic triangle that exists between a professional softball player, a corporate executive and a major league pitcher. This film has a stunning cast of Owen Wilson, Paul Rudd, Reese Witherspoon and the great Jack Nicholson. In addition, James L Brooks -- the brains behind such treasures such as Broadcast News (practically the mold for smart romantic comedies), Terms of Endearment, Taxi and The Simpsons directs. With all those pros together, you expect a great movie. A great and likable cast, a superb director -- it adds up to masterpiece.

Unfortunately, How Do You Know is more a series of loose vignettes than an overall coherent film. In a romantic triangle, if we like all the 3 leads -- who exactly are we to cheer for? In the end we have a film that is somehow less than the sum of it’s part, and that makes it all the more disappointing. It’s not exactly a bad film, but it’s certainly not a great one.

Do yourself a favor, rent Broadcast News instead, pop some popcorn and open up a cold soda -- and enjoy what could have been.

Yogi Bear

Yogi Bear returns in a 3D movie mixing up live action with animation. Everybody’s favorite bear is back to separate visitors from their lunches in Jellystone Park. Of course he’s assisted in these endeavors by his lovable sidekick Boo-Boo, and chased away by Ranger Smith.

Dan Ackroyd voices Yogi and Boo-Boo is done by the uber-talented Justin Timberlake. Ranger Smith is played by Tom Cavanaugh who we just loved in the cult tv show Ed.

Critics have not been kind to this updating of the franchise, saying it’s “dumb” and lacks the fun of the original cartoons -- and that technique where they mix cartoon animated characters with live-action that has become so popular these last few years -- is creepy to the point where it would have been better to have done a fully animated version of it. And the 3D, like every film since Avatar -- just not needed at all. That being said, young kids will love it -- and that’s really the point of the film anyways. So in sum, young kids will dig it and it doesn’t matter at all if it drives you insane -- enjoy!

Rabbit Hole

Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart star as a couple who’s lives have been turned upside down after their young son dies in an accident. It’s all about how people deal with their grief, how different it is for everybody. It’s incredibly hard to watch and very complex, but apparently Kidman gives the performance of a lifetime -- and it’s said that she’s Oscar bound this year because of it.

So bring your tissues!

That’s it for this week’s movies. The movies we were expecting to be great -- really weren’t -- and the one we expected to be awful, while hard to watch -- is worth seeing.

Have a great weekend at the movies!

Here’s what’s opening up this week:

The Chronicles of Narnia – The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Tourist
The Fighter
The Company of Men

This 3rd installment in the Narnia Chronicles almost didn’t get made after the last one underperformed at the box office, but luckily for fans another studio took it over in the hopes of Harry Potter-ish success. The 3rd film (in a projected 7-film series) follows Lucy & Edmund Pevensie return to the world of Narnia – along with their cousin Eustance – for a trip accross the sea aboard a royal ship called the Dawn Treader. Of course – adventure, weird Christian socio-religious overtones and fun abound. If you liked the first 2 Narnia films – you’ll probably enjoy this one. This film brags of 3D effects, but like a lot of other films out – they’re not really needed as they don’t add anything to the story. Of the 3 films so far, it’s said that this is the weakest of them, but overall it’s a 2-hour escape that kids will enjoy.

Johnny Depp stars as a man trying to lose himself in the beauty and luxury of a trip to Europe after a big heartbreak. While he’s there, his paths cross with a beautiful and mysterious woman played by Angelina Jolie with whom he gets entrapped in a world of spies, danger and intrigue. Critics say that despite the star-power of the 2 leads, that it’s a typical euro-thriller that doesn’t make much sense at all. Much has also been said about the utter lack of chemistry between both Depp and Jolie, which sometimes happens when you have 2 very big personalities together on the screen. the film – and it’s leads – are beautiful to look at, but apparently there isn’t much else going on there.

This boxing drama stars Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale and Amy Adams. It’s a charming but predictable boxing drama, typical of the kind of film it is. It works because of the talents involved – a great reminder of how great this genre can be sometimes. Sometimes, it’s the simple things that are the best. Great performances, entertaining and exciting story, a man against the odds kind of drama – will make this film a must-see. My bet, is that this will be the sleeper hit this week.

Just a great and powerful ensemble – starring Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones, Chris Cooper & Kevin Costner – Award winners all! Affleck plays a man living the American dream, he has the perfect wife and family, has an amazing home and expensive car, and a fantastic job where he makes obscene money. Then all of a sudden – his company downsizes – and he’s forced to deal with the realities that a lot of people are being forced to today. To just get by, he’s forced to work building houses for his brother-in-law (played by Kevin Costner). At an age when everything should be smooth sailing, he’s forced to begin again. A stunning cast led by Affleck who in the last few years has just become a juggernaut, dealing with issues that unfortunately more and more of us are dealing with every day. Early reviews are saying, that this “everyman” role buoyed by a fantastic cast – may lead to Oscars comes Award season.

That’s it for now. Coming up soon: Yogi Bear, tron:Legacy and True Grit.

And except for a piercing dragon scene, the 3D affect is mute. I’d have to say, though, that besides all the other flat special effects, Aslan’s (Liam Neeson) creation is still a bit of movie magic.
In the latest Narnia debacle, Lucy (Georgie Henley) and Edmund (Skandar Keynes) return to Narnia with their cousin Eustace Scrubb (Will Poulter) – a bright spot in the otherwise wooden acting affair – leaving behind their two elder siblings.

While visiting Eustace in Cambridge, the three are sucked back into Narnia when a painting fills the room with sea water, landing them next to a dragon-shaped ship, the Dawn Treader.

King Caspian (Ben Barnes) and the mouse Reepicheep (Simon Pegg) rescue the trio, and together they journey into perilous unknown seas at the edge of the world to defeat the wicked green mist.
A formidable plot, but what’s with the religious message splashed all over the end, turning the somewhat entertaining movie into a sappy mess. At this pace, we may never see the imagination of CS Lewis’s 7th edition blaze across the big screen.

The empire was composed of adult shops located in Times Square and follows Durst as he attempts to remove himself from the family business, instead choosing to head to Vermont and open up a natural foods store with the aid of his new wife.

His dad however begs his son to come back and take over the business and eventually he returns to New York, but longer that he is back in the Big Apple the more erratic his behavior gets to the point where he attacks his wife causing her to threaten to leave him many times.

However, one day his wife disappears and it looks like Durst was the responsible party for her disappearance, although he was never actually convicted. The tale plays out quite well on the screen with both Dunst and Gosling delivering riveting tension filled scenes.

Opening up the weekend of December 3, 2010 are:

The Warrior’s Way
I Love You Phillip Morris
Black Swan

The Warrior’s Way

This is the story of the world’s greatest swordsman who abandons his clan to start a new life in the American badlands. It stars Korean superstar Jang Dag Gun along with kate Bosworth, Danny Huston and Academy Award Winner Geoffrey Rush. It’s a mash-up between asian swordsman films and old-school westerns, and looks to be a lot of fun. Visually, it has the look of 300, Spartacus:Blood & Sand and a few others. It’s certainly not for everyone, but a whole lot of people will really dig this film.

I Love You Phillip Morris

Funnyman Jim Carrey plays a man who has a bad accident and has an epiphany -- he’s gay. Coming so close to death changes him, he decides that the only thing that matters is that he’s happy and it’s worth going to any ends to pursue that… including breaking the law. As a result, he ends up in jail. In jail he meets another con, played by Ewan McGregor, with whom who he falls madly and deeply in love with. When Ewan McGregor’s character is eventually released, Carrey escapes multiple times from jail to be with him.

Early reviews were extremely positive. Some say that Carrey’s role in this over-the-top, gay, comedic love story, prison escape movies -- is the best performance of his career and likely to win him an Oscar. The most amazing thing about this movie is that it’s based on the true story of Steve McVicker.

Another thing you should know -- is that it was released months ago almost everywhere EXCEPT in North America. It’s thought that it’s explicit gay sexual content probably scared away many distributors from carrying it.

At the end of it all, it’s a story of 2 people that fall in love -- and how far they’ll go to keep that love alive -- and that’s definitely worth seeing.

Black Swan

Darren Aronofsky of The Wrestler, Requiem for a Dream and Pi -- directs this dark psychological thriller set in the bizarre world of the New York ballet. Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis star as 2 competing ballerinas and the film focuses on the weird twisted relationship between the 2 of them, both the recklessness and sensuality between their intersecting lives that’s both strange and beautiful to look at. This is definitely one that is an Oscar contender if Aronofsky’s past works and early reviews are any indication. My feeling is that like Requiem for a Dream or any of his other masterpieces -- it’ll not be easy for everyone to watch or even understand, but it’ll be art that can be appreciated if you’re up for the challenge.

What will you see this weekend?

Tangled
Burlesque
Love and Other Drugs
Faster

Tangled

Tangled is Disney’s 50th animated film, coming back to their traditional looking animated fare that’s won them many accolades and praise in the past with films such as Beauty and the Beast and Little Mermaid. This time, they tell the story of Rapunzel, the princess with the incredibly long hair locked away in a tower waiting for her prince to rescue her -- except this time her prince is the most wanted and charming bandit in the Kingdom. As with other films from Disney that it follows, this one is jam-packed full of song and spectacle. While critics haven’t been overwhelmed by this film, it’s something that the kids will love and be entertained by.

Burlesque

Diva’s Cher and Christina Aguilera star in Burlesque, the story of a small town girl (played by Aguilera) who tries to make it in the big city. She ends up working as a waitress in a rundown little club called “The Burlesque Lounge”, but she aspires to be a headliner in their musical revue. Kristen Bell and the amazing Stanley Tucci also co-star.

Cher of course adds to the whole campiness of the film. Aguilera sings her butt off, but her acting chops rank around the same level of Mariah Carey in the less than favored Glitter. Kristen Bell is ok, but she’s never matched how good she was in Veronica Mars, and she doesn’t come close in this film. Stanley Tucci brings his “A” game as always, but sadly it’s wasted in this film.

My guess, is that if you’re having a girl’s night out and want to just have a fun time at the theater, you’ll enjoy this fluffy nonsense. Anyone else, don’t bother. Weirdly, even with Cher and Aguilera in it, the music is just mediocre at best, which is a huge shame considering the talent in it.

Love and Other Drugs

Based on Jamie Reidy’s memoir “Hardsell:The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman”, Jake Gyllenhaal stars in this romantic comedy of a pharmaceutical rep who hawks viagra and ends up falling in love with a woman he meets played by the lovely Anne Hathaway. Early reviews have not been super kind, saying the movie is all over the place as it goes from romantic comedy to disease of the week drama before the picture is over. No doubt, the fact that the 2 leads seem to spend a large amount of time nude and in bed will not hurt box office draw at all.

The film is awkward at best, but the star quality and likability of the main leads brings it up a level beyond the standard romantic comedy that’s playing at the multiplexes.

Faster

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson stars in Faster -- an over-the-top action film that’s a throwback to the old 70’s style revenge films like Walking Tall, Death Wish and anything Steve McQueen was in back then. What should be a fun, just never adds up -- the film-makers decided to make each character an archetype of the role they’d normally play in such a film to the point where characters are referred to as functions of whom they are (such as “Killer”, “Cop” or “driver”) rather than what their actual names are, which for the most part are not given. In addition, there isn’t much actually said by the characters, Johnson may have 15 lines in the film at best, and as a result you never see anyone in the film as more than a “type” -- you’re never able to identify with any of the characters. It’s hard to cheer at someone getting revenge, when you just don’t care about any of the characters at all. The film is just an assortment of random gunplay and car chases, and not much more. Please don’t waste your time on this drivel at all.

As you may guess from the trailer, there are laughs to spare throughout the film but the two stars cause plenty of tears as well so if you are looking for a feel good holiday movie this isn’t it
.
Director Ed Zwick did not want to take any calls from Gyllenhaal at first because he was not interested as he did not feel as if he would not be able to carry off a callous character, but over time Gyllenhaal won him over by persuading him to give him an audition, and convincing him the part was written for him. Makes you wonder if Zwick missed out on Donnie Darko where Gyllenhaal pretty much defined callous.
From there, it was as if Gyllenhaal became the salesman he plays as he talked the director into getting Anne Hathaway to play his female counterpart. The film is a modern take on two people who enjoy each other without commitment but soon face trials that make life separated from each other impossible.

The major releases coming out this week are:

Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows -- Part 1
The Next 3 Days

Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows -- Part 1

This is the big EVENT film of the month, this is the one people have been waiting for. The studios wisely decided to split the last book of the Harry Potter saga into two movies instead of just one, there was just too much going on in that last book to really properly deal with in just one film. Yes, the movie originally was supposed to be in 3D -- but at the last minute the studios decided to ditch that “extra” bonus as they didn’t think they could get the film done in time if they they did it in the 3D process, and they also didn’t want to rush it and include half-realized 3D effects just because everyone else has it (yes, I’m pointing the finger at you Clash of the Titans and Saw 3D). In my opinion, there’s no need for 3D in the Harry Potter saga -- the audience’s love for the books transcends anything that 3D could add, so there’s no point to it.

Again, Harry and his friends Hermione and Ron fight off the evil of “he who must not be named” -- the man, the legend, the evil Lord Voldemort! Every film has gotten increasingly darker as they’ve gone further along, and this one’s no exception. In the fight of good vs. evil, evil seems to be winning. Good people have fallen in this battle and all seems bleak. How will our magical trio save the day?

The beauty of this whole Harry Potter saga, is that it’s followed the 3 main stars as they’ve gone from small kids to young adults. In a sense we’ve grown up along with them. We haven’t really seen this in other films, it’s allowed us a different outlook on events happening around the characters almost as how they must be experiencing it.

At preview showings earlier this week, many theaters reportedly had to turn away people as crowds swarmed to see this penultimate chapter of the saga. Don’t be surprised to see swarms of crowds at the theaters this weekend to see this one as well.

The Next 3 Days

Russell Crowe stars in this thriller directed by Academy Award Winner Paul Haggis (of Crash fame) about a man whose wife and mother of his child (played by the beautiful Elizabeth Banks) gets put away for life for a murder she says she didn’t commit. He loses his mind at the thought of losing his wife forever and finds a criminal (played by Liam Neeson) with experience at breaking out of jails to help him reunite him and his wife. The critics haven’t been too kind to this film saying it’s implausible, but friends of mine who saw an early preview last week just raved about how great this film was.

That’s it for this week. Enjoy your weekend no matter what you do. Me, I’m going to the movies!

Thus, Crowe meets up with a jail escapee played by Liam Neeson that happens to live in his town that offers him a guide on how to break out of any jail. The steps are easy, get out of the jail and run like hell because the entire town will be looking for you. After this neat epitome, the real action of the film stars.

The rest of the movie shows Crowe destroying his life and that of his young son as he slips into the prison and out trying to figure out how to get his wife out. Apparently, the system is easy enough to fool that even an average Joe can figure it out if he wants to.

This version of Black Ops, for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, is the best online experience out there, in the opinion of several dedicated players and reviewers. It’s not ultra-modern warfare; its scenario is the 1960’s Cold War era, with Cuba, Russia and Vietnam backgrounds. This is one of the game’s highlights, with the vividly detailed environments contributing a lot to the intensity and addictive appeal of the game.

For those already familiar with Black Ops, Call of Duty presents some new challenges and excitement. The Wager Match mode offers a test of your patience and accuracy called “One in the Chamber; the Gun Game” is a tour of 20 different weapons, and each kill earns you a new one. Most of the standard modes are still included, but a lot have been added to make this the best Black Ops yet.

Inspired by a real incident, the “Crazy Eight” incident that happened in Walbridge, Ohio in 2001 when an unmanned train left it’s train yard and made a 66-mile trek until it was finally stopped by train employees. The movie essentially retells that same story, but makes it a bit more exaggerated and over-dramatic to make it appealing to movie audiences. They upped the “danger” quotient by adding the fact that the chemicals on-board the runaway train in the picture would have caused a major environmental accident, and making the engineer and conductor played by Washington and Pine almost super-heroic in their efforts to stop this accident from happening.

That being said, the strength of the movie is that compared to most action movies -- that it’s pretty realistic in how it shows what happens in an incident like this. It’s a pretty realistic look at how an incident such as this could have been dealt with. None of the things that these 2 guys did to stop the train, are superhuman feats of strength or agility -- they’re realistic acts that most people could do if they had the guts and fortitude to do so. That’s the strength of these characters, the strength of the movie -- that these were ordinary guys that did something extraordinary.

The film sets up slow, but very quickly you’re dragged in with the impending danger of this train becoming a major danger to a town of 750 thousand people. As the train gets more and more out of control, you feel that danger growing more and more -- and even though you know from the beginning how it’ll end -- you’ll still be at the edge of your seat the whole time.

It’s not a film you’ll see for brilliant writing or Academy-Award level acting. Character development is essentially ZERO. Denzel Washington is good, but his talents are essentially wasted in the film as anybody could have done that role. Chris Pine plays the Mark Wahlberg role, and does a pretty good job. If there’s a weakness to this film, we never really know who these guys are aside from the fact that they did this incredible feat, but the movie keeps us so glued to our seats that we don’t really care.

A pretty decent popcorn films that delivers everything that it promises. If you’re expecting great art and an insightful analysis of man’s place in the universe -- this is not the film for you. On the other hand, if you want to just sit back and be entertained for 2 hours and lose yourself in the experience, then this is the film for you.

UNSTOPPABLE
MORNING GLORY
SKYLINE

UNSTOPPABLE

Oscar Winner Denzel Washington and Star Trek’s Chris Pine star in UNSTOPPABLE, another entry is the “runaway train” genre of thrillers. This time a train carrying toxic chemicals just won’t stop, and an engineer and conductor must race against time to stop it from destroying a twon with the mother of all chemical spills. It’s a fantastic popcorn film and early reviews have been great. Quite surprising that this film didn’t come out in an otherwise dismal summer. Trust me, this film will destroy everything else this weekend at the box office.



Morning Glory

This movie features a great ensemble cast of Harrison Ford, Diane Keaton and Rachel McAdams in a comedic look at the going-ons in the world of morning television. Early reviews say a great cast is wasted on a predictable “average” script. My recommendation is that you pick up a copy of the excellent James L. Brook comedy Broadcast News starring William Hurt, Holly Hunter and the incredibly under-rated Albert Brooks, Morning Glory just seems to be a cheap imitation of that.

SKYLINE

We sent a message into space and someone answered. Now they’re invading earth. Early previews of this looked awesome and reminescent of great sci-fi thriller Independence Day. Then we find out that the star of it is “the black guy from Scrubs” and all of a sudden we’re not so sure. Reviewers have not been so kind, saying that while some of the effects are pretty cool for what is otherwise a low-budget film -- that the acting and everything else is amateurish and soap-operatic. Wait until this one’s on dvd/blu-ray.

That’s all for this weekend, what are you going to see?

The plot follows a freight train that somehow gets out from the station unmanned after the air-brakes become disconnected and the braking toggle comes loose. Of course, as you may guess the train gains speed as it goes and starts heading towards more populated areas. Plus, just to add to the excitement seven of the cargo cars happen to be filled with a dangerous chemical that if exploded would wipe out a town.

The thrill of the film is that the stars Chris Pine and Denzel Washington are underplayed and in fact not even directly mentioned in context to the runaway train. Instead, the audience gets to watch two characters that are just ordinary tradesman get involved in a heroic act of bravery. The only question left is why Denzel Washington keeps picking up roles in runaway train movies and if this is the last.

Megamind feels like a poor attempt by Pixar to reenact the success of The Incredibles as the animation giant continues to explore superhero themed movies. Despite this fact there are some worthwhile moments such as the Brando references and pretty much every time Minion the goldfish (David Cross) opens his mouth.

The 3-D effects are also disappointing and not worth the extra dollars to see, especially since they consist basically of just a few items that pop out in front of the audience in a handful of scenes.

The movie follows the super-villain known of course as Megamind, voiced by Will Ferrell, as he competes with his largest rival Metro Man, voiced by Brad Pitt. Metro Man is a superman like hero that has decided to retire from saving the world leaving Megamind with basically nothing to do. Lonely without someone to get in his way, Megamind decides to find another superhero to compete with.

While it could be entertaining, director Tom McGrath and his screenwriters Brent Simons and Alan Schoolcraft do little to actually aid the comic book skit and instead concentrate more the romance budding between Roxanne Ritchi (voiced by Tina Fey) and Megamind.

Megamind
Due Date
For Colored Girls
127 Hours

Megamind

The world’s baddest villain actually defeats the hero, and then things go bad. When an even worse villain comes to his city with plans of destruction, the once bad guy must now become hero. This animated feature from DreamWorks features the voices of Will Ferrell, Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill and Tina Fey in a comedy in the vein of The Incredibles and Despicable Me. The cast is great, the animation is decent and the movie is just plain all-out fun. While nothing that we haven’t seen before, it’s still a great way to spend an afternoon with kids & family.

Due Date

Think Planes, Trains & Automobiles if it was remade by the guy behind The Hangover (director Todd Phillips) and starring one of it’s stars (Zach Galifianakis) in the “John Candy” type role and megastar Robert Downey Jr. in the straight-laced “Steve Martin” type role. There’s nothing new here, just an “odd couple” type comedy where two guys who have nothing in common are forced by fate to get across the country together, and then things go crazy. It’s fun, but nothing you haven’t seen before. Expect to see a few cameos by some big names, just like you did in The Hangover.

For Colored Girls

8 African American women, each in the midst of a personal crisis, are the center of this movie based on an Award Winning play by Nitozake Shange. This great ensemble features Janet Jackson, Whoopi Goldberg and Thandie Newton.

This movie has been described by critics as soapy, over-dramatic and painful.

Doesn’t matter what any critic says though, the movie is directed by TYLER PERRY. The guy could direct the phonebook and his mostly African-American audience will flock to it. As usual, white audiences still don’t know who this guy is -- except for the fact that he’s on Oprah about every 6 months to push his newest film -- and probably won’t bother with it. Still -- the film will make Tyler Perry another hundred million to add to his already full pockets.

127 Hours

127 Hours tells the amazing true story of mountain climber Aron Rolston who becomes trapped under a boulder while canyoneering alone, who resorts to desperate measures in order to survive. Despite being set in small cramped space for almost 90% of the film, what could have been depressing and boring -- instead becomes exciting, enticing and even inspirational. Director Danny Boyle of Slumdog Millionaire, 28 Days later and Trainspotting fame directs and James Franco stars in the main role. Early reviews have wowed film critics and there’s already OSCAR talk.

Editor’s Choice – Top Five Blu-ray Players Of 2010

1. Panasonic DMP-BD85

The Panasonic is the pinnacle of quality when it comes to Blu-ray players. It has been reviewed as not only the highest quality player, but also the fastest and easiest to use. Features include options such as Dolby Digital 7.1 surround sound, a must have for a serious entertainment center. The audio playback of the DMP-BD85 is superb to say the least, and it is the front runner in audio playback. Other options include Wi-Fi and seemingly endless access to online content. The Panasonic DMP-BD85 has one of the highest bangs for its buck.

2. LG Electronics BD570

LG is one of the largest manufactures of well, anything having to do with electronics. They were of course on the front line when Blu-ray came out, and the BD570 is once again a front runner in the market. The player offers access to a large amount of online content, making it a great choice for users with a fast internet connection. It is however lacking in the audio department. The audio playback is crisp and clear; however, there is no native support for Dolby Digital 7.1, something I personally would like to have. Despite the lack of DD 7.1, the BD570 is still a great Blu-ray player.

3. Panasonic DMP-BD65

Panasonic makes the top 5 once again with the DMP-BD65. A close cousin to the DMP-BD85 mentioned earlier, the DMP-BD65 is a blazing fast player with access to an insane amount of online content. The player is one of the fastest on the market, but as with the LG, it lacks a crucial component for most people, support for Dolby Digital 7.1. For those with no need for DD 7.1 decoding, the DMP-BD65 is a great choice considering its price and especially its disk read speeds.

4. Sony BDP-S570

The face on the Blu-ray icon has finally made an appearance at number 4 with the BDP-S570. With great picture quality, this player is a must have for users with an exceptionally large television. The built in Wi-Fi allows access to not only a home network’s movies and videos, but also Netflix, YouTube, Pandora and many others. It lacks Dolby Digital 7.1 but quickly makes up for it in its online content availability. Sony has proven them worthy of being the face on the Bluray name.

5. LG Electronics BD590

LG has made the top 5 once again with their top of the line Bluray player. The BD590, while lacking in an affordable price, makes up for it in the immense expandability options. The player comes loaded with a 250 GB hard drive ready to rip movies and other media, as well as built in Wi-Fi, a rear Ethernet port, and USB ports. The BD590 also comes with native Dobly Digital 7.1 supports, and it proves to be the perfect, yet pricy option for the large entertainment system.

RED

JACKASS 3D

Hereafter

Conviction

RED

What will you see this weekend?




Shop at iNetVideo, where you can get ENTERTAINMENT FOR LESS

If you are familiar with this groups antics, you’ll know exactly what you are in for as they perform their completely over the top and outrageous stunts. As usual there is no story line or plot just a series of wild and weird scenes.

There’s not a lot in the way of artistic integrity, or Oscar-winning performances, but if that’s what you’re looking for you would never go and see a Jackass movie, but the laughs come thick and fast as they use the latest high-tech to bring you scenes that the gadgets were never intended for.

Many critics have said that this movie is not as good as the previous ones, which may well be true, but the 3-D does bring a little something extra as many of the stunts fly out to screen at the audience adding a new dimension and to “just plain weird”

The roots of Halloween

It’s thought that Halloween has it’s roots in a Celtic celebration called Samhain. Samhain celebrates the end of summer – where the “lighter” half of the year ends, and the “darker” half begins. The Celtics believed that the border between our world and the spirit world became thin on this day, allowing spirits both good and evil to enter our world. How’d the Celtics deal with this? To ward off evil spirits, they put on costumes with masks so as to look like spirits themselves. At the same time, they celebrated the arrivals of their family ancestors and invited these spirits into their homes where they honoured them. It’s easy to see where today’s traditions of celebrating Halloween come from. It’s much more secular (and commercial) now, but traditions live on.
One thing that continues to this day, is the sharing of stories, scary stories in particular. In our modern times, instead of gathering around a fire – we’ll often gather with friends around a TV set to watch and listen to someone else’s scary tale.

Continue the tradition… Movies to watch this Halloween

So you can take part in that tradition, here’s a list of some scary movies for you to enjoy.

Night of the Living Dead

Forget about the sequels, the original is still the scariest. For no reason at all, the dead come back, it’s that simple – it’s that scary. We never find out why this happens, it’s barely even hinted at, but the dead are back and the only thing they want to do is kill and eat us – and not necessarily in that order.

The Exorcist

“One, two, Freddy’s coming for you.
Three, four, better lock your door.
Five, six, grab your crucifix.
Seven, eight, gonna stay up late.
Nine, ten, never sleep again.
One, two Freddy’s coming for you
three, four better lock your door
five, six grab your crucifix
seven, eight gonna stay up late
nine, ten he’s back again.”

The Ring

A man sets up in a new town and the only thing he wants to do is get a good job and a place to stay. Unbelievably, he ends up accused of the murder of a police, witnesses appear out of nowhere saying he’s the killer and he ends up being placed on Death Row. What’s really scary, is that this happened – and this documentary makes it very obvious that it could easily happen again.



30 Days of Night

Sex and the City: The Movie

So there’s some choices to frighten your socks off this Halloween, what will you be watching?

Save up to 80% off Horror on DVD at iNetVideo

With barely a young person in sight we see Helen Mirren as our murderous heroine, supported by other veterans of the silver screen including Morgan Freeman, Bruce Willis, John Malkovich, Richard Dreyfuss and even Ernest Borgnine, the only vaguely young looking person in the movie seems to be Mary-Louise Parker.

The action sequences are pretty tight, but also sort of predictable as we have probably seen the scene before in some other movie. The comedy elements are there as we follow all these former CIA agents who have been put on a list to be assassinated.

But of course our band of near Zimmer frame age former action heroes fight back with some amusing lines, and snappy comments, Bruce Willis manages to turn out one of his better comedy performances, but still somehow the movie just doesn’t quite come together with either the action or the laughs, which given the amount of quality acting talent brought together in one place is pretty disappointing.

Why you should see this film

1) The film with it’s incredible cast -- from Jesse Eisenberg to Justin Timberlake, Andrew Garfield and Rooney Mara -- is almost a showcase for the “Mega-stars of Tomorrow”. Every now and then a film comes out with a huge cast -- where everyone just breaks out after that. Look at the “Brat Pack” coming out of all those John Hughes films in the 80’s -- or the talent that came out of The Big Chill. Sometimes a cast is so good together, that they each go away almost becoming franchises themselves.

2) Jesse Eisenberg as Mark Zucherberg -- completely goes against type. The role was complex, Eisenberg’s interpretation of the facebook founder makes us almost feel sorry for him -- showing a socially awkward guy who was still almost a force of nature when it came to something that he had passion about. You could understand why people were attracted to him, as well as why others hated him. No longer will he just get the roles that Michael Cera turns down.

3) Andrew Garfield as facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin -- is almost a revelation. While he’s had a few bit parts in films and tv, this is his first major work. He’s almost the voice of reason in this film. He becomes the focus of almost every scene he’s in -- he’s that good. I wasn’t convinced that he was the right guy for Sony to take over the part of Spider-Man from Tobey Maguire in the upcoming film, but any doubts were erased with how good he was in this film.

4) Justin Timberlake as Napster co-founder Sean Parker -- proves that he’s not just a musician that can act in SNL sketches, he’s actually excellent in this role -- and he proves that if he stopped singing tomorrow -- that he could easily slide into acting and be just as fierce. He plays the Napster founder with a slimey determination that you almost have to shower off yourself after viewing.

5) Rooney Mara plays Erica Albright -- Mark Zucherberg’s girlfriend early on in the film. It’s true that the part was small, but it’s a nice preview of what she has to offer for her next role as the lead role in the US version of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

6) David Fincher directs! The guy who made masterpieces like SE7EN, FIGHT CLUB and PANIC ROOM directs, how could it not be good?

7) Aaron Sorkin did the screenplay. The genius behind The West Wing, Sports Night and Charlie Wilson’s War wrote for this film as well. Can you think of anyone else out there that could write about the creation of a social network such as facebook and make it the “must-see” film of the year? What could have been a dry and dull analysis, becomes a journey to success with all the drama that taking that route entails.

8) Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails fame does the soundtrack.

9) When this film wins all the Oscars this year, you could say “Hey, I saw that” -- when it wins all those awards.

10) Maybe I’m wrong, but Twitter:The Movie won’t be half as good.

So my advice, run.. don’t walk.. to see this film. There’s a little of everything in this film for everybody to enjoy. You won’t leave it dissapointed.

Secretariat

Life As We Know it

My Soul To Take

Nowhere Boy

Secretariat

Life As We Know It

There -- I saved you almost 2 hours of your life. You can play a game of cards, read a good magazine, go for a walk, work out, go on farmville for whatever reason that people go on farmville for, put together a bookshelf, do almost anything.. just don’t waste it seeing nonsense like this. I think you all owe me!

It stars the very likeable Josh Duhamel, as well as the not so likeable since she left Grey’s Anatomy Katherine Heigl in the title roles. The “oddball situation” they fall into is their friends in common end up dying and leave them together as guardians of their orphaned baby. Doesn’t sound like a great premise to get laughs off of does it? Of course, through the craziness -- they end up falling in love. Believe it or not, they essentially show the whole movie start to finish in the trailer.

My Soul To Take

Nowhere Boy

What will you see this weekend?

The Social Network

Case 39

Let Me In

Typically studios tend to keep this time of year for your smaller and medium range films. They tend to keep the mega-blockbusters for summer months or the Christmas season. What this means, is that you have a lot of chances to see smaller films that may be just as good if not better. This is the time of year, that a lot of studios tend to release their big Oscar contenders as well. Fall is typically a time that you’ll end up with some pretty cool surprises that you may not have seen otherwise.

Let’s explore what’s opening up this weekend!

The Social Network

But when you realize that the director is David Fincher of Se7en and Fight Club fame, you know that you can expect a kick-ass film. Boring his films aren’t.

Add to that the fact that uber-writer Aaron Sorkin of West Wing, Sports Night, Charlie Wilson’s War and The American President is attached.

Jesse Eisenberg who until now has been starring in films that Michael Cera didn’t have time for such as Zombieland and Adventureland stars as Mark Zucherberg -- the real-life creator of Facebook which ended up becoming a major media and communications tool- and explores the craziness surrounding what happens when a college student becomes a billionaire seemingly overnight.

One thing to note -- is that this film seems to be a showcase of the stars of tomorrow. On top of Eisenberg giving an Oscar-worthy performance -- the film also co-stars Justin Timberlake as the young creator of Napster, Andrew Garfield who’s just signed on to star in the title role of the upcoming Spider-Man remake and Rooney Mara -- who’s just been signed on to play the main role in the American version of the eagerly awaited The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo movie.

Adding to this -- is the score for the film was done by Trent Reznor.

This will be a film worth watching!

Case 39

Let Me In

I’m probably checking out The Town this weekend, but if I can somehow get into either The Social Network or Let Me In, I’ll see those!

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With bombs such as Jersey Girl, Gigli and the utter destruction of the Jack Ryan franchise with Sum of all Fears -- one can almost be forgiven for forgetting that Ben Affleck is a man with some talent to his credit. After all, this is the same guy that started his career winning an Academy Award for co-writing the screenplay for Good Will Hunting. He had his ups and downs in films, going from Box Office Stud to Box Office Dud within a few years, but had critical acclaims for his performance playing George Reeves in the bio-pic/crime thriller Hollywoodland and later surprised all of us with his debut directing his brother Casey in the excellent Gone Baby Gone. That’s where the comparisons to his idol Clint Eastwood began, a talent that could act, write, direct -- and do anything from trashy action films to award winning dramatic films.

With the new release The Town Affleck again risks being compared to Eastwood. For this crime thriller, Affleck does the Hollywood trifecta of co-writing the screenplay, directing and acting. The Town, based on Chuck Hogan’s novel Prince of Thieves, about a bunch of friends and thieves robbing banks in Boston and their bouts with the law. In the midst of all this mess -- one of the gang (Ben Affleck) happens to fall in love with a woman who was one of the people working in a bank they had robbed years earlier and taken hostage. Despite all this, will the love of one good woman make a career criminal a better man? Even if this happens, will this matter if the FBI agent (Jon Hamm of Mad Men in his film debut) tracking these criminals down catches up to him? And what of his crazed criminal partner played by Jeremy Renner screwing up the situation even worse. Chris Cooper also co-stars.

Think of this film, as HEAT, but this time the only HAM in this film is Jon Hamm, and not DeNiro and Pacino. Rotten Tomatoes already gave the film a 91% and early reviews say are raving and saying that Affleck has finally fulfilled his early promise. A great heist film is sure-fire entertainment, and just from the early promos that I’ve seen -- I fully recommend it.

What will you see? Will you see The Town or is there something else you’ll give a chance?

All of a sudden -- the words that inspire fear in the hearts of grown men blared accross on the screen in huge letters

Men ran from the theater screaming. Women passed out in fear of the unknown. Small children cried. We were on the edge of something terrible…

That didn’t actually happen, but it’s not so far off. The whole audience started booing the screen. A movie that they were interested in 30 seconds before, was now reduced to something less enticing than going for a root canal without painkillers.

People who would normally hush you if you happened to sneeze, were now openly cursing out the famed director/actor/writer/producer for apparently stealing their time and money last time they went to the theaters (some would say from their reaction that he stole their sanity as well). I heard one sweet old lady saying that she’d love to punch M. Night Shyamalan in the face for making The Happening.

Admittedly I was shocked, but I can’t say that I hadn’t thought the same thing myself once or twice.

Before the FALL

M. Night Shyamalan was once considered the next big thing. He was the real thing -- a mega-talent that could direct, write and even act. His first film Wide Awake (1998) was a small family film that made nothing but enjoyed some positive reviews. He next co-wrote the children’s film Stuart Little, which did enjoy some modest success. His big studio film was The Sixth Sense starring Bruce Willis -- which had amazing critical reviews, made over 600 million dollars at the box office and was nominated for 6 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay.

The huge success of The Sixth Sense made Shyamalan seemingly an overnight success. He made a hugely commerical film that could even be celebrated by those that usually scoffed at the typical Hollywood films and embraced smaller less commerical fare. With his first major film, he had become a success story overnight.

Usually after a “breakout” film such as The Sixth Sense, expectations are set extremely high for the next film -- and more often than not, it’s not as well received as the first one was. Unbreakable starring Bruce Willis (again!) didn’t do as well as the first film, but did ok -- and had generally positive reviews for the most part. the same could be said of his next film Signs starring the then likeable and beloved Mel Gibson. Neither matched the commercial or critical success of the first film though -- and people were wondering if he’d ever come out again with a blockbuster like that again. That being said, people were still looking forward to his next film.

What happened next?

2004’s The Village was a critical dissapointment. It opened well opening weekend, but that was mostly due to his past success (a $70 million advertising budget didn’t hurt either). After that opening weekend, the box office just crashed on it, and it was widely seen as a financial failure. 2006’s The Lady in the Water did even worse, and M. Night including himself as an actor in the film playing a writer who’s work would change the world was universally declared as a hint of the man’s uber-ego-mania and a sign that he had no idea what was going on.

Back to greatness?

2008’s The Happening looked like it it would be M Night’s comeback to greatness again. The original posters made it seem like a movie adaption of the groundbreaking video for the REM song Everybody Hurts

The fact that it starred Mark Wahlberg, an up-and-coming star at the time -- seemed to cement the fact that this next film would bring Shyamalan back to the greatness that he once had.

Instead -- we had Marky Mark being chased by wind and grass through a field (I kid you NOT!).

Honestly, a film so bad -- that you can’t turn it off. You watch it the same way that people watch car wrecks as they pass them on the highway. You know it’s horrible, but you can’t turn away. It’s a film that you warn people about the way people used to warn off villagers about the plague.

His next film The Last Airbender- an adaption of the cartoon of the same name -- did even worse, if that’s possible.

Now of course, no one expects anything good of his upcoming film Devil. Maybe he’ll surprise us, but I know with the emotional and psychic damage I suffered through The Happening that I won’t take that chance.

Will you?

Now in theaters is Robert Rodriguez’s MACHETE.

The great homage to 70’s B-movies and exploitation films GRINDHOUSE done by genre fiends Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino didn’t do well at the theaters, but was a lot of fun. Part of that experience, were the cheesy, low-grade fake trailers that they made for B-movies that were never made or meant to be made. The trailer (need I mention again – FAKE trailer) that people loved the most was that of MACHETE – a MEXploitation film starring B-lister (C-lister) Danny Trejo as the anti-hero MACHETE – an ex-Federale from Mexico, a man like the FBI, CIA and DEA all mixed into one, a lover of women, a killer of bad men. Some would say that the 2-minute clip was better than the actual 4-hour movie.

This fake trailer was so popular that Rodriguez decided to make MACHETE a real film. The movie stars Danny Trejo and has a mind-numbing cast of actors surrounding him – Robert DeNiro, the always amazing & chunky Steven Seagal, Michelle Rodriguez, Jessica Alba, Cheech Marin (of Cheech & Chong fame), the great Jeff Fahey of LOST fame -as well as a basket of B-films himself, Lindsay Lohan and introducing Don Johnson (if you believe the credits). Jeff Fahey in particular was excellent, and could be making his way into major stardom soon along with Danny Trejo who was born to play the role of MACHETE. It’s rumoured that the director was so happy with Lindsay Lohan’s performance – that he may spin her character into her own film.

The film itself is over-the top violence and acting, explosions, beheadings, various body parts being cut off, fighting and beautiful women being seduced by MACHETE. How can you not love a film where the main character guts someone with a knife, grabs his intestine and then with it in hand runs down the hallway, jumps out of the hallway with intestine in hand and uses it to swing onto the next floor. The film is so crazy, that this scene almost doesn’t stand out if you can believe it.

This film turned out to be the fun over-the-top film that THE EXPENDABLES promised to be, but never proved to be. While it’s not great art by any means, it’s extremely entertaining and fun and will not dissapoint you. And who else but Rodriguez could make a film like this a commentary on the illegal immigration issue and our economy’s actual dependance on it.

Rodriguez says if this film does well, there will be sequels (or possibly spin-offs). Another fake trailer from GRINDHOUSE is apparently being made into a film right now HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN, to star the great Rutger Hauer. I just can’t wait for that one.

All in all, a great film. You can park your brain at the door and just have fun with it. I look forward to more big name directors like Rodriguez having fun with the genre.

What happens when boy meets girl, they click, but then realize that one of them is leaving at the end of the summer to go back to grad school. Answer- they decide to be adults and just enjoy the ride as long as they can until summer finishes and then leave with a handshake and a hug. Of course, life is never ever that simple, they end up falling in love. In love, but in 2 different cities -- one in New York, the other in San Francisco. Can they somehow make their love work despite all this?

Admittedly, I will go out of my way NOT to see this movie. I probably will speed up in the car as we pass theaters showing this, just so my girlfriend has no clue that it’s playing anywhere nearby. There is a small chance, that when we try to see MACHETE this weekend, that she’ll notice that it’s playing in Cinema 2 right next door -- so if anyone sees me this weekend at the theater -- I want you to PROMISE me that you’ll keep quiet. If I come back Tuesday morning and I seem sluggish and non-responsive, you’ll all know why and it’ll be your faults. If I come in wearing an “I’m a Samantha” Sex & The City t-shirt, things have gone beyond wrong -- and I give you permission to pull the plug. I’ll be in a better place, trust me.

Anyone planning on seeing this? Anyone have any ideas on how to get out of seeing this?

I could spend a few paragraphs describing the plot, but what’s the point? It’s just going to be an orgy of over-the-top crazy action and blood and guts and fun. This will be the film that Stallone’s THE EXPENDABLES promised to be. Trust me on this -- it will blow people away and make Danny Trejo the star his momma always knew he was.

And I believe that this is the first time that they made a film from a fake trailer. When that “trailer” appeared as a “coming attraction” in GRINDHOUSE, it was meant as a satire of the genre of B-films. Little did anybody know at the time, that a throwaway 2-minute bit -- would actually be better remembered than the film it came from.

If you can watch this trailer without your heart pounding, I’m not even going to let you see this film. I’m just sending you to the doctor for a check-up because apparently you have no pulse!

I’ve been waiting for this film since GRINDHOUSE came out. I’ll definitely be there.

You excited as I am?

Will Farrell’s funny roles in comedy films such as Elf (2003), Melinda and Melinda (2004), Starsky and Hutch (2004), Anchorman (2004) and Talladega Nights (2006) [the last two also directed by Adam McKay] have always been unforgettable, and he will surely bring a lot of humor in The Other Guys.

Peter Travis from the Rolling Stones magazine says “Sit back and laugh your ass off, The Other Guy is a riot.” It’s worth mentioning that Samuel L. Jackson’s in it, so is “The Rock” and beautiful Eva Mendez. So we’ll see if “The Other Guys” will be one of those movies where we will remember these actors positively or not tomorrow night!

Directed by: Adam McKay

Staring:
Mark Wahlberg, Will Ferrell, Samuel L. Jackson, Lindsay Sloane, Dwayne Johnson, Eva Mendes, Michael Keaton, Ray Stevenson, Steve Coogan, Craig Robinson, Paris Hilton, Anne Heche and Rob Riggle

Synopsis

Set in New York City, The Other Guys follows Detective Allen Gamble (Ferrell), a forensic accountant who’s more interested in paperwork than hitting the streets, and Detective Terry Hoitz (Wahlberg), who has been stuck with Allen as his partner ever since an embarrassing public incident with his quick trigger finger. Allen and Terry idolize the city’s top cops, Danson and Manzetti (Dwayne Johnson and Samuel L. Jackson), but when an opportunity arises for the Other Guys to step up, things don’t quite go as planned.

Directed by: Burr Steers

Staring: Zac Efron, Amanda Crew, Kim Basinger, Chris Massoglia, Dave Franco, Charlie Tahan, Donal Logue, Tegan Moss, Augustus Prew and Brenna O’Brien

Synopsis

Charlie St. Cloud (Zac Efron )is a young man overcome by grief at the death of his younger brother Sam (Charlie Tahan). So much so that he takes a job as caretaker of the cemetery in which his brother is buried. Charlie has a special lasting bond with his brother though, as he can see him. Charlie meets up with his brother (Sam) each night to play catch and talk. Then, a girl, who happens to be his high-school classmate Tess (Amanda Crew), comes into Charlie’s life and he must choose between keeping a promise he made to Sam, or going after his newfound love. And as he finds the courage to let go of the past for good, Charlie discovers the soul most worth saving is his own.

Directed by: Phillip Noyce

Staring: Angelina Jolie, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Liev Schreiber, Yara Shahidi, Zoe Lister Jones, Victor Slezak, Gaius Charles, Daniel Olbrychski, Cassidy Hinkle and Corey Stoll

Synopsis

As a CIA officer, Evelyn Salt (Angelina Jolie) swore an oath to duty, honor and country. Her loyalty will be tested when a defector accuses her of being a Russian spy. Salt goes on the run, using all her skills and years of experience as a covert operative to elude capture. Salt’s efforts to prove her innocence only serve to cast doubt on her motives, as the hunt to uncover the truth behind her identity continues and the question remains: “Who Is Salt?”

Staring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Tom Berenger and Michael Caine

Synopsis

Celebrated director and producer Christopher Nolan directs an international cast in an original sci-fi actioner that travels around the globe and into the private and infinite world of dreams. Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a skilled thief, the absolute best in the dangerous art of extraction, stealing valuable secrets from deep within the subconscious during the dream state, when the mind is at its most vulnerable. Cobb’s rare ability has made him a coveted player in this treacherous new world of corporate espionage, but it has also made him an international fugitive and cost him everything he has ever loved.
Now Cobb is being offered a chance at redemption. One last job could give him his life back but only if he can accomplish the impossible: inception. Instead of the perfect heist, Cobb and his team of specialists have to pull off the reverse: their task is not to steal an idea but to plant one. If they succeed, it could be the perfect crime. But no amount of careful planning or expertise can prepare the team for the dangerous enemy that seems to predict their every move. An enemy that only Cobb could have seen coming. This summer, your mind is the scene of the crime.

Inception will definitely be one of those movies that will get people thinking. DiCaprio’s been staring as the lead character in some great movies like Gangs of New York, Catch Me if You Can, The Aviator, The Man in the Iron Mask, The Departed, Blood Diamond, Shutter Island and getting away from Romantic/Comedy Movies such as Romeo and Juliet and the like.

Another asset Inception has is its director. Nolan usually tends to come up with really original and cleaver scripts who know no boundaries. That’s why he’s been one of my favourite directors for the last decade. With great films under his belt such as Memento, The Prestige and the New Batman Trilogy (Batman Begins, The Dark Knight and Batman 3 which is in production) we’ve learned not to expect anything less from him. Although I’m not too fond of remakes, he delivered, as expected, in The Dark Knight. All of us had already seen the first Batman of 1989 with the original Joker played by Jack Nicholson, he was memorable. But this revamped Joker played by Heath Ledger is even more unforgettable. Who didn’t go around repeating “Why Sooo Serious” after watching it?

Getting back to Inception, this movie’s great, it’s been called James Bond meets The Matrix by Peter Travel’s Rolling Stone Magazine.
It’s also been said that it’s astounding and a masterpiece by others.
And I’m definitely watching it tonight!

Russell Crowe

Lou Eisen is a Canadian comedian I once worked with, who was a principal performer in the boxing biopic Cinderella Man, starring Oscar winners Russell Crowe and Renee Zelwegger. Directed by Ron Howard, Lou played famed boxing trainer Ray Arcel to Russell Crowe’s James J. Braddock.  When I asked Lou about his experience working with Russell Crowe, he had some surprising things to say.

On set, Russell Crowe treated Lou like crap.  Out of shape at the time, he would constantly hurl a barrage of insults at Lou, calling him fat, useless, a fat useless piece of **** and so on.  He would make Lou go fetch him things, and he would constantly bully Lou during every scene, claiming that he was ruining the movie.  But then during the wrap party, Crowe handed Lou a brand new gold Rolex Watch.  Did this make up for the months of humiliation and verbal abuse?  According to Lou, an avid boxing fan since childhood, the chance to work on the movie was one of the best experiences of his life, aside from the Russell Crowe part of course.

Marlon Brando

Considered one of the greatest actors of all time, Marlin Brando was extremely difficult to work with off camera.  If you wanted him for your movie, you had better REALLY have wanted him for your movie, as in “this movie will dissintegrate without him.” Because Marlin Brando would make you pay, both literally and emotionally.  For his tiny role in Superman:The Movie, Brando demanded $3.7 million for 2 weeks of work, he showed up without having even read the script, and he demanded that his lines be made visible to him off-camera.  The most notorious example of Brando being difficult comes from Francis Ford Coppola’s Vietnam War epic Apocalypse Now, where he played Colonel Kurtz.  Aside from charging $1 million per week on set, Brando showed up late, grossly overweight, without having read even one page from the novel Heart of Darkness (upon which the movie was based).  He apparently pushed Coppola to the brink of insanity.  Remember the famous scene where Kurts whispers “The horror, the horror.”? That took one hour to shoot, and Brando charged $75 000.

One of the funniest things I’ve ever read about Brando is how during the shooting of the film The Score, he refused to take any direction from Frank Oz unless he used his Miss Piggy voice.

Terrence Howard

When I first saw the trailer for Iron Man 2, I thought there was something wrong with my television screen.  “Is it just me, or did Terrence Howard look like Don Cheadle?” ran through my brain.  It wasn’t until I read this article at Entertainment weekly that I discovered the truth.  Not only was Howard a giant pain the butt to work with on the set of Iron Man, but his performance was so disappointing that director Jon Favreau had to constantly reshoot scenes, cut scenes out completely, wasting a lot of the studio’s precious time and money .  Howard was apparently the first big name to sign with the Iron Man project, resulting in a contract which far outweighed his worth in delivery.  Learning from their mistakes, Favreau and screenwriter Justin Theroux significantly reduced the role of Col. Jim Rhodes for Iron Man 2, allowing them to make Howard an offer he could absolutely refuse, which in the end, he did.

Lawrence Tierney

One of my favourite lines from the show Seinfeld was delivered by Elaine’s dad during season 2’s episode “The Jacket” when he was talking to an already nervous george and Jerry:

“Which one of you is the funny guy? We had a funny guy with us in Korea. Tail-gunner.  They blew his brains out all over the Pacific.  There’s nothing funny about that.”

Played famously by Lawrence Tierney, the role of Alton Benes was supposed to be a reoccurring one.  Unfortunately, for us, his off-screen antics freaked out the cast and crew.  He stole a butcher knife from the set during the shooting of the episode, and when confronted about it by Jerry, he pulled it out of his pocket and pretended to stab the comedian like in the film “Psycho”.

Tierney has a long history of alcoholism, run-ins with the law due to violent outbreaks, as well as making his acting colleagues extremely nervous whenever he’s around.  He almost punched Quentin Terentino’s dimpled chin on the set of Reservoir Dogs.  For a fantastic behind-the-scenes look at just how difficult and scary Tierney was, check out this tribute.

Courtney Love

A good friend of mine who chooses to remain anonymous has worked as a director’s assistant on several Hollywood films, including X-Men 1,2 & 3, Fantastic 4 &2, and Elf, told me the hardest actor she’s EVER had to work with on set was Courtney Love.  No real surprises there.  To further protect her identity, my friend wouldn’t even tell me which movie they worked on together, but she mentioned that Love played guitar in it, so I’ll let you do the math.

Apparently she would demand that her make up artist, hair stylist, manicurist, massage therapist and acupuncturist be in her trailer when she arrived on set, which was always at least two hours late.  She would then show up so hung over and messed up from whatever the hell she was doing the night before, that she would pass out in her trailer, while her assembled team would go to work on her.  My friend would bring her wardrobe to her, and one day when the clothes were taking 5 minutes too long to arrive, Love screamed at the top of her lungs “If my clothes aren’t here in 10 seconds, I’m walking on set naked!”  Once on set, she would rip out all the nails her manicurist spent all morning working on, so that she could play guitar better.  But she would still insist that her nails get redone every morning.  One day my friend finally freaked out on Love, complaining that she was sick and tired of waiting for her all the time, at which point Love said “You’re too stressed out, you should try my acupuncturist.”  The next thing my friend knew she on a bed with needles in her face.

I have a sneaking suspicion that there might be more than 5 Hollywood actors who have caused grief amongst their cast and crew.  If you have any stories of any feel free to add them in the comments sections.  Now get off the ****’n set you prick!

A divine balance is disturbed as darkness encroaches upon the world, and four chosen youths are entrusted with the final vestige of hope. So basically, the story is about these 4 orphans that are attracted to a crystal of light. It gives them some of its power and tells them to establish stability in the world. They take off on their mission and, like every Final Fantasy game; they explore towns, dungeons while leveling up.

Using any combination of 23 available jobs, lead the four Warriors of the Light in a journey to restore the world’s balance. This game was the first Final Fantasy to introduce the famed “job system”. The job system allows characters to have “interchangeable” classes instead of having just one class alignment from the beginning of the game to the end.

“Old School Graphics”

This game is so great that GameZone gave it a 9/10 and said that “X3 – Reunion not only looks amazing but the depth of gameplay makes this a galactic winner”. This game truly has the most gigantic and complex universe ever seen in a game. It’s bigger than anything that isn’t an MMO.

Jump into the cockpit of the exclusive and unique battleship once owned by the Pontifex Maximimus Paranidia Himself. This ship is lean and mean and can host two fighter ships.

While under the effect of Nectar, a soldier has a few more abilities and allows you to see better, therefore zoom in further. Sometime in the game, you play the rebels side and they also have some sick tactics. For example, since the Mantel soldiers can’t see dead people, then you can play dead and the Mantel trooper won’t see you. One of the features of the game I liked a lot is that two people can play the storyline on the same console in co-op. There aren’t many co-op FPS games for the PS 3 out there so this is definitely a plus

“Did I mention you also have explosive grenade launchers?”

Your surroundings and background are highly detailed and the animation is great. As for the graphics, they’re not as great or as sharp as Call of Duty. But, I’d be surprised to see anything that would be very similar. COD 4 ran at 1080p, that is Full HD.

The game has a cleaver storyline and tries to bring across the idea that neither side of a war is good. Mantel’s soldiers are supposed to be on the good side, but we eventually discover that they are cocky and arrogant drug addicts who are only doing the bidding of a multinational corporation who wants to stop the “rebels” because they are producing Nectar which is reducing Mantel’s monopoly on this product.

Haze is available on Playstation 3 at iNetVideo.com and iNetVideo.ca

It’s a great 4-player wireless multiplayer game where you can connect directly with up to 3 other PSP systems and play with your friends.

Be Fearsome as Foursome

Untold Legends Brotherhood of the Blade is one of the hugest and biggest game worlds for the PSP. It has over 100 levels, 110 unique monsters, 40 quest adventures and 1000s of items. It’s also an original Fantasy Adventure where you can select between four unique character classes with different fighting abilities and powerful spells.

The overall goal of this open world, third person shooter is to shoot and kill every single gang member in a 10 mile radius. So basically, you’re the extreme solution to an extreme problem, as you attempt to take out 21 gang bosses and restore order to a sprawling metropolis teeming with lawlessness and strife. All forms of policing across the globe combine forces to create the Agency and you work for it.

One of the main things about this game that stand out, beside it having high def graphics, is how easy it is to get a hang of the controls. You can lock on enemy targets and aim for any part of the body or bring down enemy vehicles, one tire at a time. Next to the main game objectives, there are also several side quests that you can do, like collecting orbs, mini-races and time-trials.

This game looks a lot like Grand Theft Auto but isn’t just a clone. Although Crackdown was created by David Jones who also created GTA and Lemmings, the game is really different since your agent of justice has superpowers. You can pick up and throw cars, jump tall buildings and create shockwave blasts with your body. It even feels like the inFAMOUS of XBOX 360, which is coming out for the Playstation 3 today.

Crackdown is available for XBOX 360 at iNetVideo.com

Like the other Lunars, the game revolves around Goddess Althena, Dragons and Beastmen. The game is so predictable that I won’t say anything more about the plot because I’m afraid I might spoil it for you… Sufice to say that the story in Dragon Song takes place 1000 years before the original Lunar.

The character designer behind this game is none other than Akira Toriyama, who was also the character designer for legendary games like Chrono Trigger, Dragon Quest and the creator of Dragon Ball series. Furthermore, the one who wrote the plot and supervised the game’s development is Hironobu Sakaguchi, who happens to be the creator of the Final Fantasy Series. So with two major names behind this game, it is not surprising that the game was expected by fans to be one of the best of it’s kind. Fortunately, the game lived up to the hype that was surrounding it and was the game that sold the most for the XBOX 360 in Japan.

The game’s graphics are astounding and superb. The are so many animated cut scenes that the game spans 3 DVDs. There was a time when an RPG was considered long when it had 3 or 4 CDs like some of the Final Fantasy games for the Playstation. But now, 3 DVD’s wow.

The game play is simple and very similar to traditional turn-based RPG games. You can attack, cast a spell or attack with your shadow and, close to the end of the game, you can even make a summon.

Finally, the game is a must for all RPG fan. It was such a success that there was a sequel made for the Nintendo DS called Blue Dragon Plus and another sequel for that portable system called Blue Dragon: Ikai no Kyoju is scheduled for release in late 2009 or early 2010. There are plans to release a Blue Dragon 2 for the XBOX 360 sometime in the future.

Blue Dragon for the XBOX 360 is available at iNetVideo.com and iNetVideo.ca

The Settlers VI Rise of an Empire is the newest installment of a reference empire building strategy series. You create bustling cities in the medieval world in which everything is visible, lovingly animated and highly detailed. All settlers (inhabitants) have their daily lives and they interact naturally with each other.

Explore a living world where you immerse yourself in a meticulously detailed, lifelike landscape filled with a rich variety of plants, animals and characters. The highly detailed flora and fauna can make you feel as thought you’re playing in the real living world and not just a static artificial board game.

Now your Sims can host social events of the season with fun new animation, fashions, and party decorations.

Sims 2 Celebration Stuff is an all-new collection of items for having the greatest parties that every Sim wants! Make every party really special and different with an assortment of furniture and party fashions. There’s also a wider selection of outfits for weddings and elegant evening parties. One of the best things is that you can even throw a fiesta-themed party, have barbecues or host an unforgettable birthday bash!

“It’s time to celebrate in style with cakes, balloons, tiaras, and many other festive new party items!”

If you love The Sims 2 and have all the other add on packs, you’ll probably like this too. This expansion brought even more unique choices to an already unique game.

The Sims 2: Celebration! Stuff is available for PC at iNetVideo.com and iNetVideo.ca