The Bounty Hunter

My Rating: 2/4



Gerard Butler has been a dad, a spartan, a "Law Abiding Citizen", a game avatar, some dude in a love story(twice), (as well as many others) and now, a bounty hunter. While Jennifer Aniston, on the other hand, has been a mom, a wife, some dudet in a love story(several times), a puppy owner, and now a, well, I now this isn't proper English but let's just say she's a "bounty huntEE". The plot centers around Milo(butler), a has-been cop that now has a crazy line of work as a bounty hunter. But so far, that's left him with very little. One day, he is offered $5,OOO to take his ex-wife(Aniston) to prison. Why? Because she is a journalist who wanted a story so bad she decided to skip her time in court was automatically sentenced to a small amount of jail time(for assaulting an officer). So, Milo must hunt down his ex wife and take her to jail. But, this could go one of three ways. Either it will go as planned, they could start falling in love again, or they could kill each other in the process. What killed this film was the same thing that killed "Did You Hear About the Morgans?". Was it fun and funny? Yes. But the rest of it seemed just like dead space almost. I felt that some wasted potential was taken up by slight nothingness. I saw how the story all fit together, but it could have been much funnier. That's kind of the point of comedies. But, I did think it was a nice movie. Nothing to big, but still enjoyable. It had some good acting, of course, from it's two very expensive stars. But it all turned into a small, light-viewing movie. Some parts I laughed, and I was interested. But I think whether or not you will enjoy it depends on what genres you like. But for now, this will do.

Starring: Gerard Butler, Jennifer Aniston Director:Andy Tennant

Cop Out

My Rating: 3/4

Comedy has always varied between different films. Some movies are truly funny and are done right. Some replace that with vulgar jokes and the F-word. And then you have "Cop Out". Which seems somewhat of a hybrid between the two. It's a lot like the more mature version of the "Rush Hour" series. The film stars Bruce Willis(Live Free or Die Hard, above,right) and Tracy Morgan(G-Force,above,left). They are two NYPD cops who are trying to get back Jimmy(Bruce Willis)'s mint condition baseball card that he was going to sell to pay for his daughter's wedding. And Paul(Tracy Morgan) is his partner in anti-crime and is helping him out. But, along the way, they are pitted against a cruel money-obsessed gangster. And are tangled in a long struggle to, well, get a baseball card. But hey, it's worth about 80,000 dollars...or something close to it. So, the plot doesn't include anything too fancy. No work of art. But it does make it work. However, it doesn't do what the ideal comedy would do. I know I mentioned this same comedy principal in my review of "Grown-Ups", that comedy movie must build the hilarity on the situation, not solely on just one-liners. And I felt that "Cop Out" just built off of one-liners. There were some situations where comedy could have built off of but didn't. Although, somehow, a miracle is performed. Whats this? "Cop Out" actually had a lot of hilarious one-liners. Perhaps the funniest line is when the two main characters are talking and at one point Jimmy says "But I already made my decision." and then Paul replies "Hello, the president is black now, we make decisions!". I laughed so hard you have no idea. They are many others like that but that by far was the funniest. The acting is good. Two stars do the job but there's nothing extraordinary. But I did feel that the story lacked some detail. It seemed jumbled and could have been better. But the funny thing is that the movie seems to almost tell you that it's excuse for that is the funny comedy. And well, that my friends, is a cop out. While I did enjoy watching it, it was slightly predictable and had some flaws. But overall, it WAS pretty funny and this film seems to make it work. If they turn this into a series, I do think it has the potential to overcome even the"Rush Hour" series which is like this film's cousin. But for now, it has plenty of time for improvement.

Starring: Bruce Willis, Tracy Morgan Director: Kevin Smith

Despicable Me

My Rating: 3 /4

I must admit, I wasn't particularly excited about this movie. It seemed like just another box-office hogging, dumb-looking, star loaded animated movie. But for the most part, I was wrong. While the cast is again(just like my last review) star loaded, that certainly brings in some great acting from the voice talents of Steve Carell(Get Smart), Jason Segel(I Love You, Man), Russel Brand(Bedtime Stories), Will Arnet(Monsters V.S. Aliens), Danny McBride(Drillbit Taylor), Miranda Cosgrove(The Wild Stallion) and Julie Andrews(Shrek 2, 3, and 4). With talent like this, the acting is without question fantastic. All of the characters are portrayed to their full potential. Nothing is questionable. Unless you have no imagination whatsoever. But Steve Carell of course steals the show and I don't know if it's just good acting or if it's just flat-out funny but you actually get to hear him in a Russian accent. In one scene, instead of "my turn", he says "my torn" and it just made me laugh for some reason. You just never hear that guy outside of an American accent. It's like hearing Brad Pitt's old country accent in that WWII Quentin Tarantino movie that I probably shouldn't mention the name of. But I think it just made the film more enjoyable. But, this accent centers around the plot, which then centers around Carell's character, Gru(above). Gru is, well, I don't know how else to say it, a super villian. He lives in a nice neighborhood and pretty houses flood the block, then you see Gru's huge, haunted-house looking, dark semi-mansion. He has spikes and armored suits as the main theme of his home's decor, and he carries a Medieval mase with him whenever the doorbell rings, and he has pet that I'm pretty sure isn't from this planet and probably has rabies. Oh, and he drives this 20-ft. tall -death machine-type vehicle that more than likely is a danger to society. AND, he has a large weapon-factory of evil that's run by little yellow minions that I also am sure are not from this planet. That is what he calls his basement. So, he really is the hard core- bad-guy of animated films. One day, a new villain named "Vector"(Jason Segel), steals what I believe is the Pyramid of Giza and is considered a better villain than Gru. So, Gru comes up with a master plan that would make him the greatest villain in history, TO STEAL THE MOON. Now I don't want to spoil this movie so i will just not go into the details. But as part of his plans, he adopts three orphans. And he just may find out he would make a good dad. So, the plot is obviously silly, but hey, what did you expect from an animated kid's movie? The satisfaction, however, expands outside of the targeted audience. There's comedy, there's seriousness, and well, it's just plain fun. And I found myself just enjoying the movie. I was was never bored, never minded the small amount of predictability, and I was never confused. It's this heartfelt, funny, ideal animated movie. I guess there may have been some minor details I wasn't liking, and maybe I dwell ed on it too much. Or, maybe it wasn't something I didn't like, it's just that the level of how good it was wasn't the highest it could go. I may even have graded it on this a little too harshly. But oh, despicable me.
Starring: Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Miranda Cosgrove, Directors: Pierre Coffin
Russel Brand, Chris Renaud
Will Arnet, Julie Andrews.

Grown-Ups

My Rating: 2.5/4



Director Dennis Dugan has brought us yet another star loaded-flick for 2010. This film is pretty much "Death at a Funeral" 's twin brother. The plot focuses on five guys, who, like I said, are played by an all-star cast that includes Adam Sandler(The Waterboy), Kevin James(Paul Blart: Mall Cop), Chris Rock(Death at a Funeral), David Spade(Joe Dirt), and Rob Schneider(Don't Mess with the Zohan). They were all part of a coach's only winning championship basketball team back in the 70's. Now, about 30 years later, they all hear that their coach has died and so they all gather for his funeral. They are all meeting each other's families and just catching up. After the funeral, they all stay at Lenny(Adam Sandler)'s lake house for a couple days. And this film is about their hilarious journey through this time of loss and reunion. The acting would obviously be an important element to this movie(or well, really to any movie). And it was very good which is expected from a very expensive-looking cast. But the vital principle of comedies is that you can't treat them like stand-up. When it's a MOVIE, you can't just build the comedy from one-liners. You need to build it off of the situation that the characters are in. And "Grown-Ups" did a good job of that but it did have a little too many one-liners. But that's when the acting comes in. If the acting is good, then the situation seems real, and that's what gets the laughs. The film knows this and does not defy it. It follows it. The movie was just generally funny.I found myself cracking up in the theatre and there are quite a few LOL's. There's so much creativity to be used with this kind of plot. And a lot of it is done right. There are some shocking revelations revealed between the characters, but they all just end-up making it even more hilarious. But, in the midst of all this comedy, it has a heart and that is shown towards the end as they all learn from their experiences. So overall, good acting, good story, and just another light-viewed funny movie. And I couldn't help but walk out with a smile.
Starring: Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Director: Dennis Dugan
Chris Rock, David Spdae, Rob Schneider, Salma Hayek

Inception

My Rating: 4 / 4 

Christopher Nolan has dished out some amazing films in the past few years. The most famous ones include "Batman Begins"(2005), and "The Dark Knight"(2008). Now comes "Inception". Which in my opinion ranks way up there in the best movies he's ever made. While I still think his best film(from what I've seen at least) is "The Dark Knight", Inception just barely misses that line and ranks his 2nd best. Now, I will tell you the plot, but don't drift off because it really can get a little confusing. Dom Cobb(and yes, his name is "Dom", not "Don") is not your ordinary security guard. He specializes in subconscious security. Or, in other words, dreams. He is trained in the art of navigating people's minds. So, when someone has a deadly idea, he breaks into their minds when they are in their most vulnerable state, sleep. Once in there, he steals that idea. He has become a great player in this little game but it is also not strictly speaking legal. And that eventually makes him a fugitive and forced into in hiding. But, he has a chance at redemption. His way home, the only way to get his life back is to pull off one last job. Instead of stealing an idea, he must plant one. This process is called Inception. So, him and his team of specialists must travel deep into the mind of a very rich man and pull off the impossible and in exchange Cobb's life may return to normal and he may see his children again. Now, this idea of plot is definitely original. As well as being perfectly cast. Cobb is played by Leonardo DiCaprio(Titanic), Arthur is played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt( (500) Days of Summer, G.I.JOE: The Rise of Cobra), Ariadane is played by Ellen Page(Juno), Yusuf is played by Dileep Rao(Avatar), and Miles is played by Micheal Cane(The Dark Knight). The acting was fantastic and DiCaprio's performance would make even Sandra Bullock's "Blind Side" role jealous. All performances were believable. I couldn't even sense an ounce of fake-like substance in the lines or anything similar. Now, if you have a decent I.Q. , you will enjoy "Inception". In order to have a good experience watching this film, you must have the intelligence of Documentary-lovers and a wide attention span. The film is certainly the opposite of boring but if you don't understand what's going on, how can you enjoy it? That goes for pretty much every movie. Th action scenes are aligned with the plot perfectly and are also exciting. The special effects are nothing TOO huge but ARE sights to see. I especially love the idea of them going into dreams. I 100% agree with the statement made in the film which was that dreams feel real while we are in them but it's only when we wake up that we realize something was actually strange. That is very realistic. Now, a delicate subject I must discuss is the ending. I will NOT say a word about what happens though, so don't stop reading! But I loved how Nolan left it up for debate as to what it meant at the end. It could go two ways. Either it was just a good and happy ending or it's teasing you with the idea of a sequel. Either way, I'm happy! The one and only problem with this film was that confusion may effect TOO large an audience. Unfortunately, not everyone has an attention span to really try and understand what's going on. And that's the point. This isn't a movie to be lightly viewed(especially with a length of 2 1/2 hours!). You must really TRY to understand. Or, in other words, the film needs your co-operation. If you give it this, however, you have the chance to embrace a long but deep, entertaining, well-acted, engrossing experience. Or, to sum it all up, a masterpiece. I definitely am up for a sequel and I am always on the look out for Christopher Nolan's films. I can't wait for the conclusion to his reinvented "Bat-Man" trilogy in 2012 and hopefully an "Inception 2". But for now, let's just say this DVD would be a nice addition to many collections.

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio Director: Christopher Nolan
Ellen Page
Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Cillian Murphy
Ken Watanbe
Tom Hardy
Marion Cottilard
Tom Berenger
Micheal Cane

The Last Airbender

My Rating: 2/4


Air, water, fire, and earth are the four nations in the world of "The Last Airbender". Based on the original Nickelodeon cartoon "Avatar: The Last Airbender" (which I was a big fan of and yes, I know I'm a dork). The plot is about four nations(that I already mentioned) that lived in harmony. Some people in each nation have the ability to "bend" or in other words, manipulate their native element. One day the fire nation got greedy and wanted to control all the other nations and declared war. And have been at war for over a century. As the other nations struggle under the attack(which is weird since it's three on one), their only hope lies in the "Avatar". The only one who can control all four elements. One day, brother and sister Katara and Sokka from the southern water tribe find Aang, The last airbender(all the other were wiped out)/the Avatar frozen in a block of ice. They later find out he was frozen a hundred years ago and he wakes up to the horror of the war which is new to him but old to everyone else. But, before he was frozen, he did not learn the other three elements. So, Katara and Sokka agree to help him go on a journey to learn and master the other three elements and defeat the fire nation. Now, as you can obviously tell, this is a kid's movie. Comprehensible and pretty simple. Nothing too deep. Just another cartoon shot to the big screen. But, (SAY WHAT?!) it's directed by M. Night Shyamalan. Who mainly directs horror movies and is the creator of things like "The Sixth Sense" and "The Happening". Now, all of the sudden he moves to a children's film?! But, calm down people. I didn't find it as bad as you might think in this kind of situation. He didn't scare me out of my wits so I guess you could say it's a "kid's" movie. But a major turnoff for me was how cheesy it was. The script was poorly written and cheesy, and the acting was very poorly done and cheesy. Well guess what M. Night? It's Na-cho cheese! The script could have been way better, and the acting was not that impressive. The only really good performance was by Dev Patel, who plays Prince Zuko. He is famous for his starring role in "Slumdog Millionaire". But,I could've thought of a better introduction and ending. But the main sequencing wasn't bad. It stuck to the cartoon storyline which was a wise choice because then they would've had all this weird stuff and upset the fans. Another wise choice was that the film makers knew that they would have to fit an entire season of the cartoon into each film in order to divide it into a trilogy. So, they knew they would have to cut out A LOT of things. But everything was removed perfectly. They only included the fan-pleasing and important events, removing all unnecessary implications. They just kept the essentials. The only problem was instead of it being too slow, it went too fast. The movie just seemed a little rushed. Although the pronunciations were wrong...also A LOT. Like the main character, Aang. In the show, he was pronounced "Ang". In the film, he's pronounced "ong". In the show, Sokka was pronounced "Sock-a". In the film, he's pronounced "So-ka". They DID, however, get one of the main villain's names right, Prince Zuko. Who's ultimate goal is to catch the Avatar and restore his honor. But, now guess what?! They pronounce his uncle's name wrong. In the Show, his name was pronounced "Uncle I-ro". In the film, it's pronounced "Uncle ee-ro". WHY, WHY, WHY?! After all of these negative comments, reader, I would imagine you thinking "Then what DID you like about the film?". Well, this film did the unique thing of showing me things I didn't know I wanted. Kind of like what "Iron Man" did. It gave people what they didn't know they wanted. In a strange way, I liked the senseless action, I liked the absurdity, and I liked how they developed a comprehensible issue and battled it out with top notch special effects. Which brings me to my next point, the action. Three words, "I", "LOVED", and "IT"! The special effects of element bending and swords clanging was very well done. I was completely entertained. Those scenes provide you with good action that stays in the tricky middle ground where it's a wee-bit more serious than Jackie Chan-style violence but doesn't have the blood and guts of "Ninja Assassin". In fact, since the film is clearly for the purpose of entertainment, and there's nothing really deep, (I know my grandmother is frowning upon me right now) the violence in scenes were most of my favorite parts. I would say "it was clearly just for the TRIVIAL purpose of entertainment", but if you look before T.V., waaaaaaay before, even back to things like gladiator fights, it's not so trivial. But all in all, "The Last Airbender" was a cheesy experience. Had a bad script, bad acting, but in a strange way, I ended up just having a blast watching it. It's a good movie to watch when you're in the mood for a Saturday morning type thing. But I don't think Shyamalan will have these films be good for the whole trilogy. You know who I want to direct the next one? Micheal Bay. That would be a good choice. But unlike Roger Ebert, I hope, no, I KNOW the title is not prophetic. And thankfully, it is not "The LAST Airbender".

Starring: Noah Ringer Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Nicola Peltz
Jackson Rathbone
Dev Patel

Invictus

My Rating: 3/4

If there was, is, or ever will be a film hall of fame, Morgan Freeman should be in it. Never in my life have I ever seen him give anything less than an exceptional performance. And that quality about him truly shines in his new film "Invictus". This is a true story about Nelson Mandela. Mandela was a prisoner on Robben Island, South Africa until he was released from prison and became the president. Only to be faced with the challenge of bringing the country up to greatness seeing the turmoil it is in. The best way at the time to him was to get their very untalented Rugby team, the "Springboks" to win the world cup so they can"be a shining light in the world". The film is perfectly cast. Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela and Matt Damon( who also gives a very good performance) as Francois Pienaar, captain of the Springboks. The best thing in this film is the acting. All performances are powerful and believable and help build upon a strong film. It is not boring to those who will bother to pay attention. But you will probably be bored if you half pay attention while doing something else. But I really thought that the film makers kept the politic-y stuff to a minimum as to keep the audience from drifting off(no offense Obama). And above all, it kept the experience fresh. The film also does a good job of showing you how they must balance "black aspirations with white fears" as they called it in the film. Because when I said the country was in "turmoil", I mean racial hatred, riots, poverty, and all other negative uproar you can think of. The soundtrack was excellent. Mainly using African folk songs that you may even find yourself humming throughout the rest of the day. It serves as a great accompaniment to the characters and events. Another thing I noticed was that Mandela, even though he'd been imprisoned for almost 30 years, came out of that prison a very wise man. He makes decisions that all of his co-workers think are very strange. But in the end, you see that they all serve a great purpose. And Mandela knows it(although only his black co-workers call him "Madiba"). You can also see the growth of the Rugby team throughout the film as well as their lessons learned from Mandela as he begins working with them to win both the world cup and the hearts of 43 million South Africans. But, what I didn't like was that there could have been a little more excitement. Just be a little less Dull. I felt something was missing. And that something destroyed star #5. But overall, I had an inspiring experience and saw some great acting which combined to deliver an amazing story. For those of you who don't judge a book by it's cover, I definitely recommend "Invictus".

Starring: Morgan Freeman Director: Clint Eastwood
Matt Damon

The Karate Kid

My Rating: 3.5/4





After the filmmaking revelation that was "The Karate Kid"(1984), I was feeling a little defensive when I heard about a remake. I thought the original was so good, there shouldn't be a remake out of respect for it. This one didn't look as good or well written. But I was completely proved wrong. Although the plot wasn't very original because it's pretty much structured(and I'm not even exaggerating) EXACTLY like the original. I'm talking down to every last event, with a couple new ones added in. So all in all, the plot is pretty basic. Boy moves far away, boys meets girl, bullies get jealous, bullies beat him up, kid is bullied by the bullies..a lot, boy finds out the maintenance man at his apartment complex knows kung-fu and so he begins to teach the boy, and boy must train to face his fears. The best way I can describe the change between the original and the new one is "better,faster,stronger". The action scenes especially are more fast-paced and, well, violent. The script is stronger, the acting is stronger, the action is faster, and the movie as a whole is just, well, better. The 2010 version of "The Karate Kid" is the most heart pounding, entertaining, moving experience I have had in a very long time. I was never bored, never did my attention wander to the boredom of counting sheep, never was I having anything less than an amazing experience. While I was hoping for this Karate Kid to be a little more original, it does seem kind of like they're making the exact same movie over again. But my definition of remake is that it has the same ideas and story but brings it's own originality. But, "The Karate Kid" did change some things and had a small amount of originality. And when you see that in action, it's very moving. But the names mainly are what changed. Instead of "Danny LaRusso", it's "Dre Parker". Instead of "Mr Miyagi", it's "Mr. Han". Instead of "Alli", it's "Mei Ying". Instead of "Johnny", it's "Cheng". As well as instead of moving to California, they move to Beijing, CHINA. So hopefully, to all the readers, that will get rid of the confusion with the foreign character names. So as you can see, I actually ended up enjoying the remake more than the original. Also, the action scenes are (like I said) more fast-paced. The fighting in the original seemed a little more realistic however, the kids in this are younger and somehow fight like Jet Li! From lightning fast punches to deadly kicks to acrobatic mayhem you will NOT be bored with these scenes. The acting is great. Will Smith's talent must have been carried through his genes and into Jaden. Because after watching this film, there is no doubt acting is in his blood! Both him and Chan deliver excellent performances making a movie about something as common as karate into a unique and moving movie about karate. Moments containing such a thing are what true movies are all about. They can be an influence on society, and give a classic that the whole world falls in love with at the same time, And it's things like that that are part of what we live for. It is difficult to put this element into a film, but "The Karate Kid" is a textbook example of how to do so. Whether you liked the original or not, you will stand up and cheer for "The Karate Kid".

Starring: Jaden Smith Director: Harold Zwart
Jackie Chan
Taraj P. Henson

Toy Story 3

NO TOY GETS LEFT BEHIND! My Rating: ***1/2 - Good



The Toy Story series has captured the hearts of both critics and Pixar fans for the past eleven years. What was the appeal of these films? It wasn't necessarily just the entertainment. But it was the creativity, the originality, the jokes, the kid-friendly manner, and the pretty much all-age interest. The thing I love about Disney/Pixar movies is that they come in the FORM of just kid's movies. But they always entertain the little ones but I can tell that the adults see that something valuable was hidden in the film just for them. The story is actually good and interesting to an older audience. Even though watching the previews is not enough to see that, if you pay attention closely, you can see the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. That was contained in the 1st and 2nd "Toy Story" and remains for the most part in "Toy Story 3". The plot has a pretty good set-up. Andy has grown up and is headed for college. But the question remains, "What is he going to do with all these toys?" Well, while he is deciding, the toys end up being thrown into a box of old toys being donated to Sunny side Daycare. At first the toys seem very happy about it. But, they soon find out that it isn't do great and must escape to get back to Andy before he leaves for college. It is an entertaining film and at least avoids the predictability flaw with new surprises around every corner. Whether it's jokes or action, it's certainly not boring. But what does the film lack? Well, it lacks the eerie humor of "Toy Story" and it also lacks the heartfelt mood of "Toy Story 2". The ideal "Toy Story 3" would be a combination of those two and adding in another one of it's own elements. But to my disappointment, it wasn't. I did not feel connected to the film very much throughout the film and I saw some small amounts of wasted potential. But the acting is good as always. Disney always casts their films very well. But I just wasn't feeling it the whole way through. I don't want to spoil it, so I won't but the ending was a good way to close the series, it's just that I felt like it lacked some closure. It was not a BAD ending, just could have been better. But the pixar films are usually very honest and straightforward. "Toy Story 3" is a truthful movie. The idea of Andy growing up and going to college is realistic(despite the fact that the series is about living toys). And as Woody and Buzz Light year & company state in the film, "We all new this day was coming." At some point this was going to have to happen. He wasn't going to stay like a kid forever. But I think the lesson here is to learn to let go. But "Toy Story 3" is a worthy volume in the saga. While it may not reach the level of other Disney/Pixar films like "Ratatouille"(2007) or "The Incredibles"(2004), It's not just a story that I know will go into the Pixar hall of fame, it's a TOY story.

starring: Tom Hanks Director: Lee Unckrich
Tim Allen