Despicable Me (2010)

2010's Despicable Me is an animated movie full of funny little yellow creatures.  Despicable Me jumps on the 3-D train that has been overloaded the past few years.  Big names such as Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Russell Brand, Kristen Wiig and Will Arnett have Despicable Me hosting some very familiar voices.

Bridesmaids (2011)

After being repeatedly bombarded with ads and trailers and posters for Bridesmaids, I decided to get it from Redbox tonight.  Bridesmaids is hyped up to be the power chick flick of quite some time so I had my hopes up.  Bridesmaids had a pretty good cast including Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne, Ellie Kemper and a slew of others.  Bridesmaids has a huge cast and all have their part.

Whip It (2009)

2009's Whip It was a delightful surprise; or a more apt description would be a surprising slap to the face.  Whip it stars Ellen Page as the rookie derby skater.  Page skates alongside Drew Barrymore, Kristen Wiig, Eve and Juliette Lewis in this powerful film.

Land of the Lost (2009)

Land of the Lost stars Will Ferrell, Anna Friel and Danny McBride.  This movie had so much potential that was wasted it was incredible.  For as much good stuff as there was in this film, the outcome was not even close to what it should have been.  Lets dive in and get a bit more in depth.

What was good about it you might wonder after an intro like that.  Well, most of the movie was actually good.  I'll go down the list here.  The credits and music were really cool.  The scenery stuck out as one of my favorite features, a comment I don't think I have made yet on this blog.  The special features were pretty amazing.  The costumes (for the most part) were killer.  The most amazing part is the concept.

What was bad then you might ask.  Well, the script.  Acting was not bad, in fact all three lead characters acted quite well.  I was very impressed by Danny McBride in fact.  As it boils down and I think about it more, I would blame all the horrible stuff in the entire film on the script.

This film had some of the coolest conceptual ideas, along with some killer CGI.  The dinosaurs looked extremely realistic.  The "earthly" props that were in the land of the lost were incredible.  Not only did they look cool, but they picked perfect things to include.  One of my favorite parts is the three main characters base everything they are experiencing off of "earth" experiences, and everything in this parallel world is different.  They keep thinking they know something only to find it is different here.

The concept of the film is Ferrell's character found a way to harness energy that has never been harnessed, and it allows him to travel sideways in time.  Yep, I said that right, sideways in time.  The three main characters go out on a field test and end up in a parallel universe.  This universe is incredible!

I felt as if Land of the Lost was a prelude of what Ferrell had yet to come in "The Other Guys".  What I mean is "The Other Guys" is one of my favorite comedy films of all time.  It has to be one of the most humor packed films ever.  Land of the Lost felt as if it were trying to be along those same lines, but failed miserably.  Oh yeah, Land of the Lost did have some hilarious parts and one liners to it, but nothing like how it should have been.

Land of the Lost could have went two ways to be a better film; first is the packed humor route like "The Other Guys".  The second route would have been to take it full serious.  If Land of the Lost could have went serious on us and dropped most of the humor aspect it could have been among titles such as Jurassic Park, King Kong, Back to the Future and films such as those.

Instead Ferrell, Friel and McBride acted the hell out of a crappy script on a killer movie that was thrown their way.  For the effort, and for the rest of the film that was amazing, I am giving Land of the Lost a 3 star review.  Check it out and let me know if you agree.  Ciao for now and see you for the next review!

The Adjustment Bureau (2011)

DW and I decided we wanted to watch a new movie with some good hype behind it instead of the so so stuff we have been watching on view instant as of late.  We decided to pick up The Adjustment Bureau from a Redbox and see if we could have any luck.  The concept of the movie is absolutely astounding: What if you are not in COMPLETE control of your own future?  If you wonder off track a bit you will be pushed back on with out even knowing it.

The Vanishing (1993)

Well it is another familiar story tonight in that we are out of new movies on the instant queue.  Tonight we decided to watch The Vanishing, a remake of the 1988 Netherlands film of the same title.  The Vanishing stars Kiefer Sutherland, Jeff Bridges, Sandra Bullock and Nancy Travis.

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel (2009)

Having heard good things about this sequel to the original (well, a remade original that is) we decided to give it a chance.  The chipmunks are back and this time they have competition in the chipettes.  Jason Lee returns and Zachary Levi joins the cast.

Wrecked (2010)

Wrecked has an almost solo cast staring Adrien Brody.  Wrecked has the feel of a few of the recent films I have reviewed staring Brody such as The Experiment and The Jacket.  Well, I can't find my review for The Jacket, perhaps I didn't do one?  Anywho this is yet another film to add to the list of off beat films Brody has done.

Limitless (2011)

Limitless stars Bradley Cooper, Robert DeNiro and Abbie Cornish.  Limitless centers around Bradley's character who is an underperforming writer who finds a drug that unlocks full usage of the brain.  That could come in handy right now because I'm having trouble creating this blog post!

Saw: The Final Chapter (2010)

Saw: The Final Chapter did to some extent what the name implies; gave us some closure.  Did it do entirely?  No.  The ending was left open, much to NO surprise.  There was some closure however that actually was quite good.  In what I would call the best movie of the series, Saw: The Final Chapter solidly "closes" out the franchise.

The Women (2008)

2008's The Women boasts an entirely female cast led by Meg Ryan.  Ryan is joined by a slew of big names such as Eva Mendes, Debra Messing, Annette Benning, Jada Pinkett Smith, Candice Bergen, Cloris Leachman and Bette Midler.  The Women is a remake of the 1939 film by the same title.

Buried (2010)

Buried takes the top spot on my list of what has to be the most basic movies to budget and film ever.  Buried replaces the previous holder Phone Booth with Colin Farrell.  Buried is a film about a man who wakes up to find himself buried alive and his 90 minute real time struggle to get out.

Natural Born Killers (1994)

Natural Born Killers is so screwed up I had to watch it twice before I could figure out how to do a review.  Even after doing so it is still tough to figure out what I thought of this film, or how to rate it.  Killers stars Woody Harrelson, Juliette Lewis, Robert Downey Jr. and Tommy Lee Jones.  The eclecticness of the entire cast matches the eclecticness of the film perfectly.

Alpha and Omega (2010)

2010's Alpha and Omega is one of the few animated films from Lionsgate productions.  In my opinion, if every animated film they put out is done with the quality of this one, they need to stay even more sparse in this category then they have been.   Alpha and Omega stars Justin Long, Hayden Panittiere, Dennis Hopper and Danny Glover.

Crazy Heart (2009)

Featured in the 82nd Academy Awards, 2009's Crazy Heart was the next film in our queue.  Jeff Bridges stars along with Maggie Gyllenhaal, Robert Duvall and Colin Farrell.  Bridges plays a washed up country singer with more problems than you can count, and a poor attitude to go with them.

Paper Man (2009)

More and more I think the big directors of today have forgotten the basics of movie making.  They attempt to use too much luster to attract the viewers.  They use special effects and fake characters such as robots or aliens.  They digitally enhance everything so that it looks pretty and to be more visually stimulating.  I am more and more appreciative of the small independent film directors that have given us some of the best movies I have reviewed on this site.  Paper Man is a welcomed addition to the later list.

The Lucky Ones (2008)

The Lucky Ones features Tim Robbins, Rachel McAdams and Michael Pena in a story about soldiers returning from war on leave and their discoveries that home is not how they left it.  The Lucky Ones is a well written and filmed movie that I thought was very realistic.

Demolition Man (1993)

An oldie on the view instant queue last night was 1993's Demolition Man with Sylvester Stallone, Wesley Snipes and Sandra Bullock.  A slew of other recognizable names and faces popped up throughout such as Dennis Leary and Rob Schneider.  Demolition Man is a film about a rouge cop chasing down one of the worst criminals of the 90's only to find them both cryogenically frozen and unthawed nearly 40 years later in a "crime less" future.

The Dilemma (2011)

I have to apologize upfront here, it was Sunday night when we watched The Dilemma.  We put it in last minute and didn't finish it until 1:00 AM so I didn't do the review and this is the first time I have had to sit down and make it.  I may miss a few things here since it has been a few days.  On to the review however, the Dilemma stars Vince Vaughn, Kevin James, Jennifer Connelly and Winona Ryder.

Poseidon (2006)

Well, the internet has been down all day here (I am writing this with my phone internet btw) so we decided to scour the movie shelves for anything that sounded interesting tonight.  This meant I was happy I may not have to write a review for an already seen movie.  Obviously you are reading this so that was not the case.  I happened to stumble across Poseidon here, and it was unopened and unwatched by us.  Poseidon has a pretty amazing cast with names such as Josh Lucas, Kurt Russell and Richard Dreyfuss.  Some smaller name people were in the film such as Jacinda Barrett, Emmy Rossum, and Jimmy Bennett.

I Love You Phillip Morris (2009)

For probably the last review for the month of July we broke down and went to a Redbox.  Netflix has been very poor on their view instant choices over the past month or two and we have weeded through all the buffer films we had available.  Redbox movie of choice tonight was 2009's I Love You Phillip Morris.  ILYPH was hailed by some critics as Jim Carrey's best film yet.  The film starred Ewan McGregor along side Carrey for quite an amazing ride.

Double Whammy (2001)

Denis Leary, Elizabeth Hurley, Luis Guzman and Steve Buscemi star in this 2001 film about a cop down on his luck.  Double Whammy is a comedy that follows around a few different sets of people that all end up colliding at some point throughout the film.

Tangled (2010)

Tangled is the beloved story of Rapunzel...with a twist.  The classic story gets a facelift with some very impressive animation, a few dashes of adult humor and a modified storyline.  Tangled stars Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi as the two main characters with a slew of big named supporting cast members.

Twelve (2010)

I added Twelve to my view instant queue because there have not been many decent additions in a few months.  I am running out of view instant movies to watch and getting desperate.  That desperation resulted in this movie.  Twelve stars Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson and Chance Crawford as the two main characters.

The Fighter (2010)

New to Netflix view instant, 2010's The Fighter stars Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale and Amy Adams.  The Fighter is based upon a true story of two half brothers who both get their shot in the ring.

Inglourious Basterds (2009)

Tarantino's latest film Inglourious Basterds was the movie we had from Netflix, so we decided to put it in.  Basterds stars Brad Pitt as Lt. Aldo Raine, the leader of an anti-Nazi group charged with hunting and killing every Nazi they find.  Pitt is joined by a huge cast of people I was unfamiliar with such as Melanie Laurent, Christopher Waltz, Eli Roth, Michael Fassbender and Daniel Bruhl.  A few of the others I did recognize were Diane Kruger, Til Schweiger and B.J. Novak.  We even see a cameo performance by Mike Meyers.

The Jacket (2005)

The Jacket has a pretty good cast led by Adrien Brody with Keira Knightly, Kris Kristofferson, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Daniel Craig rounding out.  Adrien Brody is institutionalized for being "crazy" and ends up pushing the beliefs of the staff to the limits.  The Jacket is suspenseful yet not scary (so don't worry about that), thrilling, entertaining and even heartwarming at times.  The Jacket also adds another notch to my new found love of independent films, as it was one of the top Sundance Film Festival picks of 2005.

The Green Hornet (2011)

One of Seth Rogen's latest creations, The Green Hornet is tonights review.  This film has good and bad about it, reminiscent of most of Rogen's films.  Jay Chou, Cameron Diaz, Tom Wilkinson and Edward James Olmos star in the film as well.

Cars 2 (2011)

We decided it was time to bring our oldest to his first movie in the theaters.  Since one of his favorite films of all time is Cars, we decided it would be amazing to bring him to Cars 2.  Thus, wala here is the review on opening weekend!  Lead cast Owen Wilson as Lightning McQueen and Larry the Cable Guy as Mater return in this sequel to the uberpopular Pixar smash hit Cars.

King Kong (2005)

Tonights film brings us back a few years, but none the less a movie I wanted to see.  King Kong stars Naomi Watts, Jack Black and Adrien Brody.  A classic tale about a giant terrorizing ape told with amazing special effects.  Strap in and hold on, your in for one wild, and often times unbelievable, ride.

Leap Year (2010)

Hello again, its been awhile since my last review!  Tonights movie of choice is 2010's Leap Year with Amy Adams, Matthew Goode, Adam Scott and John Lithgow.  Leap Year is themed around an Irish tradition that a woman can propose to a man on February 29th in a leap year.

Stone (2010)

Another view instant film tonight, paired with ice cream from one of our favorite spots that is only open in the summer.  Tonights film was 2010's Stone with Edward Norton, Robert De Niro and Milla Jovovich.

Leaves of Grass (2009)

We are noticing a trent with indie flicks, and it continues with the one we watched tonight.  2009's Leaves of Grass features Edward Norton in a double roll, Keri Russell and Tim Blake Nelson as the main characters.  The trend I speak of, if you will refer back to indie films such as Feed the Fish and The Amateurs, is that a lot indie films are better on many levels than most main stream films.

The Informant! (2009)

A movie in the mail for once instead of view instant!  The selected feature was 2009's The Informant! with Matt Damon as lead character Mark Whitacre.  The basis for the film is off true events, but as the disclaimer shows (and after watching), they made some tweaks to the story.

Takers (2010)

View instant tonight was 2010's Takers with a huge star studded cast.  Members included Paul Walker, Matt Dillon, Michael Ealy, Chris Brown, Jay Hernandez and Zoe Saldana.  In most aspects, the film was as solid as the list of names you see above.  There were some weak points, but overall a decent run of the mill thriller-suspense.

The Time Traveler's Wife (2009)

2009's The Time Traveler's Wife stars Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams alongside eachother in this love story.  Ron Livingston was the co-star in this unique concept film about a man with a gene that makes him a time-traveler and the complications it creates with his everyday life and family.

Legion (2010)

On recommendation from a gore magazine, tonights film is 2010's Legion with Paul Bettany.  The magazine article talked about the upcoming film Priest, and suggested Legion as it has the same lead actor and the same director.

Saw VI (2009)

Saw VI has been waiting for a night that I could watch it alone.  My wife despises these movies, and I don't blame her.  I enjoy them however because no matter how sick and disgusting the mind that created them, they are genius on that same sick disgusting level.

Eat Pray Love (2010)

Last nights movie was Eat Pray Love with Julia Roberts as the lead character Liz Gilbert.  Liz finds herself in a perfect life situation with the perfect husband, job and house.  The only problem is she is lying to herself in an attempt to stifle the deep down hatred she is harboring for everything.  Liz is able to come to terms with herself by praying to god for the first time in her life and decides to make a 180 turn around in her life.  The movie is her journey.

Gangs of New York (2002)

I chose a bit older movie tonight from 2002, Gangs of New York.  I hate to call 2002 a bit older by the way, it is amazing how having kids changes your perception of time.  I am running out of "view instant" movies on Netflix, and this one is a new addition to the new release category.  I read the synopsis and found good cast, respected director, and a decent topic.  I thought I would give it a shot.

Defiance (2008)

2008's Defiance was another movie in my Hitler kick area.  Although it was not added to my queue for this reason, it fit perfectly.  The movie takes place during Hitler Germany while a group of non violent jews flea to the forest and try to survive the constant attacks.  Daniel Craig and Liev Schreiber lead the cast.

The Experiment (2010)

Tonights view instant flick was 2010's The Experiment with Adrien Brody and Forest Whitaker.  The Experiment is a psychological thriller, a genera that also had the equally provocative Unthinkable with Samuel Jackson.

Gun (2010)

50 Cent and Val Kilmer star in 2010's Gun, a movie about small time arms dealers trying to take it to the next level.  Gun was available on view instant, and it happened to be the shortest movie in our queue at the moment.

The Chosen One (2010)

Hmmm, the first short enough movie on the view instant queue tonight was 2010's The Chosen One.  Written, directed and lead character all by Rob Schneider.  Why would Rob submit himself to this?  This has to be the worst movie I have ever seen him in, and he has done some pretty bad performances.

Acting was horrible, filming was horrible, directing was horrible.  Oh yeah, and the script was horrible.  The concept of the movie was not bad, it was just executed very poorly.  It felt as if Rob just needed some more money, so this was filmed and released.  It felt rushed and unfinished.  The only decent acting in the film was the Arhuaco tribe members.  The only real reason for that is they didn't do much, and they didn't speak english so we couldn't really tell anyway.

Synopsis you ask?  The synopsis is don't waste your time.  I was able to finish the film, I mostly just wanted to see what would happen next.  Since I was able to finish, The Chosen One receives a 1 star rating.  Ciao for now and see you for the next review!

The Joneses (2009)

Tonight was Netflix view instant night because we watched our mail movie last night.  I decided to pick one of the new arrivals to instant view, The Joneses.  While the movie was back from 2009, it was just added to view instant.  This movie stars David Duchovny and Demi Moore, with Amber Heard and Ben Hollingsworth co-cast.

The Last Airbender (2010)

Well guys, its going to be a short review tonight on The Last Airbender.  The film had its ups and its downs, but the downs outweighed the ups.  The Last Airbender had a cast that I was mostly unfamiliar with, and as you should know by now I end up liking that most of the time.  This is one of those exceptions.

The Amateurs (2005)

With a star studded cast, The Amateurs is a low budget indie film that never really release to the big screen.  In fact, opening weekend was only on 3 screens country wide.  Sometimes it seems that the indie films turn out the best.  This film was on Netflix view instant, and we were on a Jeff Bridges kick.  Once again, the indie comes through.

P.S. I Love You (2007)

Funny story, when this movie arrived I thought it was just like most I have been getting lately; fairly new. So I come to write the review and find out it is 4 years old. Hmmm, I wonder if it has been in my queue that long or if I forgot adding it. Anywho, on to the review eh? 2007's P.S. I Love You stars Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler.  I fully intend for you to read this with Gerard's voice as the narrator, it makes it 10 times better :)

From Paris with Love (2010)

Recently added to the Netflix watch instantly queue, we decided to watch From Paris with Love tonight.  The film stars John Travolta and Jonathan Rhys Meyers.  Yet again we have a film about the generic USA stereo type that all muslims are terrorists.  Yay, that puts us off to a great start!

The Sorcerer's Apprentice (2010)

As promised, albeit quite awhile ago, here is the review for The Sorcerer's Apprentice.  For a movie about magic, I was impressed.  I thought the previews always looked good, but you never know what piles of garbage they can make look amazing with some editing into a 30 second spot.

The Karate Kid (2010)

The Karate Kid's review took awhile to get up because it is a really long movie, and it was late when it got over.  Poor excuse, I know but you are reading it now so you must be coping just fine.  The 2010 remake of the 1984 version with Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita stars Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan.  This version was similar enough to the 1984 that you knew it was related, but different enough that you didn't think it was a direct remake with an attempted facelift.

Salt (2010)

It was movie night again, and the film to be was 2010's Salt.  There was good hype about this film, so I thought I would check it out.  Angelina Jolie led a well cast group rounded out with Liev Schreiber and Chiwetel Ejiofor.  Neither of the later names would most of you put to a face, but seeing them in the film you would recognize them.

Love Happens (2009)

Another generic love story.  Can you guess what happens?  The couple meets, falls in love, breaks up and then gets back together to spend life happily ever after.  Oh, I'm sorry I spoiled it for you, but you should have known how it was going to go the minute you saw the title.  Love Happens?  What a horrible name for this movie.  Enough with the horrible intro, it is not the generic love story or the horrible title that captures you in this film, it is everything else.  Well, almost everything.

Red (2010)

The newest Netflix to arrive snail mail to our box is 2010's Red.  Red was surprisingly well acted, even in spite of its all star cast.  Special effects were decent for the most part, and script was pretty solid.  This was a combination of many different types of scripting and the result was something you don't see very often.

The A-Team (2010)

So to my surprise a Netflix came early, and it was welcomed after a difficult day at work.  The film was 2010's The A-Team.  Leading a great cast as Colonel Hannibal Smith was Liam Neeson.  His team was compromised of Bradley Cooper, Quinton Jackson and Sharlto Copley.  Jessica Biel and Patrick Wilson also played key roles in the film rounding out a great cast.

Dinner for Schmucks (2010)

Another movie with one of my favorite actors at the moment, Paul Rudd.  
Dinner for Schmucks had an amazing cast.  Paul was joined by Steve Carell, Zach Galifianakis, Stephanie Szostak, Bruce Greenwood and Ron Livingston to name a few.  There were many other great performances as well.  Steve and Paul meshed amazing.  Steve has a very unique ability to make a complete fool out of himself and make it realistic.  Another Steve, Steve Martin, has a similar ability but his acting is over the top and does not come off as realistic as Steve Carell's.  Paul Rudd has the ability to make some amazing facial expressions, and amazing body language.  The two of them were absolutely perfectly cast.  I have enjoyed almost every single one of Paul's most recent films, and look forward to his continued work.

The premise of the movie is all the top executives at the company Paul's character Tim works for have a get together once a month and bring the biggest loser they can find.  They choose the best of the losers and give them a trophy.  Steve's character Barry is absolutely incredible.  If you actually break down his character and look at him from a standpoint other than being a loser, he is extremely talented.  Paul's character Tim is a very determined go getter that is competing for a promotion.  The two of them together have so many witty fast pace one liners it is incredible.  The entire film is one skit after another.

That touches on one of the few things I did not like about the movie.  I felt that this movie, along with a few other recent movies, has increased the bar for comedy so high that you can't make a film with a single dull point any longer.  While this could be a good thing, I think it has forced movies to cram so much stuff in to keep our newly dulled senses so overloaded that it is almost sickening.

Even with this overload, the scrip was very solid.  There was a definite plot, and the movie did keep flowing to it.  I felt that there were too many distractions along the way however.  It felt as if a lot of the scenes were unneeded for the story to make sense, but were needed to keep the movie funny and get it to be two hours long.  The movie was almost painful to watch with all of the bad things that kept happening.  It reminded me of Meet the Parents, in the fact that one thing after another happened the entire movie from start to end.  This is something I think Steve Carell is probably used to from working on The Office for as long as he has.

The film was enjoyable, despite the fact that it was painful to watch at times.  Most of the one liners were very funny, and the character interactions were as well.  The music choice went perfect to go with the character build of Steve's Barry and the flow of the movie.

If you are looking for a nice easy going comedy to keep you entertained, Dinner for Schmucks is a good choice.  I am giving the film a 4 star rating.  It is enjoyable, yet I felt too much was attempted to be crammed into the film.  I am telling you to go watch the film, come back and give me your opinions.  You must also share to your favorite social networking site so I can get more followers.  Now...I release you!

The Runaways (2010)

I really enjoy watching based on real life movies such as The Runaways, especially when they are based on music.  I enjoy them because they are not only informative, but they are also most of the time entertaining.  Even though you forget what you learned in most cases, it is still fun while you are watching to know you are learning something you didn't know before, while having fun at the same time.

Bicentennial Man (1999)

How have I never seen Bicentennial Man before?  I don't know, but I am glad that I have finally watched it.  I will tell you this; Bicentennial Man is my new favorite movie of 1999, and it is my favorite movie that I have watched in 2011.  I know, its only been a month, but I have a feeling this movie will hold that title for awhile.  Predictably so, I am rating this movie 5 stars.

Wow, well let me start by saying there were only 3 things in the entire movie that I did not think were perfect.  That is a lot to say for a movie that is over 2 hours long, and made 12 years ago.  Wow again, 12 years?

When Robin Williams' character Andrew Martin gets a "skin" upgrade half way through the movie, I was not fully keen on the results.  Nothing was changed on the inside, yet he no longer made the hydraulic noise and his posture became "human".  Perhaps the fake skin could muffle the robot noises to an extent, but silence all but his eyelid noise I am not fully inclined to believe.  Closer to the end of the film I also was not fully sure how his blood transfusion made his fake skin and hair age.  How does fake skin and hair age, and how did they made a robot function on human blood?

The last remaining thing that was not absolutely perfect in the film goes with something that made the film. Music.  The soundtrack for the film was absolutely incredible.  Fun happy songs during appropriate segments, and heartfelt powerful full of emotion songs perfectly placed throughout.  The part of the music I was not as happy with was the song choices in the film.  For example when we first meet Galatea, she is listening to classic rock?  This scene takes place in 2050 or 2060 perhaps, I was not happy with the choice. This had little effect on the background music however, which I must emphasize again I was completely impressed with.

I was also impressed with how young and handsome they made Robin look.  I can honestly say I have not ever seen a movie and just thought he was handsome.  There were a few times during Bicentennial Man that I was truly surprised by it however.  Robin pulled off an amazing transition from full robot, to half robot human, and finally being full human when we see him at the end.

I was enamored by many of the cast's performance.  Embeth Davidtz, Sam Neill, Oliver Platt, Hallie Kate Eisenberg and Steven Root.  I am very surprised that a few of these names are not larger today because of this film, but perhaps one may argue they are as large as they are due to the film.  I do not have a single complaint about the acting, in whole it was truly breathtaking.

One thing that I thought Bicentennial Man did a stunning job with was the prediction and creation of the future.  I have blogged about a few movies that deal with the future, and some of those reviews were not very nice.  The concept of invention on a timeline was realistic, the idea of clothing and new technology was not unbelievable and architecture was very conceivable.

What I was most impressed with about the entire package was the script.  Every single thing was perfect.  Small bits of humor mixed in at perfect intervals, surprising character developments and interactions developed throughout and the evolution and creation of the first ever human robot was impeccable.  The family drama and development was believable.  You also had your generic needs of a script such as this met in having love, and a few villainous characters.

I would suggest that if you are looking for a movie to immerse yourself into for a night, be amazed and awed, laugh and cry then you need to see Bicentennial Man.  I am categorizing it as a 5 star must see if you haven't already (and if you have, but its been awhile see it again).  As always please leave comments, click above to follow my blog and share to your favorite social networking site below.  Ciao for now and see you for the next review

Brothers (2009)

2009's Brothers is a film about a family dealing with the after effects of their husband and father who died in war.  Brothers is one of those films that you hope nothing remotely similar will happen to anyone that you know.  If it has, I have no idea what you are going through and neither does anyone else.  What a powerful story.  I am not sure if I felt worse for Sam or Grace while I was watching the film.  I am giving Brothers a 3 star rating for a few reasons.

Unthinkable (2010)

Wow, Unthinkable has to be one of the most powerful movies I have seen in quite some time.  The film was insane on so many levels that I don't even know if I can relate them to words in this review.  I am giving Unthinkable a 4 star rating, but it is going to be one of those films that you will either love or hate.  Be warned, it is not for the easily queasy person.

Solitary Man (2009)

2009's Solitary Man is a movie that was kind of a waste of time.  Then again it could just be the fact that I am not feeling the best today.  About the only thing it had going for it in  my opinion was the cast.  I am rating a 2 star, mostly because I was able to finish the film and it did have a few things going for it.

Most notably again is the cast.  Michael Douglas, Susan Sarandon, Jenna Fischer, Danny DeVito, Mary-Louise Parker and Jesse Eisenberg round out the well acted film's cast.  I actually have no negative comments toward the acting.  Each cast member hit their marks and all interacted quite well together.  You believe the horrible things that were happening, even though you cringed while it was going on.  As the results of Douglas's years of shady actions catch up with him, you can't help but feel sorry for him at the same time as you want to punch him.  You do feel a bit better later in the film when he does get punched, but thus again you feel sorry at the same time.

Filming is quite well also.  Solitary Man was another Indie film like my last reviewed film Feed the Fish, even though you wouldn't think they were related in any way.  Filming, acting and script were solid.  These qualities don't guarantee that the audience will like it however.

Enjoyability, even though it was solidly written was my big reason for rating 2 stars.  The film was just not worth it when there are so many better movies out there.  I could not believe some of the things that happened in the film, and it just generally left a bad taste in my mouth.  Douglas's character was the extreme asshole, and you do feel bad for him because he was not like that his whole life.  The back story was not enough to pretty it up for me however.  I do apologize for the short review, but hopefully it will let you in on the fact that you can most likely find a better film to watch than this.

As always please leave comments, click to follow my blog up above and share to your favorite social networking site below.  Ciao for now, and see you for the next review.  Let's hope it's on a better note!

Feed the Fish (2009)

Welcome back!  Here we are, middle of the winter in the center of Wisconsin.  What better fit could we have then to talk about a movie filmed in the middle of winter IN WISCONSIN!  Alright!  We are talking about 2009's Indie film Feed the Fish.  Although you may have heard of a few of the cast, the most recognizable member was Tony Shalhoub.  This was a very fun movie.  It was also probably one of the hardest to put a star rating on that I have watched so far in this blogging experience.  I am going to have to give it a 4 star, and hopefully my discussion will enlighten you into the inner workings of my ultimate wisdom.

The Lake House (2006)

In this installment, we are going to review 2006's The Lake House with Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock.  An interesting twist on connecting two different points in time, The Lake House gets a 3 star rating.  I will review on acting/casting, script and enjoyability.

Imagine That (2009)

Why hello there, its been a while! Let's review 2009's Imagine That with Eddie Murphy, Thomas Haden Church and Yara Shahidi.  I am giving Imagine That a 4 star review.  We will cover casting, scrip/filming and enjoyability.

How to Train Your Dragon (2010)

Last nights film was 2010's How to Train Your Dragon.  Gerard Butler and Jay Baruchel star as father and son in a Viking community.  They are supported by big names such as Jonah Hill, America Ferrera and Kristen Wiig.  This started out as a 3 star rating, but once we got about half way into the movie, it upgraded to a 4 star rating.  I'll explain below.  How about we rate on acting (well, voicing) with animation, script and enjoyability.

Chaos Theory (2008)

Well hello again!  This edition is reviewing 2008's Chaos Theory with Ryan Reynolds and Emily Mortimer.  Another strange role for Reynolds to play, Chaos Theory was quite a refreshing turn from a lot of the current films out there.  I am giving this flick a 4 star rating.  Rating will be based on acting, script and enjoyability.

Death at a Funeral (2010)

Last nights film was 2010's Death at a Funeral.  So, do you remember in my last blog about the film Nothing Like the Holidays?  I said that film was saved by the incredible cast due to its mediocrity.  Well, Death at a Funeral also had a stellar cast.  It, however, was not as salvageable.  I am giving Death at a Funeral a 2 star rating.  Lets look at casting/acting, script and enjoyability.  This will be another short review folks, just like my attention span for this film.

Nothing Like the Holidays

Last nights movie was 2008's Nothing Like the Holidays with an amazing ensemble cast.  Sine it is the Christmas season, I figured I better do at least one Christmas movie.  Nothing Like the Holidays is a pretty generic movie, but there were some very good things that set it apart.  I am giving Nothing Like the Holidays a 3 star rating.  Lets look at casting with acting, script and enjoyability.

The Expendables

Well hello there, its been almost 2 weeks so lets have ourselves a review.  Tonight's film is 2010's The Expendables.  At first glance, it seems as if it would be a decent enough film, judging from the sheer amount of names listed on the cover alone.  Counting small roles, almost every action hero you can think of is in this movie.  The idea of the movie is decent, and some of the scenes were filmed amazingly.  All of these, however, do not compensate for the pure stupidity the film ended up being.  All in all, I have to give The Expendables a 2 star rating.  Lets look into acting with script, directing, filming and finally enjoyability.