Now I know how to make Ryan Gosling seem like a good actor. Don't let him say anything. I'm not sure what all the hype was about for this film. It's a well made movie, but I wasn't that entertained by the story. Perhaps my expectations were too high. Movie critics must really enjoy realistic violence and hearing the same song over and over.

2.5 Stars (out of 5)

It's like Outbreak, only without the fun theatrical cheese element. It seems as serious as a documentary but told in a way completely void of a bias. Soderbergh does such a good a job with these characters and events that you often cannot tell who is right or wrong; good or bad. I was on the edge of my seat for the entire movie, but I'll probably never watch it again. Makes me feel ill to my stomach to watch this kind of thing.

3 Stars (out of 5)

Weta Digital and Andy Serkis steal the show here. The plot is simple but effective. There is a slow build through the first and second acts that leads to a satisfying third act of non-stop action with some pleasant surprises thrown in. The motion capture performances breathe real emotion into the computer generated models. You know it's CGI the whole time, but it has a human element so it's fun to watch, unlike the stiff boring CGI usually done by hand. Nothing compares to the nuances of a real human face emoting.

3.5 Stars (out of 5)

When the film started I was really excited. As it went on I found myself losing more and more interest. Felt a lot like when I saw Super 8. I think they tried too hard to explain to the audience what was happening. The charm of the first act is that the main characters have no idea what is happening. When Olivia Wilde starts explaining what aliens are everything goes to hell. I liked it alright though.

3 Stars (out of 5)

I'm tired of seeing movies where the main actors always have their mouth hanging open. Mouth-breather boring action hero crap. They spent years building up The Avengers, but seeing another one of these things is the last thing I want to do at this point. Screw you, I already spent 60+ dollars in movie tickets on this series so far, and they've been getting worse each time. When Samuel L. Jackson pops on screen after the end credits of these films he may as well be reaching his hand out asking for more money.

2 Stars (out of 5)

The film studios really didn't want this to ever come to an end. It's been a fun ride for the past 10 long years, but now it's time for the Harry Potter franchise to step away from the big screen (for at least another decade, when they will re-release them all in 4-D-smell-o-think-o-vision technology). Since this is their last chance for a while, they actually put out dozens of different movie posters for this one film. Looks to me like a special edition TV Guide or Entertainment Weekly issue with multiple covers. Everybody gets a cover, you get a cover! You get a cover! Even Neville gets his own two posters!

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I saw this film about a month ago, and haven't felt like writing a review.  I guess you could say I was let down by this Spielberg+Abrams extravaganza.  The first half of this film is glorious, and I give it 5 stars.  Unfortunately, as the film continues on it gets worse and worse.  I give the second half of the film 2 stars, if that.  It feels like watching the director's show 'Lost' from start to finish.  It starts strong, and then it loses you.

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X-Men: First Class is a pretty good film that sets the right tone for an X-Men movie, bringing it back to a story about teamwork, rather than just letting Wolverine hog all the spotlight.  Despite a lackluster choice of physical locations, uninspired sets, and some cheesy special effects for the film, the actors do a great job and the story is compelling.  If you like comic books and especially X-Men, you will be quite pleased.  It's still a good movie for the average moviegoer too, as long as you can get used to Kevin Bacon as the bad guy.

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You've probably heard by now that The Hangover 2 is just a carbon copy duplicate of the original.  If you haven't heard that yet, let me be the one to say it.  It's hilarious at times, namely from the performances of the talented top billed trio, but even that is sadly overshadowed by the lack of ingenuity from the writers.  Director, producer, and co-writer Todd Phillips was more interested in making money than making art.  He's playing it safe on every front and not at all straying from the winning formula of the first film.  It worked then, so it should work now, right?  This film is not lightning in a bottle like the original, it's more like a photo of lightning in a bottle that we already saw already. ...continue reading →

Bridesmaids is really funny, and sweet too. As nice as it is to see a film written by women and from a female point of view, the story is missing some pieces here and there. This is the first major motion picture written by Kristen Wiig (SNL) and Annie Mumolo (The Groundlings comedy troupe). For a first script it's fantastic, but for a big Hollywood release it feels a bit unpolished at places. In keeping with Judd Apatow's track record, this film is also about 20 minutes too long.

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