The Review Thread!

[Dave]

I'll start the ball rolling here.... feel free to add your reviews here! I am going to start with a recent favorite....

The Blind Side

This is one of my favorite movies of recent. For those unfamiliar with the movie (which is based on a true story), is about a 16 year old African American boy that is taken in by a well to do family. The young man turns out to be a rather good football player who ends up being drafted in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft.

One of the things I liked most about this movie is that you don't have to be a football fan to enjoy it. I took the folks to see the movie about a month ago which in its self is a bit of a miracle since the last time they went to the movies was to go see "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" which I believe came out in the 90's. The acting is pretty decent and their is enough humor and drama in it to keep the movie flowing along pretty good. I've seen it a few times and will be buying the movie as soon as it hits DVD. Sandra Bullock did a wonderful job and has already been rewarded with several awards already and was nominated for a Academy Award.

So in other words, if you want to go see a good movie still playing in many theaters (although unfortunately not the local Ludington theater), good see this one!

I am going to give this movie a rating of 5 Torches! (5 Torches being the best rating)

[XLFD]

Alice in Wonderland in 3-D

Saw this movie with family and friends at the movie house this afternoon and found it enjoyable. Though it does vary a little from the classic children's book, it does combine various facets of Lewis Carroll's skewed universe and stays true to his vision. I think it didn't use the 3-D effects as effectively and innovatively as it could have (unlike the Friskies commercial in the previews) but it does retain the viewers interest and offers some novelty to those who have seen previous versions of Alice. Others with me gave it 3.5-5 Torches.
I give it four Torches.

[Dave]

I saw Alice as well. I enjoyed it for the most part, it wasn't a perfect movie but worth seeing for sure. I thought Johnny Depp did do a pretty good job as The Hatter, he was just insane enough to be as mad as a hatter. I'm not a huge fan of Tim Burton movies, mostly because his movies always seem to have a little bit of a dark side to them. In a way its kind of weird in that Burton is probably just as well known for making 'kid' oriented movies as he is anything else these days. Anyhow, Alice is worth seeing and if any of you can catch it in 3D, you'll probably enjoy it a little bit more.

[Dave]

The Green Zone

This is the most recent movie staring Matt Damon. Its set in Iraq and deals with a US Army officer (Damon) having issues with the intelligence being received that seems to be faulty because he and his team are looking for WMD's and of course not finding any.

I wasn't overly impressed with this movie. My main problem is that the movie was only partially based in fact. Obviously we are all aware with there not being any WMD's found in Iraq and I don't have a problem with that part of the plot. My issue would be that they never really mentioned whether or not the movie was based on fact altogether, partly, a little bit. I suppose the argument could be made that because it is a movie that one would assume that its completely fiction. Anyhow, the performances themselves were decent enough. Damon did a decent job as did Greg Kinnear who is one of my favorite actors.

I can't really recommend this movie whole heartedly unless you like war movies based on recent history. That being that case, I am going to give this movie 2 1/2 Torches

This movie is in theaters now.

[Dave]

How To Train Your Dragon

This is a new animated movie in theaters now about a young viking lad. Hiccup (the characters name) is a teenager living in a viking village that is frequently attacked by dragons. Most in the village are warrior types and fight the dragons and Hiccup wants, at first anyway, to be like them.... his only problem is that, well, he's just not the warrior type as he is scrawny. Hiccup does invent a weapon that helps him take down one of the most elusive of the dragons. Once he discovers the dragon, his first thought is to slay the dragon and make his dad proud. Unfortunately, hiccup just can't bring himself to do it. It ends up that Hiccup befriends the dragon and learns plenty about them.

The movie starts out a little slow but once it gets going is decent enough. I saw the 3D version (there is a 2D version playing as well), the 3D was pretty decent. I still don't think that any movie has quite used the 3D effect up to its potential but i'm sure they eventually will. The film is good for the whole family other then a few 'hell's' spoken.

I'm going to give this movie 4 Torches

[Dave]

Hot Tub Time Machine

As one might expect, this film that is now playing in theaters is a comedy and your expectations would be correct. The film is about 3 friends that as the years have passed, have grown apart. After one of them apparently tries to kill himself, the other 2 friends decide that they are going to go visit the ski resort they used to visit when they were younger, back in 1986. Once they arrive in town, they come to find out that the place isn't exactly what it use to be... most of the places are closed and the hotel they always stayed at isn't exactly as palatial as they remembered. They get their old room and settle down to play some drinking games along with the one guys nephew who's been living in his basement. The hot tub initially isn't working but later on is ready to go so they all end up getting in and drinking. They wake up the next day and at first don't notice anything all that different. After hitting the slopes though, things don't seem right. One thing is that everyone is dressing like its the 80's. They go into the ski lodge to find plenty of clues to whats happened, Miami Vice t-shirts, Cassette Walkman's... one of the guys goes up to a young lady and ask her what color Michael Jackson is, she replies "black"... and he of course runs out screaming. The rest of the movie they have to figure out what's going on, what to do about it and what they shouldn't do in that if they do something different it could change their future.

This is another movie that is a bit crude at times but it also has some pretty funny moments too. If you enjoyed the 80's, specially the music then you'll love this one. Motley Crue, Autograph and Poison all have music featured in the movie along with a few other artist. Most of the cast you might not know by name but you'll know them when you see them. The names you will probably recognize though are John Cusack and Chevy Chase. Chevy doesn't have a huge role, he plays the hot tub repair man. John is one of the buddies and is the uncle to the younger guy in the movie.

I'm going to give this movie 3 1/2 Torches

[Dave]

She's Out Of My League

This stars Jay Baruchel as Kirk, a awkward, kind of nerdy TSA worker that ends up having some good luck for a change. Alice Eve stars as Molly, a very attractive young lady that just happens to come through Kirk's security area. After making her way though security, she heads to her plane where her friend and business partner is waiting. Once there she realizes that she forgot her phone so the friend calls Molly's phone and Kirk answers. Being that she is coming back to town the next day, they make arrangements for Kirk to bring her phone to her at a museum she'll be at. After being kicked out of the museum for a little incident, Molly feels bad and sets Kirk up with a couple tickets to a Pittsburgh Penguins hockey game the following evening. He takes his buddy "Stainer" to the game, figuring its just going to be the 2 of them and is surprised when Molly actually shows up along with her friend/business partner. They go down and enjoy the game, during the 2nd intermission Molly and "Stainer" go and get everyone some drinks. The friend uses the chance to talk to Kirk and to let him know that the only reason she came along was because she figured Molly was going to try and hook her up. Kirk assumes that Molly is trying to hook him and the friend up. He comes to find out though that Molly is actually into him and that the set up was suppose to be for the friend. Kirk and Molly start spending more time together including a pretty funny visit with his very dysfunctional family. They have a few problems here and there of course but I suppose you can probably figure out what happens by the end of the movie.

I enjoyed this movie quite a bit. Plenty of laughs here and it really is just a fun movie. There is a little bit of crude humor/language but not anything I haven't heard or seen before. I think I liked this movie too because it reminded me of my love life.... i'm always aiming for the women that are out of my league... although in my case I don't end up with the lady usually... haha.

I give this movie 4 Torches

Now playing at a theater near you!

[Dave]

Ok, i've been slacking and haven't did any reviews in awhile so I am going to try and catch up on at least a few of them now.

Iron Man 2

This is of course the sequel to the original blockbuster that was out a few years ago. Part 2 picks up basically where the first one left off with Tony Stark announcing that he is Iron Man. The bad guy played by Mickey Rourke is a tough russian who's dad once worked with Tony's dad before being forced out and then deported out of the USA.

There is as one would assume, plenty of action in this movie and plenty of funny quips thrown in too. Those of you into the super hero movies will notice a few 'props' that appear in the movie... one about half way through or so and another that can be seen after all of the credits run at the very end of the movie.

All in all I enjoyed the movie but would have to say it wasn't quite as good as the first one was. Still, if you enjoyed the first one, you'll enjoy part 2 as well. I'm going to give this movie 4 1/2 Torches

Still playing in some theaters

[Dave]

Nightmare On Elm Street

This was a redo of the original movie of the same name as i'm sure you all probably guessed. The movie basically starts what will sure to be a new series of films in the.. well... in the beginning.. lol

The movie follows a group of teens that are all having issues with nightmares, all about some guy named Freddy. One by one they start to die off (I know.. no shock there). A few of the kids start to uncover clues as to who Freddy might be and how everyone is connected.

I actually liked this movie, while it wasn't particularly scary.. not that most movies scare me anyway... I think it told the story a bit better then the original did. We always knew that Freddy had done something bad but I don't recall ever hearing what he had really did in any great detail. This film makes up for that. Many people were not real excited about their being a new actor playing Freddy which is to be expected when your replacing a character as iconic as Freddy. I personally thought that the actor they got to take over the role was the perfect choice, Jackie Earle Halley. He's been around for a long time although I think he was out of acting for awhile. He's been in a couple big movies of late including Shutter Island. Some of you might better remember him at the character Kelly in the Bad News Bears movies of the 70's.

I am giving this movie 4 Torches

Still playing in some theaters but is nearing the end of its regular theater run

[Dave]

The A-Team

The TV show has now been made into a movie... and its a good one!

The movie starts out showing how the guys all came together to become a team in the deserts of Mexico. After showing us this, they move ahead to current day where the team is based in Iraq as the end of the war there is nearing. A CIA operative talks to the leader of the "Hannibal" Smith played well by Liam Neeson of a operation that he would like Smith's team to take. The general can't officially ok the mission as there are orders that the military stay out of Bagdhad. Of course the team ends up doing the mission and are able to pull it off and everything seems to be going well... but then something happens and they are in front of military court, found guilty, stripped of rank and dishonorably discharged as well as shipped to different prisons. 6 months later, the CIA guy comes to talk to Hannibal and with a little 'un-official' help, the team is broken out of their respective prisons.

I really dug this movie. Its total mindless fun... a popcorn movie so to speak. The actors picked for the respective roles were all fine choices and all did great jobs. The movie moved along pretty good and there was plenty of funny lines thrown in to keep ya laughing.

If your looking for a movie that you don't have to worry about having to go into deep thought after watching it so you can try and figure out what just happened, then the A-Team is the movie for you. Grab a soda and some popcorn and sit back and enjoy this one! I'm giving this film 4 1/2 Torches

[XLFD]

My nephew caught this movie last week. He wasn't familiar with the original A-Team, so it was a new experience for him. He really liked the beginning and thought the rest was OK too (he rarely goes beyond the 'good' and 'OK' adjectives, so this was praise for him). He had a good time, so 4.5 torches is probably accurate.

[Dave]

Toy Story 3

Yes, its another sequel, seems to be plenty of sequels and remakes to go around of late.

Anyway, even though this is a sequel, its probably one of the best sequels your going to see to most any film. If you enjoyed the first 2 Toy Story's, you will not be disappointed in part 3. I've seen more then one critic even suggest that this movie is the best of the series.

The movies picks up about a decade (I think) after Toy Story 2. Andy (the kid from the previous 2 movies) is now a high school graduate and getting ready to head off to college. Andy of course has the task of trying to clean up his room and figure out what he's taking to college with him, what will stay and be put in storage in the attic and what is going to be thrown out. As it turns out, Andy decides that he is going to take Woody (the cowboy voiced by Tom Hanks) with him and throws the rest of his old toys into a plastic bag which he intends to take up to the attic. Something happens and Andy's mom throws the toys out thinking the plastic bag is filled with garbage. It ends up that all of the toys including Woody end up at a daycare center which at first they think is going to be a blast for them because they will again be played with. The toys already there at first seem friendly and help the new bunch try to fit in, taking them into the class room that will be their room. Unbeknown to Andy's new toys, the room they are taken too is the toddler room and we'll just say the kiddies there don't take care of the toys real good. Woody escapes but ends up going back to try and rescue his friends.

This was a pretty good movie really, plenty of sentimental stuff in it. It's one of those movies that almost everyone that see's it, ends up crying at least a little bit.. I suppose I can admit that I did a couple times. Anyway, you can definitely take the whole family to this movie. Its in both 2-D and 3-D in most theaters and should be playing the theaters for quite awhile. I am going to give this movie 4 1/2 Torches as well

[AQUAMAN]

ATLAS SHRUGGED, PART 1.                                                                                                                          Went to the movies for a change couple days ago and saw this part 1 version of Ayn Rand's famous novel. It's actors and story were pretty good. The angle to this, as most of Ayn's novels, is the psychological emphasis on the US government getting too socialistic into the affairs of private citizens, and of course of the lacky citizens and leaders that make it possible. Hank Reardon is a very successful industrialist in the film. His hard work and wealth make him the envy of many around the country as well as his own relatives. New legislation forces him to sell the vast empire of his holdings, leaving just one company, Reardon Steel, which is his jewel company. Reardon invented a high tech. steel that is 10 times stronger than regular steel, with only a fraction of the weight. The new product is being crucified in the press and by competitors that lack the technology to compete, trying to force Reardon into revealing his formula for the product, or putting him out of business if he doesn't. Dagni T. is co-owner of a family Railroad Co., that too is losing much money due to her egotistic brother running things in the ground with his socialistic clan of friends. Drama, romance, tierney, action, suspense, and intrigue all combine to thrill the movie watcher throughout the 1-1/2 hour film. The part 2 & 3 films will be released in the next consecutive years of 2012 and 2013, such a long wait for the rest. But, I do hope some interested in todays political scene go and see what might be ahead for the USA if Obama types continue to run this country.