Winter's Bone

   I am a little late on posting this one, I watched this movie on Saturday and just remembered I needed to write a review for it. So, here we go. Winter's Bone, I didn't know anything about this movie going into it, all I knew is that it was nominated for Best Picture, and it was the only one I haven't seen yet out of the ten nominated. So, I decided to watch it, and I could see why it was nominated. It was a very gripping tale indeed, I was hooked to the screen for start until the credits rolled.

   Winter's Bone is about a seventeen year old girl named Ree, and her need to find her meth cooking father, or risk losing the home she lives in with her ill mother and younger brother and sister as their caretaker. Her father placed their home up as his bail, and is unable to be found as the court date draws near. So, Ree decides to ask around for her father and try to find him, but, the area in which she leaves, people don't like to be asked questions.

   Jennifer Lawrence was amazing in this film, she played the part as if she was born to do it. John Hawkes was so good, I didn't even know it was him playing the character Teardrop until I seen his name come up in the end credits. It really amazed me at how well this movie was done, and how fantastic the characters were played.

   This movie may have not won Best Picture, but, it did deserve it's nomination, and I wouldn't have been surprised if it did take the award, it would have been well deserved. This was a great movie, the flaws were few and far between, do yourselves a favor and watch this, I highly recommend it.

Amélie

 I've been hearing about this movie for years, about how great it was, and I've always wanted to see it, just never found the time. Well, I finally found the time. It was worth it, I thought it was a pretty good movie. It was funny, and different, and overall a good watch.

Amélie is about a girl, lost in her imagination all through life, as an adult she decides to use her imagination to help those around her, wreck revenge on those who've done wrong, and help those who've lost faith in humanity, all while slowly falling in love with a man shes never spoken to.

  First of all, the movie was in French, and I don't speak a word of French, so I'm sure some of the comedy was lost on me, because it's hard to read comedy, in my opinion at least. But, the movie still made me laugh, and still kept my attention all through out, even know I couldn't understand what was being said, and had to read it. The movie really stuck to Amélie's imagination, and how she views life, it was a very interesting thing to see.

   Not many people can handle movies with subtitles, immediately you do lose some of the flair of the movie, when you are stuck reading everything that is being said. You may miss what's happening on screen at times, or lose the inflection in someones voice and it may take away from their character. But, more often then not, you end up missing good movies if you swear off films you have to read through. Please, don't do that with Amélie watch it, you'll enjoy it, I recommend it.

The Runaways

   What is this madness? Two updates in one day? Heck yes, two updates that's more then one. The Runways staring Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning playing the parts of Joan Jett and Cherie Curry respectively. Okay, it was a decent movie, nothing spectacular, nothing to write home about. Just decent, a little longer then I would have liked but, I was still awake until the end, so that's something.

   The Runaways is a pretty easy movie to explain, it's about the forming of the band The Runaways, and what fame did to them, and how that lead to their eventual split. Oh, and it's about the friendship between Joan Jett and Cherie Curry.

   Really, if you liked the band you'll probably want to watch this movie, I don't know how much of it is real, and how much was Hollywood real, but, it's nice to see how a band got together and how it changed and grew to become what it was at the peak of it's success. Not to mention to see it all tumble down to the ground afterward.

   I wouldn't recommend setting through this movie, you could defiantly leave a long and happy life without ever seeing it, but, if you were a fan of The Runaways, or if you enjoyed Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, give it a watch.

Hunt to Kill

   Okay, let's do a pros and cons list for this movie to start out, try a little something different. Pro: This movie stars Stone Cold Steve Austin of WWE fame, and when I was a youngling my favorite wrestler, so that's a pretty big pro, right? Con: The dialog was horrible, the acting was sub par, the plot was boring, the action was cheesy, and the ending was so bad it's funny. Well, safe to say the cons out way the pros in this movie, by a landslide.

   Hunt to Kill is about a Border Patrol officer (Steve Austin) who is watching is daughter over her winter vacation in Montana. At the same time a heist is being done in Nevada, and the thieves head to this Border Patrol Officers small town in Montana and force him to lead them to the Canadian border.

   Listen, I can't even put my whole heart in to explaining the movie to you, I was getting bored trying to do that. This movie was awful, it was a direct to DVD flick, and well, after watching it, it should have been a direct to trash movie. Before the movie really started I thought to myself, Steve Austin isn't a bad actor, I wonder why he never gets summer blockbusters. After watching this movie I can see why, he picks terrible movies to star in.

   This movie was bad, and I would sure hope after reading this review you understand that you shouldn't put yourself through the pain of watching it. Bottom line, I do not recommend this movie to anyone, not even my worst enemy, I think it would be to cruel for even them.

The Mechanic

   I'm a fan of Jason Statham and Ben Foster, so I was pretty psyched going into this movie. Now, I haven't seen the original with Charles Bronson, but, I did like this remake. The movie was action packed, and full of big ass explosions. Not much else a guy could ask for.

   The Mechanic is a remake of the 1972 movie by the same name, staring Charles Bronson. It's about a hit man who ends up training the son of one of his targets to be a hit man like himself. When he finds out he was tricked into doing something he didn't want to do, he and his newly trained partner decide to take down everyone who comes against them.

   The movie was good, it had a pretty solid ending on it, the ending was somewhat expected, but, was still done well. Lots of guns, lots of explosions, and a few naked chicks. This is a guys movie through and through. I recommend a watch if you want to kick your testosterone into overdrive and see what it's like to be awesome.

The Next Three Days

   The Next Three Days staring the slightly rotund and very angry Russell Crowe. Yeah, it wasn't bad, but it was far to long of a movie for what it offered. They could have probably cut a good 20 minutes out of the movie and it would have been a lot better. It had far to much bloat in the middle, much like Russell Crowe.(See what I did there?)

   The Next Three Days is about a family who gets torn apart when the mother(Elizabeth Banks) gets accused of murder and is sent to prison. Josh Brennan(Russell Crowe) after exhausting every legal way to free his wife, decides to break her out of prison. Now, on a moderate teachers salary he must study, plan, and fund her escape and make it out of the country. Will he be able to do it? Or will not only his sons mother be in prison but also his father.

   It was a bit unrealistic to see a professor at a community college in what seemed like a few months become an expert at breaking and entering and escaping the police. But, it was a movie, and that's what most movies are, unrealistic. Still, it was almost to much to be believed. Not to mention the wife played by Elizabeth Banks was so unlikable through out the entire movie, it really didn't grab you and pull you in. I mean, I'm not sure if it was the writing, or the acting but, no matter what happened I just felt nothing toward the wife, I could really careless what happened to her.

   The movie, on the hole, was far to long for what it tried to present, the acting was fairly sub par and the wife, which was a major supporting character was completely unlikeable, while the movie told a decent story, I still would not recommend. Do yourself a favor, pass on this one, it isn't worth your time.

Tangled

   Okay, this had to of been one of the best Disney movies I've seen in quite a long time. Really, I'm not kidding, in fact take out that it was a Disney movie, and that it was a CG movie targeted at kids and it was still a really good movie. Sure it wasn't anything original plot wise, but, really what is now?

   Tangled is a Disney animated film about Rapunzel, a girl whose hair had magical powers and was stolen as a baby and kept confined in a tower for most of her life. The story follows Rapunzel and her desire to leave the tower and see the real world. When finally as chance would have it, a thief running from guards happens upon her tower and agrees to be her guide during her day out in the world.

   The movie was surprisingly funny, and well voiced. I'm not a big fan of musicals, but, as far as Disney songs go, the ones preformed in this movie weren't half bad. I gotta say, my favorite character throughout the movie wasn't even human. The palace horse named Maxamas defiantly stole the scenes he was in.

   Overall as I've said multiple times already I enjoyed this movie, and whether or not you have kids makes no difference, I suggest you pick a night and sit down in front of the TV and watch Tangled, I promise you, you'll laugh more then you think you will, and in the end you'll be glad you watched it. I whole heartily recommend this movie.

Devil

   I've put watching Devil off for quite a long time, last few M. Night Shyamalan movies really disappointed me, and I just didn't want to get  hit with that disappointment again with this movie. Well, it happened again. I guess I should have put watching this movie off even longer, maybe even forever. The twists were obvious from the very beginning, and I just expected better.

   Devil is a film about 5 people who get stuck in an elevator together and as the passengers begin to die off one by one, fears start to rise. Believing that one of the passengers maybe the devil, building security and police watch on in horror at what is happening in the elevator via the camera. What or who is causing this?

  The movie was pretty bad, about as bad as that plot synopsis I just wrote for it. Not quite as bad as that, but, pretty close. The acting was believable, but, knowing what's going to happen from the opening minutes of the movie, really doesn't make it very engrossing. M. Night was once a master of twist and turns in a movie, now, he's just to obvious.

   The movie was fairly short, that was a good thing, so I'd recommend it if you have time to kill and you want to see people trapped in an elevator. Really though, how often do you want to do that? Best bet is to just pass on this one, that is my real recommendation.

All-Star Superman

   At first I wasn't sure if I should count this as a movie or not, seeing as it was barely over an hour long. But, it was a movie, so, here is my review for it. I liked it, but, I also enjoy comics and all things superhero related, and well, not many adults will sit through a cartoon, even if it is about superheroes.

   All-Star Superman is essentially about the death of Superman. While trying to save an expedition to the sun, Superman gets hit with a mutated solar flare that over powers him to the point that not even his body can handle it, and he begins to die. Now, knowing his death is imminent he has to make a choice, should he tell Lois Lane who he really is? Should he tell the world who he really is? What will happen to the planet when he is no longer able to protect it.

   The movie was good, it was very well voice acted, the art was excellent and the plot was well done, even know the ending left me wanting I still enjoyed it and would recommend this to any comic fan out there wanting to kill an hour with a good story and an old friend, Superman.

Faster

   I grew up, like many guys, watching wrestling on television. The era in which I grew up, was the era of The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin. So I may be a little bias on this movie, but I enjoyed it quite a bit. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is good actor, and a great action star in my opinion.

   Faster is a tale of revenge, Dwayne Johnson's character which was only given the name Driver is just being let out of prison after a ten year stay. First thing he does when he gets out, is going on the hunt for the people that were involved in his brothers death. Nothing is able to stand in his way on his rampage toward vengeance.

   What surprised me most about this movie is that the main character of the movie Driver (Dwayne Johnson) has so few lines. Most of the interaction between him and the other cast member is just the look in his eyes, and the body language he projects. That I really enjoyed. No nonsense dialog about why he's here trying to kill you, they just know.

   Though this movie may not be the most action packed, and the action scenes maybe fairly short when they do happen, I still had a good time watching it. I would recommend this movie to anyone who is in the mode for a simple easy to follow plot, and a well acted hero, maybe even anti-hero?

Gulliver's Travels

   Now, I'm not the biggest fan of Jack Black, but, I am a fan of Jason Segel, and that's the reason I decided to see this movie. Let's be honest it had some funny bits, but, was pretty bad overall. Most of it is what I deemed to be "awkward comedy" which I'm just not a fan of.

   Gulliver's Travels is about a mail room clerk who, when trying to work up the courage to ask a co-worker out ends up accepting a writing job to the Bermuda triangle. The trip goes wrong and he ends up on an island filled with people no bigger then a toy, and after befriending these people, struggles to find a reason to come home.

   The movie was good enough to keep me awake throughout the film, but I have no plans of ever watching it again, and I definitely don't plan to bring up the film in conversation. Just wasn't that enjoyable, so much to the fact that I can't even think of anything else to write for this review. It's had a few funny moments, but overall was pretty bad, I do not recommend a viewing.

The Kings Speech

   This movie has been nominated for The Academy Award for Best Picture at the time I'm writing this. I figured I better give it a viewing to see what all the noise was about. The Kings Speech was incredible, it was a very engrossing tale, following the rise of King George VI

   The Kings Speech follows King George VI journey to the throne, and his dealings with his speech impediment. At the cusp of war the king befriends a speech therapist named Lionel Logue who helps him over come his stammer and gives him the confidence to lead a nation.

   Colin Firth was phenomenal as King George VI, I'll be surprised if he doesn't take home the Oscar for his performance. The script for this film, the actors portraying their rolls were beyond perfect. I didn't expect this film to be as riveting as it was, but it blew me away.

   I honestly don't think it's possible to recommend this film well enough in written word. Perhaps I should film my recommendation in interpretative dance instead. Go see this movie, you'll regret not doing so, I promise you that.

The Green Hornet

   I went in not expecting a whole lot, but, was pleasantly surprised. The movie was funny, the action scenes were well done, and of course the car was amazing, it really stole the show in this movie.

   The Green Hornet is about Brett Reid, a millionaire playboy whose is shocked back to reality after the sudden death of his father. Trying to find a way to make a difference he stumbles upon the idea of becoming a hero, and with his faithful sidekick Kato, they decide to fight crime in their own peculiar way.

   I said I was surprised when i seen this movie I was expecting it to be horrible, but, it wasn't. It wasn't fantastic either though, it was mediocre to say the least. The fight scenes and the car chases, really any scene involving the car are really all that saved this movie in my opinion.

   This is one of those movies that if you like to see a car shoot rockets, and a guy beating up ten guys at the same time, see it. If not, don't worry about it, it's definitely miss able.

Due Date

   So, I may be a little biased going into Due Date, because, Robert Downey Jr is one of my favorite actors, so, of course it's hard to see him do wrong. Now, this movie was quite funny. It was however very much a remake of Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.

   Due Date is about a father to be (Robert Downey Jr) trying to make his way home to see the birth of his first child. Along the way he meets an aspiring actor, who makes that a much more difficult task to complete, as they struggle to make their way cross country.

   I enjoyed this movie, but, a lot of the really funny parts were already shown in the trailers promoting it. That didn't stop me from laughing as much as I did though. Zach Galifianakis was hilarious, even know his character was just a slight tweak from the one he played in The Hangover. The two actors had great chemistry on screen though, which made it that much more fun.

   Due Date was quite enjoyable and I would definitely recommend a watch when you have the time and are in the mood for a good laugh.