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Movie Reviews

The Sorcererdjw39s Apprentice

Rated: PG

djw34The Sorcererdjw39s Apprenticedjw34 reunites director Jon Turteltaub with actor Nicolas Cage, who had both previously worked on the underrated djw34National Treasuredjw34 films. While those films had been fun and full of adventure, it felt like those were the elements that were missing from their latest effort. This film isndjw39t completely lacking in those areas, but sadly, they seem to have taken a backseat to the special effects.

Despicable Me

Rated: PG

In a summer thatdjw39s been dominated by Pixardjw39s djw34Toy Story 3djw34 comes a smaller animated film entitled djw34Despicable Medjw34 that was barely even on my radar before I attended the screening. I expected another short, simple kidsdjw39 film with a few jokes and maybe a few loud noises to keep the children interested, but to my surprise, it ended up being much more than that.

The Last Airbender

Rated: PG

M. Night Shyamalan has been having quite a troubled career. He started off so well with the innovative and creepy djw34The Sixth Sensedjw34 and would go on to make a couple of decent films with djw34Signsdjw34 and djw34The Village,djw34 but took a sharp dive with his recent projects, djw34Lady in the Waterdjw34 and djw34The Happening,djw34 both of which turned out to be disastrously bad. Sadly, we must now add his latest film, djw34The Last Airbender,djw34 to that list.

Predators

Rated: R

Back in 1987, a small film called djw34Predatordjw34 rolled into theaters. It wasndjw39t the kind of film that you would expect to become a staple of the sci-fidjw47action genre, but it surprisingly became famous and even spawned a few sequels. Itdjw39s fair to say that the sequels, which include some team-ups with the creatures from the djw34Aliendjw34 franchise, were not well-received, so it was opted to take the franchise back to its roots...

The Twilight Sagadjw58 Eclipse

Rated: PG-13

djw34Eclipsedjw34 once again finds Bella (Kristen Stewart) and vampire Edward (Robert Pattinson) still madly in love with each other. She still wants Edward to turn her into a vampire while hedjw39s still trying to talk her out of it and into marriage. Also still in her life is her other friend, Jacob (Taylor Lautner), a werewolf who also loves Bella.

Knight and Day

Rated: PG-13

James Mangolddjw39s djw34Knight and Daydjw34 is an action-packed, edge of your seat thrill ride that barely pauses long enough for you to take a breath. Itdjw39s the kind of movie that has plot, but not too much plot to get in the way of having a good time, all wrapped up in a story that ends up taking you around the world as it keeps its main characters in continuous danger.

Jonah Hex

Rated: PG-13

djw34Jonah Hexdjw34 is a film that was riddled with bad publicity from the start. Early test screenings of the film were calling it a disaster, and even after some reshoots earlier this year, the bad word of mouth continued. It was then said that the film would not be screened for critics, which is usually the case with a film that will likely get a slew of negative reactions, but then, all of a sudden, at the last second, early critical reviews started rolling in, mostly confirming the rumors of a very troubled film. It was a strange choice for the studio to suddenly change their minds, especially since most of the rumors are true.

Grown Ups

Rated: PG-13

There are two things you need to know about djw34Grown Upsdjw34 before you even think about possibly seeing it. First, it stars djw34Saturday Night Livedjw34 alum Adam Sandler, who hasndjw39t been the least bit funny since he left that show so many years ago. Second, this film is directed by Dennis Dugan, whose other failures include djw34I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry,djw34 djw34You Dondjw39t Mess With the Zohan,” and djw34Big Daddy,djw34 all starring Sandler (This list goes on, but Idjw39ll try to spare him further humiliation). Long story short, when Sandler and Dugan get together for a project, it spells disaster.

Toy Story 3

Rated: G

More than ten years after the last sequel to the original animated hit, Pixar finally brings us the latest chapter in the djw34Toy Storydjw34 series. The first two films are marveled at for their amazing animation, excellent storytelling, and their fascinating technique of delving into the emotional bonds between humans and their toys. djw34Toy Story 3djw34 hopes to continue that tradition by bringing back all of the old favorites, and even a few new ones.

Splice

Rated: R

djw34Splicedjw34 is one of those experiment-gone-wrong stories in the tradition of djw34Frankensteindjw34 or djw34The Fly.djw34 They tend to involve interesting ideas about what can happen when one pushes the boundaries of science to the extreme in order to discover something new and potentially useful to mankind. However, when compared to those other two stories, djw34Splicedjw34 comes up rather short in its exploration of the idea.

The A-Team

Rated: PG-13

djw34The A-Team,djw34 an adaptation of the famous television show from the djw3980s, is best compared to another recent film, djw34The Losers.djw34 Both films are silly, over-the-top, and include action sequences that come off as hilarious, and even though the plots may be incomprehensible at times, they still deliver one hell of a ride.

The Karate Kid

Rated: PG

The vast originality of Hollywood strikes again with an update of djw34The Karate Kid,djw34 a small film that became very popular and even spawned several sequels. Why on Earth somebody thought that we needed a remake of the original film is anybodydjw39s guess, but here it is with a few small changes to the story in an effort to make it seem fresh.

Get Him to the Greek

Rated: R

Nicholas Stoller's "Get Him to the Greek" is not exactly built off of an original character. How many times before have we seen alcohol, drugs, and promiscuous behavior get in the way of a celebrity's career?

Killers

Rated: PG-13

Robert Luketicdjw39s djw34Killersdjw34 takes a worn out premise and somehow manages to make it feel even more tired than before. What we basically have here is a film that is trying to be like djw34Mr. and Mrs. Smithdjw34 with only one of the couple being a killer.....and minus the thrills, humor, chemistry, and interesting dialogue that had made djw34Smithdjw34 memorable.

Prince of Persiadjw58 The Sands of Time

Rated: PG-13

djw34Prince of Persiadjw34 is the latest video game to get adapted into a motion picture. I learn from the always-resourceful Wikipedia that the video game series started back in 1989 and has had more than a dozen games. I have never played a single entry in the series, but that shouldndjw39t stop me from enjoying the film, rightdjw63 A good video game adaptation should be able to stand on its own without knowledge of the workings of the game or its story.

Shrek Forever After

Rated: PG

Itdjw39s hard to believe itdjw39s already been nine years since the original djw34Shrekdjw34 came to theaters. It was an amazing sight to behold; a film that was a great mixture of fairy tale, humor, and drama. This was followed by two decent sequels that had some funny moments to them. Now Shrek returns in what is supposedly the final chapter in the saga.

MacGruber

Rated: R

Jorma Tacconedjw39s djw34MacGruberdjw34 is a great example of just how far djw34Saturday Night Livedjw34 has fallen in the last several years. A show that once held great comedic talents has withered away into an unfunny batch of lame skits.

Just Wright

Rated: PG

I remember watching this film a couple of weeks back when it was called djw34The Back-Up Plandjw34 and before that it was known by many other titles. Sure the plots arendjw39t necessarily the same, but they hit the exact same beats every single time. So this time, we have the same old, dried-up formula coming back for another round, this time with some sport sprinkled in.

Robin Hood

Rated: PG-13

Itdjw39s hard to say just how many different version of the Robin Hood legend there have been on film. It seems everyone has tried to tackle it at one time or another from the amazing 30s version with Errol Flynn to a much later version starring Kevin Costner. Mel Brooks has even given us his humorous take with djw34Robin Hooddjw58 Men in Tights.djw34 Now Ridley Scott, reteaming with Russell Crowe, gives us a different perspective on the old tale.

Iron Man 2

Rated: PG-13

The long-awaited sequel to 2008djw39s mega-blockbuster has finally arrived, and with it, everyonedjw39s favorite narcissist-turned-humanitarian Tony Stark. The debate has already begun as to whether or not djw34Iron Man 2djw34 lives up to its predecessor, or perhaps even surpasses it. Admittedly, I was not a huge fan of the first film, though I did enjoy it overall, so I would have to say that I fall into the second group.

The Losers

Rated: PG-13

Sylvain Whitedjw39s djw34The Losersdjw34 is the most entertaining film of the year so far. Itdjw39s loud, full of explosions, and contains 2-D characters, but none of that ends up mattering due to its sheer entertainment value. Sadly, most critics have been seeing these traits as a bad thing, but thatdjw39s because theydjw39re missing the point of a movie like this. It knows, like the audience knows, that no Oscars will be coming its way. Itdjw39s here merely to give you one heck of a ride.

The Back-Up Plan

Rated: PG-13

Alan Pouldjw39s djw34The Back-Up Plandjw34 is another film in a long line of films that are formulaic to the bone, containing little to no originality, all while following around characters that we could care less about. Wedjw39ve already had a fair share of films this year following this same formula, such as djw34The Bounty Hunterdjw34 and djw34Shedjw39s Out of My League,djw34 so where was the need for yet anotherdjw63

Date Night

Rated: PG-13

djw34Date Nightdjw34 pairs two of the most popular comedians working today for a night that neither of the main characters will ever forget. Before the night is over, they are threatened, shot at, chased, and humiliated, all because of one of those amazing plot devices simply known as the djw34mistaken identity.djw34 Amazing how one little mistake can go such a long way.

Kick-Ass

Rated: R

Matthew Vaughndjw39s djw34Kick-Ass,djw34 based off the comic book by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr., is an extremely violent, profanity-filled, action-packed film. It also makes for quite a fun time at the cinema as it doesndjw39t simply use it all for entertainment value, but rather explores a theme that has been explored before, except this time using much younger heroes.

Death at a Funeral

Rated: R

In an age of movies where remakes are churned out one after the other comes yet another with djw34Death at a Funeral,djw34 a remake of the hilarious comedy of the same name from all the way back in 2007. You read that rightdjw58 2007. Apparently ideas are so sparse nowadays in the movie business that even movies from just a couple of years ago need to be remade.

A Nightmare on Elm Street

Rated: R

Itdjw39s been more than 25 years since Wes Craven gave us the original horror classic, and now, several sequels later, djw34A Nightmare on Elm Streetdjw34 gets an update with fresh faces, a slightly different Freddy, and a few scenes of homage to the original.

Clash of the Titans

Rated: PG-13

Louis Leterrierdjw39s djw34Clash of the Titansdjw34 is an update of the 1981 film of the same name that starred Laurence Olivier and was directed by Desmond Davis. Like the original, the update is a special effects extravaganza that uses the effects to pull the audience into the adventure. Many have already claimed that it fails to do this, however, I must admit, I had fun watching this remake that taps into the spirit of the original.

Hot Tub Time Machine

Rated: R

What a fascinating title. Itdjw39s the kind of title that heightened my anticipation based on it alone. Then the trailer came out and the anticipation dropped a few notches. It still had the potential to be funny, and to be fair, it does have its share of funny moments. I suppose how many depends entirely on the viewer.

Why Did I Get Married Toodjw63

Rated: PG-13

Tyler Perry has had an interesting career. Despite most of his movies getting a critical lashing after their release, for he apparently doesndjw39t allow them to be screened prior, they have always performed quite well at the box office. He apparently has a niche that is devoted to his films, and his latest was no exception.

Remember Me

Rated: PG-13

What struck me most after watching djw34Remember Medjw34 was just how one-note the whole film felt. The entire film casts a feeling of doom and gloom that is inescapable from scene to scene, always present, never lifting, even in the most joyous of moments. That probably explains why Robert Pattinson was attracted to the material. Hedjw39s used to such a tone.

How To Train Your Dragon

Rated: PG

djw34How To Train Your Dragondjw34 is another one of those stories of the unlikely hero who will end up saving the day when everything looks hopeless. We may have seen such a story...

Repo Men

Rated: R

djw34Repo Mendjw34 is best described as djw34Repodjw33 The Genetic Operadjw34 meets djw34Minority Report.djw34 Never heard of that first filmdjw63 Dondjw39t feel bad. It didndjw39t make much of a splash when it came out and was a terrible film to boot. Anyways, it just goes to show that djw34Repo Mendjw34 didndjw39t have much originality to begin with despite where it was getting its source material from, which in this case, was the book djw34Repossession Mambodjw34 by Eric Garcia.

The Bounty Hunter

Rated: PG-13

Andy Tennantdjw39s djw34The Bounty Hunterdjw34 takes what could have been an interesting premise and stretches it out into a nearly two-hour tedious exercise. In its overly-bloated runtime, it offers little in the way of entertainment mainly because the material doesndjw39t require nearly this much time, so we end up with a lot of excess fluff.

Green Zone

Rated: R

Paul Greengrassdjw39s djw34Green Zonedjw34 has a fascinating premise which some may claim to be factual, though the film is apparently not based on a true story. Imagine that the war in Iraq was based off of fabricated intelligence. Imagine the only reason that the US went to war there was because a top official in the CIA lied about the existence of WMD....despite being told by a top Iraqi general that there were none.

Our Family Wedding

Rated: PG-13

Rick Famuyiwadjw39s djw34Our Family Weddingdjw34 takes a tired premise and is able to inject it with the much-needed humor it requires in order to keep it from going stale. Itdjw39s kind of like a mix of other films, taking a little bit from djw34Father of the Bridedjw34 and combining it with djw34Guess Whodjw39s Coming to Dinner,djw34 and while it doesndjw39t get to the level of those films, it still provides several good laughs in the process.

Shedjw39s Out of My League

Rated: R

Jim Field Smithdjw39s djw34Shedjw39s Out of My Leaguedjw34 is another one of those comedies that youdjw39ll be able to tell whether or not youdjw39ll enjoy it from the opening scene. It has the kind of lowbrow humor that you would find in films like Kevin Smithdjw39s most recent work, djw34Cop Out.djw34 If youdjw39re into that kind of humor, you might enjoy it, but for everyone else, itdjw39s an excruciating ride from beginning to end.

Brooklyndjw39s Finest

Rated: R

Director Antoine Fuqua returns to the underworld of cops who are corrupt and on the edge, where violence is an everyday fact. Fuqua previously explored this world in djw34Training Day,djw34 except that in his most recent film, djw34Brooklyndjw39s Finest,djw34 he has three stories running simultaneously instead of just focusing on one.

The Crazies

Rated: R

Breck Eisnerdjw39s djw34The Craziesdjw34 has been advertised as a kind of horrordjw47thriller, which makes it rather strange that the film is somewhat lacking in both of those areas. There is some horror to the situation in which the characters find themselves, but if youdjw39re looking for horror in terms of something that will scare you, then youdjw39ll probably be a bit disappointed.

Cop Out

Rated: R

Itdjw39s rather difficult to have to talk about Kevin Smith in a negative sense. His films tend to be interesting, charming, witty, and character-driven, which is everything that is missing from his latest film, djw34Cop Out.djw34 He puts those positive characteristics aside for others like dull, painfully-unfunny, poorly-written, and filled to the brim with clichés and plotholes.

Alice in Wonderland

Rated: PG

Director Tim Burton, well-known for his dark style of filmmaking (djw34Sweeney Todd,djw34 djw34Edward Scissorhands,djw34 and djw34Batmandjw34 to name a few), returns with his take on Lewis Carrolldjw39s classic story, djw34Alice in Wonderland.djw34 Youdjw39ll find many of the elements, characters, and events here from the original Disney version, but knowing Burtondjw39s work, itdjw39s not going to be as simple as all that. He takes this story, which has been adapted multiple times, and adds his own touch to it.

The White Ribbon

Rated: R

Michael Hanekedjw39s djw34The White Ribbondjw34 is a film that has already had a lot of buzz about it ever since it won the Golden Palm (the equivalent of Best Picture) at the Cannes Film Festival last year. Now that itdjw39s gotten a limited release it has gathered more positive reviews from critics and even a couple of Oscar nominations for Best Cinematography and Best Foreign Language Film, but is it worthy of the buzz itdjw39s been receivingdjw63

From Paris with Love

Rated: R

Throughout Pierre Moreldjw39s djw34From Paris with Love,djw34 I was constantly reminded of two films from last yeardjw58 djw34Terminator Salvationdjw34 and djw34G.I. Joedjw58 The Rise of Cobra.djw34 Now if youdjw39ve seen either of those two films (both of which got dishonorable mentions on my list of worst films of the year), you know that this candjw39t possibly be a good thing.

Crazy Heart

Rated: R

What else can be said about Jeff Bridgesdjw39s performance in Scott Cooperdjw39s djw34Crazy Heartdjw63djw34 Hedjw39s had just about every accolade thrown at him from every conceivable angle, but hedjw39s deserved every bit of it. At the risk of saying whatdjw39s already been said, it truly is that good of a portrayal of a character that wedjw39ve seen before, but not quite in this way.

The Wolfman

Rated: R

Nearly 70 years after the original film in which Lon Chaney Jr. played the titular character comes a remake of the classic story. Joe Johnstondjw39s version of the film has painstakingly recreated the time period the story takes place in. It has the look, it has the feel, but it is curiously lacking in substance, and not only that. For a thriller, it doesndjw39t really have any thrills to it.

Shutter Island

Rated: R

After finally winning a Best Director Oscar back in 2007 (it only took about 30 years...), Martin Scorsese returns to the thriller genre which he hasndjw39t done since djw34Cape Fear.djw34 Most known for his mafia films like djw34Goodfellasdjw34 and djw34The Departed,djw34 itdjw39s refreshing to see such a famed director try something different once in a while, and with djw34Shutter Island,djw34 he doesndjw39t disappoint.

Valentinedjw39s Day

Rated: PG-13

Couples, if you want to do yourselves a big favor, dondjw39t take your boydjw47girlfriend to see djw34Valentinedjw39s Day.djw34 Keeping this one simple rule in mind is one big step towards keeping your relationship going. How could such an innocent movie about romance be THAT baddjw63 Oh, let me count the ways.

Percy Jackson djw38 the Olympiansdjw58 The Lightning Thief

Rated: PG

Here we have yet another film based off of a novel that is supposedly popular with teenagers, but that I had never heard of until the film (like djw34Harry Potterdjw34 or djw34Twilightdjw34). djw34Percy Jacksondjw34 is like a combination of both Potter and djw34The Chronicles of Narnia,djw34 but it never quite reaches the level of those films because of a few overarching problems with the story.

The Young Victoria

Rated: PG

Here is a romance the way only someone in a position like Queen Victoriadjw39s could experience it. The eyes of the empire are watching her every move with not much being kept private or out of speculation. All of this occurs while the young queen must determine how to run her kingdom and who should be around her to help do so.

Edge of Darkness

Rated: R

Martin Campbelldjw39s djw34Edge of Darknessdjw34 has been rather misleading with its marketing. From the trailers and TV spots, this film is made to look like a revenge thriller along the lines of last year’s surprise hit djw34Taken.djw34 However, thatdjw39s not what we get with this film. Instead, we get a film that plays out more like a procedural cop film with small elements of a thriller.

Dear John

Rated: PG-13

Heredjw39s a great idea. Letdjw39s take the guy most known for being flat and lifeless in djw34G.I. Joedjw58 The Rise of Cobradjw34 and put him in a movie that actually requires emotions to make it work. Lasse Hallströmdjw39s djw34Dear Johndjw34 proves what happens when you do something silly like miscasting a part with an actor who is not up to the task.

When In Rome

Rated: PG-13

Straight off the romantic-comedy assembly line comes djw34When in Rome,djw34 a film that is just about as generic as you can get when it comes to the genre. Itdjw39s another example of a film that doesndjw39t try too hard in either area and ends up failing in both because of it.

Youth in Revolt

Rated: R

One of these days people are going to realize that Michael Cera is not a good actor, but today is not that day as we have yet another film with him playing the exact same awkward character that hedjw39s played in every single movie hedjw39s been in since he became a star.

The Lovely Bones

Rated: PG-13

The team behind the brilliant djw34Lord of the Ringsdjw34 brings us something completely different with their new project, djw34The Lovely Bones.djw34 After djw34King Kong,djw34 it was hoped that director Peter Jackson would return to more imaginative and engaging stories.

Leap Year

Rated: PG

At first, it looked like Anand Tuckerdjw39s djw34Leap Yeardjw34 would be another painfully predictable rom-com that would be as bad as djw34Did You Hear About the Morgansdjw63djw34 Fortunately, only part of that statement is true.

Daybreakers

Rated: R

The Spierig Brothersdjw39 djw34Daybreakersdjw34 offers an interesting twist on your standard vampire tale. Instead of it being just one or a few vampires causing havoc, imagine if it were nearly the entire world population infected with a disease causing vampirism.

The Book of Eli

Rated: R

The Hughesdjw39 Brothers djw34The Book of Elidjw34 is like djw34The Roaddjw34 with a pulse. That doesndjw39t necessarily mean itdjw39s a good film though...

From Paris With Love

Rated: R

Throughout Pierre Moreldjw39s djw34From Paris with Love,djw34 I was constantly reminded of two films from last yeardjw58 djw34Terminator Salvationdjw34 and djw34G.I. Joedjw58 The Rise of Cobra.djw34

Legion

Rated: R

According to this film, the first time God lost faith in humanity, he caused a flood to destroy them. Now, having lost faith in mankind again, he sends an army of angels to wipe them out. However...

Tooth Fairy

Rated: PG

I'll be one of the few to say that this film is not nearly as bad as you might think, which is saying quite a lot about a film feature Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in a pink tutu. It is not without a certain...