The Devil Inside

0.5/5

Oh my god. This movie is so funny. I loved every freakin second of it. Anyone who takes the "scary" scenes in this seriously needs a reality check. The possessed woman is so badly portrayed as possessed, it's more like they told her to be a cartoon version of a possessed woman. It's shot in that pretentious shaky cam documentary style, just to add to the aura of it being completely  stupid. Plot hole after plot hole, bad line after bad line, and the WORST ENDING I've seen in a really long time. You HAVE to watch this film. You'll have a great time.

Contraband

2/5

This pulled off the biggest sin of January action movies. It was BORING. Genuinely boring. No one was going into this movie to see feelings, they were going to see Mark Wahlberg kick butt and shoot people. Instead we got a lot of little buddy-buddy scenes, scenes where not much really happened, or scenes with Wahlberg threatening someone for threatening him or his family. Even the premise itself seems forced, like Hollywood desperately wanted to make some movie for Wahlberg to star in. And that's NOT a good sign considering this is based off of another film. I was talking to a lot of people about it, and it seems I'm not alone in being bored with this lazy movie. And it had such a dumb ending. I'm done with stupid endings. Go see Beauty and the Beast. It's far more worth it.

The Iron Lady

4/5

I genuinely do not see what was so wrong with this movie that critics didn't like it. I had a great experience. It was far from a perfect movie, it's script felt like it was teetering between hero worship and impartiality, it had a bit of an annoying concept having us instantly feel sympathy without a second to decide for ourselves, etc. Everyone in this was mediocre, the efforts felt mediocre too. But this is one movie where I will absolutely defend the efforts of one person completely overshadowing any problem the movie had. Meryl Streep was completely mesmerizing. To watch her interpretation of Thatcher's aging problems and hallucinations was beautiful. I wouldn't take my eyes off of her if I was paid to. See this movie if, for no other reason, than to see true beauty and magic at work in Meryl Streep.

Carnage

4/5

It's not quite as powerfully funny as the play (which I did see and love), but it's got such a great tone, and such a wonderfully light pace that it's really hard to not  like it. Everyone in this was really, really funny. Kate Winslet especially was great. Every harsh feeling had just the right amount of humor to laugh but to also keep taking every line seriously. I loved the awkward aura, the lack of any moment to leave you feeling comfortable, it was great. I especially loved the opening and closing scenes, it was nice to see them filmed that way. And of course, my favorite moments from the play still lived on just as well here. It was a great movie, and a LOT of fun to watch.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

3/5

It certainly wasn't bad. It was dark, with really rich characters and wonderfully blunt direction with just a bit of a stylistic touch from David Fincher. But it also didn't do all that much for me. It had a lot of long, seemingly pointless scenes, it didn't go anywhere, and it really didn't wanna end. By the end, I felt a bit let down by the storytelling. But what it lost with its somewhat boring story, it regained with absolutely wonderful acting and a great sense of style. It was difficult to watch for its violence, it was fun to learn about the characters as it went on. I can see Fincher getting a nom for best director, and I think he deserves it.

We Bought a Zoo

1/5

Sappy, obnoxious, annoying, boring, uninteresting and bland. This was a waste of money. It had obnoxious "twists" for the tween audience to gasp. Every time the cute but not exactly wonderful actress received a billion "awe's" and gasps. Give it a rest people. Just because a cute person is on screen doesn't mean you have to acknowledge it every freakin time. Matt Damon was decent. He wasn't enough to make up for Scarlett. JEEZ. What happened? She's usually so good! This was the worst mistake. I wasn't expecting something super wonderful. But I was expecting mediocrity. It fell short of everything I thought. Period.

The Adventures of Tintin

2.5/5

This was a beautiful looking movie. And the story was definitely fun. I just felt it jumped in too quickly and didn't have too much intrigue to the characters issues. Still, it looked amazing and had such a beautiful tone to it the entire time with some brilliant scene changes. I definitely recommend it. It's just a shame that  the animated films from this year don't entirely meet my standards.

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

5/5

This was unbelievable. Thank you Brad Bird! Pixar saves me again! Brad Bird, who was famous for his direction of The Iron Giant, Ratatouille, and The Incredibles. This was his first delve into live action film, and it was an enormous success. The action is tense, the story is riveting, every actor was phenominal (or at the very least, as Tom Cruise as the movie required them to be). The intensity was so high I was shaking. I kept expecting other things to happen before the movie gave me the middle finger and did something completely different. It was great. Jeremy Renner also being a welcome addition to the Mission: Impossible franchise. Definitely one I'll be watching again and again. And to make it more fun, Brad Birds A113 reference appears in it too!

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

1.5/5

A real disappointment. Sherlock Holmes was a film that grew on me. I felt let down while leaving the theatre, but over the year I realized how great of a movie it really was. It was interesting, subtle, and my two favorite actors were absolutely dynamite together. Luckily that's not lost. Downey Jr. and Law are really great together. Unfortunately, the enormous story thats almost tedious to follow in the first is replaced with a story thats not really that large and made to be larger than it is. That's annoying. The actors in it besides the two leads were all fine but Moriarty in particular was an uninteresting character compared to his intrigue from the stories. And more importantly, Sherlock's attempt to save the entire city in the first is replaced with a petty issue of seeing essentially which of them is the more intelligent. It's okay i suppose, but it was a letdown for me.

Young Adult

3/5

The movie wasn't really anything special until the ending when it really got interesting. I liked it but it wasn't anything I haven't seen, and it wasn't like anyone was totally dynamite. Charlize Theron was fine in the beginning and middle. By the end she was a powerhouse, and I'd love to see a nomination thrown her way. But overall, a satisfying if not totally memorable film.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

5/5

A film with unbelievable cinematography, a beautiful story and unbelievable acting all around, this was unbelievable. It just topped midnight in Paris for me, and it's a film I'm never going to forget. It's slow, but its brilliant scene after brilliant scene, twists every other turn that kept me entirely on my toes, and action reminiscent of another great spy film from earlier this year, the Debt. Only better. My favorite film of 2011. See it now.

My Week With Marilyn

3/5

It was definitely good, but not enough boundaries were pushed. It stuck in its comfort zone in a story that definitely broke a lot of characters comfort zones. Michelle Williams was dynamite, needs an oscar nomination, everyone else was good but not great. The script was strong but forgettable. I haven't thought about this movie in 23 days. obviously. Forgot to type anything about it.

A Dangerous Method

2/5

A major disappointment. Everyone in it was forgettable. Thats right, including Kiera Knightley. Her insanity felt incredibly forced and her delivery seemed so generic it didn't move anywhere. The hour and a half story feels like a 3 hour story, with no interest or surprises in the plot at all. Its predictable, and for a story with such taboo in its premise it's a shame it felt almost immature in its storytelling. The cinematography was nice at the beginning, but it turned into the same shot over and over again. It's worth checking out i suppose, but put it toward the middle of your list.

The Muppets

5/5

Perfect. That's it. I mean, it's the Muppets. The story was fun, the jokes were funny, the characters were great. What the hell. It's the Muppets. Apparently they're communist, thank you Fox news. Just go see it. If you don't love it, screw you.

Hugo

5/5

This was an absolutely beautiful kickoff to an unbelievable movie week. When I saw the trailers for this I was already pumped and almost in tears. Just the trailer. Even with all of the great looking movies coming out this week, I knew that Hugo had to be the one I saw at midnight if I could. The movie is definitely on the slower end of pace for a childrens film, but I thought it was really perfect. It let the wonder and magic of Hugo's world really sink in and become real. The characters were rich and filled with wonderful amounts of development despite all that much talking between them to directly reveal it. The music was really pretty too! I'd like to see this get a nom for best score. It's obvious Scorsese made this film as a demonstration of his ability to make beautiful cinema by his inspiration of beautiful cinema itself. It's truly wondrous and magical. In fact, it just made 2nd favorite movie of the year for me. Recommended to anyone!

Arthur Christmas

4.5/5

I really loved the direction this film took to a christmas movie. It steered away from the hackneyed "Christmas is about being together" moral and instead went to the slightly less hackneyed "be a good person, not just a person who does good" moral. It was refreshing to see this in a christmas film, and it worked really well. I also REALLY enjoyed the lack of magic in this film. It steered away from the stupidity of Santa using inexplicable magic to fly around the world and instead gave him a (really freakin cool looking) UFO called the S-1, "fairy dust" was actually a mix of various chemicals and whatnot that reacted with the reindeer to make them fly, etc. That world is far more fun to explore instead of this world where we have to buy magic, its more fun to buy fake technology. The animation was really beautiful as well. Wonderful shots of the northern lights, great shots of the icy north pole and ariel shots around the world. This is definitely one for the kids, but i think parents will have just as much fun. It's really adorable, and even gets a bit emotional.

The Descendants

5/5

The 1st movie I saw in the best week of movies I've had in a long time. It's really astonishing. Its like a camera man was running around following one man in his sad but also not all that spectacular life, and made it unbelievably interesting and emotional. George Clooney was absolutely beautiful and wonderful in his role, balancing humor and emotion perfectly so that even scenes of him running to tell his friends of his new learned misfortune, you can't help but laugh at his running with uncomfortable shoes. Also, brilliant camera work with Shailene Woodley under water crying. I loved her so much. She really stole so much of the film. This was an emotional story and one that has its pleasant moments and its moments you want to cry. Be prepared. I loved it.

J Edgar

1.5/5

An incredible disappointment to me, and a heartbreaking one at that. I was hoping for a story that let me become far more intrigued and let me in far more to the emotions of J Edgar. The entire film is even a flashback for the most part, directly from the mind from J Edgar. Instead, however, we're left to watch the life of an incredibly interesting and unknown man completely through a dim glass window (GOD the lighting was dark). The acting saved it, but the story was so confusing and hard to follow with no regard for the audience, it was like listening to the rambles of an old man who's mind was mostly gone through a story you want so desperately to love but feel more dragged along to understand. And, just like how that old man won't shut up, the film NEVER ENDS. Every time I wanted the credits to role, there was more film. Props to DiCaprio who would definitely deserve the Oscar if he earns it, but everything else fell on its face.

Like Crazy

5/5

I really loved this film. It was so beautiful and so well thought out in its scope without any real effort to explore beyond what was desired to be explored in such a brisk, quick, storytelling method that fits any romance or film lovers taste. It's not for everyone though. If you are someone who constantly rolls your eyes at the concept of instant love, possibly at first sight, or someone who hates the idea of a film with no real general direction except to get to the end, you'll hate it. Still, for me, getting to the end could be the films only goal. And the idea of true love sits so well on the shoulders of a couple who is, lets face it, not the best looking hollywood couple. I adore couples that are so natural looking and so human looking. Not the romances forced by the big muscular guys and their perfect little model girlfriends. These are two real people falling in love and their real issues that threaten to turn a fairy tale into a real life marriage. This concept has never worked so well for me, and the dialogue flows better than any of this somewhat unscripted dialogue that I've experienced before. I really loved it.

Anonymous

0.5/5

What a dumb movie. It takes the most interesting of conspiracy theories and uses a stupid explanation - Shakespeare was a drunkard who wrote his name on a play and called it his. I'm sure it had to be a bit more complex than that, if it actually happened. The film gets less and less convincing as it goes on, it falls to ridiculous character cliche's, and of all things, loses sight of the plays as the focus! I went to see if Shakespeare did or did not write the plays that had his name on them, not to see if an heir to a loose of a Queen Elizabeth can be found. That's not what I paid to see, Roland. Why would anyone greenlight this project, this historical fiction, directed by the guy who gave us Godzilla and The Day After Tomorrow? And *shudder*, 2012. God. Really? And the flashbacks...don't even get me started on the flashbacks and flash forwards. There were at least 50 during this movie, and at least 5 of them happen in the first 10 minutes. Learn to tell a story and tell it. Thats all.

Puss in Boots

2.5/5

Basically as middle of the road as movies get. It was kindof boring, kindof dull, nothing special and nothing to really write home about. If you're some kind of Puss in Boots nut, you'll enjoy it I'm sure. The story seemed so phoned in and so generic though, that it really seemed without any effort or passion, like it really was made for the money and it just happened to not totally suck at the same time. It's definitely an improvement in humor and animation over the past Shrek films, and Puss isn't totally detestable and forgettable of a character as many of the characters in Shrek became. And it actually had some nice music to listen to. The annoying parts: the inexplicable use of Humpty Dumpty, which really made no sense whatsoever, the context of this world being defined by the existence of magic and yet Humpty claiming he was being picked on for believing in magic (first of all, why wouldn't kids make fun of him being a giant egg. second of all, if there's a giant egg walking and talking, how do you NOT believe in magic), and just an overall forgettable story. Have fun, I guess.

In Time

1.5/5

A great premise ruined. It was really upsetting. I love Justin Timberlake, he's a great actor who always seems to be giving his all on screen. I can see why people would want to work with him. This is a really, REALLY cool concept - the people of the planet no longer aging and using their time left alive as currency. A cup of coffee is 4 minutes. To ride the bus is two hours. An intriguing concept already ruined. Why is a cup of coffee cheaper than riding the bus? Confused. The script is so blatant and so obvious, it leaves nothing to be desired. As much as I don't like the film, Inception needed to explain a lot to get its point across. The idea is so high that it needs an incredible amount of explanation to make the slightest bit of sense (and to fill its many potential plot holes). This doesn't need much setup. The film opens with Timberlake explaining the parameters of this world, and then the film goes on a 2 hour demonstration of how this world works. Terms like time zones and other groaners pop up throughout making you roll your eyes in frustration. The good parts of this film were outweighed by the dumbest parts of it. Still, I feel that just like Inception a lot of people are going to be engrossed by this concept to realize the story their watching is nothing new and is incredibly heavyhanded storytelling.

Footloose

2.5/5

This is as middle of the road as my feelings get. Its fun enough, its cool enough, its got enough of a story, characters are interesting enough, etc. Its as close to the original as you can get without being annoying. Its as much of a musical as you can allow without annoying the country. Its just fine. The weaknesses are in the choreographed music in a setting that it doesn't work. In a musical you buy it, in this you don't. And Kenny Wormwald, who I have no clue about, isn't nearly as charismatic or as energetic as Kevin Bacon. But that's no surprise. All in all, I don't think i can recommend it. But if you go to see it or end up seeing it with your friends, you probably won't regret it as much as maybe wish you put your money to another movie.

The Ides of March

3/5

If there's one big reason to see this film, it's the acting. Everyone in this movie was phenomenal, and Ryan Gosling will probably be seeing his name on the list of nominees for best actor. I loved how every character was written and every one of htem had an incredible amount of depth. My issues came up with the story telling. It's based off of a play that I am unfamiliar with, but the lines that were spoken in the film were blatant, lacking any real subtlety and not giving the audience too much of a chance to speculate. And in a fictional election story, I'd love to have some audience speculation. It resulted in a few reveals that were a bit soap-opera-y. It can be a little bit annoying, but for the most part I guess it doesn't bother me all that much. I also had issues with one character portrayed as the cliche writer. Regardless on how realistic she may or may not have been, she felt phoned in with not nearly as much depth as every character around her. She was so central to the story that I would have loved to know more about her. And her actions and her speech felt so phoned in and so last minute that it really was more annoying that she was on screen rather than annoying or disgusting at what she was doing. Still, Gosling, Clooney, Giamattie, Hoffman, and Evan Rachel Wood all did pretty great jobs so it's worth to see for these performances, I'm sure we'll see at least one or two names on the Oscar lists this year.

Real Steel

1.5/5

God. What a stupid movie. And the worst part is it wasn't just stupid, it was boring as hell. I found myself feeling exhausted and wanting to doze off after the first hour. First of all, this film opens up in a completely ridiculous way - and ends in the most ridiculous way as well. After that wonderful start, the film that promises great robot boxing matches is thrown away to have daddy issues between a boring Hugh Jackman and an annoying son. Its filled with the worst of the worst fighting cliche's, but doesn't at least make up for them with great fighting like "Warrior" did earlier this year. Moreso, why are the robots humanoid? We have robot battles now. They don't punch each other, they chop each other to pieces...I'd much rather watch that! I also love how the movie fights to give emotional connection to this robot that clearly has no emotion and the worst smile somehow placed on his face. And I really love how we're supposed to cheer for a robot that's the underdog when they state clearly that he's "built to take hits..." So...we're cheering for a robot that's built to not go down? Well that's boring and a bit ridiculous of a concept to cheer for. There aren't nearly enough cool fights in this film. They keep the fights the same, a lot of punches that bore you, no exploration into weapon usage or fighting style. I also love the stupidity of this future. It's 16 years in the future (2027), and we have robots that fight. Yet the cars are exactly the same, clothing fashions are exactly the same, language and slang are exactly the same. "Oh but it's the NEAR future! It's only 16 years in the future!" I'm sorry, but think back to 1995 people. It was NOT like 2011. And what's worse...the dialogue in this movie. I SWEAR lines were either stolen from the big book of cliche's or they were copied and slightly altered from Rocky! Mostly from Rocky IV! REALLY?! We're ripping off Rocky IV!? I suppose if you like cliche's and dumb boxing movies you might enjoy this (bearing in mind you're supposed to cheer for a clearly emotionless robot). But if you're expecting a stupid film, I'm sorry, you're getting a boring one as well.

50/50

4/5

There's absolutely no way I can rank this movie fairly. The entire second half I was in a fetal position on my girlfriends lap completely immobile and dehydrating from tears. It was a spot on reminder of anyone who had ever lived with anyone who had or perhaps died of cancer, like my father did when I was 12 years old. The character reactions were spot on, the acting overall was spot on, props to Seth Rogan for fun, but also sensitivity in his role. The reason I can't rank this fairly, however, is that the depression and emotions I was feeling completely took away from the comedic side of the film. Of the jokes I was hearing, some of them were really funny. But I couldn't laugh. I physically could not laugh. I think I laughed once, if that. Still, I have to recommend this film. It was heart wrenching, brought me to my worst emotional state I think I've ever been in during a film, and as far as I can remember the audience was laughing a fair amount. Maybe if I saw it again and was able to stomach the pain enough to laugh, another star would be added on.

Moneyball

5/5

God this is a beautiful movie. I saw it twice in the same week. Two days apart. Take a movie about a man trying to prove his mindset using math is a smart way to find workers for his company. Make that company a baseball team. It takes a strange subject, that of a baseball scout instead of the players, and makes it into the most intriguing story that you could possibly write. Go Sorkin! Jonah Hill proves that the only role he's really played until now can be changed, mixed up, and produced into a role that's performed wonderfully. Brad Pitt is wonderful as well, playing a man with a justified temper, perhaps, but still a temper that's a bit questionable. The script is funny, smart, gives Jonah Hill a great metaphor, as he calls it, at the end, and all in all, the film creates a tone and an ending unusual to the sports genre. I know nothing about baseball or sports of any kind, and I'll go ahead and recommend this film to anyone.

The Lion King 3D

5/5

This movie has the best 3D adaptation I've ever encountered. It's tasteful, it adds a wonderful amount of depth, and the times where characters are coming out of the screen its done so to add distance and bring us into this world. Add a bit of nostalgia from the first movie I ever watched, and my experience became emotional, and the film felt just as powerful as ever. Definitely check out this film in 3D if you can.

Drive

4.5/5

If there's one thing this movie succeeds at incredibly well, it's the tone. It's consistent, its suspenseful, sometimes frightening, and sets a great atmosphere that has the entire city around him somehow focusing on only him. It really works well. Ryan Gosling is really wonderful in this film, playing his character as dark, questioning, and just a little bit shy even though he's confident. It works phenomenally well. The driving and stunt driving is wonderful, it doesn't look fake which is wonderful considering the over saturation of CGI special effects in films now. It loses points, however, for trying very hard to be mind blowing but never quite reaching it. It stays in its comfort zone, never really pushing anywhere that I'm begging to go but also never really achieving that single moment that really surprises me or blows my mind. Still, its a great movie and I'd recommend it.

Warrior

 2.5/5

A lot of people are going to compare this film to the fighter. So let me start out right now by saying this: Warrior is SIGNIFICANTLY better than the fighter, a film I disliked tremendously. The story is more intriguing, you can root for the character you choose without having one ferociously shoved down your throat, and frankly MMA is far more interesting to watch on screen then boxing. It allows for more surprises, a lot more variation, and an all around more intense fight, as it can visibly turn much differently than a staged boxing match in a film. All that being said, the film still does fall to the cliche's and problems that did leave much of the audience laughing, sometimes mocking the story. It had the same wife/fighter argument about how they could die in the ring, the same question if the spouse will support them, the same answer of "no" that still results in the spouse appearing at the ring, etc, etc, I could go on for days. But at the same time, much of this film feels real and feels human and connected. Sadly, the most frustrating parts were the cliche parts, and the horrible shaky cam in some of the fights. But if you're  a fan of the boxing movie genre, give this a shot and you might be pleasantly surprised. As for myself, I'm feeling pretty neutral.

Contagion

1.5/5

It's not even that bad, its just incredibly uninteresting story due to the horrible tendency of disaster movies to focus on a billion different characters. Carriers worked because it didn't pay any attention to science and kept its focus to 4 characters trying to survive. This movie has a million different star studded focus that does have a very believable scenario with very believable results, but has no characters interesting enough to want to support them. The only fun character was Jude Law's, and after you realize he's an incredibly unlikable person, you lose all interest in him as well. Still, check it out for a realistic display of such a scenario. Hate the characters, hate the dialogue, enjoy the realism. And enjoy some performances from the minor characters and some good cinematography (although I really do enjoy how all the security footage in a casino conveniently focuses on Paltrow from about 7 different angles. And it's wonderfully satisfying to see my least favorite actress die within the first 5 minutes or so).

The Debt

4/5

It's heavy, hard to watch at points and certainly violent, but much like my thoughts on The Town in 2010, I love how violence in this movie is actually realistic. No Hollywood beatings that result in little more than a bruise, no poke to the chest that sends a character flying. The story itself is intriguing, different, and really special. The acting is all absolutely phenomenal. It's one of the most realistic espionage films I've ever seen, if not the most realistic. Not for everyone, but definitely one to check out and enjoy if you have a chance. And definitely one to see if you like constant twisting and turning of the plot.

Our Idiot Brother

3.5/5

Admittedly its not brilliant, but Rudd is really a lot of fun in this film. He's incredibly likable, a nice contrast to the detestable cast surrounding him {purposefully so), and just an all around feel good movie. There's really not all that much to say about the movie. If you're as big of a Paul Rudd fan as I am, you'll love it.

Fright Night

2/5

Some parts were really funny, but overall it dragged on and on and on. I know its a remake but I never saw the original. Going off what I watched, its no fun when you don't have fun with the concept of a vampire. If it's everything we expect, we see everything coming. And if you're going to go that route, at least ease into the vampires traits, rather than shove them all in early on in the film. It makes it boring and I lost interest pretty quick. I like some of the ideas and some of it was really funny, but really I only got into it in the last 30 minutes or so, and only until the last 2 or 3 minutes (god that ending is obnoxious). I would have loved to see that as a short film instead of the amount of time it takes to get there. I guess some people will really enjoy it. For me it was just too boring.

30 Minutes or Less

3/5

It's a lot of fun, but it's not really what you'd expect. It's not as funny as you'd think, but it's not as funny because it's also far less of a comedy than you'd think it to be. And, in that regard, it works. It's story keeps you cheering for the heroes even though you're allowed to dislike them as people. The parts that are funny are exactly my sense of humor. I like how every death is ambiguous enough to confuse but not so ridiculous that you dwell on it. My friend and I only mentioned it after the movie was over. It's low brow, don't get me wrong, but maybe its enough less so that I liked it significantly better than The Changeup. I'd recommend it, not to everyone but to anyone who likes a good robbery/heist film, or anyone who's a fan of Eisenberg in general.

Final Destination 5

2/5

I've never been a huge fan of the Final Destination movies. I wanted to be scared or shocked, and the movies tonally always seemed to strive for that, but it always turned out funny or just stupid. To its credit, I know that this is the reason most people see these movies, but that's not my taste or what I want to see. That being said, this is just more of the same gore and ridiculous deaths, but I gotta give them some credit for having the best deaths on screen. Some of them did scare me and were legitimately frightening. Others were pretty gross and worked I suppose. But characters are cardboard, story is the same, etc. I know thats pretty much the goal, but it doesn't interest me enough.

The Help

3.5/5

I liked The Help. I really did. All of the performances were great, Emma Stone held her character extremely well even if it did seem like she was overacting once or twice, the racist acts and acts of cruelty were real and were present, and the script was strong, interesting, and at some points extremely funny. I gave it 3.5 though so I would like it on facebook, in reality it's between a 3 and a 3.5. My issue, and it's a big issue for a movie like this, is that the tone and movement of the film with the script never outright lead to me feeling inspired or driven to cheer or even help the characters solve their problems. If we look at other great movies that deal with racism (the first in my head are American History X, The Green Mile, Stand and Deliver, and perhaps even Hairspray to some extent), we have a distinct push to either cheer extremely loudly for justice to prevail, or we feel a strong desire to help the characters attain their goal. In The Help, it becomes more of a strong desire to see justice carried out, but never really being told or shown how the book will reach the public, never really seeing what the book does for civil rights as much as it does for Skeeter's career, and because there's never any real demonstrated threat to the book, there's never any doubt in my mind that it'll be finished. So for that, some of the emotional tension to it was missing. But it was still a good movie, Viola Davis deserves an Oscar nomination, and I'm sure plenty of people will leave hte movie and feel very strongly about it being a truly great movie. I just felt a bit let down.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

4/5

I really enjoyed this. It had an engaging premise, a great leading chimpanzee, and some really great action. Granted, the monkey actors are better than the human ones, but James Franco was great and I really enjoyed John Lithgow's character. the monkeys looked and felt real, despite being a bit noticeably CGI, and Tom Felton is a fun villain, especially for one line in particular so badly placed that you can't help but laugh. I recommend it, and I'd probably see it again too.

The Changeup

0.5/5

My least favorite movie of the summer. The plot is overdone in a terrible, terrible way, not even a fun way. The script is heavy handed and lazy. Both Bateman and Reynolds are incredibly unfunny, and not nearly different enough to draw out humor from switching bodies. And the humor...oh my god! This is the most insulting, disgusting "humor" I've seen. It's disturbing how the people in my theatre laughed. We're supposed to find a baby licking a power socket, sticking their fingers into blenders, and having milk dumped on two babies heads while in a sink because of nothing but frustration is funny. You know. Child abuse. FUNNY. Oh, and have you ever heard of a cancer list? Apparently, it's a list of the first 5 women you'd have sex with if you're wife died of cancer. That's supposed to be funny?! That's disgusting, horrifying, and because Reynolds is supposed to be every man's real desire to become, we look bad. This was disgusting. I can't recommend this film to anyone. No one. Don't waste your money, don't waste a free ticket, don't waste your time.

Crazy, Stupid, Love

4.5/5

I absolutely loved this movie. Steve Carell is funny and sweet, not unlike his role as Andy in The 40 Year Old Virgin. Ryan Gosling is the most likable asshole you can possibly imagine. Put them together, and you'll actually see more of the interactions I'd want to have seen in The Changeup, even though this movie has nothing to do with switching bodies or anything. I love the 13 year old son, who's sweet and cute to cheer for but also incredibly funny in the way he chases his "true love". Emma Stone plays a cute, sweet, funny character who you love from the second she's on screen. I love Emma Stone. She's extremely pretty so you can be attracted to her, but at the same time if you see her in roles like Skeeter in The Help, you can believe that even though she's pretty now, there's a possibility no boy asked her to the dance in high school. I love the twists and turns this movie takes, I absolutely adore the chemistry between Gosling and Stone. Steve Carell Julianne Moore can both be irritating and perfect for each other when the script calls for it to be, this is just all around a feel great, well written, funny, and surprising movie for anyone, including a family.

Cowboys and Aliens

2.5/5

I don't see too much of an issue with the tone like rotten tomatoes suggests. Regardless, this film isn't as stupid as you'd think. Like I thought it was gonna be, it was less of a mashup of genre's and more of a western film featuring aliens. it worked, for the most part. There were 2 distinct stupid parts in my mind, however. I can't exactly recommend it, it's tedious and boring, without many major developments in the plot and frankly, not enough aliens for most of the movie, and then stupid looking aliens for the rest of it. It worked, and it didn't. It's fine, i guess.

Friends With Benefits

3.5/5

It's pretty funny, although sometimes humor is lost and a bit misplaced. I laughed a lot, Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake are incredibly funny together, and they have really great chemistry as a couple. You cheer for them from the first moment they're together on screen. I like how the film became less of a question of "could it work" and more of a question of "could it work with two emotionally unstable people", considering that there's really no reason to believe it won't work with two emotionally satisfied people. There was genuine reason to feel for characters instead of forcing yourself to buy their emotional crap as the reason to have sympathy for them. I liked it, it's worth checking out, and it's a heck of an improvement over the similarly plotted "No Strings Attached."

Captain America: The First Avenger

5/5

THIS MOVIE WAS AWESOME. It took one of (what i thought to be) the lamest, most unimpressive, and strangely costumed superheroes i had ever heard of and made it into a movie that, honestly, might have just topped Iron Man for me, keeping with the Avengers films. The action was awesome, I love how the costume was explained and none of it felt random (unlike the previous Captain America film where everything was so out of place, especially the costume). Rotten Tomatoes says "a handful of fine performances", but I don't think anyone did a bad job in this film at all! AND REDSKULL LOOKED FRICKIN AWESOME. I loved this movie, it's definitely a favorite for the summer, and I can't wait for The Avengers next summer!

Winnie the Pooh

4/5

Yeah it was a bit awkward being a 20 year old guy with his mother and 21 year old sister in an audience watching this, but believe it or not it really was enjoyable. It was fun, the characters were exactly the way we remember them as kids, and honestly some of the jokes were really damn funny. Would I recommend it for anyone over the age of 8? nah, probably not. But it's worth checking out, even if the only reason you see it is nostalgia. It was also nice to see a nice traditionally animated film not in 3D that didn't bore me (cough Princess and the Frog).

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 2)

4/5

To begin, the HP movies and I have a history that goes like this. Sorcerers Stone, - a wonderful movie. Chamber of Secrets - my favorite of the series. Prisoner of Azkaban - a bit of a let down but I liked it. Goblet of Fire - the first real disappointment. Order of the Phoenix - just terrible. Half Blood Prince - absolutely awful. Deathly Hallows Part 1 - left me a bit worried for part 2.

The Deathly Hallows part 2 comes SO close to being a great movie, but it does cut off at really good. I thought that there were absolutely improvements over the book - the fights were more fun to watch, especially the biggest fight in the series. I also very much enjoyed character interactions and their overall dynamic together. The film just had a few too many corny moments for me to really buy into it as a great movie. There were some cheesy one liners, a really stupid looking face mesh, and some awkward evilness from Fiennes' Voldemort. Also, no spoilers here, but a certain scene had some of the worst makeup design ive seen in a movie with such a large budget. Still, I was completely engaged, I had a lot of fun with the fight scenes, for the first time in the entire series felt sadness at characters deaths instead of wondering why I should care, and am thinking maybe this would be one of the HP films I'd like to own on DVD. As a huge fan of the books, I can say i enjoyed this one. Probably can safely label it as my 2nd favorite of the series.

Horrible Bosses

4.5/5

A dirty, funny, senseless movie that kept me laughing and kept me interested. I hated everyone in this movie, and the story let me hate them and laugh at all of their misfortune. Everyone in this movie was very funny, with perhaps a few obvious or bad jokes but in the mix of the story let it be as funny as it might have been at one time. I really enjoyed it, and i think it's a great comedy and definitely the funniest of the year.

Larry Crowne

2.5/5

It's super sweet, and Tom Hanks is adorable. But the romance is so forced and the story so generic and basic that it wasn't exactly an interesting story. Still, I followed Tom Hanks like i followed my best friend through the story, I liked the friends that he makes in his school, but my god Julia Roberts is just awful. Especially in one scene where Hanks finds her at a bus stop. The romance is forced and Roberts doesn't help with her incredible overacting with a somehow bland face.

Transformers Dark of the Moon

TRANSFORMERS DARK OF THE MOON
3/5

An enormous improvement over Revenge of the Fallen. This is a fun, action packed sequel that would have solidified my faith in a franchise based off of Transformers had it been the 2nd sequel. I liked the characters, who finally weren't all whiny annoying stupid plot devices. Even Shia LaBeouf has improved his acting ability. Rosie Huntington-Whiteley is a much more likable female character, a big improvement over Megan Fox. I liked this premise, I liked the scale of the events which actually did make me care about the outcome of battles, I liked how Optimus actually had some emotion in this film, most of his actions being clearly fueled by anger and betrayal. This is an all out fun movie. all the problems attributed to it go to Michael Bay's plot holes in his direction style (why on earth would you climb to the top of an already lopsided building made of glass when there are clearly unscathed buildings on all sides? oh right, because falling glass looks cool in 3D).

Cars 2

4.5/5

I hold Pixar at an extremely high standard. Since I was a kid, I loved their movies, and as I've grown up I've seen their movies as the wonderful pieces of art that they really are. People often think that I blindly love Pixar without any regard for the film itself. This isn't true. That being said - did this film surpass my Pixar standard? Not quite. It came close to not matching my standard too. But what the film lacks in an original story it makes up for in sheer fun! Cars was a movie I went to expecting to see cars participating in exciting races or something of the like. Instead, we got a Doc Hollywood clone that is, yes, endearing and fun, but not nearly as exciting as I wanted it to be. THIS is what I wanted Cars to be! The spy fights in this film are so fun to watch, i love the gadgets and tools used by the spy characters. I found the characters themselves to be more likable and endearing than they did in the first Cars too. I found the danger to be a bit ridiculous, yes, but at the same time do you really take the villains in other spy thrillers that this movie pays homage to all that seriously? As annoying as he sometimes gets, Mater's character is fun as a lead instead of a supporting character, and the character played by Michael Caine (Finn McMissile) is the kind of secret agent I wanted to be when I was a kid. The races in this were fun, exciting, and got me emotionally involved and excited. To conclude - I don't give a crap what critics might be saying (Roger Ebert loved it, that's all that counts for me) - this is a GREAT, fun, energetic movie with a lot of heart. I will be buying it on DVD when it comes out, and my faith in Pixar is not swayed!

PS- the short before this movie is worth the price of admission, even if you might not like the film. I certainly can't say the film itself is for everyone.

Bad Teacher

1.5/5

Lacking in any fun, having no funny jokes and no likable characters, and lacking any recognizable plot, this film completely failed for me. Why should I care that Cameron Diaz's character gets what she wants? She lies, cheats, steals, and claws her way to the top, and doesn't even do it in a likable way. No character in this has any motivation to do anything they want, save perhaps Lucy Punch who at least has a minute amount of motivation to compete with Diaz. The only likable character to me was Segel's character, but he was likable in the same way that Chris O'Dowd was likable in Bridesmaids - I was cheering for him, but by the end of the movie I was praying he wouldnt give the lead woman another chance. Why? She was horrible to him! Granted, this was a bit of a fairer chance but even so I was hoping he would come to his senses. Still, I give Justin Timberlake props for a funny performance that he pulled off just right, even if he alone wasn't enough to save me from this boring, annoying, stupid movie.