Month: August 2012

Lawless

Set in the 1930’s in Franklin County Virginia, “LawLess” is about the Bondurant Brothers (Forrest, Howard and Jack) who run a backwoods restaurant/general store. This backwoods store is a front for their real business which is bootlegging. They package up their booze and make their deliveries in the wee hours of the night.
The local sheriff and his men have take bribes and left the brother to their own devices. When a Chicago lawman (Guy Pearce) comes to town and tries to put the brothers out of business a war erupts. The story unfolds from there…

“Lawless” starts off boring and slow. The first 30 minutes will lull you to sleep, but all of a sudden the movie picks up and is like a run away freight train flying down a dirty track. The violence is gruesome and bloody. The movie is just “Ok”. It’s not as interesting as I had hoped given the cast. The dialog of the movie leaves something to be desired. At times it’s difficult to understand what is being said.

The paid critics were “luke warm” about “Lawless”, so am I!!!

Premium Rush

Bike Messenger Wilee (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) spends his day dodging pedestrians, cars, open car doors, buses, taxis and delivery trucks throughout New York City’s roadways as he makes “Premium Rush” deliveries. His last delivery of the day seems to be no big deal, just deliver an envelope to an address in China Town. What appears to be routine is anything but.

As part of Wilee’s job he is not to release his delivery until he gives it to the recipient. Wilee finds himself being chased by a NYPD Detective who wants the contents of the envelope that Wilee is carrying and he will do anything to get it. The story unfolds from there…

Kudos to “Premium Rush”! It’s a HUGH adrenaline rush, non-stop action and dare devil speeding bicycles traveling thru New York City!! You will get a “Rush” just watching the movie. The bikes in the movie appear to have no brakes. “Premium Rush” is a decent end-of-the-summer escapism. The movie was well put together and there is some intrigue, a bit of suspense and some surprises.

The paid critics gave “Premium Rush” high marks! It’s definitely worth a look.

The Expendables 2

The testostrone loaded, intense, action-packed mercenaries known as “The Expendables” are back!! They have increased the size of their group thus allowing them to take on assignments that require more of their special skills.
Mr Church (Bruce Willis) enlists Barney (Sylvester Stallone) and his crew “The Expendables” to take on what seems to be a very easy job of recovering a computer device that is locked in a safe aboard a plane that has crashed somewhere in China. “The Expendables” easily retrieve the computer device and were on their way to leaving the area, but unbeknownst to them they were followed to the plane crash site by a group known as the “Huns”. The story unfolds from there..
“The Expendables 2” is a blast!! It’s “Action Packed”, “In your face Bloody Violence” and “High Energy”. The movie opens with an involved action scene, followed by another and another until you get to the end where they saved the best for last.
Of Course the entire story is perposterous, but it’s fun anyway. There are some holes in the story and a few unfinished scenes. There is a lot of jumping around, but I am sure because of time this was necessary.
If you saw the first installment “The Expendables” in 2010, you will understand the jumping around. Sylvester Stallone is the screen writer on “The Expendables” movies he makes you assume some things to save time.
The paid critics were all over the map on this movie. I think as an “Action/Adventure” it should receive high marks

Sparkle

“Sparkle” can be thought of as the ending of a brillant career for actress/singer (Whitney Houston) and the beautiful beginning for another (Jordin Sparks).

American Idol winner, Jordin Sparks makes her acting debut in this adaptation of “Sparkle”. “Sparkle” is a singing prodigy who writes music constantly, but is afraid to sing solo in public. She resides in an affluent neighborhood in Detroit, raised by a single mother (Whitney Houston) along with her two sisters.

Sparkle tries to balance a budding romance with her music manager Stix (Derek Luke) while trying to adjust to the changes that come with her and her sisters (Carmen Ejogo, Tika Sumpter) as they embark on what could be a potential singing career and also trying to keep her mother happy. The story unfolds from there…

The camera loves Jordin Sparks. She looked great throughout the movie. Her acting is pretty good. It doesn’t hurt that she can sing. Whitney Houston has a very nice Gospel solo that will bring you to tears.

The paid critics were a bit luke-warm about “Sparkle”, but over all I thought the movie was pretty good, though there are a few holes and several loose ends were not tied up at the end.
If you are a Whitney Houston or Jordin Sparks fan then you should see “Sparkle”.

The Paid Critics gave this movie 2 1/2 stars. I Think it’s worth 3 stars.

The Odd Life of Timothy Green

A married couple (Cindy and Jim Green) were at the end of their rope trying to have a baby. They went through all of the normal Fertility tests and procedures, but nothing worked. Giving up in despair they return to their regular lives in Stanleyville (The Home of the Number 2 Pencil) where Jim works in the Pencil Factory and Cindy works at the Pencil Museum.

Trying to console one another Jim (Joel Edgerton) and Cindy (Jennifer Garner) open a bottle of wine and after some persuading on Jim’s part, gets Cindy to write down on little pieces of paper all of the characteristics they would hope their child would have. They then put the pieces of paper in a wooden box and bury it in their vegetable garden. They go to bed. During the night there is a violent thunder storm. Jim is awaken by a loud noise at the back door, after securing the back door, grabbing a drink from the milk bottle and returning to bed, Jim thinks he is snuggling up to Cindy, but she’s in the bathroom. The story unfolds from there…

“The Odd Life of Timothy Green” is a family friendly light-hearted movie. The movie is a bit cheesy and it just so happens that the couple’s last name is “Green”, but there is an entertainment factor here. This is a Disney production and there is a certain amount of “Magic” in the story.

The movie is relaxing. There is no anxiety in seeing this movie. I found parts of it to be funny in a good way. It’s not the best movie that Jennifer Garner has made, but it’s not the worst.

Drawbacks: Mild Mature Thematic Elements

This is a Dramatic Comedy Film, If you like this type of movie ENJOY”!!

The Paid Critics gave this movie 2 stars. I Think it’s worth 2 1/2 stars.

Hope Springs

“Hope Springs” is about a couple who has been married for over 30 years who’s marriage has fizzled out in the intimacy department. Kay (Meryl Streep) wants to spice things up.

Kay enrolls herself and Arnold (Tommy Lee Jones) into an intense week long marriage counseling session for couples. The couple travels to a place called “Hope Springs”. After arriving at the clinic Dr. Field (Steve Carell) spends time with them everyday trying to get them to open up about what’s wrong with their marriage. Arnold doesn’t think there is anything wrong, although there has been no intimacy in the relationship for over ten years and the couple sleep in separate bedrooms in their home. This continues at the hotel they are staying at. Kay sleeps in the bed and Arnold sleeps on the sofa. Dr. Field send the couple back to their hotel with home work (exercises) every day. The story unfolds from there…

“Hope Springs” is light-hearted, funny and hilarious!! Meryl Streep is her usual great self and Tommy Lee Jones is crazy funny as Arnold. “Hope Springs” is only for adults and should not be viewed by anyone under 17. Although you never see anyone nude, there are a lot discussions centered around sex and the details of sex and intimacy.

“Hope Springs” is definitely worth seeing.

Drawbacks: Sexuality and Mature Thematic Content

This is a Dramatic Comedy Film, If you like this type of movie ENJOY”!!

The Paid Critics gave this movie 3 1/2 stars. I agree.

The Bourne Legacy

I have been waiting since early 2010 for “The Bourne Legacy”. It was first believed that Matt Damon was going to once again reprise his role as Jason Bourne, but because Director Paul Greengrass retired, Matt Damon said if Paul did not direct “The Bourne Legacy” he would not return. This left Tony Gilroy the writer on all of the previous installments to either get another director or do it himself.

It’s been 5 years since “The Bourne Ultimatum” hit theaters. It was believed that Jason Bourne was dead.

“The Bourne Legacy” centers around another “Rogue Enhanced” CIA Agent by the name of “Cross”. Agent Cross is on the run. He runs out of meds and locates what he believes is a “Safe House” in the wilderness.

Back at CIA Headquarters it’s believed that Jason Bourne is alive and in New York. A rumor is spread and this causes chaos and an all out manhunt starts. Meanwhile Agent Cross is trying to elude being killed by the CIA also while trying to get to the research institute or locate the Doctor he received his supply of meds from. The story unfolds from there…

The problem with “The Bourne Legacy” is that Jeremy Renner lacks the charisma that Matt Damon brought to the franchise. Matt Damon has magnetism and Jeremy Renner does not. Jeremy Renner is bland and stiff to say the least. The plot is complicated and difficult to decipher. There wasn’t nearly as much action as the other 3 installments. Too much time is spent referring to previous installments with regards to Jason Bourne. In addition to Matt Damon not returning, neither did Julia Stiles. Had Julia returned it would have been a big help for “The Bourne Legacy”. Actors from the 3 previous installments reprised their roles if only briefly. “The Bourne Legacy” really felt like a different story and not related to the other 3 installments.

“The Bourne Legacy” with all of it’s faults is still better then “Total Recall”. My concern is that the door was left open for additional installments. Universal Pictures would be wise to get Matt Damon back!! I can’t imagine Jeremy Renner as Agent Cross again.

Drawbacks: Violence and Action Sequences

This is a Action Adventure Film, If you like this type of movie ENJOY”!!

The Paid Critics gave this movie 3 stars. I agree.

Hello world!

I am starting this blog because I write movie reviews as a hobby in my spare time. I have been writing them since March 2007. I currently have a HUGH fan base. A couple of my co-workers suggested I create a blog and start blogging about the movies I see. So here I am. A movie review is coming soon…