Movies: Red

This movie's funny but it fails to reach its full potential. It suffers from uneven pacing, starting off slow and only picking up in the middle. The writing is pretty weak throughout. The only thing that really propels this movie is the soundtrack and the actors' performances.

Unfortunately, for a movie that is built on memorable actions, it seems to be lacking memorable action scenes. It could've been much more badass.

Overall, this movie had an interesting premise but stale writing, and the all-star cast carried it throughout. John Malkovich is the best part of this movie.

Movies: Inception

This movie was smart, suspenseful, and intensely creative. It also had a dynamite cast. This is my pick for best movie of the year. Go see it.

Movies: Despicable Me

I had hopes for this movie going into the theater. The concept? Good. The design? Great. The execution? Eh, so-so. This movie, by definition an animated kids movie, had trouble navigating the kid-friendly, adult-entertaining divide. Films by rivals Dreamworks and Pixar often have little trouble balancing the comedic with the dramatic, offering movies that appeal to children and adults simultaneously. Despicable Me, however, falls a bit short.

The story follows Gru (voiced perfectly by Steve Carrel), a supervillain looking to pull off the greatest crime of all time. His plans quickly go askew however, when he becomes the guardian of three orphan girls. Russian supervillain meets three feisty kids. Shenanigans ensue.

The film floats along buoyed by the charm and likeability of the three orphan girls; Margo, Edith, and Agnes. However, despite a couple of cutesy, warm & fuzzy moments, this film lacks a lot of real feeling.

Pacing and development are lacking in this movie, so that the dramatic moments and emotional turning points really lack the pathos to create a moving experience. It doesn't help that this isn't the funniest movie ever. The humor relies mostly on physical comedy, much of which was already seen in the film's numerous promo trailers. Gru's pint-sized, jibberish-speaking minions, when not on the receiving end of slapstick violence, tend to be slightly annoying.

However, there are a few good laughs and, overall, the viewer is left satisfied by the movie if not completely filled. The animation in this film is a definite treat for the eyes. Also, Steve Carell and Russel Brand prove themselves to be excellent voice actors. Throughout the entire movie I didn't even know which character was voiced by Brand.

Movies: Toy Story 3

This movie was awesome. It was everything you could expect from a Toy Story movie and more. The perfect way to complete the trilogy. Go see it.

Movies: Get Him to the Greek

An overweight, awkward music label peon with relationship troubles gets paired with an over-the-top playboy/addict rock star and (whaddya know?) hilarity ensues. This movie was pretty funny if a little dumb at times. The best parts of the movie are reminiscent of all the shenanigans you never got to see in The Hangover. Jonah Hill is unimpressive as his usual self (now with a beard!) but Russell Brand is perfect as the out of control rock star. Sean Combs (apparently not starring as himself) steals the show as the scheming record exec.

Movies: Iron Man 2

Iron Man 2 was a decent movie, not a bad sequel but not quite what I had hoped for. If there's one general criticism I have for the movie is that I wish things had been more developed. Every time something came up I wanted it to be more developed. I wanted character changes to be explored in more depth, I wanted dialogues to be expanded, and I wanted actions sequences to be longer. However I realize that might be a bit much to ask for from an action movie that's already 2 hours along.

Anyway, besides a general desire for more I had two other complaints. First of all, having Don Cheadle replace Terrence Howard as Rhodes was distracting for me. I lost sense of Rhodes' character and his relationship with Stark which is a shame because Rhodes was featured a lot more in this film, having many more pivotal scenes than in the first movie.

Secondly, the introduction of SHIELD as a major plot element slowed the plot and made it feel very clumsy. Just as Tony Stark is left in the dark about what SHIELD is all about, so is the audience, and it all feels like a diversion from what's actually going on.

I had high hopes for the additional emotional content and conflict in this movie that would build off the first, but I was disappointed. Though the film depicts a dying Stark grappling with his mission and legacy the film fails to effectively capture the pathos and gravity of the situation, in my eyes. However, that being said it wasn't a bad movie, with some solid action sequences and a few good laughs to boot.

Movies: Cop Out

As the title of the film may suggest, this movie is a joke. While watching this movie I was very confused. The movie is very funny but (although I wasn't expecting much) it had a really bad plot, even for a buddy-cop comedy. However, as silly and stupid as it was, it was still a few yucks short of a straight-out parody (see Loaded Weapon 1).

I was confused as to what kind of film this was supposed to be until the credits started rolling and I saw that Kevin Smith was the director. Then it all made a little bit more sense. The cheesy 80's music that popped up every now and then was an obvious homage to the buddy cop genre's golden age as were Tracy Morgan's penchant for spouting cliché film quotes.

Overall, this movie is pretty funny. There are enough cheap laughs to remind you that it doesn't really matter that the plot is loose. Loose like your mother's vagina. Yeah, that's the kind of humor you can expect from this movie.

Movies: Sherlock Holmes

Guy Ritchie's newest film was a blast. Robert Downey, Jr. is cast masterfully as the prankish title character, partnered perfectly with Jude Law as the stern and stalwart Watson. The movie's script takes the buddy-action comedy to a new level, putting Holmes and Watson in a dysfunctional bromance. Downey and Law's chemistry is great which, combined with great action and a good mystery, make for an awesome film (with a great soundtrack by Hans Zimmer). Though neither Downey or Law (especially Law) don't conjure up traditional images of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, this is perhaps for the better, for a bold revision of a classic. Now, with the possibility of a sequel waiting on the horizon, it's no mystery that Robert Downey, Jr. will continue to make some serious money.

Movies: A Serious Man

The latest Coen Brothers' film is dark comedy served black, no sugar. The movie follows a Jewish family man in 1967 who is plagued by misfortune after misfortune. Though this movie is pretty funny, sometimes it can be too bleak for its own good.

Movies: Zombieland

Coulda used more zombie killing. That's all I'm saying.

Movies: Inglourious Basterds

Coulda used more Nazi killing. That's all I'm saying.

Movies: District 9

The previews definitely for this movie definitely caught my eye. Shot partly documentary-style, this movie is about the internment of aliens in a Johannesburg shanty town. It's easy to pick up on the racial undertones. Picture "Cry The Beloved Country" with lasers, kind of like Darth Vader meets Umfundisi (get it? they're both James Earl Jones). Except not at all. It's actually more like a sci-fi version of "Blood Diamond" with graphic violence. Not a bad movie.

Movies: Funny People

At first glance I thought this movie was going to be an Adam Sandler biography. However it is not. It follows a comedian whose career is similar to Sandler's and actually borrows real video footage of a younger Sandler. This is a funny movie. However, it is a little bit long and doesn't flow well. Some parts of the movie could've been longer, some parts could've been a lot shorter, and some parts could've gotten cut out. But the movie is carried a long by the comedy and there are a good supply of funny jokes from the cast. Another pleasant surprise is the abundance of cameos. 

Oh and this movie taught me something. Wilco, Wilco, Wilco will love you baby.

Movies: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

This movie was not smart. In fact, many parts of this movie were outright dumb (not to mention plot holes but I won't get into that). Imagine two ghetto twin robots with gold-plated buck teeth and a giant robot with two wrecking balls for... balls. Yeah, it's pretty silly. This movie goes for cheap laughs and cheap thrills. That being said, the cheap thrills are awesome. Michael Bay really knows how to blow stuff up. And that's all you can really ask for and that's all I was really looking for. Anyway it's a sci-fi action movie so what do you expect? I personally expected killer fight scenes between giant robots, and this movie didn't disappoint. Quick summary: Optimus Prime poos on everyone. Like it's his job. Which it is. 

Anyway, to wrap this up it was a dumb movie but a great action picture. This film was brutally reviewed by critics, one from Rolling Stone going so far as to give the movie a zero-star ranking and say that it as a shot at worst movie of the decade. It definitely isn't the worst movie of the decade, but then again it's definitely not the best. For those of you who liked the first one, the one-liners are dumber but the action is a lot better. For those of you who didn't like the first one... well at least they're only making one more sequel.

Movies: Star Trek

I read somewhere that Star Trek is this generation's Star Wars. Well it's not because, let's face it, Star Wars is a million times cooler than Star Trek will ever be. However, the new Star Trek movie is pretty good. It's a great sci-fi thriller featuring fresh takes on familiar characters. Amazing special effects make for exciting action scenes and comic relief keeps things from getting too serious. This film is very enjoyable, except for sTrekkie shout-outs and a few minor plot points that stretched my patience.

Movies: Up

Some people were afraid that after the hit smash Wall-E, Disney/Pixar wouldn't be able to deliver the magic again so soon but Up proved those naysayers wrong. Up follows an old man and a boy scout on an incredible journey into uncharted land. This movie combines inventive story-telling, playful humor, and eye-popping visuals to create a film experience that everyone will enjoy.

Movies: Angels and Demons

This movie (starring Tom Hanks) is based on the novel "Angels and Demons" by Dan Brown. I have read (3 pages of) the book and seen (5 minutes) of the movie "The DaVinci Code" and I can tell you that this movie is indeed better than the last. While it does differ in certain details from the novel, it is still an entertaining movie to say the least.

Bonus points: this time around Hanks' hairstyle is distinctly less terrifying, which is a good thing because this movie is already a hair-raising affair (pun intended!)

Movies: Watchmen

This was a good movie. For anyone who read the graphic novel, I believe this movie was a very good interpretation. Changes were made, some I agreed with, some I did not. Overall I felt the movie was more accessible than the book and brought to light some more interesting ideas. If you haven't read the comic, see this movie. Or read the comic. Or both.

Also, does anyone see a connection between Howard Roark and Rorschach or am I paranoid?

Movies: The Wrestler

Directed by Darren Aronofsky, The Wrestler is the moving story of a professional wrester in the twilight of his career. Mickey Rourke plays the wrestler trying to come to terms with his past and his failing health. This film was moving and definitely should've been nominated for the Oscar. Marisa Tomei co-stars as a conflicted stripper.

Movies: Quantum of Solace

After seeing the last Bond film, Casino Royale, I was excited to see Quantum of Solace. However, my expectations for this film were too high and I was deeply disappointed. Dominated by action sequences, the movie was strung along by a paper-thin plot. Not only did it fail to answer the questions raised in Casino Royale, it added a whole new slew of queries. Essentially, this movie was like the second Pirates of the Caribbean movie: it's only real purpose was to set up another sequel. However disappointing this movie may be for lack of substance, it is indeed an entertaining action movie.