Avatar

The plot is obvious (except for the twist of having a body in one place in one set of circumstances while the mind controlling it is in another place in a different set of circumstances), the characters are one dimensional, the resolution a fore-gone conclusion from the beginning (if good is to triumph).

But the world is amazing; the look and feel of this movie are fantastic. This movie is worth seeing if only for a fully imagined extra-terrestiral world that really comes to life. You can really believe in it. And the 3D is amazing. This could be the future of movies - in that you don't need to actually see the actors to have a well acted film. Sigorney Weaver is Signorney Weaver whether she is as you know her, or 10 feet tall and blueish green !!!

This one is gonna sweep plenty of technical Oscars ... Best Picture... eh.. maybe, but The Hurt Locker leaves you thinking more.

Go see it.

Green Zone

A little ho-hum and a little convoluted, this is the story of a fictitious cover-up of the fact that there were no WMD’s in Iraq. I’m sure lots of people would like to think this is a documentary, but like the Three Musketeers, its fiction wound into history.

Valentine's Day

This movie attempted to be another LOVE ACUTALLY (which I really enjoy), but had too many story lines to really enjoy. So much time spent trying to keep track of who was who and what was what that you humor was lost in the shuffle.

The was only going to get 2 stars, but the performance of Shirley McClaine and Hector Alozondo put it over the edge.

Brooklyn's Finest - 2009

I wish I had some money to invest in the fake blood industry before they made this film. It’s brutal. It’s harsh. There is no happy ending (well, a tiny one). Seems there is just no way to win when it comes to drug fueled crime in Brooklyn.

Normally I like shoot em up movies, but this one was not very entertaining. Don Chedle did a great job, as always, but him and Richard Gere could not pull this fat out of the fire.

I rate this one as.. don’t bother.

Shutter Island

Outstanding. Leonardo DeCaprio is great as a federal Marshall sent to investigate what is going on at an island insane asylum. Course, everyone on the island has a secret agenda and DeCaprio has his own secret agenda as well. The escaped prisoner was a ruse all the way around. The best line in the movie; “While you was looking into them, they was looking into you!”

The double twist ending (the 2nd one happening in the last 30 seconds of the movie) is great. I recommend this one highly.

Leap Year

A romantic comedy that isn't big on comedy or romance. In fact, its completely predictable and not very well done.

It's Complicated

Now this is a romantic comedy that is worth seeing. Alec Baldwin, Meryl Streep, and Steve Martin make this complicated romp hilarious. And you really feel for the characters as they try to work their problems out. The performance by John Krasinski playing the poor soon-to-be son in law who finds out much more about the things going around him than he ever wanted to know is just great.

Legion

You know that old phrase, "Friends don't let friends drive drunk." - they should have one in Hollywood - "Friends don't let friends act in movies that stink."

I mean.. This movie had a great cast of people who I really love. Dennis Quaid, Paul Bettany, and Charles Dutton - all great guys who have been in much much better movies... why didn't their friends stop them.

The plot makes no sense. God is feed-up with mankind, so he sends angels to kill the human race - and this ONE baby that needs to be killed is the focal point. Why? Who knows.. it makes no sense. So this one angel decides to defend the baby against.. well.. everyone else. How is that possible? It's not.. it makes no sense. So God wants this baby dead... but the ultimate power in the universe can't just reach down and squash people like bugs.. Why? It makes no sense.

And that's the summary on this movie.. it makes NO SENSE. It is junk.

From Paris With Love

John Travolta and Jonathan Rhys Meyers work really well together. This movie zooms along with the Travolta character (Charly Wax) being the insane reckless fixer who grabs Rhys character for a roller coaster ride that is just unrelenting.

It's a fun ride.

One review said there was a give away near the begining, but still liked it. I got the sense he did, and agree.. even if you suspect the problem, you'll love getting to the end.

Edge of Darkness

I like Mel Gibson - have since I saw the first Mad Max film - and he doesn't disappoint in this new movie. His greif over the death of his daughter is believable, and his actions in response are also believable. It would have been nice for a little more reveal of the hidden plots within plots, but still.. you kind of see things from the main characters point of view, and in that sense it fits.

This is not a movie for everyone. It is violent and a little hard to follow.. but if you like Mel, then you will like this one.

The Blind Side

I cannot say how much I liked this movie. The fact that it is a true story makes it that much more loveable.Sandra Bullock is spectacular!!! This movies proves that she can handle any part thrown her way.

GO SEE THIS ONE!!!

Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes is a character so popular that he reincarnates every 15years or so. If you are a fan of Holmes from the books, then this is not that Holmes. Having said that, Robert Downey Jr. makes a great (if scruffy) Holmes that is entirely unlike the proper character we know from the books. He is insensitive, physical, impulsive, dirty, and unlikeable. And yet he is a genius - as always, and is solving the crime without being sure what the crime is.

I liked it. Its one of those that I would see twice - just to catch what I missed the first time.

The Lovely Bones

I was amused when people who saw this before me said it was dark and depressing. I fail to understand how a movie about the rape and murder of a 14 year old girl could be anything but!! Still, its an interesting film to see IF ONLY to see how this is handled. At the point of the actual crime some might think that the girl got away - but I knew she was already dead and that we were seeing her spirit running.

And that is perhaps the most interesting peice of this film... the interpretation of world this girls spirit inhabits after her death, and from which she watches over her family and her killer as they cope with the aftermath.

And in the end there is a kind of justice... which made me think of which bones were being refered in the title.. hum.

A film that is not for everyone, but interesting if you can take the idea behind it.

Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Theif

This was actually better than I expected it to be. Teen heartthrob movie with some “not bad” interpretation of Greek mythology (Medusa with a cell phone.. good one). Hades was particularly enjoyable.

A little stupid, a little silly, but quite entertaining.

Alice In Wonderland

You should read the poem Jabberwocky before you go. The movie is based on this poem, and knowing it makes the movie just a tad more enjoyable. Well acted, well put together, Johnny Depp is great as always. Helena Bonham Carteris (she who killed Serious Black) is great as the Red Queen and Anne Hathaway is quite amusing the way she does the White Queen.

Still and all, something is missing. Entertaining, but missable.

However! The venue where I saw this movie was amazing. The CASTRO theatre in San Francisco – a grand old style theatre that still has the Wurlitzer organ in center stage that they play before the feature. All the seating is wonderful and I saw this film from the balcony. It has been forever since I was in a movie house with a balcony. Wonderful place. Go there if you can.

Harry Brown - 2009

I have always loved Micheal Caine, and it continues in this movie about a widowed pensioner in England who gets fed up with the crime in his neighborhood and decides, after the death of his best (only) friend, that he is going to do something about it. Caine is subdued throughout, but you learn that he has seen much worse than anything the gangs he is going up against have ever experienced, and when the time comes, he’s perfectly capable of unleashing it when needed.

Don’t see this if violence upsets you. Consider it an updated, and better version of the old Charles Bronson movies with the same theme.

I enjoyed it.

CITY ISLAND - 2009

This is a great little comedy with Andy Garcia and Julianna Margulies that will have you going “uh oh” right up until the end. So many funny moments in this movie and yet, you don’t know how it’s all going to work out (tragically or comedicly) until right up to the end. This family, living on City Island, in the Bronx is riddled with secrets. They all smoke, but none of them tells the others. Dad is off to his poker games, but he’s not really playing poker. The daughter is off at college, but not really. The son has a fetish he explores on his computer, and then with a neighbor. And the strange convict that the Dad brings home one day from work (he is a prison guard) learns all these secrets and has no clue what to do with them.

Funny and touching. I absolutely promise you, you will enjoy this one.

KICK ASS

A movie about a teenager.. no one special... who decides to be a comic hero called KICK ASS - and who gets his ass kicked in the process. I really enjoyed this movie.

Having said that.. this is definately NOT a movie for everyone. Do not see this movie if you are not into violence.. I mean.. really really violent. (Like.. watching an 11 year old girl shoot a bunch of guys in the head in a scene straight out of a first person shooter video game). Do NOT see this movie it you don't enjoy movies about teenage angst and nerds (if you don't like the TV show THE BIG BANG THEORY, then this probably is not for you.) If you hate comic books... don't see this movie.

Okay Caveats done... I laughed and was shocked, and this film is a total roller coaster. And I really enjoyed it. It's one I might go see twice.. And, like STAR WARS the first.. they left a total sequel ending there so we might get to watch these guys again..

Chloe

An erotic psycho-drama about a woman (Julianne Moore) who hires a hooker (Amanda Seyfried) to seduce her husband in an effort to find out if he is cheating on her. It ends up with the hooker stalking the wife, seducing her, seducing the son.. and whole lot of sex with everyone. Naturally this all comes to a bad end when the wife tries to end the whole business (it's hard to get rid of a stalker).

An interesting little movie with some very erotic scenes, but a tad sick, and not for everyone

The Backup Plan

Obvious and boring. Really, not worth the time to review. The characters (especially Jennifer Lopez’s character) were flat and unreal. The script was kind of flat. The whole thing just a little improbable. Don’t bother. (The birth scene was a little.. lol.. over the top!! About the only funny scene in the movie (in a, "oh my GOD could the get any grosser" kind of way).

The Bounty Hunter

Gerrard Butler and Jennifer Aniston play a pair of ex’s who hate each other, then they find themselves thrown together in what turns out to be a life and death struggle to figure out who the bad guys are who are trying to kill them both. While at the same time, Butler is trying to drag Anniston to jail for the 5 grand he can get.

These two were great together. They seemed to have a chemistry the showed on the screen. Plenty of laughs and a plot just twisted enough to keep you guessing. Will the or won’t they end up together in the end; it doesn’t look promising. And be sure to catch Christine Baranski, as the mother-in-law. You may know her as the senior partner in the TV show THE GOOD WIFE, or as Lennie’s mother in THE BIG BANG THEORY. She is a total hoot in this one.. plays a sexually freewheeling casino entertainer with a heart a mile wide (and humor to match).

The Losers

Action, adventure, explosions, gunfire, macho guys, macho gal, and a super evil villain who doesn’t care who he destroys. Mix is all together and you got The Losers. Burned by their own people, they are looking for a way back to their lives without getting killed in the process.

If you like action movies, which I do, you will like this one. Stupid plot, stupid dialog, some funny bits, lots of explosions… an action movie.

The A-Team

Blow stuff up. Do something crazy. Blow more stuff up. Make fun of your fellows. Blow more stuff up. Be secret good guys and get in trouble for it. Blow something else up. And end up by really blowing stuff up.

Yeah.. that was a fun movie. You have shooting, running, explosions, laughing, flying, crashing, jail breaks, ships sinking, mayhem. Who could ask for more from a mindless summer flick. (Surprised that Liam Neason hooked into this project. Gave it an air of respectability. Mind you.. thin, unbreathable air, but a few oxygen molecules anyway.)

Yeah.. that was a fun movie. You have shooting, running, explosions, laughing, flying, crashing, jail breaks, ships sinking, mayhem. Who could ask for more from a mindless summer flick. (Surprised that Liam Neason hooked into this project. Gave it an air of respectability. Mind you.. thin, unbreathable air, but a few oxygen molecules anyway.)

The Karate Kid

They NAILED this remake. Jacky Chan was wonderful – proving he can do something other than comedy. Jaden Smith is going to be a star (that’s the kid. While you watch him, look for his father in his face and moves – Will Smith – and you will see him right there).

Absolutely excellent – a must see.

Knight and Day

Don’t know why people hate Tom Cruise – okay – I can understand it a little – but all that has nothing to do with what he puts up on the screen. And Cameron Diaz lost all my respect with what she did in the Charlie’s Angels piles of dung. But looky here… she got it all back. Together (by accident) they make a funny team.

This movie is fun, campy, over the top, and funny. I had fun, and I think you will too if you like a campy comedy.

Get Him To The Greek

This is a movie about a low level music industry dweeb who has to fetch a has-been rock star from London to the Greek theatre in Los Angeles - and what they both learn from each other on the way. One learns to let go a little more and one learns to not let go so much. Bet you can;t guess which one is which (well.. yes, you can.. it's obvious). Naturally it's crazy situations along the way, a complete lack cooperation, a test of patience, and a test of and learning about friendship. In the end you sympathize with both these poor schleeps. The ending turns out quite nicely -stay for the credits.

Jonah Hill is the nebish and Russel Brand is the washed up rock star. This is the 2nd movie where these two have shared the screen. The first was Forgetting Sarah Marshall - a riot - and, where, oddly, they seemed to play the exact same parts - comparatively.

I enjoyed this, but would not recommend it to everyone. Lots of drugs, drink, loose women, loose men, and, well, mayhem. If you wouldnt like that, then you won't like this.

Cyrus

A lonely loser meets up with a wonderful woman, and then her 22 year old son sabotages the relationship. Jonah Hiill as Cyrus is the son, and right from the get go he is out to make this relationship go away. It takes a while for the guy (John - playde by John C. Reilly) to catch on, but eventually he does, and confronts Cyrus about it. Cyrus tells him he is going down... and he eventually wins. Course, that's not the end of the movie, and by the time it's finished, you'll be pleased at how it works out. Marisa Tomei is in here too, and is wonderfully clueless about what a manipulating bastard her son is.

A little slow at times, but still a fun and interesing watch

Toy Story 3

Excellent, though, if you didn’t see the first one, then the Deus Ex Machina will not make much sense in this one (i.e. “The Claw”) Andy is going away to college, and what is going to happen to his toys? They are unhappy because they have not been played with for years, and worried that they will end up in the trash heap. Just when it looks like things are going to work out there is a turn for the worst and they need to rescue themselves and get back to Andy… but what then?

I enjoyed this plenty, and recommend it for all ages. (But see the first one.. first)

Despicable Me

Another hit. This movie is about a villain, Gru, who is trying to resolve his childhood issues by being the best criminal he can be. He and his minions want to steal the MOON!!! But unfortunately the Bank of Evil (formally, Lehman Brothers) will not finance his work. Into this poor masterminds troubles come 3 little girls (the cutest girls in the world) and Gru finds a way to use them to meet his goals. Course, the girls find a way to use him too, as a parent. Who wins in the end, and how? You will laugh. And you will have fun. Go see it. And take a child.

Winter's Bone

This is harsh look at a teenage girl (17) who is the sole means of support for her family in poverty stricken Applachia. Her father is a crank cooker and faces a date in court. When he disappears his bond is revoked and the girl, Ree, goes looking for him in a community that doesn't want him found. She faces beatings and death threats in her search, but keeps at it because, unless he is found, her family (young brother, sister, and demented mother) will be thrown off their property. Her search is desperate… at one point saying you may as well kill me if we are going to be thrown off our property.

Definitely NOT a feel good movie, but you sure come to admire her determination in the face of poverty, crime, and corrupt law enforcement.

Salt

Excellent. Keeps you guessing right to the end. And I hereby declare Angelina Jolie the new action hero of the movies. Move over Bond, Salt is here. Is she a good guy or is she a bad guy. One minute you think one thing, one minute you think the other. I like a movie that keeps you guessing.

This one will.

Inception

A movie about trying to plant an idea into someone’s head. What? You can plant an idea in someone’s head just by having Rush Limbaugh spout it on the air. You don’t have to invade their dreams. The plot device is a little bit of a reach.

That said, this movie is excellent. Leonardo DeCaprio continues to be one of the best. Pay attention or you will get lost in the layers (reality and 4 layers of dream state). And be careful. This is one of those movies that will kick you in the teeth at the very last second (literally the very last split second).

I generally like action movies, and this one delivered just fine. Liam Neeson, who I didn't think could do it, handle being the action hero just fine. Not a must see, but fine for a diversion.

I love Brendan Fraiser... so I'll see pretty much everything he is in.. No matter how dumb. But for a dumb movie this had a HELL of a cast. Paul Bettany and Hellen Miram, and that guy who looks so familiar, but no one ever recognizes from his most famous part (Andy Serkis - who played Gollum in LOTR). You would think with a cast like that the script would be better. Well.. the story was dumb, but the movie was still fun.

Push

I was SHOCKED when I went to see this and one of my favorite actors was in it, and I didn't even know. Dakota Fanning never appeared in the preveiws that I can recall. And her part in this as a very young, but world weary psychic who can figure out more about you than you want her ever to know.. was just great. A really adult role for her.

Other than that... the movie was crap. The plot made no sense. The actors made no sense. Everything that happened.. made no sense. Just garbage. But if you like Dakota Fanning.. It's worth it just for her - completely different than anything she has done before.

The International

I like Clive Owen... and he was good in this. The movie is not bad either. About a corrupt bank (well.. aren't they all) and how a few good people try to take it down. Do they succeed... stay through the credits !!!

Watchmen

If you wander over to my books page you will see that the graphic novel Watchmen is on the list of the top novels of all time. I was really surprised when I saw this because.. let's face it... it's a comic book.

Then I read it.

I was amazed at what the authors could do with a comic book. On a single panel you might have 3 stories going at once (well.. 2 stories and an illustration of the 3rd). It had so much more depth than I thought a comic book capable of. I was surprised and really really entertained.

The movie is faithful to the book (mostly). I'm not surprised people are not liking it. There are those who won't like it because it's not what THEY envisioned from the book (like the LOTR haters). There are those who won't like it because it was not what they were expecting when they went (It's NOT a super-hero movie... all of the characters but one are just ordinary people.)

But I liked it. I liked what it tried to do. I like how rich the scenes were. I liked the characters. (Rorschach in particular steals the movie - his line - "You'd don't get it. I'm not locked up in here with you.. You are all locked up in here with ME!!" when he is thrown into prison - was just great.) I enjoyed the change to the ending that didn't substantially change the story line. And I felt for the characters.. I enjoyed them and sympathized with their dilemmas.

Thumbs up from me... but don't go if you are looking for standard fare. This ain't it.

Oh.. and a warning... don't take your kids. There is some pretty explicit sex and violence... either of which will have you going... Oh dear!!!

The Last House on the Left

Mindless, slasher flick. Perfect to waste an evening when you want nothing but to see people terrorized and horribly killed (though even for this movie the last death was gratuitous - and over too quickly)

Take a barf bag. Wonderfully forgetable.

Duplicity

I love Clive Owen and Julia Roberts... but the way this movie is put together will keep you guessing right to the end... Tom Wilkinson and Paul Giamatti are fun to watch too (I've always liked both of them.) You might think the title only refers to the schemers Julia and Clive... keep thinking that until the very end... when you find out who is really playing who. If you're the kind of person who doesn't like to be confused... DON'T GO... you will be confused. I found it kind of fun and give it a mild thumbs up.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

A nice action movie... a little over done with the wolverine-looking-up-in-greif-to-the-camera-directly-overhead bit. How many times can you do that in a movie. Once is plenty. Twice is too much. Three time - oh come on &#*!%#.

And why can't Wolverine beat that other guy. What's he got? Fingernails? Sheesh.

Still.. I like action flicks. So...

Star Trek

Wow. Visually great !! The cast was perfect !! The plot was genious - we get to keep all the old Star Trek universe and history, but by a neat trick of time travel can build the whole franchise all over again with the characters we loved. Brilliant.

They even threw in a Tribble for those of you who pay close attention.

This one is a winner.

The Taking of Pelham 123

Not a bad re-make of the original, though many critics panned it. The plot makes a bit more sense in how the main character (played by John Travolta) plans on making money from the hijacking of a subway car. And Denzel Washington is great as always. I liked it

UP

What a great movie. It's about a man, who fell in love with a woman, and they always intended to have adventures, but somehow, never got around to it. After she dies he gets inspired, by her life, to have one adventure for both of them. And UP he goes, taking an accidental passenger with him. Ed Asner plays the cranky old man who learns to live again and realize that adventure is not always in some far off place.

Pixar has done it again. AND… see it in 3-D it looks great that way. I plan on seeing all the movies I can that way. This technology has really grown up.

My Life in Ruins

If you liked My Big Fat Greek Wedding, then you will like this. Nina Vardalus plays a tour guide in Greece who hates her life, hates her work, hates her tourists. But, it's a romance so all that turns around in a pretty obvious way.. and it's fun to watch as it does. It's especially fun to watch Richard Dreyfuss being great in this movie. He obviously had fun making it.

Passengers

I watched this because it starred Anne Hathaway who I love. But she should stick to comedy and romance because this was kind of dull. She plays a counselor to a group of plane crash survivors - and the film has a twist ending that you can see coming from a mile away. But, for the longest time it had difficulty holding my interest. Hathaway was best in the scenes where something amusing was going on.

Quarantine

Kind of a fun little horror movie that was really only interesting because of the way it was filmed. A new crew is riding along with a fire truck when they are called to a building and then locked inside by the authorities because of an infestation of rabies that is particularly awful. (Not giving much away with that). The entire film takes place in real time with the camera pretty much rolling from start to finish in one great big long take. (It wasn't filmed that way, just put together that way.. but it sure looks good.) If you liked CLOVERFIELD, then you will probably like this one

Lost in Austen

A real life woman accidently switches places with Elizabeth Bennet in the novel Pride and Prejudice. She loves the novel and desperately tries to keep the characters on track with the plot, but her very presences cocks things up and people end up marrying the wrong people and the story is (very nearly) destroyed.

Like a Jasper Fforde novel this is a great story with some very fun twists and some great exploration of characters that you love from the novel (like Mr. Bennet… he's great in this and totally in character).

The movie went on forever and it was only after I finish watching it (at 2 am) that I discovered that it was a British mini-series filmed for TV. DUH. If you haven't read Pride and Prejudice, or seen the movie, then it won't be nearly as funny. But if you enjoy Austen, then you'll like this.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

This one is pretty darn dark. A major character dies. Another appears to be a traitor. All is left in confusion, though which teenager is gonna end up kissing which teenager is not much left to doubt.

Rupert Grint seems to be turning into the better of the 3 actors as well as the kid who play Malfoy – which is all meaningless unless you have watched all the movies.. Oh well.

I like this franchise. I like the actors. I think they are really growing into their parts. Of all the movies this one seems the most disjointed, but I guess that's because they filmed 2 movies at the same time and no one really had a clear cut idea of what was going on... Oh go see it.. you know you want too!!!

Transformers - the whatever sequel

I saw this at the IMAX the other day. The only way to see it. Forget the plot.. and the really really stupid bits of continuity (like being able to run from Petra, Jordon to Cairo, Egypt in only a few miles, or having an old jet graveyard in Arizona being just adjacent to the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC – Idiotic) No, what you go see this movie for is the EXPLOSIONS at the end battle. With the IMAX sound system they were great !!!!

Um.. and that’s about all there is to see in this one.

The Proposal

SANDRA BULLOCK NAKED !!!!!

Okay.. it's a cute little movie, with Sandra Bullock doing her usual wonderful job of brightening up a ho-hum script. I love her. I love her smile, and how she comes off in all her movies. So this is no disappointment. But that nude scene... WOW!!! I will rent this one just to watch that again !!!!

The Hurt Locker

I enjoyed it, but the theme is tough. Not easy to watch, (people die in awful ways) but a really good movie. The main character is so damaged by what he lives through, that it becomes the only thing he can live with. This will be an oscar contender in the end.

I recommend this one to anyone who thinks they can watch someone else suffer - and who is not afraid of looking war in the face.

Julie & Julia

You will like this, though the BIG dangling loose end of what Julia Child actually thought of Julie's work... I didn't like that.

Funny People

I really enjoyed this. And NO NO NO --- it's not a comedy. It's a movie about comedians, especially one who goes through some pretty heavy s**t and has not really developed the maturity to deal with it. And you will laugh at some of it. IT'S ABOUT COMEDIANS... HELLO !!!

The Ugly Truth

I think I reviewed this already, but can't remember. The character in here is based on a real life person - Tom Lykis (http://www.blowmeuptom.com/), and does a not bad job of representing Tom right up to the end... where the totally predictable ending occurs (still fun though). Not really a chick flick, though I think that is what they were trying to hit.

G.I. Joe

Mindless stupid, innane action. Which can be fun depending on what you are in the mood for. This movie is based on a toy... and its like the toys did the writting. The plot makes no sense. The dialog is just plain stupid. And the charaters (not the actors) are too weird to be believed.

But.. Stuff blows up alot and that's fun.

District 9

A Sci-Fi thriller that, in the end, turns into a buddy flick. This film is harsh. It is not clean and futuristic like other sci-fi fare. It's dirty, gritty and really harsh. Man's inhumanity really comes out big time... too bad it takes aliens to show what animals we really can be.

But then.. in the end.. a small spark of humanity does come through and changes everything.

The Invention of Lying

This gets a thumbs up from me. Lots of people will not be able to suspend disbelief long enough to enjoy the film. They won't get why the commercials on TV are so strange, and why movies don't have actors (acting is lying). The whole premise will be beyond them. And lots of other people will be offended by the BIG LIE that the main character is forced to tell about half way through the film. (about the giant man in the sky who watches what you do... and keeps track of the bad things... gee, I wonder who's ox is getting gored there?) Get past all that and you have a funny little romance with some fun moral lessons and some really good laughs.

This movie had a hell of a cast too... though it was not advertised that way... Ricky Gervais, Rob Lowe, Tina Fey, Jennifer Garner, Johnah Hill, and Stephany March to name some of the people you will recognize.. (The guy who place PC makes an appearance as well.. get to know him.. he is showing up in lots of places... John Hodgman

I recommend it.

The Vampire's Assitant

Ho Hum... a set up for a series trying to take advantage of the current vampire/teenage heart throb craze. I liked some of the actors... Good cast for a so, so movie.

The Damned United

I really recommend this movie. It's the true story of a soccer coach in England, Brian Cough (played by Michael Sheen) who has a personal rivalry with another coach (played by Colm Meaney). He wants to beat this guy so badly that he takes the bottom team in the 3rd division and coaches it up to the top team in the top division just so he can play his rival. Then is is offered his rival's team when the rival moves on to bigger and better things. And he fails utterly. He nearly destroys his best friendship (played wonderfully by Timoty Spall of Harry Potter fame) , his marriage, and his relationship with everyone around him because he cannot let go.

Eventually, his career in ruins, his friendship on the scrap heap, he comes to realize what it is her really loves - the game, the players, and the people around him. He once again takes a team from the bottom all the way to the top, and proves that he is the best coach England never realized it had.

For a sports movie.. there is surprising little soccer here. The acting is perfect, the plot moves along wonderfully (flashing backward and forward, but never losing you), and the story is great. Big thumbs up...

2012

The science is crap, but who wouldn’t enjoy seeing the whole world go to hell in a handbasket. Billons dead, and yet we cheer for the little dog and the dumb mistress. And who put Yellowstone Park just a two hour drive from LA. Geography is getting looser and looser in these films (the worst offender being – The Transformers.. ugh)

The Cast is good, though. Woody Harrelson is quite fun (perhaps the best character in the movie - a loonie who knows the truth). John Cusak is always good – I like that guy. Amanda Peet has always had my vote since The Whole Nine Yards. Oliver Platt and Danny Glover round out the big names, but don’t miss Chiwetel Ejiofor – a name you will never remember, but an actor who deserves more screen time since Serenity.

Planet 51

Saw this with my nephew. The premise looked interesting, and the animation was top notch, but the whole thing kinda fell flat. Not sure what it was missing, but the human character was not so … nice .. to start with as he coulda been. Sorry.. love cartoons, but this one didn’t quit work.

Pirate Radio - a.k.a. The Boat That Rocked

I had more belly laughs during this movie than I have had in quite a while. And the music was fantastic – for someone my age. It’s a basically true story of how, in the 1960’s when Britain was creating some of the best rock bands in history – rock and roll music was NOT allowed on legal radio !!! The BBC controlled the airwaves and they refused to play it. So DJ’s would park ships just outside British waters and play rock and roll for the British public… and there was basically nothing the government could do about it. Though they tried.

The film is loosely based on real history, which is summed up in the end just before the credits.

But if you like old rock and roll – GO SEE THIS MOVIE. You will love it.

Drag Me To Hell

Drag me to the garbage heap and throw this movie in there!!!

New In Town

I love Renee’ Zelwinger, and she delivers again in this funny little movie with Harry Connick Jr. It’s a romantic comedy that gets pretty obvious right from the get go. But the REAL star of this movie is the cold. Watch the DVD extra on how they had to deal with the cold weather – how they had to do multiple takes because the camera’s would freeze – how no one could understand how anyone could live like that. It is a hoot. And J.K. Simmons (who you might remember as J. Jonah Jameson in Spiderman) gained like 40 lbs for this movie.. and is great.

Everybody's Fine

This is a movie much like GRAND CANYON were nothing good happens to any of the characters, everything seems to be going down the toilet, but in the end everyone is actually better off than when the movie started. Most of the people who left the theatre thought, "What a depressing movie!!! Nobody is fine!!!" But I left the movie feeling good about all the characters and their future… I mean, everyone, by the end of the movie, finally starts telling the truth. Everyone is sitting around the table enjoying being honest with each other, and you can tell that their relationships will be much improved in the future. (Spoiler alert: Even though tragedy happens, everyone can still be okay with that… so it's true - Everybody's Fine)

Up In The Air

George Clooney is great in the flick about a man who is more comfortable traveling than sitting at home. He lives a life without attachment - no relationships - no home. His home is the road and he is happy with his life (he complains at one point that he had to spend 21 whole days home last year - home being a hotel room in the company's home city). Then a couple of monkey wrenches get thrown into his life in the form of a young protégé with grand ideas to reduce his travel, and a fellow road warrior just like him, except with a vagina (her description of herself). Both of these threaten to disrupt his neat easy life, and in fact, they do, to an extent. In the end, he maintains his life, but realizes that some attachments might make it a little better. You are left with the feeling that he's going to be on the look out for a chance to make a few more attachments, but still have his road freedom.

The Men Who Stare At Goats

The movie starts with a disclaimer that says, "You would not believe how much of this movie is true." Well, I think that plenty of it was true. I know the military explored various psychic powers to see if they could be useful during the cold war. And this movie is an extrapolation of those stories (with tongue firmly in cheek). The cast is fabulous with George Clooney, Kevin Spacey, Jeff Bridges, and Ewan McGregor. There are a few laughs here, but the not enough to really call this a comedy. It's a screwy movie, worth seeing on DVD if you like the cast.

Armored

A group of armored car drivers decide to steal the money they are transporting in a manner where no one gets hurt. Well, naturally, someone gets hurt and the whole scheme falls apart. How one guy, who only reluctantly went along with the plan, manages, in the end to foil the whole plot, is the subject of the movie. Plenty of action (physical and psychological) to satisfy guy viewers, but not much else. I give this one a ho-hum rating.

FANTASTIC !!! This movie is a great story. It's great to look at. It's up-lifting even though it takes place in some of the worst slums on the planet. And it even has a Great Bollywood dance number at the end !!! Everything you could want in a movie.

If this doesn't get a few Oscars, then American's are simply too stupid to know a good movie when they see it.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

An interesting concept. A movie too long. Kind of boring. Might be worth a watch if you like Brad Pitt.

Milk

Excellent. Sean Penn is fantastic in this movie... and it's close to home for him since he lives just down the street from SF (and me). Good story telling !!!

The Reader

A great movie that will keep you talking after you leave the theatre. What was going through her mind? Why didn't he speak up? Did she learn anything? He apparently did. How much should we respect another person's secret? What if we could help them immensly by simply revealing that which they would give up their life not to have revealed.

I can totally see why this one was nominated for an Oscar.

I LIKED it. A little hard to follow, but a fantastic cast playing in a great story about a lawyer who gets in too deep - and how he redeems himself.

Ugh... Well.. the action was okay. But that is really all you can say about it.

What appears to be a really stupid movie (don't get me wrong.. I like stupid movies sometimes) turns into a cute little romance - and maintains it's stupidity! COOL.

The plots a little convoluted, but this is kind of fun - one of the few movies with Jason Staytham that is any good at all.

Nice to see how they work all this out in the end.. and supposedly based on a true story. Hum.. have to check that.

OH LORD... Please!!! I hope no kids who see this think it has ANYTHING to do with history. What a waste of time.

Not Funny.

Jacky Chan (who I love) and Jet Li in the same movie !! This SHOULD have been fantastic. It fell short... sigh. Jacky is still is regular self, and Jet Li is still good - but nothing can make up for the muddy plot and poor direction. This could have been so much better.. Darn. I hope they try again.

EXCELLENT - This is a sleeper movie. It will never be a hit, but it's heartwarming and really really enjoyable (one of those that you don't really enjoy while watching, but by the time you follow the whole thing you realize that it was a really nice story about really nice people dealing with... well.. real people problems).

Cute, but not worth the time. Saw it on a plane so didn't waste any money on it.. Thank goodness.

I have to agree with the kids from South Park on this one... Speilberg RAPED Indiana Jones...Raped him and left him for dead. What a waste of a great franchise.

Yeah.. right. A farce but not funny enough to really be one. Don't bother.

I want to puke after watching this pointless hunk of junk. Why did they bother.

Dark comedy doesn't get much darker than this. If that sort of thing is up your alley... then this farce is nice to see - if just for the great cast!!

What a pain to watch. An action movie with crummy action and no plot. BARF

I love BOND. And Daniel Craig is a GREAT BOND. No more of that funny/stupid stuff... just good solid action and actual spy/detective work.

The plot is a little hard to follow, but well worth the ride.

This movie was Fantastic. It was funny. It was touching. It was perfect for all ages.

This is a must see movie.

Predictable. Heart String Tugging. Moral lesson teaching. Tragic. All that... this is old ground.

Valkyrie -

The true story of the last conspiracy to kill Adolf Hitler. I saw this with my mother, who, wanted to see the movie to find out how accurate it would be. She lived during that period in Germany, and saw the conspirators hanged and shot. She says the movie is very accurate.

Well acted. Well shot. Accurate. And thrilling even if you know the outcome ahead of time.

Gran Torino

Clint Eastwood is finally playing an age appropriate part - and doing it well. His "final solution" to the gang problem in his neighborhood is perfect.

Australia

I like both Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman, and I knew this film would have great panaramic views of Australia .. well, I had to go. At the start the characters are caricatures, but they grow on you. I liked the movie - though it is quite long - and really enjoyed the performance of the abo-boy, (Brandon Walters).

No Country For Old Men

Freedom Writers

Good. Based on a true story of a teacher (Hillary Swank) who starts off completely clueless, but gets clued in by having her students write about their lives - and hard stories they are!!

The Departed

This movie will have you jumping out of your seat in shock at times (I mean it). Jack Nicholson it amazing and entirely evil. At one point he is talking about the rats in his organization.. those stinking rats.. and if you watch his face... he turns into a rat. Damn he was good.

Babel

Little Miss Sunshine

The Queen

Alpha Dog

Good Movie. Based on a true and tragic story where a boy is kidnapped. Goes along with his kidnappers thinking the whole thing is a lark. He goes to parties with them, and has many oppurtunities to leave. But when the kidnapper/drug dealers realize they will do serious time if they get convicted of kidnapping they turn to the alternative... murder.

Well worth a look see.

Children of Men

What happens to the planet if people can't have children anymore.

Babl

Crash

It was obvious from the first ray of light that hit the screen that this was going to be Oscar material. You will be so caught up in the lives of the people here (regardless of what "walk" of life they come from) that you will not even bother with your popcorn. When you leave the theatre you will know you've been on a ride.

Brokeback Mountain

Why did Heath Ledger have to leave us so soon. Both him and Jake Gyllenhaal are fantastic and believable in this movie about two men who discover something they didn't think they could explore until they got to Brokeback Mountain.

Capote

Munich

Million Dollar Baby

The Aviator

Sideways

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

Lost In Translation

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

Mystic River

Seabiscuit

Chicago

Gangs of New York

The Hours

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

A Beautiful Mind

Gosford Park

In the Bedroom

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Gladiator

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Erin Brockovich

Traffic

Chocolat

American Beauty

The Cider House Rules

The Green Mile

The Sixth Sense

The Insider

Shakespeare in Love

Elizabeth

Life is Beautiful

Saving Private Ryan

The Thin Red Line

Titanic

As Good As It Gets

The Full Monty

Good Will Hunting

L.A. Confidential

The English Patient

Fargo

Jerry McGuire

Shine

Secrets and Lies

Braveheart

Apollo 13

Babe

Sense and Sensibility

Forrest Gump

Pulp Fiction

The Shawshank Redemption

Schindler's List

The Fugative

Unforgiven

A Few Good Men

Scent of a Woman

The Silence of the Lambs

Bugsy

Dances with Wolves

Ghost

Goodfellas

The Godfather Part III

Driving Miss Daisy

Dead Poets Society

Field of Dreams

Rain Man

Dangerous Liasons

Mississippi Burning

Working Girl

The Last Emperor

Broadcast News

Hope and Glory

Moonstruck

Platoon

Prizzie's Honor

Witness

Amadeus

Terms of Endearment

The Big Chill

The Right Stuff

Ghandi

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

Tootsie

The Verdict

Chariots of Fire

Raiders of the Lost Ark

What can I say. This was the quintessential hero movie of my generation. The school professor/archeologist/action hero by Harrison Ford is a character who deserves to be up there will all the action heros of the past! This is a movie that will stand the test of time and be just as enjoyable 40 years from now as it is today.

All That Jazz

Roy Scheider was amazing in this biography flick based on the life of Bob Fosse - Broadway choreographer.

Now you might think this might not be much of a film, but it's basically about his death - how he drove himself to it, and the actual process of his dying (the 7 stages of death). And, if you have a weak stomach, you might want to turn away when he goes through open heart surgery - as this is no fake surgery.. but the real thing, filmed for the movie.

Made me understand what a chest spreader was, and I have never forgotten it.

Norma Rae

Heaven Can Wait

Annie Hall

The Goodbye Girl

Star Wars

Rocky

All the Presidents Men

One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest

Dog Day Afternoon

Jaws

The Godfather Part II

Chinatown

The Towering Inferno

The Sting

The Exorcist

The Godfather

Cabaret

Deliverance

The French Connection

A Clockwork Orange

Fiddler on the Roof

Patton

Airport

Love Story

M.A.S.H

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

Hello, Dolly!

Oliver

Funny Girl

In the Heat of the Night

Bonnie and Clyde

The Graduate

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

Alfie

The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming

The Sound of Music

Doctor Zhivago

My Fair Lady

Dr. Strangelove or; How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

Mary Poppins

Zorba the Greek

Robinson Crusoe on Mars

Even as an adult I enjoy this movie. Saw it when I was a kid and loved it the first time. About a guy who gets stranded on Mars with only a monkey for companionship. He had a crewmate, but he (Adam West pre-Batman) gets killed. And like Robinson Crusoe he picks up a pal Friday (and Mona the Monkey too).

Not to be missed, this was a great little bit of movie making before we new much at all about what Mars was really like.

Cleopatra

How the West Was Won

Lilies of the Field

The Longest Day

The Music Man

To Kill a Mockingbird

West Side Story

The Guns of Navarone

The Apartment

Ben Hur

Anatomy of a Murder

Gigi

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

The Bridge on the River Kwai

Around the World in 80 Days

The King and I

The Ten Commandments

Mister Roberts

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

The Robe

The Greatest Show on Earth

High Noon

An American in Paris

Sunset Boulevard

Twelve O'Clock High

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

Miracle on 34th Street

This is another classic movie that will always be good. I have always loved this movie and always will. And it marks one of Natalie Wood's first movie appearences as a little girl. What a shame we didn't get to enjoy her entire career.

It's a Wonderful Life

A classic Christmas movie that is starting to show it's age (though it pretty much defines the mortgage crisis of 2009 right there in the movie). James Stewart (who I have always loved) is great in this one as a banker - down on his luck with too many kids - who gets to see what life would be like if he had never been around. He realizes that it would be pretty awful, and decides that it's really a wonderful life after all - even with all it's cares and problems. (Though on a recent NPR show someone did point out that the town without George around looked alot like Las Vegas and would probably be a pretty fun place to visit!!!! Go Figure.)

The Bell's of St. Mary's

Casablanca

This is one of those MUST SEE movies that will always be a classic. Regardless of the time period the feelings (and even the humor) still resonate today. So many classic lines come from this film that people seeing it for the first time are hard pressed to believe how many started here.

"Major Strasser has been shot. Round up the usual suspects." - Which actually became the title of a good movie years later.

"Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine." - a line which was echoed in Ocean's Eleven and The Sopranos.

"Here's looking at you, kid."

"We'll always have Paris."

"Play it again, Sam." - This is the line everyone remembers - but it's a misquote from the movie. The actual lines are as follows: When Ilsa first enters the Café Americain, she spots Sam and asks him to "Play it once, Sam, for old times' sake." When he feigns ignorance, she responds, "Play it, Sam. Play 'As Time Goes By.'" Later that night, alone with Sam, Rick says, "You played it for her and you can play it for me." and "If she can stand it, I can! Play it!"

The movie is funny and touching - and if you don't laugh at the last line ("Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.") then there is something seriously wrong with you.

Yankee Doodle Dancy

The Philadelphia Story

Gone With The Wind

A must see classic. Vivien Leigh and Clarke Gable are fantastic. And the burning of Atlanta is a scene not to be forgotten - considering back then.. when they wanted to film a scene like that.. they actually had to burn something.

AND... perhaps most important... Hattie McDaniel won an Oscar for her work in this film. The first black woman ever to win one. Wouldn't happen again for 51 years (that would be Whoppi Goldberg - in Ghost)!!!!

The Wizard of Oz