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The Manzoni family, a notorious mafia clan, is relocated to Normandy, France under the witness protection program, where fitting in soon becomes challenging as their old habits die hard.A mafia boss and his family are relocated to a sleepy town in France under the witness protection program after snitching on the mob. Despite the best efforts of CIA Agent Stansfield (Tommy Lee Jones) to keep them in line, Fred Manzoni (Robert De Niro), his wife Maggie (Michelle Pfeiffer) and their children Belle (Dianna Agron) and Warren (John D'Leo) can't help but revert to old habits and blow their cover by handling their problems the "family" way, enabling their former mafia cronies to track them down. Chaos ensues as old scores are settled in the unlikeliest of settings in this darkly funny film by Luc Besson (Taken, Transporter).

Review:

"Like Al Capone said, asking polite with a gun in your hand is better than asking polite with nothing." Giovanni Family values in The Family are not your father's values unless, like me, your grandfather ran a numbers business in the basement of his barbershop. All of Kodak Park enjoyed that true color. The Giovanni Manzoni/Fred Blake (Robert De Niro) family has a paterfamilias who is a notorious Mafia don in the FBI witness protection plan. (De Niro as a mobster is the fall's most unimaginative casting but he's funny.) His values are ratting on his fellow Mafiosi to save his legal hide, forcing him to hide with a $20 million reward dogging him. The family's love for each other is unconditional and treats challenges with a baseball bat rather than diplomacy. If a Frenchman disrespects Americans, he might find his supermarket in flames. If this sounds like a story to turn the nuns' heads completely around, don't worry; it's ultra "black comedy," equal parts Italian-American gangster satire and laughable domestic shenanigans. That midway in the film Fred gets to speak on the merits of GoodFellas before a French crowd in Normandy is one of the nice meta-critical-comedic turns followed by carnage we've come to expect from Mob films. It's pretty much territory owned by Scorsese and De Niro. Additionally, the use of the "f" word has never been so deftly played in a comedy. Besides the joy of seeing De Niro have a good time with the many tough characters he has played in his career, you get to see Tommy Lee Jones play a gruff FBI agent, Robert Stansfield, who can trade barbs with his charge, Fred, who has such a propensity for violence (he beats up the only plumber within 20 miles of town) that Fred is a full time job for Robert. If Jones's face can't scare Fred into being a good boy, then the threat of losing witness protection does the trick. Directed with wicked tongue in cheek by La Femme Nikita's stylish Luc Besson, The Family sports an accomplished supporting cast: Michelle Pfeiffer as mom Maggie is gritty Brooklyn with her famous beauty well preserved. The two kids played by Diana Argon and John D'Leo are spot on sweetly dangerous as you might expect. It's all in GoodFellas fun, a mildly amusing and unusual story that beats many mainstream comedies this year.

Left for dead on a sun-scorched planet, Riddick finds himself up against an alien race of predators. Activating an emergency beacon alerts two ships: one carrying a new breed of mercenary, the other captained by a man from Riddick's past. Betrayed by his own kind and left for dead on a desolate planet, Riddick fights for survival against alien predators and becomes more powerful and dangerous than ever before. Soon bounty hunters from throughout the galaxy descend on Riddick only to find themselves pawns in his greater scheme for revenge. With his enemies right where he wants them, Riddick unleashes a vicious attack of vengeance before returning to his home planet of Furya to save it from destruction. Written by Shock Till You Drop The infamous Riddick has been left for dead on a sun-scorched planet that appears to be lifeless. Soon, however, he finds himself fighting for survival against alien predators more lethal than any human he's encountered. The only way off is for Riddick to activate an emergency beacon and alert mercenaries who rapidly descend to the planet in search of their bounty. The first ship to arrive carries a new breed of merc, more lethal and violent, while the second is captained by a man whose pursuit of Riddick is more personal. With time running out and a storm on the horizon that no one could survive, his hunters won't leave the planet without Riddick's head as their trophy. Written by Universal Pictures Betrayed by the Necromongers and left for dead on a remote planet, Riddick learns to adapt to the harsh environment and rediscover his predatory instincts. When a more deadly threat appears on the horizon, he is forced to activate an emergency beacon attracting two ships: one filled with mercenaries, and another captained by a man with a personal vendetta against Riddick.

Review:

This is a genuinely good movie, it follows on from the previous Riddick movies and doesn't leave anything to be desired. Richard B Riddick is up to his old tricks again, and if you're a fan, you won't be disappointed, definitely a must see. Vin Diesel is great as always, playing a character that never ceases to enthral me, and the rest of the cast is great too. You know a movie is good when it makes you watch the previous movies when you get home from seeing it. The music is also exceptional I found too, fitting in very well with the action scenes. I've always found Riddick to be a movie that is very rich in its universe, it pulls you in without really telling you much, and this movie does exactly the same, worth a watch even if you're not a fan.

As Cecil Gaines serves eight presidents during his tenure as a butler at the White House, the civil rights movement, Vietnam, and other major events affect this man's life, family, and American society.Cecil Gaines was a sharecropper's son who grew up in the 1920s as a domestic servant for the white family who casually destroyed his. Eventually striking out on his own, Cecil becomes a valet of such efficiency and discreteness in the 1950s that he becomes a butler in the White House itself. There, Cecil would serve numerous US Presidents over the decades as a passive witness of history with the American Civil Movement gaining momentum even as his family has troubles of its own. As his wife, Gloria, struggles with her addictions and his defiant eldest son, Louis, strives for a just world, Cecil must decide whether he should take action in his own way.

Review:

The Butler starts off as an intriguing personal biopic about a man many people have never heard of, but it soon finds itself lost among a steadily growing political agenda with nothing interesting going on as far as story is concerned. It plays out like a lame TV movie, and probably would have been a lot more interesting as a miniseries. Cecil Gaines (Forest Whitaker) was a butler in the White House who served under eight Presidents of the United States. The film sheds light on his story, his family issues and his involvement in the Civil Rights Act. The most important flaw of this film is that its main character is really not all that interesting. It's cool that he worked for so many presidents, in such an important time in our country's history, but there's really not a lot to him other than that. His family members are far more interesting, with his wife Gloria (Oprah Winfrey) being a lazy alcoholic who turned her life around as she grew older, and his son Louis (David Oyelowo) who helped fight in the Civil Rights Movement. They make a point early on that Cecil is not a political person, and tried to distance himself as much as he could so as not to cause any problems. This means that he spends pretty much the entire film just watching other people argue politics. What worried me the most about this film before seeing it ended up being everything I enjoyed the most about it. Oprah Winfrey's performance, I hate to admit, is really great. People have been talking Oscar nomination and she honestly deserves it. I was also surprised at how well each of the presidents were played, despite some of the most bizarre miscasting I've ever seen. Robin Williams as Eisenhower? Alan freaking Rickman as Ronald freaking Reagan? Why would you EVER think that's a good idea? Well, it worked. They each did a very decent job with what they were needed to do. The problem with this, and the reason they each might have been deceptively competent, is that none of them get more than five minutes of screen time each in the film's run. I also should point out that, while John Cusack did a really good job playing Richard Nixon, every single time he was on screen the audience busted out laughing. It was a testament to how poorly miscast everyone was, because we all know John Cusack and he just isn't right for Nixon. The only president that was anything close to well-cast was James Marsden as Kennedy, who also happened to be one of the major highlights of the film. But then you have to look at the politics of the film, which are blatant, unnecessary and frankly inaccurate. Every Democratic president is portrayed as a god among men, whose heart is bigger than the average racist white man, which is every non-black extra in the film. Lyndon Johnson (Liev Schreiber) is shown as a flawed but empathetic man who really cared about the Civil Rights Movement, despite being one of the biggest racists ever to sit in the Oval Office; a man who allegedly but infamously stated on signing the Civil Rights Act that, "I'll have these n****rs voting Democrat for the next two-hundred years." Yep, let's promote him as deeply caring about the movement. Meanwhile, the Republicans are each shown as stupid, angry white people who only care about the political ramifications of the movement. The only real scene Ronald Reagan is given is him telling Cecil that he thinks he's on the wrong side of Civil Rights because he cut off sanctions to Africa. I won't even get into why that's misleading and deceptive because what matters is the politics of the situation. The end of the film shows Cecil in 2008, promoting Barack Obama for president. The whole last five minutes or so are devoted to how great it was that Barack Obama was going to be president. Not just that it was a black man, but that it was Barack Obama specifically. The very last thing you hear in the film is Obama's 2008 campaign slogan, "Yes We Can," completely out of context. I get it, okay? I understand exactly how incredible and important it was that a black man became president. But that's not what's going on in this movie and that's my biggest point about the whole film. If you want to tell this story, it needs to be from the human rights perspective, not a bias, liberal agenda, Progressive political perspective. And I'd say that doing it this way takes away from the interesting story at hand, but there wasn't really that interesting of a story in the first place. What you end up with is a simple, shallow, hollow film with nothing to actually say other than, "How great is it that we've come from segregation to putting Barack Obama (not just any black man, but THAT one) in the White House?" EDIT: I've been reading a lot of interesting fact about the real "Cecil Gaines," whose real name was Eugene Allen. The more and more I read, the more infuriated I am about this film. In short, the movie intentionally fabricates facts to make white people seem more racist than they actually were, and to make Eugene Allen's life very different. It's offensive to Allen's family. It's offensive to the White House. But most importantly, it's offensive to the Civil Rights Movement itself. You can read more about the facts here: http://www.historyvshollywood.com/reelfaces/the-butler.php I have also changed my rating to reflect my new feelings on the film. Ever since I wrote this review I've been feeling as if I wasn't hard enough on the film, so this isn't a new decision.

An uptight FBI Special Agent is paired with a foul-mouthed Boston cop to take down a ruthless drug lord. Sarah Ashburn, an FBI agent, is extremely ambitious and has her eye on a promotion, but she doesn't get along with her co-workers. She is sent to Boston to uncover the identity of an elusive drug lord, Mr. Larkin, by tracking down his proxy, Rojas, and is told that she'll have a good shot at the promotion if she finds Larkin. When she arrives in Boston, she learns that Larkin has been eliminating his competition and taking over their operations. She learns that Rojas is in Boston PD custody and goes to see him to ask him what he knows about Larkin, but is warned that the cop who arrested Rojas, Shannon Mullins, is very territorial, and she is not exactly sociable. When the two meet they don't get along. When Mullins learns why Ashburn is in Boston, she decides to find Larkin herself. Ashburn is told by her boss to work with Mullins, but it won't be easy because Ashburn does things by the book while Mullins does things her way.

Review:

Female Special Agent with the FBI is relocated from New York City to Boston to ferret out an international drug lord, but runs afoul of a local detective who considers Boston her turf; they begrudgingly work together to crack the case. Although the buddy-cop movie has been around for decades, the one film "The Heat" resembles is "Outrageous Fortune" from 1987, a similar distaff-odd couple pairing with mercenaries, explosions and a winking/naughty dirty mouth. But, whereas "Outrageous Fortune" had Bette Midler as the resident hellion and Shelley Long as the uptight prig, "The Heat" bottoms out with an unfunny Sandra Bullock as the fed (not so much miscast as she is misused) and bulldozing comedienne Melissa McCarthy as slovenly-living Detective Mullins. An early scene, with McCarthy parked too-snugly between two other cars and having to crawl through the open windows, is an embarrassing example of how using an actress's weight for easy laughs can quickly turn into exploitation of the ugliest kind (Mullins is so pig-headed, she won't park in another space, while it isn't made clear why her usual parking slot is so small or if this predicament has happened before). You don't look for logic in a trendy, amped-up star-vehicle like this one--you go to see the ladies having fun--but there is embarrassment and dissatisfaction at the core of the movie that is a real turn-off, exemplified by the grueling 'comic' sequence wherein Bullock attempts a tracheotomy on a choking man in a restaurant. We're supposed to see Sandra's no-nonsense/all-nonsense character learning a lesson about being a supposed know-it-all, but, with blood spurting and diners immobile (like wax figures), "The Heat" suddenly cools, becoming an ice-cold travesty.

The costumed high-school hero Kick-Ass joins with a group of normal citizens who have been inspired to fight crime in costume. Meanwhile, the Red Mist plots an act of revenge that will affect everyone Kick-Ass knows.After Kick-Ass' insane bravery inspires a new wave of self-made masked crusaders, led by the badass Colonel Stars and Stripes, our hero joins them on patrol. When these amateur superheroes are hunted down by Red Mist -- reborn as The Mother F%&*^r -- only the blade-wielding Hit Girl can prevent their annihilation. When we last saw junior assassin Hit Girl and young vigilante Kick-Ass, they were trying to live as normal teenagers Mindy and Dave. With graduation looming and uncertain what to do, Dave decides to start the world's first superhero team with Mindy. Unfortunately, when Mindy is busted for sneaking out as Hit Girl, she's forced to retire-leaving her to navigate the terrifying world of high-school mean girls on her own. With no one left to turn to, Dave joins forces with Justice Forever, run by a born-again ex-mobster named Colonel Stars and Stripes. Just as they start to make a real difference on the streets, the world's first super villain, The Mother F%&*^r, assembles his own evil league and puts a plan in motion to make Kick-Ass and Hit Girl pay for what they did to his dad. But there's only one problem with his scheme: If you mess with one member of Justice Forever, you mess with them all.

Review:

I'm a huge fan of the first Kick Ass film and the comics, so I'm a tough fan to please but this film exceeded my expectations! In a year full of over-hyped superhero films Kick Ass 2 came along with a low budget, no contracted actors roped in and R rating and gave me the most entertaining hour and 40 minutes I've paid for all year! Excellent acting all round especially from Jim Carrey and Chloe Moretz, this film doesn't copy and paste the first but stays close enough to it cinematically that the new director takeover isn't largely noticeable. I don't understand why the film hasn't been rated better, 10 out of 10 from me. Super on all levels!

The story of martial-arts master Ip Man, the man who trained Bruce Lee. Ip Man's peaceful life in Foshan changes after Gong Yutian seeks an heir for his family in Southern China. Ip Man then meets Gong Er who challenges him for the sake of regaining her family's honor. After the Second Sino-Japanese War, Ip Man moves to Hong Kong and struggles to provide for his family. In the mean time, Gong Er chooses the path of vengeance after her father was killed by Ma San.

Review:

Set in 1940s Fushan, Canton province, the martial arts community, lead by Gong Yutian from the north, is retiring and holds a challenge to select an heir to bring southern martial arts to the north. The southern community elects Ip Man, the shining newcomer, up for the challenge. Ip Man develops a friendship with Gong's daughter, Gong Er. The story crosses two decades as Ip Man and Gong Er stand the tests of life. The Japanese Army invasion of Fushan forces Ip Man into poverty and he resettles in Hong Kong. A mutiny within the Gong family sets Gong Er on a quest for revenge. In a time where age-old tradition is being replaced with modernity, how much can one uphold their principles? Who will pass on their lineage? Who takes 14 years to make a movie? Wong Kar Wai is truly one-of-a-kind. He's the only filmmaker who can take unlimited time with financial support (the backers who most likely will lose their investment) and a team that is willing to plunge to the depths with him. It shows in his work. Tony Leung's Ip Man is portrayed akin to a normal gentleman. I'm the biggest Donnie Yen fan in the world and as good as he was playing a dramatized version of Ip Man, Tony Leung's scholar-like image is closer to who Ip Man is in real life. On the kung fu side, Leung is not Donnie Yen but achieves the necessary physicality and fights more convincingly than the quick editing suggests. It makes me rethink how the actual Ip Man may have physically expressed himself, and I doubt he would have fought as aggressively as displayed in Donnie Yen's version. This may be the best Zhang Ziyi role yet. She's never been more likable in any other role I have ever seen her in than here. Gong Er is the film's most relatable character, carries the most pathos and energizes the film by providing the audience someone to root for. When she fights, the stakes are high. There is a somewhat of a battle between fact and fiction within the film's construct. It's almost as if Gong Er, a fictitious character representing tradition, brings the traditional tropes of what one may expect from a martial arts film. While Ip Man, on the other hand, is married to historical fact and delivering the film's message. The fights are filmed tightly, but for a reason. Wong Kar Wai is interested in the details of the movements: the little twists, nudges and arcs where one gathers power that are all specific to each style of Chinese martial arts. For people who are familiar with the basic concepts of Wing Chun, Baqua, Xingyi and Baijquan, it's quite the rare visual treat as bigger movements usually bold better for on screen fight choreography. For those who are not familiar, fear not! There is a sequence where the film presents these different styles. The over-saturation of Ip Man films really has limited the creativity to presenting Wing Chun as a martial art. It's safe to say most audiences know what Wing Chun looks like now. It sounds as though there are a lot of qualifiers for one to understand the film. The world of the film exists within the martial arts community of an older time, where people lived with their own set of rules and traditions. Wong Kar Wai is very interested in presenting these traditions, and similar to how he's filming the action, it's like he's trying to keep a record of it. Characters speak in idioms with multiple subtext underneath (as martial artists do). That's a noble effort, but it may prove difficult for English speaking audiences. A detail I noticed between the early promotional posters to the actual movie poster was that the early ones listed the film's title as The Grandmasters and the actual movie poster's title is named The Grandmaster. It makes me speculate that there probably was a story decision amongst the creative team whether the story should be solely focus on Ip Man or whether it should be about all three of the masters together. That was precisely what the narrative needed to decide on. Whether if I'm right or not, this is a case of a film that clearly has shot too much footage and was forced to be cut down upon its due date. The first cut was reportedly 4 hours and this really came apparent to me upon reflecting about the film. There seems to be a lot lost on the editing floor and unwillingly creates gaps in the narrative. There is much to love about The Grandmaster. It is not a martial arts movie in the traditional sense in where its conflicts are solved by fighting. No, this is a story about legacy. It's about the deeply embedded Chinese Confucian value of improving the quality of life for future generations by passing on our culture and heritage responsibly. Every character in the film is driven by this single motivation and each take it to different places. To quote a line from the film, (I'm paraphrasing) "A martial artist's biggest enemy is life itself." Ip Man is a grandmaster not because of his physical prowess, but because he stood up to life (which was quite tragic) and kept to his grand vision of spreading Wing Chun. I really love the fact that someone made a film about this. That's what ultimately won me over about The Grandmaster. It had a lot of heart, in how the film was made, it's microscopic attention to detail and in it's message. It maybe esoteric, and even downright alienating to some viewers, but the rewards are worth the effort!

When Wolverine is summoned to Japan by an old acquaintance, he is embroiled in a conflict that forces him to confront his own demons. In modern day Japan, Wolverine is out of his depth in an unknown world as he faces his ultimate nemesis in a life-or-death battle that will leave him forever changed. Vulnerable for the first time and pushed to his physical and emotional limits, he confronts not only lethal samurai steel but also his inner struggle against his own immortality, emerging more powerful than we have ever seen him before. Written by Twentieth Century Fox Logan has been living a desolate life following the death of Jean Grey at his hands. A Japanese girl goes to see him and tells him that a man he knew in World War 2 and saved his life is now dying and wants to see him. When he sees him, the man offers to make Logan mortal but Logan refuses. Later the man dies. At his funeral, some men try to grab the man's grand daughter. Logan saves her but when they shoot him Logan doesn't heal. They continue to go to a place where the girl feels safe. But men keep on finding them and the doctor who was treating the man, asks a Samurai who pledged to protect the girl, to bring her Logan. Logan still continues to deal with what happened to Jean.

Review:

The Wolverine is the SECOND solo installment for the character and the SIXTH X-Men installment from Fox. The story itself is definitely an improvement to it's predecessors (Except First Class) and teases a larger universe Fox is preparing in order to compete with Marvel Studios. From a filmmaker's perspective, the movie's cinematography was okay. The funeral scene could have been much better in terms of directing and blocking. The acting was impressive but felt a little cheesy in some parts. Hugh Jackman rocks this role and I have to give Rila Fukushima props considering this is her performance in a feature film. Bravo. The twist was predictable towards the beginning but James Magnold has done a great job distracting the audience from it....only for a while. The movie is filled with beautiful Japanese culture and scenery. The production design was remarkable and it surely gave the movie a sense of beautiful imagery. The movie kept me entertained and was better than I expected. I recommend watching it as soon as possible. Also, make sure to stay after the credits....you won't regret it.

United Nations employee Gerry Lane traverses the world in a race against time to stop the Zombie pandemic that is toppling armies and governments, and threatening to destroy humanity itself. Life for former United Nations investigator Gerry Lane and his family seems content. Suddenly, the world is plagued by a mysterious infection turning whole human populations into rampaging mindless zombies. After barely escaping the chaos, Lane is persuaded to go on a mission to investigate this disease. What follows is a perilous trek around the world where Lane must brave horrific dangers and long odds to find answers before human civilization falls.In Philadelphia, the former UN Investigator Gerry Lane, his wife Karin and their two daughters, Rachel and Constance, are trapped in the traffic jam. Out of the blue, they witness several car crashes caused by the attack of hordes of zombies. Gerry runs with his family and he steals and drives a RV, heading to Newark, New Jersey. Gerry calls his old friend, UN Secretary General Thierry Umutoni, who promises to send a helicopter on the next morning to rescue Gerry and his family. Gerry stops at a supermarket to get supplies and medicine for his asthmatic daughter and the RV is stolen. They flee to an apartment building and a Latin family helps them, lodging the family in their apartment. On the next morning, Gerry invites the family to go with them to the roof, but they prefer to stay in their apartment. However they are attacked by zombies and the boy Tommy joins Gerry and his family in their runaway. The helicopter brings them to an aircraft carrier anchored offshore New York City and Gerry is assigned to travel to South Korea with the virologist Dr. Andrew Fassbach to seek out the patient zero to develop a vaccine. When the team arrives at the base, they are attacked by zombies and Fassbach panics and has a fatal accident. Gerry has a conversation with an insane ex-CIA agent that is imprisoned and he goes to Jerusalem to talk to the Director of Mossad Jurgen Warmbrunn to learn why he built a wall and transformed the city in a safe zone. When Jerusalem is attacked by a horde of zombies, Gerry observes that the zombies do not attack terminally ill persons. Now he travels with his escort Segen to a research facility in Wales to disclose his findings to the scientists.

Review:

The story of how World War Z was made is a lot more harrowing and suspenseful than the film itself. After going way over-budget and enduing a complete revision and reshoot of the final act, WWZ wasn't exactly set up for success. Ultimately the movie is completely forgettable and uneven, but not offensively bad or objectively terrible in any sense. What struck me about it was how much of a wasted opportunity it was, given how interesting and entertaining the source material is. Having read the book World War Z, I could tell from the trailers for this movie that it wouldn't exactly be a faithful adaptation. I thought that the most interesting aspects of the book were its exploration of how the Zombie plague affected social and political structures across the world. Anything like that is completely ignored in the film, but I can at least understand how the filmmakers thought that those aspects wouldn't work in a single feature length movie. What I can't understand is how the filmmakers seemingly ignored the book's most obviously cinematic content. The book features a lot of setpiece action scenes, and to be fair, many of these involve world cities falling to zombie infestation and the movie does do enough to cover this. However, the book's immense battle scenes - the meat of the titular Zombie War, such as the Battle of Yonkers, nuclear war between Pakistan and Iran, Chinese civil war and massive formation combat against zombies - are completely absent. I was very surprised that they did not cover these, especially the Yonkers scene, because they would obviously fit so well into a film and the script, even as it is now, could easily be tweaked to include or at least mention them. The action that did make it into this film is very unsatisfying and obscure thanks to the restrictions of the PG-13 rating, and the narrative around is not engaging enough to really get me invested in it. I was also surprised at how cheap this movie looked. This film cost hundreds of millions of dollars to make, but it's hard to see where it all went on the screen. Swarms of zombies look very fake and nonthreatening, and in some cases individual zombies are computer animated, which gave me bad flashbacks to I Am Legend's awful CGI overload. Aside from the opening scenes in Philadelphia and the middle act in Jerusalem, there are no big outdoor sets. A South Korean airbase is portrayed as a series of dark rooms; too much of the movie takes place in an airline seat; there is a lot of sitting around inside of the aircraft carrier, etc. The sense of scale is very inconsistent, and this is accentuated in the bizarre final act, which was obviously the focus of the infamous reshoots as it feels like a completely separate movie. I consider myself a patient viewer, but this very long and dull scene started to bring me down after a while, and my less patient viewing audience eventually fell completely out of sync with the film and began to make fun of it at every opportunity - not really a fair criticism of the film, but it's a real issue when it can't hold an audience's attention. The final act does actually have an interesting idea at its heart, albeit one that completely doesn't connect with anything in the book, but I just didn't think it was a well executed concept. The very different style and tone of these scenes makes it feel like a completely different movie.

Former race-car driver Brent Magna is pitted against the clock when his wife is kidnapped by a mysterious villain. He commanders a young woman's car and takes her on on a high-speed race against time. Getaway is the gritty, exciting action thriller from Warner Brothers in which former race car driver Brent Magna is pitted against the clock as he commandeers a custom Shelby Super Snake Mustang, taking it and its unwitting owner on a high-speed adventure at the command of a mysterious villain on a race against time to save the life of his kidnapped wife.

Review:

I've walked out on two movies in the last dozen+ years and this was number 2 (pun intended). From story line to acting, this was all goofy and bad, to say the least. Worst of all and what always drives me nuts is the damage, oh wait, the non-damage to cars. Ya, great car. But cars, much less the tires, can not last constantly skid, breaking, hitting things and going down stairs. You don't miss every possible person. The car maybe amour plated but it's still dents when you slam it into another object. You can't scratch and dent the side of a car in one scene to then have it without scratches and dents in the next. You can't have bullet holes before guns are involved. The acting. Ethan, well your Ethan Hawk, you should have chosen a better roll. Selena, you poor thing. The way they try to make you hard made you look lame and quite pudgy. Is s**t the big bad word that you can use to give you some credit...I think not. Esp over used. That storyline, which is played out, was exhausted 5 minutes into the flick.

Set in the year 2154, where the very wealthy live on a man-made space station while the rest of the population resides on a ruined Earth, a man takes on a mission that could bring equality to the polarized worlds. In the year 2154 two classes of people exist: the very wealthy who live on a pristine man-made space station called Elysium, and the rest, who live on an overpopulated, ruined Earth. Secretary Rhodes, a government official, will stop at nothing to enforce anti-immigration laws and preserve the luxurious lifestyle of the citizens of Elysium. That doesn't stop the people of Earth from trying to get in, by any means they can. When unlucky Max is backed into a corner, he agrees to take on a daunting mission that if successful will not only save his life, but could bring equality to these polarized worlds. Written by Production In the future, Earth is over populated and decimated my pollution and disease that the wealthy build a colony in space called Elysium where only the wealthy can live and the poor have to make do with life on Earth. But there are those who try to go to Elysium because among the benefits they have is a machine that heal anyone. Max who grew up among the poor, who would become a thief to survive. But after being incarcerated and now on parole he works at Armadyne the company that built Elysium and so many of the things they use there. But when he is accidentally exposed to radiation, he is told he only has 5 days to live. So he decides to go to Elysium to use the machine but how does he go there. He turns to Spider, a friend who tries to get people to Elysium for a price. But Max can't pay him so Spider offers him a proposition; that he try to get information out of the mind of Armadyne's CEO, literally and put it in his and give it to Spider so he can use it. Max agrees so Spider has him surgically fitted with a computer and special exo skeleton. And they get set to go after the CEO. But what they don't know is that CEO made a deal with the Secretary Defense Delacourt. It seems Delacourt's strong arm tactics such as using rogue operatives on Earth like a man named Kruger to stop anyone on Earth from coming to Elysium, doesn't make the President happy. So the President warns Delacourt she better clean up her act or else. That's when Delacourt asks the CEO to make a program that can allow her to remove the President and replace him. He agrees and implanted in his head and was on his way to bring it to Delacourt when Max stops him. Delacourt sends Kruger to stop them but Max gets the info out of the CEO and the CEO is killed. So Delacourt tells Kruger to get Max alive so they can get it out of him. Max is injured and goes to an old friend, Fray for help. After helping him, Max goes to Spider to give him the info and when Spider sees what he got, he tells him that this could mean changing the system. But Max's first concern is getting to Elysium to help himself. Kruger learns that Max was at Fray's so he takes her and HEr daughter with them to find Max.

Review:

Matt Damon stars in the Sci-fi/political thriller Elysium, Neill Blomkamp's follow up to District 9, along with Jodie Foster as Elysium's Secretary Delacourt and Sharlto Copley as the main villain Kruger. Is Elysium on par with Oscar nominated District 9? Absolutely NOT! Not even close but it is still a solid sci/fi entertainment. It is a more conventional film than its predecessor, which I was not expecting from Blomkamp. The film starts of very cliché and gave me some eye roll moments but it quickly picks itself up from reaching into mediocrity. They way it does this is by evoking political messages through out the film in relevance with today's society. Questioning our handling with immigration, military power, our health care. Which I found to be important in this film. Obviously me and Blomkamp share each others political stance. For anyone else it might seem like its trying to oversell its message. I felt most of the cast were very under used. Jodie Foster's character really didn't have much to work with. She was just there to move the plot forward. Matt Damon served his purpose as the lead but by no means of the imagination is this one of his best performances. They were all over shadowed by Sharlto Copley. My God, is he great as Kruger! Right away we are introduced into this provocative-sociopath with no regard for human life. The story really needed this kind of menacing character. He is by far the film's best positive. Another negative aspect of this film would be its pacing. When we are given emotional scenes they don't stay long enough to settle and doesn't give that emotional impact you were hoping for. Like District 9 it delivers on the the beautiful imagery. Using the very best Weta Workshop has to offer. From its big guns to the human-like robots, to the space station of Elysium. The action set pieces were just as exciting as its predecessor. The film really manages to capture all its budget on screen. My biggest issue comes from the excessive use of shaky cam. It was used when the characters were simply walking to the action sequences. I felt ninety percent of this film was shaky cam. Which got me a little dizzy since I ,unfortunately, got to sit in the very front of the theater. That might have something to do with it as well. Neill Blomkamp has established once again that he can compete with the best Directors of the genre films. Elysium shows more flaws than his first film but they are overwhelmed by its positive aspects, to me at least. It was not a disappointment and it was a solid popcorn entertainment and a smarter than average sci/fi film.

A DEA agent and a naval intelligence officer find themselves on the run after a botched attempt to infiltrate a drug cartel. While fleeing, they learn the secret of their shaky alliance: Neither knew that the other was an undercover agent.Robert Trench, an undercover DEA agent, takes advantage of gunman Michael Stigman's idea to rob a bank to bust him and a mob boss. However, it proves too successful with much more money seized than anticipated with Trench's forces not stopping the getaway. Complicating things still more, Stigman turns out to be a Naval Intelligence agent who shoots Trench and takes the money. The interservice debacle suddenly finds Trench and Stigman in a bloody web of corrupt clandestine rivalries as they are hunted, blackmailed and isolated for the money on both sides of the law. Now, the fugitives must work together to find a way out of this situation with no one to turn to but themselves.

Review:

This is a pretty good movie and is definitely worth watching and probably gonna watch it again when it again when it is free. If you love action there is a very good amount in this movie. The movie also has comedy throughout which definitely makes you laugh. Has a very good plot especially compared to a lot of movies this generation. It also has a good conspiracy plot so if you like that then this is also good movie for you. The movie has two likable actors in Denzel and Mark Whalberg. For Mark Wahlberg this is a big improvement from Broken Ciy which I was not a fan of. Wahlberg is also very funny in the movie. Denzel was good too and he showed comedy. In the end if you like action or like comedy or Wahlberg and Denzel I think you will like this movie

When her mother disappears, Clary Fray learns that she descends from a line of warriors who protect our world from demons. She joins forces with others like her and heads into a dangerous alternate New York called Downworld. Set in contemporary New York City, a seemingly ordinary teenager, Clary Fray (Lily Collins), discovers she is the descendant of a line of Shadowhunters, a secret cadre of young half-angel warriors locked in an ancient battle to protect our world from demons. After the disappearance of her mother (Lena Headey), Clary must join forces with a group of Shadowhunters, who introduce her to a dangerous alternate New York called Downworld, filled with demons, warlocks, vampires, werewolves and other deadly creatures. Based on the worldwide best-selling book series.

Review:

Total movie: 90/100 Acting: 80/100 Effects: 80/100 Book Changes: 80/100 Awesome Level: 100/100 Not really any spoilers, just the mention of changes, and certain scenes. As a fan of the books, I came into this knowing they were going to change things, and being okay with it. I was very happy with the small changes, and rearrangements. I loved this movie. It has to be one of my favorite book to movies. It's different, but the changes all fit well with were the movie went, and flowed. Despite what critics have said, I think this is nothing at all like Twilight or Harry Potter. It's nothing we ever have seen before, being a fan of a lot of YA novels and movies, (and have repeatedly read and watched them) so I know whats what. This movie/book is not at all like Twilight, especially. For one the female lead can actually kick ass, and stand up for herself. The acting was much, much, better than I expected. Robert Sheehan was fantastic as Simon, Lilly Collins a great lead, truly pulling off Clary, and Jamie Campbell Bower was everything I ever imagined for Jace. Jonathan Rhys Meyers was absolutely creepy, as the villain, Valentine, Kevin Zegers played Alec perfect, and new comer Jemina West was the best Isabelle I could picture. WHO WILL LIKE THIS MOVIE: I was with my mom, who has not read the books at all, and she loved it. She's a fan of fantasy like I am, so she was able to keep up with everything, and understand. Unlike some critics who stated they couldn't keep up with all the new terms. So I recommend this movie to ANYONE who likes fantasy films, that have action, good acting, love, and a little bit of scary. Who SHOULDN'T watch this movie: People who expect this to be Twilight, and just another teen show. People who can't accept changes to the book at all. COMPLETELY WORTH SEEING IN THEATER! I plan on going again! Possibly even two more times to see it before the movie is out to DVD.

Five friends who reunite in an attempt to top their epic pub crawl from 20 years earlier unwittingly become humankind's only hope for survival. 20 years after attempting an epic pub crawl, five childhood friends reunite when one of them becomes hell bent on trying the drinking marathon again. They are convinced to stage an encore by mate Gary King, a 40-year old man trapped at the cigarette end of his teens, who drags his reluctant pals to their home town and once again attempts to reach the fabled pub, The World's End. As they attempt to reconcile the past and present, they realize the real struggle is for the future, not just theirs but humankind's. Reaching The World's End is the least of their worries. Written by Production Gary King is determined to reunite his friends from his youth in an attempt to recreate an epic pub crawl from 20 years ago. Their target: "The Golden Mile" in their town of Lechtworth, New Haven. Their plan: five friends, twelve pubs, twelve pints, a few random shots, maybe some action with the ladies. Their first attempt failed miserably as they failed to make it to The World's End with the entire crew intact. This time around, they're older, wiser, and ready to get drunk - that is except for Gary's friend Andrew, who has gone sober. Starting with the The First Post, they realize the town may have changed, and they as individuals have changed, but there's something fishy about the town - the main factor is that the residents don't seem to quite recall the events of that epic night. As they hit the next bars on their list - The Old Familiar, The Famous Cock, The Trusty Servant, The King's Head, and so on, they discover that there's something really unusual about the citizens that now inhabit the town, and as they hit each pub, another piece of the conspiracy unravels. However, Gary is determined to make it to the Worlds' End if it winds up killing his whole group, and most of humanity in the process. But does the fate of mankind rest in his hands?

Review:

Five pre-middle-aged male friends are drawn to Newton Haven, the site of their failed dozen-pub crawl as students in 1990. They're led by Gary King (Simon Pegg). He's the one who couldn't move on from that night; couldn't get a job like them, or get married like them. Reluctant revelry and bad-tempered banter ensues, before the gang discovers that the residents of the town have changed. That is, they have BEEN changed... The World's End is considerably better than the ostensibly similar This Is The End, a super-indulgent American comedy which mistook f-bombs for humour and name-dropping for satire. Edgar Wright's film is indulgent also, but at the service of audience enjoyment, as opposed to the enjoyment of the players. The script is surprisingly dense and intricate, many of its jokes arriving bittersweet. In an era when so many comedies are heavily (and lazily) improvised, it's refreshing to watch a tightly woven story unfold for once. The action scenes are given equal attention, lovingly choreographed like some kind of slapstick dance. Chief pugilist is Andrew, our sort-of-hero, played by Nick Frost with remarkable agility. This instalment is far less bloodthirsty than its predecessors - more Scott Pilgrim than Shaun. The rest of the group is made up of Paddy Considine, Eddie Marsan, and Martin Freeman. The performances are all top-drawer, although it takes time for their individual personalities to emerge. But then, the fact that they are now practically indistinguishable may be the point - for all their disapproval of Gary, they are the ones playing it safe. What's most impressive about The World's End is the fact that it's actually about something. Nostalgia is easy to indulge but difficult to deconstruct, but this film genuinely aspires to explore the idea of selective memory - as with a bad hangover, our memories tends to return in subjective spasms, and the truth is only accessible by gathering multiple witnesses. And the truth isn't always what it cracked up to be. The World's End is, for me, the best of the "Cornetto Trilogy". Highly recommended.

As a war between humankind and monstrous sea creatures wages on, a former pilot and a trainee are paired up to drive a seemingly obsolete special weapon in a desperate effort to save the world from the apocalypse. When legions of monstrous creatures, known as Kaiju, started rising from the sea, a war began that would take millions of lives and consume humanity's resources for years on end. To combat the giant Kaiju, a special type of weapon was devised: massive robots, called Jaegers, which are controlled simultaneously by two pilots whose minds are locked in a neural bridge. But even the Jaegers are proving nearly defenseless in the face of the relentless Kaiju. On the verge of defeat, the forces defending mankind have no choice but to turn to two unlikely heroes - a washed up former pilot (Charlie Hunnam) and an untested trainee (Rinko Kikuchi) - who are teamed to drive a legendary but seemingly obsolete Jaeger from the past. Together, they stand as mankind's last hope against the mounting apocalypse.For years, Earth is repeatedly attacked by giant monsters called Kaiju that emerge from a portal beneath the Pacific Ocean. The only effective defense is the Jaeger program, massive complex robots that require pairs of neural-linked pilots. However, as each Kaiju attack becomes more powerful and frequent, Humanity must change its tactics. To that end, former Jaeger pilot Raleigh Becket is reactivated as part of a desperate plan to destroy the portal. As Raleigh strives to heal his inner scars and help his new partner conquer hers, an intrepid scientist discovers a way to link to the Kaiju's mind to learn about them. Unfortunately, that proves a mixed blessing as vital information of both sides is inadvertently shared and the stakes rise for a final battle. When giant lizard like creatures come out of the ocean and attack every city killing millions. All the nations come together and build giant robots called Jaegers. They are piloted by two individuals who are linked up to them mentally. While they are able to defeat the creatures whom they call Kaijus, eventually they adapt and even the Jaegers can't stop them. So all the heads of the nations decide to stop the program and to try other tactics. But Pentecost the man in charge of the Jaeger program decide to continue the program. He recruits Raleigh Becket a former Jaeger pilot who left after his co-pilot who's also his brother died. He tries to find a compatible co-pilot and when he finds no one, he gives Pentecost's assistant, a girl named Mako a chance. And when she proves to be the best, he wants her but Pentecost doesn't think she's ready. And when they try to hook up with their Jaeger, he sees what she's been through, which is what Pentecost was worried about. In the meantime, one of the scientists working on how to defeat the Kaijus thinks he found a way but he needs an actual Kaiju brain so Pentecost sends him to see a man who uses Kaiju remains to make a profit, so that he could get a Kaiju brain.

Review:

I literally could not stop myself from writing this review. There's just so much to talk about, I don't know where to begin...but let's just get this out of the way... PACIFIC RIM IS A 5 OUT OF FREAKIN' 5. Guillermo Del Toro, you deserve a standing ovation. From an unbiased, stand-alone movie point of view, this film does an incredible job of being exciting from beginning to end, while still developing an awesome back story and character depth. Charlie Hunnan (of Sons of Anarchy fame) solidifies himself as a good, respectable action movie star, but Idris Elba CRUSHES his role, and steals every scene he's in. Solid acting all-around, much better than what you might expect from an action movie like this. THE ACTION IS TOP-OF-THE-LINE. What is there to compare this to...Transformers? Transformers WISHES IT COULD HOLD A CANDLE TO PACIFIC RIM WHEN IT COMES TO EPIC-CGI-ACTION SEQUENCES. Every hit, every explosion, every gut-wrenching Kaiju kill is a work of art. A new gold standard has been set. VISUALS AND GRAPHICS ARE OUT OF THIS WORLD. THIS MOVIE DESERVES THE IMAX 3D TREATMENT. THIS MOVIE DESERVES TO BE PART OF YOUR BLU-RAY COLLECTION. THIS MOVIE DESERVES TO BE VIEWED ON 9 BIG-SCREEN TVS STACKED ON YOUR LIVING ROOM WALL. Do not cheat yourself by simply doing 2D on this one. OK, now the nerd-out part of this review. If you are a nerd in any way, shape or form, then this movie is for you. And if you're an anime nerd, then this is your favorite movie ever. EVER. The inspirations from and references to Godzilla are obvious, but you're very likely to notice influences from several different sources. Anime fan? Then I dare you to not see the nods to Big O, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Gundam, or even Gurren Lagaan. That female computer voice sound familiar? Maybe that's because it's the voice actress of GLaDoS, from the motherf*cking Portal games. Your inner nerd won't know what to freak out over more. 5 out of 5, gold star, thumbs up, A++, 100%, NOW STOP READING THIS AND GO SEE IT!!!