Snow White and the Huntsman

Kristen Stewart (Snow White)
Chris Hemsworth (The Huntsman)
Charlize Theron (Ravenna)

     This movie should have been called the Ravenna and the Huntsman. The concept is a unique and creative twist on the original story portrayed by Walt Disney. The evil Queen (Ravenna) is more evil than ever before, and the Huntsman lives up to his name and brings intensity and action to almost every scene he is in and then there is Snow White.Lets just say if you are a fan of Kristen Stewart you will LOVE this movie; and if you are not a "FAN", then you wont see it this weekend.

      The graphics were amazing, the caste, the background images of flowing mountains and the dark forest take the fairy tale images from your head and put them directly on the screen. The story line made sense, and the transition from one scene to another was smooth and easy to follow. If you are looking for a fantasy movie with beautiful visual effects comparable to Lord of the Rings, this movie will deliver. If you enjoy remakes that are just as good if not better than the original, go see this movie. BUT........
   
      If only this movie had a heroine that could at least maintain the bar set by Theron (Ravenna) and Hemsworth (The Huntsman). I am not quite sure if it was the writing, or the acting, but in every moment that began building passion, intensity, or a dynamic twist; once the spotlight was shifted to Stewart (Snow White) the moment was lost. Don't follow the hype behind this movie to the theater this weekend. If you just have to see it on the big screen wait a few weeks for the dollar theater.

I rated this movie 5.75 out of 10.
Rated PG-13
Run Time: 127 mins

Old Boy (2003)

Min-sik Choi (Dae-su Oh)
Ji-tae-yu (Woo-jin Lee)
Hye-jeong Kang (Mi-do)

       Dae-su Oh has been imprisoned for 15 year, not in a jail, but inside of an old apartment building. His captor and the reason for his imprisonment are completely unknown.When he is finally released, he learns that he has only 5 days to find his captor and the reason behind his imprisonment.
      Chan-wook Park, has directed a movie far too intense for the typical American audience. "Old Boy" reaches deed into the depths of the human condition and extracts the extremes of what grief, anger, and a thrust for ultimate revenge could drive a person to do and to overcome.This movie will expand the boundaries or what you considered a good movie. For anyone who enjoys foreign films this is a must see! and for anyone who personally knows me, this is now #1 on my  "CRAZY" movie list.

      Remember this is a Korean movie, so the acting and style is not typical of an American made movie. If you are given the opportunity to watch this movie please do not allow that to deter you from an master piece. The movie begins slowly, some scenes are very graphic, and the ending is more twisted and sick than you could ever imagine. Be warned this movie is not for children, and is not for the faint of heart. (It has a "Saw"/"Hostel" level of gruesomeness)

"Laugh and the world laughs with you, Weep and you weep alone."

I rated this movie 8 out of 10

Run Time: 120 mins

Rated: R

***If nothing else watch this clip of  cinematic genius in the fight scene where Dae-su Oh takes on several of his captors in a hallway!! AWESOME!!!***

Men In Black III

Will Smith (Agent J)

Tommy Lee Jones (Agent K)

Josh Brolin (Younger Agent K)

Jemaine Clement (Boris the Animal)

      Creative story telling, unique ending, true to the M.I.B. story line, and one really awesome bad guy might not be enough to sustain this movie over the next 30 days. In comparison to the previous movies; M.I.B. 3 is not as good as the first one but better than the second. It is an enjoyable movie that will be great for your kids, where it fails on intensity, it makes up for in moxie, a well thought out script, and effective usage of 3D effects. 

      Agent J must travel back in time to save the world from the super villain "Boris the Animal";  kind of a Predator meets Zaphod Beeblebrox (Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy). Ten years have past since the last M.I.B. movie and several things have changed around the "office" but so much has stayed the same. This movie really brings the M.I.B. franchise to a close and gives us  a "historical perspective" on everything that has taken place up until this point. Trust me when I say, when you think you just might have the ending figured out, you don't. 

      If you are a fan of the previous M.I.B. movies you will enjoy this movie. This is by no means a bad movie, it is warm, funny, family friendly, and has a very heart felt ending. As a man there simply were not enough aliens, not enough action, and left a little to be desired, and if that is what you are hoping for, wait for Spiderman (release date July 3rd, 2012), but if you are looking for a good movie to enjoy with your family, this movie is; "safe and fun for the whole family"

I rated this movie 6.5 out of 10

Run Time: 106 mins

Rated: PG -13

The Dictator

Sacha Baron Cohen (Aladeen/Efawadh)

      From the creator of Ali G, Borat, and Bruno has now come up with another outlandish character; the Admiral General Haffaz Aladeen of Waadeya.  This movie is full of political satire and the completely over the top random moments that have made Cohen famous. This film is different from his previous films because it is an actual movie with actors and a story-line. Unlike the previous film Cohen and his characters are now recognizable and so this film is missing those completely hilarious moments of disgust and awe.
      The Dictator is about the ruler of the fictional African nation of Waadeya, who on a trip to America is ousted from power and must work in a grocery store co-op. Think of Austin Powers meets Borat, if you are a fan of either you will enjoy this movie. Its not your traditional Cohen movie but it works. Because this movie lacks the shock and awe of the previous films it probably wont do as well in theaters but it is defiantly worth renting.
      If you are a fan of Cohen's movies, you will enjoy. It has the same style of slapstick humor and random, OMG did he really just do that moments. Some of the jokes will be above the heads of the target audience, and just when you think that the movie is about to follow a conventional story line, something completely random happens.

 Just like Cohen's other movies this movie is rate R for a reason. Please don't take your kids to see this.

I rated this 6 out of 10
Rated: R
Run Time: 83 mins

The Avengers

Robert Downey Jr. (Tony Stark/ Iron Man)
Chris Evans (Steve Rogers/Captain America)
Mark Ruffalo (Bruce Banner/ The Hulk)
Chris Hemsworth (Thor)
Scarlett Johansson (Natasha Romanoff/ Black Widow)
Jeremy Renner (Clint Barton/ Hawkeye)
Samuel L Jackson (Nick Fury)
Tom Hiddleston (Loki)

      Nonstop action from start to finish. Transformers meets X-Men: First Class; ALL of the action but enough of a story-line to keep you engaged. This is a very very good movie. It is exactly what you expect, it lived up to all of my expectations and hopefully it will set the bar very high for the next big superhero movies of this summer (.....The Amazing Spiderman 7/3 and DARK KNIGHT RISES 7/20...).

     The plot is simple. Loki; the exiled/dethroned/little brother of Thor (see..Thor...) has partnered with an all powerful alien army to bring war to Earth and conquer it. Well lets just say Nick Fury and his band of "merry men" (and a lady) have some other plans. If you have not seen any of the other Marvel movies you will still be able to follow the story, although, if you have seen them it will give you a much better perspective on Loki's weapon of choice, the Tesseract!!!

      I truly enjoyed this movie, and so did my kids (boys both 6 & 7). Although it is rated PG-13 it is almost entirely due to the violence. If you are a comic book/superhero/action movie fan, battling the crowds this weekend will be well worth it!!!****Oh yeah, and for all those fans (including myself) who though that Marvel really screwed up not recasting Edward Norton as Bruce Banner/ The; Mark Ruffalo does an outstanding job, and fits perfectly into the role.

I rated this 8 out of 10
Rated: PG -13
Run Time: 142 mins

Think Like A Man

The battle of the sexes has been given a new twist.. Think like a man takes the content of Steve Harvey's book "At like a Woman, think like a Man" and has infused it into a clever and hilarious screenplay. Kevin Hart steals the show, each time he enters a scene you just know that a laugh is not far behind.

The movie centers around four men, each very different and each portrays stereotypical male characteristics; The player, the mamas boy, the dreamer, and the procrastinator. What makes the movie great is that even though its target audience is women who have either read or thought about reading the book, this movie has something for everyone. What makes a movie great is knowing what is going to happen and you enjoy it anyways, because often it is not about what happens but about how it happens. So even though you know exactly how the story is going to end it is still worth the wait!!!

This is a great date movie! It will make you laugh, it might make you cry, but it should definitely make you think! Do I as a man fit any of these stereotypes, as a woman do you know how to "date", and what are we going to do about it?!? I would  go see this movie again and maybe even take someone special.

I rated this 9 out of 10.
Rated: PG - 13
Run Time: 123 mins

American Reunion

Jason Biggs (Jim Levenstein)
Alyson Hannigan (Michelle)
Chris Klein (Oz)
Thomas Ian Nicholas (Kevin)
Tara Reid (Vicky)
Seann Willaim Scott (Steve Stifler)
Mena Suvari (Heather)
Eddie Kaye Thomas (Finch)

The crew from the 1999 hit American Pie is back at it again in the fourth installment of the American Pie series. This time they are all gathered together for their 13th high school reunion. How has everyone changed, or have they changed at all? The movie has everyone from the original film, not just the main characters..but all the way down to "tha Shermantor". Anyone who was in high school when the original movie came out will, relate to one or more characters in this movie. And above everything else that is what keeps us coming back for more.

This movie take the "OMG", "Did that just happen" to a whole new level. Set in their hometown of East Great Falls , Michigan. Now everyone has grown up, gotten married, has jobs, and are doing all the things that grownups do. Well that is except for Stifler; who is still up to all his usual antics. The laughs are non stop, and you will leave this movie actually laughing out loud and telling your friends.

I laughed so hard I almost fell out of my seat. But this movie is rate R for a reason, they have taken the antics of the original movie and stepped them up to a new "adult" level. If you do not like the first 3 movies (what is wrong with you, lol), then you wont mind missing this movie at all and some of the story line wont make much sense anyways. But if you are a fan of the series you will absolutely LOVE American Reunion.

I rated this 7.5 out of 10.
Rated: R
Run Time: 113 mins