Takers

So enjoyed this movie.... I am not sure if it was because of the eye candy throughout the entire movie or the action.  So I am sure when the movie hit the theaters it was the perfect date movie.... guys got to see a lot of action and girls got to see Idris Elba, Paul Walker, Hayden Christiansen, Michael Ealy, T.I., Chris Brown, Jay Hernandez, and Matt Dillon.


The movie, in a nutshell, is about a group of thieves (or takers as they like to call themselves) made up of Elba, Walker, Christiansen, Ealy and Brown.  In the opening, they rob a bank and cleverly get away, everything is planned to perfection.  At the same time, a former partner (T.I.) of the crew is being released from prison. You also meet the two cops who eventually get involved in bringing the group down (Dillon and Hernandez).  T.I.'s character Ghost brings a great opportunity to the crew to take down in a matter of days.  He figures they should do the job because they owe it to him for not "snitching" while he was in prison.  The crew is reluctant to get involved because they are not sure if they can trust Ghost.  


So do they succeed in their new heist? Does Ghost prove trustworthy and do the police bring them down?  There are several subplots because the cast is very large, but the movie actually keeps you very involved and moves very quickly.  I really enjoyed the movie, it was street and urban and very contemporary.

I give it a 7 out of 10.

Next up is a classic, but a good one... "Copycat" circa 1995

Jane Eyre

This is such a beautiful story, I remember reading it in high school and the viewing of the movie (the 1943 version, Joan Fontaine was a popular actress with this particular genre, she also played in "Rebecca"). I loved it, I adored the genre, the sweeping epic of one of the Bronte sisters and the subsequent reason why I ended up majoring in English in college.  I have also seen the 1996 version with William Hurt and now here is this version starring Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender.  This version was beautifully shot and took me back to my high school class room.  I fell in love with the story all over again.  Wasikowska truly embodies the plain "Jane" who is filled with honesty and never afraid to speak her mind when asked.  Her plain ways pulled at the heart strings of Rochester masterfully portrayed by Fassbender.  Though he did not play the character with the same torment as Orson Welles, he did succeed at portraying Rochester.


What I also loved about the film, was that Dame Judi Dench starred in the movie as Mrs. Fairfax.  Whenever Judi Dench is in a film, she adds that world class touch.  I love her.


So would I recommend this film, most definitely.  Especially if you are a lover of a the classics and romance.

I give it an 8 out of 10.

Next up is "Takers."

Your Highness

I had absolutely no expectations for this movie at all, I figured it would just kill time on the elliptical machine. I did think that it was interesting that this movie came out simultaneously with Natalie Portman's and James Franco's Academy Award nominated performances in "Black Swan" and "127 Hours" respectively.  


I think because of my low expectations, I actually did laugh throughout the movie and enjoyed the blatant disrespect of the English language for the time period.  The movie is about a prince named Thadeous (Danny McBride) and his brother Fabious (James Franco).  With Fabious' name a play on the word fabulous, that is what he is.  He is the brave one, the hero and the leader, the next in line to be king.  Thadeous is the bumbling, cocky, sex craving brother.  Upon Fabious triumphant return and announcement of the future bride Belladonna (Zooey Deschanel), she is kidnapped by an evil wizard to fulfill an ancient prophecy, the brothers embark on a journey.  They meet up with Isabel (Natalie Portman) who is a warrior and captures the heart of Thaddeous.


Their adventure progresses along and as I previously stated, there are laughs and you may actually enjoy the movie, as long as you don't set your expectations so high.

I give it a 5 out of 10.

Next up is "Jane Erye."

Cyrus

I wasn't sure how I'd feel about this film.  I was initially attracted to it because of the cast.  But I did hear that it was not a pure comedy, as I would have expected seeing John C. Reilly and Jonah Hill cast in the lead roles.  


The basic premise behind the film is about a guy named John (John C. Reilly) who is in a relationship slump.  Not actually moving on since the separation and subsequent divorce from his first wife (Catherine Keener) about seven years before.  They still maintain a friendship and working relationship and she drops a bomb that she is planning on remarrying.  She invites him to her engagement party, and strongly encourages him to come in hopes that he may meet someone.  Trying his best, he does show up and under the guidance of his ex and her fiance, he circles the room failing miserably at introducing himself into some of the young women who are present.


By chance he meets Molly (Marisa Tomei) and they awkwardly mingle and have what appears to be a potential one night stand.  The next day he calls Molly and invites her to dinner and a interesting relationship begins.  Then there is Molly's son Cyrus (Jonah Hill) who initially seems to be very accepting of John's relationship with Molly, but the audience does sense some tension due to Cyrus' clingy behavior regarding his mom.  Molly is also as guilty of this clingy behavior as well.


Several events happen as the relationship grows and hits it's expected bumps.  Will it work for the couple, or will it be an weird threesome that you initially are witnessing.  It was a interesting movie, not a big favorite.  The issue I had was that the movie seemed to progress slowly.  But I would definitely recommend this to any fan of drama, it is good character study.

I give it a 7 out of 10.

Next up is "Your Highness."

The Roommate

So I thought I'd pick something this time around in the horror genre, or what I thought was a horror movie.  It was actually something rather blah.  The basic premise of this film was girl goes away to college, girl meets roommate, roommate is possessive and psycho, and so on.  The oh so sweet Sara is played by Minka Kelly and the nutty roommate Rebecca is played by Leighton Meester (she actually plays nutty pretty well).  Overall, I felt pretty bored with the movie as it dragged from scene to scene.  It truly tries to copy off of it's predecessor "Single White Female." But it fails miserably at its attempt.  If you are a teen, then you'd probably love it for it features many actors from popular shows like "The Vampire Diaries."  But if you are over the age of 25, you can probably skip it.

I give it a 3 out of 10.

Next up is "Cyrus."

Going The Distance

This is a cute and quirky movie starring Drew Barrymore (Erin) and Justin Long (Garrett) as a fresh new couple smack dead in a long distance bi-coastal relationship.  They both meet at significant events within their own personal lives, she is six weeks away from her internship ending at a New York newspaper and he is stuck in a job he hates and ending a relationship. They eventual bond over the arcade game "Centipede" and his love for the movie "Top Gun." After an anticipated one night stand, they have a lovely breakfast and continue to see one another knowing that they would just enjoy the time together that they had.  Nothing serious.  But this is a romantic comedy correct?  They realize that they do have strong feelings for one another and begin the miserable attempt at maintaining the relationship.


You see the relationship evolve and climaxing at the big ultimatum.  Who gives up what and who makes a sacrifice and is the commitment to one another strong enough to work out.  It is a enjoyable movie and you can definitely set your DVR to record, but don't know if I'd watch it again any time soon.

I give it a 6 out of 10.

Next up is "The Roommate."

Green Zone

I am not the biggest fan of war movies, but I do enjoy Matt Damon from time to time.  I was really impressed with this movie.  Although it is fictionally based, it does paint a very vivid image of what went on at the beginning of the Iraqi War. I have always felt that war is a man's game, an ego booster to see who is the strongest one.  It truly is not about the people, it is about the government.  This story is based on the fact that the United States took fictitious information and tried to sell it to the American people and the world that it was the truth.  The information is that Iraq was housing massive amounts of WMD, weapons of mass destruction.  When in truth, there were none.


The story begins with a frustrated soldier Miller (Matt Damon) who is tired of going into locations (that have strong information from a major Iraqi code-named "Magellan") and there is nothing there.  He has voiced his opinion to his superior officer to no avail and decides to openly show his lack of faith in the source in a meeting.  There the representative of the CIA approaches Miller and lets him know that if he really wanted to help to give him a call.


You also see the relationship between reporter Lawrie Dane (Amy Ryan) for the Wall Street Journal and White House liaison Clark Poundstone (Greg Kinnear).  Dane is increasingly becoming frustrated in the same vain as Miller because no discovery of WMDs has been made.  She becomes more demanding trying to actually meet the source "Magellan" to gain further insight and to solidify her reporting.


The movie is fast paced and exciting.  It takes you on a discovery of what went on in the early days of the Iraqi invasion and the explosion of events that follow the failure to find any form of weaponry created by the Iraqi government.

I give it an 8 out of 10.

Next up "Going the Distance."

The Mechanic

This is the man's man movie, full of betrayal, action, death and adrenaline.  I am actually a fan of action movies and it is one of the reasons that I did select this movie.  I also enjoy Jason Statham, first saw him "Transporter," enjoyed it and eventually saw the sequels.  I also enjoyed his performance in "Crank." He knows his genre and thus far has stuck to the same type of movies (if it's not broke, don't fix it, you know).  In "The Mechanic" it is more of the same.  He plays a cold character, Arthur, who is great at his job.  His job just happens to be an assassin. 

The plot begins when he is hired to snuff out his mentor and completes the mission based on his knowledge that his mentor has betrayed the company and has gotten greedy.  Job completed and enters the prodigal son who is hell bent on revenge (even though his relationship with his father is non-existent).  Arthur steps in and intervenes before this young man makes a bad decision. He decides he wants to learn from Arthur and join the business, Arthur obliges and trains him. There's more betrayal and lots of action, but if I say anymore I will give away the plot.  Even though it is pretty predictable (especially if you have seen any of Jason Statham's movies).  It's entertaining and you can definitely set your DVR for it.

I give it a 6 out of 10.

Next up is "Green Zone."

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Love and Other Drugs

What a come back after watching "Bad Teacher." This is a cute little movie, your typical romantic comedy, despite the fact that they say it isn't your typical romantic comedy.  The only difference is the cast. Anne Hathaway and Jake Gyllenhaal have a great chemistry that carries throughout the entirety of the movie.  The meet by chance as he is trying to succeed as a pharmaceutical rep and she is a young Parkinson's patient.  The initial connection is purely physical, but as expected it grows to much more.  You find yourself cheering for the couple, when realistically you are aware of the rough road ahead.  Does it end well for the couple? It is a rom com, so what do you think.  Definitely something to watch, but do you race home because you know it is starting at 7? No, just set your DVR, you'll get around to watching it and enjoy it (if you like romantic comedies).

I give it a 7 out of 10.

Next up "The Mechanic."