The Town

Here we have a gritty movie based on the simply fact that "the town," or more appropriately put the neighborhood of Charlestown in Boston, Massachusetts is known for producing more bank robbers than any other area in the country.  Quite a open, eh? Well, it is a fact that director and star Ben Affleck highlights at the opening of the movie.  Then you are introduced the main characters of the movie through the heist of a bank.  Affleck plays Doug MacRay, a washed up NHL hopeful who has fallen in the the family business (his dad is currently serving time for his lackluster robbery career).  He is the architect of the heists that he and his crew pull off on a regular basis.  His crew made up of three additional neighborhood brothers, Jeremy Renner who plays James Coughlin, Albert 'Gloansy' Magloan (Slaine) and Desmond Elden (Owen Burke).  This crew runs tough and has had a pretty successful career in armed robbery.


However, this particular robbery ends on a sour note, Coughlin gets a little heavy handed and hot headed and decides that it is necessary to hold the bank manager Claire Keesey (Rebecca Hall) hostage until they make it to safety.  After they regroup, he further suggests that he should check back in on her and just make certain she can't identify any member of the crew and maybe scare her a little.  MacRay knowing this is a bad idea (along with "Gloansy" and Desmond) says that he will take on the task of following up and with a chance encounter begins a friendly and subsequently romantic relationship with Claire without her knowing who MacRay really is.


Now criminals have to have the law after them correct?  Of course, and you meet FBI Agent Frawley (John Hamm) whose mission is to bring this crew down. After slowly, but surely putting the pieces together he gets hot on the crew and tries to bring them down.  


The film is full of action and great performances by the lead characters and a hell of a supporting cast including a true break out performance by Blake Lively portraying James Coughlin's sister Krista and the former love interest of MacRay.  This movie is truly enjoyable and a great bank robbery film that reminded me of Inside Man and Heat.

I give it a 8 out of 10.

Next up is "The Kids Are Alright."

Water For Elephants

I didn't read the book, despite all the recommendations to read it.  I just never got around to it.  I know from past experiences that the book is, almost more times than not, better than the film.  This movie was pretty darn good, so the book must be an excellent read.  I should have read the book to prepare myself for some of the sad animal scenes in the movie (I am a big lover of all animals and there is a couple of scenes that had me crying).  Anyway, off to the plot of the movie.


The story is about a young vet student, Jacob Jankowski (Robert Pattinson) who upon the heels of graduation from Veterinarian School, suffers an unbearable tragedy in the sudden loss of his parents, family home and business.  Devastated by this, he decides to relocate to a larger city in hopes of finding employment.  Walking along the railroad tracks to make his way, he encounters a train and hops aboard in hopes of stealing a ride to the big city.  He happens to hop on a circus train.  Jacob earns his keep and a spot with the circus family by cleaning up after the animals and other odd circus jobs.


He garners the attention of the Ringleader and boss, August (Christoph Waltz) who is tempted to throw him back off the train until he finds out that young Jacob is a recent vet school grad.  He is immediately put to work caring for the animals and simultaneously is drawn to August's beautiful wife Marlena (Reese Witherspoon) who is his number one act with her herd of horses.  When they obtain Rosie, an older circus elephant, Marlena's job is to make her the star attraction with the training given by Jacob.  The two are drawn to each other by their universal love for animals and despising of August's poor, inhumane treatment of them.  August's poor treatment extends beyond the animals, his staff is quite neglected as well.


Can Marlena and Jacob's love win? Can they escape the controlling ways of August?


I strongly recommend this beautiful movie, and all animals who perform in the movie also steal the show, in particular Rosie the elephant (really Tai the elephant) and also has the famous Uggie from the artist cast as Queenie. 

I give it an 8 out of 10.

Next up is "The Town."

Scream 4

If you are a fan of the series, Scream 4 does not disappoint.  True to fashion, there are celebrity cameos and Ghostface makes his triumphant return to screen.  However, this time it is different, ten plus years have past and technology is mainstream and plays a prominent part in the film.


The movie reintroduces Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) to new generations of horror fans, this time Sidney is not the helpless and pathetic heroine that she has typically been in the previous three films.  Sidney is stronger and ready to move on with her life.  She has written a book about her experiences moving from the role of victim to that of survivor.  She decides to launch her book in her beloved hometown of Woodsboro, when suddenly murders begin to occur.  Sidney has once again become a target of the infamous Ghostface killer and involving beloved characters of Dewey Riley (David Arquette) and Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox), along with new faces of Sidney's aunt Kate Roberts (Mary McDonnell) and her cousin Jill Roberts (Emma Roberts). Ghostface has targeted the current  high school generation and their sophisticated way of looking at movies.  In the age of constant remakes and sequels, they have a vast knowledge of the horror genre that would make Jamie Kennedy's character of Randy proud.


Who will survive, who will die according to the classic horror film rules, and who is the new Ghostface?  All answered in this hilarious chapter of the Scream series.

I give it a 7 out of 10.

Next up is "Water For Elephants"

Monsters

This indie film was listed as a Sci-Fi movie, but truthfully I feel that it is a budding romance with an alien invasion as the back drop.  The film's main stars are a journalistic photographer Andrew Kaulder (Scoot McNairy) who comes to the aide of his newspaper's boss's daughter Samantha "Sam" Wynden (Whitney Able).  Kaulder is trying to capture that magic shot, the picture that tells the story.  Currently, the United States and Mexico are trying to put a hold on the spread of aliens into Mexico and the United States.  These are aliens that have adapted to our world after a probe bringing back samples from outer space crashes into Northern Mexico.  These creatures have destroyed an area now considered the "Quarantine Zone."


After another attack in Mexico, Kaulder is asked to check on Sam, the daughter of the newspaper's owner.  After seeing that she is okay, he is then asked to bring her to the coast so she can take a ferry back to the United States, protecting and ensuring her safety.  Feeling it is truly a waste of time, he reluctantly helps the young lady secure a ticket to the ferry.  In the mean time, he slowly gets to know her, as she does with him and they begin to establish a connection.  You see their relationship develop as he questions his job and beliefs; and Sam questions and ponders their future.


Do you see any Sci-Fi in the film?  There are definitely scenes that do get your adrenaline going, but you truly don't see any monsters until the end, similar to the way that "Cloverfield" doesn't show you the big monsters until the latter part of the movie.


I did enjoy the movie, particularly because it was an indie movie and I was truly able to get to know the characters.  They were not overshadowed by a big Hollywood name.  

I give it a 7 out of 10.

Next up is the movie "Scream 4"    

Midnight In Paris

There are some Woody Allen movies that I have enjoyed and then there are others that I can barely make it through, so I wasn't sure if I'd watch this one or not... but I am glad that I did.  Outside of my writing blog movie reviews, I am a fine photographic artist, I also paint watercolors and my degree is in English.  So this movie was awesome and touched my artist persona.  Why did this film resonate with me?  Meet Gil (Owen Wilson), a successful screenwriter and reluctant novelist who lives for all things nostalgic... his favorite time period was 1920's Paris.  The time of Hemingway and Fitzgerald. Here's the thing, his fiance Inez (Rachel McAdams) doesn't understand his love for that time period or  why her fiance loved Paris in the rain, who likes Paris in the rain?


The engaged couple are in Paris with Inez's parents (Kurt Fuller and Mimi Kennedy).  Inez's father has business in Paris and both Inez and Gil gladly tagged along.  While in Paris, Inez and Gil bump into Inez's former teacher Paul (Michael Sheen) who invites them to several tourist stops in Paris where he can continue to impress Inez with his overabundance of education.  You slowly see Inez's infatuation with her teacher grow as she boasts of all his accolades to Gil, even suggesting that he could read his novel and offer his critique. Gil, on the other hand, is appalled by Paul's arrogance and slowly separates from the group and one night takes a long walk, getting lost he encounters a vehicle, a classic old car, that transports him to a different era.... the era that he longed for and truly thought was the greatest period in history.  He meets his literary icons along with famous artists, such as Dali and Picasso.  And he meets Adriana (Marion Cotillard), a beautiful Parisian woman and the favorite muse of many artists.  Gil is drawn to her beauty and her spark, unlike the feelings he has for his fiance Inez.  So what happens? Does he finally write his novel? Does he fall for Adriana? Does he remain in the decade that has fascinated him for such a long time? Well you'll have to watch the charming film to find out.  If you are a lover of the fine arts, music, and literature, then you are sure to enjoy this film.


So it is a must watch for me!

I give it a 9 out of 10.

Next up is "Monsters"

Horrible Bosses

This star studded comedy was pretty big on laughs, however the plot itself was beyond realistic.  I probably watch too much reality crime shows like "The First 48" and found the story line seriously stretched.  That did not stop me from laughing hysterically though.  The cast includes Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, Charlie Day, Kevin Spacey, Jennifer Anniston, Colin Farrell, Donald Sutherland and Jamie Foxx.  Colin Farrell's receding comb over is one good reason to watch the movie, the group of "bosses" are well played by the supporting cast of Spacey, Anniston and Farrell; taking stereotypical bad working situations and putting a humorous spin on it.


At the beginning of the film you meet Nick (Jason Bateman), Dale (Charlie Day), and Kurt (Jason Sudeikis).  Each with a job that they truly enjoy, but have bosses that make their day miserable.  Nick's boss Harken (Kevin Spacey) is a tyrant of sorts.  He lives to make his  office suffer miserably at his expense, and the one he loves to torture most is Nick.  Nick is trying to move up within his company but is constantly met by the road blocks laid out by his boss.  Dale's boss is the sex hungry Dr. Julia Harris (Jennifer Anniston).  She constantly puts Dale in compromising situations and at every opportunity tries to solicit sex from Dale.  She has even captured photographs to use to bribe Dale to have a tryst with her before she tells his beloved fiance.  Then we have Kurt.  Kurt's beloved boss played by Donald Sutherland passes away and his jerk of a son Bobby (Colin Farrell) has taken the helm and tries to milk as much money he can from his dad's company to support his cocaine and prostitute habit.  Stealing all the integrity from the company.


So what are these three men to do?  They decide the best option out there is to have all of their bosses killed. And how they go about the entire situation will leave you laughing all the way to the credits.

I give this movie a 7 out of 10.

Next up is "Midnight In Paris."

Fast Five

Boy, oh boy, I have been looking forward to watching this movie.  As I have mentioned in previous posts, I am one of those girls who absolutely loves action movies.  They are awesome!  When I was a young girl, I grew up with my brother and my cousin, and let's just say that when it came to play time, they did not come around my barbie collection.  So I played with Hotwheels, He-man and friends, G.I. Joe, and tons of other boy toys.  I was very much a tomboy.  I love cars, I owe that to my brother, and the faster the better.  I have an addiction to the adrenaline rush.  So here is a movie that has action, fast cars, and man candy... yes there is that too.  Ladies if you want to have a good dream, watch this one before you go to bed.  Drum role.... it stars Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Tyrese, Ludacris, and Sung Kang... lots of different flavors that are sure to appeal to many.  Okay, let's get back to the purpose of this blog... the actual movie.


We begin the film, where Fast and Furious Four left off, Toretto (Vin Diesel) is being sentenced and is heading back to prison.  He is subsequently rescued in a sense (a jailbreak involving cars, of course) by O'Conner (Paul Walker) and his sister Mia (Jordana Brewster).  They have to leave the country since they become fugitives and find themselves in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.  Broke and looking for a way out, they come across a job that leads to bigger trouble that ends with the death of DEA agents, and further troubles with the head honcho in Rio, a notorious drug dealer Hernan Reyes (Joaquim de Almeida).  They are pursued by his organization along with Federal Agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson).  How will it all resolve? You have to watch and find out!


I so enjoyed this movie, the action was crazy good and super entertaining.  I have been pretty impressed with all of the Fast and Furious movies, but felt that the past two have truly been outstanding in action, direction and entertainment with strong story lines.

I give it a 8 out of 10.

Next up is "Horrible Bosses."

Beastly

So this is the teen version of the classic fairy tale, "Beauty and the Beast."  However, it does not exactly live up to even the Disney version of the classic.  It will be a hit if you have a tween in the house and the performances are charming, but as an adult it didn't quite fit the bill for my viewing pleasure.  The movie stars Vanessa Hudgens and Alex Pettyfer as the leads.  Pettyfer portrays Kyle, a vain and cocky student who appears to get everything based on how he looks.  Hudgens plays Lindy, the beautiful bookworm who does seem to capture Kyle's attention before he is cursed.  The witch who curses him is Kendra (Mary Kate Olsen) and gives him a year to find some to love him.


So if you are familiar with the tale, it follows it directly and in the end true love does prevail.  There is no need for me to see the movie again, but it wasn't pure torture to watch.  If you want to see it, then watch it, if you don't than skip it.

I give it a 5 out of 10.

Next up is "Fast Five."

Love's Kitchen

Here's a turn at a British romantic comedy, and the Brits have a good sense of humor, right? The movie stars Claire Forlani (whom outside of her stint in CSI: NY and "Meet Joe Black") and Dougray Scott (the bad guy in Mission Impossible II) as a restaurant critic and a chef. In true romantic comedy form, there has to be baggage and both the lead characters have it.  Chef Rob Haley (Scott) is the next up and comer in the restaurant field, truly cooking food with heart.  His wife scouts a new location for a potential restaurant in the countryside, but before the deal can be sealed she is killed in a car crash.  How devastating and quite a blow for the chef, his daughter and staff.  He finally gets some motivation from a very bad review he received and Gordon Ramsey ripping him a new one.


Kate Templeton (Forlani) has taken residence with her dad after a massive blow of a divorce from a husband whom she finds out is gay.  She is devastated, hurt and you could say a little bitter.  And she is the restaurant critic who wrote the bad review that gets Chef Rob Haley to purchase a new restaurant and start from scratch.  The new place has a slow beginning but a little help, he finds his restaurant is now a thriving business.  Reconnecting him to food and cooking with heart.


It is a very charming movie and I really enjoyed it.  If you are a fan of romantic comedies, than this is one for your viewing pleasure.

I give it a 7 out of 10.

Next up is the movie "Beastly."

Agora

When I read the plot of this film, I was intrigued, I love historically movies and period pieces.  It was described as a love story of some sort, however, after seeing the movie, love was more of a subplot.  The main story of the film is the lead character of Hypatia (Rachel Weisz) a philosopher, mathematician and astronomer who taught at the great library in Alexandria at a time when the pagan beliefs of Roman Egypt began to turn over to Christianity around 390 A.D.  You meet Hypatia's slave, Davus (Max Minghella) struggle with his growing affections for his master and his curiosity and yearning for God and Christianity.  A great conflict ensues and those who support the pagan religious beliefs are eventually ousted and Christianity dominates the region, alongside those of the Jewish faith.  During this conflict, Davus is granted his freedom and the ancient scrolls of philosophers and other great teachers of the time are destroyed in the library.


Move ahead  20 years and an uneasy peace exists in Alexandria, non-believers are now the small minority along with Jews.  Christian leaders look for ways to gain more power and influence in Alexandria and first seek out to move out the Jews and then the non-believers. You see the violence of this divide, along with Davus still struggling with the violent ways of the Christians and his desire for his former mistress.  Along with Hypatia's thirst to learn more of the sky and how the Earth moves around the sun.  Hypatia is not interested in the religious divide at all, all she sees is the deplorable and horrific end results of the violent conflicts in Alexandria.


I truly feel that this movie is more about the unruly rise of Christianity and how barbaric it truly was.  Even though they did things in the name of God.  


If you are interested in seeing a bit of history, both philosophical and religious, than I would watch the film.  I did enjoy it and it was well acted.  

I give it a 7 out of 10.

Next up is "Love's Kitchen."

Colombiana

I think that Zoe Saldana is a beautiful woman and a terrific young actress.  When the previews initially came out for this film, I was intrigued.  It is nice to see a woman going around and kicking some major butt.  Saldana plays Cataleya, a paid assassin bent on revenge for the murder of her parents when she was a young girl.  She leaves a signature to send a message to the drug cartel that is responsible for her parent's death and this signature is subesquently picked up by the FBI.  They have been tracking the person responsible for a large number of murders and eventually the investigation leads to Cataleya.


This is a hard film, if you are a fan of action, than it will definitely fill your need, and I myself like to see a strong female character.  This story line is easily written for a man, but portrayed with the necessary iciness of a woman.  Cataleya is a cold woman, bent on pure revenge and you don't see her soften much, with the exception of two instances.  She has a love interest and she still has her uncle and grandmother.  It is her uncle who feeds her need for revenge as a child, when she tell him that she wants to learn how to be a killer. It is her uncle that provides work for her, who eventually tries to subdue her desire for revenge out of the love that he has for his niece.  Can she change her ways, can she learn to love, and will she be caught?  There are a few twists in the film, that I will not give away, so I would advise that you sit and enjoy it. 

I give it a 7 out of 10.

Next up is the movie "Agora."

The Heart Specialist

I discovered this film while surfing for movies to watch.  I have seen all of the actors in previous films and that is what sealed the deal to load it up on my beloved iPad.  The movie is a basic who's who of Black actors and actresses that fill the movie with charm and comedy.  The central character Dr. Sidney Zachary portrayed by Wood Harris, is a charming teaching Doctor at a not so recognizable local hospital.  His best pal, Donna (Zoe Saldana) teams up with him to write a book, the "next best-seller." He is currently doing research on the healing effects of laughter and he thought that it would be great to discuss it in the book, along with a little about himself, his work and his new buddy, Dr. Ray Howard (Brian White).  He wants to humanize Dr. Howard, who is all about the business of medicine.  Dr. Howard is a recent Harvard grad who followed a woman (Mya), whom he believed was the love of his life.  Dr. Howard's biggest issue, the issue that Dr. Zachary wants to address, is his lack of compassion and ability to have compassion for people, both patients and women (of whom he regularly has exploits with in a secret room in the hospital).


It is a charming little movie that is highlighted by Marla Gibbs.  She was the reason the movie was truly funny.  She steals every scene that she is in.  There are numerous other appearances of well known black actors that contribute to the film.  It is a movie that if you do have some time to kill, go ahead and watch it.

I give it a 5 out of 10.

Next up is the movie "Colombiana."

Bridesmaids

When this movie was first publicized and the trailers were shown across America, I was so excited... thrilled.  This movies was the ladies' version of "The Hangover" and was produced by Judd Apatow, so my excitement was brewing.  I finally had the opportunity to watch the movie and I have to say it did not meet any of my expectations... don't get me wrong it was a great movie, I was simply expecting the gut busting experience that I had when I saw "The Hangover" for the first time.


The basis of this film is the dread that every girl feels when her friend is getting married, the role of bridesmaid.  It becomes even more of a challenge when you are asked to be the Maid of Honor.  I have been fortunate to have had pretty good experiences in all of the weddings that I have been a part of, but I have heard several horror stories of other ladies.  The main character of Annie Walker (Kristen Wiig) has been asked by her childhood best friend Lillian (Maya Rudolph) to be her maid of honor.  She is honored of course, but also knows how broke she is... she lost a business, let's herself be a doormat when it comes to guys, has horrible roommates and the list could go on.  The one constant  and bright spot in her life is her friendship with Lillian.


The challenge is worsen at the engagement party when Annie meets Helen.  Helen is the super-model-esque wife of Lillian's fiance's boss.  Unbeknown to Annie, Lillian and Helen have had some quality girl time and Helen feels that she is truly the best friend to Lillian. Here comes the competition... Annie feels the threat and pressure from Helen, who has tons more money and influence and makes Lillian feel like a princess.  Annie's life also takes some drastic turns, but there is a silver lining that she does not know how to address or even deal with.  She becomes more and more frustrated with everything and great bridesmaids outings slowly turn into disasters.  Can her friendship survive? Will she turn her own situation around? You just have to make sure you watch the movie to find out.


As I had previously mentioned, it was not what I expected but I sincerely enjoyed the movie and would watch it again.  Melissa McCarthy casting and performance as Megan was dead on and she deserved the Oscar nod that came her way.  She does steal the scenes, but you will enjoy watching all of them.

I give this movie a 8 out of 10.

Next up is the movie "The Heart Specialist."