Tower Heist

With the roster of actors starring in this film, I thought it would be comedy gold; despite hearing the reviews that it received when it was initially released in 2011.  I was horribly disappointed.  With the heavy hitters of comedy from Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy and Matthew Broderick, my hopes were high.... maybe the critics were mistaken, maybe I would still enjoy it, maybe.... well it is a pure comic flop.

The gist of the movie, a group of devoted employees of one of the priciest residential locations in New York have been wronged by the penthouse tenant.  Bernie Maddox wronged.  They decided to exact their revenge by robbing him blind and getting their pensions back.  Trying to accomplish this on Thanksgiving Day during the Macy's Parade.
Just was disappointed by the entire film.  It is a definite skip.

I give it a 1 out of 10.

Next up is "A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas."

The Vow

Here's a beautiful love story inspired by a real couple who experienced the similar twist of fate.  A young, lucky in love couple Paige (Rachel McAdams) and Leo (Channing Tatum) who have a terrible car accident that wipes the past five years of Paige's memory.  The past five years that include her meeting and falling in love with her husband.  Both Leo and Paige are devastated by her injury, Paige feels scared and unsure about what her current life has presented to her.  She is an artist and free spirit, the exact opposite of the law student and apple of her parents' eye that she remembers.  She also remembers being engaged to another man.  Leo is crushed by his wife's failure to remember anything about their love and their life.  He is determined to return things to normal, as soon as possible despite the apparent destructive impact that it eventually has on the couple.

Can she eventually remember how they fell in love? Or is their love doomed?  It is a beautiful love story and worth the watch.  I was drawn even more into the film because it was inspired by a real life couple and what they have endured.

I give it a 7 out of 10.

Next up is "Tower Heist."

Psych: 9

I initially had so much hope for this movie, the description read well and had me intrigued.  I love independent and small production films just as much as the big blockbusters.  It also included Cary Elwes... my favorite from "Kiss The Girls" and "The Princess Bride," so it had to have some type of substance to it right?  I was sadly mistaken.    The biggest failure of the film is that there was too much going on.  There was a serial killer, a crazy lady, a spooky hospital as a backdrop, a creepy doctor, an intrusive but noneffective detective and way too many loose ends.  All of this and it felt like the movie kept dragging.  I kept looking at the clock.

Meet Roslyn, a beautiful yet fragile young woman who takes on the night shift at a recently closed hospital.  Her job is to collect and organize the files to have them relocated to another location for storage.  She is told that it is a boring job and she would be the only one there besides the security guard and the doctor completing the same job that she was about to begin on the Psych floor.  She wanted this shift so that she could spend more time with her husband.  Their relationship is horrible, there is a serial killer on the loose and she believes her husband might be him.  Then there are other crazy things going on and you have no answers at the end of the movie.  You sit there wondering why did you spend the ninety minutes watching.

I give it a 2 out of 10.

Next up is "The Vow."

Cowboys and Aliens

I have eagerly been awaiting this movie to show up in my movie list and it did not disappoint.  With an all star line up, this movie was truly entertaining until the closing credits.  In the opening, you meet a cowboy in the desert, wounded and unable to recall anything about himself aside from the fact the he can speak English.  This cowboy (Daniel Craig) makes his way to a fading rural town and instantly runs into trouble.  Taking down the town bully (the son of a bitter old colonel) much to the happiness of the town and eventually being recognized for being on a wanted poster.  He learns of his name as he awaits his fate with federal agents.  His name no longer a mystery, but his past and the odd metal bracelet that he is wearing remains so.  

The town soon becomes tangled in a war with aliens and their only salvation is the mysterious cowboy Jake Longeran wearing the bracelet.  To save themselves, they all join  sides despite their differences and ride off into the sunset to make everything right with the world again.  The movie also stars one of my favorite actors of all time, Harrison Ford.  The rest of the all star cast includes Adam Beach, Sam Rockwell, Olivia Wilde, Keith Carradine and Clancy Brown (Some names you may not recognize, but once you see their faces you realize that you have been watching their movies for a long time).

It is a great action and adventure movie with a ton of Sci-Fi mixed in.  

I give it a 9 out of 10.

Next up is "Pysch 9."

The Green Hornet

Here's a comic look at a classic radio show about a young man turned avenger.  Seth Rogen  plays Britt Reid, son of a newspaper giant who recently passed away and bequeathed everything to Britt.  Before his father's death, Britt was a typical rich kid slacker, hanging out and partying every night and simultaneously disappointing his father.  Upon his death, Britt decides to fire everyone his father employed, not knowing that he also terminated his the guy who makes the best cup of coffee in the world.  Asking for a favor, Britt asks Kato (Jay Chou) to show him how to make coffee.  What Kato shows him is the coffee maker that he designed, Britt is astonished and Kato shows him everything that he created while employed by Britt's father.

After an evening out, they run into a little trouble and thoroughly enjoying the adrenaline rush that came along with it, they decide to become masked avengers, appearing to work on the dark side, but in all actuality they are trying to clean up the streets.  Britt uses his newspaper to publicize his alter persona of The Green Hornet.  They encounter lots of bad guys, learn about each other, loyalty and friendship along the way.

It is an entertaining film, but that is about it.

I give it a 6 out of 10.

Next up is "Cowboys and Aliens."

Crush (2009)

This is an Australian film about an American student Julian (Christopher Egan), studying abroad in Australia so that he can compete in Martial Arts competitions.  He is your typical handsome guy, great group of supportive friends and a beautiful Aussie girlfriend.  From time to time, he works as a house sitter and before a big fight, he is asked to sit at a wonderfully large estate while the family is away for three months.

While there he meets a mysterious and beautiful young woman named Anna (Emma Lung), who Julian believes is the owner's niece stopping by to use the pool.  He is immediately drawn to the beauty who is the opposite of his girlfriend, but soon things get carried away and he finds himself spiraling out of control.  Then the movie makes such a sharp left turn in another direction, I had to actually rewind just to make sure that there was a proper lead in, there was not.  So I have to say, I was pretty disappointed.

I give it a 3 out of 10.

Next up is "The Green Hornet."

Just Cause (1995)

Every now and then I love to revisit a movie that I feel is an oldie but a goody and this film starring Sean Connery and Laurence Fishburne is one of those films.

Sean Connery portrays Harvard professor Paul Armstrong.  A former lawyer who has not practiced or seen a courtroom in over 25 years, but a strong advocate for revoking the death penalty.  After a scholarly debate over that particular topic, an elderly woman approaches him for help regarding a death penalty case involving her grandson, Bobby Earl (Blair Underwood).  He was convicted of murdering a young white girl based on a forced confession garnered by Sheriff Tanny Brown (Laurence Fishburne), whom despite the color of his own skin, is apparently just as vicious towards young black men and a white police officer.

After some prodding on behalf of Professor Armstrong's wife, he decides to see what new information he can get to either justify the conviction or exonerate Bobby Earl.  Armstrong is met with local opposition in the town who believes that Bobby Earl is truly guilty.  There are some great twists and turns in this movie and that is the reason why I still love to watch it from time to time.  The great story is backed up by fine acting performances as well.  Blair Underwood is great as Bobby Earl and Ed Harris' performance as the maniacal Blair Sullivan is so creepy, that is so good.

I give it an 8 out of 10.

Next up is "Crush."

Vampires Suck

So twelve years ago when I was pregnant with my first child, my husband and I had decided to see every movie that summer that we could.  We were too well aware of the fact that our adult movie nights would soon be a thing of the past.  One particular movie we saw, was Scary Movie.  We never paid attention to any of the previews that came out about the movie, we were just excited to finally get out of the house.  Low and behold, we literally left the movie theater with stomach pains from laughing so hard.  It was clever and hysterical. 

So there have been numerous attempts to repeat the same formula that the Wayans brothers used to drive audiences to tears, but I have yet to watch one that could capture the same magic.  This movie, unfortunately does not make the cut either.  This spoof on all things vampire was simply predictable and despite a few laughs here and there, it is not a film to rush home to watch.  The primary focus of the spoof is "Twilight" with hints to "True Blood" and the television series, "The Vampire Diaries."

I give it a 4 out of 10.

Next up is the 1995 film, "Just Cause."

Strictly Sexual

Moving away from horror and into the drama genre, here is a independent film dedicated to the taboo of casual sex, you know the one without all the feelings involved? Well what this movie explains yet again is that it is impossible.  Feelings will always be involved for at least one of the two.

Meet Donna (Amber Benson) and Christi Ann (Kristen Kerr), two roommates who are unlucky in the love department but still are looking for those blow your mind sexual experiences.  They come up with the idea of picking up male prostitutes to entertain them for an evening.  Meet Stanny (Stevie Long) and Joe (Johann Urb), couple of regular guys who recently moved to California in search of new work in construction. They come across each other in a hotel bar, the ladies mistaking the guys for gigolos and the guys thinking how lucky they are meeting up with California girls. 

The following morning, everything comes out uncomfortably when the girls try to pay them for their services.  Each are taken aback by the stark reality that these guys are not male prostitutes.  Low and behold, the idea comes about of hiring the guys simply for the purpose of sexual satisfaction.  But can this novel idea really work out without feelings coming into the mix? No.

It was a clever little movie and I actually enjoyed it, despite some of the horrible acting at certain parts.

I give it a 6 out of 10.

Next up is "Vampires Suck."

Blood Creek

So I love my horror and when there's a horror flick that seems pretty interesting despite not having a major release in the States, I always try to watch it.  This is the case with this movie, especially seeing that it starred Henry Cavill (our new superman, yummy), Michael Fassbender and Dominic Purcell.  Pure man candy!  Thought it would be a true feast for my eyes.  

The movie opens during World War II and you meet a German family trying to make their way while living in West Virginia.  The family receives a letter which details that they were chosen to host a German professor, Richard Wirth (Fassbender) who wanted to conduct research about Viking ties to the area.  They gladly accept, unknowing the horrors that are about to befall them by welcoming this man in.  He is a Nazi scientist who believes that his occult practices will allow him the life immortal.  They subsequently become prisoners in their home.

Seventy years later we meet the Marshall brothers, Evan (Henry Cavill) and Victor (Dominic Purcell).  Evan is a paramedic trying to support his dad and his brother's family since Victor has been missing for the past two years.  Suddenly, Victor shows up just as mysteriously as he disappeared, and asks for Evan's help.  Where has Victor been?  He has been held prisoner with the same German family and tortured.  He is out for revenge and his vengeance leads Evan and himself on a dark journey into the occult.

It was an interesting movie, but not the highlight of my year.

I give it a 6 out of 10.

Next up is "Strictly Sexual."

Dream House

This creepy thriller belongs in the same family as the movie "The Sixth Sense." Deals with a past that is haunting the main character and the sudden realization that in an instant makes everything around them make sense.  The premise is quite simple, a loving family of four moves into an quaint and idealistic home... their dream house. The husband and father, Will Atenton (Daniel Craig) has stepped away from his job to spend more time with his family and write a book.  Libby (Rachel Weisz), his wife is more than thrilled to have more time with her husband and two beautiful girls.

But something is not quite right, the girls begin to see a man outside their home and they soon find out that grizzly murders had taken place previously in the house.  A man is believed to have murdered his wife and two children.  Will desperately tries to find more information about what has occurred to put his family at ease, but the more he finds out the more disturbing the facts are surrounding their dream house.  Who is this man that supposedly killed his family and why is he still lurking about as a free man?  Will their mysterious neighbor (Naomi Watts) from across the street help to shed some light on what happened in the house?

You will have to watch to answer those questions, although it is not a plausible scenario, it is a good thriller and worth the watch.

I give it a 7 out of 10.

Next up is "Blood Creek."

Blue Crush 2

In this sequel, we meet Dana (Sasha Jackson) a young girl still devastated and haunted by the death of her mother.  Although her memories of her mother have faded, she still has her mother's treasured possessions, her surfboard and her journal.  Dana truly believes that she is like her mother in every way, a "free spirit."  Her father, on the other hand, totally disagrees and pushes Dana to accept the fact that she will be sent of to college soon, following in her dad's footsteps.  Dana has a hard time accepting this and after reading one of her mother's final journal entry; where she discusses taking Dana to her homeland of South Africa and taking her to a variety of surfing destinations, she decides to make the journey for herself.


Leaving a simple note for her dad, Dana arrives in South Africa a mere 23 hours later.  Trying to make it to the beach, she catches a ride and meets a young South African woman named Pushy (Elizabeth Mathis) who is a fellow surfer.  Pushy welcomes Dana into her family, which is made up of a bunch of ex-pats and locals.  Pushy also encourages Dana to follow mother's journey and surf each location.


This movie is nothing like the original and the acting is pretty bad, well very bad. I would not even recommend it for anyone to watch.

I give it a 1 out of 10.

Next up is "Dream House."

What's Your Number?

Haven't had a chance to review a romantic comedy in a while and finally one did happen to pop up for viewing.  "What's Your Number?" is a rom com starring Anna Faris and Chirs Evans.  Faris plays Ally Darling, an unlucky in love gal. One who is consistently trying to change and alter herself to fit the needs and desires of the opposite sex.  Living across from her is her gigolo of a neighbor Colin Shea played by Chris Evans (a.k.a. Captain America, just had to throw that in there). Both are witnesses to each other's relationship ups and downs; and when Ally comes across an article discussing the average of the number of men that women have slept with is 10.5, she feels a little disheartened because her number is 20.


Instead of going for the next guy in hopes of finding true love she decides to try and rekindle some sort of romance with the previous twenty.  Discovering how difficult it is to locate some of these guys, she enlists the help of her neighbor.  Soon Ally finds herself on a path of loser after loser.  All of the potential suitors of her dating past are not promising whatsoever.  She is still holding out hopes for her high school boyfriend, who was "the one" that got away.  Is he really the one for her, or could love truly be just across the hall?


Cute and funny, but it is not something that you need to set the DVR for.  

I give it a 6 out of 10.

Next up is "Blue Crush 2."