Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole

3 1/2 out of 5 Stars



Soren has been told the stories of the Guardians of Ga'Hoole since he was young and now dreams of them often. One night while out of the tree with his brother they wind up on the ground, not able to fly yet, and are captured by a group of owls who turn out to work for the evil Metalbeak. Soren escapes and now must find the guardians in order to stop the evil owl from fulfilling his plans.

This film takes the simple good versus evil tale of fantasy in creating a story about owls. It's a kids fantasy that soars above many of the kid's fantasy films that have been made recently. It's evidently a film made more for a young crowd than an older one, which makes it harder for older audiences to enjoy as much, but there is no denying that the film is visually stunning. In this Zack Snyder still has not failed. He truly is a visionary director. Even though there are a few moments that are a little slow and some of the lines are almost too epic for the film or a little cheesy, this film is still quite enjoyable. The flight sequences and action sequences are quite exciting to watch. It's very much an enjoyable film and great for the 8 to 12 year old age it is geared towards. I certainly would have loved it at that age. There are few films made so directly for a younger audience that work these days and this one does.

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps

2 out of 5 Stars




Oliver Stone returns with his sequel to Wall Street rejoining with Michael Douglas as money tycoon Gordon Gecko. Shia LeBeouf joins the cast as Jake Moore along with Carrie Mulligan as Gordon's daughter Winnie. Jake is dating Winnie and is involved in the wall street market and soon tries to get to know Gordon now that he is out of jail. Of course there is always more to things then they seem as Jake finds himself in the middle of various scandals.

Wall Street is fabulously acted. There is no question there. Oliver Stone has directed his actors very well. That is the great aspect of this film. Beyond that there is very little. There are some great one liners that pertain directly to us in our economy today but the majority of great lines can be seen in the trailer for the film. For the most part the film falls short of intrigue and fills half the movie with wall street jargon that isn't understood outside of wall street and economics. It's a film that slows down to a point that the storyline and movement falls to the wayside. It becomes more about the behind the scenes details then the story itself many times. Overall it was interesting but ultimately boring.

The Town

3 out of 5 Stars



Doug MacRay has been raised in Charlestown, Boston, a city with a high robbery rate where it has become a career passed down by generations. But after the latest robbery Doug has met a girl and decides he wants out. Now he works on his plans to get out in an attempt to leave with the girl.

The Town is a very well acted film and well directed. The heist scenes are interesting and catching and the characters are intriguing. But the film still suffers from a good few flaws, mainly plot points that get left out and a few supporting characters that have very little purpose other than to give an advance to small portions of the story. So mainly the film suffers from writing it seems. Otherwise it's an enjoyable heist film with a bit of a love story masked underneath.

Devil

3 out of 5 Stars



On an average day five strangers happen to enter the same building and into an elevator at the same time. The elevator stops running and pretty soon weird things begin to happen and one of these five people is supposed to be the devil. It soon becomes a battle for survival in an attempt to find the guilty member.

Devil is nothing special but it is interesting. The story comes from M. Night Shyamalan but fortunately that is all. Airbender proved he's lost his writing touch but this film proves he still has some good story ideas. The film is well directed for a story that primarily takes place in one location. The dialogue at times is a little cheesy but overall written pretty well. A few of the ideas about the devil a little more than interesting but overall it works well. And even though it's not the best mystery thriller it did keep me guessing until the end, which is precisely what it needed to do for what kind of movie it was. Overall, a decent horror thriller entertaining all the through though the ending could have been a little stronger.

Easy A

3 1/2 out of 5 Stars



Olive is an unnoticed high school girl until one day when she decides to help out a friend and pretend she "did it" with him but really didn't. Now the word has spread and more guys want in on the action and soon Olive has a full fledged business going. But of course these things have a way of coming back and biting. Although a modern day retelling of the Scarlett Letter, Easy A is also a parody on 80's teen comedies.

This film is not only funny but it also has a good moral tale about what happens when you spread lies. It successfully bridges the gap between teen comedy and parody without being ridiculous. It's a film that takes us back to the 80's and raises those ideas of how we wish life was more like a film. And Emma Stone is perfect in this role. When it comes to casting, this film was cast just right. It's super fun. It does slow down a slight bit at a couple points but not enough to lose interest. All in all Easy A is a well worthwhile film to see.

Resident Evil: Afterlife

2 out of 5 Stars



The Resident Evil film franchise has never known to be good. In fact, like most video game movies, they are known to be downright awful. And really, there isn't much beyond the special effects and action to really say these movies are good. But they have built a reputation of stories about a corporation that unleashes a virus that has turned the world into zombies save a select few and now Alice is out to stop them. And of course the films always end with a cliffhanger. The fourth installment is no different. There is plenty of action, plenty of zombies, and a cliffhanger that leaves it open for another film. There really was no surprise there. But these films aren't about surprises. They are about fun. And Resident Evil is fun in an over the top way all the more accentuated by the excessive 3D. Yes, of course the 3D is unnecessary. That's okay, though, it's fun. But if you're looking to save some money you'll want to find a theater that has it in 2D. There really is nothing great about 3D, especially not here. But this film is one fun thrill ride that, for the most part, is pretty exciting.

Machete

3 out of 5 Stars



Machete is a completely ridiculous and over the top piece of nonsense. And that is precisely what makes it so entertaining. This is Robert Rodriguez's tribute to Grindhouse pictures, as style of films that never were anything of quality. Rather they were completely ridiculous and over the top. That is exactly what is captured here with crazy action, ridiculous plots, over the top characters, and catchy one liners. To go into this movie expecting something good is like turning on a Sci-Fi B-movie and expecting it to be Star Wars. This movie is meant to be bad and it is. This is a movie made for entertainment and in it Danny Trejo shines. Jessica Alba isn't quite as good but Michelle Rodriguez gives a fun performance as well. This is ridiculous fun that brings back horrible film making in a different way. It falls right up there with the ridiculousness of Piranha and entertains just as well while filling up with a plot that's twice as good.

Going The Distance

3 out of 5 Stars



Going the Distance is another to add to the pile of mediocre comedies. Justin Long and Drew Barrymore star in this romantic comedy with a raunchy flare. Although Long and Barrymore show great chemistry on screen the film doesn't quite hold the right amount of charm and substance that is needed to balance out the raunchiness in a comedy. That being said I still enjoyed the film. It was better than I anticipated and I certainly laughed. It's a story that does have some valuable lessons. Unfortunately, like many raunchy comedies, much of that gets lost among the humor. But it's a fresh take on an age old idea.

The Switch

2 1/2 out of 5 Stars



The Switch is precisely what it looks like and is about the common result to be expected from a film coming from Mandate Pictures. They specialize in films that are a little different from the rest that have a slightly indie feel with a big budget. This is no different but it isn't on the same par as Juno or Whip It. Rather it is on the same level as Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist, one of lesser quality works to come from them. But even though it is mediocre it is still enjoyable. What could have been a horrible failure turned out to be decent entertainment. The biggest problem with the film really is the script. The biggest save for the film was the little boy and how well Jason Bateman worked along side him. Unfortunately Jennifer Aniston just really isn't that enjoyable in this film. They could have picked someone better to fill her shoes. But all in all I enjoyed the film in it's own right. Just don't expect too much from it.

The American

2 1/2 out of 5 Stars



George Clooney plays an assassin who grows tired of his life and heads to a small town in Italy to do one last job before getting out. In the mean time he falls for a prostitute and is hunted down but he doesn't know by who.

There are some great things done with The American. The character is interesting. His proficiency with weapons is intriguing to witness on screen and quite captivating. The film uses very little music and even then not until over halfway into the film. Before that any music is in the background. It's very fitting for the film. It's a character study on an assassin and a very interesting one at that. The pieces fit together quite well. Surprisingly well considering that the entire film is based around the character and therefore the story falls a bit to the wayside. It's a film made for the critics, not for the general populous.

So there are also a lot of problems with this film. It doesn't move very fast therefore it starts to feel very long after a while. Even though the character is interesting his reasons and decisions must be completely interpreted because it's not all plain and obvious. If there hadn't been a plot summary I'm pretty sure I would have been a bit confused as to what the film was about. The plot is thin with lots of unanswered questions about why he is being hunted. It's an art house film and even though I like many artistic films this was just much too slow. There are unfortunately more boring moments than anything despite how interesting the character is.

The Last Exorcism

2 out of 5 Stars



When Reverend Cotton decides to do one final exorcism to expose them as a fraud he invites a documentary crew along to tape it. Along the way he begins to find things he doesn't expect and isn't prepared for. What seems like it could be an interesting story ends up being slow and uninteresting. I've never liked the documentary style film making much but I feel it could be interesting though it would be difficult to make happen. This is just another addition to this style and it doesn't pull out well. Although the acting is quite good, the rest of the film is not. It's interesting and entertaining when it shows how the reverend is making things happen in the exorcism but beyond that nothing really happens. We sit through over an hour of the film with practically nothing happening. When something finally does it might be interesting but also very short. Then by the time things really start to heat up and get interesting the film ends. Overall the film is more of a bore than anything. It's certainly not scary and only interesting for the fact of seeing what happens behind a fake exorcism. If liked Paranormal Activity, Blair Witch, or similar movies you'll like this most likely. Either way, the ending is terrible.

Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World

4 1/2 out of 5 Stars



Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World is based upon a series of graphic novels of the same name. At the beginning of the movie Scott is dating a Chinese high school girl named Knives Chau and he's in a band. They are Sex Bob-Omb. He lives in Toronto, Canda. Then Scott meets Ramona Flowers, an American girl who has just moved to Toronto. They start dating. Then Ramona's evil exes begin to attack him because they have formed the League of Evil Exes in order to control Ramona's love life. Now Scott must defeat her seven evil exes to be with her.

The plot really is pretty simple. There isn't a whole lot to it. But that withstanding it really isn't that noticeable by the time the movie is done. It is done that well. The film was directed by a Canadian, the same guy who directed Hot Fuzz, and the film is American but doesn't feel that way. Scott Pilgrim is a unique piece of work unlike any other film to date. It's like a cross between a video game movie, graphic novel, and young adult comedy. It's a film specifically geared towards a younger generation that grew up in the advent of video games (though it doesn't mean that older generations can't enjoy it.) Scott Pilgrim is a super good time from beginning to end.

Despite Michael Cera being the lead in this movie it is quite amazing. He actually fits in the role of Scott Pilgrim and is balanced out nicely with the rest of the cast including Ellen Wong and Mary Elizabeth Winstead. The movie is also pretty darn good. But when it comes to creativity, this film really takes it too a fun level. It's funny and clever. The references are done wonderfully. This is one of those movies that is a disappointment it does so terribly in the box office because it is so amazing. This is one of the handful of movies this year I have absolutely loved. If you haven't seen Scott Pilgrim then you should.