Shrek 4

After delaying this movie as much as I could, I broke down and took the kids to see it the dollar theater on fifty cent day. After watching Shrek the 3rd years ago, I was a little apprehensive about seeing the newest, and possibly, last installment of the Shrek franchise. After the movie was over, I walked out of the movie feeling pretty good that I finally saw it. By far, this movie put the last one to shame. I enjoyed the storyline of Shrek playing the "what if" scenario. I thought Eddie Murphy's donkey wasn't too over the top like he was in previous movies. I thought Mike Myers and Cameron Diaz did a great job in re-creating the characters that we all came to know and love from Shrek. All in all, the movie ranks in my top 5 of summer movies this year, even though I have probably only seen 5 movies this summer.

It's Complicated

Coming from a person who isn't the biggest Meryl Streep fan, I have to say I'm starting to buy into how great of an actress she is. I thought Alex Baldwin was great as the ex-husband who wants a "friends with benefits" relationship with his ex-wife. My only problem with the movie was Steve Martin. While I like the character he played, I wished his character could of been funnier. I know that this is rather picky, but when he turns out genius roles in The Jerk, My Blue Heaven, and Parenthood, you kind of expect that in every other movie. Even in Father of the Bride, Steve Martin can play it straight and just have the comedy fall around him. Like I said, I know it's picky. All in all, the movie was good, buy not great! It does drag a little for me, but the ending doesn't leave you hollow, like most movies do nowadays.

Swing Vote

For what I thought was going to be a blow off movie, I really enjoyed this film! I loved the premise about how two presidential candidates only need to campaign to one person to become president. Kelsey Grammer was excellent as The President of the United States, who would be willing to switch his party's direction to get Bud (Kevin Costner) to vote for him. I also thought, even though it was evident that he was on his way out, that Dennis Hopper came off as being believable as the Democratic hopeful. My only issue with this movie was Kevin Costner. His character was comparable to his character in Tin Cup. Bud and Roy McAvoy were almost the same person to me. That didn't deter me from liking the movie, however. I thought Madeline Carroll stole the show as Bud's daughter. This movie is a must see!

The Karate Kid (2010)

This movie is truly a remake! Everything from the storyline to the dialogue, this movie is a copycat of the 1984 version of The Karate Kid. Even with the story taking place in China, as opposed to California, I was sitting there telling myself what the next scene would be. However, that's not a bad thing! Jaden Smith is a true star in this movie (God knows the last thing the world needs is for Will Smith and Jada Pinkett to have successful off-spring). Jackie Chan is, well Jackie Chan. While he's not as lovable as Pat Morita, he is enjoyable enough for me as Jaden's teacher. It's a great movie, and it will be interesting to see if they follow up with it.

Toy Story 3

Far and above, the Toy Story franchise sets the standard of Disney animation. Toy Story 3 closes the chapter in one sense, but possibly opens a new book with this one. I loved the characters, as I did in the first two, and the story was very heartwarming. To be honest, I found myself tearing up a few times in the movie. By far, the best family movie of the summer. Hopefully, it's not the last of the series, but if so, it went out with a bang!

Wonderful World

This movie isn't in my top 5 of Mathew Broddrick movies! Granted, I didn't expect Ferris Bueller, but I was looking for a little bit more than what I got. The story is pretty simple, lonely guy's roommate collapses, flies in sister, falls for sister, they break up, he finds himself throughout all of this. I thought he did a good job in the movie, but I was pretty bored with the love story. The biggest problem I had was the title. No where in this movie did I get the impression that this was a wonderful world for him. The movie is worth a shot, just don't get your hopes up!

I Think I Love My Wife

Chris Rock doesn't normally make movies that make people gravitate to the theaters, and this one was no exception. As it was just starting on TV, I figured I'd give it a shot. This movie surely lacks Chris Rock's humor in it. The story was okay, watchable, until the end. The ending will make you wish you spent two hours doing something else. There were no "laugh out loud" moments for me, yet I was interested to know if he was going to leave his wife for Kerry Washington. All in all, this movie proves that Chris Rock is not a solid lead for movies.

Just Friends

This was an okay movie for me. I love Anna Ferris, but after a while, I wanted her character to die. I wouldn't say that this was one of Ryan Reynolds' best role, but it didn't kill the movie for me. The story didn't drag for me, but I felt that the ending could of been a bit longer. After one hour and fifty-eight minutes of whether or not Ryan Reynolds was going to hook up with Amy Smart, it feels that the ending was rushed. It's a decent movie, and from the looks of it, will be a TBS classic in years to come.

The Time Traveler's Wife

This movie sucks!!! I wish I could travel through time and stop myself from watching this god-awful movie. I couldn't follow this story at all. I got that Eric Bana travels through time and that Rachel McAdams is the girl he's destined to be with. However, the movie takes left turns after left turns constantly. I won't say it's the worst movie I've ever seen, but it's in the top ten!

Heartbreak Hotel

For a movie that is around 20 years old, this movie holds up. Sure it's hokey with a ton of errors in it, but it's also a little nice, sweet movie about a teenage boy who would be willing to do anything for his mother, like kidnapping Elvis. David Keith was great as the King, bringing a sense of warmth to a man who, back then, had lost most of his charm due to drugs and too many peanut butter banana sandwiches. Don't except much from this movie, just allow yourself to be entertained.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

A year ago, we introduced the kids to Disney world. Eight months ago, I introduced them to Bugs Bunny. When I told them that both Mickey and Bugs are in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, they seemed to be intrigued. After finally getting in on Netflix, we all sat and watched it. To be honest, the movie doesn't hold up. The kids seemed disinterested in it and the language was a little questionable for them. Kids will enjoy it still, but kids who are now adults will change the channel.

The River Wild

Movie was alright, wasn't on the edge of my seat like I was told I'd be! Meryl Streep is great in the movie, although I didn't buy Kevin Bacon as the bad guy. I thought he was more of a villian in Hollow Man than this one. Descent movie though, worth the watch.

The Messenger

The Messenger starts off great, slows toward the end, all in all, worth the watch. Woody Harrelson has come a long way since Cheers. I can see how he got nominated for this movie. Like I said, the ending trails off at the end, but that's what you get with most independent movies.

Toy Story 1 & 2

Pixar's first movie is a big success! Tim Allen and Tom Hanks are pure greatness as the voices of Buzz and Woody. While a kid movie, every adult can enjoy this one.








Toy Story 2 is better than Toy Story 1. I loved seeing the Seinfeld villain, Newman (Wyatt Knight) and Fraiser's Kelsey Grammer play against Allen and Hanks in this one. Joan Cuzack's voice is annoying but the movie gets around that in total excitement. A must see!!!

The Blues Brothers

You can't be a true fan of the 80's without loving this movie. Very few SNL characters can make the transition from SNL to the big screen. Even though it didn't dominate the box office back in 1980, it is a cult movie (thanks, WGN), that has stood the test of time. Belushi is awesome, Aykroyd is brilliant, and the music still kicks ass to this day. If you feeling nostalgic, take two hours out of your day and watch The Blues Brothers.

The Blind Side

For what The Wrestler did for me last year, The Blind Side did for me this year. This movie was powerful. Sandra Bullock was deserving of best actress for this movie. Like I've said before, I haven't seen The Hurt Locker and I don't think Avatar is in my future. After watching The Blind Side, it is, by far, the best movie of 2009. A must see!

The Hangover

First off, this is a funny movie, but not the funniest I've ever seen. As far as I'm concerned, The Wedding Crashers still takes the cake. However, this movie had quite a few laugh out loud moments for me. Like I've said before, when a movie is rated PG-13 when it could have easily be rated R, the quality of the movie gets tarnished a bit for me. This movie didn't pull any punches and it should be commended. However, I can honestly say, I've seen better!

The Tooth Fairy

When you tell me that a pro wrestler is going to be in a movie where he is going to wear a tutu, my first thought is...this has been done before, remember Hulk Hogan in Mr. Nanny? So my thoughts of The Rock doing, yet another, kid movie to where The Rock is going to be wearing a tutu was pretty bleak. I expected nothing out of this movie, and quite frankly, I was surprised.

After The Scorpion King, The Rundown, The Gameplan, and even Wallkng Tall, The Rock has arrived in this movie. I believe this is his niche'. The days of replacing Stallone, Schwarzenegger, and Bruce Willis are gone. The Rock has found himself being the action hero for kids. As long as these movies make money, The Rock will be very successful in this genre. As for his part in The Tooth Fairy, his lines came off a little cheesy for me, but then again, I've seen him cut wrestling promos for almost ten years, so I can expect a little cheesiness. I found him to be entertaining, but it also helped that you had Billy Crystal and Julie Andrews in the movie. This was probably one of the first Ashley Judd movies to where she isn't so "in your face" and honestly, I kinda liked it. After watching Kiss the Girls, Double Jeporady, and A Time to Kill, she appeared to be more laid back in this one. As for the story line, it was smooth, easy to follow, and kids won't be lost in it.

For the type of audience that The Tooth Fairy is trying to reach, this is a plus. I really enjoyed the movie and I think you and your kids will like it too.

Up in the Air

I was a little leary of this movie, considering how the recent George Clooney choice of movies has been. I wasn't a fan of Leatherheads, I fell asleep during Ocean's 13, and I wanted to throw up during Intolerable Cruelity. For me, ever since he dressed up as Batman, I've had a hard time watching his movies with an open mind. Granted, all the of the Oscar buzz for Up in the Air helped, but then again, I never saw Syrianna or Good Night, Good Luck because of George Clooney. After watching Up in the Air, I am back on the George Clooney bandwagon.

The first thing this movie showed me was that it was rated R, and for me, that is a big deal. Making a movie rated R means that you don't pull back from subject matter, material, and language. This movie was about a real guy who lived on the road, using airplanes and hotels as a place of residence. His job was to go into these corporate buildings and give hard working employees their walking papers. Instead of getting a Disney, possibly edited for TBS type movie, I saw real emotion. I also have to commend Clooney on a job well done. He was convincing as Ryan, the hired gun for fire (so to speak). I liked Vera Farmiga as the woman who meets Clooney out on road, and uses him for the escape that she feels that she needs. Anna Kendrick's character was a little bit of a beating for me, but she won me over towards the end. I'm not sure if I just didn't like her character or if I didn't like her, but in the end, her character didn't ruin the movie for me.

Having never seen the best picture, The Hurt Locker, yet, I was pleasentley surprised on how much I enjoyed this movie. In my opinion, Jason Reitman is 2 for 2 in great movies, Juno and this one.

Lucas

Having an 80's flashback moment, my wife and I decided to watch an old 80's classic Lucas. With the passing of Corey Haim, Charlie Sheen's martial woes, and the biggest question of all, what ever happened to Kerri Green, we dove into Lucas. Let just say, times can surely change the outlook of a movie.

Considering the age of Corey Haim in the movie, I thought he did a remarkable job in the film, and, not to sound too weepy, I found myself tearing up a little as I watched him steal the scenes from everyone else in the movie. I thought Charlie Sheen was great as kind of a "big brother" to Lucas, even if I've gotten so used to his character in Two and a Half Men. Kerri Green was wonderful in her role as Maggie, the object of Lucas' affection.

The story felt a little dated, but that would be natural considering the changing of the times. The story had a very soft ending. I understand that the story was about a over achieving kid who was looking for acceptance and had a hard time getting it in a high school atmosphere. I find it hard to believe that all it took was for him to show up in a high school football game to get knocked out to get accepted.

Still, the movie is a classic and it helped put Corey Haim on the map. Too bad drugs knocked him out of this world.

Iron Man 2

It's Summer time and for movie fans that means BIG SUMMER MOVIES. Movie studios make it a point to release sequels during this time, knowing that fans will all flock to the theaters in droves to see them. That brings me to Iron Man 2.

Robert Downey Jr. is back as Tony Stark/Iron Man and is awesome in his performance. While in the beginning, the movie appeared to be too busy, but after the first 15 minutes, the movie calmed down and the story developed. While Jeff Bridges gave a rather thankless role as the villain in the first one, Mickey Rourke gives a masterful performance as Whiplash. My only issue with this movie was that there wasn't enough Mickey Rourke in the movie. I found the Justin Hammer character to be annoying and wished that they would kill him off. While I like Don Cheadle as an actor and loved him in Ocean's Eleven, I missed Terrence Howard in the role as Rhodey. I was looking forward to seeing him as War Machine after the scene in Iron Man when he looked at the silver Iron Man costume and said, "Next time!" But that didn't ruin the movie for me! I liked the Captain America tie in as they used his shield as a lift. The action sequences were great, but I felt they could of been longer.

All in all, while I liked the movie, it's definitely not The Dark Knight! But with the tie in to the eventual Avengers movie, and potential superhero movies that Marvel keeps putting out on a yearly basis, they're still far and above the standard bearer when it comes to superhero movies.

The Backup Plan-T

It's been a while since I've reviewed a movie, but this one was deemed blog-worthy, mainly because Melissa promised to blog as well...we'll see what happens there! While we didn't have any kids today and Iron Man 2 is still a week away, we headed to the movie theater to catch The Backup Plan starring Jennifer Lopez. With the wife being pregnant and also being a big J-Lo fan, we deemed this movie "theater worthy" for us, as Netflix and dollar movies have probably ruined us forever.

Let me state for the record, this movie was good. The story flowed nicely as we go through the Jennifer Lopez's pregnancy. We see the ups and downs of her relationship with a guy she just met after she was impregnated by a doctor. I was a little surprised that this movie was PG-13, seeing as how this movie include strong language and brief (and I do mean brief) nudity. For you Happy Days fans, you might see Tom Bosley in his last movie, seeing as how I didn't realize that he was still alive.

Here is my only problem with the movie. To me, this was like every other romantic comedy that Jennifer Lopez has been in, unless she is killed in the beginning of Jersey Girl. The movie had kind of a "been there, done that" feel for me. All in all though, I can look past that and focus what was good about the movie.

What might kill this movie is the timing of the release, seeing as how Iron Man 2 will kick the hell out of it next week. Guys, take my advice, take your lady to see this now, so they won't hold it over you when you want to see Iron Man 2 next week. The best part is, you won't be disappointed in this one.

Love Happens

After seeing this movie a couple of days ago, I became very conflicted about what I thought of this movie. On one hand, I thought Aaron Eckhart did a great job of playing an "expert" on dealing with depression, while he himself had not taken the same steps he preached about. Jennifer Aniston, on the other hand, was pretty useless to me. She came off as a sexless, wooden person, almost Hayden Christian like. I felt zero emotional attachment to her in this movie as I did in Management. As for the story, I felt that the movie moved along nicely, dealing with Eckhart's demons one scene at a time. I do feel that the title is a misrepresentation of the movie. Love only happened in the end and that looked pretty forced for me. I think a better title could of been The Stairway to you Problems, Don't Practice what you Preach, or Using Big Word to describe how you feel. All in all, it's a nice movie, but don't expect a lot!

Saw III

After really enjoying the first two installments of the Saw franchise, we received the third one, courtesy of Netflix. While it didn't live up to what the first two had, it wasn't bad by any means. There are some things I would probably change, for instance, I found the apprentice to be a a drag on the movie. I'm not sure how important her role is to the franchise, but I'm sure I'd figure it out the farther I go into watching it. With the exception of Tobin Bell, I think the acting was kind of half-assed. I can't wait to see what Saw IV has in store for us!

The Wedding Singer

This was the break out Adam Sandler movie for me! While I think Big Daddy is the best one, The Wedding Singer proved to me that Adam Sandler can act. I loved the story that Sandler and Drew Barrymore had together. I also loved the little 80's details, such as Robbie's brother in-law saying, "I'll be there in a second, something happened to J.R He might be dead or something!" We see the Michael Jackson jacket and moonwalk, Miami Vice, and mentions of New Coke. We also get a sweet story about a guy who gets left at the alter, loses his edge to sing at weddings, and falls in love with a waitress who is, herself, getting married just to get married. From hair styles, to clothes, to sayings, this movie is great!

The Girlfriend Experience

This is a sex-less movie, considering that the movie is about sex. Sasha Grey, a real life porn star, plays a girl who is in, I guess, a committed relationship with a guy who can't get a job. Her job is to sell the girlfriend experience to her clients, which would involve sex for most. Like I said, however, there is no sex to be had in the movie, leaving the movie to be nothing more than a swallow documentary about the secret life of an escort. I expected something more out of Steven Soderbergh. This movie doesn't deliver!

Griffin & Phoenix

This was a nice little love story about two cancer patients who don't have very long to live. While this movie doesn't sound like a romantic comedy, considering that the two people in this movie are dying, there are some comedic moments that help levy the outcome. I thought both Amanda Peet and Dermot Mulroney were wonderful together as Griffin and Phoenix. While the movie gets sadder as the end draws near for the two of them, I loved how they ended it! Give it a shot!

Saw II

I loved how this movie wasn't like the first one. I was thinking, here we go again. We're going to spend the next two hours of this movie digging into the victim's life to see how they ended up at the mercy of Jigsaw. Boy was I wrong! I loved how Jigsaw screwed with Donnie Walhberg throughout the movie. It's always good to see a sequel to where you don't say "been there, done that". Saw III just came to the house, can't wait to see it!

Trucker

I came away from this movie liking it, yet wanting more! I felt the movie was somewhat incomplete. As a former truck driver, I could relate to how Diane Ford put her life on the road first, being an owner operator. I had a hard time understanding the dialogue between her and the guy who was trying to rape her. I didn't know if he was a former customer of her's (it was unclear if she used to be a lot lizard). All in all, this movie was what you could expect out of an independent movie.