The Expendables

A team of mercenaries head to South America on a mission to overthrow a dictator.

The Expendables was exactly what I thought it would be: an action filled movie with some of my favorite actors. The story was okay, it wasn't anything amazing, but I think the acting was good, and there was a lot of Jason Statham, and that's never a bad thing.

Oops, how did that get there? I've lost my train of thought. Oh yeah, Expendables. If you're not an action movie fan, you won't like this movie. I can pretty much guarantee that. But if, like me, you're all about stuff blowing up and everybody shooting and fighting everybody else, you'll love this. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Iron man 2

We went and saw Iron Man 2 at the drive in movies last night. It was a good movie but not as good as the first one. It seemed like a lot of time went into special effects and not enough time went into developing the story. There were a few parts that seemed like they were going to be really exciting but when it got down to it, it was a little anti climatic. The special effects and the music int he movie were really good but don't expect this one to be as good as the first.

I would give this 3.5 out of 5 stars

Alice in Wonderland (New One)

19-year-old Alice returns to the magical world from her childhood adventure, where she reunites with her old friends and learns of her true destiny: to end the Red Queen's reign of terror.

Before I saw this movie, I kind of was unsure. I heard from a lot of people that it was weird. I wanted to see it though because I liked the Disney Alice in Wonderland. I thought it would be based on the same story line, and it was but it was just kind of different. Overall I thought that this was a great movie and I would definitely not mind seeing it again. This was a cute movie. and there were some funny parts, and the plot was interesting. There was something about this movie that was just different from others. So I guess you could say it is weird, but it is a good kind of weird. I would rate this movie a 5 out of 5.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

I thought this movie was really good. The acting was pretty good. This movie was good because there was action as well as comedy. I haven't read the book, but I've heard the movie doesn't do it justice. I thought by itself though, the movie was really good. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Sherlock Holmes

We were finally able to make it to the theatre to see Sherlock Holmes... yay for vacations! I thought it was decent adventure flick, and fun enough to watch. There was a lot of slow motion fight scenes and some different effects. I liked the pieces coming together at the end. They did leave it WIDE open for a second Sherlock Holmes though, which kind of bugged me. I don't like big gaping holes left at the end. 3.5 stars.

Zombieland

Zombieland

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• Woody Harrelson,
• Jesse Eisenberg,
• Emma Stone

Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) has made a habit of running from what scares him. Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson) doesn’t have fears. If he did, he’d kick (more...)

87% liked it

R, 1 hr. 21 min.

Director: Ruben Fleischer

Box Office: $4.2 M

Released: Oct 2, 2009

DVD: Feb 2, 2010

Movies & Actors at Flixster

I'm trying something new here with this movie widget thing.  I think it's kind of cool.  It seems easier than searching for a movie poster, saving it, and then uploading it to blogger.  Anyway, Zombieland.  This movie was hilarious.  Even now, I keep thinking about funny things.  The survival rules were awesome.  I didn't really expect to like it as well as I did.  I would definitely recommend this one!  4 1/2 out of 5.

Surrogates

Set in a futuristic world where humans live in isolation and interact through surrogate robots, a cop (Willis) is forced to leave his home for the first time in years in order to investigate the murders of others’ surrogates.

Meh.  I could leave it at that one word, and that would probably sum up my review.  I didn't really have many feelings about this movie at all.  Not good, not bad, just kind of blah.  But I did find that it was kind of weird that all the people who were living through surrogates weren't fatter.  If all you ever did was sit there and control your surrogate thingy, and presumably you still had to eat to stay alive, I think you'd probably become a little overweight.  Even people in real life who don't exercise move around somewhat.  They don't just lay in a chair all day long.  Also, the people who rejected having surrogates, who were kind of fighting against it were all ugly and a lot of them were overweight.  It was just all kind of backwards.  I probably wouldn't recommend this one.  It just wasn't very good.  3 out of 5

Gamer

 

Set in a future-world where humans can control other humans in mass-scale, multi-player online gaming environments, a star player from a game called "Slayers" looks to regain his independence while taking down the game's mastermind.

This movie had a whole lot of potential.  I really thought the story sounded interesting.  But they blew it.  There were so many awesome things they could have done, but instead they focused on really stupid stuff.  I thought it would be a lot different than it was.  Also, the ending was horrible.  I don't think it could have been worse.  I wouldn't recommend this to anyone, no matter how attractive you think Gerard Butler is.  It won't save the movie, I promise.  2 out of 5 stars. 

Astro Boy

Set in futuristic Metro City, Astro Boy is about a young robot with incredible powers created by a brilliant scientist named Dr. Tenma. Powered by positive "blue" energy, Astro Boy is endowed with super strength, x-ray vision, unbelievable speed and the ability to fly. Embarking on a journey in search of acceptance, Astro Boy encounters many other colorful characters along the way. Through his adventures, he learns the joys and emotions of being human, and gains the strength to embrace his destiny. Ultimately learning his friends and family are in danger, Astro Boy marshals his awesome super powers and returns to Metro City in a valiant effort to save everything he cares about and to understand what it means to be a hero.

We took the boys to see this one at the dollar theater last weekend.  I think it was a cute kids movie, but there wasn't a whole lot to the story.  I guess that's the way most kids movies are, but sometimes I want more details, or more something, because what they're giving just isn't enough.  It was good enough for my boys, though, and Kevin wants to be Astro Boy.  Of course, he wants to be the hero in every single movie we see, so that's nothing new.  I'd give it 3 out of 5. more »

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow

After New York City receives a series of attacks from giant flying robots, a reporter teams up with a pilot in search of their origin, as well as the reason for the disappearances of famous scientists around the world.

On Sundays, my family usually has a movie afternoon.  Most of the time, we watch some kind of superhero movie (usually a Marvel comics one), so it took a little bit of convincing to get my boys to want to watch this one.  The DVD cover doesn't look like a regular superhero flick, but I finally convinced them that this was about superheroes, just a little different.  Anyway, not that we've got that bit of background out of the way, on to my review.

I love this movie.  It was very stylized--it felt like I was watching a movie from the 30's or 40's.  The plot and characters could have been a little more developed.  The movie could have been longer.  But what was there was highly enjoyable.  There was humor, action, romance, and fun.  It was a good Sunday family movie.  I rate it 5 out of 5.

The Fifth Element

In the colorful future, a cab driver unwittingly becomes the central figure in the search for a legendary cosmic weapon to keep Evil and Mr Zorg at bay.

I had only ever seen bits and pieces of this movie, so it was nice to sit down and watch the whole thing.  While not the best story, this one was definitely interesting, and kept me entertained.  The acting wasn't great.  I swear the bad guy's accent changed every few seconds, but some of the actors did okay.

For the time it was made, I'd say it was a well done science fiction movie, but I'd probably only recommend it to fans of sci-fi.  I'd rate it 4 out of 5.

You Only Live Twice

Agent 007 and the Japanese secret service ninja force must find and stop the true culprit of a series of spacejackings before nuclear war is provoked.

This is not what the cover of our DVD looks like, but this movie poster was so awesome that I had to use it.  Plus, it almost writes my review for me.  But, since my New Years resolution is to not be so lazy (not really, I can be as lazy as I want), I'm going to actually write out a review.

Troy and I are big James Bond movie fans, but I've realized, as we've collected and watched them, that I do prefer the newer ones.  But the older ones definitely have their value, if for nothing else than the unintentional comedy.  I was laughing during this movie quite a bit, and it really wasn't meant to be funny.  It's just classic James Bond.

I'm not sure I'd recommend this to anyone but James Bond fans, although as a matter of interest, many of the things you see in the Austin Powers movie came from this movie.  I'd rate it 3 out of 5.

9

After an apocalyptic war between human and machines, the world is completely destroyed and without human life. The burlap doll 9 awakes without voice and finds a weird object in the middle of the debris that he brings with him.

This was a cute movie but it was too simple for me.  I think they could have added more story into this movie. It just seemed too short for all that happened. It was a cute movie; I am not sure if you could say it is a family movie because it is pg13 and it is a bit scary for young kids. I think I would rate this movie a 3 out of 5.

Kingdom of Heaven

A blacksmith named Balian has lost his family and nearly his faith. The religious wars raging in the far-off Holy Land seem remote to him, yet he is pulled into that immense drama. Amid the pageantry and intrigues of medieval Jerusalem he falls in love, grows into a leader, and ultimately uses all his courage and skill to defend the city against staggering odds.

This is just my kind of movie.  Epic action movies top my list of favorite genres, so it's no surprise that I really enjoyed this movie.  The battle scenes were well done, mostly, but there was also good characterization, where I cared about what happened to the people, so it wasn't just mindless action.  5 out of 5.

Broken Arrow

Broken Arrow is about two soldiers who are flying a test mission over Southern Utah.  They are carrying two nuclear warheads.  Then one of them turns on the other, because he wants to steal the missiles.  The rest of the movie is one of the pilots, with the help of a park ranger, trying to stop the one who stole the warheads.

It was really bad.  Really, really bad.  Both Troy and I had seen this a long time ago (it was made in 1996), and remembered it being okay.  It wasn't at all.  The acting was horrible, like lines you'd hear in Power Rangers.  The story was full of holes, and people doing stupid things that nobody would ever do.  I really wouldn't recommend this one.  2 out of 5.

Firefly and Serenity

Firefly is a TV series that aired for one season in 2002.  It actually didn't even air for the full season.  I think it's because Fox does not know how to market their shows, or even how to run the shows in order.  In other words, Firefly was a great show that still has a huge fan following, and Fox sucks.

Firefly is set in the future, where Earth became uninhabitable and the humans traveled to another star system, and began settling there.  I would categorize it as a space western, I think.  Most of the show takes place on their spaceship, or with them doing different jobs (they're kind of hired criminals) on various worlds.  The acting is great, and the show writing is great (Joss Whedon always is).

Serenity was a movie made in 2005 that finished the story, since the last show of Firefly definitely wasn't a good ending to the story (in fact, it was horrible).  The movie was every bit as good as the show.  Great sci-fi action.  I would definitely recommend both the TV series and the movie.  5 out of 5.

Duplicity

This guy and this girl, who you have no idea who they are, are maybe in love, and maybe not, and they do some sort of scam together (you think... but you can't really tell what's going on). How's that for a description? Confusing? Well, welcome to the movie. The first hour I had NO IDEA what was going on at all. The second hour (yes this movie drags out over 2 whole hours) I understood slightly more... enough to mildly wonder what was going to happen. I hate movies that make me feel lost the entire time, and this was one of them. I'll give it a 1.5 out of 5. And the .5 is only because Clive is a nice looking man. Otherwise it would only get 1.

Iron Man 2 Trailer

Avatar

This movie was awesome!  I heard reviews saying that the story wasn't great, but it was neat to watch.  Not so.  I thought the story was excellent.  I was emotionally invested, it was interesting, and it was well acted.  But they were right about it being good visually.  That was probably the best part.  It was a gorgeous movie.  I don't know what other word to use to describe it.

We saw it in IMAX 3D, and while I usually really dislike 3D movies, I can't imagine this any other way.  I probably sat there with a goofy grin on my face for half the movie, because it was just so beautiful and cool.  You've probably seen previews for this one, but it doesn't do it justice.  It's a great movie, and if you have a chance at all to see this in IMAX 3D, do it.  You won't regret it.  I feel sorry for people who wait to see it until it's on DVD.  It won't be anywhere near as good, I promise.  Pay the few extra dollars to see it in 3D.  It's worth the money!  But, as a warning, it sells out fast.  If you're thinking about seeing it (even later this week), get your tickets right now.  Don't wait.  I absolutely loved it, and it's going on my list of favorites.

District 9

When I saw the trailer for this, for this, I wasn't very interested in seeing it.  The trailer didn't really tell what the movie was about, and it looked a little boring.  This trailer is one that I didn't see, but I think represents the movie a bit better.  The part in the first trailer where they're interviewing the alien, and it says they just want to go home and they didn't mean to come here isn't even in the movie, so you never actually know why they came or anything.

The beginning of the movie was kind of weird.  I felt like I was watching a PBS special or something.  That didn't make it bad, it was just different from most movies I've seen.

There were some things I really liked about this movie, and some things that got on my nerves.  The main character guy seemed to be dumb as a box of rocks, but I think that was the point, kind of.  He was supposed to be dumb.  Also, I started out thinking the aliens were really gross.  They were just disgusting bug-like creatures.  But then, as the movie progressed, I was rooting for the aliens, in particular the father and son.

It ended kind of abruptly, in a spot where you would hope there would be more so you could find out what happens.  In fact, Troy got up to go to the bathroom, and I wondered what he was doing, because I could tell there was five minutes more movie, at most, but he thought there would be a bunch more.  I was right--there was only 30 seconds left when he got back.  I guess that leaves it open for a sequel, but this doesn't seem like the type of movie for one.

I would recommend this movie if you like science fiction or alien movies.  I'm not sure how well a non sci-fi fan would like it, but it was definitely interesting, although there was lots of swearing.  I'd give it 4 out of 5.