The Debt

Released:  2010

OVERALL RATING:  *  *  *  .5
(on a scale of 1 to 4 - 4 being best)

Director:  John Madden
Writers:  Matthew Vaughn, Jane Goldman, Peter Staughan
Producers:  Eitan Evan, Eduardo Rossoff, Kris Thykier, Matthew Vaughn
Main Actors:  Helen Mirren, Tom Wilkinson, Sam Worthington, Jessica Chastain

Directing:  *  *  *  *
Acting:  *  *  * 
Plot:  *  *  *  *
Predictability:  *  *  *  * 
Entertainment Value:  *  *  * 

This was an intense movie.  You really didn't know what was going to happen next, which is why I gave it a 4 for predictability.  I couldn't predict how it would end.  It drew you in and kept you there wondering how the first scenes of the movie came into play.

The characters were very well developed in the film.  You got to see them grow at a pace that was just right.  I didn't feel like anything was missing from our knowledge of the characters.

The movie definitely didn't glorify the spy world.  These were real people with missions to accomplish.  You became sympathetic to their circumstances and wanted them to succeed.  It was not even remotely similar to a James Bond movie.

I'd recommend the movie, but not if you want to watch something light and fluffy.  Wait until you want to see a 'thinking' movie.  It does deal with choice impacts later in life - hard choices motivated by good intentions - or were they really 'good' intentions...?  ;)

Favorite Scene:  The botched escape into west Germany.

The Lone Ranger

Released:  2013

OVERALL RATING:  *  .5
(on a scale of 1 to 4 - 4 being best)

Director:  Gore Verbinski
Writers:  Ted Elliot, Justin Heythe
Producers:  Jerry Bruckheimer, Gore Verbinski
Main Actors:  Johnny Depp, Armie Hammer, William Fichtner, Ruth Wilson

Directing:  *
Plot:  *
Acting:  *  *  *
Predictability:  *  *  
Entertainment Value:  *

This movie is not worth your time.  I had such high hopes.  The visuals were okay and there were gunfights, explosions, and chases.  Surprisingly, this didn't make much of a difference to a pretty bad movie.

I have no idea what the writers where thinking.  Oh, that's right... THEY WEREN'T THINKING!!!  It was extremely stupid to have the story told by Tonto as a statue in a carnival exhibit that comes to life.  What was that?  Really?

Okay, so that is about all the time I will invest in reviewing this disappointment.

Favorite Scene:  The end of the credits.  Yeah, that bad.

The Internship

Released:  2013

OVERALL RATING:  *  *  * 

(on a scale of 1 to 4 - 4 being best)

Director:  Shawn Levy
Writers:  Vince Vaughn, Jared Stern
Producers:  Shawn Levy, Vince Vaughn
Main Actors:  Vince Vaughn, Owen Wilson, Rose Byrne

Directing:  *  *  * 
Plot:  *  * 
Acting:  *  *  *  
Predictability:  *  * 
Outloud Laughing:  *  *  *  .5
Entertainment Value:  *  *  *  .5

I do like Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson together - Wedding Crashers, Starsky & Hutch, Zoolander... enjoyable movies for sure.  This movie wasn't as good as some of the others, but I enjoyed it.  It ended up being funnier then I thought it would be.

I do have to admit, the first half of the movie was a lot better then the second half.  It got too ridiculous and a bit schmaltzy at the end.  I laughed more in the first half of the movie.  It almost felt like they weren't sure how to wrap it up so they pulled some standard 'Hollywood' endings and threw them together.  Either that or editing cut way too much out.

The way these two interact is fabulous.  It almost seems like they are improving at times - and maybe they were.  Buddy movies work well for these two.  I actually wish they would make more together.

So... I do recommend the movie if you want to have a relaxing evening with some laughs.  It isn't a 'thinking' movie, thats for sure, but it is definitely entertaining.  It works well for an escape.

Favorite Scene:  The 'on-the-line' interview where they are answering the 'shrunk down to the size of a nickel and dropped in a blender' question.  Laughed very hard at this.

White House Down

Released:  2013

OVERALL RATING:  *  *  
(on a scale of 1 to 4 - 4 being best)

Director:  Roland Emmerich
Writer:  James Vanderbilt
Producer: Harald Kloser, Roland Emmerich, James Vanderbilt
Main Actors:  Channing Tatum, Jamie Foxx, Maggie Gyllenhaal

Directing:  *  * 
Story:  *  *  
Predictability:  *  *  
Acting:  *  * 
Entertainment Value:  *  *  * 

Jamie Foxx, your portrayal of an American President SUCKED!!!!  I'm hoping that was due to bad direction.  I was so friggin annoyed with your character.  I mean really, really annoyed.

So, now that my primary pet peeve with this movie has been announced, I will move on.  Channing Tatum, you are hot, but acting... not so hot.  I just want to see you in movies like Magic Mike okay?  Okay.

Seriously, the movie started off pretty poorly.  It did get better and I ended up being entertained.  It had guns and explosions and stuff, so of course I had to watch the whole thing.  The movie seemed to be done using the basic Hollywood script for action films.  Pretty formulaic.

FYI people:  Money is housed and distributed at each Federal Reserve Bank - there are 12 of them.  Washington DC is where the Board of Governors is, NOT the FRBs.  So, when the movie talked about the money being moved out of the Federal Reserve - not realistic.  And there are billions of dollars in the FRB vaults, not millions.

Okay - I'm off my high horse.  I only recommend this movie if you want a no brainer, don't have to think, watch things go crazy movie experience.

Favorite Scene:  The car chase on the White House lawn.  That was pretty amusing.

Gravity

Released:  2013

OVERALL SCORE:  *  *  *  .5
(on a scale of 1 to 4 - 4 being best)

Director:  Alfonso Cuaron
Writers:  Alfonso Cuaron, Jonas Cuaron
Producers:  Alfonso Cuaron, David Heyman
Main Actors:  Sandra Bullock, George Clooney

Acting:  *  *  *  *
Directing:  *  *  *  * 
Predictability:  *  *  * 
Story:  *  *  *  
Entertainment Value:  *  *  *  * 

This is a MUST SEE film.  It was amazing.  Sandra Bullock was absolutely brilliant.  I laughed, I cried, I was totally engrossed in what she was going through.  I went with my friend Cindy and I actually grabbed onto her arm several times.  (I got scared for Sandra B. okay?)

And there were explosions.  If you read my blog, I love to see things blow up in movies.

This is definitely not a 'light and fluffy' movie.  I was totally involved in what was happening.  The fear, relief, determination, etc... that Dr. Stone was experiencing was engrossing.  I could not imagine being in her position, but she brought us into that situation fabulously.

The special effects were great!  I usually don't talk about effects in my reviews, but this movie warrants a shout out for them.  Everything so... so... real.  Well done movie geniuses.  Well done.

Favorite Line:  Dog... arf arf... wolf wolf

2 Guns

Released:  2013

OVERALL RATING:  *  *  *  
(on a scale of 1 to 4 - 4 being best)

Director:  Baltasar Kormakur
Writers:  Blake Masters, Steven Grant
Producers:  Andrew Cosby, Randall Emmett, Norton Herrick, etc...
Main Actors:  Denzel Washington, Mark Wahlberg, Paula Patton

Directing:  *  *  .5
Acting:  *  *  *  * 
Story:  *  * 
Entertainment Value:  *  *  *  .5
Predictability:  *  *  *

Guns, explosions, fights, and money... Yep, it is no surprise I like the movie.  Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg worked really well together.  They were extremely funny, not so much because of the script, but because of the way they said and did things.  I really enjoyed that aspect of the movie.

There was a bit of overkill in the violence area.  Don't get me wrong - it was great, but a bit Terentino-esk.  At one point I did think it was just like a Terentio movie.  Really Mr. Director?  Copying his style?  Slightly Lame

Anyway, I do recommend the movie.  It's a good action flick that keeps ya on your toes.

Favorite Line:  "He either puked or he's dead."

R.I.P.D.

Released:  2013

OVERALL RATING:  *  *  .5
(on a scale of 1 to 4 - 4 being best)

Director:  Robert Schwentkey
Writers:  Phil Hay,  Matt Manfredi
Producers:  Michael Forttrell, Mike Richardson
Main Actors:  Jeff Bridges, Ryan Reynolds, Kevin Bacon, Mary-Louise Parker

Directing:  *  *
Acting:  *  *  *  
Entertainment Value:  *  *  *
Story:  *  *
Predictability:  *  * 

I had high hopes for this movie.  It was good, but not as good as I was hoping.  The story just had too many holes and didn't really make a lot of sense.  I mean, come on, policing the world of the half dead is so realistic I don't know how they managed to mess it up!  (insert sarcastic snarky face here)

Good Aspects:  It was entertaining and did hold my interest.  The effects were okay.  There were some very funny scenes.  The concept was engaging.

Bad Parts:  It seemed like they may have edited out some parts that were needed for the story line.  Things just didn't connect very well.  Kevin Bacon was too pretty as a Deado.  He needed more disgustingness.

If you are bored and looking for something purely entertaining to watch, I do recommend this movie. Don't waste your time though if you are looking for a great film.

Favorite Scene:  Roy (as his avatar) being flung through the mall and against buildings as people watched.  Him as a hot chick was pretty brilliant.