Saturday, May 9, 2009

Nights in Rodanthe


Richard Gere and Diane Lane star in this drama based on the best selling book by Nicholas Sparks. Suffering from a painful end to her marriage Adrienne agrees to head to the coast and run her friend's bed and breakfast for a weekend. When she gets there she is only to take of one guest, a doctor running from some painful issues of his own. After an unbelievably powerful weekend their two lives will never be the same. Like most of Spark's works this is another tear-jerker but Lane and Gere are always a pleasure to watch.

Fireproof


Kirk Cameron stars in this Christian drama about marriage. When his marriage is on the brink of destruction fireman Caleb Holt is ready to throw in the towel until his father asks him to take 40 days and follow some instructions that he sends to him. As he begins his journey he works on not only repairing his relationship with his wife, but also his relationship with God. This is a very powerful movie that all married couples should watch. Not the best acting, but the message will bring many to tears.

Charlie Bartlett


When Charlie Bartlett gets kicked out of another private school and is finally forced to join public school he just can't seem to find his place. Then he joins forces with the local thug and dealer to sell prescription medications and give some minor therapy to all the other screwed up teens and quickly he is famous. Soon a battle is waged between the teens and the school administration let by Principal Robert Downey Jr. This was actually a really good movie that I almost passed on because I had not heard of it...I'm really glad I didn't.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona


When two young American girls decide to spend the summer in Catalonia they never expect to have an adventure quite like they end up having when they meet artist Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem). Between the seduction attempts and his crazy ex-wife played by Penelope Cruz, Juan definitely gives them a summer to remember. In typical Woody Allen style this is a different movie that you are not really sure what you thought at the end of it.

Pineapple Express


While trying to score some good drugs two potheads stumble into a dangerous drug war when one of them accidentally witnesses a murder. Now they must fight for their lives while as the bad guys try to kill them and each other. Seth Rogan and James Franco make a great pair in this violent comedy that is really pretty funny.

Appaloosa


Ed Harris plays Virgil Cole, an infamous vicious lawmen that was hired to bring order to towns that could pay to hire him. When he and his sidekick get hired by the folks of Appaloosa he has to go up against an evil rancher named Bragg who is awaiting trial for murdering the previous Marshal. At the same time he falls for the new "lady" in town played by Renee Zellweger.

The Secret Life of Bees


Based on the best-selling novel this is the story of a young girl who after the death of her mother runs away from home and finds solace at the home of three African American sisters. During the time of the Civil Rights movement this movie touches on the some fragile new found freedoms as well as the young girls struggle to find a place in life. Dakota Fanning does another great performance and Queen Latifah, Jennifer Hudson, Sophie Okonedo & Alicia Keys are also superb.

City of Ember


This is the story of a hidden city built to try and protect the human race and keep it alive from a worldwide disaster. As time goes on the Mayor is letting the city rot and so when a young girl discovers some old papers about a way out a quest begins to see if the instructions work. Unfortunately the Mayor doesn't want to lose his city so they must try to avoid him at the same time. This was a very cute movie that's uniqueness was enjoyable.

Center Stage: Turn It Up


When a girl from the streets wants to get into the American Ballet Academy and doesn't make it, she must accept some help from a hunky student to see if she can make her dreams come true. Dancing movies are rarely known for their good acting and this one is no different. If you watch it solely for the dancing you will enjoy it.

My Best Friend's Girl

Kate Hudson, Jason Biggs, and Dane Cook star in this comedy about nice guys who after they get dumped hire a real jerk Tank (Cook) to date their ex-girlfriend so that the girls quickly realize what they gave up. When Dustin (Biggs) gets dumped by Alexis (Hudson) his best friend Tank wants to help him out by getting Alexis back for him. When he meets Alexis things backfire when he finds he likes her too. This movie is crude, rude, but really pretty funny. Not for the easily offended.

The Incredible Hulk


Edward Norton is David Banner a scientist who when angry turns into a mean green beast. To try and avoid any incidents Banner is hiding out in Brazil until he is forced to come out of hiding to meet with a professor who thinks he can help him. When an army of soldiers try to detain him so that they can use him to develop other monsters for their army, Banner must use the Hulk to stop them. I really thought I was going to hate this movie, but as a huge Norton fan decided to try it...I actually thought it was pretty good.

Righteous Kill


Robert Deniro and Al Pacino play veteran cops in this crime drama about a serial killer who is taking out all the bad guys. As they work to solve the case they realize it is probably a cop doing the killing. Not the best movie but it was still enjoyable to watch two great actors like these two together in a movie.

High School Musical 3: Senior Year


All the cast in back in this next High School Musical about their senior year and the tough decisions they have to make about their future. Troy is struggling on whether to go to college where his dad wants him to go and play basketball or whether to try and find somewhere closer to Gabriella and pursue theater. This is a great family movie and I enjoy the fact that through the popularity of this series and others, musicals are coming back to life.

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist


When Nick (Michael Cera) gets dumped by his shallow girlfriend his friends decide to help him get over her by pairing him up with Norah (Kat Dennings). As they join forces on a crazy search to find a missing drunk girl and a hidden concert they find a lot more about each other. This was a very cute and enjoyable movie. Both leading actors did a great job keeping the movie sweet and fun to watch that along with some great music make this a must see.

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor


Brendan Fraser returns in the next Mummy only this time his son is the one to make a great discovery when he finds the tomb of an ancient Emperor. Of course it wouldn't be a Mummy movie unless the dead guys come back to life and the O'Connell's have to battle them to save the world. The battle comes to a head in China and once again it is good vs. evil. I wasn't crazy about the switch of female leads and really the only redeeming actors in this film are Michelle Yeoh and Isabella Leong.

Speed Racer


After the death of his racing legend older brother, Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch) is determined to be as great of racer as his brother was. When some corrupt bad guys try to take over it is up to Speed Racer and another mysterious driver to save the sport. Even with a great cast this ended up being a very cheesy movie with way overdone special effects.

Transporter 3


Frank Martin (Jason Statham) is called on again for another death defying transportation job only this time the bad guys don't really give him a choice about doing the job. Of course along the way they realize the hard way that Frank Martin doesn't like being told what to do. The action and fighting sequences are always far fetched but lots of fun for us action junkies to watch.

The Dark Knight


Christian Bale is back as Batman in this next installment of the popular series. Along with Bale, Heath Ledger stars as The Joker who plays an amazingly evil bad guy determined to bring mayhem to Gotham. Aaron Eckhart, and Maggie Gyllenhaal round out this star studded cast as Harvey Dent and Rachel Dawes. Probably the best Batman yet and that might be in part due to the amazing Oscar-winning performance by Ledger.

Tropic Thunder


Ben Stiller, Jack Black, and Robert Downey Jr. all star in this comedy about three actors who start out making a war movie, and unknowingly end up in a real war. Very politically incorrect in much of the dialogue but comedy lovers will think this movie is hilarious. One of those movies I would describe as "dumb but funny".

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian


After waiting a year the four Pevensie children are finally called on again to return to Narnia. This time their task is to help Prince Caspian claim his spot on the thrown and return Narnia and all who live there to the previous glory. I found this one as enjoyable as the first and look forward to the third.

Hancock


Will Smith plays a not so superhero in this movie about a man with superhero powers but that most the world dislikes because he is bitter and mean. One day he saves Ray, (Jason Bateman) a public relations agent, who tries to repay him by cleaning up his image and making the world love him. As he gets to know Ray and his family Hancock finds out some new information about who he really is. An enjoyable movies because it was not your typical superhero movie.

Journey to the Center of the Earth


In this movie Brendan Fraser plays a scientist who just cannot accept his brother's death, so when he finds some cryptic notes one of his brother's books he takes off on a journey to find the truth. I'm sure this was not an easy novel to make into a movie and really it was not well done, but some will find it entertaining.