Hangover Part II

The entire "wolfpack" is back in Hanover Part II but only this time they are off to Thailand so that Stu can marry the girl of his dreams. Only for this group nothing can be that easy and they wake up in Bangkok with no idea how they got there and a whole lot of other questions. Add in a crazy monkey, a strange missing finger, and a tattoo and you know you will be laughing. I actually liked # 2 as well as the first and if you saw the first one you won't be shocked by the language an crude humor.

Bridesmaids

This is a movie that has been called the female version of the Hangover and I can tell you it is just as raunchy and just as funny. Kristen Wiig is hilarious in her role as the best friend of the bride trying hard to be the perfect maid of honor and having trouble doing anything right. When you pair her with a bunch of other bridesmaids, especially Melissa McCarthy you are bound to see a roller coaster of calamities that will make you laugh until you cry.

Kung Fu Panda 2

Jack Black is back as Po The Dragon Warrior whose mission in this second Kung Fu Panda is to save Kung Fu against the evil Lord Shen. In order to be successful he must first achieve the next level of his training and find inner peace. Once again the animation is superb and all the main characters return making this a great sequel enjoyable for the whole family.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

This fourth installment of the Pirates movies puts Captain Jack Sparrow and a lot of the other villains on the quest for the Fountain of Youth. Along the way there are of course various treacherous obstacles to overcome and only one person will actually be able to drink from the fountain so the battle is to see who that person will be. I don't know if I am just getting tired of the series or what but I found myself much more interested in what was happening with the mermaid and Philip than I was the Pirates...maybe I just missed Orlando and Kiera.

Thor

I have to admit I am kind of a sucker for any type of "super hero" movie and this one surprisingly did not disappoint. The special effects were much better than I anticipated and Chris Hemsworth was the perfect choice for the hammer wielding hero. Anthony Hopkins and Tom Hiddleston were also great in their roles of Thor's father and brother. I would have loved to see this film in 3D, but still enjoyed it immensely.

Something Borrowed

This is your typical plot about the "nice girl" (Ginnifer Goodwin) who is used to coming in second to her beautiful blond best friend (Kate Hudson) and is in love with said friend's fiancee and throughout the movie is sadly helping plan the wedding as she secretly pines for the fiancee. I have to admit that this is one of those movies that I was really excited to see but by the end I wasn't sure if I really like any of the characters except the guy best friend played by John Krasinksi...so I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it.

The Fighter

Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale stare in this movie based on the true story of Micky Ward's fight to get out of the shadow of his big brother's boxing career, and more recently his addiction to crack and make a name for himself in the ring. Christian Bale steals the limelight doing an amazing job of portraying the drug addicted older brother who still lives in his past glory days. Overall an enjoyable movie to watch.

Black Swan

Natalie Portman was amazing in this complicated picture about a sweet, hardworking ballerina who is striving for the lead role in Swan Lake but whose director is not quite sure she can handle the role of the "black swan". She must find a way to reach a completely different side of herself to achieve the role, but without losing herself in the process. An intriguing movie, with a few controversial scenes that make this a movie for a more mature audience.

127 Hours

You do not have to watch this movie for very long before it is obvious why James Franco was nominated for so many awards for his role in this remarkable true story about a guy hiking in the canyons of Utah who falls and is pinned by a boulder that has smashed his hand between the boulder and the canyon wall. With very little food, water, and resources at his disposal it is amazing to see one man's fight for survival.

Burlesque

I love nothing more than a good musical and this movie is no exception. Christina Aguilera's amazing voice overshadows any acting flaws she has and the wonderful choreography is a joy to watch. Add in the gorgeous Cam Gigandet and Eric Dane along with the amazing acting ability of Stanley Tucci (who has great on screen chemistry with Cher) and you have a fun chick flick from start to finish.

I am Number Four

Another year, another generic fantasy movie trying to build a huge film franchise on the heels of Harry Potter and Twilight. I am Number four feels like a male version of Twilight: shallow, pretty, and ultimately forgettable as soon as you leave the theater. There's action and it's flashy, but poorly done and not shot very well. There's good looking people, but with little character and bad acting. There's a story, but it jumps around too much and isn't fully explained or engaging. I really don't have many positives to talk about in this movie other than Timothy Olyphant is always fun to watch. Skip this one.

Sucker Punch

Zack Synder's (300, Watchmen) latest is a visually stimulating, but emotionally hollow and ultimately shallow film with no merits beyond its looks and popcorn entertainment value. The films story makes very little sense and jumps around from different realities far too often for someone to be able to keep up. This is a movie completely made for the teenage male crowd. Gorgeous women in little clothing, video game style fights and editing with ridiculous characters (samurai's with guns...), and little to no story so they don't have to think. Just sit back, watch and enjoy the show. You know just from reading that and looking at the trailers if it is your type of movie or not. I'm indifferent.

Scream 4

Wes Craven returns to the movie series that made fun of and embraced horror movie conventions in the 90's with mixed results. The original trilogy went out with a whimper (Scream 3 was not well liked by critics or fans of the series) after starting with a bang (Scream is probably one of the best horror movies of the 90's as well as its sequel) and Scream 4 is somewhere in the middle of that spectrum: not terrible, but not that great. I give the actors credits for reprises their roles after 11 years like it was just yesterday, but everything about this movie is repetitive and reeks of a desperate attempt to regain fans through familiarity instead of trying to do something new and intriguing. Even when it looks like it might do something bold, it goes out of its way to take steps back into its normal shell. After 11 years you would think they would come up with something better. It's not as funny as it could be, never scary (biggest complaint I've heard, and I agree), and sometimes a little boring or stale. It has moments where it can recall the good times from the first two, and isn't something that will make you cringe when watching (it's at least competently acted and directed), but it could have been so much more than it turned out to be.