The Taking of Pelham 123

In this remake of the 1970's movie John Travolta stars as Ryder, a criminal who decides to hijack a subway train and hold the train and the people inside hostage for 1 million dollars. Denzel Washington plays the subway dispatcher in communication with Ryder and who has to find a way to stop him and save the hostages. I like Travolta as a bad guy so I enjoyed the movie...I did have trouble with what a weak character Washington played, but overall it was still a fairly good movie.

Angels & Demons

After the death of the current Pope, and during the time of the Conclave to decide on the next Pope, the 4 Cardinals most likely to be chosen are kidnapped. They receive communication that these Cardinals are going to be executed at specific times unless someone can stop them. Professor Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) is brought in to work with the Swiss Guard to figure out who is behind the kidnappings and attempt to decipher the clues to where the executions will take place. This film took place in many of the churches in Rome with the majority centered on the Vatican whose beauty was wonderfully shown. I found this movie really entertaining and it held me on the edge of my seat the entire time.

State of Play

Always looking for the next big story Cal McCaffrey (Russell Crowe) stumbles upon more than he bargained for when he begins a story about the death of a Congressman's aide. The death is believed to be a suicide but upon further investigation found to be murder that could in turn lead to enough corruption to impact the entire Nation's power structure. I enjoyed this movie because it had enough to keep you guessing and is filled with a great cast.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Did you ever wonder about the story behind the X-Men superheros? This movie finally tells the story about Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) from his family to how he ended up with knives in his hands. An action packed movie that us adrenaline junkies will enjoy.

The International

Clive Owen plays Louis Salinger an Interpol agent working tirelessly to bring down a corrupt bank he believes in dealing in arms. Every time he gets a witness that will finally help him crack the case they end up dead. I found this movie boring and disappointing.

Obsessed

Everything in Derek's (Idris Elba) life is perfect, he has a new house, a great job, a wonderful wife and son, until one day he goes to work and meets the new temp (Ali Larter). She mistakes his friendliness for romantic interest and makes it her mission to "land" the boss. Predictable and definitely not Fatal Attraction, but I actually thought this was a decent movie. Beyonce Knowles did a good job as the wife and Larter was a good psycho girl.

Taken

When retired government spy Bryan Mills' (Liam Neeson) daughter gets kidnapped while on vacation in France and sold into a prostitution ring it is up to him to get her back. What follows is a dad who will do anything to bring his daughter home. A very violent and disturbing movie and one action junkies will love.

Valkyrie

Tom Cruise stars in this film about the final attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler. As many soldiers pretended to be loyal to Hitler there were many who formed secret organizations that were determined to get rid of the evil leader. Even though the end of the story is well know it was interesting seeing how close the attempt came to succeeding.

Body of Lies

Russell Crowe and Leonardo DiCaprio star as CIA agents working to bring down a terrorist leader. Along the way they have to figure out who they can actually trust. With such an outstanding cast I thought this would have been a much better movie. I found it really boring.

Eagle Eye

Shia Labeouf stars in this action-packed movie about a boy who lives a fairly boring life until one day he comes back to his apartment to see if filled with random stuff and a phone call from a female voice telling him what to do. Along the way he meets up with a single mom being directed by the same voice. Not the best movie but if you are a fan of Labeouf you will still enjoy watching it.

Bangkok Dangerous

Nicholas Cage is back in another action packed movie only this he plays an assassin sent to kill some enemies of a bad guy in Thailand. His job demands he act alone only this time that is easier said than done. Before he realizes what is happening he finds himself attracted to a local girl and mentoring a young man. If you like action movies this is one worth watching.

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.

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.

Deception

Ewan McGregor plays Jonathan McQuarry a timid auditor who when one day he meets up with a good looking, savvy lawyer (Hugh Jackman) finds his whole life turned upside down. When they accidentally switch cell phones he finds himself in the middle of a high powered sex club. Of course with the title Deception you know not all is as it seems. I really didn't like McGregor in this role, but I didn't fall asleep...

The Lazarus Project

Out on parole Ben (Paul Walker) has a good life going until one day when he unfairly loses his job and feels like he has no choice but to resort back to a life of crime. After being caught in a theft gone bad he is sentenced to the death penalty. The day he is to die by lethal injection something strange happens, he wakes up to find himself the maintenance man at a psychiatric hospital. Of course not all is as it seems and he has to figure out what is truth or is he just crazy. I thought this was a really good movie, and not just because I am a huge fan of Paul Walker.

Death Race

Set a little in the future when prison's become a profit business "death races" are formed. Inmates are chosen to race to the death for the Internet viewing pleasure of the world and the financial pleasure of the prison warden. Jason Statham is hand picked and wrongly accused to go to prison for his driving ability and participate in this deadly contest. If you like your movies violent and you like Jason Staham you will love this one.

The Contract

Morgan Freeman and John Cusack team up in a movie about a guy (Cusack) and his son who accidentally stumble across a loose convict (Freeman) and decide they are going to get him back to police custody themselves. Even though I am a fan of Cusack I don't think this was a good part for him. Not a horrible movie, but not great either.

88 Minutes

Al Pacino plays a forensic psychiatrist whose testimony in court is key in giving a serial killer the death sentence. On the day he is supposed to die a copycat killer shows up making everyone doubt whether they are executing the right guy. The same day Pacino gets a call saying he has 88-minutes to live. Not Pacino's best but a pretty good thriller.

21

Based on the book Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions, this movie is about a group of brilliant kids who decide to use their math abilities to win tons of money in Vegas. Of course when one casino security guy (Laurence Fishburne) starts to figure it out things get interesting. A really good movie that keeps you guessing.

The Bank Job

Jason Statham stars in this movie about a bank robbery that goes smoothly at first, but has some complications when all the bad guys that they stole from get involved. Not Statham's best movie, but action junkies will still enjoy it.