Secretariat

In 1973,  Secretariat won the Triple Crown.  Penny Chenery was the owner of this horse and managed to make her way through a male dominated business to become the first Triple Crown winner in 25 years and Secretariat is considered by many to be the greatest racehorse of all time.

This however, is in my opinion, not the greatest horse movie of all time.  This movie is in fact about Penny Chenery, not Secretariat.  It is a sweet, feel good type flick that is missing any sense of wonder. Which is sad as I think it could have been so much better.

It drags and my friends that accompanied me all fell asleep.  It also doesn't have enough of the horse in it to really appeal to children.  If you are looking for an amazing horse racing movie try Seabiscuit or even better- The Black Stallion, both are much more entertaining.

** Rentable

Rated PG (for language)

The Social Network

Once upon a time... a Harvard undergrad in a fit of fury began blogging and programing a site that was only the beginning of an idea.  An idea that would change the world.

I know it all sounds so dramatic, and the fact of the matter is that his brilliant idea has yet to change my world, but I still humbly acknowledge that for better or worse, Facebook has in fact changed the way people communicate.  Pathetic -- OK so onto the movie.

This whole movie is in fact two depositions that are inter cut with flashbacks telling the story of how it all came to pass.  The dialogue, written by Aaron Sorkin, is very stylized and fun.  Truth be told, it makes the movie as the story itself is a tad sluggish and isn't that engaging.  The casting is amazing.  Truly.  Jesse Eisenberg plays Mark Zukerberg, the face behind facebook and he is so good.  I can't tell you how unlikeable and unsympathetic of a character he is and Eisenberg plays this perfectly.  Oh and lets also give credit to Justin Timberlake who is just as equally sleazy -- well done.

I have to admit that as I am not a facebookee, I may have missed out on some of the excitement that was portrayed in the film when little nuances were added to the site that somehow defined what it is today, but I suppose I still kind of appreciated it.  The movie was long though, and by the time it was over it was somewhat anticlimactic, but I liked it -- still not enough to join Facebook however.

** 1/2 See it

Rated PG-13 (for language and sexual content)

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps

After being released from a long prison sentence, Gordon Geko again scratches and claws his way back to the top.  This time with the help of his estranged daughters ambitious fiance.

This was really boring. Extremely slow and straight forward.  There aren't any twists or surprises -- well OK there was one, but I will not say anything for those of you that still opt to see this movie.  Nevertheless, the movie is pretty blah.

I'm not exactly sure what I expected, but when you are coming from something as heart warming as "greed is good" I suppose I was surprised when the follow up wasn't exactly prickles and stings.

Really long,  really generic, really boring,..... really.

*1/2  Not really rentable

Rated PG-13 (for language)

I'm so Behind!!

Alright people, I'm sorry, I am extremely behind in my reviews so while I make a pathetic effort at catching up here are a few glimpses at what I've seen:

The Switch:

Ehhhh, Jason Bateman was fun and the little boy was really funny.

** Rentable

Rated PG-13 (for language, sexual content and dialogue)

Takers:

OK this was totally eye candy.  It was like Oceans 11 meets Die Hard, but it didn't really work, nevertheless those on screen were very fun to watch.

*** Eye Candy (what can I say, I love Paul Walker)

Rated PG-13 (for violence and language) 

The American:

I really liked this.  It is a slow methodical, character piece but it works well.  If you like independent film I strongly suggest you see this. Oh and do I need to mention that George Clooney is in it?

*** See it

Rated R (for language, violence, and sexual content)

Get Low:

This was at Sundance and although a tad predictable I thought it was kind of funny, well Bill Murray is funny. The rest is kind of sad and slow.

** 1/2 Rentable

Rated PG-13 (for brief violent content)

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World:

This is totally like watching a video game.  If you grew up playing the original Nintendo or are a current gamer, I think you will really like this. Take note, it is about 35 minutes too long.

** 1/2 Rentable

Rated PG-13 (for violence, language, and sexual content)

Easy A:

Funny, clever, sharp, and poignant.  I really liked this.  It reminded me of Clueless, but more cynical.

*** 1/2 See it.

Rated PG-13 (for language and sexual content)

The Town:

This really wasn't my favorite.  Can't put my finger on it, but the characters just didn't mesh well for me and the story didn't seem polished enough for me to care either way.

** Rentable

Rated R (for violence and language)






So again I will work on getting actual reviews of the above movies posted.  In the mean time accept my apology and I will pledge to do better and never get this far behind again.

Waking Sleeping Beauty

A documentary from the directors of The Lion King, reveals the circumstances, talent, work and people that brought about Walt Disney Animation Studios second "Golden Age" (Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King).

Being an animator and Disney aficionado, I was really excited to see this film. Especially from what the trailers led us to believe it would be about; the guts and hard work of the artists that put Disney Animation back on it's feet after years of failure and near closure of Disney's animation studio all together. While a we do get a portion of that story throughout, the documentary goes off on several tangents throughout and eventually becomes more of a behind the scenes of the rivalry between Michael Eisner and Jeffrey Katzenburg. While all the information was very interesting to me because I'm kind of a Disney-nerd, I would imagine someone wanting to be inspired from seeing how the making of their favorite Disney movies saved Disney Animation, would be left a little bored and disappointed. If you want to find a documentary more like what I expected, I highly recommend The Pixar Story, a documentary about how Pixar Animation Studios came to be. You'll be inspired. But in the case of Waking Sleeping Beauty...not so much.

**1/2 out of 4 - Rentable

Step Up 3D

A young freshman in college is trying to balance his studies with his true passion; hip-hop dance. As he gets more and more involved in the dance world he finds himself in the middle of a fight to help keep his newly joined dance crew alive and together.

This is the only Step Up movie I have seen, but from what I understand each version uses the same actors but creates a completely new and different story with those actors. So I wasn't missing any plot points by not seeing the first two. My wife having taken years of dance classes from K through college, had quite the influence on me getting to the theater to see this movie. That said I did enjoy the dancing portions of the movie very much, it's amazing stuff. But a part from that there is a high portion of cheese throughout the movie and the actual 3D parts are pretty weak.

Not worthy of a theater trip or even a rental, I'd wait until the cool dance scenes are on youtube and get your fill of cool hip-hop dancing there.

** out of 4

Inception

Technology exists that can allow specially trained agents to enter peoples minds through their dreams to extract information or to do that which can change peoples lives and the world; plant an idea in the mind which they believe is their own.

This is a very original idea. Christopher Nolan is proving over and over again he's one of the best directors around (Memento, The Prestige, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight). It feels a little Matrix-esque as in they can enter a world that only exists in their minds. The story can be quite complex at times, maybe a little too much at some points. But it's loads of fun and keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole time. Also some very good performances by the cast, especially DiCaprio.

On a side note the theater I saw this in was displaying some new theater technology, or gimmicks; D-Box, which has 30 seats in the center of the theater which move, bump, and vibrate with the sound effects, images and music. I didn't get one of those seats since they were sold out and cost double the amount of a normal seat. Seems like it might be a tad distracting for almost 3 hours, we'll see if this catches on like 3D is.

***1/2 out of 4 - Definitely see it

Despicable Me

The world's second greatest super-villain, Gru is hatching a plot to steal the moon! As his plan is about to be realized, his life is infiltrated by 3 young orphan girls that not only derail his plans but soften his villainous heart.

This was a fun story that's pulled off nicely. There's a fun mix of heart (nothing quite Pixar-level) and lots of fun action/comedy that's very reminiscent of the old Warner Bros. cartoons. Again, the story is fun and light and the characters are for the most part likable, especially the smallest orphan girl, she has some scene stealing moments. It's not the greatest animated movie, so it's probably kind of forgettable like Mandy says, but it's fun and entertaining.

*** out of 4 - See it

Eat. Pray. Love.

Liz finds her world is crumbling around her.  In an effort to make a serious change and truly find herself she decides to take a year off and spend her time in Italy, India, and Bali.

I did not read this book, nor did I watch the Oprah episode praising the author for how wonderful it was.  My girlfriends all read the book and anxiously accompanied me to the screening.  I, however, only knew the above given synopsis and went in hoping it would be better than a travel log.

Yeah, so, not my favorite flick.  This movie was two hours and forty minutes of self indulgent pity.  Now,  I should pause here to point out that I not only understand being selfish, but feel as though I have achieved a proficient dexterity at being completely shallow and self absorbed.  Having said that, I still did not relate to the main character.

She sets out on this journey to find herself,  but really is still looking to others to define who she is.  Her world is opulent and for many unattainable, yet she never reaches outside of that world to really appreciate what she has.  I found her irritating, annoying, and extremely frustrating.  I didn't appreciate whatever enlightenment she claimed to have found by the time the whole story wrapped up and was just grateful it was over.

** I suppose one could rent it

Rated PG-13 (for language)

Dinner for Schmucks

Tim is on the verge of a huge promotion within his company, it hinges however, on a dinner with his boss and the other senior executives.  Tim is then informed about the "rules" of this monthly gathering.  Each person must bring a guest with them,  someone "extraordinary".

I think you get the idea.  They bring obnoxiously odd people to dinner and make fun of them.  The movie is awful.  It was so painfully uncomfortable to watch that I spent most of the time squirming in my seat looking at my shoes.  It has a few funny moments but those come at a great cost and are not worth it.

The set up and the plot are much like that of Meet the Parents to the extreme.  Where our main character keeps finding himself in horrific situations with seemingly no way out.  I kept asking myself, why?  Why would he do that?  Why would he allow that to happen?  Why didn't he put a stop to that?  Why am I here?

Really not my kind of comedy... annoying, uncomfortable, and unnecessarily crude.

* Not-A-Chance

Rated PG-13 (for language and crude sexual content)