Grown Ups

Everybody loves a comedy and "Grown Ups" is definitely a great one to see. The All-Star cast includes the great Adam Sandler and Kevin James as well as David Spade, Chris Rock and a few others. There are also regulars from many of the other Adam Sandler movies that make appearances or have bit parts as well. The combination of all of these extremely funny people is an extremely funny movie.
The story is based around five friends from grade school who come back for the funeral of their grade school basketball coach. Even with the seriousness of a funeral around them at the beginning they still manage to pull some laughs out of it. Unlike many movies, however, they don't cross the line into anything that would be offensive. After the funeral the jokes start to fly at you though.
As with most groups of friends they rag on each other almost all the time. They bring up memories of how things were and what they all did whether it was dumb or just plain funny. When their present lives and families get brought into the banter the jokes pick up even more. All of the jokes and pranks are made even funnier by the fact that you can tell the actors get along and love working together.
Just about everyone of the adults in the movie has been in an Adam Sandler movie at some point or another. This helped with the story writting because of how easy it seems that everyone plays off of each other. Even when one of the characters is trying to kick the crap out of another character you can still tell that the actors were having fun doing it. It's always great to see a movie where you know the people in it enjoy not only the role that they're playing but also the people that they're acting with.
It doesn't matter if you're old or young, male or female. "Grown Ups" will have you laughing like no Adam Sandler movie before. For even more fun watch it with friends. That way you can revisit the adventures of your younger, and maybe dumber, selves and keep on laughing.

Prince of Persia

This weeks movie will be "Prince of Persia" starring Jake Gyllenhall. The movie is actually based off of the popular video game for the Playstation but it adds it's own big screen thrills that a video game just can't provide. Unlike a lot of modern movies it doesn't start out slow and it doesn't start out with a bang. It progresses very nicely into the heart of the story instead of just throwing you into it. Jerry Bruckheimer, who many know from the "Pirates" movies, produced this movie and you can see some of his influence in the making of it.

It's not easy for me to say that I think a movie is really good or to be overly impressed with a movie but I think this is one of the better movies that has come out this year. There have been other good movies of course but this one sticks out. The special effects were drastically different from most movies that have come out lately. Towards the end where Darstan is trying to stop his uncle from piercing the sand glass has some incredible visuals that are very high quality. All the jumping around in impossible fashion is somewhat hard to believe but adds to the movies unique character.

Sir Benjamin Kingsley also gives a very good performance as the villain. Not many people have seen him in a really good villain role but he always pulls it off when he does. This villain is also more subtle than most villains that you see in movies like "Batman" or "Spiderman." Instead of just knowing right away that he is the villain they build up to it and when you find out it is incredible how the character keeps it hidden from the others that don't know. It was definitely a very well written movie.

If I were a movie critic I would give this one two thumbs up. There is a lot of action to be had. The writing was superb. The characters were very well developed. There's even a little bit of a romance in it but not enough to choke the movie. So "Prince of Persia" is a definite recommendation.

Alice in Wonderland

The movie I’d like to talk about this week is “Alice in Wonderland.”  Many people would say that this movie’s star is Johnny Depp but that’s not really true.  He does play the Mad Hatter but he is more of a side character in this movie.  The real main characters in this movie are Alice and the Red Queen.

                Despite not being the main character Depp still gives a memorable performance in this Tim Burton film.  He truly brings the character to life not only in his portrayal of madness but also in the sorrow that the Hatter must have felt thru out this story.  He shows great compassion and a determination that the viewer can almost feel.

                As for the story a lot of people did not like this movie because they expected the classic “Alice in Wonderland” story.  Though that is the title of the movie it is really based off of the “Through the Looking Glass” story.  It takes place when Alice is more in her teens instead of the original when she was a little girl.  All of the old characters are still there but they are a little more subdued in this movie because of the sadness in the story.  The music helped bring the images to life even more with the themes for Alice and the Queen and the Hatter.

                Overall everything about the movie from the acting to the visuals to the sounds make this a must see.  It comes off as a little strange as you’re watching it but it is really a magical adventure through Wonderland.  I would recommend this movie for almost anyone.

Book of Eli

“Book of Eli” is the movie I’ll be doing this week.  I haven’t done a movie yet that I didn’t really like so this is the first.  Denzel Washington is the star of this movie and normally his movies are exceptional.  The disappointment with this movie isn’t his fault though.  The action in this movie, when it happens, is pretty good along with Washington’s acting.  Story is where this movie really isn’t any good.

When the movie first starts out you don’t really know what’s going on and that confusion kind of follows you through the whole film.  They don’t tell you how the world got to the way it is and they don’t give any mention of how people survived.  There are a lot of things that happen from beginning to end but some of it doesn’t seem necessary to the story.  It’s mostly just thrown in to add a little bit of action and keep you at least somewhat interested.

The movie did get good reviews from a lot of critics but I don’t know what it was they saw in the movie.  I for one had a hard time understanding and even paying attention to the movie.  How it ended was even confusing and a little anti-climactic.  I wouldn’t really call it a waste of time to watch.  Maybe I just didn’t understand what was going on well enough.  If you like that type of movie then you might like it.  I personally wouldn’t have given “Book of Eli” very good reviews.

For more information on Book of Eli go to  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1037705/

Troy

This week I’m going to go back a few years in movies to the movie “Troy.”  The movie is packed with stars including Brad Pitt, Eric Bana and Orlando Bloom.  A lot of the mythology around the story was taken out but there is plenty of action to make up for it.  There’s even a little bit of romance thrown in, just enough to not bog down the movie and make it boring.

                Brad Pitt, Eric Bana and Orlando Bloom are the main focus points of the movie but they used plenty of other big name actors to fill the rest of the spots.  The best part of the movie is probably the fight between Achilles (Pitt) and Hector (Bana).  Earlier in the movie Hector had killed Achilles’ cousin so Achilles rides his chariot up to the city walls by himself to challenge Hector.  Bana did a real good job of showing, through his acting, the fear that must have been racing through Hector as he prepared to go out and face Achilles.

                The end of the movie is somewhat sad but adds a little bit of the possible mythology back into the story.  I’m sure that most everyone has seen this movie already, especially those of you who love action movies.  Sometimes it’s good to go back to an older movie to remind people of what movies they may have forgotten.  If you’re one of the many who have seen this movie then just go back and re-watch and re-enjoy it.  If you’re one of the few who haven’t seen it then go check it out.  You won’t be disappointed.

                            For more information go to http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0332452/

Easy A

This week I’ve decided to talk about a brand new movie.  “Easy A” just came out this last week starring Emma Stone who plays ‘Olive’.  Admittedly the previews did make the movie look a lot funnier than it really was but it was still good.  There were some parts that didn’t seem like they fit but in the end it all came together.

                Even though the movie was a comedy it really did have a lot of real life type situations in it.  They were a little exaggerated at times but that’s what made it funny.  I don’t think that my High School was as bad as hers but I’m sure that there were some similar situations in it, including a lot of gossip.  The main characters in the movie are played out more realistic than a lot of movie characters.  The parents in the movie are a whole other matter.

                I’m not sure that I have ever heard of parents that are as open as the main characters but they’re one of the funniest parts of the movie.  The conversations that they have almost make them seem like they’re not much more than kids themselves even though they’re older.  Olive’s friends, and enemies, in the movie are almost as out there but in different extremes.  In general all the kids at her school seem like kids that you would find in almost any High School in America.

                In all I’d say that this movie is worth watching.  It might take you back to your own High School days depending on how big your school was.  Or it might just make you wonder where the writers went to school and how they got the character ideas.  Either way you’ll laugh almost all the way through.

For more information on the movie Easy A go to http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1282140/

The Hangover

One of my favorite comedies of all time is “The Hangover” starring Ed Helms, Bradley Cooper and Zach Galifianakis.  From beginning to end I could not stop laughing.  My favorite character in the movie is played by Zach, also known as “Fat Jesus” to some, who plays just an outrageous character.  Whenever it seems like there is going to be a serious moment in the movie he always says or does something that takes the seriousness of the situation right out of the picture.

                Ed Helms, who many people know as Andy Bernard from The Office, plays a more serious character but at the same time you can’t help but laugh at what he does.  One of his funniest parts in the movie is when you find out that he married a stripper and gave her his grandmother’s holocaust ring.  The shock in that entire series of events he portrays seems almost real and the expressions on his face had me cracking up laughing.  I later found out that the main reason he got the part is because in real life he has a crown on one tooth so he could actually pull his tooth out and make the part that much more believable.

                Finally we get to Bradley Cooper’s character.  He’s almost a mix of the other two characters with some added good looks.  Essentially he’s the ringleader of the group and while he tries to be serious at times he can’t help but laugh at the different things that have happened to all of them.  It seems that he enjoys every minute of the entirely screwed up bachelor trip to Vegas to the fullest, including when they find a tiger in their hotel bathroom the next morning.

                When the movie is over you will have found that you want to watch it again and again just to see if you missed anything the first time or two around.  It’s rumored that they’re going to make a second one but I don’t know how they are going to top this one.  I’ll definitely go see the second one if it comes out but this will by far be one of my favorite comedies of all time.  “The Hangover” is a movie that I would recommend to anybody looking for a big long laugh.

                                             For more information go to http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1119646/