Abduction

This was Taylor Lautner’s first independent role outside of the Twilight films and I was anxious to see how he did.  Unfortunately, this movie rates about an “F” for me.  The premise of the film is, Taylor’s character is a high school student doing a report on missing kids.  He runs across his picture on a web site and confronts his parents - his parents inform him they are not his real parents.  That’s where the whole story line gets cheesy!  I expected more from the director, John Singleton, but this movie was just a wreck.  Taylor has a long way to go before he is certified as an action hero or a true actor.  He is void of any emotion and the storyline itself is implausible and DUMB!  There is no way anyone would believe that a high school senior is capable of kicking butt the way he does AND outsmart the bad guys.  It was a bad script from the start and the actors only made it worse!

Abduction

So, I watched Abduction - what a piece of GARBAGE!!!  The further in the movie went, the more RIDICULOUS it got!  Is this what passes for a movie anymore???  Just a bunch of cliches and either over-acting or NO acting and just unbelievable - very stiff characters and felt like it wanted to be a James Bond movie, but Taylor Lautner is no “007.”  I felt sorry for his character - not because his "parents" got killed, but because he's such a sucky actor!!!!  Most of the lines were just ridiculous and I also couldn’t believe Sigourney Weaver was in this pile of junk.  Is she that desperate???  Parts of it were almost like a school play or something.  Stick with Twilight, Taylor!  I almost need to watch another movie just to get this one out of my head!!!!!!!!!!

Real Steel

I had fun watching this movie!  It’s pretty cheesy, but you have to let that go.  It’s based just a little into the future – the year 2020 – and fighting with remote controlled robots has taken the place of real people fighting.  It didn’t seem that far-fetched to me.  It’s like the old Rock'em Sock'em Robots, but it’s real this time!  I used to watch a lot of boxing and was having “flashbacks” to different fights and movies during this one – like when Mike Tyson was knocked out or when Rocky was fighting Drago in Rocky IV – I had the same feelings all through this movie.  And I know it’s silly and I know they were just robots in the ring, but it seemed like they were like people and had “feelings” and I couldn’t help but root for and against them.  The people controlling them really came through in their robots - it was surely an underdog story and I would definitely say that these robots had heart! 

Real Steel

Eric had more of a connection with this movie than I did!  I really wanted to see this movie and to like it. But I was disappointed in it.  I could’ve cared less about the characters or the robots.  The movie didn’t draw me in and I felt there was no real substance of characters or story to this movie.  It was just Hugh Jackman running around with a very obvious American accent and robots that were suppose to warm your heart while they knock each other’s block off.  For me, the movie fell flat in every way and not one single “heart tug” moment could make this movie work.

50/50

There is nothing funny about cancer and this movie is not a comedy – it is a drama where the storyline revolves around cancer with some comedic moments.  Joseph Gordan-Levitt plays Adam, a 27 year old who finds out he has a rare form of spine cancer and his chance of survival is 50/50.  His best friend, Kyle, played by Seth Rogan is suppose to be the movies comedy relief, but I found him to be annoying and foul mouthed as ever! (Can he not do one film without cussing up a storm???)  The story essentially settles around Adam as he tries to come to grips with his diagnosis.  It talks about how his friends treat him, how his girlfriend treats him, how his parents treat him, and how his therapist treats him.  You see him go through the basics of chemo, eating pot laced cookies, and trying to ignore the situation the best he can while it’s staring him right in the face.  This movie didn’t “wow” me and it didn’t depress me.  There was one moment that I thought the movie finally touched on some raw human emotion, and that was at the end.  For some people, it may not be a movie to watch because it hits too close to home, for others, if you are a fan of Joseph Gordan-Levitt, you might enjoy this.  But otherwise, I would give it a 50/50 review – it could’ve been better but it was ok for what it was.

50/50

I’m thinking I liked this one a lot more than Christy did.  I went into it not really knowing what to expect.  Everything says it’s a comedy, but it’s about a young man that has cancer.  I didn’t see how it could be very funny, but I really thought it was in spots.  I also thought it did a great job of making you feel what he was going through with his friends and family, too.  It wasn’t a movie “about” cancer or what he was experiencing with chemo or anything like that – just more what the diagnosis and treatments were doing to HIM and his psyche and his relationships.  The humor didn’t feel out of place at all to me – more like just his friend trying to keep things normal during the whole ordeal and not treat him any different because of the diagnosis.  I think you will get what you want to out of this film – it really can be as powerful as you let it!

Flipped

I really enjoyed this movie!  It’s been around for awhile, but I finally got around to watching it and I’m glad I did.  It’s not a thriller, it’s not scary – it’s just a nice coming of age story about two eighth graders that have known each other almost their whole lives, but have never really seen and appreciated each other – until now.  Juli has been obsessed with Bryce as long as she can remember and he has just viewed her as a “pain” that he can’t get rid of, no matter how hard he tries.  Just when he starts realizing that maybe he likes her, too, she gets to wondering about how strong her feelings really are and thinking that maybe she should be moving on.  I loved how the story was told through their own eyes and what each of them were thinking in the same situations – it really brought it to life and I could put myself in either of their places all through the whole movie.  Everyone sees things differently and you never know what someone might be going through and what they’re really thinking and feeling.  There is always more than meets the eye!

Moneyball

This was just a really good, solid movie - and it’s based on a true story!  Billy Beane is an ex-ballplayer whose dreams of being a big league star never quite panned out for him and he’s now working as general manager for the Oakland A’s.  He wants to try building a team in a totally unconventional way - instead of “buying” talent and paying single players millions of dollars, he wants to build a team with strong players that for one reason or another, other teams aren’t interested in anymore.  In doing so, he is taking a huge risk and hoping it all works out, and not everyone is on board with him - most people think he’s crazy!  What he finds are players who are happy to be playing and glad to have a job -  and they are able to build a TEAM instead of having individual superstars.  What happens is the most improbable, inconceivable run in the history of baseball!!!  I don’t think you’d have to even like baseball that much to enjoy this movie.  It’s that good!

Dolphin Tale

This is a movie that is based on the true story of a dolphin named “Winter” that lost her tail after getting caught in a crab trap.  She was rescued, but a dolphin needs their tail to swim – and that’s where this amazing story comes to life.  The boy who helped save her comes up with the idea of creating a prosthetic tail for her, but that’s something that’s never been done.  Is it even possible?  Especially without funding and being at an aquarium that is struggling itself to survive.  I was surprised how emotional this movie was and how many “connections” there were with people that heard about the dolphin – soldiers that had lost limbs, children in wheelchairs and just about anyone that heard Winter’s story that could relate.  Even though she’s a dolphin, she became an inspiration for anyone that was struggling with the same types of issues.  I enjoyed it a lot!  I always like stories that are actually true, too!  It’s also a good family movie.  If you’re wondering what happened to Winter, she is alive and well and even has her own web site you can go to if you want to visit her on webcams and find out more about her real life - http://seewinter.com

Super 8

I loved this movie!  It was fun!  It was intense!  I keep seeing people “trashing” it saying it was too much like The Goonies and E.T. and Jaws and other Steven Spielberg films – and it definitely had the same type of feel to it, but I liked those movies!!!  It reminded me of The Sandlot, too.  And Stand By Me.  It starts out with these kids making their own movie and while filming a scene in the middle of the night, they witness a huge train wreck.  They weren’t supposed to be there in the first place and aren’t sure exactly what they saw or if it was even real, so they can’t tell anyone about it.  “Strange” things start happening all around their town and nobody really knows what’s going on – the military is involved from the start and evacuates the city and the tension just builds and builds.  I felt like I was part of their group and learning things as they did – it was like I experienced everything along with them!  The acting was great, there were all kinds of back stories and subplots and everything just tied together very well!  I REALLY enjoyed it!!!

Horrible Bosses

There are some fairly big names in this movie – Kevin Spacey, Donald Sutherland, Colin Farrell, Jason Bateman and Jennifer Aniston among others.  I guess with the caliber of some of those actors, I was expecting a better movie, especially with all the hype it had when it was released.  The story is basically about three guys that are having problems with their bosses, so they decide the best thing to do is to have their bosses killed - but they have no idea how to go about it.  There was a lot of slapstick and “dumb” humor – almost everyone was inept and bumbling and just stupid most of the time.  They were also pretty crude and gross during most of the movie, too.  I was really disappointed with this one right after I’d finished it, but maybe I just had too high of expectations.

Faster

You may not have heard of this movie as it was in and out of the theatres pretty fast.  I picked it up to watch because it has “The Rock,” Duwayne Johnson in it.  I really like him as an actor – but I didn’t really like this film.  He plays a guy that has been released from prison and is bent on revenge.  His brother was brutally murdered and his only mission in life is to hunt down the people who killed him and one by one kill them.  I thought the storyline fell flat and the subplots weren’t really necessary to this story.  It kind of gave me a gritty feel about the movie and some reviewers say it reminded them of a throwback to some of the Charles Bronson films of the ‘70s.  I could’ve passed on this movie but if you’re in need of something to watch – you might give it a whirl.

The Expendables

Some of the biggest action names of the 80s come together in one film . . . The Expendables.  Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Mickey Rourke and a couple of cameos by Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger made this a movie I wanted to see!  I like action films and what better way to do an action film than to have the hottest action heroes in one movie!!  The premise of the story is pretty basic, they are a group of hired guns asked to remove a dictator from a small South American Island.  To them, it’s just another job, a job with huge explosions, gun fights, car chases, and more fireworks than you know what to do with!  Overall, this is a “guys” movie but for a girl of the 80s – it was a blast to hang out with them and go along for the crazy, thrill-a-minute, non-stop action ride!

Apollo 18

I was really looking forward to seeing this movie.  I liked the premise of the secret Apollo mission and what they might have found (or what might have found them!), but after watching it, I was very disappointed.  I thought it was going to be a LOT more exciting and intense than it was.  The whole movie was “found footage” from the secret mission that has been pieced together – almost seemed like they were trying to copy The Blair Witch Project or Cloverfield or one of those types of movies with the camera footage we’re able to watch.  I felt the isolation, but not the intensity!  It wasn’t “scary” to me.  And they took it too far with being afraid of what you can’t see – they didn’t show enough!!!  I couldn’t even tell for most of the movie what I was supposed to be afraid of.  I didn’t connect with ANY of the characters, so I didn’t really care if they lived or died!  It felt like it should have been so much "more" - they could have done a lot more with the story and seemed like they barely even tried.  It was pretty basic, pretty predictable and completely threw common sense out the window for most of it!  I was NOT impressed!