Drive

I wasn't sure if I liked this one or not after watching it, but thinking I kind of did – maybe because it was a little different from a lot of movies in this genre.  Ryan Gosling’s character seemed very strange and almost mysterious in this role.  He is a stunt driver for movies, but he’s also a “getaway driver” for hire by criminals and has even been hired to drive a race car for a new team being formed by his boss at the garage where he works.  We get drawn into his life as he meets a new neighbor with a little boy whose father is in prison.  After awhile, he starts falling for her and opening up to her more than he normally allows himself to with most people.  Her husband gets released from prison and they ALL get to be friends.  The husband enlists his “services” and that is where his troubles begin…  I liked that the movie didn't “hold my hand” through the whole thing and left me to figure out what was happening a lot of the time!  It made me think a little bit!

Captain America - The Avenger

I wanted to like this movie as I like superhero movies– but I can’t quite bring myself to say that I liked it.  Captain America was “born” in war time, 1942, when the world was fighting against the Nazis.  The war wasn’t going good and America needed to invent a stronger, better soldier – so they made Captain America!  Captain America, also known as Steve Rogers, is a 90 pound weakling of a man whom they injected with an experimental drug and was turned into a lean, mean fighting machine with a heart for justice and liberty!  That said – the reason I didn’t like this film was because I thought, that the “bad” guy was too comic bookish and the weapons he was using to destroy the world were too futuristic for the time.  I’ve seen a lot of superhero movies and the things I like about them are that they are fighting against evil in their time element.  This one just seemed like a stretch to be fighting against machines that really didn’t exist in that time.  I also didn’t like the ending.  They set the ending up to prelude into a new superhero movie coming out this spring, The Avengers. (This movie will include, Iron Man, Thor, the Hulk, and Captain America).  So was this movie done to promote the new movie?  For me, this movie just wasn’t that “super” and left me with the blahs.

The Twilight Saga - Breaking Dawn Part One

As the fourth installment and the last in the series – I had heard a lot of negative things about this movie, so I didn’t even see it until it came out on DVD.  The critics were wrong – I think this was best of the series yet!  I really liked how the characters have evolved, their acting has gotten better, and it stayed close to the book as the other movies did.  When I watch these movies, I don’t see vampires and werewolves, I see people with their lives in turmoil and a love story.  Of course being a fantasy, there is a baby that is half human and half vampire and that is essentially, the crux of the movie.  Part 2 will come out later this fall and I can’t wait to see it because it ended in a way that you are anxious to see the new Bella and finish the story even though you know how it all ends.

In Time

I REALLY liked the concept of this movie!!!  In this sci-fi picture, time “is” money.  You stop aging at 25 and a counter in your arm starts counting down 1 year that you have left to live – unless you can find ways to get more time to add to your life.  You can work and earn time, receive gifts of time, gamble – just like money.  But, you also pay for everything with your time clock – a phone call, a cup of coffee, a car – everything!  If your clock hits 0:00, you are dead - no exceptions -  and no second chances!  If you have time, you’re rich – if you don’t, you’re poor - and everyone can tell at a glance just by looking at your arm.  At first, it seemed really far-fetched, but the more I think about it, it’s really easy to relate everything to our current lives and the role money plays in our society.  I actually can’t stop thinking about it!  I’d definitely recommend it if you’re wanting something a little different!

Battle: Los Angeles

It was interesting when I read the reviews for this movie.  There were a lot of varied thoughts about this film and depending on your background, this movie might be “more” than just a sci-fi film.  I liked this movie!  It was a good movie about an alien invasion in our world – right where we live – and those men and women who fought the battle.  It starts off with a bang – Los Angeles is being invaded from an alien nation and they are here to kill and destroy anyone or anything in their way.  In the midst of the battle, is a small band of Marines who will fight for their country.  They don’t care that the invasion is alien – all they care about is defending their city and their homes with whatever resources they have till the very end.  Some call this a war movie, others saw it as a story of what our Marines do for us every day.  However you want to see it, it was a solid movie, good acting, lots of action, and an ending that didn’t come wrapped up in a bow, but one that still left you with some hope for mankind.

The Astronaut Farmer

Can I tell you how much I enjoyed this movie?  This movie was done in 2007 and I re-watched it again and just had to tell you about it.  This was a sleeper of a film at the box office.  It doesn’t have any really big names, any big explosions, or car chases . . .but it does have heart!!  Billy Bob Thorton (who really let me believe him in this role) plays Charles Farmer, a former NASA astronaut who was forced to retire early because of financial issues.  He had a dream that he never got to live out and that was to fly a rocket around the earth.  He has decided to build a rocket in his barn and to fly it with the help of his family.  It didn’t matter when I watched this film that it would be unrealistic.  What mattered about this film was the heart, the hope, and the dream that one man and his family had.  This is a sincere film about everyone’s dreams – it sucked me in from the beginning and it held on to me till the very end.  I’m not trying to be sappy -  this is just a genuine story with some very strong acting and a movie that is worth seeing just for the adventure.

Contagion

The story of Contagion is about a virus spreading around the world that nobody has ever seen and for which there is no vaccine.  This virus is the type that spreads through the air and person to person – and the effects are deadly!  I wanted to really feel the “terror” of the situation, but the movie didn’t elicit those feelings for me.  It seemed like it never really "took off" and the characters were dying off so quickly, I never even got a chance to get to know them or get attached to them before they were gone.  It almost felt more like a documentary or a news report instead of a "movie" to me.  It does makes you think about germs though, and how many things we come in contact with ALL THE TIME!  It just didn’t “scare” me like I thought it should.  But hey, maybe that's just me…

The Ides of March

This movie made me feel very “optimistic” at the beginning and I was thinking that was how I wish politics could work and then before long, it started showing the dark side of political campaigns.  There’s sex, lies, deals being made, backstabbing - and people never know who they can trust – even in their own camp!  If anyone knows ANYTHING, they can and will use it against you!!!  With everything going on, each person is forced to look at themselves and find where their personal boundaries are while still doing all they can to help their candidates win.  And the further the movie went, the more twisted and tangled everything became for everyone!  I liked that I didn’t really know how it was going to turn out and it wasn’t predictable.  It also has a great cast that includes George Clooney, Ryan Gosling, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti and Marisa Tomei!  I enjoyed it!

Cowboys & Aliens

I’m not sure what I was really expecting with this movie.  There were cowboys and there were aliens - it just didn't seem as "strange" as I was thinking it would be - it was like there just happened to be aliens they had to fight that were abducting their people and stealing their gold.  Maybe I just wasn’t in the mood?  It was alright – I was expecting to be “blown away” by the whole concept of aliens and spaceships in the year 1873 and wanting to feel how those people must have felt.  I would have been freaking out!  I liked Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford and Sam Rockwell and Olivia Wilde in their roles, so not sure what the problem was.  Maybe they all did “too” good and actually pulled it off?  Maybe I needed more story or more feeling – it was just like an old western and aliens happened to be the “bad” guy this time.  I didn’t hate it by any means, was just hoping for “more.”