Movies not worth mentioning

The reason I haven't posted a weekly review is mainly because there was nothing good enough to bother with. I know...I've missed the point of a review if I think they all have to be good!
I'll start with the oldest -
Brooklyn's Finest - This movie shows a really ugly side of law enforcement. Three main characters deal with a major drug operation in 3 different ways and a very burnt out cop (Richard Gere) finds himself in the thick of a big case when he is trying to leave the force quietly.

Overall the movie makes you distrust most law enforcers and question the motive of a person that goes into the service of protecting and enforcing the laws of our state. This is not how I want to envision police officers hired to protect and serve. I can't tell you what else I didn't like about the movie without giving details away, let's just say you won't leave uplifted. 1 star

Green Zone - The military are in Iraq in hot pursuit of WMD, but there are 3 different parties involved in this pursuit and it's clear they do not all have the same agenda. There was a political agenda, a military agenda and then you have the CIA. The movie certainly had a political point it wanted put across. The problem I had with the movie was the over the top herky-jerky camera man. It was impossible to know who was shooting at who or who was getting shot and there was at least one too many battles that make the movie seem to drag on and on.

Matt Damon plays the same guy he played in the Bourne trio, so there's no surprise there. One very interesting point of view that they showed was the large party atmosphere at Sadam Hussein's mansion, some how I had a hard time swallowing this. 1 star

Precious Based on novel "Push"

Precious is a powerful movie with amazing acting. The amount of abuse this girl has taken will sicken you. Fortunately, we see Precious grow greatly in her scholastics and maturity level due to some wonderful people that come into her life as mentors and friends. Both the ladies that were up for Oscar Awards were very worthy! I don't know how Monique could play such a vile role as well as she did; every scene with her has you on the edge of your seat.

The movie points out a sad state of young people in this country and, it is not solely in the African American community either. I recently heard a statistic that stated 1 in 5 children suffer some kind of abuse or neglect. Thank God for teachers and councilors that show true concern for their students.

Make sure you see this movie, I dare to say that it will change you in some way. I personally look at all children with more compassion, even teenagers!

Oscar Nominee - Invictus

Invictus inspires us to work for the good of all. It shows Mandela trying to bring a divided country to a solid force of one country through the Rugby team which represented the countries division for years. I caught myself about welcoming Mandela to his 1st game and the audience cheered the Bucks to wins. Throughout the movie you saw the shift from Us vs. Them to We.

There are some great lines delivered by the great Morgan Freeman about a "Time for forgiveness" and how "leadership comes from example, but a team also needs motivation to be better than they think they are."

This is a must see movie. Five out of five stars.

Weekend Movie: Sherlock Holmes

In my quest to see all the Award Nominated movies this one was on my list. Not to mention I do love Robert Downey Jr. as an actor. He did a great job in Iron Man and The Soloist.

This movie is a period film that had great detail in the set and costume. While the romantic relation between he and Rachel McAdams is very fun as is his relationship with his side kick Watson played by Jude law; I have to say I didn't enjoy this movie. Sherlock Holmes shouldn't be full of witch craft, high technology or unbelievable special effects. It was very slow and I found it hard to understand Roberts English accent. He seemed to be mumbling everything. This story has lost the appeal of the original stories we grew up with.

I can only give it 2 out of 5 stars.

Weekend Movie: Avatar

Jurassic Park meets Star Wars? Not exactly but something like that. If you enjoyed Jurassic Park though, then you'll enjoy this more.

I was reluctant to go see this movie based on the blue people and the sci-fi vibe, but it has so many Oscar nominations (9) I couldn't avoid it any longer.
The story had everything in it including tragedy, a warmonger, an unlikely hero, a love story, the underlying "care for our earth" tone and yes plenty of science fiction or fantasy built in. Most of all it has amazing special effects. The lush green landscape of Pandora is a feast for the eyes and the costumes or whatever they use to produce the blue people was very detailed down to accessories they all adorned. You can tell a lot of time and effort went into this film.

It's a little over three hours long which was also a bit of a deterrent in my book, but admittedly, I enjoyed every minute of it. I can think of a redundant war scene that could have been cut if I were the Director, but I'm not so we'll just leave that to the pros. I have to give it 5 out of 5 stars.

Happy movie watching.

Weekend Movie: Edge of Darkness

This movie is one of the few that doesn't give much away in the preview or ads you see, so there are lots of surprises that I enjoyed. There are several very sinister characters in the movie. Mel Gibson plays a good "desperate man" searching for the killer (think Law Abiding Citizen with Gerard Butler.) He's a Boston Detective so he has lots of friends in high places and lots of enemies that he has to consider. He REALLY doesn't seem to have anything to loose as he tramples over everyone and breaks more than a few rules.

Some great aspects to this movie:
1) touching flashbacks of his daughter in her youth.
2) BIG questions right from the get go to peak your interest.
3) twists.
4) it gives new meaning to "got milk"
All in all this was an enjoyable movie. Was Mel's accent perfect at all times? I'm not sure, but it sounded authentic to this Arizonan. :) Mel hasn't acted in a new movie for several years now, but he still knows how to stay in character. I thought he did a great job in his comeback film.


I'll give it 5 stars.

It's Complicated

It's Complicated is perfect. The actors and comedy are at the high standard that Nancy Meyer's the writer/director is known for. Maybe you remember a few of her others: Father of the Bride, Something's Gotta Give or What Woman Want.

Alec Baldwin plays the part of a hurt, needy ex-husband to a tee. Meryl Streep has got her act together as a divorcee, but then as the trailer clearly tells you somehow these two end up together once again and quickly Meryl finds herself right back in a chaotic relationship. Then you throw the great Steve Martin into the mix and you have good comedy.

I can't see any reason not to give this 5 out of 5 stars.