Hitman

Rated R

Starring: Timothy Olyphant, Dougray Scott

Based off the video game, Hitman is about just that - a hitman and the man eager to catch him. Being known as the best in the business, 47 accepts a job to take out the Russian President, only plans have been made that it be public instead. Doing his job, 47 learns that it was all a set up and that the hit is on him. Determined to finish the job he started and stop those that are after him, we get this fun action film.

While it has the potential to be so much more, for an action film it was just alright - it had the guns and explosions with a loud industrial soundtrack and witty funny moments (such as him crashing through a window into a hotel room and the 2 teens are unphased by his presence and we see that they're playing the game Hitman on their video game console, or the scene where the girl he's protecting gets drunk and tries to have sex with he, him simply tranquilizes her so he can get back to work).

If you're looking for a fun typical action movie, you wont mind Hitman, but if you're looking for more action with a plot, you'll be disappointed,

Vin Disel is the executive producer too, if that says anything!

Enchanted

Rated PG

Starring: Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, Susan Sarandon, James Mardsen, Idina Menzel, Timothy Spall

In Disney's latest family film, we start out watching animated Giselle and her forest friends create a Prince Charming, as Giselle sings about the qualities she'd like in the man and how she'd like to have her 1 true kiss. By chance, she meets Prince Edward. The 2 immediately fall in love and plan to be wed the next day. Jealous of her beauty, Queen Narcissa (Prince Edward's step-mother) sees Giselle as a threat and tricks her into falling down a magical well to a place where there is "no happy endings" - that place, is Manhattan and New York City. Scared, wet and cold, Giselle tries to find her way back to the castle and her home Andalasia. In her search she comes across Robert and his young daughter (who is the only one to believe she really is a princess). Together Giselle teaches Robert about love, while he teaches her about reality.

Disney pokes fun of all the cliches it's built over the years with fairytales, which made this movie pretty funny, not to mention cute. The musical number in the park was hilarious, as was Giselle's chipmunk friend Pip, who can speak in the animated world, but has to resort to charades in order to communicate in the real world.

If you're looking for a good family film for the holidays - definately check out this one!

Martian Child

Rated PG13

Starring John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Joan Cusack, Angelica Houston

John Cusack stars as David, a science fiction author with a best-selling book which is currently being made into a big production movie, and has been recently widowed. With encouragement from a friend who runs a childrens home, he is introduced to Dennis, a youngster who's been abandoned and abused and is convinced he is from Mars, sent to Earth on a mission to learn about our ways of life. He plays in a cardboard box, only eats Lucky Charms, takes polariod upon polariod of various things as well as takes anything he finds for 'research'. Trying to understand him, the question of 'is it good to fit in and be something your not or should you just be yourself' is one that is asked throughout the entire film.

Based on a true story, apparently the real Dennis was much more stranger and even more abused. Knowing that, it really makes ya feel for the kid, seeing how he's built this whole 'being from Mars' thing as way to escape the pain and suffering he's been through.

The movie itself was cute to watch, as is any good John Cusack film, seeing him interacte with the boy. We really feel a connection with the characters and they seem real to us.

American Gangster

Rated R for language, violence, nudity, sexuality, drug use

Starring Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe
In the late 1970s, Frank Lucas (Washington) became the top dog in New York, being able to get better seats at events than even the Mob Bosses could. He views loyalty, respect, honesty and remembering where you came from to be of utmost importance and loves his momma enough to make sure she's secured financially even buying her a huge house, however he makes all his money from selling "Blue Magic." Cutting out the middle man, Frank gets his stuff directly from overseas, making his product the most pure available, meaning it's the best, and he sells it at half the price the others do - it's a better product at a better price. The problem, "Blue Magic" is heroin.

Seeing Frank at a boxing match, with better seats than the Dons, good cop Richie (Crowe), who is known for being too honest in admist of crooked cops (his partner and he find $1 million in a car and turn it in rather than keep it) gets suspicious and starts digging deeper, learning more and more about the Lucas family business. Despite warnings from crooked cops, Richie and his Narcatics force go after the Lucas's and in the process, result in fixing one of the biggest New York corrupt cop problems.

Frank is portrayed as an honest black man, just trying to live the American Dream. Richie is portrayed as one of the few good cops left, trying to do his job (he tells one crooked cop that "where I come from, cops arrest the bad guys") despite his own personal problems. Both are deep characters.

Odds are, you'll see this one nominated come Oscartime.

Beowulf in Digital 3D

Rated PG13 for violence, nudity

Starring Ray Winstone, Robin Wright Penn, Anthony Hopkins, Angelina Jolie, John Malcovich, and Alison Lohman

The movie in general was pretty neat - the 3D animated renderings of the live actors was a really cool idea (supposidly, I'm told, the entire movie was shot using the actors and blue screens, and then they went back and computer animated everything). I recall there was one scene where you could literally see the strands of Robin Wright Penn's hair in the detail that you would a real person.

I never read the classic story of Beowulf in high school - while it's usually taught in Brit Lit, I opted to take English 101 and 102 that year for college credit. If you're not familar with the story, a Danish kingdom has a curse, in the form of Grendal - a hideous monster that comes out of hiding every so often to terrorize the residents of the kingdom, killing and destroying anything and anyone that approaches him, minus the king (Anthony Hopkins). So far, no one has been able to slay the Grendal and so the king declares throughout the lands that whoever can kill the monster will be entitled to half the king's fortune. In steps Beowulf (Ray Winstone) and his crew, who easily rid the kingdom of the monster, only to upset the creature's mother (Angelina Jolie). Beowulf soon learns of the secret the king and queen posess, as well as the curse of Grendal's mother, which both, in time, become his own.

Neil Gaiman, known most recently for his novel "Stardust" also wrote this screenplay, giving him the current lead on fantasy tales in Hollywood. Although it is animated, this is definately not a movie for kids, as it's full of sexual innuendo and lots of blood, guts, and violence. I'm actually surprised it's PG13, considering Angelina Jolie is pretty much fully nude in at least one scene (metallic 'paint' covers certain areas, but it leaves nothing to the imagination).