Crank 2: High Voltage

Rated R for violence, language, sexuality, nudity

Starring: Jason Statham, Amy Smart, Efren Ramirez

Jason Statham reprises his role as Chev Chelios in this sequel to 2006's "Crank."

Our story picks up right where the first one ended, with Chev falling out of a helicopter above LA and landing smack on the pavement. Moments later, several Chinese men rush to the scene, scoop Chev's body off the ground and haul him away. When Chev awakes weeks later, he finds himself in a make-shift hospital and learns that his heart has been removed and replaced with an artificial one that operates like a car battery. Upon learning these men intend on harvesting his organs, Chev breaks out and decides to track down Johnny Vhang, the man who issued his heart removal and is now keeping it stored in a padlocked red cooler.

Throughout the film, Chev reconnects with his girlfriend, Eve (Smart) who has become a stripper in Chev's absence, and Doc Miles (Dwight Yoakam) who once again tells Chev what he needs to do in order to stay alive and also informs he can put his heart back in him once he gets it. Chev comes in contact with with a crazy, but helpful hooker named Ria, who seems convinced Chev is now her boyfriend because he helped her out. He also meets Kaylo's homosexual twin brother Venus (Ramirez), who appears to suffer from Tourette's Syndrome and seeks revenge on those who killed his brother in the first film.

Singer Chester Bennington of Linkin Park makes another memorable cameo in this film, as someone Chev comes into contact with at the horse tracks, after learning that friction can charge his artificial heart (Bennington had a cameo in "Crank" as a drug addict in a pharmacy). David Carradine, in one of his last film appearances before his death, makes a brief cameo as the leader of a group called the Triads. Geri Halliwell has a minor role, playing Chev's mother in flashbacks he has of when he was an unruly child. Other cameos are made by Corey Haim, Ron Jeremy, Maynard James Keenan and Lauren Holly, among others.

"Crank 2" has much of the same outrageousness as the original did, only more of it. Instead of doing anything and everything to keep his adrenaline up, like in "Crank," Chev takes even more drastic measures to keep his artificial heart charged and beating.

If you enjoyed the first film, you'll really like this one!

Fast & Furious

Rated PG13 for violence, mild language, some sexuality, high speed car races

Starring: Vin Disel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster

Picking up 5 years after the original film took place (after 2 Fast 2 Furious, but before Tokyo Drift), Dom and Letty have fled to the Dominican Republic and have assembled a new crew and are now robbing gas tankers, rather than truckers with electronics, much in the same fashion as they did in the first film. Because of this, they are now international criminals. Once word is spread that the feds are after Dom, he picks up and leaves Letty in the middle of the night, thinking it would be safer for her if she were not with him in the event he gets caught.

Dom and Brian's paths cross yet again, when Brian, now an FBI agent, is hot on the case of a drug lord and Dom returns to avenge a close friend's death. Dom, not caring about Brian just doing his job, continues to get in the way of the case, as they both need a spot on a driving team that is linked to the drug lord.

Twists and turns come and go; there's plenty of car chases, races, explosions and scantily clad women much in the same way of the previous installments. We are given a little more insight as to why certain things happened in the first film.

I was a little upset over the death of a main supporting character so quick into the film, but it did serve a purpose to the plot.

If you liked the first film, you'll enjoy watching this sequel to it, as it's got all the "original parts" back in the cast, and shows a brief background to one of the main characters in Tokyo Drift.

I Love You, Man

Rated: R for language, adult humor

Starring: Paul Rudd, Jason Segal, Rashida Jones, J.K. Simmons, Jane Curtin, Jamie Pressley, Andy Samberg

Peter's only known Zooey for 8 months, but is convinced she is The One and proposes to her. She willingly accepts. At a gathering with her girlfriends, Peter overhears them wondering who he's going to ask to be the best man, as he really doesn't have any close male friends and that could make for a lopsided wedding party.

Realizing the sad truth that they're right (he always tends to make friends easier with the women in his life) Peter desperately goes on a hunt to meet a guy who could have potential to be his best friend and best man. After being set up by his gay brother and his mom on various "man dates", as well as trying to hang with Zooey's friend's spouses and failing miserably, Peter has about given up.

Then he meets Sydney who shows up at his open house (Peter is a struggling realtor) to eat the free food Peter has left out for vistors and to meet rich divorcees. They have a brief conversation and trade business cards. A few days later, Peter calls Sydney to meet up and talk business over drinks, only they talk about everything but and end up having dinner together. Realizing they have more in common, such as their love for the band Rush, the 2 start hanging out all the time. Sydney is thrilled to have a friend to hang out with, since all his are married with kids and lives of their own now, and Peter loves how real and honest Sydney is and how he can be himself around him. Only as the wedding draws near, the more time they spend together, the more Sydney's honesty and lifestyle starts to jeopardize Peter's relationship with Zooey.

This was a cute comedy about on par with more recent stuff Rudd and Segal have starred in. Getting in on the "bromance" craze spawned by MTV, it shows just how important it is for a guy to have that 1 great male friendship with another guy.

If you like the humor of Rudd and Segal movies, be sure to check this one out with a good friend! It's worth the laughs!

Watchmen

Rated: R for language, gratuitous violence, nudity, sex

Starring: Malin Akerman, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode, Carla Gugino, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Patrick Wilson

Based of the highly recommended 1986-87 graphic novel of the same name, Watchmen takes place in an alternate 1985 America. Nixon just won his 5th term, costumed vigilantes have been outlawed and the US is on the brink of nuclear war with Russia.

The film starts out, we see a man, after being beat up in his high-rise penthouse, get thrown out through the glass window. People wonder, was this a random murder? A political killing perhaps, since the man had connections to the government? Rorschach, a man doning a trenchcoat, brimmed hat and a mask with inkblots that move around, believes someone is killing off former superheros. We soon learn that the man thrown through the window was The Comedian - a man who was part of the original 1940's Minutemen, fought in Vietnam and was part of the next generation of Minutemen, known as the Watchmen.

While we follow Rorschach and the rest of the remaining Watchmen (which includes Dr. Manhattan, The 2nd Nite Owl, The 2nd Silk Spectre and Ozymandias) avoid assassination and get to the bottom of what's going on, we have flash backs into each of their lives. We see that The Comedian wasn't exactly a nice funny guy, but rather had a more sadistic sarcastic sense of humor. We see how Dr. Manhattan became the big blue glowy dude that he is now and how his condition has affected all his relationships and in turn the effect it's had on him, we see how 2nd Silk Spectre's mother and relationship have effective her and so on. We also see the affects that the superheros have had on on major historical events throughout the decades.

Watchmen shows how even superhero's struggle with their inner self and have to deal with real issues just like the rest of us. It even begs the question, is it right to sacrific a smaller majority in order to ensure that the rest of the human race will live on?

Although it was almost 3 hours long, it kept my attention the entire time and definitely gave you some interesting points to think over.

It's definitely not one for the kiddies though, as Dr. Manhattan is shown fully nude in multiple scenes, 2nd Silk Spectre gets it on with several of the male characters and not much is left to the imagination, The Comedian attempts to rape another female character, and the violence is shown full force too - take some of the more graphic violent scenes from Zack Snyder's previous films Sin City and 300 and then multiply it several times. People get stabbed and shot with a close camera on them, limbs get hacked off in plain graphic site... there's a reason it's rated R.

He's Just Not That Into You

Rated: PG13 for adult situations, sex

Starring: Ginnifer Goodwin, Justin Long, Jennifer Connelly, Scarlett Johansson, Jennifer Aniston, Ben Affleck, Drew Barrymore, Kevin Connolly, Bradley Cooper.

Every girl likes to think her date went well and that there was a connection, even if there wasn't. Some tend to blow their interpretation of the date way out of porportion and believe there's something more than there really is. If he's not calling you back after the first date - he's just not that into you!

And so the premise of this movie, based off the best selling self-help book.

Our story follows several couples who's lives all intertwine at some point or another. First we have Gigi who has a fabulous date with Connor, or so she thinks. Connor's not really all that interested in her though - he'd much prefer hot Anna, but she no longer enjoys sleeping with him and would rather move on with her life, putting Connor on the backburner, just in case. Anna meets Ben at a convienent store one night and she's smitten with him as he is with her, only he's married to Janine who's busy renovating their home and already starting to question her trust with Ben. Janine also works with Gigi and Beth. Beth has spent the last 7 years with Neil and when her baby sister gets engaged she starts to wonder if Neil is really serious about their relationship and why he hasn't proposed to her. And then there's Mary, Anna's good friend who has trouble keeping a guy past the first date and complains about how men keep rejecting her through various forms of technology (ie: Myspace, text messaging, voicemail, etc). In the midst of it all, after Connor blows her off, Gigi starts taking advice from bar owner Alex (also Connor's friend), who continuously tells her that if a guy isn't doing A, then he's just not that interested and to move along.

It was interesting to see how all the characters lives intertwined with each other and everyone can relate to at least 1 of the multiple story lines - the girl wondering if she's wasting her time on a guy who won't propose, a woman who finds out her spouse is having an affair, never hearing from someone after the first date, reading too much into a situation, and so on.

Even though it's more of a chick flick, the men in the theater were nodding their heads and sharing the occasional laugh, as there's so much truth to what's being said. A good choice for a girl's night out or a romantic date night.