Due Date

Rated R for language, sexual innuendo and adult humor

Starring Robert Downey, Jr., Zach Galifianakis, Jamie Foxx, and Megan Monaghan with Juliette Lewis and Danny McBride

Peter is about to head home from a business trip in Atlanta to be with his wife in Los Angeles who is scheduled to give birth to their firstborn on Friday via C-section. However things quickly go downhill the moment he gets to the airport and has a chance encounter with a man named Ethan. Through a series of mishaps, Peter and Ethan both get grounded and put on the "no fly" list. Desperate to get home in time for his child's birth but without his luggage or wallet (as they got left on the plane when Peter was pulled off), Peter unwillingly accepts to travel cross country with Ethan.

The odd couple (Peter is very uptight and business-like while Ethan is a naive, means well but accident prone aspiring actor coping with the react loss of his father) have a whole disaster of unfortunate events occur to them on their 3 day trek cross country - from cars getting totaled, to being shot, and a run in with border control near Mexico to name a few.

Due Date is a road trip movie mixed with a bit of a bromance as near the end Peter and Ethan begin to bond. It's also a bit of an updated "Planes, Trains and Automobiles", with Zach Galifianakis in the classic John Candy role and Robert Downey, Jr. in the Steve Martin role.

While it was funny and amusing, and brought to us by the director of Galifianakis' other hit film The Hangover, it wasn't nearly as funny as expected - The Hangover brought us many more laughs.

If you're fan of adult humor and like either actor, be sure to set a due date to see this one!

DVD Review: Prince of Persia - The Sands of Time

Rated PG13 for action violence, some innuendo

Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton, and Ben Kingsley

Taking place in Ancient Persia, we witness a young boy courageously standing up to the King's guards at they attempt to punish another young boy. After a chase in the streets, the King sees the boy's worth and courage and after learning he has no family, decides to take the boy in as his 3rd son.

Flash forward maybe 10 years later, the boy is now young adult Prince Dastan who is quick to battle with the gifts of strength and agility. The 3 Persian princes lead an attack on neighboring sacred city Alamut as they are led to believe the city is supplying weapons to enemies of Persia, however none are found. Dastan does come into possession of a pretty cool looking dagger though while Alamut Princess Tamina has agreed to marry one of the Princes as a way of bringing peace between the 2 cities.

At the ceremony after the Alamut attack, the king is mysterious poisoned and Dastan is framed. He flees the city with the help of the Princess who learns that Dastan possesses her city's sacred dagger. Eventually, as they learn to work together, she comes to tell him why the dagger is so important - with special sand only found in Alamut it can turn back time. Realizing this could prove his innocence, Dastan is determined to plead his case to his uncle, however he learns of more betrayal and deception.

Based on the popular Prince of Persia video game series that has been around since the late 80s, this one actually wasn't that bad and was a decent stand-alone action adventure movie, like a live action Aladdin. The cast and characters were likable, the relationship between Dastan and Tamina was amusing (think Han Solo and Princess Leia where they can't stand each other at first but grow to like one another) and the story/plot was fun and kept a good pace once it got going. It was extremely predictable though.

While a bit dark and violence at times for younger kids, families with somewhat older kids will enjoy watching this one together.

DVD Review: Date Night

Rated PG13 for some sexual humor and innuendo, mild violence

Starring: Steve Carell, Tina Fey, Mark Wahlberg, Common, Ray Liotta, William Fichtner, with appearances by James Franco, Mila Kunis, Kristen Wiig, and Mark Ruffalo

Phil and Claire Foster are your typical working parents - every morning their 2 young kids wake them up at the crack of dawn, they get them off to school before running off to their own jobs. In the afternoons, Claire chauffers their kids around to and from various practices and activities before making dinner and eventually crashing in bed. They do however make time for a weekly date night, but even that has become routine and bland as every week they go to the same steakhouse and order the same thing.

Learning that a couple they're close with is separating, Phil and Claire decide maybe they should change things up a bit for a feeling of something, fresh, new and exciting. The following date night, Claire decides to get all dressed up, prompting Phil to do the same when he gets home. He also insists on taking her to dinner in Manhattan (they live in Jersey) at some expensive new seafood joint Claire had mentioned previously.

Arriving at the restaurant however on a busy night with no reservations, they learn that it is full and will be forever before they can get a table. Waiting in the bar, figuring out what to do, after hearing the hostess call "Tripplehorn, party of 2" several times with no response, Phil acts quickly and claims they are the Tripplehorns. Soon after they are seated though, a couple of tough guys confront Phil and Claire, requesting to speak with them outside. Thinking these men work for the restaurant and that they're in trouble for claiming a reservation that wasn't theirs, they comply, however they quickly learn the Tripplehorns didn't show for a reason - turns out, these men work for some well-known mobster and the Tripplehorns stole a flashdrive from him with incriminating evidence on it and have been black mailing him for weeks.

Trying to explain what happened and that they're really the Fosters, not the Tripplehorns, the thugs believe Tripplehorn is just their alias and insist they take them to where the flashdrive is hidden. Scared for their lives, Phil and Claire use their wits together to try and outsmart the baddies, stay a few steps ahead of them, and find help in the big city as they also try to locate the real Tripplehorns and make them give back the flashdrive so they can go home safely.

Directed and produced by Shawn Levy (who also did the Night at the Museum films), unlike most romantic comedies that tend to be more of a chick flick, Date Night is a fun romantic comedy that both men and women can enjoy together. It's got a lot of laugh out loud comedic moments (due largely in part to the comedian genius pairing of stars Steve Carell and Tina Fey), some amusing action sequences, and a little bit of romance as we see Phil and Claire discuss and work out the issues they have in their marriage during this hectic night and try and rekindle the flame.

Be sure to make a date with your spouse or significant other to watch Date Night!

DVD Review: The Time Traveler's Wife

Rated PG13 for adult themes, some sexuality, brief nudity

Starring Eric Bana, Rachel McAdams, Ron Livingston

Henry has a bit of a strange genetic disorder - he can come and go through time, popping into the past, present or the future. Unsure of what triggers it and unable to stop it from happening, Henry make his first "jump" when is just a young boy riding in a car with his mother - he jumps to 2 weeks prior and is confused at seeing events that already happened and then suddenly he's on the side of the road as his mother is killed in a car accident. Right then, an older version of himself shows up, assuring him that he'll be alright.

Flash forward to the mid-90s, Henry is grown and working a job in a library when a woman named Clare approaches him and says she knows him. Confused, he agrees to meet her for dinner later so that she can explain, as she says she's known him all her life. Turns out, an older version of Henry once "jumped" and showed up in the meadow where a young Clare was playing. Something drew him the young girl and he regularly started popping up in her life from time to time. Now, present day has caught up with both of them and Clare wants to try and make things work with them.

Albeit a strange and hard relationship, with Henry unable to control when he "jumps," they try to make it work and eventually get married. One day, in their new home together, they witness a later version of Henry, cold, naked and bleeding from a gunshot on the floor before he quickly disappears just as he came. Worried and scared that he dies young, Henry and Clare decide to seek out help from a genetics doctor for advice on how to control it. They also struggle trying to conceive a child, as Clare keeps miscarrying and Henry fears the baby has inherited his genetic disorder, causing it to time travel out of her womb.

This was an interesting take on a love story, as it has the sci-fi, time travel twist thrown in to complicate Clare and Henry's relationship. It is neat to see though how they keep to their vows, for better or for worse, as Clare is understanding that Henry can't control his time traveling despite how hard it is for her to deal with him randomly coming and going for periods of a time - at one point it seemed he had been gone for several weeks and possibly months before returning to the right time period.

If you're looking for a bit of a romantic tale with a sci-fi twist to it and are able to keep up with a non-linear storyline, be sure to check this one out - but make sure you keep a box of tissues nearby!

Resident Evil: Afterlife

Rated R for violence, some gore, language

Starring Milla Jovovich, Ali Larter, Wentworth Miller, Shawn Roberts

Taking place shortly after the 3rd film, we see an Alice invasion of the Umbrella Corp headquarters in Tokyo. While Wesker tries to make his getaway, the real Alice is stowed away on his escape helicopter and confronts him, however he injects with an agent that neutralizes the T-virus that has bonded with her DNA, taking away her super human strength, healing and other abilities. They crash land however, and while Alice crawls out of the wreckage, Wesker is believed to be dead.

The next few months Alice flies around in a 2 person plane, searching for Arcadia - the place Claire's convey of survivors from the previous film and Alice had heard about on the emergency broadcast channel, claiming to have shelter free of infection with plenty of food. Claire and her convey were headed that way, towards the location in Alaska, last we had seen of them, however when Alice reaches the coordinates they were given, there's nothing but an abandoned air field along a beach. While trying to piece things together, she is attacked by a crazed Claire who has some strange metallic device hooked to her chest affecting her behavior and memory, as once she comes to, she doesn't know who Alice is, let alone her own name or where her convey has gone.

They set off in Alice's plane, flying along the coast looking for life when they come to L.A. where they see some survivors flagging them down on a rooftop of a prison - the only way in and out is by the roof as the outside area is covered by zombies wanting to get inside. The survivors are let down to learn that Alice isn't from Arcadia, sent to get them, as they say the broadcasts stopped just days prior and they had been sending off flares in hope that someone from Arcadia will see them and send assistance. Confused, Alice points out that Arcadia is in Alaska, that she just came from there and there's nothing - there's no way they could see flares from there. They hand her binoculars and point out a huge cargo tanker just off the nearby coast with Arcadia painted on the side - she realizes it's been moving up and down the western coast picking up survivors which explains why there was nothing in Alaska.

Realizing her plane is unfortunately a 2-seater and that going back and forth would be near impossible given the small space for landing on their roof, Alice says there has to be another way for them all to get out and to the sea. They introduce her to a man held prisoner in the basement of the prison, who claims he was a solider in fighting the outbreak but when the prison got out of control prisoners thought it would be funny to lock him up. The survivors aren't sure if they can trust what he says though as they found him locked up but he claims there's another way out. Alice convinces them to release him, in he which shares there's a strong armored military vehicle locked away on the premises they can just ride out on, crushing anything in their path. Turns out, he was right, but the vehicle's engine has been pulled out and it will take nearly a week for the mechanic there to install it correctly. He also claims to be Claire's brother Chris, however she is still having memory loss and can't confirm she knows him or not.

On top of their problems, a giant executioner figure wielding a mean looking axe/hammer has just showed up at the prison entrance, trying to break open the gate that's keeping all the zombies out. In a hurry to escape before the executioner giant and zombies break in (a few have even learned how to tunnel in!), they seek to find another way out, which includes a dark, scary tunneling route to the sewers with a risk of running into zombies trying to come in.

Will they make it out of the prison before it's too late? Will they make it to Arcadia? And is Arcadia all it's really cracked up to be?

This is the first Resident Evil movie to be filmed in 3D, however we saw it in 2D and you could tell that certain scenes and elements were only there for 3D purposes, such as the extensive use of "bullet time" in the action scenes (made popular by the Wachowski Brothers in the Matrix) and Alice shooting off quarters in different scenes.

The series went from a decent horror/zombie storyline to an action series with Alice and crew vs Umbrella Corp with zombies thrown in making their task more difficult. I don't mind it, but it is starting to get redundant. It would have been nice to know what the point of the executioner was too, as this giant, masked character with nails stuck in his head and torso and carrying a 1 ton axe/hammer weapon just kinda shows up out of nowhere with no rhyme or reason. Also, for Alice not having her super human abilities anymore, she still seems to be abnormally fast and strong - it's like they sort of forgot they took that away from her at the beginning of the movie. The story only progressed slightly in this film (how many headquarters does Umbrella Corp have?!) and it's clear that a 5th film of this saga is in the works. Be sure to stay during the first part of the credits, as there's a brief appearance by Jill Valentine from the 2nd film.

If you like the Resident Evil films, you know what to expect and probably wouldn't mind seeing this one, however if you haven't seen the others, you really should as there's not much of a recap of the previous films unless you're just there for the girl power action.

DVD Review: Midnight Meat Train

Rated R for graphic violence, gore, brief nudity and some language

Starring Bradley Cooper, Vinnie Jones, Leslie Bibb

The movie opens with a well dressed man sitting on a late night subway car along with a few other passengers. Out of nowhere, he slaughters them with a combo meat cleaver/pounder tool.

Next we are introduced to Leon, a photographer trying to get his work noticed by a well-known art dealer in hopes that his work will make it into her show and gallery and start to sell. She tells him that she doesn't feel his images are strong enough for her shows and gallery yet and so he decides to go out and shoot some stuff late at night. He ventures into the subway with his camera and after taking several shots of a gang harassing and about to mug an attractive woman who's alone, he points out to them the security camera capturing everything and they scram. The woman thanks him and quickly enters the last subway car to come through that night; Leon, amazed by her beauty, continues to snap photos before she's gone. His girlfriend spies his work as he develops it in their apartment and comments that it seems to be his best yet. He also learns that the woman he saved last night was a well-known model, however she appears to be suddenly missing. Believing he may be the last person to have seen her, he quickly goes to the police station, but they blow him off!

The next night Leon goes out again for more shots and spies a mysterious, well-dressed man, in a hurry to catch the subway, however he gets a little too close and the man scares him off. Leon notices that the man is wearing a ring that can be seen in one of the photos where the model from the previous night had gotten on the subway train, holding the door open for her... Leon goes again to the police station to point out the similarities, but they don't give him much thought.

Looking into it himself, Leon learns about the Subway Butcher whom he believes is the man he saw the previous night. He decides to spend the next day following him, from a hotel to a butchering plant to the subway again before backing off for the night. Leon gets ballsy one night and decides to follow him onto the subway train, where he sees him butcher, slaughter and then pick apart his victims. He soon catches Leon though, but instead of killing him, he wakes up the next day at the butchering plant with carvings in his skin. His girlfriend tries to figure out what's wrong, and eventually sees the strange marking carved into his chest and insists on taking him to the hospital, but all he wants to do is sleep. Having seen his photographs, she decides to head to the hotel with her friend and do a little digging, as Leon's camera has gone missing and he claims he has shots that prove that the mysterious man is the Subway Butcher.

Both her and Leon end up on the train later, attempting to save her friend and put a stop to the Butcher, but will they make it off the train alive?


Brought to us by legendary horror writer/director Clive Barker, Midnight Meat Train is based on a short story of the same name that Barker included in his Books of Blood collection he wrote in 1984. It's clear that Barker's a bit of a visual artist as he uses some interesting, artsy techniques in this gorefest, however some of the effects come off a bit comical and over the top.

It's an interesting premise - a man is killing people on the subway every night and no one seems to care, including the police and subway conductor. What exactly is going on and why? Through Leon's curiosity we learn the truth which is quite the twist as it definitely isn't what you would expect!

If you enjoy horror movies with strange twists and don't mind the gore, be sure to check out Midnight Meat Train.

DVD Review: Saw VI

Rated R for graphic violence, gore, torture, language

Starring Costas Mandylor, Tobin Bell, Shawnee Smith, Betsy Russell, Peter Outerbridge

Picking up where the 5th installment left off, Lt. Mark Hoffman works quickly to cover his tracks after the death of Agent Strahm who died because he got to close to the truth and learned that Hoffman was another apprentice of Jigsaw's and was carrying out Jigsaw's work despite his death. Hoffman tries to pin the evidence of the latest game (the one in #5) on Strahm using his fingerprints, while still working on the inside.

Meanwhile, we learn that Jigsaw left his ex-wife Jill a box with items in it, which included instructions for Hoffman for the next game in his master plan. Hoffman quickly does what he can to get it all set up and before he gets caught - turns out, using audio equipment, the Jigsaw audio tape that was found at the scene of the events in #5 can be descrambled and it proves that it isn't Jigsaw, but someone else - Hoffman.

In the new game, we see a mother and her son trapped in one boiler room with a tank of acid in the corner connected to a switch box where one setting says "live" while the other says "die" and clock is counting down the time. The mother declares, "We're here because of your father." In similar boiler room (sans acid tank) is reporter Pamela Jenkins, who was nosing around, trying to find out what was in the box Jigsaw left for his wife. Playing the game is health insurance executive William Easton.

See, when Jigsaw first learned he was dying of cancer, he went and did some research for himself and found a doctor in Europe who was looking to take on new patients for his experimental tests that had a high success rate. Jigsaw approached William about having his insurance cover the high cost of this, but William, who runs the company using a formula that determines who should get the health benefits (usually those in good health instead of those that are sick and could actually benefit from treatment), denies him because it is merely experimental, despite the evidence of a high success rate.

Starting the game, William has 4 devices attached to each of his limbs - one on each wrist, another on each foot. He must survive through 4 series of tests to keep himself intact - failure to complete a test will either blow off a limb or kill him if he doesn't make it through the test. Also, failure to complete the game will result in him never seeing his family again. At the end of each test, he receives a key to remove one of the devices. Making the game even harder is that his employees are the pawns!

In one test he has to decide which of 2 employees will be hanged - the middle aged mother with an illness, or the healthy young go-getter who doesn't have a family. According to his company's formula, the woman should die, but which choice will he make? In the next test, he has to help a female employee in a steam room get through a maze below him within a certain time or else the device around her neck will pierce her skull - in order to make it easier for her though, he has to direct some of the steam onto himself, creating a safe passageway for her. There is a twist though, as the key to unlock the device around her neck is just under William's skin on the side of his torso. In the final test, William finds 6 of his top staff members strapped to a spinning carousel  with a rifle pointed towards it. He is told that by slipping his hands into a device attached to the gun, he can choose to save 2 of them by letting it pierce his hands and divert the gun upwards, however it is automatic so when the carousel stops spinning he has only seconds to make his choice. Some of his employees begin to tell sob stories - one girl claims to be pregnant, another with young kids at home... another claims she has sick parents who need her to take of them but then another employee calls out her lie saying he knows for a fact her parents disowned her and that she's always talking about how she hates them. Who's telling the truth and who's lying just to save themself?

This was an interesting installment to the Jigsaw franchise as it had several unexpected but welcomed twists to it.

It also featured some new flashback scenes which explained some of the things from the previous movies (such the letter Amanda receives in 3 that causes her to go off the edge and mess things up a bit). There was also a contest in late 2008, where the wining actress of the VH1 reality competition show Scream Queens would win a breakout role in the film. The winner of the first season, Tanedra Howard, was featured in the opening segment (which was also probably the goriest of the whole movie).

Since Saw 3D (aka Saw VII) is the last of the franchise, it'll be interesting to see how it all ties up!

If you're a fan of the Saw franchise, it wouldn't hurt to see this one (which was one of the better ones), however if you haven't gotten into them or past the first one, there really is no point jumping in at this one.

DVD Review: The Bounty Hunter

Rated PG13 for some violence, some sexuality, brief language

Starring Jennifer Aniston, Gerard Butler, Peter Greene, Jeff Garlin, Christine Baranski, Jason Sudeikis, Dorian Missick, Cathy Moriarty

Nicole is a journalist with a haunch - she has a strange feeling that a case that was ruled as suicide is really a homocide and requests her snitch friend find out some information on a possible lead. She also has some trouble of her own with the law, as she innocently assaulted a police officer landing her with a court date. Right as she's approaching the courthouse, she gets a call from snitch friend, saying that if she wants the information he has she needs to meet him in 30 minutes before he sells it someone else. In a jam, Nicole decides it's more important to get the information and misses her court hearing.

Milo is a former police officer turned bounty hunter with a bit of a gambling debt of his own that he's trying to pay off. Hours after Nicole skips court, a warrant is out for her with a bounty of $5,000 to whoever brings her in. Milo more than jumps at the opportunity as Nicole is his ex-wife!

He quickly tracks her down later that afternoon and attempts to bring her in in a hilarious but forceful way.

However they both have people on their tails - Milo's bookie has sent men out to collect on his debt and Nicole's snitch and lead have gotten her a little too close to uncovering the truth and the men responsible want her gone. They also begin to rekindle the flame of their former romance.

Will they be able to stay ahead of the people who are after them?
And will Milo ultimately still turn in Nicole despite their reconnection?

This one has an interesting premise with the potential to be really funny as it's a bit of a tale of revenge - a bounty hunter having the chance to bring in his ex-wife whom he despises - however with the subplots it starts to drag on. While the subplot about the people coming after Nicole for getting to close to uncovering the truth makes sense and fits, the other just seems unnecessary. Okay, so Milo has a huge gambling debt and that's why he does bounty hunting, I get that, but the whole subplot about his bookie trying to collect just gets too out of hand - the bookie's crones mistake Nicole's creepy lovestruck co-worker who's trying to follow her for Milo and instead torture him. That whole part just seemed a bit pointless. Also, we get it, they start to rekindle their romance and rethink their divorce. The bit when they need to hideout and revisit the bed and breakfast they spent their honeymoon at just started to drag on.

This movie felt at least 20 minutes too long and honestly, I got bored after the first hour.

Good premise, bad attempt.

Skip this one unless you're really really bored.

Scott Pilgrim vs the World

Rated PG13 for comic book/video game violence, some sexuality, brief language

Starring Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kieran Culkin, Ellen Wong, Aubrey Plaza, Anna Kendrick with appearances by Jason Schwartzman, Chris Evans and Brandon Routh

Scott Pilgrim is a 22 year old bassist in the hopeful indie rock band Sex Bob-Omb and shares a studio apartment and bed in Toronto with his gay roommate Wallace Wells. Scott has also started dating a 17 year old high school girl named Knives Chau, much to the disapproval of his roommate, sister, bandmates and well, everyone he knows - they all refer to Knives as Scott's "fake high school girlfriend" and tell him to get a real girlfriend, one that's his own age.

One night while sleeping, Scott sees an attractive girl with pink dyed hair comes skating through his dreams and he can't get her out of his head. The next day, he sees her in person, delivering a package to the library and later runs into her at a party where he learns her name is Ramona Flowers and that she is new town from New York after a rough breakup with her ex, he makes a complete fool of himself. Desperate for a second chance, the next morning Scott orders a package from Amazon.ca in hopes that Ramona will be the one to deliver it to him. Fortunately, she does and she agrees to meet up with him later in exchange for him signing for his package already.

The two go out for the evening and end up spending the night snuggling together at Ramona's place. The morning after Scott invites Ramona to his band's upcoming Battle of the Bands gig, completely forgetting that he also invited Knives and that he's technically still dating her! Both girls show, creating an awkwardness for everyone, however his friends and sister both approve of the much more age appropriate Ramona. Right as Sex Bob-Omb takes the stage, Knives faints due to excitement, and suddenly a man named Matthew Patel comes crashing into the venue, challenging Scott to a duel.

Scott is confused at first until Patel askes "Didn't you get my e-mail... about the League of Evil Exes controlling the fate of Ramona's love life?"

"I skimmed it..." Scott slowly responds, but in video-game like fashion, Scott and Patel begin fighting and throwing punches (much to the dismay and astonishment of everyone in the club), with Patel summoning "demon hipster chicks" before Scott delivers the final blow and Patel turns into a handful of coins.

Him and Ramona quickly flee the scene and hop on a bus where Ramona explains that if her and Scott are to date, he must defeat each of her 7 evil exes (which includes a famous hot shot skater turned actor, a telekinetic vegan musician, a goth girl half ninja, a pair of Japanese techno pop star twins and the infamous powerful music producer Gideon Graves). Scott doesn't seem to have a problem with that, however, all his friends remind him, he needs to break-up with Knives if he is going to continue to see Ramona.

This movie is based on a series of 6 graphic novels written by Bryan Lee O'Malley and it really is a great adaption of a comic book brought to life on the big screen. It combines young adult romance with comedy and video game action, as when Scott defeats each one of the exes he gains coins, skill points, level ups, free lives, and even swords. The soundtrack is pretty fun too with music that helps drive the movie.

While the plot overview may seem more for teenagers, it really is more than just that - it's a geeky/gamer affair with some awesome visuals. I cannot stress how well this movie is when it comes to bringing a comic book to life - thanks to technology of today, it really does feel like the images, characters and fight scenes from the books have come to life on the big screen. If video games were real life, this is what the result would probably look like. While I won't say it's the best movie I've ever seen, it definitely was fun and some of the scenes really do deserve to be seen on the big screen to get the full effect of awesomeness!

This film doesn't deserve to be doing as poorly as it is at the box office (it barely made the top 5 its first week, and last week it barely placed in the top 10). In an age of remakes, spoofs, and unoriginal movies, this is one that is very unique both in it's style and portrayal.

If you like comedies, go see it.
If you like action movies, go see it.
If you like comic books and/or video games, go see it.
If you like movies that are just plain fun and clever, go see it.

Just do yourself a favor and go see it!

The Expendables

Rated R for language and violence

Starring Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Terry Crews, Dolph Lundgren, Mickey Rourke, Randy Couture, Steve Austin, Eric Roberts, Gisele Itie with appearances by Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger

Who does you call when you want some bad guys taken out but don't want it traced back to you? Why The Expendables of course!

Barney Ross leads an elite group of some of the best mercenaries that can be found on dangerous missions all over the world.

After finishing up a hostage situation with pirates in Somalia, Mr. Church approaches him and his rival Trench about a job in Vilena - a fictional country in South America. Since Trench is busy, Ross accepts and heads down with his right-hand man Lee Christmas to gather information about the country and the mission. While there, they come in contact with their contact, who turns out to be the stunning Sandra who is also the General Garza's daughter. They learn that awhile ago some greedy American's, including ex-CIA agent James Monroe, came into the country, forcing Garza to work with them as they grow and harvest cocaine in an attempt to make the country profitable; the results though have left the people scared, feeling betrayed by their leader. Having a bad feeling about the job (which is to kill Garza), Ross decides to abort the mission and him and Christmass leave on the plane they flew in on, taking out some of Monroe's men in the process.

Back in the states, Christmas learns his girlfriend of over a year has moved on, only that her new beau beats her. Ross feels guilty about leaving Sandra in Vilena, as she refused to leave with them, wanting to help her homeland. Ross decides to go back for her, telling Christmas and Yang that he's going alone, but first Yang and Ross get ambushed while driving, as former Expendable Gunnar Jensen, who was let go for getting a little too into their work, has led some of Monroe's baddies to their hideout and they want revenge.

Not letting him go alone, the rest of the Expendables join Ross as he goes back to Vilena to save Sandra, who has been capture by Monroe and his bad guys torture her to get Garza to do their bidding. With Gunnar's help, they are able to easily infiltrate the palace and find her, however getting out alive proves to be quite the ordeal.

The Expendables really is your typical action movie - a mediocre simple plot (kill the bad guys, get out alive) filled with action and explosions and some corny silly banter between the characters (the scene with Stallone, Willis and Schwarzenegger is pretty amusing). The main difference between this one and other action films though is the cast. Like the trailer for the film says "In every movie, there's a hero... this movie has them all."

With a cast filled with action stars newer and older and led, written and directed by Sly Stallone, The Expendables proves to be a fun summer action flick. As with their previous films, the majority of the film's stars all do their own stunts and there is no CGI in this movie - the explosions and gunfire on screen are all real - talk about old school! It really is refreshing though!

If you like fun, mindless action movies or any of the stars that are in this film be sure not to miss this throwback to older, pre-CGI action movies!

DVD Review: Valentine's Day

Rated PG13 for brief language, brief sexuality

Starring Julia Roberts, Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, Kathy Bates, Eric Dane, Patrick Dempsey, Hector Elizondo, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Topher Grace, Taylor Swift, Anne Hathaway, Carter Jenkins, Ashton Kutcher, Queen Latifah, Taylor Lautner, George Lopez, Shirley MacLaine, Emma Roberts

Like 2009's "He's Just Not That Into You," "Valentine's Day" also features an all-star cast with different storylines weaving in and out of each other.

It's Valentine's Day and love is in the air! Reed Bennett (Kutcher) is having a great morning as his beautiful girlfriend (Alba) said "yes" to his wedding proposal (something that most of his friends and co-workers are shocked to hear, as they expected her to say "no") and owning a floral shop that delivers, today is the busiest day for business.

We are also introduced to Reed's platonic best friend Julia (Garner), who is convinced she's met the man of her dreams (Dempsey)... only when he comes into Reed's shop to order flowers to be delivered to both his wife and Julia, Reed is faced with the dilemma of whether or not to her that her divorced doctor who flew to San Fransisco for the night for work is really still in town and well, not divorced! It doesn't help matters that Julia is planning on flying over to San Fransisco later that day to surprise him so the 2 of them can grab dinner together and celebrate the holiday.

Also stopping in the flower shop that day is a young boy named Edison (Robinson), who lives with his grandparents (MacLaine and Elizondo) and is in Julia's class she teaches, and he wants to buy flowers for a special someone and requests they be delivered during recess. However, after getting in a fender bender with sports star Sean Jackson (Dane), florist deliver and Reed's right-hand man Alphonso (Lopez) loses a bunch of their deliveries - Edison's included.

We are also introduced to several high schoolers - track star Willy (Lautner) and his new dance team girlfriend Felicia (Swift), and their friends Grace (Emma Roberts) and Alex (Jenkins). Willy and Felicia are both over the top gushy in love and Felicia gets excited over everything Willy does for her, while Grace (who nannies Edison after school) and Alex are planning on having sex for the first time at Grace's home during their lunch period.

Rounding out the cast is Sean Jackson's publicist and Julia's friend Kara (Biel) who organizes a yearly "I Hate Valentine's Day" party, although she has a growing attraction to local sports reporter Kelvin (Foxx). Paula (Queen Latifah) is Sean Jackson's agent who has temp Liz (Hathaway) working as a receptionist. Liz moonlights as an "adult phone entertainer" often juggling calls all throughout the day and has yet to share this bit of information with her boyfriend of 2 weeks (Topher Grace). We also meet Kate (Julia Roberts) and Holden (Cooper), who are sitting next to each other on a long flight to LA. Holden states he is recently single and is not really in the mood of the holiday, while we learn Kate is a US Army Captain, on a 1-day leave hoping to get home in time to spend just a few hours with someone she loves very much before she has to head back to duty.

Some of the stories that intertwine in "Valentine's Day" will make you laugh, while some of the others will bring you to tears. Older people, middle-aged people, young adults and teens, as well as those that are married, single, in a new relationship or a long-term committed one - this film has something for everyone.

If you don't mind following multiple plots or just like the star studded cast, get together with some of your girlfriends or cuddle up with your significant other and pop in this cute romantic chick flick comedy.

DVD Review: Kick-Ass

Rated R for language, bloody violence, brief sexuality

Starring Aaron Johnson, Nicholas Cage, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Chloe Grace Moretz, Mark Strong

"How come no one has ever tried to be a superhero?" geeky comic book lovin' teenage Dave wonders to his friends. He says that really all it is is helping others and doing right, stopping the bad guys. His friends think him nuts, but after being bullied for the last time, Dave done an outfit and wonders out, looking to put a stop to it.

His first attempt, against the same bullies that inspired him to take action, does not fare well, as he ends up with quite the wound and gets hit by a car, causing damage to his nervous system so he can no longer feel pain and metal is placed under his skin to help support his bones. Not giving up so quickly, after his recovery, Dave sets out again, this time saving a lone man from a group of attackers in a parking lot outside a dinner - several customers look out the window, with their cell phone video cameras rolling, catching the whole thing. Dave is quite the internet sensation as super hero Kick-Ass.

While on a mission for a girl he loves, he gets into a bit more of a mess than expected when it turns out to be a drug dealers headquarters and when it seems all is lost, a young girl with a penchant for knives and other sharp objects comes in through the window, also donned in a costume as well as a wig, saves him from a grisly fate. He comes to learn later that girl, known as Hit-Girl, and her father, Big Daddy, are also masked vigilantes, however they have very specific plans - turns out Big Daddy was once a cop but was framed by Frank D'Amico - a drug lord and crime boss who disguises his hideout as a lumber company. Because of this, Big Daddy's wife killed herself, while pregnant with their daughter Mindy who was able to be saved, but given over to custody of his partner. He got out of jail and got her back, training her to become the vigilante Hit Girl with his Big Daddy persona and they plan to take down D'Amico.

Unaware that other superhero's are out there, D'Amico seems to think that it is Kick-Ass taking out his men and causing problem for the family business and wants him dead.

We are also introduced to D'Amico's son Chris, who is also a classmate of Dave's and decides to become costumed character called Red Mist.

Kick-Ass is definitely not a kid's movie, despite being about superheros like you see in the comics. There's a reason this movie is rated R - the violence is very bloody and despite one of the main characters being a preteen girl, the language is very adult and R-rated, as you wouldn't want your young daughters quoting her!

As an adult comicbook action superhero movie though, Kick-Ass is highly entertaining! While not as deep (or as long) as Watchmen (another adult comicbook action superhero movie that came out in 2009), adults will enjoy the humor and action as one teenager tries to prove that anyone can be a superhero.

Watch it with other adults or older teens, but put the kids to bed first!

Ramona and Beezus

Rated G

Starring Joey King, Selena Gomez, John Corbett, Bridget Moynahan, Ginnifer Goodwin, Josh Duhamel, Sandra Oh

Ramona is a 9 year old with a very vivid and wild imagination - she pretends while crossing the monkey bars during recess that she is really climbing across a great big canyon and when construction workers break a hole in her home to build a new addition to the house she takes great fun one afternoon, with various costumes and props jumping out the hole and into the dirt, at one point imagining she's parachuting through the sky!

The movie seems to pick up somewhat where the beloved Beverly Clearly books left off, in the sense that in the last Ramona book she becomes a middle child with the birth of her baby sister Roberta. However Ramona's world is about to change even more!

Ramona has a close connection with her Aunt Bea, who can identify with her being a younger sister as she too is a younger sister, however she begins to feel that she's losing her Aunt Bea to her friend and next door neighbor Howie's Uncle Hobart, as he is Aunt Bea's former high school sweetheart who lost his chance with her and is now back in town, cleaning up his Jeep and trying to woo her one last time before he takes a 2-year journey to Alaska.

Also, the company her dad works for gets bought out and decides to down-size, laying him off in the process. Beezus and Ramona overhear their parents talk about the bank taking their house away, which scares Ramona and she quickly tries her best to help earn money to save the house. She gets another scare when a classmate informs her that when her dad lost his job her parents soon divorced - after Beezus and Ramona overhear their parents having an argument regarding the house situation one night, with dad ending up sleeping on the couch, Ramona worries even more! Eventually dad does land one of his many interviews, however the job is clear on the other end of the state, meaning the whole family will have to move. Despite her previous annoyances with younger sister Ramona, Beezus bonds with her in the sense that she too is scared of having to move and make all new friends, which she deems is hard to do by the time you're 15.

This really is a cute coming of age movie, as Ramona struggles and has to deal with a handful things kids can face as they begin to grow up - the feeling of losing a close relative who's getting married, losing the family pet, getting picked on by other kids for being different, feeling inferior to a sibling who seems to be perfect and more. The whole parent losing a job and the family worrying about keeping the house issue is also becoming more and more common these days with the current recession and we often forget that while we try to hide our own fears and worries from the kids, it still affects them and they can sense what's going on.

It also shows the bond between sisters - while they may argue and be complete opposites, with the older sister deeming the younger a pest while the younger feels everyone likes the older sister better, they do share a bond that near the last third of the film is quite clear.

Also, Ramona's dad is a great example of what a father should be - he's loving to the girls, yet strict when he needs to be, but also understanding. He does his best to provide for his family, even giving up his quest for his dream job to settle for one with good pay that allows him provide for them. When he loses that job, mom goes back to work part-time for a doctor while dad picks up the slack at home and helps take care of the girls while going from interview to interview. Ramona really inspires him, saying the she thinks he can do anything he wants when he's job hunting. He also has a really great drawing skill, which he shares with Ramona. Eventually he gets a job that allows him to do what he loves.

While Selena Gomez (of Disney Channel's Wizards of Waverly Place) stars as older sister Beezus, the film really focuses on young Joey King as Ramona, who plays the part spot on, stealing the scenes she's in. John Corbett shines as their dad Robert Quimby. Sandra Oh plays Ramona's teacher Ms. Meacham, who is strict in class but near the end of the movie shows a softer side towards Ramona once she really starts trying to take school more seriously. Ginnifer Goodwin (whom I often mistake for Maggie Gyllenhal) also shines as Aunt Bea. We see a different side of Josh Duhamel in this movie, as he's more of a goofy, uncle type.

If you grew up reading Beverly Clearly's Ramona books or have a young daughter (or even son) be sure to take them to this one, as it's fun for kids with Ramona's wild and vivid imagination and her well-meaning antics that always seem to go wrong, but it's also heart-warming for adults!

DVD Review: The Book of Eli

Rated R for language and violence

Starring Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis

A little over 30 years ago, a war that many say was fought over the teachings of a particular book occurred and in the midst of the battle, the sky opened up and rained down fire. An older man named Eli walks the desert wasteland of what is left, headed West with a precious book in tow. It's become survival of the fittest, as a woman with her cart of items stuck in the sand asks those that pass by to help her, only for them to get ambushed by a hungry gang of looters when they actually stop to help her.

When Eli stops into a local town to get his portable battery charged up and refill his canteen with water, he runs into Carnegie's gang of bikers, slaughtering them in the process as they attack the outsider, drawing attention to himself. Carnegie realizes Eli is no average man - being older like himself, he too is literate. Carnegie wants a specific book that can no longer be found, but since most of the older generation has died off and the younger doesn't know how to read, this makes finding it that much more difficult. He invites Eli in for the night, hoping to persuade him into staying and helping him out. He soon learns though, that Eli has one of the last remaining copies of the book that he has been searching for.

Realizing that Carnegie wants to twist the book's words and use it for his own selfish needs rather than share the word of the Gospel with everyone, Eli tells him he cannot have it. Carnegie sends his gang to kill Eli, however Eli takes them all out, unscathed by their bullets, and continues on his way.

Following him, is Solara, the daughter of Carnegie's forced lover, in which he treats her and her mother as servants in his home. She met Eli the night before when Carnegie made her offer herself to Eli in an attempt to persuade him to stay and work for him - instead, after learning that Carnegie would hurt her mother if she returned before dawn, he allowed her to stay the night, sharing his dinner with her instead. Solara's mother felt that she would be safer with Eli out on the road, than stuck as a servant in Carnegie's town where he forced her to do things by threatening to hurt her mother.

Eli is not fond of his new companion at first, insisting she go back home and leave him to himself, but eventually the two form a friendship as Eli continues his journey out West with Solara tagging along and the book in tow. He tells us that soon after the sky opened and it was safe to go outside again, he heard a voice that led him to where the book was and told him to take it out West where it was needed, assuring him he would have protection so long as he had the book.

Carnegie and his men are hot on their tail though, as Carnegie is willing to go to any means necessary to get the book and agreed that his right hand man could have Solara for helping him obtain it.

Will Eli and Solara be able to make it out West with the book or will Carnegie get his hands on it after all?

This film is very religious in the sense that it takes places after many of the events fortold in the Bibilical book of Revelation have occurred and that the book Eli is carrying is indeed the last known Bible in existence as many were burned and destroyed as it was thought to be the cause of the war. He reads from it every night for 30 years straight and learns from it. He is directly on a mission from God to get the book out West where it will be put to good use. It's been said that this is the first mainstream secular film to portray religion and Christianity well since the Passion of the Christ. With that said, it is also an apocalyptic movie too, as people are now desperate for food and water, bartering items for goods (things Eli tells Solara that they took for granted, had too much of and even threw away in the previous world) and are willing to do just about anything to survive a little longer, as only the strong survive.

It's a very telling and inspirational movie, although a bit violent at times. Definitely worth checking out though!

DVD Review: Up in the Air

Rated R for language, brief nudity, some sexuality

Starring George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick

Mr. Ryan Bingham makes his living traveling from state to state, doing the firing for various companies who need to downsize. In times of a recession such as now, his job flourishes as there's plenty to do. He also moonlights as a motivational speaker, with a speech about "what's in your backpack?" talking about how we fill our lives with so much baggage we don't need. Living out of a suitcase, Bingham has grown accustomed to life on the road, spending the majority of the year away from home (which is a small 1 bedroom place he rents in Omaha). He has his routines that allow him to maneuver quickly and flawlessly through airport security and grants him access to all the exclusive airline and rental clubs. He has many many frequent flyer miles saved up, but there's a certain number he has in mind which he hasn't hit yet (10 million) - he's close, but not there yet. Hitting this mark, he would be only the 7th person to do so and gets a special exclusive card to carry with him and his name on the same of a plane.

One day, while sitting in an exclusive lounge waiting for his flight to board, he meets the lovely Alex who is a female version of himself. The 2 quickly begin comparing all their exclusive memberships they've earned, sharing traveling tricks and tips with each other, and quickly check into a hotel for a romp in the sack. They begin a casual relationship, looking over their schedules to determine when they'll be able in the same area so they can get together again.

Upon returning from his latest string of jobs, Bingham learns that pretty soon his traveling my come to a stop, as new college grad and employee Natalie has come up with a system that allows the traveling businessmen to work from the headquarters, firing people at various companies over a voicechat program like Skype with a provided script to walk people through it. Bingham can't believe this, as it would threaten his isolated secluded life and thwart his frequent flyer miles goes, and also, he feels as Natalie has no experience with the way they've been doing things and doesn't feel she's prepared to handle every possible situation that may arise when someone gets fired (we see some get very angry, some get emotional, some suicidal, etc). Complaining to his boss, and stumping Natalie in a role-play, it is decided that while they get the program ready for launch, Bingham can stay out on the road a bit longer, doing things "the old way" so long as Natalie goes with him to the learn the ropes.

Bingham, whom we're led to believe is in his 40s or early 50s, and his interactions with 23 year old Natalie are pretty amusing, as he first shows her the ropes of traveling light for quicker ease through the airport (the first day, she shows up with bulky old luggage). She later begins to challenge him and his way of isolated and secluded living, insisting he give Alex a real shot, as she seems to make him happy.

Up in the Air is an interesting movie as we see how constant traveling can affect people - in that regards, it's a bit of a cautionary tale of isolating yourself too much. We also see that firing people is never fun, but with the right tools and words you can encourage someone (in this case an older man who was close to retirement) to look at it as a positive as they'll finally have time to embrace and achieve their dreams and goals that got pushed to the side, giving them a fresh sense on life and a positive outlook. With the lack of care though and the wrong words, it can lead someone to get so down they contemplate suicide.

Be sure to check this one out, especially if you've ever done a lot of traveling or know of anyone who has.

Inception

Rated PG13 for violence

Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Marion Cotillard, Cillian Murphy, Ken Watanabe, Tom Hardy

In our minds we can lock away anything - secrets, codes, plans, information and more. But what if it were possible for someone to break into your mind and steal all that? In Inception, Dom Cobb and his pointman Arthur have a top notch team that makes it possible for Cobb to go into people's dreams (which is when your mind is pretty unguarded) and do just that - steal information, secrets, codes and anything else someone could want, for a price.

At first, Cobb and Arthur try to extract information from a top businessman named Saito, but as the dream crumbles due to a massive mob riot happening in the real world, they wake up and take a more forceful approach with Saito... however, due to a glitch on the Architect's part, Saito realizes they're still in a dream world - a dream within a dream. With him about to wake up (for real) they use a "kick" to wake themselves up early and scram as they were unable to retrieve the information from Saito's mind - we see that all along they were sitting on a train, asleep in the same cabin.

About to go their separate ways, Cobb and Arthur are taken by Saito and his men and informed that he was testing them. He then presents them with a new job, different from any they've done - instead of extracting information from someone's dream, why not implant an idea in the person's dream? Inception.

Saito wants them to enter the mind of his dying business rival's heir and implant the idea that he should disassemble his father's empire, citing that if he doesn't do so, it will create a monopoly in their business and that it's important the heir do this for the good of the world. Arthur claims it can't be done, however Cobb states he's done it before. Having been framed for his wife's death, Cobb can no longer return to his home and children in the US without being arrested the moment he sets foot on ground - Saito knows of this and tells Cobb that if he does this job, with one phonecall he can give him his life back and he'll get to go home and see his children, all charges dropped.

While Arthur is hesitant, Cobb is tempted and the 2 set out to assemble a team in France, including a new architect - a young grad student who is studying under Cobb's father-in-law and mentor. Cobb trains her quickly in the ways of the dream world, explaining to her how if you manipulate the laws of physics too much, bad things will happen (she gets a little too excited experimenting in the dream world). She also grows close to Cobb, having shared dreams with him now, and soon learns that instead of holding dear to the memories he has of his deceased wife Mal, he instead is haunted by her Shade in the dream world and it only begins to get worse. For this reason, he cannot design the dream worlds anymore, as when he does know them, she tends to pop up and mess things up for the team.

With arrangements made and things ready to go, the team sets into The Mark's dream world (in which they try something new - a dream within a dream within a dream and eventually even into a 4th level!). Things seem smooth at first, however they quickly learn that The Mark has been taught how to guard his mind against extraction in the dream world and his mind's guards are quickly in pursuit of the team, trying to stop them at all costs!

With only 10 hours in the real world to get the job done and The Mark's mind guards causing more problems for them than they anticipated, will the team be able to implant the idea and make it stick? Will they all make it out of the dream world alive? (in most cased, if you die in the dream world, you just wake up, however if you get killed by one of the guard's, then you get stuck in limbo where you can get stuck for years and years, never realizing it's still just a dream world) Will Cobb be able to fight off the Shade of Mal or will she once again interfere?

Inception was a very interesting movie.

Director Christopher Nolan (Memento, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight) had the idea of this movie and wrote out an 80 page script nearly 10 years ago for it, but wanted to wait until he had more experience with big budget movies and it really shows! While the new Batman films are dark, Inception is more along the lines of his earlier hit film, Memento, as it's important to actually watch the movie and pay attention to what is happening. Like Memento, it's pretty easy to follow, but if you weren't paying attention, you'll miss things (not to mention, why are you spending money on a movie that you're not actually watching?). Like Memento, he also leaves the film open ended and hanging for you the viewer to decide and debate what's really real (I don't want to give it away).

It's one of those films where visually it's really neat, as several scenes in the dream world seem to defy the laws of physics and gravity, it's also very thought-provoking and makes you think the entire movie about what is happening. He also explains the dream world pretty well - in one scene, when at least 1 person is awake in a different dream level, we see that seconds in the first level translates into about 3 minutes in the second level, and about 20 minutes in the third level; what feels like an hour in the dream world is really about 5 minutes in the real world.

Leonardo DiCaprio has really come into his own this past decade from being the cute Romeo all the girls gushed over in the mid-90s to a pretty good serious drama/suspense actor and Joseph Gordon-Levitt has really grown up from the goofy awkward kid he played on 3rd Rock for the Sun - he too has really become a good, solid serious actor in the past few years.

If you like movies that make you think with a bit of a sci-fi/action take to it, don't miss Inception! It really is a great movie and despite being nearly 2 and a half hours long, it definitely doesn't feel like it, as the last 2/3rds of the film really draw you into it.

Despicable Me

Rated PG for slapstick humor and mild cartoon violence

Starring Steve Carrell, Jason Segal, Miranda Cosgrove, Dana Gaier, Elsie Fischer, Russell Brand, Will Arnett, Julie Andrews, Kristen Wiig

Gru is the most notorious villain of all time, having stolen many famous objects, that is until a new villain in town named Vector pulls of the heist of a lifetime by stealing the Great Pyramid of Giza! In order to reclaim his title of best villain ever, Gru decides he must go into the space, shrink the moon and steal it, however, in order to pay for the materials for his minions to make his rocket, he needs to get a loan from the bank. The bank president for villains says they will not fund the project until Gru at leasts gets a shrink ray gun, which he eventually steals, however his celebration is too soon, as Vector immediately steals it from him!

When Gru spies a trio of orphaned sisters selling cookies to Vector, he hatches a plan in which he will adopt the girls and escort them back to Vector's when the cookies arrive, stealing the gun back while the girls distract him.

While Gru's plans for villainry begin to fall into place, he didn't plan for him to actually fall for the girls and begin actually caring for them. When he learns their ballet recital falls on the same day as his soon to be famous heist of the moon, Gru must decide which is more important to him!

Kids will love all the slapstick comedy and humorous antics of the girls and the minions, while parents will have their hearts warmed watching Gru go from from Super Villain to Super Dad. While the film has a strong message of family (which it seems like many animated films lately do!), it also has a message to not give up on your dreams, as we see that as a child Gru always wanted to go into space but his mother told him it would never happen - despite her, Gru still always held onto that dream.

While there is quite a bit of slapstick in the film, it's nothing more than 3 Stooges or Looney Toons type of slapstick. There are a few tense moments at the end, but nothing a kid can't handle!

Be sure to check out this cute, silly family film that both kids and adults will enjoy.

On a sidenote, Best Buy has a "Movie Mode" app for smartphones that is supposed to translate what the minions are saying during their antics in the end credits. While you're more than welcome to try it, there has been many complaints about the Android app not always working, as you're supposed to turn the app on prior the beginning of the movie (during the trailers) and it's supposed to vibrate when the credits start (it also automatically puts your phone in silent mode) - some complain it never vibrates for them and doesn't come out of the standby screen ("Enjoy the movie"), some complain it vibrates and starts translating about 20 minutes early, others have complained that it leaves your screen on the entire movie, thus draining your battery. While it says in the commercial it's for the 3D version, there have been plenty that have verified it works for the 2D version as well. User beware and good luck if you can get it to work for you (I couldn't), as I hear the translation really enhances it and it's pretty funny!

DVD Review: The Informant!

Rated R for language

Starring Matt Damon, Melanie Lynskey, Scott Bakula, Joel McHale, Tom Papa

In the early 1990s, biochemist Mark Whitacre has been moving up the ladder at food industry giant ADM, having been brought over into the business side of things. After getting a call from a foreign competitor offering a cure to a virus that affect the company's products for the price of $7M - the exact amount that Whitacre also notes is suddenly missing from the company - he tells his boss Mick Andreas about it and the FBI soon get involved, tapping Whitacre's business home line in case the competitor calls again. While he's working with the FBI, Whitacre also informs them of unethical business practices that ADM and other international food industry giants are involved in, most notably being price fixing. Serving as the FBI's mole, Whitacre records hundreds of tapes in which company heads discuss and agree on various price fixes. Once it's learned that he was the mole though, the company fights back, digging up dirt on Whitacre that could not only cost him his job, home and luxuries, but also cause him to serve jail time as well.

Based on a true story, The Informant was quite interesting, most especially for me as it takes place in Decatur, IL (not far from me) and involves the food industry in the 90's (which was the industry my dad worked in at the time). However, presented in all the trailers as a quirky comedy, this movie was anything but. While there were some laughs, they were few and far between, as we watch a man get used by his government while he's lost in his own made up delusions.

Unless you like films based on true stories, feel free to skip this one.

DVD Review: The Men Who Stare at Goats

Rated R for language, some violence, brief nudity

Starring George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Spacey

Bob Wilton is a journalist who goes over seas to follow the war in Iraq after his wife leaves him for his editor, however without having a way in to cross the border, he is stuck in Kuwait, waiting for a story. While sitting around drinking at the hotel, he stumbles upon a former Special Forces operator named Lyn Cassady - he heard about Lyn earlier, when he interviewed another man who claimed to have psychic powers. Lyn confesses that he was part of a top secret military group that formed in the '70s called New Earth, in which they trained men to become Jedi Warriors, using invisibility, remote viewing, cloud bursting, walking through walls and intuition. Wanting to hear more Lyn's story and report on it, Bob follows Lyn into Iraq and into an adventure through the desert as Lyn is on a mission that he doesn't know what the objective is.

While the movie had its moments that were pretty humorous, and presented an interesting story about a supposed psychic military unit, the movie was lacking something, despite the clever Star Wars references (which you'll like not get if you're not familiar with Star Wars).

It wasn't a terrible movie, but it wasn't great either - it was just okay. If you have time, check it out, otherwise, don't worry - you aren't missing much.

DVD Review: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

Rated PG13 for brief language, brief sexuality, some scary images

Starring Heath Ledger, Christopher Plummer, Lily Cole, Andrew Garfield, Verne Troyer, and Tom Waits with Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell

Old Doctor Parnassus runs a traveling sideshow with his daughter Valentina, confidant Percy and aspiring apprentice Anton. We see a drunk crash onto their stage, chasing Valentina through Parnassus' magical mirror into a strange place of imagination where at the end he has to choose between a bar and enlightment; of course he choose the bars, which blows up soon after he enters.

During their travel to their next stop, we learn that Doctor Parnassus, as well as Percy, are former monks, with Doctor Parnassus being over 1000 years old. He's been able to live that long as he once made a bet with the devil, Mr. Nick, in that he could win 12 souls over to craving stories and imagination rather than addiction and desire before Mr. Nick could - Parnassus won and was granted immortality. Although he still aged, he once met a woman during this time that he fell in love with, and made another deal Mr. Nick that he would be granted youthfulness in exchange that any child born would be given over to Mr. Nick at the age of 16 - Valentina will be turning 16 in just a few days, a day in which Parnassus is dreading. He makes a new deal with Mr. Nick - the first to win over 5 souls in 3 days wins, and if Parnassus wins, he gets to keep his daughter.

Suddenly, in the midst of a storm, they come across a man hanging from a bridge and rescue him. With no recollection of how he ended up under the bridge, in addition to amnesia, the man (whom Parnassus determines is a philanthropist named Tony) tags along with the troupe and offers up suggestions on how they might improve their sideshow and appeal to more people. While Parnassus is hesitant at first to accept the change, as his show has been the same for years, after witnessing the crowd they start to draw (with the help of Tony and his charm and sex appeal), he begins to think they might have a chance at winning the bet. But then jealously grows, as Anton sees Valentina bonding and becoming close to Tony, causing problems for them all.

Will Parnassus be able to win over 5 souls before Mr. Nick and keep his daughter or will jealously and lies get in the way?

This film is classic Terry Gilliam (who also directed Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas), as the imagination sequences are pretty trippy! And just like classic Gilliam, he has the worst luck with films, as it seems something ALWAYS goes wrong for him - in this case being that Heath Ledger died before they finished filming all his scenes.

Fortunately, the scenes that hadn't been shot were the ones where Ledger's character Tony goes through Parnassus' magic mirror and into various imaginations. Because the scenes took place in several different people's imaginations, they were able to use a different actor for each scene, giving Tony a different look in each imagination. It was helpful that prior to the transition into his first imagination scene, Ledger was actually channeling Johnny Depp, using quirky mannerism of his, so it only made sense to cast Depp as the first imagination Tony, making the transition from Ledger to Depp very natural - given the mask he's first wearing in the scene, unless you're listening carefully to the voice, you don't even notice it's Depp until a little ways into the scene!

If you liked Gilliam's previous works (most notably Fear and Loathing) you'll enjoy this fun fantasy film into the world of imagination. It's a shame Heath Ledger died, as he really did a great job in this film!

Toy Story 3

Rated G
Starring Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Blake Clark, Don Rickles, Estelle Harris, John Ratzenberger, Wallace Shawn, Jeff Pidgeon, Jodi Benson, R. Lee Ermey, John Morris, and Laurie Metcalf

Our story picks up shortly after the 2nd movie - Buzz, Woody, Jessie and the rest of the gang of Andy's toys are playing together in Andy's wild imagination adventures. Due to a montage via home video footage, we see Andy beginning to grow up and fast forward and he's now 17 and getting ready to go off to college. Stuck in the old forgotten toy chest for so long, the toys make a few last attempts to get Andy's attention, in hopes of one more rendez-vous with him, but with no such luck.

Andy's mom tells her son to go through his toys and everything else in his room and decide what he's taking to college, what can go in the attic, what can get donated to the daycare and what should be thrown out. While he decides to take his old pal Woody to college with him, the rest of the toys he puts in a trash bag to take up to the attic... however mom mistakes the bag for trash and promptly places it on the curb. In an attempt to rescue his friends, Woody dashes out to save them, in which they all wind up being donated to the local daycare.

While the rest of the gang is thrilled to be welcomed by the rest of the daycare toys and are thrilled to learn that there's no owners and always kids who'll play with them, Woody insists they all go back to Andy's as they're still Andy's toys and he didn't mean for them to get thrown out or donated. Wanting a second chance to get played with, the gang decides to stay so Woody sets out for home on his own. Soon after he leaves though, him and the rest of the gang learn that Sunnyside Daycare isn't all it's cracked up to be - the new toys get stuck in the Caterpillar room with the toddlers who don't know how to properly play with toys and strawberry smelling leader Lots'o Huggins Bear isn't the gentle old sweet wise bear they first thought he was!

Woody has to go back and rescue his friends before things get much worse!

Once again, Disney and Pixar have done it again - creating a wonderful family film that all can enjoy. It's got hilarious moments and pop culture references, homage to a lot of the previous Pixar films, excitement, thrills and even touching moments that really pull at you - everyone I know that's seen it has sad they teared up during the movie at one point or another (I know I did at one part in particular near the end).

Kids will love all the excitement and adventure that this one continues to offer in the same fashion as the previous installments, and parents will be laughing at all humor thrown in that kids might not get (the scenes with Ken doll are pretty hilarious, as he's very metro-sexual despite repeatedly refusing to admit and comes to terms with being a girl's toy!).

Also, keep your eyes open for all the "easter eggs" in the film - there's references GALORE (here's a link of ones just seen in the trailers)! In one scene the Pizza Planet truck makes an appearance, as well as other toys and versions of characters from other Pixar movies (there's quite a bit of toy cars resembling the vehicles from Cars). There's also a rumor going around online that one of the little girls seen in the daycare is a slightly older Boo from the upcoming Monsters Inc 2, as Pixar likes to sneak in a character from an upcoming movie as a teaser. And keep your eyes open during the scenes with the garbage men - one of them is actually the neighbor boy Sid from the first movie, all grown up but still wearing his skull t-shirt!

This was definitely a great way to tie up the Toy Story franchise and while they could have ended it on a sad, emotional note, I'm glad they didn't - like one teen sitting further down the row from us commented at the end, ending it that way could have scarred the little kids that were watching (it was pretty emotional!). Not to give away the ending, but I'm pleased with how this part of the Toy Story turned out.

Get Him to the Greek

Rated R for language, drug and alcohol use, sexuality, brief nudity, crude sexual humor, slapstick violence

Starring Russell Brand, Jonah Hill, Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, Elizabeth Moss, and Rose Bryne

Russell Brand reprises his role from 2008's "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" as larger than life rocker Aldous Snow - the lead singer of Infant Sorrow. Although we learn that just prior to that film, Aldous and his pop singer wife Jackie Q had split from their 7 year marriage and the past 3 years Aldous has spiraled out of control, turning into a hardcore drug addict.

Jonah Hill, who played a waiter and an over-eager fan of Aldous' in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," is a completely different character this time, playing recent college grad Aaron Green, who lives with his overworked hospital intern fiance Daphne and works at a record company and helps brainstorm ideas on how to get the company back on track. A lifetime fan of Aldous Snow and his band Infant Sorrow, Aaron points out that next month will be the 10th Anniversary of when Aldous and Infant Sorrow performed at the historic Greek Theatre in LA.

After thinking it through, his boss Sergio decides it might just work, as they can have companies sponsor and televise the event for millions and make money off the DVD and album. He tells Aaron he has 72 hours to pick up Aldous in London, get to New York for an appearance on the Today show and then bring him out to LA for the gig.

Of course things can't go that smoothly though!

When he arrives to pick up him up in London, Aldous claims they changed the date and are a month early. After a hard night of partying, Aaron finally gets him on the plane. Then he has to make sure Aldous is sober for the Today show. Then, Aldous insists they take a detour so he can he visit his father in the States.

Time is running out and Aldous is starting to rethink his life and his relationship with his former wife. Will Aaron be able to get him to the Greek on time? His job and Aldous's career is riding on it!

If you loved the Aldous Snow character in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" you won't want to miss this spin-off! Aldous is just as quirky and hilarious and clueless as he was the first time, and it features even more hilarious songs by Infant Sorrow. It also cleverly ties the 2 films together with references made to the first.

This one mixes the sweetness of "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" with the craziness of "The Hangover" for a great R-rated comedy. If you enjoyed either of those, you'll definitely like this one!

DVD Review: Sherlock Holmes

Rated PG13 for action violence, adult themes, brief sexuality, brief nudity

Starring Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams, Mark Strong

The film opens with Holmes and Watson racing to stop Lord Blackwood from ritually murdering another young woman. Fortunately, they are just in time, as the inspector shows up to arrest Blackwood and he is sentenced to death.

As his last request, Blackwood requests to speak with Holmes, informing him that his death won't be the end of him and that several others will die in order to carry out his ultimate plan. Holmes doesn't think too much of it though, as Blackwood is soon hanged and pronounced dead by Watson.

3 days later, Holmes is visited by thief and former flame Irene Adler, who requests that he find a missing person for her. Also, Holmes and Watson are informed that a groundskeeper at the cemetery claims to have seen Blackwood alive. The go and investigate and sure enough, Blackwood's grave has been tampered with from the inside out and the body in the coffin is not Blackwood's!

Starting with clues from the grave, Holmes and Watson race to find Blackwood, figure out what his ultimate plan is and put a stop to it before time runs out.

This film was a lot darker than I was expecting it to be, as Blackwood is believed to be an agent of Satan, using dark, black magic. While Holmes is the master at observation and deductive reasoning, him and Watson know quite a bit of Martial Arts it would seem, as they get in quite a few fist fights with the bad guys - not quite the classic detective movie one would be expecting!

Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law make a great Holmes and Watson duo though, as their interactions together were great!

Not quite one for the whole family, as some of the scenes are a bit dark for the young ones, but definitely ones teens and adults would enjoy.

Iron Man 2

Rated PG13 for comic-action violence, some sexuality, brief language

Starring Robert Downey Jr., Mickey Rouke, Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson

Picking up where the previous film left off, Ivan Vanko sees the news of Tony Stark announcing that he is Iron Man. Vanko's dying father tells him that should have been him (Ivan) as he created the arc-reactor with Stark's father, giving him the blueprint of the plans.

6 months pass, Tony Stark opens up a year long Stark Expo in order to continue the Stark legacy as the core of his arc-reactor is seeping poisonous chemicals into his blood stream and Tony feels he might be dying soon. He is also ordered to appear before a Senate Committee who declares the Iron Man suit is a weapon and should be turned over to the government. Stark points out that no one else in the world is near close to replicating it and points out that he has been able to maintain world peace.

All that changes soon in Monte Carlo, when Ivan Vanko, in a suit of his own with whips that spark lightning, shows up and takes on Iron Man, proving to be an equal, as he could have killed him, but didn't. He is captured, but soon broken out of prison, as someone else sees him as a skilled engineer and wants his help in creating an army of Iron Man suits.

Will Tony be able to save his own life and find a cure for his arc-reactor core? And as Iron Man will he be able to stop Ivan Vanko?

Iron Man 2 follows in the same footsteps as the previous installment, showing us to value life and do what's right. While it doesn't really expand much or go above and beyond the first one, it was still just as quirky and entertaining with a plot that was easy to understand.

We also see more of SHIELD leader Nick Fury in this one (his lone scene in the first one was after the end credits) and are introduced to SHIELD member Black Widow, who shows us that tiny petite females can sure kick some butt!

Don Cheadle replaces Terrance Howard as Stark's good friend Lt. Col. James "Rhodey" Rhodes, however, unless you're watching the films back to back, you don't really notice the change that much. We also see the last appearance of DJ A.M. who died in Fall 2009.

And like the first one, be sure to stick around after the credits role for a sneak peak of who the next Marvel film is going to focus on!

DVD Review: Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel

Rated PG for slapstick humor

Starring Jason Lee, Zachary Levi, Wendie Malick, and David Cross, with the voices of Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler, Jesse McCartney, Christina Applegate, Anna Faris, and Amy Poehler

Everyone's favorite singing animated Chipmunks are back in this sequel to the 2007 movie.

After a freak onstage accident that lands Dave in the hospital for awhile, he orders Alvin, Simon and Theodore to go home, obey Aunt Jackie who will be watching them, and go to school. Well, Aunt Jackie gets injured soon after the Chipmunks meet her and her slacker grandson Toby at the airport, leaving Toby in charge.

Between playing video games, eating all the food and trashing the house, Toby makes sure the boys go to school, where they first have trouble adjusting - all the girls think they're cute and so naturally all the other guys get jealous of them. Being able to shoot baskets across the cafeteria, Alvin is quickly brought into the "jock" circle and learns how to play sports like football (where he becomes the team's secret weapon), however his increase in popularity soon goes to head and like the other jocks, he begins to pick on Simon and Theodore.

After the 3 get in trouble, they are told their punishment is to compete at a local school talent competition on behalf of the school, as the winning school will win a large money prize.

However, the Chipmunks aren't the only new students at school - ex-music mogel Ian (from the first movie) is back, this time with an innocent group of singing girl chipmunks who call themselves the Chipettes and admire and look up to the Chipmunks. Determined to get back at the top of the business, Ian manipulates the girls into thinking he was a victim of the Chipmunks and decides to have the Chipettes face-off against each them for the school's representation at the talent competition.

While this movie was pretty cute, especially with the introduction of the Chipettes, it didn't seem nearly as good or as clever as the first movie. While the lesson of family and sticking together is a good one, the jokes and the laughs just seemed like more of the same from the first movie, not really improving in quality or substance.

Kids will enjoy it, and like I said, the Chipettes were a pretty cute new addition, however unless you have kids that really want to see this one, you can probably just skip this chapter of the Chipmunks and watch the original or the classic animated episodes instead.

DVD Review: Julie and Julia

Rated PG13 for brief language, brief sexuality

Starring Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, Stanley Tucci

In 2002, Julie Powell is an aspiring writer but works in a cubicle at a government office in New York taking calls to lend an ear for hurting 9/11 victims. All her friends having successful jobs though and as she reaches her 30th birthday, Julie feels miserable as if she hasn't really done anything with her life, and to make matters worse, her and her husband have just moved into a tiny apartment in Queens above a pizzeria to be closer to his job. After hearing a shallow friend of hers has begun writing a blog, Julie quips that she could write a blog too, afterall, she is a writer! But what to write about? Her husband points out that she enjoys cooking, so why not write a blog about cooking? Julie likes the idea and decides that she'll cook her way through Julia Child's cookbook "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" in one year - 524 recipes in 365 days - and blog about her experiences.

As Julie goes about the year, her story is segmented with the story of Julia Child's time living in France and how she became the cook we all know her as.

In 1949, Julia and her husband Paul move to Paris for a government assignment of his, where they'll be living there for 4 years. Not wanting to work as a clerk at another government agency, Julia decides she should find a fun but useful way to spend her time. She tries hat-making and then an attempt at French lessons before she realizes that she loves to eat. Having a hard time finding a French cookbook in English, Julia decides to take up cooking and enroll in Le Cordon Bleu. She also meets a duo of like-minded women who are working on a French cookbook for Americans and teach cooking as well - Julia teams up with them, having to revise the entire book for publication and well, the rest is pretty much history.

As Julie cooks her way through the infamous book, she learns plenty of lessons along the way from Julia.

Based on true stories, Julie and Julia is a heartwarming and inspirational film. Meryl Streep is spot on as the famous cook with her mannerisms and quirkiness and I love the pairing of Streep and Tucci (previously together in The Devil Wears Prada). Jane Lynch also makes a brief appearance as Julia's sister Dorothy, and plays the part very believably as it's a nice change from the usual characters she plays.

If you're curious about the life of Julia Child or enjoy fun inspirational movies or food, don't miss this one!

DVD Review: Tron

Rated PG for adult themes, tense moments

Starring Jeff Bridges, Bruce Boxleitner, Cindy Morgan, Dan Shor, David Warner

Video arcade owner Kevin Flynn is a former ENCOM software engineer who has created several video games that became popular after another ENCOM employee, Ed Dillinger, stole them from him. Knowing the files have his name on it, Flynn continues to hack into the ENCOM system and find them to prove he is the rightful creator of the games. After Flynn's most recent hack attempt, Dillinger and his Master Control Program (which has a mind of its own) decide to shut down access to the level group Flynn had access to, thus locking out fellow software engineer Alan Bradley who was working on a program called Tron which would serve as a watchdog program and keep even the Master Control Program in check.

Frustrated, Alan and Flynn come together, with the help of ENCOM employee Laura. They sneak Flynn into the building so he can distract the MCP and hack in long enough to grant them all level 6 access so Alan can get his Tron program up and running, which would help find the files proof that Flynn created the games and not Dillinger.

MCP does not like though and decides to physically trap Flynn into the the world of Bytes and Bits. Having to band together with other "user controlled" programs, including Tron, Flynn must fight for his survival and work with Tron to defeat the MCP from the inside in order to escape back to his world.

Released in 1982, I'm sure this sci-fi action adventure film was groundbreaking and in a lot of ways it reminded me of Bladerunner or The Running Man. Viewing it almost 20 years later though, it's extremely dated and the graphics and special effects are just laughable. We can only hope that the upcoming Tron: Legacy film has much better, updated graphics than the original.

I have to admit, while this is a Disney film and was marketed towards families, if I had watched this in the 80s as a little kid, I would have been extremely bored and confused as to what was going on. This is definitely not a movie meant for kids, as they most likely won't understand much of what's going on.

If you like classic sci-fi films from the 80s, this is one you might be interested in.