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.