DVD Review: Salt

Rated PG13 for brief language, action, violence, brief torture, brief nudity

Starring Angelina Jolie, Liev Schreiber

Evelyn Salt is a CIA agent, first accused of being an American spy by the North Koreans and later accused of being a Russian spy by her fellow Americans after a strange Russian man is brought in for interrogation and requests to speak to Salt, claiming he knows who she is and that it is her who is to assassinate the vice president.

It's hard to review this one without giving too much away, as there were quite a bit of twists in the film. The Russian claims Salt was trained by the Russians as a child shortly after her parents died in a car accident to be a Russian sleeper agent, blending in and working her way up in America to be in position when the time comes for their ultimate plan to be carried out.

Of course Salt claims to know none of this, but does she really? And will she really carry out her supposed role in their plan?

Throughout most of the movie we are left guessing where Salt's loyalties really lie - with the Russians or with the Americans?

It's definitely an interesting flick to watch though, full of lots of action and suspense. Worth a rental.

Fast Five

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

Starring Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris

Picking up exactly where the 4th installment left off, Dom is sentence for his crimes and being bussed off to prison when his sister Mia and her boyfriend  - the former FBI agent and fellow street racer Brian O'Connor - speed up alongside the bus, tipping it over and busting just Dom out. Now fugitives, the trio flees to Rio in hopes of waiting things out until the whole mess blows over.

Desperate for funds, Mia and Brian meet up with Vince (from the 1st movie) and agree to a quick and easy job he's found out about which includes jacking 3 cars off a train. Dom gets involved as well, however the plan doesn't go as planned as it turns out the guys that set up the job have ulterior motives. After Dom sends Mia off in the car the others had the most interest in, all hell breaks out and several DEA officers on the train get shot and killed in the process.

Curious as to why they were so interested in that one particular car, Dom and Brian strip it down and discover a microchip that contains all the safehouses for Rio's main druglord.

Not only do they have the local druglord's henchmen after them, but now, because of the dead DEA officers, they also have tough as nails US DSS agent Luke Hobbs hot on their trail, wanting to recapture our trio.

Tired and wanting to live a normal life (not to mention Mia is pregnant with Brian's child), with the help of friends from all the previous installments, they decide to rob the druglord and go into hiding in a country where they can't be extradited.

Not only do we have the car chases with flashy cars we've come to expect from this series, but now there's the "impossible heist" element (reminiscent of Ocean's 11 or The Italian Job) added to it as well.

Gotta admit, this franchise works much better with Vin Diesel in it than it did without him in the 2nd installment (and technically the 3rd, although in the timeline that one takes place at the end of the series). Having The Rock hot on his tail also adds to the fun and it's a battle of brawn when the 2 have a bit of a hand to hand showdown.

If you liked the original The Fast and the Furious as well as the series' 4th installment Fast and Furious, you'll definitely enjoy Fast Five as it's much of the same fun adrenaline rush we've come to expect from these films.

Thor

Rated PG13 for superhero action violence

Starring Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Stellan Skarsgard, Kat Dennings, Anthony Hopkins, Tom Hiddleston, Idris Elba, Jaimie Alexander

While researching some strange disturbances in the weather in New Mexico, Jane Foster, assistant Darcy and her mentor Erik come across a distraught and confused strong man in the middle of the desert.

Turns out, that strongman is Thor - son of Odin and heir to the throne of Asgard. However, Thor wasn't quite coronated as king yet. During his coronation ceremony Frost Giants break into the vault of the palace in hopes of retrieving the source of their power - the casket of ancient winters. Quick to react, Thor wants revenge and justice for the Frost Giants coming there and breaking the peace between Asgard and Jotunheim. Knowing how to press his buttons, Loki talks Thor into attacking the Frost Giants himself despite Odin's warning to leave them be. Taking Loki and his friends, Thor and crew travel the Rainbow Bridge and inadvertently start a war. Upset at his failure to heed his words, Odin banishes Thor from Asgard and exiles him on Earth. He also makes it so that Thor cannot use his infamous hammer until he is worthy of it.

Lost and confused and wanting to go home, Jane eventually gives in and helps Thor, giving him a lift to the site of where his hammer is rumored to be.

However, with Thor gone and Odin suffering a heart attack, Loki is left in charge of Asgard, much to the dismay of Thor's friends, and is running a muck, refusing to undo Thor's exile. Taking matters into their own hands, Thor's friends venture to Earth in search of him, however Loki sends a Destroyer to put an end to his brother once and for all.

Will Thor be able to regain his strength and obtain his hammer in time to save Earth and the Frost Giants and put a stop to Loki's evil plans?

As the first big superhero film of this summer, Thor was an excellent fun family thrill ride. Despite being based on Norse mythology, the film plays it off without shoving it so much in your face. Basically, the "gods" are just really strong with an advanced form of technology - only when they came to Earth were they deemed "gods" at the time.

Be sure to take the whole family to this fun flick this summer!

The Mechanic

Rated R for language, violence, action, some sexuality

Starring Jason Statham, Ben Foster, Donald Sutherland

When someone needs "a job" done just right, they hire "a mechanic." And Arthur Bishop is one of the best mechanics around.

After finishing a job, Bishop goes home and learns that his next contract is to kill his mentor, Harry McKenna. After confirming that the hit is in fact correct, Bishop learns that McKenna was part of an operation where all the men involved in carrying it out were killed and that only 2 people - McKenna and his partner (who put the hit out on him) knew about the mission and the details. Bishop sadly follows through with the contract, making McKenna's death look like a carjacking.

At the funeral, Bishop meets McKenna's wayward 20-something son Steve. After witnessing Steve take his anger of his father's death out on a random carjacker, Bishop decides to take the kid under his wing (kinda like a younger brother, as McKenna was more of a father figure to him) and teach him how to be a mechanic as well.

The question though, is how well will Steve take Bishop's training? And will he ever find out that it was in fact Bishop who killed his father and not some random carjacker?

While I never saw the original 1972 film, I've heard that the plot is similar but the missions are different.

Either way, this film is standard Jason Statham fare, with Ben Foster pulling his weight and joining in on the ass-kicking fun! It's got everything you would expect - guns, action, explosions, things breaking, etc.

While a bit predictable, it was still a fun action flick worth seeing if you like Statham films!

DVD Review: Machete

Rated R for graphic violence, language, nudity, intense action, sexuality

Starring Danny Trejo, Jessica Alba, Michelle Rodriguez, Lindsay Lohan, Jeff Fahey, Cheech Marin, Steven Segal, Don Johnson

On a mission to save a kidnapped girl, Mexican Federale Machete runs into complications when he crosses a corrupt chief and a drug lord who in turn kill his wife and child and leave him for dead.

Three years later, Machete shows up in Texas as an illegal immigrant looking for work. Desperate for cash, Machete accepts an offer of $150,000 cash to assassinate a senator who plans on sending illegals out of the country, no exceptions made. He doesn't get to carry through though as one of the man's henchmen shoots him and frames him for an attempt on the senator as a way to gain support for the senator's illegals campaign. Injured, Machete is taken in by an underground Mexican hospital network who quickly fix him up and send him on his way.

He's determined to set out and get his revenge on those that set him up as well as the senator himself no matter how bloody or violent the task gets!

Originally a faux trailer for the middle of 2006's Robert Rodriguez's & Quentin Tarentino's Grindhouse double feature, the response was so good that Rodriguez knew he had to make it into a feature film.

If you like over the top action B-movies, and don't mind some bloody, graphic violence don't miss Machete! It has lots of action, and some quite hilarious B-movie moments! Danny Trejo doesn't disappointment in this role that he was made to play!

DVD Review: Predators

Rated R for language, strong violence, some gore

Starring Adrian Brody, Topher Grace, Alice Braga with appearances by Danny Trejo and Laurence Fishbourne

8 individuals - a former Black-Ops turned mercenary, an Israeli sniper and CIA Black-Ops assassin, a Spetsnaz, a Yakuza, a death row inmate, a Sierra Leone fighter, a drug cartel enforcer, and a doctor - come to consciousness while being parachuted into a strange, foreign jungle. They begin to wonder what they have been selected for, however none are exactly sure how a doctor fits in with the rest of the trained fighters.

As they wander around in the jungle, trying to figure where in the world they are, they come to realize that they are no longer on Earth but on some strange planet. They also come to the realization that they are being hunted by something much larger than human!

Stumbling across an alien camp, with one alien being tied to a pole, they run into Noland - a US Army solider who has been on the planet for many "seasons" and has learned how to survive the hunt. He shares with the new group that the planet serves as a game preserve and that every season humans and other alien creations are dropped onto the planet to be hunted by 3 bigger alien (Predator) creatures. Whenever one of the 3 is killed by the "game," the next season they come back stronger and more evolved, as if they are learning.

They also learn that there is a ship nearby that can get them off the planet, assuming they can get one of the smaller Predators to control it as the bigger Predators and the smaller ones have quite the blood feud going on.

Will they be able to make it off the planet or will the Predators hunt them and eliminate them one by one? And again, how does a doctor fit in with a group of trained fighters?

Written and produced by Robert Rodriguez, Predators is a straight up action flick with some mystery set in the Predator universe. It also makes mention to events in the original Predator film as well, tying this one to it. I must admit, while I wasn't a fan of the recent Alien Vs. Predator films, Predators was actually a pretty fun ride!

If you don't mind action flicks, be sure to check this one out!

Tron: Legacy

Rated PG

Starring Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund, Olivia Wilde, Bruce Boxleitner

Picking up just a few years after the original Tron left off, in the mid-late 1980s Kevin Flynn runs his arcade by day and does secret computer programming in the cyber world by night, all while being in charge of the huge software empire ENCOM he built and taking care of his young son Sam after the death of his wife. Flynn often tells Sam stories of his times in the virtual world with his pals Tron and Clu (a digital copy of himself to run things when he's not around).

One day though, Flynn doesn't come home and it seems he's gone missing for good. ENCOM is left to young Sam, in which Flynn's good friend Alan is in charge until Sam is old enough and Alan also steps in as a surrogate father for young Sam. When Sam is of age though, he has no interest in his father's company, only visiting about once a year to stir things up and so the company is mainly run by the board of directors who don't have the same vision as Flynn did, only caring about making a profit.

Alan approaches Sam one night saying he got a page from the disconnected number at Flynn's old arcade and encourages Sam to go check it out. Refusing at first, Sam gives into curiosity at the idea that his father might still be alive and goes down to the arcade. There, he gets accidentally gets transported into the virtual world that his father used to tell him so much about when he was a kid.

Mistaken for a "program" at first, Sam has to compete in gladiator-esque games in order to survive. Upon learning he is a "user" named Sam Flynn, he is quickly summoned into a meeting with the man in charge, who at first glance, appears to be his father, having never aged. We soon learn though that it is Clu and not Flynn who runs things around here, however Flynn is still very much alive but in hiding and that it was Clu who paged Alan in an attempt that someone from outside would come in order to lure Flynn out one last time.

Sam eventually escapes from Clu, with the help of a young woman named Quorra who has been Flynn's companion and apprentice all these years. She takes him to his father, however they have a bigger problem on their hands - when Sam arrived in the virtual world, the portal to the outside world was opened. While the portal is only open for a short period of time, they believe that Clu is trying to crossover in order to perfect a new world as he sees fit. Together, the 3 must race Clu to the portal before it closes so that they can escape and close it before it's too late!

While nearly 30 years after the original was released, Tron: Legacy is a smart and fun sequel. I must say, I enjoyed this one much better than I had the original as it much easier to follow without nearly as much computer programming speak as the original had. The visuals are stunning and make the virtual world fun and thrilling. The plot, unlike the original, is simple enough for even kids to grasp and follow what is going on. The music - done solely by electronic/techno gurus Daft Punk - is brilliant and upbeat, really conveying the perfect emotions. Michael Sheen is also amusing in a small role stylized after the likes of Ziggy Stardust. And if you've never seen the original Tron or it's been years since, no worries - they nicely bring the viewer up to speed with a montage of newsreels and such describing the events at the end of the original and Flynn's bedtime stories to young Sam about the virtual world give you insight as to what happened as well.

This is a great, visual film that the whole family can watch together and enjoy!

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!

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.

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: 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!

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!

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.

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: Shoot Em Up

Rated R for violence, language, some sexuality

Starring Clive Owen, Paul Giamatti, Monica Bellucci

Sitting at a bus stop on an empty street, munching on a carrot, a drifter only known as Smith sees a pregnant woman run past him. Moments later, a man with a gun comes chasing after her. Smith decides to get involved and takes out the guy, only to learn there's more - why are hitmen chasing a pregnant lady? While fighting off her attackers, Smith helps the woman deliver her child, as she goes into labor. Trying to get mother and child to safety though, the woman gets shot and killed. Unable to leave the newborn behind, Smith takes the child with him and visits a brothel mistress named Donna, known for her milk, in hopes that she can help him take care of the kid while he tries to figure out why people were trying to kill the mother and now the baby (which they call Oliver).

They are soon in the middle of a top secret arrangement, as Oliver's mother was one of several surrogates used to produce children with a politician dying of bone marrow cancer, in hopes that one of the children will be able to work as a suitable donor. Someone has found out about this though and doesn't want the politician to get better.

With tons of stylized shootout scenes that take place in non-ideal situations with sharp witty comments provided by Giamatti, Smith and Donna try to stay ahead of the bad of guys and keep baby Oliver safe.

Shoot Em Up lives up to its name, as it basically is just a movie with a lot of action and shootout scenes to a pounding, rockin' soundtrack. If you like that combination, you'll love this movie!

DVD Review: Terminator Salvation

Rated PG13 for action violence, language

Starring Christian Bale, Sam Worthington, Anton Yelchin

Set in 2018, the war between Skynet and humanity is in full force. The world has become nothing more but a wasteland and those that have survived thus far are constantly on the defense against the machine, banding together to find a way to put an end to them. Leading the Resistance from an army-like submarine is John Connor and General Ashdown. After developing a device that seems to shut down the machines, they stage a worldwide Resistance attack on Skynet Headquarters. Only as the day to strike approaches, John is informed by a strange man named Marcus Wright that a young Kyle Reese - that's right, John Connor's eventual father - has been taken captive by Skynet. If they strike before rescuing him odds are, John Connor will cease to exist, as the time to send Reese back in time has not yet happened. The General doesn't seem to care though - he's afraid that if they don't strike when they have the opportunity, they may never get another chance to destroy Skynet's Headquarters.

Can John get the Resistance to hold off firing long enough for him to save his future father and his existence? And can he really trust this strange mysterious Marcus Wright?

Unless you're a die hard Terminator fan, feel free to skip this installment. The first movie was a groundbreaking sci-fi action film and the sequel was just as good. The third installment showed how the machine takeover began. All this one does is introduce John's father as a teenager and explains the origins of the T-800. Unless the next installment actually shows us John sending Reese back in time and brings the franchise full-circle I most likely will be skipping out on it.

Daybreakers

Rated R for violence, language, brief nudity

Starring Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe, Claudia Karvan, Sam Neill

In the year 2019, most of the world's population has been turned into vampires due to a pandemic disease. Fortunately though, they have been able to carry out their day to day lives due to working the 9pm-5am shifts and using blackout glass for houses and cars. While pharmaceutical company Bromley Marks harvests the humans that are found for their blood, due to the growing number of vampires though, they are beginning to run short on blood supply, creating a lesser sub-specie - the aggressive bat-like sub-siders. Several Bromley Marks scientists are hematologists and have been trying to create a suitable blood substitute, one of whom is Edward Dalton. Dalton, we learn, was unwillingly turned and would much rather try and find a cure, as he much preferred his human life and has a compassion for humans (he won't drink human blood). After a chance encounter with a small group of humans, he learns one of them used to a vampire but was cured. He disappears with them, in order to replicate the cure and bring it to Bromley Marks, however not everyone is as excited for a cure as he is.

Daybreakers has an interesting plot and while it has a message, it's not quite as "in your face" as Avatar's was. The concept is simple - over indulgence can lead to a downfall in society. And while there might be a solution to revert back to how things were before, those that profit now while the rest suffer might not be in favor of giving up their current lifestyle for the better of mankind. It was also an interesting take on the vampire lore - something popular today blended with a situation we can certainly identify with! (Think of our current economic state and housing crisis and how some big businesses are doing okay, while the rest of us are not).

My only complaint was that I thought the last 10 minutes or so of the film were dumb. They spend a good portion of the film developing the cure and coming up with a clever way to get into Bromley Marks unharmed and spread it, and in a matter of minutes we're back to where we were 20-30 minutes ago in the film. The rest of the film, I thought, was pretty good though - Sam Neill (remember him from Jurassic Park?) makes a good villain, and both Ethan Hawke and Willem Dafoe did some really good acting!

If you like vampire films, this might be one you'd like to check out. But be careful, as it may make you think!