As the day comes to a close at a seemingly ordinary bank the staff and customers inside are about to be robbed, twice. Tripp (Patrick Dempsey) is changing some cash into coins with teller, Kaitlin (Ashley Judd), when two sets of bank robbers burst into the bank's lobby ready to rob the bank. One team of robbers (Mekhi Phifer, Matt Ryan and John Ventimiglia) are armed to the teeth with high tech gadgets and gizmo's and run their robberies with clockwork like precision. The opposite is true for team two (Tim Blake Nelson and Pruitt Taylor Vince) who are a couple of hillbillies that are amateurish at bank robberies and believe heavily in using explosives to accomplish anything. Both teams are annoyed that their is another group robbing the bank at the same time they are decide to solve who should actually rob the bank through the use of a large scale gun fight. When a patron in the bank, Jack Hayes (Eddie Matthews) is mortally wounded by a stray gunshot, Tripp steps into the middle of this bullet storm to offer a compromise between the robber sets to avoid more chaos and catastrophe's from occurring. His solution after finding out the motives of each team is that the team led by Mikhi Phifer will rob the vault while the two amateurs rob the ATM's. Satisfied with the solution the robbers all proceed with their plans and begin by locking the hostages upstairs in the break room that overlooks the lobby. 
     With everyone locked up together in the break room tensions begin to rise and Tripp has a feeling there is more going on with this bank heist than is obvious. This whole bank robbery has become a giant game of who-dun-it as Tripp mentally tries to put the pieces together one by one. With events unfolding and more clues rising to the surface everyone becomes a suspect now including the bank manager (Jeffrey Tambor), teller number two (Octavia Spencer), credit manager (Rob Boltin), computer technician (Curtis Armstrong), loan officer (Rob Heubel), guard (Adrian Martinez) and even a Swiss customer (Natalia Safran). While the hostages are locked up dealing with each other and trying to find out why the bank is being robbed, the two sets of robbers are constantly butting heads, mostly because of the two amateurs who can't do anything right and are constantly causing hiccups in the other team's plan. But when the two teams start receiving injuries or deaths from each other things start to get sticky as well as having to deal with hostages who will not just stay still.
     If it all sounds a bit muddled and mucky it is, they movie is very reminiscent of the 1985 movie Clue. While the movie starts off pretty straight forward with a bank being robbed twice, its when the who-dun-it begins that everything and everyone starts to get jostled around and the movie can become quite confusing trying to keep up with several different little story-line's all occurring at the same time. Stealing the movie is Patrick Dempsey's character Tripp who is mix of Sherlock Holmes and House, he pulls off the role very strongly and shows he can do comedy very well not just dramatic acting as he is mostly known for from Grey's Anatomy. Yes, I said comedy, not only is this movie a bank robbery version of Clue it is also a comedy from writer's Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, who are famous for The Hangover movies. Which gives you a clue now to how zany and madcap this movie can really get. The movie is short at just 87 minutes long, which makes for a quick watch if you want to watch something short or need a little dose of comedy in your evening. It is directed by Rob Minkoff who has an interesting directing background including movies such as The Lion King, The Haunted Mansion and Stuart Little. While the movie's main story-line can be head scratching to keep up with the comedy makes it all tolerable and can easily be enjoyed just for the comedic scenes. At the end of the movie though everything starts coming to light and the riddle of who-dun-it comes to a close and people you thought were one thing become another as the solution to the night's events are revealed.

Released: July 15, 2011 (Straight to DVD)
Rating: NR

     Adrienne Willis (Diane Lane) lives with her two kids, Amanda (Mae Whitman) and Danny (Charlie Tahan). She is recently separated from her husband, Jack (Christopher Meloni), when it is his week to take the kids, Adrienne heads up to Rodanthe on Hatteras Island, North Carolina to run her friend Jean's (Viola Davis) beach front Inn as a kind of self retreat to clear her head and to give Jean sometime off to relax and have some personal time. The Inn not as popular as it once was, is only receiving one guest the week that Adrienne is there, Dr. Paul Flanner (Richard Gere).
     Paul is in Rodanthe making a stop on his way down to South America to find his son Mark (James Franco) who he has not seen in a year after a fallout occurred between the two. Paul has journeyed to Rodanthe at the request of Mr. Robert Torrelson (Scott Glenn) who wife died on the operating table of Dr. Flanner and is suing for the wrongful death of his wife. Paul has come to Hatteras Island in the hopes that he can settle things peacefully with Mr. Torrelson and clear his name and conscience before continuing on his way to see his son.
     While Adrienne is on her little retreat to mull things over in her mind which includes things like her husband wanting to patch things up and Paul is trying to figure out what Mr. Torrelson needs to hear to move on in his grieving, a hurricane has been forecasted to strike Rodanthe. These two strangers who have just met will batten down the hatches of the Inn and ride out the storm together, while the storm rages outside, inside a romance is blossoming that will change both their lives completely. After the storm has passed and the issue with Mr. Torrelson has been resolved, Paul is back on his way to find his son, mend their relationship over a few months time frame and then return home to Adrienne and start their new lives together. For months they exchange letters back and forth, each of them counting the days till they will once again be able to hold each other, when the day finally comes it is not Paul that comes knocking on the front door, but, Mark his son. Lives are changed forever and consciences have been cleared, even though Paul could never return to his new-found love, the experiences between the two of them that week will stay in her heart forever and she will always remember those Nights in Rodanthe.
     The foundation of this movie may not be anything totally new, two people drawn together during extreme circumstances, the way is is presented and the  characters with in are what set it off from other similar tales. Directed by George C. Wolfe, he captures the feel of the story very well, has some great cinematography and gives you that feeling of being here on this little island watching these two people's lives entwine together. I have to say it is not my favorite Nicholas Sparks film, I haven't read any of his novels so I can't compare them that way only from the films do I have a basis of comparison, it does carry his regular format of how things progress and occur. It is one of those movies that is all too sad but at the same time all to happy at the same time, after the movie you or well at least I, took a moral from it that as bad or sad as things can get sometimes if you step away from your problems for a short period, you may find that as the tagline says "It's never too late for a second chance" that there maybe ways to bounce back and be happy once again. Like most Nicholas Sparks based movies its a great date night choice, especially for an older couple that is looking for something to watch together on a quiet night.

     At the center of this story us an archetype that has been around for a very long time, the tale of Romeo & Juliet, a love that is divided by different families and different statuses. But love being stronger than any parents or objections can be pushes star-crossed lovers together with fate.
     When the story first starts off we are in an old folks home with James Garner and Gena Rowlands. She is suffering from the degenerative disease of dementia and to try to help her with her memory and try to remember who she is and her life, James Garner reads to her everyday from a Notebook.
     The notebook is a story that begins in the forties and is about a summer romance that blossoms between Noah (Ryan Gosling) and Allie (Rachael McAdams) they are every bit in love with each other having fallen in love by a form of love at first sight basically. But as the summer begins to come to an end, they find themselves fighting more than they are affectionate, she is going off to school and he must stay to work at the lumber yard in the small southern town they found love. The other major hurdle standing in way of these two is Allie comes from a wealthy family and Noah not so much, not wanting their daughter to ruin her life over a summer fling, she is gone before they can ever say farewell.
     Still in love with Allie as he ever was Noah writes a letter to her every day for a solid year, 365 letters, but not one letter will ever reach its intended target as they are intercepted by Anne Hamilton (Joan Allen, Allie's mother. Anne hides away the letters in hopes her daughter will forget that summer love and move on and fine someone more suitable to be with her who has money and comes from a well-off family. As the years go by Noah goes off to fight in the war and Allie working as a nurse at an Army hospital starts to fall in love with one of her patients, growing farther and farther apart with time, Allie has begun to move on finally. Noah on the other hand still clings to his first love and drops into a sort of depression-like state as he begins to work on promises they made to each other that summer including fixing up and old house which they dreamed of living in. Engaged and happy with her new life, Allie is thrown a curve ball when she sees Noah's picture in the paper showing off the house he restored on his own, the house they were to live their life together in. To close the book on that summer Allie on a whim ventures back to that small southern town, feelings re-surface during her stay and Allie will have to make the hardest decision of her life, does she return home with her fiancee, Lon (James Marsden)? or stay and finish what was started that summer that was several years ago with Noah. 
    The story hops back and forth between Garner reading Rowland the Notebook and the actual happenings of the notebook. By the end of Garner's reading of the notebook we learn there is much more between him and Rowland than just a reading of a notebook, the story he is reading is their story and true love still endures between them and they will never let each other go again.
     This has been on my must watch list for a quite sometime, mainly because of all the talk about it and how it is referenced often in entertainment magazines, it was also used in an AMC Theaters clip and is prominent in The Great Movie Ride at Disney's Hollywood Studios park. I have enjoyed the other Nicholas Sparks movies that I have seen, but this one by far was the most emotional and hit me more than the other ones did, that scene in the rain lived up to the hype and combined with the ending was enough to tear up a grown man. For a movie that is as well known as this one is its interesting that it was never nominated for any real awards outside of like ones for MTV and the like. Its really hard for me to think of any fault with this movie the cast,the direction from Nick Cassavetes and the editing it all seemed right on spot. If I had to find one thing to say negative for criticism is that I can't see Gosling and McAdams growing into Garner and Rowland but of course that might be just my imagination not making the connection. The Notebook  is one of those that if you have not seen it would be a great date movie to watch cuddled up together on the couch under a blanket with maybe some wine and experience it together. After seeing it I couldn't believe I had never seen it and now I can't imagine not having seen it, definite "Chick-Flick" but if you enjoy a good love story every now and then I would recommend this one if you have never seen it.

Released: June 25th, 2004
Rating: PG-13 for some sexuality

     Adam is twenty-seven years old and his is for the most part happy where he is in life. He eats right, exercises regularly even made a habit out of recycling, he's getting ready for his girlfriend to move in as well as semi-enjoying his job at a public radio station. His happy life is about to get turned on its end after a trip to the hospital for which he thinks is a simple back pain. That pain will now be a pain in his life as he is diagnosed with Schwannoma neurofibrosarcoma, a cancerous tumor on his spine.
     The movie is about Adam's dealing with events in what turns into an early mid-life crisis. His girlfriend not able to cope with the cancer and the treatments is caught cheating on him, his mother is a natural control freak which makes it hard to talk to her, his father is suffering from Alzheimer's and his therapist and chemo-therapy group always seem to end of making things worse than the promise of things getting better. Adam's biggest ally comes from the unlikeliest of places, his best-friend Kyle that on the outside appears just to always want to party and get laid, deep down though there is more going on within him than it seems as he attempts to help his friend cope. 
     Adam is played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt who earned every bit of his nomination for the Golden Globe in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture Comedy or Musical. His performance is strong and emotional, some one that you really care about what happens to him throughout the movie. Seth Rogan is his best friend Kyle, I understand the need for comic relief in a movie such as this to lighten up the drama, however Rogan comes off like always to me and that is bland and vulgar. I think it would of made the movie more enjoybale with a different actor in the role of Kyle, you couldn't lose the character all together though or I think the movie would be to serious and dramatic to make it though with out a break down somewhere.
     Katherine McKay is finishing up her doctorate and training with real patients, Anna Kendrick does a nice job in the role as a cute young doctor in training, however things get a little too close when doctor and patient start flirting things up. Anjelica Houston is Diane, Adam's mother, I loved her hair in this movie, I know its a random comment but it was so unlike her it was short with blonde hightlights and really looked good on her. Finally we have Alan (Philip Baker Hall) and Mitch (Matt Frewer) who are going through chemo-therapy along side Adam, both are such great little characters that are added in for some lightness and also provide some sense of realism as to what this disease can really do.
     50/50 directed by Jonathan Levine was also nominated for a second Golden Globe in addition to acting it was nominated for Best Motion Picture Comedy or Musical, was it worthy of that title? To that I have to say no while it was a powerful and gripping story, yes I got choked up at one point which hardly ever happens, it just didn't have everything on the checklist for me to say give it a nomination. The story is loosely based on and inspired by the real life cancer recovery of writer Will Reiser during his twenties, which I think came across in some of the realism presented, except for Rogan's character antics it was an extremely well done movie both in story and technically with a great use of angles and colors. Now the big debate that set this movie on fire in discussion rooms, using comedy in a movie about struggling with cancer. I kind of have to take the comedy side of the argument I think without some lightness added to the story it would be extremely depressing and probably hit too close to home with some audiences which may not settle well with them. But I have to put myself in Adam's shoes I think if I had that kind of statistic pt on my life and I was absolutely at the hands of doctors or nature to save me I think I would have to make joke of it or I would go mad with it, making light of it kind of eases the mental seriousness of it as a form of defensiveness in my opinion. Big question, who should watch it? Well I think those that have suffered through cancer may be put off by the realism in the movie and not want to relive that part of their lives, while some might actually be  up for the reminder of their struggle they are in or have conquered. I think those that would probably take the most from it are those friends or family members that know someone with cancer and want to know what it feels like to be in their friends position. It will make you think about how vulnerable we all are to cancer and how it can change our outlook on everything if or when it occurs.


Released: September 30th, 2011
Rated: R for language throughout, sexual content and some drug use

     I am going to come out right up front and not even pretend to remember what happens in F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel by the same name. I can tell you for certainty that I read it years and years ago in school I do recall that it starts off talking about East and West Egg and that is all I can tell you because to be honest I didn't like the book then and any of the other times I have tried to read the classic. The main reason I went to see it was for my wife who is an English teacher that has taught The Great Gatsby many-a-time, trust me when I say ever since the movie was announced and throughout its production I have heard her discuss many of the similarities and differences between the book and the movie, as was the topic of conversation after the credits have rolled and the lights had brightened.
     It's the summer of 1922 on Long Island the it place to be is at Jay Gatsby's (Leonardo DiCaprio) mansion, where extravagant and lavish parties occur. Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire) is our narrator and neighbor to this Gatsby character who is as mysterious as he is rich. What Nick does not realize when he moves into his little cottage next to Gatsby's big mansion is that he will be drawn into the middle of many peoples lives when he is suddenly invited to one of Gatsby's parties. Nick's cousin Daisy Buchanan (Carey Mulligan) is the long lost love interest of Mr. Gatsby and being her cousin offers to help Jay try to win back her heart from her cheating husband Tom Buchanan (Joel Edgerton). Every character though has their own secrets, their own issues and no one has more secrets than Mr. Jay Gatsby himself, where did he come from and where does he get his money.
     From the start of the film it is obvious you are watching a Baz Luhrman directed film as his signature style and sound is all over the movie, which is probably the main saving factor from this being an otherwise dull movie. The movie does run rather lengthy at 142 minutes long and towards the end really starts to feel it. I feel most of the actors did well for their roles, the only thing I had against it was they all seemed a bit older than the early thirty year olds they were portraying, Tobey Maguire was a bit stiff to me, Leonardo of course carried most of the movie on his own but would you of thought differently. Outside of the main actors Isla Fisher and Jason Clarke also play small roles as a couple and all though their roles are small, they will have a huge role in the climactic scene of the movie. Obviously I think my wife enjoyed it tremendously more than myself, being an English teacher and having taught it for many years, myself I found the end depressing and as I said had it not of been for Luhrman's sparkle on it and the depth added to it with the 3-D it probably would of been quite drab and boring as I remember the book being. Fans of F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel or those that have enjoyed Luhrman's previous works like William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet or Moulin Rouge will get the most joy from the legend that is Gatsby.

Released: May 10th, 2013
Rated: PG-13 for some violent images, sexual content, smoking, partying and brief language

     The circus has come to town this time its full of animals, literally. Alex (Ben Stiller), Marty (Chris Rock), Melman (David Schwimmer), and Gloria (Jada Pinkett Smith) are all back and once again trying to get back home to their Central Park Zoo in New York. This time however things go terribly wrong in France and they are hunted down by DuBois (Francis McDormond) a crazed animal control officer that will not stop till she gets Alex's head on her wall. To escape capture they take up with a circus train and pose as performers to get out of France and avoid capture by DuBois. Learning the circus is headed for New York they continue the rouse of being performers and begin to make new friends with their real circus colleagues; Gia (Jessica Chastain), Stefano (Martin Short) and Vitaly (Bryan Cranston) among others. Its moving the circus from one city to the next all the while evading miss DuBois, that’s the whole basic synopsis of the storyline.
     This was the weakest Madagascar in my opinion, it started off with real potential and funny in Africa, once they left Africa however it all just started falling apart for me and I didn't really care for any of the new Circus characters to be honest. If you saw the trailers you saw the best parts of the movie, I know kids are going to love it regardless because its bright colorful and has characters they have come to know. I think Madagascar has run its course it seems that every time now the story-lines are getting stretched more and more, the other problems I had with this movie is that it was in 3D and you can tell it, they reached for almost every 3D gimmick in the book and I get the make fun of the French but after about the second dozen anti-French jabs it gets a bit ridiculous. Then again I am not the target audience, kids will be entertained for 93 minutes, don't let the PG for some mild action and rude humor stop family night its not that bad and most of the rude humor will fly over a lot of kids heads. Unless you have kids I would say skip it unless you have been watching all the other Madagascar movies and shorts. I think the most entertainment I had from this movie was the discussion boards online reading people on the two sides of animals in the circus, one side criticizing Dreamworks portraying animals happy being in a circus and performing for money and the other side with Dreamworks showing people amazed by the animals in the circus having them want to know more about the animals. I just think its amusing how a children's animated movie sparked such a controversy over animal rights and captivity. Overall though I was really disappointed I really wanted to like it and really wanted to have fun and laugh through out, it just seemed to loose touch with what made the other two films enjoyable, not sure whether to blame the storyline here or the overuse of Madagascar on DVD with shorts for the fall of the franchise. Either way I am sure it will not be the last time our furry friends are seen, kids love them and that at the end of the day is what matters because that is what is selling the tickets and DVDs.

If you think you know the story of Jack and the Beanstalk...well you don't know Jack. Jack the Giant Slayer is a re-imagining of the classic fairytale about jack ascending a magic beanstalk grown from magic beads to rescue a princess who is held captive by a giant. I won't go into particulars as this movie literally just came out, I don't want to spoil it for those wanting to see it. In this version there is a fable about a magic beanstalk but it is not the one you
remember it is a real story that happened long ago and now that story is about to come true again as Jack accidentally grows the mythical beanstalk. This story however it is not just Jacks life at risk but the entire world, if Jack and the King's guards cannot stop the giants all maybe lost. The movie was awesome, I  was expecting a cheesy bad science-fiction movie but it was a really good adventure tale, it had action, drama, suspense and some comedy. You have a really good cast too with Nicholas Hoult as Jack, Eleanor Tomlinson as the Princess Isabelle, Ewan McGregor as Elmont the head of the royal guard, Stanley Tucci as the evil Roderick and Ian McShane as King Brahmwell. Some great casting overall, however I will say that Ewan feels a little out of place at times and his lines do come off a bit corny sounding at times. Stanley Tucci nails it playing the deceptive and caniving bad guy he just looks and sounds the part perfectly. The movie does start off shaky but midway really starts to get its footing and take off, I will say also the 3D was incredible one of the best uses I have seen since Avatar. I don't really usually recommend seeing the 3D version but this time I would highly suggest seeing it in 3D as it really does add quite a bit to the epic feel of the film. It's rated PG-13 for intense scary scenes of fantasy action violence, some frightening images and brief language, while its not your conventional family friendly movie I do think it would be OK to take a family too there's not a lot of blood or gore, I'd have kids watch the trailer though make sure they are OK with the images of the giants as they are probably the most terrifying thing about the movie, the computer graphics are really really good and blend seamlessly into the actual filmed parts. The only thing I did not love was the ending it started off as a really clever ending but at the last minute dropped to a cheesy level, so I don't know if that was the script writers to blame or Director Brian Singer (Superman Returns) that had the idea to do what they did, I will give Bryan props though for this it could not of been easy to film something on this scale. Warning though it is Jack and the Beanstalk retold so don't put to much thought into the movie, its not artsy and not going to have the best writing,  you just have to watch it for the fun and for the adventure. Again I would love to delve into this mystical tale but I know I'll spoil it when I do, I guarantee I'll revisit it on its DVD release and I'll go into it more then. But, in summary definitely a good adventure movie and its been a while since we've seen something like this, I think it will do fairly well in the box office just for that reason, its about time we had something original to watch.

Movie released: 03/01/2013

     What To Expect When You're Expecting, directed by Kirk Jones, is a movie that is very loosely inspired by the famous and bestselling book of the same name. The movie follows four couples through their experiences with different types of pregnancy situations. Jules (Cameron Diaz) and Evan (Matthew Morrison) met on a celebrity dancing competition show where they hooked up and got pregnant, she is famous for hosting a show like The Biggest Loser so she is very fit and has to work the pregnancy into her lifestyle and show. Holly (Jennifer Lopez) and Alex (Rodrigo Santoro) can not have a baby naturally and are having an adoption. Wendy (Elizabeth Banks) and Gary (Ben Falcone) are probably the more normal of all the couples, Wendy's always dreamed of being a mother and while pregnant realizes its not as easy and perfect as she always imagined it would be. Skyler (Brooklyn Decker) and Ramsey (Dennis Quaid) are Gary's father and step-mother who are pregnant at the same time Gary and Wendy, they are very well off financially and being a little older and wiser take the pregnancy situation with the smallest inconveniences to their lifestyles. There is also a fifth couple, Rosie (Anna Kendrick) and Marco (Chace Crawford) who are young and not expecting to be pregnant together but learn to accept it and find the pregnancy a really good thing until Rosie has a miscarriage which put her on a depression route. All the couples are intertwined into one big story line but it is a huge stretch how they all are linked to one another. No couple really has a straight forward no problems pregnancy, each couple experiences their own personal positives and negatives, some are more felt than others, but that I think is what broadens the appeal of this movie is that there is probably at least one situation that every parent can relate to in the events leading up to birth.
     For an all-star cast movie it was enjoyable and funny to watch especially for those that have had the pleasure of experiencing the joys of child birth. While the main cast does we'll a lot of it is the interaction with supporting cast members such as Chris Rock, Joe Manganiello, Megan Mullally and Rebel Wilson among others that really gets the laughs going. With both Drama and Comedy What To Expect When You're Expecting, may not be a one hundred percent accurate portrayal of the realities of pregnancy but there are certain situations that many parents will be able to relate to. I loved the dad's stroller group I thought they nailed what I and I think many dads or dad's to be envision themselves as being, it was good though, they showed that being a dad is not as horrible as some guys might imagine. I personally love my outings with my son and would not trade those stroller walks for anything. It was a fun movie that would be perfect for parents to be to curl up together and watch, being PG-13 for crude and sexual content, thematic elements and language it could be a family movie for those with older children. Its probably not the best date movie though for new couples, just saying may bring up a subject not ready to be talked about, or it could swing the other way and open up the door to conversation. I do have to say it did drag once or twice which I think could of edited down the one hundred and ten minute running time, other than that I don't have a lot of negative to say about the movie. I wasn't expecting it to be good having seen some train wrecks in the past with these all-star casts but I was pleasantly surprised that it turned out to be quite enjoyable.

Movie released: May 18, 2012 

     What would you do if one day you discovered you were able to uses superhuman powers? Three high school teenagers found out the answer to that question when they stumbled upon an unknown origins artifact in a crater near Seattle.
     Andrew (Dane DeHaan), Matt (Alex Russell) and Steve (Michael B. Jordan, Alex from Parenthood) have discovered that after touching this mysterious artifact that they have begun to show signs of telekinesis specifically the ability to levitate and move objects using their minds. The movie plays out as a type of found footage movie of edited together footage from different cameras but mainly Andrew's camera that he carries everywhere with him religiously filming everything in his day to day life. Majority of the movie is about these three harnessing their powers, learning how it works, how to strengthen it and live their normal lives with this secret force. Slowly the powers they yield start to become almost too much for them to handle, leading it to overpower one individual and sends him on a destructive out of control rampage ending in a friend on friend fight to the finish through Downtown Seattle.
     The plot line to this movie has a really good strong foundation, however the overall story is pretty cut and dry not a whole lot to the overall scheme of things. I think the one thing that hurt this movie more than anything else was using the handy cam, found footage concept. The biggest flaw to this was it made no sense, you never learn who found the footage or where it was found or who edited it all together. Many theories are that it was not suppose to be a found footage movie but rather just use the first perspectives shot through various cameras as the medium for which to tell the story. Either way I think the handy cam style held it down from being a really good superhero type film, because despite the camera it had some really great computer effects which all blended seamlessly into the shots and characters. There are a couple times that objects do come off looking computer generated but is easily overlooked by how that effect is interacting with its environment. It may have been Director Josh Trank's first large scale movie but it proves that he has the talent to play in the big leagues, rated PG-13 for intense action, thematic material, some language, sexual content and teen drinking it is the typical rating you'd expect from a science fiction movie like this. The only part of that rating that will play a factor I think in the deciding factor for letting a younger audience view it is the action/violence it gets pretty intense towards the end of the movie as it basically becomes a death match between these humans with super powers. All three principal actors handled their characters well considering the format of filming, I just feel handy cam filming doesn't allow the best acting ability to come across. Just eighty-four minutes long the movie only shows what is necessary there is no filler and effects shots are just long enough to get your attention while not stealing the scene by being over used. Not a great movie, as I said there's not a lot of materi, but a good one that is worth seeing just for the effects shots.


Movie released: February 3, 2012

    Before I even get started talking about this movie let me just throw the rating out there which will tell you upfront what kind of movie this is, Rated R for crude sexual content throughout, nudity, pervasive language and some drug use. The plot of the movie is kinda ridiculous but it is about Donny Berger (Adam Sandler) who had sex with his teacher in school which resulted in her becoming pregnant with his son. She was sentenced to thirty years in prison and his father got custody of the baby until Donny turns eighteen in which he will take custody of the child. 
     As a result of the public coverage of his case, Donny became some what of a celebrity and he lived a wild and crazy life. Twenty five years has gone by and now Donny is facing his own prison sentence for not paying his taxes and needs to either pay 43,000 dollars or get three years in jail. To come up with the money Donny has found a talk show that will cover his needs if he can get himself, his son and the teacher all together for a reunion at the jail. Han Solo, yes he named his son Han Solo but now goes by Todd Petersen (Andy Samberg) moved out when he was eighteen and has created a new life for himself and is about to get married to Jamie (Leighton Meester). Donny finds his son and manages to move in with his son under the guise of being a friend to not tip off any that they are father and son, things start back firing though when everyone seems to take a liking to Donny's crazy antics. As Donny starts rubbing off on his son the wedding begins falling apart, when Donny finally manages to get his son on board with his plan to get out of debt he starts having a change of heart realizing that it is not about the money or jail time but about his son and family. Discovering secrets about the bride to be, Donny takes matters into his own hands and manages to stop the wedding and start aligning everything so that everything works itself out in the end and everyone gets a happy ending. Believe me there is a lot more to this crazy story than I have mentioned but I could be here all night trying to explain all the craziness and zany antics that abound throughout the story but it is hard to without ruining any of the scenes in case there are those that dare venture to watch the movie.
     Most everyone from Adam Sandler's little movie troop make appearances in the movie but some of the best scenes in the movie include some cameos including a hilarious one with Vanilla Ice and also scenes with James Caan, Tony Orlando and Susan Sarandon to name a couple. If you look at Director Sean Anders filmography you can see what kind of movie you are in for, seeing as how most of his work deals with stupidies, some are hit or miss he did have some that were stupid but enjoyable to watch. I do have to say for a movie that runs 116 minutes I was hoping that there would be a little bit more to the ending than what is shown of each character before the fade to black, I mean we went that long what's another five minutes. I would not push this movie on anyone in fear that they may loose braincells unless they are a die-hard Adam Sandler fan or can't get enough of the trend of stupidies.


Movie Released: June 15, 2012