Day five…movie number four. Pain medication level: high. Still on Percocet and not feeling much better about it.
Plot: The story is about a smart kid from MIT who gets involved in the card counting world to raise money for Harvard Medical School.
Twist: The new lifestyle starts getting dangerous when some security specialists start catching on to the scheme.
Memorable Quotes: Basic strategy says you should hit that.
My Thoughts: I usually really like strategy movies like this, but this one didn’t dazzle me as I had hoped. Although it was still pretty solid, I felt like they could have explored more options with the plot. Maybe they were trying to stay true to the actual story and if so they should probably be rewarded since too often this isn’t the case. All in all it’s worth a look.
Who Will Like This Movie: People who like to gamble or always look for an edge to beat the system.
Rating: 6 out of 10
Categories: Drama
Day four and movie number three. Pain medication level: high. Switched to Percocet in hopes of taming a raging flame in my throat.
Plot: This time the Gates boys find themselves trying to prove that ancestor was not involved in the plot to kill president Lincoln.
Twist: The group soon discovers that proving the existance of an ancient City of Gold is the only way to exonerate their relative.
Memorable Quotes: The last time I checked, we make out living off of crazy.
My Thoughts: As expected this sequel was not nearly as good as the original. The plot felt too forced the whole time and the surprises are few and far between from the first movie. The two good parts are Justin Bartha’s humor and Diane Kruger’s hotness.
Who Will Like This Movie: People who love mystery movies no matter how cheesy they are.
Rating: 5 out of 10
Categories: Comedy · Mystery
Tonsils removed plus 3 days. Pain medication level: moderate.
Plot: After a disease spreads throughout the world, one man fights to stay alive and find a cure at ground zero.
Twist: The man must watch his every move since the city is full of blood thirsty hives of infected humans.
Memorable Quotes: God didn’t do this…we did!
My Thoughts: Despite big theatrics and fancy special effects I thought this movie wasn’t much more that a zombie movie in disguise. It reminded me a lot of 28 Days Later, except there were even fewer survivors in this plot. I did find the presentation of a deserted Manahattan to be visually stunning and thought provoking. Other than that it left a lot to be desired.
Who Will Like This Movie: People who thought Wild Wild West was good becuase of Will Smith.
Rating: 6 out of 10
Categories: Action · Sci-fi
What do you do when you are about to have your tonsils removed as an adult. You prepare yourself by renting 5 movies. This is the first of those rentals.
Plot: Dan is a single parent with three daughters ranging from elementary to high school. He spends a week with his family allowing him to get better acquainted with his own situation.
Twist: At the beginning of the trip Dan meets a woman that he is very interested in, but she ends up being the new love interest of his brother.
Memorable Quotes: Put it on my tab.
My Thoughts: This movie was even better than I expected. Of course my opinion may be a little off since I was on pain medication while I was watching it, but I thought the story was very good and believable for the most part. Steve Carell plays the part of the awkward guy nicely as usual and the rest of the cast fills in perfectly.
Who Will Like This Movie: Anyone who loves all the love stories associated with the office.
Rating: 8 out of 10
Categories: Drama
It was one of the funniest previews I had seen in a long time, so I was looking forward to it for a while.
Plot: The parents of two middle aged children still living at home get married and move in together.
Twist: The two step brothers unite in their joined hatred over another sibling.
Memorable Quotes: He better not get in my face…’cause I’ll drop that motherf*cker!
My Thoughts: As usual the preview outshined the movie for me. While there were plenty of new hilarious scenes the end result still wasn’t as good as I built it up to be. In the end it felt like they just took two guys that they knew were funny as a team and threw together a funny scenario without giving much additional effort to the plot.
Who Will Like This Movie: Huge fans of Will Ferrell or Talladega Nights.
Rating: 6 out of 10
Categories: Comedy
I don’t think that there is really any need for an explanation necessary on this one.
Plot: Batman joins forces with the new Gotham district attorney, Harvey Dent, in an effort to overcome the numerous crime mobs in the city.
Twist: A new nemesis, The Joker, presents himself as a ruthless criminal with a mind only for destruction.
Memorable Quotes: Because some men aren’t looking for anything logical, like money. They can’t be bought, bullied, reasoned or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.
My Thoughts: In agreement with all the critics, this movie was excellent. The acting was top notch on all parts. I hate to jump the band wagon, but Ledger’s performance steals the show with his very convincing depiction of The Joker. The stunts were fantastic and the story was even better. The only minor drawback was that it seemed to be a touch too long for my tastes…especially with all the numerous buildups that take place throughout the movie. Nonetheless, it was still great overall.
Who Will Like This Movie: Anyone who loves hero movies, big action flicks, or a summer blockbuster.
Rating: 9 out of 10
Categories: 9's · Action
I thought this looked a little sketchy in the trailers, but I heard from a few different people that this movie was pretty good. And Angelina Jolie is in it…so why not ?
Plot: A normal office worker who is bored with his mundane lifestyle learns that he is the son of a famous assassin.
Twist: He joins the league of assassins and learns that he will soon except the job of killing his father’s assassin.
Memorable Quotes: Kill one, maybe save a thousand.
My Thoughts: This movie was pretty average overall. The action scenes and stunts were very well done, albeit a little overly unrealistic at times. They story was solid, but it seemed like they could have done more with it. James McAvoy make for a fairly strange hero, but I guess that is part of the draw it has. Jolie looks good as usual and didn’t even have to cover the tattoos.
Who Will Like This Movie: People who like big stunts and anyone who is a sucker for snipers and assassins.
Rating: 6 out of 10
Categories: Action
After dinner Sarah and I decided to rent a movie so we stopped by the Redbox to pick one out. As this was my first Redbox experience I didn’t really realize that Saturday at 9:30pm would be such a terrible time to rent a movie. This was pretty much all that was left that I hadn’t seen.
Plot: Benjamin Finnegan (McConaughey) is searching for treasure and finds a big clue right before his boat sinks. He then convinces a rich millionaire, who his ex-wife Tess (Hudson) works for, to aid his continued search.
Twist: Finnegan must also avoid a well known rapper / thug whom he owes a large sum of money.
Memorable Quotes: Your uselessness is epic.
My Thoughts: This movie is just as terrible as I imagined it would be. It took every ounce of strength I had to not turn it off. I’m giving it a star because Kate Hudson looks great as usual. And I’ll throw in a second since Sarah seemed to think Matthew McConaughey was looking pretty good for the ladies.
Who Will Like This Movie: Anybody who doesn’t really care about the plot of the movies as long as the actors/actresses look good…like porn!
Rating: 2 out of 10
Categories: Comedy · Drama
This was the second movie on the flight from NYC to Salt Lake City? Enough said I think.
Plot: Charlie Wilson was a senator during the Cold War with the Soviet Union. This movie tells the story of how he was able to covertly arm Afghans with weapons to defend themselves against Soviet control.
Twist: Stopping the invasion of Afghanistan would be a crippling blow to the Soviets, but Wilson must first overcome several personal and political obstacles to pull it off.
Memorable Quotes: You know you’ve hit rock bottom when you’re told you have character flaws by a man who hanged his predecessor in a military coup.
My Thoughts: This movie basically boils down to a very entertaining history lesson. Tom Hanks makes Charlie Wilson a very likeable man from Texas and Phillip Seymour Hoffman really sells his part as the loveable jerk. In the end you get almost exactly what you were led to expect…perhaps with a little less conclusion.
Who Will Like This Movie: Anybody who likes to get their history lessons in movie form.
Rating: 6 out of 10
Categories: Comedy · Drama
What do you do when you are stuck on a flight from NYC to Salt Lake City? You pick two in-flight movies to watch that you wouldn’t normally rent of course. And this is the first one.
Plot: Jack Nicholson is a wealthy business man who ends up in one of his own hospitals being treated for cancer. His roommate is Morgan Freeman who plays a mechanic who is far more intelligent than one might imagine. The two soon become friends and start a “Bucket List” of all the things they would like to do before they die.
Twist: Not everyone agrees with the idea and the two men have differing ideas about the point of the list.
Memorable Quotes: Somewhere, some lucky guy is having a heart attack.
My Thoughts: This movie was pretty much exactly what I expected. We know both actors are very good, but it is even easier when they are pretty much playing themselves. The story doesn’t offer too many surprises, but is still heartwarming at times. Overall, it was solid and worth a look on a Sunday afternoon.
Who Will Like This Movie: Anyone who likes Nicholson or Freeman…or girls who enjoy a good cry. (Something tells me Mandy will dig it.)
Rating: 6 out of 10
Categories: Comedy · Drama
