21 Jump Street

21 Jump Street - If you don't mind a little crude and sexual humor then I would totally recommend this movie. It was fun, well acted (for Channing Tatum that is) and funny! They also have a fun surprise for you at the end. I don't know if I just have a soft spot for movies based on TV shows aired while I was growing up or if this movie actually was that good, but I enjoyed every minute of it, sometimes even laughing out loud because it was so funny. I've always been on the fence about Jonah Hill's acting abilities but after seeing this one at least I can say he isn't afraid to make a fool of himself while he is entertaining people, and that I can admire. I also have to give him mad props for his weight loss - he looks great in this movie! They did a great job of keeping you guessing at who the bad guy was. I have seen so many movies that often by 30 minutes into it I can tell you who the culprit is etc. etc. but I was really surprised when they finally divulged who was behind everything in this movie. I honestly had no complaints about this one - wouldn't recommend taking kids under 18 with you though. It's pretty crude.

A Thousand Words

A Thousand Words - First of all....isn't Eddie Murphy supposed to be funny? In this movie he is far from it! I thought I was going to a comedy and was sorely disappointed. Second of all do we now have to have a token nerdy fat kid AKA some version of Jonah Hill in every movie? That kid was not even remotely entertaining, let alone funny. Third do I need to point out the obvious? Every trailer shows Eddie Murphy using his wiles to skip the line at Starbucks by faking a phone call that his wife is in labor....when the burly construction guys at the front aren't going for it he yells in surprise "Twins!" Who in the developed world nowadays does not know whether or not they are having twins BEFORE being wheeled into labor and delivery? The chances are pretty slim. Word must have gotten out that this movie was pretty much crap from start to finish cause it's certainly flopped in box office sales. I would NOT recommend going to see this one - even for the sake of the kiddoes.

The Lorax and The Secret World of Arrietty

Dr. Seuss: The Lorax - Of all the Dr. Seuss  movies I have ever seen this is the only one that I have actually enjoyed. Oftentimes they get so caught up in the rhyming that the storyline doesn't make sense. Not so with this one. However if you are a conspicuous consumer and don't like being reminded that we are taking advantage of and destroying this planet we live on - maybe better to skip this one. I was impressed that they actually took an environmental stand and addressed an important issue in not only a way that the adult could appreciate but that I think kids can understand as well. It was obviously against big business (was I the only one thinking gee - this sounds/looks alot like Walmart throughout the entire movie?) and after the movie I totally wanted to go plant a tree! haha!

The Secret World of Arrietty - I have never been a big fan of Japanese animation films however this one was pretty good. It had an interesting storyline, and some humor in it. The kids thought it was great and as an adult - it was fairly enjoyable to sit through. No major complaints about this one, but no accolades either.

Hugo

Hugo - This was a bit slow to get started but in the end turned out to be a great movie. If you are a movie nerd like me I would totally recommend it. You'll love how they get into some of the history and development of movies in an entertaining fashion. I can totally see why this movie was nominated for so many awards and won 5. I even teared up a little towards the end. The kids weren't great actors but we can always count on Ben Kingsley and Christopher Lee to carry a movie. Other than the subpar acting of the children I really can't say much negative about this movie! :)

J. Edgar

J. Edgar -  Alot of people were surprised that this one got snubbed by the Academy, however after having seen it, I am not the least bit surprised. The makeup was poorly done, Leonardo DiCaprio's accent was over exaggeraged, and the story line was not only hard to follow but spent too much time focusing on what he said he did as opposed to what really happened. Although overall it was a really interesting movie to watch I was disappointed that they spend so much time on J. Edgar's fabrication of his role in certain events and only about 30 seconds at the end clearing up the fact that his ACTUAL role in alot of those events was much different.

The Tree of Life

The Tree of  Life - OH MY WORD! What a complete waste of two hours and twenty minutes. I watched this one on DVD at home with my boyfriend and we both agreed that had we actually paid money to watch it in a theatre we would have been LIVID! I get existentialism and I get that not every movie should always answer every question and some things can be left to the imagination but seriously....SERIOUSLY!?! This movie had NO storyline and over 1/3 of it was just pictures of scenery - we think maybe depicting the evolution of the earth since the beginning of time. Really - if anyone has any idea what this movie was supposed to be about please let me know becuase I watched the whole thing and I have no idea what they were trying to accomplish in the making of this movie. Oh yeah - and I seriously don't buy it that the grown son of Brad Pitt and Jessica Chastain would end up looking like Sean Penn. Horrible casting choice!

Midnight in Paris

Okay so I watched this movie a while ago in anticipation of the Academy Awards and then totally forgot to blog about it - yeah it was THAT memorable (sarcasm intended)
Midnight in Paris - It was a good unique idea for a story line - very poorly executed. They just tried to do way too much with way too little time. They needed to cut it down to one era or fewer well known people within each era. It just got confusing trying to keep track of everyone and there was so little depth to each of the characters that I couldn't bring myself to care about any of them. I get the concept that suddenly finding yourself immersed in the worlds of all the people you admire the most would be fascinating but it was still too much with too little time and instead of reveling in the fascination I felt it landed flat on it's face. I have no idea why this movie was nominated for any Academy Awards other than that the costume design WAS pretty good. The two main characters? Completely unlikable. As much as I love Rachel McAdams her character was completely selfish, snotty and deplorable which is what I believe the director was aiming for so good job there. Owen Wilson - another favorite but whoever met such an inconstant character? First he's completely in love with his fiance, next suddenly some random artist's muse from the 20's and third times a charm he walks off into the sunset with yet another love interest at the end of the movie. Watch out for that guy! Blech!!!