lincoln lawyer

this is a pretty by the numbers lawyer movie, the kind of thing that doesn't really exist much anymore in theatrical movies- its become more the realm of television, amongst the hundreds of procedurals.  the only thing that makes this one stand out is the performance of matthew mcconaughey and the slower pace that allows for character beats to stand out above the standard plot.  i liked it, though it was immediately forgettable.

the american

a pretty good political drama that doesn't waste it's time with explanation.  that can be a detriment at times, but its intriguing enough that you don't have to fully understand what's going on to be invested in the situation.  clooney does his best james bond as he tries to portray a lonewolf in the gorgeous foreign locals. 

wolf

i remember when this one came out- i really wanted to see it because of the two leads.  both of them were still hot off their performances from the batman movies, and it was kind of cool to think of the joker and catwoman in a werewolf movie!  though the story is threadbare, the performances by nicholson and phiffer are outstanding enough lift it to a pretty fun film.

the change-up

a modern take on freaky friday, this movie plays off the idea of a married man and a swinging bachelor trading places.  needless to say, it doesn't turn out well for either of them!  the film isn't great, but when you've got jason bateman and ryan reynolds as the two leads, their charisma alone is enough to cover a multitude of shortcomings.

poltergeist

for some reason i hadn't seen this one before, so i figured i should correct that oversight.  it ended up being pretty good, but i kind of thought it would be better.  i think at this point some of it's power is lost due to all the copycats and imitators that have been created since.

13

this one had an interesting story.  a guy who needs some extra money and somehow finds himself involved in an underground russian roulette gambling ring.  there are actually a ton of famous people who make cameos along the way, including jason statham!  the script could have used another pass or two, but the story is worth watching.

multiplicity

this one isn't that great, but its not nearly as bad as it's reputation.  the thing that saves it from being terrible is how much michael keaton commits to the different parts he plays.  there are quite a few laughs, but they are not from the script.

jackass 3

look, i know these jackass movies are terrible, but i have to admit that i like them.  as terrible and society destroying as they are, they are actually pretty good!  if you've ever watched any of the multitude of jackass knock-offs, then you know how bad they can be.  these guys though, are surprisingly clever and fun with their stunts.

three men and a baby

this one is a fun little movie about three friends who are rooming together and have to deal with a baby being left on their doorstep.  its a ridiculous concept that is mostly played for laughs, which would have fallen flat if it weren't for the great cast they got.  selleck and danson are fantastic, showing off the great comedy chops they honed on tv, and guttenberg is clearly having a lot of fun too.  my one major problem with this film is the strange subplot about a heist that they get caught up in.  what is that doing in this movie?  i have no idea...

someone marry barry

though it may not be a good movie, i rather enjoyed this little romantic comedy.  mostly my enjoyment can be chalked up to the fantastic cast.  the lead, played by the always fantastic tyler labine, is a guy who is so childish and resistant to growing up that even his friends are sick of him.  the movie starts with all of barry's friends married and deciding that what they really need to do is find someone for barry.  not necessarily because they want him to be happy, more just that they are sick of him and want him to have someone else to bother.  the only problem is that they set him up with lucy punch- who happens to be even worse than barry!  its rediculous and fun, and thats all i was really expecting, so i was happy with the final product.

bridesmaids

a very funny gross-out comedy from a woman's perspective.  the story follows kristen wigg as she attends a friend's wedding as a bridesmaid and has to come to terms with the place she is in her life at her age.  the interpersonal relationships are funny and capture a perspective we hadn't really seen much of until this point.  most comedies are about infantalized men as they realize their age, but this one takes that same journey from a woman's perspective.  seems simple enough, but its done with such heart and interesting characterization that it becomes noteworthy for presenting something different.  and its super funny!

hit and run

is this a great movie? no, but it sure it a lot of fun!  there is no pretense in this one, it just simply meant to be a good time.  this one is the passion project of dax shepherd- it was written by, co-directed, and stars dax and his wife.  there are some great chase scenes and funny bits along the way, but this one is just pure fun!

predators

following the cue from its sister series, this one takes the name of the original and just adds an 's'.  we hadn't seen this series outside of the 'avp' films in 20 years, so it was time for a follow-up to the terrible 'predator 2'.  this one takes our heroes to another planet where the predators come to hunt them.  as the name would suggest, there are multiple creatures coming to take down our human crew this time.  as the humans are taken down one by one, there are some plot twists and reveals that keep it interesting.  i wouldn't necessarily call this one a good movie, i would say that its a lot of fun, and compared to the other films in the series, its pretty good.

green hornet

was it a good idea to reboot this series? yes.  was it a good idea to get seth rogen to play the title character? no.  but they do a valiant job trying to overcome that obstacle.  granted, this is not a good movie, but for what it is its a lot of fun.  rogen does his best, despite the miscasting, chou is great as kato, who is the real star of the series anyway.  they clearly did the best they could with what they had, so i don't fault the film for coming up short- its not nearly as short as i was expecting!

the losers

 

a comic book movie based on the not so well known comic of the same name, the story follows a rag tag bunch of assassins who team up together to do a job.  they find that the job isn't quite as cut and dry as they were promised, and they realize they have been set up.  how they deal with it takes some twists and turns along the way where not everyone is going to make it to the end.

this one is definitely a B movie, but its a pretty fun one.

the tourist

this one got a lot of heat for being terrible, but i must admit, i rather liked it.  the story follows a tourist, played by johnny depp, as he meets a woman, angelina jolie, who seems to be a spy on the run.  depp's character seems to be just minding his own business on a vacation through europe when she meets him and get him all caught up in her secret spy world.  i'm not sure all the twists and turns of the film work, but its fun to see these two go along for the ride.

code 46

an interesting movie set in a dystopian future where clones are everywhere and travel outside of your designated city is very restricted.  in the story tim robbins plays a government employee who tracks down people who forge documents allowing them to travel.  along the way he meets up with samantha morton, a forger.  as they fall for each other, they realize that its not just the documents that are illegal, so is their love.  the story is an interesting one, but at times a bit too convoluted.  thankfully much of that is overcome by the good acting and directing.

tangled

a good disney princess movie that plays with some of the aspects of the well known fairy tale, and adds in some nice songs along the way.  this one came out at a time when disney was scarred for some reason to actually have a movie about a princess, that's why its named 'tangled' instead of rapunzel.  there is an unnecessary focus on the guy in the film that doesn't seem at all needed.  fortunately the misdirected focus does not throw the whole film too far off course, so we still get some great character moments with rapunzel and her 'mother'.  the whole thing has a fun adventure feel to it and is a lot of fun.

megamind

there must have been something in the air back in 2010, because we got despicable me and this movie within 4 months of each other- both are centered on supervillains who hatch crazy plots but eventually decide to turn good.  they both even have characters called minion!  the funny thing is that they are both fronted and have the comedic stylings of two guys from anchorman- despicable me has steve carell at its center, and this one has will ferrell leading the way.  wow, there really are a ton of similarities...
this one follows the supervillain megamind as he deals with the fact that the hero he fights against decides to quit and walk away from the crime fighting business.  this leaves our villain confused and reassessing his life- who is he without  his nemesis?  its also very funny, so that helps too!

devil

based on an idea from m. night shyamalan, this movie takes place entirely in an elevator.  the premise is that 5 people are stuck in an elevator together and each time the power goes out something terrible happens.  there's only five people, so one of them must be doing the terrible thing.  the film does a pretty good job of making the small location interesting and ramps up the tension as the film goes on.  as far as small horror films go, its pretty good.