Case 39

Release Date: October 1st, 2010

Click here for the Case 39 Trailer.

Emily Jenkins(Renee Zellweger) is a young social worker who is assigned to investigate the family of 10-year-old Lillith Sullivan(Jodelle Ferland). Lillith's grades have steadily declined and an emotional tear between her and her parents has warranted the concern of the state. When Emily investigates the family, she comes to the conclusion that they are abusing Lillith and neglecting her. But without hardcore evidence, Emily cannot do anything to help Lillith.

But the scene quickly changes when Emily receives a phone call from Lillith saying her parents are coming for her. Emily, along with her friend Detective Mike Barron(Ian McShane), go to Lillith's house to find her in a horrible situation. After that, Lillith is placed in a group home until she convinces Emily to adopt her until the state can find a decent foster family.

After Lillith moves in with Emily, strange things begin to happen. The kids in Lillith's support group begin acting violently and Emily's friends, including her best friend and Lillith's Psychiatrist Douglas J. Ames(Bradley Cooper), begin experiencing horrible accidents. Emily soon begins to think that this case of a poor helpless girl may not be as clear as she once assumed, and it is up to her to figure out exactly what is going on and exactly what Lillith is before it is too late.

---

Renee Zellweger returns to the big screen, in person that is, for the first time since 2008 and does a pretty good job. I hadn't heard a lot about this movie before I saw it. At most I had seen maybe two previews for it, but other than that I was completely in the dark about the plot, the actors etc... but I decided to give it a chance anyway. Now considering it is October, scary movies are definitely the way to go.

As far as Case 39 goes, this movie won't top my all time scream fests but it will lay somewhere in the middle with films like Signs and 30 Days of Night. I just wasn't particularly scared during this movie. While it did have a few spots that made me jump, the overall "scare factor" just wasn't there. What was there was a great cast list as well as an original and interesting story that kept me involved.

I've always liked Renee Zellweger and I have always thought she has done great work with all of her films. She kept her streak with me going with Case 39. I felt obligated to feel for her character and empathize with how she felt and reacted to certain situations. Normally I find social workers in film and television to be pompous and just downright annoying. However, with Zellweger I felt like she was legitimately trying to help people. This will connect with audiences and keep them paying attention throughout the film.

I was really impressed with the performance delivered by the young Jodelle Ferland. Now everybody knows that children in horror roles are creepy, but Jodelle took it to a whole new level. While she definitely does not outshine the terror that is Linda Blair in The Exorcist, Ferland does add her own form of creepiness. I think what got me the most was the fact that the whole time she was making these horrible things happen she maintained a cute, bubbly personality like everything was normal. She would giggle and act like a normal little kid which, for me, was the creepiest part.

I thought the story was very intriguing. While I already knew what Ferland's character was, I still found the main basis behind her behavior and why she did the things she did to be very interesting. The power of whatever Lillith was supposed to be was definitely scary, and it always made you wonder what was going to happen next and when it was going to happen. This also made you feel the stress that Zellweger's character went through.

I do, however, have on gripe on the story. Towards the end, when you finally realize what Lillith is and what she wants, the movie builds and builds and builds, adding all this anticipation for what you think is going to be some huge confrontation. For me, I was expecting Lillith to go full on demon mode and wreak havoc or at least go out with some style. However, spoilers aside, she didn't. While I won't tell you the exact ending, for me it felt abrupt and unimaginative. I felt like something greater should have taken down Lillith.

Other than that this was a pretty decent movie. Enough plot and suspense to keep you interested but definitely not one of the scariest films in theaters. If you want a decent psychological horror film, then you should definitely give Case 39 a look.

I give Case 39 7 "Harmless" Children Shoved into Ovens out of 10.

---

Sponsors! Yay!

If you need a nationwide HP Desktop Computer Rental, then call Rentacomputer.com today at 800-736-8772. They have a full range of HP Desktop Computer Rentals.

Grown Ups

Release Date: June 25th, 2010

Click here for the Grown Ups Trailer.

Lenny Feder(Adam Sandler), Eric Lamonsoff(Kevin James), Kurt McKenzie(Chris Rock), Rob Hillard(Rob Schneider) and Marcus Higgins(David Spade) are 5 friends who reunite after 30 years to mourn the death of their Junior High basketball coach, Coach "Buzzer"(Blake Clark), who led them to their first, and only, championship. The friends and their families gather in New England for the funeral and decide to spend the following 4th of July weekend in the very same lake house they celebrated their victory in 30 years ago.

While at the lake house Lenny, along with the rest of his friends, are shocked to find that their kids would rather sit inside and play videogames so the group forces them all to stay outside and find new ways to amuse themselves. When the families gather later the first night at a local restaurant, Lenny runs into his old nemesis Dickie Bailey(Colin Quinn). Dickie still holds a grudge about their basketball game 30 years ago, claiming that Lenny was out of bounds and challenges him and his friends to a rematch to which Lenny declines.

Later on at a 4th of July barbecue, the families run into Dickie and his friends again, who try to challenge the group to a rematch only this time Lenny and his friends agree. The game goes back and forth for a long time but, due to the players being old and out of shape, everybody quits except for Lenny and Dickie who bring out their sons to continue playing with them. As the game winds down, Lenny has a chance to make a game winning shot, exactly the same as he did 30 years ago. However, Lenny intentionally misses the shot, giving Dickie a sense of victory.

At the fireworks later that night, Lenny and his friends watch fireworks with their families, having an increased appreciation and love for one another. The weekend accomplished what it was intended for by bringing all the families closer together and helping them realize what was truly important in their lives.

---

Adam Sandler has been one of my favorite comedians for a long time now. He has a history of making some insanely funny, albeit over the top films and was one of the funniest cast members on Saturday Night Live. That being said, Sandler has taken a different turn in his comedic ways, shifting focus from all out comedy explosions like Happy Gilmore and The Waterboy to more subdued comedies that always find a way to add in some life lesson like Click or Funny People.

For me, this new style of comedy doesn't really work well for Sandler. While these movies are all, for the most part, pretty good films, they lack the classic Sandler humor that made him great in the first place. The same goes for the other actors in the film like Chris Rock, who hasn't done a film in many years, David Spade, Kevin James and Rob Schneider. All of these actors seem to be reverting to a more mild mannered form of comedy. This could be due to the fact that all the actors have been making movies for quite some time, with the exclusion of James. They seem to be slipping into what I like to call the "Eddie Murphy Complex". Now that most of them are married and have kids, they are trying to make movies that they are comfortable with their kids watching, just like the last 20 Eddie Murphy movies.

That all being said, this wasn't a terrible movie and it did bring out some genuine laughs. The comedy in this film wasn't as subdued as in some films but it was definitely more family friendly. The film wasn't as funny as I had hoped it would be but nevertheless it still made me laugh and when you bring in 5 actors that are known for comedy its going to happen. I thought all the actors in this film did a great job. The main 5, Sandler, James, Rock, Spade and Schneider were all pretty standard and delivered up to par performances. Salma Hayek, Maria Bello, Maya Rudolph, and Joyce Van Patten, who played Sandler's wife Roxanne, James' wife Sally, Rock's wife Deanne and Schneider's much older wife Gloria, respectively, all did a nice job too. They were all such different characters that it made for a nice hodgepodge of personalities to blend together.

It seems that Sandler always puts the same 7 people in all of his films and this one is no different. Supporting character like Steve Buscemi, Tim Meadows and Colin Quinn are all familiar faces we have come to see in Sandler films and I find it kind of nice to have them there. It's kind of like a "Where's Waldo" game when you watch the film, trying to find the Sandler regulars.

Overall this wasn't a bad film, but it wasn't a great one either. Sandler has been lacking of late with his films on the comedy front. I think he needs to revert back to his old school ways. However, I do like a serious Sandler every now and then and those of you who saw Reign Over Me know what I'm talking about.

Standard acting, above average laughs and a decent life message make this one of Sandler's decent family films. Definitely not his best and definitely not his worst, Grown Ups succeeds as an average film.

I give Grown Ups 6.75 games of arrow roulette out of 10.

A Serious Man

Release Date: October 2nd, 2009

Click here for A Serious Man Trailer.

Larry Gopnik(Michael Stuhlbarg) is an ordinary, Jewish physics professor living with his family in Minneapolis-Saint Louis Park in Minnesota. As far as Larry is concerned, everything in his life is going fine. Larry is happy with how things are going until one day it all starts to go down hill. Larry's wife Judith(Sari Lennick) wants to divorce Larry so she can be with recent widower and family friend Sy Ableman(Fred Melamed), his son, Danny(Aaron Wolff), is a habitual marijuana user, his daughter Sarah(Jessica McManus) is stealing money out of his wallet to pay for a nose job, his unemployed brother Arthur(Richard King) won't get off of the couch and a disgruntled Korean student, Clive(David Dang), is attempting to bribe Larry with for a passing grade.

As time passes, Larry's life gets more and more crazy. Danny's bar mitzvah is coming up, Clive's father is threatening to sue Larry for bribery if he takes the money or with defamation of character if he doesn't, Sy and Judith make Larry and Arthur move into a nearby motel and Larry's attractive neighbor Vivienne Samsky(Amy Landecker) is tormenting Larry by sunbathing nude. As his life spirals out of control, Larry decides that he needs to see the three Rabbis that oversee his community. The first is Rabbi Ginzler(Simon Helberg), a very young Rabbi whose advice doesn't quite set well with Larry. The second is Larry's regular Rabbi, Rabbi Nachtner(George Wyner) who tells Larry of a story he heard of a Jewish dentist finding a message in Hebrew on the teeth of a Gentile man. However, Larry is ultimately disappointed when the story reveals to have no motive or purpose. But Larry seems to arrive at his wits end when he is denied a meeting with the Rabbi Marshak, an elderly rabbi who has restricted his meetings to congratulating boys completing their bar mitsvahs.

As Larry's life gets worse, he tries to balance keeping his family together, keeping his brother out of jail, hosting his son's bar mitzvah and getting a tenure at his university. Larry tries everything he can to become what he thinks will solve all of his problems, a serious man.

Coming from the hilarious minds of the Coen brothers, A Serious Man is a story that explores questions about faith, family responsibilities, delinquent behavior, academia, mortality and Judaism and everything in between. A Serious Man is showcased as a comedy though the comedic aspects of the film are ones that may only attract a certain audience but for those of you who will like this movie, you will love it.

Academy Award-winning writer/directors Joel and Ethan Coen do not deliver the type of laughs you would expect to see in a film dubbed a comedy. The brothers deliver a rich, dark humor that has the potential to punch straight through to the core of many people. The film blends the profound dark humor with deeply personal themes creating a more mature film than typically seen from the duo that brought you such great movies as The Big Lebowski, Raising Arizona and Fargo. The great thing about this film is that it manages to be funny without resorting to crude humor or bathroom jokes. It connects with a sense of reality that many people can relate to and it also provides genuine laughs.

What makes A Serious Man stand out from other movies is that it manages to capture what it was like to be an average, working class person with real issues. Trouble with the family and trouble at work are something practically every single person in the world can relate too and those themes in this film are what makes it personal and fantastic. The humor, being as dark as it is, is also (in my opinion) very dry. Anybody can get up and say a lot of shocking and offensive things to get a laugh out of people but this film gets its laughs by making people think and empathize with the main character. This film makes allows people to enjoy it on an intellectual, moral and situational level that many movies these days fail to do, which is why this film works.

I thought that this film did an incredible job capturing life in a Jewish, suburban setting in 1967. The visual aspect of the film was great. The use of colors really brought out the overall feel of the film. It had a sort of gray and gloomy feel. All the clothes of the characters were bland and ordinary and all the environments seemed to complement the overall feel of helplessness and distress quite well. The Coen brothers have always done a fantastic job at complementing the theme of their films with the background colors and appearance of the characters which I think adds so much more to a film.

In his first major lead role, I thought actor Michael Stuhlbarg was fantastic. I thought that he did a great job promoting just how out of whack things were getting for his character. Stuhlbarg was very believable and his performance made the audience empathize with him and really feel the pain and befuddlement his character was feeling. It really hits with the audience when you see a character's life falling down around them and knowing that they did not deserve any of it. Stuhlbarg and the Coen brothers really made characters that the audience can relate to.

Aside from the strange and confusing prologue to the film and the ending that will require you to think and ponder on the what is assumed to happen, A Serious Man is definitely a film to pick up. The dark, dry humor is something entertaining and hard to come by in comedy films of today and the rich, profound personal themes tug at your hearts and captivate you as an audience. People who see this film will either love it or hate it and for those of you who love it you will truly enjoy what the Coen brothers have delivered.

I give A Serious Man 8 Goys out of 10.

The Crazies

Release Date: February 24th, 2010

Click here for The Crazies Trailer.

In the small farming town of Ogden Marsh, Kansas, things remain fairly quiet for the most part. That is until one day when Rory, the former town drunk, strolls out onto the high school baseball field in the middle of a game armed with a shotgun. David Dutton(Timothy Olyphant), the town's Sheriff, evacuates the field and goes out to reason with him but when Rory raises his gun, David has no choice but to shoot him. When it turns out that Rory was not drunk like suspected, David can not determine why he did it.

Later on, another citizen of Ogden Marsh burns down his home with his wife and son still inside, seemingly unaware of what he had done. As the citizens of Ogden Marsh begin to act stranger by the hour, David struggles to come up with a logical explanation until a plane is found crashed in a river that connects directly to the town's water supply. Believing this to be the cause of the strange behavior, David requests that the mayor shut off the town's water until it can be figured out. But when the mayor refuses, David takes matters into his own hands.

While David is trying to convince his wife, Judy(Radha Mitchell), to leave, military forces arrive and place the entire town under containment, seperating David from Judy. David escapes and rescues Judy as well as her assistant Becca(Danielle Panabaker) from containment with the help of his Deputy Sheriff Russell Clank(Joe Anderson). The citizens of Ogden Marsh are becoming more hostile and crazy with each passing moment and David and the others must avoid both the military and infection in order to escape with their lives.

Loosely based on the classic tale of the same name by George A. Romero, The Crazies is one of the edge-of-your-seat thrillers that has scares around every corner and a fairly smart plot. Upon seeing the trailer for this movie you may be expecting something about zombies or a similar threat. However, it is something entirely different all together.

The story focuses around a crashed government plane that has somehow affected the water supply of a small farming community turning its citizens into insane shells of their former selves, attacking anything that moves. The plot made you think a little bit before that true cause was revealed and the cause itself was still a little unexpected. However, the story itself does not focus on how or why the incident happened. The main focus of the story is the attempt of four people to escape both "the crazies" and the military with their lives and make it to safety.

Most thriller movies need intense scenes to back them up and The Crazies delivered just that. While there wasn't full on big-budget action in this film, the scenes of suspense were just that, suspenseful. They really gave the audience the same sense of desperation as the characters in the film were experiencing. Around every turn there was a growing tension that makes your heart start racing. This is where the film really shines. It keeps you focused the whole time and really gets you involved.

The movie was a gore-fest but not to the point of absurdity or sickness. It struck the right balance between making you feel creeped out but not to the point where the movie was unenjoyable to watch. The amount of gore in this film also added a sense of reality to the story. The character designs and amount of gore applied to each individual made the crazies seem like a viable threat, one that could actually happen to any of us.

I thought Timothy Olyphant did a fantastic job in the lead role. He had a certain presence about him that let you know he was the lead but at the same time didn't throw out a sense of arrogance that some celebrities display. Olyphant delivered a very real character, one that many people out there may be able to relate to. But he wasn't alone. Solid performances from both Radha Mitchell and Joe Anderson helped propel the story as well as the individual characters and each of the three stars seemed to feed of the others.

Fans of George A. Romero's original can't really compare the two films. The classic depended a lot on dialogue to work the plot through but director Breck Eisner allows the tension to push you along. Eisner put in enough feasibility into the film to make you believe that this could really happen. And, as I'm sure many of you know, watching a scary movie that could actually happen is way more terrifying than watching one that is grounded in mythology, nightmares or ancient curses.

Overall I really enjoyed The Crazies. I thought the plot was good and even slightly unexpected and I also thought that the actors did a great job in making believable characters as well as one's you can relate to. The gore level was set to the perfect setting and the scares were placed in just the right places to make you scream. Definitely a movie for horror fans.

I give The Crazies 8 "Did Peter Call?" Grandmas out of 10.

Shutter Island

Release Date: February 19th, 2010

Click here for the Shutter Island Trailer.

In 1954, U.S. Marshals Teddy Daniels(Leonardo DiCaprio) and Chuck Aule(Mark Ruffalo) travel to the mysterious Shutter Island and its institution for the criminally insane to investigate the disappearance of a murderous patient committed for drowning her three children. Teddy and Chuck are tasked with finding the patient and bringing her back to the institution.

While investigating, Teddy and Chuck slowly begin to realize that the entire staff at the hospital is hiding something and nobody is willing to talk. Teddy and Chuck decide to leave the island but are forced to stay when a hurricane moves in. On the island Teddy begins to have hallucinations and the longer he stays the worse they get.

As the mystery of the institution begins to unravel, Teddy and Chuck begin to realize that if they don't figure out what is going on that they, like the patients, may never leave Shutter Island.

Loosely based on the book of the same name by Dennis Lehane, Shutter Island is a thriller set in the early 1950's that will have you guessing the whole time trying to figure out just what is actually going on. The movie is directed by acclaimed filmmaker Martin Scorsese and stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo and Ben Kingsly.

There has been a lot of hype surrounding this move recently with many people waiting with anticipation for it to come out, especially after it got delayed from an October 2nd, 2009 release date to the final February 19th, 2010 release date. But is it worth all the hype? Many critics say yes but you didn't go to them, you came to me to see if I think it is worth all the hype so lets get into my review.

The initial trailers and publicity for this movie was very intriguing, and it appeared to be a psychological thriller that would require a bit of thinking and attentiveness while watching it. Movies like this grab my attention because I enjoy not knowing what is happening and trying to figure out what is going on. This is where Shutter Island really shines, the mystery. The whole movie has you wondering who is actually sane and who is insane and makes you sit there and wonder what in the world is really going on.

The whole movie builds and builds to the moment Teddy finds out what is going on and when he finally gets there you are just as surprised at what he finds as he is. I will say that the twist at the end may be figured out by some but the ones who do figure it out will not, like me, have it 100% correct. The ending is also where the movie strays away from the book so those of you who read the book will not have the ending completely ruined for you, whether or not that is good or not is up to you.

I'm not a huge fan of Leonardo DiCaprio. I know all the women out there have some strange attraction to him but acting wise he hasn't really blown me away. I'm not saying he is terrible my any means but he isn't top on my list of amazing actors. That being said, DiCaprio did a very very good job in this film. I liked the way he carried himself in this film. His stance and his mannerisms made the character real for me. I also though his dramatic sequences were top notch, allowing the audience to empathize with his character. Overall this is one of DiCaprio's best performances in my book.

DiCaprio wasn't alone in this film however. Starring alongside Leo was the very talented Mark Ruffalo and the always fantastic Ben Kingsley. Ruffalo was very good in his role as DiCaprio's partner Chuck. Ruffalo added a sense of calm to the intense and, sometimes, chaotic performance of DiCaprio and the rest of the craziness this film displayed. He was a kind of anchor to DiCaprio, balancing out the two personas. Kingsley did a fantastic job as the Chief Psychiatrist of the institution Dr. John Cawley. Throughout the film you always wondered what Kingsley's motives were. On the one hand, he always tried to convince you that he was a good person and out to help the patients, yet on the other hand it seemed like he hid a dark secret, one that he was willing to do anything to keep hidden. This added another sense of mystery to the film and an aspect that kept you tentative and guessing.

Overall, Shutter Island was a great film. The atmosphere and the setting gave you chills and it made you afraid to see what was around each corner. Scorsese did a fantastic job of making a truly terrifying mental institution and a setting that made the movie stand out. The plot was enticing and kept the audiences attention and even though it strayed from the book, it will still leave you shocked.

I give Shutter Island 8 Delusional Psychopaths out of 10

The Wolfman

Release Date: February 12th, 2010

Click here for The Wolfman Trailer.

Lawrence Talbot(Benicio del Toro) has not been back to his home in Blackmoor, England for many years, but when he receives word from his sister-in-law Gwen(Emily Blunt) that his brother Ben has gone missing, Lawrence decides to return to his family's estate and figure out what happened. As soon as Lawrence arrives in his home his father, Sir John Talbot(Anthony Hopkins), informs Lawrence that his brother's body was found in a ditch just before he arrived.

Lawrence inspects his brother's corpse and discovers a medallion that came from a nearby Gypsy camp. Lawrence meets with Maleva(Geraldine Chaplin), who gave the medallion to Lawrence's brother. Maleva informs Lawrence that his brother was killed by a werewolf. As the too converse, the werewolf attacks the camp and eviscerates most of the people there. Lawrence witnesses the wolf giving chase to a young boy and as he tries to save him, Lawrence is bitten on the neck by the beast. After the incident, Inspector Francis Aberline(Hugo Weaving) arrives in Blackmoor to investigate the horrible killings.

Not trusting one another, both Lawrence and Aberline try to discover exactly what is killing the people around Blackmoor and it is up to them to stop the beast if anyone is to be safe again.

It has been almost 70 years since the original story of The Wolfman was told and director Joe Johnston aims to rejuvenate the iconic character for the modern age.

Taking one of the most iconic characters in all of horror and doing a remake is a tricky business for many directors. You want to make the original in your own right but at the same time you do not want to tarnish what made the original move great. As with all remakes or re-imaginings, there are going to be things that stick out from the original and things that let you know the movie is unique.

So lets get into my review. I was particularly interested in this movie when I first heard about it. I have always known about the Wolfman story and character and thought it was very cool that they were doing a remake. I really wanted to see this move because it was different from the typical werewolf movies we see today (Twilight, Underworld). The werewolf in The Wolfman brought a whole different aspect to how a werewolf would look, giving it a design that more closely resembled a human than a wolf. The movie did a fantastic job of recreating how the original Wolfman looked back in 1941 and this one looked great.

On that note, the special effects in the movie were very well done. The transformation from man to Wolfman looked very disturbing and realistic and you could actually feel the pain of the transformation. The special effects with the ore was also very good. If there is one thing this movie is not lacking it is gore. The Wolfman ripped apart his victims, literally. The movie was full of more slashing, gashing and dismemberment than you could shake a stick at at it was cool. The way the Wolfman killed his victims in the film really drove in the sense of feral bloodlust. The Wolfman didn't kill to feed or to turn others into werewolves, he killed to kill and was not shy about it. The brutality of the creature in this film was definitely a plus. For me it really brought out the character of the Wolfman and the monster that he really is.

As for the acting it had its highs and lows. Anthony Hopkins was very good as Sir John Talbot. He brought an estranged creepiness to his character that reminded me a bit of his Silence of the Lambs performance. Throughout the whole movie I just got this uneasy feeling whenever Hopkins came on screen and it made him a joy to watch. Hugo Weaving added his professional swagger to the film as the proud Scotland Yard Inspector. I greatly enjoy Weaving's performances (Lord of the Rings, The Matrix). He has this presence about him that is just solid. With most of his performances you get the impression that he is the real deal and he does what he wants. Weaving all around just gave a solid performance.

But not all performances were top notch. I wasn't too impressed with Benicio del Toro's performance, which wouldn't be so bad if her wasn't the lead. I'm not going to say that del Toro's performance was terrible, but it wasn't fantastic either. Some of the delivery of his lines seemed off character wise and I just wasn't blown away by the acting. But it wasn't just the acting that bothered me. If you can't tell by his name, Benicio del Toro is Puerto Rican. That's great but the only problem is that his character is English and his father is white. The other thing is that del Toro's character did not have an English accent while everybody else in the movie did. This just makes things awkward. I will say that the director did try to justify this by showing a flashback of Lawrence's mother who appeared to be dark skinned and by saying that he lived with his aunt in America for a majority of his life but this just seemed like a quick add in to make things make sense. But if you can get past that (and trust me, its easy to do) the story is otherwise very good.

I had heard complaints from some people that the story had no substance and didn't make sense but I strongly disagree. I found the plot to be fulfilling with a good substance and even a little bit of a twist at the end that made things exciting and, possibly, left room for a sequel, I'll let you be the judge of that though. Overall I was happy with The Wolfman. I thought the action was good, the story was solid and the acting, for the most part, was up to par. There were scenes that added depth and scenes that make you jump out of your seat. If you like horror movies or are a fan of the old school Wolfman then you will probably be happy with Johnston's remake. The Wolfman brings back the old school werewolf look and style and delivers a movie that we don't typically see anymore.

I give The Wolfman 8 Feral Wolf Children out of 10.

A Perfect Getaway

Release Date: August 7th, 2009

Click Here for the A Perfect Getaway Trailer.

Cliff Anderson(Steve Zahn) and his newlywed wife Cydney(Milla Jovovich) are enjoying their honeymoon by backpacking across one of Hawaii's islands to a beautiful remote beach said to be heaven on earth. While hiking the two come across a group of girls on vacation who were talking about two other newlyweds that were murdered on the island. Unsure about whether or not to continue, the two decide that they will continue their trip because the murders were on a different island.

While on the trail, Cliff and Cydney come across Nick(Timothy Olyphant), a supposed former Special Forces Operative and Iraq War Veteran, and his girlfriend Gina(Kiele Sanchez). The four decide to team up and hike together considering they are headed for the same place but as the trip goes on the threat of the escaped killers grows heavier. Before long Cliff and Cydney become paranoid and start to think that anybody could be the killers, even Nick and Gina.

While the group is relaxing at a waterfall, Cliff finds a backpack belonging to a girl named Cleo(Marley Shelton). Cleo and her newlywed husband Kale(Chris Hemsworth) were hitchhiking along the road and were almost picked up by Cliff and Cydney who decided not to give them a ride after they felt threatened by Kale. Between Kale and Cleo and Nick and Gina, Cliff and Cydney's paranoia becomes almost too much to bear as the next murder could happen at any moment.

When I first heard about this movie I thought it looked pretty interesting. I appeared to be a somewhat thrilling movie and the proposal of an interesting twist made it sound worth watching. I enjoy movies that have exciting plots and interesting twists. This movie was good for what it was worth but isn't going to be one of those movies "you have to see".

The plot of newlyweds on their honeymoon in the same place where somebody just killed two newlyweds is an interesting and potentially exciting concept. It makes you wonder whether or not the killers are specifically targeting newlyweds or just kill for the fin of it. I sometimes find thrillers like this to be somewhat dull or unimaginative and even lacking substance. However, this movie fared better than most movies of its kind. The story and writing was entertaining and it didn't feel cheesy or like the director was trying to get cheap laughs from you. I found the movie to keep me interested and entertained the whole time and I was even excited to see how it ended.

With movies that boast exciting plot twists or surprise endings, I get a little excited. I really love things that keep me guessing or surprise me though a lot of the time I find myself figuring out the twist before the end of the movie and while it doesn't ruin it, it does put a little bit of a damper on things. That is kind of what happened with this movie. I was able to figure out the main twist in the film fairly early on but I was still interested to see how it played out in the rest of the film. But one thing that did get me was the very end of the film. I was not expecting how the climax was going to play out and I can honestly say I did not see it coming.

Acting is always an important part of a movie. I am a big fan of Steve Zahn and have enjoyed many of the movies I have seen him in. I thought he did a great job in this film portraying the mild-mannered screenwriter character of "Cliff". He brought his notable humor into the role but also added some intense drama and other acting styles which we do not typically get to see out of him. Overall I was pleased with Zahn's performance. Timothy Olyphant was also really good. I loved how he played the slightly crazy war veteran. He really made you believe that his time in the service made him the way he was. Milla Jovovich, who we have seen in big action movies like Resident Evil, was able to step away from her fighting style that we are used to to become the timid and love-crazy newlywed Cydney. I thought all the actors in this film performed well and gave believable performances.

Because this movie was a psychological thriller, it had some action in it. Nearly all of the action took place in the climax at the end of the film when you finally figure out who the killers are. These scenes left me on the edge of my seat as I had no idea how it would play out and some parts even left my shocked saying to myself "whoa, didn't expect that". But the main part of the story that was good was the build up. Throughout the whole movie you sit there and wonder what's going to happen next and who the real killers are and if anybody will make it out alive.

Overall A Perfect Getaway was a good movie. It wasn't great, spectacular or amazing but it was still worth seeing. In my recommendation this one is a good one to go and rent from your local video store on a rainy or lay day when you just want to relax or a good one to watch with a group of friends.

I give A Perfect Getaway 7 Newlywed Murders out of 10

The Book of Eli

Release Date: January 15th, 2010

Click here for The Book of Eli Trailer.

Thirty years after a nuclear attack turned the world into an apocalyptic wasteland, a wanderer named Eli(Denzel Washington) travels across the scorched grounds of what was once America with nothing more than the pack on his back and a very special book in his hands. Driven by a desire and hope for the future, as well as a belief in something greater than himself, Eli has carried and protected his hope until he can finally reach the east coast where he believes his dream of a future can be turned into a reality.

For thirty years Eli has believed in this hope and for thirty years nobody has tried to stop him until he wanders into a makeshift town of thieves, beggars and gunmen under the leadership of Carnegie(Gary Oldman), the only literate man in the entire area. Eli enters Carnegie's bar in search of water and is attacked by some of Carnegie's men. But the drunken outlaws are no match for Eli, who has become a warrior by necessity instead of choice.

Carnegie, being a literate man, forces his henchmen to go out into the wastelands and look for any books they can find with a specific book in mind. After Eli deals with the outlaws, Carnegie realizes that Eli is also a literate man and forces him to stay at the bar for the night. But Eli soon realizes that Carnegie wants his book as it is the one he has been looking for since the final war. But Eli is determined to complete what he believes he must do and will let nothing, not even Carnegie and his outlaws, stop him from completing his journey.

We've seen post-apocalyptic films in the past, many of which have the same generic plot. Directed by the Hughes brothers, this film, however, delivers a completely new spin on how things would be in a world obliterated by war. In many cases, you have a single character just trying to survive in the apocalyptic world or maybe even becoming brave enough to create law (i.e. Mad Max) or save some poor imprisoned people. The Book of Eli, though, sets the audience on a path of righteousness and hope amidst impossible odds.

The story is what got me on this one because, for the most part, it was pretty mysterious. You always had a vague idea of what Eli was doing and what his mission was but it seemed like you could never quite grasp the full spectrum of it which keeps you hooked for the entire film. For a movie with this kind of setting to be good, there has to be a good plot, one that keeps you guessing and interested until you see the credits role and that is exactly what The Book of Eli does.

In addition to a good story, the mechanics of your movie also have to be entertaining. For example if its a comedy, the jokes have to be funny, if its a drama the emotions have to be real. This movie has a more action based focus. Throughout the whole movie Eli carries with him a handgun, a modified shotgun, a bow with some arrows and a razor sharp machete/sword thing and he isn't afraid to use them. In this film, we see Denzel Washington engage in fighting unlike he as in any other movie, and it works. In all the fight scenes Washington is outnumbered at least 5 to 1 but is able to quickly dispatch every foe without taking a scratch. On screen the fight scenes looked really cool. My only gripe would be that at times the camera moved to fast and in one scene you really only see the silhouettes of the people instead of the people themselves. But it is a very small complaint and one that is more personal preference.

I am a big fan of Denzel Washington and a huge fan of Gary Oldman so needless to say I was excited to see both of them in this film. Oldman gave a great performance as the desperate yet intelligent head of the makeshift town. He had this cunning style about him and this intellectual prowess that, even though he was physically small and nonthreatening, made him extremely powerful and feared. His performance was truly creepy at times but was overall very very well done, as are most of them. Washington brought a different character to the screen then we have typically seen from him. The wanderer character that Washington portrayed was a fresh take for me and it seemed that it was one that Washington truly enjoyed playing. His performance was passionate and it seemed that he put 110% into creating the character. I was very impressed and moved by Washington's performance and definitely think it was one of his best. Mila Kunis did a good job as Solara, the stepdaughter of Carnegie as did Jennifer Beals who played the blind mother of Solara and wife of Carnegie.

Visually the movie looked great. The settings and the look of the war-ravaged streets and buildings was really something to look at. One scene that stands out in particular was in the very beginning of the film. A hairless, skin-and-bones cat walks around a dark, wooded area filled with dead bodies. Ash from the nuclear blast is still falling from the sky and everything looks dark and dead. It was visuals like this that made the film really nice to look at and it really gave you a sense of what life in a post-apocalyptic world would be like.

But probably the best thing about this movie was the twist at the end. In some movies, they try to throw in a twist and if you pay close enough attention you can generally figure it out pretty easily. But in this film it really smacks you in the face and makes you go "whoa, I did not see that coming". And what really makes it even better is that after seeing the twist, you will think back to certain points in the movie and realize whats going on which will shock you even more. Truly, this was one of the best surprises in a movie I had ever seen. It truly did leave me speechless.

Overall this movie was amazing. It had a fantastic plot, great action, incredible acting and a twist that leaves you stunned. Add that to an interesting and long-over-due take on an apocalyptic scenario and you have a recipe for success. 2010 is already starting off to be a good year for film goers.

I give The Book of Eli 9 Incredible plot twists that will leave you speechless out of 10

Sherlock Holmes

Release Date: December 25th, 2009

Click here for the Sherlock Holmes Trailer.

In the damp, dark streets of 1891 London, Sherlock Holmes(Robert Downey Jr.) along with his friend and partner Dr. John Watson(Jude Law) are in a race against time to stop Lord Henry Blackwood(Mark Strong)from performing a ritualistic human sacrifice. Holmes and Watson arrive just in time and arrest Blackwood. Three months later, on the day of his execution, Blackwood requests a meeting with Holmes at which point he tells him that three more people will die and that their deaths will change the very nature of their world. After this meeting Blackwood is hanged and pronounced dead by Watson himself.

After the execution Holmes is approached by Irene Adler(Rachel McAdams), the only person to ever outwit him. Irene offers him a job from her employer to find a missing person. In the meantime, Blackwood has been said to be risen from the dead and seen walking away from his own tomb. As Holmes investigates deeper into Blackwood's mysterious resurrection, he is led to the Temple of the Four Orders, an occult-dabbling secret society to which Blackwood previously belonged. The order wishes for Holmes to find and stop Blackwood as they believe he will attack them. Holmes deducts that Blackwood is attempting to cast a spell based off of the mythological sphinx, requiring Blackwood to kill for 4 different animal constituents. Holmes realizes that the fourth and final murder is the English Parliament. Holmes, Watson and Irene then race across London in an effort to find Blackwood and stop him before he can complete his takeover of all of Parliament.

It has been quite sometime since audiences have enjoyed a full featured Sherlock Holmes film and director Guy Ritchie aims to brings us a new and reinvigorated Holmes and Watson. Ritchie's direction of Holmes is one that we have not seen in the typical movies and shows based on the great detective. Robert Downey Jr. gives us a more bohemian Holmes. What I found particularly intriguing was how Downey and Ritchie's Holmes was a more physical character in the sense that he really knew how to take a man down. Reading other reviews I have seen a lot of negative feelings towards the brawling nature of the new Holmes with people saying it isn't how the character is supposed to act. Downey's Holmes does some serious fighting in this film but it is different from your typical "beat-em-up" fight scenes. Holmes, as we all know, is a master of detail, science and precision and all of those characteristics show in his fighting style. As Holmes analyzes his crime scenes and other situations for exactly the right way to do something, he does the same for his fights. Before a few major fights in the film, Holmes is shown, in slow motion, beating up his attacker while simultaneously describing what he is doing and what effect it will have on his opponent. Its kind of like you are in Holmes' head. Then the scene rewinds and you see Holmes' analysis in action. Many people who are great fans of the original written Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle say that Downey's fighting Holmes seems more closely true to the original character portrayed in the books.

But Holmes isn't the only one who can deliver a punch. Jude Law's John Watson character also had his own array of impressive fighting moves. Law's Watson was not the bumbling character typically seen in many adaptations of the classic character. The film made a point of reminding you of Watson's history as a soldier, doctor, womanizer and gambler which added depth to the character. Law had said in an interview that there was unexplored material in this film and that he was intrigued by the films exploration of Holmes and Watson's friendship. I think Downey and Law had an excellent chemistry between the two of them. Law's Watson was essentially the voice of reason in Holmes' life and his main companion in everything he did. I liked how Ritchie explored the relationship between the two characters. He showed how Holmes would have been effected if Watson were to discontinue working with him and how much Watson was apart of Holmes and vice versa.

The overall theme of the film was entertaining and the story was intriguing, like most Holmes stories are. I found the clash between Holmes' science and Mark Strong's character of Lord Blackwood's "magic" to be an interesting conflict. It made for an interesting twist in the film as well as a nice challenge for the great detective. Now anybody who has read a Sherlock Holmes novel or seen a visual adaptation knows that Holmes greatest weapon and asset is his attention to detail and his ability to perceive even the most minute detail of his surroundings. An interesting thing Guy Ritchie did with this is that he showed how Holmes' greatest asset was also his greatest curse. In a scene between Holmes', Watson and Watson's fiance Mary Morstan(Kelly Reilly), Holmes sits in a restaurant awaiting the arrival of the other two. While waiting, we see that Holmes is analyzing every single thing that is going on around him and we also see the strain it is putting on him. Only when Watson and his fiance arrive is Holmes snapped out of his near trance. I found this aspect to be very interesting and I loved how it showed a different side of the iconic character.

Overall I was impressed with Sherlock Holmes. I thought that this new envisioning of one of the most iconic characters in all of literature brought a much needed new life that has the potential to not only keep traditional fans interested but also grabbing the attention of new fans like myself. This film has a little bit of everything in it from smarts to action to humor to magic. Everybody can find something to like in this film. Why not start the new year off with a new movie?

I give Sherlock Holmes 8 Double-billed hats out of 10 (Note: Surprisingly, no iconic double-billed hats were used in this film)

The Blind Side

Release Date: November 20th, 2009

Click here for The Blind Side Trailer.

Michael Oher(Quinton Aaron) is a homeless 18-year-old from a broken home, struggling to find a place to sleep every night. While living with his friend, Michael is taken to the private school Wingate Christian where he receives a scholarship so he can play sports. Michael is severely unprepared for the high class learning at Wingate and struggles to fit in and pass classes. All the teachers believe Michael to just be a big dumb kid except for his Biology teacher Mrs. Boswell(Kim Dickens). Mrs. Boswell decides to give Michael a verbal exam and realizes that his problem is that he has a very low reading level but that he pays attention in class and absorbs the information he is given.

While leaving a volleyball game for their daughter Collins(Lily Collins), Leigh Anne Tuohy(Sandra Bullock) and her husband Sean Tuohy(Tim McGraw) see Michael walking along the street towards the gym. They stop to ask him if he has a place to stay and when he says no, the Tuohy's invite him to stay in their house. When the Tuohy's awake in the morning, Leigh Anne finds Michael walking down the driveway. Leigh Anne tells Michael that he can stay with the Tuohy's as long as possible. Leigh Anne decides to take Michael to where he thought his mom lived so they could pick up some of his clothes. When they arrive at an apartment on the opposite side of town, Michael sees that his mom was evicted and that he doesn't know where she is now.

Leigh Anne decides to take Michael to a big and tall store to get him some new clothes where Michael picks out an assortment of striped rugby shirts. At the Tuohy's home, Michael begins to form a close friendship with the Tuohy's son S.J.(Jae Head). As Michael begins to live with the Tuohy's, they encourage Michael to go out for football, but before he can do that he has to get his grades up. With the Tuohy's help, Michael is able to get his grades up enough to play football. When try outs begin, Michael does poorly because he had never played before. Leigh Anne is called into school one day after Mr. Tuohy signed off as Michale's medical contact. While at the school, Leigh Anne learns that Michael tested low on his skills test in all categories except protective instincts, in which he got a 98%.

Learning this, Leigh Anne decides to go to football practice to see how Michael is doing. While there she sees Michael struggling and his coach, Coach Cotton(Ray McKinnon), not being supportive. Leigh Anne decides to interrupt practice and fix Michael's problem. she tells him to protect the quarterback like he protected her when they went to the other side of town to find his mother and to protect the running back like he protects S.J. Understanding this concept, Michael does a complete turn around and begins playing like he had been for doing it for years. Coach tells Michael that he is going to have to work hard so he begins training with S.J. non-stop to get into it.

At the first game, Michael starts to play like he did at the beginning of the season because the team runs pass plays and he gets confused. In the stands the Tuohy's watch as Michael gets beat by the opposing teams star linebacker whose father is in the stands making crude comments towards Michael. Michael finally realizes what he has to do and orders the play to run to his side. When it does, Michael hits the linebacker and drives him all the way down field and pushes him over the end field fence as Leigh Anne Tuohy comments that Michael is her son. The rest of the game, Michael dominates and the team goes on to win. S.J., who was filming the game, posts a video of Michael driving the other player down field on the internet and it reaches the offices of some of the best NCAA football programs in the country.

Before long, coaches and scouts from the country's top football programs are coming to Wingate Christian to watch Michael practice. But before Michael can even look at going to play in college, he has to pick up his grades, something he has struggled with all year. To help with his grades, The Tuohy's hire Miss Sue(Kathy Bates), a tutor, who helps Michael study and improve his grades. While trying to become eligible for college football, all of Michael's teachers agree to give him oral exams except for his English professor who tells Leigh Anne that the only way he will pass is by doing well on the written paper due at the end of the year. Michael struggles on what to write about, but with help from Mr. Tuohy Michael was able to find a topic and pass his class.

When Michael is trying to decide on a college to attend he picks Ole Miss, which happened to be the alma mater of both Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy and even Miss Sue. After making his decision, Michael is brought under investigation by the NCAA, who think that the Tuohy's only brought Michael into their family and helped him in school and football so they could convince him to go to Ole Miss. Michael convinces the NCAA that the reason he wanted to go to Ole Miss is because that is where his family, the Tuohy's, went and that he wanted to be more like the family. Michael went on to play four years at Ole Miss and became the number one draft pick for the Baltimore Ravens in the 2009 NFL draft.

Based on the true story of Michael Oher, The Blind Side delivers a powerfully dramatic story and shows that it is one of the best films of the year. True stories always seem to do well in theaters. While people love to watch huge blockbusters, tons of action, major laughs etc... that is typically involved with our movies nowadays, it seems what they like even more are stories about real life. Such is the case with The Blind Side.

The movie is based primarily on the book The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game by Michael Lewis which documents Oher's rough upbringing all the way through his football career. The movie is being haled as one of the best ones of the year and I can see why. Newcomer Quinton Aaron gave a powerful performance and Sandra Bullock gave one of her best performances of her career.

This film is one of those that finds a nice balance between genres. While primarily a drama about hard times and different walks of life, the film does incorporate other genres, like comedy, into the film. I like that it didn't focus solely on drama. I think it ruins movies if you have a dram overload, like the recent movie Precious. Precious was all drama while The Blind Side was dramatic, funny, heart warming, enjoyable and just all around good. Sandra Bullock was spectacular as Leigh Anne Tuohy. It seemed that Bullock got back to her roots of acting and gave her all for this film, and it payed off. Bullock seemed to really be comfortable in the role and really made the character her own. Quinton Aaron also did an excellent job as the young Michale Oher. The 6'10" actor seemed really comfortable on screen and appeared that he could handle a role like this. I would bet we will see more of Aaron in the future as he continues his career.

As for the story, its hard to critique being as it is a true story and didn't come from somebody's imagination. What I can critique is how it was portrayed and directed however. Coming from director John Lee Hancock who did such films as The Rookie(2002) and The Alamo(2004), this movie was shot really well. The direction of the film was good and it did a good job of showing contrast between the suburban well off lifestyle of the Tuohy family and the run down, hard way of life seen in the ghettos of the film.

Overall I was very pleased with this film. It wasn't on my "must see" list and, to be honest, the only reason I saw it was because I was invited to go by a group of friends. But I can honestly say that I am very happy I went to see it because it truly was a heart warming experience. I have yet to shed a tear over entertainment. Be it on tv or in dramatic movies, nothing really makes me choke up and cry. While a movie may be touching, sad, dramatic, heart warming etc... nothing ever works on me like that. But The Blindside almost, key word being almost, made me shed a tear, which says something about how this movie is. I will say that this movie really is one of the best movies of the year and definitely one you will not want to miss.

I give The Blind Side 9 Blind Sides out of 10

2012

Release Date: November 13th, 2009

Click here for the 2012 Trailer.

In the year 2009, Adrian Helmsley(Chiwetel Ejiofor), an American geologist, and his friend Dr. Satnam Tsurutani(Jimi Mistry) meet in India where Satnam has discovered that neutrinos from a massive solar flare are "cooking" the Earth's core causing the temperature in the core to rise at a rapid pace. Helmsley immediately goes to Washington to inform Chief of staff Carl Anheuser(Oliver Platt) and US President Thomas Wilson(Danny Glover) that these solar flares will begin a catastrophic chain of natural disasters. In 2010 at the G8 summit, President Wilson informs other world leaders about the foretold events and the leaders begin work on constructing giant arks in the Himalayas to ensure the survival of 400,000 pre-chosen people.

Jackson Curtis(John Cusack) is a struggling writer who lives in L.A. and works part time as a limo driver for Yuri Karpov(Zlatko Buric), a wealthy Russian businessman. Jackson decides to take his kids, Noah and Lily, on a camping trip to Yellowstone National Park. When they arrive at the park, they discover a government fence with a "No Trespassing" sign on it. Jackson decides to hop the fence anyways and travel to a nearby lake. When the three of them arrive, they find out that the lake is gone. As soon as they enter the empty lake, government officials lead by Helmsley arrive and apprehend Jackson and his children. Jackson inquires about the lake to Helmsley who reveals that they are trying to figure that out as well. Helmsley recognizes Jackson from a book he wrote and lets him and his children go.

While at their campsite that night, Jackson is approached by Charlie Frost(Woody Harrelson), a conspiracy theorist living as a hermit in the park and broadcasting a conspiracy theory radio show from his Winnebago. Charlie tells Jackson of the impending destruction of the planet and about a secret "space ship" project the government is running and that he has a map to their location. Back in L.A. massive cracks form along the San Andreas Fault, one of which almost kills Jackson's ex-wife Kate(Amanda Peet) and her plastic surgeon boyfriend Gordon(Thomas McCarthy). Jackson returns his children home and then rushes to pick up Yuri's two boys who tell Jackson that they are going to take a ride on a special ship and that they will live but he will die. Upon hearing this, Jackson rents a plane for him and his family and rushes back to L.A. to get them.

As soon as Jackson arrives earthquakes begin to occur and whole sections of the ground begin to cave in. Jackson races across the crumbling streets of the city and arrives at the airport, narrowly escaping death more than once. The group arrives to find the pilot dead but Kate reveals that Gordon is a pilot and the group takes off and heads to Yellowstone to retrieve Charlie's map. Jackson finds Charlie who is atop a mountain, preparing to broadcast the eruption of the Yellowstone Caldera. Jackson takes Charlie's Winnebago and drives back to the plane as the Caldera erupts. As the Winnebago falls into a crater on the runway, Gordon takes off, believing Jackson to be dead. Before the plane can leave, Jackson emerges from the crater with the map and makes it onto the plane and the group heads to Las Vegas. Jackson discovers that the ships being built are in China. While in Las Vegas, Jackson runs into Yuri, his two boys, his girlfriend Tamara(Beatrice Rosen) and his pilot Sasha(Johann Urb). Sasha finds an Russian Antonov An-225 but needs a co-pilot to fly it. Jackson volunteers a reluctant Gordon and the 10 of them board the plane and take off as Las Vegas is destroyed in a giant dust cloud.

The group heads to China in search of the ships. Also en route to China via Air Force One is Anheuser, Helmsley, and the First Daughter Laura Wilson(Thandie Newton). President Wilson elected to stay behind at the White House to give the remaining American people comfort in their last moments. While helping with the wounded outside of the White House, President Wilson is killed by a giant tsunami that hurls the USS John F. Kennedy into the White House. With the death of the president and vice president and the disappearance of the Speaker of the House, Anheuser appoints himself as acting President. Arriving over China Sasha is forced to make a crash landing that costs him his life as the others escape in on of Yuri's luxury cars. The group flags down a Chinese helicopter which transports Yuri and his boys to the ships, being as they are the only ones with passes, leaving Jackson and the others stranded. Kate is able to flag down Nima(Osric Chau), a Buddhist monk, and his grandparents who are driving to meet Nima's brother Tenzin(Chin Han). Tenzin was the lead welder on the building project and he reluctantly agrees to sneak Jackson and the others into the ark via a hydraulic chamber.

While waiting to board everybody, Helmsley receives a call from his friend Satnam, whose promised airlift failed to arrive. Satnam reveals to Helmsley that an uncharted tsunami is about to engulf India and is headed to the location of the ships, cutting the impact time down to only 28 minuets. Anheuser orders the sealing of the ships, potentially trapping hundreds of thousands of people outside. Helmsley then takes command and convinces the G8 leaders to open the doors and let the people in. Yuri, who was trying to sneak under the gate, sees that it is being lowered and is trapped until the gate begins to raise. As he hurls his two sons onto the ship, Yuri falls to his death. While in the hydraulic area, Tenzin drops a large drill which becomes wedged in the gears, not allowing the door to close completely or the engines to start. As the group tries to escape the chamber, Gordon and Tenzin fall towards the gears. Tenzin is saved with an injured leg while Gordon is pulled in and killed. As the ship begins to fill with water, emergency fail safe doors begin to close, separating Lily, Tamara and the others. Lily is found by Helmsley who tries to contact Jackson as Tamara's atch fills wth water and she drowns.

Jackson, with help from his son Noah, is able to pry the drill loose allowing the doors to close and the engines to start up. The tsunami hits the ship sending it adrift and headed straight for the summit of Mount Everest. The engines are turned on just in time to prevent the fatal collision. After the flooding stops, satellite data reveals that instead of being flooded, Africa rose with the waters and the highest point on Earth is now the Drakensberg mountains in KwaZulu Natal and the three ships set sail for the Cape of Good Hope with the date residing as December 27th, 0001.

Another disaster movie from director Roland Emmerich, 2012 is loosely based off of the Mayan prediction of the end of the world. Emmerich is known for his disaster movies which include such blockbuster titles as Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow and 2012 is right up there with those two. Emmerich didn't short himself on celebrities to tag onto his movie grabbing big name stars like John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Thandie Newton, Oliver Platt, Woody Harrelson and Danny Glover.

Seeing this movie it is no surprise why it opened number one at the box office with an estimated $65 million on its first weekend in the US and $225 million worldwide. This movie is by all definitions a disaster movie. It focuses on huge earthquakes, exploding volcanoes, massive tsunamis and floods and the destruction of an entire planet which are all ingredients in a recipe for an edge-of-your-seat experience. Despite what the other critics say, I actually enjoyed this movie. I found it to be an exciting thriller that deals with some predictions that a lot of people actually believe in. While the movie didn't follow scientific realities to a T, we have to remember that its a movie, its fiction and its main purpose is for entertainment value. And this movie definitely entertains.

Going with a movie such as 2012, you know that a lot of its success is going to fall on how well you use CGI effects. Obviously you can not really destroy the world for a move, but you can make it look that way. Some movies, even recently, have had some very poor special effects. There is nothing more disappointing than watching a movie with tons of special effects and being drawn away from the experience due to poor visuals. If a movie delivers with the visuals it allows you to fully engross yourself in it, taking you out of reality for a while. That is what 2012 did for me with its visuals. The whole time I was glued to the screen, unable to take my eyes away.

I thought all the actors did well. Cusack performed in his first leading role since he did 1408 in 2007 and came out strong. I am a big fan of Oliver Platt and thought he did an excellent job in his role as well. Chiwetel Ejiofor had a moving performance and Danny Glover was also pretty powerful in his role also. Some of the supporting characters did better than others though. Zlatko Buric and Thomas McCarthy, I thought, did fantastic jobs in their supporting roles of Yuri and Gordon respectively. The small cameo by Woody Harrelson was entertaining. Harrelson is usually a funny actor and his small measure of comic relief was a nice touch in the otherwise intense movie.

Overall, I have an opposite opinion then most critics. I think 2012 was a great movie all around. The visuals were stunning, the action was intense and the story was unnerving enough to keep you hooked. Add that to the great cast and their performances and you have an all around good film. If you are a fan of Emmerich's The Day After Tomorrow then you will definitely find something to like in this film.

I give 2012 9 Giant Arks out of 10

Pirate Radio

Release Date: November 13th, 2009

Click here for the Pirate Radio Trailer.

Carl(Tom Sturridge) is a hopeful youth who arrives on the pirate radio ship Radio Rock after his mother sends him there to stay with his godfather and owner of the rock station Quentin(Bill Nighy). Carl has been sent to the ship after being expelled from school in the hopes that the change of life will put him on a straighter path in life. However, Carl quickly realizes, with the help of the Radio Rock crew that the boat is probably the worst place for him to get set right.

On the boat, Carl meets the ramshackle crew of Radio Rock led by The Count(Phillip Seymour Hoffman), a boisterous DJ from America who lives and breathes rock and roll. Along with The Count is all around suave Dr. Dave(Kevin Frost) and the lovable but naive Breakfast DJ Simon(Chris O'Dowd). There is also crazy Angus "The Knut" Knutsford(Rhys Darby), mysterious ladies man Midnight Mark(Tom Wisdom) and the reclusive and drug induced late-night DJ Smooth Bob(Ralph Brown). On board with the DJs is the ships only female resident, the shy and lesbian cook Felicity(Katherine Parkinson) and radio assistants news reader John(Will Adamsdale), Harold(Ike Hamilton) and "Thick Kevin"(Tom Broke) who is also Carl's roommate.

As soon as Carl arrives on the ship, the quest for a straight and narrow path is thrown out the window when Dave attempts to give Carl his "first time" with a woman. However, Dave's plan fails miserably. The shenanigans continues when The Count attempts to be the first DJ ever to say the "F" word on the radio. As he is about to say it, Quentin interrupts and tells him he can't say it. As the two argue over saying it, while saying it multiple times in the argument, The Count "accidentally" leaves the microphone on allowing the listeners to not only hear it, but hear it no less than 6 times.

Word of the pirate radio ship soon reaches the ears of Minister Dormandy(Kenneth Branagh) who despises the group claiming that they are an abomination. Dormandy is immediately tasked by the Prime Minister(Stephen Moore) to disband Radio Rock. Dormandy enlists the help of civil servant Twatt(Jack Davenport) to find a way to cancel the ships radio station permanently. Twatt's first attempt to shut the station down consisted of making it illegal to buy advertising space on the station, essentially depriving the ship of funds. The plan failed and Twatt was forced to find a new method.

In the meantime, Carl's misadventures on the ship continue. His attempts at love fail again when Quentin brings his niece, Marianne(Talulah Riley) on board. As Carl is scouring the ship for a condom, Dr. Dave swoops in and beds Marianne before Carl gets back. In an attempt to bring more funds to the ship, Quentin hires famed DJ and noted "king of the airwaves" Gavin(Rhys Ifans) who comes out of retirement to help the ship. Gavin immediately causes competition between himself and The Count. However, Gavin's trouble doesn't stop there. Simon decides that he wants to marry his girlfriend Elenore(January Jones) who literally seems to good to be true. The day after their wedding, Elenore reveals to Simon that the only reason she married him was because she really loved Gavin and, since Gavin didn't believe in marriage, she had to marry Simon to be on the boat with him. Simon immediately divorces Elenore and The Count calls out Gavin to a game of chicken saying he isn't a man. The two climb up to the top of the ships mast and then both jump off into the waters below. After sustaining serious injury, the two call a truce.

As the months roll by, Carl continues to be a part of the crew, thinking he is still there to get set straight until Kevin, in an unusual moment of insightful thinking, determines that the only reason Carl is really on the boat is to find out who his real father is, considering the two have never met. Kevin and Carl immediately believe it to be Quentin. When Carl's mother Charlotte(Emma Thompson) arrives on the boat for Christmas, Carl asks her if Quentin is his father only for her to deny it. As Carl's mother prepares to leave, Carl gives her a message from Smooth Bob that said "Muddy Water rocks". This message leads to Carl discovering that Smooth Bob is his real father.

Still unable to shut the ship down, Twatt stumbles upon a newspaper article stating that a fishing boats distress signal was unable to be picked up due to the powerful radio waves from the Radio Rock ship. Twatt sees this as an opportunity ban pirate radio for good and he proposes the creation of the Marine Offenses Act which passes through Parliament unopposed. However, Radio Rock refuses to shut down and continues broadcasting. Infuriated, Dormandy and Twatt send out a fleet of boats into the North Sea to board and arrest every member of the ship but when they arrive at the location of the boat, all they find is a fishing vessel. The pirate radio ship has fired up its old engines and set sail however the strain of moving was too much for the engines to take and they backfire creating a hole in the boat and the boat begins to sink.

The DJs and crew make their way to the upper deck as The Count agrees to continue broadcasting until physically unable to do so. He reveals their position in the hopes that somebody will come to help them, even Twatt and his police. However, Dormandy refuses to allow Twatt to send any boats out and orders them to let the boat sink. But, despite Dormandy's refusal to help, hundreds of boats captained by dire fans of the station arrive in time to save the DJs and crew before the boat sinks, with The Count emerging from the depths at the last second.

If you are a fan of British comedy or a fan of early British rock and roll, then Pirate Radio is your kind of movie. Being a fan of the aforementioned, I thought this movie looked pretty good when I saw the first trailers for it. First off, the film had an amazing cast with such stars as Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Rhys Ifans, Kenneth Branagh and Bill Nighy and some excellent supporting players like Rhys Darby and Nick Frost. Newcomer Tom Sturridge impressed me a great deal portraying Carl. I like Sturridge's performance. He really made a character you can connect with as an audience and he also added a sense of sanity amongst the insane crew and DJs on the boat.

The film itself, being set in the comedy genre, provided many genuine laughs with some outright laughable humor mixed with a nice blend of subtle humor as well. This movie was originally made as a British ensemble comedy film released in the United Kingdom as The Boat That Rocked so the humor in it has a different spin on it than we are used to in America. British humor varies ever so slightly from American humor and the British humor in this film may be refreshing to many audiences. All of the actors added their own spice to the film. Hoffman did an excellent job but he wasn't alone as all the actors were funny and enjoyable, even the villain performances in Branagh and Davenport were funny, especially with the pun on Davenport's character name of "Twatt".

If soundtracks and music is what gets you in movies, then you are going to love Pirate Radio. For me, the music in a film is an essential part in setting the tone and mood in a film. This film has one of the coolest soundtracks incorporating classic rock from the 60's with such amazing artists as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Who among many many others. The music puts you in this rebellious mood making you want to jump on the ship and defy those twats in Parliament yourself.

Overall I really enjoyed this film. While it isn't a stand out movie that can be tossed up there with some of the other blockbusters coming out like 2012 and New Moon, it is still one you should see. A film to see in theaters if you truly love this style and genre and definitely one to rent if you are in the mood for a good comedy. That's why I give Pirate Radio 7 renegade radio rock boats out of 10.

Disney's A Christmas Carol

Release Date: November 6th, 2009

Click here for the Disney's A Christmas Carol Trailer.

In Victorian England on Christmas Eve, curmudgeonly old Ebenezer Scrooge(Jim Carrey) stands over the body of his oldest friend and business partner Jacob Marely. Seven Christmas Eves later, old, bitter Scrooge resents Christmas and everything it stands for and even refuses to do anything pleasant, like visit his cheerful nephew Fred(Colin Firth) for Christmas dinner. Scrooge's hatred for Christmas is so fierce that he even forces his already underpaid employee Bob Cratchit(Gary Oldman) to beg for Christmas day off to spend with his family. While sulking in his mansion on Christmas Eve, Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his old partner Jacob Marely. Marely is covered in heavy chains forged by his greed in life. Marely warns Scrooge that his chains would be much longer and heavier unless he changes his ways in life. Marely informs Scrooge that he will be visited by three spirits that will guide him to a better life.

That same night, the Ghost of Christmas Past(also Jim Carrey) arrives and transports Scrooge back to a time when he was just a boy. Back at the boarding school where he spent most of his childhood, Scrooge looks upon a very young version of himself, alone at Christmas time. Unable to see the site of his own sadness, the spirit shows him another Christmas, many years in the future. Scrooge is still in boarding school, alone on Christmas until his little sister Fannie comes with a coach to bring him home for Christmas. Jumping forward again, Scrooge is in his money lending store hunched over stacks of coin while his fiance Belle(Robin Wright Penn) tries to tell him that his own greed and pursuit of wealth is driving them apart. When scrooge refuses to listen, Belle leaves him alone to his money. Scrooge becomes unable to bear the images any longer and extinguishes the spirit, ending up back in his bedroom.

The next spirit to visit Scrooge is the Ghost of Christmas Present(also Jim Carrey) who begins to show Scrooge the joy and happiness of his fellow man on Christmas. First the spirit takes Scrooge outside his nephew Fred's home. Scrooge sees Fred and his fellow guests laughing and making jokes at Scrooge's expense and then Fred making a toast to Scrooge's good health, though he doesn't deserve it. The spirit also takes Scrooge to the home of his abused employee Bob Cratchit. Scrooge witnesses Cratchit's joy and happiness despite the poor conditions in which his family lives. Scrooge also witnesses Cratchit carrying in his son, Tiny Tim, on his shoulders who is crippled. Despite his ailment, Tim is committed to the spirit of Christmas which touches Scrooge's heart. Scrooge is dismayed when the spirit tells him that Tiny Tim may not live much longer. Before the spirit leaves Scrooge, he warns him of the evils of ignorance and want, which take the form of monstrous, uncivilized children who are destined to grow into savage, despicable individuals.

As the second spirit vanished, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come(also Jim Carrey) shows Scrooge the final consequences of his greed. Scrooge becomes terrified of the Spirit and attempts to flee as the spirit chases him in a ghostly coach. The spirit captures Scrooge and takes him to the Cratchit's house, where an empty seat is in the corner with Tiny Tim's crutch leaned against it. The Cratchit family is seen mourning over the loss of Tim. The Spirit also reveals to Scrooge that he dies, though more joy has come from his death than grief. Fred and his wife benefit from the wealth left behind while Scrooge's old maid robs him. The Spirit then takes Scrooge to his own grave, where the marker reads that Scrooge died on Christmas day. Scrooge begs for a second chance to fix his wrong doings as the Spirit opens up the ground revealing Scrooge's empty coffin. The Spirit forces Scrooge down into the hole towards his coffin and as he hits he awakens in his bedroom on Christmas morning.

The three spirits have guided Scrooge over the course of a single night and have also allowed scrooge to atone for his wrong doings which he sets out to do immediately. He yells for a boy passing by his house to go to the market an buy the prize turkey which he gives to Bob Cratchit and his family. He also makes generous donations to the poor, sings with street carolers and even gives Bob Cratchit a hefty raise to support his family allowing Tiny Tim to live. On top of all this, Scrooge also attends the Christmas dinner party of his nephew Fred. Scrooge then spends the rest of his life a new man, embodying the true spirit of Christmas.

A brand new envisioning of the timeless tale from Charles Dickens, Disney's A Christmas Carol looks to bring a new life to the story that has captivated the spirit of Christmas since 1843. Shot in Disney Digital 3D, this film uses cutting edge technology to deliver a truly unique cinematic experience. The film stars Jim Carrey as multiple characters including the main character Ebenezer Scrooge. Not only did Carrey lend his voice talents to the role, but he also lent his physical performance as well. The animators of this film used special motion capture suits to allow each actor to physically portray the actions the character performs in the film. This makes the film so much more than just a typical cartoon. It allows the characters to have all the physical characteristics of the actors like movements, voice, mannerisms and facial expressions as well as all the exaggerated freedoms of an animated film.

It seems that 3D is the newest craze in animation as every single animated film that Disney has released recently has been in 3D. Disney has even go as far as recreating the classic Toy Story 1 & 2 films in 3D as well. While the 3D aspect does add an extra quality to the movie, I feel that Disney is overusing it by making every single animated film in 3D which makes 3D lose its uniqueness. But nevertheless, the movie does have some outstanding qualities about it that make it a joy to watch.

Jim Carrey adds his eccentric and all out craziness to the old miserly Scrooge which makes for a different take on everybody's favorite miser. I was really impressed with Carrey's use of accents in the film. Carrey portrayed four different characters: all three spirits as well as Scrooge and his earlier incarnations. Scrooge himself had an elderly yet bitter old English accent and each Spirit had their unique voice and accent. Carrey, known for his high energy performances, is not known for doing many accents, however he performed them extremely well in this film. I absolutely loved Carrey's representation of Scrooge. I think he embodied the spirit of who Scrooge was perfectly. The other supporting characters in the film were also fantastic. Gary Oldman, portraying the humble and lovable Bob Cratchit was fantastic. Oldman's performance made audiences truly fall in love with him and also made audiences feel for him and his family.

Visually, the movie really took it to the next level. The motion capture was done very well and all the characters looked astonishingly realistic to their actual actors and actresses. The film also had amazing colors that set the perfect mood for each situation. You felt very bitter and cold around scrooge and you also felt happy and warm around characters like Bob and Fred. There were bright flashes of colorful sparks when the ghosts would guide Scrooge that would be great to see in 3D and the 3D aspects are sure to please any 3D fan.

One surprising feature of this film was that, at times, it was surprisingly scary. Well, more startling for older audiences but enough to be scary for a younger audience member, one that will most likely be the majority seeing this film. One scene that comes to mind his when Scrooge is visited by the ghost of Marely. This scene as well as the scenes with the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, may frighten some younger viewers, thought the ones in my theater seemed to find the scenes hilarious.

Overall this film is an incredible visual experience that is sure to please members of the whole family. It holds true to the book for the majority, with some added features from director Robert Zemeckis, though they do not deter you away from enjoying this re-envisioning of one of the most beloved Christmas stories of all time. Spectacular visuals coupled with incredible performances from Jim Carrey and Gary Oldman make this movie one that will put you in the Christmas spirit and one that you don't wanna miss.

I give Disney's A Christmas Carol 7 Curmudgeonly Money Lenders out of 10

Law Abiding Citizen

Release Date: October 16th, 2009

Click here for the Law Abiding Citizen Trailer.

When two men break into his house, kill his little girl, and rape and murder his wife, Clyde Shelton(Gerard Butler) is positive that the justice system will put both men behind bars and essentially on death row. However, when the police botch the forensics on the case, suddenly the evidence isn't conclusive. Clyde pleads with his attorney Nick Ross(Jamie Foxx) who has a 96% conviction rate to make things right but instead, Rice makes a deal with one of the criminals, Clarence Darby, who actually was responsible for the rape and murder. Darby agrees to testify against his partner who receives the death penalty while Darby gets off in three years.

Ten years later Rupert Ames, Darby's partner, is facing his penalty of death by lethal injection. Before he is injected, Ames states that he did not kill anybody and that the wrong man was dying that day. As Ames is lowered down, the chemicals are systematically injected into his body. Due to changes in the chemicals, Ames dies a horrific and painful death. Police discover that on one of the chemical bottles is etched "You can't escape fate", a phrase Darby said to Clyde when he was in his home and the same thing he said to Ross during his trial. Police find out where Darby lives and move into arrest him.

Darby escapes the police thanks to a mysterious phone call from a stranger who tells Darby to find a cop car with an officer inside that the stranger has incapacitated. Darby is then told to go to an abandoned warehouse. Once there, the police officer reveals himself to be Clyde who, through a clever device in his phony police gun, injects Darby with a toxin which paralyzes his whole body yet still allows him to feel pain. Clyde then straps Darby to a table and begins to slowly dismember him while he videotapes the act. The police find Darby, who had been cut into 25 pieces, in the warehouse which they discover belongs to Clyde. The police immediately go to Clyde's house and find him in his study naked and surrounded by books on engineering and law.

Rice comes to the prison where they are holding Clyde and interrogates him after complimenting him on taking care of Darby. Rice thinks he has a confession from Clyde until Clyde points out that none of what he said was a confession at all, at least not a confession that can be proven in court. While Rice is interrogating Clyde, the DVD of Clyde murdering Darby is sent to Rice's house. Rice's daughter Denise, thinking the DVD is the one of her Cello recital, watches the horrific murder. Clyde does, however, agree to making a real confession under the condition that an expensive, special mattress be put in his cell. After being ordered to do so, Rice agrees to have the mattress put in Clyde's room. When Clyde is in court the following day, he begins to throw multiple, obscure legal precedents at the judge, the same one who oversaw Clyde's case for his family, trying to get his confession and refusal for bail thrown out. As the judge is about to set bail, Clyde goes on a rant about how the judge was about to let him go, just like she did for Darby.

When Rice meets with Clyde the next day, Clyde confesses to killing Darby, even going into the gruesome detail of what tools he used. When Rice begins to leave again, Clyde begins to confess to another murder, the murder of Bill Reynolds, the attorney for Darby in his case.Clyde informs Rice that Reynolds is alive and that he will tell them where he is in exchange for an expensive steak dinner delivered at precisely 1:00 pm along with his iPod so he can listen to music. Despite his demand, the Warden of the prison intentionally lingers, giving Clyde his dinner at 1:08 pm. Clyde gives Rice a set of longitudes and latitudes and after a 15 minuet helicopter ride Rice lands in a field with Reynolds' briefcase. Rice and Detective Dunnigan(Colm Meaney) begin to dig finding a steel case with Reynolds inside, dead. Reynolds was hooked up to oxygen tanks which expired at precisely 1:15 pm. Reynolds would have survived had the warden been on time. While everybody is gone looking for Reynolds, Clyde takes the t-bone from his steak and stabs his cell mate in the neck multiple times, killing him, and placing Clyde in solitary confinement.

Rice, along with District Attorney Cantrell(Bruce McGill), meet a CIA operative who informs the two men that Clyde is a "brain" with the CIA. Clyde creates complex tools and gadgets and figures out ways of killing high profile and untouchable targets without even being near them. The operative tells Rice and Cantrell that if Clyde wants them dead then they are already dead and the only way to stop him is to walk into his cell right now and put a bullet in his head. When Rice confronts Clyde again, he tells him that this isn't about revenge, but that it is about the failure of the justice system and Rice's personal failure at keeping his word. While still behind bars, Clyde manages to keep killing people associated with his family's trial, including the judge who Clyde killed with her own cell phone. Clyde tells Rice that if he isn't set free with all charges dropped by 6:00 am then he is going to kill everybody in the DA's office.

All of the office workers congregate at the prison, intensely awaiting for 6:00 am to come. When the time comes and goes, everybody begins to leave thinking it was all a hoax. While in the parking lot, multiple car bombs explode killing most of the DA office workers, including Rice's assistant Sarah Lowell(Leslie Bibb). Puzzled about how Clyde is still committing murders from behind bars, Rice suggests that Clyde has an accomplice. While leaving the funeral of Sarah and the other staff members, a remote army drone armed with anti-tank weaponry opens fire on the SUV carrying DA Cantrell. Shot multiple times and bleeding, Cantrell is still alive until the drone fires a rocket at the car, blowing it up and killing Cantrell.

After the funeral and the attack on DA Cantrell, Rice receives an e-mail from a friend of Sarah. The e-mail reveals the location of a piece of property Clyde owns which is right next to the prison where he is being held. Rice and Dunnigan investigate the building and find that there is a tunnel system dug under the prison to each of the solitary confinement cells, including the one Clyde is in, revealing that the murder of his cell mate was not random at all and that Clyde wanted to be in solitary. Rice discovers that Clyde didn't have an accomplice at all, but that he could leave the prison anytime he wanted to. Rice and Dunnigan discover that Clyde, dressed as a janitor, has placed a bomb under city hall and plans on blowing up the mayor and senior officers of the police force.

After planting the bomb, Clyde returns to his cell fining Rice waiting for him. Clyde offers Rice one final deal, which he refuses. Clyde congratulates him telling him that was one of the main points of his actions. Rice calmly tells Shelton that if he detonates the bomb that he will have to live with the consequences. After considering it for a while, Clyde decides to detonate the bomb at which point Rice runs out and locks Clyde's cell door while Dunnigan blocks his escape route. Shelton then realizes that the bomb is under his bed and he is engulfed in flames as he looks at a bracelet his daughter made for him the night she was killed.

Psychological thrillers can be hard to do, especially if the bad guy and his ways are not creative or unique. To make a truly good psychological thriller, you have to keep the audience guessing the entire move and that is exactly what Law Abiding Citizen did. How do you catch a murderer when he is already in jail?

Gerard Butler brings out one of his best performances since 300 playing the distraught father and husband who has been cheated by the system of justice. Butler does what any father would do if his family was destroyed and the man who did it went free, he seeks revenge. The best part about this movie was the fact that Butler was killing the people essentially responsible for letting the man who killed his daughter go free from inside his prison cell. And the way he killed them was also very entertaining. Everything from changing the chemicals in a lethal injection machine to bullets in cell phones is what truly made this psychological thriller stand out from the rest.

Butler gave a very powerful performance and I really loved how he transitioned from loving father and husband to intense and psycho-killer. I also liked the way he played his role. He was so much smarter than everybody and it seemed like he didn't care about what he was doing. The scene where he captures and tortures Darby was truly intense and chilling. I also liked how the film pointed out some monumental flaws in how our justice system works and how easy it is for some people to get away with some of the things they do. Jamie Foxx gave a pretty good performance as the power hungry attorney that let the murderer nearly go free. Foxx, who has been won many many awards and been nominated for countless more almost always steps up and gives a strong performance. There was also a nice supporting cast in this film including Leslie Bibb, Colm Meaney and Bruce McGill, all of which gave good performances.

This movie truly did make you think the entire time. That is one thing I enjoy about movies, if they make you think. If you can watch a movie and figure out the end 10 minuets into it then you've wasted your time and money. This film never gave you enough to put the pieces together until the very end. It blended suspense, action, creativity and drama all together in a film that is very good. Another great thing about this movie was the direction in which it was made. A lot of films these days try too hard to tailor make themselves perfect for the crowd. This film did what it did according to how it wanted to do it. It seemed like it was made they way the director wanted to make it and if audiences like it then they like it but it wasn't going to water down any part of the film to be like the critics and other people wanted it to be. I like that aspect in films, making them how they want to be made and not how everybody else wants them to be.

This movie is going to fly under the radar for some of you people out there and you may not pick this film up until it comes out on DVD, but I suggest that you go see it now because it is definitely a different film and one that will surely please that inner psycho in us all. If you like movies that are creative, slightly gruesome and ones that make you think and keep you guessing then you should definitely give Law Abiding Citizen a shot.

I give Law Abiding Citizen 9 deadly steak bones out of 10