Movie reviews

Gus and I have seen a few movies lately, so I thought I'd talk about them a little. Let's start with the one I liked the most...

The Avengers - Oh. Mighty. Hammer. Of. Thor. (*fanning self*) There is a lot of eye candy in this movie. Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is my favorite - both the character and the actor. I'm a Mark Ruffalo fan, too, and I loved him as The Hulk. Robert Downey, Jr. as Ironman is witty as usual, but we don't see much of Pepper Potts (Gwenyth Paltrow). I even liked Loki (Tom Hiddleston). Next is Captain America (Chris Evans). Yeah, he's nice to look at, but I'm not overly impressed with his character. Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and Black Widow (Scarlet Johansson) were my least favorite characters. It's an action-packed movie & I highly recommend it. You don't need to have seen the previous Marvel movies, but it does help. 5 out of 5 stars!!

Men in Black 3 - Another Men in Black movie. If you liked the first two, then you'll like this one. I enjoyed it a lot. There's even a plot twist at the end that I bet most people don't see coming - I didn't, and I figure plots out all the time (which is why Buddy won't sit next to me, and when he does have to sit next to me he looks at me and says "just don't"). I'm not a Josh Brolin fan at all, but I don't think they could've found a better person to play a young Tommy Lee Jones. He definitely stole the show. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

And one that we saw back before I had the latest surgery:

Underworld Awakening - You know I love werewolves and vampires - and I love the Underworld movies. This one was no exception. Plenty of action, pretty cool plot that definitely leaves an opening for another movie. Selene (Kate Beckinsale) is the main focus of the movie this time, and you only get to see Michael (Scott Speedman) in old footage. But there is a new kid on the block, so that's pretty interesting. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

And a couple of movies we watched on DVD:

Tower Heist - this movie stars Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy, so I thought it would be hilarious - especially with Alan Alda as the "bad" guy. Not so much. It was okay, but not as good as I thought it would be. 2.5 stars out of 5.

Apollo 18 - All I'm going to say is that I stopped watching it after the first 20 minutes. It gets no stars.

DVDs!

Since pretty much all I do these days is lay around the house, I've managed to watch a couple of DVDs. I'm a little behind the times, but hey - maybe some of you are, too. :-)

No Strings Attached - Ashton Kutcher, Natalie Portman, Kevin Kline
A lot like "Friends with Benefits" (which I haven't seen yet), but this one came out first, LOL. I liked it - it was fun, light-hearted, and pretty much what you would expect. I give it 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Source Code - Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga
I'm not sure if this is sci-fi, thriller, drama - I guess I would call it an "action sci-fi thriller".
It was pretty good, although I had a little trouble following it in the beginning. Of course, that could be due to back pain & prescription pain meds. I liked it for the most part, but something about it bothered me a little. I can't put my finger on it. I'd give it 3 out of 5 stars.

And I almost forgot that I saw these a month or so ago!

Just Go With It - Adam Sandler, Jennifer Aniston, Nicole Kidman
I'm not a big Adam Sandler fan - except when he does movies like this. When he tones down the obnoxious humor a bit, I find him extremely funny & likable. This is definitely a romantic comedy, but it's not a chick flick. I loved it & so did Gus. Definitely 5 out of 5 stars.

All About Steve - Bradley Cooper, Sandra Bullock, Thomas Haden Church, Ken Jeong
A little over the top, slightly goofy - but funny enough that I didn't feel like I wasted my time. There are some really funny parts, for sure. I give it 3.5 out of 5 stars.

DVDs & Another Summer Movie

Gus & I went to see Captain American: The First Avenger last weekend. As you know, I'm a huge Marvel Comics geek, so of course, I loved it (and so did Gus). IMO, Tommy Lee Jones should've been given a larger role - he almost steals the show. He has some great lines & his delivery is impeccable. It was a perfect role for him. I also loved Stanley Tucci (whose role was also too small). And whew, *stops to fan self* did Chris Evans look hot as Captain America/Steve Rogers. A hundred times more hot than as Human Torch/Johnny Storm. It's a great, fun movie - and don't forget to stay until after the credits to catch the extra scene that Marvel always gives us. One word - Avengers.  :-)  4.5 out of 5 stars.

Then there are a couple of DVDs that we watched -

I Am Number Four - Alex Pettyfer, Dianna Agron, Timothy Olyphant, Teresa Palmer
It's definitely geared towards teenagers, but I think if you watch it with that in mind, it's not a bad movie. It's like Twilight & The Terminator had a movie baby. Seriously, the last scene is sooooo Terminator (the first one), LOL. 3 out of 5 stars - but don't expect anything really intellectual or unusual. And yes, they left it open for sequels.

Gnomeo & Juliet - James McAvoy, Emily Blunt, Jason Statham, Ozzy Osbourne
Okay, okay - I know it's a movie about gnomes - but I thought it was hilarious. Yes, it's silly, but it's also funny - and I like movies that make me laugh. And I'm easily amused, LOL. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Movies on DVD - reviews!

Due Date - Robert Downey Jr. + Zach Galifianakis = hilarious!! I loved this movie!! Jamie Foxx is pretty funny, too. Definitely 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Knight and Day - Cameron Diaz & Tom Cruise. Blah. Didn't really like this one all that much. I'm very glad I didn't pay theater prices to see it. 2 out of 5 stars.

Killers - Katherine Heigl & Ashton Kutcher. Yes, it's kind of silly - but I thought it was really funny. Gus & I both enjoyed it. Loved Tom Selleck & Catherine O'Hara!! 4 out of 5 stars!

Love and Other Drugs - Anne Hathaway & Jake Gyllenhaal. I really wanted to like this, but I absolutely cannot bear to watch any movie that is sad. It could be the best movie in the world and I couldn't watch it. I made it about halfway through the movie before I just broke down & bawled my eyes out. We had to turn it off. So I really can't rate it - sorry!

Megamind - Will Ferrell & Tina Fey. Yep, another "silly" one, but Gus & I thought it was pretty funny. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

You Again - Kristen Bell, Jamie Curtis, Sigourney Weaver, Betty White, & Odette Yustman. Kind of a chick flick, but funny enough that Gus enjoyed it, too. We both thought it was pretty funny. 4 out of 5 stars.

Little Fockers - Robert DeNiro, Ben Stiller, Blythe Danner, Dustin Hoffman, Barbra Streisand, & Teri Polo. I thought the other two "Focker" movies were hilarious & this one is no different. I can't even look at Robert DeNiro without laughing, LOL. If you liked the other ones, be sure to watch this one, too! 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Law-Abiding Citizen

...starring Gerard Butler & Jamie Foxx. Have you seen it?

My husband and I watched it this weekend. I feel I should disclose the fact that my husband likes pretty much all "vigilante-type" movies, so it was a given that he would enjoy it. I, on the other hand, am a little more discerning. But give me a good plot, some suspense, a few good explosions, a surprise or two, some good-looking guys and I'm hooked, too. This movie had all of that - but something about it was disturbing to me. Then I figured out that I was just over-thinking it - I was trying to rationalize something that wasn't really meant to be rationalized.

I get the motivation behind the main character's actions. I even get that he had rationalized it in his mind by saying that he was trying to make everyone see what was wrong with the system. But in the end, I don't think he changed anything. So, in my mind, there's no way he can be viewed as 'justified' or 'a good guy' - I just have to see him as a man who lost everything, and when that happened, he lost himself as well. You'd see little flashes of the man he used to be (like when he would look at the bracelet his daughter made for him) - but for the most part, I think he died with his family.

I can usually figure out the plot within a few minutes of the movie starting - but with this one, it took me awhile to figure out what was going on and how it was going to end. I like a movie that can keep me guessing. So I'd probably give this movie 3 out of 5 stars. I liked it, but not well enough to watch it again.

If you saw it - what did you think of it?