The Expendables: Extended Director’s Cut isn’t great but still a functional action-thriller bringing together manly men on the same screen together. On that front, the film succeeds and is at least a fun way to spend 110-minutes.
Colombiana is an OK movie that thinks has more substance than it actually does. Zoe Saldana gives a fine performance and shows that she can kick ass and look great doing it, nothing wrong with that, however, the story never connects on an emotional level and the plot is something we’ve seen many times before.
Kung Fu Panda 2 is a fun movie with incredible animation and, like the last installment, a great ensemble of voice talents. I wasn’t as enamored with the story as some, although I do like it wasn’t a mere rehash of the original.
Mr. Popper’s Penguins is a fun movie for the entire family. Sure, the plot is nonsensical and silly, the acting by the kids is pretty bad and the jokes are easy, but I managed to laugh a few times.
“The Simpsons” The Fourteenth Season might not be the best the show has had to offer but there are more than a few laughs to be had. The stories do get a bit repetitive but if you’re a die-hard fan, you’ll probably get more out of it than I had.
“Smallville” The Final Season is hardly perfect and there’s still issues with the writing, but I thought the season long plot and the forwarding of the Clark and Lois relationship makes this a solid year and far better than the ninth season.
The Smurfs is certainly not a very good movie but it did provide a few laughs – which is more than I can say about The Hangover Part II – and the animation, while nothing special, is still decent enough.
By no means is Bad Teacher a good film but Cameron Diaz, as well as Jason Segel for his limited part, gave it their best in spite of a script with few laughs and a flat plot that never really came to life.
This “Miramax Multi-Feature” set from Echo Bridge Home Entertainment packages together one good movie, a decent making-of documentary and two bad sequels. While all four features are on one disc, I thought each didn’t look too bad, though something like Full Tilt Boogie was not made for high-def and it shows.
Cars 2 is proof that no studio is perfect and they all have missteps and hopefully this will be Pixar’s only one for the next 10 years. When it comes to the movie itself, there is some charming moments but they are too far and between and usually interrupted by Mater’s annoying persona.
Captain America: The First Avenger has a few things going for it, mostly in the set design, costume design and cinematography but most everything else was standard and unimaginative including actor Chris Evans himself. There’s certainly a fine jump off point for this potential franchise I think in the hands of a better director, it could achieve so much more.
Faces in the Crowd hardly breaks new ground in the genre, but it has a few things going for it Milla Jovovich turns in a good performance, the mystery aspects are at least compelling and what writer/director Magnat does by putting the audience in the main character’s mindset is unique and effective.
“Robot Chicken” is easily one of the funniest shows on television and a personal favorite of mine. This fifth season, while not the strongest in its run, has some funny bits and like before, a great collection of guest voice talents. Seth Green and company also know how to package a home video release with plenty of features to justify the price given each episode is only 11-12 minutes long.
Monte Carlo doesn’t break any new ground and is in fact predictable in almost every aspect of the story. The direction is only average even though they managed to film in two of the most beautiful cities in the world and yet thanks to Selena Gomez and the safe story, there’s a certain amount of charm. Now, this isn’t a film that will resonate for me beyond this review but I think enough of it works to make it at least a lukewarm recommendation.
Indian Summer is a great film that hits all the right notes. It not only brings out the nostalgia for anybody who has attended summer camp but the story is well rounded with the right balance of comedy and drama. The cast is also pitch perfect with the highlights coming from Bill Paxton, Diane Lane and Alan Arkin.