X-Men: Days of Future Trailer

This doesn't come out until next year, but BAYBAY...I CAN'T WAIT!!!!  From the trailer it looks like it's where X-Men: The First Class and X-Men: The Last Stand meet.  Who cares what's it's about, really?  I'm all for it!!!

The Counselor - The WTH!!!

You ever watched a movie, left the theatre, and thought, "what the heck"?  That's how I felt after watching Ridley Scott's The Counselor.  I left baffled and confused, and I was pretty much that way throughout the entire film.

Where to start?  I don't really know what was happening in the movie, but I'll tell you what I got.  A Texas lawyer, known as The Counselor,  played by Michael Fassbender, makes some sort of deal, I'm assuming illegal, with this flashy man, simply named Reiner, who makes a lot of money, which I also will assume, illegally.  Reiner is played by a spikey-haired, Versace-wearing Javier Bardem.  Reiner's woman of the moment is Cameron Diaz.  I never learned her name.  I also never learned her purpose other than by any means necessary fouling up their deal and getting someone's money.  Brad Pitt plays some sort of Texas middle-man.  He's in and out of the movie, and I never really understood his role either.

I assume all dealings are illegal because the movie takes place in Juarez, Texas and somewhere in Mexico.  There is a lot of mention of The Cartel.  What the deal was, and who else is involved?  I have no clue.  I just know that something goes wrong when Rosie Perez's son is murdered for whatever he had in his helmet.  I couldn't tell if Rosie Perez, one of The Counselor's clients, is in on it or not.  She's just randomly inserted in the movie too.  Once things begin to go wrong for whatever reason The Counselor simply wants to protect his new fiance played by the funny-looking and funny-talking Penelope Cruz from The Cartel, and then all hell breaks loose.

I apologize if I'm rambling or if this synopsis seams all over the place, but that's how the movie feels.  Last time I saw a Ridely Scott movie, I was praising it.  Last week, Michael Fassbender was one of my favorite characters in the movie.  Together, you would think this movie would be amazing.  It was amazingly confusing.  At one point Reiner tells a story about Cameron Diaz's character having sex with his car.  It was randomly inserted in this movie, and was pointless.  The only thing I did like about the movie was Cameron Diaz's wardrobe.  Her looks rivaled any skinny chick's on a catwalk.  I loved EVERYTHING she wore, and her hair was giving me Cruella Deville 3.0.  I loved it!  That's about the only thing.

I need someone else to go The Counselor just so they can try to explain it to me.  Other than that, pass on this one.  Maybe Ridley needs to stick with alien movies because this one was just too WTH for me.

Escape Plan - A well executed one!

Escape Plan is a man's movie.  It's full of fist fights, gunfire, Stallone, and Arnold.  I'm not a man, but I loved it!  I think everyone in the theater did.  Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger are definitely getting old, but they don't seem to let that stop them, and in this movie, you won't really care.

Escape Plan is a clever movie about a clever man named Ray Breslin, played by Stallone, who breaks out of prisons for a living in an effort to help these prisons fix these cracks in their security.  He is hired by the FBI to attempt to break out of a private prison that is off the radar and holds the deadliest of the deadliest.  While inside, Breslin begins to realize there is more to the story, and with the help of Rottamayer, Arnold's character, they devise an escape plan.

Stallone's face looks like his figure at the wax museum and Arnold looks slightly dashing with grey hair, but with the age and many years of acting you would think that both's skills as actors would have improved, but to no avail.  That's ok; the speed at which this movie moves, you really won't mind just like you weren't bothered when you saw Terminator 50, Rocky 100, or Rambo 3000.

Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, Jim "Jesus" Caviezel, and Sam "The Cardinal" Neil will have to be the eye candy and the best actors on the screen.  Yes, I'm putting Fitty in the field of one of the better actors in the movie.  As soon as he can fully open his mouth, he'll be a damn fine actor.  Jim plays Warden Hobbs, and him as a bad guys is very interesting and intriguing.  He plays a nasty evil cunning villain, and I liked it!  I typically do have a thing for the bad guy.

Look, is this a cinematic work of art?  No, but will you be entertained?  Heck yeah!  Escape Plan played well on the things we like about an action movie, and the things we expect to see in a Stallone and Schwarzenegger film.  People fight, guns shoot, there's blood, and Arnold says something classic.  This movie was well executed, even if the escape plan was not.  Go see it.  You'll enjoy it!!!

12 Years a Slave - 12 reasons to watch

I really have to stop watching slave movies and black oppression movies for awhile.  It is too gut-wrenching for me.  I always find myself thanking God that I wasn't born during that time, and asking for forgiveness towards those that did harm back then and now.  It puts me in a state that only a drink, food, or a comedy can change.  The movie, 12 Years a Slave, is no different.  It definitely had me feeling some type of way, but I'm glad I saw it.  So will you, and here's 12 reasons why:

12.  The story is a little different than other slave stories we've seen.  Instead of Africans being kidnapped and sold into slavery, Solomon Northup, an America and free black man, was kidnapped in Washington, DC and sold into slavery.  Because he was born free and never experienced slavery, he had a tougher time assimilating.  He knew who he was, were he was, and he was more willing to fight back than a stranger in a strange land where everyone is speaking a strange language.

11.  It's based on a true story.  I typically don't like movies based on a true story because now I can just google it and find out how it ends which is why I'm not eager to see the Captain Phillips movie.  The difference here is that we rarely get a first hand account of what slavery was like.  These days it's some white man's Hollywood interpretation.  No thanks, I'll pass.  But, I really got a sense of how tough this was for him and some of the struggles when you are born free rather than born a slave.

10.  It's directed by a black man, Steve McQueen, and Lord knows we need more of them out there so that we can have quality movies on the market featuring quality black acting.  Raise your hand if you're over Madea and Tyler Perry.

9.  We have to support good black movies, and this is one of them.  There was no coonery or befoolery; just strong black men and women fighting to stay alive.

8.  The list of phenomenal actors in this movie is quite lengthy.  Chiwetel Ejiofor is the lead actor as Solomon, and his emotions are so gripping, you will have to fight back the tears and keep yourself from cheering.  This movie also star Alfre Woodard, Paul Giamonte, scene stealer Michael Fassbender, Brad Pitt, Sarah Paulson, and new comer to the American film, Lupita Nyongo.

7.  The last two women on this list are just amazing as their portrayals as the slave owner's wife and the slave he fancies.  Sarah Paulson as Mary Epps was not having it.  She did not want her husband sleeping with the negras as she called it.  Lupita Nyongo is the beautiful and extra chocolaty Patsey.  Master Epps has a thing for Patsey, and can't keep his hands off of her.  She hates every second.  Patsey can't stand how much the wife despises her because of her husband, and she doesn't want to deal with his torture and rape.  It was great to get those point of views for once.

6.  Did I meantion Brad Pitt is in this movie?  He is scruffy and extremely yummy looking.  Too bad he's only on the screen for about 10 minutes.  That'll be enough for most.

5.  The slave fights back.  There isn't a lot of revenge killing like in Django, but Solomon, aka Pratt, fights back.  We all love it when the slave says, "oh hell no," grabs the whip, and whips the overseer.  You have that collective cheering in the movie.  That'll pick you up after watching a man get beat for absolutely no reason.

4.  It'll make you want to read the book.  I'm sure the book is better as they usually are, but I really am intrigued and eager to add the autobiography, Twelve Years a Slave, to my Kindle.

3.  This was a well directed and well acted movie.  The movie, 12 Years a Slave, is long, about 2 and half hours, but it's worth it.  At first I thought it was a little slow, but the pace was necessary to get in all of the information and help your form attachments to the characters.

2.  It's moving and thought-provoking.  This movie really makes you think about how it can take just one person to change things and make a difference.  It really takes you through droves of emotions.  Bring the tissues because if you are the sensitive type, you'll need them.

1.  It's just a good movie.  It has the whole package:  interesting plot, great acting and directing, and a story that moves you.  It's a definitely a must see, but again I think I'm down for something a little more light, fun, or ridiculously stupid and scary after this.