House at the End of the Street - A classic tale...NOT!

We know this story.  We've heard it before.  Mom and teenage daughter move to a new town after a divorce.  Daughter meets next door neighbor who is a simple college boy.  Mom disapproves of daughter dating this boy.  They fight.  She lies and dates him any way.  Boy's sister is a killer locked up in the attic.  Some one breaks a leg; someone is shot, stabbed, murdered...BLAH BLAH BLAH!  A classic tale, right?  NO!

House at the End of the Street begins as this seemingly classic story that we've all heard an seen, but it's not.  It's a little more sinister than you can imagine.  There is a plot twist that I didn't quite see coming.  I kept expecting someone else.  I was wrong.  I'm not very often wrong.  I like a movie that has twist and turns that make sense.  This one did.  I'm not saying it's a great movie, but it is a suspenseful somewhat shocking thriller.  I wouldn't say it was a horror.  There was nothing scary about it, although I did jump once.  (They got me.  I know...I couldn't believe it either.)

Jennifer Lawrence is fast becoming the new Kristen Stewart meaning she's staring in a movie series based off of a very popular book series, and she's getting roles in B-list movies that would make better tv movies.  Lawrence, however, has two more facial expressions than Stewart and is a much better actress.  She's pretty bad arse in this one; I'll give her that.  Very Katness Everdeen-esque (google it).  Is it a great movie?  No.  Would I watch it again?  If it was on TNT, USA, Lifetime, and nothing else was on tv, yes.  You've seen this one before (sorta), and you'll see it again (probably).  No need to rush out to go see it.  There's probably even better drama going on in the house at the end of your street (or maybe not).

Sparkle - A Sparkling Remake

This summer which is coming to a close brought us great blockbusters, action-pact films, cheesy children's movies, and remarkable remakes.  I have spent many hours sitting in the dark watching the big screen being mesmerized by what I see.  Sparkle is bedazzling, enchanting, charming, and intriguing.  The storyline grabs you, the singing captivates you, and the stars fascinate you.  Sparkle is a remake of a 1976 film with the same name.  And, although I still believe the world doesn't need yet another remake, this one was enjoyable and sparkling (pun intended).

Instead of telling you what the movie is about and reasons you may not want to watch it (let's be real, the acting is B-list at best), I want to give you the many reasons to the contrary.  Let's start at the top with Whitney.  Majority of the people are going to go see it to because of Whitney Houston who is one of the greatest (if not THE greatest) voices of all time who lost her battle with substance abuse just 6 months ago.  Although her acting isn't award winning, it's plausible, but we really just want to hear her sing, and her rendition of "His Eye is on the Sparrow" was soulful and showed signs of the Whitney we fell in love with so long ago.  It brought tears to my eyes to realize that we will never hear that voice again, and the audience agreed with heavy applause.

Mike Epps plays a sell-out comedian, and even though that is his real-life profession, he is sinister and destructive which is out of character for him.  He was a very convincing bad boy.  Immediately upon entering the scene you decide to dislike him.  I applaud his effort and growth as an actor.  Jordin Sparks, American Idol winner, who plays Sparkle, does a wonderful job for being a singer turned actress.  She's much better at it than Beyonce (that's not hard to do), but maybe not as good as Jennifer Hudson.  Her acting isn't going to get any Academy Award nominations, but her voice is remarkable and she tears up "One Wing" in the end.  Derek Luke, Carmen Ejogo, Tika Sumpter, and Omari Hardwick round out a fantastic cast.  They may not be household names, but with a few more movies under their belts, maybe they will.

Side note:  Ladies, Omari Hardwick is yummy.  Google him.

If the actors and singers aren't reason enough to watch Sparkle, then the maybe knowing who was behind the scenes will.  The screenplay was written by Mara Brock Akil.  She is best known for creating and writing The Game and Girlfriends.  The movie was produce by TD Jakes (he finally gets one right), and one of the executive producers was Whitney Houston.  And to top it off, R. Kelly was the musical director.  It doesn't get much better than that.  Now I know you really want to go see this movie.  Please do.  Try to forget it's a remake, and go just to enjoy it.  You won't be disappointed.

The Bourne Legacy - Aaron Cross is no Jason Bourne

The Jason Bourne action thriller films are some of my favorite.  There's nothing like Matt Damon as Jason Bourne kicking butt and taking names, but Jeremy Renner as Aaron Cross didn't really do it for me.  Don't get me wrong, he kicked a little booty, but it wasn't anything like in the first three Bourne movies.  The Bourne Legacy is yet another example of learning when to say stop; enough is enough; let it go man, just let it go.  

The storyline of this one starts up where Bourne Ultimatum leaves off.  At the end of Ultimatum, Bourne jumps in the water and swims off with bullets flying at his head.  Legacy opens with Cross swimming in the water to retrieve something.  The next 45 minutes is of Aaron Cross in the Alaskan wilderness during a training exercise trying to survive with his limited genetic medicine.  Meanwhile, more information about Treadstone, Blackbriar and other CIA operations have been exposed by Jason Bourne and now all agents and cohorts have to be terminated including Cross while the powers that be play the game of CYA (cover your arse).

You would think a lot of exciting action would take place, but I can't really say that.  There are bullets and explosions, and car/motorcycle chases, but in small doses; they almost feel forced and placed to wake us up with all this conspiracy theory talking.  Like, when one of the lab Doctor's that work with the operatives starts shooting at at his colleagues.  We never get an explanation why?  It just sets up a way for Aaron to meet Dr. Marta Shearling and begin his quest for meds.  This movie attempts to tie up the political loose ends from Ultimatum, but it falls flat and is kind of pointless.  Did you really care what happened to Pamela Landy for helping Bourne?  Me neither.  

I really don't want to see the Bourne film series go down in flames, so I say that this should be the last.  I know it may not be, but if no one else goes to see this somewhat boring film, then maybe they'll stop here.  Let's hope that Bourne Legacy is the end of the Bourne journey.

Total Recall - Total Entertainment

One of my favorite Arnold movies is Total Recall.  It's not cinematic genius, but it's sci-fi and action which always works for me.  So, I had mixed emotions about a remake.  I always have mixed emotions about remakes as I think why can't they just do something new?  Are we really running out of ideas?  But, the trailer looked interesting enough, so I said why not?

This version is less aliens on alien planets and more earthly politics.  After World War III, the only livable part of the planet left is either Australia (The Colony) or The United Federation of Britain (UFB) and workers use The Fall to travel through the earth's core to get to and fro.  The UFB is ran be Chancellor Cohaagen played by Bryan Cranston who wants to take over The Colony, but The Resistance is fighting against that, and is lead by Matthias (Bill Nighy) who is in hiding and leading attacks in the UFB through his rebels which includes Jessica Biel.  How does Colin Farrell fit in here?  He plays Douglas Quaid who is bored with his life and decides that he wants his memories altered by going to Rekall where through chemicals and electrodes they can give you whatever memories you desire.  Quaid decides to be a double agent, but before the memory transfer is complete, the UFB police stops the process led by his "wife"/UFB agent (Kate Beckinsale).  Then, all the entertaining action begins.

This version like the original is no Emmy award winner, but there is an understandable somewhat plausible plot, good action scenes, and the actors do their job quite well.  I did miss the Governator a bit, but Colin's ability to please my eyes and speak clearly was a welcomed departure from Arnold.   For those who are looking for something to do on a hot summer day, I say this:  Total Recall is a remake that didn't need to be made, but since it was, I watched it, enjoyed it, and would recommend it.

The Dark Knight Rises - To the occasion

It's very rare to make a series of movies (not based off books) and have each and everyone be amazing. the Dark Knight trilogy is one of these rarities.  It's also hard to live up to the hype, and The Dark Knight Rises does just that.  It rises to the occasions and meets all of your expectations.  It is an excellent movie.  I don't know if it's better than the The Dark Knight, but it's up there with some of the best movies ever to entertain the masses.  It may be the best movie I've seen this year even with my few issues!

Before I tell you my issues with the movie, I'll tell you a little about it.  DKR picks up 8 years after  Harvey Dent aka Two-face dies.  The city of Gotham is as crime-free as any city can be.  Gordon is now commissioner, Bruce Wayne is MIA, and Batman is once again considered a thug and a murderer for the death of Dent, and he too is missing.  Bane (Tom Hardy) and Catwoman
(Anne Hathaway) are the villians in this one.  Bane is seeking to blow up Gotham with a nuclear bomb and Catwoman is seeking revenge against the rich.  She's not a bad girl at heart, but she is one bad arse cat burglar.  Bane's story ties into Ra's al Gul and the League of Shadows.  There are many different little stories going on throughout but they all tie together in the end.

I watch a lot of movies and pay a lot of attention to everyone and everything, so it may just be me, but one of my issues is that I felt the movie was predictable.  There really weren't any surprises for me.  By their reactions, things that were obvious to me, aren't obvious to the audience.  My second issue is that I could't understand what Bane said most of the time.  I needed subtitles.  My last issue with this movie is my issue with any other movie over 120 minutes, it was too damn long.  Runtime is 2 hours and 45 minutes.  That is 3 hours with preview!  I don't know if all of it was necessary, but I guess to tell the story completely, it needed to be that long.

Supposedly, this is Christopher Nolan's last of the Dark Knight Trilogy.  He really did an excellent job co-writing and directing this one.  The special effects were just right.  The violence wasn't overkill, and the acting was superb!  I look forward to whatever Christopher Nolan does next, and with any luck, he'll change his mind and make a Batman and Robin trilogy too.

The Amazing Spider-man - Listen to your spidey senses

Sitting in the theater, watching yet another trailer for yet another Spider-man movie, I thought to myself, "...do we really need another one?"  I wasn't a fan of any of the Tobey Maguire Spider-man movies even though I saw them all.  (I'm a sucker for a comic book turned movie.)  I also told myself I wasn't going to see it, but the more I saw the previews, the more I thought, this one may be good.  My spidey senses were correct.

If you've seen any one of the previous movies or read any of the comic books then you have a general background to this movie.  Peter Parker played by Andrew Garfield, and odd and geeky looking kid, is sent to live with his Aunt May (the great Sally Field) and Uncle Ben (the average Martin Sheen) by his super secret scientist parents to keep him safe.  We don't know where they go and when they will be back.  Overtime, his aunt and uncle raise him as their own and we meet up with them while Peter is an awkward and often bullied teenager in high school.  In an effort to learn more about his father after finding his father's briefcase, he goes to OsCorp and meets his father's old colleague Dr. Curt Connors. They develop a friendship, and Peter helps Dr. Connors with his research.  During this time, Peter gets bitten by a genetically enhanced spider, develops powers, loses his uncle to senseless crime, falls in love with Gwen Stacey (Emma Stone) who's father is the police chief (Denis Leary), and all sorts of mayhem ensues.

Honestly, I feel that this Peter Parker is more likable.  He's smart, witty, and unique which is relatable to so many.  Andrew's geekiness doesn't seemed forced and becuase he doesn't have that hollywood look, you feel like he could be any boy in your neighborhood going through things who just so happens to have super powers and decides to try and save his city from vagabonds and giant lizards.  Tobey was just awkward and annoying as Peter Parker.  I always wanted him to "grow a pair".  The Amazing Spider-Man was good, almost great.  There was a believable storyline, no unnecessary sappy love scenes, excellent special effects that weren't over done, and a good cast.  We'll see where this Spider-man series takes us, but so far, it's off to a good flying start.

Magic Mike - Not enough eye candy in the world...

Picture this:  men stripping off their clothes, dancing, body rolling, and simulating sex for money.  Is this Chippendales?  No.  It's the background premise of the movie Magic Mike starring non other than the ever-so-sexy Channing Tatum.  Mr. Smooth Moves Tatum plus Matthew McConaughey, Joe Manganiello, (Alicide on True Blood) and other half naked men where great to ogle but they were not enough to make this a good movie.  Heck, it wasn't even a decent movie.

I can't really give you a brief synopsis because there wasn't much of a storyline, but I'll try.  Magic Mike (Tatum) meets The Kid (Alex Pettyfer) working construction and then runs into him again that night at the club while trying to get women to come to his male review owned by Dallas (McConaughey).  The Kid comes with Magic Mike to the show and by happenstance The Kid begins working there.  There's sex, drugs, a sister, some parties, screaming women, and not much more.  It's a low budget version of Boogie Nights.

It was poorly written, poorly directed, poorly edited, and worst of all, poorly acted.  I can't decide if Channing flubbed his lines and they just didn't make him do it over, or if was written that way.  There really wasn't a beginning, middle, and end.  There was no climax, no lesson learned, or resolution.  It just kind of ends.  Now, I wasn't expecting greatness, but I was expecting the movie to be entertaining. Please ladies and gay men, go into this movie knowing that it is absolutely going to suck!!!  Straight men, stay home because although there are gratuitous boob shots, it won't be enough for you to sit through two hours of horrible acting and men dry humping the ground in cheesy costumes.

I love looking at Channing Tatum which is pretty much why I watch any of his movies, but he owes me $7 for this one.