MajorBob

Fan Boys (and Girls) unite, our time has arrived!! Not one but 6 Super Heroes in one movie. What chance does the evil Loki have against these guys (and girl)? For most of the 140 plus minutes it looks like Loki will win the day and subjugate Earth to his rule. But never fear! As Iron Man warns Loki: "You may have an army but we have a Hulk." The story is interesting even for an old timer who missed out on these comic books! The action is first rate and the dialogue is crisp and often hilarious. The real question to be answered at the end of this movie is: "How many spin off movies will be created by this box office bonanza" There is already talk of Black Widow and Nick Fury origins films and both Iron Man 3 and Thor 2 are in the works. The sooner the better! I'm not getting any younger and the more of these Super Hero films I can see, the longer I intend to stick around. If I outlast Loki then Marvel will just have to find another first rate villain or two.

I haven't read the books yet but I certainly will now that I have had the pleasure of seeing one of the best films in recent memory. The screenplay is tight and fast paced but the story keeps its integrity throughout the film. The acting is first class and Jennifer Lawrence will have a long and prosperous career unless she does something really stupid. (see Lohan, Lindsay). The only criticism I have is that they "dumbed down" the graphic violence to get a PG13 rating. The killings are done so quickly and cleanly that the camera barely gives you time to realize what has happened. The "anti- CSI effect" sanitizes the brutality of the contest and in a way it hides the evil of the adults who have orchestrated these "games." I look forward to the sequels with same anticipation of the Harry Potter movies.

If Meryl doesn't win the Oscar for this performance you will hear me screaming all the way from Clermont, Florida to Mulica Hill, New Jersey. Viola Davis and Michelle Williams shouldn't even be allowed to attend the ceremony and you can put weirdo Tilda Swinton on ice too. Unfortunately, Ms. Steep's incredible performance is marred by a script that is flat out awful with some shoddy direction by the same woman who ruined Mama Mia. In this film, the life of Margaret Thatcher is told through flash backs from the elderly former Prime Minister's dementia altered mind. We find her holding numerous conversations with her deceased husband as she finally gets around to disposing of his clothes and other belongings. This plot device doesn't work despite the fact that the lead actress is turning in the finest performances of her career. The supporting cast is fine particularly Alexandra Roach who plays the young Margaret Thatcher from a teenager up until about age 30. Jim Broadbent also does a great job in recreating Denis Thatcher, the Prime Minister's husband. The makers of this film should have been satisfied with a traditional biographical film of a historical figure. Instead we get a surreal mishmash that is enjoyable only because of an Oscar winning performance.

This movie is not for everyone and if you don't enjoy the movie, please do yourself a favor and don't try to read the book. I read most of John LeCarre's books when they came out a generation ago and this one was a tough read even back then. Spy stories without near non-stop action are not a very popular film genre. This one has British accents to boot and a very complicated plot so be prepared to concentrate on every scene and and every conversation. Having said all that, I loved this movie and the cast which contains every great English character actor working today. At times, it may seem slow in plot development but in the end everything comes together and quite frankly, I can't wait for the DVD to come out so I can go back and forth to scenes with the "closed captions" on. Gary Oldman is terrific as George Smiley, master spy, who finds himself forced into retirement because of a botched mission in Hungary. He's brought back for the sole purpose of finding a "mole" in MI-6, who may have compromised that mission. The "back stories" of the possible suspects (nicknamed "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy") is partially told in flash back and in scenes that don't seem important at the time. Pay particular attention to Smiley's glasses since they tell you when the scene is a flashback. The ending may be a shock if you haven't been paying attention to the relationship between the characters so either stay on your toes watching this one or find something a little easier on the the brain to watch.

Disappointing! Overrated! Boring! This movie is one more reason to ignore all professional critics. The premise is interesting and the background story is encouraging but the plot takes us nowhere and leaves us with an ending totally unsatisfying. As far as awards season is concerned, I'll be upset if this movie or any of the actors wins anything and quite frankly I don't see how they can even expect any nominations. I was unimpressed with both of George Clooney's dauhgters and if Shailene Woodley is even nominated it will be a sad reflection on the state of motion pictures. Of course the drums are beating for another Clooney Oscar but quite frankly I didn't see anything special in his portrayal of the main character. He was much better in the "Ides of March" and compared to his Oscar winning role in "Syriana" this performance is just ordinary. Both the real estate sale and the wife's final demise are too drawn out and by the end of this film I didn't care about any of the characters or what happens to them. If you must see this film wait until it's on HBO.

"We Bought a Zoo" is the feel good movie of the holiday season. Before you go to see it be aware that it is rated PG; Matt Damon is not the Jason Bourne Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson is not the Nola Rice (Match Point) Scarlett Johansson or the Christina from Scarlett Johansson from "Vicky Christina Barcelona." The real stars of this movie are the animals at the run down zoo that Damon's character buys and Maggie Elizabeth Jones as his 7 year old daughter, Rosie. Ms. Jones will break your heart and make you want to take her home with you. The story is uncomplicated and predictable but it still works. Ms. Johansson works her usual magic on the male protagonist but in this movie its rumored that he spent more time in the hair and make up chair than she did. The supporting cast is just fine and the pace of the movie is much better than I expected. The moping teenage son **** by his mother's death slowly comes around with the help of a teenage crush, the zoo gets opened and everyone has a smile on their face as the credits roll. This movie was made for movie lovers and not for the critics and award shows. Enjoy it for what it is; 2 hours and 15 minutes of light-hearted, feel good entertainment.

Big Steve has once again brought to the screen a gripping story of war, family, sacrifice and redemption. Make no mistake, however, this film is no "Saving Private Ryan." His cinematographer is the same and naturally John Williams has provided an excellent musical score but the protagonist this time is a horse named Joey. World War I serves as the back drop, as we follow Joey from an English farm to the battlefields of France. Joey has to be sold to an English cavalry officer due to his family's financial misfortunes. He winds up serving with the German army, spending time with a young French girl and her grandfather and ends up stranded in a barb wired section of "no man's land." Spielberg has crafted a satisfying ending to a long (2 hours, 30 minutes) journey for both horse and owner. This movie has none of the blood and gore of Saving Private Ryan although there are plenty of battle scenes and casualties. I have to assume this an attempt to appeal to a wider audience. As much as I loved Saving Private Ryan, it was so emotionally jarring that I can't watch it again from start to finish. War Horse doesn't have that type of impact but it's a good story certainly worth watching more than once.

Disappointing! That's the only "one word" review I can give Leo's most recent effort to win an Oscar. His portrayal of the man who made the F.B.I. what we know it to be today is a sensational character study. Unfortunately, the script falls flat in telling the story of how the F.B.I. was transformed under Hoover, from a bureaucratic blip into the most potent police force in the world. Hoover's latent homosexuality and alleged cross dressing fetish is overplayed as is his devotion to his mother, played by the always terrific Judi Dench. Perhaps this story was too complicated to fit into one movie and Clint Eastwood's attempt to do justice to the protagonist and to history thus falls far short of the mark. The movie completely skips World War II and barely touches on the Cold War and the McCarthy era. I found this movie to contain too many snippets of history and too much focus on Hoover's sexuality. It is worth seeing for Leo's performance and the production values, which as expected from a Clint Eastwood movie, which are excellent.

If you liked the first one then you will love this one! Downey and Law team up once again to unravel a mystery and combat evil in Victorian Europe. The supporting actors are once again excellent except for Noomi Rapace, who is lifeless and can't act a lick. Her performance was almost as bad as Rachel McAdams' in the first movie. Rachel comes back (but only briefly) as Irene Adler leaving Noomi to stink up the main female role. The saving grace for the girls is Kelly Reilly, who once again shines as Watson's fiance/wife. The action is almost non-stop and the "face to face" confrontations between Holmes and Professor Moriarity (played to perfection by Jared Harris) are superb. I'd ignore the negative reviews and consider just who didn't like this movie. They are probably the same critics who swoon over the crap that winds up being nominated but never winning during awards season.

At last, a movie that Ryan Gosling actually doesn't ruin. In fact, he gives a pretty good performance up against the fine acting of George Clooney, Paul Giamatti and Phillip Seymour Hoffman. The script is first rate although I found a few holes in the plot that aren't important to the movie's message. Nevertheless, once you buy into their world of dirty politics you can accept the characters' conduct and an ending which I personally found (in spite of my own political past experiences) to be quite chilling. The weakest part of the movie is the performance of Evan Rachel Wood, who seems to be getting steady work in Hollywood even though she is probably the worst actress under the age of 30. I would much rather have seen Jennifer Lawrence or Blake Lively as the seductive political intern, who turns a mundane campaign movie into a morality play that says a lot (and maybe too much) about the broken system of choosing our government's leaders. George Clooney keeps trying to make statements with many of his films and this one will hit a real sore spot with political purists. Whether you line up with the "Red Staters" or the "Blue Staters" the mud being wallowed in by these characters is really apolitical even if their politics tend toward the left. Governor Moore (Clooney's role) could just as easily have been a flaming conservative from Texas as a liberal from Pennsylvania. The game is the same on either side of the aisle and the temptations and rewards are just as great.

For once, the movie is better than the book. Much, much better! Brad Pitt (I'm not one of his fans) gives a performance worthy of an Oscar nomination. His portrayal of Billy Beane, the now famous General Manager of the Oakland A's gives life to a character than I found to be rather flat in the book of the same title. The supporting actors (except for Jonah Hill) are excellent and surprisingly the best of the bunch is Phillip Seymour Hoffman playing manager Art Howe. The divorced father-daughter relationship is played just right and I thought the "flashbacks" to Beane's youth and professional playing days were well done. More importantly, live action scenes were blended seamlessly with archive footage of actual events during the 2001 and 2002 baseball seasons. I'd rank this film in my top ten sports movies and in a flat footed tie with "The Natural" as my all time favorite baseball movie.

Superbly acted, extremely well written and with a gut wrenching ending to boot, "The Debt" is a terrific addition to The Holocaust/spy movie genre. This movie asks and to some extent answers the question: "What happens to the hunters when the hunted continues to control their lives long after the hunt is over?" I do agree with Roger Ebert that the one major flaw in this film is the fact that the actors who portray the three protagonists in 1965 look nothing like the actors who portray them in 1997. It took me almost an hour to figure out who was playing Sam Waterson's character, David, 30 years after the mission that defined their lives. This was a major distraction early on because the movie toggles back and forth through time. Nevertheless, the plot is so compelling and the acting is so powerful that you become anxious for the ending to come so you can see how the story turns out. Hang in there with this one and get ready for a finale that will leave you thinking for a while about good and evil; right and wrong .

Well written, well acted, thought provoking and somewhat frightening; "Contagion" tells the story of what happens to individuals and society as a whole when something unseen wreaks devastation and havoc on mankind. Normal, law abiding people are driven to kidnapping, home invasion and worse. Politicians run for cover and seek out scapegoats. An internet blogger uses demagoguery and conspiracy theories to create panic in the public and profit for himself and others. Meanwhile, medical scientists scramble to find a vaccine for the worst pandemic to hit modern mankind. Once again, Steven Soderbergh does an excellent job with non-linear story telling although this film doesn't have the same "gut punches" as "Traffic," which was much more character driven. This film is not for the squeamish or the "scared y cats" although it's less gory than your average episode of CSI or Bones. All in all, it was an interesting and fast paced 106 minutes, which I highly recommend.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

Another Superhero joins the movie universe but this one has the most humanity to offer. Originally a comic book hero introduced during World War II, Steve Rogers starts out as the typical "98 pound weakling" who modern science transforms into every man's dream, except Steve never gets the girl. I found the villain Red Skull to be more comical than scary and the entire movie plays out like a cartoon for kids. Still, if you like this genre then Captain America will entertain you for two hours and wet your appetite for next year's The Avengers. Make sure you stay until the credits end because as you should know, there is a trailer for next summer's blockbuster from this comic universe.

The final battle scenes differ from the book but the results are still the same. "The Boy Who Lived" doesn't disappoint and I rank this finale right up there with "Lord of the Rings - Return of the King." It turns out that the powers to be had it right when they decided to split the last book into two movies. I just wish that their release dates hadn't been so far apart. The acting as always is superb and I wonder if the Academy will once again ignore the actors in this franchise come awards season, the way they ignored the actors in the Lord of the Rings films. I've been going to the movies for almost 60 years and this is the first time I can remember being in a packed theater that was completely quiet for two hours and ten minutes. Unfortunately, this film is another 3D presentation that didn't need the 3D effects. This movie is good enough in 2D to rank as one of the greatest films of all time. Put it right up there with the original Star Wars, The Godfather and whatever else is your personal favorite film.

The Guardians! The Parallax! Ryan Reynolds lost Scarlett Johannson for this mess! I certainly hope Ryan cashed a hefty paycheck and was, in fact, fooling around with Blake Lively. Blake, by the way, is the best part of this movie. Ryan also has another problem. He has a baby face and a feminine voice, definitely not super hero material. The special effects are fine but if you have a choice (I didn't at my theater) skip the 3D, it's not worth the extra 3 bucks. The plot is disjointed and really bad even by super hero standards where we tolerate a lot. Some decent actors (e.g. Peter Sarsgarrd and Tim Robbins) also give lackluster performances and I am still trying to figure out why the Dr. Hector/Senator Hammond subplot was even inserted into this movie. The age old adage "If you buy the premise, you buy the bit" just doesn't work here and half way through this movie I was looking at my watch trying to figure out when the 105 minute running time would let me out of this cinematic mistake. Save your money and cross your fingers that Captain America does a better job with the super hero genre.