The Legacy Lives On

It has been almost 2 years since my last blog but I have decided to return and write more reviews. I plan on doing things a little differently while still giving the readers an accurate idea of what the movie is about. Recently I saw The Bourne Legacy (PG-13), starring Jeremy Renner, Rachel Weisz, and Edward Norton. Just like in the previous three installments of the Bourne series, an agency is trying to remove an agent from the operation. Only this time, the focus is on Aaron Cross (Renner) not Jason Bourne. Throughout the movie we discover that this movie is taking place during the same time as the previous movies. We also discover that Bourne is not the only agent who has enhanced physical abilities from green pills. Like Bourne, the agency is trying to kill Cross due to unforeseen circumstances that led to the ultimate conclusion to shut down the operation. By doing so, the agency wants to rid of all of its agents that have been working as assassins due to the fact that they know too much about what has been going on. In addition to agents, scientists are being targeted too, due to their in depth amount of knowledge of the operation. Among those scientists is Dr. Marta Shearing (Weisz) who eventually teams up with Cross to try and escape death and find peace. Thrown into the mix is Edward Norton who plays Colonel Eric Byer. He alongside Mark Turso (Stacy Keach) are in charge of the operation to rid the agents such as Bourne and Cross. Both Keach and Norton aren't unfamiliar with working with one another. As you may have realized,vthe two were also found in American History X. 14 years later they have teamed up again, but instead of being white supremacists, they are now in charge of the operation. Familiar faces from the previous films include David Strathairn, Albert Finney, and Joan Allen. For those of you who have seen the previous films, I recommend this movie. It gives you a great deal of entertainment and action. Those of you that haven't can still watch this film without needing the information previously given in the other three installments of the Bourne series. Though there are some unrealistic parts, that is expected in a fast moving action film. I give this movie three popcorn buckets out of five. I was very entertained, but as a film, I did not find it was as good as the previous three movies. Stay tuned for my next review and remember, "When you want to find a flick, twothumbsup will help you pick."

More Like the Dead Swan

The last movie that I saw was entitled The Black Swan(R). It stars Natalie Portman, Vincent Cassel, and Mila Kunis. This is a film by Darren Aronofsky. It is about a young ballet dancer named Nina (Natalie Portman) who goes through mental and physical damage to try to succeed in the role she has worked for all her life: The Swan Queen. Throughout the movie you see Nina struggle with trying to achieve perfection, and she feels she must have perfect technique in the studio and outside of the studio to achieve this. Surrounding her is her artistic director Thomas (Vincent Cassel) who is pressuring her to make love, loosen up, and simply let go and achieve perfection. Nina is living with her mother (Barbara Hershey) who lived her ballet dream until she gave it up to have Nina. Finally there is Lily (Mila Kunis) who is her competition to be the swan queen, but she is also trying to help Nina let loose and have some fun in the real world. Now this sounds fantastic, but all of the trailers and descriptions of the movie is misleading. Granted, I am not into ballet but that is not why I was against the film. I was against the film because the confusing, dry plot made you laugh to a certain degree. The acting performance by Natalie Portman and the rest of the cast was truly phenomenal as well as the dancing, but when you leave a movie in order for you to have a good report the plot must be good. For this movie, the plot was not good. There were too many confusing parts in which you could not tell what was real, and what was in her head. Natalie Portman gave the performance of her life, but when you give the performance of your life to a movie with a poor plot it doesn't mean as much. I do give a lot of credit to Mila Kunis. She started a 14 year old girl playing a sophomore in high school in the TV show That 70's Show. Twelve years later little Jackie Burkhart has grown up and gave a fantastic acting performance. Also seen is Winona Ryder in a small role as Beth, the previous swan queen. Overall I was not a fan of the movie. I felt scenes were unnecessary and what you thought was real, was actually imaginable. A movie I was very excited to see was a movie I feel disappointed I ever went to it. And even though the ending does kind of pull the movie all together, you are still left with important questions that can not be answered. I give this movie 2 popcorn buckets out of a possible 5. 1 for the dancing and another for the acting, but the plot doesn't deserve any buckets. Remember, "If you want to find a flick, twothumbsup will help you pick!!!"


Usually I will leave you a trailer to the film I write up, but considering the trailer is misleading I feel that it would be wrong to leave you a trailer.

The A-Team Gets An A+

It has been a while since I have written my last blog, but the movie that I will be writing about today is entitled The A- Team (PG-13). It stars Liam Neeson (Col. Hannibal Smith), Bradley Cooper (Lt. Templeton "Faceman" Peck), and Jessica Biel ( Carissa Sosa), and is directed by Joe Carnahan. This movie is based on the hit television show called The A-Team. The movie is about a group of soldiers stationed in Iraq that take a case that they should have have taken and are then framed for a crime they didn't commit. They are then sentenced up to 10 years in prison separately. After 6 months, Hannibal Smith had, had just about enough of prison and was ready to save his name, and the names of his men. One by one they all escaped. Now, they are working together to get back at the people that set them up, but honestly, they can't trust anybody. With action a lot of action and humor its just all comes together as a really awesome film. Sharlto Copely plays "Howling mad" Murdock who is pilot of the crew. He is insanely funny. Unlike the others, he is not sent to prison, he is sent somewhere else but I will let you find out where. Neeson is great as usual and is proving to be an action machine. Bradley Cooper left Vegas behind and joined The A-Team. "I pity the fool." The famous line said by Mr. T in the television show. Well Quinton "Rampage" Jackson definitely filled his shoes. He really was bad ass and his fear of flying made me crack up. Considering this guy didn't have a lot of acting experience because he is an MMA fighter really impressed me. This movie also has a lot of twists up its sleeves. Just when you think you have figured something out the exact opposite thing actually happens. Just when you think a person is on the A-Team's side, they stab them in the back. This movie has great acting, it is hysterical, and the action scenes are incredible. The ending of the movie was pretty sweet. Just when all hope is lost something happens. Overall I give this move 4 popcorn buckets out of a possible 5. With its insane action and perfect humor it definitely deserves a high rating. Remember, "When you want to find a flick, twothumbsup will help you pick."

Double Click For Trailer Below

http://www.moviefone.com/movie/the-a-team/33338/video/the-a-team-trailer-no-2/87983225001

My Heart Was Crazy For This Movie

The last movie that I saw was entitled Crazy Heart (R). It stars Jeff Bridges, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Colin Farrell, and is directed by Scott Cooper. It is about a has been country singer named Bad Blake. He travels around to country towns in order to make some money. Mainly he travels to towns where people just adore him and have heard all of his songs. This makes him feel wanted, and brings back a lot of memories to him. However he still has the bad thought that his prime is over and all that he has left is his memories of his past. This gives him the urge to drink. After he drinks, he drinks, then he pukes, then he scrambles for money to buy drinks, and drinking turns out to be the thing that his life revolves around. His manager begins to think that it is time for him to do shows that make him the most money. Bad Blake just wants to keep his pride. So when his manager tells him he could make good money opening for Tommy Sweet he has doubts. Tommy was the person he trained and now he is the most famous country singer. Eventually he agrees to this but before he leaves he meets a woman named Jean (Maggie Gyllenhaal) who wants to interview him. While doing so they find chemistry together and a special bond occurs. They start spending time together and that is where he meets her son. They all have such a good time together but then he has to go. While on his way to his next destination he gets into a car accident. At the hospital he is told that if he does not stop drinking and smoking he will die young. After this experience he starts to appreciate life more, and he starts to become closer to Jean and her son. Throughout the rest of the movie you see how a person can change, but how some people just don't. It is the story of second chances. Jeff Bridges puts on another typical Jeff Bridges performance. He is just so incredible and the fact that he did his own singing was even more impressive. He has earned himself a golden globe for his performance and an Oscar nomination. Along side him was Maggie Gyllenhaal who now is an Oscar nominated actress. In addition, Colin Farrell was just superb. Even as an Irishman you could easily mistaken him as a professional country singer. He did a great job no matter how little screen time he had. Overall I give this movie 3.5 popcorn buckets out of a possible 5. Honestly I don't think the ending had a lot of closure to it. I believe it could have a little more fulfilling. Remember, "If you want to find a flick, twothumbsup will help you pick!!!"

Double Click Below For Trailer

http://www.moviefone.com/movie/crazy-heart/1441169/video/crazy-heart-trailer-no-1/52445892001

I Was Blinded By This Movie

The last movie that I saw is entitled The Blind Side (PG-13). It stars Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, and new coming actor, Quinton Aaron. It is directed by John Lee Hancock. It is about a young ,BIG black kid who has lost his way. He and his mother were split up when he was younger due to her drug problem. About 8 years later young Michael Oher is on the street just looking for some food and a place to sleep. However, due to the fact that he did stay with his friend for a while, his friend's father showed a coach of a white catholic school both boys. The coach was very interested in "Big Mike." He got him in to the school, but he was very shy and his grades weren't so good. As the days went on a white family noticed Mike. They were the Tuohy's. They were a well known family with a group of athletes. One night the Tuohy's were driving and they saw Mike walking by. The nice woman that Leigh Anne was, she offered Mike to spend the night on their couch. With Leigh Anne was her husband Sean, her son SJ, and her daughter Collins. They were fine with it. Especially SJ who really liked spending time with Mike. A day went by followed by another, and another, and a few more in which Mike was still living with the Tuohy's. Eventually he got his own room with a bed for the first time in his life. They got him a drivers license and a record. They let him into their family and they changed his life. Meanwhile the coach was fighting for him to join the football team the problem was that his grades weren't good enough to play on the team. All the teachers thought that he was stupid, but that was not the case. He wasn't a very good test taker but he was listening. He started working hard and he was ready to get his grades up. He did and joined the team. However the coach didn't know what to do with him. Only Leigh Anne could get through to him. This movie shows all about family. It shows that you don't have to have the same blood or skin color to be family. Family is a group of people who have each others back. That is what the Tuohy's do. This movie is based on a true story and is really, really touching. This is not just one of the regular heartwarming sport movies. This movie has a lot of meaning. It shows more than the game, but what some people go through to do the right thing. Currently the Tuohy's are still alive and Michael is covering Joe Flacco's blind side for the Baltimore Ravens. Quinton Aaron (The person who played Michael Oher) was in a similar situation to Mike. He was living on the streets of Memphis before he got the callback to portray Michael Oher. Sandra Bullock ( Leigh Anne Tuohy) made the performance of her career. She won the golden globe for best actress in a drama for her role. She definitely deserved it and has hit a turning point in her career. The person that she played is a true inspiration. She is a tough, tough woman. She will do anything for her family because her life is her family. She didn't care what anybody else thought including her friends. She did what was right. She did what she believed in and she is a true hero. Overall this was an excellent movie. It had sad parts with a some happy parts and dramatic parts. I give it 4 popcorn buckets out of a possible 5. After finding out what the real life was compared to the movie, there were a few parts that I didn't like. I didn't like the fact that Collins wasn't a bigger part in the movie. In reality they were very close. Remember, "If you want to find a flick, twothumbsup will help you pick!"

Double Click Below For Trailer

http://www.moviefone.com/movie/the-blind-side/37685/video/the-blind-side-trailer-no-2/41934129001

Sibling Rivalry

The last movie that I saw is entitled Brothers (R). It stars Tobey Maguire, Jake Gyllanhaal, Natalie Portman, and is directed by Jim Sheridan. It is about a brother named Sam Cahill (Maguire) who is in the army and is getting ready to be shipped off to Afghanistan again. He is happily married to his wife Grace (Portman) and has two daughters. His brother Tommy (Gyllenhaal) is just getting out of prison for robbery. Throughout their childhood Sam was always more liked by his parents and by other people in general. He was the quarterback of his high school football team, and now is defending his country. Now out of prison the family is having dinner and it just looks like one big happy family. Then tension arrives between Tommy and his father. Then tension would grow even more when two soldiers walk in the house to see Grace a week later only to tell her that Sam had died in after his helicopter had been hit. All of the family was depressed and things weren't so good for them. However, they weren't good for Sam either. It turns out he was alive after all. Him and Pvt. Joe Willis were captured by Afghani people and were then tortured for months. During this time Tommy had grown a lot closer to Sam's kids (Maggie and Isabella), and his wife. In fact the two shared a brief kiss after learning they weren't that much different after all. While playing in the snow the phone had rang. It was a call that had to do with the return of Sam. Now Sam is home and everything changes. Sam had done something that he couldn't live with, and something that frightened his entire family. His kids started to resent him and Tommy was in a horrible position now. Plus Sam started to get very paranoid after seeing how happy Tommy and his family looked without him. After questions were asked, things never stayed the same. The movie shows the relationship between both brothers and Grace. It shows how much being held captive and tortured can change a person. Even if that person is going to be considered a hero. This movie had incredible acting. Maguire gave the performance of his life, and is now up for a golden globe for best actor. In my opinion he could easily win it. After seeing this movie I don't just look at him as nerdy Peter Parker any more. I realize that he has a lot more range then I ever thought he did. I also saw what Gyllenhaal can do in this kind of a role. Each of the brothers showed great passion towards each other, and you could see the seriousness in their eyes towards the end of the movie. In addition Portman showed great emotion as she was caught between both brothers, and saw her high school sweet heart fall apart. The movie was overall great. What I liked that I wasn't expecting was how realistic this movie was. They didn't just saw Sam is dead and 5 minutes later he was at the doorstep. They showed the struggles he went through being held captive, and they showed how he got through it. I hate unrealistic movies so after I saw this picture I was able to feel the pain that Sam went through a lot easier. Overall this is a potential Oscar winning film. It had great emotion and passion. You really were able to feel their pain. I give this movie 4.0 popcorn buckets out of a possible 5.0. I honestly did not like what happened towards the end that was brought upon by Isabella. I just did not enjoy her presence. Remember, "If you want to find a flick, twothumbsup will help you pick!"

Double Click Below For Trailer

http://www.moviefone.com/movie/brothers/31198/video/brothers-trailer-no-1/30354407001

I Solved The Mystery: Sherlock Holmes Was Truly A Great Movie

The last movie that I saw is entitled Sherlock Holmes (PG-13). It stars Robert Downey Jr, Jude Law, Rachel McAdams, and is directed by Guy Ritchie. It is about the most notorious detective during the late 1800's who goes by the name of Sherlock Holmes. He solve a mystery like eating a piece of cake. With him is his partner in crime known as Dr. Watson. In this addition, Holmes is having trouble dealing with the fact that Watson is getting married, and will move out of their workplace to live with his gal, Mary. Besides that Holmes has a bigger problem. The case that he is working on is a very tricky one. A man by the name of Blackwood has supposedly been using magic to torture and kill people. Everybody is afraid of his magical ways but Holmes is not a big believer in magic, and is certain he will solve blackwood's mystery, and give him what he deserves. While doing the case an old flame pops up from his past and she goes by the name of Irene (McAdams). She wants him to open a case up and you will not find out what he will do until the very end. The movie has a lot of action, well thought out plans, and my personal favorite a dry sense of humor by the great Sherlock Holmes. As most of you know Sherlock Holmes goes way beyond Robert Downey Jr. It all started with a series of books written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Soon after his writings, Holmes became a series of shows, and movies, and the most famous fictional detective to ever be created. The characters are certainly a little bit different in this movie compared to the original stuff. For starters, the original Holmes was a lot older and did not do any fighting. This movie had Downey Jr as a brilliant fighter who planned his every step before he actually performed one single punch. Also the original Holmes was not as obnoxious or sarcastic as this one was. Next is Watson. Once again he was much older in the original Sherlock Holmes. In addition, in the original Holmes he was short and bulgy and Law's portrayal of Watson was tall and skinny. However the differences made actually made the movie a lot more enjoyable. All of the actors did a fabulous adjusting to their roles. Downey is known for how good he can be playing a biopic figure, or a famous fictional character in this case. He starred in Chaplin and had a dead on impression of the famous comedian. His walk, talk, and his look were on the money. Anyway this movie was just an all around great movie. It wasn't too long or short, it had some action, humor, and drama. There wasn't too much or too little of anything in the movie. Inspite of what other critics are saying I really enjoyed this movie. Overall I give this movie 4.5 popcorn buckets out of a possible 5. It had almost every feature to make a great movie. The only thing was that there was some unrealistic parts in the movie, but that is expected for a movie like this. Be sure to keep checking in because I will be writing about any movie that will be shown in this years academy awards. Remember, "If you want to find a flick, twothumbsup will help you pick!"

Double Click Below For Trailer

http://www.moviefone.com/movie/sherlock-holmes/35683/video/sherlock-holmes-trailer-no-1/56997791001