RED

I was slow to getting around to seeing Red but finally did so. I'm not sure what took me so long. Who wouldn't want to see a movie starring Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, and Helen Mirren? The casting in this movie was great. Red stands for retired extremely dangerous. It is about several retired CIA agents who find themselves on a government hit list. They try to find out who is trying to kill them and why, and then they end up working together to fight back.

I liked this movie because it had lots of action but I liked it even more because it didn't take itself too seriously. There are plenty of fake moments, but I found those scenes to be more palatable since they were delivered in a light hearted tone. This movie was actually quite funny and I found myself laughing during several scenes.

Red reminded me of some other recent movies. It had a similar similar story line to The Expendables, The A-Team, and Killers. It also featured the theme of "old people" whooping on the younger generation which was kind of fun.

I give Red 7.4 stars for being a fun action movie.

Tron Legacy

Tron Legacy is a sequel to the 1982 original. It continues the story of Kevin Flynn, played by Jeff Bridges, as he is trapped in a computer world. Flynn created a program named CLU to help him manage the virtual world, but it turns against him and keeps him captive. Flynn's son comes to rescue him after he's been missing for years. I was looking forward to the Matrix-like concept behind Tron Legacy, but I have mixed feelings about this movie.

The Pros- Jeff Bridges is kind of like a mellowed out hippie zen master in this movie as opposed to a tech-nerd. Bridges has been great in everything I've ever seen him in and can't seem to do wrong lately. Olivia Wilde plays Fynn's helper Quorra. She has the naive mentality of a child like Robot, but her looks make up for it. This movie is visually entertaining and has some really cool special effects.

The Cons- I didn't like Sam Flynn who was played by Garrett Hedlund. He seemed like a rebellious, spoiled punk so I had a hard time rooting for him. They used CGI to make a younger version of Bridges to play the villain. It was kind of cool, yet looked creepy and lifeless at the same time, like all the characters in the Polar Express. Also for some reason during the movie, I kept having subliminal flashbacks of Scare Crow and Mrs. King.

You may hear some people belly ache about how the plot was weak, but most people aren't going to see it for the plot. I went to see Tron for the visual effects and I think it delivered in that area. I give Tron Legacy 7.2 stars.  Now if you will excuse me, I need to go velcro a frisbee on the back of my shirt.

Yogi Bear

I'm not going to review Yogi Bear. I just wanted to make an official statement that there is no way I am ever going to watch this "movie". Was it really necessary to make a movie about Yogi Bear just because there was a cartoon about him years ago? I haven't seen or heard any reviews or even seen the trailer, but my spidey senses tell me that the stink-o-meter is off the charts with this one. I may end up eating my words when it wins 5 academy awards, but I doubt it. Why am I able to jump to such conclusions and judge a movie before I even see it? Because I'm smarter than the average critic.

The Next Three Days

The Next Three Days is one of those movies that got released with little publicity. It stars Russell Crowe as a man who's wife played by Elizabeth Banks is imprisoned for murder. He feels she was innocent but there is too much evidence against her to prove otherwise. After a rejected appeal, his wife becomes suicidal in prison and in desperation, he finally gives up on the legal system and decides the only course of action is for him to break her out of prison.

Once he makes this decision, he finds himself in an awkward position as he makes plans for her escape. He is a college professor and is very naive when it comes to criminal activity. Since he is not street wise, he suffers several setbacks, but persistently continues to study and prepare until he can wait no longer to put his plan into action.

I liked this movie for several reasons. First, it has a realistic feel to it, Second, the main character deals with multiple setbacks as opposed to an ideal prison break you might expect from an Oceans 11 type of movie. Another reason I liked it is because I once had to break my wife out of prison and I could totally relate to the storyline.

Crowe's performance is not quite on the same level as Cinderella Man or A Beautiful Mind, but it is still very good. I'm really surprised this film hasn't done better at the box office or received better reviews.  I give The Next Three Days 7.8 stars for being a very intense and suspenseful movie.

Grown Ups

I have mixed feelings about Adam Sandler movies. Some of the funnier ones include Happy Gilmore, Billy Madison, The Water Boy, and The Wedding Singer. Most of his other movies have some funny scenes that make you laugh, but they are not that great as a whole. Grown ups fits in with the majority of his movies in that it has some funny parts, yet it's only mediocre.

One thing that bothered me about this movie were the details behind the story line. A group of boys who were on the same basketball team as ten year olds come together as adults with their families 30 years later to attend the funeral of their old coach. They react to his passing like he was their father. I'm not expecting alot from the plot or storyline, but I felt that was just a lazy excuse to get the cast together and I didn't buy it.

Grown ups reminded me of an old Saturday Night Live reunion that they invited David James to. A total of 7 characters in the movie have been on SNL, so I expected it to be funnier than it was. There are the usual crude jokes and humor that you might expect along with the obligatory weird character cameo by Steve Buscemi.

I give it 5.9 generous stars. I wanted it to be better, but it was a lazy and sloppy effort when it had so much more potential with such a talented cast. I'm just glad Adam Sandler doesn't critique me at my job.

Killers

I heard this movie got some pretty unenthusiastic reviews so I waited for it to come out on DVD before I watched it, but it was actually much better than I expected. Killers is about a spy/hit man, played by Ashton Kutcher, who falls in love with a woman (Katherine Heigl) while he's on a mission in France.

He forsakes his career to marry her and decides to settle down in the states and begins to live a "regular" life. Several years later his past catches up with him and he discovers that there is a price on his head. He and his wife are forced to protect themselves as they are on the run from multiple assassins who keep coming out of the woodwork.

I am not a huge fan of Ashton Kutcher or Katherine Heigl, but I enjoyed them both in this movie and thought they had better chemistry than the leading couples in many other movies. I also found myself laughing quite a bit during this movie.

Killers is an enjoyable romantic action comedy that doesn't take itself too seriously. Some parts reminded me of Mr. and Mrs. Smith. One of the best performances was from Tom Selleck. I really liked him and Catherine O'Hara as the in laws. Killers has it's flaws, but it's definitely worth a watch on DVD and is not nearly as bad as other reviews say it was. I give Killers 7.0 stars.