Due Date: Check Yo self, Before You Wreck Yo self

Official Site: duedatemovie.warnerbros.com
Director(s): Todd Phillips
Writer(s): Alan R. Cohen
Producer(s): Daniel Goldberg, Todd Phillips,
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Zach Galifianakis, Michelle Monaghan, Jamie Foxx,
Juliette Lewis, Danny Mcbride, RZA (IMDb). Rated-R.

Ethan Tremblay is a mixture of idiocy, bravery(somewhat), gratuity, and a strangeness that is so unprecedented that it borders the paranormal. Tremblay seriously believed the Grand Canyon was man made, causing one to think there is no way he could be so misinformed, but he was. This character was annoying and on the precipice of being unbearable, and if Tremblay was not traumatized with any familial issues, and if he was not so generous, it would have been easy to dislike him, and also to feel , Peter's (Downey) treatment of him was justified at times. 

Although Tremblay was annoying, he's redeeming qualities won me over, and they won Peter over as well. Peter possessing common sense, and being better informed certainly did not like Tremblay at first, but after much yelling they eventually developed an understanding. Peter and Tremblay did not share much in common, except that both had issues with their father.

Downey and Galifianakis had awesome chemistry on screen, and It was a lot of fun watching those two. The scene in Mexico was the turning point in the characters' relationships, because at that juncture it appeared they were truly becoming friends. Due Date was funny and semi hilarious. The humor was witty and knowledge driven, for one would have to possesses a basic education to understand some of the jokes, especially the joke about the Grand Canyon.

 Maybe there are some people who truly believe the Grand Canyon was man-made. Overall it was funny. A little weird, but funny. According to metacritic.com the film received mixed reviews, and rottentomatoes.com scored the film 49 fresh tomatoes to 78 rotten ones. I'll score it a 76. Stay tuned, movieporium.blogspot.com.

Let Me In: Going Steady

Official Site: www.letmein-movie.com
Director(s): Matt Reeves
Writer(s): Matt Reeves, John Ajvide Lindqvist
Producer(s): Alexander Yves Brunner, Guy East, Carl Molinder, John Nordling, Simon Oakes, Nigel Sinclair

Starring: Kodi Smit-McPhee, Chloe Moretz, Cara Buono , Elias Koteas(IMDb). Rated-R, 115 min.

Owen is a reclusive 12 year old boy, who spends most of his days avoiding bullies, and eating candy. On an ordinary night, Owen was looking out of his window, and he noticed a young girl, Abby, about his age accompanied by an older man. When Abby and Owen first met, Abby warned Owen, that they could not be friends. Despite this warning, Abby and Owen developed a strong bond that was questionable in sanity.

The relationship Abby and Owen developed was cute and disturbing; cute, two prepubescent kids forming a bond that is apparently innocent; disturbing, Abby is a vampire, who kills people for their blood. In some of the scenes where they hug each other, there is so much innocence there, but when deeply considered, Abby's nature presents itself, and thus the disturbing aspect of their relationship sets in. Owen is arguably disturbed himself. He is timid and frail, but he has dark tendencies. The actors chosen for the roles of Owen and Abby, were perfect, because both Mcphee, and Moretz seem so harmless in appearance.

Overall, the film had a slow pace that could have rendered it boring, but it did not, because there was something interesting occurring in every scene. Some of the camera angles were effective, and creative in their use. A historical explanation of Abby's vampirism would have been nice, but it seems this was deliberately kept a mystery. According to metacritic.com the film received generally favorable reviews, and rottentomatoes.com granted the film 96 fresh tomatoes to 16 rotten ones. I liked it, it gets an 82.

Toy Story 3: The Claaaaw

Official Site:disney.go.com/toystory
Director(s):Lee Unkrich
Writer(s): Michael Arndt, John Lasseter
Producer(s): Darla K. Anderson

Starring: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Don Rickles, Michael Keaton, Wallace Shawn,
Estelle Harris, John Morris, Jodi Benson,(IMDb). G, 103 min.

Andy is all grown and he is on his way to college, so The Cowboy and the rest of the gang are worried about what will happen to them once Andy leaves. Already feeling lonely and abandoned because they rarely get played with, the toys are afraid Andy's departure to college means they will be thrown away. However, Andy decided to store them in the attic, but the toys never reached that destination due to a slight confusion on the part of Andy's mom. The Cowboy and the gang end up at a day care, seemingly perfect at first, until they learned more about Lotso.

Toy Story 3 was not one of the films on my to see list this summer, but Pixar's reputation for great stories motivated me to see this film. Again Pixar created another beautiful animation picture, that had a plot within a plot, which was exciting, suspenseful, and funny.

The most interesting character in the film was Lotso. There was a Machiavellian element to Lotso's mode of operation that seemed to have developed on account of his unfortunate past experience. Lotso understood resource management in how he related to his minions. He was a well crafted antagonist who was equably duplicitous. According to metacritic.com the film received universal aclaim, and rottentomatoes granted the film 182 fresh tomatoes to 3 rotten ones thus far. Awesome. It earns a 95. Stay tuned, movieporium.blogspot.com.

Jonah Hex : Eli Whitney Jr.

Official Site: jonah-hex.warnerbros.com
Director(s): Jimmy Hayward
Writer(s):Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor
Producer(s): Akiva Goldsman, Andrew Lazar,

Starring:Josh Brolin, John Malkovich, Megan Fox, Michael Fassbender, Will Arnett,(IMDb). PG-13, 80 min.

The past transgressions of Jonah Hex(Brolin) came back to haunt him through the vindictive might of Quentin Turnbull (Malkovich), who took away everything Hex loved in one unforgettable night. Turnbull and his crew left Hex to die, but fate preferred to keep Hex alive, and he was rescued and treated by Indian medicine men. Subsequently, Hex was endowed with, what could be described as purgatorial powers of communication. Hex could talk to the dead, and he would use this power to seek vengeance on the man who took everything that was valuable to him.

The writing was exclamatory, bold, and insightful. Using Eli Whitney's creation as a key driver of a very important element in the plot, made the film more significant in a rather ominous manner. Eli Whitney was involved in weapons manufacturing, but not to the extent the film suggested. This bit of realism, may induce one to question, did Whitney secretly invent such a weapon for the government?

The production was excellent, as it managed to present the film in a soiled, colorful, but stylish manner. Dirt laden costumes, grungy wooden buildings, and shacks were constitutive of praise worthy production . All the weapons were very cool. I believe there was even a submarine in one scene.

A good pace, good action scenes, and no lag, Jonah Hex was entertaining. While the action was good it was not mind blowing. The PG-13 rating may have hurt some of the action scenes. Also the editing was not excessive, but awkward. One of the main contributors to the entertainment value of the film was John Malkovich. He was an awesome villain. According to metacritic the film received generally unfavorable reviews, and rottentomatoes granted the film 13 fresh tomatoes to 76 rotten ones. Not a bad action flick, I'll grade it a 79. Stay tuned, movieporium.blogspot.com.

The Karate Kid: Cobra

Official Site: www.karatekid-themovie.com
Director(s): Harald Zwart
Writer(s):Christopher Murphey,Robert Mark Kamen
Producer(s): James Lassiter, Jada Pinkett Smith, Will Smith,

Starring: Jaden Smith, Jackie Chan, Taraji P. Henson, Wenwen Han,(IMDb).

Sherry Parker decided to leave Detroit to work in China, and her son Dre Parker was not enthusiastic about leaving to a country where he would have to learn a different language, and adopt a different culture which included being educated in a school system he was wholly not accustomed to. Briefly after arriving in China, Dre befriends a neighborhood kid who invited him to a nearby park. After giving the invite some thought, later, Dre walked to the park, and began playing basketball. On account of jet-lag, Dre played horribly. After playing ball, pressured by his new friend, Dre decided to talk to a girl he was starring at, and this resulted in a confrontation with a group of skillful martial students, one of which was friends with the girl's family. The outcome of the confrontation was very painful for Dre, and ultimately, with Mr. Han (Chan) as his trainer, this placed him on the path of becoming the Karate Kid.

Admittedly I was very skeptical about this remake, but Smith and Chan arrested my skepticism. Both made a satisfactory on-screen duo. However, the purest in me perceives "Danielson", as oppose to "Shao Dre", as indelible, and Mr. Miyagi still sounds far more interesting than Mr. Han. Despite these differences, this remake was a good modernization or upgrade." Cruel summer", was not the music used roughly at the beginning of the film, this was reserved for Hip-Hop. Both Dre and Mr. Han were more acrobatic in the their practice of kung-fu than Daniel and Mr. Miyagi were in their practice of Karate. In modernizing this film, I'm curious why the writers made the main character younger?

The pace of the film was satisfactory enough to repel lag. Emotionally, this film was engaging, as one cannot help but cheer for the charming, honorable, brat named Dre. Despite how good of a story Karate Kid is, one could always argue about the unlikelihood of a neophyte martial arts student, learning kung-fu in a couple of months to a skill level to win a competition. It's not realistic. It's Hollywood. According to metacritic,the film earned generally favorable reviews. Rottentomatoes granted the film 94 fresh tomatoes to 42 rotten ones. This was a touching story of friendship between generations. I'll grade it an 83. Stay tuned, movieporium.blogspot.com.

A-Team: Flying The Tank

Official Site:www.ateam-movie.com
Director(s):Joe Carnahan
Writer(s): Joe Carnahan, Brian Bloom
Producer(s):Stephen J. Cannell,Jules Daly, Ridley Scott,Tony Scott, Spike Seldin,Iain Smith,Alex Young.

Starring:Liam Neeson,Bradley Cooper,Jessica Biel,Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson,Sharlto Copley,
Gerald McRaney,Brian Bloom. (IMDb). PG-13, 1hr, 57 min.

Hannibal, B.A Baracus, Face, and Murdock, were brought together by a series of circumstances driven by fate, to become what is known as the A-Team. However, after successfully completing a mission that required them to return stolen currency plates used for printing US money, the A-Team was dismantled and falsely convicted of stealing the very same plates they supposedly returned. Imprisonment was not a mighty foe for Hannibal's acumen in planning. With the help of a suspicious CIA agent, Hannibal escaped from prison, and freed the rest of his Rangers to seek justice by clearing their name.

The casting was commendable. The group of actors selected for their respective roles were superb in portraying each A-Team member as they are traditionally known. My favorite was Murdock. I'm not familiar with Sharlto Copley as an actor but he played Murdock well.

The pace of the film was just right, with absolutely no lag. There was something significant occurring in every scene. The plot was clear, but slightly complex, but none the less still clear. Yes, a lot things blew up in this film, but this was not a completely inane action flick. A-Team had a measure of depth that was manifested in one scene where Hannibal sardonically criticized Pike, one of the two main antagonists, for being a member of "Black Forest", a private military company, supposedly a reference to Black Water. With very creative action scenes, and unyielding humor, A-Team lived up to the hype. According to metacritic the film received generally mixed or average reviews. Rottentomatoes granted the film 63 fresh tomatoes to 59 rotten ones. Awesome action flick, I'll grade it an 89. Stay tuned movieporium.blogspot.com.

Killers: Rebound

Official Site:killersfilm.com
Director(s): Robert Luketic
Writer(s): Bob DeRosa,Ted Griffin,
Producer(s): Scott Aversano, Jason Goldberg, Mike Karz, Ashton Kutcher, Chad Marting, Christopher S. Pratt, Josie Rosen.

Starring:Ashton Kutcher, Katherine Heigl, Tom Selleck, Catherine O'Hara, Rob Riggle(IMDb).

It all happened in Nice, France in the elevator. Jen(Heigl) saw Spencer(Kutcher) with his shirt off, and she was hypnotized by his brand of testosterone. Jen did not intend on going to the beach, but being enamored by Spencer's impeccable abs and strong chest, she was compelled to follow him there, even though she was not adorned in proper beach fashion. Chit chat and flirting lead to dinner and a nightclub. Three years later, Jen and Spencer are married, but after an old colleague contacted Spencer, it triggered a series of wild events which obligated Spencer to reveal details about his past to his wife.

Kutcher and Heigl are an adorable on screen couple, and seeing more of them would be nice, but as an actress, it would be great to see Heigl branch out a little bit. She's talented, and she has enough fire in her to perform drama. In any event, although platitudinous, Killers was entertaining, and rather well explained. The plot was lucid for the most part. But one character, the mother in law ,had a habit that had no historical explanation, but the habit made the character, evidently flawed, but amusing.

As a romantic comedy, Killers also had action. This kind of romantic comedy was bearable mainly because there was some action to appeal to my brute male fascination for seeing things blow up. Action romantic comedies could be a market to experience expansion. Films like this may lure more males who typically loathe sitting through chick flicks. According to rottentomatoes the film earned 8 fresh tomatoes to 55 rotten ones, granting it one the worst scores I have seen yet. Entertaining but not unprecedented, I'll grade it a 75. Stay tuned movieporium.blogspot.com.

Splice: DREN

Official Site:www.splicethefilm.com
Director(s):Vincenzo Natali
Writer(s): Vincenzo Natali, Antoinette Terry Bryant
Producer(s): Steven Hoban

Starring:Adrien Brody, Sarah Polley, Delphine Chanéac(IMDb). Rated R-104min.

Two very ambitious scientist secretly created a human/animal hybrid against the wishes of the corporation that was funding their research. In fear of being discovered, they later relocated to one of the scientist's childhood farm where they developed a bond with their creation while gaining an understanding of its behavior. The creature appeared human in many physiological and psychological aspects, but this entity was certainly not entirely human, granting her some amazing gifts. A marvelous creation indeed, but this marvel had one pernicious trait the scientist overlooked.

Splice features the issue of human/animal hybrids, which is currently heavily debated. In exploring the possible benefits and disadvantages of this phenomenon, the film ultimately concludes as a cautionary tale. In part, the reality of venturing into gene mixing across species is not as cautious, relatively speaking, and a preferable moral consensus faces multiple diplomatic hurdles, as noted in this article. What may attract people to these types of films is the prospect of seeing an entity that is extra-human in some facet; and this may stem from a deep desire many of us possess to get bitten by a "radio active spider" if you know what I mean. Human/animal hybrids are no longer a subject of narratives, they are a reality, a feet attributable to genetic engineering.

A decent pace, a disturbingly lovable and sexy creature, a storyline driven by a real life issue,what more could I ask for? Well, a more defined or exciting plot would of been nice. Also, the exciting scenes were concentrated in the end, perhaps due to budgetary constraints. Although Splice was not as exciting as I wanted it to be, one major credit to the film, was that it presented the possible challenges of parenting a relatively intelligent sentient human/animal hybrid; a concern for future generations. According to metacritic, the film received generally favorable reviews, and rottentomatoes granted the film 81 fresh tomatoes to 31 rotten ones. Not bad, I'll grade it a 75. Stay tuned movieporium.blogspot.com.

Sex and The City 2: Abudhabi do!

Official Site:www.sexandthecitymovie.com
Director(s):Michael Patrick King
Writer(s): Michael Patrick King, Candace Bushnell
Producer(s):Michael Patrick King, John P. Melfi, Sarah Jessica Parker, Darren Star

Starring:Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon, Kim Cattrall,Chris Noth, David Eigenberg, Evan Handler(IMDb).Rated-R, 146 min.

A middle eastern magnate was impressed with Samantha's public relations skills in the release of her former boyfriend's new movie; so he invited Samantha to an all expense paid trip to the Middle East. She would accept the offer only on the condition, her girls came along. So thanks to Samantha, the girls flew to Abudhabi. During their decadent excursion, through candid conversations, the girls confronted the issues that were an impediment to their emotional well being. While the excursion was not perfect, it was cathartic.

Glamor, luxury, and fashion are synonymous with Sex and The City, and this sequel retained those qualities quite nicely. Recognizing the plot in the midst of the decadence was difficult. The girls flew to Abudhabi to have fun, but not to find themselves; the trip was cathartic incidentally, but no intentionally. The plot did not get lost in the showcasing of the decadence, simply, a plot was not established clearly.

Decadence was aptly presented, but not in the absence of edification. Friendship, kindness, marital diplomacy, and the challenges of motherhood were entwined in the bling essence that the series is known for. Two commendable scenes in relation to friendship and the challenges of motherhood, Samantha passed up sex to hangout with her girls, and Charlotte and Miranda payed tribute to single working moms during a candid conversation. Finally on an unrelated issue in connection to preceding points, one could argue the writing criticized Middle Eastern mores of sexuality through Samantha's defiance. According to metacritic the film earned generally unfavorable reviews, and rottentomatoes granted the film 29 fresh tomatoes to 140 rotten ones thus far. Nothing spectacular, but entertaining and fun. I'll grade it a 78. Stay tuned movieporium.blogspot.com.

Prince Of Persia Sands of Time: Hansassins

Official Site: Prince of Persia Official Site
Director(s): Mike Newell

Writer(s): Boaz Yakin,Doug Miro

Producer(s): Jerry Bruckheimer

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton, Ben Kingsley, Alfred Molina, Steve Toussaint,(IMDb).PG-13, 116min.

Impressed by Dastan's courage as a boy, King Sharaman adopted him into the royal family. Dastan grew up to be a beloved Prince of Persia until his uncle Nizam had other ideas about his place in the royal family. Nazim crafted a ploy to invade a supposed rival territory under the duplicitous accusation that they were selling weapons to Persia's adversaries. Although King Sharaman was against the invasion, the Persians seized the territory, and apprehended Tamina. After a major incident lead to the betrayal of Dastan, he fled Persia with Tamina, and the sacred knife. In the midst of developing a fondness for each other, with much quarrels, Dristan and Tamina became aware that the invasion was not about weapons.

It was exciting watching Dastan jump from roof top to roof top in addition to some of the clever maneuvers he performed while he was fighting. Delivering an adventure that included, awesome chase scenes, and a descent story, Prince of Persia did not disappoint as it lived up to hype. This was a satisfactory film. One element of the story seemed to make a political point. Namely the invasion. It could be argued, the writers were making a point about the invasion of Iraq. Furthermore, there was mention of secret government killings and their relation to taxes, which was presented with levity. Finally, my favorite political point was the ending of the movie itself, which advocated cooperation rather than conquest.

Very entertaining, but not extraordinary or unprecedented, Prince of Persia is worth seeing. According to metacritic the film received mixed or average reviews, and rottentomatoes granted the film 64 fresh tomatoes to 99 rotten ones thus far. A nice action flick, with great production, I'll grade it an 83. Stay tuned movieporium.blogspot.com.

Shrek The Final Chapter: Re-Donkey-lous

Dreamworks

Official Site:www.shrek.com
Director(s):Mike Mitchell
Writer(s):Josh Klausner, Darren Lemke
Producer(s):Teresa Cheng, Gina Shay,

Starring:Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Antonio Banderas, Julie Andrews, Jon Hamm, John Cleese, Walt Dohrn, Lake Bell,(IMDb). PG-93 min.

Shrek has become a family-man, with a wife, and several green creatures which he calls his kids. Although Shrek appears to have a blissful life, emotionally, Shrek is not fulfilled. He misses the days when he was a reclusive menacing ogre, and people were actually afraid of him. Feeling that his life has become something akin to a tourist attraction, Shrek deeply yearns the life he had before rescuing Princess Fiona, and the opportunistic Rumpelstiltskin grants him that life for a day through a contractual obligation accompanied by dire consequences.

In contrast to the preceding films, Shrek: The Final Chapter, although satisfying, was not as funny. The humor in the previous films was more adult oriented; it was difficult to detect such humor in this latest and final release of the series. With the humor being more sanitized, or designed for a younger audience, the older fans of the series may have felt, this comedy was amusing in a sophomoric manner. Using the term sophomoric appears harsh, however it is not intended to be pejorative, but that, the humor seemed rather simplified.

The story was more satisfying than the humor. Indeed this was a beautiful story of loss, redemption, and appreciation. Over all the film had a good pace. All the major characters are as lovable as they have ever been. According to Metacritic, the filmed earned average or mixed reviews, and Rottentomatoes.com granted the film 65 fresh tomatoes to 56 rotten ones thus far. Definitely worth seeing, I'll grade it an 83. Stay tuned, movieporium.blogspot.com

The Secret In Their Eyes: Can't Seperate A Man From His Passion

Official Site: http://www.sonyclassics.com/thesecretintheireyes/
Director(s):Juan José Campanella
Writer(s): Eduardo Sacheri
Producer(s):Mariela Besuievski, Juan José Campanella, Carolina Urbieta.

Starring:Ricardo Darín, Guillermo Francella, Soledad Villamil, Jose Luis Gioia, Pablo Rago (Moviefone.com). Rated R-127 minutes.

A former official of Argentina's Justice Department, Benjamin Esposito was struggling to write a novel about a rape-homicide case from decades ago. As a frustrated Esposito labored to find the right words to write on his notepad, he could not help imagining the screams of the rape victim, which was the antithesis of the idealistic, soft, and poetic thoughts he tried to write. This case was special to Esposito; he simply could not shake off a brute intuition, that there was something more to this old case. Following his intuition, Esposito visited his former boss, Irene, and they talked about old times, and reminisced about the case. Revisiting the case as a novelist, Esposito ultimately discovers something shocking and unprecedented.

The Secret In Their Eyes, is the Academy Award winner for best foreign language film, marked by excellent character development, smart writing, and balance. Characters drive the film, but not to the extent that they are the focus feature of the film, because the investigation of the rape-homicide is also captivating, but so is the writing. The dialogue is cogent and aphoristic, and one could argue that there is truth in the saying, " can't separate a man from his passion". Excluding the investigation, other elements of the film did not dominate the main story or the plot, but they were present and resolved. For example, Esposito was in love with his boss, Irene; this aspect of the film was resolved, without overshadowing the investigation which was the center aspect. Overall, the pace of the film was just was right , there was no lag, and it was absolutely captivating. According to metacritic.com, the film received generally favorable reviews, and Rottentomatoes.com granted the film 66 fresh tomatoes to 6 rotten ones. This masterpiece is a 95. Stay tuned to Movieporium.

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