Nine

Kris.... I went into this one really wanting to like it. It turned out to be just OK. The acting was great but the story was weak. Daniel Day Lewis is always amazing and all the women were good.I hope we don't have to wait long to see another of Lewis's movies.I loved the setting of mid sixties Italy. Absolutely love how women dressed back then. This was the same director as the movie Chicago. That was a much better movie but maybe this one would make a good rental. Oh ya.... The best song came from Fergie but that makes sense being that she is the only true singer.

Steph... This movie does not make me want to be Italian. It does, however, make me want to go to Italy. I was really hoping for something better with this movie. I just love Daniel Day Lewis, and for the most part he was pretty good. But there were just too many people in this movie. Since there are so many big stars in it, they are all given a song and a chance to shine, but while the songs are catchy and the acting is good, it takes away from the flow of the movie. And while I like Kate Hudson, her character was almost completely irrelevant. All and all it was just OK.

Sherlock Holmes

Kris....I went into this movie with little expectations. It turned out to be a pretty good movie. The real star of this one is the interactions between Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law. Guy Richie finally has a big hit on his hands here. Although his last film Rock and Rolla was very good as well. Rachel Mcadams was OK. I like here in general but her role was small and not very thought out here. There will be a sequel and i hope they keep that one a little shorter than this. It ran over 2 and a half hours and it felt like it at times. All in all i say its worth seeing in the theatres if you get a chance.

Steph... I went into this movie was some expectations and was kind of disappointed. Don't get me wrong, I liked this movie, but there are problems. Its a little too long and should have been edited down to 2 hours. And, while I liked Rachel McAdams character I didn't see or feel any real chemistry between her and Robert Downey Jr. Now for the good stuff; its funny, entertaining, and I LOVED the back and fourth between Jude Law and Robert Downey Jr. They were like an old married couple. So if you have the time go check this one out.

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans

Kris... This movie is all about Nicolas Cage. His performance is among his best. He plays a New Orleans cop trying to figure out a murder. This is complicated by his total addiction to every drug you can think of and a very hurt back. He has a prostitute girlfriend played well by Eva Mendes. Val Kilmer makes a rare ,small appearance but is good.It was also good to see Fairuza Balk again. There are a few very weird scenes including a 2 or 3 minute scene of cage staring at an iguana that may or may not of been there. Cage is awesome in this over the top role and you should check it out if just for him. Shot him again, his soul is still dancing :)

Up in the air.

Kris.... This a very good movie and sure to get nominated for best picture. As always George Clooney is totaly charming. He plays a man who travels the country laying off people at companyies who cant do that for them selves. It creates a disconnect with him and other people.He is forced to train a young woman how to do what he does and she calls into question his life style. At the same time he meets a women that he hits it off with totally.She he continue his lonesome ways or maybe try and settle down with her. Clooney was perfect for this role as was the to female actors,Vera Farmiga as the sexy woman he falls for and Anna Kendrick as the girl he must train. Again this is another smart comedy with real human questions. Check it out.

Steph... Kris pretty much nailed it. This is a smart comedy that makes you think as well as laugh. George Clooney is wonderful as always. And I really liked Vera Farmiga, she was the perfect person for this part. And new comer Anna Kendrick could really hold her own against Clooney, which is not an easy thing to do. You should totally go check this one out.

The Road

Steph.....Talk about bleak. The movie starts with there being a nuclear war, or so I'm guessing because they don't ever actually tell you what happened. But anyways, the world is dying, all animals are dead, and everything is covered in ash. And a boy and his dad are heading south on a road because the mans wife before killing herself said to go that way. There is no food and no safety because many people have turned to cannibalism due to starvation. This movie is very dark. There is little to no hope and it almost seems like it would be better to just die or kill yourself then to live in a world like this. The character of "the boy" kind of got on my nerves after a while. He was just way too sensitive to live in the post apocalyptic world of the movie. He talked loudly when they were trying to hide and everything made him cry. I just wanted to tell him to man up or they might literally eat him alive.

That being said, this movie is well worth seeing just for the amazingly wonderful acting of Viggo Mortensen who plays "the man" desperately trying to hold on to his son and his humanity in an increasingly hopeless world.

Kris.... The feel good movie of the year. OK not at all. This movie is very faithful to the book.Viggo Mortensen is easily one of the best actors of this generation. His performance in the road could get him an Oscar nomination. The boys performance was OK and didn't bother me like it did Stephanie. He is young and lost his mother.In fact his mother decided to kill herself rather than try and take care of him.Makes sense to me that he would be kind of messed up inside.This movie is dark ,bleak and depressing but is a must see.

Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed

No Intelligence Allowed is right! I have NEVER seen a "documentary" more full of half truths, misquotes, and just straight up propaganda. This movie starts with Ben Stein being concerned with all these scientists being fired or disciplined for teaching Intelligent Design. He makes it sound like there is this big conspiracy by the Darwinist (people who believe in Darwins theory of evolution) to just drive out anybody who disagrees with this theory. All I could think was that if I were the dean of a college and my science teacher was teaching students Intelligent Design, I to would be concerned, because its just not science. That is like a math teacher teaching cooking as math. They may both use numbers but its not the same thing.

Next he goes to the epicenter of where all of this ID talk started. Turns out its just bunch of people who have one office in Seattle. So clearly, they can't be that dangerous,according to Stein. People are just blowing this out of proportion and should leave these people alone to explore and talk about their "scientific" theory. Again, this is not science. ID is just another branch off of the Creationism tree. They try to separate themselves and say they are not the same as the creationist. Creationists believe that everything started with Adam and Eve. ID people believe that life forms are so complex that there has to be an overall designer (i.e God) behind it all. In other words, they say tomato and we say tomoto. True. But at the end of the day aren't they both talking about the same fruit? (Yes tomato's are fruits, look it up).

So after the head ID guy states that they are not affiliated with church's or religion, he tells Stein to talk to a top scientist who believes in their theory. This scientist works at a bible college. Hmmmmm, ya not affiliated with religion at all! Bullshit.

Anyways, so I don't ramble on til the early morning hours, I will get to the most disturbing part of this show. Ben Stein actually compares Darwin to Hitler. Really. A professor he talks to says that Darwin's Origin of Species is like Hitler's Mein Kompf. He says they are alike because Hitler employed Social Darwinism to the Holocaust. Hitler believed that pure arian people where superior to all others and therefore the "others" were weaker and didn't count and could be gotten rid of. This is an Extremely warped view of Darwinism. Yes Social Darwinism is about the stronger species surviving but because they evolve and adapt better, not because they appoint themselves to be the strong ones and wipe out a race. So because of this comparison, in his mind, Darwinism is bad.

In this moment when he says this, I couldn't help but to thing of Charles Manson and The Beatles. Using Stein's logic of Hitler and Darwinism, you could also say that because Manson misinterpreted The Beatles song, "Helter Shelter," as a warning of a race war to come and killed people because of that; that the song is evil and no one should listen to The Beatles.

He ends this dreadful film by telling those in the ID community to state what they believe even though those horrible Darwin scientist people (you know, the ones with proof) may speak out against you. Whatever.

You can believe whatever you want to believe. But don't you DARE give me the Bible and tell me its science, its not. Religion and Science have nothing to do with one another so stop trying to make them compatible, it won't work

Law Abiding Citizen

Kris... I was surprised by this movie. I have never been a Jamie Fox fan but he is good in this role. But the real star is Gerard Butler. I cant remember him in a bad movie and this one continues his streak. This movie brings up some moral dilemmas as fox and butler go after each other. I had a hard time deciding who to root for although in the end I went with butler. So to sum it up this is a tight movie that keeps you entertained until the end.

Steph.... I didn't see this movie but I'm sure Gerard Butler looked hot. And I've liked Jamie Fox ever since "In Living Color" so I'm sure he was great.

2012

Steph... By no means is this a brilliant movie, but it is fun. The special effects were good. Los Angeles totally got trashed. What really made this movie for me was Woody Harrelson and John Cusack. Woody Harrelson is always great in his eccentric roles and I always love the dry, sarcastic wit of Cusack. My only real complaint with this movie is that is was way to long. At almost 3 hours, that's a lot of floods and buildings crashing to take in. So if you have time to spare, don't want to think too hard, and be entertained this movie is perfect.

Kris... I really liked 2012 but it wont win any awards. Its a big dumb action movie. I say that in the best way.This is Woody Harrelsons second good movie in a row. The first being Zoombieland. He excels at these type of roles. John Cusack is very dependable and its good to see him in some big movies for a change. The movie is long but it never feels like it lags. All in all this is a movie you should check out on the big screen.

Fantastic Mr. Fox

Kris... I really liked this movie. Clooney was very funny as always. So was Bill Murry. I don't really like Meryl Streep but she was adequate. This old school animation was some how refreshing.

Steph.... This movie was a breath of fresh air. It manages to be classic and new all at the same time. The comedy was off beat and somewhat subtle but always funny. The actors/voices were wonderful, but then again its hard to go wrong with Meryl Streep, George Clooney, and Bill Murry. I really enjoyed the British, indie flavor of the film.