Inside Job

The global financial meltdown, at a cost of over $20 trillion, resulted in millions of people losing their homes and jobs. Through extensive research and interviews with major financial insiders, politicians and journalists, INSIDE JOB traces the rise of a rogue industry and unveils the corrosive relationships which have corrupted politics, regulation and academia (copied from Fandango).

Steph... No wonder this documentary won an Oscar, it was so good! This is a must see because it will probably piss you off. The nerve of these bankers who basically stole money from the public, gave themselves huge bonuses, and get angry if you insinuate that they might have done something wrong. Millions of people lose their jobs and homes and not only has no one every been arrested for the crisis, its never really been investigated. You definitely want to see this.

Agora

Alexandria, 391: Hypatia teaches astronomy, mathematics, and philosophy. Her student Orestes is in love with her as is Davus, her personal slave. As the city's Christians, led by Ammonius and Cyril, gain political power, the great institutions of learning and governance may not survive. Jump ahead 20 years: Orestes, the city's prefect, has an uneasy peace with Christians, led by Cyril. The Christians enforce public morality; first they see the Jews as their obstacle, then women. Hypatia has no interest in faith; she's concerned about the movement of celestial bodies and the brotherhood of all. What place is there for her?

Steph...This movie was very good and very sad. It was your typical crazy religious guy rises to power and so the pretty, smart, atheist woman has to be condemned as witch and die. Rachel Weisz was great as Hypatia, a very wise woman philosopher. This movie is a must see if you like ancient history, philosophy, feminism, or atheism. Or you just have to be a Rachel Weisz fan.

Sucker Punch

A young girl (Baby Doll) is locked away in a mental asylum by her abusive stepfather where she will undergo a lobotomy five days time. Faced with unimaginable odds, she retreats to a fantastical world in her imagination where she and four other female inmates at the asylum plot to escape the facility. The lines between reality and fantasy blur as Baby Doll and her companions fight to retrieve the 5 items they need that will allow them to break free from their captors before it's too late

Steph...This movie was like "Inception" mixed with live action Anime A.K.A. a comic book geeks wet dream. The visuals were great and I really liked the music. Plus its always nice to see girls kicking ass. But honestly, I thought the movie was going to be better than it was. This movie was definitely different from anything I had seen before, and while I like different, I think it was just ok. And on a personal note, if John Hamm is in your movie show him as much as humanly possible, don't waste that handsome man ;) But anyways, if you like comic book/fantasy driven movies, you'll probably like this one. If you don't, wait for it to come out on DVD.

Kris... I didnt have high hopes going into this one so it was just ok. The girls are all sexy and I love that type of costumes. Its worth a rent and you shouldnt be disappointed.

Who's Afraid of Virgina Woolf?

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is set on the campus of a small, New England university. It opens with the main characters, George and Martha coming home from a party at her father's house. The two of them clearly care deeply for each other, but events have turned their marriage into a nasty battle between two disenchanted, cynical enemies. Even though the pair arrives home at two o'clock in the morning, they are expecting guests: the new math professor and his wife.
Of course, as it turns out, this new, young professor, Nick, actually works in the biology department. He and his wife, Honey, walk into a brutal social situation. In the first act, "Fun and Games," Martha and George try to fight and humiliate each other in new, inventive ways. As they peel away each other's pretenses and self-respect, George and Martha use Honey and Nick as pawns, transforming their guests into an audience to witness humiliation, into levers for creating jealousy, and into a means for expressing their own sides of their mutual story. In the second act, "Walpurgisnacht," these games get even nastier. The evening turns into a nightmare. George and Martha even attack Honey and Nick, attempting to force them to reveal their dirty secrets and true selves.
Finally, in the last act, "The Exorcism," everyone's secrets have been revealed and purged. Honey and Nick go home, leaving Martha and George to try to rebuild their shattered marriage.


Steph... In tribute to the late Elizabeth Taylor I watched "Who's Afraid of Virgina Woolf," the film that got Taylor her second Oscar. All I can say is WOW. You need to be very patient, and quick to get through this movie. Honestly I would probably have to watch it two or three more times to really get a grasp on it and truly understand it, but I don't know if I could do that. Its worth watching for Taylor and Richard Burton's performances but I found it hard to watch because it gets pretty harsh and intense.

Machete

Robert Rodriguez brings a new breed of antihero to the big screen in this hyper-violent adaptation of the "fake" trailer originally featured in the 2007 double-feature exploitation throwback Grindhouse. Machete (Danny Trejo) is a former Mexican Federale who plays by his own rules, and doesn't answer to anybody. In the wake of a harrowing encounter with feared drug lord Torrez (Steven Seagal), Machete finds himself in Texas, where the shadowy Booth (Jeff Fahey) offers him the opportunity to make some quick cash by assassinating the unscrupulous Senator McLaughlin (Robert De Niro). When the job goes awry and Machete realizes he's been set up, he turns to fierce taco queen Luz (Michelle Rodriguez), heavily armed holy man Padre (Cheech Marin), and trigger-happy socialite April (Lindsay Lohan) to show Booth that he just messed with the wrong Mexican. But before they can get to Booth, Machete's gang will have to contend with blade-wielding ICE agent Sartana (Jessica Alba), who never met an adversary she couldn't flay



Steph...Based on a fake film trailer in the movie "Grindhouse," and a homage to exploitation movies, Machete is a good,fun,crazy movie. If you don't like violence this movie is not for you. If you like violence or if it doesn't bother you, this movie is hilarious. This is good campy fun. Definitely worth watching.

The Kids Are All Right

Synopsis (copied from Rotten Tomato's because I'm tired and don't feel like writing one):Nic and Jules (Annette Bening and Julianne Moore) are married and share a cozy suburban Southern California home with their teenage children, Joni and Laser (Mia Wasikowska and Josh Hutcherson). Nic and Jules - or, when referred to jointly by Joni, "Moms" - gave birth to and raised their children, and built a family life for the four of them. As Joni prepares to leave for college, 15-year-old Laser presses her for a big favor. He wants Joni, now 18, to help him find their biological father; the two teenagers were conceived by artificial insemination.

Against her better judgment, Joni honors her brother's request and manages to make contact with "bio-dad" Paul (Mark Ruffalo), an easygoing restaurateur. The kids find themselves drawn to the confirmed bachelor's footloose style - especially in contrast to Nic, a principled doctor who has long established their house rules. Jules, who has been looking to start a new career in landscaping, also strikes up a rapport with Paul. As Paul comes into the lives of the forthright four, an unexpected new chapter begins for them as family ties are defined, re-defined, and then re-re-defined.

Steph... I liked this movie. All the actors where solid and everyone added something to the story. I really liked how this movie wasn't trying to be pro or anti gay marriage, which it easily could have done. These where just two married people with the same problems any couple would have trying to work through them. All and all a good solid movie and totally worth a watch.

Limitless

A struggling writer unlocks the full potential of his brain by taking a cutting-edge pharmaceutical, only to find that his newfound abilities have made him a target for some of the most greedy and dangerous men on the planet. Eddie Morra (Bradley Cooper) is an author without a novel. No matter how hard he tries, he just can't summon the inspiration to write a single word. That all changes when an old friend wanders back into Eddie's life, and opens his eyes to a powerful new drug called NZT. The moment Eddie takes NZT, his brain begins functioning at 100 percent, giving him the ability to quickly recall every event in his life down to the smallest detail, learn new languages in a flash, and harness the untapped power of complex mathematical equations. But when Eddie's supply of NZT runs out, the party is over. Of course, it doesn't take Eddie long to make a mint on Wall Street, and when he does, it draws the attention of Carl Van Loon (Robert De Niro), one of the world's most powerful and prominent businessmen. With Eddie's help, Carl plots to arbitrate a complex corporate merger that will shake the establishment to its very core. Just as the deal is about to be brokered, however, some dangerous characters discover Eddie's secret and come gunning for his dwindling supply of medicine. Now, if Eddie can just endure the debilitating side effects of NZT long enough to run for his life, he may just survive to see another day.

Kris... I really liked this one. All the actors were good here but Cooper is amazing. He plays the struggling writer slacker and the smart very assured of himself winner both expertly. I was pulling for him the whole movie as well as wondering what i could do with that pill in my life. I totally say go out and see limitless.

Steph... Kris is right. This is definitely worth seeing. I really liked this movie but there was one teeny tiny thing that really bothered me. *NERD ALERT* There is on part of the movie where one of the characters says to Bradley Coopers' character,"You know how you only use 20% of your brain. Well this helps you use all of it." Um, that actually isn't true. Its a popular myth that we only use a certain percentage of our brain, but we actually already use the whole thing. Certain areas of the brain do certain functions (left side is analytical thought, right side is creative,etc). Some of us use ours more than others but we do use the whole thing. So anyways that bothered me. But other than that it was a really good movie.

Paul

Steph... What happens when to English Sci-fi geeks run into a foul-mouthed fugitive alien? Hilarity, thats what. The movie starts out with Graeme and Clive(the always wonderful Simon Peg and Nick Frost), two English Sci-fi geeks at Comic-Con. After Comic-Con they decided to go on a road trip of all the American alien hot spots. One night out in the desert they witness a car accident. When they go to see if the passengers are alright, they find that the passenger is a little green alien named Paul (voiced by Seth Rogen) who has just escaped from Area 51. They reluctantly decided to help Paul. In getting to know Paul they find that he can heal the wounded, go invisible, and coolest of all that he is responsible for a lot of the pop culture that they adore (Tons of pop culture references in this movie). Along the way they pick up Ruth Buggs, (played by the always funny Kristen Wiig from SNL) a Christian Fundamentalist who helps run an RV park who decides to help them. But with the cops, the FBI, and Ruth's dad chasing them, will they ever be able to help Paul escape to his home planet?

This movie was pretty funny. It has a lot of really good solid comedic actors in it so you know it will be good. Plus it was written by Simon Peg and Nick Frost the people responsible for "Shaun of the Dead," and "Hot Fuzz." "Paul" isn't quite up there with "Shaun of the Dead" (one of my all time favorite movies) but I think it was better than "Hot Fuzz." At any rate, this is definitely worth seeing.

Kris... You cant go wrong with this one. All the actors in it were funny ,but Seth Rogen is the most Hilarius as the foulmouthed alien. This one wasn't near as funny as Shaun of the dead but was right there with Hot Fuzz. Cant wait to see what this duo do for there next movie.

Restrepo

Steph... In this documentary a film crew documents the lives of a U.S. Platoon for one year in the Korengal Valley, the deadliest valley in Afghanistan. The documentary is narrated by the soliders themselves as you see what it's like to be in a Platoon that's in the middle of nowhere surrounded by the enemy. You see everything from being fired at four times a day to fighting with the locals over cows. You see how this effects the soliders who don't want civillians being hurt but will do what it takes to keep their men alive. This documentary is the real thing. No glitz and glamour of Hollywood, just the harsh reality of war. This is a definite must see for everyone.

Battle:L.A.

Steph... The basic plot of this movie is: People have problems, aliens attack, chaos ensues, we attack back. When you go in to this movie you know what your getting. Its all about the special effects and not much else. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Special effects movies can be very entertaining. This one was just okay. The character development was minimal. Don't get me wrong, they made an effort but there were scenes where certain characters died, and the sad music starts, and its like am I supposed to care that Marine guy #3 just blew up? What was his name again? And personally, the back ground music drove me nuts. It was in just about every scene and it really took me out of the movie. Some of the combat scenes would have been much more dramatic and emotional without it. On a good note. I really liked the different camera angles that were used. It really gave a sense of the brutality and chaos of war. So basically if like war movies, alien movies, and movies driven solely by special effects, you will like this movie. If you want something more plot and story based, this movie is not for you.

Kris.... You know what your getting when you go to see this one.A mindless special effects movie. Sometimes they can be great or awe full. This one is just middle of the road. The actors do there best but there inst really time to develop a character. So if your bored and there isnt something better to see then maybe check this one out.

Catfish

Steph... In this Docu-movie (not quite a documentary, not quite a movie), Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost film the growing friendship between Ariel's 24 year old brother Nev and a gifted artist who happens to be an 8 year old girl named Abby. They met on Facebook when Abby sent Nev a friend request. Soon Nev is befriended by Abby's whole family and even starts an online relationship with Abby's older sister Megan. Before to long Nev finds himself starting to fall for Megan. But when he discovers that a song she send him that she said she wrote and sang was actually copied from another artist one youtube, he starts to believe that things aren't quite right. After doing some digging he finds that just about everything Abby, Megan, and Abby's mother Angela had told him was not true and he sets out to find and confront them.

This movie was a trip. Its presented as being real and the film makers where even on 20/20 discussing the film when it came out, but who knows? I found it to be real the way reality television is real but it was still very entertaining and worth watching.

The Next Three Days

Kris...... Lara Brennan is arrested for murdering her boss with whom she had an argument. It seems she was seen leaving the scene of the crime and her fingerprints were on the murder weapon. Her husband, John would spend the next few years trying to get her released, but there's no evidence that negates the evidence against her. And when the strain of being separated from her family, especially her son, gets to her, John decides to break her out. So he does a lot of research to find a way. This one was pretty good. Russell Crowe really is one of the best actor going right now and he is very solid here. A lot of the time i find Elizabeth Banks annoying but she is ok here. Its kind of slow for the first half of the film but really gets going after that. Lots of suspense and might make you think just what you would do for the love of your life. Anyway you should check out the next three days.

Steph... When this movie came out it kind of got mixed reviews which I don't understand because this was a really good movie. It was suspenseful, filled with action, and has good acting. Definitely worth renting.

Buried

Kris.... Waking groggy in pitch darkness, Paul Conroy, an American truck driver working as a contractor in Iraq in 2006, slowly realizes he is trapped inside a wooden coffin, buried alive. With his cigarette lighter, he can see the trap he is in, and he quickly realizes that there's not enough air for him to live long. He finds within the coffin a working cellphone, which allows him contact with the outside world. But the outside world proves not to be very helpful at finding a man buried in a box in the middle of the Iraqi desert. Paul must rely on his best resource--himself. The entire movie takes place in the wooden box. No flash backs or out side shots. so how does this work? Ryan Reynolds is how. He does an excellent job here. Other than him there are only a few voices on the phone. The pace of the movie is good and Reynolds is strong. I wasn't really happy about the ending but it was more realistic than a Hollywood ending. So all in all I say Buried was worth checking out.

The Adjustment Bureau

Kris..... Do we control our destiny, or do unseen forces manipulate us? Matt Damon stars in the thriller The Adjustment Bureau as a man who glimpses the future Fate has planned for him and realizes he wants something else. To get it, he must pursue the only woman he's ever loved across, under and through the streets of modern-day New York. On the brink of winning a seat in the U.S. Senate, ambitious politician David Norris (Damon) meets beautiful contemporary ballet dancer Elise Sellas (Emily Blunt)-a woman like none he's ever known. But just as he realizes he's falling for her, mysterious men conspire to keep the two apart. David learns he is up against the agents of Fate itself-the men of The Adjustment Bureau-who will do everything in their considerable power to prevent David and Elise from being together. I really liked this one. It has a unique idea with some very strong acting. Both title actors (Damon and Blunt) are at top form. There is a very real chemistry between them. Jon Slattery, Terence Stamp, and Michael Kelly are all strong supporting actors here as well. The movie keeps moving in a good pace and the likability of the two main actors make this well worth checking out.

Steph... I went into this movie thinking it would just be ok but I really liked it. Emily Blunt and Matt Damon have great chemistry which makes this movie work. Definitely worth checking out