Fighting

Starring: Channing Tatum, Terrence Howard, Zulay Velez

Drama, 2009 (Rated PG 13)

A young man struggling to get by in New York City has a chance encounter with a low end businessman who offers him an opportunity to make money doing underground fighting matches. Along the way he falls for a young woman who works in the bar the group frequents. Everything is on the line in a final match with a nemesis from his past.

• Channing Tatum is quite clearly very hot. Nice eye candy to look at and not a bad actor either.
• The whole underground fighting scene seemed kind of phony.
• Good movie that kept me entertained from start to finish.

3 Stars

The Fourth Kind

Starring: Milla Jovovich

Thriller, 2009

This movie is based on the true story of Dr. Abigail Tyler who was a psychotherapist in small town Nome Alaska . It focuses on what happened after her husband dies in 2000 while they are both in the midst of delving into some strange incidents being reported by her patients. What happens to Dr. Tyler and her family are said to be related to alien encounters of the 4Th kind. What you believe is for you to decide.

• I didn't know too much coming into this movie except that Jovovich was in it and that it looked scary. That was enough to make me want to see it.
• I found it very interesting how the raw footage from the actual events are shown in a split screen with scenes from the movie. The acting was so excellent that the movie scenes very closely resembled the real footage.
• It is especially chilling that everything in the movie is based upon actual audio and video recordings.
• This was a good movie. It had some good scary moments but when I walked out of the theatre I could only describe it as OK.
• It definitely gets you thinking about what might be out there can't be explained and that we know very little about.

3 Stars

La Mujer de mi Hermano

(My Brother's Wife)

Starring: Barbara Mori, Manolo Cardona, Christian Meier

Drama, 2005 (Rated R)

A beautiful woman becomes bored and dissatisfied with her routine marriage has an affair with her artist brother in law. A surprising discovery leaves Zoe devastated and confused. It becomes clear very quickly which brother is loyal and she is forced to make a decision.

• I actually borrowed this from a co worker who recommended it.
• Mori (Zoe) is a real natural beauty and also a great actress. In fact all the main players in this movie were quite good looking.
• The story line kept me interested and wanting to know what happens next.
• Very well made movie.
• All in Spanish with English subtitles.

4 Stars

Role Models

Starring: Paul Rudd, Seann William Scott, Elizabeth Banks
Comedy, 2008 (Rated R)

A guy and his sort of partner in crime who are energy drink reps do something really reckless after getting dumped by his girlfriend that causes him to have to choose between jail and community service. They choose community service and two bachelor types who know nothing about kids become "bigs" to two "littles" and the adventure begins.

• This movie was better then I thought it would be.
• Lot's of foul language and the bulk of it coming from the kids.
• Very heartfelt movie. Enjoyable and laugh out loud funny.

4 Stars

Watch the trailer

Yes Man

Starring: Jim Carrey, Zooey Deschanel, Bradley Cooper, Molly Sims

Comedy, 2008

A man in a rut attends a seminar and then decides to say yes to everything in his life that he would normally say no to. What follows is a path and an adventure that he would have never been on had he stuck to his isolated routine ways. It even leads him to love.

• Deschanel is definitely the go to girl for quirky off beat characters. It's almost like she plays the same role but just in different movies.
• This movie was FUNNY! I found myself laughing out loud over and over again.
• Jim Carrey is so engaging and just so good at what he does.
• I caught this one on Cinemax originally not ever intending to watch it but boy was I wrong for passing it up.
• It has a great message about the word yes that I liked. Open yourself up a little and good things may come to you that you didn't think possible.

4 Stars

Marie and Bruce

Starring: Julianne Moore and Matthew Broderick
Comedy Drama, 2004 (Rated R)

An unhappily married woman wakes up one morning determined that she will finally tell her husband how she really feels. Over the course of the day they go about their mundane tasks before meeting up at a friends party after which they have planned to go to dinner to talk.

• This movie was a total disappointment. Good actors don't necessarily make good movies and this was a perfect example.
• There were some strange almost dream like totally non sensical sequences involving Marie. They added nothing to the movie except confusion.
• The dialogue was extremely repetitive, overly formal, and downright boring to the point where after a while I could hardly stand to listen anymore. Darling this and Darling that. In fact, I didn't watch the last 1/3 of the movie preferring instead to surf the Internet.
• Great actors with a great reputations but if you happen to see it in Blockbuster leave it on the shelf.

1 Star

Rudo Y Cursi

Starring: Gael Garica Bernal and Diego Luna
Comedy Drama, 2008

Two brothers in Mexico are handed their ticket out of poverty when they are offered the opportunity to play professional soccer. Now that they finally have their chance and have hit the big time how will they handle it? You can take the man out of the barrio but you can't always take the barrio out of the man.

• Spanish with English subtitles.
• Watching these boys navigate their new town and new opportunity was kind of like watching a train wreck. You wanted them to succeed but at the same time you just knew that they were not meant for the good life. They just don't have the tools or wherewithal to handle it. Sadly.
• These boys are taken totally out of their element and given a great opportunity but poor decisions stand in their way at every turn. Classic scenario
  

4 Stars

I Love You Beth Cooper

Starring: Hayden Panettiere, Paul Rust, Jack Carpenter

Comedy, 2009

A nerdy Valedictorian (Denis) declares his love for the blonde pretty popular head cheerleader during his graduation speech. He invites her to his non party and a crazy night of randomness that includes parties, drinking, and locker room group showers ensue after Beth's crazy Army boyfriend crashes the party and sends them all on the run. Does the girl of hims dreams live up to the fantasy?

• This movie hit upon just about every coming of age teen movie cliche there is. The popular girls, the geeky duo that spends their childhood getting beat up, the bully jock, and the rich snobby girl who throws lavish parties in her parents beautiful home.
• Paul Rust is not so believable to me as a high school teenager. He just looks a little too old to me. His character and some of the dialogue is so incredible awkward. Almost too awkward at times so that it's not really funny.
• This movie does have some funny poignant moments. Overall though, I just got the sense that the movie was trying to hard.
• The movie got better as it went along though and I lived the ending.

3 stars

100 Feet

Starring: Famke Janssen, Michael Pare

Thriller, 2008

A woman who was abused by her husband throughout her marriage is sentenced to house arrest for his murder. She soon finds out that till death do us part is not always the case. Even in death she is haunted by her abusive husband but is at a loss as to what to do about it because he is already dead.

• This movie somehow slipped under the radar. I don't really even recall ever hearing about it and just happened to see it at blockbuster.
• It had some very scary and thrilling moments.
• Janssen is a great actress.

4 Stars

Paraiso Travel

Starring: Aldemar Correa, Ana De La Reguera, John Leguizamo
Drama, 2008 (Rated R)

A girl who will do whatever it takes to get out of Columbia and into New York City entices and pushes her reluctant boyfriend into going along with her. They are both from middle class families and actually have decent lives where they are. The journey is long and dangerous. Once they finally cross over they become separated and as the boy struggles to make it in the Big Apple and begins to adjust to his new surroundings he still finds that he cannot forget her.

• This movie is absolutely amazing. The acting is great all around. Seeing John Leguizamo in this was a nice surprise. He is amazing.
• Unlike most movies that show people crossing over into America these two did not come from extreme poverty and that added a slightly different and interesting spin on the story.
• Correa's portrayal of Marlon is nothing short of perfect. He is strikingly handsome and really captures Marlon's innocence, loyalty and goodness.
• Reina is quite the evil loud mouth girlfriend and if you asked me she never deserved someone as good as Marlon in the first place. A classic example of not realizing what you have until it's lost.
• This film can be watched in Spanish with English subtitles or with dubbed in English. I started out watching it in English but didn't like it so I switched.
• When searching for great little known/and or foreign films sometimes I strike out but this one was a home run.

5 Stars

The Proposal

Starring: Sandra Bullock, Ryan Reynolds
Romantic Comedy, 2009

A bossy high powered book publishing executive finds out that her Visa will not be expired and she will have to return to Canada. In order to avoid this she basically tells her assistant who she has ordered around and mostly ignored for the past 3 years that he must marry her so she can keep her Visa. At Grandma's birthday weekend in Alaska the pair find out more about each other then they ever thought they wanted to.

• I really liked this funny movie.
• The story line was kind of typical but they did it well and it worked.

4 Stars