Sucker Punch (2011)

At the moment of truth anything is possible. Okay here we go... this one is a mind bender. If you gag ball your brain and just watch the movie you will be treated to a mish mash of Dragons, Orcs, giant Samurai, steam powered Nazis, and I-Robot style death machines told over the span of 4 adventures. Baby Doll leads a band of Comicon wet dream style erotic dancers (each in appropriate costume) on missions that start and end with an unbelievable amount of ass kicking. Fun Fun Fun. But now your brain has spit out the gag ball and is screaming 'What the Hell is going on?!' Because all this is supposedly happening in a fantasy world contained within Baby Doll's on stage gyrations and coincide with real world actions which we find out is a hallucination. Now do you understand why you need to shackle that troublesome brain? To enjoy this movie treat it like a roller coaster.. get in, hang on, and enjoy the ride. If dragons fighting B-24's are something you can groove to then join the geek fest! Tasty mystery meat. 0.0!

Knowing (2009)

An astrophysicist is confronted with the sudden answer to an age old question and a horrifying revelation. This is a great story in an okay movie. If you are a fan of premonitions and prophecies then I expect your reaction to this film will be similar to mine..with wonderful tingles up the spine at all the right moments. FX are very good, especially in the last 5-8 minutes or so. The characters are not well developed and some of their actions don't really make much sense.. the time span of the movie is measured in days so you would expect characters to stay fairly consistent.. but I doubt it will be so noticeably bad that anyone will pull the disk out of their player and set it on fire. Sci-fi and end of the world types apply within.

Red Riding Hood (2011)

The 1062nd retelling of the classic old fairy tale, and only the 1045th version with a werewolf, Little Red is once again threatened by the big bad wolf. A fairytale setting with some cool FX and sequences and Gary Oldman wasn't enough to save an already over done and thin story from the doldrums. Its pretty obvious from early on that a stick figure with puffy lips rolling around her absurdly large eyes was supposed to be the one to carry this movie.. she doesn't. Now I'm not ready yet to call this a complete waste of time, some of the new tweaks were interesting, but by and large this is one that will be quickly forgotten. Save your cash and make it a rental if you must. Third day leftovers.

Unstoppable (2010)

A run away train carrying dangerous freight is just hours away from causing the worst disaster in Pennsylvania history. Once again we are treated to the lesson that its not the story but how you tell it that makes for great entertainment. Denzel Washington is joined by a very impressive Rosario Dawson in creating just the right formula of tension, excitement, and hoorah! for a 'based on actual events' winner as they race to prevent the devastation. Aside from a couple places where they drop the F-bomb, this is family friendly viewing. Highly Recommended.

Arn: The Knight Templar (2007)

Accused of crimes against the church Arn is separated from his true love Cecilia and sent to fight in the crusades while she is sentanced to a nunnery for 20 years. This is a very good Swedish made period piece and a top shelf bit of cinema. The story is pretty evenly split between Arn and Cecilia with each holding to their honor while being mistreated by those jealous of them. While there is action and sword fighting, this is for the most part a drama and love story and comes off as more 'realistic' than Braveheart (1995) just to pick a name. Of course being realistic means its not comic book exciting with lots of color and noise, but rather more relaxed and subtle. Anyone who enjoys the genre should find this well within the margin of enjoyable and entertaining. Chicken Alfredo with a glass of Chardonnay. Recommended.

Season of the Witch (2011)

Two knights who have had their fill of slaughter and killing leave the crusades only to find themselves pressed into service by the church once again to deliver an accused witch for trial at a distant abbey. Historically flavored swords and sorcery fantasy action with a side of supernatural is what you get with this one, which is a lot of words to say 'she's a witch!'. I found this to be fairly entertaining and only wished they would have stretched the middle of the story out some more. Nothing real heavy here, just light entertainment with swords. Not going to win any awards, although I thought Claire Foy (pictured) does a superb job as 'the girl' a.k.a.the witch. I would say make this a rental.

Paul (2011)

A couple blokes from the UK on holiday in the US for a whirlwind Comicon/Alien sightseeing tour are in for a shock when they encounter a real Alien. This is pretty much a gimme for Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Seth Rogen fans. The pitch is that Paul (the Alien) has been influencing our culture since his crash in Roswell, so the movie uses bits and pieces of a dozen other movies in the telling. Humor is soft serve, mostly understated, and a bit randy in places so gird your virgin sensibilities. If you enjoyed their other stuff no reason to think you won't be entertained by this one as well. A six pack and a roasted wanker.

Rango (2011)

A house kept chameleon vaudevillian bounces out of the car and into the role of a lifetime. Animated. This starts out fairly light and goofy with sight gags and colorful characters (look close for the Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998) plug) and moves into a stereotypical western style story with Rango making up stories as he goes along. No big surprises in this one, unfortunately no big laughs either. Interesting cameo near the end. Hard to say what demographic they were aiming for. Regular chips with ranch dip.

Battle: Los Angeles (2011)

Marines versus Aliens in L.A. This starts out very promising with cool FX and just enough prologue to get everyone on deck. Once the action starts its fairly butt puckering until about halfway into the movie, then the tempo changes. What starts out as fairly straight forward US vs THEM sci-fi shoot-em-up turns into a PSA for soul searching and bonding on the battlefield. Personally I have no problem with that kind of movie and thought Black Hawk Down (2001) was an excellent example of being more than just a action movie. However it doesn't work in this case in large part because I only connected with two of the characters.. the rest could have been Lego blocks. But things do ramp back up for the finale' with a great big OORAH! (and a built in sequel). Over all not a bad viewing experience, just not what I had hoped for. But they do a great job with the FX and mechanics so visually its not disappointing.

The Good Heart (2009)

A crotchety old man dying from a failing heart meets a homeless boy who tried to kill himself. Seems a match made in heaven. Even though this is listed as a drama I found it funny and laughed out loud in places.. maybe its just me. Brain Cox does bastard like few people can and he really ramps up in this role. As the owner of a seedy back alley bar he decides to make the homeless kid he meets in the hospital his ward. Even though much of the movie comes as no surprise, it doesn't take away from its enjoyment and while I thought I had things figured out early my mind started to change as the movie progressed. Definitely aimed at a mature audience. If you are able to laugh at everyday things I think you will find this one as entertaining as I did. Call this one roasted duck with brandy sauce. Recommended.