The Avengers (2012)

WOW! Just WOW! For those living under a rock The Avengers is a Marvel Studios equivalent to MGM's Cleopatra.. no expense was spared to bring a group of characters together 4 of which already have their own movies. So was it a gamble? Sure. Was getting Joss Whedon to direct it a brilliant move? You bet it was. This movie is going to crush the box office and may set new records. For the first hour and 30 minutes its a pretty good movie.. a lot of set up and a very cool look into the mind and methods of the Black Widow that will undoubtedly bring a measure of appreciation into the character that was lacking up to this point. Thor gets toughened up considerably from what he was in his namesake feature. Big surprise with the presentation of Hawkeye, smartly done. So you are 90 minutes in, the movie has been good up till now but you are wondering where all the excitement about this movie is coming from, its good but its not THAT good. Surprise! The last 30 minutes of this movie may be the best 30 minutes in comic movie history. Holy Shit! When they uncork the Hulk the movie slides up to a whole new level.. undoubtedly the star of the movie he becomes the source of humor, ass kicking like you have never seen before- the scene with the Hulk and Loki I have on a loop so I can laugh at it over and over.. Hulk slaps the living piss out of EVERYTHING! But don't take my word for it true believers, peel your ass out of that chair and go see this movie right now! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Lockout (2012)

Super agent is sent to orbiting space station to rescue the presidents daughter. Yeah I know >yawn<, but wait! what this really turns out to be is Escape from New York (1981) with new paint and rims. Lets do the bad first.. leave any notion of real world behind, this guy is super Gumby.. he takes a beating that would kill anyone else and shrugs it off. Not that its never been seen in a movie before but not since Arnold stepped on a grenade in Commando that didn't even rip his pants has it been so in your face. Now on the the good.. delicious array of delightfully twisted and cliched bad guys, witty(ish) banter from the hero, lots of boom boom, and.. oh yeah everything happens in space so you get cool space FX as well. Great movie? no.. Fun watch? oh yeah. Just remember to strap on your macho.. it would be fun if people started showing up wearing a Snake Plissken eye patch..

Haywire (2011)

A set-up goes south. This is kind of a Mission Impossible meets Jason Bourne mash up. One thing I've never understood with this kind of story is why the company would try to make one of their best field agents into the goat? I mean don't they watch movies? Didn't they read the Evil Overlord handbook? It ALWAYS turns to shit on them and its no different this time. This is actually a very smart bit of film making.. it moves briskly so you get more action than suspense and casting Gina Carano, who has actual fighting experience (besides being just smoking hot), in the lead only lends to the films credibility. I always feel a tweak when watching some 85 pound super model or ballerina kick the hell out of a room full of 200 lb killers (I'm not saying it isn't fun to watch, but the suspension of realism gets stretched pretty thin).. well you don't get that here. Aside from excellent choreography, Gina has the build of a fighter and the fact she actually knows what she's doing is clear to see. She has an impressive array of veteran players in support that really leads me to believe her agent is the devil herself to land Gina in this role as her first big screen showing. Hard to go wrong with this one. Highly Recommended.

Justice League: Doom (Video 2012)

The League finds themselves going against its most dangerous opponent ever.. It will be hard to describe much of the story line without a bunch of spoilers (its not presented as a mystery), sufficed to say its a fairly standard DC presentation. Animation is adequate, also standard for these type of releases. What makes this particular offering shine is the character insight into the core of the Justice League. The weaknesses of The Flash, Hal Jordan, J'onn, Wonder Woman, Bruce Wayne and Superman are all exploited by the League of Doom (here is a twist that would be a spoiler) before the remarkable character of Batman takes center stage. For fans of the genre, and Batman fans, I would say this is a must view event. Recommended.

Battleship (2012)

A group of sailors find themselves fighting for the survival of the planet. Transformers meets Battle Los Angeles (2011) in this FX driven action feature. Visually this is a top shelf offering, fast paced with lots of action and more than a little humor. On the flip side its lacks the 'meatiness' of either Transformers or Battle Los Angeles in both scope and story. But if you went to this movie for story depth and character development you are either high, wound up in the wrong theater, or both. However there is no shortage of 'BOO-YA!' moments, with the geezers vs ET finale being especially satisfying. Very cool twist on weaponizing the Langoliers. Take it for what it is- 130 minutes of ass kicking FX. I will say that having no expectations going into this definitely worked in my favor.

The Awakening (2011)

A woman of science, known for debunking claims of the supernatural, is called upon to solve a mysterious death. A pretty fair thriller that makes use of atmosphere and intrigue to raise the hair on the back of your neck. Compare to The Orphanage (2007) in intensity and story development. You are required to suspend asking a fairly obvious question for the finish, but its a small price to pay for an otherwise very smart bit of film making. A nice medium intensity thriller that lets your brain carry some of the load.

The Darkest Hour (2011)

Strange invisible Aliens invade Earth. The idea for this is pretty cool, unfortunately it doesn't translate to the screen quite as well. This is what Red Dawn could have looked like if it was Aliens instead of Soviets. Basically a few Americans are in Moscow when the invasion happens and they are trying to find a way out of Russia and back to any western democracy. So they run around, fight some aliens, meet up with others fighting the aliens, figure out that the Aliens aren't as tough as everyone thought they were (even though apparently they were able to disable all organized military forces). Towards the end things become increasingly more cliched. Not a terrible watch but some FX aside this could be a made for Sci-Fi movie. Still, if you are a sucker for ET (like I am) you may want to brave this one anyway. If nothing else it gives you an excuse to eat a bowl of popcorn in front of the TV.

96 Minutes (2011)

What starts out as a couple knuckleheads pulling a gang inspired prank of boosting a car turns into something far more serious when two witnesses get involved. This is a movie that for the most part is supposed to take place over, you guessed it, 96 minutes. They use flashbacks to provide background and wrap things up months later. This was a surprisingly good drama and illustrates how a couple bad decisions can quickly escalate to something you can't escape from. This would be a great movie for preteens to see before they start hanging around the wrong crowd. Not quite the caliber of Alpha Dog (2006) or Havoc (2005), but chews the same dirt. Some reviews make this sound like a racist movie, I didn't see that at all.. although like all movies there are stereotypes.. enjoy this one for what it is instead of what it isn't. While the final scene lacks a knockout punch, the message it sends is no less relevant.

The Divide (2011)

When a nuclear explosion sends the survivors of a tenement building into the basement to survive they find their horrors have just began. This is Survive meets Lord of the Flies but post nuclear holocaust style. They throw a curve at you that sort of marks a turning point in the movie, but they leave the audience to wonder (as the players do) about the exact nature of the event, except that there is no help coming. The movie brings up the same issues that the two above mentioned movies do about morality, survival and civilized behavior, but doesn't dwell on them or get pushy (like the 5 minutes of Piggy crying over his broken glasses in Flies) but is considerably more graphic. There are a few places the drama grates- a couple of the characters are annoying as hell- but not bad enough to turn it off. Over all an entertaining if rather dark viewing experience. Call it leftover spaghetti that you are eating because there is nothing else in the fridge and you don't feel like cooking.

Wrath of the Titans (2012)

This is a continuation of Clash of the Titans (2010) and takes place about a decade or so after the slaying of the Kraken. If you didn't see Clash you may want to before seeing this one, its not necessary but it will help you understand a few things in the story they take for granted that the audience will know or remember. Lots of action- absolutely top shelf FX, especially the Cyclops and Magma Warriors. Overall it has the same feel and tempo Clash did, less humor and dialogue, more destruction and screaming. If you enjoyed Clash you should enjoy this. I thought it was entertaining but its like one of those hollow chocolate Easter bunnies.. you know its hollow, but for a second you find yourself wishing it was solid... doesn't make it bad at all, just not as awesome as it could be.

Act of Valor (2012)

Navy Seals protect the US from a group of terrorists trying to sneak in a terrible new weapon. I have read some grief about casting actual Seals in this movie, but for me it is totally unfounded.. no worse than any of the wrestlers or football players or rap stars that have made the jump to the screen. The movie itself is pretty straight forward and a little rough around the edges but for me it added to the whole feel of the movie. This was a straight up double shot of adrenaline right to the pump. A 100% America love it or leave it in your face! You get a look at a dozen or so spec ops toys as well as a feel for just what it is these guys do and who they are. They are the best of us, the best of America. I felt damn proud after watching.. the extraction sequence that kicks the adventure off is one of my favorite scenes in any movie ever. It makes me proud and humbled to know that we don't leave ours behind.. one of the nations guardians winds up in the shit there will be a team of granite chewing bad-asses coming to take them home. I cannot hype this flick enough, go see it today! Highly Recommended.