The Blues Brothers - 5 stars out of 10

The Blues Brothers - 5 stars out of 10

While it does not provide a strong plot, The Blues Brothers establishes itself as a classic through entertaining music and awesome cameos by James Brown, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, and Cab Calloway.  This movie's infamous car chases are awesome as they manage to destroy every kiosk in a mall and later create a pile-up of a dozen cop cars in the median.  Although it is unlikely that I would ever watch this movie again with 100% attentiveness, I would definitely put it on in the background and focus during the music cameos and chase scenes.

Pandorum - 8 stars out of 10

Pandorum - 8 stars out of 10

"Pandorum" is SO WEIRD!!!!  The story is incredibly mysterious as the film begins with one character, completely unaware of who he is or how he got there, and reveals one piece of information at a time until the entire picture comes into focus... or does it?  The title "Pandorum" refers to the fictitious psychological state that develops in astronauts during extended time in space - awesome concept on which to build a film!  I find Dennis Quaid's acting to be questionable at times (though it must be tough to play the majority of your role sitting in a chair in a room alone) and no individual acting performance stands out to me, but I truly believe it to be the excellent storytelling and graphic effects that make this film irresistable.  The humanoid/mutant/alien creatures are horrifically disturbing in the way that they move and act.  Their aggression reminds me of The Jackal from "Thirteen Ghosts" (the ghost that singlehandedly put me on edge for the duration of that movie and caused a poor night's sleep to followed).  Their unnatural, primal movements are reminiscent of the cheap stop-animation effects of old monster movies, and yet in this setting it creates an incredibly uneasy feeling.  Even if you are not wild about the first 90 minutes of the movie, once the truth is revealed in the final 15 minutes, it will leave a positive impression on you.  Excellent storytelling and an awesome ending make this a thumbs up in my book of sci-fi.

The Last Station - 10 stars out of 10

The Last Station - 10 stars out of 10

I expected to find an amazing performance by Christopher Plummer and to gain some insight into the life of Leo Tolstory. Instead, I discovered the greatest performance of Helen Mirren's career. Her emotions will chill you to the bone whether she reacts with anger or devastation. Surrounded by great performances by Plummer, James McAvoy, Paul Giamatti, and KerryCondon, this movie is all about Mirren. If watching Mirren isn't enough it is worth watching the entire movie simply for the dialogue between Plummer and McAvoy about "your youth." The story is okay but this movie is truly about passionate acting and nonfictional characters brought back to life.

Fireproof - 2 stars out of 10

Fireproof - 2 stars out of 10

Knowing that this movie was in theaters, I expected something other than a Christian movie with a good message but lacking in cinematic quality. I was wrong.  I had high hopes of a quality Christian film (like Soul Surfer) but it was very obvious that this was a low budget film and that the budget cuts occured when it came to hiring actors.  The script was actually decent and the story had a few good twists but as someone who is not married, I did not get much of anything out of this.  Unless your pastor recommends this because you are having trouble in your marriage, I wouldn't advise submitting yourself to 2 hours of this.

Beavis and Butt-head Do America - 7 stars out of 10

Beavis and Butt-head Do America - 7 stars out of 10

"Beavis and Butt-head Do America" is one of the dumbest movies ever created.  And that is why it is so hilarious.  As soon as Beavis becomes Cornholio on the airplane, you know that you are in for a wild ride for the remainder of the film.  I laughed out loud many times!  Set against the backdrop of America's biggest tourist destinations, these idiots don't even notice them as they are distracted by their nonsensical ramblings.  No moment is funnier than the Old Faithful sequence - they are just SO DUMB!  The interesting thing is that, compared to modern cartoons like South Park and Family Guy, the once shocking Beavis and Butt-head are incredibly tame and become enjoyable to laugh at as their humor is dirty but never offensive.  In addition to all of the dumb humor and perverted jokes contained in this 80 minutes of idiocy, I absolutely love "Love Rollercoaster" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.  If nothing else, this film brought us that incredible remake.  I am amused that Demi Moore, Cloris Leachman, and Bruce Willis donated their voices to this film - it just goes to show that these morons are rock stars for their ridiculous antics.  I have never watched Beavis and Butt-head until this film but I can see myself getting hooked on the tv show now that I know that it has the dirty humor in a much more tame (but still entertaining) manner than modern comedies.  Hilarious.

Paranormal Activity 2 - 5 stars out of 10

Paranormal Activity 2 - 5 stars out of 10

"Paranormal Activity 2" delivers many of the same scares as the first one with less success.  Although the security cameras throughout the house cut down on the "Why would anybody be videotaping this?" criticism, that sentiment still came to my mind more than a few times.  Setting aside the cynic inside of me, the terror of this movie lies in the tricks of the subconscious, constantly making you question whether these sorts of things happen in your house when you are asleep.  While the fire on the stove, exploding cabinets, and dragging down the stairs are incredibly frightening, this film is not nearly as successful as the original.  Many moments of the first are enhanced by the belief that this is real found footage; unfortunately for this film, not even one second can be mistaken for real footage.  I also fault the writers for leaving out the first film's most famous (and freakiest) concept - a person standing over your bed watching you for several hours while you are asleep.  They could have created so much more edge by just using this once!  The inclusion of a daughter, baby, and dog into the plot opened more horrific options for tormenting this family.  I believe that the success of the film hinged on Molly Ephraim's effectiveness as a believable actress, and she succeeds and managed to steal the show in the process.  The rest of the actors are okay and there are several heartpounding moments if you watch this all alone and late at night, but I would recommend Paranormal Activity 1 or Quarantine for a second time before I'd suggest this one.

Paranormal Activity - 7 stars out of 10

Paranormal Activity - 7 stars out of 10

Paranormal Activity takes the "found footage" film style and lands somewhere between The Blair Witch Project (bad) and Quarantine (amazing). As simple as the fixed camera shots during their sleep are, they build a great deal of anxiety and I found myself dreading what would happen next. This is a great movie for cuddling up on the couch with your girlfriend or a great movie to watch alone late at night with the lights out, but the story lacks depth and does not provide a satisfying explanation at the end. In fact, it almost feels like the writers said "Hmm... how are we going to end this movie? Let's just film and see where we end up." Overall, the acting is realistic and believable but in the context of a weak plot, it is not enough to make this a horror classic.

An Officer and a Gentleman - 6 stars out of 10

An Officer and a Gentleman - 6 stars out of 10

"An Officer and a Gentleman" was not what I expected. The concept would suggest that it would have a few sequences of officer training while the entire film focused on the love story, but the love story definitely comprised less than 50% of this film, as the true focus of this story is a man's journey to find his place in the world (both in love and career). Academy Award Winner Louis Gossett Jr. is incredible as the drill instructor. Although it cannot match R Lee Ermy's portrayal in "Full Metal Jacket," Gossett brings so much intensity to this role as he practices tough love on Richard Gere. Some of his dialogue is upsetting, particularly when he is yelling at Lisa Eilbacher (who, by the way, was fantastic) to get over the wall. This very young Richard Gere shows his acting chops, particularly through his breakdown and self-realization that he has nothing and nobody in the world. Although I enjoyed Debra Winger's sweetheart role, I didn't find it deserving of an Oscar nod, but I fully support David Keith's nomination as he was just that cool! My two complaints about this film is that it becomes a bit long-winded around the 3/4 mark, and the sex scenes were unnecessarily graphic. As far as story, I enjoyed the mutiple types of conflict (man vs. man, man vs. himself, man vs. his circumstances) and the different layers of the film, which consequently make Zack Mayo into a highly-developed character. I could have done with a little less droning on during the second act and without the constant reappearance of "Love Lifts Us Up Where We Belong" (which at the time was special but now just seems overplayed); however, in the end this film provides wonderful performances by Gossett, Gere, Winger, and Keith, and that is reason enough for me to watch it again.