Bad Boys (1983) - 5 stars out of 10

Bad Boys (1983) - 5 stars out of 10

Although no prison movie can match the realism of Shawshank, "Bad Boys" offers a unique portrayal of  prison life by displaying it through the lens of juveniles.  A bit of this movie is over the top, particularly the opening events of the film.  I never grew up in inner-city Chicago but it just seems a bit too much, although the car accident is the driving force of the second half of the movie.  Sean Penn gives a great young performance at the age of 23 and for the most part, I could buy that the characters were teenagers.  Although his acting cannot match "I Am Sam" and "Mystic River," the final shot of him shows the potential that he would achieve over the course of his carrer.  The highlight of the movie for me is Eric Gurry as Horowitz.  The whole prison society typified the drama between high school boys, only in a very extreme way, and it was nice to see the nerd stand up for himself and win over the bullies for once.  The first half of the movie tends to be slow  but it is worth it for the fight sequences.

Beyond a Reasonable Doubt - 2 stars out of 10

Beyond a Reasonable Doubt - 2 stars out of 10

"Beyond a Reasonable Doubt" is over dramatic and overacted.  They put Michael Douglas on the cover to lure you in but in reality, his role is no more than a cameo and you are left with 2 mediocre actors portraying a well thought-out story that lacks depth.  The best part of this film was seeing that the cool guy from the old Mountain Dew commercials is still around.  Everything just happens too fast without proper character development or plot development.  I cannot think of a reason to rewatch this film so you might want to think twice before devoting 100+ minutes to this display of mediocrity.

All the President's Men - 9 stars out of 10

All the President's Men - 9 stars out of 10

"Get out your notebook.  There's more."  All the President's Men is the true story of Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, the two Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper reporters who uncovered a lot of the mystery behind the Watergate Scandal.  Redford and Hoffman put forth an amazing performance in this recreation of the genius reporting that extracted important information from unwilling sources.  The story is sometimes slow-moving but fascinating from start to finish.  The film concludes with a fantastically artistic ending, including the shot of Redford and Hoffman typing in the background with the tv in the foreground, and allowing the typewritten text to tell the ending to this story.

Marley & Me - 8 stars out of 10

Marley & Me - 8 stars out of 10

"Marley & Me" is the story of a growing family's struggles and successes as  told through their "worst dog in the world," Marley.  He is directly and indirectly a part of each chapter in this family's life and serves as an unexpected centerpiece of this entire family's world.  Although the mere mention of this film typically elicits a response of "THAT MOVIE IS SO SAD!!!!!", the majority of the story is heartwarming and happy.  Marley is so cute, even in his most destructive moments, that you will definitely want a lab by the end of the film.  At first sight,  I wanted to write this film off completely because of Owen Wilson, but he is actually quite good as John Grogan.  He has wonderful chemistry with Jennifer Aniston and between the number of children and animals used in the film, the entire cast operates smoothly as a cohesive unit.  Add in the fact that this is a true story and you have a special piece of history preserved to help us appreciate the love of a pet in our lives.

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs - 9 stars out of 10

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs - 9 stars out of 10

I have never read the children's book so I cannot attest to this movie's accuracy to the original, but I can say that it was incredibly entertaining. Regardless of age, subtle (and sometimes not-so-subtle) visual gags like the remote control tv and ratbirds will keep you laughing throughout the entire film. The highlight of the movie for me was Mr. T as the cop and I have to compliment the production staff for perfectly voice casting this film. Cloudy...Meatballs provides a unique plot, comedy for all ages, and even a heart-warming, tear-jerking monologue at the end (partial thanks to the musical score of Mark Mothersbaugh). Although it is impossible to match Pixar, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is the next best thing

The Road - 8 stars out of 10

The Road - 8 stars out of 10

I love dark, post-Apocalyptic movies.  The Road is unique as the plot explores the idea of cannibalism in this atmosphere while focusing on the  characters making an epic journey to a promised land.  The artistry of the color scheme creates visual beauty with its grays and blacks, only allowing for bright colors in the few flashbacks, to create a dim world without hope.  Viggo is amazing but the best performance comes from Robert Duvall as he again proves his mastery of the silver screen.  It moves slow most of the time but delivers as an emotional and visual journey into the extinction of the human race.

Fright Night (1985) - 6 stars out of 10

Fright Night (1985) - 6 stars out of 10

Though I approached this 80's vampire movie with skepticism, I was actually very pleased with the special effects and vampire transformations.  The vampires themselves were quite frightening and while some of the acting leaves something to be desired, Chris Sarandon manipulates the screen with expertise.  And Stephen Geoffreys... he is one of the oddest looking/sounding/acting characters I've ever seen and perfect for the role of Evil Ed.  It may not be the most realistic vampire movie ever created but has great entertainment value and will leave you satisfied.  Not to mention that it's a million times better than the 2011 remake.