The Apparition (2012)

I'll save you some time -- Don't see this movie.

I'm not picky when it comes to horror movies, I usually end up enjoying most of the ones I see, but this one was a true disappointment. Basically, there was no real back story, no understanding of the motivation behind any of the characters, horrible acting and lack of any sort of depth.

Scary movies don't need to be psychologically and intellectually stimulating, but I think they should at least have a plot!  I consider that to be the bare minimum for any decent movie.

I'm not even sure how to really describe this movie. IMDB's synopsis states "A couple is haunted by a supernatural presence that is unleashed during a college experiment." And that's truly as deep as it goes. Unless I completely missed it, the viewer never gets an explanation behind who or what the apparition is, where it came from or what it wants. The characters seem as one dimensional as cardboard cutouts, and their actions often don't make a lot of sense.

This was the worst excuse for a scary movie I have ever seen. The only truly horrifying aspect of the whole ordeal is that I will never get that hour and a half of my life back.

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PG-13, 1 hr. 23 min.
Mystery & Suspense, Horror

Directed By: Todd Lincoln

In Theaters: Aug 24, 2012 Wide
On DVD: Nov 27, 2012
Box Office:$4.9M

Warner Bros. Pictures

Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

"Moonrise Kingdom" has everything you've grown to expect from a Wes Anderson film -- young love, rebellion, whimsy, humor and heart.

The movie is about two young kids living on a small island who fall in love and plan to run away together. Both are outcasts from their peers and find hope and acceptance in each other.

Although it's a basic premise, the story is very engaging and heartfelt. Anderson is a truly unique storyteller, and I always enjoy watching his films because I feel like for those two hours, I'm seeing the world the way he does. It's a colorful, beautiful, funny, sad, and sometimes weird place.

I've also noticed that Anderson has a seemingly effortless way of creating cinematic depth and charm. Sometimes, his most powerful scenes are the ones with little to no dialogue.

I am also a fan of his casting. "Moonrise Kingdom" had some of his usual players, such as Bill Murray and Jason Schwartzman, but it also brought on some talented new faces, such as the two leading kids, whom I had never seen on screen before. And I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the brilliant performances of Edward Norton and Bruce Willis. Such a dynamic cast in what came together to be a delightful story of first love.

Was it my favorite of Anderson's films? No. That title still belongs to "The Royal Tenenbaums." But it was still a Wes Anderson movie, which means it has to be wonderful.

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PG-13, 1 hr. 34 min.
Comedy

Directed By: Wes Anderson

Written By: Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola

In Theaters: May 25, 2012 Limited
On DVD: Oct 16, 2012
Box Office:$45.5M

Focus Features

Django Unchained (2012)

I saw "Django Unchained" over the Christmas break with my family. Although it's not what many would consider a holiday film, my family tends to be somewhat offbeat and we thoroughly enjoy Tarantino flicks.

Suffice it to say, we loved the movie! I'd say this is one of Tarantino's best movies, at least in recent memory.

First of all, it's got a solid cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jamie Foxx, Samuel L. Jackson and Christoph Waltz (my personal favorite in this film). And the storyline was so.... Tarantino. Meaning if you enjoy Tarantino movies, you won't be disappointed with this one. It's got all the classic elements -- violence, epic storyline, humor, more violence, good music, did I mention violence?

The story takes place in the South a couple of years before the Civil War. Christoph Waltz plays Dr. King Schultz, a bounty hunter who purchases the freedom of and partners up with former slave Django (Jamie Foxx) in order to find a particular pair of murderous brothers. Schultz agrees to help Django find his wife, whom he's been tragically separated from in the slave trade, once Django helps him find the band of brothers. DiCaprio plays Calvin Candie, a despicable and infamous plantation owner who enjoys buying strong male slaves for the sole purpose of having them fight to the death. As it turns out, Calvin Candie is also the current owner of Django's wife. As you can imagine, Django and Schultz have to go to some extreme measures in their attempt to rescue Django's wife.

Before seeing the movie, I heard people say this is Tarantino's most brutal and violent film. Maybe so, and I agree the faint of heart should not see this film. There was a great deal of violence, blood and disturbing content (which isn't hard to imagine when you combine Tarantino with a storyline set in the antebellum South, when slavery was commonplace). However, if you're used to his other films, I don't think this movie is going to bother you (I mean come on... remember Kill Bill? I think it's impossible to count the number of people who died in that film). It's what you should expect from a Tarantino depiction of pre-Civil War Mississippi, which is kind of awesome in its grittiness. I tend to really enjoy Tarantino's films that are set in certain horrible periods in history, such as Nazi Germany in "Inglorious Basterds." Those were horrific times, and he makes sure we remember that. And he has a brilliant way of making the viewer a nervous wreck one minute and then has them laughing in the next scene.

One of the things I really enjoyed about "Django Unchained" was the relationship with Schultz and Django. An unlikely duo, they were mesmerizing on screen and their interactions were often humorous. I've been a fan of Christoph Waltz since "Inglorious Basterds." Whereas he played a sinister and devious character in the latter, in "Django Unchained" he plays the good guy (and convincingly so). I initially feared he might end up typecasted as the bad guy, but I am pleased to say I was wrong. The guy's got range. I don't know what it is about him, but he's got great presence on screen. 

The movie is definitely a must-see for all you Tarantino buffs out there. As one myself, I was thoroughly entertained.

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R, 2 hr. 46 min.
Western, Drama

Directed By: Quentin Tarantino

Written By: Quentin Tarantino

In Theaters: Dec 25, 2012 Wide
Box Office:$106.4M

The Weinstein Co.

Final Destination 5 (2011)

I have to admit, these movies are a guilty pleasure of mine.

The only reason I really watch them any more is to see the interesting new ways they decide to kill off the characters.

Other than, I can pretty much recite the basic script for one of these films before I even see it.

Lead character has a vision of a terrible tragedy that results in the gruesome death of his friends and himself in some horrifying and highly unrealistic way -- Character realizes it was a vision, but things start playing out just as they were in the dream so character makes a scene and gets his friends and a few other 'believers' out of the situation -- Horrible situation actually happens -- People are like "Woah, how did you know that was going to happen?" -- Character becomes chief suspect in police investigation -- Survivors start dying off in same order as they would have died in the tragedy -- They realize they can perhaps 'cheat death' if they kill someone else -- It doesn't work -- They all die. 

Somewhere in there is a weird cameo from the dude who played "Candyman," who I guess is supposed to be Death. He always gives them the same warning about no one being able to cheat death, although the teenagers always seem to think he's crazy.

I feel like the screenplay writers are literally just filling in blanks for the names and locations.

Again, the only thing that changes with these films are the death scenes, but I do admit, those can be entertaining. And the ending on this one was a nice touch for those of us who have been watching these from the beginning.

"Final Destination 5" is nothing to write home about (although is a 5th of any series ever going to be?), but if you're bored and are in the mood for a predictable horror flick, it's perfect.


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R, 1 hr. 32 min.
Horror

Directed By: Steven Quale

Written By: Eric Heisserer

In Theaters: Aug 12, 2011 Wide
On DVD: Dec 27, 2011
Box Office:$42.6M

Warner Bros.

Ted (2012)

Much to my surprise, "Ted" actually turned out to be one of the funniest movies I've seen in a while.

I recently took my parents to see this film because we had no desire to see the new Spider Man movie, at least not until it releases on DVD (there's something about rebooting a movie that was made in the past 10 years that seems so ridiculous to me), and nothing else of interest was playing. I didn't go into it expecting much, which is probably why I ended up loving it as much as I did.

The movie is about the relationship between a guy named John Bennett, played by Mark Wahlberg, and his teddy bear Ted, who came to life after John made a Christmas wish as a little boy. The two are inseparable, but John's girlfriend Lori (Mila Kunis) tests their friendship when she asks John to do some growing up. Blah blah blah - comedy and hijinks ensue.

This was Seth MacFarlane's big movie directing debut, and I certainly hope this will be the first of many for him. I do have to say, I think you need to enjoy the humor of his show Family Guy to enjoy "Ted." Much of the humor is similar, and by that I mean raunchy and irreverent. Luckily, that stuff is right up my alley. Speaking of Family Guy, many of the show's cast are actually in the film, including Kunis (who voices Meg), MacFarlane obviously, Alex Borstein (Lois), and Patrick Warburton (Joe). Basically, if you enjoy Family Guy, you're going to love "Ted." 

A lot of what Ted and John do is sit around and get high while telling profane jokes (what's not to enjoy with a plot like that?). They are both kind of stuck in this state of arrested development and tend to enable each other's bad behavior. They manage to get themselves into some pretty ridiculous situations along the way, which gives the viewer some pretty consistent laughs throughout.

While their relationship is funny to watch, it was actually endearing at times, too. The two have been best friends since childhood and have been by each other's side ever since. What's funny is that their relationship appears so realistic that after only a few minutes into the movie, you begin to look past the fact that Ted is a stuffed toy. Towards the end of the movie, you realize you actually care about the pot-smoking teddy bear and the bromance between Ted and John.

I feel like this will be one of those movies that gets funnier every time you watch it, kind of like "Anchorman" and "Zoolander." There were just so many great one-liners and humorous pop culture references, which MacFarlane is so great at. While there may have been some jokes that fell flat, the majority of them made the movie.

Leave it to Seth MacFarlane to take such a goofy premise and completely make it work.


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R, 1 hr. 55 min.
Comedy

Directed By: Seth MacFarlane

Written By: Seth MacFarlane

In Theaters: Jun 29, 2012 Wide
Box Office:$159.0M

Universal Pictures

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011)

The commercials for this movie promise that it "outdoes the original." In this case, I would have to agree.

"Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" is the second installment in the recent Sherlock Holmes adaptations.  Holmes and his trusty sidekick Dr. Watson take on a fierce adversary (Professor Moriarty) - the same bad guy that was alluded to in the first film.

There is a wonderful chemistry between Robert Downey Jr. (Sherlock Holmes) and Jude Law (Dr. Watson). What sometimes borderlines on homoerotic is actually quite an enjoyable and often humorous relationship between the two, and for me it's a large part of what makes these movies fun. You actually care about the characters and their friendship.

What also gives this film a leg-up is that the enemy -- Moriarty (Jared Harris) -- is actually a major badass. Holmes truly meets his match in this one. Moriarty is equal to Holmes in intellect and logic, but he is also diabolically evil and without conscience... meaning it's all the more fun to see how everything unfolds.

The film delivers an ample amount of twists and turns, just like you would expect in a Sherlock Holmes movie. There are funny, often witty moments and there are also some tense, sometimes shocking, moments. All in all, the movie keeps you entertained.

I never read the Sherlock Holmes books, so I'm no expert, but I love what Guy Ritchie has done with the story. Downey and Law are exceptional casting choices, which is probably a large part of why this franchise does so well.



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PG-13, 2 hr. 8 min.

Mystery & Suspense, Action & Adventure

Directed By: Guy Ritchie

Written By: Michele Mulroney, Kieran Mulroney

In Theaters: Dec 16, 2011 Wide

Box Office:$130.9M

Warner Bros. Pictures

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)

 

I have to admit, I was really excited to hear this movie was coming out, and luckily I was not disappointed.

This is the 4th installment in the Mission: Impossible series, which may raise a red flag for some, but to me it was far superior to the 2nd and 3rd films. It was action packed, it wasn't too dark or overly complicated, and the cast really played well off each other.

In the film, badass agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) has to get a new team together to take on another seemingly impossible mission - this time to prevent the nuclear destruction of America by a deranged Russian guy. Oh, and the whole team has been disavowed after being implicated in the bombing of the Kremlin... so they are pretty much on their own.... No big deal.

The film has all the elements of a great spy flick - a diabolical terrorist with absolutely no conscience, impending mass destruction, fancy high-tech spy gadgets, fast car sequences, witty banter, a scene where a sexy woman has to seduce a bad guy, comic relief (Simon Pegg, most notably), scenes where Cruise is running from explosions and scaling great heights, and some plot twists.

This movie was great in a way that was very different from the first film. Don't get me wrong, I loved the original Mission: Impossible. It's just that I remember that film being really dark and extremely intense (all good things). Nearly every one died and it kept you guessing up until the end of the film. This one, however, is more of an exciting action flick that's not so heavy and gives you a few chuckles along the way. The new team (consisting of Cruise, Pegg, the amazing Jeremy Renner, and Paula Patton) works really well together on screen. Cruise is the fearless team leader, Pegg is the comic relief techy, Renner is the analyst/secretly badass agent, and Patton is the tough yet sexy female. I also loved that none of them died a horrible death. The end of the film even leaves it open for a possible sequel, which I definitely wouldn't mind seeing.

All in all, Ghost Protocol was one of the better holiday releases, if not the best. And despite Tom Cruise being batshit crazy in real life, I can't deny that I enjoy watching him on screen.


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PG-13, 2 hr. 13 min.
Mystery & Suspense, Action & Adventure

Directed By: Brad Bird

Written By: Josh Applebaum, André Nemec

In Theaters: Dec 21, 2011 Wide
Box Office:$61.9M

Paramount Studios