Killers (B)

Short Version: Okay, it's a better movie than critics gave it credit for. It sort of has a Mr. & Mrs. Smith feel to it, but it is different. He's a spy, she's clueless and they fall in love. A sweet romantic comedy. Kutcher and Heigl work great together! I say it's worth watching, you should check it out! 


Long Version: Alright, so Spencer Aimes (Ashton Kutcher) is a professional hit-man just making a living until he comes across a woman on vacation that has just come off of a bad relationship. Isn't that always the story line with these kind of movies?? Ha! But anyway, he meets Jen Kornfeldt (Katherine Heigl) and they hit it off instantly! He seems to be perfect for her and she for him. What attracts him most is that she makes him feel normal. Spencer chooses love over his career and tries to get away.


Back home we jump three years into the future, their lives are perfect and everyone is happy. Spencer has started his own business as a source of income, but when he hears from his old boss, his past starts to unravel into his new life. When Spencer and Jen's friend shows up trying to kill them, she starts to wonder what is going on and Spencer is showing signs that he knows more than he is sharing. More and more of their friends and co-workers arrive to kill them. It turns out that they have a $20 Million bounty out on them... who wouldn't be trying to kill them? 


As the Aimes try to follow the clues to who might be killing them, there is a hint that Jen's father, (Tom Selleck) might be involved. And out of nowhere, her parents show up at their house. It turns out that Jen's dad is an "old school" assassin and he set things in motion because he thought that he was Spencer's target. Through what seems to be the roughest part of their lives, Jen finds out that she is pregnant, and is unsure if she wants Spencer to be involved in their new baby's life. With her parents there she attempts to iron out all the dishonesty and start new. 


And of course her mother is and was clueless to everything. Her mother is played by Catherine O'Hara and she plays the mother who is always drunk and always drinking. Much like her role in Orange County. It makes me wonder if she is really like that.. Anyway, I'm giving the movie a (B) because overall it's good, but it's just not up there with all the other spy movies that are out there. There is some great acting and there are a bit of lackluster moments but still worth the (B) rating. 


Pick this one up and add it to your collection from Amazon or anywhere else you can find it. It's also available on Netflix, which we now have a link to on our page.

Alex

The Big Lebowski (A+)

Short Version: Dude you need to see this movie dude.  Cause I am the dude and I said you should see it dude.  Shut up Donny.

Long Version: Alright if you understood the short version you have already seen this movie at least once.  I will tell you first up that if you do not like stupid comedies then this is not the movie for you.  This movie is one of those cult classics by the Coen brothers that not everybody will love.

The story line in this movie is crazy and very mixed up so I will give you the main line real short and not go into all the side trails this movie has.  Jeffery Lebowski or “The Dude” is played by Jeff Bridges and starts off with him getting attacked in his crummy apartment by two thugs that want him to pay off a debt for his wife that he does not have.  That is because there is another Lebowski in town that is a millionaire and the thugs thing they are the same person.  One of the thug’s pees on The Dudes rug and the whole story goes from there.  The Dude goes to the rich Lebowski and tries to get him to pay for the rug and that does not go well.  Later we meet Walter played by John Goodman who is a trigger happy person that is also a little off in the head, but really likes bowling and does not “roll” on Sundays.  The Dude ends up doing what is supposed to be an easy one time job for big money, but Walter has a different idea and makes things complicated.  The simple job becomes a mess as they try to figure out who is really jerking them around.  In the end a bunch of just crazy stuff happens to The Dude and he learns nothing from it other than he is The Dude.

As you can tell by my rating of an A+ I am one of those people that find this to be a hilarious movie.  The smallest things in this movie make me laugh.  I will say that there is some nudity and language making this movie not appropriate for children.

If you want to buy this movie on DVD click the picture below to purchase from Amazon or you can do what I did and use Netflix to watch the movie.

Adam

Sergeant Bilko (A)

Short version: A happy go lucky military comedy. This is a great movie and I recommend watching it if you haven't seen it already! This movie is about an eccentric sergeant in the US Army and his wacky platoon in the motor pool. I'm rating it an A because you just don't find movies like this anymore, especially when it comes to movies about the military!

Long version: Ernie G. Bilko, played by Steve Martin, is a wacky Master Sergeant in the US Army motor pool at Fort Baxter. He is quite a different character than any other in the military. During the day he leads an interesting life with poker, roulette, and other types of gambling and games. When the colonel comes around they act as if there is nothing out of the ordinary taking place.

Bilko's nemesis, Lieutenant Thorn now a Major(Played by the late Phil Hartman) arrives on the base and orders that Bilko's platoon be in charge of the demonstration of an experimental project. The Army is testing a Hover Tank and Thorn wants to "burn" Bilko to get back at him for being busted for rigging a boxing match that Bilko had actually done.

Thorn decides that he will frame Bilko for not knowing how to fix anything by stealing a computer chip from the tank. The guys from the motor pool don't take any of their work seriously but when their sergeant's career is on the line, they fake their way through the presentation. They fix the tank so it will move and plant explosives on all of the targets.

When the presentation is over, Major Thorn is in a rage because there is no way that the tank could work. He then shows that he stole the chip and is then shipped to Greenland for a second time.

Also throughout the movie Bilko is attempting to marry the woman of his dreams. She has been waiting 8 years for him to show up and get married. He stands her up several times because he could never remember that he was supposed to be there until it was too late. The platoon also makes a trip to Vegas in a tank.

It is a great movie and you are guaranteed to laugh!

You can click the image below to buy this movie on Amazon or you can also search for it on Netflix.

Alex

S1m0ne (Simone) (B+)

Short version: A producer's film is in danger when it's star actress walks off set. In a stroke of fate, a man with an inoperable eye tumor gives Victor (Al Pacino) a computer code to digitally create an actress. He saves his film and career. When trouble ensues Victor must find a way out. *This film has some mild language*


Long version: Movie producer, Victor Taransky played by Al Pacino, is in danger of losing his "big" movie and his job. His leading actress walks off set in a rage over the size of her trailer. Actors these days.. so picky! When packing his things from the studio a man approaches him (Hank) with a computer code and an idea. Create an actress that can be controlled and wouldn't cost a thing or have an attitude! What more could a producer ask for? Dismissing the man as a lunatic, Victor leaves paying the man no attention. The next day an attorney arrives at Taransky's front door with a package that Hank left for him as his dying wish. (Yes the man dies, sorry but without it there could be no story.) 


Victor quickly begins to weald the power of the computer in the creation of Simulation One, aka Simone. She becomes an overnight sensation and is shelling out movie after movie. Everyone begins to speculate though when no one has seen Simone in person. Victor finds ways around public appearances as long as he can. Soon though he makes a vital mistake that could cost him his career, instead it sends him over the edge. He carries on conversations with Simone as if she were real and could talk back. At times it seems a bit sadistic. After visiting Hank's grave he has the idea that the only way to make things go away is to "kill" Simone. This would be all well and perfect because she is a computer program right? Not to the rest of the world she isn't! He goes through with his plan and is later arrested for murder. Once in prison he is set free by one appearance from the person that he "killed." I'll spare you the details and suggest that you watch it to find out what happens.


I found that this was sort of a normal role for Pacino. He starts out much like many of his other roles, normal at first but then kind of ends up crazy. I thought that he did a very good job acting in this film. He was not only the lead, but in a supporting role to Simone as well. I'm rating it a B+ for his acting as well as the fact that the story line seemed to be original to it's time. The film was released in 2002 and now days it's hard to find a movie that hasn't been remade 10 different ways. It's a good movie and isn't an A because there are just so many movies out there that are so freaking good! I didn't want to feel like I was cheating those movies by making this one an A. None the less, you should watch it and leave a comment on what you thought about the movie or how well I did reviewing it.


You can click the picture below to purchase this movie on Amazon or you can simply watch it on Netflix like I did.

Alex

From Paris with Love (A)

Short Version:  If you like action movies that are fast-paced and a little crazy than this movie is for you.  John Travolta and Jonathan Rhys Meyers play their characters amazingly well.

Long Version:  The movie starts off with James Reece who is played by Jonathan Rhys Meyers an employee working in the office of the U.S. Ambassador of France in Paris.  Now James has wanted to move up with his career and do some special ops types stuff so they test him.  He passes the test and is given the job of driving around a special agent named Charlie Wax (John Travolta) who is coming into Paris to do a job.  Charlie Wax is a bit of an unconventional agent and likes to do things his own way which at that point the movie gets interesting and the roller coaster begins.  There first stop is a restaurant where the second floor is full of crack cocaine.  Do not worry they make sure to fill about a foot and half tall vase of it for the road.  I found it hilarious all the places that they went carrying a vase full of coke for example the Eiffel Tower.  The vase of crack did find a purpose in the end along with most of the crazy things Charlie Wax did.  All of this mayhem is to lead up to them stopping a terrorist attack from occurring in the city of Paris.  There is a twist ending that I will not give away and the only thing I will say about it is that if you like action movies then this is a movie you need to watch.

Once again you can click the picture below to purchase the movie from Amazon or you can simply use Netflix in order to see the movie.  For that matter you can view it however you want just do it legally.

Adam

Gangs of New York (B+/A-)

Short Version:  If you have three hours to kill and like movies that are well shot and acted but sometimes have a slow storyline then give it a short.  For my full opinion keep reading below.

Long Version:  I am going to dive right into this I am mixed on this movie for a couple of reasons.  First Leonardo DiCaprio and Daniel Day-Lewis are great actors in this movie.  Their characters are believable throughout the entire movie and very well played.  What is my problem with the movie if the acting was good and it was well shot by director Martin Scorsese?  Well my problem comes into play with the length of the movie.  For me and this is my opinion if a movie is going to be three hours long I have to be able to sit down and watch from beginning to end and not realize it has taken up three hours of my life.  It has to be entertaining and captivating for the entire time.  This movie was not that way for me half way in I was thinking could they not have made this two movies instead of one.  For that fact I just don’t think I can give it an A rating so I have split the rating into a B+ and an A- for the reasons listed above.

Now to do what I normally do first tell you quickly about the storyline of the movie and who plays what.  The beginning of the movie we start out in a cave with Priest Vallon played by Liam Nesson and his son Amsterdam Vallon as a young boy.  They march out of the cave with a growing following as they go until they reach the top of an old Brewery and kick the door open to reveal a wintery day in the Five Points section of New York City.  Priest and the group file out onto the square and quickly another group in blue called the Natives filed out on the other side.  You get your first look at Bill “The Butcher” Cutting played by Daniel Day-Lewis.  Bill is the leader of the Natives and quickly a fight breaks out between the two groups.  By the end Priest is dead and his son is running off.

Quickly forward sixteen years and Amsterdam Vallon is all grown up and played by Leonardo DiCaprio.  He spent his time away outside of the Five Points area of New York City and is now returning to seek revenge for his father’s death.  Now in the time that he was gone Bill Cutting has kept his gang in control of the Five Points section of New York.  Amsterdam quickly learns that he must get on the inside in order to get his revenge.  Through some twist and turns in the story Amsterdam lands himself as Bill’s go to guy to get things done.  Amsterdam plans his revenge but fails and gets casted out from the group, but by this time he has enough follows that he starts his on gang to oppose “The Butcher’s” Natives.  To not give up the ending I will say that the person you cheer for throughout the movie comes out on top in the end.

Oh and yes there is storyline parts I did not mention because you really need to sit down and watch it for yourself for the full effect.

Caution there is nudity, Language, and Blood in this movie making it not suitable for all audiences if you know what I mean.

You can click the picture below to purchase on Amazon or you can watch on Netflix which is what I did.  I also believe it maybe on Starz this week to.

Adam