Dorian Gray

Ben Barnes, Colin Firth

Directed by Oliver Parker

Rating: 1 star

Dorian Gray (Ben Barnes) is an innocent and pure young man. He is easily misguided by Lord Henry Wotton (Colin Firth) and corrupted by Henry's antics. Basil Hallward (Ben Chaplin) wanted to capture Dorian's innocence by painting a portrait. Dorian wishes to trade his soul for his youth and unbeknownst to Dorian, his portrait takes on the sins he later commits. While Dorian remains young for years to come, his portrait grows old and ugly. Upon noticing this, Dorian hides his portrait and continues to live a corrupted life.

An erotic and horribly twisted version of Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray, this movie should never have been made. DO NOT SEE THIS MOVIE. I was deeply disgusted with this version and personally cannot believe someone could make a movie so bad. It was a very sensual and disturbing take on Wilde's novel. Honestly, it was a waste of time. Colin Firth made an embarrassingly bad career move when he took on the role of Lord Henry Wotton. Sure, he played it all right but it was such a horrible movie! And Ben Barnes, while he may be an ideal actor for Dorian Gray, unfortunately not even he could save this movie. The cast was fine, the content however is a different story.

(Warning: next paragraph may be disturbing as I describe some gruesome scenes from the movie.)

The movie had similarities to the book. It's been a while since I read the novel so I can't remember if they strayed too far but they got the main points. However, what wasn't heavily influenced in the book that was put in the movie was Dorian's sex life. What a scandalous young man! In the movie, he has sex with a young girl (teenager, he wasn't a pedophile) and when the mother comes looking for her in the bedroom, the young girl hides under the bed while he has sex with the mother! The ONLY thing I actually laughed at in the movie was the death of Sibyl Vane's brother because it was unexpected. I preferred his death in the book but in the movie it was humorous to see him die by falling in an underground railroad and run over by a train.

I would only recommend viewing this movie if you want to be disturbed.

Hall Pass

Owen Wilson, Jason Sudeikis, Christina Applegate, Jenna Fischer

Directed by Bobby and Peter Farrelly

Rating: 3 stars

Rick (Owen Wilson) and Fred (Jason Sudeikis) are best friends who tend to bring out immaturity in each other. Sick of this, their wives grant them a "hall pass" where for one week, they are free to do whatever they like to get the immaturity out of their systems and are "unmarried" men for one week. Rick and Fred are psyched because this is their chance to do whatever they want without repercussions from their wives. However, as a week goes by, a hall pass isn't everything they thought it'd be.

Perhaps Hall Pass is more appealing to older couples who know what it's like to live the married life, where sometimes the little things one spouse does annoys the other. Or maybe it appeals to men because they can relate to Rick and Fred. I thought Hall Pass was funny but it's humor was short-lived. There was some humorous moments but the movie wasn't deserving of anything higher than three stars. It's predictable in the sense that you can guess how it ends. You may not be able to predict what events occurs but as the movie crawls towards the end, the pieces fall together. Hall Pass is one of those movies where you sit in your seat and soak it in. No thought requirement at all. This movie has potential to be a better movie deserving four stars if some of the character's lines were rewritten. Owen Wilson's and Jason Sudeikis' characters were your typical roles as husbands; Wilson's being the faithful husband, Sudeikis' being the husband eager to grab opportunity when presented to cheat. Their roles could have been written more thought out. I would recommend Hall Pass to those who like comedies like "Hot Rod" or "You, Me and Dupree" (the latter another Owen Wilson movie) or even "The Hangover". For those who don't care for dumb-downed comedies (no offense anyone!) do not watch this film!

Paul

Seth Rogan, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Kristen Wiig, Jason Bateman

Directed by Greg Mottola

Rating: 3 stars

Graeme Willy (Simon Pegg) and Clive Gollings (Nick Frost) are two British comic-book nerds trekking across America. They stop along at Comic Con in Los Angeles, California, and are crossing Nevada when a speeding car goes off the road in front of them. As they find, Paul is an alien on the run from an FBI agent (Jason Bateman) who want to "terminate" him. Paul has been in America for a number of years, a captive by the FBI, giving information and treated as a prisoner. Graeme and Clive must help Paul escape the FBI so he can go "home".

Paul was an entertaining movie that appeals mostly to sci-fi fans. There was lots of references to alien movies like "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", "Predator", and "ET" with an edition of a cameo from Steven Spielberg. Paul (as in the movie, not the alien) didn't live up to it's hype though. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost make an excellent team and are enjoyable to watch in films (like Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz) but this film in particular was just average. I think what made it a "three star" movie was the whole Kristen Wiig spiel. Sure, it's cute that a comic-book nerd gets together with an "odd" girl but I think Wiig's lines should have been re-written or cut out entirely. The ending wrapped together nicely and was not a disappointment. Paul is worth watching, don't get me wrong on that. I would recommend Paul to those who like sci-fi comedies or any movies starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. Other then that, watch and enjoy!

The Town

Ben Affleck, Jeremy Renner, Rebecca Hall, Jon Hamm

Directed by Ben Affleck

Rating: 4 stars

Doug MacRay (Ben Affleck) is ready to retire from bank robbing with his buddies. On what he hoped to be his last operation, he took Claire Keesey (Rebecca Hall) hostage but made sure not to harm her. They released her but she was disturbed by the day's events. However, Doug's team wants him to help with the promised final robbery that involves lots of cash. Doug is the brains behind the task, so he is a valuable asset that cannot be replaced. Doug agrees to do the job but he wants to confirm that Claire is doing okay so he talks to her (while she is unaware he took her hostage). Doug wants to change his ways as his feelings grow for Claire but he has to find the proper balance so that she doesn't find out his "other" side.

The Town was a well-directed movie by Ben Affleck. For the longest time, all I heard was how well-made this movie was and finally, I got to see for myself. The cast worked well together for this movie and it was worth watching. The ending was bittersweet; I won't ruin it for those who have not seen it but it gives some satisfaction to the viewers. It was interesting to see a crime movie where one of the team members wants to change to a healthier lifestyle then robbing banks. Ben Affleck's character is easy to sympathize with as he struggles with falling for a woman he took hostage while risking the chance of her recognizing the men and turning them in to the FBI.

While I would recommend this movie to those who like robbery movies, I would like to warn those that the style of The Town is different from most crime films. It contains more dialogue than action so for those who particularly enjoy lots of action between cops and robbers, The Town does have it, just not at every scene. This is a rated R movie and has mature content. When I mean mature, the average sixteen-year-old could watch this but they may not find it as enjoyable as an eighteen-year-old because the mindset is different. In conclusion, I enjoyed The Town and I would recommend it to my friends who enjoy non-mainstream movies.

Coraline

Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher

Directed by Henry Selick

Rating: 4 stars

After moving to a new home, Coraline (Dakota Fanning) finds herself bored. Her parents are too busy to pay her much attention and so Coraline wanders around the apartment building looking for something to do. She finds a small hidden door in the wall and when she goes through, finds herself in a parallel universe where her parents are nicer and her home is a lot more fun. But when her mother (Teri Hatcher) wants to replace her eyes with buttons, Coraline realizes she must escape before it's too late.

I really enjoyed Coraline. After searching for something to watch on tv, I stumbled upon this movie and though I had missed the first thirty minutes, it wasn't so hard to catch up on what was going on. (I later found it playing On-Demand so I ended up re-watching the whole movie.) It was pretty entertaining and the best part is it's only 96 minutes! Which means it doesn't drag on and you don't get bored with it. I would recommend this movie for those who enjoyed Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas and for those who enjoy animated, kinda-weird, movies. It's enjoyable for kids and teenagers at least. I would give this a try if you're looking for something to watch!

Hunger

Michael Fassbender

Directed by Steve McQueen

Rating: 3 stars

Based on a true story, Hunger is the story of Bobby Sands (Michael Fassbender), an Irishman locked in the Maze Prison in Northern Ireland, during the 1981 IRA hunger strike. Bobby Sands started the hunger strike and lasted for six weeks up to his death.

This is probably the shortest review I'll ever write, embarrassingly enough, but there's not much to say. Hunger wasn't a long movie but its message was powerful; portraying life in the Maze Prison a little before the strike. It was hard to see how police treated the prisoners and how prisoners lived in their cell. The reason I rated this movie three stars though, is because it was slow. Do not watch this movie at night or if you feel tired. Michael Fassbender has a very, very, long monologue when he's talking to a priest and it's hard to pay attention since the camera is focused on him almost the whole time. I should probably give this movie another try but I would recommend this movie only to those interested in the history of this hunger strike.

Battle: Los Angeles

Aaron Eckhart, Ramon Rodriguez, Cory Hardrict, Ne-Yo

Directed by Jonathan Liebsman

Rating: 3 stars

Sgt. Michael Nantz (Aaron Eckhart) had his share of war time experience and just had his retirement approved only to be put back in the line of duty when the world is under attack by an unknown force. Los Angeles is one of the many cities under attacked by meteors that seem to slow down once they hit the earth's atmosphere. The platoon is being led by 2nd Lt. William Martinez (Ramon Rodriguez) which puts pressure on Nantz since most of the platoon is skeptical of their chance of survival since rumors have spread that the last mission Nantz was on, only he made it out alive. So when the platoon makes it to the police department to save some civilians, they find out that what they are dealing with are literally from out of this world. They must find a way to make it back to their base safely within a set time before a bomb goes off while destroying the aliens after them.

Battle: LA starts off interesting enough, however this movie drags on and on and on. Though it is only a few minutes short of being a two-hour movie, Battle: LA has so much content that it's not overwhelming, it just feels boring. You get tired of the action that keeps going-- or at some moments lack of action, that by the end of the movie you are washed with relief that it is over.

I think this movie deserves three stars because it was worth watching once. I wouldn't want to buy this movie but if you're looking for a good action movie to rent, I would recommend this one. What could have made this movie more successful would be if there was more suspense. Some scenes are suspenseful in the beginning to middle of the movie but then you get tired of it that you don't find yourself holding your breath, waiting to see what happens next. Another weak item in this movie was the aliens. They looked like metal contraptions. You do see the aliens but they are simply shiny, or rather dirty, pieces of metal. At one scene they break apart the alien trying to kill it but you don't see the typical alien accustomed to horror films. In fact, the lighting makes it hard to distinguish what it truly looks like.

Therefore, it is my opinion that Battle: Los Angeles was a film well-made, however, be warned that it is just a film that feels a tad too long.

The A-Team (2010)

Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, Sharlto Copley

Directed by Joe Carnahan

Rating: 3 stars

Hannibal (Neeson), Face (Cooper), B.A. Baracus (Jackson), and Murdock (Copley) make up the A-Team. They've become a group of friends like a dysfunctional family. A few years after they first grouped together, they get put on a mission to recover plates for printing 100 dollar bills used to print a billion dollars. After accomplishing the job, their commander gets killed in an explosion and as a result the A-Team gets court martialed. Each member gets sent to a separate prison but six months later a C.I.A agent (Patrick Wilson) comes to Hannibal to help him get his team back together and recover the stolen plates.

A re-make of the original show, The A-Team is an entertaining movie with a well-picked cast. The first time I saw this movie in theaters, I thought it was great. However, upon viewing this movie a second time months later, I felt that it was more of a three-star movie. The movie has an interesting plot line and there are some funny scenes in it (like when each A-Team member is breaking out of jail). This is the kind of movie where no improvements or edits could make it into a four-star movie. It's entertaining and I would recommend this movie to people who like the above actors, comedies, or don't know what to watch. Would I buy this movie?  Personally, I wouldn't but I would like to rent it again sometime.