The World's End

Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Martin Freeman, Rosamund Pike

Directed by Edgar Wright

Rating: B

The comedic duo Pegg and Frost continue their community themed films in this pub-crawl, apocalyptic fest. 

As in "Shaun of the Dead", "Hot Fuzz" and now "The World's End", the main characters end up in a village where it's "them" against the community. Be it elderly people, or as the villains are called in the newest movie "the network", the recurring theme is a utopian community. The town has finally rid the wrongdoers and almost everyone is peaceful. The wrong are put right and there are no worries, until Pegg and Frost come along.

"The World's End" is another buddy movie with Gary King (Pegg) and Andy Knightley (Frost) who start the film at odd ends but by the end have patched up their best friendship. Gary is facing his mid-life crisis in rehab when he realizes his life never got better after one legendary night. His solution? Call up the gang to finish the golden mile pub crawl in their hometown. It takes some convincing for his grown up friends with wives and successful jobs to join him when they all hold grudges against Gary.

After the first of twelve pubs, the gang runs into mayhem in the bathroom when they discover the townspeople aren't human. They bleed blue ink when Gary pops the head off of a robot (which they insist they are not). Using Gary's own logic, it would only make sense for the group to march on to the last pub, The World's End. They just have to make it to the end without tipping off the townspeople they know their secret.

The movie sticks to the same humor as in "Shaun of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz", so past fans shouldn't be disappointed in the latest product of Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg. Lines are sprinkled with pop culture references like Legoland, and Starbucks. The film also makes a statement on franchising and updating the old with the new. Their old town has modern art, the pubs look more like family restaurants, and crime has gone down.

Overall, "The World's End" does not disappoint and for those looking for a good British comedy, this is the one to spend a movie ticket on.

Easy Virtue

Ben Barnes, Jessica Biel, Colin Firth, Kristin Scott Thomas

Directed by Stephen Elliott

Rating: B

When a newly married couple go to stay at the husband's family country estate in England, the impending feud between daughter-in-law and mother-in-law is obvious from the start.

As Mrs. Whittaker (Thomas) learns that her son, John (Barnes), has abruptly married an American during his travels, she immediately finds reason to dislike her. John was promised to a neighbor's daughter that would connect the two families into one large estate. John is young and foolishly in love, but he is blind to his wife's discontent living in the country. Larita (Biel) is a city girl with a need for a faster paced life racing cars. Larita's only other ally is the estranged father of John, Mr. Whittaker (Firth).

Mrs. Whittaker and Larita go head-to-head, trying to show each other who is the alpha in this country home. John's two younger sister's don't help Larita's cause when she accidentally causes embarrassment and harm to the two. John's youngest sister contacts a relative in New York and digs up Larita's dirty past for all to hear.

"Easy Virtue" is a surprisingly enjoyable film. The mother-in-law hates daughter-in-law was predictable but the characters helped move the story along at an easy-going pace. While Mrs. Whittaker had wished for her son to marry the neighbor's daughter, she doesn't force them uncomfortably together as other predictable movies do. John and the neighbor's daughter get along fine enough but there is no blossoming romance to steal the spotlight. Being the new person in the house brings attention to Larita. She wishes that everyone will accept her since she grew up in a different lifestyle. Her fair treatment of the household staff holds her in favor over the residents themselves, who have their rules they stick to.

As a period piece, "Easy Virtue" should not scare away viewers. It's not a depressing drama nor will it bore you with subtle history lessons. There's humor and not an overly-sickening romance like "Pride & Prejudice" to scare the male viewers away. It's also one of the better roles Jessica Biel has portrayed. So if you're looking for a movie that won't puzzle your mind with a confusing story line and are looking for something different to watch, "Easy Virtue" may be the movie you should try.

Magic Mike

Channing Tatum, Alex Pettyfer, Matthew McConaughey, Cody Horn

Directed by Steven Soderbergh

Rating: B

Despite coming out as a movie all about male strippers, "Magic Mike" has more plot to it than audiences would think. Judging from the trailer, the movie appears to be all about Mike (Tatum) and his dream of breaking out of the stripping business to having his own custom made furniture store. Instead, you get less strip scenes but enough of almost-nude moments to not be a disappointment.

The movie focuses on three central characters. Dallas (McConaughey) owns a small strip joint in Tampa, Florida where he partakes in a few of his own strip nights. Dallas dreamed of taking the business to Miami where the money would come in larger quantities and he would split the profits with Mike who's been his partner for years. When Mike brings in Adam (Pettyfer), a 19-year-old needing money, and he joins the pack and helps Dallas pull in more money, Mike's partnership gets downgraded.

Adam doesn't know what to do with his life but after bumping into Mike, he gets sucked into the world of stripping and selling drugs on the side. What brings this movie into perspective is Adam's protective older sister, Brooke (Horn), who disapproves of the party lifestyle and only wants the best for Adam. She finally gives him the boot from her apartment when she can't stand seeing how his life has gone downhill.

What "Magic Mike" manages to do is get audiences to care about the characters, which is why by the end of the movie it's no surprise that there could potentially be a "Magic Mike 2". The movie manages to pack in good amounts of comedy and drama, similar to the fashion of "Bridesmaids" and "Horrible Bosses". Before I first saw this movie, my expectations were it would be a disappointment. Instead, it proved to be worth the watch and was a personal reminder not to judge movies on their premise.

The Hot Chick

Rob Schneider, Anna Faris, Rachel McAdams, Matthew Lawrence

Directed by Tom Brady

Rating: B

A popular young high schooler trades bodies with an older man and learns that her popularity has cost her quite a bit with her mean comments on students. Jessica (Schneider) reveals herself to her three close friends and they help her track down the person responsible for causing the switch, along with a few tough lessons on how to be a better person.

"The Hot Chick" is the movie to watch if you grew up watching TV shows in the 90s. This movie has a range of familiar characters from Anna Faris, who is no stranger to these ridiculous comedies, to Tia and Tamara Mowry from the Disney channel show "Sister Sister", to Matthew Lawrence who played older brother to Shawn Hunter in Disney's "Boy Meets World".

"The Hot Chick" is like your typical Adam Sandler movie (who also cameo's in this film). It's slapstick humor yet if you've been a high school girl, you can sympathize with Jessica's problem. It's humorous because as a girl you can sympathize with her having to adjust to a man's body, especially one who is older than her.

Rob Schneider steals the spotlight with his comedic impressions of being a young teenage girl. He portrays a believable character of a girl stuck in a man's body. Though his performance may not be "Oscar" worthy, Schneider does a pretty good job with his role.

Overall I think the movie had some pretty funny parts, albeit some were kind of gross. It's definitely worth watching and I think it fits more with the younger generation.

Shrek the Third

Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy, Antonio Banderas, Justin Timberlake

Directed by Chris Miller and Raman Hui

Rating: B+

Shrek (Myers) finds himself now ruler of Far Far Away after Fiona (Diaz)'s father dies. Shrek soon realizes he is not cut out for the royal life and goes off in search of the next heir to the throne, leaving a pregnant Fiona at home. Shrek, Donkey (Murphy), and Puss (Banderas) find Artie (Timberlake), a picked-on teenager at high school and take him to rule Far Far Away. However, Prince Charming (Rupert Everett) gangs up with the fairy tale villains to take over as king of Far Far Away. Fiona, her mother, Snow White, and other princesses fight their way out to stop Charming from taking over.

Shrek the Third continues to enchant audiences after all these years since the beginning of the franchise. What many people enjoy about the Shrek films is that its contents are for both children and adults. In each Shrek film, viewers are introduced with even more fairy tale people. We finally get to see Snow White, Cinderella, Rupunzel, and Sleeping Beauty who are portrayed different than we imagined. We even get to see some fairy tale villains get together, like Captain Hook and the Evil Queen.

What I love about Shrek the Third is that no matter how old you are, you can still enjoy this movie (as goes for all four movies). They're entertaining, funny, have an intriguing plot, and you finish the movie happy. Another great thing I love about Shrek is that fairy tale characters come back to life. We get to see the Three Little Pigs, Pinocchio, the Gingerbread Man, and many more come back to life. They're all back in these movies and it's fun to see them again.

A Knight's Tale

Heath Ledger, Rufus Sewell, Paul Bettany, Shannyn Sossamon, Alan Tudyk, Mark Addy

Directed by Brian Helgeland

Rating: B-

William Thatcher (Ledger) wants to change his stars. Born a peasant, Thatcher was sent to work for Sir Ector  (Nick Brimble) who we found dead at the beginning of the movie. Sir Ector was due to joust and so Thatcher jousts in his place to win enough money for food. While on his way home with friends Wat (Tudyk) and Roland (Addy), Thatcher convinces them to pool the money together in order to give him proper jousting lessons. Lacking the proper papers to prove (in this case lie) to show his nobility, Thatcher allows Chaucer (Bettany) to tag along and write the proper paperwork. Thatcher becomes tough competition and makes an enemy along the way. Sir Adhemar (Sewell) and Thatcher both have their eyes set on Jocelyn (Sossamon), a pretty, young, woman who catches their attention.

A Knights Tale is an entertaining movie with memorable quotes; "it's called a lance... hello." Infused with some rock moments, like the opening scene to Queen's "We Will Rock You", A Knight's Tale is a fun to watch movie. Ledger is charming as a determined young man, refusing to let his peasantry get in the way of doing something he likes. One of the my favorite characters in this movie is Wat. He says a lot of funny things and makes the audience laugh. Kate, a female swordsmith, brings a bit of femininity in the movie, even teaching the boys how to dance for a feast.

I would recommend this movie to anyone thirteen and older, after all it does have some dialogue not fitted for young children (though it does not dominate the conversations). A Knight's Tale is a movie I like to watch yearly because it has the action, charm (from Ledger) and plot that keeps me interested. It's a fun movie to watch with friends and comment on and I would hope I'm not the only one who feels this way.

Zoolander

Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Will Ferrell, Christine Taylor

Directed by Ben Stiller

Rating: C

Derek Zoolander (Stiller) is a model and famous for his look "Blue Steel". Mugatu (Ferrell) is looking for the perfect dumbest model for his plans to assassinate the Malaysian prime minister who is trying to outlaw child labor laws. A snoopy reporter (Taylor) tries to help Derek from becoming Mugatu's next victim.

Zoolander is one of the better comedies of the 2000's. While maybe not a laugh-out-loud film of the year, it's enjoyable and Stiller is the best part of the movie. Zoolander is an over-exaggerated look at how models are conceited and have no brain cells but it pokes fun at them in harmless way. The movie isn't predictable because there's not too many modeling movies out there. This movie isn't Ferrell's shining glory but he does a good job at portraying an evil clothes designer.

Overall, Zoolander ranks itself among the movies like Dodgeball. It's a fun film to watch and maybe worth buying to watch every once and a while. For those fans of Alexander Skarsgaard from the hit HBO show "TrueBlood" should be excited for the small role he has in this movie.

The Green Hornet

Seth Rogen, Jay Chou, Cameron Diaz, Christoph Waltz

Directed by Michael Gondry

Rating: 3 stars

When Britt Reid (Seth Rogen) is left his father's large company, he wants to do something cool with his life so he decides to fight crime after he witnesses Kato's (Jay Chou) awesome fighting skills. Not knowing anything about villains or how to become a crime boss, he gets information on what his next move should be from his receptionist Lenore (Cameron Diaz). However, he attracts the wrong attention and the crime lord Chudnofsky (Christoph Waltz) is after him.

Personally, I didn't like this movie at all. It's definitely a "guy" movie but even then, thats a bit of an insult to the gender. First of all, the script for this movie was poorly written. Secondly, the bickering between Seth Rogen's character and Jay Chou's character was annoying. A five minute scene is wasted on them throwing each other across the room in a fight. Thirdly, Cameron Diaz's character should not have been in there. Her character bascially told the guys what to do, unknowingly, and to be the reason the two guys fight with each other. I was disappointed that this movie was so bad. It was two hours I will never get. I would only recommend this movie for those who enjoy pointless movies that don't require any thought.

Micmacs

Dany Boon

Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet

Rating: 4 stars

Bazil (Dany Boon) was a boy when his father was killed from a land mine built by competing French arms dealers. Years later he leaves a shop he works at for the night when a stray bullet hits him. He survives but due to being in the hospital, he is out of a job and has nowhere to live. A group of junkyard bandits collect him in their estranged family they've made up and agree to help Bazil take down the two arms dealing companies.

Micmacs is a quirky, enjoyable movie. Though it may not be a laugh-out-loud movie of the year, it's the little things in this movie that make it memorable. I thought this movie deserved four stars because I think many people would enjoy it if they were open to witty foreign movies. Yes, it is in another language and you have to read subtitles but it's worth it. It's not a long movie either. At a little over an hour and forty minutes, Micmacs leaves you feeling content and not sleepy (it's not boring). Also, it's similar to the French movie Amelie so if you enjoyed that, you will definitely enjoy Micmacs.

Little Fockers

Ben Stiller, Robert De Niro, Owen Wilson, Teri Polo

Directed by Paul Weitz

Rating: 4 stars

When Jack Byrnes (Robert De Niro) starts experiencing heart problems, he realizes he needs to appoint a new "successor" to be the head of the family. He decides to appoint Greg Focker (Ben Stiller), the only one who is eligible. When the Byrnes visit the Fockers for the Focker's twins birthday party, Jack does some reconnaissance on Greg because he comes to believe Greg is cheating on his daughter. Greg has no idea what is going on and must face (again) Pam's (Teri Polo) ex-boyfriend, Kevin (Owen Wilson), who is fighting for her attention.

Little Fockers was an enjoyable movie. Though I have yet to see the sequel to Meet the Parents, this third film doesn't confuse you as to what has happened in between. There are some memorable scenes like the traumatizing experience Greg's son witnesses between Jack and Greg. Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller make great pair and bring humor to the father-and-son-in-law complexities that occur, especially with Jack Byrne's background of being "top dog". The only main problem I had with this movie was Jessica Alba's character. I thought that they could have chosen a different actress to play this role of the woman after Greg, causing Jack to have suspicions of Greg having an affair. I would definitely recommend this movie to those who enjoyed Meet the Parents and to those who enjoy a good comedy.

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 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.

Date Night

Steve Carell, Tina Fey

Directed by Shawn Levy

Rating: 3 stars

The Fosters are looking for a way to spice up their relationship. They've gotten used to the mundane routine a husband and wife go through with kids. So one night Phil Foster (Steve Carell) decides to take his wife, Claire (Tina Fey), out to a hard-to-get-in, fancy restaurant in New York City. When the host barely gives them the time of day, they decide to take the reservation of a couple who doesn't show up on a whim. This only causes them to be pursued by two thugs and a dangerous adventure out in the city.

Date Night is a movie you get excited about but when watching it, don't feel that excitement. Essentially, the film should have been great because Steve Carell and Tina Fey make an absolutely great pair. Nobody else could have played their role the way they did. So why did Date Night deserve three stars instead of four? Well, the movie started off with your average couple who love each other but they had kids and so life revolves around that. They decided to spice things up but then it gets boring. There's some action in this movie since the Foster's get chased around and there's this long car action scene. It doesn't grab your full attention though. Date Night is the kind of movie you've seen before and it's just "alright". I'm not sure it's worth recommending because of the "blah" factor it has. There probably are some people out there who thought this movie is worth owning but I would recommend renting it or watching it On Demand before mindlessly thinking, oh this will probably be good. (I almost did that and I'm very glad I didn't.) While Carell and Fey make a great on-screen couple and have good chemistry, Date Night is a movie you probably don't want to watch on yours.

Megamind

Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill

Directed by Tom McGrath

Rating: 5 stars

Megamind is the story of an evil genius who actually gets away with it. Megamind (Will Ferrell) and Metro Man (Brad Pitt) never got along. As they grew older they battled each other and Metro Man usually won. However, on the day of the unveiling of Metro Man's statue, Megamind has a new scheme and this time he actually defeated Metro Man! Megamind enjoyed running the city as he pleased but it just wasn't fun without battling a superhero so he decided to create one... Titan (Jonah Hill). But when Titan decides he doesn't like being good, Megamind has to face off with his own creation to save the town.

Megamind is a movie not only kids can enjoy but adults can too. There's probably a lot kids wouldn't understand but watching this with a bunch of college students was fun. Like when Megamind got a text from Roxanne Ritchie (Tina Fey) and he told Minion (David Cross) "Hold on... [to himself while texting back] 'L.O.L smiley face." Since little kids shouldn't be texting, they probably wouldn't understand what's so funny about that. This movie deserves five stars because it's funny, it has a great cast, and a plot you've never seen before (okay, maybe I've never seen but it doesn't happen often). Who's ever seen a movie before where the bad guy gets everything he wants, then turns into a good guy? Sure, we've seen bad guys turn soft and into a nice guy but we've never seen villains in an animated movie go that way. So Megamind had a unique storyline.

Overall, Megamind was just a great movie. Dreamworks usually does a great job at making movies kids and adults can enjoy; like Shrek, Madagascar, and How To Train Your Dragon. I would highly recommend this for anyone who enjoys a good laugh, animated movies, and Will Ferrell. You won't be disappointed.

About A Boy

Hugh Grant, Nicholas Hoult

Directed by Chris Weitz and Paul Weitz

Rating: 3 stars

Will (Hugh Grant) is a young man who has no care for the world. All he cares about is himself and the next lucky girl he can get into bed with him. He found that single mothers were the best kind of women to date so he goes to a single parents meeting in hopes to pick up women. Soon after, Marcus (Nicholas Hoult) comes into his life, whether he liked it or not. Marcus is a weird little boy with a depressed single mother. He has nothing better to do so he decides to enter in to Will's selfish life. It's not long before Will starts to slowly get attached to Marcus, trying to help him be a little "cooler" so he can make friends at school. While Will helps Marcus, Marcus forms a bond that helps make Will turn into a mature grown up that doesn't only think of himself.

This was a cute movie about an annoying little boy making his way into a man's unimportant life. I think this deserved three stars because although it was good, movies with little kids in them annoy me most of the time. It was funny to see that Nicholas Hoult was so... how do I put this nicely? Unappealing to look at as a little kid. He sure matured though over the years. Hugh Grant played the typical role he does (like Daniel Cleaver in Bridget Jones's Diary and Alex Fletcher in Music & Lyrics) but he does a good job. The movie had a bit of a gloomy topic; Will cared about no one other than himself and Marcus' mother tried to kill herself. It had a happy ending though so it is not all doom-and-gloom. It had some humorous scenes like when Marcus went up on stage at his school's talent show and sang "Killing Me Softly". Overall, this movie is favorable to see if you're a Hugh Grant fan and is nice to see at least once. I would recommend renting it though.

The National Lampoons Christmas Vacation

Chevy Chase

Directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik

Rating: 5 stars

To poor Clark Griswold, his Christmas vacation doesn't go exactly like he planned. What with in-laws from both sides of the family, plus an unexpected arrival of Clark's brother, Christmas in the Griswold home certainly is entertaining. Christmas is a challenge. After spending hours covering the house in lights, turning the switch to illuminate them doesn't necessarily work- until going into the basement and turning on the wrong switch does light them. Christmas dinner proves to be just as interesting with an inedible turkey and a cat that gets electrocuted by the tree. But what takes the cake in this hilarious movie is when Clark finds out he doesn't get the Christmas bonus he was expecting.

This movie deserves five stars. I've heard of this movie before but wrote it off because it was an old movie (1989) and thought it would be filled with dumb humor that wasn't funny. I couldn't be more wrong. This movie was funny from start to finish. If you're married, you might be able to relate to this movie for when you have the in-laws stay for vacation. You might understand the frustration of putting up lights and then they don't work. Or you might have a boss who is a Scrooge. I would recommend this movie to those who like a good laugh and find like dumb humor. Yes, some of the material that makes you laugh might be seen as dumb humor but who doesn't laugh when you see havoc in a Christmas movie?

Elf

Will Ferrell, James Caan

Directed by Jon Favreau

Rating: 5 stars

A cheery Christmastime movie, this might be one of the favorites people like to watch over the holidays. Buddy (Will Ferrell) is a man who was raised in the North Pole among the elves. Until one December, Buddy had always thought of himself as an elf, despite the obvious. Papa elf (Bob Newhart) decided it was time to tell Buddy where he really came from. So he makes the decision to go find his biological father, Walter (James Caan), in New York City. Walter's wife (Emily) welcomes Buddy into their home. Throughout the movie, Buddy tries to adjust to a different world than he was used to in the North Pole.

This movie deserves five stars. If you've seen it, then you understand why. It's funny and full of remember-able one-liners such as, "Smiling's my favorite!" and "I'm a cotton-headed-ninnymuggins" that make you laugh out loud. Will Ferrell is hilarious and is what makes this movie as great as it is. I think what's great about this is that no matter what your age is, it appeals to almost everyone. Of course, there are probably going to be some people out there who don't like this movie. So I would recommend this movie to those who like comedies, Will Ferrell movies, and go into this without high expectations. Not everyone has the same sense of humor; this isn't for those who like quirky intelligent laughs. It would probably be better if you went in without a high expectation because then when the movie ends, you might like it better instead of wishing it was more humorous.

The Other Guys

Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg

Directed by Adam McKay

Rating: 5 stars

Allen Gamble (Will Ferrell) just wants to do paperwork for the police. He doesn't want to get in on the action but his partner Terry Hoitz (Mark Wahlberg) is dying to get out in the real world instead of being stuck behind a desk. Once police officers Highsmith (Samuel L. Jackson) and Danson (Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson) get killed while out on duty, Terry Hoitz steps it up and forces his partner to go out on a police call. While Gamble and Hoitz are seen as goofballs who keep messing up, nobody believes that what they're doing is real police work.

This movie is well worth the rating, 5 stars. The script is well-written and this movie is hilarious. Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg make a great choice for police partners. At first, Mark Wahlberg's character is not a fan of Will Ferrell and his oddity. After all, who likes to do paperwork? However, their relationship grows and by the end of the movie they've become friends. Maybe not great friends but they've come to respect each other.

There's lots of memorable scenes and quotes. From Will Ferrell yelling, "AMERICA!!!!" to Mark Wahlberg shouting, "I'm like a peacock, you gotta let me fly!"

I would recommend this movie for those with a good sense of humor. The Other Guys doesn't even have a long running time. It's only about 106 minutes and it doesn't feel excruciatingly long like some movies do. In conclusion, this is a must-see movie. The Other Guys is one of the best comedies of 2010.

When In Rome

Kristen Bell, Josh Duhamel

Directed by Mark Johnson

Rating: 4 stars

When Beth (Kristen Bell) has to make an impromptu trip to Rome, Italy to go to her younger sister's (Alexis Dziena) wedding, she never expected to find the love she's been waiting for. Feeling hopeless while hanging around the "fountain of love", she takes five coins out of it, not knowing what trouble this would cause her. Nick (Josh Duhamel) happens to be someone Beth feels like she could fall for, after meeting him at the wedding and had a great time. Nick relentlessly tries to get her to agree to going on a date. The trouble is, because she took those five coins from the fountain, five random men believe they are in love with her. They do everything they can to win her approval in hopes for her love back. Beth is afraid that Nick's coin is one of them and doesn't know what to believe herself, despite his refusal that one of the coins is his.

I would give this movie four stars. It was a cute, romantic-comedy. The actors portrayed their characters well, not going over-board to annoy you. However, the choice for Beth's "lovers" could have been better. Sure, they made you laugh and feel a bit creeped out, but they didn't make it feel realistic. Maybe it's because they used people such as Jon Heder, Will Arnett, Dax Shepard, and Danny DeVito. Because they are big names in the comedy world (for example, Jon Heder being famously known for "Napoleon Dynamite), you feel like they "goof up" their characters. Maybe if the writers had toned down their characters so that they were more relatable, the movie would be even better. Sure, they learned a lesson in the end as to why they might have felt like they had fallen in love with Beth but looking back on the movie, they were a bit absurd.

Not to put this movie down, I enjoyed. I think that this is a film most people can enjoy. I'm sure if you liked Bridget Jones's Diary, The Ugly Truth, or Bride Wars, you might enjoy this. When In Rome is a light comedy that you can take your six- or seven-year-olds to. Overall, it provided humor and a satisfying ending.