Sucker Punch

I was very excited to see this movie. Even though little is known about the story, the visual effects made it seem like the first big summer blockbuster.

Overall the movie was good. It was entertaining. Much like Inception, it dives deeper and deeper into dream states so that sometimes you forget this is all taking place inside of a mental hospital.

The visual effects and cinematography in this movie were astounding. Very cool fight scenes, epic wide shots of incredible, artistic scenery, and a color scheme that seemed to change based on which reality you were currently in, made this movie an experience.

I really enjoyed the fact this was a new story. This was not a sequel or a remake or even something I felt like I had seen before. The idea was original and while the story itself was not extraordinary, the idea made this movie stand apart.

This movie definitely did have a epic comic-book movie feel to it, similar to Zack Snyder's other movies: 300 and Watchmen. This was more unique than 300 and not preachy or as long as Watchmen. It will be very interesting to see how he tackles the new Superman movie next summer. He seems very capable of shooting fun, intense, and epic battle scenes that Superman movies to date have sorely lacked.

Based on the incredible picture and epic fight scenes I would recommend seeing this in theaters. I am going to rate this as a 3 1/2 stars. It is a solid start to what appears to be a pretty incredible summer.

Hall Pass

Hall Pass was an interesting idea! I felt like the idea was something different which is always good when you are developing a comedy. While the preview showed some funny parts, I felt that there were still some good surprises in the movie. Unfortunately I did not think Owen Wilson was all that funny. His comedic style has started to get stale, much like Jim Carrey's over the top comedy eventually got tiresome. However Owen did perform a lot of set ups for Jason Sedeikis who stole the show. He had most of the funny lines and his comedic timing was perfect!

The movie is actually not just a guys movie as the preview makes it seem. The girls also by de facto get a break from marriage and go have some fun as well. The movie was a good commentary on how men just can't live without their women and how men go through stages in their lives while always hanging on to the last stage for as long as they can.

I like this movie even if it wasn't the funniest. I would recommend a rental and give it 3 stars.

The Adjustment Bureau

The best thing about this movie is that the previews set up the premise of the story to get you interested but did not really tell you a thing about the movie. Going into this movie I was most excited just to see Matt Damon, aka Jason Bourne, and those awesome hats! The story was very interesting. It was a love story that was intermixed with enough action to keep the guys interested. The reasoning behind the "men with hats" may disappoint some and some may call it a cop-out. Honestly I thought it was brilliant and very different. I don't want to give anything away but while its not a new idea, it is different and not expected.

The cast and acting was pretty good. Matt Damon and Emily Blunt were fantastic as lead characters. The chemistry was not perfect but was enough to make the whole thing believable. John Slattery (Mad Men) was also very good as one of the men in hats.

I really liked this movie and I would highly recommend it. It does not have to be seen in theaters, it would also be a great date night movie night at home. I give it 4 stars.

Battle: Los Angeles

Battle: LA is exactly what you expect from the previews. This is not an Oscar contender and really just the kick start to an awesome, mindless, action filled summer! I liked the movie. It starts off in the action, then builds up the story quickly, and then back to non stop action the rest of the 2 hours. The action was very intense and while character development was lacking you did get enough of a connection to care when some of the characters were slaughtered.

The one downside to this movie is found about 3/4's through the movie when Aaron Eckhart loses another "soldier" and decides its time to step up and give a typical American G.I. pep talk; lots of yelling, grunting, and "rally the troops" talk. The speech could have just been shorter and it probably would have been fine, but a 15 minute speech on saving the world and we have to do this and work together because I won't lose any more men, was just a little much.

Not the best acting, but thats also not why you go see this movie. You see it for the same reason you saw War of the Worlds, Aliens, and Starship Troopers- the action is just really cool. I recommend seeing it on the big screen to enjoy the full intensity- although maybe it would be best caught as a matinee. I give it 3 1/2 stars.

Sanctum

So we watched Sanctum during our last movie night and I have to warn you- worst movie ever (or at least in a while!)! The cinematography was the only impressive aspect of this movie. The plot was unlikely, the acting was abysmal, and the script was ridiculous. The script sounded like it was written by a 13 year old boy who just learned all the curse words. The cursing was awkward and misplaced which just made it sound like a frustrated kid who can't think of better words than just dropping f-bombs in completely the wrong context.

And I cannot get over the acting!! Ioan Gruffudd (Mr. Fantastic) was horrible. Of course a lot of the fault rests with the script, but even so, it seemed like he was there for the paycheck and didn't even care about the quality of his own performance. Richard Roxburgh (Mission Impossible II) was also horrible- not that he has been impressive in anything. These two, who are usually supporting actors, were unfortunately supported by even worse cast members. While their poor performances usually are forgiven by better main actors and a strong story, in this case they were the leading men and had a bunch of amateurs straight out of community college's acting classes backing them up.

Honestly this movie is not even worth your time if its on network tv in the middle of the summer. Better to just pick up a National Geographic and admire cave exploration in real life. Not even worth giving a star rating.

The Lincoln Lawyer

While no A Time to Kill, Matthew McConaughey does do an excellent job in the Lincoln Lawyer. Unfortunately the previews gave away the major twist which was disappointing. The movie takes the basic premise of Primal Fear and updates it with a new crime and a new series of twists. Even though the major twist is given away in the preview, the revelation in the movie is still intense and backed up with several other twists that keep you interested.

The supporting cast was also quite extensive including McConaughey's doppelganger Josh Lucas, Marisa Tomei, Ryan Phillippe, the always tragic William H. Macy, John Leguizamo, Michael Pena, and Brain Cranston (dad from Malcolm in the Middle).

The movie was good and quite entertaining. It was nice to see Matthew back in a courtroom even if it still was not on par with A Time to Kill. I would suggest this be at the top of your rental list and give it 3 1/2 stars.