The American

George Clooney is the Cary Grant of our time. He is great as the charmer and in The American he tries to show that he has range. The range he is trying to show is that he can be Clint Eastwood, Steve McQueen, or go back 100 years to Charles Bronson. He tries to be these guys by not saying much and hoping the audience will be captivated by his actions. It does not work. Clooney's persona is already set for all Americans (no pun intended) and he is not good enough an actor to show that he can act like Clint Eastwood. At one point in the movies an old Sergio Leone western is playing in the background as if to pay homage to that style of acting and directing. Clooney even uses Clint's slow piano soundtrack (that Clint uses in the majority of his movies) to try and create suspense.
In the movie the audience spends about 20 minutes watching Clooney make a gun?!?!
The director tires to create suspense by showing alot of back of the head shots of Clooney and the audience wonders if someone is ready to shoot him from behind. I am not good at figuring out endings but I was able to figure this one out from the start of the movie.

Verdict:
SKIP IT!

Machete

For a minute I thought this movie would be similar to previous tongue in cheek Robert Rodriquez movies I have seen in the past.
It was not, it was way better. I loved this movie. The story is about an ex-Federale being betrayed by the organization that hired him and launches a brutal rampage of revenge against his former boss. Rodriquez’s genius is taking veteran stars such as Steven Segal, Don Johnson, and Robert DiNiro and cast them in roles as the bad guys. He also takes a 66 year old veteran supporting actor, Danny Trejo, and makes him a star. In the credits Rodriquez introduces Don Johnson, who is a little heavier since his Miami Vice days, and creates a new image of him for this generation. Don Johnson nails the role by making you forget he was Sonny Crockett. Cheech Marin, Don Johnson’s TV sidekick from Nash Bridges, also stars in the movie as a gun slinging priest. Jeff Fahey plays a character he used to play in numerous 80’s movies rather than the Wus pilot he played in the television show Lost. There is plenty of blood and gore from start to finish. One great scene involves an intestine?! Jessica Alba is in the movie and stars as, believe it or not, a Mexican!?! I guess Perez Hilton finally got to her. Finally Steven Seagal makes a funny comeback (with a jet black rug on his head) as the main villain.

Verdict:
Must see. Rodriquez’s best effort to date.

Takers

This movie was supposed to be the black Oceans 11, or 12, or 13.
It does not come close to any of them. The movie steals from various other heist movies you have already seen. The story is about a group of bank robbers who find their $20 million planned heist interrupted by a hard-boiled detective (Matt Damon).
“A List” actress Zoe Salandana is also cast in the movie but is totally wasted. She is barely in the movie. Matt Damon looks as if he recently had cheek implants and for the first half of the movie I was trying to figure out if he did or he didn’t? His performance however was the best in the movie.
Some of the scenes were totally unrealistic such as the hotel shootout and blowing up a street to rob an armored truck?? Strong acting could have made some of these absurd scenes somewhat believable but most of this cast couldn’t open a movie much less be in a strong supporting role. Chris Brown (the rapper who had the altercation with Rhianna) cannot act and is annoying as youngest Taker. There is a chase scene that works but is predictable.

Verdict:
Not as bad as Zoe's movie The Losers but you can still wait for this flick to air on cable.

Piranha 3D

This is the type of movie that Roger Corman made back in the day.
Have gratuitous T & A; include lots of blood, and don’t spend a lot of money. In addition have stars that have already seen their best days (Richard Dreyfuss from Jaws, Elizabeth Shue from Adventures In Babysitting, & Christopher Lloyd who starred in from Back to the Future). The movie begins with underwater tremors that set free prehistoric man-eating fish. Then the "B" cast bands together to try and stop the attack.
Ving Rhames utilizes a boat motor, (while he standing in the water??) to try and stop the Piranhas. Ving looked as if he was drunk throughout the entire movie yet his character is supposed to be sober. Offset he probably drank so that he can get thru the flick and collect a check.
All males will love the slow motion underwater boob ballet set to classical music.

Verdict:
I paid extra for 3D and I wish I didn’t.

The Expendables

I was hoping that this was going to be a great action movie similar to The Dirty Dozen or Chuck Norris's Delta Force (which has been playing endlessly on cable) however when I saw in the opening credits that Stallone directed this movie I knew it didn't have a chance of being good.
The concept was cool where you have former action stars come together and you bring in a current star, Jason Statham, but the story was weak and the directing was a hot mess.
There was one high points: Bruce Willis, The Govonator, & Stallone meet in a church. This scene had the best line in the movie and the audience could not stop laughing however the scene was too short.
If Stallone is trying to be like Clint Eastwood and start directing movies in his early 60's forget about it. Eastwood started directing his own films in 1971 when he was 41yrs old (The Beguiled )and is now one of the top directors in Hollywood. Stallone should stick to remaking Rambo and Rocky until they don't make money anymore.
Another problem with this flick is that some of the stars get their ass kicked!? I don't want to see an action movie and see my favorites get their ass kicked.
When the Expendables meet in Mickey Rouke's tattoo parlour I felt that I was watching one of his worst movie Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man. I am not kidding, it looked like the same set and the movie has the same sloppy feel.
FACT: Some of you probably don't know but Stallone has an Academy Award for the Rocky screenplay. Yes believe it or not.

Verdict: I went home and watched Kick-Ass again and felt better.

What Ever Happened To Bridget Fonda??

There is a new La Femme Nikita television show that is coming out this fall with Maggie Q. The 3rd remake from Luc Beeson's (director of The Transporter series) original masterpiece. Maggie earned her strips in Mission Impossible 3 and the last Die Hard movie.
Since Nikita is coming out again, I wondered what happened to Bridget Fonda who played in the American movie of Nikita called Point Of No Return?
She was born into a family that was embedded in the Hollywood industry and she had a couple of hit movies in the early 90's, Single White Female, and Singles. She was not a great actress but she was not as bad as some of the women you see on screen today. Her La Femme Nikita was her best work in a leading role.
She has not been in anything notable since 2002???
Maybe she was smarter than everyone else, she lived her dream and got out of the business before it destroyed her. America loves a comeback and she should be at the top of director's lists.

The Other Guys

I didn’t expect much from this movie because I didn’t see any chemistry between Mark Walhberg and Will Ferrell in the trailers. I was wrong.
These two work well together and there are plenty of laughs from this uneven comedy. The story is about two mismatched New York City detectives who seize an opportunity to step up like the city's top cops whom they idolize.
Ferrell plays it straight, which is what he does best. This movie is comparable to an Adam Sandler comedy so if you don’t like Adam Sandler comedies you will have a tough time with this movie
Verdict:
Will Ferrell fans will not be disappointed. Not his best but enough good laughs to help us through a day in this loooonnnnngggg recession.