Crazy, Stupid, Love

Steve Carell is one of those actors who as soon as you see him on screen you start smiling. Add Ryan Gosling as a lounge lizard, and Emma Stone as a love interest and you have a very good summer movie.
The story is about how a father's life (Carell) unravels while he deals with a marital crisis and tries to manage his relationship with his children.
Emma Stone once again shines and makes you realize that there is no need for Lindsey Lohan to sober up. Long live Emma Stone.
Writer Dan Fogelman has developed the best romantic comedy in the last decade. The story is smart, one you can relate to, and makes for a great Friday night date movie.
Finally Ryan Gosling finally is able to display his incredible skills in a role worthy of his talents.

Verdict:
This film delivers.
Sleeper hit of the late summer.

Captain America

The issue that some people have with the current crop of new superhero movies is that you have to learn about their origins before the action starts. Comic book fans are the ones who truly care about this so they can ensure that their heroes are not misrepresented on screen.
Captain America is not as cool as Spiderman. He is sort of corny but the stories of how he helped win the war were interesting because he really didn’t have any extraordinary powers like the rest of the Marvel Superheroes.
The movie takes place back during the war and begins with how Steve Rodgers (Captain America) played by Chris Evans from The Fantastic Four movies, is being deemed unfit for military service, he volunteers for a top secret research project that turns him into Captain America.
I was worried that Chris Evans was not going to be able to pull it off based on his past performances in Cellular and The Losers, but he does a solid job.
Overall the movie does not changes what was represented in the original comic books. Comic book purist will notice that Cap’s sidekick Bucky is a grown man in the movie vs. a teenager in the comic book.
It was good to see Hugo Weaving, the bad guy from the Matrix, again however he reminds you of Jim Carey in the 2nd half of the movie.
The love interest, newcomer Hayley Atwell, shows that she can hold her own in an almost all male cast.

Verdict: Slow start but good finish. Also stay until the credits end (there are a lot of credits) for extra footage.

Horrible Bosses

This movie is very timely due to the state of our economy. The story will hit home to many who are blessed to have a job but now have to work for Horrible Bosses. Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, and Charlie Day play three friends who conspire to murder their awful bosses when they realize they are standing in the way of their happiness. Horrible Bosses starts out great in the first half where the jokes are flowing and the timing of the 3 leads reminds you of The Three Stooges. The story then putters out and the movie begins to slow down to the point where you are just waiting to hear the next crazy thing that Jennifer Anitston’s character is going to say. Academy Award Winner Jamie Foxx shows up in a cameo role with a name that can’t be printed here. Why this role Jamie? Has the economy hit the number of A-List scripts you can get your hands on? The television show Modern Family’s mom Julie Bowen also shows up in a wasted role as Kevin Spacey’s (one of the Horrible Bosses) wife.
We have already seen Kevin Spacey as a psycho boss in Swimming With The Sharks, it would have been funnier if Kevin Spacey was the maneater and Jennifer Aniston was the boss from hell.

Verdict:
It’s not a horrible movie but it should not be on your list of movies to see this summer.

Mission Impossible - 4

Midnight In Paris

Thank God Owen Wilson was not successful in ending his life a few years ago. I am not trying to be funny because Wilson is quickly becoming an American treasure. I am serious! Wilson is perfectly cast as Gil, who comes across as a young Woody Allen character. The movie is a romantic comedy about a couple traveling to the French capital for business. Gil, a screenwriter about to be married, is forced to confront the illusion that a life in Paris is better than his current life in Hollywood.
Woody Allen's love for Paris is showcased throughout the movie with great location shots. Oscar winners Adrian Brody and Kathy Bates have cameo roles which pleasantly adds to the already star studded cast.Rachel McAdams stars as Owen Wilson's fiance and Michael Sheen, who has been on fire since playing David Frost in Frost/Nixon does a great job as playing a former love interest of McAdams.
Back to Owen Wilson, the man has perfected a laid back style that is all his own. All he has to do is show up and play himself and in this movie that is exactly what he does and it works beautifully.
Regardless of what you think of Woody Allen the man still can make a good movie.

Verdict:
If you hate Woody Allen and you hate Paris than this movie is not for you.
If the above does not apply to you then this is a must see.

X-Men: First Class

I was never a huge X-Men fan but I was curious to see how they were going to do a prequel.
The story takes place in 1962, Charles Xavier, played by James McAvoy from Wanted, starts up a school and later a team, for humans with superhuman abilities.
Here is a tip prior to seeing this movie, if you have not seen the previous versions then start with this movie and rent the older ones afterwards to catch –up. If you have already seen the older versions yet have not watched them in a while than rewatch them because you will be a little confused if you are not an avid fan.
The reason why I am elaborating on this is because there is too much dialogue and not enough action. While watching the movie most of the time you are trying to figure out what is going on and praying for a mindless action scene to start.
It is amazing that Stan Lee created all of these comic book heroes back in the 60’s and they are have been making Gazillions of dollars in the theaters for the last ten years.

Okay so let’s talk about the actors, I’ll start with the bad.

Academy Award Nominee Jennifer Lawrence plays Raven and shows why she lost The Oscar. She doesn’t bring anything extra. She comes off as if this is her first acting role. My nomination for worst actress ever is not to Jennifer Lawrence but to January Jones, from Mad Men, who stars as Emma Frost. She looks great but she is in desperate need of acting lessons.
Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy lead the cast and give great performances but not enough for me to recommend this movie.

Verdict:
For X-Men fans only.

Super 8

There is no doubt that Steven Spielberg is one of the great directors of our time. In addition the Director of Super 8, JJ Abrams, has shown signs of brilliance with his work in the reboot of Star Trek, Mission Impossible 3, and the television series Lost.
When I first heard about this movie I thought it was The Goonies meet Cloverfield since both Spielberg and Abrams were involved. I was dead wrong. Super 8 takes place in 1979 and a mysterious train crash takes place in front of a group of young friends. They begin noticing strange happenings going around in their small town, and begin to investigate into the creepy phenomenon.
When you go to an IMAX summer movie you expect to be dazzled by things on the screen you have never seen before. Almost everything in this movie you have seen in Steven Spielberg movies. Flashing lights, close ups of characters with wind blowing in their hair, they even have the E.T. bike in the movie. In E.T. The Government is the enemy as well as in Super 8. The ending tries to tug at your heart strings similar to E.T. but it's a poor attempt. The only thing that I felt Abrams brought to the movie was his signature soundtrack by the great Michael Giacchino.
I felt like I was watching Abrams love letter screenplay to Spielberg even though Spielberg produced the movie. If this movie came out in 1979 then I would feel like I got my money's worth. By the way if you hated The Goonies like I did then you will not like these group of kids either. Super 8 is entirely a tribute to Spielberg and for the audience it's a waste of time.

Verdict:
Ordinary 8.