Rise of the Planet of the Apes

The trailer for this movie looked intriguing; CGI and motion special effects would probably give this franchise a fresh reboot. I was wrong. This is an origin story set in present day San Francisco, where man's own experiments with genetic engineering lead to the development of intelligence in apes and the onset of a war for supremacy.
James Franco walks through his role scientist Will Rodman (I still don’t know why he was nominated for 127 Minutes). All of the other performances are mailed in except for the lead ape Caeser (whose emotions were brought to life brilliantly by Andy Serkis). The chemistry between Freda Pinto and Franco is forced and her character is not fully developed so you really don’t care if she ends up with Franco.
The original Planet of the Apes series had humans wearing ape suits yet it had many surprises and it freaked me out. For a summer movie I expected more. There is no adrenaline rush and the apes are not scary, in fact I laughed at scenes where I should have been frightened. There are no surprises due to zero depth in storytelling.
Of all the movies that can possibly be re-booted......why reboot another movie that's already been re-booted? Especially after the horrible reboot with Marky Mark Wahlberg, why did they decide to revisit the Apes again??

Verdict:
I am one of the few critics that didn’t care much for this movie. The first Planet of The Apes movie is still the best. Even the 2nd one was better than this. For those of you who have seen it and contributed to the big box office debut, would you pay to see it again?

Cowboys & Aliens

There was great anticipation for this movie yet not much was known about how the whole premise was going to be pulled off with great results. It was not.
The story is about a spaceship that arrives in Arizona, 1873, to take over the Earth, starting with the Wild West region. A posse of cowboys and natives are all that stand in their way.

Daniel Craig, the lead cowboy, reminds you of Steve McQueen and he does a solid job. In fact I think he should give up the James Bond franchise and stick to revitalizing the Western. He makes a great Cowboy.
Olivia Wilde is perfectly cast for this movie however she is getting overexposed; every other movie has Oliva Wilde starring in it.
This is a movie that takes a while to get started and maybe it’s because of the various writers that are involved with this project. The one cool thing about C vs. A is that it is not a prequel, sequel, or reunion. It’s an original movie which is rare these days.

Verdict:
Just ok.

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.