Grown Ups

This Adam Sandler movie is not as bad as the Zohan but comes close.
The story is about a group of High school buddies who attend the funeral of their basketball coach. During the weekend they learn valuable life lessons. SNORE!
The movie feels like a Rodney Dangerfield stand-up gig. One bad joke after another until
You laugh at one.
The performances are weak; cinematography is poor (at the theater I attended the picture was cloudy or I could be in denial that I need glasses).
Even the soundtrack was disjointed. Sandler always has old school hits that play throughout his films but in this one they didn’t seem to flow well.
There are only (2) good things about this movie:
1) There is an elderly black woman who goofs on Chris Rock throughout the movie and she comes off like Madea in Tyler Perry’s movies.
2) Salma Hayek I know I’m a dude but WOW does this woman ever gets old?

Verdict: Good for a few laughs.

Knight & Day

I was bored at times watching this Tom Cruise action movie. Yes, this is the first Cruise action movie that was boring . Don’t get me wrong, there are some great action scenes and Cameron Diaz is very believable but the movie feels like a 70’s Roger Moore James Bond movie. Do you want to sit and watch Roger Moore as Bond again?
The story is about a woman (Diaz) who finds life tangled with that of a secret agent (Cruise) who allegedly has gone bonkers and needs to be stopped.
The chemistry between Cruise and Diaz is great but not enough to sustain a weak story.
Tony winner Viola Davis shows up as Cruises boss and gives the same exact performance she did in Law Abiding Citizen.
I had recently seen Ashton Kutchner’s movie Killers, both movies have similarities in the fact that they were both filmed in exotic locations. If I had to choose one to watch for a vacation guide it would be Killers.

Verdict: This is a B script with A list actors. If you see it you will not want to watch it again.

Toy Story 3

I was anxious to see this movie because I was wondering how Disney was going to continue the story after all these years. So the story goes that Woody, Buzz, and the rest of their toy-box friends are dumped in a day-care center after their owner, Andy, departs for college. Wow, a Day Care center full of toys, why didn’t I think of that? This story creates a great movie that is as good as T.S. 1 & 2. This is not a Godfather 3.
You end up falling in love with the characters again and it brings back memories of when you first met them. Barbie and Ken are in this movie (Disney must have paid Mattel a mint) and Ken is voiced by Michael Keaton (Batman #1). There are times when all the adults in the theater are laughing, due to humor aimed at parents, and children in the theater looked puzzled. Kids will however love this movie and want to buy the old DVDs if they don’t already own them.

Verdict: A very good movie and sets the stage for many Toy Stories to come. Pixar is also working on Cars 2 & 3 and Monsters Inc. 2. Why? Because they have these theme based rides of these movies at their parks in CA, Florida, and around the world and they have to have young kids relate to the characters and get their butts on the rides.

The A - Team

I didn’t watch the television series but I knew of and liked Mr. T.
I loved this movie and found myself laughing and smiling throughout the entire flick.
The story is about a group veterans looking to clear their name with the U.S. military, who suspect the A-Team of committing a crime for which they were framed.
The movie is well cast. Liam Neeson as the teram leader Hannibal adds solidness. If anyone else was cast it would have been more of a spoof but Liam plays it for real. Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson as Mr. T is very funny and makes you forget about the real Mr. T half way thru the movie. and there are new actors playing bad guys in Hollywood, Patrick Wilson and Brian Bloom. Even Gerald McRainey (remember the TV show Simon and Simon?) shows up in a key role.
Jessica Biel is fantastic looking as always and has a decent role.
This is the best action movie I have seen this year and it moves at a frantic pace.
This movie is not for everyone but if you are looking for a summer popcorn action flick then this is it.

Verdict: The A-Team is re-born. I am going to see this again.

Killers

Sorry I have not posted any reviews lately. I have seen about 10 movies that sucked and they didn’t inspire me to write. The writer’s strike of 2008 has now set us up for a slew of poor summer movies.
Let’s start with Killers.
The story is about a woman who meets the man of her dreams. They get married and her life is upset when she discovers her husband is an assassin.
Katherine Heigl plays the uptight wife. In fact in her last few movies she has played the same character. I have never watched Grey’s Anatomy but I wonder if she plays the same character when she was on that show? The girl has no range! On the other hand Ashton Kutcher is likable (if not annoying at times) in all of his movies. He also has yet to show some range. I do believe he has a better chance of being a breakout star in the same vein as Tom Hanks. Now bear with me, Hanks made a plethora of BAD movies as the goofy, likable everyman (The Burbs, The Money Pit, Turner & Hooch, The man with One Red Shoe, shall I continue) then he hit pay dirt with good scripts and great directors.
I feel Ashton is following Hanks playbook.
Back to the movie…the first half is great only due to the exotic locations. Tom Selleck is better of playing drunken cop Jess Stone than playing Heigl dad.
Everyone else in the movie mailed in his or her performances.

Verdict: Only for Ashton fans.

Iron Man 2

Iron Man 2 falls into the same sophomore attempt that Transformers 2 fell into. Both first movies made tons of money, so with both 2nd attempts the directors give the audience too much action, too many characters and not enough of a story to care about. For Fanboys who have read the Iron Man comic book they know that the creator of Spiderman and Iron Man, Stan Lee, took time to develop characters, and bad guys that you cared about. Similar to Doc. Octopus in Spidey 2. Stan Lee is one of the writers of this movie so I wonder if his input was honored?
The story is about Tony Stark, Iron Man, who must contend with deadly issues involving the government, his own friends, as well as new enemies due to his superhero alter ego Iron Man. In this movie you have Mickey Rourke, Scarlett Johansson, and Samuel L. Jackson. They are all great on screen but there is no substance. Scarlett Johansson has a great action scene but so what? Iron Man 2 is an OK movie that could have been better. Robert Downey Jr.'s stock does not go down in this flick, he is great as always. I am not a Gwyneth Paltrow fan but she was good in this movie. I think it's because it looks like she is having fun in the role. You will be disappointed if you see it in IMAX because the IMAX previews prior to the movie (Tron, Toy Story 3, Shrek 4, and Inception) look better in IMAX than Iron Man 2.

Verdict: It will make a ton of money and there will be an Iron Man 3. Terance Howard is not missed because Don Cheadle rocks. Fanboys and Marvel Baby Boomers stay until all the credits are gone for a surprise. All others head to the exits.

The Back-Up Plan

After trying to win an Oscar with her husband, (Mark Anthony aka Skelator), in the movie El cantante, J-Lo is back doing what she did best (Hollywood history has shown that you never do a movie with your spouse). The Back-Up Plan is a wannabe romantic comedy. I say wannabe because it is not as funny as J-Lo's past successes in this arena. The movie starts out with a Doris Day type cartoon to remind you that this is a romantic comedy. This was already a weak attempt. The story is centered on a woman who tries to have a baby through artificial insemination, only to meet the man of her dreams on the very same day.
The editing is really bad in this movie because some scenes take forever to get through to the next. The chemistry between the 2 main characters, J-Lo and Alex O'Loughlin is fine however he does not have any friends? The only supporting friend he has is a stranger he meets in the park, Anthony Anderson. Why couldn't he be his friend? Anderson, who was hilarious in Two Can Play That Game is totally wasted in this movie.
J-Lo friends are also not that funny. With any romantic comedy you need funny supporting players, think Emily Blunt in The Devil Wears Prada.
This movie is a waste of time. The only good thing is that at 40 years old J-Lo still looks fetching! Good Genes or Good Doctor?

Verdict: J-Lo, you have been away too long. How many more romantic comedies can you make?