The Town

Actually pretty good! It's exciting, suspenseful, sad, and even humorous here and there. Ben Affleck not only stars he also directed it, and I LOVED the other movie he directed, Gone Baby Gone. Sometimes he tries to make the movie a little too Boston, but all the supporting characters were great and believable (even Blake Lively, star of Gossip Girl, which surprised me!). It also seemed a little predictable at times, and some side stories were added that didn't really need to be there. But overall, I did not guess the ending correctly, and was thoroughly entertained. I'd say CHECK IT OUT!

Dear John

I was expecting a major cheese-fest, and although some parts were cheesy, I really liked it! It's based on a Nicholas Sparks novel, and we all know how weepy and lovey-dovey his books can be (The Notebook, A Walk To Remember, Nights In Rodanthe). However, this one impressed me with how realistic it was. They fall in love when they're young, and over the years alot comes between them, causing them to grow in themselves and in their love for each other. I hadn't read the book, so I don't know how accurate the movie is. But, I couldn't predict how it was gonna end, and it even made me tear up (a little) a few times. It was much better than I expected, so CHECK IT OUT!

Date Night

This movie is unfortunetely not as good as it should have been. With 2 giant comedic stars (Tina Fey and Steve Carrell) it should have been hilarious! However, it's not. There are a few kinda funny parts, but the funny only comes from Tina and Steve, not the story. Overall, it tried too hard to be too many things - a mystery, a comedy, an action-fest, a drama about married couples - and it never really dedicated itself to any of these genres for very long. Sorry Tina and Steve, I'd say PASS.

When In Rome

I thought this one had alot of potential to either be really cute or really stupid. Unfortunetely, it leaned toward stupid. The story was cute at times, but it was mostly a jumbled mess. Kristen Bell is really cute and Josh Duhamel is maybe the most beautiful man on the planet, which helps you stick around to the end. But, just when you think it's wrapping up fairly normally, the story gets even more ridiculous! Overall, it's an avalanche of bad romantic comedy cliches, thrown together with 2 actors who could both do so much better. Unfortunetely, I'd say PASS.

Favorite Actors

There are many movies I've watched simply because of the actors in it.

One of these actors is James McAvoy. I know, you have probably never heard of him, but you may recognize him from a few popular movies. I first saw him in "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe" as Mr. Tumnus - and ever since then I've been a fan. I don't know what it was about his portrayal of Mr. Tumnus, it just seemed so genuine. Ever since then, I've liked every movie I've seen him in (including The Last Station, Penelope - a movie no has heard of but everyone should see, and Atonement, by far my favorite movie of 2007.) I think he's a great actor who mostly flies under the radar, but picks great movies to act in.

Another of these actors is Amy Adams. She is also great at her craft, with a surprisingly wide range. She was nominated for a Golden Globe for Enchanted, and for an Academy Award for Doubt. She can do bubbly (Enchanted), sullen (Doubt), real (Julie and Julia and Sunshine Cleaning), silly (Night at the Museum 2 - she was the only shining star of an otherwise pretty dumb movie), funny (Talladega Nights)... she just always pleasantly surprises me with her acting abilities.
I say all this because - a) I wanted to mention some of their movies that are totally worth watching, and b) I just wanted to put this on the record in case they start winning a bunch of awards!

The American

This movie is weird. It's hard to rate it because it had good stuff, and really BAD stuff. The good stuff first: it's filmed beautifully. The majority of the movie is set in Italy, and the scenery is so pretty. Also, there's not alot of dialogue, you are left to infer a lot of things yourself (which I didn't really mind.) Now the bad stuff: the story is terrible! I don't think we need another "he's a hit man who wants out" movie, do you? They could have done so many other things with that story line, but the conclusion turns out exactly as you would suspect. The first 5 minutes were intriguing, but then he goes to Italy and nothing really happens for like an hour. Like I said, the minimal dialogue and beautiful scenery is different and cool, but not enough to carry over an hour of the movie. Overall - unless you want to watch it for the technicalities of how it was made, I'd say PASS.

Valentine's Day

I was expecting to find this movie "so-so", but I actually really liked it! I like stories like this about how a group of people's lives interact and affect each other. There are so many big stars - Julia Roberts, Jennifer Garner, Shirley MacLaine, Jessica Alba, Bradley Cooper, Jamie Foxx, Ashton Kutcher... and almost all of them were endearing and genuine in their roles. The only one that annoyed me was Jessica Beal as the overly neurotic 30 something without a boyfriend. Some of the stories were a little predictable, but others surprised me in a good way. I really really liked it, so I would CHECK IT OUT for a good romantic comedy!

The Wolfman

I thought the trailer made this movie look really good and exciting... but it wasn't. It was boring, predictable, overly dramatic, and sloppy. The special effects were okay, but those scenes were few and far between. Plus, the costume for the Wolfman was ridiculous - it reminded me of a Halloween costume. Do yourself a favor and PASS on this one.