"The Sitter" Works Well with Others

"The Sitter" stars Jonah Hill (Superbad) as a dropout, going nowhere guy, who grudgingly agrees to babysit to help out his mother. Directed by David Gordon Green (Pineapple Express) this is a raunchy, drug-filled, and profanity laden comedy. The villain acted by Sam Rockwell (The Green Mile) is a cocaine using psychopath with some strange personality issues. The kids in the film add not only the cute factor but some entertaining lines. This movie had me laughing the whole time. Though a little cliche, with a everyone learns a lesson in the end kind of mentality, its great old school rap and rock music, and crazy situaltional humor made for a good laugh and an entertaining time at the theater.


Final Grade: B+

"50/50" Gives One Hundred Percent

50/50 is a film based on a true story that follows an average 27 year old who learns he has a rare form of cancer and his struggle dealing with it. It stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Inception) who plays the cancer stricken young man. His best friend and comic relief is played by the funny guy Seth Rogen (The Green Hornet). The title is fitting not only because of Levitt odds of living from this cancer but also how the movie seems to play out. There seems to be a fine balance between the dramatic and comedic that left me feeling almost exhausted after seeing this one. It was nice to see Anna Kendrick (Up in the Air) make an appearance as a grief councilor to Levitt. This film had a great soundtrack and with such a great cast and some other good supporting actors this is one that I would enjoy seeing a few more times in the near future. Some may be not appreciate all the vulgarness and drug use but it seems to help balance the tension that Levitt seems to deal with in the film. Overall one of my favorite films I've seen in recent months.


Final Grade: A

The Bar Closed Early for "The Rum Diary"

Johnny Depp ( Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides) stars in this film as a failed novelist turned reporter. After arriving in Puerto Rico he is greeted by some disturbing scenes of unrest and poverty in the country. He is put on a somewhat dead end position for the paper and he strives to right to the heart of the problems in the country. While on his drunken misadventures for the truth his is aided by Michael Rispoli (Kick-Ass) who plays the always present and always drunk companion. Also joining in the the drunken debauchery at times is the poorly managed Giovanni Ribisi (Avatar). Depp is drawn towards a seedy deal headed by Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight). Seeing Eckhart in this role was interesting because his personality seemed similar to his character as Two-Face which I found rather enjoyable. Depp and Eckhart also share a love interest in actress Amber Heard (Zombieland). The scenes of Rispoli and Depp enjoying some drunken merriment were some of the best, but overall the movie seemed to progress slowly and the payoff by the end was rather inconsequential. Heard seems to be type casted as the one dimensional love interest and continues to be so in this film. This film did have some good moments but not enough to credit its two hour run time, which ended with a lackluster cliche and text to tie off some loose ends. This is one I would say is worth waiting to see at a matenee showing or the discount theatre. 

Final Grade: C

"Hanna" is Disturbingly Chilling

Hanna stars, Saoirse Ronan (The Lovely Bones) as the pale complexioned title character. Her father played by Eric Bana (Star Trek [2009]) sends her to kill an agent played by Cate Blanchett ( The Curious Case of Benjamin Button). Ronan is a highly skilled child who joins society as an innocent person who does terrible things. This films use of music not only through its soundtrack but also the chilling song one of the antagonist whistles through the films adds to the eeriness of this film. This film is full of violence but it avoids violence for the sake of entertainment, it is only used to show the necessity of the actions that Hanna is taking. And when seeing the end of this film I was left with some feeling of confusion and dissatisfaction, but I don't believe the movie could have ended any different. Another interesting feature of this film is its similarities to the film Run Lola Run. In many of the scenes Hanna is running around to some techno beats and it seemed very reminiscent of this film. This is a good movie but it is not one to watch if you are feeling in a rather pleasant mood as this movie will leave you feeling a little sullen. But none the less worth a watch. 

Final Grade: C+ 

"30 Minutes or Less" was Right on Time

30 Minutes or Less is a classic example of a comedy, with some crazy dialogue and a crazier storyline. It stars Jessie Eisenberg (The Social Network),Aziz Ansari (Get Him to the Greek), Danny McBride (Your Highness), and Nick Swardson (Grandma's Boy). This film revolves around Eisenberg who gets a bomb strapped to him by McBride and Swardson, and he consults his best friend played by Ansari to try and help him rob a bank to get the bomb taken off. There is not a lot to say about this movie than if you want something to sit back, relax, and have a few laughs this is a good choice. Also I was a biasedly impressed by the soundtrack because it has a song by one of my favorite artist in it, Kid Cudi. Overall an enjoyable film that if you get a chance to see one night is worth the 90 minutes to see. 

Final Grade: B-

'Terrible Bosses' Employs Great Humor

I have now seen this movie twice and each time I laughed from beginning to end. This movie is one of the raunchest films I've seen in a while and is the best comedy I've seen in a while. Full of a great cast, my favorite being Jennifer Aniston, who I loved in Office Space. She has the dirtiest lines in the movie which will had me holding my mouth wide open more times than I expected. Also making the cast more enjoyable are Jason Bateman best know for TV show Arrested Development, Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx who costared together in Miami Vice both make an appearance, both having some great 'aha' moments. Rounding out the cast are Kevin Spacey (American Beauty) and Charlie Day from the hilarious show Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia also add to this great cast of characters. This movie is full of drug, sex, and murder but puts a new twist on it. So for those who are always looking for something new to laugh at and aren't afraid of some vulgar language should rush out to see this one. 

Final Grade: A+

"Captain America: The First Avenger" Recruits Awesomness.

I finally had a chance to go out and see the last installment in the Avenger series before the Avengers movie is officially announced at the end. Directed by Jumanji  director Joe Johnston. This film was surprisingly better than I expected, and was excited to see The Loser actor Chris Evans play the Captain. This movie is full of some awesome fight sequences and some good special effects. Seeing The Matrix Agent Smith. Hugo Weaving play the villainous Red Skull. As always he never disappoints as a great villain. Also joining the cast was long time actor Tommy Lee Jones famous for movies like Men in Black played the sharp tongued commander. Overall a great movie that rounds out a great set of Marvel movies. For those who don't watch many movies, make sure you stay for after the credits as the first official Avengers preview is finally revealed. 

Final Grade: A-