Real Steel (by Chuck)

In the near future, robot boxers have replaced humans - in order to satisfy the blood-lust of society, so the spectators have the over-the-top boxing matches that provide the type of action in the ring that any human counter part just can't physically provide.

Charlie Kenton - former pro boxer, that gave the #2 contender (for the world championship) a run for his money - has evolved with the sport of boxing and is fighting with any robots he can find, anywhere he can find them in hopes of making money to pay off debts and just keep his financial nose above water.

Charlie has his estranged 11 year old son (Max) suddenly dumped on him, after he finds out that Max's mother has suddenly passed on. Reluctantly he takes in Max, but is coerced by Max into letting him tag along on in the underground robot boxing circuit.

The Kenton's stumble upon a sparring bot that Charlie has no faith in, but Max believes that this new find "Atom" has something special and they quickly put Atom to work when they realize Atom can take a hit and dish it out too.

The element of a child really made this movie very far-fetched, as if the robots didn't already. What could have been a very good action-drama ended up being a kiddi-fied action-drama that might end up turning some off. (Max teaches "Atom" hip-hop dancing. This really bugged me.) For, instance allowing a child into an underground boxing circuit, where no parent or really any adult with true concern for the well-being of a child to go to... essentially a 21 and up, style bar-like environment.

Also, where Max initially finds Atom, he has claimed Atom as his own and in his 11 year old mind, he's entitled to call the shots... he's basically taken on the role of the manager and booking agent while his dad just backs down at Max's "evil eye" when Max's "authority" in the matter is challenged.

When I came to accept the utter ridiculousness of this reality, I decided to check my brain at the door and just enjoy a boxing movie, despite an 11 year was calling the shots. It's like accepting the fact that in a super hero movie you excuse physics and all reality in Captain America when Steve Rogers is given a syrum and imaginary radiation treatment to make him nearly 2 feet taller, and have insta-muscles, super strength and speed, despite the reality that it never could happen.

The MPAA would have given this movie a PG rating, but Max was scripted to have a head-strong personality that gives him the confidence to defy his father, make bets with bookies, up the anti on said bets and call the bluff of these bookies. With such a head strong personality comes a mouth that isn't afraid to use profanity, which is where a lot of the PG-13 rating is rooted in.

The MPAA also says the rating came from violence and intense action, but all the Rocky movies (except Rocky 5) got a PG. Charlie gets a beat down, in a night scene, from people he owes money to, so the darkness doesn't really give you a clear image as to how violent of a scene it is. The boxing matches clearly have more violence in them, but because Charlie's beat down is humans fighting, the realistic factor is probably what also contributed to the 13 rating and not the boxing matches.

I want to give this movie 3/4 stars, but things that detracted from the drama of the movie, like hip-hop dancing and Max's ridiculously overbearing personality are going to cause me to give this a 2.75/4 stars.

Another reason I can't justify 3/4 stars is because it is too much like Rocky 1 & 4. And because of that, I was really hoping for the drama that came from those 2 movies, but they took this movie in the direction of the relationship between father and son and let that be driving force behind the movie, and not the drama I was hoping to get that I got from the Rocky's.

The action is definitely there, but the Max character continually overshadows his father - that I wanted to care for - but he was too much of a wuss to put his foot down as his father and call the shots. It's a good movie, just a little too much Max.

Paul (by Chuck)

"Paul" is an alien movie where 2 friends are on vacation from the U.K. to see the San Diego Comic-con and visit UFO hotspots too, since they are close to Area 51 and Roswell, NM.

After Comic-Con and the Area 51 mail box they encounter a run away car that crashes and they find that it's an alien named Paul (voice by Seth Rogan), that speaks perfect English.

After they have overcome the shock of an actual extra-terrestrial is in their midst they quickly decide they want to help the alien go to its initial crash landing site in WY from 1947.

This plot has a lot of nice potential, however I really couldn't tell what the meat of the story was because ClearPlay muted most of the dialogue of the movie. This movie is just a tyraid of profanity and sexual context.

I wish I could say I enjoyed this movie, but since the dialogue was so chopped up, I really couldn't get what was being said. I got the overall basic concept of what was happening, but all of the humor was laced with muted content and the funny was just not there.

2/4 stars.

Collateral (by Chuck)

3/4 stars

Max the cab driver picks up Vincent the hitman. Vincent has 5 jobs to complete before the night is out. Unfortunately, for him, his first job is sloppy and involves Max the cab driver and the cab which start to slowly give Vincents position away to the authorities.

Max is then faced with (unwillingly) aiding a murderer or be killed himself. From this point on it's pretty heavily packed with action and shooty, lots of shooty - Vincent is after all an assassin.


The ClearPlay experience
I often times watch my movies with captions - after everyone has gone to bed, so as to be able to know what is being said without making it too loud for those sleeping, which is how (if you've read previous posts of mine) that I know when language is muted or skipped entirely, if there is language at all.

Collateral has the typical R-rated language, with heavy amounts emphasis on the F-bomb.

And an assassin movie really can't be such without guns and lots of shooting.


Collateral is Rated R for Violence and Language and has a common sense rating of a heavy PG-13, since all instances of swearing were wiped out nicely and a lot of the violence was fairly blood-free which means that the shooting was more on the PG-13 side.

However there is a lot of shooting and such an excess is considered to be pretty hard for younger viewers to watch, which is where it earns it's R rating from, in an unfiltered state. (e.g. Matrix [rated -R], is fairly, if not entirely blood-free, but the amount of shooting is extremely excessive.)
A lot of the shooting was kept in, mainly because it's Vincent's method to move things out of his way (windows, walls, etc) and the movie would feel rather disjointed if a clean office building was all of the sudden torn to shreds, if you didn't know Vincents turned the place in to Swiss Cheese. So, on that note even with swearing eliminated entirely, a lot of the violence had to stay in, for continuity sake.

Captain America: The First Avenger (Reviewed by Chuck)

4/4 Stars


If you have not read the comics or do not know anything about Captain America or even know there is a Captain America, and do not want to be spoiled on any level, stop reading now!


Steve Rogers, a scrawny young man from Brooklyn with a laundry list of physical ailments yearns to serve his country, as a man with nothing to lose as he is an orphan - He actually has a family, this is simply deviation from the comics that they couldn't afford to spend time.

After 5 failed (4 of which were illegal) attempts to enlist in the service, Rogers is complaining to a friend that now one will give him a chance. This is overheard by a scientist spearheading a secret super soldier program from the government.

Rogers is chosen to be the gineua pig for the program, because if his pure-blooded desire to serve his country, which is seen in his determination to not give up in his excersizes in basic training. He also passes a test of courage that everyone fails, except Rogers (who passes with flying colors) because he truly is an un-selish guy that is not afraid to stand up to the bullies of the world since he has been bullied and beaten up his whole life.

This undying patriotism of Rogers and his desire to stand up to the bullies of the world, is what drives this character and you feel it throughout the movie.


Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, the Nazi's are up to no good... again. Hitler has an R&D division called Hydra that is building exprimental weapons (that have a tie in to Thor, so if you haven't seen Thor you might be scratching your head at the end of the movie) that disintigrate the victim, or anything for that matter. They are just about to unleash this terror on the world when they learn about Captain America and see him as their ultimate threat that will shut down hydra and their chances for winning the war.


This is definitely a PG-13 movie that is not appropriate for younger audiences and maybe not even be appropriate for 13-16 year olds (depending on the maturity level of your teen.) On top of the type of weapons, this is a very shooty movie... lots of gun use in the one. We even have a somewhat gory moment of an expandable Hyrda soldier and a propeller blade of a moving plane. We have very little swearing and no sex, at all.

Harry Potter 7.2 (Reviewed by Ed)

3.5 Stars out of 4

 

Well the final installment of the most financially successful movie franchise has come to a close.  I have to say they did a great job in wrapping everything up and allowing the boy wizard to deal with his fate and what would become of the people that surrounded Harry. 

 

There were things about the movie that I really liked and things about the movie that fell short for me.  Again the acting was great, the special effects were wonderful, the action sequences were pretty cool and the plot was good.  Also, being able to see some of the not as popular characters get their day in the sun was good! (i.e. Neville and Prof. McGonnigal)  This is what was good for me.  Now for what fell short…2 MAJOR things in the movie let me down just a bit from giving this movie a 4 out of 4 star rating and that was 1.) that it was too short.  I believe the running time was around 2 hours (which they could’ve easily added 30-45 minutes more so as to not rush things), and 2.) (spoiler alert!!) when Harry finally kills Voldemort the final battle, to me seemed a bit anti-climactic.  When Voldemort dies it was a bit different from the book so that took away from the overall experience.

 

Either way it was a great ending to the 3^rd greatest movie franchise in the history of movie-dom.

 

Can’t wait to see it again this weekend!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (chuck) 3.25/4 stars

This movie is action, from the word go. Part 1 sets up the plot and part 2 is chalked full of action and some emo.

We have our closure for the major story/plot points and for the most part director David Yates handles them quite well.

Because so many much major plot points had to be addressed, it felt like they could have easily made this a 3 hour movie and it still would have been just fine.

The final battle between Harry and Voldemort deviated slightly from the description in the book and sadly this is where the movie left me disappointed. Not because it strayed from the book, but only looking at the final battle and how the victor wins - from a movie stand point- it was actually quite a disappointment and far shorter than I wanted.

Some Potter purists might be disappointed in how the final battle is wrapped up, but overall Harry Potter 7.2 was quite enjoyable.

Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon (Reviewed by Ed)

Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon

 

(2.75 out of 4 stars)

 

Takes place with new graduated college student Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) growing up looking for a new job and in the meantime has a new girl.  Before we learn about that we learn that more about the battle on Cybertron between the Autobots and the Decepticons that in the last days of the war, a Prime by the name of Sentinel Prime (voiced by Leonard Nimoy), tries to escape with what would keep his race alive.  Before he escapes, his ship is shot and it crash lands on the moon in the very early 1960’s.  This impact is known by NASA and also the Russians.  Thus the “real” reason why the moon race between the United States and the Russians happens.  Who can get there first to see what exactly crashed into the moon.  You see Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, some actual footage and some actor portrayal of the astronauts landing on the moon.  A very top secret mission happens as the two astronauts bring back 5 “pillars” that are part of several hundred others that will build a “bridge” for the alien race of Cybertron to be transported to Earth.  The government hides away these 5 pillars but unfortunately they fall into the hands of the Decepticons and the race is on to see if the Autobots can stop them from bringing in countless Decepticons that still live on Cybertron to invade Earth and enslave the human population.

 

Going into this movie I expected the typical Transformers movie with acting that isn’t the best, an okay plot and LOTS of action.  This is pretty much what you get with this movie with exception of LOTS of action.  I thought the action was really good but it just took too long for the major battle action sequence to start but when it did start it was really cool.  I was also surprised to see that the character portrayed by British Victoria Secret super model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley (Carly) was not just another actress playing the part of Megan Fox’s old character but a NEW love interest for Sam.  The only thing you know about what happens with her is that she left Sam.

 

Many of the same characters are back in this movie along with some other big time actors in John Malkovich and Patrick Dempsey.

I’m giving this movie 2.75 stars mainly because of the lack of action in the movie.  I would’ve given it around 3.25 stars if there were more action scattered throughout the movie.  I have to say it was nice to see the action scenes easier to follow this time around with the slow motion sequences that they frequently showed.  In some of the past Transformers movies (especially the last one) it was very hard to follow the fight scenes and wondering who were the Autobots and who were the Decepticons.  Dark of the Moon still had a few places with that problem but not nearly as much.  This movie also didn’t have nearly as much crudeness as the last Transformers movie but in typical fashion there was plenty to go around. 

 

Rating of whether I would see the movie again:
1 = Definitely not!
2 = Probably not.
3 = Maybe.
4 = Probably.
5 = Absolutely!

Would I see the movie again in the theaters? 3
Will I rent it on DVD and watch it at home? 1 (no because I will buy it)
Would I buy the movie? 5

Transformers: Dark of the Moon is rated PG-13 for intense prolonged sequences of sci-fi violence, mayhem and destruction, and for language, some sexuality and innuendo

Run time: 154 minutes

Transformers 3 (Chuck)

I was initially very excited to see Transformers 3, but then quickly remembered the huge disappointment the first 2 movies ended up being. It was bad enough to not have Frank Welker reprise Megatron, but the robot form of the Transformers was way too complex looking. I understand that the cartoons could only be basic, but the robot form of most of the Transformers was so awkward looking it was down right awful.

Additionally Megatron was the largest disappointment, because he not only didn't have the voice of Frank Welker, but he looked like a alien space ship instead of a gun. Michael Bay... I'm at a loss of what to say about a serious lack of attention to detail of the source material.

All of this on top of a pretty mediocre storyline that didn't even include the main objective that the cartoons focused on - in the search for an energy supply that was all but extinct on their home planet, Cybertron.

And the icing on the cake: sexual content. We don't need or want to see a 1.5 foot tall Decepticon humping anyone's leg. We don't need to see Constructicon Devastator with wrecking balls doubling as male anatomy. We don't need to have any conversations about sexual activity of any kind. This is a movie about a boy and the Autobots... plain and simple. Leave the sex on the cutting room floor.


This is my rant as to why I will not be watching Transformers 3, until I can watch it through ClearPlay.

The Frighteners 2/4 stars (Chuck)

Michael J. Fox stars as Frank Bannister who has, what appears to be, a money-making scheme going on - that most of the towns folk are wise to. Little do the suspicious town's folk know that Frank can actually see and communicate with the dead.

Unfortunately, this comedic con-man bit can't decide if it wants to be a comedy, or something much, much darker. Eventually it ends up being a disturbing super-natural killer movie. Peter Jackson had a good opportunity to make a very funny paranormal comedy, which it is for about 45 minutes, then it starts taking a dark turn. Frank quickly finds out that he is involved in a fight to stop an evil force that is ripping people's souls out of their bodies, as he see's a premonition in the form of a number appear on the next victim's forehead giving frank only minutes to attempt to thwart - in vain - the attempts of the entity responsible for these supposed heart attacks, as deemed the cause of death.


The ClearPlay Experience
Let's chalk up another "oversight" by the MPAA - our moral and parental compass for movies. Despite the rating descriptor saying Frighteners was rated R for Terror/Violence, I lost track as to how many times non-violent scenes had skips in them. Which means that because there is no sex in this movie that dialogue-driven scenes were full of profanity. Thanks MPAA panel members for yet again not labeling another movie with the entire type of content that makes the movie, what it is. Guess they thought the violence completely overshadowed the language on this one.

Filtering overall was quite a pleasant experience. The undertones of the movie in the last 45 minutes are very dark. The 3rd act is when this movie has completely abandoned comedy and taken on serial killer. Despite violent/disturbing content and profanity content both being skipped, the murderous psychosis of one of the main characters in the last 3rd of the movie leaves this one still only appropriate for older teens and above.


Frighteners is rated R, but with ClearPlay, on the surface, it does skip the content that is hard to watch. This would have kept Frighteners at a 13 for me... visually distinguishing that content was skipped was performed very well. It's the murderous killing spree (with a rifle) depicted near the end that, even though no one is shown being bloodily killed, the nature of 2 people blinded by blood lust is still probably only appropriate for 18 and up. I never saw Natural Born Killers, but it sure reminded me of how it felt to simply see the trailer for NBK. This tone really made the movie a disappointment. It had a huge potential to be a good movie and it fell flat on it's face.

Green Lantern (Reviewed by Ed)

2.75 out of 4 stars

 

First off let me say that I was never really into the Green Lantern growing up.  I was always enamored with many other super heroes so he kind of was off the radar so needless to say my excitement level was not very enthusiastic, but with that I was still somewhat excited to see the movie. 

 

I was able to see the movie in 3D at the pre-screening and once again, although the 3D looked really good, I could’ve easily watched this movie in 2D and been perfectly fine.  Fortunately I didn’t have to pay to see it so it doesn’t really matter.

 

I think the positives of the movie were first and foremost the special effects.  I thought they did a VERY good job in this department.  The main villain that looks like a dark cloud with tentacles and a skeleton looking face was pretty awesome!  I thought the message of the movie was a good one to think about, that even though you have fear, if you have the will to fight for what you believe in than you can overcome the evils that surround you.  Ryan Reynolds was actually better than I thought.  He has the “look” of a superhero and he really is a good actor and he doesn’t disappoint in this movie either.  He knows when to be funny and he knows when to dial it down.

 

The aspects of this movie that fell short were mostly character development and plot.  These two were, in my opinion, inseparable because I felt the entire movie that the plot was “choppy” and things just happened too fast.  The thing I love about super hero movies is the character development and how they get their powers and how they struggle to control them, etc.  It’s always so interesting to me to watch that on screen.  Even movies that I absolutely hated (ie. Spiderman 1) the character development was awesome...even though the rest of the movie sucked.  This was the biggest disappointment for me was because things moved too fast the character development unfolded too quickly for me.  They could’ve easily added 30 minutes to this movie and I would’ve been totally fine if they would’ve gotten more out of developing the different characters.  When the Green Lantern (Reynolds) goes to train it was a fun scene to watch him struggle but before you knew it, it was over. 

 

I would say that, overall, this is just barely below an “average” movie.  I was expecting a 3 star movie and it fell just short which is why I give it 2.75 stars.  I believe the hard core GL fans will despise this movie but those of us that don’t know much about him will like it more.  They say the running time was 120 minutes but it seemed much shorter than that to me.  Oh and stay through part of the credits to see an additional bit of the movie.

 

Rating of whether I would see the movie again:
1 = Definitely not!
2 = Probably not.
3 = Maybe.
4 = Probably.
5 = Absolutely!

Would I see the movie again in the theaters? 3
Will I rent it on DVD and watch it at home? 4
Would I buy the movie? 2

 

“Green Lantern" is rated PG-13 and features Intense Sequences of Action, Intense Sequences of Violence, Language, Some Sensual Content, Moderate Fantasy Violence.  Not Rec. for Young Children, Mature Theme, Frightening Scenes, Language May Offend

Run time: 120 minutes

 

Green Lantern 3/4 stars (reviewed by Chuck)

By the time I was in the theater Rotten Tomatoes finally had reviews online and it was looking very dismal, as GL was getting about 30% positive/100% positive. The fact that the movie studio didn't screen this movie until 2 days before the public release of the film had me wondering if they were worried that if early word spread too early that people might be afraid to shell out full price admission or even wait until DVD. I was pleasantly surprised!

We get character development, a light & uplifting message, and plenty of action!

After the movie, I heard some grumbling about how parts were not true to the cannon and in so doing was a major source of disappointment. I came away feeling that it wasn't too cheesy and wasn't too dreadfully serious. Ryan Reynolds did a good job of not making too many wise cracks that might have lessened the viewers ability to get into the Green Lantern character.

They didn't focus very much on other Green Lantern corps members, as well they shouldn't have - where this is also the Green Lantern/Hal Jordan origin movie. We want to focus on the character who the origin story is for, not take away our attention from him.


It definitely earns it's PG-13 rating. Towards the last 45 minutes it gets pretty violent and might prove to actually be scary for younger viewers. The villain is capable of taking people's souls in a somewhat visually disturbing manner.


And finally, the 3D. Only in certain parts did the 3D stand out and it didn't make the ability to enjoy the movie an awful experience. However I would have been able to enjoy this movie just as well, without 3D. Because I - yet again - did not feel the 3D added hardly a thing to the enjoyable aspect of the movie, I would advise saving that $4 extra dollars and just go to the 2D version. Even though the 3D on this movie feels like it was done right, I still am feeling that 3D is definitely a fad and just needs to go away. Hopefully if enough people pay for 2D and not 3D that 3D will simply just go away, because it really isn't doing much for me in the movies I've seen in 3D, this year, so far.


Very solid 3/4 stars for me. This is very re-watchable and I wouldn't mind paying for this at full priced admission.

Super 8 (Reviewed by Ed)

3.5 out of 4 stars

 

In the summer of 1979, a group of friends in a small Ohio town witness a catastrophic train crash while making a super 8 movie and soon suspect that it was not an accident. Shortly after, unusual disappearances and inexplicable events begin to take place in town, and the local Deputy tries to uncover the truth - something more terrifying than any of them could have imagined. Written by Official site  

 

Classic Spielberg is back!  Going into see the early showing of Super 8, I wasn’t sure what to expect with the combination of Steven Spielberg and JJ Abrams…well it’s a great combination!  Super 8 is an emotional roller coaster where one minute you’re laughing and the next minute you are clenching the arm rest because of the intensity of the scene.  I would sum up this movie by saying that it’s a violent E.T-ish type of movie.  It has the look and feel of a Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T: Extra Terrestrial but with more violence and intensity…and A LOT of swearing.  I would say that’s one of the things in the movie that turned me off.  With the majority of the main actors being kids I was shocked at how much swearing they allowed them to do…especially the “chubby kid” as I will call him.  I don’t think he goes even one scene in the movie without swearing AT LEAST once.  One thing that parents need to be cautioned about is just because the majority of the main actors are kids doesn’t make this a kids movie.  It definitely earns the PG-13 rating for the language, scary images, etc. 

 

I’d have to say this is one of the loudest movies I’ve watched.  In fact the train wreck scene in the movie is not your father’s train wreck scene.  I remember watching the train wreck scene in the movie The Fugitive with Harrison Ford and thinking, “Wow!”  Well that has nothing on this wreck.  It was loud, intense and just plain awesome of a train wreck!  I watched the movie with 3 other people and they all said the same thing, “The train wreck was loud.”  This movie also has a hint of Cloverfield in it when it comes to the look of the alien in the movie.  I don’t want to give too much of the story/plot away so you’ll just have to see the movie to understand it.

 

The majority of the main actors are lesser known actors but they thrown in a few familiar faces like Noah Emmerich who plays Officer Nelec of the Air Force as well as a few others, but mostly these are actors who you may not know.  Dakota Fanning’s sister Elle Fanning is one of the main characters and does a wonderful job.  It was nice to see that, although the majority of the main characters were kids, they all did a great job in the acting department. 

 

Overall this was a great movie and definitely worth seeing, but again, not for the younger audiences!  Make sure you stay in your seats once the credits roll because about 30-60 seconds in you are going to get more of the movie in the credits, which is arguably the best part of the movie.  Trust me, it’s worth it!

 

Rating of whether I would see the movie again:
1 = Definitely not!
2 = Probably not.
3 = Maybe.
4 = Probably.
5 = Absolutely!

Would I see the movie again in the theaters? 4
Will I rent it on DVD and watch it at home? 1 (no because I will buy it)
Would I buy the movie? 5

 

“Super 8" is rated PG-13 and features Intense Sequences of Action, Intense Sequences of Violence, Language, Some sensual content, Coarse Language, Not Rec. for Young Children, Mature Theme, Frightening Scenes, Language May Offend.

Run time: 120 minutes

 

 

X-Men: First Class (Reviewed by Ed)

X-Men: First Class

(3.5 out of 4 stars)

Before Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and Erik Lensherr (Michael Fassbender) took the names Professor X and Magneto, they were two young men discovering their powers for the first time. Before they were archenemies, they were closest of friends, working together, with other Mutants (some familiar, some new), to stop the greatest threat the world has ever known. In the process, a rift between them opened, which began the eternal war between Magneto's Brotherhood and Professor X's X-MEN. Written by Twentieth Century Fox

X-Men: First Class is exactly that…first class! I know there are some of you out there that our a little tentative about seeing this movie but let me put that to rest right now, this new installment of the X-Men franchise is top notch and will hopefully continue the franchise for years to come.

The beginning of the movie starts off exactly how the first original X-Men movie (2000) started off at the concentration camp in Poland 1944. Soon after we get introduced to what happened after a young Erik Lensherr was separated from his parents. The character of Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon) is introduced. Through the next few minutes of the movie we see the reasons as to why Erik is so bitter and angry.

What’s great about this movie is that you get to see to relationships between some of the mutants that you would never have expected to see. It was weird to see Professor X and Magneto working together, also seeing the relationship between Professor X and Mystique was quite an eye opener as well. It was fascinating to see Professor X and Magneto recruit other mutants together and one of the best parts of the movie is a very small cameo with Hugh Jackman.

The movie centers around the Cuban missile crisis back in the 1960’s and how the mutants have to decide which side they are on and work together to stop what could’ve been a huge threat to the world. It was fun to see how they formed relationships, came up with their “code names”, etc. The acting was great and the plot was just as good. I highly recommend this movie and for those of you who are hesitant…don’t worry, just go and see it. One of the things that I was disappointed with was that there wasn’t an “extra” scene after the credits. Many people in the theater stayed and when it didn’t happen there was a groan from the audience.

Rating of whether I would see the movie again:
1 = Definitely not!
2 = Probably not.
3 = Maybe.
4 = Probably.
5 = Absolutely!

Would I see the movie again in the theaters? 4
Will I rent it on DVD and watch it at home? 1 (no because I will buy it)
Would I buy the movie? 5

“X-Men: First Class" is rated PG-13 and features Brief Partial Nudity, Intense Sequences of Action, Intense Sequences of Violence, Language, Some Sexual Content, Moderate Fantasy Violence, One Use of Strong Language, Violence, Coarse Language, Not Rec. for Young Children, Mature Theme, Frightening Scenes, Language May Offend

Run time: 102 minutes

Pirates of the Caribbean 4: On Stranger Tides (Reviewed by Ed)

(3.25 out of 4 stars)

Captain Jack is back.  I apologize for the lateness of this review, I saw the movie last week but was unable to get to writing the review until now.  I saw this movie on the IMAX screen in 3D and yes it was impressive to see it on the IMAX and in 3D but I must say though that if I were to see it again, which I might, I would probably not spend the extra money on IMAX and especially not on 3D.  The 3D looks great, it wasn’t like they filmed it in 2D and converted it over to 3D afterwards (like they did for Clash of the Titans) but nothing really major stands out in 3D either.

Captain Jack Sparrow (Depp) crosses paths with a woman from his past (Cruz), and he's not sure if it's love -- or if she's a ruthless con artist who's using him to find the fabled Fountain of Youth. When she forces him aboard the Queen Anne's Revenge, the ship of the formidable pirate Blackbeard (McShane), Jack finds himself on an unexpected adventure in which he doesn't know who to fear more: Blackbeard or the woman from his past. Written by Walt Disney Pictures  

I have to admit that I went in with average (at best) expectations for this movie.  In my opinion, each movie has gotten worse with each release.  Then you take away Orlando Bloom and Kiera Knightly and let’s just say I wasn’t as excited to see this movie as much as I originally thought.  With that said, the movie was much better and funnier than I thought it was going to be.  Most of the people I’ve talked to liked the movie but I have talked to others that absolutely hated it and thought it was the worst of the 4 movies.  I would put it as my 2^nd favorite (maybe 3^rd favorite).

 

You can tell that with Bloom and Knightly not in the movie they had to add more Capt. Jack to make up for the loss and Depp does the typical Jack again that we’ve known for years.  I remember the first time he opened up his mouth in the first Pirates movie I was blown away.  Each movie I got less and less enamored with his character.  The honeymoon has been over since the 2^nd movie.  But Depp does a good job and has fun with the character.  Ian McShane as Blackbeard steals the show and Cruz looks great and does a good job as his daughter. 

 

I found the movie pretty funny actually and there was a lot of good fun action.  It did lack some depth that other of the Pirate movies (particularly the first one) had.  I would suggest that you don’t take little kids to this movie due to sexual references, specifically between Depp and Cruz.  But even more so is the scene where they first come across the mermaids.  Some intense scary parts for the little ones and they might not fare too well.  I even jumped a few times in that scene.  Also, with them being mermaids they don’t wear shirts and you just hope that their hair covers up what needs to be covered.

 

Some people say that there is going to be a sequel; the way it ends I can possibly see that but it wouldn’t surprise me if they didn’t.  But stay through the end credits for the 15 second clip that they show.  I know it’s only around 15 seconds but it’s pretty funny and worth sitting through.

 

Rating of whether I would see the movie again:
1 = Definitely not!
2 = Probably not.
3 = Maybe.
4 = Probably.
5 = Absolutely!

Would I see the movie again in the theaters? 4
Will I rent it on DVD and watch it at home? 5
Would I buy the movie? 4

 

“Pirates of the Caribbean 4: On Stranger Tides" is rated PG-13 and features sensuality, Some Frightening Images, Action Violence, Moderate Horror, Violence, Not Recommended for Young Children due to Frightening Scenes. Run time: 113 minutes

Kung Fu Panda 2, 4/4 stars!!!

2 has the cast from 1 and a bonus, in Gary Oldman as the villain, Shen. Po witnesses Master Shi-Fu catch a drop of water and gently move it around and eventually place it in a near by puddle. Po finds this feat awesome and Shi-Fu explains that this comes from finding inner-peace. At this point the director wastes no time putting Po in an adventure of finding inner-peace. I don't dare say uch more than this, without risking spoiling the movie which I don't even want to remotely do.

This pre-screening was in 3D, which I didn't find enhancing to the movie at all. DO NOT WASTE THE EXTRA MONEY OF SEEING THIS MOVIE IN 3D!!! I cannot stress this enough.

I didn't come away with anything that I didn't like in this movie. For the hour following the movie, everyone (my wife and kids) I went with was still laughing about it, we loved it that much. This is definitely a kid-friendly movie that everyone will enjoy. If you liked the last one, you will dfinitly like this one. What this movie lacks in character development, is made up in back story.

THOR (By Chuck)

Thor - the next installment in the buildup to the Avengers movie in 2012 - has loads of promise, with director Kenneth Branagh at the helm. This movie has a promising plot of a son making a foolish decision and being sent to exile to learn from his mistake. Unfortunately this plot fell short in it's execution.

Upon being cast down to earth, Thor's weapon of choice Mjǫlnir (myol-neer) is also sent to earth with an enchantment that doesn't allow anyone to move the hammer, unless they are "worthy." At one point Thor gets hold of Mjǫlnir but hasn't learned his lesson yet and is beyond rueful when he is unable to move his hammer. From this point on Thor never really gives us much of a reason to feel bad for him, and this is where the execution of the plot really left me... bored, to be honest. Thor really never really seems too concerned about getting back to Mjǫlnir or overcoming the reason for his banishment. He's actually more interested in teaching Jane (Natalie Portman) about Asgard and the finer points of intergalactic travel (worm holes.)

I want to say I was at a disadvantage not knowing anything about Thor, but I didn't know a thing about Iron Man and I felt that Jon Favreau educated me about Tony Stark and Stark Industries, the origin story of Stark/Iron Man. On top of having Iron Man plainly laid out for me, I was genuinely entertained with not only a gripping plot and story, but smart, witty and at times snarky dialogue. Thor left me waiting for the dialogue, action, and storyline to get better... but it just never happened for me.


In short, I think I could benefit from a 2nd viewing of Thor, but my knee-jerk reaction is to say that most would probably benefit from a discounted matinee, waiting 'til the dollar theater, or even RedBox. I give Thor 2.5/4 stars.

Blu-Ray vs DVD

I was in Blockbuster, not too long ago and there was a video playing that had a side-by-side "comparison" of DVD vs Blu-Ray quality. The DVD images looked so fuzzy that I thought the DVD images were an exaggeration. I was sure DVD's I'd seen in the past had never looked this terrible before. (these are the same images from the video that I saw in BlockBuster http://www.hifi-writer.com/he/bdreviews/cars.htm)

Well, DVD's I'd seen before really never did look that bad, not until I got an HDTV and a Blu-Ray player that display DVD images in a manner that was not intended for DVD. DVD's are designed for and best seen on a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) set... you know the TV's that were the norm, before 3 inch thick wall-mount TVs were the only thing available at Best Buy. CRT's are not designed to show the same amount of detail that an HDTV is designed to show you.

For the sake of those that are not familiar with the technology of what high definition is doing to a DVD, imagine this: The Blu-Ray Player and the HDTV are trying to show you an entire image, but it can't, because DVD doesn't have 100% of the information it needs to display the entire image, therefore the display process has to "guess" or compensate for missing information, which is why DVD's - when viewed via Blu-Ray and an HDTV - look, well frankly, awful. And until you see a side-by-side comparison of DVD & Blu-Ray, honestly, you probably are not going to notice too much of a difference and will continue to ask yourself why there is such a craze over Blu-Ray when DVD "looks" just fine.

So, because I didn't believe DVD's were as absolutely terrible looking as the BlockBuster demo was suggesting. I decided to provide my own comparison that has not been enhanced or altered with any software of any kind. In fact, unlike others that are fancy enough to have software on their computer to generate other screen shot comparisons, I used Disney's Enchanted and took the following 2 pictures with my Nikon 5 MP camera. My player is an LG Blu-Ray player and the TV is a 40 inch HD Toshiba running 1080p, which translates into: this model of TV is able to show an image at the highest available quality that man can currently record and produce.

(click on the image to see full detail)


At first glance you might think that there isn't a difference... well get your face a little closer to the monitor. Overall I think it's obvious which looks better, but to point some things out, first of all, make sure you are not looking at the thumbnail above and you have the full size image open in another window:

-The high rise buildings in the upper left.
-The reflection of the tress in the water, the edges are very soft and blurry on DVD and very crisp and defined on Blu-Ray.
-Shadows in Amy Adams hand are very defined, while they are very soft and almost make you feel that you are looking at something out of focus, on the DVD side.
-Right behind the right side of Amy Adams hand on the DVD side you just assume there are people in a boat. On Blu-Ray you can tell there is a boat with people in it.
-On DVD the trees on this shot look like a big green blurry mess, while on Blu-Ray you feel like you are actually looking at trees.

After this comparison if you are still determined to not "jump on the bandwagon" think of a couple of things:
-Just as reel-to-reel was replace by that ultra-large and clunky VHS machine, which was replaced by DVD, so too has (not will) has the Blu-Ray player replaced DVD. It's just simply technology advancing and not something that you have to be a fan of to be a reason to get HD and Blu-Ray technology. Just get it, because it's replacing old technology.
-Get an HDTV and Blu-Ray Player sooner than later so you are buying your movies now in HD, instead of later. Might as well make the transition into HD and Blu-Ray now so you can enjoy HD quality now, instead of later. You'll regret having a library of movies that look grossly blurry.

The Fighter

2.5/4 stars

Micky Ward is a struggling welter-weight boxer, who is managed by his mother and trained by his half-brother Dicky. Micky has been used as a stepping stone to assist in advancing the careers of other boxers.

Dicky Eklund's 15 seconds of fame was a match with Sugar Ray Leonard. Since this pinnacle career match Dicky turned to drugs and eventually finds himself in prison for it.

In Dicky's absence, Micky see's an opportunity to work with people in the boxing industry that won't set him up with matches where he'll just take the fall. This doesn't bode over too well with the manager/Mom.

Micky manages to get his mom and Dicky (who is released from prison at this point) to accept the fact that he has people in boxing that are not trying to use Micky as a money maker and secretly steal Micky's winnings, but that they are really interested in his career to eventually get a shot at the world welter-weight championship.


The ClearPlay experience
Language:
This movie had enough muted-swears to power a small country, coupled with actors that oft-times mumbled or whispered their dialogue made this a semi-difficult movie to understand how people were communicating.

There is a lot of vulgarity used that was muted which caused me to miss out on some of the conversation information to make sense of what people were talking about. Seriously I can't remember the last movie I ClearPlay'd where there was so much muted dialogue.

Despite that I couldn't understand entirely what was being said, you get the gist of it and eventually pick up on what's happening.


Sex:
In only 1 instance could I recall that any sex at all was implied got skipped seamlessly, which is always good to skip - but to have it happen seamlessly is the icing on the cake. Taking out the sex from The Fighter did not leave me feeling at all uninformed.


The Fighter is rated R, but with ClearPlay this one has a common sense rating of PG-13. Those younger than 16 might be bored, due to the 2nd act of the movie surrounding Dicky's drug troubles and eventual incarceration. The movie started feeling like it was dragging a little at this point, but it isn't terribly long before we get back to focusing on Micky.

Rango (Reviewed by Ed)

2.5 out of 4 Stars

 

“So you want something to believe in?  Believe in that there sign.  For as long as it hangs there we’ve got hope.”  This line from the movie really sums up what Rango is all about.  When I first saw the poster I didn’t have high hopes for this movie but when I saw the trailer my perception of the movie went up a little bit…but not much.  I reluctantly took my 8yr old and 13yr old to see this movie.  I wish I wouldn’t have.  While Rango has a lot of great moments in this movie I had a very hard time with the amount of swearing that they put in.  Basically it was the same two swear words (Hell and Damn) but the way they were used were pretty strong.  These words were used probably a total of 10 times throughout the movie and for a PG “kids movie” it was a bit shocking.  If I were to see this with some adults I wouldn’t have been as uncomfortable, but with my own kids (one of them being under 10yrs old) it was hard to watch. 

 

Rango (Johnny Depp) is your average homebody lizard that has a knack for theatrics.  He loves using the surroundings and props around him to do his theatrical shows.  When he finds himself out in the middle of a desert, after he falls out of the car that he was in, he is put on a journey to find the town of Dirt by an armadillo that he finds run over in the middle of the road.  Rango finds the city of Dirt, an untamed western town tormented by villains and desperately short on water.

 

Rango must use his ability to role play, and after standing up to some local thugs and killing the bird that terrorizes the local townsfolk, the mayor of the town (Ned Beatty) makes him sheriff.  The story comes down to how is Rango, the new sheriff in town, going to help the local folks get water to survive.

 

The story is well written and I found myself wanting to find out more of what was going to happen next.  The characters in the movie were strange, scary, funny and all around wildly exaggerated.  The animation was top notch and the actors they brought in were some pretty big celebs (Johnny Depp, Abagail Breslin, Alfred Molina and Bill Nighy just to name a few). 

 

I just had a hard time getting past the typical sexual references (most of which would go over a child’s head…but not all of them) and all the language that was scattered throughout the movie.  Yes it is a PG movie but it’s a PG animated movie so I guess I assume that they will be kid friendly.  Well unfortunately this movie isn’t kid friendly.  I probably would’ve given this movie 3.25 or even 3.5 stars but it only gets 2.5 stars because of the un-kid friendliness of this movie.

 

Rating of whether I would see the movie again:
1 = Definitely not!
2 = Probably not.
3 = Maybe.
4 = Probably.
5 = Absolutely!

Would I see the movie again in the theaters? 1
Will I rent it on DVD and watch it at home? 3 (I think ClearPlaying this movie would make it better)
Would I buy the movie? 1

 

"Rango" is rated PG for Action, Language, Rude Humor, Smoking, Violence, Mild Sex References, Mild Violence, Scary Scenes, Not Recommended for Young Children.

Buried

3/4 stars

Paul Conroy (Ryan Reynolds) is a civilian truck driver in the middle east delivering supplies. His convey gets attacked, he blacks out and wakes to find himself buried alive in an old fashioned wooden coffin.

Armed only with a zippo lighter and a smart phone, he must hold his composure while trying to get various people in the U.S. to belive that he's buried in the dessert in the middle east. All the while he must be careful to not allow his lighter and his anxiety attacks to exhaust his air supply.


The ClearPlay Experience

With Buried being rated R for violence and language, I only chose to filter the absolute worst violence and language, which still left a lot of audio muted in a lot of instances, due to Paul dropping the f-bomb rather frequently. (He is buried alive after all.)

I couldn't detect any skipped scenes, so I'm not sure what violence is in this movie, except for one moment where Paul's kidnapper sends him a video of a co-worker being shot with an automatic weapon. This video he watches is blood-free, very quick and the co-worker is off camera when the gun is fired.

Back to language, when ClearPlay mutes dialogue, if the actor's face is on screen you can read lips to know what is being said, but in this movie it's dark (figuratively and literally), and due to the low lighting conditions on Reynolds face for a lot of the dialogue, most language that is muted you cannot see what Reynolds character is saying, which makes this experience all the better.


Buried is rated R for violence and language, but even with the violence and language filters at the absolute lowest setting this one has a common sense rating of PG-13 for the face-value content lacking inappropriate language and any violence, with the exception of the really brief video he is sent. The subject matter of being buried alive in a coffin and dealing with the possibility of never being rescued might be inappropriate for those under 18.

She's out of my League (2/4 stars)

"She's out of my League" (Rated R) features Kirk (Jay Baruchel: How to Train Your Dragon & Sorcerer's Apprentice) as an awkward man in his early 20's that still lives with his family. This and his down-in-the-mouth friends contribute to his very low self-esteem. He works as a TSA passenger screener that meets Molly, a very knock-out gorgeous blonde that inadvertently leaves her cell phone at the security check point. She calls to see who will pick up the line to see if someone can return it to her. Kirk answers the phone and arranges to return it to her. From here we get the predictable "fall in love, fall out of love/break up, make-up and fall back in love" story.


THE CLEAR PLAY EXPERIENCE
As predictable as the love story was I have a hard time calling this a comedy/romance, because the comedy movie is solely driven on crude dialogue in a humorous context - which ClearPlay did a nice job of skipping. However, because the vehicle that drives this story was skipped I didn't find this movie very funny at all, with one exception: where Kirk wears a read jacket and tie and is mistaken for the servers at a particular restaurant, wearing similar attire. Fortunately and unfortunately this site gag was all that I enjoyed.

I'm sorry I didn't find more humor in such a critically acclaimed movie, but I'm glad I didn't have to expose my self to sailor-type dialogue.


I give "She's out of my League" 2/4 stars. And with shields at maximum, this one has a common sense rating of PG-13, for a sensual scene where Kirk & Molly are in their underwear in a setting that obviously implies they are ready to have sex and other scenes that imply they have/had sex. All profanity/vulgarity was also skipped and/or muted.