The Bourne Legacy

In this fourth installment of the Bourne franchise, Aaron Cross is an agent from an organization similar to Treadstone and Jason Bourne. The difference between him and Bourne is that his senses are heightened by a couple of drugs the U.S. government makes him take. Aaron is the kind of agent that more often than not shoots first and then asks questions later. He's loyal to his country and to the agency. That loyalty is soon betrayed when Bourne comes back on the grid and wreaks havoc on everyone involved with Treadstone and the similar agencies. Now Cross is on the run from the very country he swore to protect and serve.

I was excited when it was announced that there was going to be a fourth Bourne film. My excitement quickly faded when I heard that Matt Damon was not actually returning as Bourne. It didn't make sense to title it The Bourne Legacy when Jason Bourne wasn't even going to be in the film. The result is a good action flick that lovers of the original series will not be completely disappointed in. It has its flaws, such as some background information that doesn't make sense. The thing that has set apart this series from other secret agent series' such as the James Bond series is the realistic action. This unfortunately is Legacy's downfall. There is a chase sequence on motorcycles that started out well, but then turned into a "how the heck is that possible" moment. Overall it was a good installment, but it was the worst of the series. I'd recommend it for fans of the series, but don't expect it to be at the level of the original trilogy.

Battleship

(Very) loosely based off of the popular board game, Battleship finds Lt. Alex Hopper joining the U.S. Navy (at the urging of his older brother) to finally own up to his childish behavior and to ultimately do something important with his life. Of course, Alex rarely listens and constantly gets into trouble with his superiors. It's not until his girlfriend urges him to ask her father for permission to marry her that he starts wondering, but doesn't actually take any action to, if it's time to grow up. Before he can ask her father, however, some debris from space crash lands near Hawaii where Hopper is stationed and he must head out to investigate. What follows is the ultimate battle for survival as the Navy fights off a group of lethal aliens.

I can sum up Battleship in one word: STUPID. Stuff like this makes me wonder who seriously thought making a movie out of a board game was a good idea. It's one of those movies that was unintentionally funny at the absurdity of it. Not to mention that it is a complete ripoff of the Transformer trilogy and Independence Day except for the fact that this time around it's just aliens and and not a robotic alien race. The only good thing going for it was that it was better than Wrath of the Titans, but that's not a big compliment. If you have some time to kill and you're looking for a comedy then look no further. I garauntee you will be laughing at this one. Otherwise skip it.

The Artist

It's 1927 and George Valentin is enjoying the luxuries of being a famous silent film star. The fans love him as does the studio. George continually pumps out hit after hit. All is going great for George Valentin. One day when he is hitting the red carpet for his next big film, he runs into a lovely woman by the name of Peppy Miller. Peppy dreams of being a movie star like George Valentin. The two hit it off and George ultimately offers a small part for Peppy in his next film. She jumps at the opportunity and slowly her career climbs until she is just as famous as George. Fast forward to 1929 and Peppy's career has reached new hights that she had never dreamed would happen. She starts making her own films and this time they are "talkies" - films that actually have sound. Unfortunately that means that George is slowly put into the background as the end of the silent era comes around. George must cope with this by either submitting to this new era or retiring.

The Artist is interesting because it is shot entirely in black and white, and also - except for one or two scenes - there is no sound except from the orchestra. It takes us on a journey to a time where moviegoers had to almost create their own dialogue for what was happening onscreen. A time where a greeting card was the method of communication instead of cell phones, internet, and social media sites. George Valentin has the gift of imagination and emotions, effectively using these gifts for the entertainment of others; and he loves what he does. When the "talkies" come into the picture, he struggles to almost literally survive in this new world. I'm not sure I agreed with the fact that The Artist won Best Picture, but it was a solid movie nonetheless. I loved it. If you haven't seen it yet I highly recommend it.

Snow White and the Huntsman

Darkness has overcome the land as an evil queen has taken control of a nation and enslaved its people. The queen, who's name is Ravenna, is a sorceress who is searching for the secret to immortality with the help of her brother. Ravenna also enlists the assistance of a magical golden mirror, begging with it daily to tell her that she is the fairest in the land. The golden mirror continues to reassure her until one fateful day it informs Ravenna of another woman who is more beautiful than her. A woman called Snow White, whose skin is white as snow, hair as black as a raven, and lips as red as blood. The golden mirror prophesies that in order for Ravenna to achieve immortality and youth she must devour the heart of Snow White. After learning her fate Snow White escapes and takes shelter into a nearby enchanted forest. Ravenna then calls for the help of a drunk huntsman who agrees to go after Snow White in exchange for Ravenna to revive the huntsman's wife from the dead.

If you go into Snow White and the Huntsman assuming that this is going to be similar to the widely known and well loved Disney movie filled with seven dwarves who sing "Hi Ho! Hi Ho!" as it's off to work they go, or with a main character who can't fend for herself so she has a knight in shining armor come to her aid and rescue her, then be prepared to be sorely disappointed. This tale is darker, more sinister than the popular Disney movie. It does have elements of the original story, such as the seven dwarves, the poisoned apple, and the whole 'true love's kiss' storyline involving the huntsman; however it also has a main character who acts more like a savior or hero rather than a helpless little girl, an evil witch who makes the original witch look like a saint, and the dwarves themselves aren't as innocent. Parents of small kids should hesitate and see the movie themselves before taking their young kids. It does have some good lessons to teach such as standing up for what you believe in, but you have to dig deep to find these messages. It is a good film with great acting (even from Kristen Stewart who plays Snow White which is a pretty big surprise), fantastic cinematography and scenery that somewhat reminded me of a cross between The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia, but some of the creatures found in the forest may or may not scare little kids. If you have young kids then exercise caution in letting your kids see it. Otherwise I recommend seeing Snow White and the Huntsman.

People Like Us

Sam is a shady business dealer who specializes in bartering goods and services to different companies. He's become quite good at it, but unfortunately not good enough to evade the curious eye of the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC is looking into their company due to complaints about illegal methods of business. To make matters worse, as Sam is dealing with the FTC he gets a call saying that his estranged father has passed away. Sam hasn't seen his father since he was a young adult so going back home is not that appealing. Sam plans on just getting to the funeral, getting his inheritance, and getting out so he can keep the painful memories at a distance for as long as possible. When Sam arrives back home to attend his father's funeral he gets the shock of his life. It seems that his father had a second family that he visited often during Sam's childhood. His father's last wish is for Sam to take a bag of $150,000 to a woman who Sam finds out is his sister. Sam must figure out a way to balance his legal troubles with the FTC and fulfilling his father's wish.

People Like Us is a very sweet, moving film that I initially was not expecting to like very much. From the previews it looked like a cheesy "chick flick", one that a guy like me who is more into action movies than dramas would not like. I was pleasantly surprised. Chris Pine gave a fantastic performance as Sam, Elizabeth Banks was great as Frankie, and Michelle Pfeiffer was also great as Sam's mother named Lillian. I also loved the fact that People Like Us stressed the importance of family, love, and forgiveness. One of my favorite scenes is when Frankie finds out about a few things that Sam has been lying to her about. She asks him how she's supposed to be able to trust him again and he replies: "...because we're family, and family makes mistakes...let me be your brother." By no means does it excuse the fact that he lied to her, but it does show how we are only human and we make mistakes; it's what we do and how we learn from those mistakes that make us who we are.

People Like Us is not for young kids due to the fact it's PG-13, but I most definitely recommend it for 13 and up.

The Amazing Spiderman

Peter Parker is an outcast in high school, a science geek who is constantly bullied at school and is always getting into some kind of legal trouble. We first meet Peter as a young kid who seems to have a happy childhood until one night when his parents cart him off to his Uncle Ben and Aunt May's house and leave him in their care. The mystery surrounding his parents' disappearance haunts Peter all throughout his childhood and into his teenage years. Fast forward to Peter's high school years: One night while helping Uncle Ben fix a leak that caused the basement to be flooded Peter comes across a briefcase that belonged to his father. Peter searches through it for answers that might lead to the cause of his parents' disappearance; the clues lead him to Oscorp where his father worked and to a former co-worker named Dr. Curt Conners. It is during his visit to Oscorp that a genetically altered spider bites Peter, turning him into your friendly neighborhood Spiderman.

Originally when I first heard that the Spiderman series was being rebooted I was a little mad because I greatly enjoyed Tobey Maguire and Sam Raimi's take on the famous web-slinger and 10 years seems a little too soon for a reboot. After seeing it though with my dad I was impressed with how well it was done. It felt like there was better character development within the story, and the story itself was a lot better written. I do think this series is in good hands if this is the direction they are planning on going in with sequels. My only problems were: Andrew Garfield, who played Peter Parker/Spiderman, was a great Spiderman but not that great of a Peter Parker. He had the sarcasm and the recklessness that I felt was key to the character of Spiderman, but as Peter Parker Andrew Garfield didn't seem to be nerdy enough for me. If they had combined somehow Tobey Maguire's Peter Parker with Andrew Garfield's Spiderman then that would have been perfect. Also, I really don't know why they felt it was necessary to go through the whole beginnings story again since everyone knows how Spiderman received his powers. Otherwise The Amazing Spiderman was well done.

Wrath of the Titans

Wrath of the Titans is the sequel to 2010's Clash of the Titans, following the exploits of Perseus, the demigod who is the son of Zeus. In Wrath of the Titans we find Perseus living life as a human with his son and mother-in-law as a fisherman. Out of the blue one day he gets a visit from his father who pleads with him for his help in a war among the gods. Hades has escaped the underworld and has vowed revenge on Zeus for banishing him to the underworld by releasing Cronus, the father of all the gods. Perseus resists at first, but then Hades attacks his village and threatens his family. Perseus also finds out that Hades has kidnapped Zeus in an attempt to drain all of Zeus' power to release Cronus from his prison. Perseus goes on the offensive to rescue his father from Hades and save the world (again) from disaster.

I've seen some pretty bad movies, but Wrath of the Titans makes it pretty high onto my list of top 10 worst movies I've ever seen. It's not the worst one ever, but it's still pretty bad. I couldn't decide whether it was a action comedy or if it was trying to take itself seriously so it ended up being funny. There were a few times that the dialogue sounded like it came straight out of other movies. One scene nearly word for word copies the scene in Star Wars when Han Solo is about to be frozen in carbonite and Leia blurts out "I love you!" and he answers "I know." It was almost as if the screenwriters ran out of things to say so they decided to take things out of other movies and mesh them together into one movie. Clash of the Titans was at least entertaining; its sequel...not so much. If you actually enjoy cheesy movies then this one's for you. Otherwise I would skip it.