The Motorcycle Diaries

The Motorcycle Diaries chronicles the events that led the famous Che Guevara to become the rebel leader of the Cuban Revolution. Che and his best friend Alberto Granado set out on a cross country motorcycle trip to make it from one side of South America to the other side before Alberto's 30th birthday. Along the way Che and Alberto encounter many different cultures and people that ultimately shape Che Guevara's philosophical, political, and spiritual ideals.

The Motorcycle Diaries is a film that will make you think. It challenges its viewers to look at themselves in the mirror and figure out what their purpose in life is, then go and fulfill that purpose. Instead of sitting on the couch watching TV or playing videogames, go out and help at a homeless shelter or visit the patients at a nursing home or in the ER. Whatever it is, The Motorcycle Diaries challenges you to make a difference in your community and ultimately the world.

Real Steel

Real Steel is the story of a man named Charlie Kenton, a former boxer whose career gets sidelined when human boxing is banned and robot boxing is put in its place. Charlie is reduced to hauling around old robots that have passed their prime to small-town fairs and other underground circuits to make a little cash. This life suits Charlie just fine until he gets a call that his former girlfriend has just passed away and he has to take care of their son. He tries to get out of fatherhood responsibilities by accepting an under the table deal with his son's aunt and uncle that would let them take his son off his hands after the end of the summer. As the summer goes by though, Charlie begins to rethink his decision and starts to believe that he may be cut out to be a father after all.

Real Steel is a pretty powerful story about redemption and the bond between father and son. Hugh Jackman does a very good job as the dead-beat dad who doesn't want fatherhood responsibilities. Newcomer Dakota Goyo plays Charlie Kenton's son Max, and he does a phenomenal job. One scene that stuck out to me was where Max and Charlie just had an argument, Charlie exclaims "You deserve better than me"; then Max looks tearfully up at Charlie and says "I want you to fight for me! That's all I ever wanted." That scene begins Charlie's journey to redemption and make up for all the mistakes he had made by not being there for Max and his mother. My only issue with Real Steel was the language. Even Max lets out quite a few curse words and Charlie doesn't reprimand him for it. Despite the problem with language, Real Steel is definitely worth checking out.

The Fighter

The Fighter tells the true story of Mickey Ward, a man from a small town who has always wanted to be like his half-brother Dicky, an ex-pro boxer who fell out of the spotlight when he became addicted to drugs. Mickey asks his brother to train him so he can make the most of the chance to become a champion, a chance that Dicky never had.

Both Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale give astounding performances as the half-brothers. I almost didn't recognize Christian Bale as Dicky, he gets so immersed into his role that at first I thought he really was a drug addict. The Fighter is a difficult movie to watch, mainly because of the scenes where Dicky is doing drugs. Part of me wants to recommend The Fighter to everyone, but because of the subject matter of Dicky's drug addiction, and the amount of language in The Fighter, I wouldn't recommend it to younger audiences.

The One

Jet Li plays several variations of his character in this sci-fi thriller about a prison escapee from the future who travels to different dimensions to kill different forms of himself so he can ultimately become invincible and destroy anyone who stands in his way. Jason Statham and Delroy Lindo are two cops from a different dimension who attempt to stop Jet Li on his quest for immortality.

I'm a fan of Jet Li, Jason Statham, and Delroy Lindo but The One was horrible on so many levels. The acting was horrible, the story itself was so far-fetched it was kind of hard to keep track of who was good and who was evil, among some other issues. The One never grabbed my attention or made me care for any of the characters, even when one character has a tragedy happen to them. I wouldn't recommend seeing The One.

True Grit

True Grit is the remake of the John Wayne classic that tells the story of a girl named Mattie Ross who is searching for her father's murderer during the 1800's in the Wild West. She follows his trail to a town where she meets a U.S. Marshal named Rooster Cogburn and she attempts to hire him to help capture her father's killer. Rooster doesn't want to take the case at first but then ultimately decides to go ahead and go after the man. Along the way Rooster and Mattie run into a Texas Ranger named LaBoeuf who is trying to catch the same killer because he shot and killed a Texas Senator. The two lawmen and Mattie form an unlikely friendship as they make their way across the desert in search of the killer Tom Chaney.

When I first saw the previews for True Grit I wasn't too thrilled about seeing it, mainly because it was a remake of one of my favorite John Wayne movies, and most remakes (with a few exceptions) don't live up to how good the original was. Once I saw it though, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I've heard True Grit described as a 'dark' and gritty film. I have to disagree with that description. Movies like The Dark Knight I would consider 'dark' because of the subject matter and other things within the movie. I would say that True Grit is more of a light-hearted, sometimes comical, action/western film. It has its moments that I would consider 'dark' but overall it is not that way.

A lot of people have said that both the latest Coen brothers' version and the John Wayne version are so different from each other that they can't really be compared. I partially agree with that statement. They are very different in the way the story is portrayed since the Coen brothers' version stays more true to the book rather than to John Wayne's version; however, they are basically the same story so I think you can compare the two. With that said, while I loved this version of True Grit and I recommend that everybody go see it if you haven't yet, I still prefer John Wayne's version. Let's face it: You just can't beat The Duke.

Hanna

Hanna is the story of a young teenage girl who is raised by her father in the harsh wilderness of the Arctic Circle training to become an assassin. When she feels she is ready, she begs her father to let her go and experience the world outside of their home. Her father reluctantly agrees knowing that she cannot complete her training until she has faced the dangers of the outside world. That danger includes a ruthless government official who has been searching for Hanna's father and her since she was a child. Hanna must make her way across Europe with the government official hot on her trail if she has any hope of survival and to complete her training.

Hanna is an amazing work of art in the world of film that is part action thriller and part coming-of-age story. It is a film that keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout the entire movie. Saoirse Ronan did a fantastic job as the teenage assassin. Eric Bana plays Hanna's father, and even though he only shows up in the beginning of the movie and for a couple scenes in the middle and towards the finale, he still did a phenomenal job. Cate Blanchett gave me chills with how well she portrayed the cold-hearted government official. If I had to find one thing wrong with Hanna it would have to be that the camera shakes like crazy through most of the movie. There is one scene where it is almost impossible to tell what is happening onscreen because the camera is shaking so badly.

If you are looking for an action movie that is totally different than the normal shoot-'em-up action movies out there, I recommend seeing Hanna. You won't regret it.