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.

The Grey

John Ottway is a man who is employed to make sure that the wildlife in the Alaskan wilderness does not interfere with a group of men working in the oilfields. Whenever a wolf comes too close to the men Ottway shoots it before it can attack. After their shift is over and it is time to head back home, the plane they are riding in suddenly hits a major area of turbulence, causing the plane to crash. Stranded in the middle of nowhere, Ottway and the remaining survivors must fight the bitter cold and hungry wolves in order to have even a remote chance of rescue.

The Grey is a very, very tough film to watch. It's depressing, giving the viewers what feels like a false hope that the situation will end well. What's interesting though is the fact that The Grey is not just a film about a group of men trying to survive. It's also a critique on the existence of God and an afterlife. It seemed as if The Grey argued that there is no God or afterlife, and that we must learn to survive on our own. There were times when it felt like it wanted to believe in God or even an afterlife, but couldn't. For instance there are several times where characters make what could be considered a little prayer up to God, but they are met by silence except for the howling of the cold, biting wind and the wolves around them. There is very little of what I would consider positive. The only positive things that come to mind would be the fact that all of the survivors (especially John Ottway) are willing to risk their lives for each other, giving their all in order to make it out of their ordeal alive. There are also a couple of survivors who stay firm in their faith to the very end.

The Grey may not sound like a good film to see, but I would recommend this one because you can use it as a good starting point in a discussion on the topics of God or an afterlife. I don't recommend it for anybody under the age of 15 due to the R-rating for language, graphic, disturbing images and the heavy thematic material; however, if you let your kids see it, it can be used as a good tool to help your kids understand the messages that the film has.

The Avengers

In 2008, at the end of the credits of The Incredible Hulk, Robert Downey Jr., a.k.a. Tony Stark/Iron Man uttered 5 words that would keep comic book fans on the edge of their seats for the next 4 years: "We're putting a team together". Now, in 2012 The Avengers has taken the box office by storm, beating records right and left for profits.

The world is on the brink of disaster as Loki, who we met in Thor, has threatened war on the planet. To save the world from Loki and bring him to justice Agent Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. has called for the creation of the Avengers Initiative, a program to bring the world's best superheroes and combine them into a powerful team. Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, The Hulk, Hawkeye, and Black Widow are brought together to thwart Loki in his grand scheme to conquer the world and humiliate his brother Thor.

The Avengers is, quite simply, amazing. Everything from the dialogue, the extravagant sets, and the characters all are top notch. I did find a couple of problems within the script, such as some explanations on the backgrounds of The Hulk and Black Widow, but they were so small that they don't take away from the overall experience. I loved watching the chemistry between each of the superheroes. The Avengers just came out but I already can't wait until Avengers 2 comes out. I can't wait to see what else Joss Whedon has up his sleeve. This is one you do NOT want to miss.

The Departed

The Departed is the American adaptation of Infernal Affairs, an action film from Hong Kong in 2002. Set in Boston, it tells the story of two men, one an undercover police officer infiltrating the mob and the other a member of the mob infiltrating the police force. Each man realizes there is someone tipping off the police and the mob, so it's a race against time to root the other out before their cover is blown. Colin Sullivan is thought to be an upstanding citizen, doing his best to uphold the law. This makes him the perfect choice to be a mole for mob boss Frank Costello because no one suspects him.  Billy Costigan on the other hand, has a somewhat tainted background due to a few of his family members having ties to Frank Costello and the mob. The Boston police force assigns him to infiltrate the mob because of his background. What follows is a crazy, fast-paced set of events in a race to uncover each mole.

I know I am going to be pretty much the only one of my friends who says this, but I personally did not care for The Departed. I'm normally ok with R-rated action flicks, but The Departed seemed to go overboard in its content. It did have me on the edge of my seat wondering which mole was going to be found out first, and it did have a couple twists that I definitely did not see coming. It also does have fantastic performances by Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg, Leonardo diCaprio, Jack Nicholson, and Martin Sheen. Despite all of these things, I unfortunately couldn't get past the fact that this is a brutally violent film. The Departed has to be the most violent film I have seen since Saving Private Ryan, Apocalypto, or even Passion of the Christ. Every time a character gets shot blood flows like a raging river. It also had way more language than I have heard in an R-rated film in awhile. I counted over 200 f-bombs alone, most of them seem like they were uttered by Jack Nicholson (not a huge surprise there). I felt that much violence and language was unnecessary. I was ok with the R-rating, I just wish Martin Scorcese would have toned it down a little.

I really wish I could recommend The Departed, but I can't due to the excessive violence and language.