Django Unchained

In Django Unchained Jamie Foxx is a slave named Django who is bought by a dentist turned bounty hunter by the name of Dr. King Schultz with the hope that Django can help Schultz identify and capture three dangerous slavers who have a bounty on their heads. Schultz agrees to free Django when the deed is done, and also to help Django find his wife named Broomhilda. The journey to find the three slavers brings Django and Schultz to the home of an evil man named Calvin Candie. Django and Schultz must fight for their lives if they wish to find the three men to bring them to justice (read: kill them) and to find Broomhilda.

If you know anything at all about Quentin Tarantino, then you'll know that his movies are all ultra violent with an almost gleeful attitude towards blood and gore. Django is no different. Within the first ten minutes several people are already dead and the violence only gets ramped up from there until the very end. I went into it expecting large amounts of blood and gore, but Django took my expectations and multiplied the amount tenfold. I left the theater a little queasy from how much gore was shown. In a way I wasn't expecting to like Django because so far the only Tarantino film I have ever actually liked was Inglourious Basterds. That fact still remains true after seeing Django.

I hate it when movies are rated R just so they can show graphic violence. I'm ok with R-rated action films in general, but only if it's not wall-to-wall graphic violence; and only if the violence is necessary for the story i.e. almost any war movie or action thriller. I don't see the point in having someone shoot a pistol and there be what seems like 5-10 yards worth of blood splatter. I do realize that it is Tarantino that is the director, so I should have expected quite a bit of blood and gore (which I was). It's just that I personally feel like this was too graphically violent even for Tarantino. I think he could have dialed it down a notch or two and it would have been great. I also could have done without all the language. The N-word alone is said about 100+ times, not to mention the "normal" (using that term loosely by the way) curse words. With the language I also realize that the N-word was commonly used back then and it was culturally ok, but I was concerned because it seemed unnecessary to include it that many times. I somehow doubt that any amount of language was used that often by anyone back then, let alone the N-word. I certainly have never heard anyone use that much language in real life nowadays as it was used in Django. All in all I wanted to like it; it had its moments that I actually did enjoy, but they were far too few.

Parental Guidance

Parental Guidance is a comedy that takes a look at the different parenting styles between generations. Alice and Phil Simmons are a 21st century couple who have raised their kids in a hectic world filled with trying to get their three kids to violin lessons, speech therapy and play dates, among other things. They also raised their kids by eliminating any risks or injuries that might damage the kids for life. Artie and Diane Decker are polar opposites. The Deckers are a more free-spirited couple who, to paraphrase a quote from Ms. Frizzle from The Magic School Bus TV show, believe in taking chances and making mistakes. This conflict of parenting interests comes to an explosive turn when Alice and Phil are stuck with asking Alice's parents to babysit the kids while they go to a conference for Phil's job. Artie and Diane must find a way to relate to their grandkids who they rarely see if they have any hope of surviving the week without the parents.

Parental Guidance is a very sweet, charming little movie with a big heart. Comedies these days are filled with "bathroom" humor that is rarely actually funny, but this was a pleasant surprise. Sure, it had it's moments where the humor got a little off-color, such as a running joke that has Artie and Diane's grandkids calling Artie "Fartie". In the end the truly funny moments and the positive messages of the importance of family and marriage outweighed the more off-color moments. Originally I wasn't planning on seeing it because it didn't look like a movie I would enjoy, but I am very glad that I went. Parental Guidance turned out to be one of my favorites of the year.

Taken 2

Liam Neeson returns to kick butt and take names as ex-CIA agent Brian Mills in this sequel to the popular action flick. This time around the family members of the Albanian sex-traffickers who kidnapped Brian's daughter in the first film are dead set on revenge for their fallen comrades. An opportunity for revenge arises when they follow Brian, his ex-wife Lenore and their daughter Kim to Istanbul. There they kidnap Brian and Lenore, leaving Kim to figure out a way to help her parents out of this predicament.

Part of me was excited that there was a sequel when I first heard the news, but as I watched advertisements for Taken 2, I started hating the fact that it was happening. The story is the EXACT same as the original, except this time Brian himself is captured. I absolutely loved the first one, but the sequel is an extremely unnecessary, boring piece of junk. The first Taken felt like a sincere action flick that explored the possible dangers of traveling abroad and also the evil of the sex trade. This time around it was molded into a stereotypical revenge action flick, and a poorly made one at that. I admittedly was still entertained by the action sequences until one specific point in the movie lost me: (MINOR SPOILER WARNING) at one point Brian Mills meets one of the Albanian kidnappers face-to-face and engages him in hand-to-hand combat. It was a pretty cool sequence until the very end when the Albanian man is dying; Brian just puts his hand on the man's face, squeezes then shoves him into the wall...and the guy dies. Just like that. That part was completely unbelievable. I wish I could recommend Taken 2, I really wanted to like it, but it ended up just being another stereotypical revenge flick that's not worth your time or money.

Total Recall

In this updated version of the Arnold Schwarzenneger film from the 1980's Colin Ferrell fills Arnold's shoes as Douglas Quaid, a factory worker who builds robot security guards known as synths. Up until recently he's been pretty content with his life as a factory worker; he loves his job and his wife who is a security force officer for the United Federation of Britain. Earlier in the 21st century the Earth had been devasted by chemical warfare; as a result the majority of the population that is left is split between the United Federation of Britain and a smaller settlement on what used to be Australia known as The Colony. Douglas Quaid goes inbetween these two areas to get to and from work. Recently Quaid has been having strange dreams of being chased by the very machines he helps to build, and then meeting a mysterious woman, only to be separated from her at the end of his dreams. He talks to his wife about the dreams and she suggests that it might be because he feels trapped in their marriage and ultimately his life. He's unconvinced so he (unbeknownst to his wife and close friends) visits a place called Total Rekall. There he is told that he can have the time of his life by being infused with a drug that will allow him to fulfill his wildest dreams. He cautiously goes through with it, but right as he is about to enter the dream world Total Rekall is ambushed by the robotic security force and he must run for his life. What follows is a pursuit of the truth as Quaid tries to separate reality from fiction.

Total Recall is a very unnecessary remake of the '80's classic. I like Colin Ferrell but he fails to completely fill Arnold's shoes as Douglas Quaid. The original isn't much better; it's more of a campy action flick while this updated version tries (and fails miserably) to be serious. I found myself laughing uncontrollably at some of the stupid jokes and situations within Totall Recall. You're better off staying at home and seeing the original version.

The Dark Knight Rises

It's been said that a little white lie never hurt anyone. The problem with lying however, is you have to continue over time to keep your story straight so that no one figures out the deception. It is this deception that can be detrimental to both the person who is lying and ultimately to the one(s) being lied to. Gotham City has been living such a lie. Eight years prior to the events of The Dark Knight Rises Gotham City's greatest district attorney named Harvey Dent suffered an immeasurable amount of grief and rage when his fiancee died at the hands of the Joker. As a result he vowed vengeance on the ones who he believed had wronged him, both criminal and police officer alike. Harvey's path of vengeance led to his death during a confrontation with Commisioner Gordon and Batman. To preserve the "white knight" image that Harvey had made for himself Gordon and Batman devised a plan to allow Batman to take the fall for the crimes Harvey had committed and to also be blamed for his death. Fast forward eight years: Batman/Bruce Wayne has gone into hiding, and Gordon and the Gotham Police have enacted laws in "honor" of Harvey Dent to remove every dangerous criminal from the streets of Gotham. Things seem to be going well until the lie these two men forged eight years ago catches up to them in the form of a man who makes the Joker seem like a teenage hooligan: the masked terrorist named Bane.

The third and final chapter in Christopher Nolan's trilogy portraying his vision of the legend of Batman is without a doubt one of the best comic book adaptations I have ever seen. Tom Hardy (who plays Bane) gives Heath Ledger a run for his money as the best onscreen villain. To me it would have been better if Bane had been in the second film in the trilogy The Dark Knight, but he does an extremely great job here. Where the Joker waits until a building is empty to blow it up, Bane shows no such restraint. Bane is not in it for the money, or even in it for the fun of watching stuff blow up. Bane wishes to make Batman pay dearly physically, spiritually, and mentally for past "sins". For this reason Bane becomes a more formidable foe than any Batman has ever faced before. Bane has nothing to lose. My favorite line is when Bane stares at Batman and calmly tells him "When Gotham is ashes...you have my permission to die." The Dark Knight Rises has a couple surprises up its sleeve that after seeing it a couple times I realized were a little predictable, but this is a movie that is worth seeing multiple times. It is a great ending to one of the best, if not THE best comic book adaptations ever done.

Prometheus

In this self-proclaimed prequel to the famous Alien series, researcher Elizabeth Shaw is on a mission, along with her boyfriend and several other scientists, to find the origin of humanity. Their exploits take them to a cave with drawings of beings similar to our own species that seem to have come from another world. Four years pass after finding the cave, and Shaw finds herself aboard a ship bound for a distant moon in the hopes that it will lead to the discovery of humanity's origins. What they find on the moon is more than any of them could ever have imagined.

Prometheus is an extremely well-done, and superbly acted film from the mind of Ridley Scott who created the original Alien series. As a normal science fiction film it's good, but it's strength comes from the fact that it's not just a normal sci-fi action flick, but rather it's a deep, almost philosophical film. It dares to ask the questions of where did we come from and who are our creators. I found it interesting that Shaw is portrayed as a Christian throughout the film, and when asked whether her findings shook her faith she denies it. Instead it strengthens her faith, and she ponders as to who made our creators. If you're looking for a film that breaks away from the mold of mindless sci-fi action flick then this one's for you. You definitely do not want to miss this one.

Expendables 2

The mercenary crew known as The Expendables are back in an all new adventure, this time trying to stop a French bad dude named Vilain (original I know) from stealing a stash of Soviet plutonium in the hopes of selling it to the highest bidder.

I'll say one thing about Expendables 2, it definitely does NOT take itself seriously, and that's what makes this one so fun. I'm surprised I liked it because I hated the first Expendables. I felt the first one had a bad story, bad writing, and really bad acting. Expendables 2 isn't much better, but it's a step up from the original. This time it actually had lines that reminds viewers of previous films that Stallone, Arnold, Van Damme, and even Chuck Norris did in the 80's. Chuck Norris' entrance makes it worth the price of admission alone. In the end, this sequel is an engaging, hilarious thrill ride that fans of Stallone, Norris, Schwarzenneger and other 80's action heroes will love.