Act of Valor

I had been wanting to see this movie for a long time.  I was pumped about the trailer and knew this was exactly my kind of flick.  In case you haven't seen the trailer, it's one of the best I've ever seen.  Act of Valor stars active duty Navy SEALS.  This means they are not in the credits but they do all their own action sequences.  This makes the action scenes very authentic and about as close as most of us are going to get to military action.

Act of Valor is a film that follows Navy SEALS through a fictional mission after a CIA agent is kidnapped.  The attempt to rescue her leads to further plot points that expose a larger terrorist agenda.  The plot is very straight forward.  It does get confusing at points but the overall mission is clear.  The story is fun but a little too straightforward until the very end.

I'm not going to talk much about the acting in this movie because it's horrible.  I didn't expect anything different though because professional Navy SEALS are not actors.  I will say though even the professional actors were pretty terrible in this one.

If you want to see great military action and that's your thing, you'll love Act of Valor. If you expect great acting and drama then forget it.  This is a case of "it is what it is" don't expect it to be anything more.  I loved this one, but it also helped to read the book prior to seeing the movie.

Drive

I knew this movie was about a professional stunt man who did some work on the side for some extra cash as a "driver" for criminals.  I hadn't seen any trailers of it and was pretty unsure of what to expect thematically.  I was hoping for movie filled with cool car chases.  I should have done my homework.

Drive is basically a combination of Casino and The Transporter.  The story takes you through the life of "Driver", (he doesn't have a name) played by Ryan Gosling, as he becomes more and more connected with the criminal underworld.  The character doesn't say much at all and is almost emotionless except some of the action scenes.  This is one of the huge downfalls of the movie.  It feels almost robotic going through the story because they don't make you care about "Driver."

The star is Gosling but other significant roles are played by Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Albert Brooks, and Ron Pearlman.  All are good actors but Gosling is ridiculous.  I don't think it's his fault (more likely the writers) but with nothing to say I don't really know how to judge his acting skills in this movie.  I think Pearlman and Cranston did a nice job in this one.

I would highly recommend you skip this one.  As much as I thought this might be a cool car chase movie, it isn't that.  Tons of violence, gore, and unnecessary brutality to this film.  I didn't enjoy it at all and don't think you will either.

Real Steel

I know, I was surprised I saw this movie too.  Real Steel is a movie about boxing robots.  Does that really sound interesting?  No.  But when you look a little bit deeper it's really more about the personal relationships of the people and then some cool boxing action with the robots.  I was quite surprised.

Real Steel is about a former boxer who is going around the country, sometime in the future, trying to win bets on whether his boxing robot will win fights.  He's deep in debt with no where to go when his ex-girlfriend dies and leaves their son to him.  The relationship between him and his son is really what this movie is about.  It's a good storyline and honestly it's pretty intense at points of the movie.  While the storyline is predictable, that's not always a bad thing.

The one major problem with this movie was the acting.  Hugh Jackman plays the star of the movie and he is very good, no problem there.  The issue lies in the supporting cast.  The son is played by Dakota Goyo and while yes, he's a kid, he's not very good.  Also, Jackman's girlfriend is played by Evangeline Lilly and she is terrible.  I wasn't impressed by Lilly in Lost and I most certainly am not in this movie.  Fortunately the real stars are Jackman and his robot.

Real Steel is a fun and dramatic movie that you will just enjoy.  It won't win any awards but you will enjoy checking it out.  I would particularly recommend this one if you enjoy boxing.  They use real boxing strategies in the film and it's quite fun to see that.

The Ides of March

The Ides of March is a political film about the inner workings of a presidential campaign.  Specifically, it follows George Clooney's character, Governor Mike Morris, around a few states as he campaigns for the Democratic nomination in a presidential primary.  I am a professional lobbyist so I have a familiar background to help understand this movie.  That said, this movie was still a bit of an enigma.

The story of this film attempts to get into the deep dark inner workings of a political campaign.  The deals made between politicians, the dirt that surfaces during a campaign, and the fact that everyone would basically kill the other in order to win.  This is of course where the movie gets its name.  The Ides of March is appropriately titled because in this movie everyone stabs each other in the back!

This movie stars George Clooney, Ryan Gosling, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, and Evan Rachel Wood.  All of the actors are really superb.  I'm a big fan of Philip Seymour Hoffman and think he is basically fantastic in everything.  I would say the only weak link in this movie is Marisa Tomei. She plays a reporter trying to dig up dirt on anyone and everything.  She just doesn't fit.

The movie is good but, there is a big too much "Hollywood" drama that wouldn't normally take place on the campaign trail for this to be completely realistic.  That said, I think the overall atmosphere is pretty accurate and this movie does a nice job of telling that story.  In the end though, it just isn't that interesting of a story unless you're a political wonk.

The Double

 
So I kept seeing this movie on my Netflix instant play list.  It was clearly a spy movie that I was interested in but I couldn't imagine it being any good because it stars Richard Gere.  He hasn't been in a decent action movie since he did The Jackal back in 1997.  So needless to say I was interested but very skeptical.

The Double is about a serial killer who may have also been a KGB spy at one point.  Gere's character, Paul Shepardson, is assigned to find and take down the KGB spy.  He does this with help from a young FBI agent named Ben Geary (Topher Grace).  The story takes you through their meticulous tracking of the killer and shows you how they evaluate each piece of evidence.  One criticism I did have is that the main twist of the movie came way too soon and with far too little drama attached to it.  It made the twist seem less important than it really was.

The Double stars Gere and Topher Grace.  Also in the cast is Martin Sheen and Odette Annable.  The acting in The Double was really pretty terrible.  I think Gere is a much worse actor than he was ten or fifteen years ago.  Topher Grace was good in That 70's Show but otherwise isn't very impressive.  I hate to say it but Martin Sheen is really washed up.  Not a good cast for this one.

The Double wasn't a bad movie at all.  It had some quality twists and turns it just wasn't a well made movie and as I previously stated the acting was pretty terrible.  If you've got some time to kill and feel like doing an Instant Play Netflix movie then go for it.  Please don't get this one in the mail or RedBox, it's not worth your time or money.

Hugo

I have to admit I went in with pretty high expectations.  Everything I had heard about this movie was positive.  I share this with you because my expectation was that this was going to be a pretty darn good movie.

Hugo is about a boy named Hugo Cabret who loses his father and is then forced to live and work in a train station.  The movie basically follows Hugo on different adventures to put an automoton robot back together that he and his father had been working on.  During this adventure he meets some friends that help him become more than just an orphan.   The film takes place in Paris.

The movie basically stars a bunch of no names.  The stars are Asa Butterfield as Hugo and Chloe Grace Moretz who plays Hugo's friend Isabelle.  Ben Kingsley and Sacha Baron Cohen also play significant roles in this film.  All of the actors do a very nice job and carry off their individual roles well.

Hugo wasn't a bad movie at all but the story was very slow.  While it was kind of a fun and interesting plot it was weak because of the poor pacing.  It's been very popular but I wouldn't really recommend this one to anyone.  My wife fell asleep with this one it's so slow!

The Whistleblower

The Whistleblower is about a divorced police officer who needs some extra cash and decides that taking a job with the United Nations is the best way to make some.  Once she gets there she finds extreme human abuses taking place that she cannot stand for.  Specifically the movie deals with human trafficking and the effect it has on the women and the community as a whole.  The Whistleblower is based on a true story.

The movie takes you to post-war Bosnia and it's efforts to recover.  The story to this film kept you involved with each new development that took place.  Characters were pretty good.  The one place where I would say the story struggled was at some of the dramatic sequences I just didn't care enough. 

The movie stars Rachel Weisz as our police officer turned UN official.  Vanessa Redgrave, Monica Bellucci and David Strathairn (Bourne Ultimatum) also play major roles in the film.  Weisz stands out as again doing a fantastic job in this keenly dramatic role.  The others are very good, particularly Strathairn. Benedict Cumberbatch, of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, also has a small role in this film.

I enjoyed The Whistleblower quite a bit.  It was a very dramatic film with not much of a happy ending though, which is always a turn off to me.  I would probably say this one is worth checking out.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

First let me inform you that I have seen all of the other "Pirates" movies.  I liked the first two but thought the third, At Worlds End, was absolutely atrocious.  It was way too long and had way too much nonsensical narrative that was impossible to follow.  I was very skeptical about seeing this one because my most recent experience but, I had some small hope that this would be better.

On Stranger Tides is the fourth in the "Pirates" series starring Johnny Depp.  As usual the story follows Captain Jack Sparrow on his adventure to find some kind of treasure, this time it's the Fountain of Youth.  On his quest he meets up with quite a few new pals and some old faces as well.  The journey is confusing, again, and while sometimes fun still gets very slow and stale in parts.  The pacing of the last two "Pirates" films has been very poor.

On Stranger Tides is also missing two of the main cast members from the previous films, Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley, who were smart enough to bail on the series.  Penelope Cruz steps in as the female lead and they use some old characters including Barbosa (Geoffrey Rush) and Gibbs (Kevin McNally) in larger roles.  Depp does most of the action work and provides most of the comedy as well.  Depp does a pretty good job but the supporting cast is really pretty weak.  I'm not a fan of Penelope Cruz's acting skills.

I will give On Stranger Tides this, it's better than At Worlds End.  I didn't really enjoy it though.  I guess it was ok, if you really like these films but I'm not enough of a fan to ignore the confusing story and poor acting.  Better luck next time!  Yep, I think they'll make another, Disney could always use more $$$.

50/50

50/50 is about a young guy (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who is paranoid, and has a fear of driving because it's the fifth leading cause of fatalities, and is suddenly struck with cancer in his back.  He and his family are in complete and total shock, as I'm sure is often the case, and are unsure of how exactly to deal with the situation.  The story lays out his ups and downs and all the friends he meets along the way.

Adding some flavor to the story are some interesting characters including a girlfriend, played by Bryce Dallas-Howard, who doesn't know whether to stay or go, a neurotic mother (Anjelica Houston), a cooky but loyal friend (Seth Rogan) and an intriguing therapist (Anna Kendrick).  All of the actors do a stupendous job in their roles and I was even impressed by Bryce Dallas-Howard who I am normally not a fan.

While the idea of this movie seems depressing, I fully enjoyed it.  50/50 is extremely well told and though out.  This film really tells a story that I'm sure is the case for many who get hit by major traumatic events at a young age as many feel invincible prior to something like this happening.  I will share that I have not had cancer nor anyone close to me so it probably doesn't hit home like it might to many others.  Either way I would recommend checking this one out!

Midnight in Paris

First of all just let me say that my wife and I are going to Paris soon. We've never been, so we wanted to see some of the sights a little early through this film.  While we didn't know a tremendous amount about the movie we had a general idea of the story line.  Also, full disclosure, I'm not a fan of Owen Wilson.

Midnight in Paris ventures into the dramatic comedy territory.  I will say this area is a little out of my comfort zone because dramatic comedies tend to get a little dark for my taste.   The film is the story of an engaged couple who come to Paris for a vacation with their family.  When they arrive the two start to distance themselves from each other by their likes and dislikes.  During nightly walks, Gil (Owen Wilson) stumbles upon an amazing part of Paris that he falls in love with.  It's a blast from the past that captures his imagination and he feels Paris is perfect for him.

Wilson, Rachel McAdams, and Marion Cotillard are the stars of the movie and all are tremendous.  While I'm not a fan of Wilson (except in Behind Enemy Lines) his style fits well in this film.  One thing was impressive though, McAdams does a fantastic job of making you hate her with a passion.  Appearances are also made by Kathy Bates, Adrien Brody, Michael Sheen, and the wife of French President Nicolas Sarcozy, Carla Bruni.

Midnight in Paris was a very good movie which I would recommend checking out, especially if you enjoy the scenery of Paris.  Acting was superb, story was well-told and interesting, music was very good, and surprisingly the ending was nice.

Safe House

Safe House is the story of two CIA agents.  One, played by Denzel Washington, is a senior NOC who has supposedly gone rogue, until now when they have brought him to a safe house.  The other, Ryan Reynolds, plays the safe house "keeper" who is very green and has no idea what he's in for when his new guest arrives.  A very wild ride ensues.

Ryan Reynolds and Denzel Washington are outstanding in this movie.  While seeing Washington not cleaned up was odd, it fit well in the movie.  While the main stars of the movie are Reynolds and Washington, there is a very strong supporting cast.  This group includes Vera Farmiga, Brendan Gleeson, and Sam Shepard.  This, in my opinion, is where the cast really shines.

Safe House is a fantastic movie.  The action moments will keep you on the edge of your seat.  I would compare this movie to The Bourne Identity, and yes I realize this is very high praise.  The cinematography is very similar to Bourne and the story progression follows a similar path.  I would highly recommend anyone who enjoyed the Bourne series check this one out!

One Day

My wife and I saw this one on Valentines Day, so we were both in the right mood to see a sappy love story.  I was hopeful because I've always been impressed with Anne Hathaway's acting chops.  Honestly, the movie looked kind of cute so I dove in.

One Day follows a couple on their life's journey on one particular date in their lives over a period of 22 years.  Sometimes the couple is together, sometimes not, but it is very interesting to see their development from college graduation to full blown adulthood.  There are some very interesting side stories that keep the plot going.  There are some characters in the film that either shouldn't have existed or needed some additional fleshing out.

Anne Hathaway is again very impressive in One Day with a sometimes mousy appearance while at other times looking stunning.  Her overall performance is not as strong as in other films such as Devil Wears Prada, but frankly she just isn't asked to do as much.  The rest of the cast, while mostly no names, still does a very nice job.  Jim Sturgess, who plays Hathaway's love interest, does a good job but I can't help feeling like a stronger actor would have played this role a little better and strengthened the overall movie.

For a sappy movie to see on Valentines Day, I really enjoyed it.  The story is nice and fun throughout but I will say I hated the ending.  I'll probably give it a three out of five on Netflix.  If you're looking for a sappy one, I'd recommend One Day.

The Change-Up

The Change-Up is a comedy starring Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman.  I saw the trailer and reviews prior to renting this one and figured there was no way this could be good but my wife wanted to see it, so here I went!

The movie is another body swapping flick.  Bateman plays a married man with three kids who is overly burdened with work and family life.  Reynolds, of course, plays a single playboy who sleeps with anything that moves and has basically no responsibilities to speak of.  When the two finally get to hang out they make a wish and end up swapping bodies.  The story is very predictable and weak because of that.

As I stated the film stars Reynolds and Bateman but also has a strong supporting cast that features Olivia Wilde, Leslie Mann, and Alan Arkin.  As always Bateman and Reynolds put on strong acting performances, though not either one's best.  Though these two do not have a huge role I tend to think the best actor in this one is Leslie Mann.  She provides some of the few humorous parts in the whole film.

Overall The Change-Up is a pretty awful movie with a few humorous parts.  I did laugh out loud during one kitchen scene but that was really about it.  I feel like I've seen about five of these body switching movies and I'm really tired of it.  I would never recommend this movie to anyone.

Margin Call

I knew this was a movie about the stock market and that it had a pretty impressive cast but other than that I wasn't sure what to make of the trailer.  I dove into this one head first and unfortunately found myself in a pile of...

Margin Call is a fictional movie loosely based on the 2008 stock market collapse.  The story follows a fictional trading institution run by filthy rich ridiculous characters.  It takes you through how this company caused the market collapse and ultimately collapsed themselves.  The story is very poorly told.  It's very difficult to follow the story and sometimes they dumb it down so much that the story doesn't even make sense.

The cast of Margin Call is where the film shines.  Jeremy Irons, Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, Demi Moore, Simon Baker, Stanley Tucci, and Zachary Quinto are the stars of the film.  While the cast is very impressive not many of them have great individual performances except maybe Quinto and Irons.

Please for your own good skip this one.  This story is weak, the acting is meh, and it's just a poor movie in general.  Honestly, I wish I had never even seen this.  I really like stock market movies but this one is awful.  Don't waste your time!

The Help

I think you can generally figure out what The Help is about by seeing the trailer.  I hadn't read the book.  We've seen a few movies about slavery and the civil rights movement.  This movie does, however, lend a very different and personal perspective which really allows you to feel the emotions of the movie much more closely.  Not exactly my type of movie but I was very curious, particularly since this one is nominated for so many awards.

The story of The Help is told from the perspective of Skeeter, played by Emma Stone, who is a writer from Mississippi trying to break into the writing business.  Skeeter grew up around girls who had African-American maids who they treated very poorly.  While Skeeter also had a maid as a child, her experience and relationship was very different.  The story focuses on her trying to tell an important story from the perspective of the maids, which at the time was not only a faux-pas, it was illegal in Mississippi.

Including Emma Stone, this is a very impressive cast.  It includes Bryce Dallas Howard and Jessica Chastain as the main white women.  Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer play the maids that are key to this story.  The cast is all outstanding and really fits the era of The Help well.  That is, in my opinion, you had to have people for this movie that fit the era, and this movie does that very well.

The Help is really a fantastic movie.  It takes you on what feels like an emotional roller-coaster ride and leaves feeling rewarded at the end.  I enjoyed watching this one and I feel comfortable saying that anyone who enjoys a good drama should check this one out!

The Hangover: Part II

Now who in the world has seen The Hangover and didn't think it was hilarious.  I loved it, in fact I own it I thought it was so funny.  I was very skeptical when I first saw there was going to be a sequel because frankly it just didn't seem like the type movie that needed one.  This seemed like a cash in of the first movies popularity.

The Hangover: Part II is basically the same story as the first but rehashed with the same characters trading situations with each other.  One goes missing and they all have to figure out where they lost him and what happened the night before.  The story is still pretty funny because the events aren't the same as the first but the story is told in the same way, through flashbacks.  I still find it impossible that any real life women would still be with wackos after events like this.

The cast is very similar to the previous film with only a few new minor characters.  Part II stars Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zack Galifianakis, and Justin Bartha.  These are the four main characters from the first flick and they are joined by Mason Lee who plays "Teddy."  The main cast is good but the women in the movie are horrible actresses, it's a good thing they aren't asked to do much.

This is a cash-in but The Hangover: Part II  is a very funny movie but is an almost replica of the first.  It's not as funny as the first but it's still worth checking out.  The ending is stupid and unrealistic though and they never should have included the cameo at the end, it's horrible.

Contagion

I had been waiting a while to see Contagion.  My wife used to be a medical professional so I knew she'd have some interest, and I was curious how good another one of these disease movies like Outbreak would be.  I knew Contagion had a great cast and what seemed like a good plot.  As you can tell, I got tired of waiting and ended up ordering it on my blu-ray player's Amazon Instant Video app. 

Contagion is a drama about the spread of a disease.  The movie talks about how the disease is spread, how quickly, through what means, and really explains the transmission well.  They even demonstrate how the disease passes from person to person which helps you feel connected to the situation and characters.  They tell the story through different perspectives including a married couple, the US Center for Disease Control (CDC), and the World Heath Organization (WHO).  The story is what you would expect from a disease flick but it really is very good not only because of the way the story is told but more because of the characters.

The movie is a star studded one.  Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Laurence Fishburne, Jude Law, and Marion Cotillard. Damon and Paltrow are a married couple where the story starts.  Winslet and Fishburne work for the CDC.  Cotillard works for the WHO and is sent to China to investigate where the disease began.  Law plays a blogger who is looking to take advantage of the scare.  All of the cast is really fantastic especially Damon and Fishburne.

Contagion is the best movie I have seen in quite a while.  I gave it five stars on Netflix.  I was really impressed by how well the story is told and how realistic some of the events are portrayed.  The absolute chaos that ensues is a very realistic scenario which I believe would happen.  Overall, I would highly recommend checking this one out, it was well worth the extra $5 I spent.  My only qualifier is that I'm not sure I'd see it multiple times.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

When I saw Planet of the Apes back in 2001 I was like "hmmm, that was pretty cool" but I wasn't a huge fan of the series.  When Rise of the Planet of the Apes was announced I was excited to see how they would put this prequel together, and more specifically, how it would end.

The story of Rise of the Planet of the Apes starts off with apes that have been captured to do clinical trials on for drug development.  Seems like a pretty typical practice, though I'm not sure about using apes.  From there the story follows one of the drug company's employees, James Franco, home.  Franco befriends one of the apes and basically raises him as his child.  The story, while very touching at some points, seems a bit ridiculous, but go with it.  The story develops well and even through some unbelievable scenarios, which is expected from this movie, it tells a very nice story.

The cast is made up of James Franco as the lead character.  John Lithgow plays his father, Freida Pinto plays his girlfriend, and Andy Serkis (Gollum from Lord of the Rings) plays the lead ape Caesar.  Brian Cox and Tom Felton also play key roles in the film.  Franco is great as usual but the rest is just mediocre.  It doesn't hurt the film but they aren't very impressive.

The scenes are majestic.  From the sprawling city to the gorgeous redwood forest of northern California.  The soundtrack is equally impressive.  The CG for the most part was also very good, even though they must have used quite a bit for some of the scenes.  I also particularly liked how they tied the ending into the other films.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes is really a pretty good movie.  If you enjoyed others in the series I think you will fully appreciate this one.  If you haven't seen any of the others you should see the 2001 flick with Mark Wahlberg after this one.  It's not great but worth the ride.

Cowboys and Aliens

Cowboys and Aliens was originally a comic book now converted into a major motion picture.  There have been many in this category and while some are huge hits (Iron Man, X-men, Spiderman) others are huge busts (Jonah Hex, Catwoman).  I really wanted to find out which one this movie fit into because I knew with actors like Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford this could be amazing.

Cowboys and Aliens begins with Craig's character, Jake, finding himself out in the desert with a nice big new bracelet. He has no idea how he got the bracelet or ended up in the desert.  When he makes it into town he eventually bumps into Dolarhyde (Ford) and a skirmish begins.  And that's only until the aliens show up!  It's a weird crazy story that really doesn't make a lot of sense.

Craig and Harrison Ford are the stars of the movie but the cast also includes Olivia Wilde and Sam Rockwell.  I have to admit Craig is a little off with an American accent.  Ford is really at the end of his career and not nearly as impressive as he used to be.  Wilde isn't impressive at all and Rockwell's part is too small to really find out much.

I was excited to check this one out because I'm an easy sell on sci-fi/comic book movies but this one was weak.  The story was lame, acting was pretty terrible, and the ending didn't make sense.  I would recommend skipping this one.

Get Him to the Greek

I had no idea what to expect with this movie.  I just knew I didn't have a good feeling about it.

Get Him to the Greek is a comedy starring Russell Brand as a rock star who has gone into seclusion.  A record label employee, Jonah Hill, is forced by his constantly angry boss, played by P. Diddy, to go and get Brand's character Aldous Snow out of seclusion.  The reason they want him back is so they can make some money off of a "comeback" concert at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles.  While on their way back from Europe to LA they make quite a few stops in which some hilarity ensues.  It's a pretty predictable story.

I've mentioned most of the stars of the film except Rose Byrne who plays Snow's ex-girlfriend Jackie Q.  Jackie is just as weird as Aldous Snow so they play off of each other.  The cast is decent.  By far the best actor is Jonah Hill, and I don't think it's even close.  Byrne is pretty good but I liked her much more in X-Men: First Class.  Honestly, I just can't stand Russell Brand.

This is a short review because, while there are some funny parts of this movie where I laughed out loud, the movie sucks.  I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.  If you really like Brand then maybe, but you've got to be a pretty big fan to stand this awful film.

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

Yep, I saw two movies in the theatre this weekend.  That won't happen again for a long long time.  I heard great things about this movie for the past few weeks and was even more excited than when it first came out.

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol is the fourth in the series starring Tom Cruise.  The movie starts with the entire Impossible Mission Force (IMF) being disavowed and Hunt and his team being on the run.  The story takes you from location to location following Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and his IMF team.  The story is very good at keeping you involved throughout and does a nice job keeping things humorous as well.  The action sequences are excellent, particularly the one while Hunt is scaling a building.

The cast is better in this one than it has been since the first in the series.  It includes Jeremy Renner, Paula Patton, and Simon Pegg as the IMF team.  Simon Pegg really adds something to these movies that was sorely missed before his addition in MI:3.  Michael Nyqvist, of the Swedish version of Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series, plays the main antagonist of the film and does an admirable job.  I will say I missed some of the cast from the previous films and wished they had included them more in this one.  For all you Lost fans out there, Josh Holloway (Sawyer) makes an appearance at the beginning of Ghost Protocol.

This movie is not without it's flaws though.  There is a sandstorm scene which I understand some people enjoyed, I wasn't a fan.  One of the effects of a sandstorm is that you can't see anything, well as you might imagine this is a problem for someone trying to follow a movie.  I don't blame them for trying but please don't do that again.  Also, I like Jeremy Renner but this wasn't his best acting job and I hope they don't try to bring him back for another one.  For whatever reason he just doesn't seem to fit in this movie.  Oh yea, nit picking, there is a scene with Tom Cruise in "skinny jeans",  it's painful to see a grown man wearing that!

Overall, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol is a very good movie which I would recommend checking out.  The action scenes are fantastic, the locations are gorgeous, and it's just a fun movie. 

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

I was more excited for this movie than I have been for any movie in quite a while.  I am a big fan of spy novels and films.  I had not read this book by John le Carre but had heard some great things from some old co-workers.  Needless to say I was ready for this traditional spy flick!

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a British spy film that takes place during the height of the Cold War.  The story entails George Smiley, played by Gary Oldman, trying to hunt down a mole within MI-6.  His former boss, Control, narrows it down between four people which includes the code names Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, and Spy.  The difficulty with the audience figuring out which is the "bad guy" is the fact that none of the possibilities are likeable.  This fact adds a great deal to the storytelling.

This movie has the best cast of any movie in quite a while.  Smiley, the star of the movie is played by Oldman, but the rest of the cast is also outstanding.  Colin Firth, John Hurt, Mark Strong, Ciaran Hinds, Toby Jones, Tom Hardy, and Benedict Cumberbatch are all main characters of this film.  The entire cast, even folks I did not mention, do a great job in their individual roles.

If I have any criticism about this movie it's the music.  The music fits the time period but it isn't good music from the time period.  It wasn't terrible but I was disappointed by it.


Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is the best spy movie in a long long time.  If you're ready for a slow paced intellectual spy flick, this is it.  After seeing this one I hope the rumors of them making The Spy Who Came in from the Cold are true!

Knight and Day

When I put this movie on my Netflix list I literally just put it on so I could write a review ripping a movie.  Don't ask me why I just felt like I had seen too many good movies in a row.  Clearly I forgot about 30 Minutes or Less but Knight and Day really let me down!

Knight and Day stars Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz in an action/comedy.  The premise of the movie is that he's a spy and she's caught up in all of his craziness as just a victim.  Cruise and Diaz actually play their roles very well.  In my opinion, it's because they fit them so well.  Cruise plays spy's constantly in his movies (Mission Impossible series) and Diaz plays the dumb blonde in basically all of her movies.  The rest of the cast is pretty average and no one stands out.

The film has a halfway decent story but they focus on it a little too much at the end.  The first 3/4 of the movie they have fun with it.  There is tons of action, great venues, car chases, and it's just a fun movie.  The last quarter though they take way too seriously and that's when the movie starts to suck.

Knight and Day isn't a crappy movie.  It isn't great either but it certainly isn't the stinker I thought it might be.  It's a fun action/comedy that you can really enjoy for the first 3/4 of the movie.  Overall though, I'd skip this one unless you're really desperate!

The Debt

I was really excited to see this movie.  I'm a big fan of the more traditional spy movies.  This really looked to be one of the good ones that showed off trade craft and all of the intricacies of a more realistic spy flick.  This was my kind of movie!

The Debt stars Helen Mirren as a Mossad agent, along with her two partners, trying to capture a World War II war criminal.  The film is told through a series of flashbacks, so the story has a young/old of each character.  Mirren along with Tom Wilkinson and Ciaran Hinds play the older versions of each character which is the more recent in the timeline.  The younger characters are played by Jessica Chastain (Mirren), Marton Csokas (Wilkinson), and Sam Worthington (Hinds).  All of these actors were really terrific in the movie.  The ones that stood out though were Mirren and Chastain as the stars of the movie.  While I don't normally like Worthington, he was a good fit for this role.

The story is very good.  The flashbacks can be confusing at times but they really do a nice job of laying out the story nicely.  The Debt's story was like watching puzzle pieces come together.  Flashbacks don't always work well but I was impressed here.  The ending was a little bit disappointing but it was more realistic, I think, than most other spy films and that impressed me.

I would highly recommend checking out The Debt.  I don't just mean if you like spy movies, I think most people would really enjoy this one.  There is love, intrigue, action, espionage, and nice cinematics.  I liked this one a lot.