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.