Now In Theaters - Law Abiding Citizen

I'm going to get right to the point on this one... if 'Star Trek' was the movie of this summer, this is most definitely my pick for movie of the fall. (lol, if there is such a thing.) This movie boasts two very big stars in Jamie Foxx and Gerard Butler. But we also have a nice name behind the scenes in director F. Gary Gray. You may remember him from such classics as 'Friday', 'Be Cool', 'A Man Apart' and 'The Italian Job'. (and looking over that resume, it really shows a lot of versatility on his part!) I love seeing movies with a lot of star power like this, but I also always fear them not living up to the hype of the talent involved. Well I am happy to report that this lived up to every bit of hype it had.

Butler plays the part of Clyde Shelton, a man who's wife and daughter are brutally taken away from him in front of his eyes. Foxx gives us the role of the prosecuting attorney Nick Rice who is responsible for putting away the two individuals responsible for the crime. When Rice does not handle the case in the way that Shelton approves of... our story begins. The more we delve into this film, the more and more we learn about Shelton.

The story line in this one is VERY well put together. It is very believable and easy for the typical movie watcher to identify with both Shelton and Rice. Foxx does a wonderful job of portraying an aspiring attorney who is caught in between trying to do the right thing and trying to maintain a successful career. Gray did a very good job taking us inside the mind of the legal system and showing us the flaws in the system. But it is my opinion that Butler really steals the show in this one. On a personal level, I absolutely love watching an actor who I will always remember for a certain role shows me another side of themselves. I was impressed when "Maximus" was 'The Insider'. I loved watching "John McClane" play a psychiatrist to a trouble kid. And I was just as impressed watching "King Leonidas" portray a regular guy who has lost his family.

The supporting cast did a wonderful job of keeping the storyline very precise and believable as well. There was one pretty sketchy part of the plot that was a bit hard to believe {once you have seen the film you will know what I mean. The whole "tunneling" thing, lol}, but outside of that I find it hard to spot a flaw in this one. Great acting + great story + great director = Success. I'm going to rate this one a 9 out of 10. Very, very well put together. I suggest you go check this one out. you won't be disappointed.

Now In Theaters - Zombieland

I will have to admit that I was pretty eager to see this one. 'Zombieland' stars one of my all time favorite guys to watch, Woody Harrelson. I just flat out love watching this guy. On top of that, the trailers really made this one look like it had potential to be pretty funny. But now that I have seen it, I am sorry to say I was pretty much let down. It wasn't so much the acting that let me down, but more so the extremely dull story line. Now of course, I didn't go into a zombie flick expecting plot and storyline... but this one was just left a lot to be desired.

Woody and co-star Jessie Eisenberg gave pretty good performances. And as silly as this will sound given the nature of the film, both gave very believable performances. This film pits us in the midst of a post apocalyptic America that has been over run by mindless, flesh eating zombies that used to be regular Joe and Susie 6 packs just like me and you. One thing that seems to be catching on, that I really like, is that the zombies can actually run. Woody plays a zombie's worst nightmare in the character "Tallahassee". The reson behind his name is because he doesn't want to know real names. I guess it's too personal to really get to know someone who more than likely is going to be dead soon. Hence, his co-star Eisenberg is dubbed "Columbus" from the hometown that he hopes to get back to in Ohio.

Now usually, with a zombie flick you either want 'Dawn of the Dead' or 'Shaun of the Dead'. This one leaned toward 'Shaun', but just wasn't as funny. You can easily overlook the ridiculous storyline and lack of serious action when you are laughing your socks off. But this one just didn't give us the laughs that we need in order to sustain us from the fact that this is a lame love story about twinkies and an infatuation with brushing a girl;s hair over her ear.

Overall, the movie isn't terrible per se` but it left a lot to be desired. I did enjoy Woody's character very much (as I pretty much enjoyed all of the characters, just didn't really enjoy the movie itself) and feel as though there was a good idea here. I just feel it fell remarkably short. I am going to rate this one about a 6.8 out of 10. I can't quite give it a 7, but it's close. Maybe I will have to take a second look at this one, but upon first look... I'm not impressed.

Now In Theaters - I Can Do Bad All By Myself

Tyler Perry's string of after school special movie that have enough star power to make it to the big screen continue with his latest effort. 'I Can Do Bad' gives you just what you would expect in any of his movies as far as the cast goes... big name leading lady (Tarji P. Henson), heart throb black male (Brian J. White), nice cameo's (Gladys Knight and Mary J. Blige) and some adorable little bad kids! Oh and of course Madea and Joe (both played by writer/director Perry) poke their heads in for a piece of the action.

This story finds three young children roaming around hungry and end up crossing paths with Madea. She discovers that the children live with their grandmother but have not seen her for several days. They in turn go to their aunt April's house (Henson) who is ADMITTEDLY against the thought of having children. Partially for her own reasons and partially due to her live in boyfriend (White).

And also in traditional Perry fashion there is some preaching and some singing! Both Gladys and Mary J. flex their golden pipes. (shout out to the eTrade babies, lol) The Pastor of the church that the children attends attempts to reach out to April in various ways. I will assume that you have seen a Tyler Perry movie and/or play before and think you already know how this one is going to end.

The acting outside of Henson is nothing spectacular. It is on par for other Perry movies. The story line is cute, but the kids are cuter. Overall it is a fun movie to watch but not a must see by any means. If you want to feel better about yourself and have that "feel good" movie experience, by all means check it out. You will get some laughs and there will be something to take away from the whole thing. Overall I am going to give this one a 6.5 out of 10. I guess I would rate it higher if all of his movies weren't so similar. I guess it's just a bit tiring to pay 10 bucks to go watch yet ANOTHER after school special, lol.

Now In Theaters - Surrogates

As a long time fan of Bruce Willis I went into this one with high hopes. Once I saw that Jon Mostow was the director... I started to feel a bit leary about the film. (For those of you wondering why... Mostow was the director of 'Terminator 3'. {shudders in horror} Alright... I think I'm okay now.) I am happy to say that Willis proves again that he is still one of Hollywood's most versatile actors. Quite often we as movie goers can lock in on an actor being John McClane and forget that he was also Dr. Malcolm Crowe (of 'The Sixth Sense').

'Surrogates' has a very Matrix-like feel to it. Now I am not comparing the two movies by any means, in my humble opinion 'The Matrix' was one of the most groundbreaking movies of its time period. However, there are a few similarities in the two. And after thinking about it a bit... this film is very 'I, Robot'-ish as well. Man creates something... Man falls in love with creation... Man cannot live without creation.

I loved the storyline and plot here. Officer Tom Greer (Willis) embarks on an intriguing task of having to solve the first murder in several years. The "surrogates" are robot versions of genuine human life that can be controlled by any person young or old. The surrogates then go out and interact in the world while the person remains in the safety, and seclusion, of their own homes. Surrogates are so common that violent crime no longer exists. Violence against a surrogate is considered vandalism since no real human being is harmed. But once a surrogate is destroyed and it causes the death of its human user... Greer has to hunt down the culprit.

The cast did a wonderful job in this one. I was mostly impressed with Rosamund Pike who plays Greer's wife. Her portrayal of both his wife and the surrogate version was very interesting to watch. Her battle against who she really was and her surrogate self was quit an interesting side plot.

Overall I would recommend this movie. It's not necessarily something that you need to rush out and see, but it was put together very well. A buddy of mine brought up an interesting thought... this would have made a very interesting story for an HBO TV series. The movie alone was almost too short. There could have been more story both before and after. I would give this a solid 7 out of 10.