In the film a typical suburban family becomes haunted while moving into a new home. The couple, Josh and Renai Lambert (Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne) are the parents of their three children Foster (Andrew Astor), Dalton (Ty Simpkins), and a new born daughter.

One day Dalton goes on an adventure through the new house and into the attic where he falls off a ladder and hits his head against the hard wood floor. The next day Dalton does not wake up from sleeping and is rushed to the hospital where doctors say he is in coma-like state but does not have any medical reason for going comatose.

Josh and Renai go through a long and haunted journey to figure out how to get their son back after realizing he is not in a coma at all. It turns out that Dalton has the capabilty to wander around a parallel spirit world with the dead and demons as he sleeps. Dalton had never been afraid to wander because he always thought they were just dreams, but now he has wandered too far and can’t get back to his physical body.

Insidious is a thrilling and heart racing film that will just about scare you to death. I think it was a great film and definetly one of the scariest I have seen in awhile. Make sure to watch it with some company and be prepared to not be able to sleep for several nights.

Kyle (Alex Pettyfer) is a superficial, popular icon at his high school who is currently running for class president. He uses his good looks and wealth to win the election over. While the election goes on, Kendra (Mary-Kate Olsen) plays the role of a spiritual “witch” at the high school who casts the spell of turning his looks from hot to hideous. She does this to aloow his ugly personality to be seen on the outside. She also explains that he has a year to find someone to love him for who is and not what he looks like to get his old looks back.

The movie goes through his year of feeling doomed and locking himself inside an excluded home with only his maid and blind tutor to keep him company. Then later he becomes fascinated with a girl named Lindy (Vanessa Hudgens) who is need of his protection due to her dealing father. As in the classic, Lindy is forced to stay in Kyle’s custody until she is safe.

Also, a similarity in this film is that it brought back various Disney actors including Hudgens and Olsen. They both use to be quite popular in the Disney world and now they are both back on the big screen from a time of little to no work.

The romantic and comedic performance explores the idea of whether if love does see past looks and money to a deeper meaning. The film suggests that true beauty is beyond what is sometimes seen as beastly.

The movie was funny and did not drag on, although at some points it became cheesy. It is a great movie to see with a boyfriend or girlfriend for a date. The attempt of giving an old story, a modern twist, was successful. Beastly was an overall good movie with good graphics for the beast himself.

Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) created Facebook while attending Harvard, after getting several thousand hits on Facemash, a website he designed and created.

Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield) and some other friends help Mark create Facebook, while Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss (Armie Hammer) claim that Facebook was stolen from them, so they filed a lawsuit against Mark.

Mark gets caught in another lawsuit with Eduardo because of complications with Sean Parker (Justin Timberlake) and the amount of Facebook that he actually took part in.

The best part of this movie is the script. There aren’t any special effects or epic battle scenes. It’s just the story and the characters that make The Social Network such a great movie.

The cast was amazing as well. I thought Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss were played by two different people, but Hammer played both very well. Eisenberg was brilliant as Mark Zuckerberg.

The beginning of the movie was a little slow. It seemed like nothing really happened until at least a half hour into it. Also, the ending was pretty abrupt. It kind of ends with no explanation.

All in all, The Social Network was an all-around great movie with an awesome cast that anyone can be interested in and love.

The opening scene portrays this theme nicely as the group, led by Barney Ross (Stallone), infiltrates a hijacked cargo carrier off the coast of Aden. As they are on the boat, they discover where exactly the hostages, whom they were sent to rescue, are being held. Suddenly an explosive, shot by Gunnar Jensen (Lundgren), tears into the pirate leader, ripping him in half and leaving both the pirates and Ross’ men stunned. Ross’ men are on the offensive as they rain lead down with high tech weaponry. A high tension hostage situation ends with a moral debate, between Ross and Gunnar, which affects the rest of the movie.

With that high powered lead in, what else can be said about The Expendables? It is simply amazing. Although the film doesn’t do anything to redefine the genre, it takes what has been tried and true throughout the years and makes a hybrid. This is a movie with the deafening explosions of a good war flick, to the intensity filled fire fights that populate movies such as Death Wish, and the blindingly fast and acrobatic hand to hand combat of a Kung Fu movie. There’s even some very smart comedy throughout that genuinely made me smile and even laugh. Everything is done right and it never feels forced.

The ensemble cast works very organically together. They often feel as if they’ve known each other for years. One conversation between Ross and Christmas (Statham) established the friendly sense of competition between friends that everyone has. Although there is never too great a diversion from action into the distraction of a story, the movie still gets its point across.

The Expendables is a very well constructed and tightly choreographed film. My only complaint is there was very little other character development. Randy Couture, Terry Crews, and Jet Li are in the movie solely as extra firepower. That’s not a bad thing, but the stage is set so perfectly to delve into their characters as well.  At the very least they should’ve given them a little more screen time.

That being said, The Expendables is a film that every action movie fan should see.

Bane (played by Javier Bardem) – The actor would definitely need help putting on that much muscle either by prosthetics or intense body building. The look of Bane is important, but the very dark history needs to seep through the character making him both a physical and mental threat to the dark knight.  

Deadshot (played by Thomas Jane) – He already has experience playing The Punisher and would make the transition easily. Plus with all the guns and weapons that Deadshot is known for, he needs to be played by someone who is both suave and frightening at the same time.

Firefly (Jason Statham) – I personally think that Firefly would be a thrilling villain in the next film. He is an interesting character who needs to be played by someone who knows violence and action but can also be twisted and dark. Jason plays both regularly and he would mix them in his performance well.

This next list is villains I would like to see but would never appear in a realistic movie because they are too unbelievable.

Clayface- A haunted actor whose downfall is his own vanity and now that he is down on his luck he has to resort to crime. That is an almost perfect scenario from which a really great villain could emerge, but he then becomes a giant clay monster and loses all believability.

Killer Croc- A social outcast, his mutation leads him into the sewers where he now calls home. His mutation is that he has sharp crocodile features like a large tail and forked tongue. He could be changed into a strong possibly less mutated villain, but he really looses his flair.

This is just a starting list and there are hundreds of other possibilities like Black mask, Catwoman, The Riddler, Hush or any of the others. This is just to get the fans ready to see the next film. Hopefully, whoever the next Batman villain turns out to be, the caped crusader fans know and love will be ready to defend Gotham.

Thirty years after an apocalyptic event, Eli (Washington) is on a mission to the west coast line. He travels by foot and carries around a book along with normal survival supplies. He has incredible fighting and survival skills and shows them numerous times in the movie through fight scenes and hunting.

Looking for a source of water he arrives in a town which is run by Carnegie (Oldman). Carnegie has been on a search for one specific book since the apocalypse, and when he learns Eli might have the book he’s looking for he tries to use force to take it. While in the town Eli meets Solara (Kunis) while hes at a bar refilling his water. She is also the daughter of Carnegie’s blind wife Claudia (Beals). After refusing to give Carnegie the book he gets into a gunfight with his henchmen and leaves the city. Solara follows him with the hope of accompanying him on his journey.

Along with some interesting secrets about Eli and his mission and some twists along the way “The Book of Eli” is a good movie with an interesting concept. The action is great, from massive fist fights turning into knife fights to gun fights. Moments that would be in slow motion in most movies are shown in real time which gives the fight scene an authentic feel and is a good alternative to most action movies

Another good part about “The Book of Eli” is the cast. Denzel Washington does a great job as Eli, and Gary Oldman plays a very convincing villain with some good motives but one giant bad motive. But Mila Kunis was the best addition to the cast. She does a great job in the movie and works really well with Washington. She was definitely the right role for the film, as the character seemed like it was written for her specifically. The movie is a little bit religious, with Eli being extremely religious and teaching Solara about religion, but its not overly religious.

The ending is interesting and really brings the whole movie together, as the movie is a different look at a post-apocalyptic world, and not like the usual films or video games with the same basis. There were some parts of the story that could have been explained more, along with some parts that seemed useless and shouldn’t have been included. It’s probably a little bit too religious based for some people and some might not appreciate the real time action sequences. All in all “The Book of Eli” is an enjoyable movie, even if you’re just in it for the action.

7/10

After seeing his family brutally murdered, Clyde Shelton (Gerard Butler) just wants to see the two killers locked up for life at the least. Instead, Nick Rice (Jamie Foxx) conspires with one of the killers, Clarence Darby, and Darby only gets five years in jail.

Shelton is very upset about this and spends the next ten years planning the murders of everybody involved in the case. Shelton ends up in jail after killing Darby, but he continues to commit murders despite being in jail. It is up to Rice to stop him or else Shelton will eventually kill him.

This movie was released October 16^th, and has been fairly successful. Law Abiding Citizen has grossed over $60 million since being released. Movie critic Roger Ebert gave the movie three stars out of four.

I recommend seeing Law Abiding Citizen because of how realistic it is. This thriller captures the audience throughout, and I cannot remember a dull moment or a scene that was taken too far. Foxx and Butler both played their parts beautifully, especially Foxx who is a cocky prosecutor, who sees himself as the best in the country. This is must-see if you are into violent thrillers, but it is rated R for its violence.

Overall, I give this movie a 9.5 out of 10. It’s very realistic and entertaining, but it’s not a ten because that rating is only deserved by about three movies per year.

After releasing many hit albums and dozens of number 1 singles Jackson fell into a world of controversy. Starting with dangling his son off a hotel balcony, His molestation charges which he was found innocent.

Then the news came that he was coming back to the stage, his first concert since 1997 HIStory World Tour. Tickets for events sold out minutes after they were announced. Then like a bombshell Michael was found dead in his home.

 This led everyone to wonder about the status of his death and what was to become of one of the biggest concerts of all time. The movie of his concert rehearsals was announced on August 10^th but with a clause: the movie will be shown only for two weeks. This led many fans like myself to wonder why a movie that is going to be a big money maker only be in theaters for two weeks.

Sophomore Anthony Sacco expressed how most fans are feeling:  ”I hope it gets extended because it’s going to be closure for fans worldwide.”

Closure is the key word and although Colombia Pictures have not yet said anything about a longer release they do promise that a comprehensive DVD will be released with outtakes and such.

The most notable example of this was the popular 2004 film, Shaun of the Dead. This was probably the first and best of the comedic zombie movies. But on Friday, October 2^nd, a new film emerged to set the bar for humorous zombies.

Zombieland can easily be described as the American version of Shaun of the dead. While Shaun of the Dead is all about irony and sophisticated British humor that doesn’t make you laugh hysterically, but certainly allows you to enjoy yourself, Zombieland focuses entirely on the good old gross American jokes that we’ve come to love so much. There is gore to be had at every turn and plenty of sexual innuendos.

From its description, most people would think that this film would be crass and stereotypical, but Zombieland does an amazing job. While the jokes can sometimes be less mature than others, it almost always makes you laugh and never apologizes.

Although there is really no story present in the movie, you tend not to mind very much. You’re simply too busy being caught up in the spectacle and characters. The movie follows Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) as he treks through the old USA which has been turned into Zombieland thanks to the “Mad People Disease”. Pretty soon he meets up with Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson) and they form an unlikely duo.

Everyone in the movie chooses to name themselves after the destination to which they are headed. Even after they are all well acquainted and comfortable with each other they still choose not to disclose their real names. Despite this, you still feel attached to them.

The story picks up when Columbus and Tallahassee run across the sisters Wichita and Little Rock (Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin), who are Hell-bent on surviving no matter what. Despite several double crossings, Columbus has fallen head over heels for Wichita and does everything he can to be reunited with her.

Tallahassee is a gun-toting, wise-cracking, zombie-hating killing machine whose sole purpose left is to take as many zombies with him as he can. Despite first appearances, Tallahassee has a very complicated past and is a surprisingly deep character.

In contrast to Tallahassee, Columbus is a “Michael Cera-esque” character who has survived this far due to his set of strict rules. This list is about 37 rules long and he adds each rule after a specific experience which has taught him to obey the rules. Some favorites include “Beware of Bathrooms”, “Double tap”, and the most important of all: “Enjoy the little things”.

Despite first appearances, this movie is insanely enjoyable with plenty of action and humor thrown into the mix. It focuses less on actual horror and more on those “BOO!” moments that most zombie movies tend to use. Some people think that this movie will bring the zombie genre down, but I feel the exact opposite. I feel that this has brought the term zombie far up!

One of the best moments in the movie is the cameo of Bill Murray playing himself. He does any insanely good job and is able to make you laugh just by standing there and being himself. He lives up in a giant mansion and puts makeup on to blend in with the zombies so he can go about his life as normal; he even still finds time to play golf. The first scene he is in shows that even though the world has virtually ended around him, Tallahassee still has time to breathlessly tell his hero just how much he loves him.

Although this movie is worth buying, I advise people to still see it in theaters. Just to get that popcorn experience with the big screen that people seem to love. Anyone who doesn’t mind zombies and loves a good laugh should definitely see this movie. I highly recommend it to anyone who’s looking for a fun way to spend an afternoon, or to anyone who loves a good movie. Zombieland is not for the faint of heart though, there is a good amount of strong language and the movie definitely enjoys being gory and does it quite often. But this is definitely a movie everyone should see at some point.

9 out of 10 stars.

In the movie Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, college-age inventor Flint Lockwood lives in Swallow Falls, a town that has nearly fallen off the map since their one export, sardines, fell out of popularity with the rest of the world, forcing the residents to eat nothing but sardines all of the time. This conundrum inspires Flint, along with his pet monkey, Steve, to invent a machine that turns water into food. Good food.

This movie is based on a book by the same title by Judi Barrett, but takes some very different turns as far as explanations go. All of the characters in the movie were created by screenwriters. The movie is also much more futuristic than the book, which was written in 1978, making our world of today look like the world of tomorrow in comparison.

I saw this movie in 3-D, which was a very interesting experience. Overall, it enhanced the movie experience for me. This movie is good to see if you are up for a good silly laugh, because there are lots of jokes, even if most of them are aimed at 3rd graders. However, if you don’t like small children ruining the quiet of your movie experience, this would not be the movie for you. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is G rated family fun, a fine movie if you have a little kid with you, or perhaps a little kid inside of you.

6 out of 10.