127 HOURS: 94 GRIPPING MINUTES

You know, I've been thinking. Everything is... just comes together. It's me. I chose this. I chose all this. This rock... this rock has been waiting for me my entire life. It's entire life, ever since it was a bit of meteorite a million, billion years ago. In space. It's been waiting, to come here. Right, right here. I've been moving towards it my entire life. The minute I was born, every breath that I've taken, every action has been leading me to this crack on the out surface.

It's hard to believe that a movie that has been credited with making people faint and sending them to the hospital after viewing a particularly gruesome scene, could be called life affirming and uplifting. This movie is closely, and I mean very closely, based on the story of Aron Ralston (brilliantly portrayed by James Franco) who despite being an excellent guide and hiker gets himself stuck in a canyon pinning his arm with a large boulder rendering him unable to move. Over the next five days Ralston videotapes himself chronicling his experience, the very material that was shown to Director Danny Boyle upon which the movie was true to. There aren't many films where an actor can keep you engaged while being stuck in one place, but this is certainly one that does. It is heart wrenching to listen to the messages he thought might be his final words to his parents. It is tragically funny to watch him make light of his situation and his stupidity of venturing out alone without telling anyone. And it is extremely difficult to watch him suffering both in physical pain and emotional pain as he reaches the crucial point where he has to decide to what lengths he will go to to live. Franco is able to show Ralston's zest for life and the despair he feels about losing his. Yes, the amputation scene is quite grueling and one of the most difficult things I have viewed on film. You would think with movies like the Saw series we would have become used to blood and guts, but when you know that something really happened you can almost feel the pain yourself and to imagine having to go through that is terrifying. If Colin Firth were not such a shoe in for best actor this year I think that James Franco would have scored it. This was an absolutely awesome film that I think everyone should see.

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 2: A SILLY MOCKUMENTARY

Although I really didn't want to put that much thought into this, I guess this is a prequel to Paranormal Activity. So much time has passed since I saw the first one, I didn't even recognize the couple from the original. So basically this young couple has a baby and after a year or so their house is broken into so they install security cameras. We are lucky enough to get to watch the cameras as they focus on one room until something moves, or wiggles or the dog barks at nothing or the baby looks at nothing and so on. Then of course we have the bickering back and forth what these things mean or if they mean anything. They are are are many allusions made to a haunted past and stuff "we don't talk about". It's pretty predictable, and like in the first one all of the action pretty much happens in the last 15 minutes. Note to self, never see a movie with a dog in it. The thing that I don't like about these movies is that there is no explanation as to why this is happening. There is no conclusion, nothing that makes sense, not even blaming it on the devil. Once more, there is a Paranormal Activity 3 planned, which is not surprising after watching the ending to this one.

NOWHERE BOY: KICKS ASS

John: Why couldn't God make me Elvis?
Julia: 'Cause he was saving you for John Lennon!

There are not many times when I would describe a movie chronicling John Lennon's formative years the birth of what would be the Beatles as "kick ass" except for the fact that the actor who plays John Lennon was indeed Kick Ass himself. Although, as John Lennon, he did kick ass. Aaron Johnson portrays an adolescent John Lennon growing up with his Aunt (Kristin Scott Thomas) in Liverpool. He finds out that his mother who is a bit unstable lives very nearby and he tries to mend the relationship with her. There are many traumatic events in Lennon's early life and at times he is shown to be a bit of an ass. I don't think anyone could have done this film and gotten away with out some criticism. I think that the director was right in casting not for the looks but for the actor's ability to portray their character. Kristin Scott Thomas does an amazing job as aunt Mimi, having to be both stern and loving at the same time. Anne Marie Duffe plays Lennon's biological mother , Julia, who is a free spirit and a little mentally unstable. Beatle enthusiasts most likely will pick this film apart, however I too am Beatle friendly, and I thought they did a very respectful job with this film.

THE TOWN: BOSTON IS THE PLACE TO BE

Driver's name is Arthur Shea. Former Metro Police officer, fifty-seven years old. Soon as his partner leaves with the coal bag, Artie cracks a Herald, and he don't look up 'til the guy gets back. Marty Maguire. Cummins Armored courier. Five-ten, two-twenty, fifty-two years old. Picks up every Wednesday and Friday at exactly 8:12, makes a hundred and ten dollars a day, carries a Sig nine. And he's about to get robbed.

Ben Affleck has single-handedly put Boston on the film making map. Although I didn't find this film to be terribly original, it was done very well and had me up until the last cheesy moment. Basically, it's about a couple of local boys who do a very good job of robbing armored cars and or banks. They are precise and know what they're doing. However, like in similar films somebody always gets too cocky and somebody else gets too involved and they end up making mistakes that cost them. Affleck did an excellent job directing and a decent job acting, but Jeremy Renner seems to be getting all the credit for his participation. Blake Lively pleasantly surprised me as the well-worn townie girl. The supporting cast was particularly strong as well. There is a lot of action, violence, and tension until the very end of the film when it did get a little bit cheesy with the romance aspect. All in all, it was an entertaining film and I enjoyed it.

CONVICTION: AMAZING VERDICT

I love my brother so very much, but even with some college already under my belt, I am not so sure that if he were convicted of murdering someone that I would go to law school, become a lawyer and fight for his innocence. However, that's just what our lead character does in this film. Betty Ann Waters (played by Hilary Swank) finds herself on a roller coaster of victories and defeats as she does her best to free her imprisoned brother Kenny (played by a fabulous Sam Rockwell). Both actors give very strong performances and the rest of the cast is outstanding. Juliette Lewis is mesmerizing. There are no small parts just small actors. While the story inspiring, feels more like a Lifetime movie of the week than it does a feature film. It was well done, just didn't grab me.

EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP: ENTER WITH THIS MOVIE

Banksy: Uhmmm... You know... it was at that point that I realized that maybe Thierry wasn't actually a film maker, and he was maybe just someone with mental problems who happened to have a camera.

For those of you who are not familiar, Banksy is an artist who began showing his work on the streets of London through graffiti. Not only is he a clearly defined artist, but he has a sense of humor and an understanding of politics and society that makes his work very relevant. Not only has he been able to place his work in galleries (even when they were not asked for as he would sneak in and paste his pieces to the walls himself) eventually he has had many of his own very successful gallery showings. So, it was no surprise when amateur camera man, Thierry Guetta, got involved in capturing the underground world of graffiti art in Los Angeles, Banksy eventually let this man film him doing his thing while in LA. Thierry went to England to further document Banksy's work. After a while however, Banksy became suspicious when all of this filming was taking place and no documentary was put together. Eventually, Banksy knew that this man was incapable of making a documentary himself so he took over the work. Meanwhile, Thierry was becoming more distracted by actually starting to make art himself and found himself dazzled by the spotlight placed upon him. This documentary turns out than to be about Thierry, not Banksy, made by Banksy about Thierry. Confused yet??? Now the documentary becomes the documented. It is a true blessing for this to be among the many really good documentaries as of late. It takes a very in-depth and interesting look at urban art while it also follows this odd Frenchman in his quest for who knows what. A must-see movie.

YOU AGAIN: FLUFFY, SILLY, CHICK FLICK

You know, there really are not that many substantial comedies in circulation right now. Don't get me wrong, I am not calling this movie substantial, but when looking for light hearted flick, this one did fine. All of those who were nerds in high school had one or two popular girls who we didn't get along with and so is the case in this film. Marni (Kristen Bell) is a young successful executive who has come home for her brother's wedding. She discovers, that he is marrying the one mean girl from high school, Joanna, who tormented her the most. What's a girl to do? Additionally, we find out that her mother (Jamie Lee Curtis) attended high school with Joanna's aunt (Sigourney Weaver) and they too had a tumultuous relationship. There is a lot of slapstick and falling down and spilling things and breaking things and of course Betty White rules the world, but in the end of course it turns out to be a feel-good movie and they all lived happily ever after. Not my number one choice, but a lighthearted silly little romp that is entertaining enough.

CATFISH: THRILLER AND A DOCUMENTARY NOT ABOUT FISH
Vince Pierce: They used to tank cod from Alaska all the way to China. They'd keep them in vats in the ship. By the time the codfish reached China, the flesh was mush and tasteless. So this guy came up with the idea that if you put these cods in these big vats, put some catfish in with them and the catfish will keep the cod agile. And there are those people who are catfish in life. And they keep you on your toes. They keep you guessing, they keep you thinking, they keep you fresh. And I thank god for the catfish because we would be droll, boring and dull if we didn't have somebody nipping at our fin.

Who knew a documentary film could be more thrilling than most of the "scary" horror films out on DVD right now. I can't say too much about this film without giving away the part that makes it so unbelievably awesome. This is a documentary that follows a young man (Nev) who practically falls into a rabbit hole of unbelievable circumstance that will literally blow your mind. During the last half an hour or so of this film I could barely remember to breathe and my eyes were glued to the screen. As the events unfolded, and this film became more and more shocking, it then turned a sharp corner and made it a touching testament to grace and forgiveness. This film is a real commentary on the human condition. I could not have enjoyed this film more. There were several times that I had to stop and check that it was indeed real, a documentary, and not a piece of fiction. Make sure to put this on your must-see list.

Note: Just like I'm Still Here was thought to be fake and in the end was, this movie has caught a lot of flak for not being authentic. The filmmakers have admitted to re-enacting some of the scenes, I would believe they took a lot of "creative" license with the whole film... if something is that unbelievable, maybe it is. Either way, I still loved this film and the idea alone is worth the good review.

CASE 39: READY TO BE FILED AND ARCHIVED

What a silly a little film that was. Poor overworked and underpaid social worker Emily Jenkins (Renée Zellweger) is assigned yet another heart-wrenching case featuring a waif like girl who is in need of help from her abusive parents. So surprisingly, Emily and the girl, Lilith (Jodell Ferland) bond almost instantaneously. She ends up rescuing the girl who convinces her to take her home instead of placing her in the system. However, soon the happy family are not so happy. This movie was terribly predictable, and it made me wonder what kind of financial problems Renée Zellweger was having to take on such a roll. Bradley Cooper also must have needed some extra spending money for the whole 20 minutes he was in the film. Not on my must see list, even on DVD.

DESPICABLE ME: ADORABLE MOVIE

Agnes: Will you read us a bedtime story?
Gru: No.
Agnes: Pretty please?
Gru: The physical appearance of the please makes no difference.

There is nothing more satisfying than a story line where the evil villain bad guy gets his heart melted by cherubic orphans nonetheless. It isn't a terribly original plot but it does contain a lot of action and heart which makes this a very fun movie. Gru (the voice of Steve Carell) is an evil super villain who finds himself competing against a young cocky new kid on the block bad boy (emphasis on boy) named Vector (voiced by Jason Seigel). In order to accomplish his latest caper of stealing the moon, Gru adopts three orphan girls who could not be any cuter to aid him in his plan. These girls take whatever heart that Gru has left and melts it until he is literally putty in their hands. The voices behind the characters include an all-star cast. The animation, particularly the minions is super well done. All in all, this was a very enjoyable film. Before I saw this film, I had the occasion to read aloud a book to a kindergarten class. As I like to use different voices when I read aloud, I used my Russian accent and soon the children were laughing so hard that it made me laugh too. Then I saw this film and concluded that my accent sounded much like Gru's. Either way, the movie and my accent were both a hit.