LIMITLESS: BREAKS THE BOUNDARIES

"I was blind, but now I see."

What if there was a pill that when you took it, your eyes became more intensely blue? Okay, that may not be the case that that is what it certainly felt like when watching this movie. Perhaps I was the only one to notice that change... When we first meet Eddie (Bradley Cooper) he is, for lack of a better word, a big loser. Being in the right place at the right time he is introduced to a pill, NZT, that allows him to use the full potential of his whole brain. It doesn't sound like much of a high but instead more of a mania. Either way, this pill allows him to be all that he can be without joining the Army. Soon, he is on top of the world, both careerwise and in general lifewise. This is what living life to the fullest is. Of course living this intense life does not come without consequence. Of course, to up the ante, there are only so many pills. Soon Eddie also finds out that he is not the only one to have discovered this new drug. And then things get literally cutthroat. (watch for the ice skating scene) I've loved the concept for this film, the idea of using the whole brain and what that might look like. It was a very slick looking movie and the story was intriguing. The supporting actors were not outstanding. The dialogue was not very memorable. But the idea that propelled the movie made up for it to weaker moments in this film. Cooper did an excellent job, especially with his big blue eyes.   

THE DILEMMA: NO CHOICE HERE, PASS

It's the Vince Vaughn show! This may be my new worst movie of the year. If you recall, this film got a lot of bad press due to its misuse of the word "gay".Well, I've got news for you. That wasn't the worst of it. This was the first movie that I saw where the gag reel isn't even funny. The characters in this were mean and did cruel things to each other. Note to Mr. Vaughn: you are no longer a young man and can no longer play stupid young man roles. Please stop. This movie was tedious, painful, and boring. I didn't like anybody. To make matters worse it was one of the longer films that I have seen. I'm sorry Ron Howard, but this one didn't cut it for me. What a total embarrassment of a film.   

RED RIDING HOOD:  NOT A FAIRY TALE

Once upon a time, dark little village in the middle of the woods, there lived a young girl named Valerie (Amanda Seyfried)whose family, as well as the whole entire village was threatened by an elusive werewolf. Now, throw in lust, forbidden love, family secrets, and Gary Oldman and then you will have this film. It is a visual spectacle, very focused on cinematography. And then the focus shifts, and shifts again and then shifts again and pretty soon we are alone in the woods with a werewolf. This film was lovely to look at but almost totally void of emotion. You cannot force sensuality. In the end, the story is brought together much like the "ah ha" moment of a Law and Order episode where we see the connection between all of the characters and the purpose for the crime. However, this summary was less than thrilling. There is nothing to miss here.  

HALL PASS: FROM THE FARRELLY BROTHERS... WATCH OUT

This movie, brought to you by the Farrelly Brothers,joins their latest body of work which begs the question, is it funny or is it just plain gross? We need a group of married guys who take their wives for granted. Knowing that these men are pretty much all talk, the wives agree to give them a hall pass.This past gives them one week off of being married, so they can do what ever they want and not worry about the consequences. And as the movie goes, yes, they pretty much are all talk, however the twists comes when the wives find themselves starting to stray. I liked how they used the Law and Order sound bite when counting off the days. It is however, typical Farrelly Brother's gross out scenes including, full frontal shots and the most graphic sneeze I have ever seen. All I can say is, these guys are in a class all by themselves. Should you see this movie, consider yourself warned.  

CEDAR RAPIDS: A BIG BAD WORLD AND A GOOD MOVIE

Tim Lippe (Ed Helms) is a little fish in a little pond. He is an insurance salesman in a small town which he will probably never leave. Finally, he gets his big break and is asked to leave on a very important company trip to an insurance convention in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Once there, he rapidly finds new friends: John C. Reilly, as the bad influence and party boy, Anne Heche as the seductive,live for the moment and let your hair down kind of woman and straitlaced, rule following, Isiah Whitlock, Jr. The four of them bond quickly and form a believable alliance. Helms is naïve and wide-eyed and totally believable in a part that could've been played over the top. In fact, the cast struck a comfortable tone that complemented one another. Of course with such bad influences, Lippe gets himself in to trouble and then out of trouble again with the help of these friends.  This was a sweet film with many entertaining and funny moments. My favorite, is when Whitlock launches into his favorite character from Oz the HBO television series about prison life. A very sweet movie.

CHATROOM: COME ON IN... IF YOU DARE

I wasn't sure quite what to expect from this film, but I did know that I adore the main character, actor Aaron Johnson, from two of my past well-liked movies, Kick Ass and Nowhere Boy. He plays William, an introvert who is disarmingly charismatic and charming. However, we find that he is more disturbed than one can imagine. In a highly clever and original style, this movie brings the concept of Internet chat rooms into a very visual medium. In this "place" (which is of course the Internet) we find many doors with intriguing titles on them and watch as William takes one for himself. This is his chat room. Slowly, other people join in, namely Eva, Jim and Emily. Our view switches back and forth from names in a chat room to where and who they actually are on the other side of the computer in real life. The dialogue is beautifully written so that it sounds like what someone would type in when chatting but yet acted out in a way that sounds like normal conversation. Johnson is the only actor I recognized, however all other actors in this film are excellent and did outstanding work. We learn about all of the people in the chat room and what their real lives are like. As we get to know them, we also get to see how twisted William really is. He acts as a sort of puppet master and gets his new friends to do things they probably wouldn't have done before. William sinks farther down into both depression and depravity as the film grows darker and darker. It is a suspense filled psychological drama and I found it 10 times more scary than Paranormal Activity. I could go on a bit about how good William is in this role, but I won't. I just want you to know that I could. It is a sad film and a tad depressing, but more than anything I found it intriguing, interesting and entertaining. What more could you ask from a film? Loved it!