HOT TUB TIME MACHINE: THE TITLE SPEAKS FOR ITSELF

Nick: It must be some kind of hot tub time machine...

John Cusack has been reported to admit he agreed to do the movie just by the title itself. Combine that with the fact that Cusack was an up and comer during that time made this the perfect, if not just plain fun movie to do for a few extra bucks. Adam (John Cusack), Lou (Rob Corddry), and Nick (Craig Robinson) are lifelong friends who are unhappy with their lives. Along with Adam's nephew, Jacob (Clark Duke) they take a ski trip to their favorite past haunt, only to find everything in shambles. When all else fails, they get wasted and wake up to find themselves back in 1986, when everything was in fine form, including themselves. Chevy Chase plays the "I know the key to it all" handyman there to fix the hot tub, but also advises the boys to do the exact same things they did back then so as not to, well, the butterfly effect (with Ashton Kutcher). They have all the requisite 80's references and music and some nods to Cusack's earlier movies. It's fun. They know they are being silly and they are having a good time with it. The humor was a little crude and it wasn't rocket science, but fun to watch for those of us still stuck in the 80's without a hot tub.

GREENBERG: NOT MUCH TO SAY ON THIS ONE

Ivan Schrank: Youth is wasted on the young.
Roger: I'd go further. I'd go: 'Life is wasted on people.'

I really looked forward to the release of this film as I missed it in theaters. I love Ben Stiller as an actor (as opposed to a plumber, no I mean as opposed to his comedic roles, which I also enjoy). This role, however, just didn't do it for me. Roger Greenberg (Stiller) is going through a 40-something midlife crisis, but he's doing it more reflectively than should be filmed. There was little to no plot, a slow pace and aside from the writing and the acceptable performances, there was nothing. I like to either be entertained or moved or enlightened or excited (wink wink) but I got nothing from this film. It wasn't a bad film. It was just so subtle that I didn't notice it playing in my DVD player. It's okay to pass on this one.

THE VICIOUS KIND: AN ODD COMEDY AND DRAMA ALL IN ONE

Caleb Sinclaire:You know there are whores, right? All of 'em. I'm not just talking about the little skanks that hang out around your dorm, or frat, or whatever. But actually every woman you've ever known, and every woman you'll ever meet - Mom, Grandma, Aunt Ellen.
The fact that they're related to us doesn't make any difference.
Cause at the end of the day, given the right set of events, they *will* fuck you over. For the sole reason that they have a vagina, and they can.

So obviously Caleb (Adam Scott) has some issues that need addressing. In fact, for the most part of this film he is a most unlikeable, asshole; and of course, the most interesting. Little by little we find out that Caleb had a relationship that ended on a sour note and he's had trouble getting past it and moving on. He's also had trouble getting past some issues with his dad (the new popular dad about town, J.K. Simmons) but seems fond if overly protective of his brother who has brought his new girlfriend (Brittanny Snow) home from college to celebrate Thanksgiving. Caleb compels interest and as the layers peel away, we find a much different man than the movie begins with. This is quite the "quirky" film, not for everyone. However as much as I laughed and watched with my mouth wide in awe, I also felt deeply for him at the end and for the dynamics that every family seems to share; dysfunction. I really liked this movie.

WHEN YOU'RE STRANGE: TOP NOTCH DOORS DOCUMENTARY

At first it's odd to adjust to seeing Jim Morrison's face not looking like Val Kilmer. What a difference the truth makes. Johnny Depp narrates this journey of a few guys who just wanted to play some music and expand their consciousness to one of the greatest bands of all time. Please note, this is a documentary about the band, not about Jim Morrison. Moreover, it's a documentary about the music which when pushed up to maximum volume, sounds as clear and sharp and riveting as it did in the beginning. Director, Tom DiCillo presents old material injected with new footage. Watching this documentary is like viewing the band with fresh ears and eyes. It answers many questions and does so simply, no drama. Their performances and albums are synced with historical and cultural events; events that shaped our nation and their music. Jim, of course, has more screen time being the lead singer and focal train wreck and we are shown the creative, created chaos he strategically planned. The bonus features interviews with his since deceased father and his sister, who never seemed to have a voice previous to this project. Depps smooth voice competes with Morrison's throaty mix, but blends in rather than standing out. This may be a "for fans only" bit, except that I think this film could introduce a new generation to another kind of young angst. The good aren't the only ones who die young; so do the over indulged and hard lived. This is an outstanding testament to the band and its members. Fantastic work.

WHEN IN ROME: APPROPRIATELY FLUFFY

Sometimes, fluffy, light and thoughtless make an enduring movie, case in point, this film. Girl gets four guys, but wants only one, let the games begin. It's a pretty silly little film with forgettable performances and it was both shallow and sappy, but simple and just fun to watch. Angelica Houston did her part as 'The Devil Wears Prada' boss. I liked best "Pedro" (Efren Ramirez) coming in to do a cameo with former Napoleon Dynamite cast member Jon Heder. Not brain surgery, just a light rom-com.

THE TIME TRAVELLER'S WIFE: TIME'S UP!

Well, I was able to sit through the whole movie unlike my friend Suzy. Upon first look, it's a romantic idea but when further thought about it's pretty creepy. Aren't normal relationships difficult enough? He meets her when she is a child as a forty something year old man. Isn't that enough to kill the mood? If you can shake the pedophile vibe, then there's the 'one person relationship' theme. It's hard enough to compete with a job or a hobby but with time travel? What woman in her right mind would continue in that sort of a relationship? The ones I hear about were held 'captive' during this type of thing. It may have been romantically staged, and they certainly looked pretty, but it was so cheesy and dramatic and staged that it just didn't work for me. I did like the version of Love Will Tear Us Apart, but other than that it was just 107 minutes of film.

LAKE MUNGO: AN ODD "HORROR FILM" WORTH A MENTION

Following in the steps of Blair Witch and Paranormal, this pretend documentary takes place in Australia, following the Palmer family. We watch interviews with family, friends and other interested parties after daughter Alice is found dead in Lake Mungo. Yes, this is a ghost story of sorts. Little bits of information is revealed slowly that take us down the wrong path then back to "reality" and then into surreality. Obviously I can't go into the details, but this film makes a strong story about a family and their struggle with their loss. It is also a good thriller, with no blood or guts, just one bad face shot; nothing worse than what they show on Law and Order. It makes a mild attempt to throw us off the track in the end, but still remains solid as the story of a family in grief. Not too scary, but well done indeed.

A SINGLE MAN: STYLISHLY BORING

The seconds literally crept by through each frame of this Tom Ford film. It stylishly introduces us to George Falconer (Colin Firth) who is a professor whose partner was recently killed leaving a hug void in his life. Funny enough, set during a time when partner was used more in the business sense between two men, it's not a "gay" film. It just so happens that Falconer is gay and the person he loved was a man. The point is that he loved, so deeply that he doesn't want to go on, so he sets about living his last day on earth before he joins his lover in the hereafter; cue the things in life that one can't prepare for, such as other's actions and moments of clarity. Firth exudes the performance of a lifetime. Unfortunately, the script is so centered on the smallness of his actions it leads to a very subtle change and a more subtle film. A film, in fact, so subtle, that I was indeed bored. Julianne Moore did nothing but devote a few minutes as a lonely fag hag, beautiful as she was. A good looking period piece, just not un-subtle enough to keep watching for the small stuff; as in this film, you should sweat the small stuff.

CHLOE: NOT QUITE THE GIRL NEXT DOOR

...and not quite your average thriller either. Chloe is an "erotic thriller" (which sounds like something you'd only find in the 18 an up section of the video store) centered around a paranoid wife, Catherine, (Julianne Moore) who thinks her husband is having an affair. So, she does what any other suspicious wife would do and hires a prostitute, Amanda Seyfried as Chole, to temp her husband into infidelity. Now here's the hook; Chloe isn't the most stable woman in the world. She has issues. So of course everything spins out of control and Catherine is left holding the bag. This film is based on a french film, Nathalie, and is the first film that Atom Egoyan didn't pen. While the film has it's sensual drapery that is Egoyan's, it it obviously not his work. At it's base, the film tries to emphasize the need to connect with each other and the fine line between what is real and what is imagined. While it began as an interesting concept, I felt like the film just slightly missed the mark. The performances were solid, most notably Liam Neeson whose wife died during filming. It wasn't a terrible movie, just hard to swallow (so to speak) regarding the actions the characters took. My favorite films push the envelope of believability however this one pushed too far.

THE ROAD: NOT A PRETTY STROLL

Written by the man who brought us No Country For Old Men, this movie is not for the weak. It is one of the best end of days movies I have seen, about a father (Viggo Mortensen) and his son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) not named, just credited as man and boy. They are survivors making their way south in hopes of finding others who have survived. They do find people. Unfortunately with the food supply greatly diminished a lot of the people they find view them as dinner, not survivors. It is a pretty dark film. However, there is light. The light comes from the bond between father and son; the love a father has for his son and the lengths he will go to keep him alive and safe. The special effects are powerful. Charlize Theron is the mother who after living in survival mode for too long, looses it and throws in the towel. Robert Duvall, almost unrecognisable, has a small part and Guy Pearce has an even smaller one, but both are top notch. The boy is amazing. How a child can pretend these things are happening and give such a powerful performance is a mystery. There is a scene where the man is washing the boys head in a creek and it's cold. In reality, the boy began crying from the pain yet still had the presence of mind to use it as an actor. Amazing. Although dark, it was a very well done film and one worth watching.

THE BOUNTY HUNTER: NOT WORTH A CLEVER TITLE

I have seen many bad movies, but s a rule I stick it out to the end just to be fair. This was not the case with this "film". Within the first 15 minutes, Gerard Butler was acting like such a doofus and Jennifer Aniston's whining and complaining was so overwhelmingly attacking my senses that it had to be turned off. It fit neither the black comedy that was coming off as just plain mean nor did it fit the lighthearted romantic comedy due to the lack of spark between the two and the lack of comedy. Do NOT waste the WHOLE DOLLAR you can rent this for with Redbox; and trust me, it would be a waste.

DEFENDOR: MY FAVORITE SUPER HERO

Constable Mike: Captain, this guy is pretty funny.

He says he wants to call a truce.
Captain Fairbanks: A vigilante?
Constable Mike: No. No, he's a superhero. He calls him Defendor. And that's with an O-R, Captain. It's not an E-R. Defendor.

And he flips out if you get that wrong. It's very bizarre.

What a most unpredictable and thoroughly enjoyable movie this turned out to be! Woody Harrelson is one of the most underestimated actors of our time. At the base, this is a story about people and how they can have redeeming qualities regardless of how they might seem at first glance. It is almost an homage to super hero movies, full of all their cliches, but then it takes a turn to the dramatic and by the end, turns out to be a sincere and touching movie. We meet DefenDOR wearing all black with a black makeup eye mask and a helmet complete with duct taped on flashlights (for better night vision). A crude "D" marks his chest, also made from duct tape. He has his secret weapons; marbles, hornets in a jar, sling shot and lime juice and surprisingly, they work pretty well. While in the streets defending people from evil he "rescues" a crack whore hooker with a heart of gold (Kat Dennings) and battles a rogue undercover policeman (my favorite Elias Koteas). It's fun to watch how mild mannered Arthur Poppington (Harrelson) turns into Defendor, complete with his Batman voice and clever superhero one liners. "Look out, termites. It's squishing time." In time we see that he is a bit mentally challenged while he tells of his adventures to Sandra Oh, a court appointed psychiatrist. The layers get peeled back and we discover the events that led to this point and it gets a bit more dramatic than funny, however it is never mired down in the seriousness. Harrelson is one of the best actors of this generation and for such an odd and off-beat film, he classes it up all the way. It could have been a terrible film, but with his very touching performance, it makes for one that should not be missed. Be sure to watch the outtakes and featurettes.

ALICE IN WONDERLAND... WHAT A WONDER INDEED

Alice Kingsley: This is impossible.

The Mad Hatter: Only if you believe it is.

This is not your father's Alice in Wonderland.  Tim Burton haters do not need to read any further. I can't understand why critics slammed this film so hard knowing what a twist Burton provides to everything he does. I loved this film. It was like watching a totally new story, only slightly resembling the previous movies that have been made. Burton brought on his A game, creating a bizarro world full of good and evil, so visually amazing and enjoyable. Alice (Mia Wasikowska) is a young woman now, not a girl, and she is rebelling against the norm of the day, getting married to a man she hardly knows and doesn't love. Of course she falls through the rabbit hole and is taken to a far different world, strange yet compelling. Like in a dream, elements of Alice's real life are brought in to Wonderland, only under much more bizarre participants. In this world, she is made to fight her demons. Literally. Of course the biggest stir was Johnny Depp playing the Mad Hatter. I hated the way he looked, but loved him in character, especially his lapse into a deep Scottish brogue.  Wasikowska was adorable and was able to show Alice's transformation. She did a great job with a most gratifying battle scene toward the end. The CGI effects in this are incredible. Almost everything was shot on a green screen and to think that actors have to pretend in the first place, nonetheless pretend with nothing around to put them in character, I'd say they did a spectacular job. This is not a movie for everyone. In a world where the Bounty Hunter is a number one rental, I question the majority's taste. I may be the only one, but I though this film was lovely and enchanting. Be sure to watch the bonus features to see how they created Wonderland and the odd looking assorted inhabitants. Thanks Tim!

CRAZY HEART: CRAZY FOR JEFF BRIDGES

There's a reason Jeff Bridges won Oscar's best actor in this film. A true, yet washed up musician, banished to playing bowling alleys, Bad Blake (Bridges) is rolling along with wherever the wind, or a paying gig, takes him with the best of his career seemingly behind him. A lifetime tailor made for writing country music, he has resigned himself to life with the bottle and who ever is willing to follow him to bed at night. Then he meets Jean (a luminous Maggie Gyllenhaal) a reporter for the local paper who can't conceal a crush, but can smell out a doomed relationship miles away. After dancing around a bit, they hook up together, an unlikely pair and Bad earnestly tries to make something work out where it hasn't before. His smooth talking and southern drawl charms his way into her heart, but his hard drinking gets in the way and causes many serious problems. Bridges is so good at being Bad that you can smell him; the cheap cigarettes and booze and sweat. He's very much human and greatly flawed. There is no CGI that can help the scene of him running to throw up while wearing his baggy white briefs. His belly is a gut and it just isn't pretty. He knows defeat and even when close to giving up still comes up for air. His scenes with Jean's son are lovely and sad all at the same time. I'm not a big country fan, but the music in the score by T-Bone Burnett and the duets sung with Colin Farrell are touching. Both Bridges and Farrell sung on their own. There's a pull of old country versus new country and I think Farrell did a good job portraying his new country character. It's hard to believe this was filmed in only 24 days. I really liked this movie what with such a stellar cast and exceptional lead. Bridges certainly earned the Oscar on this one.

THE BURNING PLAIN: NOT AS HOT AS IT SEEMS

A beautifully shot film, this follows the stories of a mother finding love in another's arms, Gina (Kim Basinger) and a young woman Sylvia (Charlize Theron) who tends to find love in who ever's arms are nearest. Gina has a home in New Mexico with her often away husband and children. Sylvia lives in Oregon, a seemingly successful business woman. The story weaves back and forth between the two women as well as Gina's daughter and impending love interest. Admittedly, it is hard to watch and wait to see how the two, or if the two lives intertwine. They do. When they do, it's shocking. The dialogue was pretty nonexistent, but the complex way the story was spun was amazing. Basinger shows again how good she is at playing fragile, vulnerable women just as Theron shows how good she is at portraying intense and complex women. The DVD extras explains a bit about the elements of the movie in relation to the elements (water, fire, earth, wind) and adds valuable insight. It wasn't an extraordinary film, but one well done and worth seeing.