THE LAST AIRBENDER: WHOOOOSH

No. Not for kids, not for adults, not for public comsumption. Drop me a line when you return M. Night Shamalamadingdong.

PS: I want my Redbox fee back.

DINNER FOR SCHMUCKS: THE MAIN COURSE IS SERVED


Barry: Vincent Van Gogh. Everyone said to him, "You can't be a great painter, you only have one ear." And you know what he said? "I can't hear you."

Contrary to popular opinion this is not the worst movie in the world, however it is not exactly the best movie in the world either. It's at times like these that I remind myself that not all movies have to be Oscar contenders and that it's okay to watch something that is silly unbelievable and maybe even borderline stupid. Sometimes, big surprise, I am entertained by stupid stuff. Basically, it's a movie, a "bromance" between two very unlikely men. Tim (Paul Rudd) is the ambitious, yet low man on the totem pole, generic executive worker whose coworkers decide to throw a dinner party. The objective is to bring the most "interesting" dinner guest. After literally running into Uber geek Barry (Steve Carell) and since of course he is an actual nice person at heart, he tries to help him at first, then turns to invite him to this dinner. This is not The Social Network, Inception, or True Grit. It does not even come close. However, there were some pretty funny moments, a lot of those coming from Thermon (Zack Galifianakis). Unfortunately Carell is nowhere near as funny as he is or rather has been with The Office. Despite my objections, I still thought this was a harmless bit of entertainment to partake in. But don't take my word for it, see it for your self and then let me know what you think.

INCEPTION: THE SUMMER BLOCKBUSTER THAT COULD

Is all that we see or seem, but a dream within a dream? -Poe

I'm not sure if it is a relief or a shame that this movie is part of the movies that I am skimming over just to get caught up. By far this was one of the most creative, innovative mesmerizing films of the year. At its core, it's a caper film on acid. A set of unspecified agents are charged with taking their skills taking ideas people's minds to planting them. And mind you, this is just the short explanation. There are so many themes, so many alternative meanings, so many explanations it would take a whole blog on its own just to further explore these questions. Technically it was a masterpiece and one of those films that I could just watch over and over and over, and still probably not be able to tell you what it was about. Christopher Nolan has made a true masterpiece and if any movie deserves to be seen is this one.

BABIES: DOCUMENTARY AND NO SUBTITLES NECESSARY

This documentary follows the lives of four babies from their births until their first steps in different parts of the world; Mongolia, Tokyo, Namibia, and San Francisco. I have a friend who hates the use of this word in everyday speech, but I found this movie to be totally awesome. There is no voice over, and no explanation is necessary. The camera is like a fly on the wall recording each baby's development. It is amazing to see personality come through and in essence each cute and cuddly newborn turn into an actual person. I know this happens every day and I know that many people have already seen this occurrence, but to see it happen in comparison to other babies being raised very differently having different ways of living makes it somehow more poignant. Yes, there are the parts of the movie where everyone will say oooh and aaah, how cute, but this movie is more than that. The bonus features in this DVD include a visit to the children three years later. I absolutely loved this movie.

THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT: AND SO IS THIS MOVIE

In fact, this movie is more than all right. It is one of the best films of the year involving some of the best performances as well.

Laser: I don't think you guys should break up.
Nic: No? Why's that?
Laser: I think you're too old.
Nic: [wryly] Thanks, Laser.

If you can the fact that someone named their child Laser, overall this is a movie about a loving family with some unusual caveats. Nic and Jules are a loving couple portrayed by Juliana Moore and Annette Benning. Yes, Nic is a woman. However, that's not what is unusual about this story. Nic and Jules are the proud parents of two lovely children Joni and Laser, conceived by artificial insemination. Now as Joni (played by the lovely Mia Wasikowska from Alice in Wonderland) prepares to head off to college, her slightly younger brother asks for her help in finding their father, a sperm donor. Both Nic and Jules used the same sperm donor, so it doesn't make it that difficult when the children search for their father. Enter Mark Ruffalo as Paul, the very testosterone filled male. A chef and owner of a local restaurant Paul is at first taken aback by the situation but soon grows to realize the benefits of having a family. Of course, this is not his family, a fact that will hit home a little hard leader in the movie. Ruffalo does an absolutely fantastic job of a man who has been hit upside the head with a big dose of reality and does his best to make lemonade out of oranges. What makes this movie absolutely wonderful is the stellar performances by both Moore and Benning. I predict that come awards season, these two will be neck and neck competing with each other after a performance where they complemented each other so well. Both characters have their issues. Nic the heavy handed one, the strict mom, who despite her tendency to drink too much needs to have everything in control. While Jules is a free spirit who has been bouncing from job to job trying to find and/or express herself. Of course, Jules is the mom who gave birth to Laser. If you haven't noticed, that was the thing that I have the most difficulty with in this film, someone naming their son Laser. I guarantee that this film will be nominated for best picture this year. It's a movie about family, the difficulties of marriage and relationships, the difficulties of raising children; I guess it's just another really good film about the struggle to get through this thing called life.

PLEASE GIVE: AND PLEASE WATCH

Kate: I'm not spending $ 200 on a pair of jeans for my teenage daughter when there are '45' homeless people living...
Abby: What does that have to do with anything? They don't want jeans!

Catherine Keener is one of the most under rated actresses of our time. She is lovely and amazing (ha ha) smart and tender, funny and authentic. In this film, she plays a New Yorker whose sense of guilt guides her misguided efforts to be a genuinely good person. For the lack of a more delicate explanation her family is waiting for their neighbor, a hilarious Ann Guilbert, a 90-year-old woman whose death will allow them to expand their apartment. While they are waiting, they make friends with the woman's daughters, Amanda Peet and Rebecca Hall. Intertwined in the storyline about life and death and real estate, there is the stories of the relationships between mother and daughter, husband-and-wife, sister and sister. It is a very honest film where there aren't no bad guys, just people who are trying to make things right and rationalize their actions. Basically, it's about people trying to get along with each other however misguided their attempts may be. It is a subtle and poignant film, not to be missed.

GET HIM TO THE GREEK: ANOTHER BROMANCE FOR THE TIMES

Aldous Snow: What you did was very spiteful, but it was also very brave and very honest and I respect you For Doing that. But the content of what you said has made me hate you. So there's a layer of respect, admittedly, for your truthfulness, but it's peppered with hate. Hateful respect.

So Aldous Snow (Russell Brand) is a previously existing character from the movie Forgetting Sarah Marshall. He is a drug fueled, sex crazed rock star and in this movie, it is up to Aaron Green (Jonas Hill) to get him from London to the Greek theater in LA. Of course Snow is on his worst behavior and pulls Green into all sorts of misdeeds and extreme situations which make it nearly impossible for Green to do his job. I thought this film had potential, and I love Russell Brand, but his performance in it simply fell a bit flat for me. I was expecting him to be on his top game, and maybe it was his way of trying not to overact, but that's one of the things that I was looking forward to. The biggest surprise in all of this was Sean Combs/P. Diddy/Puff Daddy or what have you, who plays Green's boss, Sergio. Who knew he could act, nonetheless be funny. His performance was reminiscent Tom Cruise's work in Tropic Thunder. Make time to watch the Line O Rama in the bonus features, especially Sarah Marshall's acting in Blind Medicine.

MY SON, MY SON, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE: (AWKWARD SILENCE)

Inspired by a true story this film directed by Werner Hertzog and produced by David Lynch was too bizarre of the movie to pass up. In true David Lynch fashion, it was indeed way bizarre. The story follows the events that led a young troubled man who stabs his mother locks himself in the house causing a huge scene and time for the flashbacks takes to explain how we got to this point. I really wish I had dropped some acid before watching this film, however that may have done some serious brain damage. It is a movie filled with dramatic pauses, unexplained actions, and of course, there's the dwarf. Grace Zabriskie is absolutely stunning, and always fun to watch. Chloe Sevigny is the man's fiancée who brings a tiny bit of sanity to the bunch. Michael Shannon is the man, and as compelling as he is to watch it is also almost revolting. There is not much likable about his character, but it definitely is entertaining. Hertzog mentioned something in his interviews about wanting to return to a low-budget film using great actors and portraying as reality. He does accomplish both these things, but the end result is such a bizarre film, had I not had the patience would have been difficult to see this one to the end. This film is not for everybody.

LEAVES OF GRASS: LEAVE THIS GRASS

I hate to harsh anyone's mellow, but I just did not enjoy Leaves Of Grass as much as I thought I would. I guess the reason I thought I would enjoy it was because I'm a huge fan of Edward Norton and in this movie he plays twin brothers, one, who although bright is pretty much a backwards pothead living in a small redneck town dealing with rival thugs. The other, is an established professor who is tricked into returning to his small-town roots upon hearing about the death of his brother. Surprisingly, Susan Sarandon makes an appearance as the boy's mother. While she is usually a highlight in any film, her talent goes pretty well wasted here. The rest of the movie turns into a redneck caper movie making some really huge leaps of imagination and plot, forcing a romantic interest with frankly a disappointing ending. The twin work was nowhere near as good as what they did in The Social Network, and in some places was just pretty darn silly. These are the times, that I am really happy that Redbox offers dollar movies. I still adore Edward Norton, but this is nowhere near his best work, in fact it may be his worst.

DON'T YOU FORGET ABOUT ME: BUT YOU CAN FORGET ABOUT THIS FILM

I don't think of kids as a lower form of the human species. -John Hughes

After making such a splash with a string of memorable and deeply touching movies that seem to effortlessly unearth the teenage soul and make it visible to the adult eye, John Hughes disappeared off the map. His last work was writing Drillbit Taylor under the pen name Edmond Dantes, a homage to the lead character in the Count of Monte Christo. However, there was a group of people, a very large group of people, who wanted to see John Hughes work again and perform the magic he was known for. This documentary, is about a group of such people. In 2006 a small crew from Canada decided to travel by van to Chicago in order to make some sort of plea to Hughes. I don't think they even knew exactly what they were going to do once they reached his hometown, but along the way they were able to visit some of his trademark spots local hangouts. To me, this only showed a lack of planning and a real naïveté of young film students in awe of the great man's work. What I did enjoy about this documentary were the comments made by Hughes' peers and actors from his more notable works. However well-intentioned fist movie was, it certainly fell flat of my expectations. Since Hughes' death in 2009, there have been many tributes and heartfelt accolades given publicly about the effect that his work had in cinema. While this documentary may have been well intentioned it didn't necessarily offer anything new or different to what I've seen. I suppose that I am glad to have seen this film however it didn't offer any stellar insight or make me appreciate John Hughes anymore than I already do.

THE KILLER INSIDE ME: Who knows what evil lurks inside the hearts of men?"

A small town with a big problem. Hidden under it's apple pie, please and thank you exterior is a dirty, horrid little secret. Mild mannered Loud Ford (an awesome Casey Affleck) is a seemingly upstanding officer of the law doing what he does until an off beat encounter with a local prostitute, Joyce (an amazing Jessica Alba) slaps his head and seems to jiggle loose prior years of abuse and deviancy. We watch slack jawed while this upstanding man turns into a sexual deviant and criminal out for revenge and the hole gets dug deeper and deeper every minute. Be warned that the violent scenes are not just violent, but gruesome and disturbing. His "best gal" Amy (an extraordinary Kate Hudson) stays by his side despite any misgivings and is paid in full for her loyalty. There were no bad actors in this one. Every one gave a solid performance, different from my preconceived notions of them. This was a serious thriller and there is no way to describe the ending as less than explosive. Some scenes in this movie were ice hot and so sexually charged it seemed to walk a fine line. Other scenes were so gruesome and horrible that it felt more like a well made horror film; but this horror was beyond blood and guts. Surprisingly, even though disturbing, it was wrapped with such a pretty bow that contained it just enough to keep things from going over the top. The violence wasn't random and it made for a compelling character with Lou. I thought this was well done across the board and kept the balance just right. A very good movie.

THE JONESES: KEEPING UP WITH THEM ISN'T THAT EASY

By now we know that even the most seemingly "perfect" families have little secrets. The biggest secret that the Joneses are keeping, is that they are not even a family. During the opening credits we watch as their house is "moved into" by professionals. But they aren't moving professionals, they are merchandising professionals. It looks more like they are getting ready to open a new store then move in a new family. And, that's pretty much the way this story goes. Demi Moore and David Duchovny are the "parents" and Ben Hollingsworth and Amber Heard are the "children" in this farce, but in reality none are related and all are under the thumb of master seller and boss Kate Jones (Moore). The idea is brilliant as it works just like it does in real life. The kid down the block gets a new kinda of skateboard and lets his friends try it and all of a sudden every kid wants that skateboard. However, this time it's been done on purpose and with a slightly pushier bunch. Practically no item is mentioned to others without the item specs: it comes in blue too, they have three styles, we chose the oak, but there is walnut too. Things go very well for the family except that Steve (Duchovny) is new to this and keeps expecting that the "family" will want to go bowling or bond together in some way; aside from the way his "daughter" tries to bond with him. Worse than that is that he develops feelings for his "wife" which complicate matters beyond belief. It's an interesting concept for a film and well acted by all. Nothing really stands out, but it did hold my attention.

KILLERS: THE MOST ADORABLE NEWLYWEDS PACKING HEAT (NOT!)

Jen Kornfeldt: How weird is this going to get?

Because some things you cannot unsee.

...Like this movie for one. Just another silly movie in a long line of silly movies trying to find some kind of charisma that matched Angelina and Brad had in Mr. and Mrs. Smith. By any means this is not a good film. It is full of inappropriate reactions and predictable behaviors and everything is treated way too lightly because the rest of the film certainly does not follow the comedy genre. It makes no sense why they meet in the first place. So basically, the film is about this worldly suave highly capable expert enforcer (Ashton Kutcher) who accidentally runs into "Jen" (Katherine Heigl) somehow manages to fall in love with her and starts a whole new life putting his past behind him. Although we all know that a past like that does not stay secret for long. The ending is convoluted and if possible even more silly than the beginning. This movie was basically painful to watch. Catherine O'Hara and Tom Selleck as Jen's parents offer up a little bit of substance to enjoy. Additionally when the bonus features offer 17 alternate endings I get a little suspicious that they didn't quite know where they were going with the film in the first place. All in all it was a movie that should be missed at all costs.

WHO KILLED NANCY?

I was celebrating my 10th birthday on October 12th 1978 when Nancy Spungen was found dead in a dirty Chelsea Hotel bathroom and I cared about it as much as the detectives investigating the case. I didn't care about her death because I was a stupid 10 year old who only knew music as much as it related to David Cassidy. The detectives didn't care because it was another dead junkie whose boyfriend was named "Vicious." A short 8 years later, me and a group of friends, pierced and spiked, dressed in black with lots of leather and chains, wearing lots of aqua net hairspray, would tumble into a local movie theater to see Alex Cox's movie about the now infamous punk "power couple" Sid and Nancy. Now 24 years past, up comes this interesting and fascinating documentary that will undoubtedly and shamefully go unseen by many. Alan Parker and some of the people in the know back then give a more accurate portrayal of both Sid aka: John Beverly and Nancy Spungen of how they were, who they were are the events that led up to both of their untimely deaths. It's easy to laugh at the different Nancy impersonations, as "Nauseous Nancy" didn't have many fans. As a crime scene and case, it's easy to see how the investigation turned sideways and how some heroin junkie named Michael could have literally gotten away with murder. Although the film has an artistic edge and some re-created moments, it does not hide the nasty, dirty and sometimes horrid points in this ill-fated love triangle: a girl a boy and a needle. The bonus features an extra hour full of interviews and stories as told by those who lived to tell them ranging from funny to pointless. Some are obviously out for the fleeting fame and others are hoping to get the story right and the main one is Parker. I think he succeeded and while the truth does not make up such a pretty picture like Cox's Sid and Nancy, it certainly asks and answers many questions. Great soundtrack music, most of which by The Buzzcocks talented guitar man Steve Diggle, add to the feeling of the film. It was a different time then and the trip down memory lane is indeed a trip.

IRON MAN II: ALL THE IRON, A LITTLE LESS MAN

Tony Stark: I am Iron Man. The suit and I are one.

Have I mentioned lately how much I love Robert Downey Jr? Love perhaps, is an understatement. So, Tony Stark is back, bigger better and more full of himself than from the first Iron Man, which is part of the reason why I loved this film. The problem is, that we already saw this in the first movie. So when seen again, it just doesn't have quite the same effect as it did when it was fresh and new. That is not to say, however, that it is not un-enjoyable. In this film, Tony Stark has been "outed" and everybody wants a piece of him. This includes the new bad guy lead, played well by Sam Rockwell and counterintelligence agent/avenger Scarlett Johansson in her formfitting cat woman-like suit. Mickey Rourke, added a little spice to this film as Russian bad guy Ivan Vanko and played pretty well as the muscle for Justin Hammer's (Rockwell) bad guy dictator. Gwyneth Paltrow is also back as Pepper Potts who in general was in character, but lacked the original chemistry she showed Stark. There was lots of action in this film, lots of things that blew up, lots of drama, but again, it just lacked the fresh appeal that came with the first film. This was a good film, however, I just had that feeling like I had seen it before. This is a film that I definitely would not miss, but not a film I would call best picture.