Inception

The acting is superb in this big-time blockbuster. You definitely will be talking about this film for awhile. There's not a whole lot to say about this movie's plot without giving something away. All I can say is that it stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Ellen Page, and it has to do with the futuristic art of "dream constructing" and getting into other people's dreams.

Since this sort of thing (dreams) always interested me, I found this film very intriguing. It sort of creates its own rules as far as dreaming is concerned. The movie is full of twists and turns (so pay attention). The acting was excellent all the way through, and so was the dialogue. In a movie like this, you have to expect to get a little confused. Though the film is about 2 and a half hours, it does not seem merely enough to explain everything there is to explain. Though they did try for the most part. Some parts towards the beginning, I felt, were occurring with very little concern of the fact that the audience didn't know what was happening. But I cannot really criticize this because I think this was intentional. The film is about dreams and planting ideas--when that is exactly what the movie is doing to the audience. It's really cool. You're just gonna have to watch it more than once. It's a beautiful piece. I just wish certain parts were more clear and didn't feel like I was playing catch-up for parts of the film.

Overall Grade: A-

P.S. After you see this movie, leave me a comment about the "big question" in this film.


-Ethan Brehm

Standing Ovation

Ok, I have to be completely honest. Much of watching this film consisted of me wondering who would have taken their money and funded this film. But as the movie unfolds, I realize that it does have a good heart. It's a film about a group of junior high school girls who have a dance group. They must make a music video and compete for a million dollar prize. However, they are the underdog to their rival group who happen to have twice the resources and popularity that they do.

In this film of no-name actors, I found it very low-grade. The acting was hokey for the most part (with the exception of the leading female role). The dialogue was terrible and terribly directed. At times it seemed like a film that the little kids at the day camp I used to work for would make. Some scenes and bits were awkward and random, and completely out of the belief range of what junior high kids are capable of (which would be understandable if it were a sci-fi kids flick). However, the film had a great message for kids and adults, and had an interesting twist to its substory. I would never buy this film on DVD, but it was definitely one of the most memorable films I've seen for a myriad of reasons ranging from its extremities. There was something about it that never let me hate it.

Overall Grade: B-


-Ethan Brehm

The Sorcerer's Apprentice

This film was amazing! I was looking forward to seeing this movie so much and wasn't disappointed at all! It stars Nicolas Cage as Balthazar (Merlin's student) and Jay Baruchel as Dave (Balthazar's apprentice). Dave was chosen to wear the ring of Merlin and defeat Morgana who plans to destroy the world.

There is literally nothing bad that I can say about this film. It is entertaining from start to finish. It's a solid and refreshing film that will keep you on the edge of your seat. The movie doesn't take itself too seriously--and neither do the characters, as their humor provides the perfect balance to the intensity.

Alfred Molina, who plays the treasonous Horvath, is one of my favorite actors, so it's good to see him in this film. And Jay Baruchel is becoming one of my favorites as well, as I like him in every film he is in. However, I am not usually a Nicolas Cage fan, but he was great in this movie!

By the way, stay until after the credits (assuming you always do anyway).

Overall Grade: A+


-Ethan Brehm

Grown Ups

I believe that this is a film that meant well, but the humor was made to merely satisfy the cast of Adam Sandler and others. Also starring Chris Rock, Kevin James, David Spade, and Rob Schneider, this seemingly great cast heads in an awkward and random direction that is quite unexplainable.

The film is about how having fun has changed from 25 years ago and appreciating the simple things in life. I must applaud the premise, but the film becomes way more Adam-Sandlery than anyone hoped for. A couple of good one-liners here and there, but those mostly came from the insults. A high point was Steve Buscemi's character, Wiley--who I wish was featured more in this film (only about 2 minutes total). It did have a great lesson to be learned--which seems to be the way with most Sandler pictures nowadays. Really, the only disappointment I had was the fact that I felt Sandler wrote a broad premise and just told the guys to improvise the rest. And the improvisation was hardly evidence of comedians that started their career on a TV show that emphasized improvisation. I just wish that this film was a little funnier--otherwise, it was a great concept.

Overall Grade: C

P.S. It was great to see Norm Macdonald in this film!


-Ethan Brehm

Knight and Day

Despite what you may hear, this was a pretty decent film. It was entertaining and easy to follow. Tom Cruise plays a spy, Roy, who mysteriously gains an interest in June (Cameron Diaz) when he sees her in the airport. No one knows why as June continues to piece together this mystery and decide who to trust.

This movie was good! It was funny and suspenseful and there were enough twists to satisfy me. Although many said that the plot was formulaic, I don't agree. It was anything but formulaic. The only aspect of this film that could have been better is the dialogue. Some of the dialogue was very typical and cliche.

The movie wasn't fantastic and it didn't save the world, but it was definitely one of the better films out this summer.

Overall Grade: A-


-Ethan Brehm

The Last Airbender

This film is based off of a animated TV show. It stars mostly people you've never heard of, except maybe Dev Patel, and it was directed by M. Night Shyamalan. It's about this boy, Aang, who was discovered to be the avatar who could bend all the elements of the world. However, Prince Zuko (Patel) is on a hunt to capture Aang in order to gain love and respect from his father. The two kids who discovered Aang are trying to protect him.

This film is very hard to comprehend because much is left out and left for interpretation--as if the filmmakers assumed that everyone watching the movie follows the TV show. My girlfriend was with me, and I'm glad she was because I was having the hardest time understanding things, and she had to keep explaining to me why things were happening. The acting is not even kind of good--with the exception of Patel perhaps. And the dialogue is humorous as times. The film does have a great plot once you figure out what it is, but the execution of explaining things was very poor. The effects were awesome, and so was the level of suspense (for those, of course, who knew what was happening). But in general, this isn't a movie that I would watch over and over again, but now that I know the plot, I think I would look forward to a sequel.

The things that this film lacked were kind of disappointing--especially since Shyamalan is one of my favorite directors and writers. All I'm saying is that they could have made this film at least slightly longer in order to explain a FEW more details.

Now that I get what happened in the film, it actually wasn't a bad film, but I must grade it based off of how it would have been if I wasn't able to ask my girlfriend every 5 minutes what was happening and why. So my grade is for a person who doesn't watch the TV show.

Overall Grade: C (otherwise it could potentially be as high as an A-)


-Ethan Brehm

Despicable Me

I knew I was going to love this film! It was my type of humor and there's nothing I could change about this movie that would make it any better. This animated film is about a super villain, Gru (voiced by Steve Carell), who always seems to be at war with this other super villain, Vector (Jason Segel), for who is the most evil. But now they are competing with each other for who can get the shrink ray, which will shrink the moon so they can capture it for themselves.

There was never a dull moment in this film, and it has such a unique and clever plot. Not to mention, the score for this movie was amazing--collaborating the two worlds of Hans Zimmer and Pharrell Williams.

This film was full of great messages of selflessness and empathy. And in a world where facial expressions make up a majority of humorous anecdotes, Carell's voice depicted so much comedic emotion that it actually seemed as if a real person was on screen saying these things. The timing was perfect, and the jokes weren't just made for kids--they were jokes that could be found in a movie for adults or teens as well. I laughed my butt off the entire time. I couldn't find anything wrong with this film if I tried. If you don't like this film, something is wrong with you. I'm getting it as soon as it comes on DVD so I can watch it again!

Overall Grade: A+


-Ethan Brehm

Jonah Hex

Ok, now, I really did want to like this film, because I really wanted to see this film. However, the film fell short of what I--and I'm sure everyone else--was anticipating. It's based off of a Western cowboy DC comic character with the same name. Jonah Hex (Josh Brolin) is attempting to get revenge on the vicious Quentin Turnbull (John Malkovich) who killed his wife and child. Turnbull is also attempting to set off a bomb which is aimed to destroy the entire Washington DC.

The acting in this film is really great (with the exception of Megan Fox), however, it cannot seem to salvage the lack of character development and plot explanation. In a total of 85 minutes, including credits, they could have added a LOT more information and explanation--or even clever dialogue or something. Also, the movie doesn't even give you enough time to get attached to the characters.

I will give it that the filmmakers did have some good ideas for this film, and there were some cool twists in it, but the thing about short movies is that they do not give the audience enough time to really feel like they know the characters and that they are really in the movie themselves. This was just a great concept that was put in some wrong hands.

Overall Grade: D+


-Ethan Brehm

The Karate Kid

Now if you like the original films, you may still like this film--it's hard to tell, however, because they are such different movies. This film doesn't really tell the same story, but in the case of this movie, it's okay. Jackie Chan plays a great Mr. Miyagi-type-character, and Jaden Smith does a great job playing his apprentice.

I felt that the messages are not as strong in this film, compared to the first one. And though it is moving, it is definitely not as powerful or moving as the original either. The acting was good, the story keeps you entertained and interested, and the character depth is tremendous. They really did a great job on not directly imitating the first movie.

It was both humorous and suspenseful, without straying too far away from either. It was a refreshing change of pace from your usual kids movie, and also from your usual action flick. Watch this movie and bring your kids.

Overall Grade: A-


-Ethan Brehm

The A-Team

Now, never really seeing the television show, I can't offer a decent comparison, but I can tell you how I liked the film from a everyday-critic's point of view. The film starring Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Quinton Jackson, and a few others was filled with enough laughs, action, and twists to satisfy your hunger for such things.

It really was a very entertaining movie with a great cast--although I was hoping for a little better acting on Jackson's character (who played Mr. T's character, B.A. Baracus). However, the chemistry between the actors and the characters who played them were seemless. I also wish that there was a little more background on where Face (Cooper) and Hannibal (Neeson) got their nicknames. But I was glad that they showed the background on how everyone met (which I figured they would do anyway).

The humor is well-suited for the demographics of which the film aims towards--that is, the folks who watched the television show when it was on (i.e. older people--not old people, but older). However, I laughed my butt off and was extremely satisfied with this film.

It may not be one of my favorites, but it puts you in the world of this group of characters and is full of enough puzzles that actually challenge you to think about the plot--as opposed to some other typical action flicks that just satisfy your shoot-em-up needs.

Overall Grade: A-


-Ethan Brehm