The American

I kinda was looking forward to seeing this film because it looked like a cool and unique movie featuring an interesting character. It seemed to be a film full of wit and cleverness. It's about Jack (George Clooney), an assassin who is hiding out in Italy after he murders 3 people in Sweden.

It's fast paced for the first 5 minutes, but then dies from there. The film has a great story, but an agonizing execution of it. This film moves slower than molasses. The ending is interesting and good, however, all the stuff in between I could have spent at the gym or something.

The preview makes the film look cool, but the disappointment was unfortunate. The acting was good and the visuals were awesome, but the film itself was not.

Overall Grade: C-


-Ethan Brehm

Resident Evil: Afterlife

I know I haven't seen the first 3 films in this series, but after seeing the fourth one (being this one), I don't know if the first 3 would be my first choices. The laughable plot consists of Alice (Milla Jovovich) discovering a group of survivors from a worldwide outbreak leaving everyone else as zombies. She tries to lead these people to safety.

The acting was horrible throughout (including Jovovich), with the exception of Wentworth Miller, who plays Chris. The dialogue was amateur, and the film takes itself way too seriously. It follows very cliche scenarios of most action-horror films (i.e. killing off each character in succession until the only characters left are those of significance to the story line). There are barely any surprises throughout this movie. The action scenes are cool, but that hardly makes a film for me.

Maybe this film would be better to me if I watched the first 3, but until then, my grade stands.

Overall Grade: D-


-Ethan Brehm

The Town

I usually don't like Ben Affleck as an actor. But after seeing this movie, I have a different mindset about his acting. It is about Doug (Affleck) and his group of friends who are large-scale thieves. The film takes place in Charlestown, Massachusetts and describes the town as being very high in crime. Their journey goes from there as they plan one heist after the next, with Special Agent Adam Frawley (Jon Hamm) trying to catch them.

This film will have you at the edge of your seat and keep you wondering what will happen next. There is not one slow part, nor is it just nonsense violence throughout. The movie is a very artistic portrayal of the story. Jeremy Renner (who plays Doug's best friend, Jem) does an amazing job and furthers his credibility as an Oscar-worthy actor. At no point is the plot confusing, but it also doesn't make you feel stupid. There were a couple of unnecessary sex scenes, but they weren't totally irrelevant to the story line.

Great film! One of the best this year!

Overall Grade: A+


-Ethan Brehm

Flipped

This movie is a great coming of age film. I didn't have to see it, but I really wanted to, and I'm glad that I did. It stars several lesser-known actors, but they are still all very good. The film has a unique double-narration feature that works very well. It tells both sides of a story between a boy and a girl--both in 7th grade. The narration switches between the both of them as they tell what happened in their relationship with one another.

The acting was tremendous, and the dialogue was great. I love when a movie actually has really believable child actors. It makes the movie all the more great. There was so much depth in each character--even the minor ones. The soundtrack is amazing in a sort of American Graffiti way.

I will definitely be getting this film on DVD and watching over and over again. It is one of my favorite of the year!

Overall Grade: A+


-Ethan Brehm

Machete

I'm not quite sure about this one. It's an action exploitation film starring Danny Trejo as Machete, an ex-Mexican Federale, who is now an illegal immigrant into the United States. He is hired by Michael Booth (Jeff Fahey) to assassinate Senator McLaughlin (Robert De Niro) of Texas, who is sending hundreds of Mexican immigrants back to Mexico.

This movie is very bloody and gory, much like many exploitation films of this genre. The acting is great, and the plot is good. It is just too exaggerated for my taste. It doesn't take itself too seriously, however. The message in the film is that there is a difference between the law and what is right--however, this good message gets contradicted and drowned out by all the gore and blood. Also, being a Catholic, I don't like the extremely false portrayal of Catholic priests. The film had a couple of sacrilegious scenarios in it.

If it weren't for the gore and the sacrilege, I would probably be giving this film an A- or B+ for having heart. But these aspects just cloud the message.

Overall Grade: C+


-Ethan Brehm

The Last Exorcism

Basically this is a fake documentary about a reverend questioning his faith. He doesn't believe that people can be possessed, so he always fakes his exorcisms. He is then called to do an exorcism on a little girl and is in for a surprise.

Being a devout Catholic, I do believe in occurrences such as the ones in this film. The movie has some good twists and turns in the plot that make it interesting. It actually did make me have to close my eyes at one part, but I'm just an easy scare. There are a couple of questionable ideas expressed in the film, but overall it was very interesting--not good, but interesting.

Overall Grade: C+


-Ethan Brehm

Takers

As far a heist movies go, this isn't the best one you'll see. It stars a whole bunch of people, most notably T.I. as Ghost, Matt Dillon as Jack, and Idris Elba as Gordon. It's a basic movie about a group of guys (including T.I. and Elba) who are planning a large-scale bank robbery and the two detectives who are trying to uncover their identity and catch them.

It's fast-paced for the most part, but some parts are slow-moving for "dramatic purposes." I feel as though the filmmakers were more concerned with having a cast that LOOKED good onscreen, instead of a cast that ACTED well onscreen. The above 3 actors were an exception, but for the most part, the film had horrible acting. The characters had no depth at all, with the exception of Gordon. The dialogue was very amateur. However, the story was decent--not quite exceptional though, by any means. It didn't have as many twists and turns as typical movies of this type.

I wouldn't wanna watch the movie again, but I might recommend it to those people I know who like any and all heist films.

Overall Grade: C+


-Ethan Brehm

The Switch

I really didn't think that I would like this movie. I mean, I don't like the whole artificial insemination concept. But this kinda humored it, and left the concept alone after the first 20 minutes. The main character, Wally (Jason Bateman) shows the inane problems with the idea in the first place. He shows how it can go horribly wrong. He is best friends with Kassie (Jennifer Aniston), who desperately wants a child, but doesn't want to have it with Wally, although he offered, because of his neurotic personality. So she decides to find a donor with qualities that are of her standard. She holds a party for her insemination and things go haywire when Wally gets drunk.

This movie had me laughing the whole time. Jason Bateman was awesome in it, and so was the kid who plays Sebastian. I don't want to give too much away because you have to watch it. The film is somewhat predictable, but not TOO much. It can also get kinda formulaic, but the formula works perfectly for the film. It's way more than a chick-flick. Guys will like it too. The acting was believable and the jokes were right on the money. I just wasn't a fan of the initial concept. But it was a really good movie.

Overall Grade: A-


-Ethan Brehm

Lottery Ticket

Despite the poor reviews on IMDb, I enjoyed this movie. It stars Bow Wow as Kevin, an average 18-year-old working at Foot Locker with hopes and dreams for he and his grandmother. He lives in a community that has suffered much poverty and crime. There is also an ex-con that is after his life, and a winning lottery ticket that is worth $137 million.

This movie is a funny and refreshing treat from the norm. It has great messages throughout about what's important in life and giving back. The acting is also, surprisingly, pretty good for a hood comedy. There are some unnecessary sex scenes that make you shake your head, and that prevent you from taking the scenes seriously--also because they are random amidst the ongoing comedy of the movie. And some of the jokes may be a bit silly, cliche, and ordinary--but funny, nonetheless. However, one of the acting highlights is Brandon T. Jackson, who plays Kevin's best friend, Benny. He has become one of my favorite new actors.

The film is better than they say, and teaches valuable lessons all at once. The messages are those that do not usually get expressed in comedies that are marketed to black audiences. And if it wasn't for those couple scenes, I probably would have given it an A.

Overall Grade: B+


-Ethan Brehm

Going The Distance

This particular romcom is just what you need as a break from all the unbelievable ones that take themselves way too seriously. It stars Drew Barrymore as Erin, an aspiring journalist who lives in the Bay Area, and Justin Long as Garrett, an A&R for a record company in New York. They meet at a bar while Erin is interning at a newspaper in New York for the summer. She ends up leaving a few weeks later and she and Garrett don't know where their relationship stands. They struggle with the long distance relationship.

This film refreshingly reminded me of an 80s film. From the music to the innocent theme. I really liked the movie. I only wish that it was a little less vulgar. But I do have to say that, for the MOST part, the vulgarity wasn't TOO eye-popping or cringefull. The way they portrayed Erin and Garrett falling for each other wasn't the typical run-and-gun infatuation that most romantic comedies love to portray. It was real and genuine. You actually were convinced that it could have been a real story.

At the beginning of the film, I felt as though the chemistry was a little bit off between the two leads, but as the film progressed so did their chemistry--just how, I think, the filmmakers intended it to be. I loved seeing Jason Sudeikis (playing one of Garrett's best friends) in this film. He was hilarious. The movie was full of great dialogue and humor. It wasn't predictable or cliche at all. And I can't say that I loved the two main characters, but I loved their relationship with each other. You really saw how each of them grew by the end of the movie, and you get to see two people that truly love each other in a way that far exceeds that of a platonic relationship.

Overall Grade: A-


-Ethan Brehm

Piranha 3D

Ok, this is a movie, similar to Jaws (but not nearly as good), about a bunch of man-eating piranhas that arive mysteriously in a lake in Arizona and eat a bunch of people (mostly teenagers) during the big Spring Break bash. It's a remake of the original 1978 film.

I'm not sure why critics are raving about this film, but at the same time spit on films that have way more heart and brains than this. This film is a cheap way to make a buck. It's horribly written, acted, and executed. It wasn't an exploitation film--all it exploits are the film makers. The highlights of this film are the brief scene featuring Richard Dreyfuss (he dies within the first 2 minutes) and the featuring of Christopher Lloyd as the mad marine biologist. He played his usual self. But even he couldn't bring genius to the poorly written script.

Yeah yeah, I know it was supposed to be campy and humorous. I don't mind the campiness of it. It just wasn't funny. I mean, Snakes On A Plane was actually enjoyable--it was smart, funny, and very amusing. This film didn't keep me guessing at all. It was just a blood-fest. I think it's sad that a film like this gets significantly better reviews than films such as Shutter Island or even The Book of Eli. You're telling me that all of a sudden critics put aside their "critic card" to give a good review to a lousy movie just because they ENJOYED it?! Why couldn't they just put down their "critic card" before every film and grade them ALL based on how much they actually enjoy them?? That's what I'm trying to do here and I just get criticized for being too leanient. No, I just know when to put my card down.

Overall Grade: D-


-Ethan Brehm

Eat Pray Love

This film is about a Elizabeth (Julia Roberts) who gets divorced and realized that she wants more out of life. She ends up taking a trip around the world to help her discover herself again.

I'm not really sure I liked this film. Some of the messages in the movie are inspiring and somewhat motivating. However, the shallowness of the character(s) immensely cloud the lessons that the film is trying to teach. The highlight of this movie is Richard Jenkins character, Richard, who is a friend that Elizabeth meets on her journey. He isn't in the film long enough, as the rest of the film is either making me yawn or roll my eyes.

The acting was good, and so were some of the lessons learned, but these hardly make up for the long and drawn out 2 hour and 13 minute movie.

Overall Grade: D+


-Ethan Brehm

Nanny McPhee Returns

These are such cool concepts for a film. Nanny McPhee (Emma Thompson) is needed by another family with rowdy children who have to be taught some lessons.

These films are great for kids. They teach good lessons on how to behave and get along. The acting is great, and the story is heartwarming. You learn about the REASONS why people are so cruel, not just THAT they are cruel. It shows the depth of each character--even the children. However, it was a bit slow at the beginning, but picked up pace about 15 minutes in and never backed down.

Often are kids movies easily misunderstood, but this one is very difficult to misunderstand. It will appeal to all ages and creeds.

Overall Grade: A


-Ethan Brehm