Title:
The Blind SideRated: PG-13
Starring: Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw
Yager Stars: 5 out of 5
Review: This was a very inspirational movie, on the level with Remember the Titans. It's about a family who takes in a poor, homeless African American teenager and gives him the love of a family he never had.
Title:
The Lord of the Rings (Trilogy)Rated: PG-13
Starring: Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, Orlando Bloom, and many others
Yager Stars: 5 out of 5
Review: If you have never seen these movies, you are missing out on a grand adventure. The characters are so well portrayed. These three movies are about good vs. evil, perseverance through trials, friendship, love, and honor. This trilogy is up there at the top of our favorites.
Title:
Public EnemiesRated: R (for violence)
Starring: Johnny Depp, Christian Bale
Yager Stars: 2 out of 5
Review: This was one that Michael was really disappointed in. With these two A-class actors, we were both expecting something better. This is based on a true story about the bank robber John Dillinger. The plot of this movie was lacking "umph". Maybe the true story was that boring as well, and Hollywood just didn't want to change anything. Either way, it failed to dazzle us.
Title:
Mission Impossible IIIRated: PG-13
Starring: Tom Cruise
Yager Stars: 3 out of 5
Review: Yes, they made another one. We had no idea until we saw it for $4 at Walmart, and bought it. Anyways, it's okay, just average. They kept the same main actors, which is always nice. This was also a J.J. Abrams movie surprisingly. So the action was decent, but the plot, as could be expected from a straight-to-video-movie, was ordinary.
Title:
Johnny EnglishRated: PG (I wouldn't consider it a kid's movie though)
Starring: Rowan Atkinson
Yager Stars: 3 out of 5
Review: If you like Rowan Atkinson's humor, you'll enjoy this movie. It's a lot of slap-stick comedy and situational irony. It's not meant to be a real serious-plot movie, but it is very light-hearted and comical. It's a spoof of James Bond.
Title:
The Day the Earth Stood StillRated: PG-13
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Jennifer Connelly
Yager Stars: 4.5 out of 5
Review: The special effects are really cool. The plot is fairly decent, but the end is a little weak for our taste. But this movie ranks really high for one particular scene that has one of those "Aw yeah!" moments. This movie is a remake of a classic. It's about an alien who comes to Earth to determine if mankind can change their destructive ways that are destroying the world. "
If the Earth dies, you die. If you die, the Earth survives."
Title:
WaterworldRated: PG-13 (Note, there is one scene that you should fast forward that shows brief nudity)
Starring: Kevin Costner
Yager Stars: 4.5 out of 5
Review: This is an older movie, but it's an interesting one. It's set in the future when the polar ice caps have melted and the world is completely covered in water. A man rescues a woman and a young child and they all fight for survival and cling to the hope that dry land exists somewhere.
Title:
PhoneboothRated: R (for language)
Starring: Colin Farrell
Yager Stars: 2.5 out of 5
Review: This movie is about a man who is very superficial and doesn't appreciate the life he has. He accepts a strange phonecall in a phonebooth and ends up being held there against his will by a sharp-shooter until he admits his faults and learns to appreciate what he has.
Title:
2012Rated: PG-13
Starring: John Cusack
Yager Stars: 4.5 out of 5
Review: We (mostly I) like end-of-the-world-disaster movies. I don't believe Biblically that this is what will happen (in fact, "Knowing" is the closest movie I've seen that I believe might actually describe how the world will eventually be destroyed), but I enjoy these types of movies still. This one was no exception. The plot was better than average and the characters were likable. The action sequences were also really cool.
Title:
The Taking of Pelham 123Rated: R (for language)
Starring: Denzel Washington, John Travolta
Yager Stars: 3.75 out of 5
Review: I couldn't decide between 3.5 and 4.0 out of 5.0 because the story was good, and I liked Denzel's character, but Travolta's character didn't have to be portrayed the way it was (like a gangster). Denzel is a subway operator in NYC, and Travolta is a former Wall Street broker who deals with his bad lot in life by hijacking a subway for money. Denzel and the authorities do their best to save the hostages' lives.
Title:
Angels & DemonsRated: PG-13
Starring: Tom Hanks
Yager Stars: 4 out of 5
Review: For a fictional movie, it was entertaining and suspenseful. Hanks' character is a symbologist who helps track down a serial killer who has been murdering some priests.
Title:
Casino RoyaleRated: PG-13
Starring: Daniel Craig
Yager Stars: 4.5 out of 5
Review: Taking into account that Bond movies are always about a man who is a womanizer, this particular remake of Bond (and Quantum of Solace) are really good in my opinion. Daniel Craig is a much more believable Bond than previous actors because he is well-built enough for the fighting scenes to be realistic and still suave like Bond must be. Casino Royale is the beginning of Bond - when he first earns 007 status. He must win a high stakes poker game in order to defeat a foe, but it's not just left up to luck alone to determine the winner.
Title:
TakenRated: PG-13
Starring: Liam Neeson
Yager Stars: 5 out of 5
Review: Michael and I love this movie. It's very dark though, so be warned. This movie was very different than either one of us were expecting. It's about a father (Neeson) whose daughter travels unchaperoned with a friend to Paris. They are both kidnapped by men who are in women-trafficking. Neeson goes on a man-hunt to find and rescue his daughter. I won't share our favorite line in the movie because it spoils some of the plot, but the one that's on the picture to the left is pretty good too: [Liam Neeson] "
I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don't have money. But what I do have are very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long career; skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now, that'll be the end of it; I will not look for you; I will not pursue you. But if you don't...I will look for you...I will find you...and I will kill you." [Kidnapper after a long pause] "
Good luck."
Title:
The Brothers BloomRated: PG-13
Starring: Adrien Brody, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel Weisz
Yager Stars: 1 out of 5
Review: This movie seemed from the previews like it might be good, but no, it was not. The plot was pretty lame and confusing - a bad combo. This was an independent movie I think, so that explains partly why it stunk. Two brothers are con men, they con Weisz's character, Brody falls for her, confusion, confusion, confusion, already forgot the ending. Win some, lose some, right?
Title:
Inglorious BastardsRated: R (for everything)
Starring: Brad Pitt
Yager Stars: 0 out of 5
Review: It's a Quentin Tarantino film, which equates to mega bloody violence, horrid language, and some random sex thrown in there just for kicks. Definitely don't want to see it ever again, nor do I recommend it to anyone on the planet. I don't know how Tarantino has a following at all...oh wait, I know why - there are some sick people in this world. It's about a group of Jewish-Americans who go on a bloody rampage to kill as many Nazis as possible. Totally not based on a true story at all.
Title:
Transformers 2 (Revenge of the Fallen)
Rated: PG-13
Starring: Shia LeBeouf, Skanky Fox
Yager Stars: 1 out of 5
Review: Michael's dislike reasons: changed all the transformers from the original cartoons, plot was lame. Christine's dislike reasons: lame plot spliced between decent action scenes, lame characters, way too much unnecessary sex/immodesty. The bad transformers are back and the good ones must yet again destroy them. That's pretty much it. Lame.
Title: The Other Man
Rated: R
Starring: Liam Neeson, Antonio Banderas
Yager Stars: 0 out of 5
Review: Too much sex in it. It's not on Kids-in-Mind or IMDB Parental Advisory, so we had no pre-warnings about its content, but decided to take a risk because it has Liam Neeson in it and we're big fans. But, Neeson made a poor career choice in doing this movie. Stupid plot about a wife who cheats on her husband, dies, and then the husband discovers the infidelity and wants to meet "the other man". No action whatsoever, just lame drama. Double thumbs down and grade of F-.
Title:
TombstoneRated: R (For violence I guess? I've seen PG-13 movies with more violence than this movie)
Starring: Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer
Yager Stars: 4 out of 5
Review: Michael loves this movie. I don't give it a 5 because I don't like the love story in it. But it's a good western movie. A town is overcome by no-goods and four men step up to keep the town safe for the people and their families.
Title:
Sherlock HolmesRated: PG-13
Starring: Robert Downey, Jr., Jude Law
Yager Stars: 5 out of 5
Review: Really funny and well done. Good action, character development, plot, and all. Loved it. I hope they make a sequel. Holmes and Watson team up to try to stop a foe from carrying out his murderous plans.
Title:
AvatarRated: PG-13
Starring: Sam Worthington
Yager Stars: 5 out of 5
Review: We saw it in 3D and it was totally worth it. Not cheesy at all where they just hurl things at you. It was a really good movie with love, action, honor, and more. A man plugs into his avatar and goes out to learn about the natives for America's selfish gain...at first. But soon he falls in love with one of the natives and must decide between his old world and this new one.
Title:
The Bucket ListRated: PG-13
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freeman
Yager Stars: 5 out of 5
Review: This is a moving story about two men who are battling cancer and decide to go off and complete all the things on their list of things to do before they kick the bucket, hence "the bucket list". They learn more about themselves and what's important in life along the way.
Title:
Leap YearRated: PG-13
Starring: Amy Adams
Yager Stars: 3 out of 5
Review: Pretty typical chick flick about a woman who is tired of waiting around for her boyfriend to propose to her. So when the bf goes off to Ireland, she decides to go after him and propose to him instead. But of course, she faces many obstacles when she hires a guide to take her there; and so the love triangle begins when she starts to have feelings for her guide.
Title:
It's ComplicatedRated: R
Starring: Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, Steve Martin
Yager Stars: 3.5 out of 5
Review: We thought parts of it were funny, and we really liked Steve Martin's character, but the ending was pretty weak in our opinion. It's about a divorcee who starts having an affair with her ex-husband after 10 years apart.
Title: Hook
Rated: PG
Starring: Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman
Yager Stars: 3 out of 5
Review: It's a light-hearted kids movie about Peter Pan. The plot is lame at times, but that's to be expected from an early 90's film. I had no idea until we watched it recently that Hook is played by Dustin Hoffman. As a kid I just never paid attention to it. In this movie, Peter Pan is grown up and living away from Never Land. When his children are kidnapped by Hook, he must journey back to Never Land and learn to become Peter Pan again.
Title:
Catch Me If You CanRated: PG-13
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks
Yager Stars: 4.5 out of 5
Review: Pretty good story, based on a true story. It's about a young man, Frank, (DiCaprio) who begins a career as a con-artist as a result of family troubles. Hanks plays the FBI agent responsible for catching him. It's amazing how much Frank was able to get away with at such a young age (between 16 and 18).
