Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

                Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is the 2011 spy film that follows recently retired MI-6 agent George Smiley, played by Gary Oldman, as he comes out of retirement to investigate and uncover a mole inside of MI-6.  Using his training and the research left behind by his former boss Smiley, with the help of a young Mi-6 agent, and a retired agent, has to uncover who is the mole and why he is leaking this information to their cold war enemies the Russians.  

                The story was a good one although I did at times find it hard to keep up with all of the people.  There were also a lot of flashbacks from many different people that made it hard to follow along with at times.  The overall story was solid and by the end I was able to piece everything back together to understand most of what happened in the movie but I am still confused about a couple of parts and what the point of telling the viewer was.  I don’t know maybe I am just a little dim.  The acting over all was very good.  Oldman gave a great performance as Smiley, such a good performance that he was nominated for the best actor award at this year’s Academy awards.  There were several other good acting performances to note as well Colin Firth and Tom Hardy were also very good in supporting rolls. Peter Cumberbatch was also good as Peter Guillam, the young agent who helps Smiley uncover the truth.

                I overall enjoyed the movie even though it was hard to follow at times, the story and the acting made up for it.  I would recommend it to anyone who likes an intriguing spy movie or likes movies about the cold war era.      

I give Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy 3 out of 5 paw prints,  a good movie, but nothing special.

My next review will be over the 2011 Best Picture Nominee Hugo.

As always” You don’t have to go home but, you have to get the hell out of here”

Alvin and the CHipmunks: Chipwrecked

Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked

                Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked is the third movie in the life action/cgi series.  The movie starts off with Dave, the Chipmunks, and the Chippettes heading out to sea on a luxury cruise on their way to the World Music Festival.  Alvin finds himself constantly and trouble which ultimately leads him and his friends to be blown off the ship and ending up on an uninhabited island.  While they are on the island they have to deal with nature themselves, and the fact that they might not be alone after all.

                I have seen all three of the movies and I thought this was easily the worst of all of them.  They did not work very hard to establish any kind of story and the first 30 minutes it seemed like all they were trying to do was to see how many songs they could squeeze in along the way.  Once they got on the island the story did pick up some and there was less singing but it was still a very weak story even for a kids movie.  All of the actors were back including Jason Lee, and David Cross, and they did a fine job with the material they had.  There were a couple of funny moments but I see very little adult appeal in this movie, which makes it a hard sell for large audiences, especially when there are so many movies out there that appeal to both kids and adults.

                I did not really care for the movie, but my kids did.  I would recommend it to kids up to about 9 or ten, but for the adults if you are looking for a movie that both you and your kids will enjoy there are many better choices out there.

I give Chipwrecked 2 out of 5 paw prints, good for kids but no adult appeal.

My next review will be over the 2011 spy movie Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.

As always” You don’t have to go home but, you have to get the hell out of here”

The Adventures of TIntin

The Adventures of Tintin

                The 2011 movie The Adventures of Tintin is based on the comic by Herge of the same name.  The story follows the boy journalist Tintin as he tries to solve the mystery of the Unicorn.  The Unicorn is an old English warship that went down with what was rumored to be a very large treasure.  Along the way Tintin meets up with the great grandson of the original captain of the Unicorn, Captain Haddock, as well as the villainous Sakharine.   Tintin and Captain Haddock unravel the clues and try to beat Sakharine and his crew to the great treasure of the Unicorn.

                The story was lots of fun with lots of action and very few lulls throughout the movie.  It was what I would consider action movie light very appropriate for kids eight and up.  I also really like the animation style.  It used the very realistic looking animation much like that which was used in the movie Polar Express.  The voice acting was good during with Jamie Bell lending his voice to the main character, while Andy Serkis was the voice of Captain Haddock, and Daniel Craig does the voice of Sakharine. 

                I overall enjoyed the movie it was blend of story telling and action.  I would not say it was appropriate for real young children but for kids around the age of eight or so it would be right up their alley.  I also could see the appeal for adults as well especially fans of the original comics or cartons.  I would recommend this movie to for kids 8 and up or anyone maybe looking for a good story and a little action.

I give The Adventures of Tintin 3 out of 5 paw prints, it was just good not great.

My next review will be over the latest Alvin and the Chipmunks movie Chipwrecked

 And as always, “You don’t have to go home, but you have to get the hell out of here.

      

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

                My review today is over 2011 crime drama The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.  The story starts of with disgraced journalist Mikael Blomkvist as he gets hired to investigate the forty year old disappearance of industrialist Henrik Vanger’s niece Harriet.  Along the way he gets some help from antisocial computer hacker/investigator Lisbeth Salander.  The pair investigates the crime and discovers that this family has more skeletons in the closet then a college science lab.  There are plenty of twists and turns that will keep you guessing up to the last thirty minutes.

                .  This movie is based on the book of the same name written by Steig Larson and is the first in a trilogy of books.  The movie had a great story and it kept me entertained right up to the very end.  The family being investigated is so dysfunctional that you really could see every single one of them as the culprit in the crime.  The acting was good Daniel Craig is decent as Mickeal , and Rooney Mara was excellent as the antisocial Lisbeth.  She was so good in fact that she received a best actress nomination for the Oscars this year.  My one complaint about the movie was there was a couple of parts that I felt were unnecessary and a couple parts that were a little hard to watch.   There is no way that this movie would be suitable for anyone under the age of 17 or 18 because of the theme of the movie and the interactions between Lisbeth and her social worker. 

                I overall really enjoyed the movie a lot, and look forward to the last two books in the Trilogy to be made.  I have not read the book or seen the original movie but I would be interested to see how the stack up against the American version.

I give the movie 4 out of 5 paw prints, because of the excellent story and strong acting of Mara.

My next review will be on The  Adventures of Tintin.

And as always, "You don/t have to go home, but you have to get the hell out of here!" 

The Muppets

The Muppets

                 Meet Walter and Gary two brothers and best friends who love the Muppets.  It also so happens that Walter himself is a puppet while Gary is a Human.  On a trip to Los Angeles they visit the famous and very rundown Muppet studios.  While looking around Kermit’s office Walter overhears Tex Richman the oil tycoons plan to tear down the Studio and drill for oil(Maniacal Laugh).  That is unless the Muppets can get back together and raise the ten million dollars to keep their studio.  The rest of the movie is about reuniting the gang and putting on a telethon to raise the money needed, with Walter and Gary’s help of course.

                This was a wonderful family movie but it was enjoyable for adults as well.  The humor was a great mix of kid and adult jokes and the nostalgia of the Muppets will also entertain most adults as well.  I really enjoyed finding out what had happened to all of the Muppets after all these years.  My personal favorite being the fact that animal was in court ordered anger management.   All of the side stories did a great job of imagining were the Muppets might really be if they were real people.  The Music in the movie was fun as well and there were several big dance numbers with clever songs including this year’s best original song from the Oscars Man or Muppet.  The acting was good especially since it starred two of my favorites, Jason Segel, and Amy Adams.  Jason Plays Gary and Amy plays Mary who is Gary’s girlfriend of the past ten years.  The two do a great job playing off each other and the Muppets and both do a very nice job with all the songs and dances as well.  Aside from all of the Muppets you know and love there are a couple of new ones in the movie as well.  There was also several cameos in this movie including, Zach Galifianakis, Emily Blunt and Selena Gomez to name a few.

                I really enjoyed this movie and highly recommend it to anyone, from families, to fans of the Muppets, or just to anyone who is looking for a fun movie to sit down and enjoy.

I give The Muppets five out of five stars a very entertaining movie

My next Review will be over The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

And as always, “You don’t have to go home, but you have to get the hell out of here.

The Descendents

The Descendents

                The Descendents is the 2011 comedy/drama starring George Clooney.  Matt King, played by Clooney, is a lawyer in Hawaii whose wife is put into a coma by a power boat accident, so as he puts it in the movie the second string parent is put in to raise their two daughters, 10 year old Scottie and 17 year problem child Alex.  If all of this wasn’t enough he is also the trustee of 25 acres of the island of Kaua’i that has been in his family for generations, and his family thinks it might be time to sell the land.   Matt and his family persevere through everything that comes their way and it all ends up making them stronger as a family.

                I did not have high hopes for this movie going into it, but I must say that I was pleasantly surprised.  I really enjoyed this movie.  I thought the story was great it was not overly dark and there were lots of funny moments sprinkled throughout.  The acting was good George Clooney was good and I thought that the part was great for him.  Shailene Woodley who plays the 17 year old daughter Alex does a nice job as well.  You might recognize Woodley as the main character from the abc family show the Secret Life of the American Teenager.  Whenever I have seen any part of that show all I can think is wow this girl is super annoying, but she was actually really good in this movie and wasn’t what I would call a real likable character but not one you disliked either.  I want to also give a mention to a boy named Sid, played by Nick Krause.  Sid is Alex’s boyfriend/friend and he is where most of the funny parts in the movie came from.  He is not very bright but very endearing throughout the whole movie and was easily one of my favorite characters in the movie.  He has not been in much but I hope to see him in more in the future.  The movie did receive several awards and nominations, including winning an Oscar for best adapted screen play, and Oscar nominations for best actor for George Clooney and Motion picture of the year.

                I overall really enjoyed the movie and would recommend it to just about anyone.  It’s not a movie that will leave you rolling on the floor but the story and acting are good enough to keep most everyone entertained.

I give The Descendents 4 out of 5 paw prints, it was a great movie.

My next review will be over the Muppets 2011 return to the big screen.

And now as always, “You don’t have to go home, but you have to get the hell out of here!”

Friends with Benefits

Friends with Benefits

                Friends with Benefits, is the 2011 chick flick about two friends who decide to have a strictly sexual relationship, but of course complications arise when they realize that they love each other.  The movie starts with corporate head hunter Jamie, played by Mila Kunis, trying to convince web designer Dylan,  Justin Timberlake, to move all the way across the country to become the new art editor at GQ magazine.  The two quickly strike up a friendship and one thing leads to another and they decide that they can have sex while still remaining friends.  This of course leads to all sorts of misadventures where we learn about the characters and how damaged they both are.

                The movie was ok but I thought it was a little too much like another movie that came out around the same time No Strings Attached.  The main ideas of the movies are pretty much identical with friends who want to hook up without falling in love.  The characters and their back stories were different but that was not really enough to make it feel like that different of the movie.  The acting was about what you would expect from this kind of movie it was not bad but I doubt anyone will win any awards for it.  

                The movie itself was alright, but I have seen the same story played out a few too many times to really be able to enjoy it.  I only recommend this movie if you are looking for an ok chick flick but even then there are probably better choices out there. 

I give Friends with Benefits 2 out of 5 paw prints.

My Next review will be the 2011 best picture nominee The Descendents.

And as always,“You don’t have to go home, but you have to get the hell out of here!”