The Whistleblower

Starring: Rachel Weisz

Based on the true story of a policewoman who decides to go to Bosnia to work for the UN and discovers a sex-slave scandal that rocks her world.

- Absolutely horrifying that this type of thing actually happens, yet it does. Thank goodness for the few brave people who are willing to stand up and fight for the rights of the oppressed.

- Not for the weak-at-heart. This movie deals with some very controversial subject matter and has some very disturbing scenes. Moving and emotional from start to finish.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Hesher

Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Devin Brochu and Natalie Portman

The story of two very unlikely "friends" who are brought together through a series of strange circumstances.

- DEFINITELY not what I expected. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is a very under-rated actor. He pulls out all of the stops as Hesher - a foul-mouthed, aggressive freeloader who secretly has an inner warmth and compassionate side.

- A great story filled with intelligent dialogue and humor. The message really shines through and you can't help but fall in love with these characters. Another surprise and a true hidden gem.

Rating: 4 out 5

Fright Night 2011

Starring: Anton Yelchin, Colin Farrell

Vampire next door.

- Surprisingly good. Colin Farrell plays a fantastic vampire and Anton Yelchin is perfect in the role of neighbor determined to stop him from murdering the entire town.

- I didn't think I was going to enjoy this movie, but once again, I was pleasantly surprised by the acting and storyline. Very well done. Anyone who enjoys vampire movies will certainly enjoy this version. Colin Ferrell is coming into his own.

Rating - 3 out of 5

Flypaper

Starring: Patrick Dempsey and Ashley Judd

A hyper-active, borderline obsessive-compulsive man tries to figure out how a bank robbery by different sets of criminals adds up, while trying to protect the teller he has a crush on.

- This is one of those movies that is really entertaining and surprises you with great acting and a fairly good storyline. Yes, it is silly and some of the acting is outrageous but it is actually quite funny. The supporting cast is quite good and the twist at the end was well thought out.

Rating - 3 out of 5

Griff The Invisible

Starring: Ryan Kwanten

Griff is a quiet, introverted, loner who is tormented daily at work, but finds solace as a superhero at night. That is until his brothers girlfriend becomes more than a little interested in him.

- Classic tale of an easy target getting picked on and finding refuge in his alter-ego superhero personality. It would have been MUCH better if the "bad" guy, in this case the office bully, would have met a slow and painful death - but that was not meant to be I guess.

- Once again, nothing spectacular, but nothing really terrible either. The story could have been "tweaked" a bit, but the acting was fairly decent. I don't know that I would have been terribly happy to have spent $80.00 (the going rate these days when you include $14.00 popcorn and $32.00 pop) to see this at the theater - definitely a rental.

Rating - 2 out of 5

50 / 50

Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen and Anna Kendrick

This movie was inspired by true events. The story of a young man struggling to deal with his life after finding out he has cancer.

- Joseph Gordon-Levitt is brilliant and Seth Rogen is pure comedic gold. This is a serious movie dealing with serious subject matter. The writing is brilliant (although some of the acting, specifically Anna Kendrick, is a little less than stellar).

- There are some VERY good spots in this movie, but there are some others that just don't seem to fit. If it wasn't for the brilliant acting by both Gordon-Levitt and Rogen (and some of the supporting cast - Angelica Huston and Philip Baker Hall specifically), it may not have lived up to the hype. Overall a good movie though and definitely recommended.

Rating - 3.5 out of 5

Son of Morning

Starring: Joseph Cross, Heather Graham and Danny Glover

A young man is mistaken for the grandson of God and is thrust into a limelight that he is not prepared for.

- How can I be nice here? OK, let's just say that for every half decent movie I watch, there is one that is rough around the edges. For every brilliant movie I watch, there is one that should never have been made.

- I don't want to say that this is a movie that should have never been made, but I really wish I had that hour and a half back.

Rating - 1 out of 5

The Green Lantern

Starring: Ryan Reynolds

Ryan Reynolds plays Hal Jordan who is a test pilot granted a powerful green ring that gives him supernatural powers. He becomes the Green Lantern and is sworn to keep the peace throughout the universe.

-  If you are into the superhero genre (Spiderman, The Hulk, Iron Man, Batman etc...) and you've enjoyed the movie versions, then you will no doubt like this version of Green Lantern. Ryan Reynolds was a good choice to play the Green Lantern and the accompanying cast was well chosen too.

- The CGI effects are cool but the storyline is a little weak. Overall nothing special, but nothing really bad either. Worth watching if you enjoy superhero-type movies.

 Rating - 2.5 out of 5

Moneyball

Starring: Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill and Philip Seymour Hoffman

The true story of the Oakland A's general manager who decides to try something a little different in an effort to turn around a club that is being beaten by teams with much higher payrolls.

- When I first saw the commercial for this movie,  I thought to myself - "Brad Pitt - in a baseball movie?" No way! Every time the commercial came on, I thought - this is going to be a dud. WAS I WRONG!!!

- This movie is fantastic and Brad Pitt was cast perfectly as general manager Billy Beane. The supporting cast of Jonah Hill (equally brilliant) and Philip Seymour Hoffman (is he EVER in a bad role - this man is a genius) make this movie not only a must-see for all baseball enthusiasts and historians, but for anyone looking for a great story with fabulous acting. My wife loved it (enough said). A real surprise and another great acting job by Brad Pitt.

Rating - 4 out of 5

Incendies

Mother dies and her son and daughter are left to unravel the mystery of her past. They have a father who is alive and a brother they never knew existed, living in The Middle East. The daughter travels to find out the truth about their mothers life. Her brother soon joins her and what they find out is shocking.

- Incredibly moving. Gripping and emotional. A story of courage, strength and will. Not for the weak, this movie is both deep and very disturbing.

- This is the first movie in many, MANY years that I can say that I was completely SHOCKED by. Simply incredibly written and brilliantly acted.

- Disturbing to the core, but original and unexpected. I am (and this doesn't happen very often), speechless!

A MUST see for all true movie-buffs. Simply BRILLIANT!
                                                                                 

                                       Rating - *****5 out of 5*****

The Tree of Life

 

 Starring: Brad Pitt and Sean Penn

Story of a Texas family in the 50's as they deal with the loss of one of their sons. A depiction of life.

- Visually, this movie is STUNNING. The audio is haunting. This movie is going to be way too deep for most people and I think a lot of people will turn it off halfway through. It is stunning, but that is not enough to capture the general public's attention for long.

- Someone PLEASE explain to me why, in the middle of the movie, that dinosaur steps on that other little dinosaurs head and what it had to do with this movie? I only went to a few Philosophy classes at university, so I'm assuming I missed something that would have helped me with that.

- Just for the record, I strongly suggest no one watch this movie while on mushrooms or LSD!

Rating - 2.5 out of 5 (just for the incredible visuals - amazing)

War of Resistance & Colombiana

Student resistance movement in the Netherlands over the Nazis.

- Incredible bravery and courage during a time of pure horror. Still hard to believe that these types of things actually took place - but they did. NAZIS SUCK! Unfortunately, so did the acting. Dialogue was poorly written and some scenes were actually pretty bad. Probably a GREAT book.

Rating - 1.5 out of 5








Starring: Zoe Saldana

Trained assassin out for revenge for the killing of her mother and father.

- She is HOT! Other than that, not much to say. I liked her better in Avatar and even Center Stage. You get to see her in fairly revealing clothing (VERY tight) and in a shower scene...so if you are into that kind of thing - its a good movie. For the rest of us - meh!

Rating - 2 out of 5

Why "RAW" Movie Reviews?

Why did I call it "RAW" movie reviews? Because all of the movie reviews I read basically say the same things and it usually doesn't matter what they say because it is all subjective. The reviews are usually "clinical" and clean. I mean seriously, the so called "critics" trashed Titanic and it was one of the best movies I've ever seen. Sure it was cheezy and sappy, but I was in the mood for a cheezy and sappy movie and apparently, so where millions of others.

I figured - I like to write and I DEFINITELY love to watch movies...LOTS of movies, so why shouldn't I be writing reviews? I'm not sure how many movies most "reviewers" watch in a year, but I'm pretty sure I watch as many, if not more, than most. I have been watching and critiquing movies for many years and I understand what makes a movie popular and I also know what makes a movie good (and yes, there is a difference).

My reviews will be raw - hard hitting and direct. If you don't agree with my review, that is completely all right. You have the right to your opinion and I would love to hear your opinion. Post your comments (be nice), but remember if they are vulgar or unnecessarily cruel, I will remove them (that is one of the benefits of being the creator of this blog. If you don't like it, go and create your own blog and write whatever you want).

Don't expect too much in-depth dialogue about why I rated the movie the way I did - no one cares. Most people just want to know if the movie sucked or not and why. Brief and to the point. That is what I will give you.

Comments are always welcome and appreciated.

"Turn off that cell phone!"

Jason