Alice in Wonderland

Hmmm...where do I begin with this? Let me first start off that the title for this film is wrong, in my opinion. Agree with me or not, it shouldn't be called Alice in Wonderland. After watching this, I'd have to say that this was more like a continued Alice in Wonderland story with a bit of both of the books (and characters) in it.

Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy the film; I think Tim Burton is one imaginative kid at heart. I thought the special effects were outstanding and the story was captivating. Even my kids enjoyed it. I just have a small problem with the title. Johnny Depp is, as always, a joy to watch as was the rest of the cast.

Good show, except for the title...

How to Train Your Dragon

Once in a while I get to go see movies the opening weekend—it's always fun, especially when it's been looked for a while. How to Train Your Dragon is such a movie. Normally, I would take my whole family to see this show, but this time it was a double date, sans kids.

Of all the things this movie had to offer, I was most impressed with the concept art in the credits. With that said, I must praise the overall story and animation. It was an amazing story to see unraveled on screen. Action, comedy and friendship between two that were supposed to be mortal enemies.

If I had more than two thumbs, they would all be way up in the air.

Cop Out

Ah, Bruce Willis. I am glad he's still making movies. Cop Out is a witty and enjoyable, if you like movies the likes of the Die Hard and Lethal Weapon series.

Lots of bullets and some typical Bruce Willis veteran cop language meets Tracy Morgan, funny man from 30 Rock. Throw in Seann William Scott and it's a barrel of laughs. Fast paced with nary a dull moment, all 107 minutes of Cop Out flew by. Worth seeing? I think so, but I am a huge Bruce Willis fan.

The best part of this movie was the sweet reference to the old 80s video game—"All your base belong to us."

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

I was actually excited to see this one, although I have never read the books. I have always been a huge fan of Greek mythology. Besides having a pretty big cast of well known actors, and some newbies, it also has a pretty decent story. Director Chris Columbus did a good job of melding the new-comers with the veteran actors. Many people might not like it, but then again, I am not part of that crowd.

Simply put, although it will probably not win any awards, there's a spot on my wall of enjoyable movies for Percy Jackson & the Olympians.

In Four Sentences: Brooklyn's Finest

I really enjoyed Antoine Fuqua's movie Training Day with Denzel Washington, even though Training Day was extremely harsh and dark. In Brooklyn's Finest Antoine manages to take Training Day to the next level with more characters and more plot. There is this amazing point in the film about 2/3rds of the way through where everything builds and you think this is it, this is when everything falls apart, but it doesn't, everyone makes the right choice and goes home happy. Then the finale comes and it's 10x more intense and dark and incredible, like watching things fall apart in an epic Emmerich movie, only this time it's people's lives falling apart.

First Impression: Tron Legacy

When I first heard about the remake of the Tron movie, I had mixed feelings—especially in a day and age when remaking the old classics is turning out to be the norm. After seeing the trailer, my nerves are settled. It's not a complete remake of the 1982 classic (view the 1982 trailer here), but seems to be more a continuation of the story. Glad they decided to cast Jeff Bridges again. Here's the trailer (iPhone users click here).

First Impression: Twilight Eclipse

For all you Twi-hards out there who haven't seen the trailer (more like a teaser, if you ask me) here it is (for all you on the iPhone, click here). Enjoy.

This promises to be as good, or better than New Moon. We'll see if it lives up to it.

In Four Sentences: Alice in Wonderland

After thinking about it for a while, I'd describe Alice in Wonderland like Chronicles of Narnia meets Pan's Labyrinth. Tim Burton really went off the deep end (in a really good way) with the visuals, but it lacked his darkness. This was a surprisingly tame telling of a story with very gruesome elements, the red queen has a moat of all the chopped heads, really nasty stuff. Overall though it had that heart and soul we come to expect and love from Tim Burton, worth the trip.

From Paris with Love

I confess, I am a John Travolta fan—but only when the movie is right. In From Paris with Love, Travolta's character is memorable to a fault. Jonathan Rhys Meyers plays a young agent who gets teamed up with a veteran agent who lives life on the edge and bends almost all the rules in the book. I love the the tagline "Two agents. One city. No merci."

Aside from some rough language (thanks to Mr. Travolta) and some violence (mostly shoot 'em up), this was a great flick. I do wished they would have carried the vase through the entire film, though. That would have been funny.

Old Dogs

Disney has done it again. Take a great cast of characters, including a small appearance by the late Bernie Mac, throw in some good laughs and a great message about the importance of family and you get Old Dogs.

Robin Williams and John Travolta are funny. Toss in a red-headed Seth Green and it's a party. There are more laughs than what you see in the trailer, and that's always a good thing. It's got a good message as well—always nice to watch a show like that. This is one that I would recommend as at least a Redbox rental for the family.

The Tooth Fairy

I had the opportunity to see The Tooth Fairy this weekend with my kids. I didn't really have any great expectations going into it—I just hoped it would be decent and entertain the kids. Disney came through once again. The kids loved it, and I enjoyed it as well. In my opinion, the best part of the entire show was Billy Crystal's part, although it was small. He reminded me a lot of the character he played in The Princess Bride.

Great show with an even better message. Definitely worth seeing.

First Impression: The Karate Kid

Okay, if you're as old as me, you will remember the original Karate Kid with Ralph Macchio and the whole "wax on, wax off". Take a look at the new Karate Kid staring Jaden Smith (son of Will Smith) and Jackie Chan. For all of you with iPhones, check it out here.

This will definitely be one that I will take my kids to see, right after they watch the original one.

Hancock

I watched this yesterday. I've seen it once or twice before, but never reviewed it. I think it deserves a review.

Hancock is not Will Smith's best movie, by far. But, it is not his worst movie, either. I really liked the concept of it, though. Very well thought through. There are a lot of movies with superheroes that are all powerful and have no worries or cares except helping out the human race. In this movie (if you haven't seen it) the roles are really reversed. This time, it's a superhero that is in need of help, and someone realizes that and does something about it.

Aside from some pretty rough language, I really liked this show.

Where the Wild Things Are

When I saw that they were making a movie based on Where the Wild Things Are, I thought to myself this is definitely going to go one of two ways. Either it's going to be awesome—like the memories I have of the book from childhood—or it's going to bomb.

Unfortunately, I found the 101 minute film to drag on slower than The Ten Commandments. It had it's moments, but all in all, I wasn't really a fan. There were things in there that I can see being very scary for kids, plus I can see it hitting very close to home with some children based on feelings of being alone and feeling neglected.

Again, I didn't really care for it, although I am sure there are some out there that would disagree, and that's fine.