Sherlock Holmes

First things first, the Iron Man 2 trailer on the big screen looked fantastic and I cannot wait to see the movie when it opens on May 7th, 2010.

Guy Ritchie, the cult favorite direct behind such gritty, hardcore, action films like Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch, brings us an updated and adrenaline fueled re-imagining of the world's most infamous detective. Holmes and Watson, played by Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law, are supposedly going their separate ways when their last case comes back to haunt them as Lord Blackwood seems to have risen from the dead to take revenge on London. All the elements you love being a fan of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's creation are here but tweaked to ramp up the pace and cement the duo's friendship. I could have done with a few more sexy scenes with Rachel McAdams but it looks like all of them were accounted for in the trailer. The film is fun and a must see for all Downey fans making it a worthwhile Christmas Day movie event.

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Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel

As the movie title states it is a squeakquel and all of the stops are pulled out. Those stops of course being the appearance of The Chipettes voiced by none other than Christina Applegate, Anna Farris - luv her - and Amy Poehler. Alvin causes trouble, there is a rift between the boys while Dave is recuperating in a hospital, a musicical competition is on the line and the Chipmunks and Chipettes band together to save the day and their school. The plot is a given for anyone over the age of ten but who does not love a signing Chipmunk? My niece Morgan will love this film when she finally gets to see it and it was an OK diversion for me as I wait to go to my best friends's house for the holiday.

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Happy Holidays to one and all!

Did You Hear About the Morgans?

I walked in to see this movie because it was there and it was not going to cost me anything except my time. The chemistry between Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker is non-existent and the the comedy painful and best served by the trailer. The only saving grace for me in this film is Sam Elliott and Mary Steenburgen - who I can watch in anything - as the Wheeler's who must protect our witness relocated couple. No matter how much your date loves SJP and Sex In The City, skip this film and go see Up In The Air. You will be thanking me later.

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Up In The Air

Jason Reitman, the director of Thank You for Smoking and Juno, brings us a comedy drama dealing with a traveling corporate killer, played by George Clooney, who is being pulled from the field due to budget cuts but gets one last reprieve as he must mentor a new start colleague, played by Anna Kendrick. The movie seems appropriate for the times we are living in and the comedy moments involving Ryan Bingham's travel rules of the road are hilarious. Vera Farmiga plays a traveling love interest for Clooney who shares in his travel obsession who is too perfect to be true. Clooney is always good and gives a great performance here but I don't think it is Oscar award winning worthy. A good date movie and an alternative to seeing It's Complicated.

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Avatar

The wait is finally over and James Cameron's much hyped and anticipated 3D epic is now playing on the big screen and I got my ticket. Unfortunately I did not pre-order a ticket for the IMAX version so I will be waiting awhile to see it in that format. The film is glorious, beautiful and everything I hoped for even if the plot was telegraphed to me like a haymaker - you just have to see it. The best comment on the movie was Cameron's interview with Kevin Pereira on Attack of the Show where he said the goal of the CGI animators was to ensure that Neytiri - played by Zoe Salana - was doable and oh my she most certainly is! Lastly, Sam Worthington adds another big action film to his resume to go along with Terminator Salvation and next year's Clash of the Titans remake - grab that golden ring my man while you can!

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Young Frankenstein @ The Kennedy Center

My friend Sharon promised me we would go see this show for my birthday when it came to the Kennedy and we lucked in to box seats - the box left of the Presidential box in the Opera House - oh yeah! Outside of this being a live musical version of one of my favorite horror comedies by Mel Brooks, it had the bonus of featuring the original Broadway cast leads such as Roger Bart and Shuler Hensley as Dr. Frederick Frankenstein and The Monster. The stage set was awesome and I got to snap a pic of the stage before a couple next to us got busted by the ushers because they used a flash - how foolish can you be. All in all a great evening with fantastic music even if some of the jokes worked better in the movie than on the stage. A great birthday treat and thank you again Sharon - smooches!

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The Princess and the Frog

I have always been a fan of the classic Disney animation style and liked the look and sound of this film from seeing the first trailers in the theater. Mixing up the classic fairy tale with a New Orleans sensibility was inspired and the featuring of a black heroine has been long overdue for Disney. I was not expecting the story to deal with the death of a main character so well and have to attribute this to Executive Producer, John Lasseter, who we all know as the genius behind all of the Pixar films. The original soundtrack by Randy Newman is awesome and will definitely have to be added to my iPod collection. If there is one family film out there you need to see this holiday season, it is this soon to be Disney classic.

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Invictus

Any Clint Eastwood directed film is a must see and his latest film retelling the story of Nelson Mandela and how he helped inspire the South African national rugby team to win the 1995 Rugby World Cup and unite the South African people in a common goal is no exception. Toss in Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela and Matt Damon as Francois Pienaar, the rugby team captain, and you have a trifecta. The story is truly inspiring and the rugby is so real that Damon had to let his stunt double fill in for him because it was so rough and nothing was being pulled in the scenes. I like biopics and this was a pleasant surprise to see there were still great stories to be told dealing with the final fall of Aparthied and the rise of Nelson Mandela as President of South Africa. I recommend seeing this film to everyone.

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The Slammin' Salmon

The Broken Lizard troupe who brought us Puddle Cruiser, Super Troopers, Club Dread, and Beerfest now take their swing at the restaurant business with Kevin Heffernan taking the directorial reins. The Slammin' Salmon is a high end Miami restaurant owned by boxing great Cleon Salmon who sets up up a contest that the highest selling waiter gets a $10,000 bonus and the lowest earning one gets a beating all so so he can pay off a gambling debt. This is only a premise the Lizard guys could pull off and they do it well with a huge roster of Hollywood favorites making cameos. These cameos include Vivica A. Fox, Morgan Fairchild, Lance Henriksen and Michael Clarke Duncan as Slammin' Cleon Salmon himself. If you are a fan of the Broken Lizard guys like me, this movie is a must see and great for huge belly laughs.

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It's Complicated

Yes it is a chick movie through and through; and yes I saw it any way; yes it is hilarious and I loved it. Alex Baldwin, Meryl Streep and Steve Martin are as great and funny as you would expect but the stand out scene stealer is John Krasinski as Harley. Harley discovers that Jake and Jane are hooking up for a booty call at the same hotel he and Lauren are having lunch and the hilarity that ensues is great to watch. The dialogue is witty and sharp and Nancy Meyers' comedic direction is flawless. A perfect date night movie that is funny, engaging, and well worth seeing.

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Fear Itself

I picked up this series from my local Best Buy to add to my DVD horror collection because it really was the third season of the great cable series, Masters of Horror. With the move from premium cable to network TV, Mick Garris' original series of one hour mini-horror films got a tamer opening credits sequence and brought in a difference set of director's to try their hand at horror with a few of the legends still participating even though the network TV curbed alot of the visuals and subject matter. The stand out episodes are Family Man directed by Ronnie Yu, Eater by Stuart Gordon, and The Spirit Box by Rob Schmidt with Family Man being the best story of the anthology. It seems that the move to network TV has killed the series which is truly a same but was to be expected. If you have not seen this show and want to see a few of your favorite director tackle the TV medium for horror, this is definitely worth putting in your Netflix queue.

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Transylmania

David and Scott Hillenbrand bring us a teenage horror comedy with the latest movie craze of vampires. The film is weak as a comedy with mostly no name actors and lacks any form of horror that I could see. The only decent effects scene was when the college stoners tried to sew the female body back together before getting found out by the returning evil doctor / dean of the school. Cast notables are the nubile Jennifer Lyons, genre favorite babe Musetta Vander, and the up and coming James DeBello. There is some vampire / stripper nudity and fart humor to keep the movie rolling along but nothing that stands out as memorable or worthy of a repeat viewing.

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Armored

2007's Vacancy director, Nimrod Antal, brings us a good heist-gone-wrong movie this week with a full cast of Hollywood stars to keep it rolling along. The cast includes Matt Dillon, Jean Reno, Laurence Fishburne, Fred Ward and Columbus Short as an actor to keep your eye on. Short stars as Ty Hackett a returned war veteran who is trying to take care of his younger brother and keep their family home after the loss of their parents and is offered a part in an armored truck heist by his long time friend that involves his security guard co-workers. The action is fast paced and the plot tight and crafted well. This is not Shakespeare but it is a heist moving worth seeing and enjoying until the last handful of popcorn is gone.

Click here to check out the official website.