Shelter II

I had never heard of this film until I found it a few days ago. I had enjoyed Identity a lot and was expecting more of a psychological thriller - the first half of the film was exactly that and then turned into a pretty good supernatural horror.

Julianne Moore is as gorgeous as ever and plays the part very well - a bit like Tally in The Forgotten. Jonathan Rhys Meyers was excellent - the only film I've seen before with him in it was Alexander and can't remember him in it but this role was a revelation - he actually reminded me of a young Daniel Day Lewis. The always underrated Jeffrey DeMunn was good too.

This film is no Omen or The Shining so 8/10 is a pretty fair rating in my opinion.

Hall Pass

The Adjustment Bureau

Jan 11: I was invited to see and rate this movie at a free audience screening. While biting the hand that feeds you is incredibly bad form, this film is not worth paying a full price admission. DO see it on the big screen, but go to the matinée instead.

Caveat, I'm not the target audience, (and hadn't read the short story source first) so for you to calibrate: I rated Jumper at 7; Avatar at 6 bumped up to an 8 for CGI; and Last Airbender at 3.

This film has all the individual elements for a great time: The opening draws you into the story; Blunt is engaging and sensual; Stamp is villainous; Damon/Blunt have fabulous chemistry including a great meet; initial mystery, sophisticated humor, snappy repartee, wonderful score, and superb scenery. The supporting characters are well cast and acted. However, the thin plot doesn't sustain the whole movie, and it takes too long for the minimal plot to unfold, even though there are myriad chase scenes to divert you at first.

The movie was seemingly created for chase scenes, with a poorly contrived reason for the "boy meets girl, boy loses girl but continues to search for her storyline", tossed in to justify all the chasing. In attempting to make everything mysterious, the audience is kept as ignorant as the characters to the point where it became "THATS the reason he's been chasing after her? How DISAPPOINTING!" when the cause for separation is unveiled. The secret meetings which presumably either advance or reveal the mystery were annoying instead. Finally, in the last portion of the movie, the opening doors and running become so repetitive, you can feel like the Blunt character, who has her hands over her head and is screaming. The ending is abrupt, contrived and disappointing, a veritable deus ex machina version.

Conversely, my companion who loves everything sci-fi or sci-fantasy, and reads Phillip K Dick (including the short story on which this was based) rated the movie "excellent" as opposed to my "ok". Even though the movie diverges from the short story, he suffered no confusion or disappointment with the story line, big reveals, or ending. He also thought the cast, romance, and humor were great.

We both agree--do see the movie on the big screen as it certainly enhances the suspense and startling moments (political crowd scene, adjustment scene, car crashes, action scenes and finale) and shows off the great NYC locations. He says go ahead and pay full price,the movie is worth it…

Take Me Home Tonight

Take Me Home Tonight is set in 1988 Los Angeles and is a real throwback to the 80s film genre, complete with pining love, a crazy sidekick, and totally rad tunes!

The movie was entertaining - lots of laughs. Not only did it make me chuckle, it also made me think about my life. Matt Franklin, the main character played by Grace, spends the film trying to decide what to do with his life after college graduation. We've all been there.

I really think the best movies are those that you ponder after they are over, and this one did that for me. It made me realize that it's important to go for what you want and make things happen!

Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son

I Am Number Four

Saw an advance screening of this and thought it was terrible. The first two minutes start out great, with a pulse-pounding scene that grabs you by the throat and gets you immediately interested, but it's all downhill from there. Having the revelation that the lead characters are aliens be given away so early in the film, in a terrible voice-over to boot, took most of the wind out of this movie's sails for me. The villains are over-the-top in a bad way, the dialogue is horrible, and is delivered by actors who seem to be trying their best for a while, but eventually seem to stop caring and give terrible performances as a result of the lack of material to work with. It felt like an hour and a half long bad Smallville episode, which seems about right since it's written by a former Smallville writer.

Just Go with It

Just saw at this an advanced screening in Huntington Beach.

It was pretty damn good. I do have to admit that I am an Adam Sandler fan. Being 21, I grew up seeing his films in theaters and for the most part liked them all. I think with Big Daddy, Dennis Dugan and Adam Sandler's Happy Madison crew really started a formula of movie. Central conflicted and imperfect character Adam (who has a good heart of course), falls in love with the girl of his dreams, who is younger and way better looking than him, all formulated around a specific central premise (i.e. with this film it's Adam's lies piling on top of lies) supported by extremely strong, quirky side character performances. This might be the epitome of this established formula, really passing 50 First Dates in my opinion. The typical Sandler ridiculous humor and smart-ass remarks are extremely well balanced with perfectly timed and executed emotional moments. The set-up for the story is pretty basic and at first almost appears predictable. It is to some extent, but the crazy directions the movie takes based on Sandler's lies is well done and only stretches a few times. But what do you expect from the Happy Madison crew?

The 2 kids in the film did a good job and had some funny lines. I am not a Jennifer Aniston fan at all but really actually liked her in this. I sort of understand her popularity and charm after this movie. She seemed more genuine and I felt an emotional attachment to her that I have always lacked with her. Plus, she is showcased in a particular waterfall scene and looks absolutely fantastic in a bikini. Brooklyn Decker is unbelievably gorgeous, as we all know from the SI Swimsuit Edition, but I was very surprised at how natural of an actress she was. She seemed very comfortable and didn't overact much. She is extremely cute and lovable. Nicole Kidman and Dave Mathews were great as an uber cool couple. Nicole was a bit over the top as she has been of late (like since Moulin Rouge), but thats what her character called for so I understand. Dave was surprisingly good as an almost drugged up yuppie, cool boyfriend of Nicole's. Nick Swardson was absolutely hilarious and by far steals every scene he is in. He really comes into the movie about 1/3 of the way in and from there on out its his movie. Nick Swardson deserves fame for this.

I can't say for sure how the critics will receive it. I can handle suspension of disbelief as long as it leads to a funny payoff. For the most part these moments are delivered. It's a great date movie and a great movie for Sandler fans. He has an unbelievable recent track record for success, but this will top all of them at the box office.

The Eagle

Justin Bieber: Never Say Never [TRAILER]

The Rite

I had high expectations for "The Rite", which according to the poster stars Anthony Hopkins as an exorcist. Mikael Hafstrom (who guided 1408 and DeRailed remarkably well) directs, and the horror element with these two masters intrigued me even more. But this isn't The Silence of the Lambs by any means, nor is it The Exorcist.


The real star is Colin O'Donaghue's Michael Kovac, a young man from Chicago who runs a mortuary with his father (in a great performance by Rutger Hauer). The younger Kovac makes his way to a monestary headed by a Priest played by Toby Jones, who by a movie-coincidental turn of events suggests Kovac head to Rome to study the art of Exorcism.


Kovac arrives and meets the character of Father Xavier (Ciaran Hinds), who quickly realizes that his new pupil is losing his faith. Seeing a bright mind that stands to be lost, Xavier suggests the hermit-seeming Father Lucas (Anthony Hopkins, finally). Lucas quickly performs an exorcism, then another. And another. And pretty soon we can't help but ask ourselves if Rome has more exorcisms than Panera bread.


"The Rite" is a good movie that doesn't seem to know what to do with itself. Anthony Hopkins doesn't show up til a fourth of the way into the movie and still he is not at all the main character. O'Donaghue, who has to shoulder the burden of being the film as well as trying to hold a candle to Hopkins, does quite well. He is believable and no matter how clichéd his story is we want to see the best for him in the end.


Alice Braga is your typical horror movie heroine. She plays "Angelina", no last name, and is a ballsy reporter doing a story on exorcisms. The plot plays around with a romance for a bit before Kovac decides to become a priest. Rutger Hauer does a fine job in his bit part as the older Kovac. Likewise Toby Jones and Ciaran Hinds.


Cinematography is also excellent. The shots of Rome and the interiors of the Vatican, Father Lucas' home, and the exorcisms themselves are filmed very well. The script is my main problem. In the middle of one of these exorcisms, Hopkins answers his phone and expects O'Donaghue to continue on. Badly used comic effect that not even Hopkins can save.


This is a mediocre film that doesn't take itself too, too seriously and made an enjoyable two hours or so. It's very much like so many movies coming out nowadays, however, in that it's just to forgettable.