The Dark Knight Rises

Movie: The Dark Knight Rises

Genre: thriller

Synopsis: This is the third and final chapter in this reboot of the Batman series.  Batman (Christian Bale) has been off the grid for seven years.  After Harvey Dent died in the previous movie, Batman took the blame for his death.  He wanted the (good) image of Dent to remain with the public rather than the true evil side of Dent.  Now it seems that crime is returning to Gotham City – in the form of Bane (Tom Hardy).  Bane is absolutely one of the most intimidating villains of any of the recent super-hero movies.  While Bane tries to take over the city, Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman) tries to get Batman back on the job.  Fox (Morgan Freeman) and Alfred (Michael Caine) are back for the ride.  New players are Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levit), an eager young patrolman; Miranda (Marion Cotillard), a wealthy philanthropist; and – best of all – Selina (Ann Hathaway).  Selina is really Catwoman.  She is a cat burglar who keeps getting the best of Bruce Wayne, although they ultimately team up.  After a lot of waffling, Batman finally dons his suit and enters the battle to save Manhatten.   

My two cents: This might just be the best of the three Christopher Nolan-Christian Bale Batman movies.   Lots of nice gadgets and action.  They also spend some time on the relationship between Bruce Wayne and Alfred.  Batman is far from invincible in this movie – he actually gets his butt kicked early on.  Anne Hathaway could not have been better as Catwoman (although they never use that name).  It was great to see her consistently out-fox and out-maneuver Bruce Wayne.  My favorite part of the movie was in the last five minutes or so.  It wraps things up brilliantly.  I can’t say more without giving too much away – but even if the rest of the movie had sucked (which it did not), the final couple of scenes would have made up for it.  If you are any kind of a Batman fan, you should love this one.

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Seeking a Friend for the End of the World

Movie: Seeking a Friend for the End of the World

Genre: romantic comedy

Synopsis: Dodge (Steve Carell) is an accountant.  When it is announced that a meteor is soon going to strike – and destroy – the earth, things start to fall apart.  After his wife leaves him, he strikes up a friendship with his neighbor, Penny (Keira Knightley).  He decides to try and help Penny get back to her family (in England) before the world ends.  This launches the two of them on a rather unusual road trip.

My two cents: I went into this movie curious about how you make the end of the world humorous.  Well, they did it.  I think Steve Carell is the go-to-guy for romantic comedies.  He was perfect in this movie.  The stops the two of them make on the road are hilarious – and touching.  Definitely a movie worth seeing if you like romantic-comedies.

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Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Killer

Movie: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Killer

Genre: horror

Synopsis: It seems that vampires were all over the place in Lincoln’s time.  After one kills young Abe’s mother, he is determined to seek vengeance.  Several years later, he gets his chance when a vampire hunter takes Abe under his tutelage to train him in the fine art of vampire slaying.

My two cents: This is definitely puts a unique twist in the biography of Abraham Lincoln.  If you can suspend belief for a while and go with the flow, it is not a bad movie. – but it also remains a far cry from a really good movie.  As far as vampire movies go, I would rank it as no more better than an average low budget movie – but with a definitely new twist with the Abe angle.

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Men in Black III

Movie: Men in Black III

Genre: sci-fi thriller

Synopsis: Agent J (Will Smith) and Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) – along with a Agnet O (Emma Thompson) and a Young Agent K (Josh Brolin).  This time the bad guy is Boris the Animal (Jermaine Clement).  Boris is a really bad-ass.  He is kept off-planet in a prison made especially for him.  When he escapes, he comes after the one responsible for his incarceration – a young Agent K.  His quest for vengeance involves time travel – with a very confused Agent J following him.

My two cents: I liked this installment as much as the first and better than the second. Boris is every bit as scary as Edgar (Vincent D'Onofrio) from the original movie.  If you are a Men in Black fan, you should like this movie.  We get to see the origin of the relationship between Agents J and K.

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Prometheus in IMAX 3D

Movie: Prometheus in IMAX 3D

Genre: sci-fi

Synopsis: Something of a prequel to the Alien series.  A couple of scientists find evidence that mankind was actually “seeded” by an alien race – along with a probable location of their home planet.  A corporation sends the two scientists – and a team of company people – on a journey to the planet.  What they find when the get there is what the movie is all about. The two innocent scientists discover that the corporation that sponsored

the voyage was not quite as altruistic as they thought. Noomi Rapace plays one of the scientists.  Michael Fassbender is David, an android.  Charlize Theron is in charge of the whole voyage.

My two cents: Wow! Rarely have I so looked forward to a movie and then enjoyed it even more than I hoped.  I think the original Star Trek movie was the last time I was left so speechless.  I sat through the credits (waiting for that last brief scene) lost in thought about what the movie meant – and hoping for sequels.  The special effects were great.  The 3D was good.  The sound was great in IMAX.  There are lots of little twists and turns to the plot that lead to a great climax.  I would not mind seeing this again on the big screen.

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Moonrise Kingdom

Movie: Moonrise Kingdom

Genre: coming-of-age comedy

Synopsis: This is a tough one to describe.  It takes place on a small New England island with a few inhabitants.  It also has a Boy Scout camp run by Scout Master Ward (Edward Norton).  One of his scouts is Sam (Jared Gilman).  Sam marches to the beat of a different drum – and is universally disliked by the other scouts. Walt and Laura Bishop (Bill Murray and Frances McDormand) are a married couple.  They are both lawyers and live on the island with their two sons and an 11-ish daughter, Suzy (Kara Hayward).  The Police Chief (and only officer) of the island is Captain Sharp (Bruce Willis).  Last but not least, is Social Services (no other name) played by Tilda Swinton.  The movie begins three days before an historic hurricane strikes the island.  Sam is smitten with Suzy.  He runs away from the camp, meets up with Suzy – and the two of them run away.  They are soon being tracked/chased/hunted on land, sea and air by Scout Master Ward, the entire Boy Scout Troop, Suzy’s parents, and Captain Sharp. 

My two cents: I loved this movie.  I have not figured out how to convey the delight of the movie.  One minute a fully armed (with knives, bows and arrows, sticks, a BB rifle and a motorcycle) troop is attacking Suzy and Sam.  The next scene has the entire troop running away – terrorized by Suzy.  The dialog is great.  If you enjoy off-beat coming of age movies, you absolutely have to see this movie.  I have never seen a movie that had such quirky writing coupled with impossible (at least for me) visual tricks.

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