Saturday, February 23, 2013
The Rock turns into a Snitch in his latest film about what a father would do to save his son.
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson plays a father whose estranged son is framed on a drug-dealing charge in "Snitch." ---The film, rated PG-13 is playing at Movies 400, 415 Atlanta Road or AMC Avenue Forsyth 12, 350 Peachtree Parkway. For more theater information, show times and pricing, click the links above. With his son facing a hefty sentence, The Rock pleads with the U.S. Attorney (played by Susan Sarandon). He soon learns that the only way to get his son's time reduced is to help them find a bigger fish in the drug world. As you might guess, The Rock does just about anything to save his son. You'll be surprised to know that Johnson does more acting and less action in this movie. Nice try Rock…but the film seeks to make a statement about the …
Saturday, January 5, 2013
In theaters this week, an impossible journey to the core of the human heart in the true life story of a family swept away in one of the worst natural disasters in our lifetime.
A family of five begin their winter vacation in Thailand, looking for some fun in the sun. Soon their holiday turns into a nightmare as a giant tsunami rises up from the ocean and sweeps them away in "The Impossible." Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor head up this cast that tells the true story of one family's experience during the devastating 2004 tsunami that devoured Southeast Asia. The acting, though there is very little dialogue, is amazing and the special effects, especially in the first 45 minutes, are mind-boggling. Watts is being considered for an Oscar for her performance but the kids, in my opinion, steal every scene in which they appear. The film runs two hours, and it is a bit sappy at times, perhaps too sentimental. So the Flick-…
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Hold onto your hats, kids; we're heading to Middle Earth again with Peter Jackson and company.
After years of waiting it's finally coming to theaters -- Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey." Bilbo Baggins, a kicked-back, happy-go-lucky Hobbit, joins Gandolf the Grey and 13 dwarves on a dangerous quest to reclaim their homeland and their treasure from Smaug the dragon. The film is a staggering 160 minutes. But unlike any of the "Lord of the Rings" films, it takes about an hour for anything to really get going. Once it does, though, game on, with non-stop chase scenes and action sequences. On the journey they run into every kind of creature imaginable. The problem is, most of them are CGI creations. That was a big misstep, I think. In the "Lord of the Rings" films most of the monsters were just guys in makeup, and there…
Saturday, December 8, 2012
The only wide release movie this week is so bad there is a good chance it's on the way to home video by Christmas
Gerard Butler plays a divorced ex-jock who needs to be a father to his kid in the terrible romantic comedy "Playing for Keeps." Jessica Biel plays his ex-wife who just happens to be getting remarried. Uma Thurman and Cahterine Zeta-Jones play a couple of horny housewives who can't resist Butler. Dennis Quaid has a small role as a creepy team soccer dad who loves throwing money around. This may be one of the worst romantic comedies I have ever seen. Butler is a decent actor but this is not his finest hour. He stumbles through the movie as a good-looking, bumbling fool. The notion that no woman in town, even those who have suffered most from his womanizing, can resist this hunky, dim-witted, loser guy is, well, offensive and even …
Saturday, December 1, 2012
Brad Pitt plays a hitman who is sentimental and deadly.
Brad Pitt is a hitman brought in to restore some much needed street credibility to a weak-looking mob syndicate in "Killing Them Softly." Pitt prefers to kill victims “softly” from a distance rather than watching them get “touchy-feely” up close. While trying to fix things he works alongside local mob lawyer Richard Jenkins. James Gandolfini resurrects the spirit of Tony Soprano as a boozing, hooker-loving hit man who has lost his killer touch. Ray Liotta plays a poker manager wrongfully accused of ripping off the mob. They are a solid cast in a dark, artsy movie peppered with hard-to-watch violent scenes. Slow-motion bullets flying and brain matter splatters. They all try to convey the message that capitalism and organized crime are …
Saturday, November 17, 2012
The most popular Dracula-Werewolf soap opera franchise in history comes to an end with a big thanks to all its fans.
Editor's Note: See "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn--Part Two" at Movies 400, 415 Atlanta Road or AMC Avenue Forsyth 12, 350 Peachtree Parkway. For more theater information, show times and pricing, click the links above. TELL US: What did you think of this final installment? The love triangle between Bella (Kristen Stewart), her husband Edward (Robert Pattinson), and Werewolf Jacob (Taylor Lautner) comes to an exciting conclusion in "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn--Part Two." Bella finally gets what she wants. She's a vampire; she's married to a vampire; now she has a half-vampire, half-human kid. That the child is from a mixed marriage doesn't sit well with some of the vampires, causing a bit of a problem. Be ready for a few surprises …
Saturday, November 3, 2012
The bad guy in an old video game is about to become the good guy in a new movie. It's a wreck the whole family should enjoy.
The bad guy in a low-resolution '80s video game is a reluctant villain who tears down buildings with his sledgehammer fists. He's ready for a change in today's high-resolution world in "Wreck-It Ralph," in 3D. In order to break out of his bad-guy image Ralph travels to grand game central, where there is access to every video game in the world. If he can win a few levels, who knows, he may become that good guy he has always wanted to be. The clever writing and character development is met with a solid voice-over cast which includes John C. Reilly as Ralph, Sarah Silverman as the voice of Vanellope and Jane Lynch as Sgt. Calhoun. There are dozens of retro games for the grown-ups and a solid storyline for the kids. As in the tradition of "Toy…
Saturday, October 27, 2012
This week's review is like getting six movies for the price of one. It's nearly a three-hour mind-bender they may just leave you scratching your head.
Six major plot lines taking place over 500 years -- featuring the same actors playing multiple roles -- is what you get with "Cloud Atlas." All of the stories are crosscut together, jumping back and forth from one another across different time periods ranging from a 19th century South Pacific sea voyage to the distant post-apocalyptic future where humanity lives on the very brink of extinction. The cast includes Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Sturgess, Susan Sarandon, Hugo Weaving and Hugh Grant. They do their best to tell the secrets of the universe and the human heart while leaving you, well, confused. "Cloud Atlas" is simply too long and too scatterbrained. The central message is that we are all connected from womb to tomb and our lives …
Saturday, October 20, 2012
If you enjoy watching characters sleep while their furniture moves around them, I have just the movie.
A Nevada family plays host to a very odd 6-year-old neighbor boy whose unseen mother has suddenly been hospitalized in "Paranormal Activity 4." A group of young unknown actors jump into the Paranormal Activity formula without a hitch. The long stretches of green night-cam footage manage to creep you out as you try to figure out if you just saw movement in the corner. And when something eventually flies across the screen, no matter how much you try to anticipate it, you jump. A neighborhood witches' coven plays into the proceedings, adding to the drama. In the end, as expected, all you really get is a whole bunch of jolts and scares. If you have seen any of the previous films, it's more of the same. This time around I was more tricked than…
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Six Americans are rescued from Iran in 1980 (true story), and now the real-life drama is a movie, and a good one at that!
On Nov. 4, 1979, a large group of Iranians stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, taking 52 Americans hostage. But six Americans did escape. The story about how those six made it out is the set-up for the film "Argo." The six find refuge in the home of the Canadian ambassador. That's when CIA operative Tony Mendez comes in. He's played by Ben Affleck, who also directs the film. He cooks up a plan to fly in alone and fly out with the six, all of them posing as a film crew scouting locations for a faux "Star Wars" knockoff titled "Argo." It's a crazy scheme to get hostages out by fronting a fake movie, but it works…and, at times, it's very funny. There are some great supporting roles for Bryan Cranston, the CIA boss; Alan Arkin, the fake movie …
Emma Perry
6:59 pm on Saturday, November 3, 2012
I’ve seen so many good reviews for this movie! I’m definitely planning to see it. Unfortunately I don’t really have time to see movies these days because my job at DISH keeps me pretty busy. I’m planning to add it to my Blockbuster @ Home queue instead. When it comes out on DVD, it’ll show up in my mailbox and I’ll be able to have a movie night with my roommate. Should be fun! more ›