Hatchet II

Adam Green's sequel to his 2006 cult horror hit, Hatchet, gets released to the big screen this weekend and this time out it is unrated and uncut. Victor Cowley, played by genre favorite bad guy Kane Hodder, is back and is working his way through the the family of the kids who saw him killed as a child by his father. Outside of the buckets of blood and the in your face gore, plenty of genre favorites are back too including Tony Todd, Tom Holland, and Danielle Harris taking over the role of Marybeth. I did not see the first film, a situation soon to be remedied, but rarely does anything horror related get released unrated and uncut any more so I had to check this out and I even paid for my ticket. I knew I was in for a good old time when in the first kill of the film has Victor ripping out a man's large intestine, dragging him across the floor with it and then strangling him with the intestine until his head pops off in a geyser of blood - great stuff!

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Secretariat

One of the greatest race horses of all time stars in the latest Disney film to hit theaters for a sneak preview this weekend. The film stars Diane Lane as Penny Chenery who returns to her Virginia family home to help her ailing father after the loss of his wife and saves the family's horse business and reputation with the birth of a new foal that grows up and ultimately goes on to win the triple crown. Other cast notables are John Malkovich as Lucien Lauren the trainer, Margo Martindale as Mrs Ham the farm manager, and Nelsan Ellis as Eddie Sweat the horse's handler, who most will recognize as Lafayette from True Blood. Disney always deliveries in its bio pics and this one does not disappoint with re-enactments being augmented with actual footage from the time that I recall seeing live when I was a child. A great family film that make me nostalgic remembering watching all of the Disney classic films and cartoons on TV Sunday nights during The Wonderful World of Disney - good times.

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Case 39

Renee Zellweger has finally made it back to the horror genre in her latest film after a long hiatus since 1994's Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation. Zellweger stars as overloaded social worker Emily Jenkins who gets stuck with another case file that turns dangerous when the child's parents are stopped in the act of trying to burn their child alive in the kitchen's gas oven. Are the parents really insane or is there something else going on with innocent little Lilith played by Jodelle Ferland who we remember from other genre favorites like Silent Hill and Kingdom Hospital. The effects are rather tame and the story is nothing really new but the bathroom scene with Bradley Cooper is fun to watch and channels a bit of E.G. Marshall from Creepshow. If you want to see a good horror flick this weekend, go and see Let Me In instead.

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The Social Network

I have been looking forward to the release of this movie ever since first seeing the trailer and I can say the film does deliver and Jesse Eisenberg's performance is a tour de force. They say beware of the woman scorned but heaven help you if you are on the receiving end of a genius computer geek who can write code in his sleep, can hack networks in a single bound and is pissed because he just lost his girlfriend. As a friend on mine stated so aptly, this film is not about the rise of Facebook but rather the rise of an internet empire and the collateral damage to friends and enemies along the way. Justin Timberlake delivers a good performance as well as Napster founder Sean Parker but the question is will the singer turned actor ever go back to singing? Who cares about the singing but do go see this movie because it is incredibly good and entertaining to watch unravel.

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Let Me In

2008's Swedish sleeper hit, Let The Right One in, gets the American film treatment this weekend and stars our new favorite young actress, Chloe Moretz, just off her big staring role as Hit-Girl in Kick-Ass. Moretz stars as Abby, a twelve year old vampire who has been twelve for a very long time, who reluctantly befriends Owen, played by Kodi Smit-McPhee, a fellow apartment complex resident who is bullied at school and has no friends. Richard Jenkins plays Abby's father who must sacrifice himself to protect Abby from the local police when one of his dinner procurements goes horribly wrong. As remakes go this is a good one with more money for effects but it does not surpass the original film in any way. This is a great original story that everyone should see and will surprise you on just how good vampire stories can be.

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Buried

Ryan Reynolds stars in this new indy flick that has been making its rounds on the festival circuit but is now finally get to the big screen for wide release. Reynolds plays Paul Conroy who is a U.S contract trucker working in Iraq who is ambushed and wakes up tied up and in a wooden coffin that is buried underground who has a lighter, a few glow sticks, a faulty flashlight and a cellphone who is going to be left to die unless his company will pay his kidnappers a ransom for his release. The film is basically a one-man play with a few outside actors providing voices on the other end of the cell phone as we wonder if Paul will be saved or die buried alive. Reynolds does some very fine acting and the scene with the snake is down right terrifying. Definitely not a date night movie but one that is well worth seeing and a must see for Reynolds fans.

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You Again

As comedies go you cannot go wrong if your film includes Kristen Bell, Jamie Lee Curtis, Sigourney Weaver, Kristin Chenoweth and the always awesome Betty White. The plot is that Marni, played by Bell, is returning home for her brother's wedding only to find out that he is marrying the girl who tormented her in high school. Things get even crazier when it turns out that Marni's mother and her brother's fiancée's aunt where high school rivals as well. The comedy is fun and the wedding party antics enjoyable to watch but too bad there was not more screen time for Betty White to get in her classic one line zingers. If you are in the mood for a wedding comedy then you cannot go wrong checking this film out.

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The Virginity Hit

As comedies go the documentary format tends to run flat for me but this was not the case here. The movie focuses on four friends who make a pact to only smoke from a special bong once they lose their virginity. All seems to be going well until Matt has a falling out with his girl friend on the night they are suppose to do it. The movie is original and very funny with a great cameo by porn star Sunny Leone as the ultimate object of desire for our last remaining virgin. If you want a good laugh with a surprising bit of heart you will want to check this out.

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Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole 3D

It seems every new kid friendly film coming out these days is featuring 3D and are at best just cartoons. But kudos to Zack Snyder for bring us a fantastic story that may be all CGI animation but boy oh boy is it beautiful and realistic with the 3D really adding to the experience. The story is about a young owl whose love for the stories of the Guardian Owls and his quest to find them to help save his family and friends from enslavement by the armies of Metalbeak. The added kick to the story is the great lineup of voice talent which includes Helen Mirren, Sam Neill, Hugo Weaving, David Wenham and Geoffrey Rush. This is a great family film but beware it does show animals fighting in war scenarios and dying but done very tastefully - check it out.

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Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps

Oliver Stone dips back in to the well to bring us a sequel to his 1987 film, Wall Street, that introduced us to the infamous Gordan Gekko. This time out Gekko, played again by Michael Douglas, is out of prison and has written a novel about why "greed is good" while working his way back up to the top and getting revenge on enemies and family. Shia Lebeouf is the fiancée to Gekko's daughter who is an idealist that is trying to get the daughter and father to reconcile but gets caught up in the game and is hamstrung by Gekko as expected or does he? The movie is good and worth seeing but a little discomforting when you hear all the cancer references and remember that Douglas was recently diagnosed with stage four throat cancer. If you do go to see this you will be rewarded by a great cameo moment - enough said.

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