House at the End of the Street

Katniss is back...err Jennifer Lawrence...but instead of having to survive the Games she is trying to survive relocating to a new town, attending a new high school and that eerie house from across the way. The plot smacks of remake to this horror junkie and ground well traveled but at least we get Elizabeth Shue back from her starring role in Piranha. The acting is good and Max Thieriot does play on your sympathies for the ostracized kid much better than in his previous snoozer, My Soul to Take. The movie would be fine but suffers from the filmmaker's need to show you the obvious flashback moment that is not ever needed for anyone who has been watching the movie. Stop spoon feeding us these gratuitous end scenes that only give us the impression that you think your audience is not intelligent enough to get it already.



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Dredd 3D

Well it seems that fans of the original source material can now finally purge the bad taste from their mouths left by Sylvester Stallone's 1995 ham-fisted send up to the most notorious bad-ass judge to mount a lawmaster. It seem you can actually deliver the character of Dredd just fine with your helmet on for the duration of the film. Karl Urban's Dredd works while taking the character seriously with no need for camera winks or jokes made at the character's own expense. The 3D is used as a significant plot tool to elevate the film's drug elements and violence and not just as an after thought to add a surcharge to your movie ticket. I really enjoyed this movie and hope it makes big bank at the box office this weekend so we can all have a little more Dredd in our lives.



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Bachelorette

Mover over Bridesmaids it is now time for the girl of honor to step up or at least her entourage. This movie is funny and all of the bride-to-be's friends are hot just like in real life, right?. The scene stealer is Lizzy Caplan whose blow job discussion as viewed in the trailer just gets better in the film. Ilsa Fisher does have a nice rack and Kirsten Dunst does seem to feel at home as the bitchy and controlling friend. Thank you Amazon for letting me see this from luxury of my own couch.



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AMC Theaters presents...The Indiana Jones Marathon

It was great seeing Indy back on the big screen in a marathon movie session thanks to their release on Blue-Ray DVD. Blue-Ray is nice but one thing that the new format shows is obvious film overlays and super-imposed elements. This can get distracting but not enough to stop your enjoyment of the films. I have never bought in to the Blu-Ray marketing hype - DVDs will be gone shortly...long live digital download and streaming - but I may pick this up for some of my friends who would love to have this as a gift for Christmas or Hanukkah and possibly Kwanzaa.



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Premium Rush

It seems like this movie has been advertised forever in the theaters and now it it is just getting its big screen wide release. Maybe it was Joseph Gordon-Levitt's appearance in The Dark Knight Rises that final got this pushed along. This is actually a fun, fast-paced action movie brought to you by your local bike messengers who you really don't want to mess with. Not really date night fodder but well worth seeing in the theater at matinee rates.



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Resident Evil: Retribution

The zombies are back as well as plenty of former cast members in this fifth installment of the first person shooter video game turned movie. Milla Jovovich still looks good as Alicia and kicks butt but is starting to show her age a bit. As with the last film it is all about the 3D with enough plot to get you through to the next movie. Do not expect any great leaps forward in story telling here where it is mainly CGI visuals and wire work that shine through. The only thing missing at the end was the release date for film six.



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The Possession

I have been wanting to see this film ever since the trailer first popped up in the theater showing the fingers coming up through the little girl's throat in the mirror. I am a nut for a good exorcism film and it was refreshing to see one based on something other than Catholicism. Natasha Calis gives a great performance as the innocent girl being obsessed with and possessed by the strange wooden box she picked up from a local yard sale. Jeffery Dean Morgan is great too as the displaced father trying to understand what is happening to his little girl and willing to try anything to save her. Of all the different horror films out right now, this one is the must see gem for the ardent horror fan.



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Hit & Run

Move over Roger Corman, Dax Shepard is in town with his own summer car film.  Dax enlists his friends and his own car collection to bring us a sorta funny film with only one cool car.  Tom Arnold is no longer funny and has no range so why is he still showing up in films?  Kristen Bell is hot and looks great on screen but no real acting stretch here for her.  A matinee film at best but you may want to wait for it to hit Comedy Central and save your pesos.

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The Apparition

It's getting to be that time of year when scary movies are hitting the screen in time for Halloween but unfortunately some of these films are not scary or engaging. All horror films are gauged by their opening scene and this one is not too bad of a hook. The creepiest scene comes at the end of the movie but better in-camera scares can be found in any of the Paranormal Activity films. One fun thing was seeing Draco Malfoy, aka Tom Felton, leading our haunted band of twenty somethings.  If you are going to see a scary movie you may want to pass on this one and go straight for The Possession.

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The Expendables 2

If you are a fan of the first film than you will like this one too. This time out we get more with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis as well as a few new faces like Jean-Claude Van Damme and Chuck Norris. The inside jokes and digs at each other are great and very funny if you are a connoisseur of each action star's portfolio of fine flicks. Unfortunately with so many names there is less dedicated screen time per character but that is to be expected. This movie was well worth the price of admission and I hope the rumors are true with a third film planned that may include Clint Eastwood - I feel lucky; how about you?

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