Blade: Trinity

Blade: Trinity is more of the same. Blade (Wesley Snipes) sees vampires. Blade kills vampires. Blade reloads and goes back for more. The only ones he has any real trouble with are human beings. For some reason, they're more difficult to dispatch than the undead. The storyline makes less sense than the ones embraced by Blade and Blade II, if that's possible. This time, Blade is given two sidekicks: the irritating (Ryan Reynolds), who has a wisecrack for every occasion, and  Abigail Whistler (Jessica Biel), who is the daughter of Blade's old friend, Whistler (Kris Kristofferson). These three must go up against the king of vampires, Dracula (Dominic Purcell), who has been awakened by  Danica Talos (Parker Posey) to implement the vampires' "final solution."

Those who are looking for variations on a theme won't find any here. Blade: Trinity is a carbon copy of its predecessors. It's all kick-ass attitude and style without any substance to back it up. Yet, where the first two Blades satisfied on a action level, this one doesn't. That probably has something to do with the portrayal of Dracula, who, in human form, looks more like a body builder than a vampire. When he reverts to this "true" likeness, he comes across like a rip-off of the alien from Predator. And, since all really bad guys like nicknames, he goes by the name of "Drake."

Although the vampires in Blade: Trinity aren't scary, at least they are not emasculated by the romantic notions applied by writers such as Ann Rice. These are cold-blooded killers, which allows Blade and his team to dispatch them without blinking an eye. The film features dozens of vampire destructions, many of which occur during the film's frantic, frenzied opening battle, which is big on loud music, quick cuts, and violence. Much of the movie is like that, and what starts out as energetic quickly becomes tiresome, then boring. Besides, we have seen this before - twice, to be exact.

Thomas Principato

"The Little Mermaid"

            In 1989 Disney released “The Little Mermaid”.  Based on the life of a mermaid Ariel (Jodi Benson) who is not your typical mermaid.  She is one of the seven daughters of King Triton (Kenneth Mars) who gets herself into trouble.

            Ariel lives her own life and does what she wants.  She is fascinated by the humans and the world they live in.  Ariel likes to collect things from the human world, and finds out from her seagull friend Scuttle (Buddy Hackett) what they are named and what they use them for.  Ariel discovers a fork, which Scuttle calls a “dinglehopper” and tells Ariel that humans use to do their hair.

            Ariel manages to get herself in some trouble living under the sea.  Especially with Ursula (Pat Carroll) the sea witch.  Ariel dreams to interact with the humans and with the help of Ursula she gives her the chance to do that.  Ursula gives Ariel the chance to become human for three days, but takes her voice away.  Ariel has to do her best to get Prince Eric (Christopher Daniel Barnes) to fall in love with her without speaking to him.  If she can’t get him to fall in love with her in three days she will go back to being a mermaid and be Ursula’s prisoner.

            Will Ariel be able to get Eric to fall in love with her?  Will she be able to stay human forever or will she go back to being a mermaid?  With the help of all her friends under the sea Ariel does her best to stay human and learn about the human life.

--Ally Laudage

"Spin"

The movie spin is about six people in Los Angeles who try and recall their previous night of partying at a night club. The movie is all about sex, drugs, music, comedy, and guns all rapped in one. There is really no "main" character due to the different sections the movie holds. Each section in the movie follows one particular character in their eyes of what happened the night before. Although each person was at the same place, each characeter experienced completely different things and it resulted in one of the best movie creations of all time. The movie is so funny and witty that i literally couldn't take my eyes off the screen. It was like a book that you just cant stop reading, i had to keep watching. Many of the actors in the movie you have seen before in other films, but the actors aren't necessarily the most famous of celebrities. The actors include Patrick John Flueger,Katie Cassidy, Lauren German, Bijou Phillips, Adam Campbell, Michael Biehn, Chris Lowell, and many others.

Author- Patrick Keegan

"WaterWorld"

Kevin Costner is the main character in this movie and plays an amazing role. The movie is about him and his huge water adventures throughout the harsh terrains of the new water world. Back in the day there was land, but a huge Tsunami came and wiped out all of the world. Now, everyone lives above the destroyed mainlands that is now completely underwater. Life is hard, but Kevin Costner seems to have made life easy and just chills all day everyday. Eventually in the movie, he finds this woman and young child who have the secret in order to get to land. Almost everyone has heard about this young child who has the answer to the question that everyone has, but no one can seem to find her. Well, Costner did and he is shown protecting her and the woman from the bad guys that try and capture her. At the end of the movie you see Costner, the child and the woman eventually get to land, and you watch them go crazy with excitement. I reccomend this movie to everyone....Great movie for a late night flick.

Author- Patrick Keegan

"The Bridge At Remagen"

"Bridge at Remagen" tells the true story of the battle for this last bridge called Remagen Bridge. The movie is

shown from both the German and American perspective.In the last days of World War II, the Allied Army

desperatly searched for a certain bridge across the impenetrable Rhein River, this would be the only way to

launch a major assault into the center of Germany.If this was completed, the possibility of the way ending was

very big. The whole movie you see the struggle and pain the allied army solders go through. The audience

cant help but feel bad for these solders as they keep getting beaten down by the German military. But in the

end, the allied forces come together and take over the bridge at Remagen.

Author: Patrick Keegan

"8 Mile"

This drama is a biography is about Jimmy “B-Rabbit” Smith Jr., better known as rap sensation Eminem.  It shows him in his early life as he struggles to make it big in the rap game as an up and coming white rapper in the inner cities of Detroit during the mid-1990.  As he tries to gain respect from his fellow peers in the game he gets a lot of criticism for being white and not like the rest of them.

The movie stars Eminem and features many know actors including Kim Basinger, Brittany Murphy and Mekhi Phifer.  It also included appearances from well know rappers Xzibit, Proof and Obie Trice.  8 Mile was directed by Curtis Hanson and was released into theaters in November of 2002.  The movie was an instant box office success bringing in a little over 240 million.  It also won an Academy Award for the Best Original song “Loose Yourself.”  This was the first time a rap song in a movie won an Academy Award.

At the end of the movie he faces his rival enemy rappers, “Free World,” in a three round, one song elimination tournament.   After winning the first and second rounds with freestyles both better then the last he is now contending in the third and final round for the championship.

In the third round Eminem has to freestyle first for 90 seconds.  When the music starts he begins to free style about the Free World, putting them down and calling them disrespectful names.  He makes a reference to his opponent “Papa Doc” being a half way crook which makes the crowd crazy.  After putting down the Free World and Popa Dac, he proceeds to talk about himself and the fact that he is white trash and lives in a trailer with his mom.  He also addressed many other humiliating things about himself the occurred in the movie.  In doing so when it was Papa Dac’s turn to freestyle he had noting to talk about.  The music played for many seconds before Papa Dac gave up the mic making Eminem the champion.

            This was a very good movie and I would recommend any one who has not seen it before.  Its shows you how hard he had to work to make it to where he is today.  Going from absolutely nothing, living in a trailer with his mom to being one the biggest know rappers in the music industry today.

-Carl Oberle

“Major League”

“Major League” is meant to make you laugh, pure and simple.  Baseball is merely the platform for some funny jokes, but these characters could have been plugged into any sport and it would have been practically the same movie.  It's a bit of a formula, where some very eccentric players get put on the same team, showing no teamwork initially, only to realize how much they have grown to like each other in the end.  We've all seen this kind of sports movie so many times, but if there's a good reason why one of them gets made every few years, it's because it works. I like the characters, and I like how they make fun of each other.  I like them so much, that I want them to win in the end, which they always inevitably do.  “Major League” isn't a great film, but it is largely entertaining and often funny, and that's about the best you can ask for in a sports comedy.

The film makes good use of the fact that the Cleveland Indians hadn't (at that time) won a pennant since the beginning of the century.  Now that the owner has died, his ex-showgirl wife (Whitton) has taken over the team, but she hates being in Cleveland.  She sees an opportunity to movie the team to Miami if they can draw less than 800,000 paid attendance for the year, and she intends for them to do just that by picking a minor league manager to choose from a crop of "has-been and never-will-be" candidates to ensure that the team spends the season in the cellar.  Among the players is a washed-up catcher with bad knees (Berenger), a high-heat pitcher with almost no control (Sheen), a high-priced star with no desire to get injured by going all-out (Bernsen), a voodoo-practicing clean-up hitter that can't make contact with a breaking ball (Haysbert), and a fast-running lead-off man who has no talent for hitting (Snipes). 

To properly enjoy “Major League”, you have to overlook some obvious and some strange logic in the plot.  For instance, to make the team worse, many of the players could have easily been benched or sent to the minors once they looked like they may start getting good, which the owner could have done at any time.  Also, once the team hit the point where it seemed likely that their attendance was well over the 800,000 mark, negating the proposition of moving the team to Miami, it would be in the owner's best interests to root for the team to win the pennant, since she would be able to sell the team at a much higher price, especially since she has no desire to own a baseball team in the first place.  Berenger's character, Jake, is the catcher with bad knees, and would definitely not be batting second in the line-up on any team.  These are just a few of the things you have to swallow down, and if you can, it's a worthwhile watch. “Major League” is definitely a movie I recommend to sports movie junkies, and of course for those who love baseball.  It's silly, stupid, but very likeable.  Not a home run, but definitely a hit.

"UP"

           

             In 2009 Disney and Pixar released “Up”, based on a 78-year old Carl Fredricksen (Edward Asner) who plans to stay in his house forever.  After the passing of his wife, who had been a childhood friend, Carl became a cranky old man.  The world is changing and they want to purchase his property to build huge buildings and Carl refused to leave the place he lived in his whole life.

            Carl stayed in his house as long as he could.  One day Russell (Jordan Nagai) a Wilderness Explorer goes to Mr.Fredricksen’s house so that he could help him out.  Russell needs to assist the elderly so that he can receive his last badge.  Carl refuses and Russell comes back for the next couple of days.  Carl goes crazy one day when a construction worker messes with the mailbox his beloved wife man, and they force Carl to go to an old person’s home.  Carl decides the next day that he’s going to attach balloons to his house, so that he can finally make it to Paradise Falls; where he and his wife Ellie wanted to go.

            Without knowing Russell makes his way into Carl’s house as the house begins to float away.  As much as Carl did not want Russell around there was no way around getting rid of him.  With many battles ahead of them, Carl and Russell manage to “fly” Carl’s house near Paradise Falls.  They run into some battles, in order to get the house from one side to the other.  Carl is willing to do whatever he has to do to fulfill the dream both him and his wife dreamed of.

            I continue to fall in love with this movie every time I watch it.  The characters are each loveable in their own way.  Adults connect to the story of Carl and his wife Ellie.  It’s that love story that you hear about as a kid, and hits home that Carl is so in love with his wife after all these years.

--Ally Laudage

"Monsters Inc."

   

             In 2001 Disney and Pixar came out with “Monsters Inc.”  Based on a town of monsters, whose city depends on the screams of children.  They come through children’s doors at night and scare them, so that they can capture their screams.  As wacky as it seems these monsters are just as scared of these children as the children are scared of them.

            Sulley (John Goodman) Monstropolis’ head scarer who works alongside Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal) to scare kids so that the city never runs out of power.  Sulley and Mike are faced with a problem when a child escapes the human world and makes her way into the monster world!  They can’t let anyone know that a kid has made its way into the monster world and they have to do everything in their power to keep the others from finding out.

            Monstropolis is turned upside down on the search for this kid, and Mike and Sulley need to get her back through her door before they get caught.  They have a lot of ups and downs as everyone goes crazy.  The monsters are scared of this little girl and the CPA (Child Protection Association) is doing their best to get her out of Monstropolis.  Can Mike and Sulley get her back through her door without anyone finding out that they accidently let her in?  Join the monsters on their stressful journey.

            “Monsters Inc.” is a movie that can be loved by people of all ages.  These loveable characters are becoming household names.  Most kids fear monsters, but Sulley and Mike Wazowski are so cute and loved by all.  Disney and Pixar do a great job, as usual to take a childhood mystery and bring it to life.

--Allison Laudage

"Platoon"

"Platoon" was a war movie taking place in Vietnam. Charlie Sheen plays a new recruit that was deployed to Vietnam to fight in the war. He was unlike most of the soldiers over seas, and many of them didn't understand why he was even in the war. Well, supposedly, Charlie Sheens character signed up for the war rather than being drafted. Throughout the whole movie you wonder how this man could be so young and want to risk his life in a pointless war. Vietnam had one of the most inhumane American death counts in any other war. The movie portrayed the life of a regular American platoon fighting the war to save the Vietnamese from ultimate communism. Throughout the whole movie you see death, blood, gore, and the horrific lives that these soldiers go through. This movie is absolutely crazy, i recommend it to everyone!

Author- Patrick Keegan

"Dumb and Dumber"

            This hilarious comedy is about two best friends and their wild adventures as they make their across the country to return a briefcase to a woman they have only met once.  Though they are good-hearted people they are incredibly stupid making this movie an all time classic. 

This movie features a great cast with Jim Carry playing Lloyd, Jeff Daniels playing Harry and Lauren Holly playing Lloyds mystery woman Mary Swanson.  Dumb and Dumber was directed by Peter Farrelly was released into theaters in December of 1994.

The movie starts off with Lloyd picking up Mary Swanson in a limo to drive her to the airport.  Lloyd was immediately attracted to Mary and while dropping her off he notices that she leaves her brief case on the floor in the terminal.  In a hilarious failed attempt to bring it back to her, he returns home with it in his position.

When arriving home Lloyd convinces Harry to take a cross-country trip to Aspen “The Sunshine State” to return the briefcase to Marry.  In their travels they encounter numerous speed bumps.  After Lloyd drives half way in the wrong direction Harry splits up and beings to walk home by himself.  In a desperate attempt to regain Harry’s friendship back Lloyd sells the van and buys a mini bike.  Harry agrees to continue the journey.

After arriving in Aspen they begin to look for Mary through the phone book but without any luck because they did not know her last name.  That night Harry and Lloyd had no money to afford to get a hotel so they were stuck out in the cold.  Harry grows very upset with Lloyd and he tries to throw the briefcase into the lake.  The briefcase breaks open and inside is thousands of dollars.

The two decide to take some of the money for a hotel to get out of the cold and promise to pay all of it back with IOU’s.  They end up spending a lot the money on foolish things.  A few days later they see Mary in the newspaper and plan to meet with her.

Lloyds shows up at Mary’s house explaining that he has her brief case.  She follows him back to his hotel so he can return it to her.  When arriving to the room a man barges in demanding for his briefcase full of money.  After he tied them to the bed Harry then walks in. (Harry was approached by the police in the lobby of the hotel, he was given a gun and bulletproof vest to stop the man with the gun.) 

The real police break into the room just as the man was about to shoot the three.   The movie after this shortly comes to an end; Lloyd finds out that Marry had a husband so his dreams of marrying her are crushed.  

Dumb and Dumber was a hilarious comedy and will always be considered a classic.  There are so many good one-liners that will make you laugh for days.  Overall this was a great movie and I would recommend it to anyone who likes comedy.

In 2003 Dumb and Dumberer; When Harry Met Lloyd was released into theaters, a prequel to the original Dumb and Dumber.  The movie takes place in the 80’s when Harry arrives at his first day of high school and meats Lloyd.  Harry had been homeschooled his whole life and Lloyd’s father is the custodial of the high school they attend. Despite featuring a whole new cast and not doing so well in the box office the movie had a few good one-liners.

-Carl Oberle

"KIDS"

This movie is a drama that takes place in New York City and follows a group of teenagers around through their average day. It shows the group constantly abusing drugs and alcohol, stealing, doing violent acts to others and vandalizing.  It also shows their lack of concern towards sex and STDs.  The movie was an independent film directed by Larry Clark was released in 1995.  At this time the AIDS and HIV epidemic were at its peak making the movie very confrontational.

The plot of the movie was mainly focused one a girl named Jenny played Chloe Sevigny.  Jenny goes to the doctor with her friend Ruby to get tested for STDs. After the results came back Ruby’s test came up negative while Jenny’s test comes up positive.  This had been a complete surprise to Jenny because she had only been with one person in her life, Telly (Leo Fitzpatrick)

When leaving the doctor Jenny become to get very upset and tries to find Telly.  She searched all day for him, looking at the park and a nightclub called NASA.  While at the club she was given a pill from a friend, which turns out to be a depressant that made her very woozy and tired.  She makes her way back to another house party where she finds Tully have sex with another girl.

After she falls asleep on the couch, Casper, a friend of Telly’s begins to rape her passing on the STD to him.  The movie closes with Telly speaking about how he could not live without sex and with images of junkies in the streets of New York.

This movie shows the ugly truth of an average day of inner city teenagers living in New York City.  I would defiantly recommend this movie to anyone; it depicts and shows the mindset of KIDS and the realism of the HIV virus and how quickly it can spread.

-Carl Oberle

“The Expendables”

I am all for the return of the action hero.  Films like “Predator”, “Terminator”, “Die Hard”, “Under Siege”, “Rambo” etc., seem to be things of the past.  The world of fantasy and superheroes has unfortunately taken over the blockbuster business for the time being. So along comes “The Expendables”, a reunion of many terrific actions stars from the past. It feels like an All-Star Game or a Pro Bowl, lots of big names with nothing at stake.  It feels more like a celebratory gathering than an actual film. Stallone leads a team of mercenaries on an ass-kicking mission to save the world.  Does it really matter?  There are tons of fights and explosive action sequences. There is a token girl added to the mix, although she is largely a plot device.  Mostly, this movie caters to guys who want to shout “DUDE!” or “WHOA!” or “AWESOME!” at the screen while stuffing their faces with nachos.

I have to admit that I actually enjoyed the reunion a little.  Stallone is typically good in roles like this one.   I had fun on the most base level imaginable.  There is no substance in this movie at all, purely a sensory experience. The film suffers from the lack of two major stars, Steven Seagal and Jean Claude Van Damme.  I would much rather have seen them on screen than the action stars of today like Jason Statham, Steve Austin and Jet Li.  All in all, “The Expendables” feels like an unnecessary trip down memory lane, enjoyable but not worth it.

Thomas Principato

"Tangled"

     In 2010 the animated Disney film “Tangled” hit theaters.  The long-haired Rapunzel (Mandy Moore) has been living her whole life locked away in a tower with Mother Gothel (Donna Murphy).  Rapunzel’s birthday is in a couple of days and they only thing she wants are for Mother to take her to the lights.  Every year on Rapunzel’s birthday there are these lanterns that are let out into the sky; in hopes that the King and Queen will find there lost Princess.  Mother Gothel will not allow Rapunzel to leave the tower but instead agrees to get her, her favorite paints which will take her three days to get.  While mother is gone, Rapunzel meets Flynn Rider (Zachary Levi) a runaway thief who agrees to take her to the floating lanterns.  Rapunzel is extremely nervous at first because it is the first time she has left the tower, and she needs to make sure she is home before mother gets back.

            On the way to the floating lanterns Rapunzel and Flynn Rider run into a lot of people that have it out for Flynn.  He is a thief after all, and has recently stolen the crown of the missing princess from the castle.  While trying to escape from the guards Rapunzel and Flynn get trapped and don’t believe they are going to make it out alive; in this moment Flynn shares will Rapunzel that Flynn is not his real name and Rapunzel tells him that she has magical hair.  As the words come out of her mouth, she then realizes she can save them both!  Once they escape danger Raupnzel shares with Flynn that she has this magically hair that grows and grows.  Her mother keeps her locked away in the tower because people will try and cut Rapunzels hair to try and use its power.  If Rapunzels hair is ever cut it will turn from blonde to brown and lose its power.

            Rapunzel and Flynn make their way to the castle in time to see the floating lanterns.  Rapunzel is so amazed!!  Her excitement is short lived when she sees her mother has been following her.  She takes Rapunzel away, and brings her back to the tower were she plans on gathering everything they own and moving so that no one will be able to find them again.  Flynn Rider meets them at the tower and tries to save Rapunzel.  Flynn cuts Rapunzels’ hair which instantly turns brown, and with that Mother Gothel dies because as long as Rapunzels’ hair was growing she would still be alive.  By escaping the tower, Rapunzel find that she is the lost princess.  Mother Gothel had stolen her years ago from the King and Queen.  She had kept Rapunzel in the tower to keep anyone from finding her.  By getting the courage to leave the tower, Raupunzel discovers the truth about her life.

--Ally Laudage

"Candy"

The Australian film, "Candy", starring, Heath Ledger and Abbie
Cornish playing Candy, was a strong love story between two people
struggling from their addiction to heroin.The movie is separated into
three different parts, Heaven, Earth, and Hell.

During Heaven, you see both Heath Ledgers character and Abbie
Cornish's character (Candy) living life to the fullest. Both are in love with
each other and in love with the biggest demon known to the human mind and body, heroin. Heroin use during this part in their relationship
was heavy, with each day getting better and better as time went by. The
audience see's the couple grow with each other through their trials
and tribulations to a warm beloved couple.

In the next section,"Earth", you see the couple horribly addicted to heroin. Both Heath
and Candy go through a string of felon like acts just to
score a couple of dollars to get their next fix. As time goes by, both
characters experience the power heroin has on the body and mind and
ultimately are slaves to the drug.

    Heath's character didn't have any parents in the movie, but
Abbie's did. Both mother and father of Candy were just so torn up from
their daughters choice of companion and what he has done to their
daughter. Candy, grew up very strict and it was just natural for her
to rebel when she could. Unfortunately, she found a wrong outlook on
the prospective, and chose dope.

    The last part of the movie,"Hell", is when both Candy and Heath's
character are literally living through hell. Candy is now prostituting
herself for money for the BOTH of them. After Candy gets pregnant,
they decide they have to quit the drugs for the baby... So, for 45
minutes of the movie you see them struggle for five days with extreme
heroin withdrawals. Since the withdrawals were so bad, it ultimately
killed the baby and the whole getting clean act was up for them. They
just couldn't believe how they put up with hell for a week for the
baby to have died.

The end of the movie shows Candy rehabilitated and Heaths character still using. Candy comes back to Heath after rehab to come revisit the love they shared before all the madness. But Heath's love for Candy was so strong, he pushed her away because he knew he was still using and didn't want her to be influenced again into doing drugs. Overall, the movie was aboslutely chilling and I couldnt keep my eyes off the screen. The movie is a definite must see.

The 2 main characters were Heath Ledger, and Abbie Cornish as "Candy".

Author- Patrick Keegan

"The Hangover"

                             

            This hilarious comedy follows three groomsmen at bachelor party in Las Vegas.  When they wake up they find their soon to be wed friend missing.  This movie was directed by Todd Phillips and released into theaters in 2009.  Featuring many known actors such as Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifanakis and Justin Bartha.

            The next morning when they wake up no one can remember a thing from the night before.  The hotel room is trashed with garbage everywhere and chickens running around.  In the bathroom they encounter a large tiger, plus there is a baby in the closet whom they have no idea who it belongs to.

            After realizing that they cannot find their friend they begin to retrace their steps and try to remember what happened the night before. While looking for him they encounter many people whom they met while blacked out. 

            After searching all day everything begins to come together.  The baby belongs to a stripper named Jade (Heather Graham) whom Stu got married to the night before.  The tiger belongs to Mike Tyson, which they stole from his house while he was sleeping.  And they finally remember where their friend was, on top of the roof at Caesars Palace where they took their first shot.

            In May of 2011 the sequel of The Hanger over is going to be released into theaters.  The Hangover Part II is going to feature most of the same cast plus a few new faces.  If Part II lives up to the first movie we should all be in for another great comedy.

            Trailer Hangover Part II

-Carl Oberle

"Dark Knight"

This film takes off right where 2005’Batman Begins” left off, a city dominated by violence from the mob leaving Batman to clean up the mess. Enter the twisted and sick character every comic-book fan loves, the Joker, Batman’s nemesis. The Joker is a man with no morals and no “plan.” For no reason at all he seems to get a kick out of robbing banks and committing mass murder. Now, of course, everyone thinks Batman will take care of it, but the Joker is completely underestimated. He pushes our super-hero to the point of insanity with his crazy tactics and witty humor. Thus, Batman is pushed to the very limit in this fast-paced, psychological thriller. Great acting is the driving force in this film. Ledger’s unbelievably portrayal of the Joker was the best of all the Jokers. His performance is scary enough to frighten adults, as well as children of all ages. He brings a sense of realism to the Joker that Cesar Romero and Jack Nicholson failed to do. Eckhart is not too shabby as the tragedy struck Harvey Dent either. Also, Christopher Nolan has found the perfect actor for Batman/Bruce Wayne in Christian Bale. Unlike Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, and George Clooney, Bale brings certain realism to the character of Bruce Wayne, not just Batman. Bale’s Wayne is as entertaining to watch as his Batman. The acting in this film is so phenomenal, it is easy to overlook all of the other elements in the film, such as: the great special effects, editing, and film making; but, the acting alone makes this a riveting, literally wince-in-your-seat film. Now, would I recommend this to someone else to watch? Of course, it contains all of the elements that make a great film, it literally created a new genre of super-hero movies (psychological), and, above all, Heath Ledger’s portrayal of the Joker is: amazing; mind-blowing; frightening; genuine; ground-breaking.
          Thomas Principato

"127 Hours"

     

          This is true story about Aron Ralston, played by James Franco, who is a thrill seeking outdoorsman.  While hiking in Canyon Lands National Park, Utah, he finds himself trapped in the wild without anyone to help him.  The movie was directed by Danny Boyle and released into theaters on January 28, 2010.

As he was walking through a narrow passage, Ralston steps onto an unstable rock causing it to come loose and fall.  As he slips the boulder pins his hand between the canyon wall and the large rock.  His initial reaction was to yell and pull his hand out but both were unsuccessful.  He begins to ration his food, water and he starts a video journal with the camcorder that he had.

While battling the harsh temperatures during the day and night, Ralston manages to survive in the canyon with his hand caught for five days.  He has used up all of his water and he has no more food to eat, plus he has become very weak considering he has been standing in the same spot all this time.

 For a last desperate attempt to get him free he decides to break the bone in his arm and sever it off with the dull packet knife that he had with him.  After a gruesome scene he gets himself free and before leaving he takes a picture of where he had been trapped and looks up at the sky saying “Thank-you.”  

Now being free he had to make his way back to the car which is miles away, with one arm while battling the intense heat of the day.  Eventually he encountered a family on a day hike who gave him water and they called for help.  He was given water and airlifted via helicopter to the hospital.

The film ends with shots of the real Aron Ralston and his life after the accident doing what he loves best, being in nature. The last caption of the movie said that “Now every time Ralston leaves the house he writes a note.”  I found this to be very interesting because you never know when something is going to happen. I would recommend this movie to anyone because it shows how far a person will go to survive.

-Carl Oberle

"The Shawshank Redemption"

     The movie starts with a married man catching his wife cheating on him. He is soon wrongly accused of

killing, both his wife and lover and put in jail to serve a back to back double life sentence. As the movie goes

on, this now convicted felon, makes his new life behind bars as good as he can make it. He becomes friends

with many inmates, and forms a little alliance within his fellow brothers of crime. This alliance, lives everyday

watching and looking out for each others backs. This is where the movie levels out. The audience is made to

believe the whole movie is going to be about this one mans struggle with all his new friends while serving his

life sentence. But as every scene keeps playing out, one begins to wonder...What is the real objective of this

wrongly convicted felon?

     Well, while the wrongly convicted felon was living his new life in jail, he was mysteriously planning out his

escape. Since the first day in his cell, he has been constructing his get away and escape. It is known by almost

everyone that jail is practically impossible to escape. But this movie defied any thoughts that a person had

before. The man had successfully escaped at the end of the movie from hand carving a tunnel for his get away.

It took the man ten years to construct the tunnel secretly and safely. But as you see the character get away

without a scratch, you, as the audience, cant help but feel so good for the guy. He lived almost 15 years

behind bars because of a crime that he had not committed. If i could rate this movie from one to ten it would definitely come in at a ten. A MUST SEE!

     "The Shawshank Redemption" had many famous actors including, Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton and many more!

Author- Patrick Keegan

“Limitless”

Eddie Morra looks like a guy down on his luck. It's not that he's living in a cardboard box or anything. I mean, in truth he's even got a contract to write a book. But the tattered would-be writer just can't seem to wake up from the perpetual funk that sends him wandering the streets by day and prevents him from writing a single word by night. Then, in a chance encounter, he runs across his drug-dealing former brother-in-law, Vernon. Now, Vernon isn't necessarily a giving guy. But he knows the value of a free sample. So he offers Eddie a hit of a brand-new neural stimulant called NZT-48. Eddie's told we only use about 20% of our brain's actual potential. Eddie starts doing wondrous things: He writes his book in days. He masters other languages without even trying and also begins making money hand over fist. Of course the genius is bound to run into trouble when you mix together Russian thugs, Wall Street bigwigs, desperate addicts and the inevitable side effects of a designer drug.

            There's something appealing about Eddie Morra's story and the way the creators of “Limitless” have slyly splashed it across the screen. The idea entertains, the characters ring true and the script reels us in with clever dialogue and a steady pace. In spite of the fact that his quest for mental brilliance results in him popping pills it makes him vulnerable to the blackmailing, life-threatening tactics of high-finance corporate cowboys and street-level gangster lowlifes alike. After all, we've all been raised in this modern era of uncannily effective pharmaceuticals. So it's actually pretty easy to identify with Eddie's choice. Would you take a tiny tablet and be a person capable of anything, or refrain and remain the mentally road-blocked chump you've always been?

-Thomas Principato

"Hannah Montana: The Movie"

“SHE HAS THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS…NOW SHE HAS TO CHOOSE JUST ONE.”

 

“Hannah Montana: The Movie” came out in 2009 aimed towards the tween generation who fell in love with the Disney show “Hannah Montana.”  Hannah Montana’s popularity has reached an all time high and its starting to get to her head.  As she becomes a bigger and bigger diva, Miley’s father forces her to go back to her home town of Crowley Corners, Tennessee.  When she arrives back there, it is a big reality check that living the life of Hannah Montana (Miley Cyrus) has changed her from her real life person, Miley Stewart.

On her trip back to Crowley Corners she is being followed by a man who wants to discover her secret.  Being back in Tennessee Miley is forced to be herself, and stay away from her alter ego Hannah Montana.  The town is faced with losing its Southern appeal and being taken over by mini-malls.  Miley mentions to a friend that she’s friends with Hannah Montana and she is now faced with having to get Hannah Montana there.  Miley begins to realize that living the life of Hannah Montana is not everything.  When it comes time for Miley to perform as Hannah Montana she could not do it.  Being Hannah has forced her to lie to loved ones and lie to her home town of Crowley Corners.  Once she gets on stage, she shares her secret with her town, that she Miley Stewart is actually Hannah Montana.  They agree that she should still be Hannah Montana and that they will keep her secret too.  Miley leaves Tennessee with the faith that she can still live her double life.

 

-Ally Laudage

"Beauty and the Beast"

“Cause who could ever learn to love a beast”

In 1991 the beloved Disney classic, "Beauty and the Beast" was released to the world.  The movie starts with an old beggar woman who casts a spell on a prince.  He was too busy with judging people by their outside appearance, to give them a chance to see the person within.  The woman puts a spell on the prince, which turns him into a hideous beast.  The only way to break the spell is for someone to fall in love with him or he will stay this way forever if the last petal falls.

            We met Belle (voice of Paige O’Hara) a beautiful young girl who loves to read books.  She is the daughter of Maurice, an inventor.  Gaston, the stud of the town has his eye on Belle and will do whatever it takes to get Belle to marry him.  Once Maurice gets his new invention working, he goes off to the fair and on the way gets lost and comes across an enchanted castle.  Upon entering he meets Cogsworth and Lumiere the talking clock and candlestick.  The Beast (voice of Robby Benson) throws Maurice into the dungeon as his prisoner.  Belle gets word of her father being in trouble and finds him.  She finds him in the castle and makes a deal with the Beast that she will stay as his prisoner if he lets her father go.

            Belle now lives in the castle as the Beast prisoner, at first resenting everything about him.  She is forbidden from the West Wing, which is where the enchanted rose is.  She slowly begins to see a different side of the Beast and allows him in a little.  As they both begin to get to know one another, they start to fall in love.  As all this is going on, Maurice has made his way back to town and is letting everyone know about the Beast and how he has Belle.  Gaston, with the help of the town’s people, plan an attack on the castle.  It’s a battle against, furniture who can speak and humans.  The big battle is against the Beast and Gaston.  In the end the Beast wins, but it’s too late, the last petal has begun to fall.  Belle sees her love beginning to die in front of her eyes and she leans in for a kiss, and with that the spell is broken.

--Ally Laudage

"Battle Los Angeles"

                                     

      If your are into jam packed action from start to finish, blood/gore, epic war scenes, and amazing acting, "Battle Los Angeles" is the movie for you. I saw "Battle LA" the day it came out and i cannot stop talking about it. The movie was mainly about an alien army that attacks the world and what a certain platoon goes through in order to save Los Angeles from total annihilation. In the beginning, the audience meets a plentiful amount of characters and you just know that half of them are soon to meet their doom. As the movie goes on, marines are being gunned down left and right from the opposing alien enemy. The aliens were extremely well equipped and it almost seemed impossible to kill them. But a twenty year veteran of the Marines, finds out the exact way to kill them, which was a huge turning point in the battle. Now, knowing where to shoot the enemy, the marines could eliminate and destroy the enemy ten times quicker to ultimately achieve their main objective. The marines main objective throughout the movie was to find any civilians left in the city and escort them to the safe zone. While on this mission the marine soldiers encounter many hardships along the way.
     A great advantage that the aliens had was technology. It seemed that the aliens were way better equipped with weapons and armor that put a brutal force upon the marines. Many marines learned through out the battles that the alien planes weren't even manned. This meant, that the plane's were being flown by a computer miles away. The marines couldn't even fathom that these planes were killing their fellow soldiers and friends so quickly, and when they learned that they planes didn't even have a pilot, it absolutely crushed them. Imagine fighting something for hours, with it successfully killing your other allies, it trying to kill you, and finding out that no one is even flying the aircraft, and that it is being remote controlled from something miles away... What would you do or think?
      A critical part in the movie is when the marine soldiers find the aliens main controlling tower. They knew, that if they took out this main tower, it would block off all communications the main alien base had with its army. When the marines finally destroyed the main tower, it wasn't too long after that, that the alien enemy started to retreat. It was the dedication of these marines that made the ending battle of the movie so epic. Through out the whole movie, you saw American marines just get completely over run by these aliens. Your heart just went out to each and every soldier and you could only think about your family and friends who are in the armed forces and what they must be going through in battle today.
      A real cool thing about the movie, was that it had modern day weapons and fighting. I love old war movies, but the new age war weapons and fighting tactics are just so much cooler to me. The U.S. is so technologically advanced, it's super cool to actually see it first hand in this movie. A cool fact about the movie is that the singer/song writer "Ne-Yo", played a key roll as a marine from New York. Ne-Yo wasn't the only cool actor in the movie, other actors included...Michelle Rodriguez, Aaron Eckhart, Ramon Rodriguez, Cory Hardrict, and many more!

Author- Patrick Keegan

"Saving Private Ryan"

     The movie "Saving Private Ryan" was directed by Steven Spielberg and was released in July 1998.  The movie casted many know actors such as Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Tom Sizemore and Vin Diesal.  The opening scene of the movie is probably one of the most realistic reenactments of war ever displayed in a movie, it shows how intense and horrific war really is.  It also portrays the terrified expressions the American troops were just moments before the gates on the boats open and they storm the beach in Normandy.  The extremely real footage keeps you on the edge of your seat taking your breath away. 

     After the intense opening scene was over and the American took command of the hill, a special group of soldiers were put together to find the whereabouts of Pvt. James Francis Ryan (Matt Damon) Pvt. Ryan is one of four brothers who are all serving in war and he is the only one who is still alive.  A direct order was given from the Army Chief of Staff, George C. Marshall to find him and bring him back home to his mother.

     During the movie there are many horrific battles and stressful attempts crossing through enemy filled towns.  Within them are hundreds of food solders, massive machine guns, tanks and snipers.  With some casualties the squad finally found Pvt. Ryan defending the last of two bridges from the Germans.  In the attempt to bring Pvt. Ryan back with them he refused saying that, “The men whom I am standing next to right now are my family now”

     In the end the few American troops were able to defend the bridge and hold off the waves of German troops just as reinforcements and air cover came into help.  Tom Hanks who plays the leader of the squad looking for Pvt. Ryan dies at the end of the battle.  The movie ends in modern time with Pvt. Ryan as an old man with his family around him.  He begins to grow very emotional as he looks at the tombstone of John H. Miller. (Tom Hanks)

     I thought that this was a great movie and I would recommend it to anyone who hasn’t seen it already. The movie will keep you on the edge of the seat from beginning to end.  It shows you what people went through to give us the freedoms that we have today.  

--Carl Oberle

"Repo Men"

                                                                   

A big corporation known as The Union provides people with hope, dreams, and life by selling synthetic, robotic organs to replace their old and decrepit ones for a hefty price. When people can't keep up with the payments, The Union sends the "Repo Men" to retrieve their product any way they can. When "Repo Man" Jude Law finds himself with a Union heart and can't keep up with the payments, he goes on the run from his Repo friend Forest Whitaker and former Repo boss Liev Schreiber alongside his artificial organ-filled new lady friend Alice Braga. Let the Repo hunt begin!

There's a lot more than meets the eye going on in "Repo Men", and that's part of why the film mostly works. On one level, it's a hardcore sci-fi thriller, one that's aimed at a more adult audience, featuring exciting chase scenes; gritty knifes fights, a somewhat sappy love story, and plenty of humor. On another level, it's a grim and cynical look at the state of the world we live in, and a nightmarish glance at where we could be headed, in terms of both the economic and political climate.

But don't think of this as an action movie; while there is action in it, there's not enough for it to be considered an "action movie." It's more like a chase movie with a little less chase than expected and a little more of nothing going on whatsoever, that's the film's biggest flaw.  Both Whitaker and Schreiber, each delivered fine performances as the film's not-so-obvious antagonists. Whitaker is funny yet savage, playing a guy who's scary and a little off balance, yet a guy you wish you were friends with. The chemistry between Whitaker and Law is that of a well-orchestrated buddy cop movie. Schreiber plays the greasy salesman masterfully, making him both a despicable and likable guy you can't help but love to hate. Besides the unconvincing love story between Law and Braga (which isn't worth getting into), and the film's bore of a second act, "Repo Men" is an enjoyable sci-fi thriller that could have benefited from a little more action and a little less moping around. The film kicks off hard and ends with a bang, and features a cool concept, cool characters, and just the right amount of humor.

Thomas Principato

"Finding Nemo"

FISH ARE FRIENDS NOT FOOD

       Take a dive into the ocean with Disney/Pixar for 2003’s "Finding Nemo".  Take a journey with Marlin, the clown fish as he searches for his son Nemo.  Nemo (voice of Alexander Gould) has an abnormally small fin, which causes his father Marlin (voice of Albert Brooks) to worry about his son’s ability to swim, or even do anything.  After years of being over protected, Nemo finally has a chance to go to school with the other fish and a chance to be away from his father.  When the teacher takes the school of fish on a trip to the reef, Nemo and his friends swim away from the group.  Nemo starts to swim out to sea, when suddenly his father, Marlin appears.  He begins to yell at Nemo to come back in, and the more he does the further out Nemo swims.  Suddenly, FLASH!  A camera flash goes off, and next thing we know Nemo is scooped up by a scuba diver and taken up above the water.

            Now Marlin has to find his son Nemo who has just been taken away from him.  As he swims through the ocean searching for his son, he comes across a little blue fish named Dory (voice of Ellen DeGeneres).  Marlin soon learns that Dory is very forgetful, but she tags along in the search for his son Nemo.  They come across the mask of the diver and inside the strap it says “P.Sherman 42 Walaby Way, Sydney.”  While Marlin and Dory are searching the ocean, Nemo is on land being put into a fish tank with other fish.  He makes friends with these fish, all who came from pet stores.  They come up with a plan to try and escape, so that Nemo can make his way back into the ocean to be with his father.

            As Marlin and Dory make their way closer and closer to Nemo, they come in contact with a few new friends.  A shark named Bruce, who has come to realize that “fish are friends not food”, a turtle named Crush, who was swimming in the EAC with his family and a seagull named Nigel, who has heard plenty of stories of the two fish in search of Nemo.  Nigel helps the two, to see that Nemo is inside a tank at the dentist office, when they approach the window they see Nemo inside a bag, dead.  After seeing this, Marlin leaves Dory and decides to swim home.  Once he leaves Dory, she begins to forget again.  Nemo and the gang inside the tank had planned for Nemo to act dead so that he would be flushed down the toilet, and would be able to make his way back into the ocean to find his father.  Nemo has finally found his way back into the ocean, when he sees Dory.  She has forgotten all about how she was trying to help Marlin find Nemo, when she sees a pipe that says “Sydney.”  Suddenly it all comes rushing back to her and she decides to help Nemo get back to his father.  After all that Marlin finally stops being so overprotective of Nemo, and finally trusts him out in the ocean.

-Ally Laudage

"Planet 51"

 

       Planet 51 was a cartoon movie that had just recently came out on video. The movie was about an alien planet that had been recently intercepted with a human being in his space craft. The human was coming from earth to explore space and landed on the aliens planet. Little did he know, the planet already had a life form on it. As the astronaut steps off his space module, he walks about ten feet, plants a U.S. flag, and then looks up to find a whole alien race just living their every day lives in their 50's style neighborhood. The human astronaut freaks out, and starts running and hiding for cover. The whole movie is based on this one alien boy who is determined to help this human back to his ship which the alien government had abducted. The movie relates a lot to kids in that, it teaches them not to judge a book by its cover, and that someone shouldn't judge someone else on their looks. My favorite part of the movie was when the alien boy finally got the alien girl that he has been dreaming of for so long. The whole movie you see this young alien boy, heart throbbing over this one alien girl...It was great to see him finally succeed in getting what he always wanted, her love.
     The movie also had extremely well played characters as the voices such as... Jessica Biel, John Cleese, Gary Oldman, Dwayne Johnson (The Rock), Justin Long, Sean William Scott and many more!

     I am personally not a cartoon lover, but this movie, "Planet 51", really hit it home for me. I connected with it, and couldn't stop watching it. I would see this movie a million times over, back to back... That's how much I enjoyed it.

Author- Patrick Keegan

"Take Me Home Tonight"

     On March 4th 2011 the long awaited movie "Take Me Home Tonight" had come out featuring Topher Grace, Anna Faris and Dan Fogler.  The movie is about a set of twins and their best friend who are floating aimlessly in life with no direction after college.  Matt Franklin played by Topher Grace, is seeking for his high school dream girl through out the crazy Labor Day Weekend bash.  His sister Wendy Franklin played by Anna Feris is torn by an overpowering boy friend and her dream to become a writer.  Their friend Barry Nathan played by Dan Fogler, plays a young man who went off into the work force instead of going to college.  In the opening scene he gets fired from his job working at a car dealership.  Throughout the movie they are all faced with their challenges but in the end they all come out successful.  Matt Franklin lands his high school dream girl despite working at Suncost Videos and not being a hotshot banker.  His sister denied the proposal from her overpowering boyfriend who does not want her to follow her dreams.  Their friend Barry, despite loosing his job, learned a lot about who he is and the direction he wants his life to go in.

This was a very good comedy that had a good base line and story.  The actors looked like they had good chemistry working together in it.  I would defiantly recommend this movie for anyone who is looking to have a movie night in the upcoming weeks.  

-Carl Oberle