Mr. Popper's Penguins

☆☆☆

+
Suitable for the whole family…and inspired by the Newbery Award-winning children's book…“Mr. Popper's Penguins” is a live-action comedy (starring Jim Carrey) that tells the story of a man who inherited a rookery of penguins and through the experience learned how to put his family first.
_
Fans of the 1938 book may be disappointed to find that the film doesn’t follow the famous children’s story.

Jim Carrey holds back the “crazy” just enough to make his performance work.


Rated PG (Mild Rude Humor)
1 hr. 35 min.

Visit the website and watch the trailer!

Buck

☆☆☆☆

+
Buck is the award-winning documentary that tells the engaging (and moving) story of Buck Brannaman, the man whose intuitive ability to communicate and work with horses inspired “The Horse Whisperer.”

U.S. Documentary Audience Award 
Sundance 2011
_
This film is much more than a story about horses…it’s about passion, family and love.

Rated PG
1 hr. 28 min.

Visit the movie website and see the trailer.

Bad Teacher

☆☆☆1/2

+
“Bad Teacher” is a racy and fun comedy starring the always enjoyable Cameron Diaz as foul-mouthed, pot-smoking, seventh grade teacher Elizabeth Halsey who will do anything to get money to buy herself bigger breasts.
Lucy Punch (“Dinner for Schmucks”) and Phyllis Smith (“The Office”) turn in great performances as Elizabeth’s colleagues.
Also starring: Jason Segel, Justin Timberlake, and Eric Stonestreet
_
Keep the kids at home…this one is for adults…and it may be too raunchy for some adults.
The “bad” was a little overdone.

Rated R
1 hr. 32 min.

Visit the "Bad Teacher" website and see the trailer!

Green Lantern

☆☆1/2

+
Fans of this DC Comic will enjoy “Green Lantern” starring Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan, a talented test pilot, who is recruited by the Green Lantern Corps…the protectors of peace and justice.

The film doesn’t take itself too seriously and it sports an all star cast including: Angela Bassett (“What’s Love Got to Do with It”), Tim Robbins (“Mystic River”), and Peter Sarsgaard (“An Education”).
_
Slow start with an educational voice-over explaining the Green Lantern Corps

Superhero films work so much better when they are as realistic as possible…special effects shouldn’t look like animation.

Stick around for a short scene...after the credits start to roll!

Rated PG-13
1 hr. 45 min.

Visit the "Green Lantern" website and see the trailer!

The Tree of Life

_
As a movie critic, I’m supposed to love Terrence Malick’s latest film “The Tree of Life.”
It’s the kind of movie that people don’t want to admit that they don’t like…but I am here to tell you that this is only the second movie I have ever walked out of…and yes I gave it a chance.
After about 90 minutes of heavy-handed music, barely any dialogue or narrative, and imagery including the history of the universe, a confrontation between two dinosaurs, and Mom floating through the air…I left the theater.
Sometimes you run across a movie that just tries too hard to be avant-garde.

*I will not assign a star rating to this movie since I did not see the entire film.

Rated PG-13
2 hr. 18 min.


Visit the official movie website and watch the trailer.

Super 8

☆☆☆

+
In “Super 8” (a fun mix of “Goonies,” “E-T,” and “War of the Worlds”) we meet a group of friends who witness a terrible accident (that leads to some curious and scary events) while filming a super 8 movie.

The film stars Kyle Chandler and Elle Fanning…along with some excellent special effects.

Great attention to 70’s details…haircuts, clothes, and music…
_
but people weren’t saying “awesome” and “totally” in the 70s.

As soon as a film reveals the “monster”…the mystery is gone. It is much more suspenseful when we don't see “it.".

Rated PG-13
1 hr. 52 min.

Visit the website and watch the trailer!

X-Men: First Class

☆☆☆1/2

+
In this X-Men prequel (one of the best in the franchise), we travel back to the 1960s (the U.S. is facing nuclear war with Russia) and meet Charles Xavier (excellent performance by James McAvoy), Erik Lehnsherrhe / Magneto (Michael Fassbender), and several other mutants…both good and bad (Kevin Bacon as Sebastian Shaw and January Jones as Emma Frost).
_
Hard-core comic fans may not like the character and storyline changes.

People weren’t saying “How is that working for you?” (as a sarcastic remark) in the 60s.


Rated PG-13
2 hr. 12 min.

Visit the Official "X-Men: First Class" website and see the trailer!

Midnight in Paris

☆☆1/2

+
While vacationing in Paris with fiancée Inez (Rachel McAdams), Gil (endearing performance by Owen Wilson) magically time-travels back to the era he dreams of…Paris in the 20s.

In addition to Wilson and McAdams, director Woody Allen assembled an all-star cast: Marion Cotillard, Michael Sheen, Kathy Bates, and Adrien Brody…
_
who play some very annoying characters!

The time-travel is fun, but the storyline is forced.

Rated PG-13
1 hr. 28 min.

Visit the official website and watch the trailer!