Sunday, August 26, 2012

Premium Rush

☆☆☆1/2

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Written and directed by David Koepp (writer: “Spider-Man,” “War of the Worlds”), “Premium Rush” is the well-paced action-packed story of a Manhattan bike messenger (good performance by the ubiquitous Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who is asked to make a delivery that puts his life in jeopardy.
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Some may find they just don’t care much about the bike messenger culture or the types of bikes they ride (a lot of talk about Levitt’s super lightweight bike with no brakes and only one gear).


Rated PG-13
1 hr. 30 min.

Visit the official website and see the trailer.







ParaNorman

☆☆☆

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Done in exceptional stop-motion animation, “ParaNorman” (written and co-directed by “Coraline’s” Chris Butler) is the story of a boy who can communicate with the dead…and is bullied because of it.

Great voice cast: Kodi Smit-McPhee, Anna Kendrick, John Goodman, Leslie Mann, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse (aka McLovin’)
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The story tries too hard to be more than it needs to be…especially when it becomes all about the curse put on Norman’s town by a witch centuries ago.

May be a little too scary for young children (Rated PG).

Stick around for the credits and see a time-lapse sequence showing how the animation team built Norman.

Rated PG
1 hr. 32 min.

Visit the official website and see the trailer!




Wednesday, August 15, 2012

The Campaign

☆☆☆1/2

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Ferrell (Cam Brady) and Galifianakis (Marty Huggins) deliver some laugh-out-loud moments as they go head-to-head in a crazy congressional race that turns ugly.
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Galifianakis is one of the best in the comedy business...and he and Farrell deliver…but the story falls a little short.

Adult humor (language and situations)

Rated R
1 hr. 25 min.



Visit the official website and watch the trailer.









The Bourne Legacy

☆☆☆1/2


“…Legacy,” the fourth installment in the Bourne film series, gives viewers plenty of action and a solid story centering on the CIA Director’s decision to eliminate Operation Outcome, one of the Department of Defense’s black ops programs. Operation Outcome’s agent Aaron Cross (Jeremy Renner) and scientist Dr. Marta Shearing (Rachel Weisz) team-up in an attempt to avoid elimination.

Weisz and Renner make a great team.
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No Matt Damon!

Some may be disappointed with the ending…definitely leaves the door open for a sequel.

Rated PG-13
2 hr. 5 min.

Visit the website and see the trailer.






Thursday, August 9, 2012

Beasts of the Southern Wild

☆☆☆☆

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“Beasts…” is the riveting story of a six-year-old named Hushpuppy, who lives in The Bathtub (a Louisiana community on the wrong side of the levee) and faces Hurricane Katrina with her ailing father and the close-knit community.

Amazing performances by Quvenzhané Wallis (Hushpuppy) and Dwight Henry (Wink – Hushpuppy’s Father)
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Viewers may be put off by the squalor in this dirt-poor community, irritated by the shaky camera, or confused by the fantasy elements


Rated PG-13
1 hr. 31 min.

Visit the website and watch the trailer.



Friday, August 3, 2012

The Dark Knight Rises

☆☆☆1/2

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The much-anticipated action-adventure “The Dark Knight Rises” delivers a solid story that fans are sure to enjoy.
In this installment, Batman (Christian Bale)… after eight years in hiding because of assuming responsibility for the death of Harvey Dent…emerges to battle Bane, the masked terrorist who is planning to destroy Gotham.

Excellent performance by Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Detective John Blake.
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This installment feels a little long, and in spite of the decision to show very little blood…this is a violent movie.

Viewers may want to review the last few movies to completely understand the story…and the references to past storylines.

Rated PG-13
2 hr. 45 min.

Visit the website and see the trailer!