End of Watch

End of Watch 

Rating 5 out of 10

This is an interesting cop movie that isn't a regular type movie with a beginning, middle and end plot line.  It's closer to a documentary of a couple young gun LA police officers working some of the worst sections of the city.  Gangs, drugs, gunfights... They see them all.  That is just fine with Officer Taylor ( Jake Gyllenhaal) and Officer Zavala (Michael Pena).  They like the life on the edge.  The movie follows along the lives of the two.  The scrapes on the job and the relationships after work.  It's entertaining the way all the officers toss barbs and insults toward each other in ways of burning off the stress of the job.

When they stumble upon a couple different big busts they make a name for themselves.  The problem is  that name carries over to the Mexican Mafia who decide they have had enough.  A hit is put out on them without their knowledge.

The acting is good.  I like most all the actors involved.  If you have read any of my posts you know besides pointless 3D movies the thing that drives me nuts the most is the SHAKY CAM!!  To me the shaky cam is something a bad director does to try to spice up a movie and make it seem more gritty.

Unfortunately End of Watch is the king of shaky cam.  Seems everyone in the movie has their own video camera.  From Officer Taylor who says he is filming everything for a after work class he is taking to all the bad guys who seem to film every crime they commit.  Way too much of the movie looks like some of my old vacation videos.  Zooming in and out for no apparent reason.  The camera never seems to hold still.  If shaky cam does not bother you then you will enjoy it much more than I did.

I would instead watch the tv show Southland.  It is filmed in similar fashion but the story lines are much better.

This would be a good rental.

Trouble with the Curve

Trouble with the Curve

Rating 7 out of 10

I am a fan of Clint Eastwood, Amy Adams and baseball.  Yeah, I like apple pie too.  I liked this movie. This isn't a unique movie type that will change your life?  No.  When you watch the trailer you get a pretty good idea what the movie is about and where it is going.  Luckily that is all you need.  This movie just makes you feel good.

Clint plays the old timer, old school, old fart baseball scout for the Atlanta Braves.  He doesn't base his decisions on computer print outs and batting averages.  He watches the player and from years of experience can tell if the guy will make it to the bigs or not.  The problem is his eyes are fading and he refuses to have them treated.  His estranged daughter (Adams) is called in to try to get him to help himself.  I have not been much of a Justin Timberlake fan in his acting or his music.  I have to admit he is getting much better and does a great job here.  He has some of the better lines of the movie.  Justin plays one of Clint's recruited ball players that blew his arm out pitching for another team.  Now he works for the Boston Red Sox trying to decide who they should pick with their first draft pick.

The story is basic, the acting is very good.  I enjoyed the movie and recommend it.

Resident Evil: Retribution

Resident Evil: Retribution

Rating 5 out of 10

This is the fifth in a series of Resident Evil movies starring Milla Jovovich as the hot leather clad karate kicking gun shooting woman out to save humanity.  I'm not a gamer but I know the movies were based on a popular video game.  Unfortunately it shows.  I have seen each of the previous four.  After each movie I would say the action is good but the movie was so stupid I'd never go to another one.  A year or two would go by and I would forget how bad the previous movie was.  The slick trailers get my blood pumping and before I know it I'm shelling out my pesos for a movie ticket.

The movie does have some incredible visuals and action.  Alice (Milla) starts out in a paper dress then switches to a skin tight leather outfit complete with guns that never run out of bullets.  As I said I have seen now all five of these movies and admit I had no clue what was going on here.  She was breaking out of a facility with five hunky soldiers breaking in the other side of the facility fighting their way to her to help out.  Hundreds of zombies and faceless soldiers that can't shoot a person 50 ft in front of them.  The cast is actually pretty good and they spent million$ on effects.  Why they can't use a few of those dollars to make a script that makes sense I'll never know.

It was fun watching Alice and the hot asian babe in a tight red dress kicking butt.  Unfortunately it's just too stupid to recommend.  I'll never go see another Resident Evil movie... well until the next one comes out.  : >

The Words

The Words

Rating 3 out of 10

This was not really a movie I was interested in seeing.  Movie night with my movie buddy Ted and the wives and for some reason we couldn't talk them into seeing Expendables.  I think in the end they wished we had seen Stalone and guys.

This movie is about a mostly failed writer at the end of his rope that lucks upon a book of a lifetime.  He is not sure who wrote it but he knows it's not him.  He releases the book as his own and it becomes a smash hit.  When an old man confronts him as the true author he has to decide what he is to do.  We know all this from the trailer.  What we learn in two minutes in the trailer you have to sit for more than an hour in the theater to see.  The story plays out verrrrrry slowly.  We know he didn't write the book now get to it!

The acting is as good as you can expect with pretty boy Bradley Cooper playing the depressed writer.  The lovely Zoe Saldana plays his wife.  To me she just didn't fit the movie.  Don't know why.  Old timer Jeremy Irons is the old guy who has enough wrinkles you wonder how he gets around.

The story mostly moves way too slow.  Too long to get to the point.  Throw in one of those art house movie endings that I hate so much and you get a not so fun movie watching experience.  Well atleast the dinner and company was good.