Becky and I went to see Dan in Real Life yesterday at the AMC theaters in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. The Fandango website at Dan in Real Life describes the movie as follows:

“Dan Ashburn is a devoted single father and renowned advice columnist. When his entire extended family gets together for a reunion in a beach-front house, he unexpectedly meets Beth, the woman of his dreams. She is smart, funny, beautiful and she just happens to be his brother Lowell’s girlfriend. The man with all the answers finds that the hardest advice to take is his own.”

The Review
Dan in Real Life is a smart funny comedy starring Steve Carell that is totally far-fetched, but it has plenty of moments that make it fun to watch. It reminded me a little bit of Meet The Parents since so many parts of the film are ridiculous, but the story is fresh and different from totally stupid comedies like SuperBad and other comedies we’ve seen this year.

The critics are mixed on this film, but Becky and I both enjoyed it. The biggest problem that I had with the film was that so many of the funny parts of the movie were shown in the trailer for the flick. There were still plenty of laughs though to make it worth watching.

It’s a really quirky movie that is cute and a good date flick as a unique romantic comedy. Becky liked it more than I did, but we both thought it was worth the price of admission.

John – *** Worth The Trip
Becky – **** Don’t Miss It
_________________________________________________________________________
Auto Consultant – John Boyd: The Cool Car Guy

John is an auto consultant with JFR & Associates in Denver, Colorado and the host of The Cool Car Guy Show on Castle Rock Radio.com. He can help you save time and money on any make or model, new or used, lease or purchase – nationwide! Call or email John about your next vehicle! jboyd@coolcarguy.com

Becky and I went to see Rendition last week at the Kerasotes theaters in Castle Rock, Colorado. The Fandango website at Rendition describes the movie as follows:

“Post 9/11, Egyptian born chemical engineer, Anwar El-Ibrahim (Omar Metwalley) disappears on a flight from South Africa to Washington DC. He is shipped off to a third world country for interrogation after he is deemed a political prisoner. His pregnant American wife, Isabella (Reese Witherspoon) travels to Washington to try and learn the reason for his disappearance. Meanwhile, at a secret detention facility somewhere outside the U.S., CIA analyst Douglas Freeman (Jake Gyllenhaal) witnesses the unorthodox interrogation of a foreign national by the Egyptian secret police. The event forces him to question his assignment as he becomes entangled in the interrogation of El-Ibrahim.”

The Review
Rendition is a politically charged, far-fetched film that does a good job of bringing up the fact that the government can easily hide too much from its citizens, but beyond that it was kind of a so-so flick. The movie was disconnected and boring most of the time.

The acting was okay, probably not Reese Witherspoon’s best role. The characters were disjointed and it wasn’t believable given the power of the media today to expose things like abu-ghraib and blackwater. Plus, the primary story about the young girl and her bomber boyfriend all tied together wasn’t realistic at all.

The movie wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great either. We all agreed that it definitely was a rental and not worth the price of admission.

John – ** Rental
Becky – ** Rental
_________________________________________________________________________
Auto Consultant – John Boyd: The Cool Car Guy

John is an auto consultant with JFR & Associates in Denver, Colorado and the host of The Cool Car Guy Show on Castle Rock Radio.com. He can help you save time and money on any make or model, new or used, lease or purchase – nationwide! Call or email John about your next vehicle! jboyd@coolcarguy.com

Becky and I took Corban and Bianca to see The Final Season last week at the AMC theaters in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. The Fandango website at The Final Season describes the movie as follows:

“Baseball rules in the small town of Norway, Iowa. Its high-school team is the winner of many state championships, and the coach, Jim Van Scoyoc (Powers Boothe), is National Coach of the Year. When Norway’s high school must merge with another, he loses his job. Kent Stock (Sean Astin), who once assisted him, takes over the Norway team for the last season, but the odds are against Kent and the players.”

The Review
The Final Season is a great family film that we all enjoyed, except for Bianca who didn’t like it as much as we did, but she still watched the whole thing. It’s a good clean film and really shows the demise of the small town in America as States look to put profits over people. It’s an underdog film for sure, but it’s done very well with solid acting and a great story.

It’s a pretty low budget flick that is probably going to hit the rental rack soon, so make sure you add it to your list of rentals when it becomes available. I liked it more than Becky did, but she definitely recommends it as a rental.

John – *** Worth The Trip
Becky – ** Rental
_________________________________________________________________________
Auto Consultant – John Boyd: The Cool Car Guy

John is an auto consultant with JFR & Associates in Denver, Colorado and the host of The Cool Car Guy Show on Castle Rock Radio.com. He can help you save time and money on any make or model, new or used, lease or purchase – nationwide! Call or email John about your next vehicle! jboyd@coolcarguy.com

Becky and I went to see Into The Wild on Friday night at the AMC theaters in Highlands Ranch, Colorado with our friend Donna. The Fandango website at Into The Wild describes the movie as follows:

“Christopher McCandless (Emile Hirsch), son of wealthy parents (Marcia Gay Harden, William Hurt), graduates from Emory University as a top student and athlete. However, instead of embarking on a prestigious and profitable career, he chooses to give his savings to charity, rid himself of his possessions, and set out on a journey to the Alaskan wilderness.”

The Review
Into The Wild is Sean Penn’s latest movie that takes the audience into the world of a spoiled rich kid who gives up everything he has going for him to go on a self-centered trip into the Alaskan wilderness in search of an empty society.

Many people loved this movie, including a number of critics, but the best thing about this movie is the end of the film. It’s 2.5 hours long and you will go on a journey from the East Coast to the West Coast to Mexico to Alaska with some wonderful photography. I have to hand it to McCandless for the journey that he went on before he died, since he saw so many beautiful places, met a number of great people and had some incredible experiences.

Unfortunately, at every stop on his adventure people tried to have a relationship with him, convince him to contact his parents and he just threw them aside to continue his own personal quest. Our favorite character in this film is definitely Hal Holbrook who gives a tremendous performance. His character proves without a doubt, why this guy, who Sean Penn obviously admired so much to make a movie about him was such a jerk. McCandless never learned anything about relationships with people and putting others first instead of his own selfish ambition. How so many people can admire someone like that is beyond me.

For 2.5 hours we watch this guy blame his family for his non-existent personal problems instead of building a bridge and getting over his personal issues. This was ridiculous, especially since there are so many disadvantaged kids today growing up with drug and sex addicts for parents who would love the opportunities that this guy just threw away like a spoiled brat. It’s only at the end when he writes in his journal “Happiness Is Meant To Be Shared” that the light bulb went on in this guy’s life, but he discovers this too late. Too bad for him, but pride goes before destruction and he proved that well in his brief life.

In spite of the story, Emile Hirsch is amazing in this movie. This role could and should win him an Oscar. Even if the movie wasn’t that great, he made the movie. Penn did a good job directing the film, except that it was about two hours too long. We would recommend it as a rental, but you’ll probably shut it off if you’re sitting at home for 2.5 hours watching this movie.

John – * Don’t Bother
Becky – * Don’t Bother
_________________________________________________________________________
Auto Consultant – John Boyd: The Cool Car Guy

John is an auto consultant with JFR & Associates in Denver, Colorado and the host of The Cool Car Guy Show on Castle Rock Radio.com. He can help you save time and money on any make or model, new or used, lease or purchase – nationwide! Call or email John about your next vehicle! jboyd@coolcarguy.com

Becky and I went to see Michael Clayton at the AMC theaters in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. The Fandango website at Michael Clayton describes the movie as follows:

“Former prosecutor Michael Clayton (George Clooney) works as a ”fixer” at the corporate law firm of Kenner, Bach & Ledeen, and takes care of his employers’ dirty work. Clayton cleans up clients’ messes, handling anything from hit-and-runs and damaging stories in the press to shoplifting wives and crooked politicians. Though burned out and discontented in his job, Clayton is inextricably tied to the firm. At the agrochemical company U/North, the career of in-house chief counsel Karen Crowder rests on the settlement of the suit that Kenner, Bach & Ledeen is leading to a seemingly successful conclusion. When the firm’s top litigator, the brilliant Arthur Edens (Tom Wilkinson), has an apparent breakdown and tries to sabotage the entire case, Marty Bach sends Michael Clayton to tackle this unprecedented disaster and, in doing so, Clayton comes face to face with the reality of who he has become.”

The Review
Michael Clayton is a great flick from the opening scene to the end of the movie. The language is really harsh at times, but the acting by George Clooney, Tom Wilkinson, and Sydney Pollack is fantastic. This is not a movie that relies on a host of special effects, but on a great story and solid acting.

It reminded me of an old time Alfred Hitchcock thriller that is low key and builds until the climactic ending. You’ll watch the entire film and it will keep you guessing. It’s also refreshing to see a character that works his whole life for a legal firm and has to step back and evaluate his life while questioning the choices he’s made. That was totally believable for a change, instead of the typical high-powered, ambulance chaser character who is supposed to care about the rest of us.

The worst thing about this movie is the totally lame movie poster. They should have hired a better artist for that one. Michael Clayton is getting rave reviews and it should. It’s different, interesting, exciting and it will make you believe that Hollywood can still produce a good flick with great acting every once in a while.

John – **** Don’t Miss It
Becky – *** Worth The Trip
_________________________________________________________________________
Auto Consultant – John Boyd: The Cool Car Guy

John is an auto consultant with JFR & Associates in Denver, Colorado and the host of The Cool Car Guy Show on Castle Rock Radio.com. He can help you save time and money on any make or model, new or used, lease or purchase – nationwide! Call or email John about your next vehicle! jboyd@coolcarguy.com

Becky and I went to see We Own The Night on opening night at the AMC theaters in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. The Fandango website at We Own The Night describes the movie as follows:

“In 1988, New York’s police wage an all-out war on drugs, and guilty and innocent alike become casualties. Bobby Green (Joaquin Phoenix), manager of a nightclub that is often frequented by gangsters, tries to remain neutral but hides a potentially fatal secret: His brother (Mark Wahlberg) and father (Robert Duvall) are both cops. Caught in the middle, Bobby and his girlfriend, Amanda (Eva Mendes), are forced to choose sides – between the familial ties he has rejected and a future he cannot avoid.”

The Review
We Own The Night has an all-star cast including Mark Wahlberg, Joaquin Phoenix, Robert Duvall and Eva Mendes, so you would think that this would be a fantastic flick. Unfortunately, the story is a bit too generic. All of the characters are interesting for a while and the acting is intense at times with a couple twists along the way.

Becky liked We Own The Night more than I did. We both thought it was a pretty good flick and I was into it for about half the movie, but then it just lost me since the drug dealers were far too stupid and there were too many things that weren’t feasible. It reminded me a great deal of that movie Copland where it was much ado about nothing with plenty of great actors, but a story that made you leave thinking “Yeah. Right?”.

I’m suggesting you wait for the rental rack for We Own The Night and Becky thought it was worth the $9 admission at the box office.

John – ** Rental
Becky – *** Worth The Trip
_________________________________________________________________________
Auto Consultant – John Boyd: The Cool Car Guy

John is an auto consultant with JFR & Associates in Denver, Colorado and the host of The Cool Car Guy Show on Castle Rock Radio.com. He can help you save time and money on any make or model, new or used, lease or purchase – nationwide! Call or email John about your next vehicle! jboyd@coolcarguy.com

Becky and I went to see Across The Universe tonight at the AMC theaters in Highlands Ranch, Colorado with our friends Rod and Kimberly. The Yahoo website at Across The Universe describes the movie as follows:

“A romantic musical told mainly through numerous Beatles songs performed by the characters. A young man from Liverpool comes to America during the Vietnam War to find his father. He winds up in Greenwich Village, where he falls in love with an American girl who has grown up sheltered in the suburbs. Together they experience the sweeping changes of America in the late 60’s.”

The Review
Across The Universe has some great music from the 60’s and in particular The Beatles. However, you would be better off buying a collection of Beatles songs that are actually played by The Beatles and staying home and listening to the real music rather than going to this film. It’s long, too long and by the end you’re tired of hearing the lead character’s voice with far too much drama that makes no sense to anyone who isn’t on drugs or wasn’t involved in creating this film.

There is plenty of symbolism in this movie. No, there is way too much symbolism included in this off the wall politically motivated “musical”. At several points in the film, I thought we were watching a convoluted set of Pink Floyd MTV music videos put to music from The Beatles and co-starring actors who were supposed to look and sound like Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix. There is even a cameo appearance from U2 singer Bono where he appears as “The Walrus” and drives a psychedelic bus from the East to the West coast. It made tons of sense. Not really, it fit the rest of the movie since it made absolutely no sense at all, but made for good filler and he sounded really good singing The Walrus song.

I can’t forget the scene where you think you’re watching “The Grudge meets Yoko Ono”, which was super creepy and of course played to Beatles music. If you see the film you’ll know what I’m talking about the minute you see the dead women splash into the water.

I think that our friend Rod summed up Across The Universe the best when he said, “I feel like I just watched a 2.5 hour Coke commercial”. In conclusion, you can score another loser for Hollywood.

We debated if we should recommend this one as a Rental, but we’re pretty confident that you’ll be as bored as we were, after about an hour into the film, even with the good music. However, you can at least fast forward through the slow parts, which we didn’t have the luxury of doing. Although, I must say that some people apparently really liked this movie, so it is probably a mixed bag. My recommendation is to see it at your own risk when you have nothing better to do.

Once again, this weekend in movies has turned out to be a total waste of time at the theater.

John – * Don’t Bother
Becky – * Don’t Bother
_________________________________________________________________________
Auto Consultant – John Boyd: The Cool Car Guy

John is an auto consultant with JFR & Associates in Denver, Colorado and the host of The Cool Car Guy Show on Castle Rock Radio.com. He can help you save time and money on any make or model, new or used, lease or purchase – nationwide! Call or email John about your next vehicle! jboyd@coolcarguy.com

Becky and I went to see Heartbreak Kid on Friday night at the Kerasotes theaters in Castle Rock, Colorado with Becky’s Mom and Aunt Judy. The Yahoo website at Heartbreak Kid describes the movie as follows:

“After years of bachelorhood and ample pressure from his father, Doc, and best friend Mac, Eddie Cantrow starts to wonder if he is being too picky about the women he meets. So when a chance encounter with an alluring blonde named Lila leads to a sweet romance, Eddie impulsively proposes. But right after the wedding, as the newlyweds get to know each other on the drive down the California coast, Eddie…”

The Review
Heartbreak Kid is rated R for strong sexual content, crude humor and language and that pretty much sums up this worthless film starring Ben Stiller. It’s directed by Peter Farrelly and his brother Bobby Farrelly and we’ve all seen funnier Seinfeld episodes than this movie. You can probably find funnier films on YouTube for free than this movie and save your money and your time.

Ben Stiller should have passed on this one. It’s right up there with Good Luck Chuck for being a raunchy comedy that goes nowhere, but to the clearance rack for ninety-nine cent films and even then they won’t be worth your time. It’s about the fifth film we’ve seen recently that wasn’t worth the price of admission and that we should have paid for the agony of having to sit through them.

This weekend in movies was definitely another total waste of time at the theater.

John – * Don’t Bother
Becky – * Don’t Bother
_________________________________________________________________________
Auto Consultant – John Boyd: The Cool Car Guy

John is an auto consultant with JFR & Associates in Denver, Colorado and the host of The Cool Car Guy Show on Castle Rock Radio.com. He can help you save time and money on any make or model, new or used, lease or purchase – nationwide! Call or email John about your next vehicle! jboyd@coolcarguy.com