Becky and I went to see Her Friday night at the AMC theaters in Highlands Ranch, CO. The Moviefone website at Her describes the movie as follows…

“Joaquin Phoenix stars in Spike Jonze’s soulful sci-fi drama about a lonely writer who falls in love with his computer’s highly advanced operating system. Theodore Twombly (Phoenix) has built his career on expressing the emotions that others cannot.”

The Review:  Becky talked me into going and seeing this movie because it is up for so many awards.  She didn’t want to miss it when the Oscars come on later this year and I really don’t care if I miss a stupid film that the Academy likes for some reason.  I turned out to be right on this one.  This movie is about a guy who lives in the future.  He has a job writing hand written letters for an Internet company for other people, who want a letter written for them, which that in itself is strange.  However, that’s really nothing compared to what happens in this movie.  The guy is going through a divorce with his wife and has a problem meeting women and getting back into a relationship with a woman.  This is where it gets whacky.

He installs a new operating system based on artificial intelligence, that has a personality and is played by the voice of Scarlett Johansson.  He ends up falling in love with his computer and the whole movie is about his new relationship with his laptop.  When I came home and told our son Corban how stupid this movie was and how it was nominated for all these awards.  He said, “You went and saw a movie about Plankton and Karen on SpongeBob?” and then he started laughing.  Then I remembered that on the cartoon SpongeBob that the character Plankton has a wife who is his computer Karen.  Yes, they actually made a movie off of a SpongeBob character and we paid to go and see it!

This movie was a complete waste of time.  In fairness to Joaquin Phoenix, he was amazing in this movie because it was really just him.  Much like the movie Gravity that really just had Sandra Bullock playing the main character and nobody to play against, he was amazing as an actor.  It’s just too bad that the movie was a waste of time.  We can’t recommend seeing this movie, unless you really want to waste some time.

John – * Don’t Bother
Becky- * Don’t Bother 

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Auto Consultant – John Boyd: The Cool Car Guy

John is an auto consultant and owner of CoolCarGuy.com with his license at a car dealership in Denver, Colorado. He can help you save time and money on any make or model, new or used, lease or purchase or consign your vehicle – nationwide! Call or email John about your next vehicle! jboyd@coolcarguy.com or Twitter@coolcarguy

Becky and I went to see Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit at the AMC Theaters in Phoenix, AZ with our friends Mark and Maria last week. The Fandango website at Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit describes the movie as follows…

“To his friends and loved ones, young Jack Ryan (Chris Pine) appears to be an ordinary executive; however, he has secretly worked for the CIA for years. Ryan was originally brought in to crunch global data, but when he uncovers a carefully planned scheme to crash the U.S. economy and spark global chaos, he becomes the only man with the skills to stop it. Now a full operative, Ryan finds himself caught between his secretive handler, his clueless fiancee and a brilliant Russian leader.”

The Review: Becky and I wanted to see this movie and thought it looked pretty good based on the previews we saw.  It stars Kevin Costner, Chris Pine and Keira Knightley in a spy thriller about a CIA operative going after a Russian kingpin, who is trying to collapse the United States economic system.  The story is more of a technology thriller in that there isn’t over-the-top action, which was very refreshing for a change.  It is still very exciting and kept our interest.  The acting is very well done, it is well directed and the story is really good.

Shadow Recruit doesn’t have a bunch of foul language, which was great and it was entertaining.  It’s a smart film, a bit like the James Bond 007 movie as a spy thriller.  We all really liked this movie and thought it was definitely worth the price of admission.  The chemistry between the characters was good and it was suspenseful at times with just enough action.  In fact, we don’t see any reason why you shouldn’t go see this one and thought it was a Don’t Miss It.

John – **** Don’t Miss It
Becky – **** Don’t Miss It

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________________________________________________________________

Auto Consultant – John Boyd: The Cool Car Guy

John is an auto consultant and owner of CoolCarGuy.com with his license at a car dealership in Denver, Colorado. He can help you save time and money on any make or model, new or used, lease or purchase or consign your vehicle – nationwide! Call or email John about your next vehicle! jboyd@coolcarguy.com or Twitter@coolcarguy

My son Conroy and I went to see I Frankenstein tonight at the Regal Cinemas in Lone Tree, CO. The Fandango website at I Frankenstein describes the movie as follows…

“Set in a dystopic present where vigilant gargoyles and ferocious demons rage in a battle for ultimate power, Victor Frankenstein’s creation Adam (Aaron Eckhart) finds himself caught in the middle as both sides race to discover the secret to his immortality. From the creators of the hit supernatural saga, UNDERWORLD, comes the action thriller I, FRANKENSTEIN, written for the screen and directed by Stuart Beattie based on the graphic novel “I, Frankenstein” by Kevin Grevioux...”

The Review:  I couldn’t talk Corban into seeing this movie with us because he thought that it looked stupid.  It turned out that he was right and we should have listened to him.  This movie had so many problems that it’s not even funny.  As Conroy said, “They should have rules that when a movie is this bad it can’t make it to the theaters.”, but apparently a few people really liked it.  Why I do not know?  It’s a movie about the classic Frankenstein monster who ends up in the middle of a war between demons and gargoyles.  The demons looked like something in a made for t.v. movie and the gargoyles looked ridiculous as well, but the gargoyles were the good guys for some reason.  They were named after angels like Gabriel with a reference to Michael and the whole movie was based on a terrible script.

Other than the characters looking low budget, with the exception of Frankenstein played by Aaron Eckhart, the special effects were not bad.  The script was horrible, the directing was miserable and the acting was actually good.  Conroy and I were bored and almost left the movie because it was so painful to watch.  The story was just way too lame and it wasn’t worth our time to see this movie.  It was definitely a don’t bother.

John – * Don’t Bother
Conroy- * Don’t Bother 

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________________________________________________________________

Auto Consultant – John Boyd: The Cool Car Guy

John is an auto consultant and owner of CoolCarGuy.com with his license at a car dealership in Denver, Colorado. He can help you save time and money on any make or model, new or used, lease or purchase or consign your vehicle – nationwide! Call or email John about your next vehicle! jboyd@coolcarguy.com or Twitter@coolcarguy

Becky and I went to see Lone Survivor on Friday at the AMC Theater in Highlands Ranch, CO with our friends Mark and Maria. The Fandango website at Lone Survivor describes the movie as follows…

“LONE SURVIVOR, starring Mark Wahlberg, tells the story of four Navy SEALs on an ill-fated covert mission to neutralize a high-level Taliban operative who are ambushed by enemy forces in the Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan.  Based on The New York Times bestseller, this story of heroism, courage and survival directed by Peter Berg (Friday Night Lights) also stars Taylor Kitsch, Emile Hirsch, Ben Foster and Eric Bana...”

The Review: Let me start by saying that I’m amazed that there are film critics, who really liked the movie Nebraska, but think that this movie was just “okay”?   When you see a film like Lone Survivor that has real heart and graphically demonstrates the incredible sacrifice of life and limb that real people have made to serve America, you realize how thankful we should all be for their service. Especially, in a questionable war that has been going on for 13 years since the War on Terror was first put into motion.

If you have a chance to see this film, you need to “Go!” because it is incredible.  You will learn what really happened when four Navy Seals were put in harms way trapped behind enemy lines with no support and had to fight against a 200 man army.  This is a movie about real American Hero’s.  The acting is fantastic.  Mark Wahlberg should win an award for his role in this movie and the story is amazing.  Be forewarned that this film is extremely graphic because war is graphic, war is gruesome, war is filled with gore because people really die in war.  Since 2001 – present day the War on Terror: Afghanistan and Iraq Wars has cost 57,614 U.S. total dead and wounded Americans, which is something that this movie will remind you of by making it personal.

Lone Survivor is one of the best films of the year in my opinion.  One of the most powerful parts of the film is when it demonstrated the 2,000 year old tradition by an Afghan tribe of protecting people who come into their tribe.  It was a starch contrast to our society that is going out of its way to destroy Judeo-Christian traditions, after just over 200 years of America’s existence.  Not everyone in their tribe wanted to hold to their traditions at the risk of potential death from The Taliban, but had a few good men not been willing to do it, the outcome of this story would have been completely different.  That message in this movie was very powerful to me.

The language is harsh and it is very sad and disturbing at times, but it’s so well done.  Becky, Mark, Maria and I all thought it was an emotional and powerful movie.  Becky and I really liked Lone Survivor and we haven’t been in a movie in a while where the audience applauded at the end of the film.  This movie is definitely a Don’t Miss It, even if you can only handle seeing it once, you should go and see it.

In closing, let me thank all of our service men and women who put their love of others in front of themselves.

““This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends if you do what I command you.”  John 15:12 – 14

John – **** Don’t Miss It
Becky- *** Worth The Trip 

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________________________________________________________________

Auto Consultant – John Boyd: The Cool Car Guy

John is an auto consultant and owner of CoolCarGuy.com with his license at a car dealership in Denver, Colorado. He can help you save time and money on any make or model, new or used, lease or purchase or consign your vehicle – nationwide! Call or email John about your next vehicle! jboyd@coolcarguy.com or Twitter@coolcarguy

Becky and I went to see Nebraska last week at the Regal Cinema Greenwood Village, CO. The Fandango website at Nebraska describes the movie as follows…

“Cantankerous old buzzard Woody Grant (Bruce Dern) can barely walk down the street of his home in Billings, Mont., without stopping for a drink. So when Woody receives receives a sweepstakes notice in the mail and insists on making a 750-mile trip to Lincoln, Neb., to collect his prize, it falls to baffled son David (Will Forte) to accompany him. During a stop in their Nebraska hometown, word gets out about Woody’s fortune, first making him a hero, then later, the target of predatory people..”

The Review: Becky and I had pretty much seen everything else at the movies and decided to go and catch this film because we heard how great it was.  We arrived in the theater and it was pretty packed, but we had no clue what we were in for with this movie.  It was in black and white, which we got used to after about 10 minutes into the movie, but it needed to be in black and white because the film didn’t have anything to offer.

This was one of the worst movies that we’ve seen in quite a while.  The acting was fantastic, but it’s a story of some old guy who thinks that he’s won a Sweepstakes and he’s bound and determined to go to Lincoln, Nebraska to get his winnings.  His son goes along with him, who hasn’t really done much with his life and they have a really rocky relationship because of his childhood and his Father being an alcoholic.  The son learns some things about his Dad and there are some touching moments, along with a few funny moments.  I didn’t think that we were paying to see a Rated R, Hallmark television movie in black and white that was about as interesting and exciting to watch as watching paint dry.

I am trying to figure out why so many people liked this movie?  It was depressing, boring, a waste of time and really stupid.  It reminded me of taking a trip to a small town in Iowa or Nebraska with some old guy to visit his relatives, making a video about it that you could post on Youtube and then charge people to go see it?  I guess people have become so shallow and starved for any sense of reality that they think this is entertainment?

I would say this movie is a Don’t Bother and Becky thought it was a Rental at best.  The popcorn at the Regal Cinemas is really good.

John – * Don’t Bother
Becky – ** Rental

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________________________________________________________________

Auto Consultant – John Boyd: The Cool Car Guy

John is an auto consultant and owner of CoolCarGuy.com with his license at a car dealership in Denver, Colorado. He can help you save time and money on any make or model, new or used, lease or purchase or consign your vehicle – nationwide! Call or email John about your next vehicle! jboyd@coolcarguy.com or Twitter@coolcarguy

Becky and I went to see Saving Mr. Banks at the Regal Cinema in Lone Tree, CO on Sunday with Conroy and Bianca. The MovieFone website at Saving Mr. Banks describes the movie as follows…

‘Two-time Academy Award-winner Emma Thompson and fellow double Oscar-winner Tom Hanks topline Disney’s ‘Saving Mr. Banks’, inspired by the extraordinary, untold backstory of how Disney’s classic “Mary Poppins” made it to the screen.

When Walt Disney’s daughters begged him to make a movie of their favorite book, P.L. Travers’ “Mary Poppins,” he made them a promise-one that he didn’t realize would take 20 years to keep. In his quest to obtain the rights, Walt comes up against a curmudgeonly, uncompromising writer who has absolutely no intention of letting her beloved magical nanny get mauled by the Hollywood machine. But, as the books stop selling and money grows short, Travers reluctantly agrees to go to Los Angeles to hear Disney’s plans for the adaptation...”

The Review: Saving Mr. Banks was not on my list of vehicles to see this year.  I figured I would wait and see it on Netflix or as a rental sometime down the road.  In fact, Conroy and I were planning on going to see the Hobbit again since it was only $5 to get in on Sunday night at this theater, but it was sold out.  Becky and Bianca were going to see Saving Mr. Banks and since our movie was sold out we decided to go and see this movie with them.  It turned out to be a great choice.

If you’ve ever seen Mary Poppins, and who hasn’t, then you should go and see this movie as it tells the story of how Walt Disney ended up making the film after a twenty year pursuit of the author of the book.  The characters in this film and the acting is fantastic.  This is a movie with heart.  Emma Thompson is amazing in this movie and so is Tom Hanks playing Walt Disney, but really all the acting is fantastic.  It is a film that contains a story within the story within the story of Mary Poppins itself.

This movie is so well done and it does a great job of making you feel uncomfortable at times, while also getting you to fall in love with the characters.  You will empathize with the main characters as they struggle with both giving up and creating Mary Poppins to be their own.  It’s really incredible that Walt Disney was such a persistent person in keeping his word to his children that he wanted to make certain that Mary Poppins came to life on the big screen.  The movie made me want to read the book Mary Poppins because the film is so well done.

I would say this movie is a Don’t Miss It for sure because it is so well done and Becky agreed with me.  Conroy and Bianca both liked it too.

John – **** Don’t Miss It
Becky – **** Don’t Miss It

Conroy – *** Worth The Trip
Bianca – *** Worth The Trip

Sponsored By: SHAREMERCHANT.com:  Get paid to share!  Find out how you can earn $1,500 a month using and recommending products with a low cost business.  Become a Share Merchant!

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________________________________________________________________

Auto Consultant – John Boyd: The Cool Car Guy

John is an auto consultant and owner of CoolCarGuy.com with his license at a car dealership in Denver, Colorado. He can help you save time and money on any make or model, new or used, lease or purchase or consign your vehicle – nationwide! Call or email John about your next vehicle! jboyd@coolcarguy.com or Twitter@coolcarguy

Becky and I went to see Grudge Match at the AMC Theaters in Castle Rock, CO with Corban last week. The MovieFone website at Grudge Match describes the movie as follows…

‘‘Two retired boxers (Sylvester Stallone and Robert De Niro) decide to settle a long-standing beef by heading back into the ring in this sports comedy from director Peter Segal. Back in the day, Billy “The Kid” McDonnen (De Niro) and Henry “Razor” Sharp (Stallone) were the two biggest bruisers in the Pittsburgh boxing scene. Their fierce rivalry drawing nationwide attention, Razor and The Kid were deadlocked for the title of overall champion when the former announced his retirement just before the decisive 1983 match that would have determined the supreme champion. Three decades later, enterprising boxing promoter Dante Slate Jr. (Kevin Hart) lures the aging pugilists back into the ring for the fight that everyone has been waiting for. Meanwhile, when Razor and The Kid see each other for the first time in 30 years, the cameras are rolling as tempers suddenly flare. In no time that unscheduled scuffle goes viral, prompting both fighters to resume their intensive training in a bid to be the one who delivers the knockout blow during the highly anticipated bout. Alan Arkin, Kim Basinger, and Jon Bernthal costar.“

The Review: Becky and I talked Corban into seeing this movie with us.  The story is not a terrible idea, but we’re talking about a movie about a couple of old boxing rivals that is starring Sylester Stallone who is 67 years old and Robert De Niro who is 70 years of age.  It was just too far fetched to take serious even though it was pretty funny at times.  Kim Basinger looks really good at age 60 and I’m surprised we’re not seeing her in more movies because she has aged so well.

For what it’s worth, De Niro and Stallone do a good job of pulling off their characters and they both look good for their age.  It looks like they both got in pretty good shape for the film, which is hard to do at their age when you’re fighting gravity and muscle atrophy.  The taking of God’s name in vain was disturbing, along with the other foul language.  The language definitely took away from the movie and it wasn’t necessary.  Still the story was pretty good, but I think they should have used younger actors.  Of course, part of the comedy though for the film is that it’s Rocky facing Raging Bull.  That was evident to me in the movie and was part of the comedy for the film.  Alan Arkin was funny too, along with Kevin Hart that both pulled off their respective characters.

It was just too hard to take serious though and they should have put some of the outtakes, like with Holyfield and Tyson at the end of the movie, into the film.  I think they could have done a much better job in this movie.  It wasn’t he fault of the actors, but I think the screenplay needed some work and Peter Segal could have done much better Directing this film.  After all, Get Smart was a very funny film and this was only moderately funny.

Becky and I probably liked it better than Corban, but not by much.  We would suggest waiting for the rental rack for this one and Corban thought it was a waste of his time.  Which isn’t good news when a 14 year old thinks he wasted his time watching your movie.

John – ** Rental
Becky – ** Rental

Corban – * Don’t Bother

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________________________________________________________________

Auto Consultant – John Boyd: The Cool Car Guy

John is an auto consultant and owner of CoolCarGuy.com with his license at a car dealership in Denver, Colorado. He can help you save time and money on any make or model, new or used, lease or purchase or consign your vehicle – nationwide! Call or email John about your next vehicle! jboyd@coolcarguy.com or Twitter@coolcarguy

Becky and I went to see The Secret Life of Walter Mitty at the Regal Cinemas in Lone Tree, CO with Conroy, Corban and Bianca this past week. The MovieFone website at The Secret Life of Walter Mitty describes the movie as follows…

‘‘Ben Stiller directs and stars in ‘The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,’ James Thurber’s classic story of a day-dreamer who escapes his anonymous life by disappearing into a world of fantasies filled with heroism, romance and action. When his job along with that of his co-worker (Kristen Wiig) are threatened, Walter takes action in the real world embarking on a global journey that turns into an adventure more extraordinary than anything he could have ever imagined.“

The Review: Becky and I were looking forward to seeing this movie and we didn’t know that it was Directed by Ben Stiller, while he starred in it as well.  We thought that the story is good, but it moves too slow at times.  There are plots within the main plot as it deals with the downsizing of the people at Life Magazine as it moves toward the digital age, along with the main character Walter Mitty trying to find love, while looking for a missing photo from a famous photographer for the final issue of Life.  I’m not sure if there was too much going on for it to move as slow as it did at times, but it’s a feel good film with no harsh language.  It’s a very clean and fun movie compared to some of the films that we have seen recently, which is a breath of fresh air.

It’s a bit like Forest Gump in that you have an oddball character, Walter Mitty, trying to find his way through life, while dealing with unique challenges that continue to come his way.  I really liked that he went around the globe trying to solve a problem, while meeting unique characters on his journey.  The constant day dreaming with annoying and I felt took away from the film.  I think it would have been better if he would have just “zoned out” without showing what he was dreaming about because it cheapened the film.  There were some really stupid parts of the movie, like a flash of him being Brad Pitt in Benjamin Button that could have been left out of the movie.  It was funny, but didn’t really add anything to the movie.

Ben Stiller does a great job of pulling his character off and the cinematography is fantastic.  However, it is far fetched and pretty ridiculous at times, but if you overlook the problems it’s a good film.  We all enjoyed it and thought it was worth the price of admission.

John – *** Worth The Trip
Becky – *** Worth The Trip

Conroy – *** Worth The Trip
Corban – *** Worth The Trip
Bianca – **** Don’t Miss It

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________________________________________________________________

Auto Consultant – John Boyd: The Cool Car Guy

John is an auto consultant and owner of CoolCarGuy.com with his license at a car dealership in Denver, Colorado. He can help you save time and money on any make or model, new or used, lease or purchase or consign your vehicle – nationwide! Call or email John about your next vehicle! jboyd@coolcarguy.com or Twitter@coolcarguy