Becky and I went to see the new flick The Social Network on Friday night at the AMC Theaters in Highlands Ranch, CO. The Fandango website at The Social Network describes the movie as follows:

“‘On a fall night in 2003, Harvard undergrad and computer programming genius Mark Zuckerberg sits down at his computer and heatedly begins working on a new idea. In a fury of blogging and programming, what begins in his dorm room soon becomes a global social network and a revolution in communication. A mere six years and 500 million friends later, Mark Zuckerberg is the youngest billionaire in history… but for this entrepreneur, success leads to both personal and legal complications…”

The Review
The Social Network is a very entertaining drama about how the website Facebook got started by some students at Harvard University and the battles that ensued about who started the multi-billion dollar business. The characters are interesting with the super smart geeks, gifted jocks, and the famous California party animals.

The film shows how easy it is for people to get lost in the spell and allure of greed and power, as well as how easy it is for people to forget their friends and where they came from when power and money are involved. It’s also interesting that all the characters were brilliant having been accepted into Harvard, but Zuckerberg dropped out like many other successful moguls.

The acting was great, the story was very well done and it was really cool how the story was shown from three different perspectives while allowing the viewer to draw their own conclusion about who was right or wrong. I thought the character Sean Parker, played by Justin Timberlake, was fascinating and it was wild how he landed his equity in the company. The character was enamored with the success of his Napster website and put himself right in the middle of Facebook, while offering very little real value and creating a major division between the main characters.

Having personally gone through a number of start-up ventures I could definitely relate to many of the situations in this movie. The character Eduardo Saverin really got the shaft in my opinion, even if he owns 5% of the company today and is a billionaire, he was integral in helping Zuckerberg launch the company and shouldn’t have had to sue his friend and the company to reclaim his equity in the business.

Becky and I both thought it was extremely well done and a great movie that will be enjoyed if you’re a Facebook user. You should find it entertaining, especially if you are a business owner or Entrepreneur.

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 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 – nationwide! Call or email John about your next vehicle! jboyd@coolcarguy.com or Twitter @coolcarguy

Becky and I went to see the new Ben Affleck flick The Town last night at the AMC Theaters in Castle Rock, CO with our friends Chris and Hope Cargill. The Fandango website at The Town describes the movie as follows:

“‘Gone Baby Gone’ director Ben Affleck adapts author Chuck Hogan’s Hammett Prize-winning novel concerning four thieves who are hunted on the streets of Boston by a determined FBI agent and a woman with the power to bring them all to their knees…”

The Review
The Town is a drama and action flick that reminded us quite a bit of the movie Point Break with bank robbers wearing Halloween masks and a tight group of four guys who knock over banks for a living. There is an FBI agent trying to track them down like in Point Break, but he doesn’t get involved in robbing banks by going undercover like in Point Break. It is a pretty good movie with plenty of action, a bit graphic at times with sex and violence, so it’s definitely rated R for good reasons.

The characters are interesting, it’s Directed by Ben Affleck who plays the main character as well and was involved in writing the screenplay. There is an Irish Mob element in this movie since it takes place in Boston, but it’s a bit long and drawn out at times. It’s not something we haven’t seen before, nothing really fresh about it, but it’s well done for people who are looking for a good action/drama at the movies. We can’t say we loved this one or would want to see it again. Probably would like it more if we were from Boston. You’ll want to talk like you’re from Boston by the time you’re done watching the film. The acting is good, but the story is mediocre at best. Becky and I thought it was borderline rental to being worth the trip, but we’ll give it a Worth The Trip for a rating, since we both thought it was pretty good overall.

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

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_________________________________________________________________________

Auto Consultant – John Boyd: The Cool Car Guy

John is an auto consultant 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 – nationwide! Call or email John about your next vehicle! jboyd@coolcarguy.com or Twitter @coolcarguy

Becky and I went to see the new Micheal Douglas movie Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps last weekend at the AMC Theaters in Castle Rock, CO. The Yahoo website at Wall Street describes the movie as follows:

“Emerging from a lengthy prison stint, Gordon Gekko finds himself on the outside of a world he once dominated. Looking to repair his damaged relationship with his daughter, Gekko forms an alliance with her fiance Jacob, and Jacob begins to see him as a father figure. But Jacob learns the hard way that Gekko — still a master manipulator and player — is after something very different from redemption…”

The Review
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps is a pretty good Oliver Stone flick that has been filling theaters around the country with over $19 million in sales at the box office within the week. The acting is great, it’s Directed fairly well, but it gets a bit long at times and I think the story was a little weaker than the first one.  You didn’t really get emotionally attached to any of the characters and Gordon Gecko apparently got a heart while he was in prison.  I’m not sure that’s too believable for this Pit Bull of Wall Street. The guy was ruthless in the first movie and the common rule is that a leopard doesn’t lose its spots, especially when it comes to money and I’ve worked with enough Gordon Gecko’s in the past to know this first hand.  You see a little bit of this in the film, but time, age and experience has apparently softened him just a little in the second installment.

Don’t get me wrong, he’s still pretty ruthless in how deals with a number of people in the movie.  There are some interesting characters in the film, including a cameo by Charlie Sheen, which was done pretty well. The story tried to do too much though with the Wall Street bailouts and trying to educate the viewers on what happened in 2008 with the crash of the markets and the billions of dollars in bank bailouts. The media is definitely controlling much of the information the public is getting about the true state of the Economy I might add.  I did some research on bank closures for 2010 and there have been 140 banks that have closed this year, twice the number that failed in 2009, according to an article at Daily Finance.  Needless to say, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps is relevant for today’s economic climate, which is one of the reasons why it was so popular the first go around.  It should be again.  In the 1980’s corporate takeovers with massive layoffs were common ways for Wall Street executives to make millions.  It still happens today, but it was much more common practice during the first Wall Street film.

This story adds his daughter into the equation, her fiance’ who’s quite a bit like her father and some other people who helped put Gordon behind bars that he would like to exact revenge on.  It makes for a good movie and Micheal Douglas is great in the movie, along with Josh Brolin and the other lead characters.  It was worth the price of admission.  We both liked it, but we can’t give it a Don’t Miss It since it was a little too long and drawn out, which is pretty much the norm for an Oliver Stone film.

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

Sponsored By: Looking for a great income opportunity with an awesome product? Click here!

_________________________________________________________________________

Auto Consultant – John Boyd: The Cool Car Guy

John is an auto consultant 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 – nationwide! Call or email John about your next vehicle! jboyd@coolcarguy.com or Twitter @coolcarguy

Becky and I took the kids to see the new movie You Again this weekend at the AMC Theaters in Highlands Ranch, CO. The Fandango website at You Again describes the movie as follows:

“Successful PR pro Marni (Kristen Bell) heads home for her older brother’s (Jimmy Wolk) wedding and discovers that he’s marrying her high school arch nemesis (Odette Yustman), who’s conveniently forgotten their problematic past. Then the bride’s jet-setting aunt (Sigourney Weaver) bursts in and Marni’s not-so-jet-setting mom (Jamie Lee Curtis) comes face to face with her own high school rival. The claws come out and old wounds are opened in this crazy comedy that proves that not all rivalries are forever…”

The Review
The movie is cute and the kids and Becky really liked it. It has some very funny situations, but it’s pretty predictable. The acting is good with Kristen Bell, Jamie Lee Curtis, Sigourney Weaver and Odette Yustman creating some great chemistry with their characters.

It definitely has a message about how you treat people in High School may come back to haunt you. The moral of the story is definitely “be nice” or you may regret your sins later in life. Sigourney’s character is interesting because what happened in High School to her ended up defining her life and forced her to perform and become a powerful woman.

The movie has plenty of laughs and though it won’t win any awards, it’s a very fun and light-hearted movie that we all enjoyed.

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

Conroy – **** Don’t Miss It
Corban – **** Don’t Miss It
Bianca – **** Don’t Miss It

Sponsored By: Looking for a great income opportunity with an awesome product? Click here!

_________________________________________________________________________

Auto Consultant – John Boyd: The Cool Car Guy

John is an auto consultant 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 – nationwide! Call or email John about your next vehicle! jboyd@coolcarguy.com or Twitter @coolcarguy

Becky and I went to see Easy A last night at the AMC theater in Castle Rock, CO. The Fandango website at Easy A describes the movie as follows:

“The escape of a little white lie teaches a clean-cut teenager (Emma Stone) to use the high-school rumor mill to her advantage…”

The Review
Becky and I had high expectations for this film. We were looking forward to seeing it when we saw the previews. The storyline seemed like it would be a fun flick for teenagers. It’s a story about a pretty girl who accidentally starts a rumor about herself being “easy” in High School when she tells a friend about an escapade she didn’t really have with an older guy. When the rumor goes crazy she decides to play off the famous novel The Scarlet Letter by sewing an “A” for “adulterer” on her wardrobe and start dressing like Julia Robert’s character in Pretty Woman. A story that is obviously different from anything that has been done before.

The movie is funny and there are some great lines in the film. It panders quite a bit to the homosexual community, typical Hollywood, and focuses a bit too much on that audience.  The language is terrible with constant swearing and rough language.  The young characters and adults in the film swear more than a crew of drunken sailors. It was annoying and really took away from the film, so be aware of this issue.  Especially, if you decide to take any of your PG-13 children to see this one.

They really poke fun at Christians, who are the evil children in this movie spreading the rumors about the main character and incredibly stupic.  Funny that they singled out this group when the movie is about how wrong it is to make fun of people in High School, but apparently Christians are an easy target.   You have to love the hypocrisy of Hollywood as Amanda Bynes character is a total jerk and moron in this movie since she is a Christian.

Beyond the short comings of the movie, Emma Stone was really great in this film and she did a superb job with her character and definitely delivered. They had her go off the deep end with her language by the end of the film, which didn’t fit her character who was a brilliant linguist throughout the movie. Beyond that she was funny, clever and is a beautiful young actress with plenty of talent. We’ll look forward to seeing her in future roles, but I can’t say we’ll be looking for films Directed by Will Gluck or written by Bert Royal.

This one is definitely a rental at best.

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

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_________________________________________________________________________

Auto Consultant – John Boyd: The Cool Car Guy

John is an auto consultant 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 – nationwide! Call or email John about your next vehicle! jboyd@coolcarguy.com or Twitter @coolcarguy

Becky and I went to see the new George Clooney movie The American on Friday at the AMC theater in Castle Rock, CO. The Fandango website at The American describes the movie as follows:

“Academy Award winner George Clooney stars in the title role of this suspense thriller. As an assassin, Jack (Clooney) is constantly on the move and always alone. After a job in Sweden ends more harshly than expected for this American abroad, Jack retreats to the Italian countryside. He relishes being away from death for a spell as he holes up in a small medieval town. While there, Jack takes an assignment to construct a weapon for a mysterious contact, Mathilde (Thekla Reuten). Savoring the peaceful quietude he finds in the mountains of Abruzzo, Jack accepts the friendship of local priest Father Benedetto (Paolo Bonacelli) and pursues a torrid liaison with a beautiful woman, Clara (Violante Placido). Jack and Clara’s time together evolves into a romance, one seemingly free of danger. But by stepping out of the shadows, Jack may be tempting fate…”

The Review
Becky and I were apparently just a little too American for The American because we both thought this movie sucked, along with most of the movie theater we were in that were actually booing at the end of the film. I can’t say we’ve seen that happen in a movie in a long time. That’s because after watching this terrible movie for an hour and forty-five minutes it had an ending that sucked too. Which should have been no surprise. There were about five characters in the entire film. A priest, George’s character who is an assassin, his boss that he talks to on the phone periodically and a woman assassin. It could have been a really bad play or a short story instead of a major motion picture.

All we could figure is that George Clooney decided he wanted to do a movie and heard that he could go to Italy and film this low budget “thriller (?)”. There is no music in this movie, so you’ll hear everyone in the theater eating their popcorn. That was a bit annoying. You will see George do plenty of push-ups and pull-ups, along with having sex with a prostitute he is apparently in love with by the end of the movie, if that interests you?

What was the point of this film? Is it a movie about his character being an assassin or a guy trying to find himself after he realizes his job really sucks or about how getting into a relationship with a prostitute might workout after all? Is it about butterflies? or… It’s right up there with trying to figure out how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop, “the world may never know”.

Unless you’re in the mood for some soft porn that’s included in this movie, which wasn’t what we were wanting to see, but unfortunately was the most exciting part of the film, we can’t even suggest this as a good rental. It’s beyond boring and a complete waste of time.

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

Sponsored By: Looking for a great income opportunity with awesome products? Click here!

_________________________________________________________________________

Auto Consultant – John Boyd: The Cool Car Guy

John is an auto consultant 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 – nationwide! Call or email John about your next vehicle! jboyd@coolcarguy.com or Twitter @coolcarguy

Becky and I went to see the new Julia Roberts movieEat, Pray, Love a couple of weeks ago at the AMC theater in Flat Irons Crossing. The Yahoo website at Eat Pray Love describes the movie as follows:

“Liz Gilbert had everything a modern woman is supposed to dream of having — a husband, a house, a successful career — yet like so many others, she found herself lost, confused, and searching for what she really wanted in life. Newly divorced and at a crossroads, Gilbert steps out of her comfort zone, risking everything to change her life, embarking on a journey around the world that becomes a quest for self-discovery. In her travels, she discovers the true pleasure of nourishment by eating in Italy; the power of prayer in India, and, finally and unexpectedly, the inner peace and balance of true love in Bali…”

The Review
Eat Pray Love is a movie I can describe in just one word – “painful”. This movie was over two hours long watching Julia Roberts’ character go through what amounts to a major mid-life crisis for a woman who has decided she’s married to the wrong man. Her solution to her misery, after leaving her husband is to hook-up with a younger guy, follow his “guru” and set off on a quest to Rome Italy, Bali and of course India. She meets a number of interesting characters along the way and of course is in search of her true love.

There are some funny parts to the film, like when she finally reaches India to meet her guru only to discover that her guru is in New York where she came from. All I could think of is how this woman is trying to become more like her “guru” and get in touch with herself, while her “guru” would like nothing more than to get out of India and live in New York. The irony was actually quite funny. The movie is whacked though and beyond boring.

Julia’s character comes across like a spoiled rich woman in search of a new reality because she thinks that her life is so rough. It was torture. Becky and I both couldn’t wait for it to end. Can’t even suggest this as a good rental.

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

Sponsored By: Looking for a great income opportunity with a awesome products? Click here!

_________________________________________________________________________

Auto Consultant – John Boyd: The Cool Car Guy

John is an auto consultant 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 – nationwide! Call or email John about your next vehicle! jboyd@coolcarguy.com or Twitter @coolcarguy

Becky and I went to see Flippedat the AMC Theaters in Highlands Ranch, CO. The Fandango website at Flipped describes the movie as follows:

“‘The coming-of-age romantic comedy “Flipped,” from director Rob Reiner, takes Bryce and Juli from Grade School to Junior High, through triumph and disaster, family drama and first love, as they make the discoveries that will define who they are – and who they are to each other…”

The Review
Flipped is a fantastic movie about a boy and a girl, who have different views of the world and each other. The story is so cool and extremely well done. It’s such a good story with tons of substance about life and what’s important.

Flipped is a great deal like Sandlot and other films where they take place in early America when life was simple, before the XBox, when children rode bikes and climbed trees. It’s about learning lessons, like honesty at an early age and not judging people based on appearances.

The movie is definitely a good flick.

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

Sponsored By: Looking for a great income opportunity with a awesome products? Click here!
_________________________________________________________________________

Auto Consultant – John Boyd: The Cool Car Guy

John is an auto consultant 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 – nationwide! Call or email John about your next vehicle! jboyd@coolcarguy.com or Twitter @coolcarguy

I went to see the new comedy Dinner for Schmucks last week at the AMC theater in Castle Rock, CO. The Fandango website at Dinner for Schmucks describes the movie as follows:

“Tim (Paul Rudd) a rising executive, works for a boss who hosts a monthly event in which the guest who brings the biggest buffoon gets a career-boost. Though he declines the invitation at first, Tim changes his mind when he meets Barry (Steve Carell), a man who builds dioramas using stuffed mice. The scheme backfires when Barry’s blundering good intentions send Tim’s life into a downward spiral, threatening a major business deal and possibly scuttling Tim’s engagement to his fiancee…”

The Review
Dinner for Schmucks was a funny movie starring Steve Carell and Paul Rudd.  They actually have really good chemistry in this movie and there are some really funny parts in the film, but it’s also a bit serious at times and somewhat crude. I think that’s the one thing that takes away from the film is some of the humor is a bit too much.  Kind of like going to see a stand-up act where the comics just go a bit too far for the audience and you cringe a little bit in your seat waiting for applause or for people to get up and leave.

It’s still pretty funny though.  It’s without a doubt different than any movie I’ve seen before with characters that are totally nuts, but believable too. For example, Steve’s character is an artist that does panoramic scenes with dead mice and Paul’s girlfriend is dating an artist who is completely insane.  Paul’s character Tim is more of a normal guy who’s trying to get a promotion and will do anything to get ahead in his career, while Steve’s character is completely destroying his life, but actually saving him from himself in the process.  It all makes for an entertaining film that I thought was pretty funny too and it’s done quite well at the box office.

Becky saw it when she was in Arizona with her Mom and she liked it, probably more than I did. They both thought it was Worth The Trip. I’m right on the borderline of it being a good rental and worth the price of admission, but I’ll say it was Worth The Trip too because it was funny and definitely like nothing you’ve seen before. The acting is really good in this one and Steve isn’t his usual character, but over-the-top nuts, like Jerry Lewis used to be in some of his old movies with Dean Martin.

John – *** Worth The Trip
Becky – *** Worth The Trip
Sponsored By: Looking for a great income opportunity with awesome products? Click here! _________________________________________________________________________

Auto Consultant – John Boyd: The Cool Car Guy

John is an auto consultant 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 – nationwide! Call or email John about your next vehicle! jboyd@coolcarguy.com or Twitter @coolcarguy

Becky and I went to see the new Leonardo DiCaprio movieInception last night at the AMC theater in Castle Rock, CO. The Fandango website at Inception describes the movie as follows:

“Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a skilled thief, the absolute best in the dangerous art of extraction, stealing valuable secrets from deep within the subconscious during the dream state when the mind is at its most vulnerable. Cobb’s rare ability has made him a coveted player in this treacherous new world of corporate espionage, but it has also made him an international fugitive and cost him everything he has ever loved. Now Cobb is being offered a chance at redemption. One last job could give him his life back but only if he can accomplish the impossible—inception…”

The Review
Inception is a very bizarre movie about a crew that can get inside your mind by entering your dreams and steal your thoughts or ideas. It’s quite a bit like The Matrix, since it’s dealing with alternate realities, but it was a story within a story within a story. It’s extremely confusing with a great deal going on all the time and you don’t know what’s real and what’s in the dream state.

The acting in this film is incredible, but that’s what you expect when you have DiCaprio. However, kind of like Shutter Island the movie is totally whacked. There are plenty of special effects and the cinematography was superb in a variety of locations, but at time the movie goes really slow and it’s almost two and a half hours long. Parts of the movie they show in slow motion, over and over again and it’s a bit annoying.

It has a strange ending and Becky really didn’t like this movie. She was pretty bored with it. I liked it more than she did since it’s a science fiction flick and had some cool elements to the story. However, I can’t recommend it for going to the theaters. I think it’s a better rental than seeing it on the big screen. You can pause it then or fast forward through at least a half hour of it.

I don’t think we’re in the minority here. The theater was packed and when we came out of the film some people asked us if we liked it. Several people shook their heads and said, “It was too weird.” I think I would rather take have taken a nap and created my own dreams.

John – ** Rental
Becky – ** Rental
_________________________________________________________________________

Auto Consultant – John Boyd: The Cool Car Guy

John is an auto consultant 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 – nationwide! Call or email John about your next vehicle! jboyd@coolcarguy.com or Twitter @coolcarguy