Becky and I went to see the new Mel Gibson movie Edge of Darkness last week at the Kerasotes theaters in Castle Rock, CO. The Fandango website at Edge of Darkness describes the movie as follows:

“As detective Thomas Craven (Mel Gibson) is investigating his activist daughter’s murder he uncovers a corporate cover up along with government collusion that brings the unwanted attention of an agent whose job is cleaning up evidence of a crime…”

The Review
Edge of Darkness is a suspense thriller about a cop, played by Mel Gibson, who loses his daughter who works for a company that is involved with the U.S. government in manufacturing weapons. The story is very good, the acting is good, but the film is extremely graphic. It was much more graphic than we expected it to be, but it was also done really well. The character’s were believable.

Frankly, I’m kind of burned out on Mel Gibson like many movie goer’s are after his whacky world off screen, which is about as nuts as Lindsey Lohan. We didn’t go into this film with great expectations and I was expecting to see something on the same level of a Sylvestor Stallone movie with plenty of unrealistic action done by an aging actor. This movie didn’t do that though. Mel’s character was actually believable and his gun did the majority of the damage in this movie, much like an old Dirty Harry film.

There were some interesting twists, turns and characters in Edge of Darkness that kept the movie stimulating. If there was a big flaw it was that the film was far too graphic showing people being killed and it was disturbing. Be forewarned that this film is definitely rated R for the graphic violence, so keep the kids at home.

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 movie When In Rome last night the Kerasotes theaters in Castle Rock, CO. The Fandango website at When in Rome describes the movie as follows:

“An ambitious young New Yorker (Kristen Bell), disillusioned with romance, takes a whirlwind trip to Rome where she defiantly plucks magic coins from a fountain of love, inexplicably igniting the passion of those who threw them in: a sausage magnate (Danny DeVito), a street magician (Jon Heder), an adoring painter (Will Arnett) and a self-admiring model (Dax Shepard). But when a charming reporter (Josh Duhamel) pursues her with equal zest, how will she know if his love is the real thing?…”

The Review
When In Rome is a goofy movie about a woman who can’t find love and is in love with her job. After taking a few coins from the fountain of love in Italy, she is chased by these men who are now in love with her and are under a spell.

The premise of the movie was “cute”, but the movie was not very good. The acting wasn’t bad, but the lines were stupid, the situations were ridiculous and the Directing was horrible. The guys who are chasing her in the film are crazy and it’s just not that funny after while because it’s too stupid.

One lady walked out of the film and said to her husband, “That was cute.” and her husband said, “That was stupid.” and we will have to agree with her husband on this one.

I don’t think we can even rate this one as a good rental because it was just so far fetched as a Romantic Comedy that it was far too painful to watch.

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 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 movie The Book of Eli on Sunday at the Kerasotes theaters in Castle Rock, CO. The Yahoo website at The Book of Eli describes the movie as follows:

“A lone hero must fight his way across the wasteland of post-apocalyptic America to protect a sacred book that holds the key to saving the future of humanity…”

The Review
The Book of Eli is an amazing film. It’s definitely in my top five favorite movies of all time and that’s saying a great deal with as many movies as I’ve seen. Let me warn you that this movie is extremely violent and at times gruesome, but in the same way that The Lord of The Rings is also violent and gruesome at times because of the content of the film. The acting is spectacular and the story is great, which is what makes this such a fantastic film.

I know that many people are going to disagree with me on this one because it’s a bit like the second Mad Max film, The Road Warrior that launched actor Mel Gibson to fame since it’s a post nuclear holocaust type film. Humans are wicked and they are borderline feral after the nukes have hit. If you’re a believer in the Theory of Evolution or an atheist, you’ll see first-hand what “survival of the fittest” really means in a world without God and without a moral code. The Book of Eli deals with man’s sinful nature in a world that has burned all the Bibles after the nuclear war because it was believed that religion was the cause of mankind’s woes.

Eli is like a modern prophet, who is a cross between King David, who had so much blood on his hands that God wouldn’t allow him to build His Temple, and Paul the Apostle who obeyed the voice of God after a supernatural encounter with him. That’s how I perceived the character anyway, even if it wasn’t intended. I expect that many Christians will be offended by the violence in this movie, but I think that’s because many people don’t read the Bible in it’s proper context most of the time or they look at the world with rose colored glasses.  The world is an extremely violent place, but in America most of us are sheltered from the violence that happens in the rest of the world.  As I watched this movie, it reminded me of ancient times when lives were sold into slavery like pieces of meat or when Christians were fed to lions or prophets were sawn in half.

The Bible is one of the most violent series of books ever written, including the beating and crucifixion of Jesus by the Romans. It demonstrates the depravity of mankind upfront and personal from the first chapter of Genesis where Cain kills Abel to the Book of Revelation when God wipes out mankind for rejecting His Son. If that’s not violent enough for you, you will find every kind of perversion of men in the Bible, including rape, lying, incest, lust, witchcraft, idolatry, sorcery, adultery, theft, murder, war and even cannibalism to name just a few.

The Bible screams out over and over again the need for men to embrace God as their Savior from their sins and live by a higher moral code than animals, since we are made in the image and likeness of God.  Even in the beginning, when God approaches Cain, He tells him that sin is at his door and that Cain must master it.  He didn’t listen of course and murdered his brother and then failed to accept responsibility for his actions.

That’s what the Book of Eli demonstrates as well, only in a very graphic way on the big screen by holding people accountable for their actions and showing the consequences of a world that doesn’t know God.   It does this without saying it directly, but through the actions of Eli and those he encounters on his journey since actions always speak louder than words.

I got sucked into this movie as I watched the life of a man who has learned to “walk by faith and not by sight” and put God’s mission above himself or the lives of others, which God honors by protecting him for his obedience with supernatural exploits. Eli also learns that he may have forgotten how to love others in the process because of his mission and severe judgments.  Which was the main message of the Book that he’s carrying and that’s one of the things that makes this film so powerful in the end.

We both liked it and I definitely rated it a Don’t Miss It. Becky thought it was Worth The Trip.

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 movie with Amy Adams Leap Year last week. I’m still a bit behind on the movie reviews, but I’m going to try to catch-up on the reviews today. The Yahoo website at Leap Year describes the movie as follows:

“ENCHANTED’s Amy Adams intends to charm more audiences with this giggle-filled romance. The Oscar-nominated actress stars as a woman who flies to Dublin to take advantage of an Irish tradition that says men who are proposed to on February 29 must marry their love. Director Anand Tucker takes a break from this serious drama of WHEN DID YOU LAST SEE YOUR FATHER? and HILARY & JACKIE to do this comedy…”

The Review
Leap Year is a typical chick flick and the movie was packed with women; I think I was the only guy in the place. The story was enjoyable and predictable and can best be described as “cute”.

Leap Year is not a great flick by any stretch because we’ve all seen it before in other Romantic Comedies, but the setting is different and the characters. The critics didn’t like it that much and gave it an average rating and I would have to agree that it wasn’t something you necessarily want to see on the Big Screen.

The setting is in Ireland and apparently most of the Irish, other than the main character, are stupid drunks. However, that’s not the main emphasis of this film. Amy Adams does a good job, along with her co-star, but I don’t think the script was written for her character. She pulls it off, but her boyfriend and her character should have been cast differently and I think it would have been a better movie.

We still liked it, but we would wait for the rental.

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

Becky and I took the kids to see new movie Sherlock Holmes with my parents a couple weeks ago. I’m a bit behind on the movie reviews. The Fandango website at Sherlock Holmes describes the movie as follows:

“In a dynamic new portrayal of Arthur Conan Doyle’s most famous characters, Sherlock Holmes and his stalwart partner Watson embark on their latest challenge. Revealing fighting skills as lethal as his legendary intellect, Holmes battles as never before to bring down a new nemesis and unravel a deadly plot that could destroy the country…”

The Review
Sherlock Holmes rocks!   It’s done extremely well.  This is a great movie that had plenty of action, adventure and suspense, along with some good acting. It’s not your typical Sherlock Holmes with the classic saying of, “elementary my Dear Watson, elementary.” with an overweight and boring Sherlock Holmes.

This Sherlock Holmes is like an action hero with a brain. The story is exciting, clever and will keep your interest from start to finish. If there was one drawback of this film it was that it was hard to understand the lead character at times with his accent. I liked this movie better than Avatar because the story had much more substance and it was put together so well without just the great special effects.

We all liked this movie and thought it was great! Even our kids all liked it.

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

Conroy – **** Don’t Miss It
Corban – **** Don’t Miss It
Bianca – **** Don’t MIss It
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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 new movie It’s Complicated on opening night a few weeks ago. I’m a bit behind on the movie reviews, so I apologize for that, but I’ve been slammed since getting back from Tucson, AZ. The Fandango website at It’s Complicated describes the movie as follows:

“Jane (Streep) is the mother of three grown kids, owns a thriving Santa Barbara bakery/restaurant and has—after a decade of divorce—an amicable relationship with her ex-husband, attorney Jake (Baldwin). But when Jane and Jake find themselves out of town for their son’s college graduation, things start to get complicated. An innocent meal together turns into the unimaginable—an affair. With Jake remarried to the much younger Agness (Lake Bell), Jane is now, of all things, the other woman…”

The Review
It’s Complicated is a comedy with some good Star Power, including Alec Baldwin, Meryl Streep and Steve Martin. The movie is funny, but it’s not as great as you would expect and I think part of the problem is that they gave away so much of this film with the previews that by the time you see the movie, you’re waiting for parts of the film to come up.

When Becky and I saw the first preview for this movie, we wanted to see the film, but by the time we saw the previews about twenty more times, it was as though we had already seen the movie. The story is cute and it’s about a man who has an affair after years of marriage, is remarried and now he’s realized that his new life is not all that it’s cracked up to be. He wants his old wife and life back, but he wants it on his terms and that’s what makes the movie funny. Alec Baldwin is great in this movie and so are the other actors, but Alec is particularly funny because he just lets it all hang out, literally.

The story is definitely complicated, so it has the right title and you end up really liking the characters. We definitely thought it was Worth The Trip, but couldn’t rate it a Don’t Miss It.

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

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 Planet 51 over the Christmas week at the Century theater while we were in Tucson, AZ. The Fandango website at Planet 51 describes the movie as follows:

“Planet 51 is a galactic sized animated alien adventure comedy revolving around America astronaut Captain Charles “Chuck” Baker, who lands on Planet 51 thinking he’s the first person to step foot on it. To his surprise, he finds that this planet is inhabited by little green people who are happily living in a white picket fence world reminiscent of a cheerfully innocent 1950s America, and those only fear is that it will be overrun by alien invaders…like Chuck! With the help of his robot companion “Rover” and his new friend Lem, Chuck must navigate his way through the dazzling, but bewildering, landscape of Planet 51 in order to escape becoming a permanent part of the Planet 51 Alien Invaders Space Museum…”

The Review
Planet 51 is a different kind of story about aliens arriving from another planet and landing in the backyard of a young boy. Only instead of the aliens coming to planet Earth, NASA has sent an astronaut to another planet, Planet 51, where there are other life forms, much like human beings.  The boy who’s backyard the alien landed in, is an alien.

The animation in this cartoon is great, being similar to Dreamworks and Pixar in quality and the idea for the movie was clever. It’s very predictable though and the aliens were supposed to be like humans back in the 1950’s, who haven’t “evolved”, which is probably why it’s called Planet 51. That was kind of clever, but it’s not a fantastic story and really kind of goofy, which is the biggest problem with Planet 51. The premise was cute with an astronaut landing on another planet with other life forms, but it was kind of boring.

Corban liked it the best of all of us, but the rest of it rated it a rental. We liked it, but not enough to say to spend the money seeing at the theaters.

John – ** Rental
Becky – ** Rental

Conroy – ** Rental
Corban – *** Worth The Trip
Bianca – ** Rental
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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