Red Tails

Red Tails – Cuba Gooding Jr, Terrence Howard, Nate Parker and David Oyelowo

Based on true events that happened during World War 2.  The film is about the Tuskogee training program that got black pilots into the war.  Cuba playes Major Emanuel Stance and Terrence Howard plays Col. A.J. Bullard who are in charge of the pilots that are stationed in Italy.  Their goal was to not get into heavy battle and only destroy convoys and trains.  Finally after Col. Bullard goes back state side, the Col. was able to get his pilots some real action.  Their mission is to protect the troops coming into Italy.  With the mission being very successful, they are given another mission to protect bombers going into Germany.  They got the title of the movie by the tails on the planes being painted red.  I’m gonna start off by saying i was told very good things about this movie by two very good friends of mine and was given a little bit of something i was worried about.  George Lucas helped out as Executive Producer on this film which means your gonna get his story telling on this.  That being said and everyone knows how much of a Star Wars fan that i am, everything looked really great but of course some of the story was slow in parts and slow character development.  The fighting scenes were some of the best airplane fighting scenes i’ve seen in awhile.  You do feel for all the pilots but i felt that you should have felt more for what they went through with being black and not getting a real chance to fight for their country.  I guess i was really hoping for something along the lines of Saving Private Ryan meets Star Wars if that makes sense.  This movie has a great story, dont get me wrong i just wish they would have spent more time with the characters of the movie.  Like for instance one of their pilots gets captured and put in prison in Germany and after what felt like a week of his escape with some white soldiers, his dog tags are returned to his group in Italy.  No ceremony for him, no funeral.  Later in the movie, which felt like another week, another pilot dies and they hold a funeral for him and the pilot they thought was dead just happens to reappear and its like they all just forgot about their friend dying.  I’m probably just picking apart this movie but thats what i do.  I’m saying check this out at the cheap seats and not at the big theater.

5.5 outta 10 wahoo’s

Underworld Awakening

Underworld Awakening – Kate Beckinsale, Stephen Rea, Michael Ealy and India Eisley

For those keeping count this is the fourth in the series but the third one was actually a prequel so this should have been number three.  The first five minutes of the movie they give you a quick overview of what has happened in the first two but act like the third one never happened.  The world has found out that vampires and werewolves exist and are going through and killing all of them.  While Selene is on her way to meet Michael on their boat, it comes under attack.  Fast forward twelve years into the future and Selene is able to see the world through someone else’s eyes she believes is Michaels.  The mystery person releases her from her cryo sleep.  For those none geeks that means she was put in ice but not killed.  Once she wakes up she wants to find out why they put her to sleep and whose vision she keeps seeing.  I dont want to ruin anything for anyone but i’d like to say i was right when i saw the trailer!  Also i guess Scott Speedman was to busy to show his face for a total of five minutes in the movie.  It was either CGI’ed or got a look alike but that was not him…dont believe me, check imdb.com he’s not listed.  But dont fear, if they decide to make #5…maybe he’ll be there.  I did like that they constantly didnt keep going back to the “this is where vampires came from, these are their elders, here is why we hate lycans” storyline.  It was good in the first two but come on…we’re past that.  Also, LOTS OF BLOOD in this movie!  If i had to give you an amount on how much…the amount of blood in the first three movies, multiple by two and you get how much is in this.  Not saying its gory but lots of blood.  Big fan of that.  Some cool stuff with the 3D but if you read my blogs  you know how i feel about 3D…not in regular movies only in cartoons or all CGI movies.  Check this out if you get a chance!

7.5 outta 10 wahoo’s

Contraband

Contraband – Mark Wahlberg, Kate Beckinsale, Ben Foster and Giovanni Ribisi

This is a remake from Iceland that stars the director of the film.  Wahlberg plays Chris Farraday, a guy who has left he smuggling business and has started his own business with his wife who is played by Kate Beckinsale.  Kate’s brother in the movie is still smuggling since Chris got out of the business.  He ends up dumping, what looks like cocaine, over the side of this ship on his way back to New Orleans.  Giovanni Ribisi’s character, Tim Briggs, threatens to kill Kate’s brother.  So, of course, Chris decides to get back into smuggling to bail out his wives brother.  He gets a team together to run one last job in Panama.  Chris enlists his long time friend Sebastian, played by Ben Foster, to watch over his wife while he is away.  So the movie felt like i was watching the sequel to Italian Job except the only person who signed back on was Wahlberg.  Minus the mini coopers it was almost the same exact thing.  They changed the scenery to being on a boat and in panama but everything else was the same.  Smuggling, family, revenge and retribution.  I really think Wahlberg needs to find something else to do besides these movies.  Definately a cheap seats movie or a rental.

6 outta 10 wahoo’s

The Devil Inside

The Devil Inside – Fernanda Andrade, Simon Quarterman, Evan Helmuth and Suzan Crowley

Yet another movie that is based on “footage from an exorcism”.  This time a lady in 1989, during an exorcism, murders 3 people and calls the police.  She is found not guilty due to criminally insane and sent to the nut house.  The Vatican makes a call and brings her to Rome to their nut house.  The lady that murdered the three people had a daughter who thinks she might flip out one day and wants to visit her mom.  She visits the priest school in Rome and sits in on a class for exorcism’s and decides its a good idea to do this to her mom again.  Yeah I pretty much just summed up the entire movie for you in those last sentences.  This is the first movie i’ve seen this year and have no idea why i waited so long to see this piece of crap.  I guess i should be thanking this movie for setting the bar so low for everything else i’ll be seeing this year.  Everything you want to know about the movie, just watch the trailer and the red band trailers that are out there.  At least you wont have to pay to see it, just whatever you pay for internet.  Hell go to a Wifi hotspot and make someone else pay for you to watch the trailer.  My complaints, the movie should have ended half way through after they tried to exorcise her mother.  When making a movie, please dont give me some website to check out what else you’ve found out or discovered…this isnt a GoDaddy.com Superbowl commercial.  I’m not gonna say i hated this movie but i really disliked it.  Its like anyone with a handycam thinks they can create a documentary style film…ITS HARD WORK PEOPLE!!

2 outta 10 wahoo’s

The Adventures of Tintin

The Adventures of Tintin – Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis and Daniel Craig

Based on the comicbook/strip from the 1940′s.  A lot of people dont remember who Tintin is/was because it came out in the 30′s when our grandparents were kids.  With the help of Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson, we get to see him on the bigscreen.  The movie takes place in the 40′s – 50′s just like the comic.  Tintin is out shopping in a outdoors market with his dog Snowy and he finds a model ship that catches his eye.  The model ship is an exact replica of the great Unicorn ship.  The seller tells a little bit about the ship and Tintin purchases the ship.  Right after he buys it two people come up to him and try to buy it from him, telling him they will pay him double what he just paid.  Of course being a young journalist, he knows something is up with this ship and decides to keep it.  After he returns the ship to his place he goes to the library to do some research on the Unicorn.  When he gets back he finds out someone has stolen his model and this starts his journey to find out why.  The movie actually starts with no backstory of who he is except to show you that he’s a gifted journalist.  To relate him to someone that everyone might know…he’s like a young Indiana Jones with a dog.  Instead of just finding artifacts he’s also a journalist.  The voice of Tintin in the movie is by Jamie Bell who was in Jumper and Billy Elliot.  Captain Haddock is voiced by the great Andy Serkis who was Gollum in Lord of the Rings and was also Ceasar in this years Rise of the Planet of the Apes.  Last but not least, Rackham is voiced by Daniel Craig who is in the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo or some of us will know him as Bond…James Bond.  There are the Thomson and Thompson who are voiced by Simon Pegg and Nick Frost…both of which did a great job.  I liked how they started the movie without doin the whole “orgin story”.  The character was already established and acted like we knew who he was by giving us glimpses of news articles he posted around his office area of things he has found.  It fit well with this movie.  I did see it in 3D and it was a pretty good 3D movie.  I always say that you get a bigger bang for you buck if you see an animated film in 3D than you do a regular movie.  If you need a great kid movie for the holiday season while they are off from school check this out.  You do get the 2D and 3D option so you arent breaking the bank to see this movie.

7.5 outta 1o wahoo’s