Once more into the fray... Into the last good fight I'll ever know... Live or die on this day... Live or die on this day...

 Hello I am the movie encyclopedia and if no one else will see it, I will.

A howling wind can be heard in the background as a simple title card with two words pops up: "The Grey." Whether that's a testament to the men involved in this picture or the arctic tundra itself is up to the viewer. A man named Ottway, played by the always fantastic Liam Neeson, then starts narrating about life, work and the futility of everything now that his wife is gone. He does this in the form of a letter to his wife which he knows he'll never actually send. Very quickly this film lets you know that this isn't going to be a happy picture. It's dreary, depressing and leaves a pit in your stomach, and that's before the story even really gets going. The defeat in Ottway's voice is enough to show you that things can only go down from here.

This is the start to The Grey, the newest film from Smokin Aces director Joe Carnahan (who also co-wrote the film). Marketed as "Taken with Wolves" this film promised to be an action packed, wolf-punching-with-broken-bottles experience that we'd never forgot. Well that is not the case, or at least the former part of this sentence. The film is less an action film, more than a survival horror with a surprisingly deep philosophical element as man faces nature in a battle to the death. Think The Edge, but replace the bear with wolves. That latter part of the sentence is true though as I doubt I'll forget this film any time soon. 

 The film follows Ottway and a small group of survivors after their plane goes down in the middle of the arctic tundra. They are low on food and supplies, dead bodies are everywhere and worst of all, there are really pissed off wolves who want them dead. Not because they don't like humans, but because they are protecting their turf, and these humans are intruders. Now they must find a way out, or at least a way back to safety without getting eaten by the wolves.

The story is a simple survival/long trek story but is littered with brilliance throughout. While most of the dialogue is Joe Carnahan's saltiness at it's best (they throw around the F word like it's nothing) there are a lot of really deep and thoughtful conversations that come off like real people talking about their humanity instead of actors playing a role. Neeson gets a ton of great lines throughout the film and is always moving the story along at a really great pace. Pacing is one thing Neeson has in spades. Part of what made Taken, and to a lesser extent Unknown, such good films is that Neeson can make a situation as tense and fast paced or as slow and methodical as it need be. If he wants you to listen, you listen and if he wants you to panic, your heart will be racing.

The other actors are actually quite good as well, even if none of them hold a candle to Neeson. Frank Grillo plays the foul mouthed tough guy Diaz in a way that makes you hate him one minute and sympathize with him the next. Although he acts like a tool most of the movie, you see genuine concern in his eyes and an actual caring for the people around him. Dallas Roberts and Dermot Mulroney also put in some great performances, making you genuinely care about most of the people involved. In fact at both screenings I saw, I had the person I went with lean over and tell me "Oh I like so-and-so, I hope they make it." If a film has done that, then it has succeeded in it's writing and acting.

My complaints against the film are really quite minor in the big picture but definitely hold the film back from being perfect. The wolves definitely border on Twilight levels of CGI badness and there are some scenes that could have been shorter and had been just as good. Also, and this may have just been me, it was pretty obvious who was going to get the boot minutes before they got the boot. I realize that there is a structure to how your supposed to do those kinds of scenes, but predictability can make an otherwise tense scene seem boring. And while I didn't have a problem with it, there were a lot of people at both screenings who hated the ending. Me, I thought it was well done, but just letting you know ahead of time that you may be disappointed. Also be sure to stay through the credits as there is a scene at the end that gives you a little more of answer to what happens.

Overall though The Grey is a fantastic wilderness survival horror that is well acted, well shot, well written and worth the price of admission. If you like Liam Neeson, The Edge, or films about man vs. nature then this is the film for you.

MY VERDICT: OWN IT (4 out of 5) 

Aright listen up! The guys we're after are professional runners...We find 'em we take 'em as a team and we bring 'em back. And above all else we don't ever, ever let them get into cars.

Hello I am the movie encyclopedia and if no one else will see it, I will.

The Fast and Furious series and I have had a rough relationship. I enjoyed the first one (if nothing more than I enjoy fast cars and action scenes), hated the second one, kinda liked the third and was meh on the fourth. I fully realize these will never be Oscar worthy films (and if that day ever comes I will eat my hat) but getting bogged down by useless and sometimes confusing narratives, trying to get more emotionally out of Paul Walker and not enough action seems counter intuitive to a film called "FAST AND FURIOUS."

So needless to say I was slightly hesitant at the idea of a fifth one. The story seemed simple enough and bringing back a lot of characters from the series seemed, on paper at least, a good idea, but trailers can be deceiving and after seeing the trailer for the umpteenth time, I was nearly exasperated with the movie before having seen it. But since I go into a movie with an open mind I let all those pent up feelings go and tried to enjoy the movie. And surprisingly, I did. I really did. In fact this is hands down the best of the series. I've seen it three times and I still really enjoy it. It's simple, sleek, and pumped full of action with only enough story to warrant their doing what they're doing. My question? Why did it take until the fifth movie to get this right? Maybe 5 is the new 2 in terms of sequels. Who knows?

The story follows shortly after the fourth one as Dom (Diesel) is getting taken to jail for the multiple crimes he's committed. His sister Mia (Brewster) and friend (well on and off at least) Brian (Walker) break him out and they head to Rio to escape prosecution. While in Rio they get a job moving cars off a train but, like most action movie jobs, it goes wrong. They get away with the cars (specifically Mia gets away with a Ford GT40) but in the process one of the henchmen shoots and kills 3 DEA agents who were covering the seized merchandise. It so happens the cars belong to an evil drug lord named Reyes and he wants that GT40 for himself. Dom and Brian escape and go back to their garage only to find out that there is a chip in the car that contains all of Reyes' business on it.

Meanwhile a DSS agent named Hobbs (The Rock) is sent to track down Dom and Brian under the idea that they were responsible for the murder of the DEA agents, and not the henchmen (who happened to work for Reyes). Things hit the fan when Reyes' crew and Hobbs crew' descend on the garage but instead of splitting up, Dom, Brian and Mia decide to stick together because Mia is pregnant with Brian's baby. So they call up some old associates and decide that they are going to have one last job so that they can stop running and live happily ever after.

The story is great considering the kind of film it is. It's like a street version of Oceans 11 but with more cars and lots of things shooting, blowing up and sweating. Yes sweating. The Rock alone could fill a pool with the amount of sweat he gives. I mean look at the picture below...glowing with sweat. The film never gets bogged down, save for a few moments where Brian laments on not having a good father figure and worrying about the baby, but those moments are only sprinkled in throughout the movie while the majority of the movie is fast paced and exciting.

The writing, especially the dialogue is cheesy but in a good action movie cheesy sort of way. The Rock tries his best to outdo Seagal and JCVD with the amount of one liners he drops throughout the movie. The difference between the three men though: The Rock's are kind of badass. Maybe it's all those years as a wrestler, but he knows how to lay down a good line, or at least make a bad line sound better. Diesel and Walker do what they're good at and play to their strengths. Walker is mostly just a pretty face and doesn't try to have a ton of monologues or big emotional scenes, something that has bugged me in previous movies. Diesel on the other hand has AN acting chop of sorts so he gets to deliver the big speeches and the like most of the time. And it works when he says it. Diesel has a calm, soothing voice when he's at rest and so his voice can be very engaging to listen to. The rest of the cast is good but there's so many of them that it's hard to really to pinpoint  any of the side characters that really blew me away. They all had their moments, which is something not all movies can juggle.

Fast Five is surprisingly good, but maybe not that surprising because for once the series plays to its greatest strengths and irons out most of the problems that the other movies have. It's sleek, shiny, well shot, action packed and I enjoyed every minute of it. The series will never be more than action movie fodder for people who like their explosions with a little less robots but at least with this one they are aware of that and do their best to make it the best action movie fodder it can be.

MY VERDICT: OWN IT

I walked away from the greatest franchise in history, because I refused to go on at midnight. Here I am, on at midnight.

Hello I am the movie encyclopedia and if no one else will see it, I will.

Ever since I can remember I have always loved watching Conan O'Brien. Not only was he a fellow ginger, but day in and day out he got more done in one day then many people do in a week. But besides a few rehearsal videos on his website and the occasional interview, we don't really tend to see a lot of what he does behind the scenes. We see the calm, cool, collected funnyman in front of the camera but we don't see the hardworking, stressed out man behind the scenes. A lot of work goes into hosting and co-writing a daily television show that's not only supposed to make people laugh but also inform people of that days goings on. And when the carpet was pulled from under him when he refused to be put on at midnight, he was forced to try to find something to do for the time he wasn't allowed to be on television. Because Conan can't stop, he won't stop.

The documentary takes us behind the scenes of Conan's journey away from the screen. During that time he went from city to city on his "The Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television" tour in which he did comedy, music, variety acts ect. Anything to please his fans who love his work. We see his writing process, his traveling, parts of the shows, basically every aspect that went into his life during that time. But it's not all sunshine and roses. Despite Conan constantly cracking jokes, he gets mad, well more cranky then mad but still mad, something we don't really see that often from him. He worries, he fusses, he's a perfectionist at heart and when there is so many aspects to pulling off a great show, it eats at him. But he has fun in the end and even the worst of moods is brought up by the people who love him.

This is a fascinating documentary and even if you aren't a fan of his you will love this documentary. Conan is very raw and human at times in this movie, and some of the moments where he lets his guard down in front of the camera are some of the best moments in the whole film. He's a man who puts on a smile day in and day out and yet you can see the cracks. But he loves what he does and that's why he keeps doing it. Rodman Flender does a great job of telling a cohesive story (from conception, to planning, to the eventual execution) and making everything feel organic. You feel like you are hanging out with Conan and getting to know the man better. Very little feels staged or fake. It moves at a brisk pace, and doesn't linger on any unnecessary moment. You breeze through this movie and before you know it, it's over. I wish it could have gone on longer.

Can't Stop is a revealing, beautifully done documentary on one of television's most beloved icons. If you love him you will eat this up, and even if you don't you will become a fan by the time the movie is over. Definitely one I plan on watching again and again for many years to come.

MY VERDICT: OWN IT

That you randomly sometimes stick it in a girl does not mean anything beyond you need to monitor your drinking

 Hello I am the movie encyclopedia and if no one else will see it, I will.

When I saw that I had received the miracle of my On Demand featuring a giant amount of Sundance films, the first film that caught my eye was one that Simon/Ripley had recommended to me in my Most Anticipated post. A film called "Kaboom!" It's directed by Gregg Araki, a man known for the "Teenage Apocalypse Trilogy" as well as the stoner comedy Smiley Face and written by him as well. It stars Thomas Dekker, best known for Terminator Sarah Conner Chronicles as well as James Duval (a staple of Araki's films), Juno Temple (of numerous British films) and Haley Bennett (of Music and Lyrics). It won the Queer Palm Award at Sundance for it's dealing with LGBT issues and is definitely a film I don't think many people will forget after watching.

What do I mean by that? Well just read the plot description.

 Smith (Dekker) is an 18 (going on 19 soon) year old college student with a bit of a problem. He's been having these weird dreams in which he's naked and all of these people he knows and don't know are just standing and staring at him while he walks towards a door marked with 19. He's also sexually undeclared (basically it means he's bisexual but they never outright say it) which is hard for him because his roommate is 6'3, ripped, sleeps nude, dumb as a sack of sacks and has a massive unit. So to keep his sexual frustration down he hangs out with his lesbian BFF Stella (Bennett) who suggests they go to a party so that Smith will settle down. Smith goes to the party only to find out that the other two woman in his dream are there, one being Stella's new girlfriend Lorelei, a full blown witch, and the other a red-headed girl who quickly runs from him. Smith eats a hallucinogenic cookie to get his mind off this weird coincidence, meets London (Temple), sleeps repeatedly with her until she is worn out, stumbles out and discovers the red headed girl getting stabbed in the head by people wearing animal masks.

That is the first 20 minutes. If you can make it through all that in such a short period of time, what transpires is a conspiracy story that revolves around Smith's 19th birthday and finding out what is so important about that red headed girl. Also there is a lot of sex...lots and lots of sex.

 The movie is trippy as all hell but I'd be a liar if I said it wasn't memorable. The humor, be it Smith's snarky attitude, Stella's dry wit or the stupid one liners from Thor (the roommate), is great and had me laughing out loud quite a bit. On top of that the conspiracy theory story is really well thought out and you genuinely want to see what happens next and how the whole thing turns out. Granted some of the side stories (London/Smith's relationship, Smith/random dude at beach's relationship, Smith/dude he just met's relationship) aren't that fully developed but they all play a pivotal part in the movie's endgame whether you expect them to or not. My only flaw with the story would be that they literally have to explain the entire story at the end of the movie a la something you would see out of Scooby Doo. Granted it was nice for me to know exactly what the hell was going on and why everything that I saw mattered, but it does have that rushed feel to it. Like Araki had to keep it under 90 minutes so they shoved all the explaining in the last 5 minutes.

The acting is also pretty good with no real stinkers in the bunch. Dekker is great, mixing humor with seriousness rather well and plays his role pretty believably. Temple is good as well but my only gripe with her is that she sometimes comes off as one dimensional. Bennett is hilarious and it doesn't matter what the situation is, she always seems to have a witty one liner to go along with it. The only actor who I think could have been used more was the character of Messiah (Duvall). Every time he came on he was great but he seems very underused until the last 10 minutes. Same goes for most of the minor characters. But this is Smith's story so it's to be expected that we only follow his inner circle.

Kaboom is a movie that will most likely divide audiences. Some will find it to be a hilarious film with a great dramatic story to go behind it, some will find it gratuitous and overly sexual and some will probably be left scratching their heads. But I enjoyed it thoroughly and found it to be quite enjoyable. Yes it does end abruptly and it's one helluva mind freak the whole way through, but it's memorable and it's a great conversation starter (God knows how many Kaboom related discussions I've had) so I say check it out, you won't be sorry.

MY VERDICT: OWN IT

"Who are you, and how did you find me? " "I know not who you are, nor how I came to find you, but may I just say... Hi. How you doin'? "

 Hello I am the movie encyclopedia and if no one else will see it, I will.

You know what never gets old? The look on people's faces when I say I love the Disney Princess movies. It's a confused look mixed with a hint of concern. If you don't know me it's usually followed up with either "Are you gay" or "Were you forced to watch them" but those who do know me well enough are like "Okay." But it's funny whenever I pop that little trivia out because it seems if your a guy (at least in this day and age) you can't like the Princess movies without garnering some attention.

Why does that little factoid matter? Well it's the look I got from the guy at the box office when I got my tickets to Disney's latest animated film Tangled. Created by Disney legends Glen Keane, John Lasseter, and Byron Howard, Tangled is the re-imagining of the classic tale of Rapunzel and follows the Grimm version closer then any other version I've read. It stars Mandy Moore as the titular character, Zachary Levi as the dashing Flynn Rider and Donna Murphy as the evil Mother Gothel. One interesting note, besides this being Disney Animation Studios 50th film, is that this is the first CGI Disney Princess film. Maybe ol Lasseter is rubbing off on them.

 The plot is familiar to those who have read the tale but it does put it's own unique spin on things. A single drop of sunlight creates a magical healing flower that can make someone young forever if you sing a special song. Mother Gothel, an evil old hag, finds it and hides it from everyone. Meanwhile at the castle, the Queen about to have her baby but gets really sick. The only cure it seems is the flower and in a moment of clumsiness, Gothel knocks the cage hiding the flower over and the guards take the flower. The Queen gives birth to a girl, whose hair now has the powers of the flower. Soon after she is born Gothel steals her and uses her hair as a lifetime supply of youth, which the girl seems to not notice since Gothel puts on the ruse of being the girl's mother.

There is one hitch in Gothel's plan though: the kingdom releases lanterns into the sky and this fascinates Rapunzel to no end, so much so she's made it her mission in life to see them up close. Flashforward 18 or so years and Rapunzel is grown up and wants to leave. Gothel is against this obviously but with the help of a thief named Flynn Rider, who happens upon her tower after stealing a tiara, Rapunzel leaves and ventures with Flynn, who agrees to help on the basis that he gets said tiara back.

 The story and writing is probably one of the movies biggest triumphs. The story is something we've all heard to the point of punchline but it feels fresh and original enough that we never really get bored with the story. For one Rapunzel is no pushover. She is a spunky little thing who can use her hair as a multi-tool and really likes getting her way (to a point...I mean she's not rude about it). The character of Flynn is also a real character and not a caricature of a prince or hero type we've seen before. He's not that strong but what he lacks in strength he makes up for in charm, wit and street smarts. Imagine a animated Nathan Drake of sorts for those who know what I'm talking about. The only static characters it seems are the Royal Family (who never speak oddly) and Gothel. Although with her it's understandable since without an established villain, it wouldn't be a Disney Princess movie.

The writing is really brought out well thanks to the superb voice-work throughout. Mandy Moore is great as Rapunzel, mixing elements of classic Princesses as well as the modern teenage girl. She has the big singing voice and bright eyed perkiness we're used to, but it's grounded by her wit, wild mood swings (one of the biggest laughs for me) and her sass. She's also not pining over a man either with her eventual (come on did you really think otherwise) relationship actually feeling organic. Levi is great as well and further proves that he is someone to really look out for in the future, whether voice-work in this film or on television with Chuck. He has great comedic timing and charm but also a sensitivity that some comedic actors don't have. Murphy is good as well but she does feel a bit like all other Disney villains...well maybe a little more neurotic but still familiar.

The one problem I had with this movie was the music. I love musicals and some of the music was decent (the two highlights being a hilarious song in a dive bar and the obvious love song between the two) but for the most part it was meh. It's not that they sounded bad or were overly cheesy, but they just lacked that umph that other Disney musicals have. Best example: Gothel. Her re-occurring villain song is "Mother Knows Best" an I-can't-keep-a-consistent-time song that's mostly talk sing and honestly pretty dull. It overstays its welcome and puts a damper on the scene that led up to it. The rest aren't as bad but feel cookie cutter. It wasn't enough to make me hate the movie but enough to keep it from being a Disney classic.

Tangled is a well made, well written, well acted Disney Princess film and shows that Disney Animation Studios still has some life in them. It's not the best Disney Animated Studios film (not helped by meh music) but it's a great family film and definitely worth checking out.

MY VERDICT: OWN IT

PS: I watched it in 2D but I've heard the 3D was good.

"Where's Micah?" "He...he uh..wasn't up for hanging out today."

Hello I am the movie encyclopedia and if no one else will see it, I will.

As many of my readers will know, I loved the first Paranormal Activity. What some people don't know is up until Paranormal Activity I really didn't like "found footage" films. I mean I had seen Cannibal Holocaust (if that counts) and Blair Witch but really I wasn't into the whole idea of home video films. As someone whose done a number of low budget (and I mean like me and a few friends) horror films, I thought that if these kind of films could get released and make millions but ours couldn't it was a bit unfair. But then, after being nagged by my friends, I went and saw Paranormal Activity and I was genuinely unnerved. It made me scared of my shadow. And it took me a while to figure out why. The Exorcist, Dawn of the Dead and The Descent were all scary in their own right but what PA did differently was that it relied on subtlety and realism, something that the aforementioned films don't have.

And since it made a huge profit it was a no brainer that they would make a sequel. But does it suffer from the usual sequelitis that other films tend to have? Surprisingly no. It's not as good as the first one, but it's still damn good.

"I remember the CIA being a lot tougher." "Me too."

Hello I am the movie encyclopedia and if no one else will see it, I will.

Warren Ellis's three issue mini-series RED was one of those comics I never thought would get a movie, or at least a movie that was a direct adaptation. Why? Because for one the comic wasn't all that good. Despite it only having three issues, I was really disappointed that the plot could be written on my middle finger. That and there is one issue that has barely any talking and might as well just be pictures for about 10-20 pages. I'm not a comic snob by any means but I expected more to say the least, especially given the concept. 

But enough about the comic, is the film any good? Well yes, yes it is. It did what I hoped and was nothing like the comic whatsoever. It kept the basic outline of the story but expanded and added so much more to it that it went from potentially an Edge of Darkness rip off to a great action comedy ensemble piece featuring some of my favorite actors.

"Who sent you?" "Your hairdresser!"

Hello I am the movie encyclopedia and if no one else will see it, I will.

I absolutely love the 80s. While I WAS born in the 90s (91 to be exact), I've always loved the music, the fashion, the television and most importantly the movies of the 80s. One genre of 80s film has always stuck out to me though: action. Whether it was Stallone with Rambo, Arnold Schwarzenegger with Predator, Commando or Terminator, or Jean Claude Van Damme and Steven Seagal with their mass amounts of films I've always loved 80s action films. They are loud, violent, and don't really NEED a plot or great, memorable characters to make you want to watch. They had shit blowing up, people getting shot and stabbed and they looked cool doing it.

"Who do you suspect?" "Nobody...and everybody. That's where you come into play."

Hello I am the movie encyclopedia and if no one else will see it, I will.

I was a little late to the party when Stieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy first came out. Then again, I always am. Why? Well after reading and obsessing over Harry Potter when it first came out I learned that there will always be bigger fans of things than me. And when the inevitable movie, television show ect comes out, I will be grouped with these fans who make me seem like a total noob. So whenever I'd go to a release of one of the films or one of the books I would always feel out of place since they were all decked out in wizard gear and they had memorized all the spells. I mean I liked the books a lot but I don't obsess. I'm a geek, not a nerd (there IS a difference).

So as time went on more series I read became popular (Darkly Dreaming Dexter, Dead Until Dark, Twilight, and a myriad comic books/graphic novels) I started getting that same Harry Potter feeling I had before and stepped back away from following the masses. So when the time was right I dug into the Millennium trilogy and I have to say that they are fantastic books. I could say a lot about them in detail but Wikipedia will pretty much tell you everything that I could and probably better (I suck at explaining).

You can't stop crime! That's what you never understood. I'm controlling it!

Hello I am the movie encyclopedia and if no one else will see it, I will.

As a child of the 1990s I grew up with Batman: The Animated Series. Whether it was Mark Hamill's Joker, Kevin Conroy's Batman, the storylines or the animation I loved the show to death. On top of that I always sided more with Batman than any other superhero (If you look in my action figure containers I have at least a 5:1 ratio for Batman toys). Why? Batman was a real person. He was a man surrounded by death who fought for good using his brain and his gadgets, not superpowers. To me that was always better. And Batman has only gotten better over the years.

While the films that came out were disappointing, the direct-to-video films were always fantastic. It seemed that Warner Bros/DC knew what they were doing and weren't deviating from that plan. It all escalated up till Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, which is considered by many to be the best and darkest film. After that Batman kind of became more kid friendly/teen friendly and the movies lacked. That was until Nolan came and released his two Batman films. Since then the films have been great and now a new one "Under the Red Hood" is out and I must say it is AWESOME.

Now I don't read a enormous amount of comics but I'm pretty faithful to a few series, one of which has been the Batman comics. And the two story arcs this film is based on are two of my favorite story arcs in Batman comic history: "A Death in the Family" and "Under the Hood." The first arc followed Jason Todd, the second Robin, and how he gets brutally beaten and blown up by the Joker, who is working to try and use nuclear weapons with terrorists. Batman is devastated by this and goes on a violent filled rage, becoming a darker knight than he already was. The second arc picks up years later when a new vigilante hero appears known as the Red Hood. The Red Hood was The Joker's previous identity before becoming the Joker but he's in Arkham and this new guy seems like a hero, but a ruthless killer as well (A Dexter-esque kind of guy). This arc has Batman playing cat and mouse with the Red Hood with him trying to figure out who he really is.

The film follows this basic outline, although it condenses the first arc into just the opening scene of the film. That figures since Judd Winick, the guy who wrote "Under the Hood" wrote the film as well. He expands the Red Hood arc into a very fast paced, dark, violent and entertaining film. The character of the Red Hood is well developed and the twist, while slightly predictable, is dramatic and action filled enough that you don't mind the predictability. You can also see many nods to classic Batman comics, villains and series in the film as well. It's a Batman film made for Batman fans. And if you're only a casual fan than hopefully this film will make you want to read the comics.

The animation is stellar. The angles are sharp, each character looks distinct, it doesn't look too cartoony but not too realistic either, balancing on a fine line, and the city looks beautiful as well. Joker looks slightly more meaty and not lanky, which I think works considering Hamill isn't Joker this time. The 3D chase scenes (not glasses 3D but digitally rendered) are beautiful and well choreographed as well. Overall very stellar, high quality animation. You can see a lot of work was put into it.

The voice work is an interesting one. It doesn't feature Kevin Conroy or Mark Hamill (a first for me movie wise) in their respective roles instead having Bruce Greenwood as Batman and John DiMaggio as Joker. On top of that you have Jensen Ackles as Red Hood, Neil Patrick Harris as Nightwing, Jason Issacs as Ra's Al Ghoul, and other actors like Wade Williams, Gary Cole and Bruce Timm (guy who created animated series) as the Riddler. This sounds odd on paper but the casting and the voice work is superb. Greenwood gives kind of a smokier Batman than we've seen before but much better than Bale's snarl. DiMaggio is surprisingly well and his voice sounds more menacing sometimes than Hamill. Everyone else is brilliant and NPH always blows me away. Great work all around.

On top that you got an amazing score by Christopher Drake, a Jonah Hex short that's better than the movie and plenty of awesome extras.

Is it on par with the Nolan series or the first two Batman films? No. But it's a great quality Batman film that any fan should have.

MY VERDICT: OWN IT

You will not cry, or sneeze or barf or fart! No annoying sounds.

Hello I am the movie encyclopedia and if no one else will see it, I will.

Universal Studios and animation newcomers Illumination Entertainment have teamed up to create what they think will be the family hit film of the year. While Toy Story 3 has been a big hit both commercially and critically, Universal thinks, or must think, they got the edge with Despicable Me due to Universal's domination of the airwaves and the fact that it's a new series and not already an established series. Ever since Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, Despicable Me has been everywhere. Posters, toys, video games, appearances on television shows, banners on tour buses, costumed characters at Universal Studios take your pick. Despicable Me has been in the hearts and minds of people for a long time and yet now the film is out. So does it stand out in the sea of animated films? Was the nonstop exposure for good reason? Well I can certainly tell you it was. Despicable Me is a refreshing, cute and entertaining animated film and a must see for kids and adults alike.

The plot of Despicable Me follows the exploits of Gru (Steve Carrel). Gru is a supervillian but apparently not a very good one. Every now and again his exploits work, but most of the time things seem to backfire on him. But his crack staff of an old, almost deaf scientist (Russel Brand) and army of minions keep building the weapons and gadgets, even if they don't work or are extremely impractical.

One day Gru gets the idea that he must steal the moon, which he considers to be the most evil thing anyone has ever done. He's also got a personal vendetta with the moon, since when he was young he had dreams of being an astronaut, but that never panned out. But the bank won't fund him, his fame is being overshadowed by a new villain Vector (Jason Segal) and he's now got three orphaned children to take care of (Granted it was his fault for not realizing three young children are a handfull). Needless to say things aren't easy for our hero(?) but he's doing all he can to meet deadline and become better than Vector.

The animation is really well done in this film. It's bright, colorful, the 3-D adds some nice depth and effects and it has the feeling of a Pixar film gone Looney Toons. Basically this was a fun film on the eyes. The writing is extremely solid although I feel a few filler scenes could have been cut out. What really helps the writing though is the fabulous acting, especially from Steve Carrell and Russel Brand. Carell is a great Ricardo Montoban/Bella Lugosi/James Bond Villain mix and he is very funny, intimidating, and heartwarming. Russel Brand is very subdued and proper, something I've never seen, and he provides a lot of great lines too. Jason Seagal and the rest of the cast are great, with most of the cast being established comedians.

If you want great family fun, comedy that both kids and adults will love and a heartwarming moral than give this a shot. It's better than you think it'll be...trust me on that one.

MY VERDICT: OWN IT

You tend to look at us as if the same sort of rules that apply to the outside apply here..they don't...they simply don't.

Hello I am the movie encyclopedia and if no one else will see it, I will.

This is brilliant. I won't BS you with a long intro paragraph and instead just tell you that this is brilliant. I actually feel like I watched an award winning picture, something that the Academy might think about looking at and nominating. But of course because of the subject matter and the director it will get ignored. But it shouldn't. Along with Rampage and Tunnel Rats, this is Uwe Boll at his best.

The film is based on real events that happened in a German prison. Unlike Seed or any of his other "real events" stories this one actually did happen. This was Uwe Boll making a statement about the mistreatment of prisoners and what happens as a result of their being locked up for hours on end. It shows that after being locked up to long, the mind goes to dark, primal places. It's a true character study as well as an eye opening look at prisons.

What happens is four prisoners are locked in a tiny cell. They think their s**t don't stink and that they are the most badass things in the world. Because of the space though they don't really have a lot of room to do much. So what do they do? Play poker and share stories of the past. Things seem to be going normally until one poker game turns ugly and things get out of hand. Mitch, the youngest, smallest and probably weakest of the four loses a bet while playing poker and is forced to eat toothpaste. That would seem like a normal, juvenile bet but Mitch refuses. Bravado, insanity, and their incessant need to be top dog and the most respected turns the other three into monsters as they brutalize Mitch.

Needless to say things don't go well and turn graphic quickly. Interlaced throughout the film is interview segments. These try to add realism to the film by having the other three explain what happened and their motives behind what they did. It adds another layer of tension and really adds to their characters, making you hate them more or helping you understand them. What makes this whole thing better is like Rampage and Tunnel Rats, this is an improved film. The basic outline is given and basically the rest is just them doing their thing. It's great and it's believable.

The acting is what sells me on this film. Edward Furlong, who plays Harry, one of the three, is brilliant. You can see he is really cracking under the seams but you can also see he is justifying everything he is saying in some sort of Hannibal Lector mad genius. Sam Levinson and Steffan Mennekes are great as well, proving to be both disturbing and eye opening as well as deep characters. But probably one of the best performances besides Furlong has to be Shaun Sipos who plays Mitch. He is so vulnerable, so drained and he looks so innocent that when you see these things happening you really feel for him. It almost drives you to tears. His inner struggle is brilliant and seeing what happens to him in this survival of the fittest dog and pony bravado show is great.

This is not an easy film to watch. It's violent, dark and disturbing. But the acting is brilliant and the message is truly eye opening. It's a great film and don't let the director of this film keep you away from this...it's awesome.

MY VERDICT: OWN IT

We're so precious aren't we? Everyone's gotta live, everyone's gotta be happy. It's a joke...an absolute joke.

Hello I am the movie encyclopedia and if no one else will see it, I will.

I'm shocked...absolutely shocked. Uwe Boll made a really good and extremely memorable film. I mean I love his films on a guilty pleasure level and he is a really cool guy to talk to (just see my interview with him) but he really hasn't made a film that is actually good on it's own merits. Or at least that's what I thought until Rampage. It's like he looked in the mirror, gave himself a pep talk and made a huge 180 degree flip as a director. If Rampage is any indication of where he's heading as a director, I could see him clearing his name of any blemishes.

Rampage follows the story of Bill Williamson. He is your average 20 something high school graduate who refused to go to college and lives at home with his parents. He has a steady job as a mechanic and for all intents and purposes he seems like your average guy albeit a bit of a reserved slacker. That's on the outside. On the inside is a totally ape s**t, delusional sociopath with a total nihilistic attitude towards life and the human race. Throughout the first half an hour of the film you see Bill turn from a methodical madman who wishes someday to act out his fantasies while living a happy, normal life to a full blown rage filled monster. The barista messed up his coffee, his boss didn't give him a raise, his friend is a jerk and he got food spilled on him. It was these things mixed with the ticking time bomb inside his head that caused him to snap.

Around the 33 minute mark and until about 70 minutes into it he pretty much goes around the entire town he lives in and slaughters everyone. Men, women, children, cops anything in front of him he shoots. He makes a few exceptions which I'll mention later but he pretty much annihilates the town. At the 70 minute mark the film switches gears and becomes a "perfect crime" story that leaves you dumbfounded as how brilliantly insane Bill really is. But when the whole 84 minute film was over I was left speechless...it was amazing.

Uwe Boll has never been much for good writing in his films and I think he realizes this in Rampage. Besides the general outline and the characters, the rest was improved. He pretty much let Brendan Fletcher and co go to work and say whatever came to their mind. And to be honest, 90% of it is pretty legitimate and feels like good, well written dialogue. It's only accentuated by the brilliant performance of Fletcher as Bill. Fletcher is a Uwe Boll regular having parts in Alone in the Dark and Bloodrayne 2 but he really shines in this film. He exudes a Nicholson/Slater persona without ever seeming copycat and he really plays crazy well. He chooses his words carefully for the most part and you really are in awe watching him. Even in his moments when he totally cracks (he pulls the cheep cheep scene from the Room)

he is as scary as he is brilliant. Even in the way he gestures it is amazing.

The scenes I mentioned are scenes in which he does not kill anyone or doesn't at first. One is at a bingo parlor full of old people. He looks around, bewildered at the fact that a man in full body Kevlar with SMG's is not causing a reaction out of them. Without saying it he deems them "dead already" and walks off. It shows he isn't just doing this for s**t's and giggles but for a reason.

Rampage is a hard film to watch. It's nihilistic, brutally violent, deranged and downright evil. But it is a great social commentary, a well written and acted film and probably the crowning achievement of Uwe's career. Or at least a great step in the right direction.

MY VERDICT: OWN IT

What was that?" "A...mistake..."

Hello I am the movie encyclopedia and if no one else will see it, I will.

I'm going to be honest right out of the bat: I wasn't expecting anything from this film. Honestly I was expecting a 100 minute jump scare fest rip off of Species. I mean Vincenzo Natali is a pretty good director and has directed some seriously good films (a la the original Cube) and Sarah Polley is a VERY VERY good actress, especially when it comes to horror films, but the cheap looking trailer, Adrian Brody's presence (I just hate the sound of his voice), and it's total seemingly lack of originality (on top of it looking like Species, the first poster looked straight out of Aliens), I was really not expecting much.

But what I got surprised the hell outta me. I got a well written, well acted, completely mesmerizing and superb thriller that doesn't use ANY jump scares, has fantastic acting across the board and, above all, is a film I'll remember for a while.

The story of Splice follows two scientists named Clive and Elsa. They are top ranked scientists who are famous for their work with gene splicing and combining DNA tissue to create beings that can be used for protein harvesting. They do presentations, they are on the cover of magazines and their two specimens Ginger and Fred have exceeded their expectations. Clive and Elsa also soon hope that, with the help of Ginger and Fred and using human DNA tissue, they can solve all of the world's diseases. But because it's taboo and frowned upon they deny them this request and ask they focus on this protein they've been working on.

Well Elsa and Clive aren't happy with this and create a human/animal hybrid. Clive is content because he thinks it will do wonders for the scientific world and Elsa...well Elsa wants to see if the thing will live. So without Clive's consent she plants an embryo into the processing chamber and before they know it a creature is born.

Age 50 (as it is called before it gets a name) is a half human-half animal female hybrid that has a venomous tail, bird like legs and is rapidly growing in her body and in her mind. Soon Dren, as Elsa lovingly names it, becomes a full fledged woman esque creature and they need to whisk her off somewhere safe.

That's where the movie splits up into two parts which make up the bulk of this film (bout 40 minutes or so).

On one side you got Clive and Elsa trying to take care of this child and raise her while keeping her a secret and working on the new protein, and on the other you got Dren learning and growing and trying to find an identity and figure out her purpose. It's these scenes with Dren that are truly fascinating. Dren doesn't talk but exudes emotion through her eyes and her movement. The way she holds things, the way she smiles, the way she laughs, it's all growth and it's truly breathtaking to watch.

It's almost a coming of age story in a sense but also a deep thriller because of all the secrecy and because of the last 20 minutes which are some of the most terrifying things I've seen. Needless to say there is one scene in the film I will never unsee as long as I live...it's on par with The Human Centipede.

Splice's great plot and amazing writing (done by Natali as well) is also helped by the amazing acting. Polley is great as always and proves she is a very underrated actress. Brody is actually good although he hits his stride about halfway through the film and kind of drags his feet a bit through the first half. The biggest surprise however comes from model and DJ Delphine Chaneac who plays the teen/adult/grown Dren. She never talks...well one line but still...she never talks. Because of that she has to get all of her emotion and feelings through other means. On top of that she also has to be half animal and half person so she can't be too human but she can't also be full on animal. She is a treat to watch and I hope to see her in more.

All in all Splice was a huge surprise for me and while some people complain it wasn't SCARY or it didn't take it far enough, I really didn't think that's what the film was going for. It was trying to be tense, not scary and I don't want it to be the Human Centipede or a really heavy handed political thriller so I was happy with how it turned out. A great film, give it a look.

MY VERDICT: OWN IT

If you could make God bleed, people will cease to believe in Him. There will be blood in the water, and the sharks will come.

Hello I am the movie encyclopedia and if no one else will see it, I will.

Besides the Expendables and The A-Team this is the film I had the highest hopes for this year. A soundtrack by AC/DC, the introduction of one of my favorite heroine's Black Widow and one of my favorite villains Whiplash, Samuel L. Jackson, Sam Rockwell, RDJ, Gwyneth Paltrow, tons of comedy, great special effects and great action. Well this film has all of that and more. And while it's not as groundbreaking or as fresh and original as the first film, it's still an entertaining film and a worthy sequel.

The story starts off in Russia showing the death of a Russian physicist. It's there we are introduced to Ivan aka Whiplash (played by Mickey Rourke). Ivan is the son of this physicist and vows revenge on the men responsible for making his father and his life a living Hell: Stark Industries. Ivan then for the next twenty minutes or so creates a device using the technology that Stark Industries has developed. While all this is happening Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) is dealing with some issues himself. The government is on his ass about Iron Man, his secretary is on his ass about getting everything done in Stark Industries, Hammer (Rockwell), a weapons dealer, is on his ass about weaponizing Iron Man and while all this is happening Tony has to deal with his own mortality. You see Tony is slowly dying thanks to the device in his chest which pumps out a poison that grows the more he wears the suit.

Tony decides to change things up a little. He hires a girl named Natalie to be his new secretary and makes Pepper (Paltrow) the CEO of the company so that Stark can focus on being Iron Man and fixing his problem. But things start to become overwhelming and he takes a trip to Morocco which shapes the rest of the film.

You see while there he decides to engage in a race. Halfway through Ivan comes in as Whiplash and destroys the track, leaving Tony in a pile of his own blood. Ivan is eventually subdued once Tony puts on his spare armor and Ivan is led off to prison. From there the film splits into three factions:

Stark Industry-Dealing with the aftermath of this and the ramifications that come with Iron Man getting his ass kicked.

S.H.I.E.L.D- Trying to convince Tony to join the Avenger initiative, get his life back on track, and cure whatever is wrong with him

Hammer and Ivan-A villainous duo working together to take over the weapons market and destroy Stark Industries

The film splits up the time fairly evenly and we are left with a really well done film. The writing DOES get muddled in the middle and sometimes the action can be a bit sparse in the first half, but it's all made up for by the amazing ending which features some of the best action I've seen in a while. Chases, explosions, bombs, boss fights and Black Widow being the greatest thing since sliced bread. But Favreau and Theroux (the writer) have great control over the film and make sure never to make the film lean towards the boring and stupid and instead make it feel balanced and well done.

Part of that is obviously thanks to Robert Downey Jr. RDJ as Tony is brilliant. He is snarky, narcissistic, a total smartass, a womanizer, a thrill seeker, a genius, a madman and a very real person. Every scene with him glows and every time he is on screen you can't take your eyes off of him. Paltrow and Cheadle (a replacement for Terrance Howard) do good as well but each have their own problems which bring their characters down. Paltrow can't seem to decide whether she wants to be a cold, businesswoman or the sweet, happy girl. It's almost bipolarish at times but never distracting. Overall her character arc is quite well thought out. I can't say the same for Cheadle. While he is a better Rhodie than Howard, he never really grows as a character and that makes him hard to really root for.

As for the villains Sam Rockwell is great. He is the anti-Stark. He is rich, smart and powerful but unlike Tony he is corrupted by power and greed. He is what Tony could have been if he had gone to the dark side. That makes him all the more intriguing. That and he never really gets angry until the end and when he does he is scary. Rourke is good too but isn't really given much to do. He comes up, snaps, builds a machine, kicks Tony's ass, gets HIS ass kicked, goes to jail, breaks out and builds for pretty much the rest of the movie. He doesn't talk much except for his token trailer lines and when he does it's in muddled Russian or very thick English. But he does well despite these gripes and makes for a good villain.

Ah I can't forget my favorite part of this movie though...Natalie Rushman aka Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow. Look RDJ is great, the writing and directing is great, the action and effects are great and the overall acting is great. But from the minute Scarlett Johanson walked in and all the way to the end with her massively awesome slo-mo action sequence I could not take my eyes off of her. Honestly when she was on screen I didn't see anything else. I realize that she was mostly there for ass shots and to be the token heroine but still...damn. She blew me away.

Overall Iron Man 2 is a great film full of great action, acting and writing. It has it's problems that DO hinder it and it does slightly suffer from sequelitis but it's worth seeing and worth your time and money. And Scarlett Johanson is hot. Nuff said.

MY VERDICT: OWN IT

Oh yes, the wall of ego. We all have one, our equivalent of the dentist's fish tank.

Hello I am the movie encyclopedia and if no one else will see it, I will.

Love him or hate him its hard not to admit that Roman Polanski has talent. Most to all of his films pack visionary style, great symbolism, a deep message and an interesting story. Personal life aside this man is a genius. So it would probably come to nobodies surprise that I was excited for his latest film The Ghost (with Writer added at the end in the US).

The Ghost is the adaptation of Robert Harris' book "The Ghost," a controversial book which talked about the darker side or former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, under a different name of course. The story goes that a nameless ghost writer (Ewan McGregor) is given the assignment to finish the memoirs of former British Prime Minister Adam Lang. He accepts but is wary because the previous ghost writer died in a mysterious accident. Things seem to go alright though until Lang is accused of a war crime. The Ghost gets suspicious and starts looking for clues that might prove that Lang really HAS committed a war crime and is linked to the CIA.

From beginning to end this is a thrilling picture. The plot moves at a breakneck pace and really once the film has gripped you, it does not let go. It may not pack the bang of some of Polanski's other works, but his style and flair and attention to detail are definitely noticeable. His experience shines through and makes this a film that is thrilling AND fun to watch.

And that is only accentuated by the great acting across the board. Ewan is great in his role as the unnamed Ghost. His calm and collected but real as well. You sense his fear, his longing to know the truth and his determination to find it. Ewan gives probably one of his best performances I've seen. I will say though that Pierce Brosnan as Adam Lang is brilliant. He's smart, cunning, devious and he has a sort of calm insanity in him a la Hannibal. Brosnan really brings the swagger and charisma that the character needed and he really shines in this picture as well. Other performances from Tom Wilkinson and Timothy Hutton are quite good as well. The females do a good job but are definitely outshined by the two strong leads in the film.

Overall Ghost Writer is a great thriller with brilliant writing, directing and acting all across the board. Maybe not Polanski's best but still a great film nevertheless.

MY VERDICT: OWN IT

"We all have our crazy sexual fantasies. Like mine is Cyndi Lauper." "Present Day?" "Any time of day is fine with me."

Hello I am the movie encyclopedia and if no one else will see it, I will.

In my honest opinion I think that Tina Fey and Steve Carell are two of the funniest comedians out there right now. The Office, while struggling now in it's later seasons, was a hilarious show. Most of that thanks, in my opinion, was due to Michael Scott who is played by Steve Carell. Tina Fey has been a staple of SNL for years now and as a writer she still pumps out great material not only for SNL but for the show she created that you may have heard of known as 30 Rock. 30 Rock is one of the funniest shows on TV. So in theory a movie starring both of them SHOULD be great right? Well time and time again whenever I see two comedians paired up like this I get worried. The should question always gets asked and rarely do I find myself saying...well it DID work. Well ladies and gentlemen I can tell you that this not only works, it operates perfectly.

The story of Date Night is simply complicated. Claire and Phil Foster are a married couple. They both work hard, have two young kids, and really aren't anything special. They aren't abnormal, they don't have any defects, they aren't gorgeous, and they aren't Mr. and Mrs. Smith. No they are just a New Jersey couple. One of the things they like to do every week though is have date night. On that date night they go out to the same restaurant, order the same dish and make fun of the couples sitting around them (hilarious stuff). But when one of their couple friends decides to get a divorce after being stuck in a rut, Claire and Phil decide to spice it up and eat out in New York City.

I would totally take that out...what I think Tina Fey is hot...sue me

When they arrive in New York however they find that the restaurant they want to go to is booked and that they have no chance at getting in. So they take someone else's reservation and from there the plot get's interesting. Phil and Claire get mistaken for a couple of crooks and get threatened at gunpoint if they don't give a USB drive...which they don't have. They escape to the police only to find out the guys who just pointed guns at them are cops. So Phil and Claire go to the only person they can trust, Holbrooke Grant (Mark Walhberg), to try and find the REAL couple so they can end their date night on a good note.

The writing is sharp and witty in this film. Before Date Night I had never spit take during a film. A few of the lines, which are perfectly delivered by Fey and Carell, changed that. The humor is genuine, it doesn't rely on fart jokes, it teeters on raunchy without ever getting there (in a good way), and Carell and Fey are believable. You can actually believe that they are really a couple. So their lines seem really believable, which makes it all the more funnier when they say crazy things. My only complaint is it's slightly predictable and the car chase goes on WAY too long.

The acting is great although it is kind of a flaw as well. Fey and Carell are perfect and do great. Common and Jimmi Simpson make good antagonists as the crooked detectives and Mark Wahlberg does a great job as Holbrooke. But besides these I just mentioned, all the other actors seem like cameos. You have actors like Kristin Wiig, Mark Ruffalo, James Franco, Mila Kunis, Taraji P. Henson, Olivia Munn, Ray Liotta and Leighton Meester. All of these people are great in their own right but here they seem underused and under appreciated. Ray Liotta is in the movie for about 10 minutes, which is the same for Henson, Franco and Kunis. The rest of them are in it for maybe 5 at the most. It disappoints me when actors are reduced to "Hey it's so and so...oh and they're gone." But suprisingly Mark Wahlberg is great...and for all the female readers...he never puts on a shirt...ever.

Get used to seeing this image... a lot

Overall Date Night is a well acted, well written comedy that is on par with some of the other great comedies this year. Hitches like overly long scenes or predictability, along with misused cameos keep it from being PERFECT, but you would be a fool not to see this great comedy.

MY VERDICT: OWN IT