Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

Spanks - 5

Director - Edgar Wright

Writers - Michael Bacall & Edgar Wright

Starring - Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Ellen Wong, Mark Webber, , Johnny Simmons and Ben Lewis

Release Date - 13 August 2010

MPAA Rating - PG-13

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is an underrated movie. I know in the two weeks since it came out it has not been the blockbuster Universal had hoped, but this is a movie that you should see. It has something for everyone and is the perfect date movie; it has comedy, romance, action, lesbians love, epic battles, and breakups.

The film follows 23 year old Scott Pilgrim as he searches for his true love. He figures he found it in Ramona Flowers. Quickly, Scott finds out that he must defeat her "seven evil exes" in order to be with her.

The movie has lots of pop culture and 80's video game references hidden throughout to add to the laughs, but if you miss them you won't be lost in the plot. The only problem I had with the movie was that Michael Cera gets annoying and whinny at a few points throughout.

Inception

Spanks - 5

Director - Christopher Nolan

Writers - Christopher Nolan

Starring - Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Ken Watanabe, Dileep Rao & Cillian Murphy

Release Date - 16 July 2010

MPAA Rating - PG-13

Christopher Nolan makes another awesome film with Inception. His first original film since Following. This film, like all of Nolan’s but The Dark Knight, is a not told in a straight linear fashion. It takes place throughout a series of dreams. Cobb, played by Leonardo Dicaprio, and his team use some made up technology that enables him to go into a person’s dreams to steal information. After a job goes sour, he is offered a job he can not refuse. This job requires Cobb to implant an idea into the subject's mind and not to steal something, which is believed to be impossible.

The movie does some really cool things visually that I can’t recall ever being done before. It is done so well that it doesn’t look fake like most effects in movies these days. It is really cool once you know why these things are happening in the story.

The story is the most original done in a long time. It isn’t based on a book, a TV show, a movie that was made 20 years ago, a comic book, or a video game. It is the only film this summer that isn’t based on something already made in some medium.

Inception is visually worth seeing in a theater, but you will have some questions that will make you want to walk back to the box office and buy another ticket so you can catch the answers the second time.

Toy Story 3

Spanks - 5

Director - Lee Unkrich

Writer - Michael Arndt

Voices - Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Ned Beatty, Don Rickles, Michael Keaton, Wallace Shawn & John Ratzenberger

Release Date - 18 June 2010

MPAA Rating - G

Even though Pixar pretty much made traditional animated films extinct, they are probably the most creative group of people in Hollywood. Every movie they make is brilliant in every way. Toy Story 3 completes the story started 15 years ago at the genesis of computer animated films in Toy Story. We all grew up with these characters. In the first film, Andy was a little kid with a wild imagination who loved playing with his toys. Now, in 2010, Andy is grown up and is about to leave home for is first year at college and has not played with Woody, Buzz, and the gang in years. While cleaning is room, the toys were supposed to go in the attic, but accidentally end up at the Sunnyside day care center. Since Woody loves Andy unconditionally, he has to get the gang back to Andy since they aren’t supposed to be at the day care center.

Watching this movie, you see how far the technology has come over the years. The detail put into everything has gotten 100 times better. I would have never thought cartoons would look this good. It still will never replace traditional animation, but that is a whole other topic.

The movie is full of laughs, I laughed the whole time. The story was well thought out and it is the perfect ending for the series. I wont give anything away about the last reel, but it is a very happy heartfelt ending and if you don't feel some kind of emotion before the credits roll you must be some sort of robot.

Predators

Spanks - 5

Director - Nimród Antal

Writers - Alex Litvak & Michael Finch

Starring - Adrien Brody, Topher Grace, Alice Braga, Walton Goggins, Oleg Taktarov, Laurence Fishburne, Danny Trejo, Louis Ozawa Changchien & Mahershalalhashbaz Ali

Release Date - 9 July 2010

MPAA Rating - R

Predators is based on a story Robert Rodriguez wrote way back in 1994, but 20th Century Fox wouldn't produce it. Fast forward about 15 years, Fox decides to produce the film. Predators is the best movie starring the Predator since the original 1987 film with Arnold Schwarzenegger. The film takes the franchise back to its roots, something it lost in the two Alien Vs. Predator films. The film starts with Adrien Brody's character waking up in a free fall. His parachute opens and he lands safely in the jungle. He meets other military personnel, criminals and gangsters from around the world. The movie solves why the "greatest killers" are kidnapped and put together in this jungle.

The film pays its tributes to the original in many ways throughout, and never done in a way that it doesn't move the movie forward. Most importantly, the Predators were men in old school rubber monster suits and not crappy modern CGI, which would have ruined the whole thing. The composer even uses the original music themes and styles. You could watch the two films back to back and they would fit together as if the same people made both.

Since the film is a big hunt, it gets violent at time, but it isn't the gory variety. It wasn't easy to predict the order of deaths, I was wrong every time. If you enjoyed the original Predator films then you will enjoy and have a great time with Predators. And the one liners, are awesome!

The A-Team

Spanks - 3

Director - Joe Carnahan

Writers - Joe Carnahan & Brian Bloom and Skip Woods

Starring - Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Jessica Biel, Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson, Sharlto Copley & Patrick Wilson

Release Date - 11 June 2010

MPAA Rating - PG-13

The A-Team is the absolutely ridiculously fun action movie of the summer of 2010. The plot is unoriginal. The action is beyond unbelievable. It has some big names in the cast. It is funny. It is full of cheesy dialog.

Like the television show the film is based on, it follows a special army unit who are arrested for a "crime they didn't commit". The show (from what I remember) they break out of prison then become mercenaries and every episode they help people who have a problem and no one else can help. The film is about the unit trying to clear their names after being framed by a private security company called Black Forest.

The best part of the movie is Murdock, played tremendously by Sharlto Copley. He makes the movie. Everything he said or did made me laugh. No one else in the cast is half as good as him.

The plot is predicable and follows the Hollywood formula for popcorn flick about clearing your name. However, with action sequences that involve flying a tank while being attacked by fight jets you have to give the writers some credit for some sort of creativity and originality.

The A-Team is worth a screening from your comfy couch while enjoying the beer (if your over 21) or soda and the chips and salsa that are on your coffee table.