Two for The Money 2005

 2005

Starring
Al Pacino
Matthew McConaughey
Rene Russo

Plot: Once big college football star Brandon Lang misses his window into the NFL because of a serious injury and becomes a sports handicapper who becomes the best ever until his ego gets too big and goes on a fall. He begins to realize he is losing his family and friends and his new boss who treats him like a son and is costing people the life earnings.

The name of the movie is basically a metaphor for it's self. The two main characters are in this only for the money. They don't care about how their decisions effect anyone including each other. Sports betting is the most illegal and profitable business in the world today. It can make you or have you wearing  a cement Kimono if your dealing with the wrong person.

We see star acting from one of the best in the business in Pacino.  He is the villain in this movie who we end up hating him even more because he tries to squeeze the life out of McConaughey like a lawyer tries to squeeze the blood out of a stone. The two of them play off of one another so well in this film you would think they had done this before.

McConaughey and Russo make for good co stars in this film. Russo plays Pacino's wife who has had to put up with the gambling and drinking and abuse so many times and like a battered wife stays with him no matter what. McConaughey plays the once great colligate football star who loses it all to injury (like many real people before him) and is down on his luck with a dead end job. However like any good movie (even though this is based on truth) he rises to stardom and like Mo Green his eyes get too big for his stomach and fall to the 6th layer of hell.

We are all pulling for him to make good and win everyone's money back and champagne will rain from the sky. However he can't win all the money back for the people he lost unless they BET.  There are very few movies about sports betting. This one makes us realize the real effects gambling has as a whole on a single person and the effects it does to everyone who loses. All in all a 7/10 rating for this movie.

Employee of The Month 2006

2006

Starring
Dane Cook
Dax Sheppard
Jessica Simpson

Plot: Zack is slacker who works for a wholesale shoppers club and just does absolutely nothing. Ace employee Vince is shooting for the record for being the Employee of the month. Things change when Amy transfer from another store and is believed to have a thing for the Employee of the month. Zack now changes his attitude to try and become that person to win Amy over before Vince gets her first.

This movie is one of the funniest movies with an all star cast of comedians. We get to see the comedic sides of Cook that we all have come to  love. He and Sheppard play off each other so well you would thin k there wasn't a script and they adlibbed the whole movie. Simpson is only in this movie for her looks which are good but as an actress not so good.

The movie takes place is Super Club a whole sale shoppers club where we all know you can buy literally anything not nailed to floors which we have some people do. Zack (Cook) has had a successful life in the past but, when things went bad for him he had to move in with his loveable grandma (who has one of the best lines in the movie) and goes to work day by day as a box boy. He does the minimal each and every day to just get an end of the week pay check. He has a small group of friends who are played by some of the top comics in the business today. From day to day they hang out, go to their club house/break room, and all do whatever they can to just get by.

Vince (Sheppard) is the Super Club stud going for a record 20 months in a row being the employee of the month and if he does he wins a newish Chevy. Vince has the confidence from his Manager and Asst manager who are both weird and funny characters them selves. He despises Zack because Zack will do anything to humiliate him in any way and try's to makes Zack's life hell if he can. Vince gets tunnel vision when Amy (Simpson) is transferred in and focuses on trying to impress her. This gets under Zack's collar cause she is kind of into Vince cause he is known for his long streak of achievements.

Zack wants to impress Amy and starts to become the model employee and try's to steal Vince's thunder and wants to break his streak and become the employee of the month to win  over Amy. The one thing we all have to consider is trying to win over Amy going to change his everyday relationship with his close friends and alienate him from everyone he has cared about to just get the girl?

From beginning to end the movie is filled with crazy pranks and non stop laughs. This DVD also has deleted scenes and alternate scenes that must be watched after watching the movie first cause they are just so funny.

Movie in my book gets a 7.5/10

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone 2013

  2013

Starring
Steve Carell
Steve Buscemi
Jim Carrey
James Gandolfini
Alan Arkin
Olivia Wilde

Plot:  Albert was a young boy who was bullied and picked on and on his 10th birthday he receives a magic set. He is so thrilled with this new found hobby he begins doing his first trick at school and another young by the of Anthony is taken back by the trick and their friendship begins. Grown up and masters of magic they end up headlining at Bally's in Las Vegas. Over the next ten years things get different and their career's are threatened by a new magician Steve Grey who threatens to steal their thunder.

This movie has an all star cast headlined by Carell, Carrey and Buscemi. The movie has non stop laughs and also shows both sides of characters that Carell has come to play over the past few years.

Burt Wonderstone (Carell) has become a famous magician with a partner know as Anton Malrvelton (Buscemi). Over the past ten years they have had a Vegas act that is sort of like a combination of Siegfried and Roy and Penn and Teller (just no wild Animals and they both speak). Their act has become mechanic and are now their friendship has become to fall apart somewhat. The high ego of Wonderstone has caused them to go through many assistants over the past few years and a back stage worker Jane (Wilde) is thrown into the act as their assistant even though her life long dream is to become a famous magician herself.

A new magician has made his way to Vegas named Steve Grey (Carrey) who is showing of his best David Blane act of crazy stunts and weird magic. Grey's presence starts to draw big attention and because of this Burt and Anton's attendance has dwindled. Casino owner Doug Munny (Gandolfini) wants them to go big and the two of them do and their crazy stunt goes wrong cause of Burt's ego and they split up and lose their spot on the Vegas Strip.

Burt finds himself on the street and has to try and find work. He finds himself getting a job as an entertainer at a rest home for retired Vegas strip performers and senior citizens of Vegas. This is where he meets the person who turned him onto magic Rance Holloway (Arkin) and Burt rediscovers why he fell in love with magic in the first place and goes out to try and reclaim not only his name but his friendship with Anton and bring a true magic act back to the strip with a little help from his friends Jane and Anton.

This movie brings a lot of joy to me when I watch it. It shows the versatile Carell we have come to know over the last few years while he has been doing his dark comedy's. Not all have been good but it's nice not to see the straight prankster comedian every once an a while.

Carrey brings life and entertainment to the movie by being his crazy self. The character od Steve grey is a combination of Ace Ventura, Fire Marshall Bill and almost every other crazy character put into one. He brings another angle to the movie of someone willing to do anything to be famous and I mean anything.

Wilde is amazing as the female lead in this movie. She funny, sarcastic and serious all in one. Her character shows Wonderstone why it's important to be himself and not a show off and really brings out the best in him.

Arkin was made to play the great Rance Holloway. His experience as a comedic and serious actor makes him perfect for the part. Arkin and Carell were matched perfectly in Get Smart and were a match made in heaven for this. It's Holloway who shows Burt what real magic is supposed to be like and brings out the kid in him and makes him realize what so special about magic.

All in all this movie is filled with laughs and entertainment for the young adult to grown ups looking for fun.

Its Kind of a Funny Story 2010

 2010

Starring
Zach Galifianakis
Keir Gilchrist
Emma Roberts


Plot: 16 year old Craig  has been having so much stress form not only his own family but, for every day life events as smart teenager who goes to a top private school in New York would being going through. He seeks out help via the suicide hot line and they tell him to go to a certain hospital and tell them what his thinking of doing. With out any hesitation he goes and the Dr tells him that he should be fine and would call his parents but, Craig pleads to stay cause he believes he will hurt himself outside the hospital. The Doctor admits him to psychiatric floor. Craig is going to be meeting a who's who different kinds of people that he has never faced besides himself .

From the beginning when Craig (Gilchrist) arrives on 3 North which is the adult psychiatric floor, he points out that he is only sixteen years old and it is explained to him that the teenage floor is under renovation and he will be bunking up here. Craig begins to realize t he believes he has made a mistake and wants them to release him into the custody of his parents.  Unfortunately the Lead Psychiatrist has put him on a five day hold. Maybe because of his age but as far as I know it is usually only 24-48 under the age of 18. One of the members of three North who is selected to show him around is Bobby (Galifianakis) Bobby has been here for a little while with the same problems that Craig has. Bobby has wanted to commit suicide a half dozen times but he has a driving force behind that he doesn't. The role play between Bobby and Craig is extraordinary. Bobby has been in and out of the ward for a while and is trying to get into a group home so he could be closer tot he one thing his wants to live for. Craig learns a lot form Bobby about life away from the one he is used to. He teaches him the ins and outs of the hospital try's to make him see the life from everyone's else's lives.

Before Craig comes into the hospital his has the hots for his best friends girl friend. I mean a deep down crush, however since she is falling all over Craig's best friend he makes her untouchable but considers her still a friend. Once inside the hospital he meets a girl Noelle (Roberts) who has a trouble past and is being held on a 21 day hold cause she is a cutter. They are the only few teens on the ward and begin to find happiness in one another which eventually turns into love.

During his time on 3 north Craig begins to find a happiness in his life and takes that new positive energy and turns to help another person on the ward to get his life back in order. Craig's problems will never go away unless he begins to grow up and handle them himself and we begin to see that change towards the end of the move.

This quote sums up Bobbies character and what he wants his life to be.
Bobby: See, that's the part I don't get, Craig. I mean, you're cool, you're smart, you're talented. You have a family that loves you. You know, what I would do just to be you, for just a day? I would... I would do so much. I would... I don't know. I would just... I'd just live. Like it meant something.

I normally wouldn't have really any interest in this type of movie but since I heard the book is good and  the cast was way above par from a low b grade movie I will probably watch this movie at least 6 more times in the near future. This is a must for all movie goers out their and I hope you all enjoy it as my Wife and I did.

Unthinkable 2010

Unthinkable 2010

Staring
Samuel L Jackson
Carrie Ann Moss
Michael Sheen

Plot: A terrorist has placed three nuclear bombs in remote locations in the United States. The FBI, Homeland Security and other agencies are trying to find them but with no luck. They have called in the help of an interrogator or torturer to try and get him to give the info of the  locations before all the bombs go off.

First things first the name of the movie says it all. The terrorist happens to be an American citizen (played by Sheen) named Younger. He had changed his religion after serving over seas and has black ops training. He stole a large of amount of nuclear material to make these bombs and has know how to make them has well. Sheen plays a great character and automatically makes us want to hate him right away which to me means he played the portrayal of the character  right. His objective isn't to set them off but,  to get certain requests done in his favor and he will tell the locals.

The F.B.I lead agent Helen Brody (Moss) has been put in charge of finding out clues to where he has planted the bombs. When she first learns of the Younger it is cause he is wanted for questioning in a murder. She then recognizes his face and realizes  he has been on her terrorist watch list and begins to call in her team to try and find out everything they can on him from his family to where he buys his groceries.

The government  however has other plans on getting the information out of Younger. They call in the help of a man named Henry Harold Humphries or "H" (Jackson) to extract information out of younger. Now the Geneva convention states that no enemy combatant can be tortured but, what no ones knows means nothing. This by far to me is the most sadistic character to date that Jackson has ever played. "H" has been doing this "job" for years and is only called in on special requests. You can only guess what he does to Younger through out this movie and shows no remorse. His role play with Moss is fantastic. Agent Brody is against the torture in every way and "H" is for it to get information. However through out the movie we see that Brody starts to slightly agree with it and "H" will stop if people ask.

Will "H" get the information that Brody needs to set out and find those bombs or will we see the lights go out in America. Note if you can't stand torture or can get nightmares easy this isn't a movie for you.

A must watch for all movie fans

If your a true fan of movies than this is a must watch.

Out of the 11 mins featured I only didn't know a handful and really only 5. DO you know them all or have seen all of these movies?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbIlLmCID5g

The Last Stand 2013

 2013

Staring
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Johnny Knoxville
Forrest Whittaker
Luis Guzman



Plot: A Cartel leader has escaped federal custody and needs to make his escape across the boder back to Mexico. Armed with a corvette zr1 and a plan to cross the border at a remote point very little law enforcement, the small town of Sumerton Tx and their small sheriffs office will have to do anything in it's powers to prevent him from crossing at this remote point.

This movie was the first full length movie That Arnold has done since leaving the political scene.  He plays the Sherriff of a small town and has a hand full of deputy's that he can work with. The idea of a Cartel leader first escaping an armed federal escort to a maximum security prison not unheard of. Next having a team of mercenaries find a way to get him across the border at a remote location with little or no federal protection from border hoppers (even tough there usually going the other way). Distinctly possible right? Finally a small town,  sheriff with a handful of very inexperienced  deputy's and a moron who happens to have a stockpile of weapons and try's to stop all this. Very Impossible.

The movie does make a good return for Schwarzenegger. He does show he can still be a Hollywood act and not a politician. I think personally he shows he has a ton of fight left in him and I am pretty sure that we will see him much thinner and better than the Expendables 2 version as well. All in all a 7 out of 10 for this movie.