Author: Matthew Liedke

Director:
Danny Boyle
Cast:
James Franco
Kate Mara
Amber Tamblyn
Rated: R

Jeez, the situation that Franco’s character was in during this movie made Tom Hanks look like he was at a five star hotel in “Cast Away.”

127 Hours follows the true story of Aaron Ralston (Franco), a biker and climber who loves getting into the outdoors and exploring different mountain ranges. The film starts with him leaving his house early and heading down to where he will spend his weekend. After arriving he heads out across Utah and eventually meets two women who are making their way through the area as well.

After hanging out with the two of them for a while, he continues out on his own across a dangerous opening in the earth. He thinks he has footing, but the rock he was standing on collapses and in a flash Ralston is stuck at the bottom of a small canyon far away from any help with his arm crushed. What follows is the story of his survival and his escape.

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Director:
Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
Cast:
Jeff Bridges
Hailee Steinfeld
Matt Damon
Josh Brolin
Rated: PG-13

Jeff Bridges does it again.

True Grit follows the young girl Mattie Ross (Steinfeld) who has recently lost her father to a criminal named Tom Chaney (Brolin). Ross is very strong willed and does not plan on ending her hunt for Chaney. She comes to a larger town where she looks to find a man with “real grit” to go after Chaney and bring him to justice.

Ross eventually meets Rooster Cogburn (Bridges) who is a U.S. Marshall who is quite good at gun battles, having shot many criminals in the past. She also meets a cocky Texas Ranger named LaBoeuf (Damon). After some convincing the three set out after Chaney, but they have a difficult time with the man hunt since the three don’t exactly get along.

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Director:
Darren Aronofsky
Cast:
Natalie Portman
Mila Kunis
Vincent Cassel
Barbara Hershey
Winona Ryder
Rated: R

Ballet is now officially scary because of this film.

Black Swan follows the character Nina Sayers (Portman). Nina is a ballet dancer trying to make it big in her career and she gets her chance when the then best dancer Beth (Ryder) is released from the production. Because of this, Nina is given the lead role in the ballet’s production of Swan Lake. This causes her to become excited, yet at the same time nervous, especially with her overbearing mother.

She is also made nervous because of a new dancer named Lily (Kunis) who comes on the scene and is made to be her backup. Because of this, Nina begins to lose her mind and her grip on reality setting up for a very chilling thriller.

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Director:
Joseph Kosinkski
Cast:
Jeff Bridges
Garrett Hedlund
Olivia Wilde
Bruce Boxleitner
Rated: PG

TRON Legacy is the sequel to the original cult classic 80’s film Tron. In this adaption, the main character is Sam Flynn (Hedlund), the son of Kevin Flynn (Bridges), the protagonist of the first film. The film begins with Kevin leaving Sam to deal with work however he never comes back home leaving Sam alone. The story pics back up with Sam as an adult. He owns the majority of his father’s company ENCOM, but isn’t part of the staff.

So instead of trying to stop the other members of Encom’s board from doing bad things with his Father’s company as the CEO, he instead uses James Bond methods to sabotage their work… for some reason. However, before Sam can do anything more he gets a page from his father’s old arcade. Upon arriving he is transported into the cyber world known as the grid which has been turned into a sort of police state with the program ‘Clu’ as the ruler.

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It’s Kind of a Funny Story 2/5
This film was about a teenager who tried killing himself but failed. After this he goes to a psychiatric ward where he meets many different characters. The film was just OK. The story was a bit of a miss, mainly because the protagonist didn’t seem to require being at the psychic ward, rather, he just chose to admit himself in there for a week. While there, he just seemed to wander, rather than get sufficient treatment. So instead of being a movie about studying a depressed teen, it came off as more of a standard coming of age story in a different setting.

Some of the characters were at least interesting. Zach Galifnakis actually delivered a strong, emotional performance and the rest of the supporting cast do provide for some interesting sequences. Ultimately, this is just one to rent.

Life as We Know It 1/5
I have to say the plot of this film sounds like a nightmare. Basically after an accident that kills them, a couple leaves their baby in the hands of their friends who already hate each other.

The dilemma in the picture is certainly one of the more original attempts at a story, but this flick quickly devolves into a standard romcom pretty quickly. It’s the typical tale of two characters disliking each before realizing they were meant for each other. There are some nice family moments in this movie, but as a whole, it’s cliche ridden and forgettable.

Director:
Nathan Greno, Byron Howard
Cast:
Mandy Moore
Zachary Levi
Donna Murphy
Ron Perlman
M.C. Gainey
Rated: PG

Despite the name, Tangled is actually based on the Brothers Grimm tale “Rapunzel.” The film has the original idea, but massively expands on it. In this version, Rapunzel is born as the princess to a kingdom, but during birth, her mother comes down with an illness.

People of the kingdom find a magic flower that immediately heals anything and the mother takes it and the power transfers to Rapunzel’s hair after she is born.

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