Awake (R)
The Golden Compass (PG-13)
Gone Baby Gone (R)
The Perfect Holiday (PG)
I Am Legend (PG-13)
No Country for Old Men (R)
Alvin and the Chipmunks (PG)
National Treasure: Book of Secrets (PG)
Charlie Wilson's War (R)
The Great Debaters (PG-13)
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (R)
P.S. I Love You (PG-13)
Alien vs. Predator: Requiem(R)
P.S. I Love You (PG-13) is a love story told in reverse. Holly, played by Hilary Swank, loses her husband, portrayed by Gerard Butler, because of a brain tumor. During her extensive grieving process, Holly begins to receive letters from her husband, which he wrote in the short months before his death in order to help her move on. Each letter gives her a task to do and during all of this, the audience sees the story of how the young couple met and fell in love. Holly’s friends, played by Lisa Kudrow and Gina Gershon, and her mother, portrayed wonderfully by Kathy Bates, help Holly through her grieving process.
Despite the morbid premise of the movie, there are elements of humor as well. The plot is formulaic, predictable, and completely unrealistic but if you are looking to be simply entertained by great acting and beautiful scenery, you will enjoy the movie. P.S. I Love You is rated PG-13 for some sexual references and partial nudity. - Susannah Driver
Alien vs. Predator: Requiem (R) is not a good followup to the original Alien vs. Predator. In the first movie, the Predator was infested with the Alien, which then crashes on Earth. More Predators come to Earth to hunt the infested Predator, and all havoc breaks loose.
It seems that all the money budgeted for this film was dropped on some very appealing special effects, and none into on the actors at all. They were all forgettable faces and cheesy actors with no talent, and the family scenes were all cliché and one-dimensional. I wouldn't recommend it. Rating for violence, gore, and language. - Matt Wright
This is a very good film. I'd say the first is better, as always, but this is still a great film by any means.
Rated PG for the violence and some of the action scenes but I don’t remember any bad language at all. - Lucy Brower
Featuring an accomplished cast with Tom Hanks as the title character, Charlie Wilson's War (R) offers up a satirical view of 1980s politics during the Cold War. Texas congressman Carlie Wilson, AKA "Goodtime Charlie," has a reputation for womanizing, scotch, and the party lifestyle of the socialite crowd. When his close friend Joanne Herring (Julia Roberts), also of the wealthy socialite scene, enlists Charlie's help in promoting freedom of religion from the Soviets in the war-ravaged, oppressed Afghanistan, Charlie, aided by rogue CIA missions expert Gust Avrakotos (Philip Seymour Hoffman), makes it his mission to raise money through Congress to support covert operations which will provide Afghanistan with the rocket launchers and antitank weaponry they need to cause serious damage to the Soviet military.
The honest portrayal of affairs in politics was refreshing. This film doesn't candy coat the methods our government will use when confronted with an ethical problem. As you'd expect from such an A-list cast, the acting was wonderful, and Tom Hanks was particularly stellar in his role as the congressman. This was a truly enjoyable film; although the main theme was serious in nature, there were plenty of humorous moments. Those who enjoy political films will get a lot from it. Rated R for strong language and graphic war scenes, it's not really suitable for younger audiences. There aren't many movies today that I'd watch twice, but I'd go see this one again. - Debra Malarchik
The Great Debaters (PG-13) is an uplifting movie, but I felt a bit uncomfortable.
The setting is 1935 at Wiley College, a small black school in eastern Texas. While Professor Melvin Tolson (Denzel Washington) challenges students with contemporary black voices of change in America, he challenges a debate team with unorthodox methods to work to build confident and near unbeatable proponents.
The undeniable undercurrent is the racism of east Texas, where I lived twenty years later. Though things had improved, there were still plenty of racial attitudes present in my childhood. While the racism is an important part of the movie, I felt it was over-done.
Professor Tolson and the president of the college who is the father of one of the debate team members, Dr. James Farmer Sr. (Forrest Whitaker), are clearly strong figures with much to admire, and two debaters, the older debater with a troubled background, and the female who aspires to be one of the first female lawyers in Texas both have strong roles, it is the youngest debater who steals the show.
James Farmer Jr. (Denzel Whitaker), the diminutive 14-year-old debater who fantasizes about being the suave hero gets his chance to shine, and shine he does.
The Great Debaters is rated PG-13 for a brief sex scene with no explicit nudity and for a lynching scene. – Barry Merrill
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (R) sets out to parody the stories of other musicians and their tortured childhoods, especially the Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line. John C. Reilly stars as Dewey Cox, from ages fourteen to seventy-one, who accidentally cuts his vastly more talented older brother in half during a play machete duel. Spurred to greatness because he cut his brother's life short, Dewey leaves home at fourteen to marry his twelve-year-old girlfriend Edith, played by the (definitely not twelve) Kristen Wiig. On the road with his band, including other Saturday Night Live alums Chris Parnell and Tim Meadows, Dewey falls for his flirty duet partner Darlene Madison (Jenna Fischer, of The Office) and into an ever-spiraling habit of drug use. Eventually he sets out to make his masterpiece. Cameo appearances include Jack Black, Paul Rudd, Jack White, Frankie Muniz, Jonah Hill, Eddie Vedder, Jewel, the Temptations, Jackson Browne, Lyle Lovett, Justin Long, and Jason Schwartzman.
This movie was written and produced by Judd Apatow, who also was involved with 40 Year Old Virgin, Superbad, and Knocked Up, so I expected more out of him. Those movies worked because they showed at least one person playing the straight man to the craziness going on around them. In Walk Hard, everyone's a part of the illusion, and the satire doesn't have the edge to it that it could have. If you enjoy Leslie Nielsen's Naked Gun movies, you might enjoy this one. As for me, it left a bad taste in my mouth. Rating is for sexuality, pervasive drug use, bad language, and far, far too much nudity. – Ashley Merrill
Alvin and the Chipmunks (PG) is awesome!
This movie appeals to all ages due to the trios’ long career. The movie starts with the boys or chipmunks losing their home and being relocated to the middle of a big city. At the same time Dave (played by Jason Lee) is a daytime ad agent trying to break into the music business. Dave has three problems, first he has no concept of time, second he is afraid of commitment and third he writes very depressing songs. Luckily for him the boys follow him home and give him an entire new set of problems. Dave realizes they are great singers. Alvin (Justin Long) is of course the lead, being very outspoken and smooth. Simon (Matthew Gubler) is smart and daring. Lastly, little Theodore (Jesse McCartney) is shy and wants a family. Problems escalate when Dave is afraid to make the family permanent. That when “Uncle Ian” (David Cross), the owner of Jett Records, steps in to take over the chipmunks career and handle their money without any true feelings for the boys. This movie was funny! The actors were great! Take everyone to see it! - Rhonda Poplin
No Country for Old Men (R) sets up a classic scenario: If you came across two million dollars, would you take it for your own? Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) does just that, in the middle of the Texas wasteland near the Mexican border. Moss does so expecting swift retribution, which comes in the form of Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem), a total nutjob with a cattle gun he uses on practically everything (and everyone) but cattle. The local sheriff, Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) is called in at the beginning of Chigurh's virtually indiscriminate killing spree, and figures that Llewelyn is in a lot of trouble unless he can join forces with someone else and duck the violent death headed his way. Kelly Macdonald plays Moss's wife Carla Jean, and Woody Harrelson has a brief but memorable role as Carson Wells, another mercenary hired to go after Chigurh. Stephen Root also stars in this Coen brothers film.
The story is engaging, because everyone in the audience kind of wants to believe that they can be like Llewelyn, and get away with such a massive piece of good luck, but that's just the point: the money isn't Llewelyn's, and we, and he, know from the beginning that anyone running drugs near the Mexican border is going to have an interest in getting that briefcase back. Tommy Lee is, as usual, excellent and perfectly cast in his role as the sheriff coming into a new time (the action is set in 1980) that he doesn't recognize and fears he can't subdue. The action is bloody, violent, and graphic, literally from beginning to end, and the language isn't too pretty either. If you've seen and liked other Coen brothers movies, or have a strong stomach, I'd definitely recommend it. It'll keep you at the edge of your seat. – Ashley Merrill
The Perfect Holiday (PG) is a movie the whole family will enjoy, about believing in Santa Claus. Emily (Khail Bryant), a little girl who believes in Santa, asks the one in the mall to make her divorced mother Nancy happy again, by finding her a new husband. Nancy (Gabrielle Union), who struggled through her divorced and seemed sad and discouraged to her daughter, didn't have time for herself. When Santa (Morris Chestnut) seeks to grant Emily's wish, Nancy finds that he just might be the answer to her own.
I thought this was a really heartwarming movie, and I enjoyed it. It will fill your heart with love for the holiday season. - Mary Wadsworth
I Am Legend (PG-13) Robert Neville (Will Smith) was supposed to be the hero of mankind. But that is not how he ended up. Neville, a military virologist, has inexplicably survived a man-made virus that has seemingly wiped out all of mankind. In this installment, the third movie based on a 1954 Richard Matheson science fiction novel, the virus, which was developed to cure cancer, has wiped out most of the Earth’s population and caused severe mutation among survivors. Now, with Manhattan as his playground, Neville exercises, patrols and hunts with his dog Sam by day. At night, he barricades himself in his Washington Square townhouse, dodging those “Dark Seekers” intent on devouring him. Besides Sam, Neville has only a few memoirs that recall a vanished civilization as his constant companions. Three years of unuse has taken its toll on the iron jungle: vegetation and wildlife have reclaimed the city, making it a true-to-life jungle. Seeing this on the big screen really produced a sense of awe in this viewer as the “last man on earth” scenario is seen full force. Meanwhile, 1,000 days into his ordeal (in the year 2012), Neville continues to trap these “Dark Seekers” in order to experiment on them with his immune blood in order to find a way to reverse the effects of the virus. But is the hero as successful as we all expect? Will Smith delivers a stellar performance as a man falling apart under the emotional strain of no human contact. Add to that alternating roles as hunter and prey and you get a bona fide action and suspense movie sure to thrill audiences. The film moves very quickly and ends abruptly in a not-so-believable fashion, but I give the movie a nod because I was so tense in my seat through most of it. Smith doesn’t have much of a supporting cast—some people in flashbacks and a character placed in the movie for plot convenience—but the acting is pretty good. There are plenty of jumps for those thrill seekers, but be aware this movie had a PG-13 rating for its graphic scenes. Robert Neville was supposed to be the hero of mankind; instead he became a legend. To find out how, catch this movie. – Thomas Garrou
The Golden Compass (PG-13) is based on the best-selling novel by Philip Pullman and if the box office does as well as the producers are hoping, it will be the first in a trilogy. The movie stars Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, and a host of other big names but the real star of the movie is newcomer Dakota Blue Richards, who plays Lyra.
In the beginning of the film, the narrator tells the audience that there are many parallel worlds and this story is about one. In this world, the people are governed by a Magisterium that seeks to control and destroy the truth. A young girl named Lyra, assisted by an army of Gyptians, a score of witches, a man who flies a hot air balloon, and an armored bear, learns that she must fight the Magisterium in order to stop their inhumane experiments on children and save her friend Roger.
Adapting movies from books is always tricky and trying to get a two-hour film from a novel so tightly-packed as Pullman’s is a daunting task but the filmmakers have done a surprisingly good job of condensing the broad landscape that is Lyra’s world. Audience members who have not yet read the book may feel a bit out of the loop but it is not absolutely necessary to have read the book in order to enjoy the film. While the movie is intended for younger people, very small ones will probably be frightened as there is a good bit of violence in the film, keeping in line with what is in the book. The movie deserves its PG-13 rating and older audience members will find much to enjoy as well. – Susannah Driver
Gone Baby Gone (R), based on the Dennis Lehane book of the same name, is ostensibly a cop procedural, but the story itself is so much more than that. The main character, private investigator Patrick Kenzie (played by director Ben Affleck's younger brother Casey), is called in on a missing-persons case, the apparent stranger abduction of four year old Amanda McCreedy. Even though Patrick's partner and girlfriend Angie (Michelle Monaghan) is at first reluctant to take on a case that's almost certainly going to end badly, the two start assisting the police, namely Captain Jack Doyle (Morgan Freeman) and his trusted detective Remy Bressant (Ed Harris), in trying to find Amanda. But the circles in which Amanda's mother Helene (Amy Ryan) moves complicate the already cold case, and Patrick and Angie are racing against a clock that's almost certainly run out.
Gone Baby Gone is set in a poor section of Boston, and Angie and Patrick move among the bartenders and drug dealers as friends, because they all went to school and grew up in the crumbling neighborhood. The language is often, if not consistently, vulgar, and there is a lot of violence and death in this film, some involving children. I found the entire movie riveting and would go see it again, and the ending will leave you talking for days. Catch it while you can. – Ashley Merrill
Awake (R) Clay Beresford (Hayden Christensen of Star Wars Eps. II and III) is a billionaire with a weak heart. He has his life set before him with his beautiful fiancée (Jessica Alba) and his money making business. All he needs is to survive his open-heart surgery. Just after his wedding, he gets the call that his name came up on the donor’s list after a year of waiting. He goes to the hospital, is prepped for surgery by his best friend and doctor (Terrence Howard), administered his anesthetic, and the surgery is underway. But all is not right with Clay. He is aware of the surgery being performed on him. As he suffers through the agony, he realizes that he also can hear the surgeons talking…about killing him. But why? How far does this betrayal go? Those are questions you will have to get by seeing Awake. This movie was gruesome in some parts. If you have ever wondered what it would feel like to have this type of surgery, Clay’s screams will at least give you a hint. Besides the language and the gore of the procedure, Awake offered a good story built to entertain. As the plot to kill Clay unfolds and those who betrayed him come to light, Awake becomes a rush for audiences who feel sorry for Clay who, although he knows the entire plan and the players, can do nothing to help himself. I give this movie a nod for good, thrilling entertainment. With the R rating, folks should be warned about language and operating room carnage. Otherwise, this will be a good movie to see. - Thomas Garrou