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Does America need another hero? Not a dark brooding hero like Batman. Nor a cocky scientist like Iron Man. Certainly not a weenie teenager like Spider Man. But a hero who wants to be a hero because it is the noble thing to do, to sacrifice himself for God and Country. I think we need someone like that to lift our spirits right now. Is that hero going to be Steve Rogers?

But who is Steve Rogers? Rogers (played by Chris Evans) is a skinny, asthmatic kid from Brooklyn who is trying his hardest to enroll in the US Army during World War II to fight the Nazis. His intentions are honest; he hates bullies and wants to help stop the Nazis. He is discovered by Doctor Erksine (played by Stanley Tucci) who recruits him to be involved in an new experiment to make a super solider for the Army. Rogers willing accepts. Things aren't easy for him in boot camp, although he has heart, he is still a weakling. Think of him as the Rudy of the super hero world. He also has Col. Chester Phillips (played by Tommy Lee Jones) who doesn't want him in his Army. To fix all of this Rogers is injected with a serum to turn him from a bean pole to a mega man in literally minutes.

After the experiment Rogers doesn't become the super hero Captain America we know today. He is in a holding pattern, the Army finds no use of him and he becomes a pitchman selling war bonds in musicals traveling across the US and war torn Italy.

Meanwhile, in Nazi occupied Europe, Super Nazi Johann Schmidt (played by Hugo Weaving) is on his quest to find a blue cube of power so he can supersede from the Nazi army to take over the world himself. He even started his own army, HYDRA, who has a strong belief in folklore and mystical powers.

While in Italy Rogers finds out that his best friend is trapped behind enemy lines and soon he makes a daring decision to save him from HYDRA. It is here Rogers truly becomes Captain America and leads his troops home. It is also revealed that Schmidt has a secret similar to Captain America, they both were experiments of Dr. Erskine. While Rogers became Captain America, Schmidt's experiment didn't go as well and he became Red Skull (I think the name says it all).

The director, Joe Johnston (Jumanji, The Rocketeer) takes a lazy approach to establish Captain America's heroics by gluing together a montage of fight scenes with no real story to back them up. We see a lot of action for a few minutes then go back to the rest of the story of Captain America on the hunt for Red Skull.

Should you see this movie? Sure, being part of the Avengers series makes it somewhat necessary to see it before next year when the Avengers movie is released.

As with Iron Man and Thor, it is still a good stand alone movie (Note to Iron Man fans: we are introduced to Tony Stark's father in this film). There is enough action, humor and romance to hold the story together.

Jones is the stand-out actor in this troupe with his stern but humorous delivery of his lines. He gives the film some pick up when Evans' lines are falling flat.

Spoiler alert: Unlike the other films in this series, don't waste your time waiting for the secret clip after the credits role.

First off, I do not consider myself a fan boy or a comic book guy. I grew up on Mad Magazine and their clever fold-ins. The only exposure I had to the comic book "Thor" was as a kid I received the free copies from my dentist office. I think it was "Thor vs. the Cavity Creeps" or some lame knock-off like that. When I heard that Thor the God of Thunder was making the transition from comic book to his own big screen movie I was cautious. Who wants to see some guy swing his hammer and speak in Old Norse for two hours? I am man enough to admit when I am wrong (I am also the same guy that doubted "Ironman" would be a huge success). I was wrong for questioning that stage and screen expert Kenneth Branagh ("Henry V," "Much Ado About Nothing"") would not deliver a stellar movie. Branagh has the ability to pull a strong performance from his cast without forcing them to over act. He also has the ability to create a supernatural world, Asgard, where Thor and his family of gods reign. Branagh and his art production team present Asgard as a tangible place for gods to live.

In the first few minutes we begin our story in Norway and discover how the Frost Giants come to earth to destroy humans. King Odin (played by Anthony Hopkins) and his army defeat the Frost Giants. We are soon attending a beautiful ceremony where Odin's son Thor (played by Chris Hemsworth) is about to be crowned king of Asgard. Due to a breach in security the ceremony is cut short. Out of anger and vanity Thor gathers his friends to break a truce with the Frost Giants and launches an attack. After Odin discovers what has happened, he furiously banishes his son to Earth, along with Thor's famous hammer, Mjolnir.

Thor crash-lands on earth where he is no longer the once powerful god; he is just a regular guy (a regular guy who looks like he's been doing P90X since puberty). A scientist, Jane (played by Natalie Portman) and her team literally runs into Thor. Jane is trying to discover a wormhole between our world and others in the universe. The two soon realize that they each have what the other one wants and soon become allies.

This is the part where you should start paying close attention. Not because you get a history lesson on Norse mythology but because Marvel Studios is combining their super heroes to make an "Avengers" movie in 2012. Thor will be one of the Avengers and there are quite a few references of these heroes and characters from the Marvel Universe - Hawkeye, Ironman, Phil Coulson from S.H.I.E.L.D., etc.

Thor, now without his powers, must be reunited with his mighty hammer, which as fate would have is only 50 miles from him. While Thor is fighting to win back his hammer and return to Asgard, his brother Loki (played by Tom Hiddleston), the God of Mischief, is stirring up trouble between the Frost Giants and Asgard. The entire story climaxes in a way that you would imagine with any comic book movie; good vs. evil, cocky hero learns a valuable lesson, several awesome fight scenes, that whole thing.

Should you see this movie? Yes. It's has action, humor and some outstanding art direction to develop the mythical worlds. Do you need to see it in 3D? Not necessarily. The 3D was too dark in some of the action scenes at night and didn't add much to the day time scenes. As a stand alone story "Thor" can hold the audience's attention even if they aren't avid fans of the comic book.

America loves the tough guy. The guy who faces the impossible odds and beats them to a bloody pulp. Examples - Rocky, Dirty Harry or Dalton ("Road House"). America also loves the bad guy. The guy that we really shouldn't support but we do anyhow. Examples - The Godfather, Scarface and Henry Hill ("Goodfellas"). In "Kill the Irishman" we are now given a new underdog, bad guy to cheer for, Danny Greene (played by Ray Stevenson). All-American tough guy.

In Jonathan Hensleigh's latest movie based on Danny Greene's life in the 1970s, we see the tough guy who works his way up from the docks in Cleveland, Ohio. Greene has it rough from the beginning, an orphan raised on Cleveland's mean streets. He takes a job on the docks shoveling grain and is soon given the opportunity to become a union leader because he is one of the only guys that reads books. So, he is also a tough guy with some intellect. He literally fights his way into his position of Union Boss. From there he leads a corrupt life assisting the local Italian mafia in robbing the docks where he works.

Does this sound like any kind of movie hero? Why are we intrigued to continue watching? Maybe it's because some of us (mainly us guys) secretly want to be Greene. The guy that doesn't take nonsense from anyone. If someone gets in your way, break his jaw, beat him down and don't worry about consequences.

Things are going well for Greene until his arrest; his bad deeds finally catch up to him. He cuts a deal with the FBI to become an informant and is back home with his wife and kids. He now needs to find work. He soon becomes a debt collector for Shondor Birns (played by Christopher Walken). Although Greene is Irish and Birns is Italian they don't let that stand in the way of their friendship, especially since there is money to be made.

Again things are going well for Greene, he patrols Cleveland with his crew collecting past due balances for the mafia. Being a tough guy he usually lets his fist or hand gun do the talking. Things soon go south for Greene and Birns due to a lost $70,000. Immediately there is a price on Greene's head.

In 1976 there were 36 explosions that rocked Cleveland therefore dubbing it as Bomb City, USA. This is all due in part to the Italian mob trying to kill the Irishman, Greene. He dodges bullets like Superman and survives explosions like John McClain ("Die Hard") then walks away with an indifferent attitude.

How does he survive all of these assassination attempts? He is an Irish Catholic with the grace of God. Greene doesn't show fear; he keeps himself believing his intent is to be a modern day Robin Hood for the community. Even after losing his children and wife, he sticks it out because tough guys never give up. Especially Irish Catholic tough guys.

Should you see this movie? Sure, if you like tough guys and if you like cheering for the bad guy. Greene's take-no-guff attitude kept his character interesting when the story seemed to lag or when there weren't any cars blowing up. He is supported by a cast of strong veterans, Val Kilmer, Vincent D'Onofrio and Paul Sorvino. The film also has an authentic documentary feel to it since Hensleigh incorporates actual footage from newscasts covering Greene's life as a local legend.

When it comes to nature documentaries Morgan Freeman is a great go-to-guy for the movie studios. He has a voice that can seem soothing and pleasant to just about anyone.

Freeman narrates the latest IMAX 3D documentary "Born to be Wild" by David Lickley (who also directed "Bears" and "Jane Goodall's Wild Chimpanzees"). For a short 40 minutes Freeman does a first-rate job stirring up many emotions in the viewer. Well, he doesn't do it alone; he has some help from the adorableness of baby elephants and baby orangutans.

Before this film I would not be able to locate Borneo on a map very easily. Thanks to the clever direction by Lickley we see an interactive map of both Borneo and Kenya where our story is about to begin. We are also introduced to two women who have dedicated their lives to rescuing and adopting elephants and orangutans who have been orphaned because of the actions of mankind.

Daphne Sheldrick has set up an elephant sanctuary in Kenya; many of the elephants are there because poachers killed their parents (the release of this film could be really bad timing for the CEO of godaddy.com and his recent elephant hunting video). She raises the elephants with a team of zookeepers and is the only person to successfully raise an elephant from infant to adulthood.

We then travel to Borneo to see Birute Galdikas' sanctuary for orphaned orangutans. They have lost their homes and their parents due to man's rapid expansion into their territory.

In both cases we experience a cuteness factor that would overwhelm just about anyone with the warm fuzzies. We see the orangutans doing cute human-like behaviors such as drinking milk from soda bottles, bathing themselves and riding on the back of motorcycles. We also see the elephants drinking lots of milk from bottles, playing soccer and adapting to their human surroundings.

In the end, the captured animals are released back into the wild where they belong. The journey back home is guided by humans, the same species that orphaned them in the first place.

Should you see this movie? Yes, but only see it in the IMAX 3D format for its vibrant images of the animals and for some wonderful shots of both the African and Borneo landscapes. It's a seemingly flat story with not too many ups and downs or much conflict. If it weren't for the 3D this could have been a straight-to-DVD release.

I do understand that Lickley wanted us to realize that there is a threat of extinction for both of these species. However, we are not given any action steps at the end. I would at least expect a website address to pop up telling the viewers that they can do more to help these orphans.

The average American is overweight. The average American is in credit card debt. The average American is struggling to pay their monthly mortgage. Paul Giamatti understands who the average American is and he understands how to portray the average American on film. He is probably one of the few famous actors who doesn't have to spend a lot of time at the gym preparing for a role. With his "everyman" look, he can deliver an average character in which most middle-aged audience members can relate.

"Win Win" is the latest independent story from director Thomas McCarthy featuring Giamatti as Mike Flaherty, a local attorney in a small town in New Jersey (although, this small town could have been anywhere in the United States). McCarthy did a splendid job of setting the stage of this quaint town. After the first five minutes, I wanted to pull up a chair at the local Dunkin Donuts and have a coffee with the townspeople.

Mike is struggling to make ends meet, yet he has an overwhelming disgust of having to take a regular job to provide for his family. His marriage to Jackie (played by Amy Ryan) is fine but his law practice is struggling. He has a particular client, Leo Poplar (played by Burt Young), who is slipping into dementia and is in need of constant attention. Mike sees an opportunity here. Leo is going to be forced out of his home and into a nursing home. Leo also has quite a bit of money; in fact he pays out a large monthly commission to his caretaker. Mike sees an opportunity to take that monthly commission and put Leo in a nursing home. Mike is a good person with good intentions, but like the rest of the working class folks, he has the common desire to provide for his family.

After Mike puts Leo in his nursing home, we are introduced to Kyle (played by Alex Shaffer, in his only film role to date). Kyle is a runaway from his mother in Ohio. He shows up unannounced and starts taking the focus of the film. Kyle is a strong willed yet extremely quiet and pleasant young man. He also brings with him a mystery of why he left Ohio in the first place.

As part of Mike's contribution to the community he coaches high school wrestling. The wrestling team is lacking in the "wins" category. It turns out that Kyle is an exceptional wrestler. Just what Mike needs. Mike's family takes Kyle in and also starts understanding his story and why he is running away from his mom, who is in a drug rehab facility.

The story moves in the general direction that you would expect from a story like this. Kid runs away from home; mom follows to repair a broken relationship; kid finds out the man that he trusted is a liar; mom wants her dad's monthly commission; conflict arises and a solution is found. I hate to give a broad-brush stroke like that but it's a simple movie that doesn't offer too much excitement. Taking into consideration that it is a movie involving a high intensity contact sport such as wrestling I would expect a little more action and intensity from the pace of the film.

Should you see this movie? Maybe. It does deliver a story with solid acting and character development. I do see Shaffer moving up in his career using this film as a launching pad. During the movie, I kept thinking that he reminds me of a young Sean Penn, not a "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" Penn, but a "Taps" or "Bad Boys" Penn. Shaffer has a recognizable intensity and more importantly a believability to him. This isn't a story about wrestling or a story about deception or even a story about forgiveness. It's a story giving the audience a two-hour window viewing Americana in modern times.

"Hop" is another movie in a long line of big budget Easter Bunny films, just like...um... well ... er ... I guess there aren't many Easter movies that stick out in my mind. The team at Illumination Entertainment (who also brought you "Despicable Me") tried something new and approached a holiday that hasn't earned much attention from the film industry. Maybe they will set a standard for Easter films and this could be the beginning of Easter films. Or the end.

The movie starts off strong; we are introduced to the hero of the film E.B. (voiced by Russell Brand) (I can only assume E.B. stands for Easter Bunny) who is touring the candy factory with his dad on Easter Island (where else would an Easter Bunny live?). His father (voiced by Hugh Laurie) really wants E.B. to be the next Easter Bunny. Unlike Santa Claus, where there is only one of him that lives for a really long time; there is a long line of Easter Bunnies that have been keeping this Easter tradition alive for 4,000 years (for the Christians, do the math, does something seem fishy? For the Catholics, that fishy pun was intended for you in this Lenten season.) At the same time, we see Fred O'Hare (get it? O'Hare. I'm sure there's a joke in there somewhere) as a small child who catches a glimpse of E.B.'s dad delivering Easter eggs. Fred even sees the Easter sleigh (A sleigh? Yes, I must have missed that one as a kid. It's an Easter sleigh towed by hundreds of tiny yellow chicks.).

Fast forward 20 years, Fred (played by James Marsden) is now a grown man living at home with his parents with no job or even a real future. And, E.B. is now a teenager (for any of the viewers, do the math…wait, don't do the math and just go with this one) who wants to drum in a band instead of inheriting the title of Easter Bunny. He runs away to Hollywood to follow his dreams. There Fred literally runs into E.B. with his car. I didn't realize how funny it can be to see a CGI bunny get hit by a car.

Fred and E.B. don't hit it off right away; Fred is pretty sure he is imagining the whole thing. E.B. annoys Fred with his antics and then Fred tries dumping E.B. in the wilderness. E.B. finally proves to Fred that he is the Easter Bunny by pooping out jelly beans. It's fun for the kids, I guess. Fred then remembers the time he saw the Easter Bunny which makes him ignore the fact that he despised this rabbit 10 minutes earlier. Here, as in most kiddie films, the two characters that had their differences and are now best of friends, must work together to fight a common enemy and therefore save Easter.

Should you see this movie? Nope. The CGI and detail put into it was great but they didn't put half as much effort into the story. Sure it was cute and sure it had a few funny moments, but it's just not worth it to see this movie. The kids have probably seen the trailer and want to see the bunny that poops candy. If they are between ages 4 and 9 maybe put the DVD in their Easter basket next year but don't waste 90 minutes for a 15-second joke.

I can hear it now, the reviews from a not too distant future about Duncan Jones' (director of "Moon") latest film "Source Code." It will sound something like "It's 'Quantum Leap' and 'Groundhog Day' combined." That will be coming from both movie reviewers and the general moving going public. They will be right. For the most part.

"Source Code" follows the same premise as the 1990s TV show "Quantum Leap" (in fact, keep your ears open for a cameo by a famous leaper) where the hero jumps into another's person's body via quantum physics. The theory of quantum physics is explained to the viewer in simple terms so that no one is confused. A military agency found a method to transport a test subject into the body of someone eight minutes before they die. The story allows a brief narrative on how it works; if it went any further it would have lost most of the audience.

The test subject is Capt. Colter Stevens (played by Jake Gyllenhaal) a helicopter pilot in the U.S. Army who was recently on his third tour of duty in Afghanistan.

Jones does a brilliant job of setting the audience up in the first scenes. We are there with Colter when he awakes in a commuter train bound for Chicago. He does not realize immediately that he is in a schoolteacher's body. He has the same reaction that most of us would in a new situation, immediately trying to figure what is happening. After eight minutes the train explodes and the Captain leaps back to his reality in a capsule at an undisclosed location. He is then presented a series of assimilation tests by Colleen Goodwin (played by Vera Farmiga) via a computer screen and video camera. She is with an unknown military agency but we, and Colter, are not sure which one.

The task for Colter is simple; he must keep leaping back into the schoolteacher's body on the train until he finds the bomber. During these leaps back to the train he is developing a relationship with a friend of the schoolteacher, Christina (played by Michelle Monaghan).

His missions continue to be eight minutes long and when he continues to fail he continues to blow up along with the train. The process then has to start all over. With each mission Colter is discovering more and more about the train, the bomb and all of its passengers.

Is this starting to sound like "Groundhog Day?" It is similar in some respects but don't expect any cameos by a famous furry subterranean rodent or any catchy Sonny and Cher songs.

The story continually pulls the viewer in not only because we want to know how Colter saves the day but also why Colter is in this situation in the first place. The story quickly becomes a "who done it" film with great ease because we care about the characters and their outcomes.

Should you see this movie? Yes. This film had a story that kept you engaged. It also presented a real fear of terrorism that most Americans could connect with.

Gyllenhaal is proving himself as a strong leading man. He can be tough, sensitive and comedic while performing the same scenes over and over again.

The entire cast including the strangers on the train seemed to gel together and lead the audience further the down rabbit hole without losing us. Plus, in the end we hear a nice message about why it is still good to be a human in a world that is so bitter and filled with fear.

Baby Doll, Sweet Pea, Amber, Blondie and Rocket all must band together to fight zombies, giant samurais, dragons and robots to find five objects in order to escape the mental institute. That must have been as much information Zack Snyder (director of "300" and "Watchmen") was able to fit on his cocktail napkin as he drafted the screen play for "Sucker Punch." Snyder's original concept could be either an expansive epic tale with lots of eye candy for the fan boys or the plot to a late night Cinemax adult film. Take out the action scenes then add in a few "adult situations" and the story is basically the same.

We start our journey with the main focus of the five heroines, Baby Doll (played by Emily Browning). She narrates the opening scene telling us that we all have guardian angels watching over us. She then offers some psychobabble about how sometimes the bad things can also lead to good things.

In an opening sequence with very little dialogue, we see her mother die then there is a terrible accident that forces her evil stepfather to commit Baby Doll to an insane asylum. Once in the Asylum Baby Doll has five days before she is given a frontal lobe lobotomy.

From this point forward, the viewer should really shut his or her mind off and enjoy the ride. Nothing more is explained on how things work or even why they work in Snyder's world. This is a pure gratification film from the aesthetic viewpoint.

Baby Doll immediately learns how to use a cerebral performance to escape the asylum even if it is only in her mind. But where would a 20-year-old orphan escape to if she had the choice? Of course, she would choose to escape to a burlesque house. Yep, that's right, a place worse than the asylum. Now she has to run away from a sleazy pimp (played by Oscar Isaac) and his filthy clientele. Also, in this alternate world, she will also choose to wear scanty lingerie (hey, I'm on board with it).

Baby Doll soon finds that she can be a persuasive exotic dancer. While dancing she holds her viewers captive so that she can visit alternative realities. In her first trip she meets up with a wise sage (played by Scott Glenn) who gives her instructions on how to escape from her asylum/ burlesque house. He gives her a samurai sword and a fully loaded hand gun. Similar to the plot of many Xbox video games, she is given a task to do and each level becomes progressively harder. Luckily she bands together with four other girls who don't like wearing a lot of clothes either.

The plan is simple: Baby Doll dances to distract her captors while the four girls gather their needed objects to escape. Her dancing is so hypnotic that we, the audience, aren't even allowed to see her dance. Instead we see several extremely articulate action scenes all held together by a soundtrack with cover songs from The Beatles, The Pixies and Jefferson Airplane. It's a fair trade.

Should you see this movie? Only if you like action, fantasy, and young girls dressed in various seductive costumes (you know who you are).

The bulk of the film is an action fantasy that would make perfect sense to die-hard gamers, steam punkers, sci-fi geeks, and almost any dude under the age of 25. Right before the credits roll, we hear the message of why we were watching this orgy of guns, swords and cleavage for the last hour and a half. With that, Snyder mucks up a perfectly good visually amplified film by trying to add a deep meaning to it. I did feel sucker punched because of that effort.

When did cursing become so lackluster? Remember when it was hilarious to hear someone drop an f-bomb once in a while in a film? Recently in movies it seems so lazy to throw several f-bombs at the audience where it doesn't actually add to the story or even the punch line. When is David Mamet going to write a comedy? Now there's a guy that knows how to punctuate a sentence with a curse, dammit.

In a movie that challenges religious beliefs and is prone to quote several different Sci-Fi flicks it shouldn't let foul language take the focus. "Paul" is the title of and the central character in Greg Mottola's (director of "Superbad") new film about an alien that crash lands on earth in 1947. He is now trying to escape back to his home planet. Paul is a mix of E.T. and Alf. He is similar in texture to E.T. and he has a boisterous personality like Alf. Think of him like this - if E.T. crash landed at a frat party instead of Elliot's back yard he would have developed into Paul.

We begin our journey with Graeme Willy (played by Simon Pegg) and Clive Gollings (played by Nick Frost) two Sci-Fi geeks from England on holiday in the states. They begin their journey at their Mecca "Comic Con." This is a convention where Star Wars, Star Trek, D & D, LOTR, and Dr. Who geeks, nerds and dweebs (I am not being mean, it's the truth) meet every year to intermingle with one another and see what new geek fan fare awaits them for the coming year.

After the duo meets their science fiction idols, they rent an RV and start their road trip to all the famous UFO sites in the Southwest -Area 51, Roswell and the Black Mail Box (I had to Google that one).

They soon cross paths with Paul (a CGI character voiced by Seth Rogen) who is on the run from government agents. Graeme and Clive agree to abet Paul in his escape. On the way they pick up a RV rest stop attendant, Ruth (played by Kristen Wiig). This is where the jokes start fluctuating where before they were just falling flat. Ruth is a right wing conservative Christian who believes the earth is only 4,000 years old. If she owned a car, you could bet it would have a bumper sticker that reads "Read My Lipstick." Paul soon "converts" Ruth to think outside her strict Christian upbringing to believe in extraterrestrial life. While adopting her new life she feels that she needs to curse more to explore her newfound freedom. Her expletives would have been very effective if it hadn't been for everyone around her cursing their fool heads off too. There is a time and place for everything. I don't feel that a comedy movie about a fouled mouth, dope-smoking alien is the place to discuss Intelligent Design (Oh my god, I am starting to sound like my mother).

With a Secret Service agent (played by Jason Bateman) on their tail, the gang starts making their way north with Paul to find his mother ship (it's a movie about aliens, of course there is a mother ship). With plenty of action and a few more wisely placed one-liners from famous Sci-Fi flicks, the story finally climaxes in a way that you would expect from a comedy film about aliens.

Should you see this movie? Are you a geek, dweeb or nerd? Then yes, go see it. You will enjoy the "Star Wars", "Aliens", and "Star Trek" references. If you are a true fan, you will be rewarded for hording that geeky trivia since you were 12 years old. It was good to see Pegg and Frost back together again. However it wasn't the same clever writing as we came to expect from "Shaun of the Dead," a film that didn't need a lot of cursing to be funny, just a lot of blood and guts.

"A lawyer conducts business from the back of his Lincoln town car while representing a high-profile client in Beverly Hills." That is one of the descriptors for the new movie by Brad Furman, based on a novel by Michael Connelly.

Um, why? Why would anyone need to conduct business out of the back of a car? It really is a unique premise if there was a great reason for why he has a town car office and not a typical law office. Unfortunately, there isn't a good excuse why our protagonist Mick (played by Matthew McConaughey) is being chauffeured around Los Angeles. All we know is that he lost his driver's license quite a while ago. It is never clear on why he just doesn't work out of his home. There is something missing here that the director and screenwriter had failed to tell us.

Mick is a fast-talking "Slick Willy" lawyer. "High-end ambulance chaser" comes to mind when I think of his character. He knows how to work a clever bribe to the bailiffs so that he can move his clients up on the docket. He can also negotiate with tough motorcycle gang members without showing the least bit of fear.

After establishing his cocky attitude and sleazy ways Mick is hired by a high profile real estate client, Louis (played by Ryan Phillippe), who is being accused of assaulting a high-class prostitute. Even though Louis' family has a lawyer on retainer Louis wants Mick for reasons that will be explained later. The family lawyer has no qualms with hiring Mick and paying a hefty retainer fee (it seems that if you are the best sleaze ball that no one, not even lawyers and gang members, will try to negotiate with you).

Mick starts his work on Louis' case with help from his private investigator, Frank (played by William H. Macy) who is one of his only two friends, the other being Mick's chauffeur. While working on the case we find that Mick also has a daughter and an ex-wife (don't worry about paying attention to the daughter she only shows up to establish that Mick isn't a sleaze all of the time).

As an audience we are required to do a few things from this point forward.

1) Forget the fact that whole premise of the movie is about a lawyer that operates out of his car. We do see his home office quite a bit.

2) Be on board with the idea that Louis is a potential murderer in another of Mick's cases. In a city of millions, Mick had a previous client who is in prison for a murder that Louis was tied to earlier.

3) Accept another coincidence that Mick has yet another client who is in rehab center with a key witness so that she can get a very important message to this witness. Real easy to believe (I wish that my computer had a sarcastic font).

The film does deliver a lot of snappy dialogue and intense courtroom scenes. One courtroom scene was very effective taking into consideration that the director didn't use dramatic music to build the tension. He relied on the actors' ability to set the edgy situation through their dialogue. In the end, there is credibility that even though Mick is a sleaze he does have a desire to up hold the law and keep innocent people out of prison.

Should you see this movie? Maybe. If you do go, check your analytical instincts at the door. The film relies heavily on the audience's lack of questioning ability. All that aside, if you want a straight up entertaining judicial film, this would be a good pick for you.

In a year that will be bringing us more than 20 remakes, reboots or sequels, it seems that Hollywood is having troubles in the originality department. What's left other than taking an unoriginal idea and adding on some really cool, yet sometimes unneeded, 3-D imagery? It's like putting a rear spoiler on a 1979 Camaro. It doesn't really need to be done but it looks so cool.

The creative team at Nickelodeon Movies understood that we don't always need the latest technology crammed down our throats. Sometimes taking a somewhat imaginative idea and developing the 2-D imagery works just as well.

"Rango" begins with a scene of a thespian lizard (voiced by Johnny Depp) with an over active imagination putting on a stage play by himself in his glass case of existence. He is doing a fine job of entertaining himself although he knows that there is more to life. He is the lizard with no name; this leads him to question his own existence. Pretty deep for a kids' movie, huh? Our soon-to-be hero becomes stranded in the middle of the Mojave Desert (which includes a quick homage to one of Depp's earlier cult films). Only being in his new location for a few moments, he has caught the attention of a very hungry hawk. After an extensive, action-packed chase our hero ends up in the hands of a lovely lizard named Beans (voiced by Isla Fisher). She agrees to bring him to the town of Dirt.

Once there, our soon-to-be hero finds that by using his self-taught acting skills, he can make up any story and become someone else. The townsfolk of Dirt don't know any better but to believe his wild tales.

Things are going well for our hero, who through a clever lie came up with the moniker of Rango. The townsfolk are convinced that Rango had killed seven other men with one bullet. Soon that pesky, hungry hawk comes back and by pure luck Rango kills the hawk cleverly yet unwittingly with one bullet. Because of this innocent heroic act the mayor (voiced by Ned Beatty) soon makes Rango the sheriff of Dirt.

There are some problems that come with being the sheriff of Dirt. As a matter of fact, the town is in its worst drought in years and the last of the water supply is stolen. Rango, still believing his own lies that he is actually courageous, leads a posse to find who stole the water.

Eventually the townsfolk are shown the true Rango when Rattlesnake Jake (voiced by Bill Nighy) shows up to reclaim his right to be the town villain. Rango chickens out and goes back to being a coward. After a brief discussion (albeit, a discussion under delusions from the dehydration) with another famous "man with no name" Rango mans up, or lizards up, and goes back to try to save the town and to reclaim the water supply.

Should you see this movie? Maybe, if it was in 3D it would be so much better. I'm kidding. Because this is animated feature you might have the notion to bring small children. This is not the case. There are some adult elements here that would be lost on the younger audience. This would be more of film for the ages 8-13 if anything.

The cast was wonderful at voicing their characters. However, the thick old west accents were difficult to understand at times. With the imagery, lighting and shadowing of the computer images, it was pleasant picture to watch. Being set in a desert, I really felt thirsty during the film. Just be sure to drink plenty of water before you go.

Have you ever wondered what happened to the crew of guys from the first "American Pie" movie? After they lost "it" I often wonder what happened after they got married and had kids and moved out to the suburbs. What happened 20 years later when they were no longer the "Big Men on Campus"?

Thanks to the new release by the Farrelly brothers (Bobby and Peter who also brought us "Dumb and Dumber" and "Kingpin") we are now able to see the rest of the story. "Hall Pass" is by no means a sequel in the "American Pie" series but both films did remind me of how most men are wired for sexual conquests from puberty onward.

"Hall Pass" captured America's well known character - the middle age suburbanite male and gave him a hall pass. A hall pass is a weeklong excuse for married men to behave badly, drink to excess and sleep with whomever.

We start the movie with Rick (played by Owen Wilson) and Fred (played by Jason Sudeikis) attending an award banquet with their wives. They think they have the "scoping-chicks-out-in-secret" scheme down perfectly while their wives know what dogs they really have become over the years. It's not that Rick and Fred are totally miserable in their marriages but they think that they could be getting some serious action if they weren't tied down. Fred has even resorted to finding a way to relieve some of his sexual tensions in his car.

Their wives, Maggie (played by Jenna Fischer) and Grace (played by Christina Applegate), speak with a psychiatrist friend of theirs who gives them the idea of letting their husbands have a week off of their marriage so that they can carouse and let some of their male tendencies rule. At the end of the week they come back and have stronger marriages because of the freedom. Hey, I am sure it works in theory.

Once the guys are loose, they have some troubles getting back in the game. They are like two disoriented bulls in a china shop; they neither have any idea how they got there nor how to move around with any tact.

The week moves quickly with the guys bar hopping at family restaurants. They embark on a hilarious golf outing after eating some brownies laced with pot. By the third night they are called out on their manhood by their friends. Rick and Fred, like a lot of guys, talk a big game but have very little action to back up their smack talk.

While the boys are trying their hardest using tasteless pick-up lines and getting drunk to build their confidence, the wives are being themselves and living it up with a minor league baseball team in Cape Cod. As an indirect result to allowing the husbands go out, the wives are also permitted a hall pass. However, the wives aren't as shameless about their newfound freedom.

The movie moves on with many quotable one liners and quite a few shock moments. But, it wouldn't be a true Farrelly brothers' movie without one or two shock moments. Remember the hair gel scene in "There's Something About Mary?" The same goes with "Hall Pass," with a lot of big risks comes a lot of big rewards for the audience.

Should you see this movie? Yes. The actors played off of each with ease. Along with a well-written script, it all came together for several big laughs. However, if you are not comfortable with sexual references or outlandish sight gags, this might not be the film for you. If you are the type to laugh at "American Pie," "Superbad," "Step Brothers" or any other over the top comedy then this would definitely be a pick for you.

The title to this review is actually a compliment. "The Bourne Identity" was a great thriller with a younger cast while "Unknown" is a great thriller with an older cast. Both provide a good story involving a case of amnesia.

I will always stand by my initial reaction from two years ago when I first saw "Taken." I felt a bit taken or at least that my money had been taken. Liam Neeson is a fine actor, who at that time, I felt should be more of a dramatic fellow rather than an action guy. I am now taking into consideration his action scenes from "Star Wars Episode I" and "The A-Team" and feel that he can hold his own with the action movies.

"Unknown" begins with Dr. Martin Harris (played by Liam Neeson) and his much younger wife, Elizabeth (played by January Jones) landing in Berlin for a conference where Martin is scheduled to give a speech. They are about to check into their hotel when Martin realizes that he forgot his briefcase. He jumps into a cab without telling his wife. On the way back to the airport to retrieve his misplaced briefcase, there is an accident where he ends up hitting his head and is in a coma for four days.

After Martin awakens, he finds that his wife is still attending the conference but Martin has been replaced by another man (played by Aidan Quinn). Martin (the one played by Neeson) along with audience is confused on what is happening here. He has no way to prove who he is while the imposter has all the correct paper work to prove that he is the real Dr. Harris. It becomes frustrating to be a part of this because logic tells you that the real Dr. Harris is Neeson and not Quinn.

The story evolves when Quinn and Neeson are unintentionally synchronizing their dialogue trying to explain who the real Dr. Harris is to another character. It's quite humorous, as it is intended to be. Through this clever story line, the audience is being drawn in closer while Neeson's character is being chased around the city by a mystery man who looks very German. I don't know if it is possible to look "very" German but this guy did a good job at looking the part.

After some running around and a car chase with Martin's (Neeson) new found co-conspirator, Gina (played by Diane Kruger), he ends up asking for assistance from an ex- East Berlin Secret Police officer (the story does take a page from the "Blatant Coincidence Playbook" but the audience accepts it and moves on with the story). Once the Secret Police are involved, the story goes a little deeper into why Dr. Harris was in Berlin in the first place.

The film finally climaxes where all is revealed on why all of this happening. Aside from a few minor plot holes (such as - why didn't Martin use the Internet more to prove who he was?) we are given the answer on why Neeson's character was "Unknown" and why it all makes sense.

Should you see this movie? Yes, it's a good European thriller that will keep you engaged throughout the entire film. There is a car chase that seems tacked on to give the audience a jolt from all of the spoken dialogue. If you liked any of the "Bourne" movies with their European settings and action sequences, chances are this film will entertain you.

Do you even know where Cedar Rapids is? Can you locate it on a map? It's in Iowa, look on the east side of the state, now look a little north of Iowa City. There you got it. You might have heard of it because of some awful flooding a few years back. So, why make a comedy movie about the second largest city in Iowa?

Why not? It's a clean comedy slate; you don't know much about the town and just about anything can take place there. Heck, as far as you know it could be the next Las Vegas. With all the meth labs, same sex marriages and Indian casinos, anything goes in Iowa. Who needs Vegas when you got the Rapids?

"Cedar Rapids" is a story about a likable insurance salesman, Tim Lippe (played by Ed Helms) who has spent his entire life in Brown Valley, Wisconsin. He lives alone. He is pre-engaged to his grade school teacher (played by Sigourney Weaver). He works at Brown Star Insurance Company. He loves what he does and he loves being a resident of Brown Valley.

Tim's boss, Bill Krogstad (played by Stephen Root), asks Tim to go to Cedar Rapids for the annual insurance convention. At the convention they will award the top insurance agency with the prestigious Two Diamond Award.

Tim makes it to Cedar Rapids (via his first airplane flight, ever) and ends up rooming with two other insurance agents, Ronald Wilkes (played by Isiah Whitlock Jr.) who delivers the film's cleanest jokes. And then there is Dean Ziegler (played by John C. Reilly) who is rarely seen without a drink in hand and delivers the dirtiest jokes of the film.

Once the three meet the comedy of the film starts kicking into high gear. There are f-bombs, bathroom humor, locker room humor, sophomoric zingers, sex jokes, drinking jokes and many more lewd sight gags to keep the audience smiling, laughing or shaking their heads in disbelief. The humor was done well with a cast that seemed to click; no one single actor took the spotlight from the rest of the troupe.

Aside from the crude jokes we see a few romantic relations develop with Tim. One of the relations is with a prostitute (played by Alia Shawkat) and the other is with Joan (played by Anne Heche), an insurance agent from Omaha. It will always baffle my mind how an average Joe can meet a prostitute and an attractive red head then develop relationships with both of them all in a 24-hour period.

Tim engages in some heavy drinking with his new friends, ends up spending the night with Joan and blows the deal to win the Two Diamond Award. He digs deep inside his dark place to do the unthinkable to win that award.

Should you see this movie? Yes, it's a funny movie. It could potentially be a comedy hit, which you don't see too many of in these winter months. The foul language is intense; you should go in expecting some crude humor because with Reilly's mouth, you will get it in both ears. You might even leave with a whole different perspective on a town that you never heard of.

I wish that I could live in movies. Everything would be so much easier. Sure I would have problems, but they would all be solved in two hours our less. I would find a beautiful woman and of course there would be some discourse then I would try to deceive her through a series of lies. She would catch me in these lies and we would either a) make up and get back together or b) I find my true love, who was my "Plain Jane" friend all along. Regardless we would live happily ever after... until the sequel where we have kids and something zany would bound to happen.

"Just Go with It" is the newest comedy starring Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston. Sandler plays Danny, an immature, unprofessional plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills. He had his heart broken years ago right before his wedding. He called the wedding off; now single, he wears his wedding band to the bars. Here he finds attractive women and convinces them that he is in an awful marriage. The random women feel sorry for him then automatically sleep with him (note to self: buy a wedding band today). He does this for 23 years; think about it - 23 years of one-night stands.

Danny finally meets the girl of his dreams, Palmer (played by Brooklyn Decker), at a party. She is a perfect "10" and she sleeps with him without even seeing his phony wedding band (note to self: go to more parties). When they awake, she finds his wedding band and thinks he is married. Palmer is 23 years old. This means when Danny started sleeping with random women, Palmer was in diapers. Does any one else find that creepy?

Since Danny has deep feelings for this particular one-night stand, he starts lying to her in order to keep her. His office assistant, Katherine (Played by Aniston) helps him in the lie by pretending to be Danny's soon-to-be ex-wife. Palmer wants to meet Danny's future ex-wife because of some issues she had with her own parents' divorce. They all meet at a restaurant where they don't talk about the divorce; it's frankly five minutes of Danny and Katherine insulting each other about their phony marriage that is about to end in a phony divorce.

The interaction between the three is almost done when Katherine receives a call from her kids and now Palmer wants to meet Danny's phony kids. Now we have to drag two kids into this web of lies. This storyline added some much needed fresh talent. The young actress, Bailee Madison who plays the daughter, did a wonderful job of pulling the spotlight onto herself since Aniston and Sandler weren't doing much to move out of their own comfort zone.

One lie leads to the next and they all end up in Hawaii. While on an impromptu family vacation with Danny, his girlfriend, his phony soon-to-be ex-wife, her phony soon-to-be husband (played by Nick Swardson) and the phony kids, the headache is getting bigger and the jokes are falling flatter. Through rampant coincidence the phony couple meets Katherine's old sorority sister and her husband (played by Nicole Kidman and Dave Matthews). Now we are presented a whole new lie and not a lot of fresh jokes to make it worth our time.

The entire story snowballs up to the part that the audience saw coming from about 15 minutes into the film. Danny soon finds who he should really be with; it shouldn't be much of a surprise if you have been following along.

Should you see this movie? No, it's just another Sandler film. If you are a die-hard Sandler fan you will probably see it regardless. He likes to find one joke and hold onto it through the film. Let it go, man; just because you talk in a funny voice doesn't mean you should do it all the time.

I had no idea the newspaper business could be so lucrative. According to Hollywood, if you own your own newspaper in Los Angeles, you will be able to become a millionaire with your own fleet of vintage cars, many servants in a huge mansion and a lazy 30-year-old son that mooches off your hard work. With that ridiculous premise, the story line of "The Green Hornet" emerges and the rest of film feeds off of the improbable. And yes, I do understand that this is a superhero fantasy flick, but c'mon it has to have some realism to it.

The newspaper owner is James Reid (played by Tom Wilkinson). James is the demanding, overbearing father of the film's protagonist Britt Reid A.K.A. the Green Hornet (played by Seth Rogan). Britt is the 30-year-old man living in his father's pool house with no ambition in life other than to sleep with beautiful women and party nonstop (come to think of it, that is the ambition of most men). His father represents the hard work ethic the newspaper was founded on and he is outraged that his son is not contributing to society. James is writing articles on how society is being torn apart by the criminal underworld in L.A. while Britt is doing nothing but being a bum.

The mastermind behind all of Los Angeles' criminal activities is Chudnofsky (played by Oscar winner Christoph Waltz). Chudnofsky (whose name cannot be pronounced correctly by anyone in the film) is a villain who has great ambition that is followed up with very little character. And yes, we are supposed to believe all of Los Angeles' criminal activities can be controlled by one man. Do you know how many people live in Los Angeles? Again we are brought back to a ridiculous premise. The concept here is that one man rules all of the wrong doings in a city of millions. It would take an army of trained martial arts experts to stop this madness.

Enter Kato. Jay Chou plays Kato, The Green Hornet's sidekick. Is this the same character that was played by legendary martial arts expert Bruce Lee in the 1960s TV show now played by a Taiwanese pop star? Yep. I had to look Chou up on Wikipedia too. It seems that this guy who wrote and performed several pop music hits in the Pacific Rim is also qualified to fill Lee's shoes.

I will give credit where credit is due; Chou's action scenes are good with the help of the computer-generated images and the 3D. Oh no, I almost overlooked the fact that this was a 3D film; I forgot I was watching this film in 3D until the end when the credits were rolling in 3D animation. Do you know why I forgot it was in 3D? Because it wasn't good "Avatar" 3D, it was terrible "let's shoot this in 2D then if the budget allows, we'll add on 3D in post production" 3D.

Kato and Britt unite to cause some vandalism and in the process they stop a crime and become renegades themselves. They devise an idea to be vigilantes that help the citizens but are still wanted by the cops and the villains. With that reasoning the villains won't have any leverage against them if they think The Green Hornet is a villain himself. I am still trying to comprehend it myself.

Should you see this movie? Go ahead and wait for the DVD rental on this one. The story was lazy with no surprising twists (there was one twist but it wasn't surprising). Waltz was not used to his full capabilities. After seeing his performance in "Inglorious Basterds" we can expect fuller characters from him. The fight scenes (when done in proper lighting) were great. There were some memorable jokes but most of that humor was aimed a younger audience (ages 13-18). Rogan has a talent of yelling his lines and still making them come off as funny. However, continuing that method in every movie will result with him being less and less funny. Rogan will soon run the risk of being the next Jack Black by being a one dimensional funny man.

What do I know about country music? I own a few Johnny Cash albums. I never jumped on the Billy Ray Cyrus bandwagon. I never tried to impress a girl by pretending Carrie Underwood or Taylor Swift is my type of music, and I can honestly say I have never participated in a line dance. So, what was I doing at a screening of "Country Strong?" Maybe it was because I knew that this genre of music has millions of fans worldwide and a long history going back several decades. With that extensive history, the music and the performers have a chivalrous quality.

The film begins with Beau Hutton (played by Garrett Hedlund) and Kelly Canter (played by Gwyneth Paltrow) both in an alcohol rehab facility. Kelly was once a six-time Grammy winner in this fictional country world. It is implied that something awful happened in Dallas due to her drinking problem and that is why she is in rehab now. "Dallas" soon becomes code for "rock bottom" throughout the story. Beau works at the rehab facility as Kelly's sponsor (a sponsor who drinks, but her sponsor none the less) and is also a country music singer.

Kelly's husband/ manager (who is about 20 percent husband and 80 percent manager) James Canter (played by Tim McGraw) comes to pick up Kelly from rehab. Instantly there is tension between James and Beau. McGraw does a great job of playing the reserved yet highly focused and determined manager of Kelly's career. James pulls Kelly out of rehab early to reboot her career. It was never stated that he was doing this for money. The underlying issues of James have something to do more with money than with fame.

James recruits a young beauty queen, Chiles Stanton (played by Leighton Meester) to open for Kelly's comeback tour. Again there is tension between James and Beau. Beau doesn't want to open for Kelly; he wants to stay true to the music by playing in the honky tonk bars and not do it for the money. How noble.

Beau also has an instant love/ hate with Chiles and sees right through her phoniness. Beau and Chiles represent the two sub genres of country music. Beau wants to have a good time singing country tunes while Chiles wants the pop stardom and to sing songs that have titles like rides at Disneyland (that was a joke from the movie).

Kelly's first show is a disaster. An event from her past (yep, you guessed it, Dallas) comes back to rattle her and she goes back to drinking. James graciously forces Kelly onto stage where she has a breakdown. For much of the film there was a series of relapses for Kelly followed by fits of her crying followed by instantaneous sobriety. I hope the studio was paying Paltrow by the tear drop; she would have made millions off that deal alone.

The story goes from a love triangle to pretty much a love rectangle between the four main characters. We move into a series of romances on the tour between three of the stars. Beau wants Kelly. Kelly wants Beau, her husband and her booze. Chiles only wants Beau. Then Beau wants Chiles. James really just wants to be left alone while he works on his business deals.

The story finally climaxes to Kelly's big finale in Dallas (yes, the same "Dallas" as before) where all three of the top stars give great performances. To add a the dramatic element, before each musician gives their superb concerts they have one-on-one heart-to-heart talks in the dressing rooms letting each other know how they feel about each other.

Should you see this movie? Maybe, if you are a fan of country music you might appreciate it a little more than I did. If you are a casual listener, there might not be enough to hold your attention. It did give a great view of what goes on behind the scenes of the music industry. The performances and singing by the cast were amazing (McGraw, the only real country music singer in the film, doesn't sing a single note). The ending was unique because it was something new to this type of film. It does end like an old country song.

Do we need another boxing movie? After seeing several boxing films over the years they all seem the same. Take a story of a struggling boxer who will do anything for his shot at the title. Then through hard work and determination he earns his shot and he gets the girl. It seems like a cookie cutter format that audiences come to expect. So, do we need "The Fighter?" Yes we do.

"The Fighter" (directed by David O. Russell) is based on the true story of brothers Micky Ward and Dicky Eklund. And, if it weren't for the outstanding cast this would have been another boxing movie trying to make a buck.

We start the story in Lowell, Mass. in 1993. Dicky (played by Christian Bale) is being interviewed by an HBO film crew for a documentary about crack cocaine users in Lowell. All the while, Dicky has convinced himself that it is a documentary about his comeback. Back in the 1970s, Dicky was known as the "Pride of Lowell" for his boxing career. Thanks to Bale's ability to become the characters that he plays, the audience is taken on a journey. First we despise Dicky for his addiction. Then we tolerate him for his playfulness and lovability. Then finally we are cheering for his redemption.

This couldn't be an entire movie about a crack-head ex-boxer who redeems himself. At the start we are introduced to Dicky's brother Micky (played by Mark Wahlberg), who is known as a "stepping stone," in boxing terms that means other boxers fight him to move up in their own careers. This role seems to fit Wahlberg quite well. In some of his other films he has an unintentional trademark of looking constantly perplexed. But, in this film his confused expressions play to his strength. Micky is being torn in several directions from his brother, his mother, his sisters and his new girlfriend, Charlene (played by Amy Adams). He needs to look confused throughout the story; he simply doesn't know who to trust.

While Dicky is training with Micky, their mother Alice (played by Melissa Leo) is managing Micky's career just the same as she managed Dicky's career. She smokes like a chimney and lives proudly with the fact that she managed Dicky in his prime while raising nine children.

Speaking of the nine children, the two brothers have seven sisters to contend with throughout the film. The casting for these seven women was perfect. It makes me wonder if a group of actresses could be nominated for Best Supporting Actress. These women made the film fun with their heavy, snide "Bah-ston" accents, wicked glares, tough-as-nails attitudes and their hair styles which looked like they needed building permits (after all it was 1993).

We see only one boxing match in the first half of the film. Russell wanted us to focus on Dicky's crack addiction, Micky's struggle to find balance in his life and Alice's determination to get her sons known in the boxing world. At the turning point in the film, Dicky becomes incarcerated and Micky takes on a new manager and drops Dicky as his trainer. He employs Mickey O'Keefe who was the real life mentor for Micky. We are finally introduced to a montage of fights where Micky works his way up to and finally given his shot at the title.

Should you see this movie? Yes. Not only for the story, but because you can see about 12 performances of actors and actresses that were made for these roles. Russell was able to bring out the strengths of each one of the cast. In return he gives the audience a film that felt new even if we have seen it before.

To bring the younger viewers up to speed - Yogi Bear has been around since the 1960s, he started as a cartoon "pick-a-nic" basket-stealing bear in Jellystone Park. He had a good run for several years and eventually faded into the background with a few television reboots along the way. Thanks to 3D live-action/ CGI wizardry, Yogi is back on the big screen. In the new "Yogi Bear" movie, he appears brand new in all of his CGI magnificence yet he maintains his familiar look and catch phrases at the same time. He's hasn't come back alone, he brought his old side kick Boo Boo, also in CGI, and his friendly nemesis Park Ranger Smith.

Yogi (voiced by Dan Aykroyd) starts the movie with what he is known for - stealing picnic baskets from visitors of Jellystone Park. In Aykroyd's best Ed Norton impersonation (for the younger viewers that is a character from the 1950s television series "The Honeymooners") he self narrates his strategies so not to lose the audience along the way. Yogi and his accomplice in petty thievery, Boo Boo (voiced by Justin Timberlake) are continually devising new methods to steal food from the tourists to Jellystone Park. Yogi is the da Vinci mastermind while Boo Boo is the rational voice of conscientiousness. They opt for stealing because the alternative is to resort to foraging for food like the "average bear." Word about Yogi's pilfering gets back to Ranger Smith (played by Tom Cavanagh) who has a long history of battling with Yogi. Instead of just shooting Yogi full of tranquilizer darts and dragging his body to another park (that's my idea, it's not in the movie), Ranger Smith uses his sternness to reprimand Yogi therefore upholding law and order within Jellystone. Yogi soon goes back to his cave and Ranger Smith goes back to his cabin and the cycle of picnic basket pilfering continues.

Meanwhile, back in Franklin City, Mayor Brown (played by Andrew Daly) is making plans to sell off Jellystone. He needs the money to bring his city out of debt and with a coy evilness, he rationalizes that each resident of Franklin City will make money off the deal. Daly was a fresh enjoyment to watch as the nemesis; delivering his role so both children and adults could pick up on the humor of a fun yet despicable character.

A three-way conflict soon begins with Ranger Smith stuck in the middle. Yogi is disrupting the tourists and the mayor is trying to close Jellystone Park. Then, in steps Rachel (played by Anna Farris) who is filming a nature documentary. On top of that Ranger Jones (played by TJ Miller) is gunning for the job of top ranger (it's funny because there are only two rangers for the entire park). It seems like a multi-level story line but the director, Eric Brevig, presents the smaller stories in a clear-cut linear format where even the youngest viewer can pick up on what is happening.

While tension is building between Mayor Brown and Ranger Smith, the 100th anniversary of Jellystone is upon them. At the celebration, Yogi (who was only trying to help) ruins everything and the park closes. At Ranger Smith's lowest point, he loses not only the park and his job, but also a chance with Rachel too. Knowing that his intelligence is also a hindrance, Yogi tries a life of being an "average bear" but that doesn't suit him. He and Boo Boo soon devise a scheme to rescue the park and to stop Mayor Brown from becoming Governor Brown.

Should you see this movie? Yes, it's simple yet charming. There were a lot of jokes for an older and younger audience. You didn't have to grow up with the cartoon to enjoy this newer version of an old classic, just be a fan of clean humor.

"The Tourist" is a European romantic-comedy-action-espionage film starring Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp. Taking a simple story the director, Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, focuses on too many genres. He adds in a plot twist that the average movie watcher will figure out within the first 15 minutes of the film.

Beginning in Paris we watch as an entire team of Interpol field agents follow a graceful, mysterious woman, Elise (played by Jolie), from her apartment to an outdoor cafe to order her morning tea. This shot only took a couple of minutes and was comparable to watching paint dry. Elise has a secret contact who is wanted by both the Russian mob and Interpol. This secret contact, Alexander Pierce, has embezzled a large sum of money from the mob. It only makes sense that Elise is romantically involved with him.

At the cafe Elise receives a courier message from Pierce ordering her to go to a train station. There she must find a man that looks similar to Pierce in order to throw Interpol off his trail. With about as much action as reading an instruction manual, she makes her way to the train station and loses her Interpol tail. Through surveillance wizardry Interpol finds out what train she will be on and already has agents following her.

Once on the train Elise picks a random man out of all the passengers on this particular train and takes seat in his booth. Elise seductively introduces herself to Frank (played by Depp), a meek math teacher from Wisconsin who enjoys spy novels and smoking electronic cigarettes. Elise insistently yet seductively tells Frank how to talk to women and how to ask her to dinner on the train.

Once they arrive at Venice Frank becomes a perfect decoy for Elise's plan. In the one evening they spend together Frank starts to develop feelings for Elise while they share a hotel room (don't ask why they didn't rent two rooms). The story line does have some class; Frank sleeps on the couch that night.

The next morning Frank finds himself being chased over the Venice rooftops by the Russian mob as they think Frank is Pierce. He eventually ends up in the hands of a dirty cop. Elise reappears to save Frank through a slow boat chase. I have seen swimmers do the breast stroke faster than these boats move on the Venice canals.

The couple parts ways but find each other at a grand ball. Frank shows Elise how assertive he can be, but at the wrong time because he destroying her plan to reunite with her old flame. They share a dance, and while they have an intimate conversation these strangers both know every dance step needed at this grand ball.

Eventually the paths of Frank, Elise, Interpol, the mob and Pierce all cross paths in a hotel room. By the time the groups meet, the audience should already have seen what is going to happen about an hour earlier.

Should you see this movie? No. The story refused to challenge the viewer. The acting was fine, unfortunately there was little on-screen chemistry between Jolie and Depp. You might want to see it if you have never been to Italy and want to see some beautiful shots of the canals and the architecture. But, you could also flip through a travel magazine to see those images.

You have probably heard the story about the man that went canyoneering, alone, in Utah in 2003, not telling anyone where he was going. Five days later he emerged out of the Utah canyons, missing an arm. He had become wedged between a rock and a hard place (literally) and eventually had to cut his own arm off in order to survive. If you were like me you probably thought to yourself, "Wow, what an awful experience, I bet that sucks. Oh well, back to my life." The truth is that the self amputation handiwork is not even close to what the man, Aron Ralston, had to go through for the first 124 hours of his ordeal. Having read "It's Not About the Bike" by Lance Armstrong, I think it is fair to compare the two stories not only about survivorship but also about the bigger picture in which we call "life." You have probably also heard how Armstrong survived testicular cancer to go on to win the Tour De France seven times. Again you might have thought to yourself "Wow, he had a small bout with cancer and now everything is all right. Oh well, back to my life." The severe gravity of these situations don't settle in until you hear or see the personal stories of what these individuals endured to earn their lives back. Danny Boyle, is the director who helped bring Ralston's excruciating story to the screen in "127 Hours." Boyle, with an eclectic resume including a movie about heroin addiction ("Trainspotting"), a movie about two youngsters finding a bag of money ("Millions"), and a Bollywood movie ("Slumdog Millionaire"), focused on the events that put the viewer in Ralston's position then made that viewer understand that there was only two ways out of the cavern.

We start the story with Ralston (played by James Franco) driving out to the Utah canyons while inconveniently forgetting his Swiss Army knife at home (he would need that later). He runs into two young female hikers and introduces them to an underground swimming hole. Not knowing these are the last two people he will have contact with for quite some time.

After parting ways with the hikers, Ralston tumbles down a narrow canyon and his right arm becomes wedged between a small boulder and the canyon wall. He has the exact same reaction that I would have, "AGGHHHH!!!" I understood his anger because I too would react in the same way. I too would not accept my situation. I too would be cursing at the rock.

Before this movie, I did wonder how Boyle was going to keep us engaged for the length of the film. It's a hard task considering Ralston was in one place for five days. Boyle, along with Franco's brilliant acting, was able to keep us flowing from day to day. Sure there are the flash back scenes and a few Scooby-Doo induced hallucinations. But, the one thing that kept my attention was what Ralston actually did while trapped in the crevice. He had a video camera and he videotaped himself giving an ultimate gratitude list to his parents and friends. Even in his dying hours, he wanted his parents to know how he felt about them. He even went as far as producing a humorous morning talk show with himself. It was real, and it worked. That video is now in a safety deposit box where only a few sets of eyes have seen it.

Should you see this movie? Yes, but don't see it because a guy cuts off his arm to survive. See it because you want a story about why a guy cuts off his own arm to survive. See it because you need to know the answer to what you would do if you were in Ralston's predicament. See it because you are the type of person (to quote an earlier Boyle movie) to "choose life" and you know deep down inside that there is a force driving you.

Well, Pixar, your jobs are safe ... for now. I am sure that you are well aware that the folks at DreamWorks are rapping on your door. Sure you might have superior graphics and excellent screen writing skills, but in time, others will try for your stature in the industry. After more and more studios jump on the computer animation bandwagon, you will soon be lost in the onslaught. That's still a ways off in the future, though.

"Megamind" is the newest minion in DreamWorks' army of family animation films ("Shrek", "Madagascar," "How to Train Your Dragon"). With an A-List cast, it delivers humor and enough action to keep the audience entertained for the most part. Not a lot of inside jokes for Mom and Dad but the soundtrack (familiar songs by AC/DC and Guns 'n Roses) will provide a nostalgic trip for them while the kiddies are watching a couple of superheroes destroy a city.

The film has the essential plot elements of the antagonist and soon-to-be protagonist Megamind (voiced by Will Ferrell) and his desire to become an evil super genius. In Ferrell's best Vincent Price voice, he narrates to the audience on how he became such an evil mastermind. He also explains his modus operandi on why he wants to be the bane of Metro City (as a running gag he mispronounces the name of the city). We find that he spent his childhood in a prison (one of the world's only fun prisons by the way) and having to compete with Metro Man (voiced by Brad Pitt) in school (another word Megamind can't pronounce).

We follow Megamind's growth into adulthood where he chooses the path of evil while Metro Man chooses the path of good. When Metro Man is accepting an award for being, well, Metro Man, Megamind kidnaps a local news reporter, Roxanne Ritchi (voiced by Tina Fey). A few things go wrong and unknowingly Megamind kills Metro Man. This was not part of the plan. As most of you know if you kill off your nemesis there will be no more adventures. There will be no more extravagant duels. More importantly there will be no more money to be made off of the franchise. When Metro Man "dies" and we are left with Megamind and his Minion (voiced by David Cross) to rule Metro City.

Megamind quickly decides that it would be best to invent a new enemy so can cure his overwhelming depression. He needs a yin to his yang, someone to fill the void that Metro Man left. He unintentionally injects super serum into Roxanne's camera man's nose (voiced by Jonah Hill). Megamind trains his new protégé, Tighten (which is a misspelled moniker of Titan), to become a superhero so they can have an enormous duel and then Megamind can become the super villain that he once was.

While exacting his evil plan, Megamind is falling in love with Roxanne while he is posing as a nerdy museum curator. And while doing that he ... you know what? It is already too confusing. For a kid's movie, the story is about as clear as mud. The exciting final fight scene (which imitates the ending fight scene of Pixar's "The Incredibles") is what the kids will remember the most. You will see some exceptional 3D fight scenes through out the film. If you liked the animation DreamWorks did with "How to Train Your Dragon" then you won't be disappointed here.

Should you see this movie? Are you a kid ages 4-12? Sure, then go see it. Don't try to follow the story too closely, leave that up to Mom and Dad to try to decipher. Eat your popcorn, drink your soda, laugh at some of the crude jokes, try to relate to Megamind when he was a kid and ride it out to the end. Then wait for Pixar to come out with a story that we can all follow.

Hilary Swank, Sam Rockwell, Minnie Driver, Melissa Leo and Juliette Lewis. That is the list of experienced actors and actresses heading up the true story of "Conviction." The 20-year story line exposes a corrupt legal system. With an outstanding cast and a poignant subject matter it is destined to deliver an emotional power house of a story. Right? It just has to. So why do I feel like I have seen yet another "innocent-man-is-wrongly-accused" movie?

I am confused on why the director (Tony Goldwyn) chose the opening shots that he did. The first scenes do stick in my memory. A lone camera walks through a seemingly empty trailer home in Ayer, Massachusetts in 1980 quietly showing us a gruesome murder scene.

Then we are shuffled ahead in time to see Kenny Waters (played by Rockwell) meeting with his sister Betty Anne (played by Swank) in prison. Then we are sent back in time to when Betty Anne is in her first year of law school. Maybe audiences who like to be confused will enjoy the opening. It didn't set any tone for the movie since it takes a straight shot to tell the rest of the story with a few wisely placed flashbacks.

We are taken back roughly to the 1960s showing the bond being developed between Kenny and Betty Anne as children. They come from a broken home and we learn that they only have each other in this twisted world.

Goldwyn tosses us into a bar where we see Kenny's violent, friendly and class clown traits all within five minutes. As an actor, Rockwell is a likable guy. He has a playful confidence about him that seems to win audiences over for the most part (i.e. his role as Chuck Barris in "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind"). The man that Rockwell portrays here also seems to be liked — not only by his sister but also by the police department in Ayer. Well, all except Nancy Taylor (played by Leo), an officer on the Ayer Police Department. We don't know why Nancy has it in for him. It would have helped if Nancy had a background telling us why she wanted to arrest Kenny so bad.

After a couple of years Kenny is arrested and tried for the murder in 1980. He is hauled off to prison because of the testimonies of his girlfriends (one of whom was supposedly assaulted by Kenny) and Taylor. After Kenny's suicide attempt in prison, Betty Anne dedicates the next 20 years of her life to obtain her GED, go to college to earn a law degree and to work on this one case to prove her brother's innocence.

Aside from the story line, the cast was a joy to watch. Where has Juliette Lewis been? It was good to see her for a brief time on screen. She does give a brilliant and humorous performance. Swank and Rockwell could possibly each earn an Oscar nod. Personally, I think Swank should earn an Oscar nod simply for rising out of bed in the morning.

I am still torn on why I don't have anything more than a middle ground feeling for Kenny or Betty Anne considering the actual court case or the performances. Maybe it's because I didn't connect with Kenny's plight. Innocent or not, it seemed as if he was headed for trouble. Not "murder" trouble but trouble nonetheless.

Maybe it's because there was a woman who was murdered in 1980 and I don't know anything about the actual victim. I am sure her life was just as important as Kenny's life.

Should you see this movie? Your Honor, I would like to cite precedent of "The Hurricane" or even, ahem, "An Innocent Man." We have seen most of this film before in one way or another. Your Honor, if you haven't seen those legalese movies or a similar "an-innocent-man-is-jailed-and-the-legal-system-is-corrupt" movie then please make a motion to see "Conviction."

Let's get this on the table now, I am an American man. I like red meat, apple pie, baseball and women who are armed and dangerous. I ask for nothing more. Well, one more thing, if one of those armed and dangerous women could also have been a recipient of an Oscar for portraying the Queen of England.

"Red" is an acronym, in CIA terminology, for Retired and Extremely Dangerous. The film is based on the graphic novel of the same name. Directed by Robert Schwentke and employs a multitude of great actors and actresses who bring the story to life. The story provides a whirlwind of travel from one American city to the next. While using the film's time wisely to unravel clues about who is trying to kill the ex-CIA team from a 1981 Colombian CIA operation.

We begin the film with ex-CIA agent Frank Moses (played by Bruce Willis) who is living a meager day-to-day life with no excitement and no cause to look forward to the future. He wakes up alone, he eats alone, and he even takes out the recycle bin alone. Most recently he decorated his home for the Christmas holiday when he realized his was the only house on the block that was barren. He does everything a good citizen must do in suburban Cleveland, Ohio to keep up appearances. He has one ray of sunshine in his life. He makes calls to his customer service rep at the pension services office, Sarah Ross (played Mary-Louise Parker), to hear her voice and talk about romance novels. Sarah, too, is miserable in her dead-end job. We see an over the phone connection between the two characters. If you have seen one romantic comedy in your life, you will see what is going on here. Two lonely souls make a connection but are separated by two cities. However, in "Red" one of the lonely souls is an ex-CIA killer, you won't find that in the typical romantic comedy formula.

Late one night Frank gets up to go to the kitchen and is attacked by a CIA team of killers. Grenades are thrown, machine guns are fired, bullets are fried in a pan (really it happens) and we are following Frank to Kansas City, Mo. to pick up Sarah to let her know that she is in trouble. From there we are yanked down to New Orleans to find Frank's old CIA buddy Joe Matheson (played by Morgan Freeman). While in the French Quarter we are entertained with an amazing shot of Frank exiting a spinning cop car to unload an entire clip from his handgun into the windshield of his would-be assailant, William Cooper (played by Karl Urban).

I am done telling you about the story line. It's a good story line but I have to tell you I haven't seen action from an experienced cast like this in a long time. Sure I can compare this to "The A-Team" and "The Losers." Sure it has the basic story line about a team of special ops killers who are doubled crossed and they need to find out who is behind it all. But, I want to tell you what great fun it is to watch someone who portrayed a queen (Helen Mirren) take a firing stance behind a .50 caliber machine gun to mow down a limousine. I want to tell you how someone who once drove "Miss Daisy" (Freeman) and the guy who once played Biff Loman in "Death of a Salesman" (John Malkovich) interrogate the nerdy marine biologist from "Jaws" (Richard Dreyfuss). I can't forget to tell you how the guy from "Die Hard" (Willis) is back doing what Americans love to watch him do – eliminate the bad guys with a calm, cool attitude.

We, the people, deserve this movie, we have earned the right to put $10 down at the box office and say "give me four A-list actors with lots of explosions and car chases and even a little romance. Because after a summer of watching sub-par movies we need to be reminded how much fun it is to hear old people jokes. Then see those 'old people' exact their revenge on the system."

Should you see this movie? Are you a red-blooded American? Then yes, go see it. This is your right to turn off your mind for a while and be grateful that you live in a country where you can watch absurd violent behavior by retirees. While all along you see a loving relationship between a man and woman blossom before your eyes.

I know it is pretentious of me to place my name in the title of my review. But, after leaving David Fincher's film "The Social Network," I could only feel arrogant and overly confident. The movie has a strong, young cast of characters who play their roles with enormous confidence that radiates off of the screen.

Jesse Eisenberg plays Mark Zuckerberg, the co-founder of Facebook, with such unwarranted cockiness I wanted to punch him in his smug little face in the first 10 minutes. The film brings us closer to see more than the hyper-intelligent boy genius and by the end, I wanted to add him as a friend on Facebook or at least "like" him.

David Fincher (the director of "Fight Club," "Seven") and his screenwriter Aaron Sorkin (screenwriter for "The West Wing," "Charlie Wilson's War") based the movie on the book "The Accidental Billionaires" by Ben Mezrich. Facebook and the actual Mark Zuckerberg wanted nothing to do with the film.

The story begins in 2003 at a bar where Mark is being dumped by his girlfriend, Erica Albright (played by Rooney Mara). This one opening scene sets the over-analytical persona of Mark for the entire film. Is he arrogant? A bit. Is he too smart for his own good? Definitely. Does he understand that his intelligence can make others feel inferior? Only after he sees what he has done does he feel any type of remorse or regret.

After being dumped, a hurt Mark goes back to his dorm, has a few drinks and starts blogging about how much he despises his new ex-girlfriend. All in one night he develops a Web site where Harvard classmates can rate the attractiveness of other students and the site crashes Harvard's computer network. Not bad for a night's work.

Through his actions, Mark garners the attention of a set of twins, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss (both played by Armie Hammer), who are starting their own Web site similar to MySpace and Friendster. They hire Mark to help develop the site and grow it into something that they could never do on their own. And here's where the trouble begins. Mark begins to play both sides of the field to borrow startup money from his best friend, Eduardo Saverin (played by Andrew Garfield), and at the same time he takes the Winklevoss' initial idea to develop his own site.

Since Mark Zuckerberg (the actual guy) and Facebook have distanced themselves from the film, it has intrigued many people to want to know more. That is going to be the driving force behind the box office sales. To better illustrate this point, there is a scene in the film where Zuckerberg and Eduardo meet with the founder of Napster, Sean Parker (played by Justin Timberlake. Added sidebar: I think it is great that Fincher had someone from the music industry play the guy who was responsible for ripping off that same industry). In this scene, the trio is discussing how to market Facebook. Eduardo wants to get advertisers on board ASAP while Mark and Sean wants to let Facebook grow before they start trying to make money off the deal. Let the users determine the growth of the product. Fincher and Sorkin did the exact same thing with the promotion of this film. If Facebook said yes to the film then it would look like a Pro-Facebook campaign. Start a conflict, let people think that this is Facebook's dirty little secret on how it all started and the rest will take care of itself.

About halfway through, you start realizing that this film is no longer about Facebook, in fact it could be a story about any product or service on the market today. Fincher doesn't spend much time focusing on the actual Web site. He focuses on Mark's two legal depositions that are happening simultaneously and the human and financial wreckage caused by his actions. This film is simply about greed and the want for more. Not necessarily more money, that wasn't Zuckerberg's intention when he started his site. He wanted to fit in with the rest of us. He couldn't find an opening to the exclusive clubs on Harvard's prestigious campus so he stared his own club.

Should you see this movie? Yes. But, not because you have a Facebook profile that you like to update every hour. This film is not about Facebook. This is a captivating lesson in human relationships. It is a window to the deep, dark soul of capitalism. It's about living with past regrets.