The Dark Knight Rises- 4 1/2 out of 5 stars

As someone that has spent the entire past semester doing practically nothing but read Batman comics, a lot of my friends have asked me the question "What if the The Dark Knight Rises actually sucks." To which I would respond, "Honestly, I love Batman too much to be disappointed." While The Dark Knight Rises is not the perfectly crafted masterpiece that its predecessor was, it is still one heck of a movie that has done nothing but proven why Chris Nolan is one of the greatest directors out there. The Dark Knight Rises takes place 8 years after the events of The Dark Knight, Gotham has been on a steady incline of improvement since the latter years of crime, almost to a point where Batman (Christian Bale) is no longer needed. That is, set aside from one terrorist group leader who goes by the name of Bane (Tom Hardy) decides to show his mask. To any fan of the Nolan's Dark Knight saga, I can honestly say this is the perfect ending to the trilogy. The climax and conclusion of this film makes the end of Harry Potter look like something out of a Michael Bay or M.Night Shymalan movie. Without a doubt The Dark Knight Rises is the most Epic of the trilogy. As far as the plot goes, I honestly feel bad saying it, but it lacked in the creativity and mind-blowing-ness that made The Dark Knight the perfect movie it is, however it is still much better than just about every movie released in the past year. It has many twists and turns, that unless you are a hardcore gothamite such as myself there's no way you will see it coming. The next big question you are probably asking, is how do Bane (Tom Hardy) and Catwoman (Anne Hathaway) compare to The Joker (Heath Ledger) and Two-face (Aaron Eckhardt). While, for obvious reasons, I prefered the acting of Heath and Aaron, Chris Nolan has made a great choice in picking villains that are essentially the opposite of them. I truly enjoyed Tom Hardy and thought his acting and portrayal of Bane to be nearly Identical to how I have interpreted Bane in the comic series Knightfall. At some parts in the movie I found saying "what?" when Bane would speak, but a few words later I caught up to what was going on so this issue is but minor. Next is one that only comic fans would understand, I would have liked to see them show bane's "power" with the drug, venom, as well as some explaining for those who do not know Bane, how his mask ties into it. It would have made an already epic movie even more so to see during one of the fights between Bane and Batman, to see Bane activate the venom to gain the upper hand on Batman. Anne Hathaway shines as Catwoman, I thought she did a spot on A+ portrayal of bringing Selina Kyle to the big screen. Too many times in the past has there not been enough of a balance between the sexiness and the mysteriousness that Selina Kyle/Catwoman has, both on screen and in comics. Chris Nolan has found the perfect balance of the two by focusing mainly on the struggle Selina has in her personal life and giving the sexiness the backseat, even with this choice she is still much better looking and less skanky than Scarlett Johansson's portrayal of Black Widow in The Avengers. Honestly my only complaint with Anne's portray of Selina Kyle/Catwoman was that she went off screen. Christian Bale has made the right decision and turned the down the grumbly yell that he had in The Dark Knight, in my personal preference I think Christian's balance of the Scumbag Steve act that Bruce puts on to hide Batman leaves him as my personal favorite actor as Bruce Wayne/Batman. Joseph Gordon-Levitt shines as John Blake as well as Milia Cotillard as Miranda Tate, although I would rather not go into too much details to avoid spoilers. The soundtrack, although it is not Hans Zimmer's best work, a master piece on its own. In conclusion if you have not seen this movie yet than you need to shut your computer down, go on fandango and purchase tickets this instant, If you have already seen it, than go watch it again, Chris Nolan has done nothing but make another phenomenal movie that has blown is competition of The Avengers away by a long shot. So sit down, buckle up, and prepare to be amazed.

Ghost Rider: Spirit of vengeance - 1 out of 5 stars

Every once in a while one of those movies come out that are just soo terrible and soo pathetic I spend the entire movie laughing at it, I wanna stress at and not with. Ghost rider 2 is one of those types of movies. The story is a complete mess, It is about how the devil (Ciaran Hinds) gets some chick named Nadya (Violante placido) pregnant and then Johnny Blaze/Ghost Rider (Nicholas Cage) has to save Nadya and her son Danny (Fergus Riodan) from the bad guys and kill the devil, all while trying to lift his curse. The plot really doesn't evolve much past that. Just about after every 5 minutes I had myself asking what was the point of that scene? And how bout instead of standing there rocking back and forth and staring people in the eyes awkwardly you just go and kill them. It was made very clear that they tried desperately hard to try and make Cage look cool, but in all honesty he is not and thanks to this movie, his acting career is soon to be dead. No actor in this movie showed any emotion, during those "deep heartfelt" moments where you are supposed to see someone cry, cage just stares awkwardly at the camera. The soundtrack was another spot where they tried too hard to make it seem cool, and it just failed and led to awkward fight scenes. The Cgi I'll be honest was pretty good, but the complete fail of 3D ruined it. In terms of art direction only one scene interested me a bit, with which on the left half of the screen was a guy talking on the phone and the right was the guy he was talking to, the contrast in 3D was neat to see but it kinda overloaded my brain a bit. The one liners are horrendous and had me face-palming consistently throughout the movie, they rival all of the time puns that were said throughout spy kids 4. The whole concept of Ghost Rider I feel has potential, but thanks to the terrible directing choices by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor it is just a complete train wreck. If you are looking for an awesome kick-a** action movie to see, skip this one. However if you are looking for some great laughs AT it, not with, then it might be worth shelling out the money to see it.

Favorite Quote:
Danny: Are we safe?
Johnny Blaze: I'd say yes! H*** Yes!

Reaction to the Ending:

The Grey- 4 out of 5 stars

In "The Grey" the movie follows a man named John Ottway (Liam Neeson) who is hired by an oil drilling team as protection from wolves and other animals who may attack the team as they work. This begins my biggest complain about the movie, I felt that there was not enough of a back-story as to what the heck is going on in the beginning. They really don't explain what the team is doing in what I'm going to assume is Alaska, there is a small hint of character development in this time frame but it is only with Liam's Character, no other characters are introduced until they get on that plane. If you go to see this movie, be prepared for one of the most intense plane crashes you will ever see. After that scene I was left with just saying "Wow". After the plane crash a few survivors are left and they begin their fight for survival. That is when the group gets attacked by a pack of wolves and their already low numbers start to dwindle further. My next complaint is something that just about every horror movie does. In a movie like this you want the audience to sit there in their seat shed a tear as the next character is viciously ripped to shreds by the antagonists not have apathy or a want for them to bite the dust. The Grey improves on this as some of the characters I did not want to see go, but a few especially in the beginning I really didn't care that they died. This could have been avoided had there been more development in each of the characters aside from Liam's before the plane crash. Most of the character development is spent with the crew talking around the bonfire about their past and loved ones, I am not complaining about this but at some points the pacing felt a little off with the balance of wolf attacks and "Bro-mance" points in the movie. On another note the acting all around in the cast was very well done, you can truly see the cast really get into their roles during the most intense of scenes. For most of the movie CGI is used for the wolves, which was very well produced but I would have liked to see a bit more of actual wolves instead. The musical sound track was well made, while it is no Hans Zimmer the main title played in Liam's flashbacks about his Dad and in the end was exceptional and also my favorite. For the most part I liked the plot, a few scenes left me confused as to what happened or why the wolf just stood there as the cast prepared their weapons, these scenes are pretty spread out so it did not bother me too much. The cinematography was very well done, I really liked many of the shots of the cast trudging through the snow with the beautiful landscape behind them. The action scenes with the wolves were extremely intense, and very graphic so those with weak stomachs will probably have their eyes closed during quite a few scenes. My last complain wasn't exactly with the movie per-say but rather the trailer, which for the sake of spoilers kind of showed a pretty important thing that happens in the movie. This is probably due to the fact that they did not have enough theatrical moments to pull from since much of the movie is the cast sitting around a fire or walking through the snow. In the end The Grey stands out as my favorite movie so far this year as I am sure many people will agree with me. There is also a scene at the end of the credits but it really wasn't important to wait for.

Favorite quote:
Ottway: Once more into the Fray. Into the last good fight I'll ever know. Live or die on this day. Live or die on this day.

15. Immortals- 3 out of 5 stars

The obvious comparison for this movie would be 300, and honestly I found Immortals a lot more well made then it. The movie is about an evil man named King Hyperion (Mickey Rourke) who wants to unleash the titans to start a war against the gods. The story then follows a man named Theseus (Henry Cavill), a simple peasant who fights against Hyperion's army. Acting was a bit above average, there was no scene that really showed off their acting abilities, while there really wasn't a scene that really showed how bad the actors were. The best part would be the action scenes, there is plenty of blood and gore and the use of slow motion was a good choice for them. Then there's the 3D.... honestly I found the addition of the 3D effect really showed the flaws in the CGI especially if there was a CGI background. For example a CGI cliff off of a mountain in the background with a person on said cliff. I will say though some of the scenes the 3D did help a bit, however I still think the 3D was unneeded. I don't really know how I would rate the soundtrack. It in no way shape or form killed the mood like in the latest predators movie, it was nothing outstanding, but it felt like the work of a new starting off composer who has much potential. Now back to the topic of 300, Immortals had a good amount pivotal action moments and I loved the choreography of them, but there wasn't any scenes as hilarious has the "This is Sparta!" scene. Like 300 if your girlfriend doesn't like action movies then you probably shouldn't take her to this one. The best way to put it, if you're looking for a good movie to go see for a guys night out, this ones a good choice.

Favorite Quote:
Theseus: Fight for Immortality!

14. The Dark Knight 5 out of 5 stars

If you have not seen this movie yet, then there is something wrong with you. With the spot of #9 on the top 250 movies on IMDb, when I say perfect I mean it. The Story follows after the events of Batman Begins (I Recommend you watch Batman Begins first) with Batman (Christian Bale) rising in fame and inspiring many wanna be superheros to be vigilantes. That is when a man who calls himself The Joker (Heath Ledger) decides it's time for him to step in and cause a bit of anarchy. Hands down the best acting job ever by Heath Ledger, along with his catch phrase "Why So Serious?" I get shivers down my spine just thinking about how convincing and creepy The joker was in the movie, I loved the makeup they used on the Joker (Seen above) the only problem that I have is that I'm sick of all the casuals who tried to copy it for their Halloween costumes. But alas after Heath's death I don't think any man is worthy, let alone adapt enough to ever take on the role again. But that aside every cast member acted beautifully. I honestly feel a little bad for Aaron Eckhart who played Harvey Dent because his acting was so superb but was still over looked by Heath's. Hans Zimmer crafted every note into a masterpiece, as a musician myself I cannot get over how skilled Zimmer is at what he does. The cinematography was masterful in every aspect, I don't even know which scene I consider the best because even when you think you have the Joker figured out, Chris Nolan pulls something out of left field and you are left dumbstruck. The CGI used to make two-face's face was very well done as I know how difficult to make a computer generated human face. As I said before if you haven't seen it yet, turn off your computer right now, drive to your nearest Red box / Blockbuster and rent it this instant.

Favorite Quote:
The Joker: Do I really look like a guy with a plan? You know what I am? I'm a dog chasing cars. I wouldn't know what to do with one if I caught it. You know, I just... do things. The mob has plans, the cops have plans, Gordon's got plans. You know, they're schemers. Schemers trying to control their little worlds. I'm not a schemer. I try to show the schemers how pathetic their attempts to control things really are.

13. Footloose- 2 out of 5 stars

So, basically the message of Footloose is that parents should be with with 1. Their kids smoking pot 2. Their kids drinking alcohol 3. Their 17 year old daughters having sex with 40 year old men 4. That if a child talks back and gets nasty with her parents they aren't allowed to smack them and 5. that the church should have no involvement in the government. As a Christian myself I hated just about every minute of this movie. Towards the end of this movie the main character uses scripture that supports dancing as a form of praise so as to justify their "Dance" that is nothing more then humping each other. The movie Follows a boy named Ren MacCormack (Kenny Wormald) who moves in with his Uncle Wes (Ray McKinnon) into a town where it is outlawed to dance. It then tells of his journey to rebel against their strict laws. Ariel Moore (Julianne Hough) plays the preachers daughter who is to put it bluntly, a complete tramp. At one point the characters race buses and since they don't have a green flag, she pulls her green shirt off and waves it around. The acting was decent, Kenny Wormald I thought did a really good job, but Julianne and most of the rest of the cast was less then impressive. As far as dancing goes, the first and last scenes were very well done, but every other dance in between mainly consisted of the kids humping each other, or just reflected someone who has anger issues. The main theme song for footloose is a classic, but none of the other tracks were memorable. If you are looking for a good movie to take your young elementary school girls I would highly recommend not seeing this one, but on the other hand, if you are a middle-school/ high-school girl who loves shows like jersey shore you will wanna see it.

Favorite quote:

 Rev. Shaw Moore: He is testing us. Our Lord is testing us.

12. In Time- 1 1/2 out of 5 stars

The Ironic part about this movie is that it was about not wasting time. After watching it, I've lost 2+ hours of my life I'm never going to get back. The movie takes place in the future where time is the new currency. People age until they are 24 with which they then stay that age rest of their life, and then are given one more year to live after that. However with time being the currency, The rich basically get eternal life, while the poor die young. It then follows a man name Will Salas who is very poor, he then meets a rich man who gives him a "great sum of time" and simply tells him not to waste his time. Honestly just writing that summary it sounds good, but I place all the blame for this movie in the Director/Writer Andrew Niccol. The movie really didn't develop past the fact that time is money. I at least expected the movie to make me question whether I was really using my time efficiently, but besides the time puns, it really didn't develop more then a bank heist movie just have money swapped with time. The time puns weren't even so terrible they were funny, like what they were in Spy Kids 4, they were just really annoying and extremely unnecessary. On top of that the whole plot of the movie was very dumb and did not explain a lot of pretty important plot devices thoroughly. If you know me personally you will probably be laughing when I say Chris Nolan could have made it a masterpiece if he directed it. Acting wasn't too too bad but it was very clear that they didn't try. I know of what Justin Timberlake has done for social network and Cillian Murphy for Inception, so I know they are very capable actors. but I just put the blame of the acting in the fact that the actors were tricked into thinking it was gonna be good, and then just didn't try when they realized the movie was garbage. I liked some of the filters they used, but besides that nothing raised my attention visually. The choreography of the chase scenes was pretty dumb, one scene had Will Salas (Timberlake) and Sylvia Weis (Amanda Seyfried) run over spikes in the road in a convertible no less with the canvas down, then do multiple front flips, and then land on it's wheels, all while they weren't wearing seat belts. They both emerge with nothing more then a few scratches. All I can say is, don't waste your TIME with this sad excuse of a movie.

Favorite Quote:
Borel: What would you do if you had all this time?
Will: Well I certainly wouldn't waste it.