Green Lantern (2011)

★★★☆☆

Based off of the Marvel comic book hero; a test pilot named Hal Jordan nearly saves a dying alien who gives him a mysterious green ring with supernatural powers. Unwillingly, Hal becomes the successor of the alien who is part of an intergalactic peacekeeping squad. At the same time, an interstellar being known as Parallax is accidentally inserted inside Dr. Hector Hammond and soon Hammond as well as Parallax threatens to destroy humanity. Hal must find the courage to be Earth’s Green Lantern. This film could have been great but instead, it became a step up from Fantastic 4 but a step down from X-Men but Reynolds still keeps his sarcastic charm. The CGI was okay but what really bothered me was that it didn’t utilize its villains and heroes properly. I wanted to see Hector Hammond pose more of a threat, but instead I saw Hal beat up band guys in an alley. The film can be easily passed off as a great corny superhero movie but I wanted more.

Super 8 (2011)

★★★★1/2

Review: Click here

The Hangover Part II (2011)

★★★1/2

The wolf pack is back! Yes, but this time Stu is getting married in Thailand and his friends Phil and Doug pressure him to not only invite Alan but to have one last drink for his bachelor party and things go bad. After waking up in a dingy hotel they soon realize that Stu’s brother in-law (his father-in-law “prized possession”) is missing and might have been kidnapped by a drug cartel. They must now find a way to remember the night before so that they could save Stu’s brother-in-law. This time Alan didn’t do anything… that they know of. It was great to see Mr. Chow in a bigger role and although the film has an abundance of laughs and raunchiness, it literally felt like The Hangover set in Thailand. They didn’t try to do anything new so it felt a little rehashed but it was still great to see the guys fumble over each other a second time.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)

★★★★☆

Loosely based off of a book of the same name, the story follows Captain Jack Sparrow (again) who somehow got swindled into becoming a crewmember aboard the Queen Anne’s Revenge, the ship of the notorious Blackbeard. Meanwhile, Barbossa has become an Admiral working for the King of England sent out to find and kill Blackbeard. What he doesn’t realize is that both Sparrow, Blackbeard, Blackbeard’s daughter and the Spanish, are all trying to locate the famed Fountain of Youth. Though this film doesn’t have the great cinematography and darkness that Verbinski gave the Pirates movie, it was still a great action film that explored greater realms of Pirate mythology. Headlined by McShane’s Blackbeard, this installment is probably better than the 3^rd installment but I would have loved to see what Verbinski would have added to the table.

Scream 4 (2011)

★★★☆☆

Sidney Prescott has returned to Woodsboro after 10 years to try and regain her life back from the series of murders only this time she decides to reconnect with her family. The only problem is, the Ghostface Killer has also come back and this time he saved the most sadistic murders for her family but who’s affected more: Sidney or her young nephew Jill? Full review.

Cedar Rapids (2011)

★★1/2

Tim Lippe is a down-home, small-town guy but that’s all about to change when he is sent to Cedar Rapids to represent his small company at an annual insurance convention. However, the adjustment between the small-town life and the city life begins to take its toll on him but three convention pros take him under his wing and show him a good time. Although the film was funny at times and John C. Reilly steals the show, I found this to be more dramatic than funny. There were a lot of awkward moments and times where I felt like I wanted to laugh but didn’t. Certainly not too memorable save for Reilly’s character.

No Strings Attached (2011)

★★★1/2

Emma is a practicing nurse who only wants one thing: a “relationship” that only restricted to sexual activity and no emotions. Adam is a set director’s assistant who wants the relationship between Emma to not just be about sex. While giving a strictly sexual relationship a shot, Adam begins to fall for Emma but she ducks out before any more emotions get in the way… and she may have made the biggest mistake of her life. This whimsical comedy had me laughing at all the right parts and is an interesting take on the romantic comedies of the new age. Portman and Kutcher seem to really enjoy one another.

Little Fockers (2010)

★★★

The Fockers have finally settled down and had two lovely children but now, after having a near-fatal heart attack, Jack Byrnes realizes that he must find an heir to take his place as the head of the family… and that person is Greg Focker. Greg now has to prove to Jack that he is a capable father, that he is loyal to him and his wife Pam and that he is a leader. However, temptation comes knocking when a young attractive erectile dysfunction rep begins flirting with Greg and that’s just the beginning. This sequel was expected since the last two movies set up the fact they will be having ‘little Fockers,’ and I enjoyed it. Sure it’s a little over the top at times and some of the heart is missing but for a sequel, it was pretty funny and I enjoyed it. It left if open for a sequel and all I can say is: Jack Byrnes is suburbia will be pretty wild.