What's Your Number?

This is not a must see.  It's not great but would be okay to rent, for something light and sort of funny.  It's about a girl, Ally Darling (Anna Faris) who realizes she's "been around" a lot.  She's read a magazine article that says the average woman has had 12 1/2 sexual partners (yes, I wonder about that 1/2 too!).  She's had way more than that.  She doesn't want her number to go higher, so she comes up with the great idea to hunt down her ex-boyfriends to see if one of them could have been "the one".  She cute neighbor (Chris Evans) offers to help her out.  It's silly at times, there are a lot of crude sex references.  Nothing real gross.  I give it 1 1/2 stars.

One Day

This movie is a lot like Same Time Next Year with Alan Alda and Ellen Burstyn.  This version stars Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess.  It's about two college kids who meet and have a relationship that is told by showing us one day, the same day, each year, for 20 years.  It's an interesting concept and story, but it was a little depressing to me, to see someone making a mess of their life.  I don't like movies about sad, stupid people.  I give this one 2 stars, mostly cuz I like these two actors.

Zookeeper

Typical Kevin James movie, predictable, kind of cute, and hard to believe this guy has all these gorgeous girls falling in love with him.  Not a must see, but the animal characters are kind of funny.  I enjoyed it, but it'd be a good movie to rent.  I give it 1 1/2 stars.

Bad Teacher

This was ok.  The story of a gold digging woman who is only teaching until she can find a rich guy to take care of her.  She wants to save money to get a boob job, cuz she thinks that will help her land a rich guy, when she finds out that the teacher with the class with best test scores gets $5734 bonus (or some silly odd number).  Cameron Diaz does a good bored and lazy teacher.  I really like Jason Segal, as the lovable, well meaning gym teacher, who's "not good enough (rich) for Cameron's character.  And Amy Punch is hilarious as the "good teacher" who is the 3 time reigning winner of the bonus.  There are some good laughs and lots of silly jokes.  I liked it, but it's not a must see.  I give it 2 stars.

The Art of Getting By

The critics didn't like this movie, and it's not the best, but it's a sweet story.  It's the story of a high school guy who doesn't see the point of life, so therefore why do school work.  He doesn't have much going on for him, and he develops this odd friendship with a cute girl, Emma Roberts.  She has her own hang ups, and they help each other get through each day.  Freddie Highmore is the depressed boy, and he does a great job.  I'd give it a 2 out of 4 stars, not a must see.

Mr. Popper's Penguins

Not a must see for sure, but I enjoyed it.  You should go if you love Tavern on the Green.  The restaurant is part of the story line, a very cute part.  The story is about a divorced dad, Jim Carrey, whose Dad neglected him when he was child, because he was always off on adventures.  As an adult, Jim seems to care more about his career and work then family (hence the "divorced dad").  But then he receives a last gift from his Dad, penguins. The predictable story ensues, but it is cute!  I give it two stars, and I think some would think me generous, but it was a fun little movie.

Green Lantern

The story of a young boy who loses his dad and grows up to be a daredevil pilot, who is chosen by The Guardians, an ancient immortal group whose mission is to protect the universe from evil, to be the first human to join the group. His super power is very cool, he can make whatever he can imagine come to life.  It's a cute film, not a must see, but there are some good lines, some corny acting, but an interesting story.  If you're liking the movie, what until the middle of the credits, there's a sneak peak for the sequel.  Not the best super hero movie lately (Thor!) but enjoyable.  I give it 2 stars (out of 4); not a must see.

Priest

I wasn't sure if this would be very good, but I went to see it because Paul Bettany was in it and I like him.  I was surprised that it wasn't too bad.  Not a must see, but it was an interesting concept.  About vampires (what movie isn't nowadays) and Paul Bettany is a priest.  He's not your normal priest.  He's one of a group that have special powers and training specifically to hunt and kill vampires.  The "Church" tells everyone that the vampires have all been killed and everyone's safe and the priests are all "retired".  But a few people don't believe the vampires are all gone.  The vampires go after the Priest's niece, he comes out of retirement, and so the adventure begins.  There's some twists, and it's not all that bad, but a little dark and dreary.  One thing, how come there are so many actors who've played vampires in this movie, fighting the undead? Weird.  I'd give it 2 stars.

Bridesmaids

Hilarious!  Kristen Wiig is great.  I liked the dialog best when it was her character and the cop.  It was heart warming and charming.  A few of the jokes went on a bit long, to where they were uncomfortable, but all in all it's a great story of two best friends and how things change as one of them becomes engaged and starts a "new life" with her soon-to-be husband.  It's a must see for me.  I give it 3 stars.  And it's not a chick flick.  It's just really funny, sort of a female Hangover, but a little more civilized.

Sucker Punch

This is like watching a video game, developed by a bunch of teenage boys.  Yay, not a must see.  I was surprised by how bad it was.  It’s inconceivable that a young woman whose mother just died and whose abusive step father, who just killed her little sister and is trying to pin it on her, and is having her committed to a mental institution, would try to escape her reality by fantasizing she’s enslaved in a brothel.  And all the women in the brothel are wearing provocative, sex kitten outfits.  The hair styles and make up are extreme, and for the women too.  Vanessa Hudgen’s character provided some comic relief for me, but only because with her hair, make up and outfit, she was reminding me of Snookie!   The script didn’t seem very original; the Wise Man character reminded me of Columbo; every speech ending with “Oh, one last thing…”.  The first fantasy within the fantasy was like Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.   Everything seemed based on some classic movie or character.  I’ll be generous and give this 1 star.  If I liked shoot ‘em up video games it might be a 2. Oh, I forgot, the big "Sucker Punch", not so much.

Rango

Sorry, I thought this was boring.  I didn’t like the previews and was not interested in going, which would make this one of those rare movies I didn’t see.  But I kept hearing good things and a friend at work said she really liked it.  So I went.  Wish I hadn’t.  I apologize to my fellow movie-goers for my solitaire playing on the cell phone.  I’m not sure how much kids would have liked it.  I give it a 1 star, just cuz they got Johnnie Depp to do the voice.  Not a must see.  Not even a good rental. 

Beastly

If you can get past the premise of the movie, that someone is obnoxious enough to talk about how much better they are than others because they’re good looking, it’s not a bad movie.  I can believe there might be some people who think they’re better because they’re good looking, but talking about it, and getting a crowd of people to cheer you as you do it?  That just was uncomfortable for me.  But I really liked the Olsen twin witch!  The makeup on the characters was interesting for me and helped keep me involved.  The character of the father of the beast was not believable but I liked the characters of the blind tutor (Neal Patrick Harris) and the maid; they lent substance to the movie and helped save it for me.  The romance of the beast and the beauty was cute, a little sappy, but that was okay for me.  Definitely not a must see.  1.5 stars.  If you have teenagers they might like it better.  

Battle LA

Slow start, but eventually, I liked it.  The dialog seemed very stilted at the start, but maybe that's how they talk in the military.  Then the explosions started; and they went on, and on, and on...  The first 30 minutes of the film is a pyrotechnic's dream. You can't see where the explosions are coming from, and neither can the American soldiers, because they keep saying "I can't see anything."  I think they might have been trying to build up to seeing the "enemy", but if it was, it failed.  Finally the movie starts with some dialog and characters.  It's a little cheesy at times, but bearable for me.  Overall it was OK, not a must see, but I was glad I saw it.  I'd give it 2 stars, but if I were splitting it up, I'd give the first half of the movie 1/2 stars and the second half 2 1/2.

Paul

Think of an "R" rated "ET" and you've got Paul.  The humor was pretty good in parts, sort of stupid in others, but overall I liked it.  There was some very inventive curses, lots of action and the villains were easy to hate.  There's even a little twist at the end.  I think this is a good one, but maybe not a "must see" for everyone.  I give it 2 1/2 stars.

Mars Needs Moms

This is a cute movie, but not a “must see”.  I didn't see it in 3D, but I can’t think it would add much to the experience.  I'd give it 1 1/2 stars.

 

The Eagle

  This is not a "must see".  It was a little boring, and I really had a hard time with the dialog.  It was too modern, with a lot of contractions.  For some reason, this really bugged me.  If it had been a little more authentic, it wouldn't have been too bad.  I like Channing Tatum, but he didn't seem like a natural leader; the casting wasn't right here.   I think giving it a 1 1/2 stars is generous.

The Roommate

I'd give it two out of four stars.  I enjoyed it; there were suspenseful moments.  It's very much like Single White Female, but they "updated it" to make it a bit more 21st century in a couple places, which I appreciated.  Not a must see, but if you're wanting a fun movie with a little thrills, I'd say "Go!"