Waiting For "Superman" (2010)

If you've ever listened to any sort of political ad or debate over the last 20+ years, then you know that politicians and voters believe something is wrong with our education system. This movie takes a look at how much/little people are doing about the problem.

The movie follows five families, 4 of them in the lower class homes but all of them struggling in school. Some are single parents, others are newly laid off, and some just want the best help they can get for their children to be better educated. However, the problem doesn't seem to lie with the parents or the schools, but with the teachers and, more specifically, the teachers unions (dum dum DUMMMMM). While some of the students act like nothing is wrong, all of them are aware that money is the issue that's keeping them from the best education they can have, in one way or another. An ambitious superintendent in the Washington DC school system and a Harlem-based educator are some of the people trying to spearhead particular issues in their respective cities. The movie culminates with all 5 kids having to go in a lottery for their education.

That last sequence, with the lottery drawings, is exciting and heartbreaking at the same time. These kids clearly want to learn and only a certain few are going to be able to based on a bingo ball, index card, raffle ticket, etc. The movie is nothing new about how bad the schools are, but it does show it in a different way. This movie shows the problems and offers solutions, but I'm not quite sure if anything said in this movie will be treated as demonstrated. It was a great documentary and I strongly recommend it to all.

From Paris With Love (2010)

A good movie this was not, but I did have a mild amount of fun during the action scenes. John Travolta has the distinct ability to not pick out great plots for his movies, but he does have fun with them.

James (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) is a top aide to the US Ambassador in France but he's also trying to become a CIA operative at the same time. He lives with his fiance in Paris while trying to balance the job he has with the job he is passionate about getting. One day, the call comes to meet his new partner, Charlie (Travolta). Charlie is not the picture of CIA class. His clothes are as grungy as his crime fighting style. With both James and Charlie trying to adjust to each other and figure out if they can possibly work together, a problem keeps rearing its ugly head: Cocaine. The laws against drugs in France help lead the two towards a bigger problem and now they have to see if they can stop an assassination attempt. Maybe this is the thing that brings them together.

Like I said, the action was fun. It had some very unique and very intense action scenes that managed to use over-the-top violence with a balance of realistic fight scenes. Other than that, there was not a whole lot to offer. The plot was simple and been done to death. It's got some fun parts, but I can't really recommend this.

The Social Network (2010)

I went into this movie expecting a great movie and I got that and then some. This is not the "Facebook Movie." This is the movie about how this spy, nervous computer geek got revenge in the most fiscal way.

Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) just got dumped by his girlfriend. She knows he's smart and capable of doing whatever he can to get rich, but he's also a socially-inept ass. As a result, Mark enlists the help of friend Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield) to make facemash.com, a site dedicated to choosing which Harvard female was more attractive than the one next to her. After that erupts over campus, he's a sensation. He then gets the idea for a social network website that puts all the college experience online...or did he take the idea from the Winklevoss twins who hired Zuckerberg to build a similar site. As TheFacebook.com expands, Zuckerberg is feeling the heat. Napster co-founder Sean Parker (Justin Timberlake) helps Mark build up the a franchise and subsequently pushes Saverin out. Exactly how many friends will Mark have left?

As good as this movie was, nothing stood out more than the performance of Jesse Eisenberg. He managed to nail the character and kept him moving at the same Aaron Sorkin pace. That means, he kept talking and talking and talking until there was nothing left to discuss. Him and Andrew Garfield are both deserving of Oscar consideration. Director David Fincher as well. He managed to make a movie about computer nerds exciting. Also, kudos for the most exhilarating rowing (I'm sorry, crew) race in the history of film. Go see this movie.

Easy A (2010)

I was pleasantly surprised by this movie. Basically, the same effect was had on me when I first saw Mean Girls. The trailer made this movie look like another generic teenage high school movie. Far from it.

Olive (Emma Stone) is your average high school loner. She's not one of the cool kids. She's not an outcast. She's just there and she likes it that way. However, when she tells of a sexual encounter that never happened, rumor spreads quickly and she's the school's resident tramp. How can she use this to her advantage? She sees this as an opportunity she can't pass up to make her high school days seem less trivial. But when things start to swirl out of control, the school's Christian brigade led by Marianne (Amanda Bynes) feels it's their duty to make sure Olive doesn't go to Hell. Nobody knows she is making this all up and when she starts to tell people, will they believe her?

Stone was fantastic in this. A little hard to believe that she would be the loner with her sense of humor and style, but she pulls it off. The best lines of the movie went to her parents though, played by Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson. Basically, they play the coolest and most understanding parents ever. I recommend this movie because it will exceed any expectations you have.

Date Night (2010)

If this had been any other lead actors, this movie would have failed miserably. However, Tina Fey and Steve Carell were just funny enough to save this from being a complete wreck.

Phil and Claire Foster (Carell and Fey) are just your normal workaday couple who live in suburban New Jersey. Every Friday night, the babysitter comes over and the parents go on a their date night. One week, after seeing their friend's marriage crumble, they stir things up a bit and go to the swanky new restaurant in Manhattan. When they can't get a table, they steal someone's reservation. When two thugs accost them about something they've stolen, the Fosters now realize they probably shouldn't have taken the Tripplehorns spot. After evading the thugs, the couple are now running for their lives in a city they barely visit outside of work. They're going to need help, but don't know where to turn. Personally, I'd consider that to be a good date.

As I mentioned, Carell and Fey save this movie. I'd like to think they knew the script wasn't that strong because there were a lot of improvised scenes in the movie and those tended to be very funny. The supporting cast did what they could. Mark Wahlberg, Taraji Henson, Common, Leighton Meester and Ray Liotta (who seems to be in everything lately) all try their best with their characters. I can't totally recommend this, but fans of the comedians will get a kick out of this.

The Other Guys (2010)

I thought this was going to be good, but I didn't expect it to be this great. I haven't laughed this hard at a Will Ferrell movie in a long time. I'd say it belongs in the Top 3 of Ferrell movies.

Highsmith and Danson (Samuel L Jackson and Dwayne Johnson) are the best cops on the force. They always get there man and they never let anything stand in their way. Gamble and Hoitz (Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg) are the other cops. The ones who investigate lighter crimes from their desks. When a bigshot investor gets behind on his contractual payments, Hoitz and Gamble are called. They realize that this may go deeper than they could have expected, which isn't to Gamble's liking. Hoitz wants to get on the streets whereas Gamble is more than fine staying behind the desk. As the hole keeps getting deeper and deeper, they find that they are now the bad-asses on the force and need to get the job done at all costs.

I laughed so hard at this movie, almost from beginning to end. The supporting cast was just as funny as Ferrell was. Even Michael Keaton as the captain of their particular precinct. He may or may not be a TLC fan, it's uncertain. I highly recommend this. Watch it as soon as possible.

Cop Out (2010)

There were a lot of problems with this movie. First, the script was just not good enough for a supposed "buddy cop" movie. Second, who decided to let Kevin Smith direct a movie he didn't write. Mistake!

Jimmy Monroe and Paul Hodges (Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan) are a veteran pair of cops who have been partners for over 7 years. Their cases go a little haywire and they let druglord slip through the cracks. Wallowing from that, Jimmy also needs to pay for his daughter's wedding and decides to sell his most prized baseball card. This card should net him somewhere around $80,000. Just randomly, a couple of no-goodniks rob the card some and take Jimmy's prized possession. Now, they have to find this card so his daughter's wedding can take place the way she wants. As it just so happens, the card soon comes into the hands of the very kingpin they've been trying to catch for years. How exactly can they get it back?

No need to read it again. That hokey plot is almost all there is to this movie. I wasn't expecting a lot from this movie, but I was expecting Tracy Morgan to be a bad choice. Admittedly, I was wrong about that. Morgan was funny and somewhat believable as a cop. The movie suffered because it's such a weak story. I can't recommend this, even for Kevin Smith fans.