I saw The Green Hornet this past weekend in 3-D.  To get right to the point, I have to say, I think it was a bit mediocre.  There were aspects of the movie that I enjoyed but overall I think there were a few things that needed to be adjusted.  The movie is about a young guy named Britt Reid, played by Seth Rogen, who comes from a wealthy background being that his father is the head of the city's newspaper.  His father dies pretty early on in the film from a bee sting and Britt realizes that the city needs some cleaning up and therefore comprises the role of a superhero named The Green Hornet.   Britt fights crime with his father's assistant who becomes his sidekick, Kato, played by Jay Chou.  The catch is, the two not really knowing anything much about being superheroes, decide to pose as villains in order to throw off the bad guys.  They rely on Cameron Diaz's character, Lenore, who is Britt's secretary to unknowingly guide them along the way.

The fighting scenes were great! In the original series Kato, was played by Bruce Lee so one can expect the fighting scenes to live up to a certain standard that was set by the original series.  And Seth Rogen allowed for a few laughs in the film.  I will give the movie that.  

But what was most disappointing about the film was the villain, Chudnofsky, played by Christoph Waltz.  Action movies need a good villain who is bad enough to make the audience squirm in their seats.  Take The Dark Knight where Heath Ledger undeniably played a terrific villain as The Joker, or Gary Oldman who played Stansfield, a dirty cop, in The Professional--amazing!  The point is, an action film is only as good or as bad as its villain.  The strength of the villain measures the strength of the hero.  A good villain needs to be a little sinister, a little crazy, and a lot smart.  I think the movie would have done better had it stuck with James Franco as the villain, who made an appearance in one of the first few scenes.  His character seemed better suited for the role.  This really made the film more of a miss to me because I felt like Chudnofsky was not threatening enough.  If this were a reality, the police could have easily taken him down on their own, and if that's the case, who needs a superhero?

I am really excited about this film, as I was going to see it the last time that I was at the movies, but unfortunately chose to go with How Do You Know instead.  This time, I had actually set out to see Black Swan but it was sold out.  So it seems it was meant to be, The Fighter and I were meant to be united, and what a delightful film experience it was.  

First off, the acting here is really superb! The cast put on phenomenal performances!  The nominations are endless...the Golden Globes, the Critics' Choice Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards, and I am sure the Oscars, are well deserved and I hope it picks up the win in each of the categories that it is listed under.  The Fighter has heart! It has depth! It has meaning!  

This movie is based on a true story about what happens when you let others get in the way of your success.  Micky, played by Mark Wahlberg, is a young fighter trying to make it in the ring but with his crack addicted brother, Dicky, played by Christian Bale, ultimately sabotaging his chances, he fails every time.   

Excellent story! Incredible cast! This is a great movie! Well worth the accolades that it has already received and will continue to receive in the coming weeks, I'm sure. 

Tyler Perry has done it again, but this time a little differently.  In his first rated-R film which he wrote, directed and produced, Tyler Perry has brought Ntozake Shange's play For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Is Enuf, to the silver screen and trimmed the title to simply, For Colored Girls.  The movie has an all-star cast which includes Whoopi Goldberg, Thandie Newton, Loretta Devine, Kimberly Elise, Kerry Washington, Janet Jackson, Anika Noni Rose, and Phylicia Rashad each portraying a different black female voice.  

I was finally able to see Conviction last night after waiting, for what seemed like forever, for it to be in wide release.  I only had to see the trailer once to know that this was a movie that I had to see!  I love movies that are based on a true story and especially incredible stories like this one... 

Conviction is based on the true story of Betty Anne Waters, played by Hilary Swank, whose brother, Kenneth Waters, played by Sam Rockwell,  is convicted of murder and sentenced to life without parole.  To defend Kenny, Betty Anne pushes herself to the limit and gets her GED, a B.A., puts herself through law school and finally passes the bar, all while raising two boys.  She ultimately dedicates her whole life to making sure her brother, who she believes has been wrongfully convicted, is acquitted and set free.  This story is an incredible testament to the power of love and the unbreakable bond between a brother and a sister.  It is a love story unlike the usual romantic comedies and classical romances that I am used to.  This is a love story where family comes first, and there is nothing else without it.  This movie displayed how truly amazing love is! While it can make you do crazy things, it can also push you to places where you never thought you could go and achieve what you thought was unachievable.

It's twenty years later and we're back on Wall Street, Oliver Stone's Wall Street that is, but this time it's a little different.  Gordon Gekko has just been released from jail and is seemingly broke.  He finds himself riding the subway instead of getting chauffeured from place to place; a change that Gekko is definitely not used to.  We then meet Gekko's daughter, Winnie played by Carey Mulligan, and her boyfriend, Jake played by Shia LeBouf.  Jake is a Wall Street exec himself and Winnie is the complete opposite, wanting nothing to do with finance or her father who longs to build a relationship with her and looks to Jake to help him do so.  The question you will ask yourself is whether Gekko has changed or if the saying holds true that "you can't teach an old dog new tricks".

What is lacking from Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps is the fast-paced nature that I loved in Wall Street.  In Wall Street, as some of you might remember, there was a sense of urgency to the script.  The audience was on the edge of their seats, waiting for what would happen next and if  Bud Fox's actions would catch up to him.  

It was nice, however, to see Charlie Sheen make a cameo in Wall Street 2 but that wasn't enough for the movie to make a lasting impression on me.

This is one sequel that I could have waited to see on dvd.  It took me quite a while to finish this commentary, considering I saw this film on opening night, but I was just not compelled to write on the movie.  It wasn't horrible...it just is what is...not really worth the time.