Judge Dredd tries to do a drug bust. The perpetrators resist. This is, at its core, the plot of the film Dredd, which is based on a comic book series and has previously been made into a film where the titular character was played by Sylvester Stallone. Set in post-apocalyptic North America, in a place called Mega City One, Dredd is the story of one man’s relentless pursuit of law and order. Dredd (Karl Urban), is a Judge, a member of an elite law keeping organization which acts as judge, jury, and executioner for the populace of Mega City One.

Dredd is saddled with a rookie named Cassandra Anderson who is getting her last chance to become a Judge over the course of a day-long test with Dredd. Anderson (Olivia Thirlby) is a psychic who would be a great asset to the Judges, but hasn't managed to squeak by the exam with a passing grade. The pair begin by investigating a triple homicide in the Peach Trees block (a 200 level mega apartment complex) and quickly come into conflict with Ma-Ma (Lena Headey), the crime boss and drug lord who rules the block.

Dredd is a film of unflinching violence. Bullets fly, blood sprays, bodies fall. Dredd is a man with compassion but no mercy. He knows crimes and their punishments and carries them out unflinchingly. Often shot from below or in some way obscured, the visuals and music which surround Dredd are those typically associated with monsters from horror movies. One particularly relevant example is a scene where Dredd moves slowly through a hallway in the block while observed by the terrified residents through the peep-holes of their doors.

Dredd is rated R and with the violence, gore and general harsh nature of the world in which it exists no other rating would do. Watching Dredd I was surprised by just how good a movie it actually was. I would certainly recommend it to anyone who likes either science fiction or crime stories and who can handle a certain amount of gruesome realism- just don't expect the film to mirror the comic book too closely.

It had been about a million years since I had seen The Song Of Bernadette, so when I saw it on the shelf I jumped at the chance to see it again. I'm really happy I did!

The film is about a teenage peasant girl in mid-1800s France who sees a vision of a beautiful woman, who assures Bernadette that if she carries the message to the townspeople, she will live a pain-free eternal life. Miracles begin happening around her after she spreads the messages from her vision. Everyone around her assumes she is speaking of the Virgin Mary, and that assumption sweeps everyone into the drama. Of course, there are plenty of skeptics, since Bernadette is the only one having visions. She is punished for blasphemous antics. She doesn't give in to the authority figures around her, for the lady told her she was answering a higher call. That faith leads many of her fellow townspeople to stick up for her, even as the non-believers paint her as a liar looking for attention.

Without ruining the ending, I will say this movie is a very inspirational story, based on true events. I highly recommend The Song Of Bernadette. Jennifer Jones gives an Oscar-worthy performance, and a young Vincent Price plays the lead prosecutor in the trial. 9 out of 10 stars from this critic.

In this film, as in reality, the gun is a spy’s last resort, used only when everything else has failed. You will not find explosions or flashy displays of martial arts here as in the James Bond or Jason Bourne films. Rather, you will see spies as they go about the actual business of spying, which is, talking and gathering information. This is not to say at all that the film is boring- it isn’t. The plot is extremely tight, the characters are fascinating and the acting is top notch.

The film focuses on a 1973 investigation of the British intelligence service by one of its former members in an attempt to find a mole. Gary Oldman plays this former agent, George Smiley. Oldman's precise diction and eloquent pauses define the character as an extremely careful man who misses nothing. The supporting cast is excellent as well; each intelligence member has their own quirks and their own story.

Opening with a botched intelligence operation, the film quickly moves through a change of leadership at the British intelligence service (called The Circus by its members) and the ousting of George and his direct supervisor Control (the man who ordered the botched operation). After this, George’s investigation begins and the plot thickens as he must clear each of the remaining leaders of the intelligence service to stop the mole from revealing British secrets to the Russians. The film also contains many flashback scenes which allow the viewer to follow George’s train of thought as he conducts his investigation.

I would recommend this film to anyone who is at all interested in the spy movie genre, as well as anyone who likes films which make them think. The ending of the film is both fascinating and morally complex, and anyone who likes those things in combination should do themselves a favor, and see this film.

Chronicle tells a story of three high school students who stumble upon some sort of extra-terrestrial anomaly in an underground cave in the woods. After barely escaping a cave-in, they find themselves with psychokinetic abilities. One of the three friends comes from a broken home, where his short-tempered father finds excuses to abuse him. He is pushed too far, and he uses his new found powers in a negative and greedy manner. The story follows the ups and downs of the three friends exploring their new powers and the problems that arise when the arrogance of youth is combined with supernatural gifts.

The movie at times makes you wish you were one of the friends in the movie with these powers- especially when they learn that they can fly! The special effects looked really good, and made you feel like you were part of the action.

Overall the movie was good. The final few minutes are the best, and it's definitely worth taking the time to watch Chronicle. If I had to give it a rating, I would give it a 7 out of a possible 10.

New Year's Eve has a giant cast of pretty cool actors. The lights of New York are awe-inspiring, and that is captured well in the film. Otherwise, I thought this movie felt uneven, and none of the actors were really given a chance to shine. 

The film is pretty much the same as Valentine's Day, but less charming. It even has some of the same actors, although they aren't playing the same parts. A myriad of people, somewhat entwined, are preparing for New Year's Eve celebrations across the city of New York. Robert DeNiro is appropriately touching, and I would love to see Hilary Swank get to act with him in another movie. That would be powerful! Michelle Pfeiffer is awkwardly dumpy in this film, which is a letdown 'cause she's a MILF, but she was entertaining as this sort of pathetic middle-aged woman. Zac Efron...what happened? He has a face like a baby, but he's supposed to be best friends with Ashton Kutcher- who looks like the bear wearing Kutcher's face in this movie- and Sarah Jessica Parker's brother? He looks like an adult in the trailers for The Lucky One, but in this movie I kept getting grossed out every time he hit on a girl, because he looks like a 12 year old, and talks like one too. Abigail Breslin is still adorable, even though she's definitely not a baby anymore. Expect big things from that one. Halle Berry gets to look sad for a while, even wihle wearing a sexy dress. We see Common and Alyssa Milano for about 45 seconds each- the producers shouldn't have bothered hiring names for those roles, because they didn't get to do anything. The girl who plays Rachel on Glee is in this, and she sings, because what else is she going to do. Her duet with Jon Bon Jovi (they're in separate places) is awful, not in small part because Bon Jovi has to be the worst actor ever to set foot on this planet. Katherine Heigl slapping him is hilarious even though that scene was in the trailer. Her two assistants were really funny- I'd like to see a whole movie about those two! Pretty much everybody else faded into the background. By far the most funny part is during the credits, when Carla Gugino is playing midwife to Jessica Biel's preggo lady, and as Biel seems to be giving birth, a DVD and bluray copy of Valentine's Day come out. Ha!

Basically, if you've already seen Valentine's Day, just watch Love Actually, the movie they're all stealing from.

Let me start this review by getting something out of the way: this is not a “good” movie. The plot is full of holes and many characters seemingly lack motivation for their actions. But let’s face it, you’re not going to see a Conan movie for a tight plot and fully fleshed characters; you’re seeing a Conan movie for the violence, and on that front, this film delivers.

This film is jam packed with violence, barbarians, pirates, monks, armies and more as they spill each others' blood in varying locations. Throughout it all there is some semblance of a plot concerning Conan being swept up in the resurrection of an evil sorceress. But ultimately this plot is simply an excuse for more violence (and a small love story).

The fighting in this film is very well done, as might be expected from a film with so much of it. The fights look convincing and Conan does not escape all of them uninjured. Likewise the special effects are high quality and add to the viewer’s immersion into the world. The acting, on the other hand, is much more hit or miss. Jason Momoa acts well as Conan, sticking to simple emotions and primal fury, which fit the character well. Stephen Lang is likewise good as Khalar Zym, the principle villain. The acting in general falls off from there: although there are some other performances that are good, the majority are less so.

The film is highly deserving of its R rating, both for violence and for nudity.

Ultimately, the film is fun to watch and the bloodthirst is enthralling. If you were already thinking of seeing Conan I would recommend you do so. If it’s not a film that was on your radar, then it would probably be a good one to avoid.

Anna and Jacob meet in college in Los Angeles, and rather quickly move from mutual attraction to love to symbiosis to codependency. When Anna overstays her visa and then goes to a family function back in England, she finds she will not be permitted to re-enter the US, which puts the lovebirds in a pretty difficult position. Throughout the film, they must attempt to learn to be apart, all while dealing with all the other parts of adulthood. There is a heartbreak and a glorious memory for everyone who has ever loved in here.

Technically, I loved this film. It's slow paced but well edited, and the cinematography is beautiful and thought out to the smallest detail. The cast is great (River Song! Charlie Bartlett! Katniss!), and the two lead actors do a particularly good job at capturing and holding the viewer's attention. 

Like Crazy is the purest snapshot of that first, horrible, gorgeous, all-encompassing love experience. Unfortunately, I found the ending unnecessarily jarring, because it was so very real. Most people watch a film to get away from their own life to a certain extent, and there was no stretch here- nothing to take the viewer away from themselves. Instead, I felt as though I'd been left hanging at the end of a friend's involved story. If I watch it again, I'll make sure and turn it off 4 minutes before the "end."