"Welcome to Fright Night"

I was a huge fan of the original 80's Fright Night and was a little skeptical that the new one would be any good. Turns out, I loved it.

 They basic story from the original is there but updated  for this generation with a few new twists. Colin Farrel is great as the new vampire, he's scary and can be funny at just the right moments. Their was a great cameo for fans of the original movie. Fright Night  is a great combination of action, horror and comedy. I did not see this in 3D(not a huge fan) and can't imagine it would add anything more to the film.

This movie should be an example of how a remake of a horror movie should be done.


4 star out of 5

Take Me Home Tonight

Another Redbox Classic. Thank God their only a buck.

I love 80s retro movies (Hot Tub Time Machine) but this move felt like one long music montage of 80s music. I didn't care what was going on with the characters, there was not enough of 80s nostalgia just music. You watch 5 min dialog (just enough to move the plot along) and then time for another 80s hit to chime in.

 It wasn't the worst thing I have ever seen because I did sit thru it but still I can't recommend paying any more than a dollar to see it. The sound track maybe worth picking up though.

1.5 Stars out of 5

Priest

I was excited when I saw the first trailers for this movie, then the reviews came out and I decided to pass seeing it in the theaters.

So it came out yesterday and was available at the Redbox. I love Redbox, its a great place to rent bad movies I mean for a dollar how bad could it be right? This time it wasn't so bad but not great either. Priest is a combo of Judge Dredd, The Matrix and a little dash of Star Wars. As you watch it you feel like you have seen it all before. I also found it tough to understand some of the characters motivations for why they were doing things at first but it all seemed to be explained in the end not that you really care.

If i had gone to the movies to see this and paid $20 (my wife sees everything with me) I would have been really disappointed but paying only a dollar makes it alot less of a stinker The SFX are not bad and it moves along at a decent pace. Overall all though "Meh"

2.5 star out of 5

Paul

I am a huge fan of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz so I was excited to see these two guys together again.

 I am also a huge movie fan in general and this movie has so many great references to so many of my favorite Scifi and Horror movies that Paul is an absolute joy to watch. Seth Rogan does a great job voicing the title character Paul and Jason Bateman is once again great(I think I have a man crush on this guy)

. I am a total geek about Star Wars and the movie has so many great SW moments FX are great. I will be looking forward to the next collaboration between the two main stars again.

4 stars out of 5

The Change Up

Just got back from seeing The Change Up and even though the three people to my right all had trash cans full of popcorn and kept shaking them thru the first half of the movie to spread the butter around and the person to my left seemed to have a VERY important text they were waiting for with cell in hand and lit up I still managed to enjoy the movie.

 I am a fan of R rated comedies with dirty humor(The Hangover, Bridesmaids,Something about Mary) and this movie delivered in the first 5 minutes. It did slow down alittle towards the middle to end of the movie but overall I found most of it pretty funny. Both actor were great and Jason Bateman always adds something to whatever he's in, the guy is just funny. Olivia Wilde(13) was hotter than ever.

 It wasn't the best comedy of the summer but still worth the $20(My wife loved it).

3.5 stars out of 5

Crazy Stupid Love

So I am of the belief that every movie should have either a Lightsaber, Kung Fu, Explosions or a Giant Robot in it at some point, but this weekend it was my wife's pick and so it was a romantic comedy about a divorce and three different relationships.

 It turns out that even without a Asteroid threatening the planet in it I liked this movie. Steve Carell does a great job and shows he can play the straight guy as good as the odd ball. And the big surprise for me was how funny Ryan Gosling was being that the only thing I new him from was that movie where he carries that sex doll around the whole time. The movie was long for a comedy but never felt slow and had a nice little twist towards the end that was very funny.

Overall I really enjoyed the movie and it made me happy that I saw it. Maybe I'll let my wife pick the next one too.

4 out of 5

Review of "Rise of the Planet of the Apes"

The new Apes is a much improved take on the franchise over the 2001 Tim Burton film.

I was a fan of the original movies from the 70s seeing them in rerun on TV and was excited when the Burton film was coming out. But after watching a bunch of actors in monkey makeup with a mouth full of fake teeth (they all sounded like they were talking with marbles in their mouths) it didn't seem that far off from the original movies on a technological basis and the story was only so so.

The new movie has some of the best digital apes I've seen since the new King Kong and best of all the it has a plausible story, you understand why the apes walk up right and talk and how they could take over the world. Just like you felt sad for Kong you become emotionally invested in the Apes. The movie never felt slow and James Franco does a good job as the scientist (not like Denise Richards in The World is Not Enough).

Being that this movie cost $93 million to make and is looking like a $50+ million weekend I will be looking forward to a sequel.

4.5 stars out of 5