Cowboys and Aliens

Ingredients for a summer blockbuster: cowboys, aliens, James Bond, Harrison Ford, and a "hot" chick. Blend together and serve. This movie is exactly what you expect, a mixture of all five things creating a fun popcorn movie perfect for beating the heat in an air conditioned theater. I know it got bad reviews, but really, what were the critics expecting? It is what it is, just a fun, tongue-in-cheek, genre-bending blockbuster.

Horrible Bosses

Everyone in this movie is funny. The three main characters are funny and so are their rotten bosses. Not only does this film do a wonderful job portraying the insane dynamic between the working stiff and his crazy boss, but it also does a great job playing upon the fantasies of disgruntled employees. Who hasn't thought about murdering their evil superior? The best part was definitely Jennifer Aniston playing against type as the sex-crazed dentist. She should consider stepping outside of her Rachel comfort zone more often, because when she does, she's amazing.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

While waiting in line for 8+ hours for the midnight showing of the final Harry Potter film, memories filled my head. I remembered all the different friends and family I watched all the Potter films with and how much things have changed over the last 10 years. Friends coming and going, me growing up and changing, but there would always be a Harry Potter film, until now. Though I didn't become a fan until the fifth movie, I still saw every single film in theaters and I was excited and sad to watch the last. It was the best film in the series because of its emotional core. The writer, director, actors, etc. perfectly portrayed the last moments of Harry and his friends as they stand together and battle Voldemort. The final battle is epic filled with touching scenes giving each character a proper goodbye. I hope that some of the performances, such as Alan Rickman as Severus Snape, do get nominated for academy awards because they are truly deserving. A perfect ending to a decade.

Drive Angry (DVD)

Since National Treasure, I've tried to keep my distance from Nicolas Cage films because they tend to be a little, well, bad, with a few exceptions. This is one of those exceptions. Drive Angry works because it's suppose to be "bad" and it does it so well. It's a balls out B-movie and you love it for it. You want the badass motherfucker Nicolas Cage character to find the worse badass motherfucker villain and murder him good and bloody. It's fun and needs either popcorn or beer and nachos to accompany it to really bring out the awesome badness of it all.

The Adjustment Bureau (DVD)

Change the world or follow your heart? Career or true love? Can love survive the opposition of otherworldly forces messing with destiny? Yes, but do you want it to? These questions sum up the plot and my feelings about it. This movie could've been so much more, but it just wasn't. It should've played against clichés and it would've been amazing for doing so, however it did the opposite. Coulda, woulda, shoulda. Wish Hollywood would take some risks. If you want to see a similar film, watch Dark City.

Bad Teacher

The trailer for this film is hilarious, unfortunately, it shows all the funny parts of the actual film. Though I laughed and loved watching Cameron Diaz be a cracked out middle-school teacher, it was lacking the risk that R-rated comedies need to stand out. This film didn't bring anything new to the table except it was a female being bad instead of the usual man-child with his frat boy mentality. The thing, Cameron's character could've been worse and it would've made the movie funnier.

Super 8

Spielberg, J.J. Abrams, and Aliens. Who didn't want to see this perfect summer blockbuster. Though the alien plays second fiddle to the coming-of-age and family melodrama, there's enough "what's going on" suspense to make any sci-fi fan happy. What really drives the film home is the nostalgic feeling surrounding the film. The audience is transported to the same time period when E.T. was king and it feels good. Super 8 is really J.J. Abrams love letter to the classic Spielberg and Lucas films that define the childhood of generations x and y.

Submarine

Sometimes the best way to spend a summer afternoon is at a small theater, watching an independent film with your fellow writers. This film truly captures the essence of youth that only teenagers know and adults try to forget. It was clever in putting in all the little awkward eccentricities that make up the naivety one feels when caught into the limbo between the being a child and becoming an adult.

X-Men: First Class

I would never call myself an X-Men fan, but I've been to every film and I would say that this was, by far, the absolute best. Though it was obviously an origin story, it was still fun and even made the exposition entertaining. There were delightful cameos and hilarious jabs at the past films. What made this film great was that it played with the time period it took place in, the 60's, and had fun with it, giving the film a James Bond film. Emma Frost, played by January Jones, would've been the perfect Bond villainess. While Kevin Bacon was an excellent super villain helping the soviets. An overall fun blockbuster to enjoy with some popcorn.

I Am Number 4 (DVD)

Evil aliens are hunting down nine good aliens in order while getting ready to colonize Earth. Alien three dies and now it's time for number four, who happens to be an incredibly handsome young man who has an infinity for a blonde manic-pixie-dream-girl. A film appealing to the Twi-hards and sci-fi action fans alike, and so obviously so. As soon as Number 6, an ass-kicking blonde chick, appeared, then the movie had a character I was interested in. I wish this film was call I am Number 6.