Super 8 (2011)

General Info:

Directed by	J. J. Abrams
Produced by	Steven Spielberg J. J. Abrams Bryan Burk
Written by	J. J. Abrams
Starring	Joel Courtney Elle Fanning Kyle Chandler
Music by	Michael Giacchino
Cinematography	Larry Fong
Editing by	Maryann Brandon Mary Jo Markey
Studio	Bad Robot Productions Amblin Entertainment
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date(s)	June 10, 2011 (June 9 in Australia) (5th August in UK)
Running time	112 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$50 million[1]
Gross revenue	$81,382,936 [2]

Cast: 

• Joel Courtney as Joseph "Joe" Lamb
• Kyle Chandler as Jackson Lamb
• Ron Eldard as Louis Dainard
• Noah Emmerich as Colonel Nelec
• Elle Fanning as Alice Dainard
• Bruce Greenwood as "Cooper"^[5]
• David Gallagher as Donny
• Riley Griffiths as Charles Kaznyk
• Michael Hitchcock as Deputy Rosko
• Ryan Lee as Carey
• Gabriel Basso as Martin
• Colin Mathews as Beto's customer
• Amanda Michalka as Jennifer "Jen" Kaznyk
• Zach Mills as Preston
• Remy Thorne as Jorge Brooks
• Glynn Turman as Dr. Woodward
• Annabel Grealish as Violette
• Dan Castellaneta as Izzy

Plot: 1 Plot

Review:

I really enjoyed this movie.  I received multiple responses that were on each end of the scale: "My friend said this movie was terrible", "My friend said this movie was great".  I decided to stick to the review that said it was the "Number one movie of the summer" and went for it.  The plot confused me at first, and I began to enjoy watching an action movie which was tied together by a cute little love story.  The love triangle created tension throughout the group of friends that had you questioning whether they were going to stick together through everything or not.

I was confused by the name Super 8 because I thought it was about the hotel at first, I know, I am a little slow.  Then I was thinking maybe it's because there are eight kids or something, but after talking about the confusion with my friend and her mom, her mom explained that Super 8 was a type of film or recording thing, which made the movie make complete sense since everything seemed to be discovered through a camera.  It was also funny seeing all the old technology like Walkman's and things of that nature.  Brought me back, not very far back since I was barely part of it, but it brought me back to when I was like 4 or 5 years old.

I would recommend this movie to pretty much anyone.  It has action, it has comedy, it has a little love story, and it also emphasizes the fact that the military seems to hide things from us, so any person who is skeptical about that would also enjoy this movie.  It is rated PG-13, it has some language, so I wouldn't recommend little kids watching it, but it is a good movie for anyone who is old enough.

That's all for now...

        *Rosie* 

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009)

General Info:

Directed by	Phil Lord Christopher Miller
Produced by	Pam Marsden
Written by	Phil Lord Christopher Miller
Based on	Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi and Ron Barrett
Starring	Bill Hader Neil Patrick Harris Anna Faris James Caan Bruce Campbell Andy Samberg Mr. T Bobb'e J. Thompson Benjamin Bratt Al Roker Lauren Graham Will Forte
Music by	Mark Mothersbaugh
Editing by	Robert Fisher Jr.
Studio	Sony Pictures Animation
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date(s)	September 18, 2009
Running time	90 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$100 million
Gross revenue	$243,006,126[1]

Cast:

• Bill Hader as Flint Lockwood, an inventor and the main protagonist. Max Neuwirth voices his younger self. Hader also did the voice of the "FLDSMDFR" machine.
• Anna Faris as Samantha "Sam" Sparks, a weather intern from New York City and Flint's love interest.
• James Caan as Timothy Lockwood, Flint's technophobic father.
• Neil Patrick Harris as Steve the Monkey, Flint's pet monkey who communicates using a Speak and Spell monkey thought translator.
• Bruce Campbell as Mayor Shelbourne, the gluttonous mayor of Swallow Falls and the main antagonist.
• Andy Samberg as Brent McHale, an infamous celebrity mascot of Baby Brent's Sardines and Flint's school rival.
• Mr. T as Officer Earl Devereaux, the town's athletic cop who is very loving to his son.
• Bobb'e J. Thompson as Calvin Devereaux, Earl's son.
• Benjamin Bratt as Manny, Sam's Guatemalan cameraman and a former doctor, pilot, and comedian.
• Al Roker as Patrick Patrickson, the anchorman of the weather station.
• Lauren Graham as Frances Lockwood, Flint's mother who always believed in her son. She died ten years before Flint invented the FLDSMDFR, and she becomes a ghost in the credits.
• Will Forte as Joseph Towne, a redneck citizen of Chewandswallow who appears on numerous occasions throughout the film.
• Peter Siragusa as Rufus.

Plot: 1 Plot

Review:

I think that this movie is socially awkward in a good way.  The aspect of Flint that is so not social adds to the cute awkwardness.  I don't really have much to say about this film except it showed the different kind of people you meet and it shows that you should just be yourself no matter who that is.  The courage of Flint shows him breaking through his shell and becoming a better version of who he really is without ever really changing himself.

This is a good movie for younger kids I would say.  I felt kind of immature watching this.  I mean, it was based off of a children's book.  But it is a good family movie too.

That's all for now...

        *Rosie* 

Water for Elephants (2011)

General Info:

Directed by	Francis Lawrence
Produced by	Kevin Halloran Gil Netter Erwin Stoff Andrew R. Tennenbaum
Screenplay by	Richard LaGravenese
Based on	Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
Starring	Reese Witherspoon Robert Pattinson Christoph Waltz
Music by	James Newton Howard
Cinematography	Rodrigo Prieto
Editing by	Alan Edward Bell
Studio	Fox 2000 Pictures 3 Arts Entertainment Crazy Horse Effects Flashpoint Entertainment
Distributed by	Fox 2000 Pictures
Release date(s)	April 22, 2011
Running time	120 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$38 million[1]
Gross revenue	$100,129,000[1]

Cast:

• Reese Witherspoon as Marlena Rosenbluth
• Robert Pattinson as Jacob Jankowski
• Christoph Waltz as August Rosenbluth
• Tai as Rosie, the elephant
• James Frain as Rosie's caretaker
• Hal Holbrook as Older Jacob Jankowski
• Paul Schneider as Charlie O'Brien
• Ken Foree as Earl
• Tim Guinee as Diamond Joe
• Mark Povinelli as Kinko/Walter
• Scott MacDonald as Blackie
• Jim Norton as Camel
• Richard Brake as Grady

Plot: 1 Plot

Review:

I loved this movie a lot more than I thought I would.  One of my friends read the book and told me that the movie was coming out and that it was a good story.  I was still hesitant on watching it.  When I finally decided to see what it was all about I was more surprised than ever.  It was a bit slow at the beginning, but it was interesting and it made you want to know more.  When the elephant named Rosie came into the picture she tied it all together and really made people connect through her.  I also did find it funny that the elephant and I share the same name.  We also seem to share our "outside-of-the-box" thoughts (lifting the stake of her chain to get lemonade) and our need to help others (saving Marlena in the end).  I think that made me connect to the movie more.

I would recommend this movie for everyone and anyone that wants to see a good story fall into place.  this movie kind of blew me away and I would watch it again any day.  In fact... I might watch it again right now :)

That's all for now...

        *Rosie*

The Hangover Part II (2011)

General Info:

Directed by	Todd Phillips
Produced by	Daniel Goldberg Todd Phillips
Written by	Scot Armstrong Craig Mazin Todd Phillips
Starring	Bradley Cooper Ed Helms Zach Galifianakis
Music by	Christophe Beck
Cinematography	Lawrence Sher
Editing by	Debra Neil-Fisher Mike Sale
Studio	Legendary Pictures Green Hat Films
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures
Release date(s)	May 26, 2011
Running time	102 minutes[1]
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$80 million
Gross revenue	$214,676,960[2]

Cast:

• Bradley Cooper as Phil Wenneck^[4]
• Ed Helms as Dr. Stuart "Stu" Price^[4]
• Zach Galifianakis as Alan Garner^[4]
• Justin Bartha as Doug Billings^[4]
• Ken Jeong as Leslie Chow^[5]
• Jeffrey Tambor as Sid Garner^[6]
• Jamie Chung as Lauren, Stu's fiancée^[7][8]
• Bryan Callen as Samir, a smarmy strip club owner in Bangkok^[9]
• Mason Lee as Teddy, Lauren's brother^[8]
• Paul Giamatti as Kingsley, an undercover Interpol agent^[10]
• Sasha Barrese as Tracy Billings, Doug's wife
• Gillian Vigman as Stephanie Wenneck, Phil's wife
• Yasmin Lee as Kimmy
• Nirut Sirijanya as Lauren's father

Cooper, Helms, Galifianakis, Bartha, Jeong, Barrese and Tambor reprise their roles from the first film. Mike Tyson also reprises his role as himself and sings a cover of the 1984 Murray Head song "One Night in Bangkok" for the movie.^[11][12] The film is the Hollywood debut of Mason Lee, son of director Ang Lee.^[8] Nick Cassavetes has a cameo appearance as a Bangkok tattoo artist. Liam Neeson was initially cast in that role, which was originally envisioned for Mel Gibson.^[13]

Plot: 1 Plot

Review:

I honestly would say this isn't the best movie I have seen.  The first Hangover was hilarious and absolutely awesome, but when you make a sequel it has to be better than the first or else you disappoint the customers.  I felt like there were some funny parts but everything in between just seemed to bore me.  It's unfortunate because I was really looking forward to this movie and how hilarious it would be and it didn't live up to the expectations.

If you really liked the first one and you were expecting something even better, I wouldn't watch it because it would disappoint you.  I don't think anyone should spend the money going to the movie theater to watch this movie, the most anyone should pay is pay-per-view at a hotel for this.  I admit, there are some parts that people will enjoy very much but you start to lose touch with the movie.  This movie didn't live up to what people would think it should.  It is unfortunate, but I do feel like parts of the movie are worth watching.  Not ALL of it, just parts of it.

That's all for now...

        *Rosie*