Red (Special Edition) [Blu-ray]

Great actors goofing off...resulting in good time for all.
RED is the action-comedy about a small group of retired CIA field operatives (Retired, Extremely Dangerous...R.E.D.) who are targeted for elimination by nefarious government groups and must team up to fight off the threat and reveal the culprit.

RED is a silly but very fun movie. It is the sort of movie that would not work, however, if we didn't already have pretty strong impressions and feelings about its stars. If we didn't already think of Helen Mirren as the classy actress who won an Oscar for THE QUEEN...we wouldn't laugh simply at the sight of her wielding a machine gun. If we didn't mostly think of Morgan Freeman for playing God or the President or the silky-toned narrator of MARCH OF THE PENGUINS...we wouldn't chuckle at his antics. Quite frankly, if you enjoyed the trailers for RED, you'll enjoy the movie. They give you an almost complete sense of the tone of this film. If you thought the trailers looked merely silly and made you roll your eyes...then the...
Howling good fun
I mean, anything that features Dame Mirren, an elegant evening gown, and a .50 cal machine gun can't be all bad. Once you stop taking it seriously (something sure to happen early on), it's a riot.

The basic message is a boomer ego-stroke: "Don't mess with the old guys." Unfortunately, that's what happens. Retired CIA agents start dying at an alarming rate. It turns out that the decedents all worked on the one particular mission - one that Our Heroes worked on as well. So, when the hit men come after the hit men, the chase is on. And, as it progresses it reaches higher and higher into the halls of government. You know, the usual.

In this movie, the fun is all in getting there. Bruce Willis's wise-cracking plays well against John Malkovich's slightly deranged character, Morgan Freeman's easy-going character balances them both, and Helen Mirren adds a touch of class. Then there's Mary-Louise Parker's character, Sarah, in a role like Diaz's in...
Fun, exciting, entertaining!
This movie has it all. It's got:

- Lots of action. Even though Bruce Willis is playing an older, retired guy, he's still got the goods. He's completely convincing. The rest of the cast delivers as well.

- Funny moments - While it's not a continual thing, there are plenty of funny and light moments, with a few of laugh out louds. Willis is the master of action flick funny, and John Malkovich was surprisingly hilarious. The rest of the cast contributed well as straight guys.

- Romance - Bruce Willis and Mary-Louise Parker really work. I don't want to ruin any surprises, but lets say it starts out and ends in a surprising way, and they had good chemistry.

- Character development - Surprisingly well done for an action flick. Each character was really defined, and you get to care about them.

- Suspense - It was really a good story, and well written. It was full of twists and surprises, with plenty of "edge of your seat" moments...
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Warm Bodies [Blu-ray]

Goofy and Unconventional Romance
Seattle's Isaac Marion (self-published "Where Are They Now") wrote the book on which this goofy (and unconventional) romantic comedy (with ZOMBIES?!) is based. Director Jonathan Levine ("50/50") did the honors at the helm.

Despite a pretty standard opening with the walking dead lurching through a demolished city looking (and finding!) humans on which to munch, this gradually evolves into a laugh-out-loud comedy and a sweet romance. You'll just have to trust me! (The tag line is: Cold Body, Warm Heart.)

We see:
* Nicholas Hoult ("About a Boy") is R, for lack of a better name; he just can't remember... He seems to have the right instincts (I want to protect her, not eat her), but is extremely confused (How do you talk to a girl?).
* Teresa Palmer ("I Am Number Four") is Julie. Their balcony scene made me wonder if his full name was Romeo. This actress bears an uncanny resemblance to a blonde Kristen Stewart.
* John Malkovich ("RED") is Julie's...
Why haven't you seen this already?
But seriously, though, this was a really good movie. It's nice to see a good love story come out of the Zombie boom of recent years. The last one was Shaun of the Dead, in my opinion.

It's got all the best things:

-Zombies
-Great Actors
-Humor
-A Love Story That Doesn't Feel Cobbled Together or Forced
-Awesome Tunes
-John Malkovich

And if any of those brilliant sort of bullet points don't make you want to see this film, I don't think you have taste. Or a pulse. (HA HA HA I made a funny!.)

Anyway, what I'm really getting at here is that this is a movie that doesn't let its setting or the fact that the male lead is a zombie inhibit it from being just a fun movie with a good story and a lot of heart.
Warm Bodies is Warm-Hearted!!
Wow. And again, wow!! Who would've guessed that there would come a day when someone would create a zombie movie that could be accurately described as sweet and charming??

I loved this movie! And anyone will tell you that I'm not usually a zombie movie kind of gal. I suppose I don't have anything to say that my fellow 5-star reviewers haven't already mentioned, but I just wanted to get my two cents in. Warm Bodies is very compelling, funny, and well-acted. Nicholas Hoult is especially wonderful as "R", totally nailing the sympathetic character, the facial expressions, even the zombie walk!! He and Teresa Palmer have a very sweet chemistry, and their characters' unorthodox love story is certainly the heart of this great film. R and his zombie pals are not the mindless, heartless creatures that you'll find in other zombie flicks, but are very human, with thoughts, feelings, and a sense of humor. The violence isn't overly graphic and the romance is chaste and sweet, leaning...
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Now You See Me (Extended Edition) [Blu-ray]

exhilarating fun
I just saw this movie at a screening tonight and more than once the audience cheered and clapped with excitement. This is and intelligent, entertaining film that's fun, funny, and exhilarating -- refreshing in the summer of sequel blockbusters a la Ocean's Eleven. I didn't think it'd be this good, but the plot is written extremely well. I don't want to spoil anything, thus I'll just say that this is one of the best executed cat-and-mouth chases I have seen where everything is truly an illusion.

Don't blink, or you'll miss a lot of the intricacies of the plot. This is definitely a movie to watch and rewatch several times.
THE CLOSER YOU LOOK, THE LESS YOU SEE
The film opens with four quick character introductions of "street" magicians. Daniel (Jesse Eisenberg) uses street magic to meet pretty women. His former assistant Henley (Isla "Legs" Fisher) does a stage act. McKinney (Woody Harrelson) is a hypnotist who uses his ability to shake down people. Jack (Dave Franco) uses his slight of hand to pick pocket people.

The four are summoned by Tarot cards (Lover, High Priestess, The Fool, and Death) to a common location. After the credits they become the world's greatest stage magicians while performing crime. They are followed by FBI Dylan (Mark Ruffalo) and Interpol Alma Dray (Mélanie Laurent). Meanwhile Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman) is exposing their seemingly impossible tricks on the Internet.

The film keeps you interested as to their next trick. The movie drops clues as to what is going on, but again there is the classic misdirection here too. It is s fun popcorn action film filled with mystery, drama,...
Now you see me -extended cut!
Compare with the original cut, the story and relationship among characters are much more intense and make sense better!
I watched Now you see me 3 times in the theater and bought the bluray/dvd combo, yeah I'm quite a big fan of the film and waiting for the sequel as well.
This is why I'm giving 5 stars :) Please enjoy!
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