Moonrise Kingdom

Charming and quirky, unique and entertaining. This was a delightful film about young love. When you watch this movie, I'm sure it will bring back memories of your first love – how strong and innocent first love can be. Well, at least mine was. The actors, Bill Murray, Bruce Willis, and Edward Norton were superb. The young girl and young boy were just excellent as misfits and troubled adolescents who find each other and fall deeply and joyously in love. The setting, a 1960s New England coastal community is just something out of a dream. The cinematography is very detailed and the story unfolds as if you're reading a fairytale. Wonderfully done. Slightly awkward for a couple of moments, once or twice during the movie – but I believe the writer, producer, director wanted it to be so... The feelings were real and the emotions were felt with conviction. I really enjoyed the Boy Scout sequences, brought back memories, when I was a member of the scouts in the 1960s. Campouts, merit badges and of course the annual regional jamboree. A movie that I would probably watch twice – which is really unusual for me to say. If you like the out of the ordinary film, then definitely take time to rent this one.

Extremely loud And Incredibly Close

Extremely well acted, and incredibly poignant. I was at first reluctant to watch this movie, because I didn't want to relive the events of 9/11 or didn't feel that any writers, producers, actors could actually do this tragic event justice. But this film turned out to be pleasantly entertaining and thought-provoking at the same time. The story of 9/11 is told through the eyes and experiences of a young boy with Asperger's syndrome – similar to autism. He is bright, precocious, but has difficulty with social interaction, loud noises, crowded places, and other such situations. The young boy who plays this part does an excellent job! Tom Hanks, the father, of course, is always fantastic. Sandra Bullock plays the mother – also an excellent performance. The premise of the story is that the young boy has to find out the purpose of a "key" that his father left for him – exploring was always a favorite pastime for the two of them together. But, then the film is much more than just trying to solve a riddle left by the boy's father. It's a story of a family, a horrific tragedy, the importance of people in our lives. I highly recommend this film. If you haven't seen it, it's worth a rental.

Contraband

Typical Mark Wahlberg Philadelphia gangster movie. Nothing special, nothing new. We've seen all of this before – I think even some of the dialogue was repeated from previous Wahlberg, movies. The expert smuggler/gangster gives up the bad life and tries to go straight, but the younger brother of his wife gets involved with the mob, so he has to get back in to the game to save his family. Boring. Even the action scenes seem to be repeats. Lucky for me my blue Ray player was acting glitchy, so I didn't even bother to watch the end. Not worth renting. Unless you're a really big Mark Wahlberg fan.

Dragon

A traditional style Chinese kung fu movie with subtitles. I watched this movie using iTunes with my 22-year-old son – he loves kung fu movies. The movie is not currently in theaters or available on DVD, just on iTunes at the moment. It was well worth it! One of the better Chinese kung fu movies that I've seen in a while. What made this movie interesting for me was that it had a very well written and developed story and characters. The main character is a former notorious gang leader – the leader of the "72 Demons" – I love the names they give their gangs in these movies. After a particularly brutal murder that he committed, ordered by his father, the ex-gang leader has a major change in heart. He moves far away and starts a new life with a wife and family. One day some gangsters come to his town, and everything changes – he has to defend himself and kills them. A Chinese detective comes to town to investigate the crime. The story revolves around their relationship – this is what makes the story unique and interesting. The action sequences are excellent. But they are particularly enhanced when we see the replay of the action/fight scenes from the perspective of the detective – in slow motion with narrative. It's really cool to see the action first in real-time, and then later on in slow motion from the detective's point of view. A movie well worth seeing, especially if you are a kung fu fan!

The Adventures of Tintin

Animated movie written, directed and produced by Steven Spielberg. I like watching animated movies, even though the target audience is usually much younger than I am now... This film totally engaged me for the first 45 min. – the animation and special effects were just amazing. The detail was fantastic, within just a few minutes, I totally forgot that this was actually a cartoon. The development of the character Tintin and his sidekick – dog Snowy, was thoughtful and well rounded. I understood, and empathized with the character almost immediately. Snowy was adorable and clever. It was a nice to see an animated movie with a male hero, lots of animated movies these days have female heroines. Unfortunately, the second half of the movie is when all of the action – nonstop action began. It was all very much like Indiana Jones! Very Spielberg-like. I think for a teenager or youngster, the nonstop action would be enjoyable and fun. However, for me it was just overkill. I prefer a little bit more story development and slower pace. It was a decent ride however, and I do recommend it for families, fans of Steven Spielberg and animated films.