Batman: The Dark Knight Rises

    Christopher Nolan's Batman series is excellent, and the last installment, unlike most other third movies, is just as excellent as the first two. I think I liked the Dark Knight better, butt only because Heath Ledger's Joker is the best and it cannot be beaten. Bane is nice and creepy, and so are his followers, but the Joker still takes the cake on super creepy, super evil, super villains! Also, I still cannot believe that Tom Hardy is Bane, crazy!

    This movie has it all: a story, flow, action, humor, growth and development, and a satisfying, yet incomplete ending! There was plenty of boom, lots of toys, and really impressive explosion scenes. There were new characters introduced, (Catwoman, Blake (Robin), and another police officer) and a new potential story line left open at the end. 

    This movie kind of roller-coastered. The beginning starts with plenty of bang and plenty of questions. Then there is this whole development and past relation thrown in the middle, still with plenty of questions. Then it ends with a conclusion, some bang, and a little bit of a twist, all of which leaves fewer questions.

    Christian Bale is excellent as usual, despite the silly batman voice, and I noticed that Christopher Nolan used a lot of his Inception actors. Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tom Hardy, and Cillian Murphy are all in both films and are all excellent in both as well!
    All-in-all, I give this movie a 9 out of 10. I will probably go see it again.....

The Amazing Spider Man

All-in-all, pretty amazing. I love Emma Stone and I love Andrew Garfield. The chemistry they have is pretty awesome, not to mention he is just adorable!
     This story-line is a little different from Spider-Man, and I liked it. Peter Parker wins the girl from the beginning, the spiders are connected to his father, and there is an even more sinister leader of Oscorp. All bonuses to the story, I think. It flowed well, it was suspenseful, it was funny, there was action, and it even made me cry (a little)!
     The 3D, again, messed it up some. I've said it before, I'll say it again: I hate the damn 3D movement! It wasn't so bad, until the end. Apparently, if you actually watched it in 3D, it wasn't bad or distracting, but just think about how many of us actually have 3D tvs.......not that many. So, when you buy the movie and watch it at home, you are going to be disappointed and/or discombobulated with the damn 3D filming in 2D style. Arg!
   I definitely think this is better than the first Spider-Man, though maybe not better than the 2nd (that one was the best). I definitely like Andrew Garfield better than Toby McGuire, and I definitely like Emma Stone better than Kirsten Dunst. I know I'm not supposed to compare the two, because they are two different stories, but it's hard not to.
   In the end, this gets two ratings, like Madagascar 3. A 9 out of 10 without 3D and a 7 out of 10 with 3D.....

Madea's Witness Protection

      I love Madea. She is pretty funny, and this movie was the first one I've seen that is ALL about her. Instead of Madea being the funny comedic relief to a serious story, she is the center piece of a a comedy she can call her own.  The problem is that I cannot say I liked it better. Madea might be better as the comedic relief, not the center-piece.

     This movie was pretty funny, it made me laugh at moments. However, some of the Madea scenes were simply drug out too long. For example, Madea when on her first plane trip, and by the time she got through security I was no longer laughing and just wanted her to get on the damn plane already!

     There's really not a whole lot to say. It is a Tyler Perry movie, it's funny. It's different because there are white people, which I don't think either added or took away from the film. As one of my friends said, it is somewhat refreshing that the movie is not about an abused woman who is trying to find her way back into the world, but maybe Tyler Perry should have stuck to a formula that really works. 

      Like I said, I liked the movie, it was just overall kind of meh. Jim's Dad gets in trouble because he is just so oblivious he didn't realize he was running a ponzi scheme or that his family was falling apart. Madea kind of whips them all into shape, Jim's Dad has an epiphany, the day is saved, and it all ends well. Hooray!

      In the end, I give this movie a 5 out of 10.

Magic Mike

     This is Magic Mike, pretty. Channing Tatum, Joe Manganiello, Matt Bomer, Adam Rodriguez, Matthew McConaughey, and Alex Pettyfer are pretty. That's about it, as far as pluses for the movie.

      The plot pretty much sucked. I think that the directors/producers/etc. got so involved in the male strippers and the stripping scenes that the story kind of fell by the way side. The assumption was that enough pretty men would draw enough women to make it worth it. It worked, I paid to go see them. I will not pay to go see them again. If you want to see good dancing and Channing Tatum, watch Step Up. However, he is not nearly as naked in Step Up as he is in Magic Mike, and the other hotties aren't in Step Up either.

     As my sister said, the movie ends unresolved. Alex Pettyfer plays a messed up kid who lets attention get the best of him. He looses himself even more in the girls, money, and eventually drugs, and just when you think he is about to learn his lesson and grow up, he doesn't. Channing Tatum's change almost makes up for that static, but the movie just ends before that is really developed either.

    I left with a sense of mush. On the one hand, I liked seeing pretty, half-naked boys dancing provocatively for an almost solid two hours. On the other hand, I did not like many of the characters, and there was no real conclusion. Maybe the latter will be resolved in the already rumored Magic Mike 2? ha

    In the end, I give this movie a 5 out of 10 for women, and a 1 out of 10 for men. Yes, the guys are THAT pretty! :)