 4 out of 5 starsGenre: Action, Adventure, Thriller
Opens locally Friday, February 24th, 2012 Run Time: 1 hour, 51 minutes, Rated R Starring: Real-life Navy SEALs Directed by Mike McCoy & Scott Waugh (feature film debut) Act of Valor is an exhibition of authenticity like we've never seen before.
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 Rating: 3 out of 5 starsGenre: Comedy
Opens locally Friday, February 24th, 2012 Run Time: 1 hour, 38 minutes, Rated R Starring: Paul Rudd, Jennifer Aniston, Justin Theroux, Alan Alda, Ken Marino, Lauren Ambrose Written by David Wain & Ken Marino Directed by David Wain (Role Models, The Ten, Wet Hot American Summer) Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston are George and Linda, a married couple living in Manhattan. When George loses his job, they go to stay with George's brother and wife in Atlanta. Finding that to be unbearable, they happen upon a secluded Bed & Breakfast called Elysium, which just so happens to be a rural commune, and they decide to live their lives in accordance with these free-loving, free-spirited hippies.  2012 Lunch Truck Productions & Easy Water Films Rating: 2 out of 5 starsGenre: Comedy, Drama
Available beginning February 21st, 2012 Starring: “Coach” Benjamin Wade, Danielle DiLorenzo, Vanessa Leinani Directed by Nathan Pope (feature film debut) The new film 180 won’t be found in local movie theaters. Largely, it is a low-budget independent film that has drawn much attention due to the film’s stars, namely “Coach” Ben Wade and Danielle DiLorenzo. If these names mean nothing to you, it's probably because you’ve never seen the CBS reality-competition show, Survivor. If you are a fan of Survivor or of Coach and/or Danielle, at the very least, you’re probably curious at the thought of these reality stars appearing in a film as dramatic actors. So does it work? Is casting former reality stars in a real movie as bad of an idea as it may already sound?  Rating: 4 out of 5 starsGenre: Animation, Adventure, Family
Opens locally Friday, February 17th, 2012 Run Time: 1 hour, 34 minutes, Rated G Starring (Voice Talent): Bridgit Mendler, Will Arnett, Amy Poehler, Carol Burnett Directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi (feature film debut) The Secret World of Arrietty is a 2012 Japanese “anime” film that has finally made its way stateside. It is based on Mary Norton’s fantasy novel The Borrowers, and is animated by Studio Ghibli, whose 2002 animated film Spirited Away is the only non-English speaking film ever to win an Oscar for Best Animated Feature.  Rating: 2 out of 5 starsGenre: Romantic, Comedy, Action
Opens locally Friday, February 17th, 2012 Run Time: 1 hour, 38 minutes, Rated PG-13 Starring: Reese Witherspoon, Chris Pine, Tom Hardy, Chelsea Handler, Til Schweiger Directed by McG (Terminator Salvation, We Are Marshall, Charlie's Angels) Boy meets girl. Another boy meets same girl. Two boys fight over same girl. That's the basic premise of This Means War, a romantic-action movie involving a bunch of horrible people doing horrible things. If you think cheating, dating multiple guys at once, stealing your best friend's girl, wagering on whether you can score with her, or having a "sex tiebreaker" to see who you like more is funny? Then this movie is for you. For me, this was a maddening, pathetic Valentine's Day money grab that did the unthinkable: It made me loathe the sweet and fantastic Reese Witherspoon.  Rating: 3 out of 5 starsGenre: Science Fiction, Action, Fantasy
In theatres Friday, February 10, 2012 Run Time: 2 hours and 16 minutes, Rated PG Starring: Jake Lloyd, Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Ian McDiarmid Written and Directed by George Lucas OK, so I admit that I feel guilty having gone to see this 3D re-release of the 1999 film, Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace. A large part of me hates the idea of old movies being re-released in theaters just to bank a few extra dollars. Another part of me loves the movie-going experience, and I kind of like the idea of screening old classics on the big screen.  Rating: 4 out of 5 starsGenre: Drama, Romance
Opens locally Friday, February 10th, 2012 Run Time: 1 hour 44 minutes, Rated PG-13 Starring: Rachel McAdams, Channing Tatum, Jessica Lange, Sam Neill, Scott Speedman Directed by Michael Sucsy (feature film debut, director of TV's Grey Gardens) It’s no coincidence that The Vow is being released right before Valentine’s Day, and there should be no question that it will play as a great “date night” movie. The Vow is on the surface, your standard romantic “chick flick.” But with the beautiful Rachel McAdams in the starring role, it shouldn’t be that difficult to draw men into some seats as well. Predictable romantic relationship movies like this are normally a dime a dozen, as are storylines involving amnesia…and The Vow contains both. But somehow it manages to transcend the usual romantic muck films of this genre often find themselves stuck in. The Vow actually says a few things about relationships, and there are a lot of thoughtful conclusions drawn about fate, love, and most of all, timing. For anybody who has been in love or believes in destiny, The Vow should hit home on some level.  Rating: 4 out of 5 starsGenre: Action, Crime, Mystery
Opens locally Friday, February 10th, 2012 Run Time: 1 hour 55 minutes, Rated R Starring: Denzel Washington, Ryan Reynolds, Vera Farmiga, Brendan Gleeson, Sam Shepard Directed by Daniel Espinosa (Easy Money, Outside Love) Man is Denzel good at being bad. It is training day all over again for Denzel Washington, whose student this time around is Ryan Reynolds. In Safe House, Reynolds plays CIA operative Matt Weston, who is known as a “housekeeper” – a person who runs and operates a CIA safe house where high-profile prisoners are kept out of sight. Denzel is Tobin Frost, a notorious baddie who is an ex-CIA operative turned traitor, most recently on the run for selling important government intel to terrorists for profit. Weston is a rookie agent who hasn’t seen field action, who was given the safe house duty because he wasn’t trusted with anything else. With Frost in his posssession, his safe house is attacked, and he flees with Frost in his custody. The race begins to see if he can deliver Frost to the US government before they are both killed by pursuing assailants.  The Weinstein Company, 2012. Rating: 3 out of 5 starsGenre: Romance, Drama
Opens locally Friday, February 10th, 2012 Run Time: 1 hour 59 minutes, Rated R Starring: Abby Cornish, Andrea Riseborough, James D’Arcy, Oscar Isaac Co-written & directed by Madonna Fresh off of her Super Bowl Halftime Show performance, Madonna is in the spotlight again with W.E., her 2nd feature-film directorial effort...though it is likely that nobody has ever seen or heard of her 1st (the 2008 comedy Filth and Wisdom, which grossed a whopping $22,406 in US theaters). She tries very hard to make W.E. a sleek and stylish film, but her abundance of effort nearly ruins everything. Surely Madonna is a bold artist, as her career has shown. But she did not become famous by having a “less is more” mentality, and in fact, Madonna is known for bringing the opposite - She is the queen of materialistic excess. With W.E., the material girl tries to wow us with her showmanship, when she really should have let the material speak for itself.  Rating: 3 out of 5 starsGenre: Horror, Drama, Thriller
Opens locally Friday, February 3rd, 2012 Run Time: 1 hour 35 minutes, Rated PG-13 Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Ciaran Hinds, Janet McTeer Based on the 1983 novel by Susan Hill Directed by James Watkins (Eden Lake) The Woman in Black is your run-of-the-mill haunted house story. That’s not to say that it isn’t effective at what it is, but I would be mistaken to suggest that it is anything more. Based on a novel that was brought to the stage and later remade as a TV film, The Woman in Black finally gets a big-screen treatment. Harry Pott…er…I mean, Daniel Radcliffe stars as Arthur Kipps, a young lawyer and widowed father on the brink of bankruptcy. Needing the money, he agrees to travel to a remote village in the UK to review and finalize some paperwork for a recently deceased woman, whose manor has been vacated. We know that things are not quite right from the musical score, but when Kipps arrives and is treated strangely and coldly by the villagers, we know for a fact. |
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tom santilli movie reviews
Tom Santilli is a professional film critic, TV personality, host and
the Executive Producer of Movie Show Plus.
He also is the featured film critic appearing on WXYZ Channel 7 Action News in Detroit,
and appeared weekly on FOX-2 in Detroit from 2016-2020.
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