Being Flynn

There are some interesting characters in Being Flynn, but you don't get to learn much about most of them, and the movie doesn't really go anywhere as a whole. Unless you're as into Paul Dano as I am, I don't recommend it.

 
I hadn't seen or heard anything about Being Flynn until Roeper reviewed it. He made it look interesting (and he liked it), so I thought I'd give it a shot. I like Paul Dano. I think he'll be interesting to keep an eye on. I'm not sure this movie is really worth watching if you're not into him, though. It kept my attention, but I pretty much knew the whole time it couldn't be going anywhere good, or at least if it did, it wouldn't be realistic.

The procedural stuff in the homeless shelter was kind of interesting.

Hanna

Hanna was a great movie. The score adds an entire dimension to the experience, the villains are great, and the action is solid. It's got some major plot holes, but it wasn't intended to be taken seriously.

Hanna: probably not the last in the long line of movies I wanted to see, then decided I didn't need to see after all, then decided to watch after seeing Roeper's review. I'm glad I saw this one. The action sequences were great. I loved Tom Hollander's character. He was so interesting. The Chemical Brothers did a great job with the score. It added a whole dimension to the movie. Cate Blanchett was a superb villain, too. I loved all the languages and accents.
 

Safe House

Safe House: Reynolds and Washington both give great performances, but that didn't quite make the movie for me. The whole "chase" theme got old after a while, and the ending was just bizarre.

Safe House is yet another movie that was vaguely on my to-see list, then shelved, then revived by a Roeper review. Reynolds and Washington both give great performances here, but that didn't quite make the movie for me.  The whole "chase" theme got old after a while, and the ending was just bizarre.

At first, everything was really fast, and I had no idea what was going on. Then I got into it, and it was pretty interesting. Then towards the middle-end, I just got really sick of the action. I was like, "Okay, alright, chase, we get it! Chase chase chase, they should've just named it 'Neverending Chase Movie.'"

There are some good action sequences, and some good car chases. 

Memento

It has enough cool aspects to earn a solid 3, but it's sad.

 I had to watch something solo today. I couldn't find any of the movies I actually wanted. I checked Xfinity free stuff (there is nothing there I will ever want to watch), Hulu, and Netflix to no avail. I was puttering around my last resort, Hulu, when I saw they had Memento. I had seen it earlier in my search, on my "to watch" list, but I'd long passed the point when I actually wanted to watch it, so I hadn't bothered to see if I could find it anywhere. But, seeing it there on Hulu, I remembered what it was actually about, and I decided it was time to see it, if only to finally be able to say I had.

Guy Pearce is awesome. One of my favorite actors, for sure. I don't think I liked Memento, though. There were a lot of twists, and parts of it were interesting. I liked some of the themes, and the dialogue was stellar in parts. But parts of it also lagged, and it was a bit of a downer. It's slightly reminiscent of The Salton Sea, in ways, but I liked that movie a lot more.

Stake Land

A few things don't work, but it's immersive and original.

Stake Land is intense. There's really no way to describe how viciously it pulls you in. You're immediately thrust into all the shock, horror, and gore. It's so hardcore it makes The Walking Dead look like Cinderella. I've seen my fair share of zombie/vampire movies, but I was not prepared for this one. It reminded me a lot of Feast, without the humor. Any humor. No humor here.

Contraband

Cool concept with lots of twists and tension.

I wanted to see Contraband before it came out, but I had pretty much shelved it until I saw Roeper's review. He said it was good, so I figured I'd give it a shot. I really liked it. It was hard to get into at first, though. That camerawork was driving me crazy. Totally unnecessary. Didn't add anything. What was the point? Either it stopped halfway through, or I just got used to it, because I didn't notice it as much after that.

Cowboys & Aliens

Also starring: Daniel Craig's butt.
A movie not without its faults, but good show.

I didn't want to see Cowboys & Aliens. It seemed too gimmicky. Everyone was all like, "what a crazy movie! It's all there in the title, cowboys and aliens, ha ha ha!" And I was like..no. Plus, I didn't like Daniel Craig. I didn't get why everyone liked him so much. I hadn't seen him in anything. Then I saw him in Skyfall. Turns out, he's a good actor. Then I saw Roeper's review of Cowboys. He liked it, and he made it seem like something I wanted to see, so I got it.