DVD Review: Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work

Love her or hate her, one thing's for sure: Joan Rivers ain't going nowhere soon. At seventy-seven years young, the wise-crackin' comedic legend will work until she drops, and still laugh about it afterwards. In her deeply personal documentary Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work, audiences get a rare peak into her world--from her relationship with her daughter Melissa to the nostalgia of her rise to fame, the hustle of booking gigs and the moments when they're few and far between.

Even though the tough times, Rivers battles a male and youth-dominated industry with a thick sheet of armor and a quick, sharp tongue. Shattering the stereotype of the dainty female, Rivers takes us back to the 60s and 70s when it took folks a long time to embrace her brand of humor, especially in the 70s when she was considered crass and unladylike (and she still sometimes challenges that opinion today). Cracking jokes about such controversial topics as abortion, suicide and sex drove many people away, but also gained a fierce respect from her audience, as well as her peers. She paved the way for similar comediennes today, like Kathy Griffin. Though she hates when people say "paved;" it implies that she's no longer doing any more paving, which is clearly inaccurate. But even more than that, Rivers also pays homage to those comediennes she looked up to who came before her Phyllis Diller, those who didn't get their due.

Aside from her often manic approach to her work, taking any and every offer for face-time (including her victorious stint on Celebrity Apprentice), we get the softer side of Joan Rivers. We follow her as she does her annual charity bringing gifts to the needy every Thanksgiving (with grandson Cooper in tow). We're with her when she fights back tears as she reads more harsh reviews, this time about her stage play "The Joan Rivers Theatre Project." We're with her as she nervously prepares for her 2009 roast, bracing herself for the inevitable jabs at her obsessive plastic surgery and her age. But through all the jokes, Rivers has gone through her toughest times with laughs, even when she was grieving over the suicide of her husband producer Edgar Rosenberg. Because, as she would say, you've got to at least laugh about it. You can't let the tears take over all the time.

A Piece of Work is a refreshing look at a reluctant legend, one who's still using all her might to break barriers for the rest of us to get a real kick out of. With this piece of work, she may finally get the respect she deserves.

Reel Talk: B+

DVD Review: "Mother and Child"

"Do you always tell the truth?"
--"The truth is easier to remember."

The relationship between a mother and her child is a complex one, to say the least. It can be really lovely, or it can be strained, estranged or, in some cases, stringent. In Mother and Child, it's a beautiful conglomerate of each explored in three compelling vignettes.

Golden Globe nominee Annette Bening (The Kids Are All Right) is Karen, a woman emotionally crippled by both the guilt she feels from giving her child up for adoption when she was only fourteen and the love her mother never showed her. Her biological daughter Elizabeth (played by Naomi Watts), now 37, has spent most her life escaping love until she winds up in a position that offers her no way out. Then there's Lucy (Kerry Washington), whose unwavering passion for becoming a mother will rip your heart out with each failed attempt. These heartbreaking stories are carefully intertwined to bring us a charming look at motherhood in four various colors: frustration, rage, love and, eventually, hope.

Washington, in a career-best performance, is breathtaking as Lucy. Her yearning is so palpable you're forced to root for her until the very end. Bening has clearly found her niche playing a painfully bitter woman you want to dislike but feel too sorry for her to do so. Watts will surprise you in her emotionally-devoid performance that gives way to a softer, sweeter ending that brings the entire story full circle. Mother and Child isn't a hard-hitting drama, but rather a precious, soulful look at family, love, and loss.

Reel Talk rating: A

"The Fighter"

You're probably thinking, Not another boxing movie! But, although The Fighter is about '80s local boxing legend Mickey Ward and his rise to fame, rest assured that this is not a boxing movie. At its core, The Fighter is a family drama.

Oscar nominee Mark Wahlberg plays Mickey, a talented boxer from Lowell, Mass. with a crack fiend brother (Dicky, played by Christian Bale) for a trainer, a pushy mother (Melissa Leo), seven nosy sisters and a real big problem--them. All his life Mickey has looked up to his older brother Dicky, a great ex-boxer in his own right who's devoted the rest of his fleeting career to teaching his younger brother how to become the boxer he never could be. But Dicky is trouble--showing up two hours late to training, finding him on top of a garbage pile behind a crackhouse, erratic and irrational. In between his crack haze, he does manage to muster up a few solid pieces of advice.

Their mother Alice is no price either--the red-nailed, spandex-wearing mom of nine turns a blind eye to her son's struggles with addiction to concentrate on how her other son can make money for the entire family as a boxer, even if that means setting him up on a few fights he's not ready for. Then there's Mickey's girlfriend Charlene (Amy Adams), the foul-mouthed bar maven who feels there's only room for her in his corner.

Each member tries to take their part in Mickey's life, leaving him with nothing to spare for himself. But it's his brother who ultimately gives him back that victory, when he finally takes a step back himself. Their brotherly bond isn't without its share of fights and turmoil--especially when Mickey for the first time in his life has to face his brother rather than look up to him as he always had, even in his darkest moments. But at the end of the day they're family and, even when they're at their craziest, they somehow find a way lead Mickey to realize his dream.

Those same influences in Mickey's life are played by actors whose performances we'll remember most in this movie. It's not only Bale's corpse-like appearance and sunken eyes whose image we won't be able to get out of our heads. His performance is tour de force, writhing though every scene and snatching it from everyone else. He brilliantly portrayed a man whose emotions were often scattered, yet centered when they needed to be. Leo, whose fashion sense in the film could best be described as a 80s-styled Carmela Soprano, was heartbreaking as a mother who only wants what's best for her children--even if she can't stopped flapping her gums long enough to find out what that is. Adams is impressive in a meaty role she can finally sink her teeth into. Wahlberg takes on an ambitious project (he also produced the film) and clearly had a lot of great actors in his corner. Even thought they each outshined him in their performances, Wahlberg held his own too. Overall The Fighter is a touching, soulful knockout of a movie.

Reel Talk rating: A

"Black Swan"

"I just want to be perfect."

The frilly world of tutus, leotards and plies goes down a dark path in director Darren Aronofsky's twisted psychological thriller Black Swan. One prima ballerina's destructive search for perfection lends to a startling performance of one of ballet's most classic tales.

Oscar nominee Natalie Portman (Brothers, Closer) transforms her body and seemingly her soul into her performance as prima ballerina Nina Sayers who's just been offered the lead role in the new production of "Swan Lake." Trouble is, rather than just playing the part of the the white swan, production manager Thomas (played by Vincent Cassel) wants her to take on the roles of both the innocent white swan and the darker, more seductive black swan. Faced with the biggest challenge of her career, Nina goes to drastic measures to outperform not only any performance she's ever done but any performance of those before her and after will do. With an overbearing mother (played by Barbara Hershey) who's also an ex-dancer, Nina feels the pressure from everyone. All of a sudden everyone is a competitor--her mother, the aging former prima ballerina Beth (played by Winona Ryder), and the other company dancers particularly Lily (played by Mila Kunis), who Nina is convinced is trying to sabotage her. All the while the show must go on.

Aronofsky brilliantly gives audiences a peak into Nina's madness with disturbing special effects and sharp sequences that cause you to feel for Nina while also fear for her as she spirals out of control. Portman is excellent as the dainty swan who--with the help of seduction--turns into a fearless black swan. Kunis, Hershey, Ryder, and Cassell are fantastic as the various dimensions of Nina's world. Audiences won't know who to trust and what is real in this terrifyingly great film that will grab hold of you until the final act.

Reel Talk rating: A

"All Good Things"

Oscar nominee Ryan Gosling (Half Nelson, The Notebook) takes a haunting turn as a New York real estate heir with a shady streak in All Good Things. Based on the real-life unsolved mystery of Robert Durst who's the prime suspect in the disappearance of his wife Katherine (played by Kirsten Dunst) back in the early 1980s, the movie follows Durst (named David Marks in the movie) from his tragic childhood all the way to his later life in obscurity.

Much to the dismay of his tycoon father Sanford (played by Frank Langella), David meets and falls for a commoner and tries to start a humble life away from the family business in Vermont. But after his father pressured him to come back to the business and give Katherine a more glamorous lifestyle, David reluctantly returns to the Big Apple, where his demons begin to saunter out of the closet. His traumatic childhood has affected him more than he's willing to admit and his behavior becomes more disturbing, which begins to concern his wife and later his own father.

Trouble is, David's behavioral changes are quite gradual and do nothing to engage the audience in the first half of the movie. It drags heavily in the beginning taking us on a roundabout look into his mysterious shroud which stays a mystery for much too long in the movie. There's so much discussion on how the money differences between Katherine and David caused a riff between both families, and how prominent the Marks family was in New York City, that not enough attention is paid on the explanation of the obvious oddity that is David Marks. As more mysterious cases turn up swirling around David Marks, the movie goes on a tangent into another arena right when you were beginning to get engrossed. Though the performances were good (especially Dunst), the storytelling could have been a lot better, especially since they took the effort to fictionalized actual events giving the leeway to create a more suspenseful and cunning movie. The result just falls flat.

Reel Talk rating: C+

"The Warrior's Way"

Korean megastar Dong-gun Jang stars in his first Hollywood feature as Yang, a warrior assassin who dodges his latest mission by hiding out in a random circus town in The Warrior's Way. Before you ask, yes this movie is as foolish as that just sounded.

Starting out with sleek martial arts sequences, Warrior's Way takes a nose dive not fifteen minutes in when our warrior hero takes refuge, along with an infant he picks up at his last conquest, in a small town where he meets a dwarf, a bearded lady, a clown and several other innocent circus misfits plagued by the shadow of Colonel, who's ransacked the town on horseback taking several casualties along with him. Among them he meets Lynne (played by Kate Bosworth), an amateur knife thrower with a wannabe badass streak which never really quite delivers. Together they try to protect their town from the wrath of the Colonel. But just when they devise a grand plan, Yang's past comes back to haunt them.

Perhaps this was a video game or a straight action flick this would have been a better movie. The fact that it was a martial arts movie that was trying to have a plotline really destroyed it. The plot was weak and all over the place, and the performances (including Oscar winner Geoffrey Rush as the drunken man) were abysmal. To top it all off, the goofy narration didn't help things either. Hopefully this doesn't deter Jang from being in other American films. Take him out of this script and he could be really good.

Reel Talk rating: F

DVD Review: "The Kids Are All Right"

The traditional family drama gets a provocative twist in this year's preeminent romantic dramedy The Kids Are All Right. Oscar nominees Julianne Moore and Annette Bening star as a gay married couple with two kids trying to battle the throes of their relationship when their kids decide to get curious about their biological father.

Jules and Nic (played by Moore and Bening, respectively) are slowly drifting into their own marriage hell when the lethal mix of emotional distance, Nic's dominance and Jules's submissiveness rear their ugly heads. Then their children Joni (Mia Wasikowska) and Laser (Josh Hutcherson) decide to seek out their Dad out of sheer curiosity during Joni's last month at home before she heads to college. The distance between their parents grows even further when the mere addition of the cool, motorcycle-riding dad Paul (played by Mark Ruffalo) threatens to disrupt their tight family unit. The impact Paul has on the family causes Nic to suspect that he may be causing her family to crumble like a stack of cards. But, like in any family drama. what doesn't kill them makes them stronger in the end.

Moore and Bening shine in this poignant film with Moore nailing her signature performance of a woman holding on to her last string of hope and Bening letting her fear of losing her family dictate her actions. Together the performances mark the perfect recipe in a beautifully written story is both funny in the most surprising parts and touching when it needs to be.

Reel Talk rating: A

"Unstoppable"

"This ain't training. In training they just give you an F. Out here you get killed."

Oscar winner Denzel Washington really has bad luck when it comes to trains. Last year, one of his trains gets held hostage by a maniac underground in The Taking of Pelham 123. And now he's trying to stop a speeding half-mile long unmanned locomotive that (due to a series of miscalculated events) is charging through the state of Pennsylvania in Unstoppable. Someone should really tell him to try the bus every once in a while. And, oh yeah, that runaway train? It's carrying tons of toxic chemicals.

In Unstoppable, Washington plays a train engineer who teams up with a rookie conductor (played by Chris Pine) on his first task on the job--transporting freight cars from one end of the track to the other. Everything is going fairly well--albeit the intermittent rookie vs. veteran banter-- until their train (now carrying 25 cars) faces a head on collision with the runaway train on the same track on its way toward a very populated area. The two men finally bond while committing to the heroic (and unbelievable) task of trying to stop the train before it takes out an entire town.

Packed with stunts that would make even Tom Cruise grimace, Unstoppable is an adrenaline-fueled action flick that leaves you at the edge of your seat until the very end. It's a race against time, when time is really not on your side. It'll also make you think twice about taking the train.

Reel Talk rating: B+

DVD Review: "Eat, Pray, Love"

"If you're brave enough to leave behind everything familiar and comforting.... and set out on a truth-seeking journey.... and if you accept everyone you meet along the way as a teacher.... then the truth will not be withheld from you."

Many people cope with unfulfillment, or disenchantment, with a carton of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, a bottle of tequila or at their nearest mall. But New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Gilbert decided to pack up her things and jet set across the world in Eat, Pray, Love to, well, find her passion again.

Though her life at home didn't seem as horrific as she felt it was (nice job, great husband, wonderful friends and beautiful home), Liz (played by Julia Roberts) fortunately had the means to just pick up and leave her old life behind her to go find another one. After ditching a quick stint with the lovely but directionless David (played by James Franco) in New York, Liz decides to give up love affairs for a while to focus on finding a true love...in Italy, then India, and finally Bali. Along her journey, several interesting people blow into her life, including a Texan man on his spiritual journey (Richard Jenkins), a Swedish transport in Italy (Tuva Novotny), and a nurturing Brazilian (Javier Bardem), who each serve as a stepping stone on her way to finding greater goodness. Amidst the whirlwind, and perhaps hasty, take-off, Liz's trip ultimately lends to a perfect romance with her life again.

An engaging but deliberate chick flick at times, Eat, Pray, Love has the quintessential chick flick star at the helm with Roberts, who played the role beautifully, even if in the beginning you wanted to smack her for giving up a life so many people want, and for no clear reason but for the one in her head. Watching her have a mini mid-life meltdown was like watching a dog chase his behind; you don't know why it's happening but you're sorta curious to see when and how it will end up. Thankfully the remainder of the movie (which is most of it), makes you want to champion her along as she indulges in one decadent dish after another, sink deep into each country's customs, and learn a new thing about herself every step of the way. Bardem, Jenkins and Novotny exquisitely portray various vignettes throughout Liz's journey that is further punctuated by spectacular cinematography and a truly delightful story.

Reel Talk rating: A-

DVD Review: "Predators"

"As bad as you are, those things are worse."

Director Robert Rodriguez takes audiences back to the alien-infested jungle in his modernized sc-fi thriller Predators. The original 1987 flick starring Arnold Schwarzenegger gets a kick with a new cast an slightly updated script.

Oscar winner Adrien Brody steps into the role of Royce, one of nine elite soldiers dropped onto an island and left for dead, without any clues to how they got there, who invited their blood-thirsty junglemates to the mix, and how on earth they're all getting out of this mess. As Royce steps up to the plate to try to map a way out and keep their lives intact, what they all learn is that the bigger enemy may be running among them and no one is to be trusted.

Oscar nominee Laurence Fishburne makes a brief but wasted cameo in the movie as the worn-out soldier who's obviously gotten so used to running from aliens and plotting failed escape routes it's gone to his head. It would have been more interesting to see more of his story. Topher Grace stars as the medicine man in the group with an awkward but deliberate intensity. And Rodriguez's muse Danny Trejo channels his signature renegade-like tenacity as one of the abandoned soldiers. Together all the crew members hold their own to deliver a fairly decent popcorn flick. No over-the-top acting, not a really compelling plotline, but entertaining yet.

Reel Talk rating: B-

"Due Date"

"If I miss the birth of my own child, I'm gonna choke you out with your own scarf. Wrap that thing 'round your head, and choke you out."

Oscar-nominated actor Robert Downey Jr. usually has a knack for picking good movies. But Due Date is not one of them.

Downey plays the straight-laced Peter Highman who's rushing to get across the country to catch the birth of his firstborn. He's well on his way, until he bumps into wannabe actor and wannabe juvenile delinquent Ethan Tremblay (played by Galifianakis) at a crowded airport and their bags (Tremblay's containing illegal substances) get switched, and he gets booted off the place after getting into his first of many scuffles with Ethan. While his real bags--along with his wallet and ID--are en route to Los Angeles without him, Peter is forced to ride cross country with the dopey Ethan. You can say a comedy of errors ensue, but it won't make this comedy itself less of an error. Galifianakis basically recycles his oddball performance from The Hangover. Only this time it's less funny and more annoying.

With a weak script, Downey is forced to use his charm and witty retorts to provide the few laughs in the movie, whereas trumping Galifianakis's trademark comedy. There's no real chemistry between the two actors. You end up rooting for Peter whose apathetic nature is supposed to seem abrasive to Ethan's humble and sensitive style (though ridiculous and random). Nothing--not even the deportation, hallucinogenic situations, car chases or Juliette Lewis (I know, random cameo)--can save this film.

Though audiences may enjoy this lame comedy, the talent of Downey and Jamie Foxx (who also makes a useless cameo in the film) are wasted in it.

Reel Talk rating: D

"Being alive and being a woman is all I got, but being colored is a metaphysical dilemma I haven't conquered yet."

Writer/director Tyler Perry is probably used to taking heat from the critics for his films, but he can rest knowing that his latest movie For Colored Girls, the film adaptation of the 1975 critically-acclaimed play "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf" by Ntozake Shange, is his best film yet. Even though that might not be attributed to his direction or writing.

Chronicling the lives of nine black women who must struggle to overcome extraordinary circumstances, For Colored Girls is fueled by the amazing performances from a stellar cast, with heart wrenching performances especially from Kimberly Elise and Anika Noni Rose (who are hopefully not forgotten come award season). They and Physicia Rashad, Loretta Devine, Janet Jackson, Thandie Newton, Whoopi Goldberg, Kerry Washington and Tessa Thompson share the moving stories of women whom life--and love--has beaten down for a reason they don't understand, but will soon learn will only make them stronger and more capable in the end.

Take for instance Crystal (Elise), who wants to believe that the love she has for a man runs far beyond he shell he has become. Jo (Jackson), who is so in love with perfection that she nearly shatters when she finds out perfection doesn't love her back. Juanita (Devine), who can't stop running back to a man who spends most his time running away. Yasmine (Rose), whose shining light was nearly turned off for good after an eye-opening incident threatened to ruin her. Kelly (Washington), who day after day yearns for something she's forced to watch others just throw away. Tangie (Newton), who doesn't love herself enough to love another. Her sister Nyla (Thompson), who has the world ahead of her though it's just shy of her reach. Their mother Alice (Goldberg), who uses the power of repenting on her own children to cover her own sins. And Gilda (Rashad), who's made and overcome her own share of mistakes must decide whether to watch or help those who continue to make theirs. Together they each make up the colors of dimly lit rainbow. Their stories aren't just for women of color, but they're for any woman who's ever had to face adversities and find it in their hearts to push forward.

Though the original production was inspired by a collection of twenty poems by Shange, Perry really could have done a better job of leaving out some of the poetic jargon from the play and adapting a more dialogue-friendly script. Consecutive (and overlapping at times) long-winded, flowery monologues tend to leave film audiences idle, which does a a bit of a disservice to a powerful story that anyone who's ever given until it hurt can appreciate.

Rating: B+

"127 Hours"

James Franco has been wearing a lot of hats lately. After a brief stint on the soap opera "General Hospital," he can now add author to his resume for his first collection of short stories enitled "Palo Alto." This month, the Emmy award-winning actor (James Dean) tackles the role of Aron Rolston, the real-life mountain climber who gets trapped underneath a bolder in Utah for nearly six days and lives to tell the story in 127 Hours.

Many of us who were familiar with the story of the real-life Rolston (from his various TV appearances or his 2004 autobiography "Between a Rock and a Hard Place") already know how this story pans out and how he manages to escape. So they may appreciate watching this movie to learn what happens in between those two crucial moments. Too bad what does happen isn't nearly as interesting as those two turning points. And it ends up getting boring and repetitive after, say, the third day.

Franco, who has the daunting task of carrying this film on his own for nearly two hours, delivers a solid performance as the strapping climber who shows his vulnerability when he reflects back on his life--the mistakes he's made and the moments he may miss. Danny Boyle, the Academy award-winning director of Slumdog Millionaire, charms audiences with his clever camera tricks catching the point of view of the movie's protagonist. But together they still couldn't make more of the real story than what it was--something that might have been more compelling on the Discovery Channel. Franco was trapped in a mountain, and audiences may feel trapped waiting for something more to happen.

Reel Talk rating: B

DVD Review: "Paranormal Activity"

"I feel it. I feel it breathing on me."

With the sequel poised to stampede box office competition this opening weekend, the original Paranormal Activity continues to haunt audiences as one of the creepiest homemade movies of all time.

When Katie and Micah (real-life couple Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat) moved into a nice suburban home they didn't realize that a ghostly presence would be bunking with them. They weren't quite convinced that it was in fact a ghost but they knew that something that was going bump in the night was not invited. So over the course of several weeks in the fall of 2006, Micah decides to film what happened when the lights went out when they sleep. What they found would scare the bejesus out of them.

Possession, mysterious footprints, and objects moving without being touched are just a few of the things they found on tape. Other things we had to witness were unnecessary blown-out arguments between the couple and almost an hour of footage where nothing scary really happened. The real show happens during the last twenty minutes or so. So try to stay awake for that if you haven't seen this yet. Though it's slow in the beginning, the ending will leave you terrified and foaming at the mouth for a sequel.

Reel Talk rating: B

DVD Review: "Please Give"

"You're a good person."

Usually when we have to witness a loved one slowly deteriorate on their last precious moments on earth, we try to celebrate his/her life to the fullest. But in writer/director Nicole Holofcener's indie dramedy Please Give, grandma Andra's impending death brings a riff between a neighboring married couple who's anticipating how they'll redecorate her apartment when she goes, and a further divide between her two opposite granddaughters--one of whom cannot stand being around her.

Oscar nominee Catherine Keener (Capote) plays Kate, an antique store owner and proud mom and wife to Alex (played by Oliver Platt). Always generous, Kate can't walk by a homeless man without giving him the last $20 in her pocket. But she has an attack of the conscious when she realizes that she may be profiting from the death of others when she re-sells items of the deceased at her store. This realization for Kate forces her to rethink her purpose in life.

Though Kate's tried to play nice with her neighbor Andra and her two granddaughters Rebecca and Mary [played by Rebecca Hall and Amanda Peet (in a shockingly better than decent performance)], she's usually met with aloofness and/or disdain. But an unusual dinner party gathering brings each character closer together, and some not for the best. Relationships are formed and circumstances force them to see themselves, and each other, for who they really are.

Funny at times, Please Give is a surprisingly heartwarming coming-of-age film for six adults all passing through different stages of heir life. Peet gives a shockingly better than decent performance as the selfish granddaughter silently suffering from her own demons Mary and Rebecca Hall shines as the granddaughter who couldn't stop giving for her beloved grandmother until life forced her to see a brighter picture. Together with Catherine Keener's wonderful performance, Hall brings heart to an otherwise dry film.

Reel Talk rating: A-

DVD Review: "Kick-Ass"

"Tool up, honey bunny. It's time to get bad guys."

If you're one of the many nerdy high school boys plagued with unpopularity and pimples, you'11 adore the underdog story of Kick-Ass. But if you're one of the rest of us, you probably won't.

Kick-Ass follows the story of high school student Dave Lizewski (played by Aaron Johnson) who's unsatisfied with his distinct power to be invisible to girls everywhere. After noticing a void of real-life superheroes in the world, he creates his own superhero he names Kick-Ass that will not only put the spotlight on him, but will provide him with the confidence he needs to face off against his bullies at school and elsewhere. Little does he know that his brilliant scheme will have other underdog superheroes (in their own right, as well) coming out of the woodwork to take him down. Those come in the form of Hit-Girl (played by Chloe Moretz), her sidekick dad Big Daddy (played by, wait for it, Nicholas Cage), and Red Mist (played by Christopher Mintz-Plasse) who all suffer from the same disease as Dave--unsatisfied-itis brought on by a severe allergy to complacency. Dave sinks deep into the world of superherodom and manages to escape the sorrows of his real identity by becoming not only a superhero to others but also to himself in the midst of battling a his very own nemesis and a crew of gangsters.

Though the plot is silly and overblown in some spots, Kick-Ass is fun for the comic book junkies and high schoolers out there. But Cage disappoints (yet again) in a role that is foolish and beneath him.

Reel Talk rating: C-

DVD Review: "Get Him To The Greek"

"Your brain is full of lollipops, rainbows, and cheese."

If you were hired to chaperone your favorite rock star from his London pad to his comeback concert in Los Angeles, you'd be stoked, right? Well, so was Aaron Green (played by Jonah Hill) in this year's hugely successful comedy Get Him To The Greek. That is, until he finds out that his idol Aldous Snow (played by the British comedian Russell Brand) is a totally uncontrollable lunatic douchebag.

When Aaron, an intern at Pinnacle Records comes up with a plan to stage a comeback concert featuring his favorite band Infant Sorrow in order to revive the sinking record label, his boss Sergio (played by Sean "Diddy" Combs) jumps on the idea and orders him to get the unruly frontman from London to the Greek Theater in Los Angeles in three days. Little did Aaron know that those were going to be the three wildest nights of his life. He leaves his girlfriend, a med student on the eve of her big break, Daphne (played by Mad Men's Elisabeth Moss) in LA while he and Aldous embark on a three-day raunchy escapade trolloping bars in every zip code on their route, waking up in hotel rooms with women they couldn't remember or buckled over toilets suffering nasty hangovers or drug trips--all more than the usual 9-5 Aaron is used to.

The only amusing thing is Aaron's reaction to the whole thing as he's forced to endure it all, but the movie goes from crazy to asinine when Brand's character Aldous goes through a melodramatic mid-career breakdown. It's unfunny and awkward at the same time. Combs is over-the-top and ridiculous, as is Brand. Although with Brand's character, you kind of expect it. With Combs, you don't know whether that's his usual arrogant outlandish behavior, or how he thinks the character really is. Either way, it--and the movie--is annoying.

Ree Talking rating: D

DVD Review: "A Nightmare on Elm Street"

"You can't hurt me. This is my world. And you can't ever leave."

Though Academy Award nominee Jackie Earle Haley (Shutter Island, Little Children) seemed like the perfect actor to play the gruesome psychopath Freddy Krueger, even he couldn't revive an empty script for the 2010 remake of the classic A Nightmare on Elm Street.

But is that what horror flicks--especially remakes--are about these days? They seem to be more about the thrills and chills than anything else. True, you may jump a few times on cue with the haunting music, but there's nothing really scary in this movie. The plot becomes more loopy and drawn out the second half of the movie where we actually find out the reason for Freddy's madness. But after all the buildup swirling around the method to his craziness, audiences--especially die hard Krueger fans--may be disappointed by it. It's cliched, boring, and anticlimactic. Once you find out everything, you might like him a lot better when you just thought of his as crazy for no reason.

Check it out if you're looking for a spooky Halloween flick, but skip it otherwise.

Reel Talk rating: D+

"The Social Network"

"I don't think you're an a$%hole; you're just trying very hard to be."

What happens when the most unpopular kid on campus rises from obscurity to become one of the most famous names across campuses worldwide? Campus life stops being about GPAs and test scores and becomes a battlefield of the brains, drawing bloodthirsty competitors and unlikely friends and foes. At least, it does in The Social Network.

The Social Network follows the humble beginnings of the social networking phenomenon Facebook while also seamlessly juxtaposing the story of its co-founder Mark Zuckerberg's ironic success as a socially awkward computer geek to becoming one of the most recognizable names in the world. But, as in many success stories, and as the tag line for the movie reads, "You don't make 500 million friends without making some enemies." Zuckerberg's story was no exception. While jumpstarting Facebook with his only friend and college roommate Eduardo Saverin, Zuckerberg became so enthralled by his new computer project and the potential of its limitless success that he ended up further alienating himself from his peers and becoming an unreachable yet vulnerable target for wannabe business sharks and those--including his friends--who saw him as a threat. All the while, Facebook was connecting millions of people across the globe.

Jesse Eisenberg remarkably steps into the shoes of Zuckerberg, portraying him as the socially indifferent yet ingenious social plate of his time while also creating the perfect irony brilliantly written by Aaron Sorkin. Andrew Garfield, who plays Saverin, is truly engaging as a business-minded tragic hero. Audiences will love to hate pop star Justin Timberlake, who plays the smooth-talking Napster playboy turned Facebook co-founder Sean Parker. With hyper witty dialogue and clever performances, The Social Network, just like its subject, is the pop culture phenomenon of the new generation. Think of it as the geek's answer to Clueless. But instead of phrases like "as if," it's "Facebook me."

Reel Talk rating: A

"The Town"

"If we get jammed up, we're holding court on the street."

Oscar winner Ben Affleck (Good Will Hunting) has had a tough time climbing back to the top after a years-long stint of starring in horrible films. But after his highly-acclaimed 2007 directorial debut Gone Baby Gone, critics and audiences alike began to revisit the phenomenon that is Ben Affleck. This month Affleck continues his streak with his sophomore effort (in which he also stars) The Town, a gritty crime drama centered around a Boston town.

The Town follows best friends and bank robbers Doug MacRay (played Affleck) and James Coughlin (played by Jeremy Renner) whose last heist was met with a glitch--better known as Claire Keesey (played by Rebecca Hall), the manager of the bank they knocked off-- of which Doug spends the rest of the movie trying to protect and smooth over. But the more he tries to cover his steps, the deeper he becomes entangled in his own lies and further into the world he perfectly orchestrated along with his best friend, who quickly catches wind that Doug might be trying to come out of the game. Best friends and criminals for years, James is the kind of guy whose heartbeat is rhythmically in tune with the streets of Boston, and he knows that his best friend has that same problem. The two must decide what side of the street they're each on and how to remain alive as the men in blue become hot on their heels in this modern and smart tale of cops and robbers.

Renner is gripping as the loose cannon James, even better than he was in The Hurt Locker. Affleck is captivating as Doug, and is a true triple threat as the star, writer and director of a great, heart-pounding film that closely rivals The Departed. Also not to be missed is Gossip Girl's Blake Lively who's jaw-dropping dramatic turn as Krista, James's drug-addicted sister and Mad Men's Jon Hamm as the FBI agent hot on their trail. The Town is a definite must-see.

Reel Talk rating: A