The Eagle

Actors:  Channing Tatum , Donald Sutherland, Mark Strong, Jaime Bell, Tahar Rahim
Rating:  7 out of 10, this is set in virtually the same time period as The Centurion which was a much better picture.  It involves events surrounding the disappearance of the 9th Legion in Roman controlled Britain.  When I first saw the previews for this I was excited because I love movies set in Roman Empire times but I was extremely concerned that Tatum was cast in the lead.  I know its because of the movies but you always expect Romans to speak with British accents.  While Tatum doesn't overachieve in this movie he is at least believable.  The story is of a Roman officer trying to recover the Eagle, symbol of the legion, lost when his father perished with the legion north of Hadrian’s Wall.  There is a great attention to detail on historical accuracy, especially in the first half of the movie with the tactics and accoutrements of the Roman army.  It was fascinating to see a Roman "testudo", the turtle like employment of massed shields, used to great effect.  The first and last half hours of the movie are great but the middle just kills this movie.  This is where they get away from the action as Tatum recovers from his wounds and bonds with Bell.  This part of the movie is rescued by the presence of Sutherland, so good in everything he does.  Once the pair sets off for Scotland the action picks up again although I'm still trying to figure out what the hell the Seal People were supposed to be and why they were supposed to be tough.  They just looked silly instead of fearsome.  I really liked the final battle where the survivors of the 9th Legion rally to help Tatum defend the eagle one last time.  Great themes, guess this was a boy's adventure story in England, and it shows but still makes for a solid action movie.
MVP:  Bell as the undersized but feisty slave Esca

Edge of Darkness

Actors:  Mel Gibson, Bojana Novacovic, Danny Huston, Ray Winstone
Rating:  8 out of 10, a very good, adult dramatic thriller set in and shot in nearby Boston.  Gibson, before he was ostracized, shows what a good actor he is.  I liked that he didn't try to hide his age or thinning hair in playing the lead role of the Boston detective who's daughter is assassinated in front of him.  The barely suppressed rage he feels as he relentlessly follows the trail of his daughter's killers is a great story that lends great pace to the movie.  Huston, a corporate big wig, plays a great villain who's almost disdainful of all the chaos he's unleashed.  I really liked the scenes with Gibson and Winstone as they speak almost in code of two world weary but fundamentally good people who find themselves on the opposite side of a problem.  The final scene of Winstone with the politicians is something I think we've all secretly dreamed could happen.  Gibson, father of a whole brood of children, seemed to understand and convey what the loss of a child could do to a father.  This is a very good movie.
MVP:  Gibson as Thomas Craven, hell bent on avenging the daughter he loved

The Expendables

Actors:  Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Mickey Rourke, Terry Crews, Jet Li, Randy Couture, Eric Roberts, Dolph Lundgren, Steve Austin, Giselle Itie
Rating:  7 out of 10, a really ambitious ode to the 70s action movie that injects an immense amount of testosterone onto the screen.  Stallone gathered just about every action star from the past 30 years and put them together in an ensemble cast.  That means the action is incredible, especially the final battle, but that there just isn't enough story or screen time for all the macho men.  Stallone is finally showing his age and pales when he puts himself on the screen next to Statham, who still has it.  This is the type of movie most women will hate but guys will absolutely love, which I have to admit I did.  Its almost a guilty pleasure to see Crews blowing up people left and right with his atomic level shotgun.  This movie has no redeeming value other than appeal to the non-politically correct guys club mentality that lurks in every non-metro sexual male movie goer; in other words - a great guilty pleasure.  Stallone tries to inject some side stories to give a couple of the characters some depth but that's the only time the movie slows down - not what we came to see this movie for.  Rourke plays a kind of bizarre, semi-retired mentor and there is a great, almost comically genius scene with Stallone, Bruce Willis, and the Governator. 
MVP:  Statham as Lee Christmas, one of the few action stars in this still young enough to be believable

Fast Five

Actors:  Vin Diesel, Dwayne Rock Johnson, Paul Walker, Joachim de Almeda, Ludacris, Tyrese Gibson, Jordana Brewster, Matt Schultz
Rating:  7 out of 10, I only went to see this movie because there was nothing else worth seeing at the time.  I was completely blown away by what I thought was a dead franchise.  Walker still cannot act a lick but the rest of the cast was extremely good, especially Diesel.  He is such a physical presence that people overlook that he is a very good actor.  The confrontation between he and Johnson was worth the price of admission alone, two movie bad asses just knocking the bejesus out of each other.  The boys end up in Rio where they decide to take down the criminal mastermind of the city.  De Almeda is once again the criminal mastermind - has he ever been a good guy in the movies?  The car chase has been done to death in the movies and I did not think it was possible to come up with a new exciting angle but this movie has a couple.  Stealing cars off a moving train and what is probably one of the best action scenes in movie history the police chase through Rio while towing a massive safe make this movie.  The cast is an assembly of everyone that had ever "acted" in the series and there seemed to be a real attempt to ensure every ethnic group was covered.  The movie suffers when they get away from the action scenes but there are enough of those to endure the others.  A big surprise and hopefully the final entry in a series that went 3 for 5.
MVP:  Diesel as Dom the leader of the family and a brutally good actor

Flash Gordon

Actors:  Sam Jones, Melody Anderson, Max Von Sydow, Brian Blessed, Topol, Ornella Muti, Timothy Dalton
Rating:  6 out of 10, amazing cast in a totally camp movie that has established itself as a cult classic.  The movie was recognized as completely tongue in cheek when it came out but some serious movie goers who stumble upon it savage it.  The movie was written with the intent to poke fun at the genre and the actors do a great job of camping it up to the fullest.  The actor in the title role is laughingly bad and, as opposed to the other actors, you wonder if this was intended or if he is just that bad.  For whatever reason it works here.  There are some truly great one line zingers in this, such as Ming asking if his henchman are on the right pills.  There is no way this was intended as a straight forward sci fi action movie but it does have a lot of fun.  The plot is totally contrived and the special effects, even for 1980, are abominable.  The costumes and sets are amazing.  The biggest star of the movie though is the music which was produced by Queen in their heyday - it is awesome. 
MVP:  Von Sydow has so much fun and some of the best lines as Ming the Merciless

From Paris With Love

Actors:  John Travolta, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Kasia Smutniak
Rating:  9 out of 10, a truly fabulous action movie that totally snuck up on me.  I was expecting a run of the mill action flick which it was until Travolta arrives on the screen.  He is a complete wrecking crew who hides his competence behind a facade of pure mayhem.  He totally takes over the movie and is almost hypnotic to watch just to see what outlandish thing he is going to do next.  He takes novice Rhys Meyers with him on a search for terrorists in Paris.  The story is contrived but they play it straight and for some reason it works, magnificently.  The action is pretty much non-stop for the entire movie and the body count quickly out of control.  The parallel story of the love story is quickly turned on its head and becomes the driving theme for the second half of the movie.  This is a truly great movie that I enjoyed from the start - cannot say enough good things about it.
MVP:  Travolta as the super agent and completely dangerous Charlie Wax

Gamer

Actors:  Gerard Butler, Michael C. Hall, Amber Valletta, Logan Lerman, Ludacris, Kyra Sedgewick
Rating: 8 out of 10, really well done sci fi action movie that also tries to send a message about the loss of privacy through today's electronic medium.  Butler plays a wrongly accused murderer who plays a part in a real world combat game where he is controlled by a player, a teenager in this case.  This movie was made by the same guys as the Crank movies and it has that same kind of cool edge to it.  Butler is more than adequate for the action scenes which are extremely well choreographed.  The best scenes are inside the civilian game where people with enough money can pay to have some other people act out their fantasies with the predictable results.  Hall plays a superb villain, a Zuckerburg type billionaire with aims on controlling everyone playing his games through nano-technology.  The movie walks a fine line with poking fun at cyber addicts while still staying on point with the action.  
MVP:  Butler is a bona fide action star again as Kable

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Actors:  Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach, Lee Van Cleef
Rating:  7 out of 10, one of the seminal movies from my youth.  This was the best of what was known as the spaghetti westerns that made Eastwood a star.  It was made in Spain with an Italian cast and director.  It is also justifiably famous for one of the signature movie scores.  Eastwood is so cool as Blondie, the good, as he maneuvers between Wallach, the ugly, and Van Cleef, the bad, to find, literally a buried treasure.  Wallach steals most scenes he's in.  He looks to be having a whole lot of fun with his character who is almost deliciously evil.  The pace is almost ponderous and reminds you how long ago the movie was made.  The dubbing of the dialogue is as best as could be done but is still a distraction.  The scale is extremely impressive, especially the civil war battle scenes. 
MVP:  Wallach as Tuco, the ugly, relishing his role as a villain

Green Lantern

Actors:  Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Peter Saarsgaard, Mark Strong, Tim Robbins
Rating:  7 out of 10, this movie was skewered in most circles when it came out but I really enjoyed it.  Reynolds does a very credible job with the role and injects just enough humor to make it multidimensional.  The action scenes are extremely well done, it continues to amaze me what they can with CGI nowadays.  Lively, almost unrecognizable as a brunette ably fills the romantic interest role without being just window dressing.  Strong is completely unrecognizable as an alien but he once again provides real screen presence.  Reynolds is a very interesting actor and can play cocky without being obnoxious and he carries this movie with ease.  The plot moves right along and kept my interest throughout.  Again, I do not understand why so many people disliked this movie - I thought it was great.
MVP:  Reynolds in the title role as the flawed super hero.

Hall Pass

Actors:  Owen Wilson, Jason Sudeikis, Jenna Fischer, Christina Applegate, Richard Jenkins, Alexandria Daddario, Nicky Whelan, Derek Waters
Rating:  6 out of 10, another one the Farrelly brothers' raunch fests that has some cough up your drink funny moments but is really uneven.  The Farrellys haven't made a great movie since There's Something About Mary and that streak is intact.  Its interesting that Wilson has two movies, the other being Midnight in Paris, come out in the same year which are so wildly different in tone and quality.  As with most Farrelly movies this one is aimed at junior high level male fantasies in which the female characters are window dressing as best and almost an after thought.  Waters is very funny in a small role as an insane DJ pursuing the good guys.  They do take an interesting concept and thoroughly skewer some stereotypes such as the neveau rich, mid life crisis, and self important barristas.  For some reason the Farrelly always want to shock you with some scenes that make you squirm but just aren't that funny.  Wilson's hot tub adventure is a good example in this movie.  Sometimes they hit the mark, such as when Sudeikis' date finally relieves her stomach distress, which I still guiltily laugh at every time, more so for Sudeikis' reaction than anything else.  Sudeikis once again impresses with his comic timing.  He and Wilson make an interesting team with Sudeiskis given the job of vocalizing what's in most guy's hidden thoughts - but again this is the Farrellys so no joke is too low for exploration.  A guilty pleasure comedy with the very impressive eye candy supplied by Whelan.
MVP:  Sudeikis has all of the great lines as Fred the totally inappropriate buddy
 

Hanna

Actors:  Saoirse Ronan, Eric Bana, Cate Blanchette, Tom Hollander, Jessica Barden
Rating:  8 out of 10, great movie with a fascinating plot.  The story of a genetically enhanced teenager who has spent all of her young life isolated from society in the arctic.  She's been bred to be a super soldier by Bana who releases her to gain revenge on CIA villain, Blanchette.  My daughter and I often joke about Bana, a very appealing actor who is so often horribly miscast but he's spot on here.  He plays a multi-layered benefactor who has his own agenda but at the same time cares for Hanna.  Ronan is just flat awesome in the title role as a young girl with all the skills of a world class assassin without any appreciable social skills due to her isolated childhood.  The scenes with Ronan and Barden, who steals scenes as the worldly English teenager who befriends Hanna, are superb.  You can see Ronan's character yearning for the facility with normality which Barden deals with everyday life.  As always, Blanchette is fantastic as the coolly evil villain, this time with a very believable southern drawl.  There are very interesting characters moving in and out of the story as Hanna travels across Europe towards the climatic confrontation.  One of the creepiest is the Euro-trash German assassin played by Hollander, very memorable.  The actions scenes are extremely well done, especially with Ronan, who's very slight but still projected a lot of power.  This movie surprised me with the level of emotion they were able to portray while still making a very good action movie.
MVP:  Ronan as Hanna, the super-agent hanging out in the angst of a teenage girl 

Horrible Bosses

Actors:  Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, Jason Sudeikis, Kevin Spacey, Jennifer Anniston, Jaime Fox, Colin Farrell
Rating:  8 out of 10, another great 2011 R-rated comedy.  This seemed like a great year for those.  This one has a simply awesome cast.  Kevin Spacey brings his Swimming with the Sharks personae forward again and that is always fun to watch.  He is one of those actors who seems to lift the ability of those actors surrounding him and it happens again here.  I didn't know much about Day before this movie but he's incredibly funny.  Some of the funniest bits was seeing Anniston abandon her good girl type and play a really raunchy semi-villain - it looks like she had a good time with the role.  It was just strange seeing Rachel being so foul mouthed - a welcome strange though.  Bateman is always great in these type roles and the timing between he and Sudeikis is spot on.  Spacey, Farrell, and Anniston steal every scene they're in from the good guys but it was set up that way and works well.  The three heroes are such good natured idiots that they're lovable.  This movie dares to be politically incorrect and that really works for me.  It has no other message than - let's be funny and make people laugh - great movie.  Be sure to stay through the credits to see some incredibly funny out takes.
MVP:  Sudeikis as Kurt the libidinous account manager tormented by Farrell

Hot Tub Time Machine

Actors:  John Cusack, Rob Corddray, Lyndsay Fonseca, Clark Duke, Craig Robinson, Chevy Chase
Rating:  6 out of 10, I didn't know what to make of this movie when it first came out.  I've always liked John Cusack and thought this would be another one of his dark comedies that I enjoy thoroughly.  Unfortunately it is what it's title suggests, a kind of lame sci fi comedy.  There are some extremely funny bits, mostly aimed at the fashion and customs of 1980's; fertile ground there.  The biggest problem is the amount of screen time given to Corddray.  He's very funny in small roles but he's just not charismatic enough to carry the load they asked him to here.  Cusack just sleep walks through this and Chevy Chase is his usual abomination (he was last funny in Christmas Vacation, a couple of decades ago).   This is one of those movies where just when you think its ready to take off and be something very funny it goes in another, less humorous, direction.  I get the impression this was a vanity project where some guys got together and reminisced about how cool the 80s were.  Glover is very funny in a small part where everyone is waiting for his arm to be torn off; you have to see the movie to understand why that is funny.  Duke is less than funny in what could have been a break out role as the son watching his mother party at roughly the same age he is; scary thought there for all parents.  There's a bunch of nudity and some funny digs at Reagan era young republicans but overall this movie disappoints with the great cast underachieving.
MVP:  Robinson is very funny as the failed musician Nick Weber, calling his then 8 year old wife to profanely complain about a future infidelity

I Am Number 4

Actors:  Alex Pettyfer, Timothy Olyphant, Teresa Palmer, Diana Agron, Callan McCauliff, Kevin Durand, Jake Abel
Rating:m  8 out of 10, I was afraid this was going to be teenage girl fare, ala the Twilight series but I was pleasantly surprised by a very sturdy sci fi movie.  This was so much more authentic than the almost plastic feel of the Twilight movies.  The cast is very strong and the teenagers played like teenagers.  The two leads Pettyfer and Agron make a great couple with a lot of nuance to their relationship.  The high school bullies, led by  Abel, are a little reckless to be believable and what gang of high schoolers is running around equipped with night vision devices.  That being said this is a very strong movie with an interesting plot and solid acting.  The story of "special" alien kids rescued from a dying planet and growing up on earth protected by another class of warriors until they grow into their powers to take on the bad guys.  The guardian warrior for Number 4 is Olyphant who is great in almost everything he does and provides the right amount of adult leadership and sarcastic humor here.The bad guys in this case, Mogodorians, are totally evil but there are some interesting scenes where these 7 foot tall aliens with gills on their face try to blend in.  The final confrontation is a great battle scene with the welcome addition of Palmer (so good in Sorcerer's Apprentice) who strikes the perfect balance between likability and bitchiness.  This movie was obviously made with the intention of sequels and they did so well with this one I hope they get made.  Pettyfer is someone to watch, he'll be a big star someday.
MVP:  Pettyfer as Number 4, growing into his powers and future stardom

Inception

Actors;  Leonardo DiCaprio, Ellen Page, Joseph Gordon Leavitt, Tom Harvey, Ken Watanabe, Cillian Murphy, Marion Cotillard, Tom Berenger
Rating:  8 out of 10, a very intelligent movie from the mind of Christopher Nolan.  I've liked everything this guy has ever done.  One of the best things about his movies are that they make you pay attention and give you credit for some modicum of intelligence.  I've heard people complain that this movie is too complicated and confusing.  If you pay attention it really isn't.  It's a fascinating look into the world of dreams and some of the morality involved with invading personal privacy.  DiCaprio is a little over the top as the ruthless lead but the rest of the cast is absolutely phenomenal.  Page strikes just the right tone as the outsider brought into the group for an important role.  Gordon Leavitt, as the supportive brother who is the real strength of the team is also fantastic.  He's starting to get bigger roles and it is certainly deserved.  Cotillaird plays a truly evil villain sympathetically.  For me, the break out star of this movie was Tom Hardy.  I'd seen him in a couple of other movies but in this one he steals every scene he's in and that is with the extremely talented cast here.  Most people went to see this movie because of the special effects which are truly awe inspiring.  The real value of this movie is the story and keeping up with everything that is happening.  If you can keep up with the story the last 20 minutes of the movie are a fantastic thrill ride.
MVP:  Hardy as Eames, the action hero of the inception team

Insidious

Actors:  Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Barbara Hershey, Lin Shaye
Rating:  9 out of 10, absolutely terrifying movie.  I haven't been this scared at a movie since the Exorcist.  Even after multiple viewings this movie has the ability to scare the living bejesus out of me.  I was watching this at night and was a little upset when my wife went upstairs instead of being close enough to hear her, even the dog deserted me.  The tension starts from almost the first scenes and ramps up throughout, right to the last scene.  The cast is spot on and the special effects just sophisticated enough to make you believe it could be happening.  This movie also has the single scariest scene I've ever experienced and I love horror movies.  The director takes a very measured approach in revealing the main antagonist, the red faced demon.  You only see him in the shadows until this one scene where he suddenly appears in full color right behind one of the people talking around the dining room table.  This still almost stops my heart every time I see it.  This is the first movie in a very long time where I was actually tempted to close my eyes.  If you love horror movies and you haven't seen this, you are incomplete. 
MVP:  Rose Byrne as the suffering wife/mother Renai, who actually reacts to the horror the way most people would instead of dismissing it, such as happens in most horror movies.

Ironclad

Purefoy Under Assault

Actors:  Paul Purefoy, Kate Mara, Brian Cox, Derek Jacobi, Paul Giamatti
Rating:  7 out of 10, very bloody retelling of the siege of the Castle Rochester in the 13th century by King John, still angry about having to sign the Magna Carta.  This movie has some extremely graphic views of the wounds sustained in edged warfare and is not for the faint of heart.  My wife exited the room after a guy lost his hands, in living color.  This is however a very good action movie with some really solid acting from the entire cast.  There are some very memorable character actors playing the gang of warriors that Cox, garrulous as always, as the leading rebel, gathers to defend the castle.  Giamatti, who for the first time, looks a little lost, as an English monarch, is helped by an army of Danes led by the guy from the 13th Warrior.  Purefoy was one of my favorite actors from the HBO series Rome and he's great here.  He plays a Knight Templar defending the castle against John and his virtue against Mara.  His knightly vows do not stand a chance against Mara's assault.  I've always wondered why Mara doesn't get more work because she is fantastic in everything she does.
MVP:  Purefoy as Marshall, the Knight Templar under constant assault

Ironman 2

Actors:  Robert Downey, Jr., Gweneth Paltrow, Mickey Rourke, Don Cheadle, Sam Rockwell, Scarlett Johannsen, Jon Favreau, Gary Shandling
Rating:  8 out of 10, solid follow up to the fantastic original although this one wastes some time having the lead character have a semi-meltdown.  That distracts more than helps the plot move along.  Rourke is a great villain although believing he is a super-smart physicist is probably the biggest stretch of his career.  This movie is definitely Downey's and he shines in the second half.  Rockwell is a little over the top as a competing defense contractor - never thought I'd see a contractor dance to start his presentation but this is science fiction.  Johanssen is almost unrecognizable as she tries to establish some action credentials and she does this well.  Favreau, who also directs, does a great job as the loyal servant.  Cheadle, as always, does a fantastic job as the loyal but conflicted friend.  I also really liked the romantic turn with Paltrow who was underused in the first movie.  The special effects, which were such a strength of the first movie, do not disappoint. The only downer in this is the meltdown phase, not what we need from our superheroes.
MVP:  Downey as Tony Stark/Ironman - proves he's a great actor even in popcorn fare such as this

Just Go With It

Actors:  Adam Sandler, Jennifer Anniston, Brooklyn Decker, Nicole Kidman, Nick Swardson
Rating:  6 out of 10, some really funny moments in this movie, mostly about the pitfalls of plastic surgery.  The plot is totally unbelievable but does provide a vehicle for the jokes and the semi-sweet, but totally predictable, love story between Sandler and Anniston.  The movie was marketed very heavily on Decker's yellow bikini.  This was smart because she is visually stunning, really, really stunning and can actually act, a little bit (lucky man that Roddick guy).  Some of the funniest stuff involved Nicole Kidman, whom I usually cannot stand, but who was pretty good in a small role playing an absolute bitch.  I get the impression Sandler has a great time making his movies and doesn't really care if we like them.  For this reason some of his movies are extremely funny where others are abominable.  This one falls in the middle.  Anniston once again shines in a comedic role and more than holds her own against Decker in the bikini department.  Swardson, one of Sandler's regular troupe, has some of the funniest bits as the target of abuse from everybody, playing Dolph Lungren, a totally over the top sheep salesman.  I liked this movie, it made me laugh, and the female leads just wore the hell out of those bikinis.
MVP:  Anniston as Katherine, reestablishes her comedic roots and has still got it. 

Kick Ass

Actors:  Aaron Johnson, Chloe Grace Moretz, Nicholas Cage, Lyndsy Fonseca, Mark Strong, Christopher Mintz-Plasse,  Michael Rispoli
Rating:  10 out of 10, boy do I love this movie.  A lot like the way I found the movie Stardust, it totally snuck up on me.  I really appreciate it when a movie sets something up and then takes you in a completely unexpected direction.  This movie constantly does that.  Every time you expect the plot to follow a lead they have set up, off we go in another direction.  This is the story of a high school geek who wants to be a super hero who quickly gets in way over his head but meets up with some real world heroes bent on taking down a mob.  I have watched this movie a dozen times and I can't get enough of it.  Everybody in the cast delivers, even Cage, who normally mails in his performance for this type fare.  The young actors are especially good in this led by Moretz who is so good as the foul mouthed but extremely dangerous Mindy MacReady AKA Hit Girl.  I also loved the interplay with the bad guys, Strong is such a compelling actor.  The give and take between he and Rispoli, another of my favorite character actors is priceless.  The best part of the movie is the arc they take the hero on.  Johnson and especially Fonseca make a great couple, if totally unexpected.  The scenes with the teenagers plays so real.  I can't say enough good things about this movie, it is definitely in the top ten movies I have ever seen.  If you have not seen it you are derelict. 
MVP:  Chloe as Mindy, one of the most surprising and dangerous 11 year olds you'll ever see

The King's Speech

Actors:  Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter, Derek Jacobi, Guy Pearce, Michael Gambon
Rating:  9 out of 10, this is the kind of movie I usually avoid, an artsy British period film but my wife and daughter convinced me to go and see it.  They were spot on in their assessment, I love this movie.  It offers some real insight into a very interesting time in recent history, pre-WW2 England.  Most history written about this time focuses on the story of the king who abdicated for love of an American divorcee.  Those two do not come off well in this movie and that is probably a lot closer to the truth.  The British royal family is always so closed mouth about their inner- dealings that not much was known outside of England about George VI, the guy who became king upon the abdication.  This movie corrects that failure.  There is an amazing amount of historical detail in this movie, the film makers took the time to get even the small things right which I always like.  They also "get" the important role the classes play in British society; something I found kind of repugnant when I learned about it first hand in my youth after being  a bit of an Anglophile beforehand.  The fact that this king befriended a commoner and the disdain most of the upper class had for this was interesting.  The quiet courage shown by both George and his wife was inspiring.  Firth and Rush make a great team but this is very firmly Firth's film.  He's a great actor but he truly takes it to another level here.  You can see the intense internal struggle he undergoes while confronting his stammer.  Carter is also very, very good and you can see why the Queen mother, whom she portrayed, was such a beloved figure in England.  A great movie all around, it has everything - superb acting, great writing, and pace.
MVP:  Firth as the courageous King George VI

Kiss of the Dragon

Actors:  Jet Li, Bridget Fonda, Tcheky Karyo
Rating:  6 out of 10, my wife and I saw this movie one evening on a cable channel and she insisted that I get it.  It is a pretty good kung fu drama set in Paris with the incomparable Jet Li in the lead role as a Chinese police officer betrayed in Paris by his French counterpart played by Karyo.  This is a Luc Besson product which means stilted dialogue and wild, out of control villains.  Karyo, who is usually so good, is abominable in this as the chief villain.  He shouts 90% of his lines for no good reason and shoves anybody in his vicinity.  Karyo is surrounded by a large group of fellow villains who serve pretty much as cannon fodder for Li.  Fonda plays a kind hearted, heroin addicted hooker who teams up with Li to take down Karyo.  As with most of Besson's projects there are plot holes large enough to hold a small country but that's half the fun.  I mean, I know Li is good, but when he walks into a police kung fu baton armed class of 30 unarmed  and emerges 5 minutes later completely unscathed, the suspension of disbelief is severely strained.  This is simply a vehicle for Li to demonstrate his fighting skills and these are prodigious and he doesn't fall into Jackie Chan type cuteness - its all lethal intent - which I liked.  The movie really stumbles between fight scenes or whenever Karyo is on screen, again, very surprised by that.
MVP:  Jet Li as the put upon police officer Liu Jian shines

Knight and Day

Actors:  Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz, Peter Sarsgaard, Viola Davis, Jorde Molla, Paul Dano
Rating;  9 out of 10, just pure candy but a huge win for this movie's stars.  Diaz and Cruise make a great team especially with the comic bits that really make this movie so much fun.  The romantic arc the two follow is also very engaging and both stars are lovable.  I loved the part where he's rescuing her while she is still affected by truth serum.  Cruise is more than adroit with all the physical aspects of his role which are substantial, but at the same time he's somewhat poking fun at the genre that has made him so popular.  This movie is action packed from the very beginning and never lets up.  The action is so well done that you forget that 99% of it is completely impossible.  I didn't know what to expect going in to this movie but I ended up just flat loving it.  The added benefit was that part of it was shot in and around Boston so there was a lot of familiar terrain evident. Only a completely stuck up movie critic could fail to love this movie - my kind of cinema - go see this.
MVP:  Cruise, not always my favorite, but comfortable enough in his own skin to poke fun at himself as the super agent Roy Miller.

The Last Airbender

Actors:  Noah Ringer, Dev Patel, Nicola Peltz, Jackson Rathbone, Shaun Toub, Aasie Monovie    

Rating:  6 out of 10, a really ambitious movie that was obviously aimed at being the first of a series of movies with these characters.  I’m assuming this premise was based on the financial success of this movie which was incredibly poorly reviewed, somewhat correctly.  I liked the plot although it seemed to lose its way several times.  The dialogue was so puerile as to be memorable for unintended humor.  The ending confrontation was so confusing and staged that the movie lost all of its reason.  I remember being excited to see this movie when I first saw the previews.  I think that is the problem, it was marketed as a sword and sorcery epic when it is in reality a kid’s adventure movie.  The cast is adequate although Rathbone is one of the worst actors I’ve seen in a long time, made it hard to root for him as one of the heroes.  Ringer was impressive in the title role and handled the physical challenges with grace.

MVP:  Toub as the kindly mentor general Iroh

Law Abiding Citizen

Actors:  Gerard Butler, Jaime Foxx, Bruce McGill, Colm Meany, Leslie Bibb, Regina Hall
Rating:  7 out of 10, action, suspense movie that just misses being great.  Butler does an absolutely great job as the vengeance driven super mind and Foxx provides the right amount of gravitas as the district attorney pursuing him.  I was watching the unrated version which was a bit of mistake as I had no need to see the actual dismemberment of one of the murderers.  The movie just misses because the plot just goes places that stretch credulity beyond even my expanded vision of the possible.  This was still a fun movie to watch trying to figure out how Butler was killing people even while locked in maximum security.  The movie expresses the frustration most of us feel with a flawed justice system but goes a little overboard. 
MVP:  Butler shows real range in the rage he feels as Clyde Shelton in pursuing vengeance for his murdered family

Legion

Actors:  Paul Bettany, Lucas Black, Tyrese Gibson, Adrianne Palicki, Charles Dutton, Dennis Quaid, Kevin Durand, Willa Holland
Rating:  7 out of 10, excellent, apocalyptic tale of survival against supposedly the forces of good.  The angels are the bad guys here although they're dressed up as possessed humans.  This movie gets off to a great start introducing the characters and then the apocalypse in an understated way at an isolated diner/gas station in the desert with the scariest grandma in movie history.  The cast is really solid with Quaid, Dutton, and Gibson playing small but important parts.  Bettany shows up as the defrocked archangel Michael and leads the defense of Palicki's baby, supposedly the savior of the human race against God's wrath.  The movie bogs down seriously in the middle after a couple of great battles.  There's a final confrontation between Michael and his buddy Gabriel which kind of detracts from the story although I liked the ultimate redemption of Michael.  In the background it turns out he was really doing God's will.  Black and Palicki make a good couple with Black being a little too meek to really be the great protector he is destined to be.  Its a great little romp with some really scary moments.
MVP:  Bettany in his save the world mode again as Michael

Limitless

Actors:  Bradley Cooper, Abbie Cornish, Robert Deniro, Andrew Howard, Anna Friel, Tomas Arana

Rating:  7 out of 10, great concept, well executed with an interesting plot and talented cast.  A look at what we would do if we really could tap into all our capacities.  Deniro was kind of weak as a supposedly menacing corporate giant which is surprising since he usually does menacing so well.  Cooper is the star trying to cope with success suddenly thrust on him with a growing cost becoming evident.  This is one of his first chances to show he can carry a movie as the lead actor and he acquits himself well - playing to his strength of being likable.  Cornish is extremely strong - I've liked everything she's done.  Howard as a Russian mobster gets the tone of barely submerged rage perfect.  The one thing I did not like was how they handled the dwindling supply of smart pills, just when you think he's run out without the ability to make more, another batch shows up - completely unexplained. This may seem a small point but it was one of the driving plot lines and its just left out there for speculation.  All this being said this is still a very interesting movie with a lot to offer.
MVP:  Cooper as Eddie Mora, coping with unbelievable ability for the first time

Lincoln Lawyer

Actors:  Matthew McConaughey, Marisa Tomei, Ryan Phillipe, Josh Lucas, Michael Pena, William Macy
Rating:  9 out of 10, really intelligent movie capturing the flavor of a book by one of my favorite authors.  McConaughey finally shows some of the potential we've been hearing about for so long.  He does an absolutely great job as the lead in a difficult role where he makes a defense lawyer likable.  The rest of the cast is extremely talented and makes this movie a great watch.  Phillipe, probably the least talented of the actors (not a dig against him but more a tribute to the rest of the cast) makes a superbly evil villain.  Pena in a very small role is also remarkable.  Macy, as always, steals every scene he's in with small gestures and mannerisms that makes him such fun to see.  The plot moves right along with the defense lawyer trapped into defending a man he knows is guilty and who manipulates the system to achieve ultimate justice.  I was prepared to dislike this movie because this is one of my favorite characters from literature but this movie totally charmed me.
MVP:  McConaughey as Micky Haller bringing Connolly's favorite lawyer to life

The Losers

Actors:  Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Zoe Saldana, Chris Evans, Idris Elba, Oscar Jaenada, Columbus Short, Jason Patric
Rating:  8 out of 10, really enjoyable romp with an ensemble cast that is a lot of fun.  Morgan finally gets to survive (inside joke) in a role although it is a near thing.  The military aspects stretch the truth a whole lot but this is still very well put together.  Saladana once again proves she is extremely capable in action/sexy roles and Evans again as the comedy relief guy.  The whole cast obviously got in great shape and did a lot of their own stunts which always makes a movie more believable.  Patric is very interesting as the villain and takes some real liberties with his role which is again, fun to watch.  Short and Jaenada, although given the smallest roles in the group, shine and are a big reason this movie works as well as it does.  This is another graphic novel which has been taken to the movies in a very exciting and enjoyable way. 
MVP(s):  Short as Pooch and Jaenada as Cougar proving there are no small roles helping to anchor a great ensemble cast

Machete

Actors:  Danny Trejo, Michelle Rodriguez, Steven Seagall, Robert Deniro, Jeff Fahey, Jessica Alba, Lindsay Lohan, Cheech Marin, Don Johnson
Rating:  8 out of 10, this is a total guilty pleasure movie as Robert Rodriguez once again delves into his passion for the 1970's B-movie, tapping his Grindhouse muse.  I couldn't decide if this was an honest satire or just a guy with enough money and clout to make whatever kind of movie he wants to.  All that being said, this was a hell of a lot of fun to watch exactly because of its absurdity.  If you are a "serious" movie goer, don't go anywhere near this - it was made to poke fun at you.  Rodriguez has his normal stable of actors and a truly impressive group of supporting actors - Robert Deniro as a Texas good ole boy!  Talk about reaching, but this is what this movie does.  Even with overacting being the name of the game Alba looks totally lost, she just flat can not act.  I've always liked Trejo as a character actor but he was a little (lot) too old for this part.  I think he must have compromising pictures of Rodriguez or something.  Whenever they show him outside of closeups its obvious he is a senior citizen and not the guy capable of everything he does - still he's Machete.  There are just so many interesting characters, Lindsay Lohan as a bimbo (no stretch there), Cheech as a homicidal priest, Seagall as a really fat drug lord, Don Johnson "introduced" in the credits, and Fahey as a truly evil villain.  There is no reason to like this movie except that it is so much fun to watch and let the absolute insanity wash over you.  This is a movie for that dying breed of drive in movie goers, complete with the scratchy print.  This was made simply to entertain, no message, just have fun.  This is a movie that dares you to hate it - I couldn't.
MVP:  Trejo as Machete, so bad he's good and appealing to us AARP guys, I mean he gets to ride off with Alba on his chopper!

The Mechanic

Actors:  Jason Statham, Tony Goldwyn, Donald Sutherland, Ben Foster
Rating:  7 out of 10, workman like effort for Statham that was still very entertaining.  HE plays an assassin forced to kill his mentor under false pretenses.  Foster, so good in everything he does, tries to add an edge to his character but comes across as more weird than deep.  Foster and Statham do make an interesting team and played well off each other.  There were some huge holes in the plot, such as having Statham hiding on the bottom of a pool with no apparent means of breathing and a suddenly appearing steak in a torture scene.  Still the movie has Statham doing what he does best, a very dangerous loner.  Goldwyn, who's starting to show his age, plays his typical slimy villain.  A very entertaining popcorn movie.
MVP:  Statham as Arthur Bishop, the conflicted assassin 

The Omega Man

Actors:  Charlton Heston, Anthony Zerbe, Rosalind Cash, Paul Koslo
Rating:  8 out of 10, one of the favorite movies of my youth that holds up extremely well.  They shot the scenes in L.A. early on Sunday mornings and it was so well done and appropriately eerily empty.. It is funny to see the differences between the races back then, with some of the dialogue that would be considered outright racist nowadays.  Cash is very good and militant in a way I remember from that time.  This movie took some chances, including the first black white romance in a major film.  I think the writers had a lot of fun making the last woman left in the world African American, Heston didn't seem to mind.  Heston, for all the flak he took for his NRA days, was a huge movie star and it's obvious he was a generous actor and he dominates the screen when he's on.  The special effects are the worst, but typical of the time, where did they get that color for blood - almost comical.  This is the same story that they tried to recently re-do with Will Smith and this is so much better. 
MVP:  Heston as Neville, the last man standing, at least for most of the movie

Pandorum

Actors:  Ben Foster, Dennis Quaid, Antje Trau, Cam Gaiganent, Cung Le, Eddie Rouse
Rating:  8 out of 10, this is a really good sci fi drama.  It starts slowly but once you get into the plot it makes complete sense.  Its kind of an indictment on human behavior, felt kind of European to me, but there were enough heroic actions by Foster, Le, and Trau to make this work.  I think this is the best work Foster has done as he ably carries the movie as an initially confused astronaut who has no idea how long he has been in cryo sleep.  As he journeys through the huge ship he encounters a series of characters and some really scary monsters.  The only time this movie slows down is when we're left trying to figure out what the hell is going on with Quaid's character.  Eventually all of frenetic action makes sense and I love the climatic scenes which totally rescue this movie.  Trau is spectacular, this is the first thing I've seen her in but I expect we'll be hearing a lot more from her, great screen presence.  If you can hang with this movie it is well worth it, really enjoyable and scary, with an interesting plot.
MVP:  Foster as Bower, the confused but ultimately transcendent hero

Paul

Actors:  Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Jason Bateman, Kristen Wiig, Seth Rogen
Rating:  9 out of 10, this was a huge surprise for me  because I thought it would be alright but it turned to be just flat hilarious.  Pegg and Frost always make a great comedy team and they are perfect as a couple of British sci fi nerds living their dream vacation when they meet an actual alien, voiced by Rogen.  CGI has reached the point where you forget this character isn't really there.  Its a tribute to the other actors that they make it so believable.  The rest of this ensemble cast is a collection of comedic actors who hit all their marks.  There are some truly funny digs at popular culture and the sci fi genre, though this is done lovingly.  Wiig, as always, is so funny as a reformed Jesus freak.  The climatic scene featuring Sigourney Weaver is perfect.  I absolutely loved this movie. 
MVP:  Rogen, although unseen (probably for the best considering his latest efforts) lends real nuance as the voice of Paul

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

Actors:  Logan Lerman, Brandon T. Jackson, Alexandria Daddario, Jake Abel, Pierce Brosnan, Steve Coogan, Rosario Dawson, Catherine Keener, Kevin McKidd, Uma Thurman, Sean Bean
Rating:  8 out of 10, I initially resisted seeing this because I thought it would be a teeny bopper movie but it turned out to be a great watch. The young stars do extremely well especially Lerman (took a huge step back with this year's 3 Musketeers), Daddario, and Jackson.  The movie is raised to the next level by the supporting cast, most of whom are major stars in their own rights.  Dawson and Thurman looked like they were having a great time with their small roles as did Brosnan who appears as a centaur.  I loved Greek mythology as a kid so it was fun seeing all the legends brought into the plot.  There were also a lot of cool digs at certain places:  Vegas as the land of the lotus eaters and L.A. as the gateway to hell.  This was a lot of fun to watch and really captured my imagination despite my best efforts going in to dislike it.
MVP:  Daddario as Annabeth, daughter of Athena and kick ass demi-god, we'll be hearing more from her.

Piranha

Actors:  Elizabeth Shue, Jerry O'Connell, Richard Dreyfuss, Ving Rhames, Kelly Brook, Adam Scott, Steven R. McQueen, Christopher Lloyd
Rating:  7 out of 10, this is a totally guilty pleasure movie, sort of an ode to the 70's disaster flicks, including the original version by the same name.  What makes this interesting is the inclusion of an actual plot and some really good actors.  Shue and Rhames must have taken this movie as a dare but they lend true class to what is really a B-movie with a big budget.  There are lots of bikinis, gore, almost likable CGI piranhas and a great suprise ending.  There are a lot of neat, somewhat subtle links to old movies.  Dreyfuss, in a very small role, wears the same costume he wore in Jaws and sings the same little ditty he did with Robert Shaw in the same movie.  Lloyd is in full "Doc" mode from Back to the Future.  Kelly Brook is amazing to look at, just huge talents and she actually does okay with the small amount of acting required of her.  O'Connell is just totally out of control as the Girls Gone Wild type, you can almost see him him smirking with some of the lines he has to deliver.  The young lead in this the grandson of the Steve McQueen and he's pretty good.  Sometimes tongue in cheek actually works for an entire movie and that's the case here, a lot of fun, a true guilty pleasure.
MVP:  Brook as Danni the bikini model with her "large tracts of land"

Predators

Actors:  Adrien Brody, Topher Grace, Lawrence Fishburne, Walton Goggins, Alice Braga, Danny Tejo, Oleg Taktarov
Rating:  8 out of 10, this attempted regeneration of the Predator franchise actually worked for me.  Transporting the action to the predator's home game reserve was a great idea.  The biggest surprise for me was Brody; he was extremely believable as the ex-special forces mercenary.  If you told me ahead of time that he had been cast in this role I would have laughed based on his earlier roles but he carried it off.  The rest of the hunted crew are also very good with Taktarov (one of my favorite character actors) as the stolid Russian and Goggins as the death row convict as the best of the rest. Fishburne also does well in a small part as a survivor from earlier hunts.  The special effects are state of the art and they use enough real world effects instead of relying completely on CGI to make it believable.  The only downer was the insertion of a race war among the predators, it was almost impossible to figure out what the factions were and why this wasn't better explained.  I really enjoyed this.
MVP:  Brody as the totally unexpectedly dangerous Royce

Priest

Actors:  Paul Bettany, Maggie Q, Christopher Plummer, Karl Urban, Cam Giganent
Rating:  8 out of 10, set in a post apocalyptic world remaining after a race war between vampires and humans where the Catholic Church rules supreme.  Bettany plays a superhuman priest who has been discarded after the defeat of the vampires.  The vampires have now resurged, despite denials by the church, and kidnapped his secret daughter.  Bettany sets out to rescue his daughter and save the world from a former priest (Urban) now leading the vampires.  That's a lot of plot in a short movie but this movie is another adaptation of a graphic novel and this one translates well.  The entire cast plays it straight and Bettany displays a lot of layers in his portrayal.  There are a lot of shocking moments and the special effects are first rate.  Urban, usually the good guy, does a great job as the villain, but wastes a lot of time which allows the good guys to catch up to him.  Maggie Q is phenomenal as the priestess and suppressed love interest.  A great popcorn movie.
MVP:  Maggie Q as the priestess kicking ass and looking good while she's doing it.

Quo Vadis

Actors:  Robert Tylor, Deborah Kerr, Leo Genn, Peter Ustinov, Buddy Baer
Rating:  7 out of 10, one of the most memorable epic movies from my childhood when I was fascinated by all things Ancient Roman and it still holds up well.  This is the story of the burning of Rome by Nero and persecution of the early Christians.  It is all told with the backdrop of the romance between Taylor as General Marcus Vinicius and Kerr as Lygia.  Both of these actors were real movie stars and the pageantry of the movie in undeniable. This was when a cast of thousands literally meant that with no CGI.  This movie also contains a healthy dose of preaching with big parts for both the apostle Peter and Paul, but its more of a tribute to the courage of the early Christians.  The romance is a huge stretch as it's completely unbelievable that Kerr's character could have fallen for the unbearable Taylor as quickly as she does.  Ustinov is completely over the top as the Emperor Nero - he should have toned it down a whole lot.  This is still a great epic and something you can share with the entire family.
MVP:  Genn, a great actor, as Petronius, lends a great deal of nuance and voices the audience's disdain for the mad antics of Nero

The Centurion

Actors:  Michael Fassbender, Dominic West, David Morrisey, Olga Kurylenko
Rating:  8 out of 10, extremely bloody but very entertaining epic set in Roman controlled Britain. This movie was very similar to the The Eagle but the acting is clearly superior.  The lone downer in this movie was Kurylenko as the villain.  Whoever thought an emaciated model had the physical presence to carry off a warrior woman was sadly mistaken, even with taking out her tongue and painting her various colors.  Fassbender shines again in his tough role as an honor bound Roman officer trying to save the remnants of a destroyed army.  Most of the movie is spent following the group running from the Picts but the scenery is breathtaking and well worth the watch.  The battle scenes are extremely well done and this movie sets a record for the number of beheadings, although they make it look a lot easier than it probably was.  There are heads popping off with just a cross look and there's blood splashing everywhere.  This ends up as a great action movie with very likable heroes and the code of military brotherhood as central motivation.
MVP:  Fassbender as the indomitable centurion Quinus Arias