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Like my dad, I love a good Western, and I was really looking forward to this updated Lone Ranger. This version is a fast-paced action, action packed thrill ride. However, it gets bogged down by switching to San Francisco scenes which interrupts the flow. It also saddled a good 10 minutes of screen time that were not necessary to the plot. The action is superb. The CGI effects were well done and only noticeable on a few scenes. Johnny Depp is fantastic as Tonto and Armie Hammer makes a convincing Lone Ranger. While mot perfect, this movie was enjoyable and I didn't feel bored even with the long runtime (149 minutes).

THIS MOVIEDOOD RATES IT: Sweet! 

I grew up the the Christopher Reeve Superman movies, so I was skeptical about the reboot, Man of Steel. I wasn't impressed with the original reveal of /Henry Cavelli/ as the new Superman, nor of the first movie poster (which was just a screengrab from the film). I found the teaser trailer to be less than compelling. But I tried to keep an open mind. And I'm glad I did.

This version of Superman is grittier, more action focus and quite simply, super. It took awhile to build a good pace, but then the movie took off. Zod was badass cool. Lois Lane was even more fierce and tenacious than ever.

And Superman was a bit more real. The visual effects were incredible, seemlessly integrated with the live action. The Metropolis fight scene was a breathtaking, no-holds-barred battle truly fitting of the Superman legacy.

THIS MOVIEDOOD RATES IT: Awesome!

I have heard great things about this movie from my friends and it's won a lot of awards, so I figured Silver Linings Playbook had to be good, right? Wrong. This movie is crazy boring and painfully slow going. Perhaps it is because it's billed as a comedy. There is very little comedy here, mostly drama and way too much of it. The only saving graces are two: Jennifer Lawrence is hot and the last 30 minutes. Within that last 30 minutes are what the movie could have been and clearly where it hit its stride. Yes, I know some movies do need to take time to build up, but this movie spent too long on it and as such, they had to end it quickly or risk running over time.
THIS MOVIEDOOD RATES IT: Bah.

Fantastic. Hitch is well played by Anthony Hopkins, so much so that if I closed my eyes, I would swear that Hitchcock had come back from the dead to star in this film. Compelling and unusual just like the man himself. I liked the mini mystery within the movie as well as seeing the behind-the-scenes of the filming of Pyscho. Not sure how much was real vs. "artistic license", but it played well on screen and felt authentic through and through. If you are a fan of Hitchcock movies, you have to see this delightful romp.
THIS MOVIEDOOD RATES IT: Awesome!

Andrew Lloyd Weber was at his height during my teen years I pent many an hour listening to Phantom of the Opera and Les Mis on CD. It wasn't until a few years ago that I finally got to see the stage production of Les Miserables. it was so totally worth the wait. Then the theatrical version came along. It looked good, but coming off the high of watching the stage production, I wasn't sure it would quite live up to the hype. Thankfully, this movie delivers a compelling version of Victor Hugo's masterpiece. It downplays the humor a bit, but it is compelling and moving experience. All the stars performances were utterly amazing. It would be difficult to chose a fav, but I think that Hugh Jackman has the edge here. The visual effects are. Perfectly integrated into the scenes, enhancing them, but staying subtle so as not to disrupt my suspension of disbelief. For any fan of Les Mis, this is a must-see.

THIS MOVIEDOOD RATES IT: Awesome! 

When I first heard about Gatsby, I wasn’t interested. but then I heard it was directed by Baz Luhrman, my ears perked up. I loved his version of Moulin Rouge, so I was excited to see what he'd do with Gatsby. Perhaps I was expecting it to be more like Moulin Rouge, but boy was u wrong to be excited. What a waste of time this movie was. It was a painfully slow buildup to more slow. Way too much time was spent on exposition, and the movie was way too long at over 2 hours and 30 minutes. The music was good, but the dance scenes were a chaotic mess that did not flow well together at all. Honestly, I fell asleep for about 30-40 minutes (which is rare for me) and was happy that I woke close to the end of the movie. Don't wast our time on this one.

THIS MOVIEDOOD RATES IT: WTF?