Joseph Gordon-Levitt - Premium Rush

        Premium Rush

           2 Stars of 5

The average package in Manhattan takes a minimum of one day to be delivered- Wilee (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) can do it in less than an hour. Risking life and limb every day, Wilee and his gang of action junkie bike messengers fly through the streets of New York topping speeds of 20 miles an hour, all for a few bucks a day. Wilee meets danger head on almost daily, but one afternoon he gets more than he’s bargaining for when a dirty cop shows a little too much interest in one of his packages and demands Wilee give it to him. What’s in Wilee’s mystery package and why does his new friend want it so bad?

I didn’t really expect “Premium Rush’’ to be very good, it seemed cliché, and after all how good could a film about bicycle riding be? Sadly “Premium Rush” didn’t exceed my expectations. Perhaps the biggest letdown of all was Joseph Gordon-Levitt. I really enjoyed his performance in “The DarkKnight Rises”, as well as “Inception” a few years back, and I was very excited to see him playing a lead role. Unfortunately he was terrible. I don’t think it was Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s fault, just that he didn’t seem to match the role of Wilee the young and energetic bike rider even the least bit; and with a bad performance by the lead role it’s almost impossible for a film to redeem itself and be even half good. Another thing that I was disappointed about “Premium Rush” was the lack of an even half decent storyline. The only thing that I liked about “Premium Rush” were the bicycle actions scenes where Joseph Gordon-Levitt was being chased by the NYDP and the bad guys, however even adrenaline rushing chase scenes get old after an hour strait of weaving through traffic without a plot; after the first hour or so “Premium Rush” quickly turned to “Premium watching-Joseph Gordon-Levitt-go-for-a-bike-ride”. Needless to say I was very disappointed, “Premium Rush” was one of my most anticipated films of the summer, but sadly ended up in my bottom five of the summer. On a scale of evening price, matinee price, wait for it on DVD, and skip it; I rate it “wait for it on DVD” and give it 2 stars out of 5.

"The Expendables 2"

       The Expendables 2

                  4 of 5 stars

Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone) and his tough-as-nails team of mercenaries are back (Jason Statham, Jet Li, Terry Crews, Liam Hemsworth,Rand Couture, Nan Yu, and Dolph Lundgren); and this time it’s personal. After being cornered by an old friend in need of a favor, Barney signs his team up for another job. Their latest mission consists of tracking down a wrecked aircraft, and extracting an unknown package from a hidden safe; a walk in the park for Barney’s team. However once they retrieve their package, company shows up and robs them of their mystery package and brutally murders one of their team members. Their objective quickly shifts from their original assignment to revenge for their friends murder. With all odds stacked against them, can they avenge their fallen comrade, or will they end up  like their deceased buddy?

What I really enjoyed about “The Expendables 2” was the constant action. Every time one brutal fight scene ended, another was only a few minutes around the corner; and that’s what made “The Expendables 2” a blast. I walked into the theater with about moderate expectations, I didn’t really expect much of a plot, or all that great of a storyline, I just knew I could count on brutal fight scenes and engaging action scenes too. “The Expendables 2” actually hit home with me… by a lot. There was just something awesome about so many legendary action stars all on the same set tearing the bad guys to shreds, and there was just enough humor sprinkled in to lighten the mood. There were crazy stunts, stunning explosions, and even a few Chuck Norris

Will Ferrell and Zach Galifanakis - "The Campaign"

                

                  The Campaign

                  3 1/2 stars of 5

Immoral and dishonest Cam Brady (Will Ferrell) is about to serve his fifth straight term in congress for district 14 of North Carolina; only thanks to the fact that he’s never had an opponent. However, once his approval rating tanks after an explicit sexual phone call to one of his supporters leaks, two wealthy businessmen seize the opportunity and enter a candidate of their own in hopes of having a pawn in congress to control district 14 in their favor in hopes of selling it to China for a massive profit. Their pick? Socially awkward and uncanny Marty Huggins (Zach Galifanakis). With a position in the U.S. congress and control over district 14 on the line, stakes couldn’t be higher. At first Cam’s opponent seems more like a joke than anything else, but as he begins to appeal to the district 14’s citizens and climb in the polls, it turns into an all-out, no-holds bared match between Brady and Higgins; doing whatever it takes to sink their opponent and win the election. Who will win? Will district 14 be sold to China?

I walked into the theater with low expectations for “The Campaign”, the trailer looked hilarious, but most all raunchy comedies aren’t very good; the sexual humor usually dries up about halfway through, and then you’re left with a terrible drama laced with awful jokes. I was quite surprised though, “The Campaign” exceeded my expectations by quite a lot. It wasn’t all just lazy sex jokes, there was also a lot of original slapstick comedy to laugh at. I could say I got at least 25 good laughs out of “The Campaign”. With the presidential election right around the corner in November, this was the prime time to release “The Campaign”, especially with all of the jabs our candidates are taking at each other seemingly daily. There were two things I disliked about

Collin Farrell - "Total Recall"

            Total Recall

            3 stars of 5

A nuclear war at the turn of the 21^st century leaves most of Earth uninhabitable, only two livable settlements remain-the UFB and The Colony.  The rich and powerful UFB have been The Colony since the birth of the two territories. The underprivileged citizens of The Colony live in poverty stricken cities and terrible housing while the UFB is quite the opposite; a resistance is mounting against the UFB. For factory worker and lifetime citizen of The Colony, Douglas Quaid (Colin Farrell), his boring and repetitive life starts to seem… well, boring and repetitive so he takes a trip to Rekall; a company that can provide its clients with a false memory of their choice. Douglas chooses a secret agent memory, however once he is hooked up to the Rekall machine; something goes horribly wrong when the shop is raided by UFB Special Forces. Swarmed with lies and unanswered questions, Douglas then begins to suspect that he is a secret agent working with the resistance to bring down the repressive UFB’s hold over The Colony. Is Douglas who he suspects? If so can he save The Colony?

To be honest, I didn't walk into the theater with very high hopes for “Total Recall”. It seemed like