Turbo

ANIMATED, FAMILY

He's Fast. They're Furious.

8.5 out of 10 | Movie or DVD

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Rated: PG Some mild action and thematic elements
Release Date: July 17, 2013
Runtime: 1 hour 36 minutes

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Director: David Soren
Writers: Darren Lemke, Robert D. Siegel, David Soren
Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Paul Giamatti, Michael Pena, Samuel L. Jackson, Luis Guzman, Bill Hader, Snoop Dogg, Maya Rudolph, Ben Schwartz, Richard Jenkins, Ken Jeong, Michelle Rodriguez, Mario Andretti, Mike Bell

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SYNOPSIS:  A freak accident might just help an everyday garden snail achieve his biggest dream: winning the Indy 500.

REVIEW: David Soren has had his hands in the creation of Shark Tale, Madagascar videos and television shorts, and Over the Hedge. Now he hits the big time as the director for an animation bout a snail who dreams of speed. Building a shell for the slug is Jack the Giant Slayer scribe Darren Lemke and Big Fan writer Robert D. Siegel, focusing on a little snail that could.

Theo (Ryan Reynolds, The Croods) is a normal garden variety garden snail. He dreams of going fast, following in the footsteps of his idol and legendary Indy car driver Guy Gagne (Bill Hader, The To-Do List). His brother Chet (Paul Giamatti, Rock of Ages) tries to get Theo to stop thinking about speed and to start thinking about what all other snails think about - tending to the garden and harvesting tomatoes. When an accident makes Theo reassess his slow life, he finds himself injected with nitrous oxide which gives him super speed. Both Theo "Turbo" and his brother are found by a taco seller named Tito (Michael Pena, Gangster Squad) who dreams of making his and his brother Angelo's (Luis Guzman, The Last Stand) taco stand successful. When Tito finds out about Turbo's speed, he and the snail decide to enter Turbo in the Indianapolis 500 race to gain exposure and acclaim!

Dreamworks has a knack for creating unique and interesting animated stories. While Disney Pixar seems to have started to rely on sequels like toy story and spin-offs like the upcoming Planes, dreamworld has dazzled with their recent efforts. Turbo is no exception. Taking a story of a snail that wants to race seems absurd, but they make a great story out of it anyway.

Turbo has a silly cast of characters, especially when dealing with snails. Even though turbo has NOS speed, that doesn't stop other 'need for speed' snails from slithering out of the woodwork. Led by Whiplash (Samuel L. Jackson, The Avengers), Turbo encounters Smoove Move (Snoop Dogg, Starsky and Hutch), Burn (Maya Rudolph, The Way Way Back), Skidmark (Ben Schwartz, The Other Guys), and White Shadow (Mike Bell, Kung Fu Panda 2). All of them are decked out in racing strips and tail fins. Joining the snails are a human cast of characters that seem to have move faith in a turbo-charged snail than Theo's own brother. Tito recruits the other owners in the starlight plaza, including auto mechanic Paz (Michelle Rodriguez, Fast and Furious 6), hobby store owner Bobby (Richard Jenkins, Killing Them Softly), and nail stylist Kim Ky (Ken Jeong, Despicable Me 2).

The animation is dazzling, on par or better than the raceway created on Disney's Cars. From the grooves in the track, to the camera work around and under the other Indy cars, to the discarded tire rubber 'pebbles' on turn four, Turbo does not disappoint. No where near photo realistic, Turbo lets the snails and their human counterparts take on their characters with their voices. The snails are cute and loveable, each with an unique look. The streak trail that Turbo leaves behind is a character all its own, allowing Turbo to speak to Tito in pictionary format when the snail needs to get his point across.

When you are a snail that dreams of speed, you are an outcast from the rest of the snail world. When dreams come reality, Turbo still finds himself a loner until he meets other snails that share his racing vision. At the end of the day, though, Turbo must rely on his own heart and spirit - not turbo-charged speed - if he is to get the job done.

Turbo is a fun ride for kids and adults. Silly, well-rendered, and having a great story of heart and of following a dream, this film will get your motor running.

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White House Down

ACTION/ADVENTURE

Second Term

7.0 out of 10 | Rental

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Rated: PG-13 Some language, a brief sexual image, sequences of intense action violence, and intense gunfire and explosions
Release Date: June 28, 2013
Runtime: 2 hours 17 minutes

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Director: Roland Emmerich
Writers: James Vanderbilt
Cast: Channing Tatum, Jamie Foxx, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jason Clarke, Richard Jenkins, Joey King, James Woods, Jimmi Simpson, Nicolas Wright

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SYNOPSIS:  While on a tour of the White House with his young daughter, a Capitol policeman springs into action to save his child and protect the president from a heavily armed group of paramilitary invaders.

REVIEW: Director Roland Emmerich is known for his summer tentpole disaster films, including 2012 and Independence Day. He returns with another turn at the wheel with more mundane fare than aliens and the end of the world. James Vanderbilt (The Amazing Spider-Man) writes a story about terrorists against the White House and the President.

John Cale (Channing Tatum, This is the End) is a Capitol policeman assigned to a protective detail for the Speaker of the House Raphelson (Richard Jenkins, Jack Reacher), back from serving three tours in Afghanistan and trying to get back into his politically inclined daughter's good graces. When John takes his daughter Emily (Joey King, Oz the Great and Powerful) to the White House for a job interview for the presidential secret service protective detail and afterward for a White House tour, John realizes that he has just walked him and his daughter into a terrorist ambush against President Sawyer (Jamie Foxx, Django Unchained). Torn between protecting the daughter he loves and the presidency he respects, John must make hard choices to discover if he has what it takes.

Armageddon and Deep Impact, The Prestige and The Illusionist, and countless other film pairs that share the same concept from separate studios forced to duke it out in the same film season, White House Down will take its place with the earlier released Olympus Has Fallen. The question is which one is the better film?

While Roland Emmerich has a string of successful summer disaster blockbusters under his belt, Gerard Butler's Olympus Has Fallen seems to be the Armageddon to White House Down's Deep Impact. In comparison, while White House Down has all the slick and signature look of Emmerich's films, and that Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx make a decent comedy pair, the story falls a little flat when it comes to full-on action. The fight choreography and gunfights… Olympus Has Fallen sweeps the board against what Tatum and Foxx have to offer. Both filmss have a child in jeopardy, Olympus... has the President's son and White House... has Cale's daughter in trouble. The villains in each could be a draw in terms of their dastardly motivation. Olympus Has Fallen only had Eckhart and Butler as the main acting draws. White House Down boasts James Wood, Jamie Foxx, Channing Tatum, Maggie Gyllenhall, Richard Jenkins and a few other notable actors. White House Down is the more comedic of the two… although lacking against Olympus Has Fallen's straight on hard-core action with a little dose of snarky rapport.

If these movies came out in different seasons or different years they would be judged on their own merits. Since Olympus Has Fallen came out first its review is based on its own merits, while the second in line White House Down is forced to live in the shadow of a first born twin. The Channing Tatum character is just trying to get into a job that his daughter will respect, while Gerard Butler's character was a top notch Secret Service agent who lost everything trying to keep his head above water.

Enough comparisons! White House down is a decent story of lesser value than Emmerich's Independence Day or 2012, but less epic and less well put together. Was Emmerich rushed to get this flick out quick? We may never know!

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Jack Reacher

Hard Corp

★ ★ ★ ★ out of 5 buckets | Matinee and DVD

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Rated: PG-13 - Violence, some drug material and language.

Release Date: December 21, 2012

Runtime: 2 hours 10 minutes

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Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Writers: Christopher McQuarrie, based on the novel 'One Shot' by Lee Child
Cast:  Tom Cruise, Rosamund Pike, Richard Jenkins, Werner Herzog, David Oyelowo, Jai Courtney, Robert Duvall, Michael Raymond-James, Alexia Fast

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SYNOPSIS: An ex-Army drifter who served as a military investigator in the service is drafted into service again as a civilian when a defense attorney asks him to look into the evidence against a sniper Reacher dealt with before.

REVIEW: Christopher McQuarrie, screenwriter of The Tourist and director of the 2000 The Way of the Gun, writes and directs the first Lee Child novel adaptation of his popular loner anti-hero Jack Reacher, based on the novel 'One Shot'.

A man sets up in a parking garage across the river from the major league ballpark. He selects several targets and fires. In the aftermath, all evidence points to an ex-Army sniper with a classified history of unstable violence. When James Barr (Joseph Sikora, Safe) is arrested, instead of a confession he writes 'Get Jack Reacher'. While the district attorney Alex Rodin (Richard Jenkins, Killing Them Softly) and the top Pittsburgh police detective Emerson (David Oyelowo, Lincoln) can not find the ghost named Reacher, Jack Reacher (Tom Cruise, Rock of Ages) appears in Pittsburgh after seeing Barr's face on the news. The daughter of the district attorney, Helen Rodin (Rosamund Pike, Wrath of the Titans), is set to get Barr a fair trial and enlists Reacher to be her lead investigator to prove why Barr was so eager to kill so many innocent people. But as Reacher digs deeper and finds the evidence too perfect, he is targeted by seen and unseen menaces with their own hidden agenda.

Lee Child has written several stories centered around his loner drifter anti-hero who wants to be left alone but seems to always find himself in trouble. In Jack Reacher, based on Lee Child's 'One Shot', the writer/director Christopher McQuarrie introduces Jack Reacher through quick narrative to get us caught up with the titular character. While Child's 'The Killing Floor' is Jack Reacher's first appearance, 'One Shot' does introduce Reacher well enough. Lovers of the books may be disappointed in the choice of story, but it serves as a well-suited suspense action and suspense tale.

Another issue that has come to light is the choice of Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher. While not the prototypical look and physique that the readers had expected, Child put enough faith in Cruise's star power, box-office draw, and talent to give him the go-ahead. And, in my opinion, Cruise delivers. His stoic, squared-jawed, ripped abs, driven performance should be enough to sway most fans of the books. Also, I think Cruise's more handsome, more diminutive stature allows him to seem the underdog in every situation instead of the obvious victor.

Joining Cruise are Richard Jenkins as the secretive and stern district attorney. Rosamund Pike served as the DA's daughter and opposing council who wants to provide Barr a fair trial while thinking that she cannot win. David Oyelowo joins as the lead Pittsburgh police detective, pulling off his best Sydney Poitier, sympathizing with Rodin and Reacher but keeping his eye in all of the evidence against Barr. Partially hidden in shadows, Reacher may not be capable enough to handle the digit-less man only known as The Zec (Werner Herzog, Invincible), his grim ruthless unnamed buzz-cut lieutenant (Jai Courtney, Spartacus: Vengeance), and some local Pittsburgh thuggery led by a man named Linsky (Michael Raymond-James, True Blood).

From the intense shooting gallery scene at the beginning of the film to the climatic showdown in a rainy quarry, Jack Reacher should appeal to the staunchest of action fans. Lovers of the intrigue genre will also be satisfied. there are familiar vignettes as reminders of Lethal Weapon, A Few Good Men, Bullitt, and even The Blues Brothers, letting you know there is action, suspense, and laughs. Yes, laughs! There is great stoic humor in the dialogue and physicality and situations. One particular bathroom brawl is so absurd that it should bring out a tear of laughter.

Jack Reacher would entertain with spills, thrills, intrigue, action and humor. The Lee Child book series fans should get enough from Cruise's characterization of the titular anti-hero to have them clamoring for more of the series to be adapted. "Remember, you wanted this!" 

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Killing Them Softly

Slice of American Life

★ ★ ★ out of 5 buckets | Rental

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Rated: R - Violence, sexual references, pervasive language and some drug use.

Release Date: November 30, 2012

Runtime: 1 hour 37 minutes

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Director: Andrew Dominik
Writers: Andrew Dominik, based on the novel 'Cogan's Trade' by George V. Higgins
Cast:  Brad Pitt, Scoot McNairy, Ben Mendelsohn, James Gandolfini, Richard Jenkins, Vincent Curatola, Ray Liotta, Sam Shepard, Trevor Long, Max Casella, Slaine

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SYNOPSIS: A local dry cleaner owner hires two down-on-their-luck thugs to rob an underground card game, knowing that the lackey running the game will most likely be targeted for the theft.

REVIEW: Andrew Dominik, writer and director of The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and Chopper, adapts the 1974 George V. Higgins novel 'Cogan's Trade' into a screenplay that reunites Dominik with his Jesse James star Brad Pitt. Gritty and raw, Killing Them Softly takes a different look at pre-Obama America and the occupational hazards of a hitman trying to make a living.

Struggling dry cleaner owner Johnny 'Squirrel' Amato (Vincent Curatola, Frame of Mind) and former convict hatches a plan to rob an illegal card game. Using two down-and-out thugs Frankie (Scoot McNairy, Argo) and his junkie partner Russell (Ben Mendelsohn, The Dark Knight Rises), 'Squirrel' directs the duo to steal from mob lackey Markie Trattman (Ray Liotta, Charlie St. Cloud) who had already stolen from his card game once before. When the job is done, a mob contact and driver (Richard Jenkins, The Cabin in the Woods) hires hitman Jackie (Brad Pitt, Money Ball) to investigate the crime and who was ultimately responsible. As the job gets more complicated, Jackie must bring in help in the form of old-timer Mickey (James Gandolfini, Where the Wild Things Are) and driver Kenny Gill (Slaine, The Town).

Killing Them Softly is somewhat a different film. Set amidst the backdrop of a changing America that was experiencing drastic and life-changing economical climate, there are no redeeming characters in the film. Each one as crooked as the one who came before them with varying degrees of badness, but with their own sense of code. Due to the failing economy, even the most staltworth former criminal finds that a return to a life of crime is all but inevitable. Well-loved mob runner Markie has stolen from his own house. Frankie just needs a break after he finds that the parole and work-release 'system' is counterproductive. Burnout Russell walks and sells dogs in the hopes of scoring drugs to sell, all in a pyramidal pursuit to make more and more money. Hitman Jackie, ever the professional and businessman, detests the bureaucratic nonsense that keeps him from being as effective as he needs to be.

Aside from the flawed but intriguing characters, director Dominik engages the audience with witty dialogue and wonderfully abstract camera work. Like Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, and his own Chopper, every shot is painstakingly handcrafted for maximum effect. Jackie's encounter with Markie in the pouring rain is a perfect example of what makes the film so interesting. Russell and Frankie's conversation during Russell's needle ride on his own supply of smack deserves accolades as well. The banter between Pitt's Jackie and Gandolfini's Mickey is both enlightening and poignant.

Dominik's take of a changing economic America and a changing illegal trade into a bureaucratic quagmire 'corporate' cooperative is fun, if a bit obvious. The continued radio broadcasts and television telecasts of then current President George W. Bush and current senator and future President Barack Obama sets the tone of what all of the characters are dealing with for their future prosperity. The business of illegal trade, betting, card games, and public perception all play their part in this drama.

Killing Them Softly finds itself in a precarious position. It finds trying to balance with fine acting, an interesting story, great dialogue, and unique camera work with a sometimes obvious forced moral and relevant perspective in a time that takes place years after the original 1974 George V. Higgins novel was published.

Killing Them Softly is a strange little tale of just trying to make it and getting the job done. The performances are cool and the characters engrossing. But will it appeal to all? I guess you will have to decide to on whether to take on the contract for yourself.

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Liberal Arts

Knowledge is Sorrow

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Rated: NR
Release Date: September 14, 2012
Runtime:  1 hour 37 minutes

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Director: Josh Radnor
Writers: Josh Radnor
Cast:  Josh Radnor, Elizabeth Olsen, Richard Jenkins, Allison Janney, John Magaro, Zac Efron, Elizabeth Reaser

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SYNOPSIS:  When 30-something Jesse returns to his alma mater for a professor's retirement party, he falls for Zibby, a college student, and is faced with a powerful attraction that springs up between them.

REVIEW: Josh Radnor, star of the CBS hit comedy How I Met Your Mother, is becoming a renaissance man with forays into writing and director feature films. In 2010, Radnor surprised at the Sundance Film Festival with HappyThankyouMorePlease where he won the Audience Award and was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize. When he finished Liberal Arts and presented it at the festival, the film was snatched up for distribution. Does triple threat writer/director/actor John Radnor serve up another hit? Let's take a look.

Thirty-something college graduate Jesse (Josh Radnor, HappyThankYouMorePlease) works at the admissions office of a New York college, an avid reader of literature and graduate of an Ohio college with a liberal arts degree. When Professor Peter Hoberg (Richard Jenkins,The Cabins in the Woods) looks to retire at Jesse's alma mater, Jesse returns to his own campus and finds himself transcending to an earlier, more knowledge-hungry, care-free time of his life. While on campus, Jesse meets 19-year-old old soul Zibby (Elizabeth Olsen, Silent House) who captures his imagination. When Jesse returns to New York, he and Zibby stay connected through hand-written letters and a burned CD of classical music that Zibby found awakened a new awareness in her during her Music Survey course. Jesse and Lizzy realize that there was a strong attraction to each other and try to figure out what to do about it.

Because in much wisdom there is much grief, and increasing knowledge ... For in much wisdom is much grief; and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.
Ecclesiastes 1:18

Josh Radnor would be the first to tell you that he was working through something when he wrote the script for Liberal Arts. Looking to learn a lesson about the prospects of aging and of one's mortality, Radnor creates a story that is fueled from personal experience and personal growth. An alum of Kenyan College in real life, Radnor did take a real trip to his alma mater and realized that he had matured to a point where interactions with the younger generation still attending college would seem suspect.

Liberal Arts is a romantic dramedy in the best sense of the genre, the script following the trials and tribulations of Jesse by using several perspectives and opinions to light the way. Jesse interacts with the 'end of the road' Professor Peter Hoberg who wants to escape the prison that a few decades of working at the college has made it for him. During his wanderings through the campus, Jesse also encounters a young student Dean (John Magaro, The Box) who is both emotionally distant and a kindred spirit who enjoys the same book that shaped his own younger mind. Jesse can relate to both his own youth in the form of Dean, as well as his mounting fears that his second favorite college professor confides to him concerning his impending retirement.

Smartly written with poignant prose and dialogue, Radnor has mastered translating the written words into compelling dialogue. A perfect example of Radnor's craft coming to life can be encapsulated in a cafe bench debate between Jesse and Zibby over the pros and cons of 'Solar Sun, Lunar Moon', a campy vampire romance novel, and its place in literature. Is literature relegated to prose that compels and enriches, or is it something that you can enjoy just as fun? The conundrum that Jesse poses about literature in its totality is that 'literature is created to combat loneliness', but the more you read the less you exist in the real world.

Centered around the struggle of the yearnings of the idealized past, the drifting wayward existence of the the present, and the fears of an unknown future, Josh Radnor's story is made all the better with stellar performances by Radnor, the stunning and enthralling Elizabeth Olsen, and Richard Jenkins. Add in characters like a Romantic Literature Professor Judith Fairfield played with grace and diction by Allison Janney (The Help), a young spiritual guru Nat played without irony by Zac Efron (The Lucky One), young troubled student Dean played by John Magaro, and a wistful book store employee Ana played by Elizabeth Reaser (The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1) - plus the Ohio college campus as an Autumn oasis of enlightenment and higher learning - and you have a refreshing, intelligent film worth viewing.

Liberal Arts may be an independent film, but ranks high on the list of films with something to say and a beautiful way to say it. From the new perspectives found through a pair of headphones and a burned CD, to the lost art of hand-written letters, to the influences of the written word on the expectations of real life, Liberal Arts is measured by more than degrees. 

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WORTH:  Matinee or DVD

The Cabin in the Woods

Monster Menagerie

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Rated: R  Bloody horror violence and gore, language, drug use and some sexuality/nudity
Release Date: April 13, 2012
Runtime: 1 hr 45 mins

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Director: Drew Goddard
Writers:  Joss Whedon, Drew Goddard
Cast: Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison, Fran Kranz, Jesse Williams, Richard Jenkins, Bradley Whitford

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SYNOPSIS: Five college friends head to a cabin in the woods for a relaxing jaunt, unaware that the entire area is controlled by unknown forces.

REVIEW: Drew Goddard, writer of Cloverfield and episodes of Lost and Alias, moves into the director's chair for the first time to bring to grisly life the shared vision that he and Joss Whedon (Serenity) put to paper. Much of the attention for Whedon may be on the quickly upcoming superhero fare, The Avengers, but he can successfully write for multiple genres including science fiction, action, fantasy, and horror. 

Five collage friends find themselves with the opportunity to get away to a cousin's cabin in the woods. Consisting of Curt (Chris Hemsworth, Thor), his girlfriend Jules (Anna Hutchison, Go Girls), Curt's burnout friend Marty (Fran Kranz, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules), recently dumped Dana (Kristen Connolly, The Happening) and fresh face and new friend Holden (Jesse Williams, Brooklyn's Finest). As they settle into their new surroundings in the pine forested and crystal laked locale, they have no idea that the entire area is wired for sight and sound. In fact, an entire corporate facility is built under the area to observe and control a more sinister operation.

Whedon and Goddard bring to the big screen a high concept suspense horror thriller that hasn't been seen in a long time. Sure, The Cabin in the Woods has all of the commercial earmarks of a classic slasher in the woods horror flick, but it tips all the normal genre conventions on end. It all starts at the opening titles as the camera pans through a bloody series of brutal cave etchings, simple drawings, carvings, and Renaissance paintings. Then the audience is faced with corporate stiffs Sitterson (Richard Jenkins, Hall Pass) and Hadley (Bradley Whitford, The West Wing) in a vast sterile corporate complex discussing the work they had to complete over the weekend, competing with a rival Japanese firm. You quickly start to question whether you are in the correct movie theater at all, checking your ticket stub to verify the theater number. But then the 70s-style movie title bangs onto the screen to shock you and verify what movie you are attending, as well as defining the tone for the rest of the film.

All of the stereotypes are present - the athlete, the intellectual, the burnout, the easy girl, and the virginal prude. Whedon and Goddard do, however, strike a delicate balance between the traditional constructs and almost new high concepts fresh to the genre. In the manner of The Evil Dead, Goddard approaches the cabin with a low sweeping camera angle and blows open a living room floor seated cellar door with the inferred dare that the group of friends check out the lower level - with the help of the men in the control room. Once there, the drinking and smoking group looks through an array of strange artifacts, keepsakes, antiques, and diaries, eventually setting loose a quartet of redneck zombies bent on their immediate destruction. From there the story pits corporate controllers against youngsters against zombie killers, all for some mysterious purpose that eludes us for some time.

The mighty Chris Hemsworth strips off his regal vestments, reduced to a normal college athlete with charm and blue eyes. Kristen Connelly starts off as an unsure sidekick and quickly grows into a a woman not to be trifled with. The standouts of the film are Fran Kranz' burnout conspiracy theorist Marty whose every uttered word is comedy gold, and Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford as the senior operations officers Sitterson and Hadley, respectively, who don't take their classified work too seriously. The other standouts are the monsters that roam in and under the forest.

Not much more can be said about The Cabin in the Woods without giving away too much. Funny, witting, suspenseful and self-aware, this film is an intelligent twist on an all-too-common formula. Some fans of horror may be put off by the concept and plot, but I came away from the darkened screening auditorium with a smile on my face and kudos on my lips for seeing something fresh. This film is a four out of five in my book, but I tempered it down a 1/2 a bucket for the simple fact that the plot my be too off-putting to be enjoyable for all patrons. But in any case, I found out where all of the monsters go when they are not lurking under the bed or hiding in the closet. 

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WORTH: Matinee or DVD

Friends With Benefits

How Can We Be Lovers If We Can't Be Friends?

Director: Will Gluck
Writers: Keith Merryman, David A. Newman, Will Gluck, Harley Peyton
Cast: Justin Timberlake, Mila Kunis, Patricia Clarkson, Jenna Elfman, Richard Jenkins, Woody Harrelson

SYNOPSIS: Dylan and Jamie, after their last break-ups, decide to close themselves off from the perfect "Hollywood" romances and have casual sex with each other, not realizing that even being friends with benefits comes with its own set of complications.

REVIEW: Fired Up and Easy A director Will Gluck takes a stab at a slightly more adult, if much more raunchy, romantic comedy with Friends with Benefits. Coming out at the peak of the Summer season, Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis still have to contend with being second fiddle as a "me, too" to Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman's No Strings Attached released at the start of this year. Both films are quirky, silly and focusing on unattached intimate contact, but which one, if either at all, come out the winner? HotButterReviews.com gave No Strings Attached a 2.5 out of 5 on the Popcorn Meter for their effort in the casual sex sub-genre of romantic comedies. Let's see how Friends With Benefits fared.

Justin Timberlake, drawing on his boyish charm, film street cred with Alpha Dog, and comedy chops culled from his SNL experiences, tackles his first truly leading man romantic comedy role. Mila Kunis, no stranger to film with turns in The Book of Eli and Black Swan, and no stranger to comedy with television's That 70s Show, joins Timberlake opposite as his leading lady. Dylan (Timberlake), an internet blogger entrepreneur in Los Angeles, is lured to New York City by corporate head hunter Jamie (Kunis) for an editor position at GQ magazine. Both of them have run into and out of bad relationships in the past, and as their friendship develops they drunkenly decide one night that they would make a perfect casual sex, booty-call couple. Since one is emotionally shut-down and the other is emotionally damaged, they start having a great time with each other - and each other's bodies! But as with any romantic comedy, one or both start to have real feelings with the other and the casual relationship starts having unexpected complications and turns.

Trying to complicate the story more are Jamie's flighty mother Lorna (Patricia Clarkson), Dylan's sometimes lucid father (Richard Jenkins) cared by Dylan's sister Annie (Jenna Elfman) and her son Sam (Nolan Gould), and a GQ sports editor Tommy (Woody Harrelson) trying to persuade Dylan that he should be gay. Completing the cast are silly opening scene cameos from Andy Samberg as Jamie's soon-to-be ex-boyfriend Quincy and Emma Stone as Dylan's soon-to-be ex-girlfriend Kayla. Even snow boarder Shaun White plays himself for comic effect.

Timberlake is quirky and funny as one would expect him to be, although his dramatic, tender side does not play as strongly as his Alpha Dog role. Mila Kunis is strong and sexy, with her exotic looks and sharp tongue, weaving her Black Swan mystique into a lighter, funny lead. Serious moments with Dylan and his once mighty father, and Jamie and her commitment-phobic mother keep the film grounded, but would have worked better is a more serious film.

If you like No Strings Attached, you will probably enjoy Friends With Benefits, but it is certainly is no The Proposal. It is interesting, though, that Kutcher and Kunis both worked on That 70s Show, Kunis and Portman both worked in Black Swan, and Timberlake was Punk'd by Kutcher. Is this history repeating itself, or are we just getting punk'd again?

WORTH: Matinee or Netflix

Let Me In

The Real Monsters

[Kodi Smit-McPhee, Chloe Moretz, Richard Jenkins, Elias Koteas, Dylan Minnette]

image from Daemonsmovies.com

RANT: It is Friday, October 1st. AMC is showing horror flicks all month. A batch of bloody flicks stream into the theater. So many hatchets and saws, so little time.

SYNOPSIS: Bullied loner Owen befriends his new 12 year old neighbor, Abby. As their relationship deepens, Owen begins to realize that she is more, and less, than what she seems.

Based on the novel and 2008 film, "Let the Right One In", written by John Ajvide Lindqvist, Matt Reeves co-writes and directs the American version starring Kodi Smit-McPhee of "The Road" and Chloe Moretz of "Kick-Ass".

Owen and his soon-to-be divorced mother live in an apartment complex in Los Alamos. Bullied by three thugs at school and unhappy with the religious rhetoric from his mother, Owen keeps to himself in the courtyard in the middle of his apartment complex at night. When not in the courtyard, Owen spies on his neighbors from his room with his telescope and fantasizes about retribution against his attackers. When a bare-footed girl, Abby, walks through to move into the apartment next door with her father, Owen instantly takes notice and interest in the girl. Within a few days the bullies, led by Kenny, torture and abuse Owen in the school lavatory. In the meanwhile, the police begin to find bodies that seem to lead back to someone in the apartment complex.

At the core, this film is a love story. Owen is reading and watching Romeo & Juliet is school, the Shakespeare prose "I must be gone and live, or stay and die", resonating throughout. Does it foreshadow the ultimate fate of Owen? Once Owen discovers that Abby must consume blood to survive, his close relationship with her seems to be in jeopardy. Abby detests what she is and what she becomes, but still yearns for companionship. The blood drying on her chin runs in stark contrast to the softness in her eyes as she lays with Owen in his bed.

From directing "Cloverfield", I expected much from Reeves. One of the only issues I had with the film is the unnecessary use of CGI effects instead of using practical effects. When Abby attacks a neighbor in a walk-thru tunnel or flees to the top of a tree like a squirrel, the computer effect is most notably obvious. In contract, the practical effects used climatic screen with Owen in the school's pool was much more potent and satisfying. If the care taken at the end was used throughout the film for the effects, "Let Me In" would be pitch perfect.

Honorable mention needs to be given to the true monster of the film, namely Dylan Minnette who plays Owen's tormentor Kenny. Even though Abby feeds on blood of men, at least she shows remorse and shame for what she is. Kenny, on the other hand, is zeroed in on ruining Owen's childhood.

"Let Me In" is not a film for all goers. For those looking for a straight horror flick, this is not it. Channeling "Near Dark", the film looks to humanize the afflicted and shed light on the everyday monsters that lurk all around us every day.

Worth: Matinee and DVD

I am also trying out a new rating system shown below based on reader reaction to my somewhat complex monetary rating scale. I will give both ratings and see what kind of reaction I muster. A movie can receive up to 5 popcorn buckets. Why popcorn buckets? Because I am a slave to the thousand + calorie delight! Enjoy!