Brooklyns Finest

Hey Guys. Sorry to break it to you but I just stopped watching Brooklyn's Finest in the middle of the movie. I just turned it off. All I will say is that it is so similar to EVERY cop show on TV with a splash of the movie Crash (different stories combining into one) and a lot of legitimately great actors playing roles that have been played out over the last 4 or 5 years. Drugs, undercover cops, home-life's taking the toll because of the job, a mean head of the Precinct.... you've seen it as much as I have. I was sad to see Ethan Hawke, Don Cheadle, and Richard Gere act out these roles. I'm actually upset. So, I guess I will let you be the judge of it.....

My Elementary Grading Scale: N/A
1-10: N/A

N/A - Not Applicable because I couldn't let myself watch the rest.....

Alice in Wonderland

All respect to Johnny Depp. Other than that, I feel like this Disney Classic was ruined by turning it into a real(ish)-life take on the book by Lewis Carrol. Very similar to the cartoon version, the 2010 film failed to make an impact. If not for our advancements in computer technology, there would not be too much to say about this film. In an attempt to make the film more adult-friendly, Tim Burton tried to give the story a fairly darker edge and included some "other-worldly" characters to roam through this fantasy land.
I am sure all who are reading this know the story of Alice's adventures in Wonderland: the Cheshire Cat, The Red Queen, The White Queen, Blue Caterpillar, Mad Hatter (Depp) and so on. I should lay out a disclaimer about how I am fairly skiddish when it comes to animation and/or a combination of "real" and "CGI". I simply am just not a fan. So, knowing that, there is possibly an unfair balance on what I say about the film since MOSTLY everything of the film was enhanced. The story was the same so if you have seen the original, you MAY just be good with that. However, I know everyone will still want to go see Johnny Depp play another "crazy" role which is becoming his forte. I still like him in Donnie Brasco.

My Elementary Grading Scale: Progressing Satisfactorily
1-10: 6.5

The Crazies

I have become aware of the need to drink bottled water from exotic locations after watching this small town apocalyptic horror/suspense/thriller about a "town-gone-bananas" from a contaminated water source. Fiji water from now on for me. You MAY be thinking, "Hey, isn't that the same storyline as Cabin Fever 1 and Cabin Fever 2?" I will tell you now, "Yes, yes it is fellow movie watcher." However, there is a noticeably different feel to the movie and plot which allows this film, The Crazies, to have its own position in the "contaminated water" film genre that we all know and love. A true suspense film to the very last, I really was entertained by the film. No awards by any committees on this one, but an exciting, fun movie nonetheless.
After an unknown water contamination reaches a small rural farm town in Iowa, it is only a matter of a couple days when all HECK breaks loose. Sicknesses causing men and women to turn psychopathic erupt as an outbreak and the next thing you know, the government is quarantining the town in hopes to stop this horrid illness. As you may have guessed, the quarantine did NOT go as planned (or the movie would literally be 20 minutes long) and a series of chases, gore, and "edge of your seat" moments lead you along as a husband cop (Timothy Olyphant) and wife doctor (Rhada Mitchell) do there best to evade the whack jobs in the government and the whack jobs who are literally whack jobs.

My Elementary Grading Scale: Progressing Satisfactorily
1-10: 7.5

Cop Out

I went into this film scared that it was going to ruin Tracy Morgan for me. I was on the borderline with him, walking this thin line between "overly-stupid" and "straight-up genius" Go to far to the stupid, and it stops being funny....not stupid enough, and its not funny enough sometimes. Actors like Morgan must be careful in their roles as comedians in how they play that type of role. I was happily surprised to find that Tracy Morgan made the movie great! For many scenes, he carried it and made the film THAT much better. Bruce Willis did his fare share playing the "straight-man" in this cop-duo that reminded me a lot of the classic films, Beverly Hills Cop, 48 Hours, and Lethal Weapon. Jimmy and Paul are too cops, suspended after a shoot-out-gone-wrong and are desperate to find a missing baseball card that Jimmy (Willis) had stolen in a pawn shop robbery. Sounds cheesy but as the film went on, it really flowed well and I never felt like it was some far-fetched story line. I was genuinely entertained. As the chase goes on they find themselves working for a bad guy doing his dirty work just to get this "priceless" baseball card back to pay for Jimmy's daughters wedding and shutting up the rich step dad who has it out for him.
I really liked this film. Like I said earlier, Tracy Morgan ROCKED! I could see a sequel coming out of this because the cop duo had great chemistry and the film definitely was fun and exciting. All you 80's cop movie fans will agree!

My Elementary Grading Scale: Exceeding Expectations
1-10: 8