G-Force

Rating: PG

Movie Release Date: July 24, 2009

DVD Release Date: December 15, 2009

Plot 411: An experimental team of guinea pigs must save the world from disaster and prove they are skilled FBI agents.

Review: Ben (Zach Galifianakis) is heading an experimental program for the FBI that trains common rodents to be special agents. He has put together a team consisting of three guinea pigs and a mole. Led by Darwin (Sam Rockwell), Blaster (Tracy Morgan), Juarez (Penelope Cruz) and Speckles (Nicholas Cage) go on a mission to take down a suspected international arms dealer (Bill Nighy). Avoiding capture from FBI agents who want to stop their program, the team ends up in a pet store and gets a taste of what life as a pet is like. This movie wasn't as bad as I was anticipating. There was a lot of action that made it a lot of fun. However, the dialogue was a bit forced. They kept referencing famous movies and pulling lines out left and right. I guess that was supposed to be for the adults. Unfortunately, it wasn't really put together well enough to capitalize on that. The animation was pretty good, but I found it hard to connect with it. They just didn't seem real at all.

Watch It: For one of the few action animated flicks out there.

Skip It: Because it's not really one of those memorable movies with a lot of impact.

Kick-Ass

Rating: R

Movie Release Date: March 26, 2010 (UK) / April 16, 2010 (USA)

DVD Release Date: TBD

Plot 411: Dave's just another comic book-loving kid . . . until he decides to be a real-life superhero and finds himeslf in over his head.

Review: Dave (Aaron Johnson) and his friends live mediocre high school lives and are neither popular or unpopular. But this all changes when Dave decides to live his life like a comic book superhero to help those in need. How hard can it be, right? He soon finds out when he meets the ass-kicking duo of Big Daddy (Nicholas Cage) and Hit-Girl (Chloe Grace Moretz). Dave becomes caught in a feud that Big Daddy is waging against the man (Mark Strong) who killed his wife. A deadly battle is brewing, and Dave is caught in the middle of something straight out of a graphic novel. After a slow set up, this movie kicked it into high gear. The action was outrageous and built all the way to the climax. It was also really funny in that geeky, fanboy way. Dave's superhero persona, named Kick-Ass, is awesomely hideous. Dressed in his mail order, rent-a-costume, he is exactly what you picture all superheroes to be. It's so cheesy that it's perfect. I was pleasantly surprised by Nicholas Cage's performance in this movie. I haven't enjoyed any of his recent offerings, but he won me over with this over-the-top role. Another great performance was put in by Christopher Mintz-Plasse, who plays Red Mist. He plays a snotty little rich kid who desperately seeks the approval of his father, a underworld figure.

Watch It: For some really cool martial arts and gun play. The laughs are right up there too.

Skip It: If you wonder why people laugh when they see other people getting hurt. It's that kind of humor sometimes.

Astro Boy

Rating: PG

Movie Release Date: October 23, 2009

DVD Release Date: March 16, 2010

Plot 411: When his son dies, a scientist goes to extreme measures to bring him back.

Review: I don't even know how to express how much I disliked this movie. It was such a yawnfest. I've never read the manga so I can't compare the film to it, but this movie was kind of a time waster. Set in a time when technology is advanced enough to create robots who do everything for humans and when humans are disinterested in preserving the planet (kind of similar to Wall-E), a scientist (Nicholas Cage) is strong armed to create a peace-keeping robot. However, during a demonstration of this robot, his son Toby (Freddie Highmore) is killed. In this grief, the scientist creates a robot with his son's memories and physical features, but he soon realizes that this robot cannot replace his son. Banished from his home, the robot boy (later named Astro) finds his way to Surface, which is actually the surface of the earth. Because of the earth's impending destruction, the citizens created Metro City, which floats in the sky above all the waste. I dunno . . . the plot has shades of Wall-E and doesn't even come close to replicating its environmental themes. It doesn't seem to condemn science and technology enough. It doesn't seem to applaud humanity enough. The action sequences weren't all that impressive. It wasn't outstandingly funny. This move just wasn't anything.

Watch It: If maybe you enjoy the manga and want to see it come to life?

Skip It: For a better-quality animated film.

Knowing

Rating: PG-13

Movie Release Date: March 20, 2009

DVD Release Date: July 7, 2009

Plot 411: When a time capsule is dug up at his son's school, John discovers that a 50-year-old letter correctly predicts all the major disasters that have occurred.

Review: Nicholas Cage plays John, a college professor teaching astrophysics at MIT. When his son receives a 50-year-old letter, John uncovers a code that details every major disaster that has happened. This spurs him to find the letter's writer and anyone connected to her in order to prevent future events. When John learns the writer is dead, he seeks out her daughter (Rose Byrne) Diana. In the meantime, John's son Caleb (Chandler Canterbury) begins to hear whispered voices in his head and see visions of destruction. To me, this movie made no sense at all. After establishing that John is a professor at a prestigious university, he spends the rest of the movie running around town like effin Indiana Jones. He is so not Indy. Another baffling thing is the numerology involved in the plot. Apparently the writer was possessed by something that made her write all these numbers down. These numbers predicted mass casualties in the future. Caleb also becomes possessed and writes a series of numbers at one point in the film, yet these numbers do not come to fruition. Why would one work and not the other? There are just too many plot holes in this film for it to work for me.

Watch It: If you're a Nick Cage fan or into the sci fi genre.

Skip It: If you're a fan of a good movie.

Gone In Sixty Seconds

Rating: PG-13

Movie Release Date: June 9, 2000

DVD Release Date: November 28, 2000

Plot 411: Fifty hot cars are stolen in one night to prevent a murder.

Review: Nicholas Cage stars as Memphis, a former car thief who is forced out of retirement when his kid brother Kip's (Giovanni Ribisi) life is threatened. After a botched job for crime pen Calitri (Christopher Eccleston), Kip, Memphs and their old crews must steal 50 cars to fulfill the contract. To avoid capture, they decide to steal them all in one night. The crews - which includes Sway (Angelina Jolie), Otto (Robert Duvall), Sphinx (Vinnie Jones), Tumbler (Scott Caan) and others - stake out all the high-end, hard-to-get vehicles and plot their heist. Hot on their trail are two of LA's finest - Castlebeck (Delroy Lindo) and Drycoff (Timothy Olyphant). This is fast-paced heist film that's captivating because of the things that are being stolen. Rather than jewels or money, cars are the centerpiece of this movie. The ways in which the car theives boost the vehicles are interesting, especially if you're not of that world. Who would've thought it'd be so easy to do? Cage performs as he normally does in these action-type movies. No surprises there. Jolie does okay as the sole female in the bunch, even with her blonde hair. She was definitely young in this film. Will Scott Caan ever be able to avoid being typecasted? He's always a thug, an obnoxious jock or some other miscreant. Overall, it's an action-packed movie that'll let you escape for a couple of hours from your ho-hum life. Isn't that all most of us ask for?

Watch It: If you're a car enthusiast since some sweet rides get stolen.

Skip It: If you're a real car enthusiast because I'm sure all the engine and revving sound effects probably don't match the vehicles accurately.

Slither

Rating: R

Movie Release Date: March 31, 2006

DVD Release Date: October 24, 2006

Plot 411: A town becomes overrun with alien slugs that are slowly killing off the human race.

Review: Seriously, if you can't already tell from the Plot 411 that this is a B horror movie . . . well, God help you. It's definitely not as bad as it sounds though, if you're into the B horror movie genre. Lots of gross-out scenes coupled with sarcastic, dry humor make this movie a fun, popcorn-popping time. The movie stars Nathan Fillion as the town sheriff. With Fillion leading the cast, you should pretty much know what to expect. The man only plays one character despite being in several movies and on tv. Yet, he's much more likeable, in my opinion, than Keanu Reeves, Nicholas Cage or Brendan Fraser combined. When a man is infected by the alien slugs, he slowly mutates into a creature who controls all other human-come-zombie people. There's a lot of blood, puss and gore, but that's what you expect out of these horror comedies. With the town crawling with zombies, Fillion and the small group of humans must fight to survive the zombie alien attack.

Watch It: If you're a product of the 1970s/1980s horror flicks because this will be like a blast from the past.

Skip It: If you require thoughtful post-movie conversation, even from a horror film.

Bangkok Dangerous

Rating: R

Movie Release Date: September 5, 2008

DVD Release Date: January 6, 2009

Plot 411: An assassin takes his last assignment - a four in one in Bangkok - but ends up breaking his well-established rules about life causing him to introduce unnecessary obstacles.

Review: This movie didn't have as much action as I thought there'd be. Oh, there were some gun battles and fights, but I'd thought there'd be much more considering that Nicholas Cage was an assassin. For me, this movie was more about the mental game he played on himself than the actual killings. It was nice to see that the other characters were Asian - good considering it was taking place in Thailand. I think Cage did an okay job, but he really is getting too old for this type of genre. I mean, how can you look cool in all black with long dark hair carrying a huge gun if you have a receding hairline? Doesn't look one bit like a tough guy as I'd imagine a tough guy would shave his head completely bald. Anyway, I guess that's besides the point.

Watch It: If you like those old kung fu movies since this was basically a modernized, American kung fu flick. The Pang brothers directed it.

Skip It: If you're expecting to see tons of blood and guts. You'll probably be disappointed.

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