Overall Rating: *****
North Country @ IMDB

Synopsis:
A single mom, Josey Aimes (Charlize Theron), moves back home to Minsesota to be close to her parents and escape her abusive ex. To support her two children, Josey takes a job at the local iron mine, forced to hire women by affirmative action. But as soon as her job begins, she realizes that she just can’t go to work like the men of mine. Constant abuse and harrasments leads her to file the first class action sexual harrasment lawsuit in history. This is a fictional retelling of the real life crusade of Lois Jenson, who fought and won against Eveleth Mines in the late 80’s and early 90’s.

Review:
When I rented this movie, I thought it was a true story. I was a little surprised to learn that it was actually a fictionalization (if that’s a word) of a true story. To be honest, I rented it because I couldn’t find anything I really wanted to see. I new it had some Oscar nominations so I figured, what the heck. I’m happy that I did pick it. It was definitely a good movie.
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Overall Rating: ***
The Weather Man @ IMDB

Synopsis:
David Spritz (Nicolas Cage) is a Chicago weather man whose life is not all that it should be. His father (Michael Caine), a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer doesn’t take him seriously. His taunted daughter (Gemmenne de la Peña) is obese and doesn’t have any motivation in life. His son (Nicholas Hoult) is hanging out with the wrong people. And is ex-wife (Hope Davis) hates him. David gets the opportunity to fix all that is wrong with his life when he is offered a job in New York for a national news show. Things get complicated when his father is diagnosed with a terminal disease.

Review:
Would you like to feel depressed? Then watch this movie. You will feel so bummed while you’re watching it, that anything that makes your life seem hard will feel rather light. This is a downer, no doubt about it. Unfortunately, for the power that it could have had, The Weather Man seemed to fall short. In my mind, it definitely had the potential to be 4 or even 5 stars. But like most things in life, it didn’t quite attain perfection.
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Overall Rating: **
Domino @ IMDB

Synopsis:
Spoiled little rich girl, Domino Harvey (Kiera Knightley) grows tired of her Beverly Hills lifestyle and becomes a bounty hunter. Under the tutelage of Ed Mosbey (Mickey Rourke) and with the help of Choco (Edgar Ramirez), Domino quickly becomes skilled at hunting down the bad guys. When her crew gets called in to bag a quartet of armored truck robbers, things go horribly wrong. A con gone wrong quickly involves the mob, the FBI, a tv producer, Afghanistan, and a sick little girl.

My name is Domino Harvey, I am a bounty hunter……

Review:
I was expecting a pretty bad movie, and from the overall rating I gave it, you probably think I hated this movie. Interestingly enough, that wasn’t the case. This was a bad movie, and it does deserve only 2 out of 5 stars. However, I never said that it didn’t have some redeeming qualities. There are several good points to this movie that made it a 2 star movie as opposed to a 0 star movie. As someone I know likes to say, zero is greater than negative one. So I guess I’m saying its bad, but not as bad as it could be.
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Overall: ****
Red Eye @ IMDB

Synopsis:
Lisa Reisert (Rachel McAdams) is a successful hotel manager who knows her clients well. On a red eye flight home, she meets the mysterious Jackson Rippner (Cillian Murphy) who seems to know her so well. Things take a dark turn when Jackson reveals that he is in fact a crafty assassin and is holding Lisa’s father (Brian Cox) as insurance. Now Lisa must break free, rescue her father, and find a way to save the politician that Jackson is targeting.

Review:
This movie was another one that was a pleasant surprise. This movie is simple and entertaining. I enjoyed the full 85 minutes. The thing with this movie is that its not complicated. The plot is straightforward and the action keeps the story moving. I must say that Wes Craven did a good job with this one. I was concerned when I first rented this DVD that the movie would be built around a twist that would a let-down. Lucky for me, it wasn’t.
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Overall Rating: ****
Frequency @ IMDB
Frequency @ Amazon

Synopsis:
Unexplained solar phenomena allow a son to speak to his father, who died thirty years before, by means of an old CB radio. But when Detective John Sullivan (Jim Caviesel) helps Frank (Dennis Quaid) survive the fire that should have killed him, the repercussions ripple through time changing the present. Now can John and Frank fix the past and save all the innocent victims of a serial killer, including his mother? The race is on as the clock ticks on the longest radio signal of all time.

Review:
I have to say that I enjoyed this one. I think mainly because I like the concept. The idea is time travel but not really. This father and son can communicate, but they don’t physically travel back in time or anything. Influence without interaction. Its a little different from your typical time warp sci-fi movie. They do get a little creative when Frank sends John evidence.
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Overall Rating: ***
Madagascar @ IMDB
Madagascar @ Amazon

Synopsis:
When four animal friends bust out the zoo for a night on the town, things get wildly out of control. Alex (Ben Stiller), Marty (Chris Rock), Melman (David Schwimmer), and Gloria (Jada Pinket Smith) quickly find themselves in crates on the way to a wildlife preserve. En route, their crates get knocked overboard and they wash up on the shores of Madagascar. Now these four pampered zoo animals must adjust to life in wild….

Review:
I must say I was a bit dissappointed with Madagascar. I had high hopes for this movie, but it seemed to fall in line with the last few mediocre animated films. It seems that Dreamworks Animation is having difficulties finding success after Shrek and Shrek 2 (which I’m watching while I write this). This movie left something to be desired. I was continuously waiting for that gut busting moment, but it never came.
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