The Losers

Adam's thoughts:
3 pops

For an action packed movie to set off all the rest of the summer, it doesn’t surprise me that it would start out alright. The Losers was an ‘okay’ film. It seems to me that with action films you get two kinds. You get one that is full of special effects and no plot line. Or you get one that has a particular ‘style’. The storyline’s are not that complex these days because they don’t have to be. Bad guy did this. Good guy wants him dead. Go. Easy enough for a child to understand. This film had a style. One that everyone could enjoy. The actors were wonderful and carefully played out. The bad guy was definitely bad. The good guys were not so good.
I haven’t seen Jeffrey Dean Morgan in a lot of films. The guy did well though as his character Clay. He brought the ‘cool’ element to the film. Chris Evans did the comedy side kick thing rather well. I was impressed at least with these two actors in the film even if their roles were not very complex. The storyline, as with most action films, was simple and easy to follow. There were enough action scenes for sure.
For me, though, nothing really stood out strongly in this film. Its good enough to rent in my book but I wouldn’t waste the money to go see it in theater unless you really like seeing the explosions. I will say this, however, when we went to see it the theater was only showing it in DLP. I think that stands for digital link something something. I don’t know if I’ve seen any other films in this format and if I had I didn’t pay as much attention as I did this time. I think instead of showing a ‘film’ they had a digital file you watched. Kind of like when you're watching TV or your computer. It was very clear and crisp. No film lines or grimy texture. I liked it like that, even though I think some films deserve this attention. I don’t want to see Star Wars without a bit of grimy film work.
If an action movie is what you’re craving - go see this. OR save yourself like a school girl on prom night and get ready for the A-Team that comes out in not too long. Now THAT movie I’m more ready to see than a red neck on family reunion day.

Jessie's thoughts:
4 pops

Unlike my colleague, here, I LOVED this movie! It was everything that I could ask for in an action comedy. The story line was interesting, the acting was amazing, the special effects were great and it was actually funny. I haven't seen a movie in quite a while that actually met all of that criteria.
Jeffrey Dean Morgan is one of my favorite actors and it was great to see him in a film where he got to play to the best of his abilities as an action guy. Zoe Saldana is one of my favorite actresses and it was cool to see her in an action role as well. I was a little skeptical at first, but she was great in this. Chris Evans was hilarious and it doesn't hurt that he's just freakin hot. Overall, I thought all of the actors did a great job but these three were the ones that stood out the most to me.
I actually even think this is one that you could take the kiddos to see. There's obviously some violence, but nothing compared to some of the other movies out there. Cough, cough, Kick-Ass. And it's actually really, really funny which has been greatly lacking in the action movies as of late.
I was very pleasantly surprised by how good this movie was and by how entertained it kept me through the whole film and I would recommend anyone going and seeing it. In all honesty, I'll most likely end up buying this movie when it comes out on DVD. I definitely wouldn't mind seeing it a few more times.

Kick-Ass

Jessie's thoughts:
3 pops

Ok, so, this movie was interesting for sure. I really thought the story line was very unique and I definitely liked how realistic it was in some ways. Because, let’s face it, if there were real super heroes in the world, they’d have to be a little bit crazy in order to mentally handle all the things they would have to do. However, I believe that the trailers for this movie were very misleading. I thought that it was supposed to be a comedy and that there would be a lot of laughing involved in this and there really wasn’t. It was not the light-hearted comedy that I expected at all. Don’t get me wrong, there were definitely some funny parts, but overall it was actually a fairly dark and disturbing movie.
I loved the acting, of course, I would expect no less from this cast. Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Red Mist, is one of my all time favorite actors and it was interesting to see him in a role that wasn’t his normal geeky-funny guy part. Aaron Johnson did a wonderful job as the lead character, Kick-Ass. He definitely portrayed the normal-guy-that-wants-to-be-a-superhero-but-then-realizes-it-might-not-be-all-it’s-cracked-up-to-be part incredibly well. And, obviously, Nicholas Cage is just awesome so that’s enough said there.
All in all, I did enjoy this movie but just be prepared that it’s not the comedy that it seems. It’s got a very unique underlying feel and there are definitely some parts that are more than a little disturbing. This is not one that I would take the kids to see, especially if you have an 11 year old girl that thinks knives are cool. But, it was definitely worth seeing and I was very impressed with how unique and different it was than anything else that I’ve seen in a very, very, very long time.

Adam's thoughts:
4.5 pops

Okay folks you all know how I am about superheroes. I’m one of the biggest geeks most people come across. I love the comic books, I love the movies and I watch the shows. Hell, if I had the money I’d even collect the toys. The fact that this movie's plot rode on the concept of real people trying to be super heroic was a good message. Granted, by the time the action started picking up it was more on the un-realistic side. But then again this movie is about super heroes.
When I watch movies I tend to look for the concept I can relate to. The main character who is played famously by Aaron Johnson was an every day school kid who was tired of the indifference of good men. I love movies with the every day Joe being thrust into extraordinary circumstances and coming out as the hero. To me that is a wonderful plot line and I love seeing it represented. Aaron Johnson is not someone I've seen in a whole bunch of movies but he did a wonderful job as the main character.
The movie took you through a bunch of different roller casters and I loved that. One moment it was a comedy, the next a romance, at one point an action flick, and in the end a message for all of us not to stand by and just watch when evil happens. To me the message is what meant the most and the way it was brought out in the middle of the movie was good. The more I write here about the movie the more I realize there were even more messages implanted in this movie for the every day man. All of them are good codes to live by.
I STRONGLY recommend anyone who enjoys action and comedy to go see this movie. In the end you’ll get an epic feel despite the laughs and the explosions. The Epic feel is what is planted beneath the flash and glamour and I think that is a wonderful way to do it. I applaud Matthew Vaughn in doing what he could to make this movie happen, even when the other big companies wouldn’t pick him up.
Now I just got my ordered wet suit and hockey mask. Time to go out their and KICK SOME ASS! – (warning: If you know me or have my phone number please attempt to stop me from this stupid act, thank you.)

Hot Tub Time Machine

Jessie's thoughts:
2 pops

While this movie had its funny moments and was fairly entertaining, it was definitely not something that I think needs to be seen. It's one of those movies that, if you want a quick laugh and there's really nothing else playing, it would be good to see it. I definitely can't say anything bad about any of the actors in it. They were all pretty great and the story line was interesting. I mean, yeah, it was entertaining but it was not a movie that's gonna stick with you. To tell you the truth, we just watched it last night and I've already forgotten a lot of what happened just because it wasn't different or funny enough to really stick in my head.
However, it would be incredibly awesome if you could get into a hot tub, drink a whole lot, and suddenly be transported to 1986. However, it just wasn't one of those groundbreaking comedies. It was just ok and, yeah, that's pretty much all I can say about it.