The Expendables

Title: The Expendables
Directed by: Sylvester Stallone
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Eric Roberts
Genres: Action/Adventure, Crime
Running Time: 1 hour. 43 minutes
Release Date: August 13th, 2010
MPAA Rating: R


Review: This flick has quite the action cast, to state the obvious. It also has violence galore, and every scene is a fight scene straight out of a little boy's wet dream. It is piled high with cheese, tattoos, rippling muscles, and things blowing up. It has somehow managed to include every cliche in the book. To top all of that off, it even has action dudes who cry!!! Sounds like quite the must see, huh?

Well, sure, if you are a 13 year old boy (or a grown man wishing he was still a 13 year old boy), then this would probably be a total mangasm. Or perhaps, if you're a mad fan of Stallone's directorial work, you might want to check this bad boy out. The reason I went to see 'The Expendables' was to get away from the 100 degree F summer heat & cool off in the theater AC. In retrospect, I am hard pressed to say that it was worth it.

Grade: 4.5

Eat, Pray, Love

Title: Eat, Pray, Love

Directed by: Ryan Murphy

Starring: Julia Roberts, James Franco, Viola Davis, Billy Crudup, Javier Bardem

Genres: Romance, Drama, Adaptation

Running Time: 2 hours. 13 minutes

Release Date: August 13th, 2010

MPAA Rating: PG-13

Review: After having read, and enjoyed, the book, I went and watched this film by myself (I know, shocking since it is a romantic film). I didn't enjoy the film half as much as the book, and literary sat there thinking "this is a terrible adaptation" throughout the film. However, as it ended, I was surprised to actually leave the theater with somewhat of a positive impression. Although most of what connected me to the story as a reader is missing, some parts of the "follow your heart, go your own way, make yourself happy" takeaway was still there, however hard you have to look for it through the Hollywood-ized popcorn film this story has been turned into. The idea of this journey of self-discovery is still accessible, and the scenery is lovely. Further more, some of the supporting performances are quite nice, and Julia is always Julia.

If you enjoy dime-a-dozen Julia romance flicks you should catch this one. If you would like a great story, stick to the book.

Grade: 6