Reservation Road, 127 Hours, Source Code, Hop, Rango, and Unstoppable

We are at the point of merely listing every two months. Sigh. Maybe someday you'll get real reviews again--all 3 of you.

Ok, so what we've been watching:

Reservation Road: 

A story about 2 men with sons they'd do anything for. One of the fathers accidentally hits and kills the other's son with his car, and drives away to protect his relationship with his own son. The way each family deals with grief, anger, and guilt is hard to watch, but heart-wrenchingly worth it.


127 Hours:

An adventurous mountaineer is trapped alone in the narrows in Southern Utah. He must figure out how to survive with little water and food, and with absolutely no hope of rescue. We watched this with ClearPlay, and I'm glad I was able to take out some of the gore, etc. But it was very well done, and an interesting way to look into the mind of someone trapped and dying.


Source Code:

A soldier must find a bomb on a train after it has already gone off, by being sent back into the memory of one of the victims. He has 8 minutes each time he is sent onto the train. Though it seems more like a time-travel movie, it's really more of a psychological drama with plenty of moral dilemma and twists enough to confuse and send into heated debate the most avid movie viewer. We really liked it. Definitely worth seeing, although I don't know if I need to see it again or own it or anything.


Hop:

The Easter Bunny is ready to pass the title onto his rebellious son. But instead of stepping up to the challenge, E.B. runs away to pursue his dream to be a drummer. In the "real" world, a similarly lost and confused human just can't find a profession that interests him. When they team up, the unlikely team teaches each other how to balance responsibility with their own interests. I took Ethan. He liked it, but he wasn't laughing hysterically, and he couldn't think of a favorite part in the whole thing. I wasn't gagging, but I didn't love it. It's just ok. Nothing special, but definitely not horrible.


Rango:

Some kind of lizard-like amphibian in a mid-life crisis, who also has a flair for the theatrics, is thrust into the "real world" to fend for himself. He becomes Rango, spinning tales of heroism that propel him into the position of sheriff. He tries to help the town find their stolen water, but what will happen when they find out he's a fraud? So, basically, 3 Amigos for reptiles. This movie got RAVE reviews, and I just couldn't love it. It was a little too adult for Jeffy to love it, and not quite enough to be interesting to me. They say it's a parody, but I didn't see enough parody in it to really get the irony. I wanted it to be more funny, clever, witty, and heartfelt than it was. I'm not sure who the audience was, and that always bugs me. So, again, ok. Not horrible, not great. But I can see that some people would just love it. For parents--there are some swears and inuendo, but it's not horrible.


Unstoppable: 

A runaway train threatens to derail and cause lots of damage and casualties in Pennsylvania. One man just about to retire and another his first day on the job are the only hope for stopping it in time. So, this is based on true events, but don't read about them until after you've seen the movie, because they are much less spectacular. They try to add in some character elements to make you more invested, but I think the suspense of the speeding train was really enough to keep me totally glued. Definitely fun to watch.



Ok, I think that's it!