Joyful Noise

2 out of 4 stars. Great musical numbers but a weak story. Enjoyable as a fan, not so much as a critic.

NEW FORMAT. RATINGS ONLY

From now on, film reviews will not be posted any longer. Instead I will simply rate the film out of 4 stars as I have since the start of this blog.

I have launched my new Yankees blog and it can be viewed at http://yankeestalkwithmike.blogspot.com/

Thanks for all your support.

The Iron Lady

3 and a half out of 4 stars. Brilliant acting by Meryl Streep. Oscar worthy performance.

Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked

2 out of 4 stars.

New Year's Eve

2 and a half out of 4 stars.

Jack and Jill

1 and a half out of 4 stars.

New Blog Format beginning with films released after 12/31/2011

After much thought, I have decided to turn this Film REVIEW blog into a film RATING blog. What this means- instead of reviewing the films I see, i will simply give it a rating out of four stars with no review. Part of the reason for me doing this is because I have not seen many movies lately and when I do see them, I do not post as much on the film as I used to. Why beginning on films released in 2012? I want to finish the year with film reviews just to be able to give my input on Oscar nominated films. Films that are eligable for 2012 nomination must be released by 12/31/2011. So, I will finish out the year with reviews and will begin the new year with just ratings.

Thanks to those who read my reviews for the past 3 years. I hope you will stick around to see the ratings that I give films.

I will also begin to think about making a possible Yankees Fan blog. I have never pointed out on here that I love baseball and the Yankees. I want to convert that passion into writing and soon.

MikeTheMovieFanatic

Moneyball

Moneyball was a film made for all ages and all baseball fans. It told the story of Billy Beane after his 2001 Athletics lost key members of their team including Johnny Damon and Jason Giambi. The movie took us inside his world through Brad Pitt, who did a marvelous job portraying Beane. The story is meant to make people believe in miracles, but this is more than that. It comes from a true story that one would be crazy in thinking had any validity. Moneyball is the ultimate feel-good movie of the year with superb acting and vast knowledge of the basis of the story of the Oakland A's of 2002. 3 and a half out of 4 stars.

One Day

The story is ambitious in this romantic drama but never really goes above what is expected from the man who directed "An Education". The character chemistry is essentially non-existant aside from Hathaway and her counterpart. The characters go through a lot in the twenty years that they know each other but it is what happens at the end that left me not knowing what to think about the movie overall. It was promising at the beginning but ultimately left me feeling like I was just slapped in the face. No pun intended. Just a whacky film that you have to watch for yourself to understand the uncertainty I'm facing right now. Even though I am glad I watched it, I wouldn't watch it again. 2 out of 4 stars.

Crazy, Stupid, Love

Let's just say that I had very little expectations for this film solely because I usually don't enjoy Steve Carell movies. Putting that aside, I can honestly say that this was a really good romantic comedy. It had the perfect balance of everything that you want in a comedy: chemistry, wackiness and sincerity. It was not great but it was as close to greatness as you can get. The story meshes so perfectly with it's subplots and I loved how everything came together in the end. Steve Carell actually did a good job in this film. The only negative about the movie is its slow start. That however is null and void after the first 15 minutes of the film pass. A heartwarming romantic comedy that I would watch again and again. 3 out of 4 stars.