Gifts for the fathers and grads in your life

Father's Day (June 19th) is fast approaching, as is graduation season. You may be considering buying a favorite DVD or Blu-Ray for your grad or dad; however, which ones are worth seeing that they will like? Here's my Gift Guide for the season.

If your grad or dad likes action movies:




"Red" reminded me of a kid hopped up on sugar and adrenaline - just when I thought the movie couldn't get any crazier, it did. It is also one of those rare action movies that manages to be funny throughout as well. When you combine that with an all-star cast, you get this movie, which was great and definitely fun to watch.

"Faster" is not going to win any Oscars, but if you're looking for a good "shoot 'em up" movie that actually does have a plot, then you will enjoy it - it's very "Kill Bill"-esque and it makes the most of its 98-minute runtime.

I liked The Fighter (and I'm not someone who normally likes boxing), so it is my opinion that anyone could like it. The performances of all of its actors, and its magnetic story line, make this movie great. The film is also based on a true story, which makes it even better.

If your grad or dad likes comedies or romantic comedies:



I like Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler, but Sandler's movies usually end up being hilarious or really dumb. "Just Go With It," however, ended up surprising me; it was a lot better than I thought it would be, based on what I saw in the trailer. I didn't know that Nicole Kidman stars in the film either, so that was an added plus, as I like her a lot.

Morning Glory had a really good cast, including three "big" A-listers, and I was expecting it to be great. Although it slowed down near the end, for the majority of the movie we are thrust into the fast-paced world of morning news, and it is this hectic atmosphere that makes the movie so enjoyable to watch.

"Easy A" definitely won't win any Oscars, but it's an enjoyable movie that definitely brings laughs and it lives up to, if not surpasses, its trailer, which is hard for a comedy to do these days.

If your grad or dad likes dramas:



"The Social Network" is extremely slick and also very compelling. Even if you are not a member of Facebook, you will still be able to appreciate this film; it slides back and forth between the present, in which Zuckerberg is involved in two lawsuits against him, and the past, where it shows how Facebook got off the ground and how it matured as a company.

"Conviction" was definitely one of the better law/courtroom films that I had seen in a long time, and it was particularly interesting to me that it was based on a true story. I don't doubt that Hilary Swank and perhaps Sam Rockwell will receive Oscar nominations for their roles in "Conviction," and the movie should get an Oscar nod as well.

I knew "The Tourist" would be good (you can never go wrong with Angelina or Johnny, and when you put them together in a movie there's so much star power that you may actually need sunglasses), but it surprised me by pulling out a twist at the end. I then went over the entire movie in my mind and tried to figure out what clues I missed, but I may have to see it again to fully put my mind at ease.

If your grad or dad likes fun movies, of any genre:



I have seen the original "Tron," albeit a while ago, but I remember that I watched it in my 7th grade computer class. My teacher wanted to show us the movie because when it came out in 1982 it was new and exciting, in that it was the first computer-animated movie of its kind. I know Jeff Bridges was in it as well, but other than that, I don't remember much about it; after seeing the dynamic "Tron Legacy," however, I am going to have to re-watch it.

I had wanted to see "Burlesque" ever since I saw its trailer, and so I was pleased when a Detroit-area screening became available approximately two weeks before it comes out in theaters. I expected that the combination of Cher and Christina Aguilera would be explosive, and it turned out that I was right.

Usually a trailer for a movie ends up making the movie seem better than it actually is, but the trailer for "Tangled" actually doesn't do it justice. We get that it's going to be a story about Rapunzel, and that it's Disney so it's probably going to be good; the actual story, however, was much more complicated, and the movie was much better than I thought it would be.


I hope these suggestions help in picking out a gift for the dads and/or grads in your lives! Check out my reviews from January 2011 and older at right to see other movies that are now out on DVD.

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