Worst and Most Surprising Films of 2011

"Why am I doing this movie, again?"
2012 is upon us, and I originally wanted to do a "Best of" list for 2011; however, that's not very original, and if you've been reading my reviews, you can most likely tell what my favorites were for the year.

Instead, we have something much more fun: a "Worst of 2011" list and also, for variation, a "Most Surprising Films" list.

Click here to read the rest of the article at my Examiner.com page.

Popular Posts

Movie Review: This is Where I Leave You

Image
Continuing our string of books-to-movies this week is This is Where I Leave You , based on the novel by Jonathan Tropper , who also wrote the movie's screenplay. I have not read the book, but I was hoping that, based on its cast alone, the movie would be a mix of funny and serious elements - a dramedy, perhaps. Unfortunately, the film could have been funnier, and I wasn't that impressed with it overall.  Judd Altman (Jason Bateman) is having a rough year. He discovered his wife, Quinn (Abigail Spencer), cheating on him with his boss, radio personality Wade Beaufort (Dax Shepard), and he moves out of their beautiful loft into a small bachelor-esque apartment. His sister, Wendy (Tina Fey), then calls him to say that his father has passed away, so he leaves NYC to head back home to sit shiva with his mom (Jane Fonda) and his other two brothers, Phillip (Adam Driver) and Paul (Corey Stoll). While back home, he reconnects with an old crush, Penny (Rose Byrne), which throws a wren
Read more

REVIEW and GIVEAWAY: Allegiant Nonstop game center (Warren, MI) is fun for the whole family

Image
*Disclosure: I received admission to some of the attractions at Allegiant Nonstop as well as dinner in exchange for this blog post. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own. This Tuesday, I was able to stop by the new Allegiant Nonstop (or "Nonstop," as most people seem to call it) in Warren, MI, and it was a fun date night out. This place would also be good for birthday parties or a friends night out, and they even have party rooms and "party bays" for all of your special occasion needs. I would compare Allegiant Nonstop to Dave & Busters or, in the Detroit area, C.J. Barrymore's, except it's more technologically-advanced: you get a card that you then tap to reload or tap to go on / play at any of the attractions. My boyfriend and I each had a card good for four attractions. Unfortunately, I didn't know that you had to wear closed-toed shoes to do the bumper cars or the go-karts, as well as rock climbing, so those weren't a
Keep reading

Review and GIVEAWAY - Jurassic World: Dominion, on digital {ends 8/23}

Image
Jurassic World: Dominion is officially out on 4K, Blu-ray, and Digital today, and one of my lucky readers will win a digital Movies Anywhere code for themselves! About the movie: Four years after the destruction of Isla Nublar, dinosaurs now live and hunt alongside humans all over the world. This fragile balance will reshape the future and determine, once and for all, whether human beings are to remain the apex predators on a planet they now share with history's most fearsome creatures. My review: I saw this movie both in theaters (actually in 3D, which was a little bit scary, haha!) and via digital a few days ago.  I stand by my initial review of 4 out of 5 stars: if you're a fan of the Jurassic World franchise, Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard are back in this installment. And, if you're a fan of the original Jurassic Park  movies, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, and Sam Neill are back for this one, so it was a fun mashup of both the original cast and the newer cast.  The p
Keep reading