The Hunger Games /Rated PG-13/

Synopsis: North America has been destroyed by humans, but now there is a country called Panem where the Capitol towers over the twelve districts. In District 12, the poorest of all districts, lives Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) a young woman who is a skilled huntsman. Along with her friend Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth) and the rest of district twelve they travel to the reaping, where one woman and one man between certain ages are selected to compete in the Hunger Games. There are twenty four participants who must kill each other in a game of trust, wits, and strategy, while the citizens of Panem are required to watch. When Katniss's little twelve year old sister Prim (Willow Shields) is chosen, Katniss volunteers to take her place. Along with the baker's son of district twelve, Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson), they journey to the Capitol where they most fight people that have trained their entire lives for the brutal situation known as the Hunger Games.

I give this movie out of a 1-10 scale a: 10: This film by a extreme longshot in my opinion is the greatest movie I've ever, in my entire life have seen. I highly recommend that you read The Hunger Games books by Suzanne Collins, they are amazing (probably some of the best books I've ever read). On the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) it said they spent one hundred fifty five million dollars on this movie, just from that it shows they put a lot of time and effort in the making of the movie. The casting choices were fantastic, when I first saw the trailer some of the actors and actresses I was really unsure about. But trust me how they proform is extremely convincing and believable. The special effects and setting were perfect and enhaced some of the suspense. Your eyes will be glued to the screen the whole time, before you see the film be prepared to be blown away. The movie is very well rounded, it may make you cry, it will send chills down your spine, you may be a bit scared at some parts, you will be happy and greatful, it will blow you away. Be careful who goes to the film with you though, some images may be frightening and distribing, I think PG-13 was a good choice because the books are after all young-adult novels. My favorite aspect of this film was that out of all the movies I've seen they did a amazing job transferring it from a book, to a movie. Sure sometimes they had to touch on some parts but that is typical. There were some short scenes and parts that could have compared better but overall I was extremely impressed. I do highly recommend (as always) that you read the three books first, I know from what I have just told you, you will probably what to jump up and go to the theater right now, but really, it will make so much more sense if you read the books first. In my opinion it actually made the film way more interesting.

About the Stars: Jennifer Lawrence: Jennifer Lawrence is most commonly known for Winter's Bone from 2010, X-Men: First Class from 2011, Like Crazy from 2011, and of course The Hunger Games. They have recently announced that they are doing Catching Fire which is the second book in The Hunger Games, although I do not know when the film will premiere. Jennifer has also done other televison movies and other films bout those are as commonly known.

About the Stars: Josh Hutcherson: Josh Hutcherson actually has done lots of films when he was quite young such as Bridge to Terabithia, Firehouse Dog, and Zathura: A Space Adventure. Josh has recently starred in Journey to the Center of the Earth and Journey 2: The Mysterious Island.

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Dr. Seuss' The Lorax 3D /Rated PG/

Synopsis: Your favorite classic Dr. Seuss story is back! We all know the story of the Lorax, but no one knows what happened after the Lorax (voice: Danny DeVito) floated away. Lovestruck twelve year old Ted (voice: Zac Efron) believes he is destined to receive the affection of the girl of his dreams, Audrey (voice: Taylor Swift), by getting her a real living tree. Ted hears from his Grandma Norma (voice: Betty White) that there is a extremely old man known as the Once-ler (voice: Ed Helms) who knows all about the beautiful truffula trees. Ted goes on a very adventurous ride as he confronts the richest man in Thineed Ville, Mr. O'Hare(voice: Rob Riggle). This untold ending to the amazing tale The Lorax is a laugh out loud, hilarious, partly romantic film for the whole family!

I give this movie out of a 1-10 scale a: 7 1/2: I was rather pleased with this movie after getting out of the theater. I was happy that the film wasn't just the same Lorax story animated in a different way and better picture quality (like most of the movie industry is doing currently.). Most of the jokes and sarcasm were really good including a couple lines by the villain near the end of the film (that was hilarious by the way.). The whole idea and plot of the film was very well done, it was nice to see the Dr. Seuss story be expanded and better developed. Another thing that was pretty good about this movie was that the character development of the Once-ler and the long flashback throughout the film really got me to understand his mistakes and his personality then, and presently. From an acting stand point the movie was pretty okay. Danny DeVito and Betty White were really good, but Zac Efron and Taylor Swift weren't as good, they did alright, but I think the movie would have been better with different lead roles. The voice of the Once-ler and Mr. O'Hare were also exceptional. One thing I didn't like about this movie was the very end, if you have already seen the film I am not talking about the song, I am talking about after that. If you have no clue what I'm talking about or you haven't seen the film, bare with me for another minute or so. There were some other minor aspects I didn't enjoy, but other wise the movie was great. I know you're probably thinking, why didn't I rate the film a 10 because I didn't have much to say about the bad aspects. Well, I rated the movie a 7 1/2 because of the aspects I didn't like and it just wasn't anything special about it. This is a great family movie that I highly recommend seeing. Also, it really doesn't matter if you see it in 3D or not, it really doesn't make a difference with this particular movie.

About the Stars: Danny DeVito: Danny DeVito currently stars in a popular television sitcom on FX called "Always Sunny in Philadelphia" where he plays one of the lead roles, Frank Reynolds. He has also been the role of "The Penguin" in a movie from 1992 called "Batman Forever", Danny has also been in "Matilda" where he is the dad, Harry Wormwood."

About the Stars: Zac Efron: Zac Efron has starred in many movies including 17 Again, High School Musical 1, 2, and 3, Hairspray, Charlie St. Cloud and lots more!

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Star Wars: Episode I- The Phantom Menace 3D /Rated PG/

Synopsis: The fourth film made in the phanomenon known as Star Wars is back on the big screen in 3D! Two people, secretly Jedi Knights named Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) and his padawon learner Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) go to the Trade Federation to confront the leaders, although they discover that the Trade Federation is planning to attack the planet Naboo. The Jedi Knights of the Republic must stop this madness along with their new Gungan friend Jar Jar Binks (voice: Ahmed Best) and the Queen of Naboo, Queen Amidala (Natalie Portman). Along the way, when their ship breaks down and they must land on the planet Tatooine where they meet a slave named Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd), eventually Qui-Gon senses something about this boy. Will the Trade Feteration conquer the galaxy? Who is the Phantom Menace and are the sith lords truely extict? Finally, what is Anakin Skywalker's destiny?

I give this movie out of a 1-10 scale a: 7: I have to say I was suprised with this film, I love Star Wars although The Phantom Menace is one of my least favorites. But this version made it ten times better! Some of the scenes were really cool especially the pod racing, and if you are a fan of Star Wars, I bet you can imagine what it would be like. I was happy that they didn't change anything, they just updated the picture quality and made it 3D. Of course another thing that was interesting was some of the spaceship battling scenes like at the end also some of the lightsaber fights were amazing. Another thing that was great about seeing this moive on the big screen was, you know how when you see a movie for the first time you are just watching it to enjoy it? Then the second time you can catch stuff you haven't seen before, well I must have seen The Phantom Menace six times, but when it was on a huge screen and that is all I was focused on, you really get in to the film and catch things you had no idea even existed in the movie. The sound was cool too with lasers going off and everything! Although my favorite thing about seeing this movie was the experience, when my friend and I got to the theater there were guys in Stormtrooper costumes and guys in Jawa costumes, it was really funny and really realistic! (If you have seen the other movies you know what I am talking about.) Sadly we didn't get a picture of with but it was just plain cool to see them. There were also Jedi's standing by the theater selling lightsabers, not super cheap ones, but actual realistic ones! I really encourage you to go out to your local theater and see this amazing film. If your a Star Wars fan or not, this a great movie!

About the Stars: Liam Neeson: Liam Neeson has been in a lot of movies I am fimilar with such as Batman Begins where he is Henri Duncard he will also be in the new Batman film The Dark Knight Rises where he will be playing the character Ra's Al Ghul! Liam has also been in all three of the Chronicles of Narnia where he is the voice of Aslan. Liam has been in many other older movies too but the ones I named I.. being a tweleve year old boy are fimilar with!

About the Stars: Natalie Portman: Natalie Portman starred in Episode I, II, and III of the Star Wars films, Natalie starred in the recently popular movie The Black Swan where she is the main character Nina Sayer. She was also in Thor and Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium!

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Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows /Rated PG-13/

Synopsis: Perhaps the greatest detective of all time a master in hand to hand combat and truly a master of disguise; Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) once again teams up with his newly wed partner Dr. John Watson (Jude Law) in their most complex case ever! When Europe is at the brink of war there are events that just don't connect,. Sherlock suspects this is the work of Professor James Moriarty (Jared Harris) and with the help of a Sherlock's brother Mycroft Holmes (Stephen Fry) and a gypsy named Madam Simza Heron (Noomi Rapace) they most uncover the truth and find out what Professor James Moriarty really wants before it's to late.

I give this movie out of a 1-10 scale a: 8: This film I have to say personally had one of the best endings I have ever seen, it was an amazing cliff hanger although as much as I want to tell you I can't spoil. Just for future reference when reading this blog I will try to tell you about the plot as little as possible because when people put the *spoilers* thing most people end up reading it anyway even if they don't want to hear it.. Back to the film, all I will say about the ending is they are definitely going to make a third one. I loved the chemistry between Sherlock and Watson, some of the humor and sarcastic parts were hilarious. It was really cool how when Sherlock closes his eyes before he fights someone he knows their personalities so well he can predict their fighting moves. Another aspect I liked in this movie is a lot of the scenes were in slow motion which if the producers do it right, it makes it a lot more interesting, coodos to the producer for that. The casting of characters was a great choice and from what I heard about the first film, this one was even better! This is one of the first mystery movies I really have enjoyed and trust me if you go and see it, you are engaged the entire time whether it's a humorous part or an action packed scene you will be interested. I do encourage you to come out and see the film Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, and also please see the first movie and if you have leave me a comment and tell me how good it was, thanks!

About the Stars: Robert Downey Jr.: Robert Downey Jr. has starred in many films including the first Sherlock Holmes movie in 2009, he was also the superhero Iron Man in Iron Man 1 and 2. I have also heard that he will be starring in The Avengers standing beside by Chris Evans as Captain America. Robert will also be in Iron Man 3 in 2013 which is currently in pre-production. Robert Downey Jr. has starred in other movies too although the ones I mentioned are his most famous and recent!

About the Stars: Jude Law: Jude Law star's as Dr. John Watson in both Sherlock Holmes films but he has also been in other movies such as Hugo where he is Hugo's father, in Lemony Snicket's: The Series of Unfortunate Events he is the voice of Lemony Snicket, and Jude is also in The Cold Mountain from 2003, Road to Perdition from 2002 and Enemy At the Gates from 2001!

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We Bought A Zoo /Rated PG/

Synopsis: Benjamin Mee (Matt Damon) is now a single father after his wife died six months ago, with his oldest son Dylan (Colin Ford) surprisingly getting expelled from his school, with his younger daughter Rosie (Maggie Elizabeth Jones) just trying to cheer him up. After a long talk with his skeptical brother Duncan (Thomas Haden Church) Benjamin decided to make a new start and move into a zoo! New things are occurring with not just the animals but with a growing relationship between Benjamin and the head zookeeper Kelly Foster (Scarlett Johansson) plus some other strong family issues with Dylan and Benjamin. Although just when things are looking great for opening up the zoo again a cruel, precise zoo inspector named Walter Farris (John Michael Higgins) is coming to take a look at the wildlife park, then things start to fall apart. Will everyone pull it together and pass the inspection, or will everyone including Benjamin and his family have to leave for good?

I give this movie out of a 1-10 scale a: 8: This movie was one of those rear films that was better than the book. I myself have not read the book by actually, the main character Benjamin Mee. Although my mom and some of her friends in her book club have, and in her opinion and from what she told me, it wasn't very interesting. Although movie was very good, in fact my mom said the movie was everything the book should have been which from what I heard, I agree. The casting choice was great from Matt Damon to Thomas Haden Church but really everyone did really well from an acting stand point. If you really dug into the film it was deep, very deep, it was one of those movies when you watch it, you totally think know the meaning, but then when you're laying in bed that night or driving home from the theater you realize what they were really trying to get across. I also loved some of the quotes, here's my favorite: "You know, sometimes all you need is twenty seconds of insane courage. Just literally twenty seconds of embarrassing bravery. And I promise you, something great will come of it,"- Benjamin Mee... I just love that, I also think they really stuck with that during a couple parts of the film. I also really enjoyed Maggie Elizabeth Jones and some of her lines and quotes. Some parts were emotional so be prepared for all of you who aren't the best with that kind of stuff. Although to conclude my review I really like the balance between some of the comedy, drama, and the heart of the film. I hope you take the time out of your schedule to come out and see the movie We Bought A Zoo! A fun comedy/family film for everyone, see Benjamin Mee's true story come to life on the big screen!

About the Stars: Matt Damon: Matt Damon has been in a number of movies and T.V. shows but he is best known for the movies Good Will Hunting from 1997, The Departed from 2006, The Bourne Ultimatum from 2007, and Inside Job from 2010! Matt also recently starred in a episode of Saturday Night Live where he was surprisingly a Handsome Drug Addict I guess, although really I have no idea what Saturday Night Live is. Although he was a great pick for the role of Benjamin Mee, I actually heard Ben Stiller was considered for the role of Benjamin Mee, that would have been really bad in my opinion.

About the Stars: Scarlett Johansson: Scarlett Johansson has not been in a lot of films but she recently was on an episode of Saturday Night Live which I mentioned before. Although out of the movies she has been in her most famous are Lost in Translation, The Prestige, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, and Iron Man 2! She was also in the Spongebob Squarepants Movie where she is the voice of Mindy who is King Neptune's daughter. It is also rumored she will be in Iron Man 3 as the same roles!

About the Stars: Thomas Haden Church: Surprisingly Thomas Haden Church has starred in one of my personal favorite films Spiderman 3! Where he is Flint Marko a.k.a. Sandman! I was intrigued when I saw him in We Bought A Zoo, his character was really funny. Anyway, Thomas has starred lots of movies including Easy A, Wings from 1990, and Sideways. Most of these movies I've never heard of, but I appreciate him as a great actor!

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Arthur Christmas /Rated PG/

Synopsis: All operations are a success at the North Pole, with Santa (voice: Jim Broadbent) back and sound asleep from the long night of delivering presents with his team of elves. Although the stillness is broken when a janitor elf finds a gift that has not been delivered! Santa and his two sons Arthur (voice: James McAvoy) from the letter department and Steve (voice: Hugh Laurie) the big shot who next in line to be Santa are alerted, but hope is lost when there is only hours away from Christmas morning! Although Arthur will not accept a child being missed, so him, Grandsanta (voice: Bill Nighy), and a obsessive gift wrapping elf named Bryony (voice: Ashley Jensen) venture to England to deliver the gift "the old fashioned way."

I give this movie out of a 1-10 scale a: 6: I think this movie is one of those perfect family movies, but there were many aspects I was not a fan of. I did like the elf  Bryony and the humor that went along with her character and her obsession with wrapping, plus some of the intersting things she wrapped. I also liked some of the character of Grandsanta but he really just wanted the glory of being Santa again to show he didn't need all the technology which was the only reason why he went with Arthur. Another aspect I didn't enjoy about this film was that when the current Santa found out about the child being missed he really didn't care, in fact through the whole thing he really wasn't caring about any of the kids till the end. Also Santa didn't really do anything when delivering the gifts, the elves were basically doing all the work. The last thing about the current Santa I didn't like was that he didn't retire when he had the chance, it didn't seem like he really liked the job, the only reason why he didn't retire was that he felt so important, but like I said before he wasn't really doing any work in the first place. All of the things that I mentioned about the current Santa in my opinion don't go along with the Santa kids think about, and who puts their presents in their stockings and under the tree, it just doesn't go along with his personality. Also in this film almost all the characters didn't really get the meaning of Christmas which I think is a good theme. So really the only things I liked about this movie was the theme and the humor of some of the characters. Although over the holidays I encourage you to go and see Arthur Christmas! A film the whole family will enjoy!

About the Stars: James McAvoy: When I was searching the Internet for information on James McAvoy I was surprised that he was in lots of movies that I'd seen and movies that I've heard were really good. It turns out James McAvoy was in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe where he is actually one of my favorite characters, Mr. Tumnus. He also was in X-Men: First Class where he is Charles Xavier. Plus he is the voice of Gnomeo in the film Gnomeo & Juliet, and many other movies!

About the Stars: Hugh Laurie: When we were sitting in the theater watching Arthur Christmas my dad leaned over to me and whispered that's Hugh Laurie, the dad in Stuart Little. I didn't notice at first but then I remembered. Like I said Hugh Laurie has been in both Stuart Little movies where he is Mr. Fredrick Little and in the animated video Stuart Little 3 he is the voice of Mr. Fredrick Little. He is also in a movie called Monsters vs. Aliens where he is the voice of Dr. Cockroach Ph.D. and he is in a television series called House M.D. where he is Dr. Gregory House.

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The Smurfs /Rated PG/

Synopsis: Our little blue friends are back when evil wizard Gargamel (Hank Azaria) and his cat Azrael (voice: Frank Welker) chase Papa (voice: Jonathan Winters), Gutsy (Alan Cumming), Smurfette (voice: Katy Perry), Brainy (voice: Fred Armisen), Grouchy (voice: George Lopez), and Clumsy Smurf (voice: Anton Yelchin) into Central Park, New York City! When the Smurfs are trying to stay out of trouble they meet Patrick Winslow (Neil Patrick Harris) and his wife Grace Winslow (Jayma Mays) who agree to the Smurfs living in their home until Papa can find a way to get his family back to their village before Gargamel tracks them down. Although when another terrible crisis occurs the Smurfs along with Patrick and Grace continue to follow the code; no Smurf left behind. 

I give this movie out of a 1-10 scale a: 5: When this movie was about to come out I had never really seen the Smurfs show or comics and I didn't know much about them, although one day I was scrolling through On Demand on Top Picks when I saw episodes of the original Smurfs. So I watched the first few and I was hooked. After being excited for the movie and watching the episodes when I actually saw the movie, for me, it was a let down. I don't think the Smurfs in the movie were staying true to the characters from the television show and I am ninety percent sure from what I saw that they just made up Gutsy Smurf for the film. Although I did like some of the humor from Gargamel and Azrael occasionally but otherwise it wasn't that interesting. I did like the storyline and how it was all laid out plus I am a Neil Patrick Harris fan and I think he did a good job from an acting point of view. Also the cast was a very neat choice with Neil Patrick Harris, Jayma Mays, and I even remember Tim Gunn from the T.V. program on Lifetime, Project Runway. One of the few best things I liked about this movie was that it was part animated and with real people kind of like Avatar, although you can't really compare a five rated movie and a nine rated movie in the first place. Over all, in my opinion, I think this film would maybe be suitable for children at a younger age and all the Smurf fans across the United States!

About the Stars: Neil Patrick Harris: Neil Patrick Harris has been in a number of movies and mostly television shows including his most recent role as Barney Stinson in How I Met Your Mother on CBS, he has been on other popular shows such as Family Guy and Glee. He has also starred in many films including Starship Troopers, the Harold and Kumar films and many more. Also he was the voice of Prince Gumball in an episode of Adventure Time on Cartoon Network which most of the kids my age tend to watch.

About the Stars: Jayma Mays: Jayma Mays has been in surprisingly, very few films although she is in a well known show called Glee where she is Emma Pillsbury and she was on an episode of a show I have talked about many times before which is How I Met Your Mother. In the few movies she has been in she played the role of Amy in Paul Blart Mall Cop starring Kevin James which is funny to me and children my age. I think she was a intersting pick for her role in the Smurfs but all together she was pretty good.

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