The only misstep in my opinion was the Eli/Amy Sedaris storyline. I didn’t really care for them that much; however, Eli vs. David Lee is an entirely different animal. More of that, please!

We had a Will/Diane victory dance, a Kalinda/Alicia phone call, a Peter/WSC smackdown…. really, what else could a viewer have possibly wanted?!!

Protecting the law by breaking it, Britt becomes the vigilante The Green Hornet as he and Kato hit the streets. Using all his ingenuity and skill, Kato builds the ultimate in advanced retro weaponry, The Black Beauty, an indestructible car equal parts firepower and horsepower. Rolling in a mobile fortress on wheels and striking the bad guys with Kato’s clever gadgets, The Green Hornet and Kato quickly start making a name for themselves, and with the help of Britt’s new secretary, Lenore Case (Cameron Diaz), they begin hunting down the man who controls LA’s gritty underworld: Benjamin Chudnofsky (Christopher Waltz). But Chudnofsky has plans of his own: to swat down The Green Hornet once and for all.

Warning: Spoilers below!

Liked:

• I am not ordinarily a fan of comic book movies, but I found this film oddly interesting. I think it’s because it played out more like your average action-comedy than a superhero movie. I’ve read that fans of the original Green Hornet comics hated this one, so maybe that’s why it was palatable to mainstream audience members like me.
• While I would stop short of saying Seth Rogen is able to carry an entire film by himself, I thought he was pretty decent here. He has an everyman quality about him that makes it easy to relate to whatever characters he plays. I liked his take on The Green Hornet and the fact that he let himself show emotion. For example, he was just as amazed by Kato’s gadgets as the audience was, and frequently allowed himself to “ooh” and “aah” about something. That’s quite a refreshing change from the stony-faced stoicism of, say, Christian Bale’s Batman.
• I liked that there wasn’t a romance between Cameron Diaz’s character and the Green Hornet. That would have been stretching the bounds of realism a bit too far, even for a superhero/fantasy movie. Again, it was nice that the woman just provided support and friendship instead of being a full-blown romantic interest. Yes, she did have that moment with Kato, but luckily that didn’t go very far.
• The story was actually understandable. In so many comic book adaptations, I find myself completely lost in regards to the plot. At least I was able to follow along here.

Disliked:

• The guy who played Kato was very annoying to me for some reason. I couldn’t tell if he was a terrible actor or if the character was supposed to come off as being stiff and dweebish like that. Either way, he was totally grating on my nerves by the end.
• The bad guy wasn’t much of a bad guy, ya know? I expected him to be able to put up a bit more of a fight than he actually did. After all, The Green Hornet didn’t even have any special powers and was still able to beat him pretty easily!
• Does every comic book hero have to have Daddy issues? I mean, is that like a requirement in the genre? It sure as hell seems like it!

Rating:

Count me among the few people who liked The Green Hornet. I thought the film was funny and had good pacing to it. I don’t know how it stands up as an adaptation, but for someone who had never even heard of The Green Hornet before seeing the movie, I found it quite enjoyable. I give it 4 stars out of 5.

Warning: Spoilers below!

Liked:

• Garret Hedlund was by far the best thing about this movie. He was sexy, his character was a bit more complex than the others, and I just plain bought him as a country singer wannabe. He was mesmerizing in this role and I was riveted pretty much whenever he was on screen.
• I also liked the Chiles character. I don’t think Leighton Meester is a great actress or anything, but her wholesome, naive character reminded me of Taylor Swift or Carrie Underwood (not that I know anything about those two; I’m just going by pictures). Although the wide-eyed newcomer is kind of a cliche in movies like this, I still enjoyed the character and am glad she didn’t sleep with James (unless I missed something) or constantly scheme for Kelly’s downfall.
• I thought the scene where Kelly told Chiles how to succeed in the industry was a good one. Both of them seemed really sincere in it. Kelly wasn’t being bitchy or condescending; she was offering genuine advice. Chiles wasn’t listening just to humor Kelly; she was truly interested in what the woman — the legend — had to say. At that point, the viewer knew something was going to happen to Kelly, and this scene took on even greater significance after the suicide reveal.
• I’m glad Chiles came back for Beau. I don’t know if that meant she was going to stay with him in that little small-town fantasy of his and work a ls2208 barcode scanner for the rest of her life, but at least there was hope for their relationship. I thought they made a good couple.

Disliked:

• There was too much damn singing! Yeah, yeah — it was a movie about country singers, so what did I expect, right? But still… there seemed to be an awful lot of full-length song performances in this one, and since I’m not a country music fan per se, it made the movie drag for me. There’s something to be said about mainstream appeal, ya know!
• The bird storyline needed/deserved some kind of resolution. I mean, I get that the bird was symbolic of James and Kelly’s lost child, and that’s why James took such meticulous care of it while being reluctant to let Kelly have it. But then at the end the bird was just dropped, completely forgotten. I doubt the screenwriter did that, so I’m just going to assume that some scenes were left on the cutting room floor.
• I found it odd that Tim McGraw, the only bona fide country singer out of the main cast, didn’t sing a single tune in the film (the soundtrack notwithstanding). It would have been cool if he had done something — like pick up a guitar and give Beau or Chiles pointers or whatever.
• That ending was such a downer! I know country music has a reputation for all these worst-case scenarios, but good lord that was rough. Couldn’t they have found a way for Kelly to work through her issues? After all, that would have been more befitting the title, right?

Rating:

I know Country Strong has received mostly terrible reviews, and while the plot was predictable and not particularly original, I found that I actually didn’t mind watching the film. It wasn’t wholly enjoyable, but it wasn’t pure drudgery either. Hedlund was fun to watch, the Meester character was likable, and there was just enough tension and drama to keep things moving along. I give it 3 stars out of 5.

It looks like this was another slow weekend at the box office. The top-grossing movie only made $20 million, and while that sounds like enough for the producers to pay off any mortgages or rv loans they might have had, you have to remember that doesn’t take into account the $34 million it cost to make the thing in the fist place! Oh, well… I’m sure the film will end up turning a profit by the end of its domestic and international run.

Anyway, here are the weekend box office results for the weekend ending 1/29/12:

1. The Grey, $20 million
2. Underworld: Awakening, $12.5 million
3. One for the Money, $11.8 million
4. Red Tails, $10.4 million
5. Man on a Ledge, $8.25 million
6. Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, $7.14 million
7. The Descendants, $6.55 million
8. Contraband, $6.53 million
9. Beauty and the Beast, $5.34 million
10. Haywire, $4 million

Still, the episode wasn’t perfect. My main problem with it goes to the way Bartholomew was “tied” up with the piano wire. It didn’t look like he was very secure at all, and I’m pretty sure he could have made his escape at any time. That he calmly hung around after Regina shot him is something I’ll never understand.

Ooh, an allusion to Emily’s rape. Have we ever gotten the full story on that? I don’t think so, but I might have missed it. If it hasn’t been revealed, it’s definitely time!

Torn between assisting Lightning McQueen in the high-profile race and towing the line in a top-secret spy mission, Mater’s action-packed journey leads him on an explosive chase through the streets of Japan and Europe, trailed by his friends and watched by the whole world. Adding to the fast-paced fun is a colorful new all-car cast that includes secret agents, menacing villains and international racing competitors.

Warning: Spoilers below!

Liked:

• As with all Pixar films, Cars 2 was a treat to look at. The brilliant colors and attention to background detail in every scene won’t go unnoticed — even if you’re not specifically looking for stuff like that.
• I usually don’t like Owen Wilson, but I think he’s a good Lightning McQueen. The movie just felt different whenever that car was front and center.
• There were some funny parts scattered throughout. This was definitely enjoyable in places.

Disliked:

• The storyline felt incredibly disjointed to me. Why would anyone think it was a good idea to introduce an espionage angle into a movie like this??? This should have been about racing, not an international spy ring!
• Mater is a good secondary character, but it doesn’t work when he becomes the focus of the film. I wish he had just remained the sidekick here.
• I didn’t really care who the spies were and didn’t fully understand what they were trying to do. Did I miss something or was the only explanation of the nefarious plan given at the very end of the film after the traitorous Sir Miles Axelrod had been unmasked? In order to become invested in the plot, shouldn’t the audience be given a better understanding of what was going on?
• This was a bit too long for a kids’ movie. My 9-year-old had trouble sitting through the whole thing (and no, he doesn’t have ADD or anything like that!).

Rating:

I’ve never watched a truly bad Pixar film, and I don’t think Cars 2 changes that. It certainly wasn’t as good as other titles in the studio’s history, but it was watchable. If the filmmakers had stuck with Lightning McQueen as the main character instead of switching to Mater, I think the story would have been much better. As it is, it’s still fairly enjoyable for adults and children alike, so I give it 3 stars out of 5.

After last year’s finale, the show’s creator pretty much stated that he intended to drag the “I Love You” confrontation out as long as possible. Looks like he’s making good on his word. Still, this is getting rather ridiculous!!

1. Underworld: Awakening, $25.4 million
2. Red Tails, $19.1 million
3. Contraband, $12.2 million
4. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, $10.5 million
5. Haywire, $9 million
6. Beauty and the Beast, $8.56 million
7. Joyful Noise, $6.08 million
8. Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, $5.54 million
9. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, $4.8 million
10. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, $3.75 million

At least the Will/State’s Attorney face-off is finally going somewhere. I REFUSE to believe that Kalinda handed over an intact file in order to save Alicia. She is just as loyal to Will (if not more so), which means she either purged the thing first or planted a misleading document. There is NO WAY she would trample on Will’s trust like that. I can’t wait to see Dana fall into that trap.

Criminal Minds 7×11 — “True Genius”: The case wasn’t that interesting to me (a Zodiac copycat…yawn), but I did like all the Reid angst. He’s not usually one of my favorite characters; however, I do find him extremely interesting when his flaws are highlighted. I thought it was natural for him to wonder if the FBI was the best use of his talents, especially after meeting a fellow genius who runs a $100 million company. Even non-geniuses wonder “what if” when milestone birthdays come around, so, yeah… good to see that recognized in this ep.

The Lily and Stella stuff was okay, but for me this episode was all about Claire (and autotune Phil, going viral).