No Reservations

No Reservations (2007)
Starring: Catherine Zeta-Jones, Aaron Eckhart, and Abigail Breslin
Directed by: Scott Hicks
SC=3 V=4 C=3
Grade: A

I think Aaron Eckhart is a very underrated actor. He is great in everything he's in, as well as Abigail Breslin. Catherine Zeta-Jones is good, too. Kate (Zeta-Jones) is a chef in a New York restaurant, well known for being difficult to work with. When she gets a call from the hospital, saying that her sister and her niece were in a car accident, she is given custody of Zoe (Breslin). At first, they don't get along, Kate doesn't know what to do with a kid. When she's forced to take a few days off after a breakdown in the restaurant, a new chef is hired to help her. Nick (Eckhart) is the opposite of Kate in every way. When Kate starts bringing Zoe to the restaurant at night so she can watch her, the three bond over the restaurant. All three stars give very heartfelt performances, which is what makes this an enjoyable movie.

Battle: Los Angeles

Battle: Los Angeles (2011)
Starring: Aaron Eckhart, Michelle Rodriguez, and Bridget Moynahan
Directed by: Jonathan Liebesman
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Grade: A++

I gave this an A++ for being awesome. This movie is one of the coolest action movies I've seen in a long time. I actually saw it twice in theaters. And Aaron Eckhart is one of the last people you'd think would be starring in an action movie but he's actually wonderful. Sgt. Michael Nantz (Eckhart) is about to retire when LA is bombarded with "meteors", which actually turn out to be aliens that are invading Earth for its water. Sgt. Nantz and his company (which includes Ne-Yo, Lucas Till, and a bunch of other actors) are sent into Santa Monica to find some civilians (Moynahan, Michael Pena, and Joey King, along with a couple of others) that are at a police station. But they only have 3 hours to do this before the Air Force levels Santa Monica, because that is where most of the aliens are. As the platoon heads into the area, fog is everywhere, no one can see anything, and I could literally feel my heart pounding. This is one of only a couple of movies that actually made me so nervous, I was nauseous throughout both times I saw it. But I would still watch it again. Very rarely does an action movie come out that has both heart-pounding action and loveable characters. And what this movie was lacking in plot (which was not much, I might add), it made up for with the characters.