Magic Mike

Magic Mike (2012)
Starring: Channing Tatum, Alex Pettyfer, and Matthew McConaughey
Directed by: Steven Soderbergh
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Grade: A+

First of all, yes...it is a stripping movie and yes...the guys in the movie are semi-nude some of the time. While this does mean a bit of objectifying the men, this happens with women in every action movie (we're looking at you, Michael Bay) ever made. So, we deserve a little bit of objectifying of the men. Anyway, this movie is about Mike (Tatum), a very talented and rhythmic stripper. At one of his many other jobs, he meets a boy named Adam (Pettyfer), a shy 19-year-old living with his sister, Brooke (Cody Horn). Mike and Adam meet again the next day. Mike asks him to pick up some girls and, seeing that Adam is actually good at it, gives him some work with props at his "Male Dance Revue", owned by Dallas (McConaughey). When one of the other strippers in hurt, Dallas orders Adam to take his place. Showing he has talent for stripping also, Dallas hires Adam, dubbing him "The Kid". As Adam gets more confident in his new profession, Mike starts to find himself falling for Brooke and contemplating leaving the show. However, his newfound friendship with The Kid and his relationship with Brooke may ruin everything Mike has worked so hard for. Overall, awesome movie...enjoyable to watch. Also starring Joe Manganiello, Gabriel Iglesias, and Matt Bomer (yay, Matt Bomer!).

In Time

In Time (2011)
Starring: Justin Timberlake, Amanda Seyfried, and Cillian Murphy
Directed, Written, and Produced by: Andrew Niccol
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Grade: A

I have been wanting to see this movie for a while and I'm so glad I did. I loved it! This movie stars Justin Timberlake as Will Salas, a man living in the future where everyone stops aging at 25. So, time is currency, with the poor having only enough hours in a day and the rich living forever. After saving a mysterious, wealthy stranger (Matthew Bomer), the man gives Will all of his time, 116 years. Tired of living, the man "times out", leaving Will with more money than he knows what to do with. After his mother (Olivia Wilde) dies without time, Will starts gambling at an expensive casino, where he meets Philippe Weis (Vincent Kartheiser), a man with more than a million years. He also meets Sylvia Weis (Seyfried), his daughter. At a party, head timekeeper Raymond Leon (Murphy) catches up with him, forcing him to take Sylvia hostage. Also on their tail are time thieves called Minutemen, led by a man named Fortis (Alex Pettyfer). As Will and Sylvia avoid everyone after them, they also start to realize that no one should die when other people never have to.

Beastly

Beastly (2011)
Starring: Alex Pettyfer, Vanessa Hudgens, and Mary-Kate Olsen
Directed and Written by: Daniel Barnes
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Grade: A+

I loved the book this movie was based on, but I had heard that the movie wasn't good at all from several different sources. I kept an open mind throughout the movie and I loved it. This movie is a modern take on Beauty and the Beast. Alex Pettyfer is very endearing as Hunter (not so much as Kyle) and I am convinced he would have made an excellent Peeta in The Hunger Games, Vanessa Hudgens did a respectable job (for the first time ever) as Lindy, and Neil Patrick Harris is amazing, as usual. But, who surprised me more than anything, was Mary-Kate Olsen. She and her sister were my favorite actresses growing up, but I haven't liked any of their recent movies. I thought Mary-Kate was AMAZING as Kendra. Just the subtle hints of evil she shows were really awesome. Kyle Kingsbury (Pettyfer) is a rich snob who thinks everyone who isn't rich and good-looking shouldn't be allowed to be around anyone who is. Lindy (Hudgens) is a poor girl who goes to his rich school on a scholarship. They happen to meet one night, but Kyle dismisses it, not knowing that this night will change his life forever. After trying to humiliate an outcast student named Kendra (Olsen), she reveals that she's actually a witch and places a curse on him. If he doesn't find someone to love, that will love him back, in a year, he will stay ugly forever. For the first half of his year, Kyle mopes around his new house that his father bought for him, to make sure no one saw him, taking his misfortune out on his housekeeper Zola (Lisa Gay Hamilton) and his blind tutor Will (Neil Patrick Harris). After he sees Lindy again, he starts following her and, after saving her life, he arranges for her to stay at his house for protection. Kyle (calling himself Hunter now) finds himself falling for Lindy. But will Lindy ever be able to love a person with a face like Hunter's?

I Am Number Four

I Am Number Four (2011)
Starring: Alex Pettyfer, Timothy Olyphant, and Dianna Agron
Directed by: D.J. Caruso
Produced by: Michael Bay
Grade: A-

Okay, I read this book. And it's AMAZING. I was pretty excited about Alex playing John (aka Number Four) but when I heard Timothy Olyphant was playing his guardian Henri, I was stoked! But I was disappointed overall in the movie. Timothy Olyphant was great, but his part was limited and they showed him to have a lot of weaknesses that he didn't have in the book. They also changed a lot of the dynamics between John and Henri. In the book, it's very much like a father/son relationship, because Henri is the only father John has ever known. But, in the movie, it seems that John is always annoyed and disrespectful to Henri, something that never happens in the book. Dianna Agron was very good as the cute and sweet Sarah, Callan McAuliffe was adorable as John's geeky friend Sam, and Theresa Palmer was the perfect choice for the tough but loyal Number Six. Overall, an enjoyable movie, especially if you haven't read the book, but it would have been even better had they not made so many changes.

Movie Review: Operation: Stormbreaker

Operation: Stormbreaker (2006)
Starring: Alex Pettyfer and Alicia Silverstone
Characters: Alex Rider and Jack Starbright
Directed by: Geoffrey Sax
Tagline: You're never too young to die
Grade: A

This movie is awesome. I've loved the books for a long, long time. (And yes, the books are better than the movie...but what books aren't?) Alex Pettyfer is just about the perfect Alex and Alicia Silverstone is a great Jack Starbright. And, the movie has Damien Lewis in it...with a Russian accent?!?!?! Epic win! So, the movie is about Alex Rider. After his uncle (who he thought was a banker, but is really a spy for MI6) dies, MI6 contacts Alex and threatens to have Jack's visa revoked. He goes on a mission to Cornwall to investigate an odd deal made by Darrius Sayle, a computer tycoon who has given a free Stormbreaker computer to every school in England. The Stormbreaker is an amazing new computer. But what the entire country doesn't know is that Sayle is actually trying to take revenge against his high school enemy, the Prime Minister, by releasing a form of the smallpox vaccine from the computers. Alex rushes out of the plant in Cornwall, with the help of some trusty gadgets, and saves the day...and gets the girl, speaking of which, Sabina doesn't come into the books until the third book...I wish they wouldn't have changed that, cause they changed her entire character. If they were to make another movie, I would be very surprised if they do, they'd have to completely change Sabina's character so everything makes sense...I guess I just don't understand why they have to change the books so much.
-MOT

Just finished: A Far Off Place
Watching now: Ferris Buller's Day Off
Excited to see: Eclipse :)