Nerd in the 'Noke

The Girl on the Train (2016), R, 112 minutes - As many probably already know, The Girl on the Train is based on the 2015 novel of the same name by Paula Hawkins.  I have not had the opportunity to read the book yet, but my wife has so we decided to go ahead and rent the movie from Redbox last weekend. The Girl on the Train is a psychological thriller that is presented from Rachel's (Emily Blunt) point of view, beginning with her daily commute into the city and her observations of those that she sees from the train along the way. What is originally presented as being a completely third party observation driven by imagination, is revealed to be a bit of obsessiveness on Rachel's part with her old neighborhood.  The two houses that draw her attention the most are her former home, now inhabited by her ex-husband Tom (Justin Theroux), his new wife Anna (Rebecca Ferguson), and their baby, and another couple a few houses down the street - Scott (Luke Evans) and Megan (Haley Ben...

Sicario (2015), R, 121 minutes - When I made my last post at the beginning of the month, I was hoping that October would be the time I got back to regular updates to the blog after a busy second half of the summer and an odd stretch in which there wasn't much in theaters that I was interested in.  Well, life decided to happen and after weekends absorbed by familial obligations and backed up yard work I find myself sitting here at the end of the month having not gotten 'back on track' in the way I had hoped.  So...here is attempt 2.0 at regaining momentum on updating content! Sicario (Spanish for 'hitman') was actually the last film that I was able to see in a theater.  Oddly enough I watched it the afternoon after my last review was posted (my wife and I have since seen a handful of other films via Redbox/Netflix, reviews of which will hopefully be posted later today).  Anyway, Sicario focuses on up-and-coming FBI agent Kate Macer (Emily Blunt) and her efforts...

Into the Woods (2014), PG, 124 minutes - Ordinarily, I'm not much of a musical fan but this big screen adaptation of the Broadway show caught my eye thanks to its cast and the way it mashes up a number of fairy tales (including Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Rapunzel). The story opens with a in which we learn what the various characters wish for but the film primarily revolves around the baker (James Cordon) and his wife (Emily Blunt) and their task to collect four items so that the witch next door (Meryl Streep) will reverse the curse that she had put on the baker's bloodline many years before. Only then will their wish of being able to conceive a child come true. The items they must obtain just happen to be items from the other fairy tale characters and their stories: one of Cinderella's (Anna Kendrick) slippers, Jack's (Daniel Huttlestone) cow, a lock of Rapunzel's (Mackenzie Mauzy) hair, and Little Red Riding Hood's (Lil...

Edge of Tomorrow (2014), PG-13, 113 minutes - Have you ever wondered what a sci-fi/alien invasion version of Groundhog Day might look like?  No?  Well, to be perfectly honest I haven't either, but with Edge of Tomorrow that's exactly what we get.  Based on the 2009 Japanese light novel All You Need Is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka (which has also been adapted to manga), Edge of Tomorrow deals with the United Defense Force's attempt to thwart the invasion of Earth by an alien race known as Mimics (think of a cross between a lion and the sentinels from The Matrix). Major Cage (Tom Cruise) is a U.S. military public relations desk jockey that is thrown onto the front lines by General Brigham (Brendan Gleeson) of the United Defense Force (UDF) after a disagreement the night before what will become the final battle.  Thrust into action with no battle experience, Cage last's longer than most of the rest of J Company and even manages to kill a large Mimic as it impales him...

Looper (2012), R, 119 minutes - I've been hearing good things about Looper since it was released last September.  Even before that, the trailer caught the eye of both myself and my fiance.  Unfortunately, we missed it in theaters, but everything about this film (from the cast and director to the story) screamed that it was a film that I would enjoy and I knew that I wanted to add it to my collection.  Thanks to a number of factors, that didn't happen until early last month when my fiance gave it to me for my birthday.  Having finally had the opportunity to watch this sci-fi/timey wimey film from Rian Johnson (who also directed Joseph Gordon-Levitt in 2005's Brick), I can easily say that it was worth the wait. Looper is set in the year 2044.  Time travel has yet to be invented, but in the not-too-distant future it will have been.  By the year 2074 time travel has been outlawed.  In that future, the mob has worked out a system in which they send peo...

The Adjustment Bureau (2011), PG-12, 105 minutes - For those that read my '10 Most Anticipated Films of 2011' post, The Adjustment Bureau should look familiar (as it topped the list). For those that haven't, take a look here . The Adjustment Bureau is based on a Philip K. Dick short story titled 'Adjustment Team' (which I have not read). I actually didn't realize this until I read it in the end credits - one more thing to add to my 'to read' list. It centers around David Norris (Matt Damon), a young, rising political star who is running for the U.S. Senate and seemingly has a lock on the seat. After a story breaks about some class reunion shenanigans, he gets steamrolled in the election. On his way to deliver his concession speech, he has a chance encounter with Elise Sellas (Emily Blunt). There's an instant attraction and after their talk he completely ditches the speech that he had planned on making and instead goes with a much more matter ...