Nerd in the 'Noke

Foxcatcher (2014), R, 134 minutes - In the beginning, this story doesn't seem all that odd. The Schultz brothers had each won an Olympic gold medal in freestyle wrestling at the 1984 Los Angeles games. While training together in preparation for the upcoming World Championships, Mark (Channing Tatum) accepts a sponsorship offer from millionaire philanthropist John du Pont (Steve Carell) and moves to the private du Pont estate, Foxcatcher Farms in Pennsylvania. Mark conveys that the offer is open to David (Mark Ruffalo) as well. While being completely supportive, David declines, feeling that the time isn't right to uproot his young family. Mark trains on his own, then helps select other wrestlers to round out the Foxcatcher team. He becomes the group's coach and with the financial freedom to focus entirely on training, he takes home the gold medal at the 1987 World Championships. Capitalizing on the exposure of the world title, Mark joins John at more and more publi...

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013), PG-13, 119 minutes - Over the years, Will Ferrell's off the wall, over the top style of comedy has proven very popular.  One of his most successful films was 2004's Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy and it was only a matter of time before a sequel came to fruition.  After a couple of years of speculation and then this past year of teasers and trailers, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues was finally unleashed on the public last weekend.  In my opinion, it lived up to expectations...for the most part. Anchorman 2 picks up after the events of The Legend of Ron Burgundy.  He and Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate) have gotten married and have a young son named Walter (Judah Nelson).  Veronica gets a very prestigious promotion at work becoming the first prime time female news anchor.  At the same time, Ron gets fired.  He's then asked to join a fledgling 24 hour news station as their late late night ...

The Way Way Back (2013), PG-13, 103 minutes - I saw the trailer for this film earlier this year but missed it once it was released.  I was able to catch it on the plane on the flight back from our honeymoon and it made two hours of the nine hour flight quite entertaining. The Way Way Back is a 'coming of age' story, but it manages to do so without seeming run of the mill.  It uses the same formula that made Little Miss Sunshine the darling of a film that it was: a great cast, funny dialogue (despite some very serious moments), and a strange family dynamic.  Bear in mind, these components make it difficult to mix correctly, but The Way Way Back gets it right. Duncan (Liam James) is on a summer 'family' trip with his mother Pam (Toni Collette), her boyfriend Trent (Steve Carrell) and his daughter Steph (Zoe Levin).  He's a shy kid and is completely out of place.  He doesn't trust or like Trent and feels increasingly outcast in this home away from home. ...

Despicable Me 2 (2013), PG, 98 minutes - Three years ago, Despicable Me came out of nowhere to become one of my favorite movies of 2010.  It was a very entertaining animated feature that was full of colorful characters and had a story with a whole lot of heart.  Because Despicable Me was so successful, expectations for Despicable Me 2 were quite high.  I very much enjoyed Despicable Me 2, but I don't think that it was quite as special as the original was. This sequel picks up after the events of the first film.  Gru (Steve Carell) and the girls have settled in to a normal life (or as normal as one could be in that house).  He has retired from being a super criminal and now has his minions making jams and jellies in his attempt to make a clean living.  The 'normalcy' doesn't last long though and Gru is recruited by Lucy (Kristen Wiig) to help the Anti-Villain League track down a new super criminal threat. Just as with the first Despicable Me, the voic...

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (2013), PG-13, 100 minutes - As much as I enjoy comedies, over the last couple of years I've found myself not all that impressed with the majority of the films I've seen in that genre.  The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, while not groundbreaking, was an entertaining and enjoyable parody of a Vegas stage act personality. Title character Burt Wonderstone (Steve Carell) is a self made magician who discovered magic when he was given a Rance Holloway Magic Kit as a kid.  He and his childhood friend Anton Marvelton (Steve Buscemi) have headlined a Vegas show for years, the only problem being that they've never changed their act and the Vegas crowds are growing tired of the same old show.  Right about this same time, Steve Gray (Jim Carrey), a new breed of magician (think Chris Angel or David Blaine) is gaining popularity on the streets of Vegas with his crazy stunts.  In an attempt to modernize their act, Anton puts together a trick/stunt...

Despicable Me (2010), PG, 95 minutes - I was a little worried when 15 minutes into the movie I had already seen about 3/4 of the footage from the trailers that had been released for Despicable Me (including the teaser that first hit theaters last summer). Luckily though, it manages to be pretty entertaining. Despicable Me tells the story of Gru (Steve Carell), a 'super' villain who has stolen many 'famous' landmarks in his career. He is outdone by a young up and coming villain named Vector (Jason Segal) who managed to steal one of the great pyramids, leaving in it's place an inflatable replica. Vector interferes with one of Gru's plots by stealing the shrink ray that he is after. Gru quickly realizes that he will not be able to infiltrate Vector's hideout without help. He enlists the help of 3 girls by way of adoption after he sees them gain entrance to Vector's lair by selling cookies. From there the Despicable Me shows us Gru's attempts a...