The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones

Starring: Lily Collins, Jamie Campbell Bower, & Robert Sheehan

Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars

For those of you who didn't read the book, City of Bones, this movie may seem a bit confusing to you. This film is kind of like a cliff notes version of the book. Certainly they had to cut things out of the nearly 500 page novel, but some key moments are simply touched upon with a line or two, making the movie a bit confusing at times. Clary Fray (Lily Collins) is a seemingly normal girl, who for some reason can't stop drawing a symbol. When she starts asking about the symbol, she is pulled into a world she never knew existed. As it turns out, Clary is keeping secrets, secrets she doesn't even know she has. It's those secrets that will eventually put her life, and the lives of everyone she knows, in danger. At first, the two main characters seem like they are completely different and won't have any chemistry at all, but as time goes on, they learn they're more alike than they think. Once their on the same page, the story really takes off. Lily Collins (Abduction, The Blind Side) really takes hold of her character and gives the film a strong female lead, that rivals Katniss Everdeen. Collins is paired with British heart-throb, Jamie Campbell Bower, who is a lot more than eye candy. I'd never seen Bower in anything, except bit parts in Twilight and Harry Potter, but the guy has some serious fighting skills. Bower is another one who at first doesn't seem to fit, but in the end really helps to make this film something special. To answer the big question about City of Bones, no, it is not as good as the book and you really shouldn't have expected it to be. The novel is massive and has entire parts that simply couldn't be transferred to the big screen. Some things were left out that shouldn't have been, while some of the more fast paced scenes were extended for the screen. All in all, I thought this movie was a pretty good representation of an excellent novel and a great film to include in your next movie night.

Offender

Starring: Joe Cole, English Frank, & Kimberley Nixon

Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars

Offender was a good movie, possibly a great one, but I can't make that distinction, feeling like I missed a good portion of it. The story is solid and the acting is terrific, but Offender is a British film, and some of the accents were so thick, that I had a really hard time with the dialogue. The story centers on Tommy Nix (Joe Cole), a man on a mission, to avenge the savage beating of his wife, and the death of his unborn son. Tommy has a problem though, all the men responsible are already in jail. Acting on impulse, Tommy decides to get arrested, and sent to the same facility to enact his revenge. Being that this was a British film, I was not familiar with any of the actors, so I really didn't know what to expect. After seeing the film, I can tell you this much, remember the name Joe Cole, because this young man is destine for stardom. He gives one of the most powerful performances I've seen all year. Cole's performance is really what separates this film from similar stories. Tommy Nix was not a superhero, but what he has to endure at this strange prison, leading up to the exciting conclusion, was really something to see. Offender seemed to blend originality with several similar story lines. It's easy to see the influence of Payback, Oz (The TV Show), and Sleepers, while watching this movie. The writers took just enough to enhance the film, without making it seem like they were ripping anyone off. I really enjoyed Offender and it's star Joe Cole, but I feel as though the thick accents and mumbled dialogue took something away. As someone who isn't used to hearing it everyday, it made the film somewhat difficult to understand at times. It's still worth seeing, if only for Cole's performance. Maybe the next time I watch it I'll put on the closed captioning.

Curse of Alcatraz

Starring: Jesse Camacho, Alex Quinn, & Jose Solano

Rating: 1 out of 5 stars

What a great idea for a movie, a supernatural horror flick, that was actually filmed at Alcatraz prison. There were a dozen ways to make this film work, even on a shoestring budget, unfortunately they didn't use any of them. The story begins with a construction crew doing renovations on the old prison, which is now a national park. The team uncovers a sealed off room and when they begin digging, they find human remains. Did the body belong to a guard or a prisoner? No, they belong to Native American, who would have died long before the prison opened, but was somehow found inside this room. After a long period of non-sense, it is discovered that the body is cursed, and causes anyone who comes in contact with it, to go on a killing spree. This could have been a great mystery about some crime at the prison that was never known or solved. Maybe it could have been a good ghost story, but no, it had to be some weird possession story, that made no sense what-so-ever. The story starts out interesting, but quickly becomes a complete joke. The writing is horrendous and performed by a less than adequate cast. The only name of recognition was Jose Solano, a soap actor, who was on Baywatch the last couple of seasons. For some reason, he is in a wheelchair and does nothing but joke about being crippled. Sometimes really bad Horror films can get away with cheesy acting and a bad story, as long as they make you laugh, but there is nothing funny about this movie. Even though it has a creepy cover and was filmed in a really cool location, Curse of Alcatraz fails to deliver and is a complete waste of time.

Remakes & Sequels: 2014

Many moviegoers believe that sequels ruin the original film and that remakes don't do the original films justice, however remakes and sequels are often times the highest money makers of the year. While most aren't recognized by the academy and are panned by the majority of critics, people still flock to the theaters every year to see the characters they know and love.

The Ultimate Movie Review would like to give special thanks to our friends for helping us with this years list!

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Upcoming Sequels Expected In Theaters During 2014: 

The Amazing Spider-Man 2

Captain America: The Winter Soldier 

Dawn of The Planet of The Apes

Dolphin Tale 2

Dumb & Dumber To

The Expendables 3

A Haunted House 2

The Hobbit: There & Back Again

Horrible Bosses 2

Hot Tub Time Machine 2

How To Train Your Dragon 2

The Hunger Games - Mockingjay Part 1

Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return

Monsters: Dark Continent

Muppets: Most Wanted

Night At The Museum 3

Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones

Planes: Fire & Rescue

The Purge 2

The Raid 2

Resident Evil 6

Rio 2

Sin City: A Dame To Kill For

Transformers: Age of Extinction

Woman In Black: Angel of Death

X-Men: Days of Future Past

22 Jump Street

300: Rise of An Empire

Upcoming Remakes Expected In Theaters During 2014: 

Annie

Godzilla

Poltergeist

Robocop

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Other Films I'm Looking Forward To In 2014:

The Maze Runner

Divergent

The Disappeared (2008)

Starring: Harry Treadway, Greg Wise, & Tom Felton

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

The Disappeared quite ingeniously tries to blend the Sixth Sense with a murder mystery, but first time Writer/Director, Johnny Kavorkian, takes a big chance by adding a surprise ending, that just destroys anything the film had going for it. When Matt Ryan's (Harry Treadway) little brother disappears, he loses his mind. Upon returning to his home, he starts hearing and seeing his missing brother. Matt feels his brother his trying to tell him something and decides to follow the clues. The story here was actually pretty good, but the film moves at an absolute snails pace, felling well longer than 96 minutes. This is one of those films where they put everything on the surprise ending and save all the good stuff for the lead into it. The problem is that the surprise ending was lame and didn't make a whole lot of sense. There is a lot of symbolism in this film that doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but the ending really just brings it all to a head. British actor, Harry Treadway is the lead and he was really amazing. Treadway manages to mix the depression associated with his brother's disappearance, the feeling that he's losing his mind, and the drive of a man on a mission, resulting in a great performance in an otherwise dull film. The Disappeared had a lot of potential and a unique story, but it moves so slowly that most people will lose interest well before it falls apart at the end.

Hustle (2004)

Starring: Tom Sizemore, Sarain Boylan, & Dash Mihok

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

He's not in the Hall of Fame, nevertheless, Pete Rose was still one of the best players in Baseball history. He played for an amazing 27 years, setting the all-time hits record, but this film ignores all of that. I'm a baseball fanatic and I find bio-pics, like this one, to be a great tool for learning more about the people who came before my time. Hustle was unfortunately very one sided and focuses entirely on Rose's activities after his playing career. Tom Sizemore stars as Rose and makes this film worth watching, he really does do a tremendous job, and that's the only reason this film is rated ad highly as it is. After doing some research, it turns out that the events in this film are historically accurate, but blown way out of proportion. Hustle makes Pete Rose look like a junior gangster, running around Cincinnati, ripping people off, and using anyone that he can find. The truth is that Pete Rose was a sick man with a gambling addiction. He got in over his head and yes, he started betting on his own sport and even the team he managed. Rose was never buddy buddy with the mafia, he never bet hundreds of thousands of dollars at one time, and he was never involved with drugs. This film makes a case that Pete Rose was a small time gangster in a baseball uniform and that's simply not true. The man had an addiction that he's been treated for. This addiction cost him his career, his status, and even his family. 25 years later, he's admitted to what he's done and has sincerely apologized. I personally think, it's been long enough and it's time to put the man in the Hall of Fame. It's also time for someone to do an accurate film depiction of Rose, that shows the good along with the bad, something Hustle simply doesn't do.

The Aggression Scale

Starring: Ryan Hartwig, Fabianne Therese, & Ray Wise

Rating: 1 1/2 out of 5 stars

I really hate when they make movies like this one, because there is absolutely no point to the whole thing. If I wanted to see a bunch of people running around, shooting at each other, while hardly saying a word, I'd watch a John Wayne movie. The Aggression Scale is a pointless film about a mob boss, who sends his team to close some unfinished business. Mr. Bellavance (Ray Wise) doesn't want any witnesses and his team goes on a killing spree. Everything is going as planned, until they find a family whose children decide to fight back. This could have been a darker version of Home Alone or even something similar to Die Hard with kids, but it wasn't. The lead character, played by Ryan Hartwig, doesn't say a word through the entire film. No cute catch phrase, nothing special at the end, not a single word, but even that was preferable to the performance of Fabianne Therese. The whole movie this girl is whining, crying, and making weird noises, it really was enough to drive a person insane. As I said earlier, there really is no point to this film and there is no reason to watch it either. The story is thin and the film is basically an hour and a half of people running around shooting at each other. The Aggression Scale represents the worst Hollywood has to offer and it's mind boggling that a company would even agree to make something as bad as this.

Olympus Has Fallen

Starring: Gerard Butler, Morgan Freeman, & Aaron Eckhart

Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars

Olympus Has Fallen is the latest big budget action film from revolutionary Director, Antoine Fuqua. The film has a ton of stars and some great effects, but unfortunately it is very similar to a popular action classic. All is well in Washington, as the President prepares to meet with a delegation from South Korea. All of a sudden the capital is attacked and the White House is taken with some very important people still inside. The task of getting them out alive falls to one man, Secret Service Agent, Mike Banning (Gerard Butler). If you took the cast of the original Die Hard and had them re-shoot the movie, scene by scene, at the White House, you'd have Olympus Has Fallen. Normally I find Fuqua's take on the action genre, refreshing and original, but you wouldn't know it by watching this film. It is freaky how similar this film was to Die Hard, they even have some of the same twist, goals, types of terrorist, all that's missing is a short fat cop and a hand radio. Don't get me wrong, I did find the movie entertaining and Gerard Butler has really stepped up and taken the reigns as the lead you want in your action film. The effects are terrific and unlike Die Hard, this film has a ton of big named stars in it, that really do give the film some teeth. Olympus Has Fallen was a great idea, with a ton of stars, and the right Director. The film made a ton of money and gave us action junkies the edge of your seat entertainment we crave. If you saw Die Hard though, you're going to find many of the scenes familiar to the point of being ridiculous.

A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas

Starring: John Cho, Kal Penn, Neil Patrick Harris, & Danny Trejo

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

These movies just keep getting better and better. It's not that the story is any less ridiculous or raunchy, it's that the actors have gain experience. When the series started, both John Cho and Kal Penn were virtual newcomers, but now they've been in some big films and TV shows. The pair are much better actors than they were in the first film and are better equipped to pull off the ridiculousness. In their third film, Harold and Kumar have actually been estranged for a while. When a mysterious package shows up for Harold at Kumar's apartment, the two are brought back together and are forced to work together to solve a problem. Everything you saw in the first two films and everything you've come to love about Harold & Kumar are back, including THE Neil Patrick Harris. There aren't many surprises here, by now you basically know what you're going to get with these films. What is new, is the Director, Todd Strauss, who actually does add a few interesting things to the film. Harold and Kumar is a lot of laughs, in a ridiculous story, filled with drugs, tits, and alcohol. If you didn't like the first two films, you won't like this one any better, but for what it's worth, I dare you to watch it and tell me you didn't laugh out loud at least once.

Red (2008)

Starring: Brian Cox, Tom Sizemore, Noel Fisher, & Kyle Gallner

Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars

Not the Red you were expecting? ...well this film was nothing like I expected it to be either. The previews and descriptions of Red, tell you very little about the story, and what it does show you is something that makes you wonder, how in the world can they make a whole movie out of this!? I gave it a shot, because it based on a book by Jack Ketchum, the writer who has given us the novels and eventually the films, The Lost, Offspring, The Girl Next Door, & The Women. I really enjoy Ketchum's style, I gave this movie a shot, and it really surprised me. The story is a simple one about a simple man, Avery Ludlow (Brian Cox), who is out fishing with his old dog Red. Quickly the serenity is destroyed by three rich kids looking to have some fun. In the process of robbing Ludlow, one of the boys shoots and kills Red. As it would turn out, there's a lot more to Avery Ludlow than meets the eye and there is a wild story about Red, where he came from, and what he means to Ludlow, who spends the rest of the film trying to get justice for his pet, from a town that really doesn't care a whole lot. Brian Cox is the star and lets face it, he's been in everything, and by this point we've all seen him in something and know how great he is. Out of all of Cox's roles though, this is one that really stood out to me, because he is beyond terrific and a perfect fit for the character of Avery Ludlow. Cox is paired with a few up and coming teen stars and their rich father played by Tom Sizemore. Together, they are the complete opposite of Ludlow, both in status and in personality, bringing the film full circle. Based on the description, Red seems like it's going to be a long and boring tale, but as always Jack Ketcum throws in some terrific plot twists, and the story goes to a place you'd never expect it to go.

Billy Owens & The Secret of The Runes

Starring: Dalton Mugridge, Ciara O'Hanlon, Chris Fazio, & Roddy Piper

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Sometimes B-movie studios want to capitalize on a successful film franchises, and do so by making similar, low budget versions of these films. The DVD release of Snakes On A Plane was accompanied by Snakes On A Train. Every time a Transformers movie comes out, it is joined by a direct-to-video film called Transmorphers. Billy Owens is the B-movie comparison to Harry Potter and as far as the films go, they don't match up very well. In the first Billy Owens film, the budget was very low, the special effects bordered on laughable, and the acting was terrible, but the story was actually really good. As I watched the second film, little has changed. The story was still terrific and would make for a tremendous book series, but the film, just doesn't cut it. In The Secret of The Runes, we see less of the ridiculously bad special effects, but the acting doesn't get much better. The lead, Dalton Mugridge, is really the only actor who shows a marked improvement and does a much better job in the second film than he did in the first. As for the other kids, they are just terrible, and don't get me started on their master wizard, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper. If this wasn't just a simple companion playing off Harry Potter to get viewers, if someone had actually put some money into these stories, these films would have been really good! The writing is terrific and it's the only reason I had any interest in these films at all. When you take the story, add a bunch of newcomers, and combine them with a former pro-wrestler, and special effects that look like they were made on a Windows '95 PC, the result is a film with a great story that is virtually unwatchable. Maybe if this film were made in the early 80s, when people were used to awful effects and bad acting, it would have been successful, but in the computer age, Billy Owens is sadly obsolete.