There’s a thriller on the loose and a chilling indictment of the nation’s pharmaceutical industry.
Oscar winning director Steven Soderbergh is behind this thriller that shows you what can happen when prescription medications like antidepressants go haywire in, Side Effects.
Rooney Mara plays a woman with a lot going on in her life, her husband, Channing Tatum, is getting out of prison, she’s in a financial crisis as well and in deep depression.
Her psychiatrist Jude Law, subscribes an experimental new drug at the request of another medical colleague played by Catherine Zeta-Jones.
While on the drug, Mara’s character sleep walks her way into a murder, and from there we go on a thriller roller coaster ride.
There is a surprise ending to this film so I will not give away too much information. I will say that the film is not quite what it seems and you will be surprised at the ending, no doubt.
The film is a bit complex, some details in the beginning were left out in the end, and the pace of the film was a bit lumbering, slow, and heavy handed.
That being said, the flick-o-meter gives Side Effects a four out of five.
The acting is fine, the directing is visually appealing, as you would expect with a Soderbergh film, but…in the end I felt a bit cheated, as if I was watching a TV cop show full of convoluted sharp plot twists.
You may even need to take some meds to get your head on right after watching this film.
Let me know what you think. Head to my Facebook page, TheBrettside, and sound off.

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The latest zombie movie out shows you that you don’t have to have a pulse to fall in love.
Good girl meets ghoul in the latest romantic comedy called Warm Bodies.
Nicholas Holt plays a teenage zombie slacker who falls head of heals in love with Teresa Palmer, who is very much alive.
Somehow the chemistry between the two works even though the flirting can be a bit awkward.
You never really know what thoughts are lurking behind those blank stare, but enough about non-zombie supporting cast member John Malkovich.
Warm Bodies is a fun little film that has successfully mashed up a romantic comedy, slapstick, and cheese. The teenage and Twilight film crowd should eat it up, even though it lacks brains. (drum roll).
The flick-o-meter gives Warm Bodies a solid three out of five.
There is tons of cheese in this film, lots of plot holes as well but, if you want to see the girl fall for a cute dead guy from the wrong side of the heartbeat, then this film is for you.
Let me know what you think. Head to my facebook page,TheBrettside, and click like.

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Arnold is back from being a two term governor to playing a small-town sheriff.
Arnold Schwarzenegger plays semi-retired sheriff in an sleepy southwest border town. He and his motley crew must now stop a notorious drug kingpin from escaping into Mexico in The Last Stand.
The bullets fly, there is plenty of action, but the star looks a bit rusty.
You quickly come to the realization that this film is undeniably ludicrous.
Look, Arnold has never been a good actor but it’s a bit worse since he got back from being the “Governator”. So what does he do to make up for his lack of talent ? Cue an explosive montage !
This movie is simply a testosterone infused piece of cinema. It’s cynical and satirical, coming at you in a from a semi-automatic multi-clip gun that will make the most rabid NRA member drool.
It’s not great but it’s not really that terrible either. I mean, it’s Arnold, if you have ever seen any of his movies you know what you are getting.
The flick-o-meter gives The Last Stand a three out of five. It’s pretty forgettable and it’s probably not the comeback project Arnold was looking for but at least is does what it says in the title.

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A group of pretty boy cops go all ‘gangsta’ to take down a mob boss that looks a lot like Spiccoli from Fast times at Ridgemont High.
A chicago gangster moves out to Los Angeles, killing his was to the top only to be met be a few honest cops in Gangster Squad.
Sean Penn over acts as the main bad guy while the good guys include Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Giovanni Ribisi, Anthony Makie, Robert Partrick, Michael Pena, and Nick Nolte.
The undercover spy femme fatal is Emma Stone in this wildly ridiculous, over the top movie.
I couldn’t tell if the film wanted to be a serious gangster drama (circa 1940s) or an action adventure film for kids.
It’s trying to be more like The Untouchables but ends up more like Dick Tracy.
The flick-o-meter gives Gangster Squad a 2 out of five.
Sadly, the most attention this film got was six months ago after the Aurora, Colorado movie theater shootings. A pivotal moment in the film had to be cut out because it involved a bunch of mobster machine gunning their way through a movie theater. Fortunately no one is going to take this movie seriously and I don’t think the clip, cut or not, would have made much of a difference.
Other than the over the top violence, the film is really skewed for a nine year old boy.  It’s so cheerfully pulpy it’s childish. Sorry, that’s just my opinion.
Let me know what you think. Go to my Facebook page, its called TheBrettside
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An impossible journey to the core of the human heart in the true life story of a family swept away in one of the worst natural disasters in our lifetime.
A family of five begin their winter vacation in Thailand, looking for some fun in the sun. Soon their holiday turns into a nightmare as a giant tsunami rises up from the ocean and sweeps them away in The Impossible.
Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor head up this cast that tells the most true story of one family’s experience during the devastating 2004 tsunami that devoured southeast asia.
The acting, though there is very little dialogue, is amazing and the special effect, especially in the first 45 minutes is mind-boggling.
Watts is being considered for an Oscar for her performance but the kids, in my opinion, steal every scene they are in.
The film runs 2 hours and it is a bit sappy at times, perhaps too sentimental so the flick-o-meter gives The Impossible a four out of five.
The special effects are top notch and the performances are really good but the pacing dragged on. That along with the romantic element and the lack of dialogue made for a long movie.

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Director Quentin Tarantino pays a tribute to the spaghetti western, and it’s a shoot ‘em up, rootin’ tootin’ fun !
It’s funny, offbeat, and brutal. Based in the american south during the times of slavery, Jamie Foxx straps on a six shooter or two, some cowboys boots and hat in Django Unchained.
Foxx’s Django character is taken by a bounty hunter, played to Christoph Waltz. They set out to get a few outlaws then they set their sites on getting Django’s wife, Broom Hilda, played by Carrie Washington, but her owner, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, is a tough guy to wrangle with.
As to be expected the movie has great dialogue, is funny, and they are fine performances by all. Samuel L. Jackson, who plays a minor role, is a big stand out in my opinion.
The film never loses site of the horrors of slavery and even though it uses the “n-word” a few times it is a Quentin Tarantino movie, you have to expect that.
The flick-o-meter give Django Unchained a five out of five. Its two hours and forty mintues and, at times, it does feel a bit long.
Film director Spike Lee has gone on record saying the film is disrespecful to his ancestors by reducing slavery to a spaghetti western. Even refusing to see it. Now even more people are going to see it because of that…go figure. Spike, you and Tarantino are both artists. I may not be the best person to make this judgement, because I’m white but, Django Unchained doesn’t feel disrepectful to the memory of slavery, even though it falls short of capturing it. That being said, I love Tarantino movies and I highly recommend it.
Let me know what you think. Head to my Facebook Page. It’s called TheBrettside.

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Tom Cruise plays an ex Army investigator who puts the smackdown on just about everyone he meets.
Cruise delves out the punishment as an ex-miltary guy roped into a murder investigation. He’s got to take out the bad guys, save the girl, and find the real killer in ‘Jack Reacher’.
The Jack Reacher book series has been  popular for years, now its moving to the big screen under Cruise control, as a quiet and deadly man.
Cruise is the rare action star who brings both brawn and brains to a role,  but in this case he’s limited by a weak script. He does, however, excel during the action scenes. Packing quite a punch. A real kick in the pants. See the video here, you will know what I’m talking about.
What you see is what you get in this movie. Action, reaction, Cruise being brutal and brash, it’s all here. The crime that draws the film’s reclusive ex-Army investigator out of the shadows — a sniper gunning down people on a city street — couldn’t have been a worse one to land in theaters in the wake of recent events in Connecticut…but the show must go on. So the flick-o-meter gives Jack Reacher a three out of five.
There’s plenty of action but no real tension and dialogue. Seeing Cruise in this role I was saying to myself that something just wasn’t right about it. I’ve met Tom Cruise several times, he’s a pretty small guy, and it just doesn’t seem to fit here as this larger than life Jack Reacher, who is a great character, but one that doesn’t suit Cruise.
Let me know what you think.
Sound off on my facebook page, its called TheBrettside.

Hold onto your hats kids, we’re heading to middle earth again with Peter Jackson and company.
After years of waiting its finally coming to theaters, Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.
Bilbo Baggins, a kicked back happy go lucky hobbit, joins Gandolf the Grey and 13 dwarves on a dangerous quest to reclaim their homeland and their treasure from “Smaug” the dragon.
The film is a staggering 160 minutes, but unlike any of the Lord of the Rings Films, it takes about an hour for anything to really get going.
Once it does though, game on, with nonstop chase scenes and action sequences.
On the journey they run into every kind of creature imaginable, the problem is, most of them are cgi creations. That was a big misstep I think. In the Lord of the Rings films most of the monsters were just guys in makeup and there was a sense of presence. I was hoping for the same here.
GCI does work is Gollum (played by Andy Serkis).  Gollum and Bilbo’s game of riddles is a nice piece of character interaction between battles sequences.
Martin Freeman as Bilbo, Ian McKellan as Gandolf, and Richard Amitrage as the elf leader do a wonderful job of acting.
This film is a lot of fun to watch but it’s not a great film as it never quite recaptures the charm of the Lord of the Rings films.
The Flick-o-meter gives The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey a four out five.
This film can be seen in 3D or 48 frames per second, its really not worth paying the higher ticket price. Just go see it the regular way, at 24 frames per second, they’ve been doing it for decades and it works just fine.
I’m eagerly awaiting the next two installments in the trilogy and so should you.
Let me know what you think, head to my Facebook page, it’s called TheBrettside, and click like.
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The only wide released movie this week is so bad there is a good chance it’s on the way to home video by Christmas.
Gerard Butler plays a divorced ex-jock who needs to be a father to his kid in the terrible romantic comedy Playiing for Keeps.
Jessica Biel plays his ex-wife who just happens to be getting remarried. Uma Thurman and Cahterine Zeta-Jones play a couple of horny housewives who can’t resist Butler. Dennis Quaid has a small role as a creepy team soccer dad who loves throwing money around.
This may be one of the worst romantic comedies I have ever seen. Butler, is a decent actor but this is not his finest hour as he stumbles though the movie as a good looking bumbling fool.
The notion that no woman in town, even those who have suffered most from his womanizing, can resist this hunky, dim witted, loser guy is, well, offensive and even misogynistic.
So much acting talent is wasted on this film and your time will be too. The flick-o-meter gives Playing for Keeps a one out of five.
The movie is so bad I didn’t want to waste your time either, that’s why I’ve keep this short.
Let me know what you think.
Head to my Facebook page, it’s called TheBrettside, and click like
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Brad Pitt plays a hitman who is sentimental and deadly.

Brad Pitt is a hitman brought in to restore some much needed street credibility to a weak looking mob syndicate in Killing them Softly.
Pitt prefers to kill victims “softly” from a distance rather than watching them get “touchy feely” up close. While trying to fix things he works alongside local mob lawyer Richard Jenkins. James Gandolfini, resurrects the spirit of Tony Soprano as a boozing, hooker-loving hit man who has lost his killer touch. Ray Liotta plays a poker manager wrongfully accused of ripping off the mob. A solid cast in a dark artsy movie peppered with hard to watch violent scenes.
Slow motion bullets flying and brain matter splatters. They all try to convey the message that capitalism and organized crime are mirror images of each other, one countless cruel scene after another.
The film is solid, there are many things I liked about it. I love mob movie but the over-the-top violence and the political undertones after the election we just had was a bit too much. The flick-o-meter gives Killing them Softly a four out of five.
Set  in 2008, there doesn’t seem to be anywhere in the film you don’t see George Bush or John McCain or Barack Obama talking on the television about the need to bail out Wall Street or how everyone in America can participate in the country’s promise.
Ok ok, we get it, America isn’t just a country, it’s a business. The message is hammered into your head again and again. Perhaps they should rename the film ‘over killing them softly’.
That’s just my view. Tell me what you think. Go find me on FaceBook, it’s called TheBrettside, and click like.
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