The Bat Cave

This Is The End – Up there for best comedy of the year with We’re The Millers. This ensemble comedy features most of the who’s who in the funny world: Jonah Hill, James Franco, Seth Rogen, Craig Robinson, Jay Baruchel, and Danny McBride, plus numerous cameos. Everyone is funny in their own typical way, but the coolest thing about the film is how the actors poke fun at each other and how the conflicts that arise may actually be legitimate. Do Jonah Hill and Jay Baruchel really hate each other? Not exactly a laugh riot like you might hope, but one of the better comedies of 2013. 6/10

Now You See Me – Perhaps the biggest surprise of 2013 so far, I found Now You See Me to be quite enjoyable. Four formidable magicians form an act together under the instructions of a mysterious fifth party and start performing astounding, controversial, and possibly illegal magic shows for very large crowds. The magic tricks in the movie are unique and interesting. The acting is good for the most part. The final act of the film gets a bit extreme though and lost me a little. Overall though, I was pleasantly surprised by this movie. 6/10

42 – For whatever reason, I wasn’t expecting much from 42, the Jackie Robinson biopic. Even so, it was still surprisingly boring. So boring, I fell asleep halfway through the movie and decided I didn’t care enough to finish it later. Harrison Ford is almost unrecognizable as Branch Rickey, but that probably won’t get him an Oscar nomination. I can’t put my figure on what was wrong with this movie, but Jackie Robinson deserves better. That much is for sure. 3.5/10

The Call – The Call was a solid suspense thriller with a decent performance from Halle Berry. I’ve seen better work from Abigail Breslin though. Worth watching, I guess, but nothing anyone has to see. 4.5/10

Pain & Gain – Wow, Mark Wahlberg, I thought you were a respectable actor. Dude hasn’t looked this cheesy since his days with The Funky Bunch. I got about 30 minutes into this movie and had no idea what it was about or where it was going. The Rock hadn’t even made an appearance yet. Really, really bad. 2/10

Curse Of Chucky – A solid return to the days when Chucky was scary. Before Tiffany. Before Glenn. Originally planned as a remake of the original Child’s Play, the film still takes place after the events of Bride Of Chucky and Seed Of Chucky. Unlike those films, however, Curse Of Chucky focuses on Chucky only and returns to the series’ scary roots, putting the humor aside for the most part. As far as fifth sequels are concerned, this movie is pretty good and probably deserving of a theatrical release. It’s certainly better than some of the stuff that gets released in theaters, especially horror films. Chucky looks as good as ever and is legitimately scary in this movie. Rather than shoving the psychotic doll down your throat, writer/director Don Mancini takes a more restrained approach, taking his time and building suspense before all hell starts to break loose. Dare I say it? With a modern look and 2013 technology on his side, this just might be the best Chucky flick to date. 6.5/10