Real Steel (2011)

Look, I have been laughing at the previews for this movie for almost a year. What was Hugh Jackman thinking? I mean, isn’t this Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em robots with a different name.

Not so much, it’s more like Rocky with a robot.

And it is a lot better than any robot boxing movie deserves to be. Honestly, if you like Rocky, you will like this movie at least a little. At one point I could almost hear Sylvester Stallone yelling, “Hit me harder” in the final match of the movie.

The combination of Jackman pulling out all the charisma he can muster and a kid that isn’t completely annoying, and the filmmakers managed, against all odds, to put together a movie that is pretty fun and enjoyable.

The Ides of March (2011)

I think at this point it is fair to say that George Clooney makes good movies. Really good movies. Yes, I am ignoring Solaris.

I would argue that since Syriana, Clooney has been on a roll and I have to argue that it continues with The Ides of March.

The storyline is not the most original, but at the same time, it surprised me when it unfolded. And while not original it still wasn’t the direction I was expecting the movie to go. The previews did a good job of hiding what the conflict was going to be and the way it unfolded was quite nice, and a little unexpected.

My biggest concern was that this movie was going to turn into Clooney’s dream of a politician and his statement on what was wrong with the country right now. And while you can’t argue that some of that was present. Clooney plays a presidential candidate that is very flawed, and when it gets rough, he seems prepared to get as dirty as necessary. Enough to make you think someone could be killed.

I would recommend this movie to almost anyone in the mood for a good thriller and say that is one of the better movies I have seen in the last few months and probably the best movie in the theaters right now.