“Jennifer’s Body” (Horror: 1 hour, 42 minutes); Starring: Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried, Johnny Simmons and Adam Brody;

Director: Karyn Kusama;

Rated: R (Profanity, violence, sexual innuendo, sexuality, gore and thematic elements)

Movie Review: The prettiest young lady in school is Jennifer Check (Fox). She has a secret. She likes to kill young men. Jennifer is a succubus, also known as a vampire. Many guys at Jennifer’s high school admire her body and would die to go on a date with Jennifer, who is willing to oblige. Be worried. She likes to bite.

Chip, a young man played by Johnny Simmons, describes someone’s behavior as being like a “zombie mannequin statue.” The adjectives are redundantly silly but worthy of laughs.

Penned by famous writer Diablo Cody, who also serves as an executive producer, “Jennifer’s Body” plays like a screenplay of the 1980s — except this screenplay does not work today. Movies have changed and audiences too. This movie is filled with cheesy lines, goofy plots and an array of off-the-wall characters who make you scratch your head in wonder. With these aspects, “Jennifer’s Body” is bad to the point it is almost good. These concepts make this entertaining piece unusually tacky. Yet all is too uniquely interesting to turn away.

Grade: C+ (Beautiful necrophilia)



“The Informant!” (Comedy/Bio-Adaptation: 1 hour, 47 minutes); Starring: Matt Damon, Melanie Lynskey, and Scott Bakula;

Director: Steven Soderbergh;

Rated: R (Profanity and sexual innuendo)

Movie Review: Dr. Mark Whitacre (Damon) works for Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) during the early 1990s. A caller tells Whitacre that ADM has a mole in their midst who is sabotaging their work. Whitacre and ADM’s management try finding the mole. As they search, the FBI, led by Special Agent Brian Shepard (Bakula), starts an investigation. Shortly, Whitacre confronts Agent Shepard, revealing ADM is involved in price-fixing with other corporations around the world. Whitacre agrees to work for the FBI to uncover the deception, over a period of years. A major problem exists. Whitacre, a husband and father of two, is not a stable man.

Based on Kurt Eichenwald’s book, “The Informant” is a very entertaining piece adapted from real-life events, occurring from 1992-2006. With very many lies, Damon’s Whitacre dazzles viewers with a complex, enjoyable story. Damon clearly has fun, gaining several pounds to make his role authentic. He is dynamic here, providing laughs and giving plenty moments worthy of accolades. Damon’s scenes with Bakula and Lynskey, who plays his wife, are perfect, imperfect relationships. These relationships work because viewers learn very quickly Whitacre is unstable, ergo the amusement.

Audiences get an informative movie about a large corporation and its scandalous behavior. Also, other crimes happen, some unexpected, even more entertaining. The twists never stop coming, and “The Informant!” is a great way to start the fall movie season. Director Soderbergh (“Erin Brockovich,” 2000; “Ocean’s Eleven,” 2001) knows quality entertainment.

Grade: B+ (Informative!)



“Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” (Animation/Comedy: 1 hour, 29 minutes);

Starring Voices: Bill Hader, Anna Faris, James Caan, Andy Samberg, Bruce Campbell and Mr. T;

Directors: Phil Lord and Chris Miller;

Rated: PG (Mild brief language and crude humor)

Movie Review: Flint Lockwood (Hader) is an inventor, except his inventions are usually destructive mishaps. Depressed that no one sees his genius, Lockwood invents a means to turn water into food. His invention eventually hovers above the city of Swallow Falls, drawing moisture from the atmosphere and causing food to fall from the sky. As the town’s greedy Mayor Shelbourne (Campbell) craves that more food falls, the food becomes larger and larger, causing catastrophic damage.

A few animated movies about food have graced cinema screens recently. “Ratatouille” (2007) is a prime example. “Meatballs” is overkill. It is like being at an all-you-can-eat buffet and given a plate the size of an automobile. The voices of big-name talents, too numerous to mention, are nearly unrecognizable without close study. However, one voice is recognizable. The voice of Mr. T., the 1980s television icon, is clearly noticeable.

The stars’ voices are great, but this story is farfetched, even for an animated production. The laughs are present, and the plate is full. The food is not very filling.

Grade: C (Great balls of foggy sauce)



“9” (Animation/Action: 1 hour, 19 minutes);

Starring Voices: Elijah Wood, Christopher Plummer, Jennifer Connelly, Martin Landau, John C. Reilly, and Crispin Glover;

Director: Shane Acker;

Rated: PG-13 (Thematic elements and violence)

Movie Review: Darkly intense is the perfect description for “9,” an extended extrapolation of 2005’s short film of the same title and directed by director-writer Acker. This adventure follows the heroic actions of nine dolls, given life by their dead inventor. The dolls are the last remnants of a humanity destroyed by its machines. Led by the ninth doll, adequately termed 9 (voiced by Wood), the dolls set out to destroy the artificial intelligence responsible for destroying humans.

Beautifully arranged, “9” is an adventure about the restoration of life to a devastated, post-apocalyptic Earth. This action-oriented story moves quickly, never letting itself become tedious or self-righteously serious. Instead, a straightforward plot remains a reliable constant, religiously solid.

Grade: B (Numbered assortment of interest)



“Love Happens” (Romantic Drama: 1 hour, 49 minutes);

Starring: Aaron Eckhart, Jennifer Aniston, Dan Fogler, John Carroll Lynch and Martin Sheen;

Director: Brandon Camp;

Rated: PG-13 (Sexual innuendo and profanity)

Movie Review: Dr. Burke Ryan (Eckhart) is a self-help guru and best-selling author. He teaches people how to cope with unfortunate realties. Meanwhile, Dr. Ryan is still grieving his wife who died three years earlier. Enter Eloise Chandler (Aniston), owner of a flower shop. While in Seattle to promote his latest book, Ryan meets Chandler and the two become close acquaintances. Romance may be in the air for them, but Ryan’s troubled past haunts him. He may be able to tell others how to move on with their lives, but he cannot take his own advice.

Brandon Camp directs this piece that is similar to “Sleepless in Seattle” (1993), and definitely tries to capture the romance of Seattle as portrayed by films. The problem is any city is romantic when with the correct person.

“Love Happens” is an engaging film. Drama and romance with a bit of comedy provide just the right balance. Eckhart carries the film, providing the necessary drama to make it work. Aniston tries her best. She is charming, but this screenplay does not allow her enough room to work. The two make a good couple. Too bad, we do not get enough time to see them together, romancing. When they fail however to keep us engaged, Sheen enters the picture providing dramatic scenes and later nice humor, and Lynch gives a nice dramatic turn as a bereaved father.

Not a very powerful romantic movie, “Love Happens” manages to entertain. Think of this as more a dramatic film with a bit of romance. The drama is better than the clichéd romance.

Grade: C+ (Unevenly, love happens.)