Pitch Perfect

Pitch Perfect (PG-13) 2012

Directed by Jason Moore

Starring:  Anna Kendrick, Skylar Astin, Ben Platt, Brittany Snow, Anna Camp, Rebel Wilson, Alexis Knapp, Ester Dean, Hana Mae Lee and Kelley Jakle

Here We Go:  An all-girls college a cappella group comes together to update their image in order to stand a chance in a heated competition.  Pitch Perfect is like Glee with bite, but maybe that's the difference between high school and college.  There is still that chick-flick, cheekiness that comes from movies like this (think: Bring It On), but it's still a movie that both guys and girls can enjoy.  It's actually funny in an off the wall sort of way, and the singing is pretty awesome!  Of course there are those "it would never happen" moments, but so what?  Just listening to Anna Kendrick sing Cups makes it all ok!

Bottom Line:   Watch it!

Les Misérables

Les Misérables (RATING) 2013

Directed by Tom Hooper

Starring:   Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, Sacha Baron Cohen, Helena Bonham Carter, Eddie Redmayne, Aaron Tveit, Samantha Barks, Colm Wilkinson and Bertie Carvel

Here We Go:  The lives of people from different backgrounds intersect during the time surrounding the French Revolution, and light is shed on the personal struggles that they all face.  About 98% of this movie is done in song, which I thought might be more than I could sit through, but it was enjoyable.  The entire cast was amazing; however, special recognition goes to Jackman and Hathaway for their abilities to convey such intensely raw emotion - while singing!  The movie is largely dramatic, but there are some funny scenes (mainly involving the innkeeper and his wife).  To be honest, the ending had me in tears, which is an accomplishment in itself.

Bottom Line:  Watch it...maybe with a tissue nearby.

Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages (PG-13) 2012

Directed by Adam Shankman

Starring: Julianne Hough, Diego Boneta, Russell Brand, Paul Giamatti, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Malin Akerman, Mary J. Blige, Alec Baldwin and Tom Cruise

Here We Go:  Rock of Ages takes place in the 1980s where rock is more than a genre it's a lifestyle.  It was an entertaining movie with fun music and good mash-ups (different songs being sung together); however, you can absolutely tell that this music is more for the Broadway stage than the rocker scene at the Bourbon.  The voices were so polished and none of the grit that goes hand-in-hand with rock was really present.  I wasn't sure if I would be able to take listening to Hough's nasally singing voice for the 2 hours it would take to get through the movie, but I made it.  It must be said that Cruise managed to completely take over the persona of a rock legend.  His body language and stage performance could have been mirrored from Axle Rose.  Still, he really wasn't believably cast and neither was Alec Baldwin.  You win some, you lose some.  At the end of the day, this movie is supposed to be more tongue-in-cheek and hokey, which was strangely good and bad.  I mean, it was really the only reason why it made watching such a bizarrely bad movie seem acceptable.

Bottom Line:  Sure, why not... but only if it's free.