Super 8

Super 8 directed by J.J. Abrams
2011
★★★★✰
So I really ended up liking this film.  Entertaining, fun and exciting.  Just the right amount of scariness with a good helping of sci fi.  What's not to like about a J.J. Abrams movie?  Check it out.  Its worth a rental...

Nerd Do Well

Nerd Do Well by Simon Pegg
2011
★★★★✰
So I always enjoy Simon Pegg's movies.  Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz are two of my favorite movies.  It wasn't a stretch to figure I would like his book.  Very funny and the novel interspersed throughout the book is fantastic.  If you have no idea who Simon Pegg is it is still worth a read if as long as you like Star Wars and other scifi. 

Maphead

Maphead by Ken Jennings
2011
★★★★✰
So I guess I must be a "maphead" because I thoroughly enjoyed this book by Ken "you-know-the-Jeopardy-guy" Jennings.  I don't typically take notes when I read but I found myself writing down all sorts of things to look up later and research further.  In one of the chapters, Jennings explains "geocaching" in depth.  I was so interested, I signed up on the website the next day and have already found 4 caches.  Fun read and incredibly informative.

Wonderstruck

Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick
2011
★★★★✰
So I read The Invention of Hugo Cabret last year and enjoyed it thoroughly.  I figured this story should be good too.  It was.  The story is a great at intertwining the story in text and the story in drawings and then how they ultimately combine.  I found the New York "Panorama" fascinating and will definitely make it a stop when I end up going to New York.  In September, during the US Open of tennis held at Flushing Meadows, I had started to research the 1964 World's Fair.  I was interested in the Unisphere and other attractions.  Not much is left from the fair but the Panorama remains.

X-Men: First Class

X-Men: First Class directed by Matthew Vaugn
2011
★★★★✰
So I like X-Men (although #3 blew big time).  This movie was great though.  Kind of a "return to the original."  It felt more like the first movie which was pretty good.  Very entertaining film.  Check it out.

The Adjustment Bureau

The Adjustment Bureau directed by George Nolfi
2011
★★★★✰
So I really liked this film.  I didn't realize this was a sci-fi movie prior to watching it which probably made it a little better.  Great story.  Check this one out.

True Grit

True Grit directed by Ethan & Joel Coen
2010
★★★★✰
So I have never seen the original version of this film with John Wayne.  After watching this remake, I do now.  I was quite impressed with this film.  It was funny, dramatic and action packed.  Can the Coen Brothers make a bad movie?  Especially if it stars Jeff Bridges?  Right now, I don't think so.

The King's Speech

The King's Speech directed by Tom Hooper
2010
★★★★✰
So I knew this was going to be a good film but I was surprised as to how good.  I really wanted to give it five stars but it was a little too slow at times to get that rating.  Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush are fantastic.  The story is incredible and to see an historic biopic about a time that doesn't seem too long ago is very interesting.  Well worth the rental and it deserved to win the Oscar.

127 Hours

127 Hours directed by Danny Boyle
2010
★★★★✰
So I really liked this movie.  I remember reading about this story when it actually happened in the news and was amazed that he could survive.  Danny Boyle is a great storyteller and James Franco is starting to become one of my favorite actors to watch.

The Madness of King George

The Madness of King George directed by Nicholas Hytner
1994
★★★★✰
So I didn't know too much about this movie or this king.  Turns out the movie was good and the story quite fascinating.  Well worth a look.

It's Kind of a Funny Story

It's Kind of a Funny Story directed by Ryan Fleck
2010
★★★★✰
So I didn't know anything about this film before watching it.  It was very good.  I enjoyed Craig's inner thought sequences.  The "Under Pressure" part was fantastic.  Great movie.

Nowhere Boy

Nowhere Boy directed by Sam Taylor Wood
2009
★★★★✰
So I was interested in this film when I saw the trailer because I love The Beatles.  This was a great movie with a good deal of insight into the early years of John Lennon.  I liked how they never mentioned the Beatles throughout the entire film.

Waiting for "Superman"

Waiting for "Superman" directed by Davis Guggenheim
2010
★★★★✰
So I didn't even know this was a documentary when I put it in the Netflix queue.  This was an incredibly shocking and frustrating movie about our country's failed education system.  The personal stories throughout the film are touching.  I can't believe that the teachers unions hold so much power.  Sadly, I don't see how anything can be done to fix the mess we are in.

A Day No Pigs Would Die

A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck
1972
★★★★✰
So I never read this book in school.  It was never assigned in my classes so I never read it, even though it seems standard reading for elementary/middle school curricula.  It is an amazing book.  Peck had an incredible childhood, though I wonder how much may have been embellished as it is a novel and not a memoir.  A must read.

How To Train Your Dragon

How To Train Your Dragon directed by Chris Sanders & Dean DeBlois
2010
★★★★✰
So I didn't think too much of this movie before watching it.  It turned out to be great.  Hiccup's, Jay Baruchel, sarcastic, monotone persona was great for this movie.  Clearly a "nerd showing his cool dad he's alright" type of movie but it was fun to watch.  I'm sure it was even better in 3D.

Easy A

Easy A directed by Will Gluck
2010
★★★★✰
So I really liked this super smart comedy.  When I first saw the previews, I figured it to be a dumb teenie bopper flick.  I'm glad my wife put it on the queue.  Very funny.  Very witty.  Emma Stone is great.  One drawback is the incredibly super happy and awesome family that Olive has.  Still, go out and watch this film!

National Geographic: Inside North Korea

National Geographic: Inside North Korea presented by Lisa Ling
2006
★★★★✰
So I had watched some webisodes of a documentary by someone that made it into North Korea and was able to do some filming and was amazed.  When I saw this special on Netflix, I thought I would give it a try.  Clearly simplified for regular American television audiences, this film is still astounding to watch.  To see the North Korean people completely brainwashed by "The Great Leader" is truly horrifying.  I urge anyone to watch this film if only to get a small glimpse into what goes on in North Korea.

Cars

Cars directed by John Lasseter
2006
★★★★✰
So I have seen this movie numerous times.  My kids love it.  They love "Mater" and "Queen."  For someone, who hates NASCAR, this movie is great.  Pixar can do no wrong.  I hope they can keep churning out these great films.

Inception

Inception directed by Christopher Nolan
2010
★★★★✰
So I really wanted to give this movie five stars but just couldn't.  Too many little things that bugged me that my wife and I have discussed at length.  Don't get me wrong - it is a great movie and well worth seeing (we actually got to see it in the theatre!)  There are just some things that didn't sit right with this mind-bending-alternate-reality.  At times, it did seem like it was a bizarre mix-up of Nolan's Memento and Batman Begins films (a lot of cast members) but all in all it was a great film.  Joseph Gordon-Levitt may be my new favorite actor - he is awesome in this movie.

Crispin: The End of Time

Crispin: The End of Time by Avi
2010
★★★★✰
So I enjoyed the first two books of the series about a peasant boy in Medieval England.  This final book wasn't as good as the others but it was still a great read.  It is amazing to think of how people used to (and still do...) put their entire lives in God's hands.  The story really missed "Bear" the lovable brute that Crispin traveled with.  Still, I would like to read a little more of Crispin's and Owen's life in Iceland...