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Jason Barney: The only film that I went to the theaters to see recently was Anchorman 2, and I was pleasantly surprised. The beginning of the film, when all of the characters are reuniting was fun, the middle kinda dragged, and the ending was very good. Well worth the price of the ticket and very entertaining.

Max Braden: Over Thanksgiving I went to see Frozen with my family. I had very low expectations of it because the trailer made it look cheap to me. I was really surprised at how good it was. Now, I won't say this is the best Disney animated movie of the recent productions as many are saying (I like Tangled more, and maybe even Brave), but I think what really worked for Frozen was that there were no weak points - it was good in every department. I happen to favor the "In Summer" song the most, but man that Let it Go performance was a hell of a power ballad. After Frozen I saw Anchorman 2. I don't think Anchorman is in my top three favorite Will Ferrell movies, but I do like the completely absurd and inappropriate dialogue. Anchorman 2 delivered on that again (like "chicken of the cave" and Brick's shadow). The shark bit was dumb and I won't go back to Anchorman 2 as a classic, but it provided some good laughs. I also saw American Hustle. Despite some fantastic advertising, I've seen some weak buzz come out of the theater. I think that's due to its slow pacing. I saw it as almost dreamlike. I wouldn't pick the movie as a top Picture contender, but I did think the acting was great (except for an occasional De Niro-esque delivery from Bale).

Some movies I've seen on DVD:

All is Bright - This looks like a holiday movie because it takes place over Christmas, and you could even make a case for some silver lining at the end, but wow this is a depressing movie. Giamatti starts as a broke ex-con and nothing changes. This movie made me hate Christmas.

The To Do List - Odd that a teenage scoring movie like American Pie can hit it big but a female version like this is an afterthought. Aubrey Plaza is funny on her own but the best moments are her versus her sister played by Rachel Bilson.

The Internship - Typical Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn predictable comedy. Josh Gad had some great, brief moments.

Violet and Daisy - It's supposed to be shocking that a couple of sweet teenage girls are killers. Okay, then what? The rest of the movie just drags.

The Way Way Back - Allison Janney made me want to quit this movie before the first 10 minutes but I hung in because Sam Rockwell makes everything great, and he delivered.

We're the Millers - As good as Jennifer Aniston looked as a naughty brunette in Horrible Bosses, she was utterly dull as a stripper in this movie. The kissing scene was funny, though.

2 Guns - Mark Wahlberg made this movie fun when it should have just been an average action flick.

Elysium - There are some cool visuals and Sharlto Copley makes for an intimidating villain, but this movie doesn't match up to District 9.

The Lifeguard - This movie was released to DVD almost unannounced, which is too bad because it means people are missing a pretty good movie. Kristen Bell's character isn't exactly respectable, but I think she's totally understandable.

The Hunt - This is one of those movies that is well done but you never really want to watch again.

Paranoia - Even if the A list talent was good here, and they weren't, Liam Hemsworth just isn't strong enough to perform on this level as a lead yet.

Savannah - Jim Caviezel gets to play a slightly more animated role than he does on Person of Interest. It's an interesting bit of Southern history but the unintended takeaway I got from the movie wasn't about a man who communed with nature, it was just a bunch of complaining about the good old days of the South.

Sweetwater - A western about a religious zealot would normally be a movie I skip, but Ed Harris really delivered a wild and eclectic character.

Planes - I loved Cars, but this seemed like a Saturday afternoon cartoon version of the series.

The Act of Killing - This world this documentary reveals is insane. If you tried to imagine a Germany where the Nazi party and its leadership survived the war without trial and continued to stroll around the country it would be absurd. And yet here's Indonesia.

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