John Cusack is Adam who after finding out his girlfriend left him receives a call that one of his former best friends Lou (Rob Corddry) tried to commit suicide. He is met at the hospital by Nick (Craig Robinson) another friend who now works as a dog groomer having given up his dream of being a musician to be with his wife. Together Nick and Adam decide the best way to help their friend, is to go back to the ski resort where they had the best time of their lives.

The three friends along with Adam’s nephew Jacob (Clark Duke) quickly realize that the ski resort they so fondly remember from their youth is now a run down shell of its former self. When the hot tub that used to house a dead raccoon is soon pristine and glowing they jump in and are transported back to 1986. The friends quickly realize that they can change there past and use their knowledge from today to right the wrongs of yesteryear.

Everything about the 80’s is recaptured in all its glory. Bad hair, bad clothes and rocking music it’s all here, including the 80’s ski movie bad guy, which is of course the head of the ski patrol. This is an 80’s powerhouse the opening credits are kicked off to the Accept classic “turn up the radio” and the Awesomeness never stops it is an homage to all the 80’s teen movie classics including the two best things to ever grace celluloid during the Reagan years topless girls for no reason and everyone’s favorite 80’s villain William Zabka (Johnny in the Karate Kid) in the years best cameo. Hot Tub Time Machine is non-stop enjoyment that even when it’s bad is Awesomely bad. Grade-86

Hot Tub Time Machine

Remy (Jude Law) is a Repo Man with a wife Carol (Carice van Houten) that wants him to move into sales to spend more time with her and their son Peter (Chandler Canterbury). His Repo partner Jake (Forest Whitaker) who has been his best friend since childhood wants nothing more than for things to stay the same.

Remy has one last job before he quits repo for his wife and child, unfortunately the repossession goes bad; Remy is now the proud owner of a new heart and is on the hook for a payment he cant afford. Carol has left him and taken Peter with her, he has not only lost his family but his newfound organ has changed his outlook on repossession and he has lost the ability to complete his job to pay for the heart. He teams up with a woman named Beth (Alice Braga) who he watched sing at a club and together they try to get their organs off the repo list.

The first indication that Repo Men is not going to be any good is that Jude Law is cast in the lead role. No matter how far back his hairline recedes Jude is not convincing as either a tough guy or an action hero. The second indication is that any movie that’s central plot revolves around artificial organs and the second billed actor has a lazy eye (Forest Whitaker) you have to know better.

There is a love story somewhere in this mess of a film it involves Remy quickly falling in love with singer/drug addict Beth which is natural since he saw her once before, of course her voice box is aftermarket like the rest of her organs but Remy doesn’t care his wife has left him and she wont let him see his son, the next reasonable step is to fall in love.

Neither Jude or Forest are likeable nor believable in there roles Liev Schreiber who apparently struck a deal with Satan to land his role in Defiance has done nothing but pay this deal back in spades destroying his career by starring in Wolverine, taking Woodstock and now this.

Even the over the top back alley organ retrieval surgery cannot help this one. I am all for gratuitous violence but outside of a death by falling typewriter Repo Men doesn’t even get that right. Grade-50

After discovery that the intelligence his team is relying on to find weapons of mass destruction, Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller decides to find more than WMD’s he wants to find the answers.

After going to multiple sights that are said to have WMD’s (weapons of mass destruction) Chief Miller (Matt Damon) starts to question the validity of the information that is risking his teams lives.

Miller comes across a local Iraqi named Freddy(Khalid Abdalla) who loves his country and wants to help its liberation, he notifies Miller that a group of high level Iraqi military leaders are having a meeting down the street and leads miller to them. After the confrontation Miller acquires a book that contains critical information, that both the department of defense and CIA have interest in.

This is the third teaming up between Damon and Director Greengrass following the last two Bourne films. Greengrass uses a similar hand held style of filming that some will find a bit nauseating but it does give the viewer a feeling of being embedded in the action.

Green Zone is ultimately a movie that questions the motives of going to war and how nothing is as clear as it appears to be, it is a film that wears its feelings about justification for war on it’s sleeve. The most deciding factor on your enjoyment of the film isn’t the performances but rather your politics.Grade-80

Green Zone