It is hard to predict how you will react when put into an extreme situation.  Will you shy away or will you be on the front lines yelling ‘Bring it On!’?  Or will you be more worried about the people around you and trying to get them to safety?  There are so many different emotions that you will encounter when being put into these kind of situations and whichever one you give into will be the one that you will go with until it is over. 

Jackson Curtis is feeling down on life, but he does have something that makes him smile, his kids.  Being late again when picking them up from his ex-wife’s house, Jackson has a long weekend planned for them and wants it to be memorable.  Arriving at Yellowstone, Jackson and his kids see that there are several fences up and without understanding why, they decide to jump them and hike on to the lake where Jackson proposed to his ex.  Being met by several men with M-16’s, Jackson has stumbled on to something more than he expected with the lake being drained and the military keeping a lock down on what is going on.  But all is not lost on the trip as Jackson is approached by a crazy man named Charlie Frost who knows exactly what is going on.

With current findings from the rapidly increasing solar storms, Adrian Helmsley is trying to find an answer to when the world is going to end. With the help from his friend across the world, he has found that there is a time table and no way of stopping it.  Having to approach the President about the issue, Helmsley is forced to tell the truth about what is about to happen to the United States, along with the world.  With the future events being kept a secret from the world, Helmsley is forced to stay tight lipped on the situation, but knows that there is a way to keep more of the world safe from its impending doom.

As the clock ticks, events around the world are getting worse. Los Angeles is starting to show several surface cracks on its streets, along with tearing apart grocery stores.  With the news and the governor telling everyone that everything is fine, the people of the city rest assured, but it is just a front as a 10.4 earthquake hits the region.  As everyone tries to evacuate the city, most of them are lost to the massive cracks opening up, but that is not enough to stop everyone from getting out as any type of air craft can take them to safety.  As L.A. falls into the Pacific Ocean, there is a race to find a band of ships that have been built in secret for the past year, but with all of the destruction around the world, it will be amazing if anyone will be able to find their way to China to be saved.

If you are looking for a good disaster movie to watch, 2012 is hard to beat.  But it is not for the effects on the screen, it is for the human reaction to what is happening around them.  Selfless acts can be a hard thing to come by in an event such as this, but this movie really does focus on how people can pull together for the greater good, rather than run for the hills and let everyone else perish.  I really enjoyed the character focus in this movie and it is not just in the two that I have listed above, but everyone.  There are several different storylines that you have to follow in this movie, but all of them are essential for the final payoff.  It is always good to look ahead and see what the world is going to throw your way, but even if we do this, we still may not be ready for what is right in front of us.  Happy Viewing.

Trying to hide from your past can be a difficult thing, especially if there are people trying to find you.  No matter what you may have done in your previous life, there is always someone looking for you to make right the wrongs that you have done.  If you keep this from your loved ones, it just makes the shock of who you are that much worse, since they could possibly be roped into your former life and made to pay for your mistakes.  It is always a good practice to keep the lines of communication open with your loved ones and no matter what you may have done, they will at least be mindful of what they could possibly be mixed up with when your past comes calling.

Paul is just a lonely mechanic in Mississippi that has nothing go for him but his daughter.  Beth has been off to college for a while, but the two keep in touch with their weekly calls and Paul is always wanting to know what is happening with her.  But when he receives a notice from the school that Beth has dropped out, he tries to get a hold of her right away, but with no answer, he fears that something might have happened to her.  Getting down to the school, Paul finds that her apartment looks like it has not been lived in for months, but finds a picture of Beth and a friend in front of a bar.  Needing answers, Paul heads down to the bar and waits for the friend to show up.

Meeting Angela, Beth’s friend from the picture, Paul finds out that there is another side to his daughter that he was not aware about.  With the stories that Angela is telling him, about his daughter getting dragged into a druggy lifestyle, Paul puts on his dad hat and starts the search for his daughter. Since the last man that Angela knows Beth was going out with was in New Orleans, Paul packs up her car and the two head down to the drug dealer's bar.  When the boyfriend cannot be found, Paul turns to the next best thing, the drug dealer’s friends.  Beating them up to get information he needs, Paul has a secret that Angela is dying to understand, but she will soon enough. 

As his search takes him deeper and deeper into the underground world of New Orleans, Paul’s face is recognized and the word has made it to Omar that his old friend is in town.  Omar is still grieving over the loss of his wife and daughter at Paul’s hands and wants revenge.  Sending out hits on Paul, Omar will not be happy until the man's corpse is at his doorstep, but Paul still has friends in The Big Easy.  With his past coming back to him faster than he would like, Paul becomes the man that he has been running from ever since he got married.  The only thing that matters to Paul is finding his daughter and bringing her home, but with so much of his past coming to light, he will have to leave a trail of bodies like he was known for doing years ago.

The Prince can be explained in two words.  Your Past.  Your past can always catch up with you and that is exactly what happens as this movie starts flowing.  You have to wonder what would happen if Beth knew everything about her father and who he really was, if she would have run away to a town that is known for keeping its residents on ice. You don’t really get a lot of growth out of Paul in this story, but you do get to see young Angela start to become a woman.  With all of the distractions that are around, it was refreshing to see that a few characters were taking note.  With plenty of fighting and gun play, this is the movie you want to see if you are thinking about getting revenge on anyone for doing you wrong.  Happy Viewing.

Most of the time when you take a job, you are doing it for the sole reason we all do it, we need the money.  It is difficult in this market to find a job that you actually want when the clock is ticking and you need to pay your bills.  But there are a couple of jobs that you can find that will allow you time to get other things accomplished while working them.  These are the positions that I am surprised more people do not fight for, since you still get paid to do the job and whatever else you do in your free time.

Martin Bells is in need of some money to survive his last semester of law school.  Even with his great living conditions, and girlfriend Katherine, he needs the money to keep everything clicking.  Taking a job at the Medical Examiner’s building as a night watchman, Martin figures that he will have plenty of time to study during his down time.  All seems well, but when the old watchman takes him on the tour of the building, Martin starts to get the creeps.

Taking everything that the old man said to him to heart, Martin’s first night is nothing but terrifying, but it gets better every night.  With a visit from his good friend James who pulls a fantastic practical joke, Martin is at ease in his job and does not have a care in the world.  When talking with the cities most honored inspector, Thomas Cray, Martin finds out more about the crimes around the town and who the suspects could be. Being a little bit too laxed now, since he knows the ropes, Martin finds that a body has been removed from the morgue and is lying at the end of a hallway.  Thinking that this is another joke, Martin calls for help and the inspector comes back and tries to understand what the young man is worried about.  With the body being found on the gurney where it should have been, there are rumors of what the new night watchman may be doing in his free time, but Martin knows that there is something strange happening that he cannot explain.

Outside of the Medical Examiner’s building, Martin is doing well in school, but is quickly distracted by his friend James and his exploits.  The two have been playing a game called Challenge for years now and it is Martin’s turn.  Being caressed in an expensive restaurant by a prostitute, Martin is now being hounded by the young woman, but there is someone else pulling her strings.  Leaving messages and asking to meet all of the time, Martin’s relationship with Katherine starts to decline, but little does the couple know that there is something much more sinister at hand.  When the young girl is found dead in her apartment, Katherine walks in on the scene but has to run out before being seen by the killer who was still in the apartment.  With Martin being the primary suspect, things all start to come together for Katherine when little things are mentioned about the crime scene that were not there.  Martin has to fight to prove his innocence, but will he be able to combat everyone coming at him as his Nightwatch comes to an end.

I was looking for a horror movie, not a thriller when this movie came across my screen.  Figuring what the heck, I gave it a watch and was not disappointed in the least.  A murder mystery that has many moving parts and when you think you know who the killer is, it makes you take a step back and reanalyze everything you have just seen.  I did like the character of James the best, although he was not the lead and only a small part of the story revolved around him, in a matter of speaking.  Being bored with his life, he needs more excitement to feel alive and is willing to go to the extremes to get it.  I don’t know if that is a good thing or a bad thing when you no longer feel the excitement that everyone else does during any events.  But no matter, you are allowed to do what makes you happy, as long as you are not breaking the law.  Happy Viewing.

There are times in your life when you just need to put everything aside and watch a funny movie.  I have a couple of go to movies like this in my collection, but one that will never lose its place on the shelf is Mel Brooks’ Dracula: Dead and Loving It. This movie was purchased for my collection for two reasons, one, it is a Mel Brooks movie and two, my love for the Dracula story.  If you are a lover of the Dracula story or Vampires overall and are in need of a laugh, this might be the perfect movie to get you out of the depths and into loving life again.

Thomas Renfield is traveling to Transylvania to have the estate of Carfax Abbey signed over to Count Dracula.  Not knowing who the wealthy man is, Renfield is warned by the people in the village to stay away from the old castle where the Count has been known to lurk.  Not believing a word that the people say, Renfield ventures up to the castle along and meets the renowned Count and is blown away be the state of the castle he is living in.  Without being able to bring himself to ask any questions about what is happening around the castle, Renfield is accosted by two beautiful woman, who turn out to be vampires, but before they are able to bite him, Dracula comes to his rescue.  Putting Renfield under his spell, Dracula now has a minion to take him to his new home in London, along with the promise of overseeing very small lives, Renfield will do Dracula’s bidding, no matter what.

Doctor Seward is running his sanitarium without a care in the world.  Giving his patients countless enemas whether they are good or bad, he has his treatment plan in place and will not have to deviate. Receiving a new patient who was the lone survivor on a ghost ship that has landed in the harbor does not frighten him, but the outlandish antics that Renfield shows does leave the good Doctor curious.  But Renfield is not the only new person that has entered his life, as Count Dracula makes it known to Seward and his group that he will be residing at Carfax Abbey.  The group lead by Jonathan Harker does not know what to expect from the older gentleman, but young Lucy has been taken away by the Count and wants to have that long talk with him that she was promised.

Although everything seems safe and sound around the grounds, Dracula has decided to make his move on young Lucy and is able to find a way into her room and slowly start to change her into one of his own.  Not knowing what is happening to the young girl, Dr. Seward calls in outside help from Professor Van Helsing.  Van Helsing is able to tell straight away what is happing to the young girl and tries to save her, but he is too late and Lucy becomes one of the undead.  With his continuous thirst, Dracula is not ready to stop and has turned his sights to Seward’s daughter, Mina.  Although nobody believes that Dracula is a blood sucking vampire, they cannot leave it out of the question.  Filling Mina’s room with all sorts of vampire deterrents, Dracula has to break Renfield free from the sanitarium and utilize his human talents to make it passable, but even Renfield is not able to gain a hundred percent access as his mind wonders much too frequently. 

Without giving the away the ending of the movie, I will leave it right there.  I will admit that it is difficult to do a review on a comedy without quoting all of the hilarious lines and what made me laugh throughout.  What I will tell you is that Dracula does have a shadow that has a mind of its own, Renfield has developed a taste for insects and Jonathan Harker winds up covered in blood for no other reason than love.  This movie hits all of the aspects of the previous Dracula movies, but adds in what made them silly, along with scary.  It is hard to go wrong with a Mel Brooks movie whenever you need a good laugh or just to be entertained.  If you have not yet seen this movie, you should add it to whatever viewing list you have.  Until next time, Stay Scared and keep the laughter alive.