Ross Leonard

It's seems like forever since funnyman Will Ferrell released a movie worth talking about. With recent mega-duds like Land of the Lost and The Other Guys, my expectations for Ferrell's career were quickly fading. His comedic prowess has drastically dwindled since his classic characters such as NASCAR misfit Ricky Bobby and the legendary anchorman Ron Burgundy. But now, in a movie I was quite skeptical about, he has made me laugh again.
In the ridiculous Casa de mi Padre, Will Ferrell is Armando Alvarez, a vaquero who is viewed as an idiot by his family. His once simple life takes a turn for the interesting upon the return of his drug-dealing brother, Raul. Despite being the favorite son, Raul's homecoming begins to strain the family.

Whether you have children of your own, plan to someday have kids or simply can't stand them, it's universally known that at some point a child will make your life a pain in the ass. Acclaimed director Roman Polanski brings us one such moment without even introducing the rascals.
After a disagreement between two boys turns violent, the parents of the children converge over the details and the proper way to handle it, only to find themselves acting like children when their differing opinions get out in the open. This oddly entertaining comedy, featuring humor that goes from dry to downright scorched, takes place entirely inside a New York apartment.

Lots of film enthusiasts like me are licking their chops in anticipation of Steven Spielberg's biopic, Lincoln, set to arrive this year and likely win every Academy Award shortly thereafter. But the filmmaker, who hasn't directed a film since the embarrassing fourth installment of the Indiana Jones franchise, has brought a double dose of holiday joy to moviegoers everywhere. Released within four days of each other, The Adventures of Tintin and the tearjerker War Horse are tasty appetizers before Spielberg directs Daniel Day Lewis to the Oscar promiseland next winter.
The day after Christmas I, and what seemed to be the rest of Bend, went out to see a movie. I was finally ready to open up my wallet and purchased two tickets for what was billed as The Adventures of Tintin: An IMAX 3D Experience for the low, low price of an arm and a leg. Entering the lobby, there were lines upon lines forming for showings an hour away. But, to my relief, most of these were for War Horse which got me thinking, “had I picked the wrong movie?” As it turns out, yes, yes I did.

1. Drive:
A great cast in a wonderfully low-budget modern noir. Slick and surprisingly gruesome, Drive is my surprise hit of the year.
2.Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2:
Harry and his wizardly mates go out in style with the final chapter of this magical saga that defined a generation.

We've seen Occupy movements pop up all over the country in response to capitalist America's actions, but they seem to be getting little to no results. At least so far. But Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy and Matthew Broderick may have unveiled a plan to finally show those greedy, bloodsuckers that the little guy means business. The 99 percent represented in Tower Heist by employees at a fictionalized Trump Tower don't get mad, they get even.
Tower Heist follows a group of apartment employees shafted by their richest resident, Arthur Shaw. Ben Stiller plays Josh Kovacs, the manager of New York's most pricey apartment complex “The Tower.” After Shaw gets busted for a Madoff-esq scheme, Kovacs learns that because of him, the pension plans of his employees no longer exist. Assuming some sort of responsibility, Kovacs suits up and becomes a modern day Robin Hood in an effort to steal from the rich and give to the poor.

Baseball is known as America's pastime for a reason. Despite its long games, lack of instant excitement and outrageously lengthy season, baseball has captured our attention for nearly a century and a half, gaining the interest of generation after generation. And there's no better baseball than playoff baseball. With the postseason quickly approaching, Moneyball is a great film for fans of our nation's oldest major sport to begin their autumn ritual. Based on Michael Lewis' best-selling book of the same name, Moneyball tells the true story of how one general manager broke the mold of traditional player scouting in order to field a team with the best players that his small-market organization could afford. The action takes place in 2002 when computers began displacing professional baseball scouts and in doing so challenged the conventional wisdom that had guided scouting and player evaluation for more than a century. As such, it's a story that's bigger than baseball. It's a tale of how an industry wrestles with the forces of change.

It's safe to say that visionary filmmaker Guillermo del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth, Hellboy) makes a pretty good living off things that go bump in the night. The director of the upcoming Hobbit films produced and co-wrote one of this summer's only notable horror films Don't Be Afraid of the Dark. His decision, or whomever's decision it was, to let new-comer Troy Nixey lead this 1973, made-for-TV revival was the only noticeable flaw to this well-made remake.
The story follows a little, raven-haired girl named Sally who goes from her unloving mother's care in Los Angeles to Rhode Island where her father (Guy Pearce) and his lady-friend (Katie Holmes) are renovating a deceased painter's home that holds a demonic little secret. As if depressing family issues weren't enough, poor Sally can't even turn the lights off once her curiosity gets the best of her.