Unstoppable is the story of Will (Chris Pine), a man whose marriage is unraveling quickly and who just joined the railroad, and of Frank (Denzel Washington) whose wife recently passed away and who has one foot shoved out the railroad door. The two are paired together while Will is trained as a conductor by Frank. During their first day together a runaway train carrying toxic chemicals threatens to derail in a heavily populated Pennsylvania town. The hero spirit takes over Will and Frank and they decide to try to stop that train no matter what their fate may be.

I love trains. I love action movies. This movie had me unexpectedly on the edge of my seat for almost the entire time. I had such low expectations of this movie going in, but Rosario Dawson‘s performance as yardmaster Connie Hooper adds to an incredibly dynamic tension that keeps a movie about a train travelling all by itself into a breathtaking thrill ride.

Unstoppable is loosely based on the Crazy Eights runaway train incident in Ohio on May 15, 2001, but it’s best to consider this a straight-up work of fiction so you don’t spoil the ending for yourself.

Buttery’s Rating:

Doug MacRay (Ben Affleck) lives in the rumored bank robbing capital of the United States, the Boston neighborhood of Charlestown. By day he works a legitimate job in the sand and gravel business, and by vacation day he robs bank trucks and bank branches with his buddies Jim (Jeremy Renner), Gloansy (Slaine), and Dez (Owen Burke). During a bank branch robbery the masked crew makes bank manager Claire (Rebecca Hall) open the cash vault then takes her hostage, keeps her license as a threat of “we know where you live,” then sets her loose blndfolded and barefoot on the beach.

Claire is left with post traumatic stress disorder from the ordeal, and when questioned by the FBI cannot tell them why she was released without harm. Jim doesn’t like the loose end that Doug made him leave alive, so Doug promises to check in with Claire to make sure she has no idea who robbed the bank. He follows her to a laundromat where she happens to ask him for change for the dryer. When he says he has none she breaks down crying, confessing to him that she is an emotional wreck because of a bank robbery and her forced kidnapping. A dangerous one-sided Helsinki Syndrome relationship develops between the two, where Claire is left unknowing of Doug‘s involvement in her traumatic event.

Jim finds out about the relationship and presses the issue that Claire is a messy loose end to their bank job and should be “taken care of” but Doug refuses and makes plans to leave town with Claire to avoid the fall-out from the FBI investigation led by Special Agent Adam Frawley (Jon Hamm) that is zeroing in on the crew.

Story lines about Doug’s father Stephen (Chris Cooper) being in jail for life, the mystery of Doug‘s missing mother, the arrangement of the bank jobs by Irish mob boss “The Florist” (Pete Postlethwaite), and Jim‘s drug addicted prostitute sister Krista (Blake Lively) feeling unrequited love for Doug all help the movie stay engaging when the love story between Doug and Claire and the crazy chase scenes and shootouts of the bank heists aren’t on the screen.

The character development is three dimensional, the story lines intertwine seemlessly, and the chase scenes in the tight streets of Charlestown are amazing. The violent gun battle scenes are exciting despite their predictable conclusions. Great job, Mr. Affleck.

Buttery’s Rating:

Recommendation

What more perfect snack is there to nosh on while watching a film about Boston than Ferrara Pan Boston Baked Beans candy?

A cup of hot Boyer’s Irish Cream Coffee will get you into character.

Ringing in the new year with a movie based upon the apocalypse? Why not! My New Year’s resolution: Don’t piss anybody off so they want to hang me from hooks and ritualistically kill me!

Aidan Breslin (Dennis Quaid) is a detective with a background in forensic odontology who is recently widowed. Aidan dives further into his caseload to avoid the pain of his loss and his teenage son Alex (Lou Taylor Pucci) is left to care for the youngest son Sean (Liam James).

Breslin is called into a disturbing serial killer case where victims are ritualistically hung from hooks by the self named Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Breslin catches the first of the four, an adopted girl named Kristin (Ziyi Zhang) who quickly goes from innocent victim of tragedy to psychotic main suspect. The details of The Four Horsemen‘s murderous plot become clear and a dangerous race to find the rest of the Horsemen before the bodies pile up begins. The true horror for Aidan is actualized when he learns that he was specifically chosen to work this case… and why.

This movie is slow paced in between its scenes of true gore. The back story of the dad who is never around for his kids is nothing new, but it ties into this story in a more creative way than usual. Although the ending becomes predictable if you’re watching closely, it still is a psychological thrill to get there. The very end of the film, however, deducts an entire bucket for weak delivery in tying up loose ends.

Worth a watch with a Twitter buddy to discuss the scenes as they unfold, which is exactly how I watched it.

Buttery’s Rating:

Recommendation

I had a craving for fries during this movie so I recommend Smart Fries which are healthier for you than regular fries and help you guess the ending just like I did.

Let’s go for broke and drink some Tru Blood during this movie.

Sometimes being big isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Twleve-year-old Josh Baskin (David Moscow) is sick of not being able to do what he wants when he wants. For his 13th birthday he goes to a fair in New York City and pays his quarter to Zoltar, a fortune-telling game that grants wishes. Josh‘s simple request: “I wish I were big.” Zoltar responds that his wish has been granted.

After a stormy night’s sleep Josh wakes up to find out that his wish has, in fact, been granted and he is now a 30-year-old version of himself (Tom Hanks). Josh returns to the fair site but sees that the fair, and the Zoltar machine, are gone. He tries to go home and explain everything to his mother (Mercedes Ruehl) but that interaction does not go well, to say the least.

Josh runs off to find his best friend Billy (Jared Rushton) and convince him that he really is Josh. Billy then helps Josh run away to a scary New York City hotel where he spends his first night away from all his family, friends, and the comforts of home. The news gets worse when he and Billy finally learn how to track down the Zoltar game but learn it will take at least six weeks to get the list of fairs where the Zoltar game is scheduled to appear.

To pass the six weeks Josh gets a job working at MacMillan Toy Company testing toys where he meets Susan Lawrence (Elizabeth Perkins) who pursues him as a love interest. Josh finally decides to enter the adult world of feelings and begins a relationship with Susan, falling in love with her and in love with his adult life.

Then the fair list arrives… Will Josh choose his new life with Susan or will he return to his childhood?

Big is one of the best romantic comedies of all times. It bridges the gap between our love of being a child but our sense of duty in our adult life. And, its best lesson of all, it reminds us to be a kid at heart no matter how old we are in years. The dialog of this film is brilliant, amusing the audience with Josh‘s duality as a boy trapped in a man’s world. A great supporting cast, and beautiful cinematography of the best city in the world for reinventing yourself (New York City) make this a movie worth owning.

Special Features are expectedly lacking since this movie came out in theaters before the DVD was the widespread medium. It boasts the typical features of an ’80s movie pushed to DVD for its fans — a theatrical trailer and the cast credits. No points off for not turning in a homework assignment they never were told about.

Buttery’s Rating:

Recommendation

Pepsi is Josh‘s vending machine product of choice! (Too bad, Coke.)

We should all definitely have a hot fudge sundae with vanilla ice cream and a maraschino cherry on top with Josh and Billy. Yum! And maybe a piece of Kindle cake in honor of the Kindle that basically rips off the handheld comic book idea Josh comes up with in the movie.

Steal the air. Talk hard. Keep the dream alive.

Through the invisible night time airwaves of Arizona, Mark Hunter (Christian Slater) allows his alter-ego pirate DJ Happy Harry Hardon to speak out on such items as girls, music, and the pressures of society on teenagers he cannot bring himself to speak out on during the day due to a severe infliction of shyness. Slowly his fan base builds up, and piques the interest of Nora Diniro (Samantha Mathis) who sets out to unmask Happy Harry Hardon‘s real identity.

However, not everyone is a fan of the pirate DJ. Through access to school records he slowly uncovers corruption at the high school he himself attends, and by doing so antagonizes the guidance counselor David Deaver (Robert Shenkkan) and Principal Loretta Cresswood (Annie Ross) into action against his fellow students. Further notoriety and criticism befalls him when fellow student Malcolm Kaiser (Anthony Lucero) commits suicide after calling into the radio show.

By speaking forth words that incite the establishment into interdiction, inspire his generation into united action, and may bring him the girl of his dreams, Happy Harry Hardon has everything to gain… but Mark Hunter has everything to lose.

Pump Up The Volume is a classic story that validates teen angst in a way never before shown, and never since having been repeated. While the movie suffers from a low production budget that included obvious gaffs (a teacher pushing the play button on a radio to stop a cassette, and pushing the pause button to play it; audio/visual not on sync towards the end), some hokey acting by under talented adults, and a lack of stunning visuals… the theme of anonymous voices “crying out in the wilderness” with a message is even more relevant today with the evolution of the internet blog as it was then.

Popcorn’s Rating:

To be like Happy Harry Hardon you need to be both happy and hard. The CANDY CIGARETTES should be able to make you happy and make people think your hardcore without exposing yourself to the possibilities of lung cancer.

From there, the answer to the iconic question of “Is the juice worth the squeeze?” must be answered.

Special Features

One of the best things about Special Features is the inclusion of deleted clips. Unfortunately, because this is the Unrated version, most of the clips are in the movie. Although the “original” ending is included, it became obviously apparent to me that the theatrical ending is in fact the better concluding scene for the film.

There is, however, a hidden gem in the form of The Eli Experience. This is a short film featuring Chris Marquette in his role as Matthew‘s best friend Eli Brooks, who aspires to be a film director. The short takes Eli to the REAL Adult Film Convention, where he considers himself a star, and with the help of WWE Wrestler Matthew “Horshu” Wiese (Mule in the film) and Mora Dominguez, stages The Eli Experience with real life convention goers. So what exactly is it? Three words: bait and switch.

While the movie itself would normally garner a full fiver for its superior storyline in being both a drama and comedy… the emptiness of this DVD’s Special Features is hugely distressing.

Popcorn’s Rating:

To show just how far love can launch you to new heights, we recommend Orbit-Jumbo Variety Pack as the craziest snack you can have while watching this movie.

For a movie that continually asks if the juice is worth the squeeze, the obvious recommended beverage is Tropicana Orange Juice.

If there isn’t “more than this” then what’s the point?

Bob Harris (Bill Murray) is a washed up American actor in Tokyo, Japan filming an ad campaign for Santori whiskey. His lack of understanding of Japanese coupled with his marriage slump leave him feeling alone, depressed, and lost until he meets fellow American Charlotte (Scarlett Johnansson) who is also in a life and marriage slump. Charlotte is in town tagging along with her photographer husband John (Giovanni Ribisi) who is constantly working, leaving Charlotte to fend for herself. Bob and Charlotte it it off in the lounge of the hotel they’re both staying at and begin spending all their free time together. Their friendship quickly develops into something deeper.

Both Murray and Johansson deliver seemingly effortless understated performances as quasi-love interests while Anna Farris, who cameos as an actress vying for the attention of her “favorite photographer” who happens to be Charlotte‘s husband John, is fantastically over the top. Coppola keeps us guessing about the friendship-turned-more between Bob and Charlotte: Will they allow their relationship to become physical? Will they remain faithful to their spouses? Is their deep emotional connection alone an act of infidelity?

A beautiful soundtrack matches beautiful cinematography of both the colorful Tokyo nightlife and the muted and serene Zen gardens of the day life. The sequencing of the movie feels a bit off and problematic at times, as if not enough footage was filmed to make the movie feature length, so the story seems slightly incongruous if you pay close enough attention (or watch it 50 times like I have), but the incongruity does nothing to change the flow of the story.

Special features include in-depth and hilarious Behind the Scenes footage in Tokyo with the cast and crew, the entire Bob Harris segment on “Matthew’s BestHitTV”, the City Girl music video featuring nighttime footage of Tokyo, several deleted scenes (the scene with Bob and Charlotte in their respective beds could have stayed in the movie), a conversation with Bill Murray and Sofia Coppola in which Sofia confesses that the movie wouldn’t have happened without Bill, and the theatrical movie trailer.

Slight spoiler: If you wear earbuds and turn up the sound really loud for the end scene you can hear part of what Bob says to Charlotte.

Buttery’s Rating:

Recommendation

Best served with Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups — two great tastes that taste great together, just like Bill and Scarlett!