Movies

1. Her

2. Doubt

3. Junebug

4. The Fighter

5. Leap Year

Ash: There's a lot of attitudes going on around here...don't let me get one.

I was happy to learn that this movie takes place during the story made famous in the previous movie, not after -- 300 didn't leave much room for a sequel. While Sparta's King Leonidas leads his brave 300 to the Battle of Thermopylae, Athenian Themistocles engages Xerxes' warships. The vast Persian Navy is lead by the ruthless and beautiful Artemisia (Eva Green) and Themistocles must do everything he can to outsmart this dangerous foe and save Greece from Godking Xerxes.

Maybe this is the signal that I have officially gotten too old (sad that I'm only 33), but I found almost everything in this movie to be gratuitous: the defined musculature, the IMAX touches, the violence, the sex, the wannabe-Braveheart motivational speeches and my goodness the blood. So much blood. There isn't much story and this is a simple exploitation of the popularity of the first movie and an exaggeration of each of its successful elements.

I am sure that this movie will still entertain a lot of people, but if I was ever in that demographic (and I loved the first 300 movie), I'm clearly not in it anymore.

Matt King: I'm the backup parent. The understudy.

Jiro Dreams of Sushi is the story of 85-year-old Jiro Ono, considered by many to be the world's greatest sushi chef. He is the proprietor of Sukiyabashi Jiro, a 10-seat, sushi-only restaurant inauspiciously located in a Tokyo subway station. Despite its humble appearances, it is the first restaurant of its kind to be awarded a prestigious three-star Michelin Guide rating, and sushi lovers from around the globe make repeated pilgrimage, calling months in advance and shelling out top dollar for a coveted seat at Jiro's sushi bar.

Jiro Dreams of Sushi is a thoughtful and elegant meditation on work, family, and the art of perfection, chronicling Jiro's life as both an unparalleled success in the culinary world and as a loving yet complicated father.

This is a documentary about Jiro Ono, the world-renowned, master sushi chef. It should also be noted that this is a humanistic delight that touches on family, sacrifice, hard work, dedication, artistry, inspiration and leadership. Jiro has been making sushi for over 75 years. Sushi is his life's work, his passion. By all accounts he has perfected his craft and that earned him a 3-star Michelin rating. Jiro Dreams of Sushi tells the story of Jiro Ono, his sons, his apprentices, his accolades, his labor of love, his approach to life, his philosophies on success and his 10-seat sushi restaurant located in a subway station.

Watching this movie I learned that the world's best sushi chef is (seems to be?) the most humble man I have ever seen. I realized that I can do better. My inner fire was reignited; I was inspired to do better. This was not what I expected from this movie and I have never been more pleased by being wrong.

I work with small businesses and people looking to take control of their own professional destiny. While I don't think that this was the intended result of the movie, I think it just became a core tool I recommend to help people reach their goals.

Amazon

Mark Mitchell: This is a unique and dramatic situation.

1. American Psycho

2. 3:10 to Yuma

3. Batman Begins

4. The Fighter

5. Equilibrium

(Honorable Mention: Empire of the Sun)

Kevin McCallister: I took a shower washing every body part with actual soap; including all my major crevices; including in between my toes and in my belly button, which I never did before but sort of enjoyed. I washed my hair with adult formula shampoo and used cream rinse for that just-washed shine. I can't seem to find my toothbrush, so I'll pick one up when I go out today. Other than that, I'm in good shape.

Sylvester Stallone stars as Barney Ross, leader of The Expendables, a tight-knit team of skilled combat vets turned mercenaries. Hired by a powerful covert operator, the team jets off to a small South American country to overthrow a ruthless dictator. Once there, they find themselves caught in a deadly web of deceit and betrayal. Using every weapon at their disposal, they set out to save the innocent and punish the guilty in this blistering action-packed thriller.

Sylvester Stallone is Barney Ross, who leads a group of (aging) mercenaries and accepts a contract that leads the team to some remote island nation to kill its military head. While on location, Stallone's character falls for some unlikely lady in an attempt to sneak some plot into this movie that is really just an all-star cast for fighting sequences and big explosions. I love fighting sequences. I love big explosions. I love movies with Jason Statham and movies with Jet Li and movies with...each of the guys in this movie (Sylvester Stallone, Jet Li, Jason Statham, Bruce Willis, Dolph Lundgren, Eric Roberts, Randy Couture, Steve Austin, Terry Crews and Mickey Rourke). So one movie with all of them together is intriguing, right? There is one AMAZING action sequence that is worth seeing, but the rest of the movie fails to entertain. Consider The Expendables to be the action-equivalent to what Wild Hogs was for comedy; a last hurrah of sorts for a cast that has been around the block a few too many times.

Somehow The Expendables earned itself a sequel and hopefully they'll get this one right and stick to fighting and explosions.

Amazon

Agent Sands: El, you really must try this because it's puerco pibil. It's a slow-roasted pork, nothing fancy. It just happens to be my favorite, and I order it with a tequila and lime in every dive I go to in this country. And honestly, that is the best it's ever been anywhere. In fact, it's too good. It's so good that when I'm finished, I'll pay my check, walk straight into the kitchen and shoot the cook. Because that's what I do. I restore the balance to this country. And that is what I would like from you right now. Help keep the balance by pulling the trigger.