Hotel Transylvania

Hotel built by Dracula (Adam Sandler - and yes he sings) to protect his daughter and other monsters from humans. On her 118th birthday she wants to leave the hotel and go out into the world. Her father doesn't want her to go and might have succeeded except for a tourist finding his way into the hotel. An all star cast: Andy Samberg, Selena Gomez, Kevin James as Frankenstein, Fran Drescher as the Bride of Frankenstein, Steve Buscemi as the Invisible Man, Molly Shannon, David Spade, Jon Lovitz (it's like a reunion of Saturday Night Live peoples), and CeeLo Green. All in all, I say: RENT IT if you have kids.

Skyfall

AKA James Bond: Origins. The 3rd James Bond prequel. In this prequel we learn why he (Daniel Craig of Casino Royale) is attached to M (Judi Dench of Chronicles of Riddick). Why M is a man in all the ohther Bond films (Ralph Fiennes of The English Patient), and why Moneypenny isn't in the field. We also see the origins of Q (Quartermaster). The action is superb - the evil (Javier Bardem of No Country for Old Men) even more so. Sam Mendez (Road to Perdition where he met Craig) does an amazing job directing. Albert Finney (A Good Year) has a small part that gives the viewer a lot of insight into a young Bond. By the way, Craig looks super old in this and he is only in his 40s - looks a lot older. The scene where he captures the bad guy is cool. All in all, I say: SEE IT

Skittles

Now that my candy bar and chocolate days are behind me for 2 reasons:
1) allergic to dairy
2) protesting some candy makers for buying cocoa from farms in Africa that use child and/or slave labor
I needed to find something I could munch on while watching movies - not many popcorn options these days either. I have found I enjoy Skittles - you know how borderline OCD I can sometimes be, so yes I do separate them by colors first before I eat them. I eat the orange and strawberry last. All in all, I say: YUM

Veronica Mars

A high school girl whose father is a private detective once Sherif works to solve first her best friend's murder and then the killing of a bus of kids. Veronica is played by Kristin Bell (House of Lies) and her dead best friend Lilly is played by Amanda Seyfried (In Time). There is a love triangle and a lot of crime and mysteries to be solved during her two years in high school and her first year in college. Brilliant script writing, Bell is brilliant. All in all, I say: RENT IT on Netflix.

Alias

An oldie but a goodie. Jennifer Garner (13 going on 30) plays an agent with the CIA. She uses a lot of Alias' to get what she needs. Victor Garber (Titanic) plays her father also a CIA agent. Her boyfriend and fellow agent is played by Michael Vartan (Never Been Kissed). Lots of bad guys, lots of kicking butt, lots of double crossing. Created by JJ Abrams (Lost & Fringe) and was loved in its heyday 2001-2006 by Joss Whedon (Angel) and Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction) both of whom have cameos. Christian Slater (True Romance), Isabella Rossellini (Blue Velvet), and Lena Olin (The Ninth Gate)also appear. A lot of accomplished actors have some face time - some were unknown then and some are retired now. All in all, I say: STREAM IT on Netflix.

The Man with the Iron Fists

RZA acts, writes, and directs this Tarantino inspired film. A blacksmith fights along side 2 others to kill local gangs and recapture the Governor's gold, so the Jungle Village is not destroyed. Russell Crowe (Gladiator) plays the Governor's emissary, Jack Knife, an English general. Lucy Liu (Elementary) plays a Madame. There is a lot of blood and Kung Fu battles - problem - all the scenes were filmed close up and the audience couldn't see any of the action. The plot is weak! A waste of great talent - Crowe did a great job considering. All in all, I say: SKIP IT.

Chasing Mavericks

True story about a surfer - how he was inspired to surf, how he lived his dream, and [spoiler] how he died. Gerard Butler (300) plays his mentor/teacher. Elisabeth Shue (Leaving Las Vegas) plays his mother. The surfing scenes are cool. It was a coming of age tale. All in all, I say: RENT IT.