"42" is the true story of how Jackie Robinson's MLB career began. For those that don't know, he was the first African-American player MLB, playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Harrison Ford plays Branch Rickey, the GM who took a chance and signed Robinson(played by Chadwick Boseman). Rickey noticed the largely black fan base and realized that a black player could help generate the only color that mattered, green. He needs to make sure that Robinson understands the pressure and ridicule that he will be under as this is the 1940's, a time where racial tension was still at an all time high. Robinson steps up to the task while juggling married life with a new baby. All the performances are great, with Ford giving his best in years. Boseman is a relative unknown who does a fantastic job in his first real role of note. The movie deals with the beginning of his career which is good, but I would love to see another feature showcasing the rest of it along with life after baseball. There's several very powerful scenes in the movie, that just remind how far we've come as a nation, and yet how far we still have to go. I'd say the only real complaint I have is the ending. It's kind of abrupt and your left with a feeling of "is that it?" But it's still a very good and worthwhile movie. Better than similar movies like "Glory Road" and "Express", and that can really be attributed to the great cast. Good solid movie that deserves to be seen.

I absolutely love watching a movie that I really have no idea what it is about, and being thrown curveball after curveball. Movies nowadays are very much the same and predictable. Doesn't mean they're bad, just it's usually same ole same ole. So, when you get a movie like "Place Beyond the Pines" it's a real breath of fresh air. Kind of like how "Looper" was in 2012. Ryan Gosling stars as a motorcycle stuntman who finds out he has a year old son that he didn't know existed with Eva Mendes. He realizes he needs to be a father and provide, so he gets involved with a guy who robs banks. From there Gosling robs a couple banks, and he eventually has a run in with a cop(Bradley Cooper) and from there, things completely change. If I say anything else about the plot of this movie, it would ruin it. It's basically 3 different movies within one and it's fantastic. There's some real high thrilling drama in this movie. Gosling and Cooper both give one of their best performances. Ray Liotta is amazing also in the small role he has. He is the best sleazy cop actor alive. But to me the best performance of the movie is Dane Dehann. He's the troubled kid from another great movie called "Chronicle". He is just mezmorizing. Dehann's one of the best young actors today, kind of like a younger Ryan Gosling, weird I know. He's only in a quarter of the movie, and some of his scenes are some of the most effective. If I made a best of 2013 list right now, this would either be 1 or 2(It's that close to "Iron Man 3"). If you love movies, then do not pass this up. Great movies like this come out once or twice a year, if that, so you gotta check em out when they do.

"Alex Cross" is kind of a reboot of hte Cross movies. "Kiss the Girls" and "Along Came a Spider" being the first two with Morgan Freeman as the title character. Here, Cross is played by Tyler Perry making the character much younger, and a detective who juggles work with his family life. One day he goes toa scene where it's obvious the killer was a trained assassin, and he uses clues left behind to figure out where his next hit is. When things go bad the assassin played by Matthew Fox, then sets his sights on Cross. This is one of those thrillers that isn't great, but it's not bad either. It's a perfectly fine pop corn thriller with good twists and turns. I gotta say though, it's odd seeing Perry in a non Madea type movie, but it's refreshing. He does a good job, but Fox is fantastic. The guy plays crazy very good! Wish his character had a little more time and more of a story. Having said that, he's still a great villain. Good for a one time watch.

"Iron Man 3" does what most third entries in movie franchise don't do, turns in a great movie. This holds up very nicely next to the previous 2 installments, and I'd say it's probably better than "Iron Man 2" and about the same as the first movie. Here, Tony Stark(Robert Downey Jr.) is haunted by the events of the Avengers and finds himself obsessing over creating and perfecting new suits. He is constantly trying to figure out new way to protect Pepper(Gwyneth Paltrow), and make the suits better and better. Then he placed in the cross hairs of a terrorist called the Mandarin(Ben Kingsley). Going any further than that would be a disservice to anyone who hasn't seen the movie, because there are quite a few surprises and twists, that I didn't see coming at all. Very unconventional super hero movie, which is great because it's a true breathe of fresh air. It's not your typical good guy vs. bad guy movie in a lot of ways. All the performances are great, and it really leaves you with a sense of "how are they gonna do another one?!" Marvel is battling a thousand when it comes to their movies and they continue that streak here. This is the first must see movie of the Summer and a great way to kick off the summer movie season. Also, stay after the credits, it's pretty awesome.

I love Rob Zombie's music, but his movies are very hit and miss. Mostly misses, and "Lords of Salem" is another one of those misses. Starring his wife Sheri Moon Zombie as a DJ who receives a strange box at work. In the box is a recording by a group called "The Lords" that has a weird impact on her and the other women of Salem, MA. It triggers flashbacks and gives her visions of Satan. The movie is all over the place, and a few of the "visions" are a lot more funny, because it's just strange/cheesy than scary. Its a low budget movie, and it's one where you can tell. I'm not saying a bigger budget would have made it a better movie, because it couldn't have, but it does look cheap. The characters are all bland, and the acting is the same. There's a reason Sheri Moon Zombie seems to be in only her husbands movies. I've heard that this is probably Rob's last "horror" movie, and that's probably for the best. Some horror fans may like this, but there so many other better movies out there, this should just be skipped over.