Fresh in Theaters

                                                                    Getaway

Release Date: August 30, 2013; Directed by: Courtney Solomon; Starring: Ethan Hawke, Selena Gomez, Jon Voight, Rebecca Budig, and more. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2167202/

Time is running out for Brent Magna. The former race car driver's wife has been kidnapped. A cynical and foreign voice telling him his every move. The only things he is given are a suped-up Ford Mustang and an annoying teenager for a side-kick. And his most important direction from the voice, that is, pedal to the metal.

4.3

Getaway is probably the director's, Courtney Solomon, most popular and successful movie as of late. However, that's not saying a lot because every movie he's made so far hasn't been too successful. Getaway has it's fun car scenes, yes, but that is it, with the exception of a surprise appearance at the end that I will discuss later. I feel like they either mis-cast Selena Gomez in this role or there wasn't enough depth to her character. This movie didn't provide a lot of depth for the characters, however, Gomez' character did possess many skills that mere mortals would kill for. She seemed to be a banker, accountant, hacker, and car buff. All of the skills that Ethan Hawke's character needed in one petite, vulgar, and annoying package. Don't get me wrong! I loved Gomez in Wizard's of Waverly Place! But this role seemed to be too much for her but probably a dire need. Hawke was good. He always is. Always provides a great effort and a believable character. I feel like he did the best with a bad situation. Spoiler Alert! The best part of the movie was the ending, the surprise of Jon Voight as the, almost all-knowing, voice. I give Getaway a 4.3. Nothing special. Just another cliche' Hollywood action movie. You're going to want to "Getaway" from this one soon after the middle of the movie.

Link for the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hM7BB16PkAw

                                                               Lee Daniels' The Butler                   

Release Date: August 16, 2013; Director: Lee Daniels; Starring: Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey, David Banner, Mariah Carey, Alex Pettyfer, David Oyelowo, Terrence Howard, Cuba Gooding Jr., Lenny Kravitz, Robin Williams, John Cusack, Liev Schreiber, James Marsden Minka Kelly, Alan Rickman, Jane Fonda, and many more.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1327773/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm#cast

7.7

Cecil Gaines, a humble butler part of the black help in the white house, serves 8 different presidential administrations through the years. Through all of these different administrations there is one present and constant fear everyone one in the nation shares. Civil Rights. We, as an audience, see history changed through this heroic butler and others.

 This film, in my opinion, was very well done and deserved a higher rating than what critics deemed it. I would give it a solid 7.7 out of 10 . It's very similar to the type of storytelling that we encounter in the movie Forrest Gump. Lee Daniels takes us through a journey through history, through the eyes of African Americans. It is mentioned, at the end of the movie, that we learn about the Holocaust. When we think of it we usually think of what happened to many Jews during WWII. However, what many of us are blind to is that there was another Holocaust here in our own country. A very long one at that. And the end may have been the ugliest. I love how well the film depicted how the African American race was treated at the beginning of Gaines' life and how they rose up out of oppression and now they have the same opportunities as us. One is even president. I also loved how well we, the audience, was taken through each presidential administration. It was so fun to see who each president would be played by! The casting is fantastic in this film. Lee Daniels really hasn't directed too many movies, one of them was Precious, he has succeeded in his latest endeavor. Go and see Lee Daniels' The Butler. It is a movie that pushes you to feel and to think. It provides just a small taste of what so many have gone through in the battle for free rights. It's a film that any true American should see and learn from. Again, Lee Daniels has succeeded in his latest endeavor.

Link for the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuojHqfe4Vk