Men in Black 3

I was happy to learn that the "Men in Black" franchise would finally add another installment to their series, but the outcome was just so-so.  Tommy Lee Jones barely has any screen time in this film due to the fact that Josh Brolin takes over the role as a younger version of Agent K.  Then plot and suspense is a little underdone and unoriginal.  Basically a monster goes back in time to kill K, and Agent J has to stop him.  Barry Sonnenfeld tries to make this film as funny as the previous installments, but falls a bit flat.  However, this film is entertaining, and has a twist at the end that brings the entire series together.  This film gets 2 1/2 out of 4 stars.

Top 5 Rappers turned actors

In my opinion, rappers can't act, or play music for that matter.  But some rappers prove themselves as tolerable and even Oscar nominated actors.

#5-Mos Def
Mos Def has proven that he is one the better rapper-turned-actors with roles in such dramas as "Monster's Ball" and "Cadillac Records."  As well as some comedic turns, most notably with Jack Black in "Be Kind Rewind."

#4-Ice Cube
He is on this list mainly for his part in the critically acclaimed "Boyz N the Hood."  This is one of my favorite films, and Ice makes an excellent acting debut.  He also appears in comedies such as "Friday" and gave a very funny performance in this year's "21 Jump Street."

#3-Eminem
After seeing "8 Mile,"  I wished Eminem would go further into acting giving a strong debut performance in a character resembling himself.  This film would be a major career booster for Eminem as he would win an Oscar for his song, "Lose Yourself."

#2-Will Smith
The fresh prince came onto the scene in the 80's eventually getting national attention in his sitcom, "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air."  But it wasn't until "Ali" that he proved himself as a great actor when he was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor.  His best film, "The Pursuit of Happyness," earned him another Oscar nomination and his "Men in Black" films have pulled in over $1 billion in revenue.

#1-Mark Wahlberg
Wahlberg was originally known as Marky Mark, but got into acting when Penny Marshall cast him in "Renaissance Man."  He would eventually become one of Hollywood's most recognizable leading men scoring Oscar nominations for "The Departed" as an actor and "The Fighter" as a producer.

Honorable Mentions
Queen Latifah-I personally do not like this woman, but she is an Oscar nominee so I felt obligated to give her a little love.
P. Diddy-I only mention him because of his hilarious performance in "Get Him to the Greek" as well as his first role in Jon Favreau's "Made."

Cool as Ice

This is one of those movies that I immediately regretted watching, but watching Vanilla Ice try to act was worth the viewing.  As one of the worst movies ever made, this actually cracks the IMDB bottom 100 at #93 with an average score of 2.4.  Why would they ever try to redo "Rebel Without a Cause" in the first place, and with a bad rapper no less.  Believe it or not, Gwyneth Paltrow almost took the lead female role in this film, but her father wouldn't allow her to.  I almost wish she had since this movie probably would've ruined her career and then I wouldn't have had to sit through "Country Strong."  Take it from me, don't watch this movie.

Top 5 Films of Albert Brooks and Willem Dafoe

To celebrate the birthdays of 2 excellent Oscar nominated actors, I will be picking the 5 best movies of Willem Dafoe and Albert Brooks.

#5-Drive
Albert Brooks was robbed of an Oscar nomination in this film from last year.  He steals the show as a mobster who tries to get Ryan Gosling to drive his stock car.  Brooks gives the best performance of his career in this extremely violent but great action movie.

#4-Spiderman
Willem Dafoe stars as the Green Goblin in possibly his most memorable role.  He is perfect for the part as he brings he creepy look to the character and is an excellent Marvel villain.

#3-The Boondock Saints
Dafoe plays a homosexual detective in this cult hit.  His funny yet spot on interpretation of the role is a huge stand out in this film about 2 Irish vigilantes on the streets of Boston.

#2-Taxi Driver
Though not a starring role for Brooks, this film will forever be known as one of his bests.  Brooks plays a New York City political activist trying to lead a politician to a presidential election.  He has a small but important role in the film.

#1-Finding Nemo
Both Brooks and Dafoe donate their voices to this instant Pixar classic.  Brooks voices the concerned clownfish, Marlin, while Dafoe plays a determined domesticated fish, Gill.  Both major parts in the long journey to return Nemo back to his home in the ocean.  Even though this is not either one of their best performances, it is my favorite film starring either one of them.

Honorable Mentions
Broadcast News-Brooks plays a news anchor in his only Oscar nominated role.
American Psycho-This filmed is noted for Christian Bale's creepy serial killer role, Dafoe plays a detective trying to solve the murder mysteries.
Platoon-In one of the best Vietnam War films, Dafoe gives an Oscar nominated performance and one of the most iconic scenes in any war film.

Tron

Before watching this movie, I made the mistake of watching this movie.  This horrible 80's action movie takes place in a video game and I honestly have no idea what it was about because I lost interest so easily.  What compelled them to make a sequel?  I have no idea.  This is probably the only bad Jeff Bridges movie that I've seen (Apparently "Texasville" was bad, too, but I have no interest).  The effects are laughable based on the fact that it was made by Disney and I know that better visual effects were available at the time.  This move was pretty terrible, so I gave it a disappointing 2 out of 4 stars.

Top 5 Films of Robin Williams

In honor of his 61st birthday, today's top 5 will be my favorite films of Robin Williams.

#5-The Birdcage
Robin plays a gay nightclub owner in this adaptation of "La Cage Aux Folles" (I think I spelled that right).  This is probably his funniest performance of his career, especially in a memorable dancing scene.

#4-Aladdin
Robin has also long been known for his voice, especially in this Disney classic.  Robin memorably plays the Genie and is still very funny without ever seeing him.

#3-Good Morning Vietnam
He earned his first Oscar nomination as a crazy DJ entertaining the troops during the Vietnam War.  This truly was a breakout role as he proved himself as a great comedian as well as an excellent dramatic actor, all at the same time.

#2-Dead Poets Society
Mr. Williams plays a teacher at an all boys school who inspires them to seize the day and live life to its fullest.  He gives another Oscar nominated performance and still inspires people live this kind of life.

#1-Good Will Hunting
Robin finally won a well deserved Oscar for this film as he played a mentor to a janitor who is surprisingly a mathematical genius.  However, this film was his last great performance as his films has stunk since then, but his career will forever be legendary.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

Let's get something straight, I don't read.  So I think that's why I enjoyed this movie so much, as well as most movies based on books that don't exactly follow the book, i.e. "The Hunger Games."  Chris Columbus directs this adaptation and does just enough to keep me into this movie for the entire 2 hours.  Percy Jackson discovers that he is not only a demigod, but the son of Zeus, and he must find out who has stolen Zeus' lightning bolt in order to prevent a war of the gods.  The film and book does an excellent job introducing Greek mythology to a younger crowd by incorporating these myths into today's world.  Once again, I gave this film 3 out of 4 stars.