Movie Reviews - The Last Airbender vs Grown Ups

The Last Airbender vs Grown Ups?
Kind of like the Chicago White Sox vs the Chicago Cubs - someone's gotta win, but it's not pretty!

I went to the theater today to see The Last Airbender. I hadn't heard much about the movie, but had a vague recollection of seeing a sci-fi preview. The story started out like this. There are four elements and tribe-like groups of people on earth: water, air, earth and fire. There is only one person who can "bend" all four elements, he is called the Avatar (not James Cameron's Avatar, totally different). The Avatar is also the only one who can communicate with the spirits. He keeps the elements in balance and harmony and brings peace to the earth. But the Avatar has been missing for 100 years. Two young people find him and help him try to restore balance and peace.

I stayed through one bag of popcorn, more than twenty bad lines, at least five laughs from the audience when it wasn't supposed to be funny, and several other people walking out.

When I came home, I googled and found out it was directed by M. Night Shyamalan. He was one of my favorites..."was" being the key word in that sentence. I had just forgiven him for The Happening, but this one is going to take even longer to get over. And I love, love, love The Sixth Sense, Signs, Unbreakable, even The Village.

Wow. It's difficult to give The Last Airbender even 1/2 a star. I have to go with zero. Stay home!

When I left Airbender, I went into Grown Ups. I did at least stay to the end of Grown Ups. But that said, it was painful to watch and not only because all of the cheap crotch shots. Of which there were many. And pee and poop and other bodily function jokes. Which would be okay if they were funny, but 98% of the time, they weren't. And I saw this one with a fun audience - hearty laughers. Generous souls that laughed more often than I did....

Grown Ups was about a group of men who return to their high school coaches funeral. They spend the Fourth of July weekend together with their families at a lake house, reminiscing about their "glory days" and looking at where they've been and where they're going. The cast was so promising, Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Kevin James, and David Spade. Somewhere it went wrong.
This one I can give one star, but that's it. Gotta say "stay home!" for this one too.