Taken 2

½ pipe out of 4

Sometimes sequels don’t need to be made and when it comes to Taken 2, this is a definitely the case. When a movie like the original Taken sits on the movie company shelf for 2 years before being released, you can tell it’s not movie gold. That is what happened with Taken but it was released at the perfect time when there were no other action films in theaters and it did huge. You’d think that the movie company would count this as a win and move on. Oh no, not in this day and age. Any time movie companies see dollar signs they immediately think sequel, even if those dollar signs were just dumb luck. Don’t get me wrong; I loved Taken just as much as the next guy but Taken 2 is a whole other story. The movie looses all of the emotional edge from the first film and it looks like Liam Neeson has done this all before, which he has, and simply goes down a checklist of what to do when your wife and daughter are kidnapped. Throw in a number of other inconsistencies and the fact the Neeson rescues his family in less than 12 hours make this a forgettable movie.

Wreck-It-Ralph

2 ½ pipes out of 4

Wreck it Ralph needs no fixing, being a funny movie for both kids and adults. Aiming at the kids are all the cute interactions and characters, such as Vanellope (Sarah Silverman) and Fix-it-Felix (Jack McBrayer). To the adult crowed the movie appeals to the retro gamer in all of us, reminding us of our childhood and the games we used to play. The story follows Wreck-It-Ralph who is tired of being viewed as a bad guy just because he plays a bad guy in his game. He sets out on an adventure to find a medal in order to become a good guy. High jinks ensue and he ends up running into an annoying young girl named Vanellope and they learn they may be able to help each other. There are tons of retro game cameos and adult humor thinly veiled enough to avoid child detection. A few unnecessary slap stick gags bring Ralph lower but he manages to wreck all expectations, giving you a darn good show.