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K-19: The Widow Maker
Harrison Ford and Liam Neeson give intense performances in this somewhat plodding movie that is long on drama, and a bit short on action. Sometimes painful to watch, I felt emotionally drained after seeing how the Soviet bureaucracy treated their navy men as expendable in order to advance the military machine.
3 1/2 Stars Out of 5
Kangaroo Jack
Kangaroo Jack should have stayed down under…it is moronic. Oh sure it has a few slight chuckles…the 5 year olds in the audience enjoyed the camel flatulence jokes. I didn't. Fry this one on the barbee….1 ½ Stars Out of 5
Kickin' It Old Skool
Kickin' It Old Skool is an overlong dance comedy movie where nobody can really dance and nothing is funny. The talented Jamie Kennedy is killing his career with movies like this. It's a lame, ridiculously stupid movie that caused me excruciating pain. It can't dance, it can't kick…it can't even hobble…both it's legs are broken. ½ Star Out of 5
Kicking & Screaming
Kicking & Screaming has two things going for it…Will Ferrell and Robert Duvall. Ferrell is somewhat toned down from his normal manic self, but is at times very funny, and Duvall provides the perfect foe. The script is a knockoff of Bad News Bears. And the film plays it on the mild side. It's a good movie for Dads to take your pre-teen sons to. I took my wife and daughter and they fell asleep. Well it is after all, a sports movie…
3 Stars Out of 5
Kids In America
Kids In America doesn't know what it wants to be. Is it a bland teen comedy? A quirky 80's style teen flick? A Spoof? A serious drama? It never does make up its mind, and gives us performances that border on farce. Nicole Ritchie should hang up her acting shoes now. Hers and most of the other performances in this muddled mess are embarrassingly bad. The best part of the film is the sequence at the beginning of the end credits where real teens give their opinions on censorship. Too little, WAY too late. Don't waste your time, money or the energy to get to the theater for this. 1 ½ Stars Out of 5
Kill Bill Volume One
Kill Bill Volume One is a blast! It may be the bloodiest film in history, but the blood is done in cartoon style. When a sword lops off a limb, the blood spurts out like a sprinkler on full blast. It is so overdone, it is like a cartoon (and for a while the film is actually a cartoon!) The film is an homage to the 70's, even starting out with a 70's vintage "now for the feature presentation" clip. Quentin Tarantino is the star here, and that's not taking anything away from the magnificent Uma Thurman. There's not a lot of story here, but there is a lot of action, tons of style, great music, and a load of fun! I can't wait for volume 2! Kill Bill is a thrill!
4 ½ Stars Out of 5
Kill Bill Volume 2 I didn't like Kill Bill Volume 2 quite as much as I liked volume one, but, I did like it. Volume one was non-stop action with sparse clues into the actual story, Volume two is loaded with story and is surprisingly toned down from Volume 1. We even find out The Bride's name! The usual sharp witty dialogue found in a Quentin Tarantino movie is present here, and there's a surprising end that is just a bit of a let down. I would like to see the two movies combined back into one for a DVD release…
4 Stars Out of 5
King Arthur
King Arthur is a Jerry Bruckheimer production. Every Jerry Bruckheimer movie needs explosions. This movie takes place in the dark ages around the year 450, but the explosions find their way into the picture anyway. The move of the King Arthur legend back into the dark ages is interesting but not executed all that well. There is some hideous dialogue that makes you cringe, and it is overdramatic in spots, but the fight sequences almost rescue the movie. Still, you come away thinking, it was just OK.
2 ½ Stars Out of 5
King Kong
How does King Kong stand up to all of the hype? For all we've been hearing about it, I thought it would be better. This Kong has been eating too many bananas! It is bloated. It would have been a far better movie if half of it was left on the cutting room floor. It takes an hour just to get going! It suffers not only from too much flab, but from a terribly miscast Jack Black, who is irritating, at best, in this movie, and tries to bring 2005 type wisecracks to a movie set in the 30's. He is also responsible for delivering some of the corniest dialogue in any movie all year. The special effects are pretty good, but there are several places where I thought I might be watching the X Box version instead of the theatrical one. This is not one of the best movies ever made. Not even close. I think it should be renamed King Bomb. 2 ½ stars out of 5
The Kingdom - Universal - Rated R
The Kingdom is a high octane quadruple espresso action movie about a group of FBI agents going after terrorists who blow up an American installation in Saudi Arabia. It is vicious at times, and always extremely intense and haunting. At the end, nobody in the audience got up to leave. We all just sat there. It's that powerful. 4 Stars Out of 5
Kingdom of Heaven
Kingdom of Heaven is ponderous and slow. Orlando Bloom is much too lightweight an actor to carry this film, and the script asks us to jump over way too many mental hoops to believe the story. That said, it finally wakes up in the last third of the movie. But at times it feels like a Bruckheimer film, it's almost too big. Orlando Bloom's character delivers what are supposed to be show stopping motivational speeches, but from him, they almost seem like parody. The film is also too conscious of its subject matter and the current political climate. It portrays the Christian crusaders as a bunch not much better than beasts, while the Muslims are portrayed as noble and moral. I found this film difficult to get into and more difficult to swallow.
2 ½ Stars Out of 5
Kings Ransom
What can I say about Kings Ransom? Does it offend? Oh yeah. It is more offensive than bean dip and broccoli flatulence in a crowded elevator. Is it stupid? Stupid is piled on this movie in heaps and heaps. Is it likeable? It's about as likeable as having each of my toenails extracted one by one with an ice pick and a pair of pliers. And is it funny? No.
1 Star Out of 5
Kinsey
Kinsey is a very well done movie and deserves the accolades it's getting for acting. The subject matter is somewhat difficult. But the great performances by Liam Neeson, Laura Linney and Peter Staarsgard propel this film. I am baffled as to why this film received an R rating instead on an NC-17, so be forewarned. But it is a worthy film that might portray the man who many credit with starting the sexual revolution in a bit of a glossy light.
4 Stars Out of 5
The Kite Runner - Paramount Vantage - Rated PG-13
The Kite Runner is a moving, compelling and effective film that tells an involving story centering around two boys in 1970's Afghanistan. Painful to watch at times, and a definite tear jerker, it does drag a bit and is a touch too long. Ultimately, though, it is a beautiful film about redemption and the power of friendship. 4 Stars Out of 5
Knockaround Guys
This sat on the shelf for 18 months, and the reason the studio dusted it off was to try and cash in on Vin Diesel's popularity. John Malkovich embarrasses himself here with one of the worst Brooklyn accents I've ever heard. This is a watered down generic father/son gangster movie wanna-be. You want the real thing, go rent The Godfather.
2 Stars Out of 5
Knocked Up
As you might guess from its title, Knocked Up is very crude. Think Grandmas Boy with more drug use, crossed with Parenthood. The two stars, Katherine Heigl and Seth Rogan are both very good, as is the entire cast. Sometimes it's sweet, most of the time it is gross, but it is usually funny if you aren't put off by the utter crassness of it all. 3 Stars Out of 5
Kung Fu Hustle
Kung Fu Hustle is a film that beckons more to old time slapstick silent films and Looney Toons than to Bruce Lee. It is a visual version of the truck stop all you can eat counter. You get a little of everything, you know it's not all that good for you, but boy does it taste good! There is plenty of martial arts in this film, but it has a hyperactive frenzy that will make you laugh while you are in awe.
4 Stars Out of 5
