Movie Reviews for 5-5-08
(Iron Man - Paramount - Rated PG-13)In Iron Man, Robert Downey is downright perfect - spectacular even - in a case of the most brilliant casting in recent years. He is manic, funny and totally believable. He mines comic gems with his delivery alone. Downey is so dominating, the rest of the impressive cast seems almost disposable.
The film has loads of action with special effects that are so real, you absolutely believe them. It is a smart, terrific popcorn movie, and is a ton of fun. No rust on this iron. 4 ½ Stars Out of 5
(Made of Honor - Sony - Rated PG-13)Made of Honor is like what the bride wears at her wedding…Something old…the old predictable formula has been done many times before. Something new…well, nothing new here unless you count Patrick Dempsey wearing a mini kilt as something new. Something borrowed…the idea - from about a dozen other chick-flicks…something blue…the writers of My Best Friend's Wedding are blue because someone stole their script. Despite all that, both Dempsey and Michelle Monaghan are so appealing and perfect for this film, they make this an above average chick flick, and a pretty good date movie. (Except for the mini-kilt part. That was more like Made of Horror.) 3 Stars Out of 5
Movie Reviews for 4-28-08
(Baby Mama - Universal - Rated PG-13)
With the pregnant buddy film Baby Mama we finally get a comedy that is actually funny! This estrogen festooned comedy had me laughing out loud with Saturday Night Live's Amy Poehler getting the big laughs. The rest of the impressive cast also get their moments in the comedy sun with Steve Martin as a new age CEO giving the film more than a few belly-laughs. Like birth, it's not always pretty, but Baby Mama is a sticky, messy bundle of joy! 4 Stars Out of 5
(Deception - 20th Century Fox - Rated R)
In Deception, Ewan McGregor takes part in a sex club - basically a list for booty calls. The lesson: don't try to form a relationship with someone you meet in a sex club even if she looks like Michelle Williams. That's the most positive thing I can say about this predictable and not so thrilling thriller. The title tells us what the film will do, so there are absolutely no surprises. It's all kind of bland, really. His performance was so anemic, all I could think of was which of Ewan McGregor's numerous facial moles he should have removed. 2 Stars Out of 5
(Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay - Warner Brothers - Rated R)
Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay and it's a good thing, because the way that the terrorist prison is portrayed, it is nothing but a den of iniquity. They are taken there after smuggling drug paraphernalia aboard an airplane which is mistaken for a bomb. There never was any mistake with this movie, however. It had bomb written all over it, and lives up to the promise. There are only fleeting moments of humor with ample druggy, gross, irreverent scenes best appreciated under the influence. It is better than the first, only that it is slightly more coherent. I am happy to report that I escaped from this movie, albeit with a few less brain cells. 1 ½ Stars Out of 5
Movie Reviews for 4-21-08
(Forgetting Sarah Marshall - Universal - Rated R)
Forgetting Sarah Marshall is a romantic comedy for guys. It's not uproarious, but contains enough laughs to keep the men involved, while having charm and a lot of heart making it a good one for women too. But here's a word of warning for the sensitive types: It's got the full monty over and over again. 3 ½ Stars Out of 5
(Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed - Premise Media - Rated PG)
Ben Stein's interesting and humorous documentary, Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed seems on the surface to be about the Darwinists versus those that believe in intelligent design. But it's much more than that. While it drags a bit in spots, if you stick with it, it has a powerful ending and shows that it's more about the freedom of exchanging ideas and the disturbing way in which that freedom is eroding. This is a film for everyone to see no matter what side of the discussion you are on. 3 ½ Stars Out of 5
(The Forbidden Kingdom - Lionsgate - Rated PG-13)
The Forbidden Kingdom finds Jackie Chan and Jet Li together for the first time and both with dual characters. Chan is as usual, entertaining, and Li is his usual wooden self. But this movie isn't about acting, it's about elaborately staged fight scenes, which it does very well. It's a mostly pleasant storybook Kung Fu movie. 3 Stars Out of 5
(Where In The World Is Osama Bin Laden? - Weinstein Company - Rated PG-13)
In Morgan Spurlock's documentary Where In The World Is Osama Bin Laden? he once again focuses on himself, this time looking for the worlds most notorious terrorist. Funny and well made, he proves he is more than just a Michael Moore wannabe, but someone with real talent. While I disagree with some of the conclusions in the film, namely that terrorism is America's fault; it is, by and large entertaining. 3 Stars Out of 5
(88 Minutes - Sony - Rated R)
Al Pacino stars in the utterly stupid 88 Minutes. Did I say it was stupid? Yes, it's the stupidest film of Pacino's career, and is the stupidest film so far this year! It is klunky and amateurish with some of the worst writing I've ever seen in any film. Most of the movie sees Pacino barking orders into a cell phone. The phone should have gotten top billing. He utters inane dialogue that had me in stitches! I don't know how anyone acting in the film did it with a straight face! It's an unintentional laugh fest! But it's almost worth the price of admission all by itself to see Al in his beehive hairdo. Now THAT'S entertainment! 1 Star Out of 5
Movie Reviews for 4-14-08
(Smart People - Miramax - Rated R)
Smart People, while not awful, has only glimmers of greatness. It has a good script, and Ellen Page and Thomas Haden Church shine, but Dennis Quaid stumbles in the lead role and holds back what should have been a better film. It's not a total waste of time, but the relationship challenged black comedy might have been much better if the focus were more on Page and Church.
3 Stars Out of 5
(Street Kings - 20th Century Fox - Rated R)
Street Kings stars the ever-wooden Keanu Reeves who tries really hard, but still can't quite muster much in the way of emotion. Or expressions. The film loses focus many times in many ways with abandoned plot points not quite outnumbering the gunshots, peppered with amazingly silly, horrible dialogue.
Oh, and will someone please feed Forrest Whittaker? He spent the entire movie chewing scenery! Obviously, subtle wasn't a word used here. The movie's lesson: if you don't like it, kill it. OK, lets put the movie out of its misery. 1 ½ Stars Out of 5
(Prom Night - Screen Gems - Rated PG-13)
What happens when you take the slash out of a slasher film? You get Prom Night! It's PG-13, so it's pretty tame and devoid of anything remotely frightening. The most suspense it can work up is, who will be the king and queen of the prom? There are loads of unintentional laugh inducing moments, so it's got that going for it. But the scariest part is when Brittany Snow is hiding under the bed in her hotel room. Did you hear what I just said? She is under the bed in a hotel room! You NEVER do that! Hasn't she watched those shows where they turn on a black light in those rooms? THAT gave me the creeps. 1 Star Out of 5
Movie Reviews for 4-7-08
(The Ruins - Paramount - Rated R)
The Ruins might sound silly - it's about man eating plants in the Mexican jungle - but it does manage to avoid being absurd. Surprisingly, it builds a lot of tension and produces a few scares and a few more winces. It ends up being pretty entertaining. I liked it. 3 ½ Stars Out of 5
(Leatherheads - Universal - Rated PG-13)
Leatherheads is nostalgic for old time movies. That's its problem. It tries to be something it's not. It's not an old fashioned screwball comedy. It is content with looking good rather than being good. George Clooney seems distracted most of the time while in front of the camera with what's going on behind it, and Renee Zellweger is a caricature of the hard boiled reporter babe she's trying to imitate. This slow moving plodder also could have done with some editing, having worn out its welcome by the time it grinds to its conclusion. It has a gameplan, but fails to execute any plays or score any points. This one's mostly a fumble…but like its star, it looks good. 2 ½ Stars Out of 5
(Shine A Light - Paramount - Rated PG-13)
Mick Jaggar and Keith Richards on an Imax screen? While it is truly frightening, Shine A Light isn't really a horror film. The stones in all their geriatric glory can still rock the house, but this underwhelming set of 15 or so tunes spliced with historical footage fails to excite. It's just got too many obscure songs with too many shots up Mick's nose, and more zooming into his dental work. By the time we see Mick and Christina Aguilera grinding, I had had enough. 2 Stars Out of 5
(Nim's Island - 20th Century Fox - Rated PG)
Even though it has way over the top cheesy direction and a hyper active style, not much really happens on Nim's Island. A girl and her dad live there all alone with some animals and the internet, while on the other side of the world, Jodie Foster tries way too hard to be clumsy and scared in her apartment. She's not afraid of the internet though, and eventually makes her way to Nim's Island where she doesn't really do anything except look worse than she ever has in any movie before and hawk Progresso soup and Purelle hand sanitizer. She should sue the director for making her look and act so hideously. Thankfully for Ms Foster, this overly broad, TV movie quality, sorry excuse for family entertainment will soon be relegated to the 99 cent bin and forgotten. 1 ½ Stars Out of 5
Movie Reviews for 3-31-08
(The Band's Visit - Sony - Rated PG-13)
The Band's Visit, now playing at The Flicks, is a nice, small film about understanding each other despite cultural differences. It's not filled with belly laughs, but is filled with a warmth and charm that make you smile. It is a simple, human movie which shows that despite our differences, we aren't all that different. 3 ½ Stars Out of 5
(Run, Fat Boy Run - Picturehouse - Rated PG-13)
Run, Fat Boy, Run is from first time director David Schwimmer (Yes, THAT David Schwimmer, star of the TV sitcom Friends). Star Simon Pegg gives his all in this sports movie, romantic comedy mix. The result is a mildly funny and overly heartwarming film that doesn't so much run, but kind of meanders its way to its obvious, predictable Hollywood conclusion. 3 Stars Out of 5
(21 - Sony - Rated PG-13)
21 is about a group of M.I.T. brainiacs that become a Vegas card counting club and win millions. While that might sound exciting, it isn't. It is lackluster, klunky and predictable with ham fisted direction and incoherent, confusing descriptions of how the number intensive feat is accomplished. The audience gets lost and eventually bored by the whole thing so that by the time anything happens we've lost interest and don't care. This one taps out before it gets underway and gives so many bum cards, it's a bust. Gamblers Anonymous is more fun. 2 Stars Out of 5
(Superhero Movie - MGM - Rated PG-13)
Superhero Movie has the same formula, the same jokes and the same overly slapstick humor as all the other film-spoof movies of the last several years, with too many pop culture references, this time mostly relying on the internet for inspiration. If you're not a Perez Hilton visitor, you won't get half the jokes, (even though they are, for the most part, not worth getting.) I laughed twice. Look up in the sky! It's a bird, a plane...No, it's another joke falling flat. Not so super. 2 Stars Out of 5
(Stop-Loss - Paramount - Rated R)
Stop-Loss is the latest Hollywood attack on the US military and the brave men and women that serve in it. This time, it's the MTV version of the Iraq war. You know, the one where everybody that serves is crazy except those who come to their senses and become deserters, and how the military is run by a bunch of no good leaders that go back on their word? And only the bad guys reenlist. Al Qaeda will love this! Me? I detested it. 1 Star Out of 5
Movie Reviews for 3-24-08
(Starting Out in the Evening - Roadside Attractions - Rated PG-13)
In Starting Out in the Evening, Frank Langella delivers a masterful performance - his best ever! This is a terrific movie with main characters that are so fully developed you care deeply for each of them. It is a brilliant and moving film that I'm still thinking about days later. Start out with this movie and have a great time. 4 Stars Out of 5
(Tyler Perry's Meet The Browns - Lionsgate - Rated PG-13)
Tyler Perry's Meet The Browns follows his typical formula. There are weird, cartoonish characters who do absurd comic stuff which is awkwardly blended with overly dramatic and preachy moments by overly broad characters. Perry's Madea character appears in a brief, absurd and totally disconnected sequence where she is pursued by the police in a not so high speed chase. It has nothing to do with the rest of the movie. I met the Browns and they made a bad first impression. 2 Stars Out of 5
(George Romero's Diary of the Dead - The Weinstein Company - Rated R)
George Romero's Diary of the Dead is a pseudo documentary like the Blair Witch project where film makers become the subjects of their film. Trouble is, they don't really do much. There are maybe three sequences that have any action at all. It is bland and short on scares. The dead must have written the script too. 2 Stars Out of 5
(Drillbit Taylor - Paramount - Rated PG-13)
Despite its comic pedigree, that of Judd Apatow and Seth Rogen who brought us recent comic laughers Knocked Up, and Superbad, Drillbit Taylor is more of an abandoned stepchild. It starts out with a few laughs but degrades quickly into laugh free, bland blather. This Drillbit's dull, and I'm not McLovin it. 2 Stars Out of 5
(Shutter - 20th Century Fox - Rated PG-13)
Shutter is a supposed ghost story with not much of a pulse. Ooh…there's a reflection…flickering lights! A whisper…that's this film's idea of a big scare. There just isn't any sign of life, much less anything that might shock or scare. The name is supposed to be a clever play on the word shudder - as in, get the chills. This one is barely lukewarm. Here's a better name for it, Snoozer. 1 ½ Stars Out of 5
Movie Reviews for 3-17-08
(Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears A Who - 20th Century Fox - Rated G)
Jim Carrey should do more animation work. His exceptional vocal talents help make Horton Hears a Who a very fun, very good and endearing movie that stays true to the heart of the Dr. Seuss book, while adding enough comic moments to keep the whole family involved and entertained. I loved it! 4 stars Out of 5
(Funny Games - Warner Brothers - Rated R)
Funny Games is oppressive and tension filled, but is more of an art house film than a traditional horror movie. It stars an irritatingly over-polite pair who might be brothers, has gore and violence galore, and is unconventional in mood and style. A character even breaks the "fourth wall" and talks to the audience, while in another place he rewinds the film. The film pretends to be against the violence it so gleefully portrays. But, it left me thinking, "What's the point?" After much deliberation, I happy to tell you that the point is, Naomi Watts is in her underwear for much of the film. 2 ½ Stars Out of 5
(Never Back Down - Summit Entertainment - Rated PG-13)
Never Back Down is the latest sports movie using the same old sports movie script. It's got all the clichés including the requisite training montage, the Tom Cruise look-alike with a big heart, Djimon Honsou in the Mr Miagi role and beautiful people showing lots of skin. It all leads to an obvious conclusion that takes forever to get to. It's a dumbed-down Karate Kid / Fight Club / youtube hybrid. 2 Stars Out of 5
(Doomsday - Universal - Rated R)
Cross Mad Max with 28 Days Later, 80's Punk, and Resident Evil and you get Doomsday. There's graphic cannibalism (accompanied by the not so subtle music of the Fine Young Cannibals), beheadings, loud overbearing music, and action scenes that stretch the laws of physics beyond the breaking point. It stars Rhona Mitra doing her best Kate Beckinsale impersonation, but she has an artificial eye that she pops out and rolls around using it as a camouflaged video camera. Nobody notices that there is an eyeball rolling around on the floor! Yep, it's pretty stupid. 2 Stars Out of 5
Movie Reviews for 3-10-08
(Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day - Focus Features - Rated PG-13)
Can Amy Adams be anything but brilliant? She certainly is in Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day. It is her performance, along with Francis McDormand in a role that also shows off her extraordinary talent, that make this movie such an enjoyable one. Think of the movie as an absolutely delightful Cinderella mash-up for adults. 4 Stars Out of 5
(The Bank Job - Lionsgate - Rated R)
In The Bank Job it's hard to know who to root for because everybody is a bad guy. The good guys are the bad guys, because they are the criminals and the good guys are crooked cops so they are the bad guys who are after the bad guyes that are really the good guys, and everything gets turned on its ear. If that sounds convoluted, wait till you see it! There are things to keep you involved but it does drag, and is only moderately entertaining. 2 ½ Stars Out of 5
(10,000 B.C. - Warner Brothers - Rated PG-13)
in 10,000 B.C., models turned cavemen with their dreadlocks, sixpack abs and perfect teeth try to outrun silly giant ostriches, wooly mammoths are used to construct pyramids, a caveman turns into the saber tooth tiger whisperer and there is long, boring, talky, ridiculous dialog spoken in silly English accents. Yes, it's pretentious and mind-numbingly stupid. In reality, around 10,000 B.C., man was just beginning to use stone tools, but here they ride horses, build pyramids, and have locking handcuffs. There are cool mammoth special effects, but the stupid story and wooden acting turn this into a big pile of mammoth poop. 1 ½ Stars Out of 5
(College Road Trip - Disney - Rated G )
I try to find at least one thing I like about every movie I see. For the life of me, I couldn't find anything to like in College Road Trip. This is so heinous I could scarcely watch. It's filled with loud, obnoxious slapstick, never ending mugging for the camera, and fake, syrupy, sappy moments. Martin Lawrence used to be my least favorite movie star. But now it's the even more hideous Raven Symone who out-mugs her ever-mugging co-star. She doesn't even know the meaning of the word subtle. But she's only the worst part of this all around vomit-inducing monstrosity that had me begging the question, "And this is funny why?" along with "Could this be any more irritating?" and "Please, won't someone just put me out of my mysery?" I loathed every second. ½ Star Out of 5
Movie Reviews for 3-3-08
(Penelope - Summit entertainment - Rated PG)
Penelope has its heart in the right place but is flawed. It is told in a too broad farcical style with painfully whimsical music to clue us that a comic moment is about to occur, and script problems abound. The major fault is, even with a pig nose, Christina Ricci's still beautiful. So when her potential suitors run away screaming and breaking through windows to escape her supposedly hideous face, it's ridiculous. The film has a nice message, but many thinking viewers will have tuned out by the time it gets there. 3 Stars Out of 5
(The Other Boleyn Girl - Sony - PG-13)
The Other Boleyn Girl should probably have been called "The Rules-Royalty Edition: How to Land a King" because it seems more like a reality series than a historical drama. The script plays fast and loose with the facts, focusing on what its lead characters do and don't do to snare Henry the 8th. It features Irritating hand held camera work that is out of character for a movie that is not as heavyweight as it wants to be. It is betrayed by extremely lightweight moments by all of its three leads - most especially Eric Bana who is badly miscast. Off with its head! 2 ½ Stars Out of 5
(Semi-Pro - New Line - Rated )
Semi-Pro has a few moments, but Will Ferrell's laugh machine seems to be running out of gas. The movie's funny parts are all in the trailer.
Semi-Pro obviously refers to the joke writers of this limp comedy. It can only dribble and never provides a slam dunk. Semi-Pro is barely semi-amusing and mostly shoots air-balls. 2 Stars Out of 5
