It’s a brave and bold move to make the most self-absorbed, narcissist in a film the one who is also the only one living an authentic life, but that’s part of the charm of FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL. It’s also smart because of the piquant contrast while all the other characters are scurrying around trying to… Read More »
MADE OF HONOR
Yes, MADE OF HONOR is a variation on MY BEST FRIEND’S WEDDING, with gender reversal and no gay best pal. Alas, it’s not as sharp, not as dark, and just not as much fun, starting well, but going south with alarming haste. The likable stars, Patrick Dempsey and Michelle Monaghan, generate real chemistry and have the… Read More »
STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE
What Errol Morris is doing with STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE is more than a mere and mundane retelling of the abuses committed by American military personnel at Abu Ghraib. There is certainly that, but Morris, whose non-fiction features are as quirky as they are perceptive, goes beyond uncovering the whats and whens. He addresses the far… Read More »
SPEED RACER
As a film, SPEED RACER is one of the great storyboards of all time. Unfortunately, that’s about all it is. Overplotted and underwritten, it is ultimately trumped by an exuberant color scheme that splays itself across the screen showing as little restraint as the chimpanzee of the piece. There are some yellows that might actually… Read More »
BABY MAMA
There were many ways to go with the premise of BABY MAMA. Writer/director Michael McCullers chose the toughest route of all: gentle yet smart. The result is a pithy deconstruction of both the trendy and the traditional, with well-aimed swipes at everything from designer parenthood to the redneck in the blue collar. The problem starts… Read More »
THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA — PRINCE CASPIAN
Call it the sophomore curse. Call it going to the well once too often, in this case twice. Call it the way the Christ-substitute in THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: PRINCE CASPIAN, that would be the lion Aslan, does as he explains to sweet little pre-teen Lucy why he in all his goodness has allowed bad… Read More »
WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS
WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS is a perfectly likeable, perfectly forgettable film with a creaky plot and terrific chemistry between its stars, Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher. It attempts nothing novel in its retelling of the couple who don’t realize that they are perfect for each other, aside from positing an unsavory new popcorn topping. Then… Read More »
THE INCREDIBLE HULK
Undaunted by the failure of Ang Lee’s cerebral approach to big, green Marvel superhero, the 2008 version of THE INCREDIBLE HULK succeeds where its predecessor failed. Cleverly re-imagined as a film noir, it is a dark and shadowy piece full of monsters, only some of them green. The real monsters are much more dangerous. They… Read More »
WANTED
The question that comes to mind while watching the first big action sequence in WANTED is how in the heck are these folks going to top this? Automobiles do things Newtonian physics can barely account for and so do the people driving them. It, like the other chase scenes in this big, messy, gloriously over-the-top… Read More »
THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES — DVD
THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES is that rare film that speaks to the adult in kid, and the kid in the adult with equal eloquence. Based on the series of novels by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi. The hero, 12-year-old Jared (Freddie Highmore) is plagued with a bad attitude because of his parent’s divorce and subsequent move… Read More »
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