Sex and the City 2 (R) — 2 1/2 stars —Opens May 27, 2010
May 26, 2010 on 5:34 pm | In Uncategorized | No CommentsThe sequel to the wildly popular first movie runs long—two and a half hours—and aims its story directly at fans of the HBO show. Stars Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon, and Kim Cattrall fill the time with outrageous wise cracks and about a million costume changes. In a nutshell, this episode finds our friends dealing with middle age—marriage, children, job, and menopause. The four live lavishly and do whatever they want despite the recession, not that I’m complaining. Movies in the 1930’s featured glamorous stars in beautiful fashions living the high life and audiences loved it. The first segment kicks off with a Gay wedding, featuring a male chorus, white tie and tuxes, and Lisa Minelli officiating. From there the girls complain about their lives, and take Samantha up on a trip to Abu Dhabi, where they behave as if they’re still in New York and ultimately get thrown out for it. Sometimes the girls seem more selfish than necessary, especially Sarah Jessica Parker, whose thin body looks great but face looks haggard. The effect makes her somewhat hard to like. But as I said at the beginning, this movie aims squarely at fans. Samantha delivers one of the most outrageous puns ever which I can’t quote but can tell you made me scream with laughter. The producers (and they include Sarah Jessica Parker) know what they’re doing and know what SATC fans want. I imagine the reviews won’t be great and I further imagine it won’t make any difference. So start arranging your girl’s night out. Guys—you might want to encourage this group behavior and stay home. Continue reading Sex and the City 2 (R) — 2 1/2 stars —Opens May 27, 2010…
Prince of Persia — 2 stars — Opens May 28, 2010
May 26, 2010 on 4:49 pm | In Uncategorized | No CommentsLoud and sandy and based on a video game. I would say that narrows the audience down to those of you already in on this one. Jake Gyllenhaal plays an orphan embraced by the king of Persia and brought up as one of his sons. But treachery ensues! The king dies, they blame the prince, and he and a beautiful princess must escape, explain and make everything right with the help of a magical dagger that controls the sands of time. Some of you may wish you could turn back time and retrieve the two hours it takes to watch this. But others of you will love the old school swashbuckling and the sheer adventure of it all. Hey! Douglas Fairbanks may be smiling from above, but then again most of the fans of “Prince of Persia” probably never heard of Douglas Fairbanks. (He invented this kind of movie during the silent days.) Continue reading Prince of Persia — 2 stars — Opens May 28, 2010…
Survival of the Dead (R) — 1 star — Opens May 28, 2010
May 26, 2010 on 4:30 pm | In Uncategorized | No CommentsThe great George “Night of the Living Dead” Romero conjures up yet another zombie tale. This one takes place on a beautiful island ruled by two feuding Irish families—one believing zombies have the right to be kept alive until somebody finds a cure, the other believing they must be exterminated no matter what. I suppose Romero plays this story straight, but I swear sometimes I thought it was a comedy. I suppose you could call this a Zombie western. Whatever you call it, it’s the same old stuff and not very interesting. Continue reading Survival of the Dead (R) — 1 star — Opens May 28, 2010…
MacGruber (R) — 1 star — Opens May 21, 2010
May 21, 2010 on 5:07 pm | In Uncategorized | No CommentsBased on the Saturday Night Live parody of MacGyver, Will Forte heads a full length movie project, in which the hapless hero takes on Val Kilmer—-a villain intent on nuking Washington, D.C. It’s nice to see Val Kilmer make fun of himself. A good cast includes Powers Booth as Forte’s boss, Kristen Wiig as his love interest, Maya Rudolph as his dead wife, and Ryan Phillippe as his sidekick. The clips and commercials for “MacGruber Look hilarious. I’m sorry to say in context the comedy feels forced and flat. ”The Naked Gun” it aint. Continue reading MacGruber (R) — 1 star — Opens May 21, 2010…
Shrek Forever After (PG) — 3 stars — Opens May 21, 2010
May 19, 2010 on 11:51 am | In Uncategorized | No CommentsThe world needs family friendly movies, and Shrek episode four (in 3 D), fills the bill. Mike Myers voices the big ogre now living the life of a married man, with three children and an ogre wife voiced by Cameron Diaz. But the pressure gets to him and creates a “It’s a Wonderful Life” scenario, in which our hero makes a bargain with Rumpelstiltskin — voiced by Walt Dorn who practically steals the movie with his delightful maliciousness. Eddie Murphy returns as donkey and Antonio Banderas gives us another Puss ‘N Boots. Shrek Forever cooks up some nice gags and offers a lot of laughs. They’re pushing it with four segments but this latest fractured fairy tale remains hard to resist. Continue reading Shrek Forever After (PG) — 3 stars — Opens May 21, 2010…
Please Give (R)——–2 1/2 stars—Opens May 14, 2010
May 19, 2010 on 11:42 am | In Uncategorized | No CommentsIndie Manhattan lifestyle from well respected director Nicole Holofoener. Catherine Keener and husband Oliver Platt run an antique furniture store which they stock with mid century pieces picked up in hasty estate sales from the children of recently deceased elderly parents. Keener feels a little guilty and makes up for it with generosity contributions to street people. But she covets the apartment of the 91 year old woman next door. Keener wants to acquire the apartment on the old lady’s death and expand her apartment. She strikes up a friendship with the woman’s grandchildren, played by Amanda Peet (as the tough one) and Rebecca Hall (as the caregiving one). Sarah Steel rounds out the cast as Keener’s 15 year old daughter who agonizes over her bad skin and searches for the perfect pair of jeans. I wanted to like “Please Give” more, but after a time these characters get a little annoying and the ending turns on a consumer purchase which disappointed me. Rebecca Hall stands out as a granddaughter trying to do the right thing. I can’t wait to see her next movie. Continue reading Please Give (R)——–2 1/2 stars—Opens May 14, 2010…
Just Wright — 2 1/2 stars — Opens May 14, 2010
May 14, 2010 on 9:15 am | In Uncategorized | No Comments“Just Wright” confirms the charisma and likeability of Queen Latifah—as if you already didn’t know that. I suspect her fans will crowd theaters playing this winning romance. She plays a physical therapist going through life as the girl guys want as a friend instead of a lover. On a chance meeting, she connects with an NBA star played by Common. The two of them share great chemistry. But the fly in the ointment comes in the character of movie star glamorous Paula Patton. You may remember Paula as the teacher in “Precious”—a very sympathetic role. Paula’s the villain this time. She’s out to hook an NBA player and considers that her job—an unashamed gold-digger. She puts the moves on Common just when we think Queen Latifah has a chance. But an injury brings Common and Latifah back together, when he needs her physical therapy skills. “Just Wright” may be predictable, but the audience keeps pulling for the lead characters. Plus Queen Latifah’s un-movie star beauty gives this a touch of reality/fantasy. If an NBA star can fall her because of her inner goodness, there’s hope for us all. Who wants to argue with that? Continue reading Just Wright — 2 1/2 stars — Opens May 14, 2010…
Robin Hood — 2 stars — Opens May 13, 2010
May 13, 2010 on 5:25 pm | In Uncategorized | No CommentsRussell Crowe teams with Ridley Scott for this long epic remake. But they take a wrong turn early on—instead of recreating the stories we all know—Sherwood Forest, the Merry Men, The Sheriff of Nottingham, etc.—this version tells the story of Robin Hood before he was Robin Hood. We find our hero fighting in France during the Crusades. He makes his way back to London with the Crown of King Richard and presents it to the Queen Mother. Posing as a nobleman, he returns home and discovers injustice in the form of high taxes. What is this guy, a member of the Tea Party? He bands together with other nobles to defend England against an invasion of the French, while several other plots swirl around him, mainly involving the succession to the throne and various palace intrigues. Robin Hood runs at least thirty minutes too long and over gets carried away with the sound of its speechifying. Sometimes the movie holds your attention. Other times it’s a little silly. I think I prefer my father’s Robin Hood. Continue reading Robin Hood — 2 stars — Opens May 13, 2010…
Letters to Juliet — 2 stars — Opens May 14, 2010
May 13, 2010 on 4:04 pm | In Uncategorized | No CommentsAmanda Seyfried travels to Vernoa, Italy with her fiance and discovers a shrine to Juliet where young girls leave letters asking advice in love. Amanda joins the women and answers a fifty year old letter written by Vanessa Redgrave. Her response compels the old woman to return to Verona to find a lost love. Amanda helps and finds one for herself. Don’t expect anything new or surprising but maybe that’s ok. The scenery looks great and so does Amanda and so does Vanessa. Continue reading Letters to Juliet — 2 stars — Opens May 14, 2010…
The Square——————3 stars——–Opens May 7, 2010
May 10, 2010 on 11:06 am | In Uncategorized | No CommentsNo good man meets no good woman and they get up to no good together in this quite good Australian thriller. A construction foreman falls for another man’s wife. They gradually hatch a plan to escape involving a bag of kick back cashher husband has hidden in their home. They hire a professional arsonist and things begin to unravel. But then a blackmail note arrives and the plot thickens and leads to a conclusion full of shocks and surprises. Somestimes the Australian accents combined with a lot of mumbling make “The Square” hard to understand. But the storytelling overcomes this most of the time. Besides, when you watch a movie and starting saying “What???” “What just happened?”—that’s a good thing. Australian stuntman Nash Edgerton directs and his brother Joel Edgerton stars. I think they both have promising careers in the U.S. and I bet we see more of them. Continue reading The Square——————3 stars——–Opens May 7, 2010…
Powered by WordPress with Movie theme design by Chi Kang.
Entries and comments feeds.
Valid XHTML and CSS. ^Top^