Dinner for Schmucks — 2 1/2 stars — Opens July 30, 2010
July 29, 2010 on 1:56 pm | In Uncategorized | No CommentsWhen Steve Carell makes a movie, fans pay attention because Carell has great comic talent. IN “Dinner for Schmucks” he plays an amateur taxidermist who stuffs mice and arranges them in little recreations of famous paintings. Paul Rudd comes into the picture as an ambitious stock analyst who wants to impress his boss at the annual “Dinner for Winners”—a dinner/contest to see who can bring the biggest dork. Of course, Rudd’s world goes all wrong and he winds up spending several days with Carell. Along the way he learns a few things about humility and humanity. This is a remake of a French film—never a good sign. Dinner for Schmucks has some good laughs and Carell always plays these kind of characters with grace, but it runs long, runs out of gas and frankly tries a little too hard. Continue reading Dinner for Schmucks — 2 1/2 stars — Opens July 30, 2010…
Charlie St. Cloud — 1 star — Opens July 30, 2010
July 29, 2010 on 1:49 pm | In Uncategorized | No CommentsZac Efron plays a golden boy who wins a sailing scholarship to Stanford but then all goes wrong when he and his younger brother go out for a spin and get hit by a drunken driver. Zac’s brother dies and we advance five years later to find Zac working as the caretaker of the town cemetery. And guess what? Zac sees dead people, especially his little brother whom he meets every night at sundown. And then there’s his new girlfriend who either will soon die or already has. Sorry Zac but “The Sixth Sense” did this a whole lot better and wasn’t nearly as sappy. Continue reading Charlie St. Cloud — 1 star — Opens July 30, 2010…
Salt — 3 stars — Opens July 23, 2010
July 22, 2010 on 3:53 pm | In Uncategorized | No CommentsAngelina Jolie puts a lot of muscle into “Salt”. She plays a CIA agent who goes on the run when a Russian defector accuses her of belonging to a “sleeper cell”—that is one of several children brought to the U.S. waiting for notification of a big event. In this movie the event is the assassination of the Russian President, an act calculated to touch off global war. Jolie—in the great tradition of this often used plot—goes on the run to exonerate herself and performs many dangerous stunts to keep free. Her fellow CIA agents take chase and attempt to take her down. They include Liev Schreiber and Chiwetel Ejiofor. I like the zippy action packed ninety minutes. The movie flies by thanks to non stop action and some quite shocking plot twists. Continue reading Salt — 3 stars — Opens July 23, 2010…
Inception — 3 1/2 stars — Opens July 15, 2010
July 15, 2010 on 4:11 pm | In Uncategorized | No CommentsThe summer’s most anticipated sci fi movie delivers a most unsuual story about the power of the mind and of dreams and of ideas. Viewers can watch “Inception” as a thriller and then return and watch it as something deeper. Leonardo DiCaprio leads a team with the power to invade dreams and either capture their ideas or plant new ones. The back story deals with DiCaprio’s grief over the death of his wife, played by Marion Cotillard. Ellen Page advances her career as a young student drawn to this dark art. Inception runs a little too long—two hours and a half, but turns in quite a movie worth discussing. Continue reading Inception — 3 1/2 stars — Opens July 15, 2010…
The Kids are All Right (R) — 4 stars — Opens July 16, 2010
July 15, 2010 on 4:01 pm | In Uncategorized | No CommentsJulianne Moore and Annette Bening play a lesbian couple who conceive two children with the aid of an anonymous sperm donor. The kids reach their teens and feel the need to meet the donor. Mark Ruffalo plays the father/donor and once he walks into this family, everything goes haywire. ”The Kids are All Right” lampoons the hip California life style in all its glory. I especially like the constant surprises—you think “they won’t go there”—and then they do. I love the message, at least the message I got: that families—no matter how hip—all deal with the squarest problems. Continue reading The Kids are All Right (R) — 4 stars — Opens July 16, 2010…
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice — 2 stars — Opens June 14, 2010
July 15, 2010 on 3:50 pm | In Uncategorized | No CommentsNick Cage plays a thousand year old sorcerer who takes Jay baruchel as his apprentice. Baruchel gives pretty much the same performance he gave in “She’s out of my League”—as he chases a beautiful blonde girl while getting in touch with his innter magicial. One segment replicates the Mickey Mouse cartoon from “Fantasia” where Mickey played the apprentice. Mickey does it a lot better. “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” has some nice moments, but for the most part lacks the magic of a really good movie. Continue reading The Sorcerer’s Apprentice — 2 stars — Opens June 14, 2010…
Despicable Me — 3 stars — Opens July 9, 2010
July 7, 2010 on 3:05 pm | In Uncategorized | No CommentsSteve Carell voices an international super criminal who sounds a lot like Bela Lagosi in this very funny animated cartoon. Carell as Gru plans to steal the moon for his own nafarious purposes. To help the scheme along, he adopts three orphan girls who of course win his heart over the course of the movie. The animation looks great and the retro cartoonish machines and characters make you smile. At times “Despicable Me” feels like a Roadrunner cartoon—and that’s a complicment. Continue reading Despicable Me — 3 stars — Opens July 9, 2010…
The Girl Who Played with Fire (R)-3 1/2 stars-Opens July 9
July 7, 2010 on 2:51 pm | In Uncategorized | No CommentsThe next installment of the Millenium trilogy picks up where “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” left off. The antisocial hacker genius of the first movie takes center stage in this story, teaming up again with a middle aged investigative journalist. This time, characters from her past start turning up dead, making her the object of a police hunt. Two of the most evil characters figure in the plot and give the movie more than a touch of “Silence of the Lambs” horror. Note: The first film is now available on DVD. Both films are subtitled in Swedish. An American series is planned, but I just don’t see how they can top these Swedish films. Continue reading The Girl Who Played with Fire (R)-3 1/2 stars-Opens July 9…
Predators (R)—————2 stars—–Opens July 9, 2010
July 7, 2010 on 2:22 pm | In Uncategorized | No CommentsReboot of the old Arnold Schwarzenegger sci fi movie with Adrian Brody as one of several dazed mercenaries dropped onto an alien planet where the creatures hunt them—kind of like the way they do on big game preserves here on earth. I didn’t expect much but the movie starts with some dazzling sequences as the humans get dropped into the jungle. Not bad, actually, if you like this kind of stuff. Oh by the way, Lawrence Fishburn makes an outrageous cameo in the middle of the movie, and I think throws in a few quotes from “Apocalypse Now.” Weird. Continue reading Predators (R)—————2 stars—–Opens July 9, 2010…
Twilight: Eclipse — 3 stars — Opens June 30, 2010
July 1, 2010 on 12:33 pm | In Uncategorized | No CommentsI can’t remember when I’ved heard as much squealing as in the screening of “Twilight: Eclipse”—a two hour tease that advances the story just enough to satisfy “Twilight” fans. Kristen Stewart remains torn between her boyfriend—vampire Robert Pattinson and her childhood friend turned hunk Taylor Lautner, who’s also a werewolf. Even with a marriage proposal and acceptance, the movie fuels this love triangle in a very entertaining manner. The themes of young love, yearning, danger, rescue, and will you marry me will satisfy the crowds of women who love this series. Continue reading Twilight: Eclipse — 3 stars — Opens June 30, 2010…
Powered by WordPress with Movie theme design by Chi Kang.
Entries and comments feeds.
Valid XHTML and CSS. ^Top^