movie reviews

August 25, 2011

Our Idiot Brother

Paul Rudd

Directed by: Jesse Peretz

Paul Rudd is a pleasure to watch in anything – OK, maybe not Over Her Dead Body or The Ex or... anyway you see where I'm going. Who doesn't like Paul Rudd? The Rudd appeal is what makes the otherwise indigestible Our Idiot Brother go down easy. Rudd plays Ned Rochlin, a slacking stoner in cargo shots, ratty Ts, and ugly-ass Crocs. Ned's not smart. He sells weed to a cop in uniform. But he's not dumb either. Ned speaks the truth. Not in the holy fool, "I like to watch... | More »

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark

Katie Holmes, Guy Pearce

Directed by: Troy Nixey

With the great Guillermo del Toro as producer and co-writer, this haunted-house thriller at least makes a claim on artistry. But Pan's Labyrinth it isn't. Blackwood Mansion, where creatures lurk in the basement, doesn't scare nine-year-old Sally (Bailee Madison) at first. She's more focused on being cut off from her architect daddy (Guy Pearce) by his trophy girlfriend (Katie Holmes). Director Troy Nixey lets the atmosphere of the house seep in like rot. And the fact that ... | More »

Higher Ground

Vera Farmiga

Directed by: Vera Farmiga

High praise for Vera Farmiga, a stunner of an actress, who makes her directing debut with the same bold instincts for sharp humor and harsh truths that mark her performances. Higher Ground is based on a memoir by Carolyn S. Briggs about her life in an evangelical Christian community. Farmiga's Corinne Walker, played at a younger age by the director's look-alike sister, Taissa Farmiga, finds God when she and her rocker husband rejoice after their baby daughter escapes death. Corinne ... | More »

August 18, 2011

Fright Night

Colin Farrell, David Tennant

Directed by: Craig Gillespie

Menace and mirth can cancel each other out. But the combo clicked in 1985's Fright Night (banish the 1988 sequel), and it clicks again in this frisky 3D remake. For that, bow to Colin Farrell. He's hot stuff as a vampire named Jerry (really) who moves next door to teenage Charley (Anton Yelchin) and his single mom (Toni Collette). Jerry can do his undead nasty on Charley's buddy (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) and glamour Charley's girl (Imogen Poots) and still tickle you with ... | More »

One Day

Anne Hathaway, Jim Sturgess

Directed by: Lone Scherfig

This tear-jerking twaddle, adapted by David Nicholls from his 2009 bestseller, is nearly as bad as Anne Hathaway's British accent, which is heading for infamy. Hathaway plays Emma Morley, an idealist in a world of the cheap and superficial, repped by Dexter Mayhew (real Brit Jim Sturgess), the rich stud she pines for. Director Lone Scherfig, toppling from her peak with An Education, follows these ill-fated lovers for two decades one day each year, starting July 15th, 1988. By the 1990s, ... | More »

Amigo

Joel Torre, Garret Dillahunt, Chris Cooper

Directed by: John Sayles

John Sayles, a filmmaker by trade, a provocateur by nature, means to stir things up with Amigo. That he does, and more power to him. Sayles stands pretty much alone in a play-it-safe movie summer of 3D gimmicks and numbing comedies. Amigo looks at American imperialism through the United States occupation of the Philippines at the turn of the 20th century. Don't feel too out of it. History books generally gloss over the guerilla war that ignited (and lasted until 1913) when the U.S. anne... | More »

August 11, 2011

30 Minutes or Less

Jesse Eisenberg, Aziz Ansari, Danny McBride

Directed by: Ruben Fleischer

I have no faith in myself to speak cogently about what goes on in this fractured farce. But I do have faith in director Ruben Fleischer. Yes, I liked Zombieland that much and am eager for his next, The Gangster Squad with Sean Penn. OK, I'm drifting. The facts: Jesse Eisenberg goes crazy cuckoo but will not win an Oscar nod, like he did for The Social Network, as Nick, a pizza guy who delivers in 30 minutes or less. Promises are forgotten as two scuzzballs, immortally scuzzed by Nick Sw... | More »

Glee: The 3D Concert Movie

Chris Colfer, Lea Michele

Directed by: Kevin Tancharoen

Confession: I'm losing my religion when it comes to Glee. Ryan Murphy's hit TV series produces so many highs, like Rachel and Kurt's to-die-for duet on the Broadway set of Wicked, that the frequent lows can be forgiven even by non-Gleeks. Still, I'm calling bullshit on this 3D concert movie. In June, most of the cast began a summer tour that would allow the fans to genuflect. You heard me. The movie plays like an evangelical prayer meeting, though I'd hold the hallelu... | More »

Final Destination 5

Tony Todd, Nicholas D'Agosto

Directed by: Steven Quale

It's the dog days of summer, the best time to kick back at your ice-station multiplex and get the living crap scared out of you. Damn you, Hollywood, for scamming us with the same tired tricks. Final Destination 5 starts with an R-rated 3D bang as wanna-be chef Sam (Nicholas D'Agosto) has a vision that a collapsing bridge will kill his peeps. Then it all happens in blood-splattering detail, just like in every FD flick. Sam and seven pals, including girlfriend Molly (Emma Bell), chea... | More »

August 9, 2011

The Help

Viola Davis, Emma Stone

Directed by: Tate Taylor

A deeply touching human story filled with humor and heartbreak is rare in any movie season, especially summer. That's what makes The Help an exhilarating gift. It could have been a disaster. Kathryn Stockett's debut novel riled a few critics. The gall of Stockett, a white woman from Jackson, Mississippi, to think she could get inside the heads of black maids serving white folks during the early 1960s. The dialect ("Yes, ma'am," "sho-nuff," "Law have mercy") probably helped Stoc... | More »