Movies
Movie Review
Unstoppable (PG-13)
★★★★☆
November 18th, 2010
This is one hot nail-biter. Denzel Washington is Frank, a veteran Pennsylvania railroad engineer who is training his young replacement, Will (Star Trek’s Chris Pine), when a 47-car train loaded with acid is traveling head-on in their direction at more than 70 mph. Neatly placed grace notes of humor temper the film’s palpable tension. Unstoppable is a beautifully executed action movie that’s well worth seeing on a big screen. Read more »
Movie Review
Good Morning
This fun workplace comedy shows the highs and lows of morning television
November 18th, 2010
Morning Glory is the smartest, sharpest, funniest and most consistently entertaining comedy since The Devil Wears Prada, and no wonder. Both films were written by Aline Brosh McKenna. Both deal with similar themes—the can-do spirit of fresh newcomers in tough, jaded, and fatally pessimistic worlds, pitted against the cynicism of older, more competitive colleagues. The fashion world that Anne Hathaway hit head-on in Prada is not so different from the television industry Rachel McAdams struggles to conquer in Morning Glory. Read more »
Movie Review
Run for Your Lives!
Skyline darkens the horizon with another bad alien movie
November 18th, 2010
Don’t see Skyline if the following cinematic elements are important to you: a script, a purpose, things that make sense, good acting and/or a satisfying ending. However, you should go see Skyline if the following things are important to you: visual effects of any kind! The Brothers Strause (Colin and Greg), famous for their computer-generated special effects, helm this mind-numbing snooze-fest. In the past, they have directed such cultural gems as the sequel to Alien vs. Predator and a Nickleback music video. Now, I’m not saying this movie is as bad as Nickleback, but it’s pretty damn close. Read more »
Movie Review
Split Ends
The Harry Potter franchise lurches toward its final curtain
November 18th, 2010
A flawed decision to split the final installment of the Harry Potter books into two films results in a formless narrative that overstays its welcome. Despite the slick visual effects that periodically invigorate Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, director David Yates’ overemphasized spectacle merely illustrates the film’s lacking storyline. We understand that Harry is in grave danger but don’t get any sense of his ability or inclination to rescue the human and underground magic worlds from sinister forces if he survives to defeat the evil Lord Voldemort. Read more »
Movies
From Rock Bottom to Top
The masterfully made true-life survival story of one brave hiker
November 11th, 2010
Multi-tasking graduate student, filmmaker, actor, poet, author and sometime soap star James Franco is back in an adrenaline rush called 127 Hours, director Danny Boyle’s first film since winning the Oscar two years ago for Slumdog Millionaire. It’s the most harrowing film of the year. Read more »
Movie Review
Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer (R)
★★★★☆
November 11th, 2010
Alex Gibney’s documentary examines New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s downfall. The use of actress Wrenn Schmidt to perform transcribed interviews with Spitzer’s favored escort proves a masterstroke of creative substitution. Read more »
Movie Review
Due Date (R)
★★★★☆
November 11th, 2010
This conventional road picture draws on the delightful chemistry between Robert Downey Jr. and Zack Galifianakis. On his way to Hollywood to follow his dreams Ethan (Galifianakis) is an effeminate, scarf-wearing misfit who spoils straight-arrow Peter Highman’s (Downey) flight plans. Outrageous pratfalls and slapstick humor ensue. Due Date is a laugh-out-loud movie that earns its R-rating. Read more »
Movie Review
Fair Game (PG-13)
★★★★☆
November 11th, 2010
The Bush Administration’s outrageously vengeful act of outing veteran undercover CIA agent Valerie Plame gets a vigorous telling under Doug Liman’s top-notch direction. The soul of the story hinges on the relationship between Valerie and her husband, a former U.S. diplomat. Read more »
Movie Review
When Bad Is Just Bad
Kids comedy Megamind fails to show the good side of villainy
November 11th, 2010
Riffing on the same villain-as-good-guy motif that contributed to the confusion of this year’s Despicable Me, Megamind is a resounding flop. Although its $46 million opening weekend ticket sales say otherwise. Read more »
Delightfully Odd Couple
Robert Downey Jr. is the straight man to Zack Galifianakis’ crazy in Due Date
November 4th, 2010
On the rebound from the mammoth box office success of The Hangover, director Todd Phillips (Old School) has sharpened his comic sensibilities to detonate laughs where none seem possible in Due Date. With a conventional road-picture format Phillips draws mightily on the delightfully asymmetrical chemistry between Robert Downey Jr. and Zack Galifianakis. Read more »
