Movies
Movie Review
Let Me In (R)
★☆☆☆☆
October 7th, 2010
This is an uninspired American remake of Tomas Alfredson’s original Swedish horror film, Let the Right One In (2008). It’s as if writer/director Matt Reeves made a shot-for-shot copy, but with lesser actors and less attention to Alfredson’s more surrealistic elements. Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Road) plays 12-year-old misfit Owen, who find a friend when the similarly aged Abby (Chloe Moretz) moves next door. Stick to the original. Read more »
Movie Review
Schoolhouse Rut
Documentary seeks out what’s wrong with the school system and how to fix it
October 7th, 2010
In Waiting for ‘Superman,’ documentarian Davis Guggenheim petitions the same level of cultural awareness about American education myths as his film An Inconvenient Truth delivered regarding global warming. The filmmakers methodically explore America’s public education crisis with data and graphs that show how the majority of U.S. high schools have become “drop-out factories.” Read more »
Movie Review
Case 39 (R)
★★★☆☆
October 7th, 2010
Emily Jenkins (Renée Zellweger) is a child protection services social worker who rescues a little girl named Lilith Sullivan (Jodelle Ferland) from her abusive parents. But Emily turns out to be a little more evil than advertised. Case 39 isn’t perfect, but it’s plenty creepy for a run-of-the-mill suspense film. Zellweger, Bradley Cooper and Ian McShane more than pull their weight to make the movie enjoyable. Read more »
Movie Review
Triple Crown Winner
Thoroughbred horse-racing movie Secretariat takes the prize
October 7th, 2010
With so much junk crowding movie marquees these days, it’s a joyous feeling to see a warm, wonderful, skillfully made picture with nothing on its mind but pure pleasure for all ages. Secretariat fills the bill nicely. If you’re a horse-movie junkie like me, you will love this one. I mean, it’s got one of the most spectacular horses of all time. And it’s got Diane Lane. What’s not to love? Read more »
Movie Review
It’s Kind of a Funny Story (PG-13)
★★★☆☆
October 7th, 2010
This is a safe adaptation of Ned Vizzini’s semi-autobiographical novel with genuinely moving moments. Keir Gilchrist plays a suicidal high schooler who commits himself into a psyche war. This may not be the most dynamic movie you’ll ever see, but it does gently present mentally troubled young characters working through personal dilemmas under professional supervision. It’s teen-psychology-super-drama-lite. Read more »
Movie Review
You Again (PG)
★☆☆☆☆
September 30th, 2010
A defective formula comedy, You Again is a complete flop. Kristen Bell falls flat as Marnie, a PR exec who discovers that the cheerleader who bullied her in high school—J.J. (Odette Yustman)—is about to marry her brother (James Wolk). The fact that J.J.’s mother is a former high school rival of Marni’s mom (Jamie Lee Curtis) promises laughs that never come. You Again is an embarrassment to everyone involved. Read more »
More Fun Than Facebook
The Social Network is a tech-wave feast
September 30th, 2010
Tech geeks won’t be able to prevent themselves from outbursts of clapping, laughter and bladder leaks while watching The Social Network, David Fincher’s fast-paced drama about the meteoric rise of Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg. Zuckerberg has, of course, famously derided this quasi-biopic as fiction. And although he is portrayed as an acid-tongued, fast-twitch cyberpunk who wilts every lesser intellect around him, perhaps he needn’t worry about his image. Napster co-founder Sean Parker (played dynamically by Justin Timberlake) comes across as a much bigger genius-idiot-douchebag than Zuckerberg (a better-than-expected Jesse Eisenberg). Read more »
Movie Review
Fun With Numbers
Freakonomics is a best-selling book turned documentary
September 30th, 2010
A compilation of four mini-documentary chapters, respectively directed by Morgan Spurlock, Alex Gibney, Eugene Jarecki, and the duo of Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing, Freakonomics is a mixed-bag adaptation of the popular book by Stephen J. Dubner and economist Steven D. Levitt. The charismatic authors supply humorous commentary spiced with personal anecdotes about their data-supported topics. Read more »
Movie Review
Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga Hoole (PG)
★★☆☆☆
September 30th, 2010
Lush animation can’t disguise a tone-deaf narrative. The fumbled story is about two young owl brothers (Soren and Kludd) who are kidnapped by a Nazi-like army of owls. The stunning visuals are so at odds with the poorly executed tale that the film is rendered nonsensical. As for the film’s timid 3-D effects, once again filmmakers are afraid to “break the window.” Read more »
Movie Review
You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (R)
★★☆☆☆
September 30th, 2010
Woody Allen’s study of infidelity is a roulette-wheel of vaguely unlikable Londoners. Roy (Josh Brolin) flirts with Dia (Frieda Pinto), while his wife, Sally (Naomi Watts), works for a charming Antonio Banderas. Sally’s mom (Gemma Jones) has split with her husband (Anthony Hopkins), who loves a prostitute. Plot treads dangle like spaghetti, and these characters merit little empathy. Read more »
