Monday, May 28, 2012
It's been a while, but the Men in Black are back for a "threequel" that is not a disaster or a roaring success.
It's been a decade since the Men in Black last defended the galaxy from bad guys. The world has certainly moved on, but the MIB team has not because it's business as usual in Men in Black 3. Agent J (Will Smith) and Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) continue their exploits, this time with Smith going back in time, to 1969, where he teams up with a younger agent K, played by Josh Brolin, to save the future version of his partner and, of course, the world. The rest of the film is really all about saving Agent K, saving the world from evil aliens and learning a little bit about the back story of each of our favorite G-Men. It ends with plenty of alien interventions and a nice salute to the fan base who has had an ongoing affection for the MIB …
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Funnyman Sasha Baron Cohen is at it again, this time as a flashy, offensive Middle Eastern dictator who comes to the U.S.
From the guy who brought us Ali G and Borat comes a new character named General Aladeen -- a ruthless dictator from a fictional country in North Africa who is part buffoon, horn dog and ruthless bloodthirsty ruler in "The Dictator." Through a ridiculous set of circumstances, that I will spare you the details because they are so contrived, Aladeen ends up in New York while his even sillier double is in charge of his country. There are plenty of cameo appearances from big stars to keep things interesting. As for the element of political satire we get a pretty heavy-handed lecture that borders on being a bit corny. The Dictator, like so many other characters by Cohen, is offensive but somehow there is a certain likeability to him. "The …
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Humor proves the most potent superpower for this Marvel blockbuster.
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Saturday, May 5, 2012
The summer movie season starts early, and this could be the biggest movie of the year. It is one of the most entertaining comic book blockbusters ever made: Marvel's The Avengers. You’ve met most of these characters before. Iron Man is Robert Downey Jr. Captain America is Chris Evans. Thor is Chris Hemsworth. The Hulk is Mark Ruffalo. Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury assembles the team to stop a diabolical bad guy who, you guessed it, wants to rule the world. But they spend nearly as much time battling one another as they do battling evil. What's great about this film is the sense of humor it shows without disrespecting the characters or the fans who have been waiting forever for this superhero mash-up. All the main characters get plenty of …
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Teen heartthrob Zac Efron grows into a leading man for a role full of war, love and dog kennels.
Zac Efron plays Logan, a soldier on his third tour in Afghanistan who comes across a picture of a woman and is inspired to search for her stateside, in The Lucky One. His search lands him at a kennel in Louisiana owned by Beth (Taylor Schilling) and her grandmother, Ellie (Blythe Danner). He gets a job there and settles in, still not telling anyone his real reason for being there. As you might imagine, sparks start to fly. The Lucky One is a Nicholas Sparks movie. He's good at this kind of thing, writing books that turn into such movies as Message in a Bottle, Nights in Rodanthe and The Notebook. This film is one of his better stories, and with an attractive young cast, it should appeal to audiences. Efron is making a statement as a …
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Guard the family pastries because Jim and the gang are back for a fourth round of ‘American Pie’ antics.
The kids are back, rediscovering their youth from their 30s, in American Reunion. This is the fourth installment of the American Pie franchise, featuring pastry lover Jim (Jason Biggs), nice guy Oz (Chris Klein) and party animal Stifler (Seann William Scott). Each character is dealing with a midlife crisis or relationship problem that builds up to a funny comedic payoff. The supporting cast, including Atlanta native Alyson Hannigan, helps this film bring humor to sexless marriages, rehashed high school flings and dead-end careers—or, as I like to say, comic gold. This may be the best film in the series since the original, which came out in 1999. Many of these characters work better as awkward adults than as teens. Most of the jokes are a …
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Snow White gets a makeover, while Julia Roberts becomes the queen you’ll love to hate.
It's more than just a remake of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Sure, the evil queen banishes her stepdaughter to the woods to avoid the attention of Prince Charming, but don't expect the same outcome in Mirror Mirror. Julia Roberts is well-suited to play the evil queen. Lily Collins plays Snow White, and Armie Hammer is the prince. A great supporting cast makes this a film for young and old to enjoy. Adopted by a group of rebellious but kind dwarves, Snow White transforms into a brave young woman, determined to save her country from the queen. The movie is fun to watch. The filmmakers have changed a few of the key elements of the story, including adding modern sensibilities. That mix of modern and traditional story lines doesn't fit …
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Jennifer Lawrence elevates the best-selling young-adult book to big-screen greatness.
It's one of the most anticipated movies in some time. It has all the elements of a big hit: teen romance, violence and action. Mix in some rising young stars and you have The Hunger Games. Jennifer Lawrence isn't a household name, but she will be. Known to this point for her critically acclaimed role in Winter's Bone, Lawrence plays Katniss, one of two people from her district who must play a nationally televised game in which there can be just one winner—the last one alive. With knives, swords, bows, arrows and other weapons, the massacre begins. This futurist tale takes place in the country of Panem after an apocalyptic war. The country is split into 12 districts, with two contestants ages 12 to 18 being sent to compete in this reality …
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum have good comedic chemistry in this reboot of the forgettable TV series.
Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum play bumbling cops Schmidt and Jenko, who go undercover and back to high school in 21 Jump Street. The film is a spinoff of the Fox TV show of the late ’80s and early ’90s, which helped launch the career of Johnny Depp but otherwise was kind of a throwaway show. This rewrite is a pleasant surprise. Schmidt and Jenko, under the supervision of their police captain (played by Ice Cube), investigate a new illegal drug at the local high school. They are obviously too old to be in high school, and it doesn't matter. It's all part of the gag. The premise is preposterous, and that is the charm of the film. There are plenty of car chases, explosions and laughs to occupy your time. The chemistry between the leads is …
Saturday, March 10, 2012
The creator of ‘Tarzan’ gives us a Civil War veteran transformed into an interplanetary superhero.
Friday Night Lights’ Taylor Kitsch plays a Civil War veteran transported to Mars for all sorts of interplanetary fighting in John Carter. Tarzan creator Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote the original story 100 years ago. Now it's a 3-D epic from the folks who brought us WALL-E. John Carter is a small man compared with the 12-foot-tall, four-armed creatures around him, but he does have his own superpowers on Mars. If you haven't read the book, there is a lot to keep track of: Toss in some shape shifters and, well, it's kind of confusing. I’m a big fan of science fiction, and the CGI monsters are remarkable for the most part. But with so much going on, so many conflicts, so many different aliens and monsters, you almost have to keep a scorecard to …
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Dr. Seuss’ environmental masterpiece comes to animated life.
It’s a deforestation fable about an industrialized society’s effects on the environment. And it’s a family film: Dr. Seuss' The Lorax. Zac Efron is the voice of Ted, a 12-year-old living in a not-so-environmentally friendly world. He wants to get his sweetheart, Audrey (Taylor Swift), a real tree to win her over. Ted sets out for the one person, or thing, that will help him out: an orange, mustachioed environmentalist known as the Lorax, an optimistic guardian of the forest who “speaks for the trees” and sounds suspiciously like Danny DeVito. The supporting cast of voice actors counters the environmental gloom and doom. The colors are bright, the look is Seussian, and there is something to be said about the movie’s anti-greed message. It's…
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