DVD Archives Page 3

Kicking And Screaming   (Will Ferrell, Robert Duvall)
This is a toned-down Will Ferrell, starring in a sweet movie about youth soccer.  That might be disappointing to fans of Ferrell's more raunchy work in Old School or Anchorman.  But it's good news for parents looking to take kids to a funny movie.   (Go See)

King Kong (2005 Peter Jackson remake, Naomi Watts, Adrien Brody)
Instead of messing with Kong, Jackson enhanced it. He has the technology now to make Kong and the other animals of Skull Island look amazingly real, so he throws in new scenes to show them off... That's just part of the Skull Island portion of the movie, the third of the movie that earns Kong its recommendation. The dinosaurs are even better than Jurassic Park's...  Skull Island is the movie's second third. The other two thirds frankly aren't as good... While it's a nice tribute to the original to have the film take place in the 30s, it's annoying that the people speak as if they were in a 1930s movie. It makes them campy and cartoonish.  Kong himself is more convincing in this modern retelling, but the people aren't... Despite the problems with the first and last thirds, the thrills of the second make King Kong a (Go See) 

Kingdom Of Heaven   (Orlando Bloom, Liam Neeson)
Believe it or not, a movie about the Crusades seems to be about religious tolerance and living together in peace... The problem is once we've established that, it's hard to pick sides when the fighting starts.  And boy, do they fight.  And fight.  And fight.  The climactic battle is big, bloody and spectacular (this is directed by Gladiator's Ridley Scott.  The fights here look just as good as they did in Gladiator).   But that battle just keeps going and eventually made me lose interest. (See If You Want)

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang   (Robert Downey, Jr., Val Kilmer)
Back in the 80's, writer Shane Black invented the cop-buddy film with Lethal Weapon... He pretty much vanished from Hollywood in recent years, but he's back with a fantastic movie that plays with the type of film he's given credit for inventing. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang has some of the moments we've seen over and over, but just as you're about to roll your eyes, narrator Robert Downey, Jr. lets you know he knows you've seen it before too.  "Too Hollywood."  (Go See)

Land Of The Dead (aka George Romero's Land Of The Dead)
If you don't like gross-out horror movies, no review is going to convince you.  But if you do, you will love this... Things aren't as simple anymore-- the zombies are starting to figure things out-- bright lights aren't distracting them anymore, and they're learning what guns are for.  Now they can inch closer to the city, and to Fiddler's Green, the towering haven where the rich live above them... Like the zombies, I have an admiration for brains.  In this case, Romero's.  I ate this movie up. (Go See)

Last Holiday   (Queen Latifah)
This time, Queen Latifah carries her movie-- a good, old-fashioned, feel-good story (in fact, it's a remake of a 1950 movie of the same name starring Alec Guinness).  She  plays a middle class retail clerk who learns she has only about three weeks to live. Instead of wasting her time at her dead-end job, she decides to live her dreams. It sounds like it could be depressing. Some of the commercials make it seem like a silly slapstick film. It's neither. It's a gentle and sweet story about making the most out of life.  (Go See)

The Last King Of Scotland   (Forest Whitaker, James McAvoy)
At one point , Ugandan dictator Idi Amin reassures the press that he's not a cannibal. He's not, but actor Forest Whitaker was clearly hungry when it came to Amin.  Whitaker saw a meaty role here and decided to just devour it. It's the best work this consistently good actor has ever done... Idi Amin is the type of leading role the very talented Whitaker has never had before. Whitaker is a good actor, but let's face it, with his size and unorthodox looks, a lot of lead parts won't always come his way. But as Idi Amin, he's nearly perfect.  (Go See)

The Last Kiss   (Zach Braff, Jacinda Barrett)
How you feel about The Last Kiss may be determined by how close in age you are to the main characters.  Zach Braff, his friends and their girlfriends/spouses are all just about to turn 30, and all are facing different commitment/relationship issues... You won't like what Braff does, but you will like him. The Last Kiss is full of hook-ups and break-ups, but unlike Closer from last year, these are relatable characters who don't mean to do bad things. You understand what they're going through whether you've made a bad mistake yourself or just thought about it.  (Go See)

The Legend of Zorro   (Antonio Banderas, Catherine Zeta-Jones)
Zorro is a workaholic.  Antonio Banderas is back as the swashbuckling hero of 1800's California, and this time he's dealing with real-life problems, the type that would plague him if he was the swashbuckling hero of 2005 America. His wife Elena, played by Catherine Zeta-Jones (ok, granted, that wouldn't be a problem) thinks he's spending too much time Zorro-ing and not enough time as a husband and father...  but The Legend Of Zorro still manages to be fun. You can't get too deep into the dissolution of a family when dad wears a sombrero, mask and swings from rooftops. (Go See)

Letters From Iwo Jima  (Ken Watanabe)
The Japanese soldiers in Letters From Iwo Jima had to fight for a number of reasons:  they were honor-bound by their government to do so, it was expected of them, and let’s face it:  World War II probably had to be fought.  Fate made it so they had to fight us, if only to lose.  You watch Letters and you know why they lost... Letters gets the slight edge over Flags Of Our Fathers only because of its more unique history lesson.  Flags presented a sidebar to American history I didn’t know that much about, while Letters taught me a bit about a culture that seemed completely alien.  Taken together, they are an amazing achievement by Clint Eastwood.  (Go See)

Little Miss Sunshine   (Abigail Breslin, Greg Kinnear, Steve Carrell)
The funniest movie of the year begins with a woman picking up her suicidal brother from the hospital because he can't be trusted by himself. She brings him home to live with her family including a silent mopey teen, a heroin-snorting grandfather, a failed motivational speaker and a 7 year old beauty pageant contestant who's in way over her head.  (Repeating for emphasis:  comedy.)  These people are losers, but you can't help but like them as you watch what they endure... Hopefully the above descriptions haven't discouraged you from seeing this movie altogether, because it works its way to a very sweet and uplifting ending that reaffirms the idea of family.  (Go See)

The Longest Yard (2005 Adam Sandler remake)
So why remake an action/drama/comedy classic with Adam Sandler playing a part made famous by Burt Reynolds? Because it should have been a screwball comedy to begin with...  Fans of the original will have nothing against this movie-- it really doesn't mess with the original. The changes are subtle. People who have seen neither just have to decide if they want a more modern take or a classic one.  They can start with a movie about a guy named Paul "Wrecking" Crewe or Paul "Motley" Crewe.  (See If You Want)

Lord Of War   (Nicolas Cage, Ethan Hawke)
Lord Of War is not an action movie.  Oh sure, there's gunfire and quite a bit of it.  But that'll happen in a movie about an international arms dealer.  It's world events told through his narration about his life of crime.  Think Goodfellas more than Con Air... This is about guns in the wrong hands.  If you're not into "message" movies, the message is simply guns are serious business.  The film opens with a slick montage set to classic rock, but the fun ends as soon as the first shot is fired.  The U.S. government doesn't come off great here, but then no government does.  The film may even be making the case that we have to have the arms we do-- because the other countries can get them so easily.   (Go See)

Lords Of Dogtown   (Heath Ledger, Emile Hersch)
You know those kids on skateboards hanging outside Wilson Farms, getting in your way when you just want to park, run in, and grab some milk?  I'm talking about those kids who never hit a move-- they skate up to the curb, take to the air and land on their behinds.  Lords Of Dogtown is their movie. Lords Of Dogtown is their story... You know the movie will be style over substance when you look at the credits and see it's "based in part on the photo session by blah blah blah..." (Stay Away From)

Marie Antoinette   (Kirsten Dunst, Jason Schwartzmann)
The promos feature music by Siouxsie & The Banshees and The Strokes, the opening title and logo looks like the Sex Pistols' "Never Mind The Bollocks," the star is a popular young starlet, the director is one of the most-talked about young filmmakers-- all of which would make you think Marie Antoinette is a raucous, hip retelling of the life of France's infamous queen. You're hoping this is more lively than your typical period piece.  Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette is deadly dull, even moreso than your typical period piece (and even moreso than her incredibly overrated Lost In Translation)... About the only thing getting me through was knowing somebody was going to find her and cut her off her head before long.  (Stay Away From)

Match Point   (Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Rhys Meyers)
Match Point is not a comedy, and it doesn't take place in Woody's beloved New York City. Instead, he takes us to London for a sexually-charged thriller... The thriller part is the good stuff, but I can't say too much about it. It happens so late in the movie that it almost qualifies as a shocker ending. I thought it was over at that point, but it keeps going and works its way to a riveting conclusion. That part of the movie is very good and should have happened a lot sooner.  (See If You Want)

Miami Vice   (Colin Farrell, Jamie Foxx)
I didn't watch all that much Miami Vice when it was on TV in the '80s, but I do remember Glenn Frey's "Smuggler's Blues" video based on the series.  It didn't really have a story, but it had all the imagery and mood of the show, making it pretty cool. The Miami Vice movie is kind of the same thing-- it's all imagery and mood without much of a story you can follow. For Glenn Frey, the mood created a cool four minutes and seventeen seconds. For the new Miami Vice movie, it creates an insufferable two hours and ten minutes.  (Stay Away From)

Millions   (Alex Etel, Lewis McGibbon)
Two British kids find a big bag of money and each has a different idea of what to do with it.  Interestingly, it's the one named Damien who does good with it.  Damien starts giving out money to the poor-- or to anyone he perceives as poor.  His older brother pays off his friends to be his security guards and do things for him... I don't know pounds from quid from euros.  And neither do the boys, who learn a lot about money as they have to hurry up and spend it.  Watching the family handle this bag of money, you'll appreciate how money means different things to different people.  (Go See)

Miss Congeniality 2: Armed & Fabulous   (Sandra Bullock, Regina King)
Quick:  name Miss America.  ANY Miss America other than Vanessa Williams.  That's what I thought.  If you're going to buy into this movie, you have to accept the premise that America loves beauty queens and that the participants become huge stars.  Sandra Bullock's Gracie Hart has become a major celebrity since Miss Congeniality-- so much so that she has to give up undercover work and instead become a spokesperson for the FBI... You'll figure the caper out soon, the movie will explain it to you, THEN Gracie will get it.  (Stay Away From)

Mission:  Impossible 3   (Tom Cruise, Philip Seymour Hoffman)
When last we left superspy Ethan Hunt, he and the Impossible Missions team were...  Oh, I have no clue what was happening last time we saw Ethan. Who could ever make heads or tails out of a Mission: Impossible movie?  Which believe it or not, means you can start with the third installment and be just fine.... Along with the first-ever comprehensible MI plot is the first-ever MI worthwhile foe: Oscar winner and Fairport native Philip Seymour Hoffman as Davian. Hoffman is a presence from the moment he shows up-- he gets the movie's very first line and sets the tone right away.  (Go See)

Monster-In-Law   (Jennifer Lopez, Jane Fonda)
Jane Fonda owns this movie... She wears crazy clothes, she fakes relapses, she pretends to talk in her sleep and take a swing at Lopez, she invites her to parties where she knows she'll be outclassed.  It's a funny over-the-top performance that Fonda has a lot of fun with.Jennifer Lopez has food allergies.  That's about all the comedy Lopez is able to offer for her half of the movie... The movie should be a battle of two film divas from different eras. But J. Fo outclasses J. Lo way too much. It's not a fair fight.  (See If You Want)

Munich   (Eric Bana, Daniel Craig) 
It's gutsy for Steven Spielberg-- hailed for his work with and for Holocaust survivors-- to make a movie about terrorism that doesn't take obvious sides.  Most of Munich though is a bit like a caper-movie with a different tone. Instead of an Ocean's Eleven-like jewelry heist, we have assassinations... Of course, Munich is about much more than just a ragtag group of assassins on a mission, and that's why it has to come under more scrutiny... It is a good movie, dealing with some obviously serious issues... Munich isn't the masterpiece Schindler's List or Saving Private Ryan is. Those movies show good and evil, and ultimately end up being tributes to the good. Munich instead is a flawed movie about flawed policies and flawed people.  (See If You Want)

Murderball 
Don't even think about calling it the Special Olympics.  It's the Paralympics, and if you call it the Special Olympics, the guys who play murderball will wheel right up to you, grab you where it hurts, and show you what they're all about. These are tough guys, wheelchairs or not... It's funny, it's gripping, it's even touching by the time we get to the championships. Women who went with me asked at first: "you're taking us to something called Murderball?" were crying by the end. (Go See)

Music And Lyrics (Drew Barrymore, Hugh Grant)
A relatively bland romantic comedy that 1) takes too long for its principles to get together and 2) presents them with one of the less dramatic obstacles to test their relationship.  The fake music video at the beginning (and in the bonus features) is the highlight.  (See If You Want)

Must Love Dogs   (Diane Lane, John Cusack)
Fans of Diane Lane and John Cusack-- and there are quite a few I've found-- will enjoy it. I've talked to many men who, like me, just love Diane Lane. She's never top-of-mind or on the cover of Maxim or even Entertainment Weekly, but you bring up her name, and you hear "Oh, I loooove Diane Lane." And around women? Bring up John Cusack and you get the same reaction. They're a good pairing. Good-looking enough that you can watch them, but not too famous that they're distracting.  So I'd say "Must Love Diane Lane/John Cusack/Romantic Comedies", and if that's you, you're fine.  (See If You Want)

Nacho Libre   (Jack Black)
Nacho Libre's greatest opponent is Napoleon Dynamite.  Nacho is the first film by director Jared Hess since his debut Napoleon Dynamite became a pop-culture phenomenon...  You can't help but compare them considering Hess is trying so hard to recreate Napoleon. Nacho Libre moves at the same slow pace, has a similar underdog against his environment story (barely a story really), and is littered with eccentric characters shot from odd angles and in close-ups. Their speech is full of little wannabe catch phrases, no doubt used in hopes that the kids at the mall will want to replace their "Vote For Pedro" shirts.  (See If You Want)

Nanny McPhee   (Emma Thompson, Colin Firth)
How do your kids feel about ugly people?  That could give you an indication how they'll react to Nanny McPhee, the story of a magical nanny who shows up to help a widower and his kids learn some valuable life lessons.  I'm not being superficial when I point her ugliness out -- that's the whole point. Every time the kids learn a lesson, Nanny loses a wart. (Somehow that doesn't have the same poetic ring as "every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings")...  Why does Nanny lose a wart? I don't know... there's no real explanation or resolution as to who Nanny McPhee is or why she's so darn ugly. We learn why she's there, but not who she is. That wouldn't bother me if they kept her mysterious, but the whole "vanishing wart" thing left me with some questions.  Yeah, I know it's a kid's movie, but kids might ask about that too.  (See If You Want)

The Nativity Story   (Keisha Castle-Hughes, Oscar Isaac)
If all you’ve seen for years is children in the key parts using church aisles for desert, you’ll be reminded of some of the parts of the story you may not have thought of.  Full disclosure:  I haven’t been to church on Christmas in years, and when I did, I tended to zone out.  There are details of the story I guess I knew, but never really thought about...  Sometimes when you break out a Nativity set, you have trouble telling Joseph from the shepherds, but Oscar Isaac plays Joseph as a standout character.  He is possibly the hero of the story:  a man doing the right thing, protecting his wife and facing his detractors with a lot of courage.  (Go See)

Night At The Museum   (Ben Stiller)
It could have been a passing of the torch, but instead it becomes an ironic and unfortunate moment.  Dick Van Dyke and Mickey Rooney-- who have appeared in some of the most memorable childrens films ever-- play night watchmen at the Museum of Natural History.  They're leaving, and they interview Ben Stiller for the job.  He gets it, and it's his chance to headline a live action kids movie... With nothing to work with, he's going to have to wait a little longer before he has a classic he can show off to his kids.  (Stay Away From) 

Norbit (Eddie Murphy, Thandie Newton)
Now while Dreamgirls may be the best movie Eddie Murphy’s been in, the best “Eddie Murphy Movies” are the ones where he disappears behind layers of makeup and/or plays multiple roles.  The Nutty Professor is a sweet movie, and Coming To America is an absolute classic.  I’m even a fan of the underrated Bowfinger.  I’d hoped Norbit could have ranked with those movies, and we could talk about an Eddie Murphy renaissance...  but it’s not a very good movie.  (See If You Want)

Pan's Labyrinth  
When you really think about it, Grimm’s Fairy Tales were pretty grim...  So now that you’re an adult, take your memories of those stories and add in the gory details.  Change the wolf into some kind of Gollum-like creature with eyes in his hands.  Then you’ve got the idea behind the fairy tale of Pan’s Labyrinth.  The words “fairy tale” are used a lot in the descriptions of  Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth, but let me emphasize:  this is an R-rated movie and you should not take your kids.  It is very graphic and very gory.  You—now that you’re an adult—should go, because it is also very very good.(Go See)

The Pink Panther (2006 Steve Martin remake)
Mike Myers has said Peter Sellers was one of his inspirations. Sellers' gifts for creating characters helped inspire Myers to create characters of his own like Austin Powers, Dr. Evil and SNL's Dieter. Austin was inspired by James Coburn in Our Man Flint and early Michael Caine , so Myers also knows how to take something he loves and create something new... I'd have hoped someone as talented as Steve Martin could similarly create something new inspired by classic Peter Sellers. He's a cowriter of the new Pink Panther, and he did create some pretty funny gags here. Sadly, he performs these gags as one of Sellers' most memorable creations: the bumbling Inspector Clouseau. They might be even funnier if they were "in the tradition of Clouseau" instead of "trying to be Clouseau."  (See If You Want)

Pirates of the Caribbean:  Dead Man's Chest   (Johnny Depp, Keira Knightley)
I wonder what all that fighting and running was for? I have no idea. Captain Jack made some kind of deal with Davy Jones and owes him something, and I think there's something about how Will's father is still alive or maybe he's a ghost, and maybe pirate blood does something or other, or maybe Will and Elizabeth are up on criminal charges... I don't know. I couldn't follow it while I was watching, right through the first two hours and twenty five minutes.... Then the ending happened.  Scratch that: no, it didn't.  Pirates 2 is really just a a two and a half hour tease.... I can't keep the plot straight of Pirates 2, and I just saw it... . How am I supposed to remember what's going on by the time 3 comes out?  (See If You Want)

Poseidon   (Kurt Russell, Josh Lucas)
In the modern movie era, the movie you have to compare Poseidon to isn't the original Poseidon Adventure but Titanic. Let's face it, people inclined to go to the movies will remember Jack and Rose more than they'll remember Shelley Winters or Ernest Borgnine... We never saw a ship sink like we did in Titanic, and nine years later, we still haven't... I got the feeling to keep the movie from reaching Titanic-length, they did a lot of editing. They introduce some back stories for these people that never get finished-- or even fully explained...   Then there's the ending... I don't remember the Poseidon Adventure or how it ended, but I do remember Armageddon. If you saw that disaster movie, you'll see the ending to this one coming a nautical mile away.  (See If You Want)

Premonition  (Sandra Bullock, Julian McMahon)
I know what’s going to happen.  Audiences leaving Premonition are going to be either disappointed or kind of confused... So what is going on here?  I think I get it, and I think I figured it out early (but there's a couple of gaping holes in logic.)  The mystery is enough to sustain interest, although the action moves a little slowly.  You know there’s going to be a car crash (or is there?), but it’d be nice to have more things happen in the meantime.  (See If You Want)

Prime  (Uma Thurman, Meryl Streep)
The twist revealed in the trailers (and resolved too easily in the movie) is all this comedy that takes itself too seriously has to offer.  Thurman's love interest is too bland for her to have even gotten involved with...  I'm already past Prime.  (Stay Away From)

The Producers   (Matthew Broderick, Nathan Lane)
I never did get to see Matthew Broderick on Broadway, but I did see his Ferris Bueller best friend Cameron (actor Alan Ruck) at the Auditorium Center. Now I've seen Broderick in the movie version of The Producers, and I can't believe I liked Cameron better.  The live experience of The Producers is more fun... Afraid to mess with success too much, director Susan Stroman has them act just like they do on stage. Which means even though they have cameras and microphones to ampilfy their voices, they speak as if they're on stage and need to be heard even in the back rows... Like the play, The Producers goes just a little too long. It peaks with the actual production of Springtime For Hitler, and after that considerable peak, it's hard to care what happens.  It would have been better to get the big laugh and go home.  (See If You Want)

The Pursuit Of Happyness   (Will Smith)
Chris Gardner, the stockbroker-in-training played by Will Smith points out the founding fathers didn’t say we were all entitled to happiness; rather, we’re all free to pursue it.  Gardner pursues it, and boy, he gets no guarantees it’s going to work... I would think anyone who watches The Pursuit of Happyness will find Gardner’s pursuit an inspiration.  This is a decent, hard-working guy who wants to better himself and provide for his son, and he wants to do it himself...  As the hard times keep piling up, the movie can be a little stifling.  If you’ve ever faced some iffy financial times, you may relate and start thinking about worst-case scenarios.  But you’ll stick with it because you’ll be rooting for this guy’ pursuit to turn out alright.  (Go See)

The Queen   (Helen Mirren)
...a fascinating bit of British history we didn't pay much attention to because we were too worried about the paparazzi.  Helen Mirren deserves all the praise she got as Queen Elizabeth trying to appease her subjects after Princess Diana's death.  I also really liked the guy playing Tony Blair.  (Go See)

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