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As slick and sharp as an Armani suit, this scam of a flick is so in love with the art of the con that it forgets to make us care about the con artists. Still, there’s a certain joy to be had in watching fine artists at work. Wiseass grifter Jake Vig (cool, assured Edward … more…
It’s bitingly ironic and casts a cold, contemptuous eye on things like hypocrisy and racism and cruelty, and the unknown kid actors are terrific and the adult cast — pretty big names, all of them — are having a blast, and you know, you could sneak in without a kid and still have a good time even if you haven’t read the book and had never even heard of it and have to slink down in your seat feeling really old and out of touch with what the kids are into today.
Ancient Chinese secret, huh? A Tibetan monk (force-of-nature Chow Yun-Fat: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) charged with protecting a scroll with deadly powers takes on a streetwise pickpocket (appealing doofus Seann William Scott: Evolution) as his apprentice on the same day the ex-Nazi (a scenery-chewing Karel Roden: 15 Minutes) who needs the scroll to take over … more…
This coming Monday will be the 91st anniversary of the sinking of the *Titanic,* and if that reminder doesn’t cause a little frisson of excitement or ghostly goosebumps, then just stop reading now, because *Ghosts of the Abyss* is not for you. For me, the *Titanic* was always one of those terrible, fascinating moments in history — it obsessed me as a kid. Clive Cussler’s *Raise the Titanic!*? Classic. Robert Ballard, who found the ship’s resting grounds in 1985? Hero. Do I still sob my way through Jack and Rose’s journey on the ship, even after umpteen viewings? You bet.
The nice, intelligent, overachieving high schoolers don’t usually get their turn on the big screen — punishment for ruining the grade curve, maybe — so this black comedy from first-time director Justin Lin is more than welcome, even if it’s not entirely successful. Did I say “nice”? In their downtime between running the school paper, … more…
I thought I had given up trying to understand the appeal of The Adam Sandler Movie(TM), and then along comes something so diametrically opposite of the typical ASM and yet so similarly misbegotten that it simply demands explanation. Though I’m certain I’ll be unable to provide it for myself. Instead of his usual crude, lewd … more…
Phone booth? When was the last time you saw a phone booth? I mean, a quarter of a century ago, Christopher Reeve could already get a laugh when his Clark Kent looked askance at the little kiosk that was his only public telephonic refuge for quick changes. But here’s an entire movie, set in the 21st century, that expects us to accept not only that a phone booth still stands in Manhattan but that its glass panels remained unbroken until a dramatic moment here in the very course of events that unfold before our eyes.
If this weirdly disturbing daddy-fantasy feels like a missing Hayley Mills Disney flick from the 60s, it’s no wonder: It’s based on a screenplay from 1958, and the contemporary updating it’s been subjected to only succeeds in adding a layer of ickiness. Seventeen-year-old Daphne Reynolds (Amanda Bynes: Big Fat Liar) escapes from her wacky childhood … more…
Ugh. Him Vin Diesel. Him big lug. *grunt* Him DEA. Him make big bust. Him wife killed by druglord. Him sad. Him vow vengeance. (sound of indecent scratching) Him no control self. Him go crazy. Him boss must ask for gun and badge, which him shames with him behavior. Ugh. Cars go fast. Zoom! Cars … more…
Terrorists blow up a tanker truck on a crowded city highway, spreading a deadly bioweapon… and that’s just their warm-up. Don’t worry — this isn’t breaking news, it’s just the movie version of the anime import TV series that runs here in the States on Cartoon Network. The “cowboys” are a band of bounty hunters … more…
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