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(08/21/09 12:00am)
Two generations parallel each other in the new film Julie & Julia, where two real lives from different times find a connection in the world of cooking. Talented screenwriter Nora Ephron has produced one of her best works, transitioning from her more chick-flick screenplays (You've Got Mail, When Harry Met Sally) to a more historical - yet still lighthearted - film that is as enjoyable as it is clever.
(08/21/09 12:00am)
Call me sentimental, but watching a movie in the theater is an emotional experience for me. The larger-than-life screen, the booming sounds and the novelty of watching a film for the first time is a thrill that seems new and exciting each time I go to the theater.This summer was no exception. It seemed that each movie I watched over the last couple months had some kind of personal connection to me, either because of the screening location or the individuals with whom I saw the films.
(04/17/09 12:00am)
Every girl, whether she is six or 60, has at some point in her life dreamed of being a superstar. Be it a pop star, a movie star or a secret agent, the dream of stardom is always the same. While most of us never get to see this dream fulfilled, there is one out there whom we can at least watch: Hannah Montana (a.k.a. Miley Stewart, Miley Cyrus), your regular girl next door secretly living the life of a singer and movie star. It should not come as a surprise then that her new film, Hannah Montana: The Movie, is just the peak of the Hannah Montana craze.
(04/10/09 12:00am)
Clive Owen and Julia Roberts acting in a movie together should be a double dose of fun and adventure. Roberts should be able to pull off starring in an action film, as she is a fabulous actress. Great filming locations such as Rome, New York City and the Bahamas should give a film an exciting sense of place. The collection of these factors should produce a great Hollywood film.But it doesn't always do so, at least in the case of the newly released action-adventure movie Duplicity.
(03/13/09 12:00am)
Movies can sometimes be so terrible that they end up being funny. Such is the case with the recently-released film The Pink Panther 2, in which Steve Martin's character, Inspector Jacques Clouseau, embodies all that is ridiculously preposterous and leaves the audience asking why they are laughing during this horrible, over-the-top comedy.As the second installment of the reboot of the classic 1960-70s Pink Panther series starring Peter Sellers, The Pink Panther 2 features Steve Martin (Baby Mama) in the role of the Clouseau, the bumbling British detective whose goal in life is to preserve, protect and defend the treasured Pink Panther diamond. Aided by his trusty sidekick Ponton (Ca$h's Jean Reno) and girlfriend Nicole (Lars and the Real Girl's Emily Mortimer), Clouseau is a part of the dream detective team (including Beverly Hills Chihuahua's Andy Garcia) that protects all of the world's most valuable treasures from the infamous villain, The Tornado.
(02/27/09 12:00am)
Product placement is the name of the game in the recently-released Confessions of a Shopaholic, which attempts to mimic 2006's The Devil Wears Prada and its fashion-focused world. Based on the bestselling novel by Sophie Kinsella, Shopaholic produces only a fraction of Prada's intelligent plotline, resulting in a watered down and fluffier - but still entertaining - version of the story of a charming woman in the realm of haute couture.In Shopaholic, Rebecca Bloomwood (Horton Hears a Who!'s Isla Fisher) has an addiction. She faithfully goes to her support group meetings and unfailingly tries to get rid of her bad habit with the support of her best friend (What Happens in Vegas' Krysten Ritter) and her parents (Kit Kittredge: An American Girl's Joan Cusack and Speed Racer's John Goodman).
(02/20/09 12:00am)
Each year, I get more excited about the Academy Awards than my friends do when they anticipate the season premiere of "The Office" or the season finale of "24." This year's ceremony starts on Sunday at 7 p.m., and the Oscars will be, like they are every February, a summary of everything I've seen in the past year: the best fashion, the best movies and the best movie stars all rolled into one beautiful three-hour package.The Academy Awards also function as a sort of documentary by recording the year's history in movies: Best Picture winner Gone with the Wind will forever be known as the classic film of 1939, and Audrey Hepburn's performance at the young age of 24 in Roman Holiday is immortalized thanks to her win of the Best Actress award in 1954.
(02/13/09 12:00am)
The new film He's Just Not That Into You claims that it is not a "typical" chick flick and that it goes beyond the conventional realm of the genre by cutting out clichés. The movie's iTunes podcast touts the film's lack of certain undesirable, overly-sentimental and formulaic scenes, such as random outbreaks into song, makeover montages or hysterical crying scenes. And it's true: He's Just Not That Into You avoids the traps of usual chick flicks and produces a funny, enjoyable and not-so-typical one.Based on the self-help book by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo, He's Just Not That Into You structures itself by first giving the audience a pearl of dating wisdom - "he's just not that into you if ." - and then showing how the proverb works in the relationships of couples in the movie.
(02/13/09 12:00am)
I just about died last year when my boyfriend picked out Monty Python and the Holy Grail for our movie date on Valentine's Day. While Monty Python has its strangely funny moments, it is strangely disturbing on some levels, and I don't quite find it to be an appropriate viewing experience for couples hoping to share some quality, romantic alone time.Even for Valentine's Day, some guys of the shoot-'em-up persuasion may find a true chick flick a little bit hard to swallow. They shouldn't have to spend their lives in fear of February 14, however, since there are quite a few movies besides über-girly ones, including The Notebook or The Wedding Planner, that more action-adventure guys might be able to handle . or even enjoy.
(02/06/09 12:00am)
Playing on multiple clichés doesn't make a film deep or multi-faceted, it just makes the movie one big, dopey cliché with no real meaning whatsoever. Such is the case with Renee Zellweger's latest movie, New In Town. With themes that aren't all that new, the film relies on tired storylines that are simultaneously boring and cheesy.New In Town centers on metropolitan executive Lucy Hill (Leatherhead's Zellweger), who moves to supervise a small town factory in the cold climate of Minnesota. The heroine predictably falls in love with the warm-hearted union representative (Living Proof's Harry Connick Jr.) and makes friends with the small town's folk (Baby Mama's Siobhan Fallon and Burn After Reading's J.K. Simmons). In the end, Lucy not only gives up her old, flashy lifestyle, but also helps the rural town survive the mighty corporation's threats. The film makes the statement that Lucy is not just your everyday heroine, but also a defender of human rights . and of the secret tapioca recipe. How corny.
(01/23/09 12:00am)
Wedding movies are arguably the ultimate form of chick flick, for they are simultaneously romantic, sentimental and funny. The newly-released Bride Wars puts a spin on the stereotypical wedding plot by capitalizing on the misfortunes of two crazed, catfighting brides to produce a movie with little substance, little originality, but lots of tulle.Narrated by famous New York wedding planner Marion St. Claire (The Women's Candice Bergen), Bride Wars doubles the typical wedding movie fun by presenting two weddings and two brides, Emma (Rachel Getting Married's Anne Hathaway) and Liv (My Best Friend's Girl's Kate Hudson). The two best friends have dreamed of getting married in New York's Plaza Hotel in the month of June ever since they were little girls and have finally found the right guys (Wanted's Chris Patt and "Reba"'s Steve Howey) to complete their perfect wedding pictures. There's just one problem: The wedding planner accidentally books their ceremonies on the same day, and madness ensues from this fatal flaw in the brides' plans.
(01/09/09 12:00am)
Released on Christmas Day, the new movie Marley & Me could not be a better Christmas gift. Presenting an endearing, down-to-earth story filled with adorable Labrador puppies, Marley & Me will leave children and adults alike wishing they had received a puppy under their Christmas trees.Based on the 2005 nonfiction book Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog, the film follows the lives of real-life columnist John Grogan (Drillbit Taylor's Owen Wilson) and his wife Jenny (The Break-Up's Jennifer Aniston) through their experiences with their dog Marley. Marley & Me tells part of John's life story, including John buying Marley as a puppy, Jenny's miscarriage, job changes and the births of their three children, by paralleling these events with Marley's unruly behavior, such as Marley digesting Jenny's new jewelry or tearing up the house.
(01/09/09 12:00am)
Adam Sandler's funny but down-in-the-dumps guy routine just is not working anymore.The act may have come across as comical in The Water Boy, and Sandler got away with it in his recent film I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry because of adequate box office returns.
(12/05/08 12:00am)
The newly-released film Australia is nothing short of fantastic. Its breathtaking cinematography, genuinely believable actors and epic plot are sure to attract Academy Award nods and happy audiences.Australia tells the story of World War II-era Englishwoman Sarah Ashley (The Golden Compass' Nicole Kidman), who flies to Darwin, Australia, to visit her philandering husband and his bankrupt ranching company.
(12/05/08 12:00am)
Four Christmases may advertise itself as a funny, family-oriented Christmas movie, but it falls short on both claims. With comedy rooted in slapstick bathroom humor punctuated by bursts of tacky innuendo, it will leave the audience both disgusted and uncomfortable.The film introduces audiences to Kate (Rendition's Reese Witherspoon) and Brad (Fred Claus's Vince Vaughn), the modern couple whose commitment is to never commit to each other - or each other's families. Annoyed by the friction of both of their divorced sets of parents, Kate and Brad never visit their families and instead go on vacations over the holidays. One year, unfortunately, they are caught in the act of leaving for vacation and must visit every single parent: her sex-obsessed mom (Step Brothers' Mary Steenburgen), her surprisingly classy dad (Pride and Glory's Jon Voight), his New Age mom (Hot Rod's Sissy Spacek) and his redneck dad (Lucky You's Robert Duvall), along with all of their siblings (including Flicka's Tim McGraw and Iron Man's Jon Favreau). This gives a total of four Christmas celebrations, hence the title of the film.
(11/07/08 12:00am)
With a timely release that coincided with the presidential campaign, director Oliver Stone presents his new political film, W, as a caricature of soon-to-be-former President George W. Bush. Through this caricature, Stone creates a unique hybrid film that successfully incorporates the characteristics of both a documentary and a drama so as to effectively reach beyond the limited audience of a traditional documentary by highlighting - or, rather, sensationalizing - the more scandalous events of Bush's life.W tells the story of the life of Bush (American Gangster's Josh Brolin) by mixing the events of his years in the presidency with events that occurred during his college days and his journey to the Texas governor's office. The audience sees a young Bush partying at Yale, dealing with strained relationships with his parents (Spider-Man 3's James Cromwell and The Stone Angel's Ellen Burstyn) and meeting his future wife, Laura (Lovely, Still's Elizabeth Banks).
(10/31/08 12:00am)
Most threequels don't make it in the box offices. In fact, they are usually absolute flops. Aside from the tremendously successful Spider-Man 3, other attempts, such as Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over and The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, turn out dry and boring and rely mostly on regurgitating the humor already used up in the first film. Disney's new High School Musical 3: Senior Year, however, is an exception to this rule. As the first of the High School Musical television films brought to the big screen, Disney produced a film whose quality goes beyond that of the usual threequel.As the title implies, High School Musical 3: Senior Year finds the characters of the original High School Musical cast in the midst of creating a play for their senior theater class while making decisions about where they want to go to college. Troy (Hairspray's Zac Efron) debates between playing basketball or further pursuing theater, and Gabriella (High School Musical 2's Vanessa Hudgens) faces saying goodbye to Troy when she heads off to Stanford. The supporting characters of Sharpay (The Suite Life of Zach and Cody's Ashley Tisdale), Ryan (College Road Trip's Lucas Grabeel), Taylor (High School Musical 2's Monique Coleman) and Chad (Jump In!'s Corbin Bleu) add to the flurry of college decisions and the school play.
(09/26/08 12:00am)
Imagine a hybrid film that combines the metropolitan feel of The Devil Wears Prada, the sappy sweetness about four friends of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and the high drama of "Gossip Girl." All great to watch separately, these elements absolutely fail when combined into one movie like the newly-released The Women, based on the 1936 play by Clare Boothe Luce.A chick flick without a directed plot line and a drama without enough ethos to make the viewer feel for the characters, The Women is a disappointment.
(08/22/08 12:00am)
Audience reaction to the big screen is usually a good prediction of the success of a movie because the audience - not the critic - is the ultimate judge. If the audience screams with laughter, instead of fright, at a poorly choreographed war scene, the film is probably a flop. If the audience collectively laughs in the right places, sighs in understanding of a character's disappointment or cries at a touching scene, the movie is probably a winner that will rightfully hold its place in the box office and in the hearts of moviegoers.The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 is no exception to this rule. Its audience - consisting of an overwhelming majority of girls - did just that: They laughed, cried and sighed in all of the right places, awarding the film a thumbs-up as a touching, sentimental movie that is worth noting during this summer's film season.
(03/14/08 12:00am)
Penelope is not practical. She has the face of a beautiful wood nymph and the voice of a fairy, but also the pronounced nose of a pig. She lives in a modern world of high technology subdued by 1950s clothing and milk trucks that hearken back to the early twentieth century. Like its principal character, the movie Penelope is neither practical nor provocative enough for thrill-seeking audiences but is perfect for a quiet, simple afternoon viewing.Afflicted by an ancient family curse, Penelope (Black Snake Moan's Christina Ricci) follows the demands of her aristocratic parents (Monster House's Catherine O'Hara and Corpse Bride's Richard E. Grant) that she cover her pig's nose and ears to hide her secret from the public. Unfortunately, the only way to break the curse and restore her features is to find the one man who will love Penelope for who she is. To discover him, she depends on the help of a sassy new friend (Rendition's Reese Witherspoon), a sensitive musician (Atonement's James McAvoy), a haughty blue blood (Pride and Prejudice's Simon Woods) and a midget reporter (Underdog's Peter Dinklage).
