Rarely have I rolled my eyes, or wanted to gag, more than while watching New Year’s Eve, director Garry Marshall’s nigh unbearable Valentine’s Day follow-up, a movie seemingly constructed to be the Gone with the Wind of soft-serve rom-com mash-ups, and run nearly as long.
Read More Abigail Breslin, Ashton Kutcher, blu-ray, comedy, David, DVD, Garry Marshall, Hilary Swank, Josh Duhamel, Katherine Heigl, New Year's Eve, Robert De Niro, romance, Sarah Jessica ParkerDirected by Cameron Crowe, We Bought a Zoo is the story of Benjamin Mee (Matt Damon) who moves his two kids Dylan and Rosie (Colin Ford and Maggie Elizabeth Jones) to a dilapidated zoo, to get away from all the reminders of his recently deceased wife. Dylan is a dark and moody teenager, and Rosie [...]
Read MoreAfter getting over my initial surprise that its makers didn’t stoop to calling it a threequel, I actually discovered I sort of enjoyed this third Alvin and the Chipmunks, more than the first two, anyway, and with considerable wincing at the humiliation co-star David Cross endures for a paycheck.
Read MoreCarnage comes with an excellent pedigree. It features the talents of Oscar winners Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, Christoph Waltz, and Oscar nominee John C. Reilly. Their collective filmographies contain some stellar performances, but I don’t think that this was one of them. Roman Polanski (also an Oscar winner for The Pianist) co-wrote the screenplay (with [...]
Read MoreAnyone who’s ever seen Adventures in Babysitting will instantly recognize The Sitter as little more than a copy of that classic 1987 comedy, albeit a crass, lazy and at times bizarre copy that represents a new career low for director David Gordon Green.
Read MoreIn a music magazine… sometime ago… a paraphrased quote… Nostalgia is for someone who’s stopped dreaming. But if we dream of our past, it’s still dreaming, isn’t it? Time has only marinated these memories so they can gestate and reform. We can start again with the rich loam of our history… we can… wait, that’s [...]
Read MoreMy review of the redo of Footloose reworks the title song to the best of my limited songwriting ability. If you know the song, it should be fun. If you don’t, just enjoy it as a poem.
Read MoreBEFORE: I address you, gentle reader, from the precipice. I am held in thrall to a mercenary arrangement I made many moons ago with a colleague, to wit: I must watch and review Jack & Jill, the new comedy wherein Adam Sandler plays two roles, one of which is a woman (surprisingly, this seems to [...]
Read MoreRubber-faced British funnyman Rowan Atkinson, aka Mr. Bean, reprises his silly spy persona in Johnny English Reborn, a mildly amusing follow-up to the enjoyable 2003 spy spoof that, like its parent, is perfect for those who find the Austin Powers movies too obscene.
Read MoreThe Myth of the American Sleepover is an independent film, directed by newcomer David Robert Mitchell, featuring a large cast of amateur actors. It’s set during the last week of summer, before school starts up again. The teens attend various parties and sleepovers, many of which overlap. The four storylines follow Maggie (Claire Sloma), Rob [...]
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