So, We Bought a Zoo is based on a true story about a single parent who brought his family back together again by buying a zoo--stop laughing. Did I mention it’s directed by Cameron Crowe (Almost Famous, Jerry Maguire), stars Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson, and features an impressive musical score by Sigur Rós frontman Jónsi Birgisson? But then again, that storyline…hm, keep it up, ... more >
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We Bought a Zoo
The right movie to cap an unremarkable year
Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson
Directed by Cameron Crowe
Sucker Punch
Fantastic meet boring
Emily Browning, Vanessa Hudgens and Abbie Cornish
Directed by Zack Snyder
Zack Snyder’s shortcomings as a director come through loud and clear in "Sucker Punch," a video game in search of a film. Emily Browning plays Baby Doll, a young woman committed to a mental institution by her evil step-father--or is it an upscale gentlemen's club? Baby tends to escape into her dream world a lot and for some reason a strip club where the evil psychiatrists and orderlies (Carla ... more >
Paul
E.T. phone Comedy Central
Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Seth Rogen
Directed by Greg Mottola
“Paul” is another alien movie that feels like ET just phoned it in from home. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost (Hot Fuzz) play Graeme and Clive, two British comic book geeks who decide to go on a tour of America’s famous alien tourist spots (think area 51). They come face to face with the real thing when they meet Paul (voiced by Seth Rogen), a little green alien who escaped from a government lab ... more >
Hall pass
Delivers most of the goods
Owen Wilson, Jason Sudeikis and Christina Applegate
Directed by Bobby Farrelly
Could "Hall Pass" be the nail in the coffin for the Farrelly brothers' careers? A long time ago these guys used to be able to reach into the bottom of the barrel and pull out a real gag--now they just settle for cheap shocks. Their script, which they wrote with Pete Jones and Kevin Barnett, is a good idea that, put in more capable hands could have been a much better movie. Instead, it’s ... more >
Unknown
Strangely Liam Neeson establishes himself as action hero
Liam Neeson, January Jones, and Diane Kruger
Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra
Liam Neeson’s life gets "taken" and he has to fight to get it back in Unknown, the star’s best attempt so far at banking on his action hero personae. Sure Unknown is like a smorgasbord of other thrillers (the Bourne series and Frantic chief among them) rolled up into one but it does so many things right that I barely even noticed the resemblance until the lights in the theater came up. Neeson ... more >
The Company Men
A legacy that endures
Ben Affleck, Chris Cooper and Tommy Lee Jones
Directed by John Wells
Company Men has a nice cast and John Wells is the very talented creator of one of television’s best dramas (ER), but you have to wonder, why would anyone want to watch this dismal film about the economic crisis? Ben Affleck plays Bobby Walker, a sales associate laid off by ship-building company GTX. For Bobby--used to conveying a sense of class with his Porsche and golf-club membership--to come ... more >
The Fighter
A movie narrative that keeps on giving
Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale and Amy Adams
Directed by David O. Russell
There is never a doubt about how the fights will turn out in “The Fighter,” except the ones that play out within the family of Mickey Ward. Dickey Eklund (Christian Bale) at one time was called "Pride of Lowell, Massachusetts” because he managed to knock down Sugar-Ray Leonard (though some would say Sugar-Ray tripped). Now he mostly spends his time training his brother Mickey (Mark ... more >
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