Could there be a better week for Sacha Baron Cohen to release a film called “The Dictator”? A few days ago, Cohen parked a camel on the Croisette at the Cannes Festival, in what seemed like the first act of a cult of personality. Paring a touch of showmanship, a frisky film, and the spotlight of the festival, the star of “Borat” all but declared himself the worldwide ruler of ... more >
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REVIEW – “The Dictator”
"A dictator must adapt to succeed"
Sacha Baron Cohen, Ben Kingsley and Anna Faris
Directed by Larry Charles
“The Five-Year Engagement”-REVIEW
Jason Segel and Emily Blunt share a loose, playful chemistry
Jason Segel, Emily Blunt and Chris Pratt
Directed by Nicholas Stoller
When Nicholas Stoller and Jason Segel introduced "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" in 2008 it represented the low point for the Apatow factory, during the phase when it produced any old comedy premise that could fit on the back of a bank receipt. The filmmakers probably didn’t go in thinking, “we’re going to make a stalker fantasy laughfest,” but that’s what came out the other ... more >
REVIEW – The Lucky One
Where an unidentified photo doubles as good luck charm
Zac Efron, Taylor Schilling and Blythe Danner
Directed by Scott Hicks
Have you ever been to Louisiana? It’s creepy. There are nine populated areas and a lot of dark waters with things that can eat you. The swamps probably stay dark in the daytime just to make it all creepier. And the thing is, I think they like it creepy. So I have a hard time imagining Louisiana swampland as a romantic setting for a movie. Nonetheless, The Lucky One gives it a try, featuring a ... more >
Lockout – SUPERMAX IN SPACE
Space / Prison / Year 2079
Guy Pearce, Maggie Grace and Vincent Regan
Directed by James Mather
There’s a famous Hollywood joke about how you can describe any action movie over the past twenty years as something like ”Die Hard in an orbital maximum-security prison.” That would be the one that applies to the very entertaining Lockout, a movie that is Die Hard by way of Star Wars by way of Blade Runner by way of La Femme Nikita by way of The Fifth Element by way of Escape from New York ... more >
The Hunger Games-REVIEW
Following in the footsteps of Katniss Everdeen
Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Woody Harrelson
Directed by Gary Ross
The Hunger Games will sap up comparisons to science fiction. That’s what happens with stories about futuristic dystopias and freaky hovercraft. The better comparison is to Roman or Biblical epics of the fifties. Its story, of the youth of twelve outlying provinces exploited for the bloodsport of a wealthy and perverse capital, is reminiscent of Ben Hur. It even has a grand chariot parade, with ... more >
Top-notch fx in THE WRATH OF THE TITANS – REVIEW
Feel the wrath, baby!
Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson and Rosamund Pike
Directed by Jonathan Liebesman
Homer’s memorized recitals of the stories of the heroes and gods certainly required a attention span. The Wrath of The Titans certainly does not. It demands only the attention typically demanded by modern Hollywood blockbuster screenwriting. But would Homer, in all his “As I lay dying, the woman with the dog face wouldn’t close my eyes as I descended into Hades”-ness, been better ... more >
21 Jump Street
We won't lie: T.V. adaptation turns out an epic fail
Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum
Directed by Chris Miller and Phil Lord
21 Jump Street isn’t just another forgettable adaptation of a television program, the disappearance of which no one laments. Mais non! The only interesting thing about this one is how it inadvertently ended up on the red carpet to greet the arrival of Hollywood’s unexpected leading men. Channing Tatum looks the part. The Hollywood heartthrob of a million female fantasies, he has ... more >
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