So quick, "Back to the Future" meets "The Hangover." You pretty much have to get that thought out of the way before discussing "Hot Tub Time Machine," a film that deserves an Oscar for its title alone. Famously Howard Hawks designed Rio Bravo as a response to "High Noon," a film he couldn’t stand. You get the feeling that director Steve Pink and writer-by-committee Josh Heald, Sean Anders ... more >
Archives for March 2010
ARCHIVES
Hot Tub Time Machine
A comparative study
John Cusack, Clark Duke and Craig Robinson
Directed by Steve Pink
How to train your dragon
Everything you know about dragons is wrong
Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler and Craig Ferguson
Directed by Dean DeBlois
“How to Train Your Dragon,” or as I like to call it “That Viking is out of my League,” is the second film in as many weeks in which actor Jay Baruchel ("She's out of my league") plays a scrawny nerd looking to find himself. It also happens to be infinitely more entertaining. He lends his voice to Hiccup, a hapless young Viking living in a village overrun by flying dragons. He longs to be like ... more >
The girl with the dragon tattoo
Well-worth catching at your local theatre
Noomi Rapace, Michael Nyqvist and Lena Andre
Directed by Niels Arden Oplev
Following drumbeats, Niels Arden Oplev’s “The Girl with the dragon tattoo” opened last May on thousands of European screens, and to wide acclaim. This week, North America finally gets to see it for the first time. For once, the hype isn’t hype. The film, based on the first of the Stieg Larsson Swedish thriller trilogy, is a miracle of taunt filmmaking and perfect casting. Clocking in at two hours ... more >
Police, Adjective
A police officer has a crisis of faith
Dragos Bucur, Vlad Ivanov and Irina Saulescu
Directed by Corneliu Porumboiu
Have you ever said that you would pay to watch your favorite actor read the dictionary? Well if you happen to be Romanian, now you can! Not only that – the dictionary happens to be one of the more action-packed sequences of Police-Adjective. Forced to read the definition of “police” after objecting to an assignment, the detective notes that it describes a form of story with drama and suspense. ... more >
The Bountyhunter
It's a job. It isn't personal. Well, maybe a little.
Jennifer Aniston, Gerard Butler and Gio Perez
Directed by Andy Tennant
Are you an inventor in California? Are you looking to find the Snuggie pathway to the American Dream? I have some advice. Create a Gigli detector. A what? A why? It’s obvious that celebrity power couples have a very hard time identifying cataclysmic vanity projects that will damage their career. While reading the script for 'The Bounty Hunter,' did Gerard Butler and Jennifer Aniston not notice ... more >
Repo Men
You're fired!
Jude Law, Forest Whitaker and Alice Braga
Directed by Miguel Sapochnik
Paris Hilton got there first but Jude Law proves this material is just as bad with an A-list actor. Based on Eric Garcia’s novel “Repossession Mambo” (and Hilton’s off-key musical “Repo: A Genetic Opera”), “Repo Men” (scripted by Garcia and Garrett Lerner) takes place in a not-too-distant future where bodily organs are scientifically created and sold for a hefty price. Law plays Remy, the man ... more >
Alice in Wonderland
You're invited to a very important date
Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter
Directed by Tim Burton
Have you ever heard this apocryphal story? NASA spent millions and millions of dollars to develop a pen that would work in space. The Russians simply gave their cosmonauts a pencil. That came to mind watching Tim Burton’s CGI cornucopia of Alice in Wonderland, in which no pixel was spared in creating the dream world. If you’re going to spend nine jillion dollars on a movie, is there some reason ... more >