The Social Network

The Social Network is a fast paced, gripping, thoroughly entertaining roller coaster ride of a movie. It tells a big story but it starts out small, in a bar just down the street from Harvard, where Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) and his girlfriend, Erica Albright (Rooney Mara), are having a conversation – more like an argument – over a couple of beers, discussing Mark’s intense desire to join one of Harvard’s exclusive social clubs. The dialogue is so sharp, so witty, and so fast paced that I actually leaned forward in my seat to catch it all, and as soon as the scene was over I wanted to watch it again. And that wasn’t even the best part of the film.

The Social Network is, more than anything else, the story of one young man’s outsized drive and determination to pursue an idea. “The Facebook” is a narrow concept at first: “I want to take the entire social experience of college and put it online” Zuckerberg explains, and he starts out only allowing Harvard students access to the site, but he quickly sees the value of opening it up to other colleges, and then to the world, essentially putting the entire social experience of everyone online. The film shows the early, frantic days of programming in Zuckerberg’s Harvard dorm room, and then follows Facebook’s founder when he leaves school and heads boldly off to Silicon Valley, quickly evolving from wunderkind to titan. It’s a big story but it’s told on a really personal level, Zuck hanging out in his shabby dorm room with his geeky roommates, swigging beer and trying to come up with an online experience that will make his brainy upscale classmates take notice.

But there’s fallout, naturally – whenever anyone comes up with a new idea there is someone else who claims to have thought of it first. So the film time shifts back and forth between the high energy, untamed story of Facebook’s invention, and deadly quiet legal conference rooms where wounded parties demand that Zuckerberg give them their share of the wealth. Among the plaintiffs is Eduardo Saverin, played with tremendous honesty and vulnerability by soon-to-be-Spiderman Andrew Garfield. In the film, Saverin is Zuckerberg’s best friend and collaborator, but their visions for the direction of Facebook drive them apart – or, more accurately, lead Mark to push Eduardo away. Eduardo is particularly unhappy when Zuckerberg decides to take advice from Sean Parker, the inventor of Napster who has very big picture ideas for the future of Facebook. (Parker is played by Justin Timberlake in a serious star turn. The guy is great.)

Is The Social Network an truthful depiction of the founding of Facebook? Probably on some levels. Screenwriter Aaron Sorkin says he was writing a good story, not a factually accurate account. But he also says that the filmmaking team got close enough to the truth to make sure that the bottle of beer movie Zuck pulls from his dorm room ‘frig is the same kind that the real Zuckerman preferred. Jesse Eisenberg watched YouTube videos of Facebook’s founder in order to nail his carriage and mannerisms, although he built the character from the script, not real life research. (Eisenberg does tremendous work here, creating a kind of geek anti-hero that we can’t help but root for, even when he is at his most ruthless. I hope he gets an Oscar nod.) But while the film may not be completely accurate it is always completely authentic; director David Fincher pulls you into the action and makes you believe.  Don't see The Social Network to learn the truth about the founding of Facebook; see it because it is a terrific film, a great cinematic thrill ride. Playing everywhere. A

Photo credit: Relativity Media

Money Never Sleeps, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Owls

The big kahoona this weekend is the sequel to 1987's Wall Street. This one is called Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, the original name plus a pithy qualifier, summer blockbuster style. Critical reception to the new picture has been mixed, apparently it's not enough to be Oliver Stone anymore -- someone even suggested the controversial director has gone soft. But the cast is interesting, with Michael Douglas reprising Gordon "Greed is Good" Gekko, and Shia Lebeouf playing his latest acolyte, Jake Moore. Carey Mulligan mixes things up as Winnie, Gekko's estranged daughter and Jake's fiancée. Playing in lots and lots of theaters. Legends of the Guardian is also opening - I think of it as the Owl movie - it's a fantasy tale that has critics praising the 3-D visuals but not much else. You Again is a mother/daughter Mean Girls story that apparently is awful, even though it has Jamie Lee Curtis and Kristin Bell. Left over from last week: The Town, Devil, and Easy A. I will definitely see Wall Street, and I might try to catch Easy A. 

Next week The Social Network opens.  If early reviews are for real, this film is perfect.  Heaps of praise, and nothing else.  Should be interesting.

Critical Summaries

• Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps: Metacritic 59; Rotten Tomatoes 54

• Legends of the Guardians: Metacritic 56; Rotten Tomatoes 49

• You Again: Metacritic 27; Rotten Tomatoes 14

• The Town: Metacritic 74; Rotten Tomatoes 94

• Devil: Metacritic 44; Rotten Tomatoes 41

• Easy A: Metacritic 72; Rotten Tomatoes 85

Catfish

Catfish is a documentary, of sorts, but not like the informative ones that warn of disaster, or the entertaining, message-y ones in the style of Michael Moore. Catfish feels personal, like a home movie made by some very talented friends, a project that started out as a goof but took off when they realized they had stumbled onto a remarkable story. 

And this is how it starts: Nev Schulman is a twenty something New York City photographer specializing in elegant shots of dancers. One day he gets a package in the mail from Abby, an eight year old girl who lives in Michigan; it’s a watercolor painting of one of his photographs that had recently appeared in a national magazine. Nev is flattered and decides to encourage Abby; they exchange emails and become friends on Facebook, and he sends her more pictures to paint. Before long he is also Facebook friends with Abby’s mother, Angela, her father, her brother and, most notably, her nineteen year old sister Megan, who is very interested in Nev. The two launch into a relationship, using Facebook, text messages and actual phone calls to pursue what becomes a very steamy connection. This is what gets Nev’s brother, Rel and his partner Henry to turn on the cameras; they figure they have an opportunity to chronicle a 21st century Internet love story.

There are a lot of great things about Catfish, but my favorite is that the story unfolds for the audience exactly the same way it did for Nev and Rel and Henry; as the layers peel away and the virtual becomes real, we are right there with them. Rel said he always wanted to make a movie about his brother because he’s “just very charismatic and gets into a lot of trouble and gets himself into situations.” Big brother is right – Nev is a natural on screen, disarmingly honest, and we can’t help but root for him even when he is at his most reckless. Is it a story for our time? Well, yes and no: it’s about love, and loneliness, timeless human issues; but it’s also about how the modern virtual world provides unexpected outlets to cope. Catfish was a big hit at Sundance and it opens in a lot of cities around the country September 24. Check it out, it’s an interesting, fun time at the movies - but one important caveat: don't try to find out (or even guess) the ending; you'll ruin your own fun. B+






Image credit: Rogue

The Town, The Devil, and Emma Stone

It's been a long hot dry spell, but finally some high quality films are hitting the multiplex. Big opener this weekend is The Town: Ben Affleck stars in and directs a gritty crime thriller that is getting good to excellent reviews. (If you pay attention to movies at all, you’ve heard about this one; my film buff daughter turns 22 tomorrow and all she wants to do is see The Town and then have us take her out to a cool, pricey bar for dinner. This is part of a broader scope of birthday events that do not include her parents, but, we're happy she slotted us in.) In spite of the early critical enthusiasm, the LA Times reports that Easy A, the teen caper comedy very loosely based on The Scarlett Letter, is likely to beat The Town for the weekend box office crown. Apparently teen age girls are very reliable moviegoers. But, I imagine you saying, The Town has Jon Hamm! Don't teenage girls want to see Jon Hamm? Well, maybe not. He is like, 39, or something. Easy A has gotten some good reviews, most of the critics attributing the film's quality to the performance of its star, Emma Stone. Devil, a scare fest based on an idea from M. Night Shyamalan but written and directed by somebody else, will also hit screens (lots of them) this weekend. It’s about a bunch of people stuck in an elevator with Lucifer himself, and whenever the power flickers someone gets offed. No doubt there’s a twist at the end. Hardly any critics have seen this film, the few reviews out there are middling to bad.

If you happen to live in New York or Los Angeles, you can catch Never Let Me Go, playing in a handful of locations.  Based on the novel by Kazuo Ishiguro, it's a sci-fi tale about cloned children who are raised to become organ donors.  Early reviews say it is slow moving but brilliant.  Carey Mulligan and Keira Knightly star.  Also in limited release is a French movie called Heartbreaker; it's an entertaining old school romantic comedy, more Cary Grant/Doris Day than Jennifer Aniston/whoever. Fun to watch.  And if none of these appeal to you well, there's always Resident Evil, still playing everywhere.

My choices: The Town, Never Let Me Go, Easy A.  In that order. 

What to See: September 10, 2010

Last week the box office crown went to The American, the George Clooney picture that everyone went to see and no one liked. Don’t expect it to repeat this weekend. New on Friday: the fourth Resident Evil movie, where Milla Jovovich keeps trying to save the world, only this time in 3D, so she will be tossing weapons around and it will seem like they are flying right out of the screen. Could be fun if you're into that sort of thing. There’s also The Virginity Hit, a movie shot YouTube style about a teenager trying to lose his virginity and his friends who want to film it. It’s not getting a lot of love in the early reviewing , even though it was produced by Will Farrell and Adam McKay, the Funny or Die team. Apparently it’s more dead than funny. If you’re curious about whatever it was that happened to Joaquin Phoenix, there is a documentary about him opening this weekend, called I’m Still Here. Directed by Casey Affleck, it has been screened to mixed reviews at a film festival or two, but even critics who admire the film find it quite strange. Some think the whole thing is a hoax, and Phoenix’ best performance. That would be ironic.

Box Office Derby August 30

The Last Exorcism and Takers battled it out for the box office crown this weekend.  It looked like Exorcism was going to nab it, but at the last minute Takers pulled ahead.  Neither film is very good, though, so it hardly matters except to T.I., who starred in and produced Takers and wants to be sure that everyone knows his movie is number one.  Otherwise, this weekend's results look a lot like last weekend's, just with these two new movies on top.  So you got your Expendables, your Eat Pray Love, that stuff.  Vampires Suck sank a bit, and Scott Pilgrim slipped off the top ten.  Just not enough geek love.  Coming up the next few weeks we'll see serious fall films start to hit the theaters (aka, Oscar bait) and that should make movie going more interesting.  That will be a relief.

What to See -- August 27

There's a movie coming out this weekend called The Last Exorcism; I saw a trailer and it looks really scary. Set in rural Louisiana (where else?) it's about a preacher who makes the trek to an isolated farmhouse to save the soul of a demonic girl. Only he doesn't really believe in this stuff, so he brings a documentary crew along to expose his own fraud -- except this time, the possession seems to be real. Cool premise; decent, if limited, early reviews. Then there's Takers, about a bunch of seasoned criminals (including rapper T.I. and Chris Brown) determined to pull off one last heist, and we all know how that kind of thing usually turns out. Matt Dillon plays the "hardened" detective determined to stop the criminal escapade. Apparently light on plot but good with the action; reviews have been mixed, mostly bad. And there's that Avatar re-release.

These are slim pickings, so here are a couple of other thoughts: if you're looking for some movie fun, see Scott Pilgrim or The Other Guys. Both entertaining, lighthearted films. If you want something more challenging, look for a showing of the excellent (but slow moving) Winter's Bone, or the also good Kids Are All Right. That should do it.

Avatar Redux

OK, this is odd: James Cameron is re-releasing Avatar this weekend, with nine minutes of new footage showing Pandorans hunting sturmbeests, a fantastical creature that looks a lot like a stegosaurus. Do Pandorans eat these things? We don't know, but anyway now that the hunting scene is back Cameron has slipped the sturmbeests into a few other spots as well; I guess he thought we would have been confused before, if we were watching a big busy Pandoran battle and a couple of stegosauruses lumbered through. Cameron is also worried because Alice in Wonderland and How to Train Your Dragon opened shortly after Avatar (the first time), and he believes this caused a dearth of 3D screen availability for all those people who still wanted to pay a premium to see his movie. So he's putting it out there again, just to help his disappointed fans. And to show off the sturmbeests.  (Wanna see a sturmbeest?  Click here.  I would post it but I'm afraid James Cameron would get mad.)

In other box office news, turns out people are tired of paying a premium to see 3D movies; Piranha 3D had disappointing numbers last weekend, and Step Up 3D and that Cats and Dogs movie also failed to impress. Overall, the movie business is on track to match last summer's box office numbers but actual ticket sales are down -- Memorial Day weekend had the worst movie attendance numbers since 1993.  (Of course, it may also have had the worst movies since 1993.  Sex and the City 2, anyone?  Prince of Persia?)

Box Office Derby

Bit of a surprise on the weekend box office – Expendables was number one, with about $17 mill in tickets sold, everyone expected that, but Vampires Suck came in at number two, and no one saw that coming. Critics hated the Twilight spoof, but audiences showed up, giving the film a slight edge over Eat Pray Love; the Julia Roberts picture is sinking like a soft marshmallow in very hot chocolate, showing none of the staying power of Julie and Julia from last season. Scott Pilgrim continued its ride on the down elevator, looking more and more like it will have to find redemption in DVD or whatever. Piranha 3D did okay, though. They’re already planning a sequel.

The Switch

Jennifer Aniston is Kassie, a successful career woman with a ticking clock. She decides to act before it is too late, and announces her intention to find a sperm donor and have a baby. This comes as a shock to her neurotic best friend Wally, played by Justin Bateman; he gives her dozens of reasons why it’s a bad idea, but we can pretty much tell that he’s just put out because she’s not interested in his sperm. That, and he’s probably in love with her – we know that because she’s Jennifer Aniston, and this is a romantic comedy. There’s not much else in the plot to give their relationship away – in contrast to films like When Harry Met Sally, or Broadcast News, where it is clear how much the two main characters enjoy each other’s company, these two mostly argue and act irritated with each other as the movies skips quickly along in order to get to the main event: the sperm switch.

Spoiler alert? Really? C’mon, the name of the film is The Switch, you know it’s coming.

So Justin Bateman finds himself in Kassie’s bathroom, face to face with her Viking sperm donor’s seed, and he’s drunk and not a little high from pills that Cassie’s friend Debbie (played with great humor by Juliette Lewis – where has she been?) has slipped him and he decides to have a little fun. Next thing we know, Viking seed has become neurotic seed, Kassie’s pregnant, and she moves away to raise her son in bucolic Minnesota. (I have to give some props to Justin Bateman here. For the sperm switch scene he’s alone in a bathroom, playing a drunk who is about to, well, donate. Potentially awkward and cringe worthy, but he pulls it off. It’s not hilarious but it’s amusing.)

The best friends lose touch, until Kassie moves back, seven years later, with a kid who seems an awful lot like Wally. The film picks up at that point, because Thomas Robinson, who plays young Sebastian, is a terrific little child actor, and he and Bateman have great chemistry together. When the two of them are on screen, discussing their neuroses, it’s a lot of fun. The rest of the movie is predictable fluff, but if you’re in the mood for lighthearted nonsense, you could do worse than this one. Don’t rush out to see it, though, if you’re hoping for a big dose of Jennifer Aniston – she doesn’t get a lot of screen time. With a terrific supporting performance by Jeff Goldblum as Wally’s friend Leonard. It’s been years since I’ve enjoyed Goldblum this much. Playing all over but it had a disappointing first weekend so, if you want to see it in theaters, sooner is probably better than later. B-

Photo credit - Miramax

Where did the summer go? August 20, 2010

It's rumored that some East Coast school districts are starting up next week, no post labor day schedule for them, and plaintive parents are posting Facebook pictures of their near adult children settling into dorm rooms like there's something wrong with that. But the summer movie season isn't quite over, not when you've got a picture like Piranha 3D popping up in theaters this weekend. I remember the first Piranha; a bunch of us sneaked out of class to see it in a triple bill with Alligator and The Howling. It was, believe it or not, a John Sayles marathon.

This new Piranha is getting oddly good reviews, especially for Elisabeth Shue's performance and I like Elisabeth Shue. 3D sort of annoys me, especially the glasses and the dim screen, but I might show up. Also this weekend we've got The Switch; Jennifer Aniston and Justin Bateman starring in a comedy about a sperm donor baby and his dad's reluctance to embrace adulthood, in a funny way. Apparently Bateman outshines Aniston here, and the kid (Thomas Robinson) steals the show from both of them. Then there's the second installment of Nanny McPhee, for the younger set; and Lottery Ticket, about a kid from the projects who discovers he has a winning lottery ticket on a Friday, and has to wait until Monday to cash it, avoiding all sorts of pitfalls over the course of the weekend. Finally, among big openings, there's Vampires Suck, a satire parody movie that messes around with the "Twilight" series. I like the idea of this one but I don't know if I can sit through it. In any case, everyone seems to think that The Expendables will take the weekend again, and what is drawing people to this geriatric action pic I have no idea. Maybe I'll check it out.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

Scott Pilgrim

It’s hard to know where to start with this wacky, entertaining little film. Scott Pilgrim bends all kinds of storytelling rules, expecting us to ride along, say, when Scott, a lightweight, wimpy dude turns into a live action video game superhero, endures a colossal battle and then turns right back into his old persona, happily collecting his bonus coins from the floor (“Cool, coins!”) while his score totes up absurdly in the background. I love this stuff.

Scott Pilgrim, played by Michael Cera, is a shiftless twenty something Canadian, who doesn’t have much going on except a band (Sex Bob-omb) where he plays a fierce bass guitar. His heart was “kicked in the butt” by a rock singer named Envy who left him behind when she got famous. Scott compensates by dating a 17 year old high school student, much to the chagrin of everyone he knows, and everyone he knows is kept well informed by his roommate Wallace (Kieran Culkin) who has superpowers himself when it comes to texting about Scott’s personal life. He can do it – literally – in his sleep.

Then Scott meets Ramona Flowers, an edgy young woman with purple hair; she delivers packages for the Canadian version of Amazon and occasionally shows up in Scott’s dreams because there’s a subspace in his brain she likes to use. (If you’re not a Scott Pilgrim aficionado you won’t understand what that means, and it never gets explained, but that’s the way this movie rolls.) Scott falls head over heels for Ramona but she’s got baggage: in order to date her, Scott has to defeat her seven evil exes (and, perhaps more frightening, break up with Knives Chau, his seventeen year old girlfriend). And so the video game battling begins, with the first of the evil exes mounting an assault in the middle of a Sex Bob-omb concert. Scott is baffled: “Wait! We're fighting over Ramona?” Evil Matthew Patel responds reasonably, “Didn't you get my email explaining the situation?”

This film is full of great characters, with Kieran Culkin nearly stealing the show as Wallace, a low key but sharp witted gay lothario who loves Scott like a brother but isn’t afraid to call him on his romantic peccadilloes. Anna Kendrick is terrific as Scott’s impatient, down to earth sister, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead is pitch perfect as the mysterious Ramona. And a shout out is due to Alison Pill, who plays Kim Pine, the drummer for Sex Bob-omb; Pill (looking oddly like a young Molly Ringwald) nails the acerbic wit and sharp insight that make Kim a welcome antidote to the freewheeling style of the rest of the gang.  Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is not a serious movie, but it creates its illogical universe with such care, each piece of the story fitting snugly into the next, that we quickly believe that the whole thing makes perfect sense. This is a really fun ride. B+

Girl is Getting a Dragon Tattoo

Rooney Mara

An actress named Rooney Mara has been cast in the high profile role of Lisbeth Salander in the American remakes of Stieg Larsson's Girl with the Dragon Tattoo stories.  If the rumors are true (and who the heck knows for sure) everyone from Kristin Stewart to Scarlett Johansson was in the running for the role.  Oh, and Ellen Page.  Her too.

Rooney is relatively unknown (she was in Youth in Revolt, and The Winning Season) but she was already set to make her mark in the hotly anticipated The Social Network.  With this casting,  she's on track to be an "It Girl."

Daniel Craig, currently out of Bond films to work on, was already cast in the role of Mikail Blomkvist, the journalist who collaborates with the fierce, brilliant Lisbeth to solve crimes.

Photo Credit - IMDB Pro

Summer Doldrums

The ReelFan is back!  Spent some time visiting elderly relatives and found it oddly difficult to get internet access in retirement homes and a place called Wisconsin. Fortunately, it's been a boring summer at the movies, so not much to report.

But let's talk anyway. Expendables took the weekend box office -- no big surprise, early "polling" showed enormous interest in the 80's throwback action picture. Julia Roberts did pretty well with her Eat Pray Love debut, but distributor Sony is already talking about needing a strong showing overseas to get production costs covered. Seems that there wasn't enough love in the audience to assure steady domestic box office in the next few weeks (audiences gave the film a "B" on Cinemascore -- not a good sign from an opening weekend crowd). Scott Pilgrim pretty much tanked, which shouldn't surprise me since my hipster twenty-something daughters had no interest in going. "I'm sick of that guy," my oldest said of Michael Cera, and that was that.

The Kids Are All Right

Annette Bening and Julianne Moore are Nic and Jules, a gay couple raising up two teenage kids in a perfect little urban family setting; Norman Rockwell for the twenty first century. But like a Norman Rockwell painting, the outward appearance is a little too perfect, not quite real. Nic and Jules’ relationship is rocky, cracks showing everywhere, in spite of their charming craftsman home with the Volvo wagon parked out front. These two are an odd couple, Nic a tough, self controlled doctor, who pesters the children to write timely thank you notes and drinks too much wine; Jules is a free spirit, experimenting with careers and enjoying the moment. “If it were up to Jules,” Nic quips as she pours another glass of red, “we would skip the thank you notes and just send out good vibes.” Hilarious, actually, and as the film gets going there is a lot of funny dialogue and scenes that make any parent – or any teen, or any former teen – cringe with comic recognition.

And the kids are all right, or anyway, we’ve all seen worse. The oldest, Joni, played with heartbreaking vulnerability by Mia Wasikowska, is spending her last summer at home before she heads off to some sort of prestige college. Brother Laser (Josh Hutcherson), still in high school, asks a favor of his eighteen year old sister: he wants her to contact their sperm donor dad. She’s reluctant – “That could really hurt moms’ feelings” – but she complies, and soon Paul (Mark Ruffalo) crashes into their lives, bringing an energy and unpredictability that immediately appeals to Jules and puts Nic entirely on the defensive. Paul owns a restaurant called WYSIWYG – what you see is what you get, in computer speak – and that is an apt description of him: he is bearded and brash and sweaty, a self described “doer”; but he is also charming and friendly, even when confronted by Nic’s disapproving barrage of questions. “You must be the griller in the family,” he tells her, amiably.

I liked the beginning of this movie a lot, but it lost me towards the end, when screen writers Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Bloomberg seemed to lose their senses of humor (Cholodenko also directed). The tone of the film becomes dark and tense, and the thought provoking premise just unravels; it’s like the writers had this great, timely idea for a story and then couldn’t figure out what to do with it. I left the theater feeling vaguely unsettled and a little bit cheated; I came to see a comedy about American families, and found myself watching a predictably sorry, sudsy tale. With excellent performances from the whole cast, although Bening, Moore and Ruffalo have shone brighter in other roles. Playing in very limited release, going wider on a slow rollout. B 

The A Team

If you're stuck on the East Coast during a record setting heat wave and you have cabin fever but you can't stand to be outside, you might find yourself at a matinée showing of The A Team. Hey, it's cold in those southeastern theaters.

The A Team is a movie based on a TV show that I never saw. It's about a gang of tough guys,US Army Rangers who sign up for impossible assignments and succeed against all odds, usually by planning very carefully to take absurd risks. So these four dudes sit down in improvised war rooms and make intricate plans, not letting us in on too much so we don't see how all the pieces of their masterful plan come together until it's underway. It's sort of like the old Mission Impossible TV show without the brains, since mostly these guys blow stuff up and leap onto cars and then shoot people. They get shot at, too, but no one ever seems to hit them so it doesn't matter.

The characters are iconic, so we don't need to get to know them because we already know who they are. Liam Neeson plays Colonel Hannibal Smith, the brainy planner; Bradley Cooper is Lt. 'Faceman' Peck, the real cute finesse guy; B.A. Baracus is brawny Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson (Mr. T in the television show) and Sharlto Copley is Captain H.M. Murdock, a complete nut case who also happens to be a terrific pilot. The plot involves -- well, there's missions and betrayals and something about Iraq, but mostly there's a lot of explosions and cool escapes and bad guys getting their just desserts. There is no reason to see this movie, but if you're in the mood for typical summer escapist fare, this will work. (Incidentally, since the characters are so familiar I felt like I understood them better than the ones in more splashy recent event films ... I'm looking at you, Christopher Nolan.) C+

Film Review: Robin Hood

When I was a kid I used to watch Robin Hood on Saturday mornings (I think it was the 1950's TV series, recycled years later for lack of better programming). It was a black and white adventure; Robin Hood was a good humored rascal, outsmarting the Sherriff of Nottingham, facing down King John, cheerfully rousting out evil while Maid Marian smiled ruefully and the Merry Men raucously celebrated their weekly triumphs over wealthy bad guys.

There is none of that kind of fun in Ridley Scott’s version of the tale. This Robin Hood is a prequel to the old story, where our hero goes on a Crusade with King Richard and then, returning home, promotes the adoption of the Magna Carta. There are no high spirited romps; Robin and his Merry Men don’t rob from the rich or give to the poor (Robin does threaten Friar Tuck, so that the priest will give some of the church’s grain to the peasant farmers; inexplicably, Tuck takes it well and they quickly become good friends); there is precious little archery; and the cozy Greenwood, where the crew makes camp, doesn’t even show up until the final scene, announced pointlessly by Marian in an awkward voice over.  This film is an historical slog with a character named Robin Hood stuck in the middle of it, and why, if director Scott was interested in 12th century English history he didn’t just make a movie about that, I don’t understand. It was an interesting time: France was trying to invade, King John, as the poet tells us, was not a good man, and the Magna Carta was on the verge of being ratified, a significant event in the history of western democracy. There are probably some pretty good stories to be found in that era, no need to drag happy fictional Robin Hood into it.

Speaking of the hero, Russell Crowe plays Robin with somber decorum, or maybe he was just bored; in any case there is no twinkle in his eye, no sense that he is on the verge of hatching a crafty plan. His men seem less Merry than bewildered, and they are rarely on screen. The one bright light is Cate Blanchett as Marian, here is an iconic character badly in need of a makeover, and the film delivers. This Marian is tough, independent, and refreshingly not at all interested in running off to a nunnery. She deserved more screen time.

Towards the end of this film there is a terrific scene. It’s a panoramic shot of the English coast line, with menacing French boats approaching and English soldiers spread out along the shore, determined to repel the invasion with bows and arrow and swords and even more primitive weapons. It’s a great, brief depiction of the vulnerability of the island nation and the determination of her people to protect it. Once the battle starts, though, it all gets silly again. With William Hurt as some sort of wise royal counselor and Mark Strong as the bad guy, as usual. Playing everywhere, but it’s okay to wait for the DVD. Grade: C

Twilight Treat

I feel a little bad about harshing on Bella and Edward the other day, and anyway it's Robert Pattinson's birthday (he's 24), so here's a new clip from Eclipse. It doesn't have Bella or Edward but it has evil Dakota Fanning, and I just love evil Dakota Fanning.

It's on iTunes, click here.

What's playing: 5/14/2010

Summer blockbuster season continues this weekend with Robin Hood, starring Russell Crowe and directed by Ridley Scott. This is the team that brought us Gladiator ten years ago, and that made some money and won a bunch of awards, including the Oscar for Best Picture. Interestingly, the reviews for Gladiator were kind of middling, and Robin Hood is starting out that way too, with Kirk Honeycutt of the Hollywood Reporter marveling at Scott’s ability to tell a tale, while Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly thinks the whole thing is a stodgy waste of time. Also opening is Just Wright, a romantic comedy starring Queen Latifah as a physical therapist to sports stars, and Common as the NBA player who needs her help. (Probably they fall in love or something.) Not very many critics have seen this film, but the ones that have aren’t impressed. Finally among big openers is Letters to Juliet; starring Amanda Seyfried (Mama Mia, Dear John) as a traveler in Verona, Italy, who volunteers to answer heartsick letters to the fictional Juliet of Romeo and Juliet fame, and ends up playing Cupid to a woman (Vanessa Redgrave) and her long lost love. Again, critics aren’t wowed. If you’re looking for some fun, Iron Man 2 is hoping to continue its box office juggernaut this weekend, and did you hear about this little film, Babies? It’s a documentary about the first year in the life of four babies from around the world. It was a surprise hit last weekend, in a little documentary kind of way. Playing in scattered art house theaters around the country. Might be a nice antidote to blockbuster fever.

Me personally, I will probably see Babies. Our oldest is graduating from college this weekend, and my husband has gotten all sentimental on me. So it looks like Babies from here.

Tough Times in Twilight Town

My niece is a big fan of the Twilight movies.  I don't really get it, but they make a lot of money, so I've seen them, mostly out of curiosity.  This is what I think: Bella and Edward are a colossally boring couple -- far as I can tell, they have nothing in common,  mostly they just stare at each other, all infatuated and then Bella falls asleep and Edward stares at her until she wakes up.  Quite a pair.


But there's trouble in Twilight town: Summit Entertainment decided to turn the four Twilight books into five movies,  and because of that the lead actors (Taylor Lautner, Kristin Stewart and Robert Pattinson) all re-negotiated their contracts to get more money.  This upset a couple of the non-lead characters - specifically Ashely Greene and Kellan Lutz, who play Alice and Emmett Cullen.  They want more money too, a whole lot more, and Summit isn't so interested in negotiating with them.  Summit is known to play hard ball, they dumped Rachelle Lefevre after the first film when she attempted to up her salary and get some scheduling concessions.  


Now, the Emmett Cullen character doesn't bring much to the party (okay, I've read the books too.  My niece, remember?) but Alice is a bright light in the cast, with a useful ability to see the future.  So I think it would be risky to ask fans to accept a new Alice.  But then, it's possible that Twilight lovers won't notice; they seem mostly interested in Bella, Edward and Jacob.  And those three are in for the long haul.  

Review: Iron Man 2

Iron Man 2 roared into town this weekend, kicking off the summer blockbuster season with a fun loving bang. Is it as good as the original? Nah, but it’s pretty good. Robert Downey Jr. returns as charming bad boy Tony Stark, brilliant inventor of the Iron Man Suit. Tony’s been busy since we last saw him, taking on American’ enemies in his high tech armor, and he pretty much believes he has single handedly made the world safe for democracy. “I have privatized peace,” he announces without humility to a Senate Committee. America is grateful and Stark expects her to be, he loves being a superstar almost as much as he loves his electronically endowed superpower abilities. But the Pentagon isn’t so happy; they don’t like leaving American security in the hands of a single private citizen, and they worry that their dependence on Iron Man will make them look foolish when someone else – particularly an evil someone else – invents a copy cat suit of their own.

Enter Russian bad guy Ivan Vanko, played by a growling Mickey Rourke; Ivan’s father was on old colleague of Tony’s dad, and Ivan believes that much of the young Stark’s mega-billionaire success comes from work the two elder scientists did together. But Tony s jet setting around the world with adoring fans in his wake, and Ivan is stuck in Siberia; he was robbed, in other words, and besides being threatening and deadly, the Russian is a brilliant – if wildly demented – scientist in his own right, so he sets about getting even.

It’s a pretty thin story line, but it’s a clean, straightforward one; you never feel like the special effects guys sent the writers home early one day so they could slip in a lot of superfluous explosions. There are some inexplicable plot developments, like when Scarlett Johansson arrives on the scene; any comic book fan or anyone who read the plentiful advance press for this movie knows she is supposed to be the Black Widow, but that doesn’t really come up in this film. She’s called Natalie, and she’s a notary, or some sort of assistant, but she’s sultry and tough and dangerous in a fight, and at first Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) doesn’t like her but then she does, and then Natalie/Black Widow hangs out for a while with Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and none of it seems to matter. She does get a terrific action scene, though, where she spins, twists and kicks her way through a building full of highly trained hit guys, leaving no one standing, then breaks through a steel door, plops down in front of a computer and brilliantly unravels a complex bit of code, temporarily saving the day. (Now that’s a cool superhero – let’s have a movie about her.)

There are a couple of other challenges in the film, besides the evil Ivan: the gizmo that Tony Stark sticks in his chest wall to keep him alive is having a toxic effect on his blood, so he thinks his life might be in danger but he still can’t figure out how to tell old Pepper Potts he loves her. It’s tough to be a romantic superhero, but it it’s a blast to be Robert Downey Jr.; this brilliant actor takes such unconflicted, unapologetic joy in his superhero role that he alone is worth the price of admission. Playing in a record number of theaters all over the country. It doesn’t matter where you live, you can see this movie, probably right now.  B

Photo Credit: Paramount Pictures

City Island

Charming, lighthearted movie. Andy Garcia plays Vince Rizzo, the weary patriarch of a Bronx family – well, it’s not the Bronx, exactly, but City Island, a little strip of beachfront connected to the Bronx by an old fashioned bridge. Vince is proud of his roots in this little plot of urban land, living with his wife and family in the house his grandfather built, but the picturesque setting is about all that’s pretty here – the Rizzo family is a dissembling mess. Vince is a correctional officer, working in a prison, but he wants to be an actor, so he takes classes on the sly; wife Joyce (Julianna Margulies) is certain he’s having an affair. His college daughter Vivian (Dominik García-Lorido) is working in a strip joint and only pretending to go to school, and Vince Jr. (Ezra Miller) has a fondness for very unusual adult websites. They all manage to get along, uneasily, until Vince has an epiphany at acting class, and decides to invite a prison inmate into their home to finish up his sentence as a “guest’ of the Rizzo family; Vince claims he just wants to the kid to help him build a bathroom, but he’s hiding the truth: Tony Nardello (Steven Strait) is Vince’s son from an old relationship.

And that is one secret too many. Tony is naturally curious about why Vince has taken an interest in him and he easily senses that there is a lot of stuff not being said around the family dinner table. Not afraid to pry, the young stranger stumbles on one secret after another, stirring up an entertaining whirlwind of revelations.

There’s nothing serious going on in this movie; even though it seems to be tackling important family issues, nothing particularly profound gets said, we’re here for fun, not to learn a lesson. Still there is something very intimate about the way the story gets told, the characters are familiar, like old acquaintances or neighbors, and by the end you kind of want to join them for a beer. Andy Garcia turns in a solid performance as Vince; his movie audition scene is worth the price of admission. And Steven Strait, as Vince’s felonious son, is a bright light in every one of his scenes. Emily Mortimer also charms as Vince's encouraging actor friend.  City Island had a slow start at the box office but it hung on, got some good word of mouth and is playing in theaters all over the country. Check it out if you’re looking for a lighthearted night out.  B

What to See (or not) 4/29/2010

This weekend sees the opening of Nightmare on Elm Street, which opened once before in 1984, and it isn’t clear why we need to do this again. Jackie Earle Haley plays Freddy Krueger, which is kind of cool because I like Jackie Earl Haley, but I probably won’t see this movie. Early reviews suggest it’s a pale reflection of the original. A family friendly film called Furry Vengeance is also hitting lots of screens, all about a housing development that makes a bunch of woodland creatures mad, so they get even and teach everyone about good environmental stewardship. Actually it seems like a cute idea, but apparently that’s all it is; critics hate this thing. Really hate it. Left over from last weekend, we have The Losers, which got a few medium reviews and lots of terrible ones; didn’t make much money either. The Back Up Plan, also continuing from last week, is hanging on to a bunch of theaters but not a lot of high expectations. It’s an average little rom-com, where Jennifer Lopez plays a woman who decides to have a baby with a sperm donor, because Mr. Right is never going to show up, and then Mr. Right shows up. Hilarity tries to ensue.

Hollywood is holding its collective breath, waiting for the opening of Iron Man 2 on May 7, kicking off the Big Summer Movie Season. Then they believe that gleeful crowds will roar into theaters, and spend a lot of money. Meanwhile, not much to see. 

What to See: 4/16/2010

Couple of films opening big this weekend: Kick-Ass and Death at a Funeral. Kick-Ass is a comic book movie about a bunch of regular folks who decide to become superheroes. Depending on who you listen to, Kick-Ass is either “the best superhero movie since The Dark Night” (ReelViews) or “morally reprehensible” (Roger Ebert). It is rated R, has a lot of violence, cussing, and a 13 year old girl playing an 11 year old girl who kills people -- bad people, but still. Kick Ass will win the box office derby this weekend; the only question is by how much. Death at a Funeral is a remake of a 2007 film of the same name; this one was made with a mostly African American cast. Variety calls it a “strained, mirthless comedy” and Roger Ebert “laughed all the way through.” What’s with old Roger, anyway? I thought the original was mostly entertaining, and I would probably see this one if I have a free afternoon. In limited release, The Joneses is the story of a perfect family that turns out not to be a family at all – mom, dad, and the teenage kids are employees of a marketing company that sells “lifestyles,” and all the attendant fashion and electronic gizmos that go along with that. Basically, the folks next door are living, breathing subliminal advertisements. So far, pretty average reviews for this one; seems the film doesn’t really go anywhere with its intriguing premise. Other than that, you can still catch the 3-D trio (Clash, Alice, Dragon) or Date Night – although if you’re having a nice time at dinner, and you’re wondering if you should order more wine, or rush off to catch Date Night, go with the wine.

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

Okay, bear with me as I bring up one more lightweight pop culture news item: The Man from UNCLE movie is back on track! The Hollywood Reporter is saying that Max Borenstein, who you haven’t heard of, has signed on to write the script, and David Dobkin (Wedding Crashers) is set to direct.

Now if you’re a little nervous that the Wedding Crashers dude is in charge well, who can blame you? No one wants Vince Vaughn to play Napoleon Solo. But the good news is that there were only three and a half seasons of the original show, so these guys shouldn’t have too much trouble catching up and getting a sense of the tone of the series. And maybe we will get a cool, hip, action packed big screen re-telling that is true to the old show -- instead of a travesty like the Tom Cruise Mission Impossible movies. (Love ya, Tom, but it’s the Mission Impossible Team, there’s supposed to be a bunch of multi-talented people working together, not just you, on a motorcycle, shooting at stuff.) This news is so new that there is no way to tell when this movie might come out. It just seems more likely that it will.  Open Channel D!

Whedon to Direct The Avengers

You heard it here first – but only if this is the first place you read it – Joss Whedon appears to be on track to direct The Avengers, the comic book movie that brings together Iron Man and Captain America and Thor and probably other superheroes, depending on how all of their flicks do between now and when The Avengers starts filming.  Now I’m not a huge comic book fan (I like comic book movies, but generally don’t read up ahead of time) but I know that this project has caused some excitement in that community, and those guys usually have a big impact on the buzz of a new comic book film when it comes out.  Joss Whedon is popular with this crowd and why not?  The Buffy-Angel-Firefly-Dr.Horrible creator is really good at this stuff.

But don’t overreact – The Avengers isn't slated to open until May 2012.  But, at least we’ll get to see it before the world ends that December.

Review: Date Night

Steve Carell and Tina Fey pair up for their first big screen comedy. They play Phil and Claire Foster, a middle aged couple who are afraid that their marriage has lost its spark. To rediscover the old magic, they leave the kids with a babysitter and head off to a hip restaurant in Manhattan for dinner - but they can’t get a table, so they impulsively claim someone else’s reservation. This is a bad idea: turns out the couple they are impersonating is shaking down a corrupt district attorney, and Claire and Phil end up spending their romantic evening running around Manhattan, desperately trying to evade a couple of gun toting thugs.

The premise is good, but boy, is the script mediocre. It bounces from thriller to screwball comedy and back again, and then tries to mix the two, but it never goes far enough in any direction to be really funny or suspenseful. And the screenwriter tries to address the whole monotonous marriage thing by arbitrarily tacking on the occasional relationship discussion – Phil and Claire actually pull their getaway car over so they can “talk,” when they should be driving for their lives. There are also some weird character shifts: in the beginning, both Phil and Claire seem like interesting, smart, slightly wacky people whose spontaneous selves have gotten lost in the routines of day to day family life. But by the end of the movie, we are asked to believe that Phil is a crafty latent super spy, and Claire is unable to follow a simple line of reasoning. “I don’t know what’s going on,” she keeps moaning, and we wonder how that is possible, because there isn’t much happening at all.

All that being said, this isn’t a terrible movie, just kind of a disappointing one. It could easily wait for video but if you are looking for a night out, Date Night is good for some laughs and anyway, it’s fun to watch Tina Fey and Steve Carell work. B-


Photo - Twentieth Century Fox

Date Night opens and more on Kick Ass 4-9-2010

Date Night opens today; it’s the only new film opening nationwide, taking on the 3-D juggernaut (Alice, Dragon, Titans) that has dominated the box office for weeks.  Date Night is the big screen pairing of Steve Carell and Tina Fey in a screwball sort of comedy about a night out gone horribly wrong.  Critics have been pretty happy with the picture; while there’ve been a few snarky comments about the script and the director, most everyone enjoys watching the two stars.    Date Night has snagged almost as many theaters as Clash of the Titans, and the two will likely battle it out for the box office crown. 

Meanwhile, let’s talk Kick Ass some more.  (Did I mention I’m looking forward to this one?)  The film is rated R but mostly the trailers – the ones that screen in theaters -- have been PG.  This is normal; very few theaters will screen trailers that aren’t for general audiences, even before an R rated film.  But now, thanks to the Internets you can see the so called “red band” trailers (the background for the opening screen – “the following preview has been approved for …” is red, instead of green). Traffic for the Kick Ass red bands has been brisk, although there is some concern about violence, teen style sex talk, and the fact that a 13 year old girl uses the "c" word (not that "c" word.  The other "c" word.  No, wait, both of them) and it's tough to keep young people from watching it on their computer screens.      Hey, I get it, I kept my kids out of R rated films until they were old enough to sneak in themselves.  By then I figured I'd given it my best shot.  Anyway, this is a foul mouthed trailer advertising a foul mouthed film, and you can watch it here (note that when you get to the site you will have to enter your age to see the trailer).


Photo - Twentieth Century Fox

Review: Clash of the Titans

Clash of the Titans is full of swords and sandals and sweaty men fighting giant mythical creatures. It’s based on the Greek legend of Perseus, although the screen writers take liberties with the story. In this telling, Earth’s humans have become disenchanted with their vengeful and unpredictable gods, so they decide to rebel. The gang on Olympus doesn’t think much of that, and in spite of their long simmering acrimony Zeus teams up with his brother Hades to put down the uprising. But they don’t count on Perseus, Zeus’ half mortal son who has an axe to grind – his adopted family was killed by Hades, collateral damage in a bigger battle.

Perseus, played by Sam Worthington (Avatar), becomes an unwilling hero of the rebellion as soon as the other humans recognize his demi-god talents; for example, he masters expert sword fighting skills after one lesson. Also, he takes a little walk in the forest and sees a glowing thing -- it turns out to be a magic sword that retracts like a light saber when anyone else tries to use it. Perseus doesn’t want to exploit all that specialness, since it makes him too much like the enemy, but it’s pretty clear that he’ll come around, particularly when Hades starts unleashing all kinds of savage creatures on his ragtag little band. And of course there are a couple of damsels in distress who can’t be rescued by just a regular guy.

Frankly, I don’t know why there’s been so much critical complaining about this movie. It’s not great cinema but it isn’t trying to be; it has a sort of dumb movie integrity. And if the 3-D was lousy well, sorry, James Cameron, it didn't bother me much. (I did suffer some sticker shock when I paid $16 for a matinee). And here’s the thing: even though I thought Avatar was visually stunning, I found Sam Worthington a lot more interesting in this film. It’s not a perfect performance but he shoulders the reluctant hero role pretty well, starting out as a kind of dazed country bumpkin and evolving, a little erratically, into a  swashbuckling leader. I look forward to seeing him on screen again. See this film if you're in the mood to kick back with some popcorn and enjoy a little mindless fun.  With Ralph Fiennes as Volde – oops – Hades; Liam Neeson, almost convincing as Zeus; and Gemma Arterton as the goddess Io, who doesn’t show up in the original story. Big spring hit; playing everywhere. B-


Photo - Warner Bros

Looking forward to Kick Ass

You know things are slow in tinsel town when the big news of the day is that Winona Ryder might possibly be landing a gig in a Ron Howard movie, if it works out. You remember Winona? She had a promising career until she got caught shoplifting, and then things just weren’t the same.

Far more interesting is the upcoming release of Kick Ass, a comic book action picture about regular people who decide to become superheroes. You may have seen an ad or two. I’m excited about this movie; it’s got an interesting premise and Nicholas Cage (he plays Big Daddy). The film also has Chloe Moritz as Hit Girl; Chloe was the down to earth little sister in 500 Days of Summer, and she’s also slated to play a vampire in the American remake of Let the Right One In. (Now that’s a creepy movie.) Kick Ass comes out on April 16, the studio no doubt hoping to lure in a youthful pre-summer audience before Iron Man 2 hits the theaters in May. Have I mentioned that Iron Man opens on my birthday? I’m looking forward to that one too.

Photo - Lionsgate

3-D or not...

Clash of the Titans raked in the dough over the weekend, biggest Easter opening ever and all that. Critics didn’t much like it but there were plenty of fantasy fans who had a great time at the movies. Interestingly, Clash generated a lot of talk in movie land about the wisdom of 3-D conversions; this one started out in 2-D but was converted by the studio to take advantage of the technology’s current popularity. And generate box office, since 3-D screens charge more. But Kenneth Turan, the best known film critic at the LA Times, griped in his review that “Clash of the Titans is the first film to actually be made worse by being in 3-D.” And Louis Leterrier, who directed Clash, groused on Yahoo that the conversion wasn’t his idea.

Never mind. The film made money and that’s what the studios are in business to do. And people are buying the higher priced tickets, either not knowing or not caring that the 3-D they’re experiencing isn’t the best. Hey, it’s Clash of the Titans people, this audience is looking for fun, not art.

Comments, anyone?  Did you love the film?


Photo - Warner Bros

What's Playing: 4-2-2010

It’s Easter weekend and you can Clash with Titans or Train Your Dragon or visit Wonderland with your 3-D glasses on.  Last week there was a little kerfuffle when Dreamworks told exhibitors that if they didn’t show Dragon in their 3-D theaters, they couldn’t have the 2-D version either. Theater owners didn’t much like that, so they were happy to turn over a bunch of 3-D screens to newcomer Clash. Clash is actually a remake of a 1981 film that was a bit of a hit in its time, using stop motion photography to tell the story of Perseus and his epic battle against Hades. This time around the story gets told in 3-D, and the filmmakers are counting on the kind of audience that made 300 a hit. There are a lot of fantasy/ Comic Con types who are hotly anticipating this film. The cast is intriguing: Sam Worthington, lately of Avatar, stars as Perseus, with Ralph Fiennes as the evil Hades and Liam Neeson as Zeus. (Neeson as Zeus? Why is that automatically funny?) Early reviews are mediocre, and it's probably good to bear in mind that this film wasn't shot in 3-D, so it may not add much to the experience. Also out this weekend is Tyler Perry’s latest, Why Did I Get Married Too, starring Janet Jackson. It’s about four couples who travel to the Bahamas together and begin to question their marriages. In a funny way. No critical opinion on this because Perry’s films are never screened in advance, but they  generally do well at the box office, so expect this one to make a splash. Miley Cyrus’ latest attempt to leave Hannah Montana behind, The Last Song, is holding on from its Wednesday opening; this is a weepy love story Nicholas Sparks thing, with a father/daughter conflict thrown in. Lousy reviews, but so far popular with tweeners on Spring Break.

Lots of kid stuff, because of Spring Break; next weekend grownups are targeted with the Steve Carell/Tina Fey comedy, Date Night.  Meanwhile, have you seen An Education?  It's out now on DVD.

Photo - Warner Bros

Review: Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Good movie. Based on the bestselling novel, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a thriller, and a mystery, and kind of a love story. Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nykvist) is a celebrated investigative journalist forced to resign his job when one his targets successfully sues him for libel. At professional loose ends, he accepts the peculiar offer of Henrik Vagner, a retired captain of Swedish industry, to research a forty year old cold case – the disappearance of Vagner’s beloved niece, Harriet. Meanwhile, Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) , the eponymous tattoo girl, has taken an interest in Blomkvist’s libel case; she is an extraordinary computer hacker and investigator herself, and she believes the journalist was set up. Lisbeth is a loner, fierce and brilliant and unafraid of violence; only a foolish man would cross her (and when one does her retribution is extremely satisfying). Her research into Blomkvist’s libel case leads her to discover his current project, and the two of them ultimately team up into a multi-talented investigative odd couple.

The novel is crammed with detail, and it meanders a bit across multiple story lines; the screenplay is satisfyingly stripped down, so the characters can shine through, and they truly glow, especially Noomi Rapace’s Lisbeth. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a thriller with just enough action, and plenty of intrigue; altogether a good time at the movies. (Except- faint of heart take note: this picture is unrated because of some graphically violent and sexually violent images. The filmmakers were afraid the film would be rated NC-17 if they submitted it to the ratings board, so they just went with no rating at all. It is not nearly as graphic as the book, but it is pictures on the screen instead of words on the page, so fair warning.) In Swedish with subtitles, but don’t let that bother you. B+

Review: Hot Tub Time Machine

Funny movie. Dumb movie, but still funny, sometimes really funny. John Cusack, Craig Robinson and Rob Corddry are three old friends who have lost touch, but they get back together when one of them – Corddry’s Lou – attempts suicide. Trying to cheer up their buddy, Nick (Robinson) and Adam (Cusack) whisk him off to a ski resort that was the site of many memorable youthful escapades. Problem is, the resort has become a dump, so they try to salvage their weekend by mixing a few cocktails and settling into a hot tub. Which is a time machine, which takes them back to 1986.

As a time travel movie, this picture has a lot of flaws, but as a wacky buddy comedy, it’s right on target. Rob Corddry pushes the edge of the comic envelope; if you think of him as a "Daily Show" correspondent, you are in for a rip roaring surprise – the guy is fearlessly hilarious. Cusack and Robinson are more underhanded in their humor – their funny lines sort of sneak up on you – but they both easily hold their own against Corddry’s onslaught. There are a lot of eighties jokes, but they are kind of beside the point; the real humor comes when these three guys confront their teenaged selves and have to decide what to do about it. With Clark Duke as Jacob, Adam’s twenty year old nephew who also gets swept back in time, and cameos by Chevy Chase and Crispin Glover; Glover remains one of the most underrated actors in Hollywood. He is terrific here. (Word to the weak of stomach: this isn’t a polite comedy. There are a lot of cringe worthy sight gags. I never had to cover my eyes but the guys in the audience often laughed a lot harder than me; sometimes they laughed really hard at things I didn’t know were funny. I’m just saying.) B

Thinking about the weekend? DVD picks

ON DVD this week:

An Education: Carey Mulligan and Peter Sarsgaard star in the story of a young woman who falls for a charming older con man just when she’s achieved her lifelong dream of attending Oxford. Set in London in the 1960s, this charming, unnerving film is all about life choices and consequences, but what really recommends it are the remarkable performances, especially Mulligan and Sarsgaard. (Mulligan was nominated for an Oscar for this picture; she also stars the Wall Street sequel, due out this summer.) Great movie; definitely the best new one out there.

Sherlock Holmes: Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law play Homes and Watson in a movie that is more of a romp than a mystery thriller. Fun, lighthearted film. It did well at the box office and scored a B with audiences, according to Cinemascore, a market research company that tracks that sort of thing. I thought it was entertaining, and a lot of fun to watch Law and Downey, Jr. spar with each other. Sort of like House and Wilson.

Baader Meinhof Complex: Not at all lighthearted, this film takes you inside a terrorist group that wreaked havoc in Germany in the 1970s. Andreas Baader and Ulrike Meinhof were children of the Nazi generation who feared their country’s return to fascism, and with their followers used violent means to try and force change. Baader Meinhof plays out like an art film action picture, but it never loses sight of the seriousness of its subject. It got decent reviews and not much of an audience. I thought it was a fascinating story but just a good film. Should be really interesting to anyone intrigued by terrorism, especially the kind that comes from the inside, the neighbors next door.

Weekend Update 3-26-2010

Hot Tub Time Machine! Who hasn’t been waiting for this film to open? It’s got John Cusack and Darryl (Craig Robinson) from "The Office" and Rob Corddry from "The Daily Show." It’s supposed to be raunchy and hilarious and it’s probably pretty dumb, but what the heck, John Cusack is in it. And there’s time travel. So here’s the basic storyline: a bunch of bored middle aged guys get the opportunity to retroactively put their lives on a different track when they are transported back to the eighties via a magical hot tub. The film has a lot of fun with eighties references, including movies that featured John Cusack; Crispin Glover and Chevy Chase also make appearances. Some critics have loved Hot Tub and others, not so much. Extremely raunchy, keep that in mind – rated R for “strong crude and sexual content, nudity, drug use and pervasive language.” Also opening is the family friendly How to Train Your Dragon; this animated Viking adventure has gotten good reviews, mainly for its visuals and refreshingly natural use of 3D technology. Likely to push Alice in Wonderland off its box office perch, particularly because 3D ticket prices have gone up all over the country, just in time for this movie. Really. 

In limited release, Chloe is an “erotic thriller” starring Amanda Seyfried and Julianne Moore. Best I can tell, it’s terrible. Steamy though. Greenberg officially opened last weekend but if you don’t live in LA or New York you might not have noticed. The Ben Stiller picture about a lonely, unemployed middle aged man who comes to LA to house sit for his successful brother has gotten good reviews, especially for Stiller’s performance. It’s a drama with funny moments. Opening all over the country this weekend. I’ll probably go see it, but only after Hot Tub Time Machine.  Cusack movies are a priority.

Weekend Update 3- 19-2010

Nearly three weeks in and the big news is still Alice, so if you haven’t seen it yet, and you like the 3-D experience, now is the time to go. Next Friday the big scramble for 3-D screens begins with the opening of How to Train Your Dragon. Theater owners are between a rock and a hard place on this: the new arrivals are insisting on the 3-D treatment, but Alice is just making so much money it’s tough to bump it off the screen. The The LA Times reports today that DreamWorks and Paramount are playing hard ball, telling theater owners that if they won’t play Dragon in 3-D, they can’t have the 2-D version either. So there.

This is a big story because there isn’t much else going on. The only movie doing anything in theaters right now is Alice; Green Zone pretty much tanked last weekend in spite of Matt Damon, and the other new entries didn’t impress. This weekend there is some expectation that Bounty Hunter, starring Gerard Butler and Jennifer Aniston, will attract women who love Aniston and men who love action pictures. Could happen, but it’s not going to top Alice. Diary of a Wimpy Kid is also out this weekend, appealing mostly to tweeners who are familiar with the books; and Repo Men, a sci fi futuristic thriller about some guys who repossess people’s transplanted organs if they can’t pay their medical bills. Just another liberal diatribe about health care. Kidding! That was a joke.


Photo - Disney