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Music and Lyrics (2007): C
Invention is in short supply in Music and Lyrics, a Hugh Grant-Drew Barrymore cute-fest that hews tediously close to the genre’s trademarks. Consequently, it delivers exactly what its undemanding audience craves, from Grant’s sarcastic, self-effacing litany of one-liners, to Barrymore’s flighty-yet-confident routine, to a story that offers some ‘80s nostalgia (here, centered around bubblegum synth-pop)…
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Less Than Meets the Eye
The release to see this week is Werner Herzog’s incredible Rescue Dawn. But for those craving a mindless popcorn movie, there are two new crummy ones hitting theaters that are sure to help augment one’s depression over the state of mainstream Hollywood filmmaking. Thanks, Michael Bay and Robin Williams! Out This Week: Transformers (Slant magazine)…
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Mid-Week Threesome
Given that Bruce Willis’ latest opens today, I figured I’d pass along links to a few high-profile releases, including Live Free or Die Hard. The real gem here is Ratatouille, yet another sterling Brad Bird (and Pixar) effort, though fans of extreme, inane action probably won’t be disappointed by the return of John McClane. This…
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The Good Shepherd (2006): C+
With regards to its central protagonist, The Good Shepherd is a film at cross-purposes with itself. Robert De Niro’s epic take on the life of fictional U.S. intelligence official Edward Wilson (Matt Damon) during the formative years of the CIA (aka, the ‘40s and ‘50s) tries to cast its tale as one about a man…
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Bug (2006): B
Bug is William Friedkin’s best film in at least two decades, a compliment that must be tempered by the disclaimer that, after its first thirty minutes, this adaptation of Tracy Letts’ stage play (written by Letts) begins to lose its sure-footing. Those first thirty minutes, though, are something else, achieving an exhilarating sense of foreboding…
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Mighty Weak
Two supposedly mighty films hit theaters today – Evan Almighty and A Mighty Heart – but neither is a very strong candidate for moviegoers’ time or money. Rather, those itching for a cinematic fix might want to check out Michael Moore’s Sicko – which I’ll be catching sometime in the next few days, with a…
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Ocean’s Thirteen (2007): C
George Clooney and his merry band of movie-star friends reassemble once again for Ocean’s Thirteen, another spectacle of celebrity narcissism and goofing off which can only be commended for not being quite as unbearable as its thoroughly self-satisfied predecessor. Directed by Steven Soderbergh with hyper-saturated colors, insanely blooming whites, and lots of ‘70s-style flash, this…
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A Mighty Heart (2007): C
Contrary to what you might have read, A Mighty Heart isn’t about Daniel Pearl, the Wall Street Journal reporter who in 2002 was murdered by Islamic kidnappers in Pakistan. In fact, Michael Winterbottom’s adaptation of the memoir of Pearl’s reporter wife Mariane doesn’t quite know what it wants to be, which means that it ultimately…
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Less Than Fantastic, Better Than Lousy
This weekend’s number one movie – Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer – doesn’t come close to approaching greatness. Yet given the recent trend toward self-serious superhero movies, its light, frivolous tone struck me as something of a relief. Otherwise, this week’s (slightly delayed) link dump features my three contributions to Slant’s coverage of…
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Hostile
As most of my latest reviews have yet to be posted online, I only have one new review link for today, and it’s a doozy. Eli Roth’s follow-up to last year’s counterfeit exploitation flick Hostel is, in virtually every regard, a significant downgrade from its overhyped, overrated predecessor, striking phony pose after phony pose to…
