[4] Mike Myers suspects his girlfriend may be a serial killer in this alleged comedy. Look, I love Mike Myers as much as the next person, and when he’s allowed room to cut loose in a movie, that movie generally works. But in So I Married an Axe Murderer from writer Robbie Fox and director Thomas Schlamme, there’s nothing funny or interesting about the main …
[8] David Mamet adapts his stage play and James Foley directs an all-star cast in Glengarry Glen Ross, a fascinating multi-character study of the toll capitalism takes on the human soul. Jack Lemmon, Al Pacino, Ed Harris, and Alan Arkin play real estate salesmen who are called into the office and given one night to turn their old sales leads into gold — or they’re …
[7] Director Tim Burton (Edward Scissorhands, Alice in Wonderland) turns Disney’s animated classic into a live-action film that is both a remake and a sequel. Dumbo follows the original story in broad strokes, with Danny DeVito running a down-on-its-luck traveling circus where a baby elephant with enormous ears is born. At first, the baby is considered a freak. But two children of a returning war …
[6] Natasha Lyonne (American Pie, But I’m a Cheerleader) leads an esteemed ensemble cast in writer/director Tamara Jenkins’ story of a 1970s teenager coming of age on the outskirts of Beverly Hills. The family is struggling to make ends meet, always moving out of apartments before the rent is due. Alan Arkin plays the father, a divorcee with a gambling problem. David Krumholtz plays Lyonne’s …
[3] I’m all for slummin’ it through a naughty romp every now and then, and sex comedies are even a favorite genre of mine. But The Change-Up reeks of pathetic desperation, actually giving dick, fart, piss, and boob jokes a bad name. I mean, they’ve got Jason Bateman eating baby shit before the opening titles roll. And why does every male character under the age …
[6] In the world of shady post-9/11 politics, an innocent man (Omar Metwally) is seized by the CIA and tortured in a foreign country while his wife (Reese Witherspoon) and a doubtful CIA analyst (Jake Gyllenhaal) work on opposite sides of the world to help him. Rendition is a solid drama/thriller from Gavin Hood (Tsotsi, Ender’s Game), who refrains from sensationalizing any violence or indulging …
[8] Score another point for Ben Affleck. I never much cared for him as an actor, but between this film and 2007’s Gone Baby Gone, the guy has shown us some serious directing chops. Argo is the true story of how the U.S. Government worked with Hollywood to rescue six Americans who escaped the U.S. Embassy during the 1980 Iranian hostage crisis. Affleck plays the …
[8] This is an underrated comic book adaptation with slick, period production design and top-notch action choreography from director Joe Johnston (Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, October Sky). There’s a gee-whiz ebullience about The Rocketeer that I find utterly charming. Bill Campbell and Jennifer Connelly (future Oscar-winner for A Beautiful Mind) are attractive leads, even if their archetypal characters are somewhat shallow. Timothy Dalton’s villainous …
[10] I love road movies and ensemble pieces, but Little Miss Sunshine goes one step further by saying something we all need to hear from time to time: it’s okay to fall short of ambition. The film throws six disparate personalities, all family, into a Volkswagen bus for a weekend road trip so that the youngest of them can compete in a junior beauty pageant. …
[9] A naive Avon lady discovers a strange young man named Edward who has scissors for hands living in an abandoned castle and decides to bring him home to her suburban community. At first Edward is the talk of the town, but when the novelty wears off, Edward must decide which is worse — the scorn of the mob or the loneliness of his old …
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