[4] Kevin Costner headlines this big summer popcorn muncher about the legendary archer-turned-rebel who rallies his outcast merry men to battle the greedy Sheriff of Nottingham (Alan Rickman) and fall in love with the fair maid Marian (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio). The script covers the familiar plot markers, the sets are grand, the score rousing, and many of the supporting cast give it their all. Yet …
[4] Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman play terminally-ill cancer patients who decide to make one last go at their ‘bucket list’ — a list of things to see and do before they die. I usually trust director Rob Reiner (When Harry Met Sally, The Princess Bride) to deliver the goods, but this one’s a misfire for me. The opening act is naturally a sad one, …
[6] Dustin Hoffman and Renee Russo star as an estranged married couple both working government jobs in the area of infectious disease control. When a fast-acting deadly virus begins spreading in America, the two find themselves working together to control the spread and locate the source of the outbreak — an African monkey let loose in suburban California. The screenwriters weave in a layer of …
[7] Christopher Nolan successfully reboots the Batman franchise by taking a cue from Bryan Singer (X-Men), who showed the world how much better a comic book movie could be by taking its subject matter seriously. While the approach works for this Batman film, I must admit that I personally prefer my Batman movies to be hyper-stylized and gothic as all get out, which Tim Burton …
[8] Without the burden of exposition, Christopher Nolan molds his Batman sequel into a compelling crime drama that probes deep into the frightening psyches of Bob Kane’s characters. No Batman movie, or comic book movie for that matter, has ever been so character-driven or intricately plotted. It’s complex, emotional, disturbing, and almost a masterpiece. I still have reservations about Christian Bale as Batman, but the …
[6] Jean-Luc Godard once said, “All you need for a movie is a girl and a gun.” Watching Helen Mirren seize comand of a blazing Gatling gun, I think Godard may be onto something. RED isn’t terribly original or surprising, but its venerable cast rescues it from mediocrity. Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, and Mirren play retired CIA agents who return to their old habits …
[4] Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Mark Ruffalo, Dave Franco, Morgan Freeman, and Michael Caine all return for another game of magicians playing cat and mouse. (Isla Fisher is noticeably replaced with a new character played by Lizzy Caplan.) I enjoyed the first Now You See Me, and I like the entire cast for both movies. But sometimes that’s just not enough. The sequel tries to add …
[7] Deep Impact feels like an old-fashioned Irwin Allen disaster flick — and I dig that. Basically, the world learns that an asteroid is headed toward earth and we have one year before we can attempt to destroy it with a NASA space mission. So the mid-point of the film focuses on that mission, and — spoilers ahead! — it doesn’t go well. So Deep Impact …
[7] Two Boston detectives try to solve the mystery of a missing girl in this tight dramatic thriller from director Ben Affleck. Yeah, Ben Affleck. Who knew? Strong performances from Casey Affleck, Ed Harris, and Amy Ryan. I like how matter-of-fact Affleck’s approach is, and it definitely hooked me for a long while. But I liked it a bit less after the mid-point. The long …
[6] Emilio Estevez and Craig Sheffer star as two high school best friends experiencing a rough transition into adulthood. While Sheffer’s character is falling in love and leaving behind his delinquent ways, Estevez continues down the darker path, dabbling in drugs and antagonizing thugs and police. Estevez adapted the screenplay from S.E. Hinton’s (The Outsiders) novel. The character arcs aren’t as well defined or pronounced …
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