Jun 20, 2011
(Rated PG-13, 112 mins.)
When Andie Anderson (Kate Hudson), the how-to girl for Composure Magazine, agrees to write a firsthand account of all the things women do the drive away men, she had to find a guy, make him fall in love with her, then get dumped….all in 10 days. But, little does she know that her target ad agency hottie, Benjamin Barry (Matthew McConaughey), has just made a high-stakes bet with his boss tht he can make any girl fall in love with him in 10 days! Based on the book of the same name, and directed by Donald “Miss Congeniality” Petrie) this romantic comedy may be the first of the new year that won’t get lost in the shuffle.
Jun 20, 2011
(rated PG)
He’s a mean one, Mr. Grinch….and in this live action adaptation of the Dr. Seuss classic, this remake is also a pretty bad one. A Grinch (Jim Carrey) who hates Christmas, decides to keep the holiday from coming to Who-ville by sneaking into the town on the eve of the big day to steal everything that’s associated with the holiday. Much like the real life sensation that hits five minutes after all the Christmas gifts are opened, this movie leaves you empty. It’s dark, it’s dismal and the only light is the superb talent of Carrey, who like the Grinch, is already larger than life. The grown up references will keep parents interested and that same audience will appreciate Carrey, able to bend his body in ways that would send the rest of us to the chiropractor. Grinch’s childhood flame is Christine Baranski. The Whos, include little Cindy Lou Who (Taylor Momsen) and her parents Bill Irwin and Molly Shannon, all who look and play their characters right-on with the help of nose flip-up looking masks, but after all the makeup and wizardry is stripped, there’s little left. Sort of metaphoric of the movie’s theme, wouldn’t you say?
Jun 20, 2011
(rated R, 96 mins.)
Multi-platinum rap superstars Redman and Method Man star as Jamal and Silas, two regular guys who smoke something magical, ace their college entrance exams and wind up at Harvard. Think rapper style Cheech and Chong do “Animal House”. When best pal Ivory (Chuck Davis) dies in a blaze ignited by the magic smoke, Jamal and Silas plant their friend’s ashes along with their latest pot plant creating a brainy weed. And we thought a high SAT got us into the Ivy League schools! Finally the magical doobie runs out and suddenly the two must rely on their wits and natural resources. Think “Legally Blonde”. The story is soundtrack-studded with hip-hop cuts and Hector Elizondo, a favorite mentor, as the Crew Coach. The crossover success of “Deuce Bigelow” and other underdog campus flicks will give this story status during the holidays. Redman and Method Man’s cool energy doesn’t hurt either.
Jun 20, 2011
The title lives up to its name, suggesting ambiguity, but that’s a very unsatisfying situation for any audience. Lisa (Reese Witherspoon) plays a young, retired athlete in the middle of two men. George (Paul Rudd) has just been framed in some stock-fraud scandal involving his father (Jack Nicholson) while our baseball hero, Matty (Owen Wilson) tells Lisa that he “can never be the person he’s been until now” (sure, whatever that means..his version of smitten and in love, I suppose.) And that’s the problem with the entire premise. The plot seems contrived five minutes in, and its lackluster continuity doesn’t connect our players or us. And while all three actors do a stellar job, about thirty minutes in, the story seems aimless so that the audience doesn’t know who to cling to. The movie floats between heart-warming scenes to plain disastrous ones – albeit some great lines mainly delivered by Wilson who always plays this lateral cad role. Rudd’s side issue about his stock scandal seems like a deterrent rather than a plot point, and in the end this is the sum of good actors in a bad movie. And probably my second to last pick for worst film of the year. ½ tiaras
Jun 20, 2011
Nick Weber-Agnew (Craig Robinson) hyphenates his last name because his wife made him take hers. His career should have been a musician but he’s a lowly dog groomer at “Sup Dawg.” Adam (John Cusack) is recently divorced, feels like he lost the love of his life, and has his nephew Jacob (Clark Duke) living in the basement, where he plays video games all day. But it’s Lou (Rob Corddry) who’s the tie-that-binds and the movie’s heartbeat. Lou is the laugh-out-loud best friend who accidentally fumigates himself by hitting the garage door opener when he’s jamming out drunk to a radio song. And fyi: he looks like “Stevie from“Family Guy.” Collectively they’re losers who wish – as we all often do – that they chose different paths long ago. And so they take a road trip to Kodiak Valley where back in the 80s they were all that at a ski resort. Following hits like The Hangover this premise analyzes three dudes who took wrong turns and find themselves in a hot tub that tosses them back to the lost generation of the 80s (some twenty years prior.) Think about it… What did the 1980s give us other then Vanilla Ice and hot pink tights? But this film is also part Back To The Future because the guys have to figure out how not to alter their futures when they do return to 2010 from their hot tub disaster. But while in the classic film timing and perfection are everything, these guys opt not to necessarily do things the way their lives intended. (btw: Chevy Chase dressed in Ghostbuster attire shows up as the hot tub repairman and the cute blonde guy from the tv show “The White Shadow” is a bad ass.Where did they find him?) The movie is truly aimed at us over-forty types. It’s unnecessarily intelligent, has no purpose other than to entertain, yet manages to make an audience address one big question: If we could change our past, would we? Three tiaras
