Jun 18, 2011
Teaming Steve Carell and Paul Rudd sounds like a recipe for the perfect buddy comedy especially with Jay Roach at the helm. And while the film is absolutely entertaining, it’s the opening setup that might feel a bit brutal. Tim (Rudd) works for a Private equities fund whose idea of a good time is to have a monthly dinner party where each guest invites one schmuck (loser, joker, idiot, you name it). In this case, and by pure accident (literally) Tim runs into Barry (Carell)who Is a taxidermist by day and a really naïve guy the rest of the time. He makes “Mouseterpieces” for a living (don’t ask.) And apparently Tim does all this dinner hobnobbing to impress his girlfriend, Julie (Stejphanie Szostak) into marrying him. Zach Galfianakis has a wild role as Barry’s boss who we learn is a huge threat to Barry because he’s got another agenda (spoiler alert.) There’s no doubt about it, Jay Roach likes his characters to get in over-their-head situations (think Meet the Parents or even Austin Powers) but by the time the cast finally gets to dinner this far-fetched story gets a bit tiresome. Two and a half tiaras
Jun 18, 2011
(PG-13, 123 mins.)
Forty years since “Dr. No”, twenty years and several Bonds later, Agent 007 (Pierce Brosnan) resurfaces darker and more serious. Or, as his boss ‘M’ (Judy Dench) explains, “While you were away, the world changed.” Of course the bulk of Bond hasn’t. He still has his hot cars, his hot locations from Havana to London, and his hottie hot girls. This one, Jinx (Halle Berry) is more than a pretty face, though she wades through the water Ursula Andress bikini style. Oscar winning Berry plays a key character in this story’s progress, as does Miranda Frost (Rosamund Pike). When we open, Bond is escaping a near death experience in Korea to fight his way back into the spy game. John Cleese replaces Desmond Llewelyn as “Guru Q” and Madonna provides the theme song and a cameo. This Bond of the millenium is serious but still entertaining and of course sexy. Yet in era of more sophisticated movies, this Bond skips the usual stunts to deliver a more realistic storyline that plays out a third thriller, a third action-adventure and the remainder Bond style. Incorporating some of the memorable “Goldfinger” one liners, “Die Another Day” feels original while maintaining the girls and gadgets. Brosnan is in control, confident and complex in his new 007 role. Move over Austin Powers. Bond is back.
Jun 18, 2011
The Morgan’s, Paul (Hugh Grant) and Meryl (Sarah Jessica Parker) have been separated for three months. To commemorate the anniversary of this event and as any excuse to get her back, Paul asks Meryl to dinner. She finds this idea ridiculous, as does her assistant (an underused Elizabeth “Mad Men” Moss.) But when Meryl agrees to go, the night ends in disaster. They witness a murder and are instantly put into a witness protection program. First of all, nobody is going to be put in witness protection for these reasons. And so the snappy script turns instantly into a fish-out-of-water scenario and improves as they get to cowboy territory in Ray, Wyoming. The local Marshalls that will keep them temporarily hidden until permanent locations can be found are Clay and Emma Wheeler (Sam Elliot and Mary Steenburgen). The Morgans quickly understand there is no internet but there is lots of meat in the freezer – meat that the Wheelers shot themselves. The air is too clean for jogging and there are no sounds of sirens and honking horns in the nighttime. While the dialog is amusing and the New Yorker/western scenarios fun, the problem is very visual and audio when it comes to any rom/com that includes Sarah JP: We see Carrie Bradshaw. We hear Carrie Bradshaw. And we expect “Mr. Big.” As for Hugh Grant, who’s aged considerably albeit still charming and debonair the way we adore him – and British – he can carry and adapt to any movie just as he did twenty years ago. He’s a true movie star in every sense of the word, and in this he’s Mr. Positive against Mrs. Whiner. He’s sees this is a vacation excuse to be close to his wife. She sees this as a living hell. Of the two holiday comedies out there, this one makes more sense then “It’s Complicated” and gives you the sweeter ending you’d hope for both of them. Three tiaras
Jun 18, 2011
(rated R, 100 mins.)
When’s the last time you saw a movie about salesmen-bonding that worked? Not since “Glengarry Glen Ross” has a story touched on the lives of the door to door world in such a way. Robert Forster is Eddie Miller, an overworked, thirty year veteran of diamond sales, whose insurance company will no longer cover him behind the wheel, because of a recent heart attack. Now the seasoned salesman has one month to break in the hot shot, smooth talking, new kid on the block, Bobby Walker (Donnie Wahlberg). Suddenly the two most unlikely men are thrown together in a car where they carefully and fluidly establish a bond to become colleagues in this offbeat buddy flick. Through a perfectly executed rhythm Bobby learns values and sensitivity while Eddie learns to mentor the kid and loosen up a bit in the process. The combination of stability and wild child works in resolving lessons on moving on, bouncing back and letting go. Wahlberg shows he is truly the sexier and more talented of the Wahlberg clan. Bess Armstrong makes for an interesting twist on the love interest and Jasmine Guy does a fine job as the turning-tricks masseuse.
Jun 18, 2011
(Rated R, 96 mins)
Imagine “West Side Story’ without music but still fighting for their honor, their women and most importantly, their turf. Set in Brooklyn 1950, a lot of heart goes into this story revolving around a small neighborhood controlled by “The Deuces” headed by Leon (Stephen Dorff) who lost his younger brother to a drug overdose, years before. With another sibling, Bobby (Brad Renfro) and the gang of Deuces, they vow to keep the neighborhood drug-free, but like the “Sharks” harming the “Jets” enter Marco (Norman Reedus) determined to undermine their little plan. Don’t expect doo-wop, pompadours and rollerskate drive-thru’s. This 50s style movie is energetically led by Dorff’s strong acting skills and a lot of grit reflective of an era baby-boomers will relate to when poor kids protected their turf with passion (unlike today’s drive-by gang killings). Flavor of the month Johnny Knoxville is great as Vinne Fish and yes, that is Debbie Harry as Wendy. Director Scott Kalvert should knows his stuff having previously delivered “The Basketball Diaries” but it’s the screenplay by Christopher Gambale and Paul Kimatian that keeps this gang tale up his – er, alley.
