Jun 17, 2011
(Rated R, 125 mins.) Opens March 24th
Limited release: As the BBC correspondent stationed in South India on a special assignment, John Macintosh (James Wilby) is absent when the story opens with the premature birth of a “special” child to his wife, Lily (Greta Scacchi) in an old British army hospital. Lily is unable to breast feed her child, and despite the efforts by the hospital nurses, including Cotton Mary (Madhur Jaffrey), the baby is close to death when Mary rushes the child to her crippled Blossom, a wet nurse in a nearby Alms house. Mary’s success in arranging the feeding of the baby, makes her indispensable to Lily, who offers her a permanent position in her home as an “Ayah” (nanny). The dynamics of the story come into play as Mary moves into the household assuming more responsibility for Lily, who has little interest in motherhood. A dramatic conclusion exposes each of the main characters’ often conflicting English and Indian identities. Scacchi gives new meaning to the words “comback role” in her best performance to date.
Jun 17, 2011
(Rated PG-13, 86 mins.) Good-natured veterinarian Corky Romano (Chris Kattan) is stunned when he receives a surprising call from his long lost “Pops” (Peter Falk), an underworld crime lord indicted by a Grand Jury. With his trial just two weeks away, it looks as if the Mafia kingpin is finally going down. The long shot is his son Corky, abandoned from the family at a young age for not fitting in. He’s the one person who can infiltrate the FBI undetected. This all sounds too easy except the plan goes haywire when a fake resume designed by a computer hacker turns him into a super agent with a reputation he suddenly must live up to. Now he’s Agent Pissant. The premise is cute but Saturday Night Lives’ Chris Kattan can only be taken in small doses as it is. Think his past flops “Lucky Numbers” What? Exactly. And, his role as the “organ donor student’ in “Monkeybone”, funny because of short screen time. This try-to-be Austin Powers spoof just plain isn’t.
Jun 17, 2011
It’s been awhile since Kevin Smith did Clerks, Dogma or Jay and Silent Bob. Since then, he’s apparently lost sight on what makes a successful comedy moving from brilliant to now ridiculous. In this, Paul (Tracy Morgan) and Jimmy (Bruce Willis) are NYPD partners. Paul likes to pay “homage” to old cop shows and classic movies by imitating everybody from Scarface to The Terminator, while Jimmy sits back as a practiced old timer with that infamous Willis expression and jaw line. When a drug bust/incident-gone-wrong gets them a 30 day suspension, it means Jimmy will lose the salary that he needs to cover his daughter (Michelle Trachtenberg’s) wedding. With little choice, he must sell his very old baseball card to finance the balance of the nuptials. But when the memorabilia card gets stolen, the two cops are sent on a wild goose chase that flies off the tracks – and hits the station in total train-wreck style – about thirty minutes into the film and right to the end. While Willis remains in control as the Willis we remember from Die Hard, the amusing, talented and slightly insane Morgan parades around much as he does on TV’s 30 Rock but with guns, badge and power. The real scene stealer is Sean William Scott, a sort of stoner-thief who gets the men in their mess from the start. The plot, however, goes from possible to impossible, very quickly. One tiara
Jun 17, 2011
Based on the comic book “Hellblazer’, Keanu Reeves stars as John Constantine, a detective who possesses super-natural powers causing him to literally go to hell and back. While many sci-fi-ish thrillers confuse us with scene by scene symbols and occurrences, this one maintains a level of smarts, by solving mysteries of the Catholic church – of good vs evil, as we witness Satan, himself, attempting to jockey for world power, eventually leading to a showdown with the angel Gabriel (Tilda Swinton). The premise is so powerful, that it gives last year’s “The Passion Of The Christ” a run for its money. Rachel Weisz does a satisfying dual role as Angela and Isabel, twin sisters who need a savior and find it in Reeves. Reeves is comfortable in these “Matrix” style roles, managing to perform with little effort, which will please his younger audience fan base.
Jun 17, 2011
(rated PG13) The fun begins when a mob mix-up and a bag of cocaine send two screaming women (Toni Collettee and Nia Vardalos) scrambling to L.A. They find the only way to remain anonymous is to become two men playing two drag queens in a Cabaret. With “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” behind her, Vardalos is no longer under pressure to live up to hype since Connie and Carla turns out to be a big fat comedy hit. And they’re hipper than Greek Wedding’s characters but with that same sitcom style. Collette is animated as Vardalos’s sidekick but its Vardalos’s charming energy that seems to follow her from one movie to the next, despite some sloppy and annoying moments. David Duchovny takes a gamble in a role as another drag queen’s brother and love interest to our lead. With its cross-dressing and Broadway style melodies, this movie will do for Collette and Vardalos what “Victor Victoria” did for Julie Andrews.
