Jun 17, 2011
(rated R, 89 mins.) The controversial John Waters pulls out all his magic in directing this Hollywood farce giving new meaning to the infamous “Mr. DeMille I’m ready for my closeup.” From the movie’s opening (of the most original credits ever seen), right through the end, it is distasteful, vulgar, nasty and — it works! Focusing on Melanie Griffith as the typical diva having “star fits” she is kidnapped by a bunch of wanna-be (but sure that they are) filmmakers, who defy all of Hollywood. Stephen Dorff portrays Cecil B. DeMented, a theatre owner by day and wild porn maker by night, who kidnaps Ms. Honey Whitlock (Griffith) for what he believes will be his greatest masterpiece entitled “Raven Beauty.” DeMented is half Andy Warhol, half Charles Manson, with a team of devil-worshipping, s & m loving, leather laden, very horny, ecstasy taking, cult of crew members. Their zero budget, against all Screen Actor Guild rules flick is believable because the cast of players are passionate in what they believe to be the next Oscar worthy movie. Alicia Witt (TV’s “Cybill”) is incredible as “Cherish” a porno queen. Kevin Nealon in a minor role as “Forrest Gump” follow-up but it’s Patricia Hearst who provides irony as the mother of one of the cult members who has been brainwashed into these wackos. Really good but really raunchy. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Jun 17, 2011
(rated PG 83 mins) Move over “Shrek” you’ve met your box office match! Unbeknownst to their humans, dogs have been fighting for thousands of years to keep mankind from falling under the rule of cats. Canine and Feline lovers will purr over this part Mission Impossible part Charlie’s Angels (Charlton Heston does a mean John Forsythe imitation), assigning the mutts (voices of Michael Clarke Duncan, Joe Pantoliano and Jon Lovitz) their mission, in this witty, fun-for-the-family flick! 1,000,000 dogs have placed their destiny squarely on the paws of leader Butch (voice of Alex Baldwin), until Lou (voice of Tobey Maguire) a beagle puppy, accidentally ruins the mission upon ending up in a family with mom (Elizabeth Perkins) and dad (Jeff Goldblum), the mad scientist, developing an anti-dog dander potion. The world of pussycats is led by Mr.Tinkles (voice of Sean Hayes) who steals the show and hires various assassins including a Russian killer kitty who gives new meaning to the word ‘hairballs’. Precious and priceless, this is the purrrfect summer movie.
Jun 17, 2011
(Rated PG-13, 140 mins.) A lightweight turn for recent dark director Steven Spielberg, comes this fun and irresistible story of real-life teenage con man Frank Abaganale Jr. (Leonardo DiCaprio). Hard to believe it took Hollywood this long to tell this true life tale of a young man who responds to his parent’s divorce by leaving home and discovering fun ways to stay financially afloat, that include a fake Pan Am copilot, a teacher, a surgeon, and a lawyer. Unfortunately his bad check writing skills are not as savvy and that’s where FBI agent Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks) is on his trail. It seems late 50s and early 60s genres are the present, hot, stylized look for films and this one is no exception with its “Dick Van Dyke” snappy lightness. Christopher Walken plays the only dull moments when he hits the screen as DiCaprio’s daddy, otherwise the unlikely dream teaming of Hanks and DiCaprio makes for fast surprises and chemistry-driven screen time. Yet it still takes forty minutes too long to get to the finish line with an ending that would have better served the players without the extended game.
Jun 17, 2011
In the year’s first romantic comedy, Gray Wheeler (Jennifer Garner) was expecting to be on her wedding day and instead found herself at her fiancée’s funeral. But she’s got her best friends Sam (Kevin Smith) and Dennis (Sam Jaeger) to cushion the blow. She’s also got Fritz (Timothy Olyphant) who’s not so supportive. At least not on the surface, until the days following the funeral soon unravel that she’s not just stuck with unopened blenders and waffle irons, but also her late fiancée’s cell phone, hidden bank accounts and other secrets, including Maureen (Juliette Lewis). While this is not your typical, sappy, chic-flick attempting to reach beyond the Cinderella-happy-ending, it instead suffocates in a bad batch of pouting, whining and indecisive behavior. Kevin Smith however is the movie’s lone exception as the ideal funny man. Two tiaras.
Jun 17, 2011
(rated PG-13, 140 mins) From director Robert “Forrest Gump” Zemeckis comes a contemporary drama about a man in isolation on a desert island. Sound familiar? Timing is everything, following in the mega-hit “Survivor” footsteps as this story deals with one man’s transformation both physically and mentally sans television pals to entertain him! Instead he relies on conversing with a volleyball named “Wilson” while waiting rescue. What he doesn’t know is that the rescue is going to take a little longer than he imagined. Four years later and he’s still there. Of course it doesn’t hurt to see the multi-Academy award winning Hanks have to suffer a bit. On the other hand, whenever an actor loses a lot of weight it has Oscar written all over it, yet Oscar winner Helen Hunt takes on a rather small role as Hank’s girlfriend. So, the story is not about surviving alone, and not about Hank’s losing weight, the story strikes as “Gilligan’s Island” on a sophisticated, contemporary level of male meditation. Zen in 2000. Finding your inner chi and balancing it out. Director Robert Zemeckis does a brilliant job of pacing right from the get-go with a scene of a FedEx truck moving slowly down a rural Texas route to the crashing of underwater dark turbulence. And then it’s daylight. Sunlight. And, a new life. Man as man alone. Finding out just who man really is. For any man never been married and wondering about beating the ticking clock, get marooned on an island, and you’ll “get it.”
