cult film freak: July 2011

Written by James M. Tate / 7/30/2011 / No comments / children , comedy , tens

THE SMURFS

<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cKVmc-lX21g/TjSmTQtdPqI/AAAAAAAACFs/MK_jz8P8JP8/s1600/the-smurfs-movie.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5635311883580685986" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cKVmc-lX21g/TjSmTQtdPqI/AAAAAAAACFs/MK_jz8P8JP8/s200/the-smurfs-movie.jpg" style="float: right; height: 186px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 200px;" /></a>title: THE SMURFS 
year: 2011 
cast: Hank Azaria, Neil Patrick Harris 
rating: *1/2 
 
The decision to take the Smurfs out of their land and into New York City, judging by the first ten minutes as the playful blue creatures meander pointlessly through their mystical dwelling, was a good one. But the execution is something else entirely. 
 
And that’s not referring to the villainous Gargamel, played by Hank Azaria with a fake nose and killer cat, trailing the Smurfs to rid them once and for all. 
 
In a non-violent way, this is what our human protagonist Neil Patrick Harris, as a climber in the ad business, wants to do: the Smurfs have accidentally entered his life, and with their singing and frolicking inside his apartment – where his wife awaits their child – he’s being driven up a wall. 
 
The settings are contained within this and a few other locations, so it feels like a boring thirty-minute cartoon stretched into two long hours instead of a fish outta water odyssey, like the premise and trailer implies. 
 
The only Smurfs who really matter are Clumsy (the accidental hero) and Papa (the wise leader), the rest delivering lines here and there, living up to their name/personalities but that’s about it. 
 
Hank Azaria isn’t completely awful as the villain, but his running around and constant bad luck situations (ala Wile E. Coyote) get tiresome. The only suspense is centered on the Smurfs returning back home, which takes twenty minutes too long to accomplish. 
 
And if you take a shot each time Harris points out how frivolous the original storyline of the Smurfs is, or how annoying they are, you’d be a goner. 
 
But now for the real question: is it good for children? Best let them decide – but perhaps wait to rent the DVD so you can escape into another room once it starts.

children, comedy, tens

THE SMURFS

title: THE SMURFS year: 2011 cast: Hank Azaria, Neil Patrick Harris rating: *1/2 The decision to take the Smurfs out of their land a...

COWBOYS & ALIENS

<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZiMu9tU6PU8/TjQ6J7wMkUI/AAAAAAAACFc/soKpfsehe7k/s1600/Cowboys-Aliens-Jake-Lonergan-cowboys-and-aliens-17581894-1680-1024.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5635192976080408898" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZiMu9tU6PU8/TjQ6J7wMkUI/AAAAAAAACFc/soKpfsehe7k/s400/Cowboys-Aliens-Jake-Lonergan-cowboys-and-aliens-17581894-1680-1024.jpg" style="float: right; height: 220px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 152px;" width="276" /></a>title: COWBOYS & ALIENS 
year: 2011 
cast: Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde, Clancy Brown, Sam Rockwell 
rating: *1/2 
 
In the beginning, there’s a cowboy movie. A man from nowhere, Daniel Craig, wakes up with a device on his wrist – then he’s surrounded by three rough necks – followed by a quick, neat fight straight out of the opening scene of SILVERADO. 
 
He wanders into a small town, where a few more characters are set-up, and it feels like the kind of Western we love to watch, perhaps even something by Sergio Leone – that’s the attempt, anyway. 
 
We meet the town brat, overplayed by Paul Dano, whose father, Harrison Ford, is a cattle baron with lots of money. All these and more folks are introduced, so many it’s hard to keep track. Then the aliens, in speedy vessels with lasers, and even lassos, attack: computer animation meets the scant Western setting. When a posse is formed, and the cowboys venture to kill the formidable foes, the pace flags. 
 
But it's when Craig’s gorgeous love interest, supposedly the town whore, becomes "reanimated" by Indians and knows everything about the aliens... spouting exposition like directions on a new stove... that the film sinks beneath the surface of banality, completely losing its rough and tumble origins to a science-fiction melodrama. And sporadic flashbacks of our protagonist's past are confusing and intrusive. 
 
Daniel Craig, attempting the iconic Clint Eastwood Man With No Name, is so tiny he’s lost in his big hat. He juts his lips and hisses each line, and while this seems to work for James Bond, his performance as a mysterious stranger doesn’t hold water. Harrison Ford, with a gruff, world-weary voice and a bitter hatred for mankind, seems to be doing a performance or imitation. And the aliens, free from their ships and computer animated to the hilt, are too quick and dangerous to be interesting foes – thus Craig’s wristband gun comes to play, making the other riders (and way too many of them) useless. 
 
The only involving performance is by Clancy Brown as a wise, tough preacher, but alas, he makes but a quarter of the trip: one that starts with a quick bang and ends with a very long whimper. And for the ORIGINAL movie where a guy finds a lasergun, straps it to his arm and goes to town on aliens, check out LASERBLAST, pictured below... 
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-k1xLjONT7Jo/UkzDyHdqhYI/AAAAAAAAa3Y/DNzonWzLUJA/s1600/laserblast.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-k1xLjONT7Jo/UkzDyHdqhYI/AAAAAAAAa3Y/DNzonWzLUJA/s640/laserblast.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kim Milford in LASERBLAST</td></tr>
</tbody></table>

harrison ford, science-fiction, tens, western

COWBOYS & ALIENS

title: COWBOYS & ALIENS year: 2011 cast: Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde, Clancy Brown, Sam Rockwell rating: *1/2 In th...

Written by James M. Tate / 7/29/2011 / No comments / eighties , peter jason , ray sharkey , richard pryor , war

SOME KIND OF HERO

<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KsrSjZF85f8/TjMjetA9PwI/AAAAAAAACE0/7ZrI8B-IJjI/s1600/0_0_7680_01_292x438.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5634886569157279490" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KsrSjZF85f8/TjMjetA9PwI/AAAAAAAACE0/7ZrI8B-IJjI/s200/0_0_7680_01_292x438.jpg" style="float: right; height: 200px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 127px;" /></a>title: SOME KIND OF HERO 
<div>year: 1982</div>cast: Richard Pryor, Margot Kidder, Ray Sharkey, Ronny Cox 
rating: **1/2 
 
<div></div>Based on James Kirkwood’s novel about an American soldier taken hostage in Vietnam, surviving three years in a prison only to face more challenges back home: his cheating wife spent his money and the army won’t pay him. Richard Pryor plays the lead, and while he can do dramatic roles – BLUE COLLAR is proof… his presence here, donning his signature mustache and not taking every scene very serious, is a miscast. The story begins with Pryor’s capture and then a friendship with fellow prisoner Ray Sharkey. The subject of imprisonment glosses through to the second half: Pryor back home and, having lost everything, robs the government and is eventually mixed up with mobsters. This “Dramedy” has some decent moments – the plight of a desperate man without a port in the storm is involving. And Margot Kidder, as the hooker with a heart of gold, not only helps Pryor through his predicament, but often centers the bee-lining story that’s never quite sure what it is, or where it's going.

eighties, peter jason, ray sharkey, richard pryor, war

SOME KIND OF HERO

title: SOME KIND OF HERO year: 1982 cast: Richard Pryor, Margot Kidder, Ray Sharkey, Ronny Cox rating: **1/2 Based on James Kirkwood’...

MICHAEL CAINE & JULIE WALTERS IN EDUCATING RITA

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yIiZQ96KZlw/TjMqEfZee5I/AAAAAAAACFM/IbtdD2_MxWI/s1600/educating%252Brita%252B8.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="320" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5634893815406820242" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yIiZQ96KZlw/TjMqEfZee5I/AAAAAAAACFM/IbtdD2_MxWI/s200/educating%252Brita%252B8.jpg" style="float: right; height: 200px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 124px;" width="198" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1983 rating: ***</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The Pygmalion story's been done a whole lot, most famously in “My Fair Lady,” and here it goes again in a quirky British comedy starring Michael Caine as a classy, boozing, bearded English professor and a lower class girl played with gusto by Julie Walters, who seeks him as a private tutor, wanting to learn about books and… all the stuff her pub pals care less about. 
 
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vWEqImCi14M/VlpMyks4x-I/AAAAAAAApu8/D1IWp0Sw2_Y/s1600/Screen%2Bshot%2B2015-11-28%2Bat%2B4.53.52%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vWEqImCi14M/VlpMyks4x-I/AAAAAAAApu8/D1IWp0Sw2_Y/s320/Screen%2Bshot%2B2015-11-28%2Bat%2B4.53.52%2BPM.png" width="146" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Julie Walters</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The first half, as Caine and Walters help each other – she’s getting smarter and he’s drinking less – works great. But it’s not long till Walters progresses past her mentor, who falls head over loafers with the endearingly flawed working girl. 
 
When she winds up at an out-of-town college, causing him to sink back to the bottle, the movie hits a slower, less interesting stride. The dreamlike, synthesized score, popular in 1980's British films, seems more fitting to a low budget sci-fi, and the side-characters… including Caine’s cheating wife and lover, and Walter’s dimwitted husband and artsy best friend… are merely one-dimensional. But the two leads, having no other options but each other, carry the film: only they don’t have enough scenes together later on. Based on a play that sticks to one setting with two characters, perhaps this should have been as contained, especially with the talent involved. Although Walter's cadence of speech gets annoying, but Caine, as usual, remains sublime throughout.

eighties, michael caine, romance

MICHAEL CAINE & JULIE WALTERS IN EDUCATING RITA

1983 rating: *** The Pygmalion story's been done a whole lot, most famously in “My Fair Lady,” and here it goes again in a quirky Br...

Written by James M. Tate / 7/25/2011 / No comments / action , blockbuster , chris evans , comic book , tens

CAPTAIN AMERICA

<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MuSXPCK_mLI/Ti2utjob_sI/AAAAAAAACEs/47LKaSRJJos/s1600/poster_Captain_America_Teaser_by_buckyj.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5633350806592552642" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MuSXPCK_mLI/Ti2utjob_sI/AAAAAAAACEs/47LKaSRJJos/s200/poster_Captain_America_Teaser_by_buckyj.jpg" style="float: right; height: 200px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; width: 169px;" /></a>title: CAPTAIN AMERICA 
year: 2011 
cast: Chris Evans 
rating: ** 
 
This Marvel Comic adaptation, taking place during World War II, wields amazing special effects by turning muscular lead actor Chris Evans into a super skinny “Steve Rogers,” who desperately wants to fight against the Nazis. But his size, asthma, and other health issues keep him from passing muster. 
 
Our protagonist’s underdog plight... as Rogers, when not attempting to trick the army, hangs out with his uniformed best friend... isn’t as involving as it should be. These characters don’t seem real enough to care for. And when a friendly scientist gives him an opportunity to join a special task force, the boot camp scenes involving Tommy Lee Jones as the barking Colonel, and love-interest “Peggy Carter” as a drill instructor, are a rushed montage: leading to the big experiment that turns the emaciated Rogers into a beefy macho man who can run really fast, but overall his powers aren’t very… super. 
 
The writers, to counterbalance the corny costume of the original Marvel character, has the Army turn Rogers into a purposely cheesy performer in propaganda films, given the name of “Captain America,” shield and all… So when he becomes the real deal, traipsing around the battlefield with a troop of soldiers and a more mainstreamed uniform… it seems a legit, and less silly, alternative. 
 
But the dominating main villain, Red Skull, with a red painted face brighter than a fire truck and a cliché desire to rule the world, just doesn’t wash. While Rogers, whose powers seem peripheral by the time we have a climactic action-packed aerial chase (and not enough action beforehand), is like any other fictional hero, making this a second rate war-time thriller rather than escapist fantasy: what most comic book films (should) provide.

action, blockbuster, chris evans, comic book, tens

CAPTAIN AMERICA

title: CAPTAIN AMERICA year: 2011 cast: Chris Evans rating: ** This Marvel Comic adaptation, taking place during World War II, wield...

Written by James M. Tate / 7/19/2011 / No comments / dance , eighties , jennifer beals , romance , stacy pickren

JENNIFER BEALS IN FLASHDANCE

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XaMx7slU9Pc/TiXOlagmKQI/AAAAAAAACEE/hFnbImV5V9g/s1600/flashdance.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5631134051263195394" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XaMx7slU9Pc/TiXOlagmKQI/AAAAAAAACEE/hFnbImV5V9g/s400/flashdance.jpg" style="float: right; height: 230px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 138px;" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1983 rating: ***</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
“What A Feeling!” became a catchtune of the eighties – the chorus to the main song by Irene Cara, and this film, while not entirely holding up like other underdog movies like ROCKY, THE KARATE KID or FOOTLOOSE, has its heart in the right place and some good side characters supporting Jennifer Beals, playing a tough girl welder who dreams of being a dancer in the spotlight, and not just the strip bar in which she moonlights: doing all those creative, high-tech numbers seen on MTV (and that the dingy dive would never be able to afford). 
 
Lilia Skala as her best friend provides a loyal, yet one-dimensional base, and Kyle Heffner as the nightclub’s cook, who yearns to do standup comedy more than Beals wants to dance, makes for an endearing mascot. One scene involving surly, competitive dancer Stacey Pickren, opening up about aspiring dreams getting lost in the trunk of a car, is an essential standout, shining light on the film’s go-for-it theme. 
 
Lee Ving provides a dependably vile thug; as owner of a rival strip joint, he wants Beal to himself, or else. But Michael Nouri, as the square-jawed owner of the purgatory-like factory where Beals toils during the day, makes for a weak love-interest, adding steamy romance when needed but without any real spark igniting their inevitable passion. Director Adrian Lyne juggles melodrama with stylish dance numbers good enough to allow this passably entertaining film to remain an iconic timepiece, though it’s hardly a classic.

dance, eighties, jennifer beals, romance, stacy pickren

JENNIFER BEALS IN FLASHDANCE

1983 rating: *** “What A Feeling!” became a catchtune of the eighties – the chorus to the main song by Irene Cara, and this film, while ...

Written by James M. Tate / 7/10/2011 / No comments / adam sandler , comedy , nick nolte , sylvester stallone , tens

ZOOKEEPER

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tqN4vhqi-ws/ThnqhnWowXI/AAAAAAAACD0/2sTU-HDBj-k/s1600/the_zookeeper011.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627787072596656498" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tqN4vhqi-ws/ThnqhnWowXI/AAAAAAAACD0/2sTU-HDBj-k/s200/the_zookeeper011.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 151px; height: 200px;" /></a>title: ZOOKEEPER year: 2011 cast: Kevin James, Rosario Dawson, Leslie Bibb, Nick Nolte, Adam Sandler rating: * Kevin James works at a zoo, where after hours the animals gather around talking to each other. But that aspect is only half the ride. Most of the time it's our put-upon hero having love troubles with his ex-girlfriend Leslie Bibb, who'd rather see him selling imported cars, which he takes a stab at to the animal’s chagrin. At this point the creatures have already “broken the code” and are giving him verbal advice on love. Funny thing, since Bibb resembles a model, none of the animals tell their chubby pal to lose weight for a better chance at keeping her. But animals are nicer than humans, especially an abused, sulky Gorilla voiced by Nick Nolte, who joins James in a night out a TGIF and becomes his best friend. The segments with the animals are silly, and not very funny, but hey, that’s all right.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rogE81ijANc/ThnqZCHESZI/AAAAAAAACDs/DHU4m0lt-2w/s1600/9772958-large.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627786925160286610" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rogE81ijANc/ThnqZCHESZI/AAAAAAAACDs/DHU4m0lt-2w/s200/9772958-large.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 136px;" /></a> Sylvester Stallone as the king lion and especially Adam Sandler as a spastic monkey get a few laughs. And Nolte seems human enough to feel for, although his input gets a bit melodramatic. But the bland love story, or stories... as eagle expert Rosario Dawson, in helping James make Bibb jealous, falls for him as well... is what stinks up the joint. Two gorgeous girls longing for an clumsy overweight everyman is more outlandish than animals talking. Yet throughout this entire mess, the main problem is the star himself: having to rely on overboard pratfalls to make up for the fact that… at least in this outing… he just isn’t funny.

adam sandler, comedy, nick nolte, sylvester stallone, tens

ZOOKEEPER

title: ZOOKEEPER year: 2011 cast: Kevin James, Rosario Dawson, Leslie Bibb, Nick Nolte, Adam Sandler rating: * Kevin James works at a zo...

Written by James M. Tate / 7/08/2011 / No comments / comedy , keven spacey , tens

HORRIBLE BOSSES

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pStV4QHp41w/Thfq9hMPdMI/AAAAAAAACDk/sQRUg9jdD9o/s1600/df.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627224602025358530" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pStV4QHp41w/Thfq9hMPdMI/AAAAAAAACDk/sQRUg9jdD9o/s200/df.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 193px; height: 200px;" /></a>title: HORRIBLE BOSSES year: 2011 cast: Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, Jason Sudeikis, Kevin Spacey rating: ** THE HANGOVER franchise was bound to serve as an inspiration, and this particular movie, about three guys who decide to kill their bosses, while having nothing plot-wise to do with its mentor, tries hard for the same bickering camaraderie. Our straight man, Jason Bateman, works for Kevin Spacey: the Darth Vader of bosses. The Casanova, Jason Sudeikis, has to deal with his departed employer’s son, a coked-out creep who exploits third world countries. And the comic relief (even comedies need one) is Charlie Day, a straight-laced yet neurotic and contentedly engaged dental assistant, whose boss, sexy Jennifer Aniston, really wants to screw him. The idea to kill their superiors comes quickly (all three just happening to be in the same desperate predicament at once),<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vJf_LWVLaI0/ThfqoiXERZI/AAAAAAAACDc/MYjMKf3WeFE/s1600/Horrible-Bosses-1_610-cropped-proto-filmcritic_reviews___entry_default.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627224241561945490" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vJf_LWVLaI0/ThfqoiXERZI/AAAAAAAACDc/MYjMKf3WeFE/s200/Horrible-Bosses-1_610-cropped-proto-filmcritic_reviews___entry_default.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 124px; height: 200px;" /></a> leading to some of the funnier moments: seeking a hit man, who turns out to be a “consultant,” is Jamie Foxx in a memorable, and reoccurring, cameo. There’s a few humorous scenes when the boys venture on their own to, like in Hitchcock’s STRANGERS ON A TRAIN, take out each other’s albatrosses – like Day having a second-hand cocaine experience, making him even wackier. But eventually too many convoluted twists and turns mar the simplistic yet intriguing plotline. With so many over-the-top catastrophes thrown at them, you forget these guys had a problem (or problems) to begin with, making everything seem kinda pointless after a while.

comedy, keven spacey, tens

HORRIBLE BOSSES

title: HORRIBLE BOSSES year: 2011 cast: Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, Jason Sudeikis, Kevin Spacey rating: ** THE HANGOVER franchise was bo...

Written by James M. Tate / 7/03/2011 / No comments / action , blockbuster , steven spielberg , tens

TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y9YPwBW2Zro/ThETuyJ2YvI/AAAAAAAACDE/3dPXcOQSmgU/s1600/transformers-Dark-of-the-moon.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625299104020456178" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y9YPwBW2Zro/ThETuyJ2YvI/AAAAAAAACDE/3dPXcOQSmgU/s200/transformers-Dark-of-the-moon.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 189px;" /></a>title: TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON year: 2011 cast: Shia LaBeouf, John Turturro, Rosie Huntington-Whitely rating: *** After two world wars (the first two movies) it makes sense for a Cold War Thriller, and that's what most of the film is, the first half replacing action with espionage. History be damned; the real story of Neil Armstrong's landing on the Moon is altered with a secret no one knew about: there was a Transformer crashed on its dark side. This discovery has, with a few clashing robot battles in-between, Shia LaBeouf and his trophy girlfriend rolling to various locations, unlocking clues with the help of, or perhaps the bulwark of, the military: keeping good old Optimus Prime safe and sound while Sentinel Prime, the moon Transformer moved to Earth, changes sides when his hidden power is revealed: which can save his planet but ruin ours. The problem is the last half. Although there's plenty of action and cool shape-shifting effects, much of the battle repeats itself; the good guys seem defeated and then make a last minute comeback twice within an epic running time thirty minutes too long. Newcomers John Malkovich is amusing as an eccentric corporate head, while Patrick Dempsey takes the charmingly shady capitalist role. And many of the prior alumnus return, including John Tuturro and Tyrese Gibson, aiding underdog turned tough guy Shia in the big ground battle where Optimus Prime is only used sporadically, yet strategically, throughout an overlong, but ultimately satisfying, blockbuster.

action, blockbuster, steven spielberg, tens

TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON

title: TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON year: 2011 cast: Shia LaBeouf, John Turturro, Rosie Huntington-Whitely rating: *** After two worl...

Written by James M. Tate / 7/02/2011 / No comments / comedy , julia roberts , pam grier , romantic comedy , tens , tom hanks

LARRY CROWNE

<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Y_V4LLhxhqk/Tg-78cnk7mI/AAAAAAAACC0/8u8dzm3LsY4/s1600/larry_crowne_movie_image_julia_roberts_tom_hanks_01.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5624921106757774946" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Y_V4LLhxhqk/Tg-78cnk7mI/AAAAAAAACC0/8u8dzm3LsY4/s400/larry_crowne_movie_image_julia_roberts_tom_hanks_01.jpg" style="float: right; height: 200px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 132px;" width="264" /></a>title: LARRY CROWNE
 
year: 2011
 
cast: Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts 
rating: **1/2
 
 
Tom Hanks, who's been a serious actor for over twenty years, returns to his romantic comedy roots, kind of. There's some comedy here, not all of it funny, but hardly any romance. This quirky little film, directed by Hanks and penned by Hanks and Nina Vardalos, centers on a slightly past middle-aged guy named Larry Crowne who, after being fired from his managerial job at "U-MART" because of a lack of education, ventures to community college where he takes a course you probably won't find anywhere else but fictionland. Julia Roberts is the surly instructor of a speech class helping students... learn confidence, or something. The inevitable bonding between pretty teacher and sweet-natured student is not only sidetracked by goofy subplots... Larry joining a moped-riding "gang" and various conversations with his neighbor, who runs a daily garage sale... but is where most of our time's spent. So when that Hanks/Roberts click does occur, it's forced and without much chemistry. So anyone looking for a wind-swept love story or a hilarious comedy, skip this. Yet as feel-good movies go, it passes the time in a breezy, and somewhat unique, manner. But the problem is that Hanks tries giving every character too much endearing dynamic, not only taking away from the story, but giving the impression there isn't one to begin with.

comedy, julia roberts, pam grier, romantic comedy, tens, tom hanks

LARRY CROWNE

title: LARRY CROWNE year: 2011 cast: Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts rating: **1/2 Tom Hanks, who's been a serious actor for over twent...

THE GREEN HORNET

<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S0sSGIpqb6U/Tg92pw2E1WI/AAAAAAAACCk/1Zn9OfsaQIY/s1600/56183.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5624844919467464034" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S0sSGIpqb6U/Tg92pw2E1WI/AAAAAAAACCk/1Zn9OfsaQIY/s200/56183.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 200px; margin: 0 0 10px 10px; width: 174px;" /></a>title: THE GREEN HORNET 
year: 2011 
cast: Seth Rogan, Jay Chou, Cameron Diaz, Christoph Waltz, James Franco 
rating: *1/2 
 
Actor Seth Rogen produced and co-wrote this Superhero story of THE GREEN HORNET who, along with his Asian sidekick Kato, assumes the role as a renown villain to fight crime. 
 
Many problems here, the first being Rogen's performance, no different than his usual deep-voiced slacker sarcasm displayed in many light comedies, acquiring him the fame to leap into something "serious," which this is anything but. 
 
The means of how Rogen's Britt Reid, playboy son of a millionaire newspaper tycoon, goes from party animal to the titular crime fighter is rushed and forced. After his father's death, Reid discovers dad's Asian mechanic (Kato) can not only make coffee better than Juan Valdez, but creates extraordinary cars and weapons (and just about everything) like Zeus wields lightning. 
 
And with a few conversations, the template is set: the boys drive off to thwart any wrongdoings, all the while causing havoc to assume their villain roles. But the real baddie, Christoph Waltz, makes for a dull antagonist, providing no real threat to the boys, who really don't seem like legitimate criminals on their own. 
 
The fight scenes, as Kato's brain becomes a virtual grid-computer to zero in on his targets (taking away from what the original Kato, Bruce Lee, acquired with good old fashion karate skills), turns all the action into a video game consul.<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lhT2Jja_jZE/Tg92h70g3LI/AAAAAAAACCc/OX6mc-y1vi4/s1600/the-green-hornet.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5624844784974748850" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lhT2Jja_jZE/Tg92h70g3LI/AAAAAAAACCc/OX6mc-y1vi4/s200/the-green-hornet.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 156px; margin: 0 0 10px 10px; width: 200px;" /></a> 
 
And Kato himself (played decently by Jay Chou) fills too many holes, making it possible for everything to happen, while Reid, a weak character to begin with, is rendered practically useless. Cameron Diaz, as Brit's new personal assistant, providing helpful clues that, unbeknownst to her, the duo apply in the field, is the only interesting player... with an assertive, no-nonsense personality, she's slightly more dimensional than the two leads, both seeming part of a banal buddy flick that's not sure what it is. 
 
Being too goofy for a superhero movie, and not funny enough for a comedy, we're left with an overlong, dysfunctional mess.

action, cameron diaz, seth rogen, superhero, tens

THE GREEN HORNET

title: THE GREEN HORNET year: 2011 cast: Seth Rogan , Jay Chou, Cameron Diaz , Christoph Waltz, James Franco rating: *1/2 Actor Seth...

Written by James M. Tate / 7/01/2011 / No comments / comedy , eighties , john candy , rip torn

JOHN CANDY IN SUMMER RENTAL

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-v_HJ6eJCdX4/VMTpQQs8qDI/AAAAAAAAmV0/8H4X5K0N8Dk/s1600/232901.1020.A-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-v_HJ6eJCdX4/VMTpQQs8qDI/AAAAAAAAmV0/8H4X5K0N8Dk/s1600/232901.1020.A-1.jpg" width="125" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1985 rating: ***1/2</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
John Candy, in his first starring role, plays a burnt-out air traffic controller given a two week Florida vacation... Starting with accidentally settling into the wrong house, things go wrong in the usual domino-falling fashion, much like NATIONAL LAMPOON'S VACATION (or any comedy involving a family trip).  Cute daughter and wife Kerri Green and Tracy Austin are great to gander, and son Matthew Lawrence isn't annoying like some comedy kiddos.  
 
SUMMER RENTAL is broken into two halves: the first, dealing with the clan's unlucky misadventures, including their rental house used as a way-station for tourists and various oddballs; the second involving Candy learning how to sail by modern pirate Rip Torn, thus preparing for a big boat race against local bully Richard Crenna, playing bad to the hilt in this way above average underdog family film that's not always hilarious, but there's plenty to smile at.

comedy, eighties, john candy, rip torn

JOHN CANDY IN SUMMER RENTAL

1985 rating: ***1/2 John Candy, in his first starring role, plays a burnt-out air traffic controller given a two week Florida vacation.....

WAGONS EAST

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HbuXyNTqA-k/Tg45PEMvNSI/AAAAAAAACCM/GNmRht4WF70/s1600/750.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5624495915620316450" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HbuXyNTqA-k/Tg45PEMvNSI/AAAAAAAACCM/GNmRht4WF70/s200/750.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 140px; height: 200px;" /></a>title: WAGONS EAST year: 1994 cast: John Candy, Richard Lewis, Robert Picardo, Ed Lauter, Ellen Greene rating: **1/2 John Candy's last film, in which he died on location, isn't completely awful. A comedic Western about a group of disheveled citizens in a desolate Western town who, realizing their dreams have, thanks to rowdy locals, become a nightmare, decide to head back East. A clever premise, and for the most part, an involving "Road Movie" as John Candy, playing a weathered wagon master, leads five stage coaches, which includes Richard Lewis as a whiny doctor,<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-G-fvrI9g1Eg/Tg45D6AsE8I/AAAAAAAACCE/V-YyXs4nbJk/s1600/wagons-east-poster.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5624495723906864066" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-G-fvrI9g1Eg/Tg45D6AsE8I/AAAAAAAACCE/V-YyXs4nbJk/s200/wagons-east-poster.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 164px;" /></a> Robert Picardo as a doubting banker, Ellen Greene as a hooker with a heart of gold, and scene-stealer John C. McKinley as a gay librarian, into Indian territory, dry riverbeds, and a winter storm. The humor relies on the perilous situations and how the neurotic characters, especially Lewis, reacts to each. A bland finale for Candy, not only because it's not very funny, but as a frustrated, sulky drunkard his endearing sweet-natured underdog humor is absent, so anyone could have played the part. And since most of his scenes were filmed there's not much missing except a funnier script, which the late icon deserved to go out with. Perhaps fans should consider UNCLE BUCK as his last truly classic swan song.

comedy, john candy, nineties, road movie, western