ROGUE ASSASSIN
Starring: Jet Li, Jason Statham, Terry Chen, John
Lone, Ryo Ishibashi
Director: Philip G. Atwell
When
Rogue (Jet Li), an infamous and elusive assassin, killed and
murdered FBI agent Tom Lone (Terry Chen) and his family,
Lone’s partner John Crawford (Jason Statham) vows to find
him to personally avenge his partner’s death. Three years
later Rogue resurfaces to ignite a bloody war between
Chinese Triad leader Chang (John Lone) and Japanese Yakuza
head Shiro (Ryo Ishibashi). Crawford, eager to capture Rogue
at all costs, leads his team of crime specialists to meddle
into the conflict between the Chinese and Japanese mafias.
But his thirst for vengeance conflicts with his interest of
resolving the turf war for it affects his professional
judgment, thereby jeopardizing his team’s operations.
Meanwhile, Rogue starts to unveil as a complex and
complicated assassin with the series of betrayals that he
does with his bosses. When Crawford finally comes face to
face with Rogue, he discovers that nothing about Rogue and
his plans.
Dubbed as the ultimate martial arts duel movie of the year,
Rogue fails as an action-thriller feature in more ways than
one. The choreography seems to be uninspired and
run-of-the-mill. The twists and turns of the story could
have been interesting but they still appear cliché because
of the rather slow moving treatment. The production design,
cinematography and special effects actually worked although
much of the milieu is left unexploited. The biggest
disappointment of the movie is that the two big stars Jet Li
and Jason Statham rarely have a scene together. The ones
they have are dulled by Stantam doing the
talking/confrontation and Li looking at him with that
signature deadpan look. Stantam does what he does best –
look unshaven, bloodshot, and speak in that clipped British
accent. Jet Li, on the other hand, just stares at the
camera, speaks a few lines in his broken English, and throws
a few reluctant punches. Vengeance is the ultimate weapon
and the entire movie runs with the central theme of revenge
that is apparently not the best motivation for a human
person. Vengeance is as evil as greed that eventually
destroys the human spirit. Rogue only leaves disturbing and
questionable moral judgments.
Top5
THE KINGDOM
The
film kicks off with a brief and informative history of the
Middle East. Despite the presence of heavily-armed guards,
terrorists are able to attack an American compound, setting
off bombs and killing hundreds of people in Saudi Arabia. A
crackerjack team of FBI investigators begs to be given the
opportunity to travel to Saudi Arabia and assist in the
investigation. Higher ups don’t want the four agents to go,
but somehow they finagle their way into being allowed to
help the Saudis track down the terrorists responsible for
the killings. It’s not just a professional gig for these
four, it’s also personal. They lost friends during the
blasts and they want answers – and justice. Once on Saudi
soil, agents Grant Sykes (Chris Cooper), Adam Leavitt (Jason
Bateman), Janet Mayes (Jennifer Garner), and team leader
Ronald Fleury (Jamie Foxx) are paired up with a topnotch
Saudi cop and given just five days to conduct their
investigation. Complicating matters, the Saudi government
doesn’t want the FBI agents to step outside the compound or
actually conduct any useful tests. Citing fear for their
safety, Saudi officials confine the team to very limited
areas, basically handicapping their work. Fortunately for
Fleury and his fellow agents, the high-ranking police
official assigned to be their watchdog is extremely
proficient at his job. Colonel Al-Ghazi (Ashraf Barhom,
delivering the best performance of the film) and Agent
Fleury have a lot more in common than either would have
assumed, and the friendship they forge allows the agents to
access sections of the bomb site and areas of the city that
would otherwise have been off-limits. It’s highly dangerous
for all involved, but neither the FBI agents nor their Saudi
counterparts are willing to settle for anything less than
the capture of those responsible.
Academy Award winners Jamie Foxx and Chris Cooper play
analytical tough guys who mean business. While Cooper does
his good ‘ole boy best, Foxx takes a more muscular approach
to his FBI character. He’s thoughtful and intellectual, but
you know when push comes to shove he’ll be the first to step
up and inflict damage. Foxx has done action films before but
‘The Kingdom’ is the first film where his action skills are
fully tested, and he handles the job beautifully. Jason
Bateman provides the film with a little comic relief when
appropriate. Bateman’s experiencing a career resurgence and
with ‘The Kingdom’ he’s officially back in the feature film
game. And action veteran Jennifer Garner (Alias) totally
fits the part of a female FBI agent who can handle herself
as well, if not better, than her male cohorts. The film
actually does a good job of taking a huge international
story and making it into an intimate whodunit with a handful
of central characters pursuing a very specific goal. Because
of its narrow focus and because of the incredible action
sequences it reigns as one of the best thrillers of 2007.
Top5
THE UGLY DUCKLING AND ME
Voice over by: Morgan Jones, Justin Gregg, Aileen
Mythen, J. Drew Douglas
Directed by: Michael Hegner, Karsten Kiilerich.
Totally
rethinking the set-up of old time fairy tale Hans Christian
Anderson's ‘The Ugly Duckling’ this version sees shifty
showman Ratso (Jones), a cross between Del Boy and Steve
Buscemi. Our hero, Ratso, takes off across the countryside,
all the time being tailed menacingly by Phyllis, the jilted
lover, and her gang of beefy brothers. He tries to make it
to a carnival with his only client, the worm Wesley (Paul
Tylak). Along the way they come across an egg, which to
Ratso's horror, hatches, and the ugliest duck in the world
rolls out. Ratso, seeing his chance to make a mint, pretends
he's Ugly's (Gregg) father and drags him to
carnival-slash-freakshow on the far side of an ominous
forest to parade 'The Ugliest Duck in the World'. Ratso and
Ugly find much adventure along the way, as well as an
unlikely love-interest. But what also happens, and what
ultimately saves this from being little more than a
rehashed, modernizing of a somewhat dubious fairytale, is
that Ratso learns the value of friends and learns to not
exploit the good nature and temporarily unpleasant exterior
of his adopted offspring. Via a fight to save Ugly’s life,
Ratso undergoes some much-needed personal development and
the film avoids the inferior moral of the original fable.
The writers put a lot of hope into Ratso and its success
with the audiences will be based on how they will react to
him. They shouldn't have anything to worry because they've
created a gem of a character and everyone else fades in his
shadow. The film has a slick and cute animation, wrapped up
with an important message that beauty isn't everything:
"Beauty is a passing thing. They waste their lives on hand
cream and early nights while guys like you and me have all
the fun." It's got a few tuning problems and at times the
dialogue could have done with a little finessing, but
there's a lot of heart and it tries hard to make adults and
kids laugh along to the same jokes. The Ugly Duckling And Me
makes one thing clear - you don't need celebrity voices to
make a funny kids cartoon.
Top5
BORDER TOWN
Starring: Jennifer Lopez, Antonio Banderas,
Maya Zapata
Directed by: Gregory Nava
Lauren
Adrian (Jennifer Lopez), an impassioned American news
reporter for the "Chicago Sentinel" wants to be assigned to
the Iraq front-lines to cover the war. Instead, her editor
George Morgan (Martin Sheen) assigns her to investigate a
series of slayings involving young maquiladora factory women
in a Mexican bordertown. Worker Eva (Maya Zapata),
originally from Oaxaca in the south, takes a bus to go back
to her shanty-town home after work. After a while she is the
last passenger still in the bus. The driver asks her if it
is okay that he goes to a gas station to fill up, and Eva
agrees. However, he takes her to a quiet place and assaults
and rapes her together with another man, who then tries to
strangle her. The two men, believing her dead, bury her
alive. With the little energy she has left, Eva escapes.
Adrian heads to Ciudad Juárez, Mexico to investigate the
murders, hoping that if she does well she'll be assigned to
Iraq by Morgan. In Juárez, she meets up with Diaz (Antonio
Banderas), with whom she has been working together six years
ago, and who is the editor for the local newspaper "El Sol
de Juárez." She also meets Eva. The three try to find the
two killers and have them prosecuted. Adrian starts working
in the factory, in order to act as bait on the bus ride.
Indeed the driver tries to assault her in the same way as
Eva, and while police assistance was arranged they are at
the wrong place. She manages to escape her attacker. Later
Diaz gets killed. Eva changes her mind and does not want to
testify anymore against the second killer for fear of
revenge, and tries to flee to the US, together with others
in the trunk of a car. She gets caught and is sent back.
Adrian convinces her to testify after all. For political
reasons the Chicago Sentinel refuses to publish Adrian's
story. Adrian quits and becomes the editor for "El Sol de
Juárez."
Bordertown places the blame for the murders to the Mexican
government, the United States, and to the maquiladora
assembly plants that were accelerated by the North American
Free Trade Agreement. Filming locations include:
Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States; Nogales, Sonora, and
Ciudad Juárez, all in Mexico.
Top5
FLY BOYS
Starring: James Franco, Jean Reno, David Ellison,
Martin Henderson, Jennifer Decker
Directed by: Tony Bill
In
1914, "The Great War" --WWI--began in Europe. By 1917, the
Allied powers of France, England, Italy and others were on
the ropes against the German juggernaut. Some altruistic
young Americans disagreed with the war. They volunteered to
fight alongside their counterparts in France; some in the
infantry, some in the Ambulance Corps. A handful of others
had a different idea: they decided to learn how to fly. The
first of them--a squadron of only 38-- became known as the
Lafayette Escadrille. This is their story. Forced to abandon
his family's ranch, Blaine Rawlings (James Franco) finds his
future in a newsreel chronicling the adventures of young
aviators in France. At a small train station in rural
Nebraska, William Jensen (Philip Winchester) promises to
make his family proud. In New York, spoiled Briggs Lowry
(Tyler Labine) embarks on a trans-Atlantic passage.
Meanwhile, in France, black expatriate boxer, Eugene Skinner
(Abdul Salis), vows to repay his debt to his adopted
racially tolerant country. Together, these American boys
arrive at an aerodrome in France, eager to learn how to fly.
The young men gather in France and soon the aerial battles
with the beastly Hun commence. Cynical, weathered American
ace Reed Cassidy (Martin Henderson) concentrates on downing
his German nemesis, the Black Falcon, the villain who grins
that beastly Hun grin before firing. Blaine, meantime,
cozies up to one of the locals, Lucienne (Jennifer Decker),
who fears her Yank is about to fulfill the grim three- to
six-week life expectancy of the Lafayette pilots. What they
didn't realize was that they were about to embark on a
great, romantic adventure, becoming the world's first combat
pilots.
Just about everything about "Flyboys" rings false, although
the planes certainly are terrific. Director Tony Bill
handles his aerial war well. The numerous dogfights,
however, are so soaped up with digitally composite imagery
that the thrills and the machines themselves end up
diminished. And do we need such gimmicks as shots of bombs
plummeting toward earth, photographed from the weapons'
point of view? The film takes a strong subject, the
Americans who volunteered for the French as aviators in the
Lafayette Escadrille turn it into romantic slush.
Top5
THE CONDEMNED
Starring: Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, Max von Sydow,
Noemie Lenoir, Hiroyuki Sanada
Directed by: Brett Ratner
Imagine
a "Survivor"-style reality TV show where the contestants are
condemned murderers who get to kill each other on
camera--and where the winner is the last killer left alive.
The WWE , a reality- TV producer wrangles together 10 people
on death row from all over the world (terrorists, rapists,
murderous bank robbers) to star on a show he's airing on the
Internet from an undisclosed island. Viewers are expected to
pay $49.95 to watch for 30 straight hours as these 10 kill
each other. At the 30th hour, the last inmate standing goes
free. The unlucky have been bludgeoned, shot, or detonated
courtesy of a bracelet strapped to each contestant's ankle,
which can be manually set off by other contestants. Austin
disguised as Jack Conrad is actually a secret U.S. agent;
his murders, like 007's, are part of his job description.
The other contestants do violent or idiotic things, like
stabbing each other on camera or adopting the buddy system--
Conrad, by contrast, does sensible things, like killing the
really bad guys and delivering pithy messages of fair play.
Meanwhile, the brutal Breckel vies for some kind of
nastiness prize with the worst of his hired scum, British
special agent/killer Ewan McStarley (the prodigious Vinnie
Jones of "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels"). It's a dead
heat.
Despite a slick production and good actors, "The Condemned,"
the latest fiction feature production of World Wrestling
Entertainment Films and the first starring vehicle for WWE
wrestling superstar Steve Austin (the wrestler formerly
known as Stone Cold), is a real stinker. It doesn't have the
courage of its own bad taste, or that of its villain. The
movie lacks the intelligence to make a satire of reality
television. It's a sadistic grindhouse flick that feels the
need to justify its sadism by moralizing against it. Through
it all, Austin's character, Conrad who's been scapegoated
onto death row (by government), demonstrates relative
indestructibility. Austin himself is more interesting on a
big screen than John Cena and Kane, Austin's fellow WWE
stars who've had movies come out in the last year. He has a
tough but pliable Texas drawl that makes even the dumbest
lines sound witty. "The Condemned" is done as a fairly
straightforward, if extremely grisly, action movie. You
might enjoy it if you're an Austin fanatic or reality TV
hater.
Top5
RUSH HOUR 3
Starring: Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, Max von Sydow,
Noemie Lenoir, Hiroyuki Sanada
Directed by: Brett Ratner
In
the heart of Paris lies a deadly secret. Half a world away
in Los Angeles, Ambassador Han (Tzi Ma) is about to disclose
it. In his possession is explosive new evidence about the
inner workings of the Triads--the most powerful and
notorious crime syndicate in the world. The Ambassador has
discovered the identity of Shy Shen, the very crux of the
wide-ranging crime ring, and he's about to reveal it to the
World Criminal Court--until he is silenced by an assassin's
bullet. The Triads will go to any lengths to make sure their
secrets stay buried, and there's only one hope for stopping
them. LAPD Detective Carter (Tucker) and Chinese Chief
Inspector Lee (Chan) are back. The unlikely duo is headed to
the City of Lights to stop a global criminal conspiracy and
save the life of an old friend, Ambassador Han's now-grown
daughter, Soo Yung (Zhang Jingchu). They don't know the
city, the language or even exactly what they're looking for,
but their race will take them across the city, from the
depths of the Paris underground to the breathtaking heights
of the Eiffel Tower, as they fight to outrun the world's
most deadly criminals and save the day.
Rush Hour 3 revisits everything that made the first two
films commercially successful, only slightly tweaking the
established buddy comedy format to include a message of
brotherhood as well as a few jabs at USA. Foregoing a
logical plot and any desire they might have had to cover new
comic territory, Nathanson and Ratner settled for recycling
gags and gimmicks that have worked in the past. You can
definitely see signs of slowing down in Jackie Chan. Many of
his actions scenes appear to have been accomplished at a
much slower pace than previous Chan movies. Chan's
53-year-old body may not be able to make the moves look as
effortless as he used to, but you've got to give him an A
for effort. Plus, not many teens or young adults could keep
up with Chan even at this stage of the game. Chris Tucker
was apparently handed the task of picking up some of the
action slack as his character's much more involved in
altercations with the bad guys than in the two previous
movies. Tucker's okay as an action guy, and fortunately the
script and the staging of the stunts allowed the actor to
maintain his status as the film’s comic relief. Disengage
your brain and forget trying to make a coherent story out of
why the guys go to Paris, who exactly they're after, and
who's on their side. A completely forgettable popcorn flick
meant only to serve fans of the team of Chan and Tucker.
Top5
ROB-B-HOOD
Starring: Jackie Chan, Teresa Carpio
Director: Benny Chan
Possibly
as a response to never ending jokes about the increasing age
gap between him and his co-stars, Jackie Chan’s latest film
“Rob-B-Hood” sees him featured alongside a young baby in a
typical action packed comedy caper. The film is directed by
Benny Chan, a long time collaborator of the Hong Kong
superstar, having worked with him previously on the likes of
“Who am I?” and the recent “New Police Story”. But the
results this time around are far superior to other recent
Jackie vehicles such as “The Myth”. Once it gets going
“Rob-B-Hood” does offer a solid mix of laughs and thrills.
The plot is simple, and, yes, is reminiscent of Three Men
and a Baby. Irresponsible burglars have to take care of a
baby and grow up in the process. Between the action
sequences, we have scenes of humor, romance, and drama. Some
of these work quite well.
Thongs, (Jackie) is a thief who has an unfortunate habit of
gambling away his ill-gotten earnings and who is deep in
debt as a result. Along with his partner Octopus (Louis
Koo), he accepts a job from their desperate landlord
(Michael Hui) to kidnap a young baby, lured by the prospect
of a massive reward. After wacky mishaps a-plenty, the cute
toddler awakens strong paternal feelings in the two crooks,
leading to complications when it comes to handing him over
to his possibly crazy gang boss grandfather (mainland
Chinese actor Chen Baoguo). Benny Chan employs a series of
cheap attempts to build sympathy for the thieves by
introducing a variety of subplots relating to Thongs’ poor
family and Octopus’ neglected wife (Charlene Choi) which
only serve to slow things down in a haphazard fashion. Since
“Rob-B-Hood” is quite obviously a family oriented affair,
with moral lessons and redemption very much the order of the
day, there is not much in the way of fighting, with most of
the action coming in the form of car chases. Some of these
scenes are very well choreographed, and the film features a
good few vertigo-inducing moments, especially during one
which sees Chan leaping between air conditioning units at a
dizzying height. Most of the humour is quite literally of
the toilet variety, with a number of graphic moments
involving dirty nappies in faces. There are a few mature
jokes, including a great cameo scene with Nicholas Tse and
Daniel Wu which hilariously references “Brokeback Mountain”.
Jackie Chan goes through his usual face pulling antics, with
Koo gamely taking on a vaguely effeminate role as the baby’s
surrogate mother. All of this works well enough to give the
film a pleasingly amiable air.
Top5
RATATOUILLE
Starring: Patton Oswalt, Ian Holm, Lou Romano,
Brian Dennehy, Peter Sohn
Directed by: Brad Bird, Jan Pinkava
Ratatouille
is haute cuisine for the eyes, ears and heart. Young rat
Remy (Patton Oswalt) stands out from his friends and family
by virtue of his acute nose and palate. His father Django
(Brian Dennehy) is delighted: his son can sniff out poisoned
food but Remy wants more from life. Inspired by the great
chef Auguste Gusteau (Brad Garrett) who says "Anyone can
cook," Remy wants to try his hand in the kitchen. However, a
rat in a kitchen is both death to the kitchen and the rat.
When disaster lands Remy in Paris, he soon makes his
pilgrimage to Gusteau's eponymous restaurant. Unfortunately,
the chef has since died and the restaurant is a shambles,
presided over by the profit-hungry Skinner (Ian Holm), who
bears more than a slight resemblance to a certain lordly
Shrek villain. Another disaster presents Remy with a chance
to make it as a chef: he meets neurotic garbage boy Alfredo
Linguini (Pixar animator Lou Romano in his first leading
role) and, by a curious chance, discovers how he can work in
a kitchen. By pulling on Linguini's hair to control his
movements, Remy can create the dishes he wants, and help
save the restaurant from both Skinner and vampiric food
critic Anton Ego (Peter O'Toole). However, Remy and Linguini
have help: both from Gusteau's ghost who dispenses advice,
and assistant chef Collette (Janeane Garofalo) who discovers
her tough exterior softening around Linguini.
Brad Bird, and story originator Jan Pinkava, took a huge
risk with this flick but with huge risks comes huge rewards
and it reaps big time. Remy is a brilliant hero, and we
sympathize with every dip and bump on his way to cooking
success. It also helps that, like in any great comedy, the
gags come from the situation and aren't tacked on just for
the cheap giggle. The visuals by Pixar are eye-popping.
Ego's office is a perfect complement to his character, with
its coffin-shaped interior and skull-shaped typewriter. And
the kitchen is an incredible set piece, both as a backdrop
for the action and as a source of fear and wonder.
Ratatouille sets a new gold standard for Pixar, and is a
movie that stands alongside anything from Walt Disney's
Golden Age. Count on it.
Top5
THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM
Starring: Matt Damon, Julia Stiles, David
Strathairn, Scott Glenn, Joan Allen, Paddy Considine, Albert
Finney
Director: Paul Greengrass
The
film is third in the movie trilogy loosely based on Robert
Ludlum's novels which is superior to its immediate
predecessor but not quite as good as the original. The film
moves so fast there's almost no time to breathe. Jason
Bourne (Matt Damon), as part of his ongoing quest to
discover his true identity, once again becomes a danger to
the CIA. So the department's black ops division, led by Noah
Vosen (David Strathairn), targets him for elimination. Also
conspiring against him is the agency's director, Ezra Kramer
(Scott Glenn), but Bourne has allies as well: agents Pamela
Landy (Joan Allen) and Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles) endanger
their careers and lives to help him.
The action is this movie is top-notch but the film doesn't
have as much heart or emotional depth as The Bourne
Identity. As with The Bourne Supremacy, this movie diverts
so far from its "source material" that the only things
retained from Ludlum's novel are the title and some of the
character names. Ludlum's version of The Bourne Ultimatum is
completely different from the one penned by Tony Gilroy and
directed by Paul Greengrass. Matt Damon once again plays
Bourne perfectly - it's a largely impassive, kick-ass
performance that draws the viewer in. Bourne doesn't delight
in killing, but he doesn't shy away from it, either. There's
a kinship one can sense between him and the newest James
Bond. Julia Stiles and Joan Allen get a chance to show
softer sides of their hard-edged characters. In the past,
both played Bourne's adversaries; here, they're his allies.
David Strathairn, the excellent character actor who is
favored by John Sayles, oozes white collar menace. Albert
Finney's inclusion in the cast may confuse viewers with
imperfect memories because he looks a lot like Brian Cox,
who was in the other two movies. When it comes to action,
The Bourne Ultimatum trumps the summer's other offerings.
While its stunts are no less preposterous than those in Live
Free or Die Hard, what The Bourne Ultimatum offers is
grittier and more visceral. And, while there are fewer
special effects here, The Bourne Ultimatum provides a lot
more suspense and tension than Transformers could hope for.
Top5
THE LAST LEGION
Starring: Colin Firth, Ben Kingsley, Aishwarya
Rai, Thomas Sangster, Peter Mullan
Directed by: Doug Lefler
In
Rome, 476 AD, the Roman Empire, a mighty force for almost
500 years, is being threatened. On the eve of
twelve-year-old Romulus Augustus' (Thomas Sangster) crowning
ceremony to become the new emperor, Barbarian general
Odoacer (Peter Mullan) arrives in Rome to make a deal with
Orestes (Iain Glen). Odoacer makes demands of the Roman
Empire in fair exchange for his decade-long support of the
Roman legions in the east. But Orestes refuses. On
Coronation day, as all of Rome gathers to watch the
proceedings, Ambrosinus (Ben Kingsley), the shaman who is a
mentor and tutor to Romulus, predicts danger. Orestes is
worried about his son's safety and appoints Aurelius (Colin
Firth) of the fourth legion to be his personal guard. That
night, Aurelius and his legionnaires confront
danger--Odoacer and his army has returned to Rome. With a
deafening roar, the Barbarian army storms the city. With
Orestes and his wife Julia slaughtered, Romulus is captured
along with Ambrosinus and taken to the island fortress of
Capri built by the emperor Tiberius.
It is there that Romulus finds the mythical sword of Caesar
that holds the prophecy ‘One edge to defend, one to defeat;
In Britannia was I forged…to fit the hand of he...who is
destined to rule’. Not all the Roman legionnaires are dead.
Aurelius is alive and when he learns that the Byzantine
Empire will give Romulus sanctuary, he embarks on a journey
to the coast accompanied by a small group of his men and a
mysterious, black-clad Byzantine warrior. Later, Aurelius
discovers what lies behind the black clothing--a beautiful,
young woman named Mira (Aishwarya Rai). Thanks to the
strategic cunning of Ambrosinus and the fighting skill of
Aurelius and Mira, Romulus is freed. But, when the group
arrives on shore, they learn that the Byzantines have joined
forces with Odoacer's army of Goths. Faced with such
betrayal, they must find the one legion still loyal to
Rome--the ninth legion in Britannia. As they set off in
search of the last legion, Romulus and Aurelius together
embark on a new beginning.
Top5
HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE
PHOENIX
Starring:
Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Ralph Fiennes,
Gary Oldman
Directed by: David Yates
In "’Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix’, Harry
(Daniel Radcliffe) returns for his fifth year of study at
Hogwarts and discovers that much of the wizarding community
is in denial about the teenager's recent encounter with the
evil Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) preferring to turn a
blind eye to the news that Voldemort has returned. Fearing
that Hogwarts' venerable Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore
(Michael Gambon), is lying about Voldemort's return in order
to undermine his power and take his job, the Minister for
Magic, Cornelius Fudge (Robert Hardy), appoints a new
Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher to keep watch over
Dumbledore and the Hogwarts students. But Professor Dolores
Umbridge's (Imelda Staunton) Ministry-approved course of
defensive magic leaves the young wizards woefully unprepared
to defend themselves against the dark forces threatening
them and the entire wizarding community, so at the prompting
of his friends Hermione (Emma Watson) and Ron (Rupert
Grint), Harry takes matters into his own hands. Meeting
secretly with a small group of students who name themselves
"Dumbledore's Army," Harry teaches them how to defend
themselves against the Dark Arts, preparing the courageous
young wizards for the extraordinary battle that lies ahead.
The most striking aspect of the film is its contrast between
the hormonally and supernaturally tormented teenager at its
center and the modestly well-made and easygoing picture
unfolding all around him. No. 5 in the omnipresent global
franchise, "Order of the Phoenix" lies at a no-nonsense
halfway point between the best of the Potter films ("Harry
Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban") and the most impersonal
("Sorcerer's Stone," which made just under a billion dollars
worldwide). We have watched these young actors grow up
on-screen and somewhere along the way Daniel, Emma and
Rupert -- Harry, Hermione and Ron to millions -- turned into
increasingly assured slightly older young actors. Directed
by Potter newcomer David Yates, whose résumé includes the
piquant HBO romance "The Girl in the Cafe," "Order of the
Phoenix" cares little about bringing newcomers up to speed.
Nor is the film trying to be the biggest dog on the block.
It's gratifying to see a summer picture whose primary
impulse is not to destroy the audience, even as Rowling's
story line nearly destroys Harry by subjecting him to a fate
worse than Voldemort: teen angst.
Top5
ENEXT
Starring:
Nicolas Cage, Julianne Moore, Jessica Biel, Tory Kittles,
Michael Trucco
Directed by: Lee Tamahori
‘‘Next’’ has been adapted from the 1954 Philip K. Dick story
‘‘The Golden Man,’’ to which the movie bears almost no
resemblance. Cris Johnson (Nicolas Cage) is a Las Vegas
magician who actually has the ability to look into the
future. This super ability works well when playing poker or
figuring out which slot machine to pop a coin into. It’s
also useful in keeping Cris out of harm’s way. He can always
change his next step to avoid the bullet headed his
direction or turn left instead of right to avoid a
collision. It’s a sweet deal, but it has its drawbacks.
After playing a couple of hands of blackjack and netting a
tidy sum of money, Cris knows it’s time to head out of the
casino before the casino’s security personnel can haul him
in for questioning. Cashing out, Cris stops an armed gunman
who was just about to kill two casino workers, although he
can’t explain how he knew that to the police. Cris finds
himself hounded by the FBI. Counter-terrorist Agent Callie
Ferris (Julianne Moore) is in charge of locating a nuclear
bomb somewhere in California before it can detonate and kill
millions. She believes Cage’s gift can be used to save Los
Angeles. But he fears exploitation and takes off to Arizona,
setting off a wild chase that does produce one silly yet
exciting sequence in which trucks and boulders and logs go
tumbling down a hill. Meanwhile, Cris has been plagued by
visions of a young girl sitting in a coffee shop. He doesn’t
know why she keeps popping up in his dreams, but his
instincts tell him he has to meet her. She turns out to be
Liz (Jessica Biel), a school teacher about to head out of
Vegas to visit family in Flagstaff. Cris’ requests to hitch
a ride with her, and says no to Agent Ferris’ request to
stop terrorists. But circumstances change and Cris might
just be the only person on the planet who can stop the
destruction.
Cage isn’t bad and Biel deserves her reputation as one of
the hottest young actresses of her generation. But just
about everything is wrong with Julianne Moore’s portrayal of
a government agent, although it’s necessary to cut her some
slack because, she’s forced to deliver horrible lines and
that’s a major part of the problem. The other supporting
actors are completely forgettable, with the exception of a
tiny appearance by Peter Falk whose character seems to have
wandered in from an earlier version of the script. Lee
Tamahori knows action but that can’t save the irritatingly
pointless Next from taking one disastrous misstep after
another. Clever editing and an intriguing premise are wasted
when on a film that's loaded with plot holes and loopy
logic, and filled with incredibly bad dialogue. But the film
does feature a couple of terrific action sequences that
visually depict Cage’s character’s unique time-traveling
ability.
Top5
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES
Starring:
Patrick Stewart, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ziyi Zhang, Chris
Evans, Mako
Directed by: Kevin Munroe
After the defeat of their old arch nemesis, The Shredder,
the Turtles have grown apart as a family. Struggling to keep
them together, their rat sensei, Master Splinter (voice of
Mako), becomes worried when strange things begin to brew in
New York City. Tech-industrialist Max Winters (Patrick
Stewart) is amassing an army of ancient monsters to
apparently take over the world. And only one super-ninja
fighting team can stop them-those heroes in a half
shell-Leonardo(voice of James Arnold, from left),
Michelangelo (voice of Mikey Kelley), Donatello (voice of
Mitchell Whitfield) and Raphael (voice of Nolan North)! With
the help of old allies April O'Neil (Sarah Michelle Gellar)
and Casey Jones (Chris Evans), the Turtles are in for the
fight of their lives as they once again must face the
mysterious Foot Clan, who have put their own ninja skills
behind Winters' endeavours.
Even after two forgettable sequels in the 1990s that almost
flipped them on their backs, it's hard to keep "TMNT" down.
Writer-director Kevin Munroe has stripped away all the
cheese that has been associated with the franchise to
deliver a film that should appease fans of the original
comic book. The beautiful-looking computer animated film
employs a grittier and darker palette than previously seen
in the first three live-action entries. It is also a movie
more in tune with the original source material than previous
cinematic attempts. This movie succeeds much in the same way
the "Superman" and "Batman" franchises did: It simply takes
the material seriously. And since we're talking about
crime-fighting, mutated turtles who live in the sewers of
New York and are all named after master Renaissance artists,
that's no small feat. The Hong Kong-based animation studio's
animated fight scenes, including a rooftop battle in the
midst of a rainstorm, are both beautiful and realistic. You
forget you're watching a computer-animated feature. In a
film about ninja turtles, you couldn't really ask for
anything more.
Top5
TRANSFORMERS
Starring:
Shia LaBeouf, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, Jon Voight, Megan
Fox
Directed by: Michael Bay
The Earth is caught in the middle of an intergalactic war
between two races of robots, the heroic Autobots and the
evil Decepticons, which are able to change into a variety of
objects, including cars, trucks, planes and other
technological creations. Megatron is the most fearsome
warrior of the evil Decepticons, enemies of the benevolent
Transformers. Both races of robots fled the doomed planet
Cybertron and have been drawn to Earth because Megatron
crash-landed near the North Pole a century ago and possesses
the Allspark. Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) talks his dad into
buying him one, and he ends up with an old beater, a yellow
Camaro that is actually the Transformer named Bumblebee and
gets so mad when his paint job is insulted that it
transforms itself into a shiny new Camaro. This is more than
a hot car. It plays the soundtrack to Sam's life. The Camaro
unfolds into a hulking robot, helicopters become walking
death monsters. It also helps Sam become visible to his sexy
classmate Mikaela (Megan Fox).
The movie is inspired by the Transformer toys that twist and
fold and double in upon themselves, like a Rubik's Cube
crossed with a contortionist. Hot-shot director Michael Bay
has a knack for masking ill-formed movie plots by piling on
blistering action sequences. "Transformers" is his best
cover-up yet. This remarkable CGI sledgehammer, a
live-action takeoff on the animated TV series about battling
alien robots on Earth that morph into gigantic mechanical
beasts, packs a powerful punch. The movie full of
through-the-roof special effects, often intentionally
ridiculous, wildly uneven. Thankfully, it also has Shia
LaBeouf, a kind of everykid actor who has the screen
presence to glue the whole thing together.
Top5
MEET THE ROBINSONS
Starring:
Angela Bassett, Tom Selleck, Harland Williams, Adam West,
Tom Kenny, Ethan Sandler
Directed by Stephen Anderson
"Meet the Robinsons" is the first movie to come out of Walt
Disney Feature Animation since Pixar head John Lasseter took
last year, and, not surprisingly, it plays like Disney
product with a shot of creative caffeine. Almost as funny as
it is hyperactive, the new computer-animated family comedy
is luscious to look at and as fizzy as a can of soda popped
open in your face. In the reshaped story, a new character,
Lewis (voiced by Daniel Hansen and Jordan Fry), is whisked
from the present to the future by reckless boy time traveler
Wilbur Robinson (Wesley Singerman), who's pilfered one of
dad Cornelius' (voiced by Tom Selleck) many inventions.
Wilbur, among other things, is trying to protect 12-year-old
Lewis' science fair invention, a memory scanner machine,
from the wicked Bowler Hat Guy (director Anderson) whose
villainy is indefatigable. So is Guy's head gizmo, the
bowler hat itself, whose name is Doris and who is meaner
than he is. Once in the future, Lewis meets a large
ensemble, mostly Robinsons--including musical mom Franny
(Nicole Sullivan); weirdo Grandpa Bud (Anderson again) who
wears his clothes backward; super-pizza man Uncle Art (Adam
West); and the spiffy house robot Carl (Harland Williams).
And a battle royal simmers between the Robinsons and evil
Guy.
The tale, set to a playful Danny Elfman score, has a couple
of surprises in store, some involving Lewis' present-world
people, his kindly orphanage caretaker Mildred (Angela
Bassett) and fellow orphan "Goob" Yagoobian (Matthew
Josten). Anderson gives us the fun of impossible or unlikely
dreams and also a story with some deeper emotions--perhaps
because the director himself was an adopted child. The
movie, in its way, is a tribute to the imagination and, when
it enters the future, it's a new-fangled, old-fashioned
jim-dandy of a show.
Top5
LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD
Starring:
Bruce Willis, Timothy Olyphant, Maggie Q, Jeffrey Wright,
Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Directed by: Len Wiseman
Twelve years after "Die Hard: With a Vengeance," New York
detective John McClane (Bruce Willis) is at it again. This
time he's protecting a hacker (Justin Long) and America from
Internet-based terrorist Thomas Gabriel ( Timothy Olyphant),
a disgruntled former government security employee aided by
various BWAs -- ranging from a cool Asian beauty (Hong Kong
action star Maggie Q) to a Eurotrash muscleman (French
action star Cyril Raffaelli). En route, McClane's daughter
gets kidnapped, and the FBI's head honcho (Cliff Curtis)
gets sidelined because all mobile phones cease to work.
The movie has almost nonstop stunts and action real with
very little assistance from CGI. The early stunts involving
gunfire and escape get the pulse racing. Then come flying
cars, huge fireballs, collapsing freeways, leaping actors, a
Harrier jet taking on a big rig and assorted hand-to-hand
fights of increasing originality if not implausibility until
one can only respond by laughing. And to think it all begins
with a routine if not mundane assignment for the NYPD
detective: pick up a young computer hacker in New Jersey and
bring him to the FBI in Washington for questioning. You do
notice that McClane is not the same perky fellow he once
was. His wife has divorced him, his daughter (Mary Elizabeth
Winstead) won't talk to him, and he's none too thrilled with
police work anymore. The hacker, Matt Farrell (Justin Long),
starts to give him a hard time, which further exasperates
McClane. Then a strange thing happens: Several heavy-duty
assassins hit the hacker's apartment with all they've got.
Somebody wants Matt dead real badly. McClane and Matt barely
escape, thus setting the pattern for a movie that now
becomes a continual chase -- though who is chasing whom
sometimes changes. Director Len Wiseman firmly establishes
an atmosphere of chaos and confusion with a graceful camera
and superior location work. Willis and Long make a great odd
couple as they rumble from city to country and state to
state in an odyssey of sheer endurance and survival. Willis
supplies the muscle and wit -- his lines are always funny
but never really mock the action -- while Long is
alternatively scared and determined as the geek turns into a
force of vengeance. Their on-the-run character byplay gives
each scene an added oomph.
Top5
BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA
Starring:
AnnaSophia Robb, Josh Hutcherson, Zooey Deschanel, Lauren
Clinton, Bailee Madison
Directed by: Gabor Csupo
The movie, based on the award-winning children's novel by
Katherine Paterson, is all about the imaginary worlds inside
our minds, specifically, the minds of young children, and
those fabulous far-away places residing therein that are
both irresistible and terrifying. Jess (Josh Hutcherson) is
a 10-year-old loner, an artist of some means, constantly
sketching fantastic creatures and mythological worlds in his
notebook. It is his escape from the real world where he is
picked on regularly at school, and on the school bus by the
cool kids, and even at home by his older sisters. His
parents (Robert Patrick and Kate Butler) are struggling to
make ends meet, so much so that on the day of a big race,
Jess (who fancies himself the fastest kid in school) is
forced to wear hand-me-down pink sneakers from one of his
sisters. Leslie (AnnaSophia Robb) is a new girl in school
who is incredibly intelligent. She is the daughter of
fiction writers, who is blessed with an imagination that
rivals Jess'. Her talent is storytelling -- writing aloud as
she races with the wind, creating vivid stories of kings and
princesses and ogres and giants. This is her escape from a
real world that can't keep up with all she envisions. At the
aforementioned school race Jess and Leslie set in motion the
friendship that will change their lives forever. One day, as
the two are racing through the woods, they come upon a
dangling rope suspended over a creek. They grab it and swing
across and enter the imaginary world of Terabithia, where
they reign as king and queen. Here they battle mythical
creatures, from giant armour-clad squirrels to hairy
vultures to a she-giant who's brought down by a good dose of
tickling. Dragonflies morph into an army of glistening gold
warriors. Trees come to life as a menacing horde. An old
abandoned tree house becomes their mighty fortress.
"Terabithia" works on so many levels because it never talks
down to its intended child audience, while it maintains
enough intelligence to ably pique the interest of adults.
Hungarian director Gabor Csupo, known mostly for his
animation work on "The Wild Thornberrys," "The Rugrats" and
"The Simpsons," keeps the special effects smartly in check.
The effects in "Terabithia" are highly stylized and quite
potent. Ultimately, the film's heart and soul rests on the
abilities of its young lead characters to make us really see
the world through children's eyes. The dynamic duo of
Hutcherson and Robb do not disappoint. Throughout the film,
we feel Jess' pain, his joy, his sadness, thanks to a
sensitive and believable performance by Hutcherson, whose
credits include "Zathura" and "RV." Even Jess' innocent
crush on the school's foxy young music teacher (Zooey
Deschanel) is so genuine that our hearts can't help aching
over what he's going through. As Leslie, Robb (the sweet
Opal in "Because of Winn-Dixie" and the spoiled brat Violet
in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory") dazzles with her
sparkling blue eyes and million-watt smile. She makes Leslie
an outsider with a heart of gold, whose funky retro-metro
wardrobe is something she wears quite well, but will never
win her points with the cool girls in school. "Bridge to
Terabithia" is all about meeting your first best friend, and
holding on to that friendship with all your might. It's
about childhood, about playing and running and just being a
kid, with all the pitfalls and pratfalls, with all the joy
and the pain.
Top5
FANTASTIC FOUR
Starring:
Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, Michael Chiklis,
Julian McMahon
Directed by: Tim Story
Astronaut Dr. Reed Richards' (Ioan Gruffudd), lifelong dream
is close to being realized. He is spearheading a trip to
outer space, to the center of a cosmic storm. There he hopes
to unlock the secrets of the human genetic codes for the
benefit of all humanity. Extensive government grant cutbacks
nearly dashed the visionary's hopes of the historic flight,
until Reed accepted a financing deal with his old college
rival, Victor Von Doon (Julian McMahon), now a billionaire
industrialist. Reed's crew for the mission includes his best
friend, astronaut Benjamin Grimm (Michael Chiklis), Sue
Storm (Jessica Alba), Von Doom's director of genetic
research and Reed's ex-girlfriend; and Sue's hot-headed
younger brother, pilot Johnny Storm (Chris Evans). With
benefactor Von Doom in tow, the four set off for the
exploration of a lifetime. The mission is uneventful--until
Reed discovers a miscalculation of the speed of the
approaching storm. The space station is engulfed by
turbulent clouds of cosmic radiation which genetically
transforms the crew. Their DNA is irrevocably altered--and
so is their future. Back on earth, the effects on the
exposure are quickly revealed. Reed gains the ability to
stretch and contort his body into any shape he can imagine
and, as leader of the group, is given the name Mr.
Fantastic; Sue is able to render herself invisible and to
create and project powerful force fields as Invisible Woman;
Johnny becomes known as The Human Torch, as he can now
engulf his body in flames and take flight at will; and Ben,
whose freakish transmutation is the most shocking, becomes
an orange-coloured, rock-like, superhumanly strong creature,
The Thing. Together, they turn tragedy into triumph and
catastrophe into coalition, using their unique and
formidable powers to thwart the evil plans of their now
steely-eyed, iron-fisted nemesis Dr. Doom and to protect New
York City against any threat that may arise.
The Fantastic Four are underwhelming. It's all setup and
demonstration, naming, discussing and demonstrating, and it
never digests the complications of the Fantastic Four and
gets on to telling a compelling story. the really good
superhero movies, like "Superman," "SpiderMan 2" and "Batman
Begins," leave "Fantastic Four" so far behind that the movie
should almost be ashamed to show itself in the same
theaters.
Top5
HREK THE THIRD
Starring:
Antonio Banderas, Rupert Everett, Amy Sedaris, Amy Poehler,
Maya Rudolph
Directed by: Chris Miller, Raman Hui
Being king isn't for everyone--especially if you're a
prickly ogre who smells like the shallow end of a swamp.
When Shrek (Mike Myers) married Fiona, the last thing he
wanted was to rule Far Far Away, but when his
frogger-in-law, King Harold, (John Cleese) suddenly croaks,
Shrek is quickly fitted for the crown. Now, unless the
reluctant would-be king can find a suitable replacement,
he'll be royally screwed for the rest of his days. As if
Shrek didn't have enough on his plate, Princess Fiona
(Cameron Diaz) has another little surprise on the way. With
his head spinning and his belly in knots, Shrek sets off on
a quest to find the only other possible heir to the throne,
Fiona's long-lost cousin Artie (Justin Timberlake), an
underachieving medieval high schooler. While the ogre is
away, his old nemesis Prince Charming (Rupert Everett) rears
his handsome head and returns to the kingdom of Far Far Away
with redemption on his shallow little mind. And he's amassed
all the old fairy tale/fable/children's story villains he
can find to aid him. Even with Donkey (Eddie Murphy) and the
ever-so-suave Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) by their
side, it's going to take an ogre-sized effort--and a whole
lot of help from Fiona and her band of princesses--for Shrek
and Artie to save the day and find their own "Happily Ever
After."
The notion of an army made up of Captain Hook, the Cyclops,
Snow White's Evil Queen, etc. is reasonably amusing. The
movie includes new additions of several princesses —
Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, among them — who,
in a tired late-movie nod to grrl power, transform
themselves into kung fu babes. What gets lost in all the
characters, action, comic bits and life lessons is the
genuinely charming and often hilarious relationship between
Shrek and Donkey (and, to a lesser extent, Puss in Boots).
That's what made "Shrek 2" the best of the series, the
growing connection between these lovable misfits. The
animation is impeccable — the mane of Prince Charming's
horse ruffles beautifully in the breeze. And the film is
thankfully short. But the magic is gone. "Shrek the Third"
is one big, to paraphrase the "Cinderella" lyric,
bibbety-bobbity boo-boo.
Top5
OCEAN'S THIRTEEN
Starring:
George Clooney, Ellen Barkin, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, Andy
Garcia
Directed by: Steven Soderbergh
Danny Ocean (George Clooney) and the gang would have only
one reason to pull off their most ambitious and riskiest
casino heist--to defend one of their own. But they’re going
to need more than luck on their side to break The Bank.
Ruthless casino owner Willy Bank (Al Pacino) never imagined
that the odds were against him when he double-crossed Danny
Ocean’s friend and mentor Reuben Tishkoff, putting the
distraught Reuben in a hospital bed in critical condition.
But Bank miscalculated--badly. He may have taken down one of
the original Ocean’s eleven, but he left the others standing
and, worse for him, gave them a shared purpose: to take Bank
down on the night of what should be his greatest
triumph--the grand opening of his new casino, appropriately
named The Bank. Their strategy is twofold. First they will
ruin him financially by turning the tables on the precept
that the house always wins. But that’s just money. The
knockout punch will be to Bank’s personal pride and joy: his
reputation as the only hotelier who has earned the Royal
Review Board’s Five Diamond Award on every single one of his
hotels. The plan is elaborate, dangerous and damn near
impossible--but there are no limits when it comes to one of
their own.
Clooney and Brad Pitt set the job in motion, even without
understanding what exactly they and the rest of the crew are
up to. Don Cheadle hangs out way beneath the casino's
bowels. Bernie Mac runs a sham gambling charity. Casey
Affleck , wearing a great big moustache, infiltrates the
Mexican factory where the casino's dice will be loaded.
Eddie Jemison tries to rig the blackjack machines. Shaobo
Qin impersonates a Chinese high roller. And Reiner
impersonates the man responsible for rating the casino,
while the actual reviewer (David Paymer) is put through a
nonstop wringer of humiliating pranks. And Jimmy Olsen (Matt
Damon) as the most hapless member of this crew, finally gets
to spearhead his own very important assignment, while
wearing a prosthetic beak of a nose.
Steven Soderbergh's "Ocean's" movies are like silk-screens.
A similar caper gets printed on a different casino. In the
first movie, a remake of the 1960 Rat Pack vehicle, it was
the Bellagio. For this third installment, the extravagantly
entertaining "Ocean's Thirteen," it's a gaudy new, Gehrylite
joint down the street.
Top5
BLACK SNAKE MOAN
Starring:
Samuel L. Jackson, Christina Ricci, Justin Timberlake, John
Cothran Jr, Michael Raymond-James
Directed by: Craig Brewer
Bitter and broken from a cheating wife and a shattered
marriage, Lazarus' soul (Jackson) is lost in spent dreams
and betrayal's contempt--until Rae (Christina Ricci) comes
along. Half naked and beaten unconscious, Rae is left for
dead on the side of the road when Lazarus discovers her. The
God-fearing, middle-aged black man quickly learns that the
young white woman he's nursing back to health is none other
than the town tramp from the small Tennessee town where they
live. Worse, she has a peculiar anxiety disorder. He
realizes when the fever hits, Rae's affliction has more to
do with love lost than any found. Abused as a child and
abandoned by her mother, Rae is used by every man. She
tethers her only hope to Ronnie (Justin Timberlake), but
escape to a better life is short-lived when Ronnie ships off
for boot camp. Desperation kicks in, as a drug-induced Rae
reverts to surviving the only way she knows how, by giving
any man what he wants to get what she needs--until Lazarus.
Refusing to know her in the biblical sense, Lazarus decides
to cure Rae of her wicked ways--and vent some unresolved
male vengeance of his own. He chains her to his radiator,
justifying his unorthodox methods with quoted scripture.
Preacher R.L. intervenes, but it is Lazarus and Rae who
redeem themselves. Unleashing Rae emotionally, Lazarus
unchains his heart, finding love again in Angela. By saving
Rae, he frees himself.
Written and directed by Craig Brewer, this follow-up to his
phenomenal ‘Hustle & Flow’. Lacking its predecessor's jivey
energy and house-afire star turn by Terrence Howard, the
movie is actually a rather sweet story of redemption and
having faith in people - minus the rough language, the
explicit sex and Ricci's ready-to-rut physicality. While
Brewer doesn't ignore inherent racial issues that seem to
come with the territory every time a movie is set in the
South, he certainly lets them slide. Jackson does a
respectable job, but he doesn't really get a chance to cut
loose as Howard did. He simply doesn't have the material to
support him. Everything about Ricci is pungent.
Top5
PATHFINDER
Starring:
Karl Urban, Moon Bloodgood, Russell Means, Clancy Brown,
Nathaniel Arcand
Directed by: Marcus Nispel
A thousand years in the past, a young Norse boy is left
behind after his clan shipwrecks on the Eastern shores.
Despite his lineage, the boy is raised by Native American
Wampanoag tribe - the very Indians his kinsmen set out to
destroy. Now, as the Vikings return to stage another
barbaric raid on his village, the 25 year-old Norse warrior
Ghost (Karl Urban) wages a personal war to stop the Vikings'
trail of death and destruction. Aware of his Viking
relatives' propensity for butchery, he leaps in to protect
the wise old shaman Pathfinder (Russell Means) and
Pathfinder's beauteous, two-fisted daughter Starfire (Moon
Bloodgood) supplanting the would-be Wampanoag hero Blackwing
(Jay Tavare) forging his own path, his destiny is revealed
and his identity re-claimed. Led by the snarling Gunnar
(Clancy Brown), the Vikings are into slavery, slaughter and
drawing and quartering, and they have the technological
advantage of armor and broadswords. But they haven't
reckoned with Ghost, who winds up following wise old
Pathfinder's advice to "turn the bear's strength against
himself" and begins exploiting a vein of Viking stupidity
that makes you wonder how they were ever able to cross the
ocean or learn how to disembowel their victims.
‘Pathfinder’ is a bizarre, bloody adventure movie that hurls
us back to the 9th Century, straight into a clash between
noble Native Americans and fierce Vikings--two groups that
spend much of the movie swinging weapons at each other's
heads. Urban sometimes looks like a shaggier version of Brad
Pitt, but he doesn't get enough time for seduction or
levity. Director Marcus Nispel has a gaudy visual style, and
he likes to shove us into the violence headfirst. There's
very little setup for the story at the beginning; fairly
soon, we're up to our necks in massacre. the script by Laeta
Kalogridis isn't strong on dialogue: The Vikings speak
Icelandic (with subtitles) and the Indians speak largely in
aphorisms, clichés and mini-sermons. The movie is at its
best with the action scenes, like the astounding cliffhanger
at the end, a CGI-free scene in which the Vikings and Ghost
swing on a huge rope on the mountainside in the midst of a
snowy landslide. But it doesn't really balance the action
with humanity, drama or humor. The gnarly decor of
Pathfinder's treehouse, with its wind chimes, is about as
humanly eccentric and warm as "Pathfinder" gets. The film is
based vaguely on Nils Gaup's excellent 1987 Norwegian epic
(set in Lapland), doesn't lack for talent.
Top5
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD’S
END
Starring:
Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Stellan
Skarsgard, Geoffrey Rush
Directed by: Gore Verbinski, George Marshall Ruge
Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), Elizabeth Swann (Keira
Knightley) are allied with Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush)
in a desperate quest to free Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny
Depp) from his mind-bending trap in Davy Jones' (Bill Nighy)
locker, while the terrifying ghost ship, The Flying Dutchman
and Davy Jones, under the control of the East India Trading
Company, wreaks havoc across the Seven Seas. Navigating
through treachery, betrayal and wild waters, they must forge
their way to exotic Singapore and confront the cunning
Chinese Pirate Sao Feng (Chow Yun-Fat). Now headed beyond
the very end of the earth, each must ultimately choose a
side in a final, titanic battle, as not only their lives and
fortunes, but the entire future of the freedom-loving Pirate
way, hangs in the balance.
Director Gore Verbinski and producer Jerry Bruckheimer have
packed "World's End" with so much explosive action, opulent
decor and surreal scenes of mayhem and madness -- that
sometimes it's overwhelming. This sequel is frenziedly
imaginative, where the first "Pirates" was sunny, fey and
friendly (like Sparrow) and the second a rollicking romp.
"Dead Man's Chest" and "World's End" were conceived together
by the original writers, Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio (who
also co-wrote the first "Shrek"). But "Dead Man's Chest" is
mostly buildup and "World's End" is mostly payoff.
Fortunately Depp is around to keep Capt. Jack and the movie
subversively off-track and delightfully imaginative. The
most characteristic scenes are not so much the ferocious sea
battles but moments such as Capt. Jack's wordplay or the way
Davy Jones uses a tentacle-tip to flick away a tear.
Verbinski is far more interested in acting and performance
than most high-tech blockbuster-makers, and the supporting
roles, especially by Rush, Chow, Nighy and Naomie Harris as
Tia Dalma, give Depp a tasty backdrop. The movie,
extravagant, amusing and exciting, may be only a ride, but
it's a ride that dazzles.
Top5
THE GOOD SHEPHERD
Starring:
Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie, Robert De Niro, Alec Baldwin,
John Turturro
Directed by: Robert De Niro
Edward Wilson (Matt Damon) was lucky enough to be born with
a blue-blooded WASP lineage. As a consequence, he was not
only able to follow in his fathers footsteps to Yale, but to
join Skull and Bones, the colleges secret society which has
for generations, served as a breeding ground for captains of
industry, presidents and other powerful leaders. While still
in college, Edward was quietly recruited to serve his
country overseas undercover, in order to monitor the rise of
the Nazis in the late Thirties. However, he had mixed
emotions about accepting the offer, primarily because his
dad had also been a spy for the government, and had ended up
committing suicide under mysterious circumstances while he
was just an adolescent. But due to the not so subtle
pressure from his fraternity brothers, Edward capitulated.
He even dumped the deaf girl (Tammy Blanchard) he was dating
to marry Clover (Angelina Jolie), the well-connected
daughter of a senator (Keir Dullea), and sister of a fellow
Bonesman (Gabriel Macht). A week after their ostensibly
arranged wedding, Edward was whisked away from her to
Germany to begin a career of espionage. Almost never in the
U.S, he persevered out of a blind sense of patriotism,
despite the fact that the price for that loyalty is a
loveless marriage and a resentful son (Eddie Redmayne).
Its prevailing theme is strikingly reminiscent of Steven
Spielberg’s ‘Munich’ which, a year ago, examined the
emotional toll tracking down Palestinian terrorists exacted
on the Israeli agents assigned the task. This flashback
flick opens in 1961 during the badly-botched Bay of Pigs
operation in Cuba, and alternates frequently between that
pivotal moment in American history and assorted critical
touchstones in Edward’s life. What is ultimately of most
interest is that Ed Jr. eventually also attends Yale, joins
Skull and Bones, and appears poised to embark on his own
career as a CIA. Thus, the question becomes whether Ed Sr.
will intervene or allow his boy to make the same mistake as
his father and grandfather.
Top5
Blades of Glory
Starring:
Will Ferrell, Jon Heder, Will Arnett, Amy Poehler, Jenna
Fischer
Directed by: Will Speck, Josh Gordon
Brash, cocky womanizing figure skater Chazz Michael Michaels
(Will Ferrell) takes to the rink, he is the rock star of the
arena, leaving a trail of thrashed ice and shrieking female
fans in his wake. The only competitor who can match Michaels
scores is the driven former child prodigy, Jimmy MacElroy
(Jon Heder). Spotted as a youth executing triple lutzes on
the frozen pond of an orphanage, MacElroy was whisked away
to days of endless training, and now stands as the picture
of poise, the personification of the highest ideals of the
men’s sport. Michaels and MacElroy have met in finals rounds
before, but their latest head-to-head at the World
Championships--when they tie for first--is more than either
one can bear, and their longstanding rivalry erupts into a
no-holds-barred fight. The ensuing brawl not only sets fire
to the World Championship’s helpless mascot, but lands both
athletes in hot water: Chazz and Jimmy are called before the
sports governing board, stripped of their gold medals and
banned from the sport for life.
Now, 3-and-a-half years later, both men are still trying to
find their way in a world without competitive skating.
Michaels has devolved into a drunken party machine, skating
as a costumed evil wizard in a kiddie ice review, and
MacElroy has been banished to the shoe department of a chain
sporting goods store. To skate again, all Chazz and Jimmy
have to do is set aside their long festering hatred of one
another and join forces--as the first male/male figure
skating pair to compete in the history of the sport. Jenna
Fischer is amusing as Jimmy's crush, deployed by her
skating-fiend brother (Will Arnett) and sister (Amy Poehler)
to break up the man/man act. Some of the ruthless rivalry
business grows a bit tiresome. Ferrell is outrageous and
over-the-top in his delivery and actions. The homophobic
looks he gives when training for the doubles competition
alone make the movie worth seeing. What is unexpected
however is the great performance by Heder. He actually
outshines the outrageousness of Ferrell. While there are
indeed some laugh-out-loud moments overall the movie feels
forced.
Top5
THE HILLS HAVE EYES II
Starring:
Jessica Stroup, Reshad Strik, Michael McMillian, Daniella
Alonso, Lee Thompson Young
Directed by: Martin Weisz
The sequel to 1977 cult classic, "The Hills Have Eyes,"
which grossed over $41 million at the domestic box office,
is written by horror legend Wes Craven and Jonathan Craven
and directed by Martin Weisz. Last time it was a vacationing
American family that saw their numbers seriously diminished.
This time, in the script written by Craven and his son
Jonathan, it's a group of National Guard soldiers at the
Yuma Flats Training and Testing Facility in New Mexico who
come up against the bloodthirsty clan. Sent on a routine
mission to deliver equipment to scientists working in a top
secret area known as Sector 16, the soldiers, with names
like Amber (Jessica Stroup), Crank (Jacob Vargas) and
Napoleon (Michael McMillian), arrive to discover that the
research camp is deserted. What they don't know is that
after the surviving members of the hapless Carter family
alerted the authorities, the U.S. military swept in and
supposedly blasted away all traces of the nasty element.
Turns out that they missed a few, and the remaining mutants
are hell-bent on repopulating and more determined to even
the score for the nuclear test fallout that made them what
they are today.
But while those irradiated, cannibalistic hillbillies are
back to prey upon more unsuspecting visitors, "The Hills
Have Eyes 2" proves that even grisly, gory violence can be
awfully boring. Where French director Alexandre Aja
instilled last year's remake with a certain amount of retro
'70s style and sweaty dread, the new arrival is a poorly
paced, blandly executed body count picture that stands
around a lot marking time between the bloody onslaughts.
Top5
RENO 911! MIAMI
Starring:
Robert Ben Garant, Thomas Lennon, Niecy Nash, Mary Birdsong,
Cedric Yarbrough
Directed by: Robert Ben Garant
Based on a successful US TV show - which is itself a parody
of fly-on-the-wall documentary series Cops - Reno brings the
lo-fi shakycam feel of Spinal Tap to police comedy. Unusual
for this misfit crew, the shot pretty much hits its intended
target. The assorted Reno deputies and their boss, Lt. Jim
Dangle (Thomas Lennon, a Chicago native who also gets a
writer credit for the movie), head to the bright lights of
Miami for a police convention--by bus. Upon arrival, a
registration mishap turns them away from the convention
center and puts them in a sleazy motel.
A biological weapon is loosed on the convention,
quarantining thousands of police officers and Miami's
political leadership, leaving the Reno bunch to prove
themselves as the law in town. They must overcome an
overzealous SWAT team member (The Rock), a beached whale
corpse, drug dealers, a petty bureaucrat (elevated to acting
mayor) in their pursuit of the antidote to the
bio-weapon--all this while keeping the streets of Miami safe
from everyday crime. A documentary film crew is on hand to
record every gaffe.
Top5
SPIDER-MAN 3
Starring:
Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Thomas Haden Church, Topher
Grace, James Franco
Directed by: Sam Raimi
Peter (Tobey Maguire) has fully embraced his role as the
Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man and he’s got his priorities
in order with Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst) at his side. Uncle
Ben would be proud. Of course things can’t stay rosy for
long; Peter is still on a journey after all. Harry Osborne
(James Franco) is still dealing with his feelings towards
Peter over his father’s death becoming the New Goblin. Then
there’s the Flint Marko (Thomas Hadden Church) who is a
convict and has recently escaped from prison, driven to help
his ailing daughter he’s caught up in an experiment
transforming into the villain that is Sandman. Next up is
Eddie Brock (Topher Grace); he’s new at the Daily Bugle,
barging in as the new Spidey photographer rivaling Peter.
Adding to the love triangle, as Harry still likes MJ,
there’s also Gwen Stacy, classmate of Peter who has got a
crush on SpiderMan after he saved her life. But the biggest
and most anticipated addition of all is the Symbiote, which
gives Spider-Man his black outfit thus leading up to the
creation of super-villain Venom, embodied by Eddie Brock.
When the symbiote first takes over the suit Peter has more
strength and his emotions are amplified, specifically hate
and vengeance. Peter must overcome his personal demons as
Sandman and Venom gather unparalleled power and a thirst for
retribution to threaten Peter and everyone he loves.
Between the battles, there are a lot of character driven
moments that give the film a different tone and pace
compared to the previous films. As we watch these characters
grow, director Sam Raimi enjoys taking that time to reveal
each persons inner motives.
Tobey still captures and delivers. Peter has a wild-eyed
enthusiasm of being Spidey with a sweet charm. It is fun to
see him accept a darker side when the symbiote takes full
control. Each villain has unique style & abilities have been
shown off quite well. The effects continue to amaze whether
it’s Spider-Man swinging through city or Sandman pounding
anyone who gets in his way, it was amazing to see the origin
of each villain come to life.
Top5
HANNIBAL RISING
Starring:
Gaspard Ulliel, Gong Li, Ivan Marevich, Aaron Thomas (II),
Rhys Ifans
Directed by: Peter Webber, Michel Pascal (II)
In 1944, Hannibal Lecter and his family escape from their
castle in Lithuania, Eastern Europe to a remote shack.
However, his parents are killed in an attack by the Germans,
and a group of mercenaries take Hannibal and his sister
Mischa captive. Running out of food, the men kill Mischa and
eat her before running off and leaving Hannibal for dead.
Many years later, a teenage Hannibal moves to Paris to study
medicine and lives with his Japanese aunt, Lady Shikibu
(Gong). He also manages to discover the identities of those
who killed Mischa, and tracks them down in order to enact
revenge. If you take Hannibal Rising as separate from the
Hannibal Lecter saga, it’s a pretty ordinary
vendetta/slasher film. But if you find it impossible to do
so the film is arguably even worse because it takes one of
the most complex and captivating villains in cinematic
history and reduces him to a psychological archetype - the
product of a horrific childhood.
One reason why you will fine it easy to disassociate the
Hannibal in this film from his other appearances on
celluloid is that the character looks and behaves so
differently. For one thing, Ulliel looks nothing like
Anthony Hopkins (or Brian Cox for that matter), but the
character is missing something. Hannibal has always been as
eloquent as he is monstrous, but here he’s almost
monosyllabic. There’s no wit, no psychological mind games;
he’s just out for bloody revenge. It doesn’t help matters
that Ulliel’s performance often verges on camp, and his
endless grinning is more annoying than it is disconcerting.
Gong provides a welcome presence. In many ways her character
is creepier than Hannibal because it’s never clear how far
she will go in protecting Hannibal from the police, whose
suspicions he has aroused. Hannibal Rising is certainly a
stylish film. The cinematography is nice to look at, there’s
a certain amount of atmosphere in places, and the musical
score is good. But unlike in Ridley Scott’s vastly
underrated Hannibal, these cosmetic elements seem to exist
only to make up for the rather weak plot, rather than to
accentuate it. The film is never actually scary or unnerving
either, and in places it’s also rather sluggish.
Top5
HAPPILY N’EVER AFTER
Starring:
Voice over by Sigourney Weaver, Sarah Michelle Gellar,
Freddie Prinze Jr., Patrick Warburton, Andy Dick
Directed by: Paul Bolger, Yvette Kaplan
"Happily N'Ever After" is an animated feature about a
fairy-tale kingdom taken over by a gang of villains, trolls
and ogres headed by Cinderella's evil stepmother (voiced by
Sigourney Weaver). Bad stepmom Frieda is determined to keep
dreamy, put-upon Ella (Sarah Michelle Gellar) from any happy
endings--and, while she's at it, to mess things up for
Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel and Little Red Riding Hood too.
Unfortunately, as Ella scampers around the kingdom with her
friends and allies, trying to elude Frieda and somehow find
her addled Prince Charming (Patrick Warburton), the action
gets wild but the laughs and the magic never really kick in.
Written without much humor and visualized without much
pizzazz, "Happily" mostly has to rely on its snazzy big-star
voice cast--including Gellar's hubby Freddie Prinze Jr. as
her love interest Rick, along with George Carlin, Andy Dick
and Wallace Shawn--to generate interest. Part of the problem
lies with its script written is by Rob Moreland, with the
mysterious credit "additional writing" assigned to Doug
Langdale. Their story dubiously suggests that the classic
fairy tales, unspooling simultaneously, are all under the
quality control of a hip Wizard (Carlin) who unwisely takes
off for a golfing vacation, leaving everything in the hands
of his wise-acre, bumbling assistants Munk (Shawn) and Mambo
(Dick). Since the Wiz departs on the day of Charming's great
ball, that leaves an opening for Frieda, who steals the
Wizard's magic staff, commandeers his crystal ball and
invites the dregs of fairy-tale land to invade the castle
and back her take over. All this is narrated by Rick, who,
as a dishwasher in the palace kitchen, is Ella's equivalent
underdog and worthier of her affection than the official
prince, Warburton's Humperdink, with his golden tresses,
empty head and granite jaw. The film looks like had begun as
an old-fashioned 2-D "flat" cartoon and then switched by
producer John Williams (of "Shrek") and director Paul J.
Bolger to 3-D during production.
Top5
DISTURBIA
Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Carrie-Anne Moss,
David Morse, Sarah Roemer, Aaron Yoo
Directed by: D.J. Caruso
Versatile star Shia LaBeouf (Holes) plays Kale, a
high-school student sentenced to three months' house arrest
after socking a teacher when he makes an inappropriate
comment about his recently deceased father. His mother,
Julie, works night and day to support herself and her son,
only to be met with indifference and lethargy. While killing
time in his suburban prison, Kale spies on his neighbors
with binoculars, à la James Stewart in "Rear Window." He
develops a crush on the frequently bikini-clad girl next
door, Ashley (Sarah Roemer) and discovers evidence that
another nearby resident (David Morse) may be a brutal
killer. With the police hesitant to trust a delinquent, Kale
turns to Ashley and best bud Ronnie (Aaron Yoo) to help
bring the psycho to justice. But, are his suspicions merely
the product of cabin fever and his overactive imagination?
There's so much to like about "Disturbia" that, in the end,
it feels a tad overstuffed. Director D.J. Caruso creates an
edge-of-your-seat atmosphere for the intense third act, and
Kale's courtship of Ashley yields several irresistibly sweet
moments. Though most easily classified as a creepy
serial-killer flick, the film packs '80s-style teen comedy,
puppy-love romance and a moody study of post-traumatic
adolescent stress into its tight 104-minute running time.
This combination of genres ensures that no one will be
bored, and to its credit, the movie succeeds when judged by
its individual parts. The film aims to provide solid
entertainment but it's just too bad it tries so hard.
Top5
PROVOKED
Starring:
Aishwarya Rai, Naveen Andrews, Miranda Richardson,
Nandita Das, Rebecca Pidgeon, Robbie Coltraine
Director: Jagmohan Mundhra
Background Score: A.R. Rahman
Set in London, PROVOKED is the traumatic story of a battered
Punjabi housewife and mother of two, Kiranjit Ahluwalia
[Aishwarya Rai]. Unable to bear the brutality of her
alcoholic husband Deepak Ahluwalia [Naveen Andrews], she
takes revenge by setting him on fire. Charged with
first-degree murder, she is sentenced to life imprisonment,
where she befriends her cell-mate, a white woman named
Veronica Scott [Miranda Richardson], from whom she learns
English. Her cell-mate is so moved by her story that she
asks her step-brother Lord Edward Foster [Robbie Coltrane],
a highly respected queen's counsel to file her appeal. Her
case comes to the notice of a motley group of South Asian
social workers running an under-funded organization called
Southall Black Sisters. They bring her plight to the
attention of the media by organizing rallies to gather
public support for her freedom. She is freed by the
judiciary in a landmark judgment and reunited with her
children.
Director Jagmohan Mundhra's choice of the subject is right,
but the film lacks a captivating drama. The story had the
ingredients to work as a cinematic interpretation, but the
writers [Carl Austin, Rahila Gupta] haven't utilized the
opportunity to the optimum. What you carry home are flashes,
not the film in entirety. In fact, you don't feel euphoric
when the protagonist is pronounced 'non-guilty' and is set
free in the end. The narrative seems stretched at places. A
few sequences come across as repetitive. Besides the
writing, the execution of the material doesn't touch your
heart or move you to tears. Madhu Ambat's cinematography
captures the mood of the film well. A.R. Rahman's background
score is appropriate. Aishwarya Rai’s performance in the
film is stunning. Her work in the film easily ranks amongst
her best. Naveen Andrews leaves a mark, but there was scope
to develop his character better. Miranda Richardson is
topnotch. Nandita Das doesn't work. Rebecca Pidgeon is okay,
while Robbie Coltraine is effective.
Top5
MR. BEAN’S HOLIDAY
Starring:
Rowan Atkinson, Willem Dafoe, Emma De Caunes, Jean
Rochefort
Directed by: Steve Bendelack
The film is basically a series of TV sketches strung
together on a larger budget, and as such it's very easy to
take without being particularly distinguished. In rainy
London, Mr. Bean Rowan Atkinson wins a raffle at a church
bazaar. First prize is a trip to Cannes, South of France and
a video camera. The accident-prone Bean sets off. After a
series of mishaps, involving the small son of a Russian
member of the Cannes Film Festival Jury, Mr. Bean stumbles
onto a film set where pretentious cineaste Carson Clay,
(Willem Dafoe), is directing a yoghurt commercial.
Mr. Bean is in the rich tradition of silent screen comedy.
There are elements of Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin and,
especially, Harold Lloyd in the character, which is also
inspired by the great French comic, Jacques Tati, whose M.
Hulot like Mr. Bean went on a holiday by the sea. But Bean
never quite reaches the heights of the illustrious clowns
who preceded him. In this comedy of frustration, there's a
certain amount of predictability; we just know he's going to
lose his bus ticket, or leave his wallet behind and cause
people who have tried to help him endless grief.
Top5
PERFECT STRANGER
Starring:
Halle Berry, Bruce Willis, Giovanni Ribisi, Gary Dourdan,
Nicki Lynn Aycox
Directed by: James Foley
When investigative reporter Rowena Price (Berry) learns that
her friend's murder might be connected to powerful ad
executive Harrison Hill (Bruce Willis), she goes undercover
with the help of her associate, Miles Hailey (Giovanni
Ribisi). Posing as Katherine, a 'temp' at Hill's ad agency,
and Veronica, a girl Hill flirts with online, Rowena
surrounds her prey from all sides, only to discover that she
isn't the only one changing identities. The closer Rowena
gets to finding the truth, the more we see how far people
will go to protect it. It is an intimate, thought-provoking
story about a troubled woman who comes face to face with the
most unforgettable man she will ever meet.
Top5
NORBIT
Starring:
Eddie Murphy, Thandie Newton, Cuba Gooding Jr, Eddie
Griffin, Terry Crews
Directed by: Brian Robbins
Norbit mirrors Nutty Professor Sherman Klump -- and his
rotund family members. Nutty as it once again showcases
Murphy and Baker's incomparable skills at turning Murphy
into a fat guy (or gal). A sensitive, sympathetic wallflower
(played by Murphy) must find the strength to stand up to a
grotesque counterpart (also played by Murphy) so that he can
fulfill a destiny and be with the picture-perfect princess
of his dreams – here, Thandie Newton assumes the
always-underwritten love interest role that belonged to Jada
Pinkett Smith and Janet Jackson in Professor parts one and
two. Orphaned as a baby, the awkward Norbit (Murphy) is
destined for failure. He falls in love with young Kate as
they struggle to survive the hard-knocked life at a roadside
adoption establishment run by racist Mr. Wong (Murphy). But
when Kate is adopted by loving parents, Norbit is claimed by
pushy Rasputia, and the two become a match made in Hades.
Right around the time grown-up Kate (Newton) back into the
fold. Now a successful businesswoman, she wants to purchase
and run the orphanage. Norbit sees this as an escape clause
to his pathetic marriage until he learns Kate is accompanied
by a slimy fiancée (Cuba Gooding Jr.).
The Nutty movies did more than fatten Murphy's bank account.
They also taught the gifted comedian how to handle excess
prosthetics. He’s beyond comfortable with his artificial
girth, which allows Norbit to master a number of amusing
physical stunts. As Rasputia, Murphy bounds through an
aerobics class, wrestles to squeeze behind a steering wheel,
catapults kids out of an inflatable castle and -- in the
film's funniest scene -- tackles a water slide at the town's
amusement park. Rasputia is another impressive creation of
Baker's and Murphy once again injects her with sarcasm,
bitterness, and comedic fury. It's a testament to Murphy's
acting chops that the same performer can nail Norbit's meek
demeanor and massive hope whenever he's around Kate. Newton,
for her part, maintains an artificial sweetness that doesn't
distract from Murphy's three-ring circus. There's a formula
to these Murphy-in-makeup comedies, which Norbit closely
follows. It overstays its welcome a bit and relies too
heavily on toilet humor.
Top5
GHOST RIDER
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