Martin Lawrence Live: Runteldat (2002)

Documentary Rated R

An embarrassing vanity project, this was an attempt by Martin Lawrence to re-establish his credibility after various run-ins with the law. Opening with a shameless career tribute and consisting mainly of a crude, witless standup routine, the whole thing eventually becomes so self-pitying I almost expected there to be a collection taken for the comedian

Loser (2000)

Drama Rated PG-13

This anti-American Pie, a relatively wholesome teen romance about down-on-their-luck college students in New York City, is so dull that it had me longing for another Road Trip. Jason Biggs and Mena Suvari star as humdrum lovers-to-be with humdrum problems standing in their way. Writer-director Amy Heckerling has made movies that are far better (Clueless,

Poolhall Junkies (2002)

Drama Rated R

It would be easier to like Poolhall Junkies – a serviceable rehash of every other billiards movie ever made, courtesy of writer-director-star Mars Callahan – if Callahan didn’t like himself so much. As a hustler looking to go legit, the lanky, cocky actor has a lively presence, yet he’s not enough to make the movie

Master of Disguise, The (2002)

Comedy Rated PG

Dana Carvey stars as an Italian waiter who discovers he has the magical power of disguise. This mainly involves a lot of mugging for the camera, but Carvey doesn’t have the comic invention to pull it off – most of his “disguises” feel like ideas that were rejected during his days at “Saturday Night Live.”

28 Weeks Later (2007)

Horror Rated R

“… the political points arise naturally out of the terror.”

Perfect Storm, The (2000)

Action/Adventure Rated PG-13

A major disappointment, this dramatization of a real-life 1991 boating tragedy plays like a high-brow version of Speed 2: Cruise Control. Whereas that movie was just an excuse to crash a cruise ship into a harbor, this film twiddles its dramatic thumbs until we finally get to those much-advertised killer waves. From nautical specialist Wolfgang

Ex, The (2007)

Comedy Rated PG-13

“…stars two television actors who have done far, far better work on the small screen. Who needs a movie career if it looks like this?

Prime (2005)

Romantic Comedy Rated PG-13

Prime has the distinct feel of a favor. This wafer-thin romantic comedy offers nothing to distinguish itself except for the fact that Meryl Streep and Uma Thurman grace its cast. As the Jewish therapist to Thurman’s recently divorced New Yorker, Streep is more than willing to embrace her comic side, especially when her character discovers

Salon, The (2007)

Comedy Rated PG-13

"What felt like joyful camaraderie in Barbershop comes across here as nasty bickering."

D.E.B.S. (2004)

Comedy Rated PG-13

The same flat joke gets endlessly repeated throughout D.E.B.S, which centers around an elite, girls’ spy school for high schoolers: every cliched James Bond moment is undercut by discussions involving fashion or boyfriends. The amped-up sexuality – schoolgirl skirts, a lesbian subplot – makes the tone decidedly adult, yet the movie itself is purely adolescent.