Family Rated PG
“…so overstuffed with heavy themes and convoluted plot lines that it barely manages to squeeze in the requisite gags about canine flatulence.
Comedy Rated PG-13
This airheaded cheerleader movie tries to be Clueless, director Amy Heckerling’s wise and witty high school spoof, but it ultimately comes off as lower-case clueless, especially whenever the dialogue tries to mimic “hip” teen talk (“Missy’s the pooh,” captain Kirsten Dunst admiringly says about one of her teammates. “Take a big whiff.”) Eventually, the movie
Horror Rated R
“If Moses was in the theater, he’d stand up … and demand, ‘Let these people go.’
Comedy Rated R
Jenny McCarthy is far more desperate than she needs to be in Dirty Love, her self-penned paean to the dating travails of young Los Angeles babes. She’s so busy trying to prove she doesn’t take herself seriously that she undersells what is actually some serious comedic talent. Pushing her snorting, belching Cameron Diaz-type guys’ gal
Drama Rated R
“…carries a sense of consequence.”
The Haunted Mansion plays like a contest between Eddie Murphy’s popping eyes and his gaping mouth: Which one can more forcefully convey fright? Based on a Disney theme-park attraction, this features enough touches from the ride itself that it often feels like you’re visiting the theme park with Murphy in tow. Although in real life
Action/Adventure Rated R
This is the point at which Quentin Tarantino officially crossed the line from junk collector to junk producer. The first Kill Bill installment at least intrinsically offered hope that its follow-up would add a bit of substance to the proceedings. Instead, the second half of Tarantino’s tribute to every crappy kung fu/revenge/biker flick he had
Drama Rated PG-13
Denzel Washington plays a working-class father who takes a hospital hostage to force the heart transplant his son needs but his insurance won’t pay for. As a rousing, self-righteous melodrama, John Q gets your blood pumping, but as a subtle portrayal of what it’s like to be poor and underinsured, the movie is ludicrous.
Painful to watch, on just about every level imaginable. The bleary 3-D sequences induce headaches, as does the strained, after-school-special narrative. Then there is the fact that writer-director Robert Rodriguez created the movie with the help of his 8-year-old son. Not only did I have to suffer through the film, but reviewing it made me
Another My Big Fat Greek Wedding knockoff, this offers a few slight twists: its setting is an immigrant Italian community in Canada and its star-crossed lovers are gay. Other than that, this is as broad, farcical and blandly stereotypical as its predecessor. The movie’s vision of Italian life isn’t that far away from that of
