Action/Adventure Rated R
“Both grand tragedy and grandiose soap opera…”
Drama Rated PG
Inspirational sports movies aren’t known for their subtlety, but Goal! embraces its feel-good cliches with an enthusiasm that’s embarrassing. Kuno Becker plays a Mexican soccer sensation trying to make it on the pro level in England, and it’s hard to decide what is more cliched during his obvious journey to stardom, the ups (yes, there
Horror Rated R
Here’s where Hannibal Lecter officially transforms from pop icon to camp figure. This blatant exercise in Hollywood opportunism – Thomas Harris’ book was already adapted in 1986 as Manhunter – never has a chance thanks to Anthony Hopkins’ self-parodying performance. The only thing left for Hopkins now is to hit dinner theaters reciting the bad
Comedy Rated PG-13
Far more nimble than its setup suggests, You, Me and Dupree skips around from subtle character comedy to silly slapstick to all-out farce. Owen Wilson continues to coast on his dippy charm as a perpetual screw-up who ‘temporarily’ moves in with his best friend (Matt Dillon) and his new wife (Kate Hudson). The sibling directing
Drama Rated PG-13
Take away director Martin Scorsese’s name, and what do you have with this portrait of industrialist/pilot/filmmaker/weirdo Howard Hughes (Leonardo DiCaprio)? Yet another movie biography angling for end-of-year honors, albeit one a bit more sensitively handled and artfully done. The picture certainly has its rewards, including DiCaprio’s laser-like focus, but it pins Scorsese in the past.
Musical Rated NR
“An entertaining, exuberant experience…”
Comedy Rated R
A crude and hilarious riff on the drunken Santa routine – by now as much of a Christmas cliche as Rudolph’s red nose – Bad Santa also has a surprisingly empathetic heart. Billy Bob Thornton, in the title role, and director Terry Zwigoff (Ghost World) share the fatalistic worldview of an outcast loser, and it
Family Rated G
This has a plot nearly identical to that of 2005’s Madagascar, even though Disney’s press notes claimed the concept was first pitched to the studio nine years earlier. Once again, a pack of mismatched zoo animals plan an escape, only to find themselves poorly equipped to survive in an actual jungle. The visuals certainly have
Action/Adventure Rated PG-13
Once it dispenses with the convoluted logistics of reteaming its three leads – earnest sailor Will Turner (Orlando Bloom); his spirited fiance Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley); and Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow, still delightfully in search of his sea legs – this sequel works as wonderfully as the original. The secret is the way returning
Roald Dahl’s 1964 children’s book, about an eccentric, reclusive candy maker who invites five children to tour his factory, as envisioned in the psychedelic 1970s. From the trippy musical numbers – those Oompa-Loompas are the stuff that nightmares, or at least bad trips, are made of – to the screaming color design, this enchants kids
