Action/Adventure Rated PG-13
“Craig delivers the first Bond who scares you.”
“There has always been something diabolical about Pfeiffer’s beauty … and she both plays up and subverts that image here.
I went into Serenity as a novice – that is, unfamiliar with the short-lived “Firefly” television series on which this is based – but thankfully fan-boy membership isn’t necessary to enjoy the picture’s smart handling of Star Trek conventions. As written and directed by Joss Whedon – creator of the original series, as well as
Harrison Ford, as a cop who would rather be selling real estate, is loose, lively and often very funny in this action comedy, but the movie itself is lively only in spurts. Writer-director Ron Shelton (Bull Durham, Tin Cup) is after something admirable, but he ends up delivering a combination of Anonymous Police Movie 3,001
Action/Adventure Rated R
Brainless, idiotic action – and somehow still not any fun. Antonio Banderas and Lucy Liu play a pair of disgruntled spies, but Thai director Wych Kaosayananda gives the movie’s countless fireballs most of his attention. In the end, it’s hard to decide what’s sillier: the nonsensical back story that explains Banderas’ character or the sight
Another Hong Kong martial arts adventure that received a belated release in the United States, but this one – a Chinese take on the Robin Hood legend – deserves a second look. Director Yuen Wo Ping, the fight choreographer for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and The Matrix, may not have a knack for narrative (the
A heist movie with heart, thanks to a strong emotional center and an amiable cast. The thieves in this remake – including Mark Wahlberg, Edward Norton and Charlize Theron – banter like the cast of Friends, while their latest job is less about money than avenging the murder of their patriarchal leader. There’s a serviceable
“The wonder of the first movie is long gone, but a few thrills still remain.”
When a movie’s strongest quality is a fantastic, original concept, a sequel can be something of a self-defeating proposition. And so Men in Black II – in which mysterious government agents Kay and Jay (Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith) reunite to monitor the extraterrestrials secretly living among us – is occasionally fun but never
In a generic science-fiction future – you know, the kind full of stark fluorescent lighting and bulky armored cars – a cop (Jet Li) fights his evil double from a parallel universe. Li’s a man of considerable martial arts talent, but you won’t see much of it here. The One has the stiff, dingy look
