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Home / Archive: January 2009
Following up his acclaimed work in The Wrestler with another compelling performance, Mickey Rourke serves notice that he is indeed back. He plays a mob hit man first on the run from the mob, then after someone who witnesses a crime. Diane Lane is dependably solid as a woman in peril, and Rourke, his face [...]
Intriguing film about a man (Brendan Fraser) who can read characters “out” of books, bringing them to life, is ultimately a little too confusing and hard to follow to fully satisfy. Fraser is fine. Helen Mirren, as his crusty aunt, is better, and Eliza Bennett gives young girls a character to root for. [...]
Complex, challenging and at times hard to watch, Ari Folman’s animated documentary in which he searches for memories of his role in the 1982 Lebanon war also is a shattering indictment of war and its effects. A wholly original film. (R - 90 minutes) S, V.
Akshay Kumar plays a poor and hapless vegetable cutter in India who is mistaken for a legendary Chinese warrior. Complications ensue. The film is a delightful mix of Bollywood and kung fu movies, with a complex (and sometimes nonsensical) story and good performances from Gordon Liu as an evil smuggler and Roger Yuan as a [...]
Based on a true story, director and co-writer Edward Zwick treats the story of Jews who hid out and fought the Nazis in World War II with such Great Cinematic Importance that he drains it of its spontaneity. Daniel Craig and Liev Schreiber are good as the brothers who form the community of resistance fighters, [...]
Emma Roberts and Jake T. Austin play a brother and sister living in a foster home (Kevin Dillon and Lisa Kudrow play their parents) who convert an abandoned hotel into a canine shelter of sorts. The kids are cute and the dogs cuter, but it’s too often cute for its own sake, substituting amazing dog [...]
Dustin Hoffman stars as a frumpy jingles writer who’s in London for his daughter’s wedding, where he runs into Emma Thompson, who is as lonely as he is. Hoffman and Thompson are pros, and each gets a scene designed to capture notice and awards. But the rest of the film is so clichéd and lame [...]
“My Bloody Valentine 3D” returns to those entertainingly scary days of yesteryear. There’s no way to watch this non-stop string of brutal attacks without seeing the absurdity in the whole thing. Toss in first-rate 3D and the movie not only pays a proper homage to the 1981 original but kicks it up about 1,000 notches.
(Randy Cordova) Movie looks at the rise and early death of rapper the Notorious B.I.G. but sticks to overly familiar music-bio clichés. Newcomer Jamal Woolard projects a relaxed charm but little else as the hip-hop icon. (R - 100 minutes) N, S, P, V.
Kevin James stars as the title character, a loser given the chance to shine. Wonder how that turns out? Jayma Mays is on hand as a possible love interest. The film depends on James’ ability to carry a film, but his talents are more suited to the small screen. (PG - 87 minutes) V, P.
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