Fletch

Where so many before have gone wrong, Hellboy II gets it right. Then again, it borrows quite a bit from some of the great ones that came before, so...more on that later.Guillermo del Toro's Hellboy II: The Golden Army is that rarest of beasts: the sequel that bests its predecessor. By no means does that mean that the original was bad, but is a testament to all the places where II goes right.Not

Note: for this review, I'm going to channel my allergies into the ability to type coherent sentences. It's a power that my father had, and now I have it. I will use it to rid the world of typos and misspellings. With great power comes great responsibility.Note two: I realize that note one won't make a lick of sense if you haven't seen Wanted. Sorry about that. I've still honing my powers as we spe

Steve Conrad's The Promotion is the Alexander Payne film that Payne never made. Only, had he, it would have most likely been a better film than The Promotion ended up being.The Promotion has all the ingredients of your typical Payne film (Election, About Schmidt, Citizen Ruth): voice-over narration, quirky characters, Midwest setting (substituting the Chicago suburbs for Payne's usual Omaha), mix

Derivative, repetitive, and mostly boring, Wall*E has to be considered the most overhyped, overrated piece of garbage (pun intended) of the new millennium. Tugging at your heartstrings with Louis Armstrong, Hello, Dolly and shades of R2-D2 is no way to make a modern masterpiece, much less one swathed in eco-morals and romance between inanimate objects.Ah, who am I kidding? (You, hopefully.) Wall*E

Adam over at Counting Down the Hours recently learned that a review of his had been blurbed recently for an Australian newspaper. Despite the fact that he has in-roads to this based on some of the places he submits his reviews, this makes me jealous. So, in the hopes of getting myself noticed by Warner Brothers (Get Smart's distributor), I hereby present some potential blurbs I've specially

(Note: spoilers abound. Enter at your own risk.) Why......? ...is it that every time Bruce attempts to contact Mr. Blue, Mr. Blue is right there on the computer, ready and willing to type 200 wpm, save for the one time that Bruce and Betty require him not to be at his computer (when they visit him and oh-so-coincidentally meet him outside)? ...does Betty plead for Banner/Hulk to stop choking

The Fall has an interesting lineage. It was adapted from a 1981 Bulgarian film titled Yo Ho Ho by a trio of screenwriters - Tarsem (who also directed) from India, Nico Soultanakis (whom I can only assume is from Greece), and American Dan Gilroy. Gilroy's twin brother John is a film editor and his older brother Tony is the writer/director of Michael Clayton. The film stars American Lee Pace (TV's P

An unconventional movie gets an unconventional review. Today, let's play a round of "It's funny that..." or "It's not funny that..." No, I haven't done this before, and yes, you'll get it quickly.It's funny that...coming off two SNL-flavored posts this week, I should happen to go see Zohan Thursday night.It's not funny that...the movie relies on a few of the same running gags for nearly all of its

On Tuesday, guest poster Gaylord dropped by with a delivery: a special version of Favored Five on SNL Movie Stars. He was even kind enough to give an Unfavored Five as well; that post can be seen here. Today, I give you his Favoreds.For some of Gay's previous work, check out this post.-------------------------------------Gaylord's Favored Five SNL Movie Stars5. Bill Murray – Murray is a polarizi

It's Sunday night. Outside of The Fall, for which I have yet to write a review, Mrs. Fletch and I hadn't been to the theater much lately at all, both of us unimpressed by the output at the theaters in recent weeks. But we love going (and we love that Harkins popcorn), so I browse through the paper, scouring the ads to see what's playing and when. Unfortunately, we had no interest in seeing the lat

It's been a long time since I did an installment of Fletch's Favored Five; lucky for me, I have guest posters like Gaylord to help out every now and then. As a bonus, he even gives us an Unfavored Five, 'cause we all know it's fun to hate on some loser SNL cast members every now and then. We'll start with those today, and finish up with the Favoreds later in the week. Speaking of things we haven't

Just yesterday, prior to seeing Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, I had a discussion with Anil Usumezbas of The Long Take regarding Spider-Man 3. Having just recently watched the final installment of that trilogy, he was a bit bewildered by the "hypocrisy surrounding the critics and fan circles regarding where they place [the] last chapter," going on to say that "isn’t it the s

Thomas McCarthy is a busy man. Having worked his way up the acting ranks, from a bit part in Conspiracy Theory to a regular role on Boston Public all the way to supporting turns in such high-class fare as Syriana and Flags of our Fathers, he took his time in becoming a writer/director, but showed considerable promise with the 2003 indie hit The Station Agent.He returns this years with what's setting up to be another indie hit in The Visitor. Clearly showing his past as an actor, The Visitor is an excellent character piece (but misses excellence overall) starring veteran character actor Richard Jenkins (spotlighted recently in this space).Jenkins plays Walter Vale, a lonely widower (is there any other kind onscreen?) teaching at a cushy Connecticut university. The thing is, Walter's not doi

When you're watching a movie and can't place where you've seen an actor from, is there anything more satisfying than hopping on the computer when you get home and getting the answer? I had another such moment this weekend while/after watching the Audrey Tautou-starring Priceless. Tautou stars as Anna Nicole Smith. Well, not really, but she might as well have been, playing the biggest gold digger this side of the deceased Texas belle (minus the psychological and pharmaceutical issues). Amongst the many men she seduces is an older, balding gentleman with a very prominent nose. I knew I had seen this guy before, but where?So I'm searching his filmography...sure, he's been in a lot of American films, some that I might have even seen, but nothing was clicking. Through the 00s...heading back thr

Smart People is a piece of cinema seemingly crafted by obtuse individuals. Despite featuring a strong screenplay by greenhorn writer Mark Poirier, the leadership by fellow neophyte director Noam Murro lacks imagination.Dennis Quaid stars as boorish Victorian English professor at Carnegie-Mellon University. We know he is an insolent soul because he parks his Euro sedan (a Snaab, if I recall) in two spaces. Apparently, his spouse expired some inordinate length of time ago, and he sees this as an opportunity to be cantankerous for his remaining days. Around the time of our introduction, his lazybones con man of an hermano (adopted, by the way) enters the picture, in need of some duckets and perhaps a domicile. Already cohabiting with Quaid's Lawrence Wetherhold is his conformist conservative

You know that post I made a months weeks back where I preemptively declared that "Ellen Page sucks," just so that I'd be ahead of the curve? Let's put it this way - if I put up another that said "Judd Apatow sucks," I'd be about six months behind the pack.It's funny how overexposure can turn the brightest success stories into major annoyances for some. I'll admit - the usage of the phrase "brought to you by the guys from..." isn't the best way to market a movie, but it's used probably because it works pretty well. Unfortunately, it sets up this scenario where every work is compared to the work that was previously "brought to us" by the same makers.So, blogs and message boards and SOCIETY IN GENERAL are currently crammed with opinions ranging from "Forgetting Sarah Marshall is worse than

At one point during Street Kings, the character played by Keanu Reeves tells his girlfriend to get away from him, as "everything [he] touches dies." If only Reeves has read that line in the script and heeded the warning.Reeves plays Tom Ludlow, a Vice detective in L.A., the setting and occupation of almost all of director David Ayer's works. Ludlow is a miserable man, trudging through the grind of nabbing villains while his personal angst (and alcoholism) grows, as he's a widower who kind of hates his job. If only he weren't so good at it! Ludlow's boss, Captain Jack Wander (Forrest Whitaker), dotes on his star detective, especially after the strong opening sequence that features Ludlow deep undercover battling some baddies. But when it's revealed that Ludlow might not be completely t

Sorry, no posting today (outside of this one), as I took one of these (at right) to a couple of my fingers last night during softball and have limited typing ability (oh, and a fair share of pain). Wish me luck in not losing a fingernail (bleh).UPDATE: Here's the damage. Probably doesn't look all that bad, but it sure didn't feel good.

I mean no pun intended when I say that Run Fatboy Run starts you off on the wrong foot. You see, when you have a schlub that ditches anyone (much less Thandie Newton) at the altar, it's hard to feel for them later. Granted, the film is about nothing if not redemption and forgiveness, but perhaps a little "get to know ya" before showing the character metaphorically kicking a dog isn't the best way to gain an audience's trust.That, however, is probably the least of Fatboy's problems.Considering the writers behind it, Fatboy should have been a smartly written comedy. Star/writer Simon Pegg and co-writer Michael Ian Black have nothing if not a great track record, including Black's Stella and The State, and Pegg's Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead. However, one can't help but think that a sitcom v

Chances are good that you're not looking for any more Iraq War-themed films, but if you were to look for one that pretty adequately sums up my feelings on the conflict, while still not being a great film, this might be the one.Unlike In the Valley of Elah, which had a firm, unmissable message, Stop-Loss is a bit all over the place. It knows one thing for sure - being stop-lossed sucks - but can't seem to make up its mind (or really even come to any conclusions) in regards to the hows, whys, and shoulds of the ongoing conflict.Ryan Phillippe plays Brandon King, a soldier that, soon after being engaged in a deadly conflict that he led, is sent home to Texas, as his duty is complete. But of course we know that that isn't the case, as he will be called back by Uncle Sam in an effort to keep

Unlike most animated tales in which the story leads up to a big fuzzy moral at the end, Horton Hears a Who is all morals, with a story that kind of dances around it. The beauty in this one, though, is that what those life lessons are - what the kids and/or adults are meant to glean from it - is left somewhat open to interpretation.When the titular elephant finds that he is the only one that can hear a community of Whos on "a speck," the reaction from those around him ranges from disbelief to dismay to dissatisfaction to destruction. But what is it, really, that Horton (and Dr. Seuss) is eager to protect, and what is it that the "evil" kangaroo is so eager to be rid of? Is it religion? Unborn babies? Little people? Well, that's up to you.Either way, the film provides a fun ride, and expands

This is the first of two reviews that I'm posting more of less just for posterity's sake. This first one I've been procrastinating for months now, and the second I feel I would procrastinate for months, so I'll just get that out of the way and put something up shortly for it. These will be very small, and it'd probably be best if we all pretend they just didn't happen (kinda like Verne Troyer).Joe Wright's Atonement starts with a frenzy of sound; the tapping of a typewriter, mirroring the actions of one Briony Tallis, who has resorted to play writing in an effort to escape the doldrums of living in a giant manse with nothing to do but play with her bizarre cousins. She has the mind of a dreamer and is just smart enough to get herself and those she knows in trouble, particularly when sh

Previously, I took a look at some of my favorite singles-based soundtracks. Today, we examine mostly instrumental ones.ScoresI'm no expert in movie scores, and they sometimes fly right by my radar, but other times I'm pulled in immediately, and have been known to purchase the soundtrack immediately after seeing a film (I've never listened to a score prior to seeing the accompanying film).The Last of the Mohicans - I'm ashamed to say I don't own this one by Randy Edelman and Trevor Jones, but I do have the two best tracks on my iPod, and would recommend them to anyone. Looking for that musical way to tell someone you'll love them forever? Play them "Top of the World." Looking for some inspirational music to play to a sports team or to gear yourself up for something? Play "Promentory," which

Now, the usual gig here would entail my coming up with some clever tie-in, followed by a straight review of the film at hand. However, I hardly think that's necessary, given the film. In case you're sleeping under a rock (in which case you're probably not sleeping too well), Drillbit Taylor has been (rightfully) compared, by just about everyone, to producer Judd Apatow's production from roughly six months ago, namely Superbad. The only differences are that, aside from having the titular "bodyguard" Taylor (played by known tough guy Owen Wilson), the three high schoolers this go around are a few years younger, and the movie is not as funny (to how much of a degree depends on who you talk to). At this rate, not only is overexposure a potential upcoming hazard, but apparently, with his casts

A couple of capsulized reviews to get me caught up...PenelopePenelope is the Tim Burton movie that he never made. Not only is the plot vintage Burton (cursed family gives birth to girl with the snout and ears of a pig), but it co-stars Beetlejuice vet Catherine O'Hara and Sleepy Hollow vet Christina Ricci (rounding out the cast are James McAvoy, Richard Grant, Peter Dinklage, and a bit-parted Reese Witherspoon).Despite the do-gooder fairy tale moralizing (love yourself and others for who they are, kids), the film has its charms and laughs, and McAvoy and Ricci even show some solid chemistry together. The sets, costuming and art direction are vibrant and eye-catching, from Penelope's out-there wardrobe to the imagined metropolis they live in, a mashup of New York, old London and an amusem

Two London-based hitmen head out to do a job. Something goes awry. Their penance? Spend two weeks in Bruges (Belgium), lay low, and await further instruction. Sounds simple enough, right?Not so fast. As it turns out, Ray (Colin Farrell) is not too fond of quaint, sleepy towns lacking in an adequate nightlife (or day life, one could suppose). So there's one problem. Meanwhile, his partner Ken (Brendan Gleeson) is quite taken with the Belgian hamlet famous for its historic, medieval city center, complete with an impressive bell tower and the Church of the Holy Blood, which is said to have a vial of blood from none other than Jesus himself. And while their tastes for tourist activities may differ, that pales in comparison to the wants and needs of their boss Harry (Ralph Fiennes), who just in

I have blinders on, but I'm okay with that.See, despite its faults, I can't help but love Be Kind Rewind, the fifth film from Michel Gondry. Though it lacks the impact of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind or the dreaminess and worldliness of The Science of Sleep, Rewind more than makes up for it with innovation, creativity and heart bursting from its dilapidated sleeves. I know, I sound kind of like a Hallmark card. I admit it - there's something about the 45-year old Frenchmen that is infallible to me.The movie starts off slow - Mike (Mos Def) and Jerry (Jack Black) are New Jersey ne'er do wells living in a dying city just outside of Manhattan. Mr. Fletcher (Danny Glover) runs the local video store, and by video, I mean VHS. It's a run-down store on a run-down block in a run-down

Rashomon. There - it's been said, and I can move on.Anyway, Vantage Point takes a not-so-novel concept - telling a story from several points of view - and really doesn't do much with it. The plot centers on an anti-terrorism summit taking place in Spain, where the U.S. President ("Ashton") is set to speak. On the scene are hundreds of Spaniards, scads of media, the Secret Service, tourists, and of course...terrorists. It's no spoiler to tell you that the President (William Hurt) gets shot, and almost even less of a spoiler to tell you that it's really not the President (POTUS) that gets shot, but his body double.Letting that detail out in the trailer for the film was just the first of many mistakes made by the studio/producers, seeing as how it's one of two big twists in store for the

Rescue Dawn. Superbad. Supertroopers. God forbid - even Fletch?What do these films have in common, you ask? Well, by virtue of having their stars or co-stars (Steve Zahn, Jonah Hill, Kevin Heffernan and Joe Don Baker, respectively) appearing in Strange Wildnerness, they all feel somewhat tainted to me now (lucky for Ernie Borgnine, The Single Guy was never good to begin with). I can confidently say that Strange Wilderness will be the worst movie I will see this year. I can only hope that you don't make the same mistake, or have already (Wayward Jam from Reel Whore already has, but his take is gentler than mine).The truth is, the films of those that appear in Wilderness (this being a Happy Madison production, Adam Sandler vets Allen Covert and Peter Dante join the ride, as does Justin

There's a book-to-film adaptation out in theaters right now that has some people up in arms. It takes place in a world like ours, but not quite. It has an ending that's is alternately seen as confusing and frustrating. It features an animal in one of the main roles.But I reviewed The Golden Compass a few days ago. (Like you didn't see that one coming.)The truth is, there doesn't seem to be nearly as many people upset about the adaptation of I Am Legend as there are about Compass. This could be because either not many people have read the book or because those that have barely remember it (it was first published in 1954). However, I think this is more due to the fact that the movie has almost nothing in common with the book. As I read and have seen, this movie shares its lineage more with Cast Away and 28 Days Later... than it does with the story of a man who hunted vampire-like beings in mid-70s Los Angeles.Not that that should matter much, except maybe to the book's author

Stealing a page from the brilliantly simplistic Review in Haiku, I present to you my Golden Compass review in 17 syllables. RIH is so detailed with it's commitment to simplicity that I am awed. There are but five grades (Awesome, Good, Okay, Bad and Awful) given. The post tags don't exceed two - the year (or decade for pre-2000 films) and the grade. The "reviews" are the obvious 17 syllables, a picture and a grade. That's it, every time. Gimmicky? Sure. But it's awesome, and I only wish I had thought of it first. Anyway, here's The Golden Compass:"Where is double O?No religion ruckus herePolar bear fight rocks."Fletch's Film Rating:"You seem a decent fellow. I hate to kill you."

(Ed. note: Procrastination tends to build on itself, and that is surely the case here, as I've been sitting on this review for some time now. Fact of the matter is, I don't have a lot of thoughts regarding American Gangster, so take from that what you will.)American Gangster is a good movie. No more, no less, really. Though it has little to do with the film itself, I was bothered by the fact that Russell Crowe and Denzel Wasginhton spend less time onscreen together than DeNiro and Pacino did in Heat - a faux pas that can be blamed on either the media or the marketers. The lack of shared screen time doesn't hurt the film terribly, but it certainly hurts its appeal, as what we instead get is a game of cat-and-mouse, with the bulk of the storytelling focusing on the mouse (Washington), Frank Lucas.Lucas is an interesting choice for a movie character. Though the title and some of the press would have you believe this to be a Scarface-like characterization for the ages, it's really the

You might not know this, but I was named after Bob Dylan (see my Blogger profile). As such, it should come as little surprise that I'm a fan of the man's work, though I wouldn't classify myself as a fanatic. That said, imagine my surprise when my parents (whom Mrs. Fletch and I attended the film with on Thanksgiving) understood less of this highly artsy, ambitious, ambiguous film than I did. In case you haven't heard, this is probably one of the strangest "bio-pics" ever made, in that it's entirely about its subject while simultaneously not even mentioning his name or featuring a character by the name of Bob Dylan. Instead, 6 actors portray a "role" that Dylan "played" at one point or another in his life (just like I'm currently playing "quotes" guy).All well and good, and possibly even comprehensible, if that were taken on its own. Unfortunately, that's not the case, as director Todd Haynes complicates matters by jumbling the six (or more?) narratives around each other, leaving

The reviews are inescapable, and they are overwhelmingly positive. You get it...you've been beaten over the head with it: No Country for Old Men is superfantabulexcellenterrific. Well, yes and no. No Country certainly stands as one of the high points of the Coen brothers career, which certainly says something considering their resume (I'd rank it third probably, after Lebowski and Fargo). That said, it has a giant elephant-in-the-room sized issue that it seems not enough people have a problem with. The way I see it, there are three types of people with three different interpretations of the last act of No Country. The first group is "people who have read the book." I assume this group is small. They most likely "get" what happens. The second group is people like me (and the three people I saw the film with). We openly criticized the finale, questioning a number of the choices made, not to mention trying to interpret certain things. We could be classified as "morons who want ev

I managed to escape having to read Beowulf in high school, but that won't stop me from learning my literature the American way - on the big screen!It's hard to really praise or denounce the film too much. On one hand, it's a smorgasbord of cinematic magic that gets taken for granted these days - I start to feel old when I think that the sights featured in the film are pretty much commonplace for the kiddies out there in the audience. Despite its flaws (more on those later), the movie is pretty breathtaking to see when you disengage yourself from the story or the fact that a naked facsimile of Angelina Jolie is staring you in the face - the level of detail given, especially for closeups and/or frames without much movement, are photo-realistic. Meaning if you were looking at a still, you'd barely be able to tell that this was created by computers. As fancy as many of the special effects you see in films these days are, to this day, there aren't many that would pass that test.On the

I’m sure it’s an unfair comparison, and it may seem blasphemous to some, but I liked Gone Baby Gone more than Mystic River. Maybe it’s a factor of being able to relate more to Casey Affleck than to Sean Penn; or maybe it’s because the Shakespearean melodrama at the end of River was not only a huge turnoff, but the lasting image the film has for me; or maybe it’s just because I think Tim Robbins’ performance was more laughable than laudable (and I’m normally a big fan). What can I say – I’m the same guy that’ll take Casino over GoodFellas any day of the week.I say it’s an unfair comparison because they really are two separate entities, and are directed by two different people at that, but it’s a pretty inescapable one as well. As a reader commented, Dennis Lehan’s novels are not all templates of one another, but these two (at least) do share some commonalities, not only in terms of story (female goes missing form the rough streets of south Boston) but in terms

About a month ago, I was contacted by an independent filmmaker based out of Toronto. His name is Brett Butler (sadly, not the former L.A. Dodger, and gladly, not the annoying-voiced comedienne) and his latest film is the one in the title above. He and his brother Jason have their own production company (http://www.subprod.com/) up there where they've made a few films, all on low budgets.Brett and the gang have been taking Confusions on the festival circuit and have won and/or been nominated for a few awards ("the Audience Choice Award for Best Film at the Indiana University South Bend Video and Film Festival, as well as being nominated for Best Film at the Swansea Bay Film Festival in Wales, and Best Comedy at the Southern Winds Film Festival in Oklahoma). As part of this publicity, I assume they're contacting a number of movie bloggers in an attempt to get some more press. Well, I took him up on the offer and received a screener DVD a few weeks back, finally getting to watch it a co

Spending the weekend out of town and coming back to the grind with a 3 day backup of work can really wreak havoc on the whole blogging schedule. (For the record, I went to Puerto Penasco aka Rocky Point to hang out, drink beer, drink tequila, watch the Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers concert, enjoy yet another sandstorm and sit at the border for close to four and a half hours. At least the sandstorm didn't hit until the day we left.)Anyway, I'm back and am two reviews behind schedule, the first of which, as you can tell from the title of this post, is Michael Clayton. Due to the whole "lots of work, not a lot of time" scenario, I'll attempt to keep them short and sweet, but somehow I know they'll end up being the same length as any other review I've done, thanks in no small part to rambling, incoherent prefaces such as this. On to the review...I read this line in another review of Michael Clayton, but it's good enough that it warrants my blatant stealing and reprinting here (I be

They say that familiarity breeds contempt.I wouldn't go that far when describing Wes Anderson's fifth feature, The Darjeeling Limited, but I will say that familiarity, with not only Anderson's style but with his repertoire of actors, breeds...well, exactly the feeling that Anderson's films usually give me: nostalgic melancholy (or is that melancholic nostalgia?).This is all a long way of saying two things. First, that, Anderson needs to branch out or change some things up lest he be deemed irrelevant in the near future, and second, that the audience's familiarity with Owen Wilson (and his suicide attempt), star or co-star in four of the five Anderson features, lends a certain sadness to the film, not to mention serving as a giant distraction.Primarily, though, it's that Limited feels as though it's been done before, and by Anderson. Personally, I love the group of actors (and the choice of music Anderson uses) that includes Jason Schwartzman, both Wilson brothers, Bill Murray, A

I wouldn't blame you for not recognizing the face to your left, notwithstanding the title of this post. Tommy Lee Jones wasn't particularly famous in his youth, making his way through guest spots on TV shows all through the 70s (Barnaby Jones, Baretta, Charlie's Angels) until a breakout performance in Coal Miner's Daughter put him on the map (I'm guessing; after all, I was only 4 years old at the time). Still, it was TV work through the 80s as well, though his performance in the epic (and star-studded) Lonesome Dove mini-series in 1989 made him a burgeoning star.Since then, Jones has been a fixture on movie screens, alternating between star turns (The Fugitive, Men in Black) and guest roles (Batman Forever, Natural Born Killers) in a wide variety of genres, playing an even wider array of types. Over the last 15 years, he's garnered a reputation as a modern-day version of an old school Western hero - tough as nails, a man of few words and strong actions. His dry, laconic way of sp

Every once in a while, I'll see a great film that leaves me more or less speechless. This isn't some gasp over how great it is or due to shock or anything, but for whatever reason, it just doesn't leave me overflowing with criticism (in the general sense). This may be a lacking on my part to be able to successfully apply critical thinking to all mediums and articles, or perhaps it's a flaw in the film that it just doesn't give you much material in terms of theme or tone. Or maybe it's just because sometimes I'm content admiring the quiet beauty that comes with watching Patrick Swayze perform martial artsy yoga in Roadhouse.Eastern Promises is one of these films that leaves me lacking a response. To be sure, it's very good, if not great. It demonstrates the power of loyalty, brotherhood, family, motherhood and a myriad of other topics that have been covered by many a mob picture before it. The fresh part this time, as simple as it is, is that it centers on a Russian family that

If your 13 year old is struggling in their US History class, Julie Taymor's Across the Universe may just be the film to help him or her out. It's perfect in terms of being a Cliff's Notes educational tool - it's written at a 5th-grade level, it skims the surface of many a major event both political and cultural (Vietnam, MLK, hippies, the British Invasion, Bono), and it's a lot quicker to watch this two-hour flick than it would be to read On the Road or Ken Kesey or something like that.For those unaware, Universe is Taymor's ode/tribute to The Beatles, a wannabe Moulin Rouge-esque musical filled with nothing but songs from the Fab Four. It's also derivative, shallow and somewhat unbearably literal. For the "Hey Jude" number, wouldn't you know it - someone sings directly to a character named Jude. Ditto Prudence. As for Lucy (the female lead's name), I kept waiting and waiting and waiting for "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" to be played, only to have to wait until the end credi

All this summer, we had been waiting. I was, you might have been, Hollywood and some little (maybe) studio certainly was. Waiting for that one indie to catch fire, to go from making $40,000 one week to $2 million to the next, on the way to grossing $20 or $30 or even $50 million plus. Where has our Napoleon Dynamite been?Well, you can probably see where this is going. Unfortunately, it's no longer summer (except for here in Arizona, where it's still well over 100 degrees every day...but I digress). It's September. Kids back in school, fall TV season shifting into gear and the sports seasons returning/kicking it up a notch. Meanwhile, 2 Days in Paris has barely grossed $2 million total in over a month. For shame.Outside of the much hyped (and deservedly so) Knocked Up and Superbad, this is the funniest movie of the year. Outside of that, it's also the best "romantic comedy" you've seen in the past 20. True, saying a romantic comedy is great is practically an oxymoron these days, bu

There's something to be said for the peaks and valleys of absurdist sketch comedy. Unlike the rote predictability of sketch shows like MadTV and Saturday Night Live, oddball shows like The State, Stella, and Upright Citizen's Brigade seem to either succeed massively or fall flat on their face (oh wait, SNL has fallen flat on their face almost constantly in the last few years).David Wain's The Ten is no different. A humorous take on the Ten Commandments, done anthology-stlye with a 10 minute sketch for each commandment, there's a variance in quality not only between each sketch, but within each sketch, right down to a minute-by-minute basis. On the plus side, though, this is the rare film that significantly picks up steam as it goes, helped by the meandering that the characters do from sketch to sketch. Each story has its own plot and set of main characters, but an ancillary performer in one commandment may turn out to be the star of the next, and vice-versa.Paul Rudd serves as a de

I feel bad for Jason Biggs. And Eddie Kaye Thomas. Well, really, the entire cast and crew of American Pie. Sure, Pie was a big hit and got some good reviews some 10 years ago, but nowhere near the love that Superbad and the King Midas-like Judd Apatow are feeling right now. Don't get me wrong - this isn't to say that I think Superbad is a bad film or a cheap knockoff - not in the least. However, there sure are a lot of similarities between that first pastry-influenced film and the latest hit from the Apatow family. For starters, the Sherminator has offered to kick McLovin's ass.All that said, I enjoyed Superbad quite a bit. As DC Girl @ the Movies pointed out in her review, much like John Hughes, Apatow's films (mind you, Superbad was directed by Greg Mottola and not Apatow, but he produced and has his hands all over the project) have a specific feel or brand all their own. In the near future, the specifics of that brand (raunchy, crass humor mixed with heart) may have to be tweake

Dieter Dangler is one strange dude. Growing up in Germany in the 40s, he and his town were subjected to bombing from the Allied forces. Dieter looked through a hole in his roof one day and caught a glimpse of a bomber pilot flying by. Despite this (or, as Rescue Dawn, because of it), Dieter comes to America in his teens with the lone goal of becoming a pilot. As the title of director Werner Herzog's earlier documentary of Dangler states, Little Dieter Needs to Fly.However, not long after Dieter (Christian Bale) gets to fly, he's shot down. Near Vietnam. All alone, he does his best to gets rescued, but in no time flat, he's captured and transferred to a POW camp in nearby Laos. Yet, despite being in a helpless situation, tortured all along, Dieter keeps his spirits high, almost smiling the whole way. He's taking it all in, for better or worse.At the POW camp, he meets a group of prisoners, some of which have been there upwards of two years or more. While not tortured much at the cam

It's times like these that I wish I hadn't started using the "Fletch's Film Review: ___" headline for these reviews, as every review under the sun that I've come across for The Bourne Ultimatum has some terrible pun like "Bourne Again" or "Bourne To Be Wild," while I'm left out of the pun party. Damn it all.Bourne To RunThough I usually like to keep my reviews to myself (meaning, what I thought of the film), I also couldn't help but notice that quite a few of the reviews I'm reading are from people who are tripping over themselves lauding director Paul Greengrass for his directorial style. His use of handheld cameras is said to add realism and immediacy to the action surrounding the former amnesiac, as he (and the audience) cope with the struggles of being confused and anxious and - huh? Greengrass's style (aka "shaky cam") is overdone, overused and overtly nauseating. The use of handheld cameras in moderation can be wildly effective, for the reasons mentioned above. However, u

As evidenced by the box office tally thus far, Danny Boyle's latest film, Sunshine, isn't being seen by hardly anyone. That's a shame, for despite its shortcomings, it's really a film that should be seen on a big screen (the bigger the better).Mind you, the shortcomings are big...but I'll get to those later.The concept is pretty simple and straightforward. A few hundred years into the future (a date is never given, but it's safe to say that it's a long ways off), our sun is dying, and the people of earth come up with a plan - send a team (or two) of astronauts on a suicide mission to "reignite" the big star with a big bomb.It's a great concept, and the execution of the first act is impeccable. The action starts off slow, with the audience learning pieces of the story, of the characters and of their ship, the Icarus II, for the first hour or so. Not enough can really be said about the visuals and concepts that the filmmakers dreamed up, CGI or otherwise - the only real compa

Well, I've put this off long enough to the point of irrelevance, but I figured I ought to at least post a short take with my thoughts on Transformers.It's funny, really. For all the crap Michael Bay takes, he is generally regarded as a good "action director," experienced with big set pieces and complex action with a lot going on, be it gunfire or explosions or - most often - both. However, the big action sequences in Tranformers, expensive-looking as they may be, are probably the worst thing about the movie.Most of the problem lies with the 'bots themselves. With this modern take on the 80s cartoon focused on a bit of realism when it comes to the origins and capabilities of the alien robots, the end result is a semi truck that, when transforming from upright form to truck form, seems to be made of a billion parts. The same could be said for any of the other robots. Now take that complexity and throw it into fight scenes between two or more hunks of metal that change shapes seemingly

It's really a privilege to be able to watch Ben Kingsley in action. Now, I know that sounds like some rabid gushing, but it's not quite. Instead, Kingsley could be likened to a Christopher Walken, who (aside from also being a pretty talented guy, despite his inability to say no to anything) is a good actor, but is even more of an onscreen presence. Good luck explaining the appeal of Walken (should the topic come up) to your grandkids. He's hilarious and captivating and a train wreck all at the same time - and is otherwise incapable of being labeled.Kingsley, meanwhile, has more serious acting chops, but is just as hard to pin down. He literally commands your attention when he's on the screen, even in a quiet role like the one he plays in You Kill Me, the latest from director John Dahl (Rounders, The Last Seduction). Despite being a somewhat slight man (5'8" and trim as can be for a 63-year old), he's larger than life, as evidenced by his commanding, twisted role in Sexy Beast.In

I figure its high time I class up this joint, and what better way to do so than to honor some films that have gone beyond their appreciation of film stock and enriched our lives with that more respected medium - painting. Keep in mind, I'm no art expert, and I don't know much, but I know what I like...While recently re-watching The Royal Tenenbaums, I was able to fall in love again with the Miguel Calderon painting to your right (and its complement - not shown) that is prominent in one of my favorite scenes. I'd rather not spoil it, so if you haven't seen the film - shame on you, first of all, as it's one of the best of the last 15 years - do so immediately and pay particular attention to a scene between Luke and Owen Wilson that takes place in Owen's characters' apartment.Some other objects of my affection:Much as I'm busying classing up the joint, John Hughes did so some twenty years ago with Ferris Buehler's Day Off. In what some might classify as merely being a teen comedy

I'm happy to report that I was wrong. With both his curveball and fastball still intact, Michael Moore's Sicko is no different in tone than any of his previous efforts. Alternately informative and infuriating, Moore still finds plenty of time for his sardonic wit to shine through.Through possibly an easy task, those that spend their time picking holes in Moore's arguments and/or railing him for his stunts (he attempts to take a group of folks to Guantanamo Bay for treatment, for example) are wasting their time and missing the point. Slanted as Moore may be, and however uninformed he may be in regards to the health care systems in place in Canada, France, et al, Moore's heart and head are squarely in the right place at all times. He sees a (big) problem with the US health care system and is looking at countries that maybe, just possibly, have a better system.Amongst my few complaints with Sicko is Moore's inability to let the past go. Despite my feelings for Bush and his administra

Apparently, the critics and movie audiences of the world have lowered their standards. Considerably. To think that Live Free or Die Hard is currently rated at an 8.1/10 on IMDb, or that the film regularly scores four out of five stars is all a bit disconcerting. Because, really, there isn't all that much to crow about.I guess, in some respects, I can understand it. After all, this is the fourth in the series, and number fours aren't typically very representative of the overall quality of a franchise. The laundry list of fatal fours is long and undistinguished: Batman & Robin, Lethal Weapon 4, The Phantom Menace. Not a decent film amongst them. So, in comparison, Live Free looks like a masterpiece.For a mindless summer popcorn flick, it's pretty effective - just be sure to remember the "no mind" portion. With almost nonstop action (it starts within 12 minutes or so of the opening credits and continues throughout), the movie certainly fulfills its requirement as an adrenaline-

How do you make an entertaining film about someone's death? Even more so, how do you do said task when all members of the audience know that the death is coming? Separate from those two questions, why is said film released in summer, at the height of blockbuster movie season?While director Michael Winterbottom (Code 46) is left to deal with the first two questions, the last one must be saved for the studio that released A Mighty Heart (Paramount Vintage).Try as he might, Winterbottom succeeds in making a film that, while painful to watch (due to subject matter) at many times, is still capable of some light humor and tense drama. The story of the death of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, told through the eyes of his loved ones and pursuers at and after the time of his abduction in Pakistan is not an easy story to tell, to be sure. However, if any director was up to the task, it is Winterbottom, whose multi-culti style of filmmaking and feel for moods is a perfect way to take

Warning: the post you are about to read is in poor taste at best, and possibly offensive at worst. Proceed with caution - and lighten up!"Stupid is as stupid does." - Forrest Gump"I like the way you talk, too." - Karl Childers"Sometimes they're bald because their head is shiny and they don't have hair on it. So their head is just more of their face." - Sam DawsonListed above are some of the most famous quotes that the film world has ever seen (okay, maybe not the third one so much - that's from I Am Sam). Their common thread? The words were all uttered by characters that are, well, let's just say they're "special" in one way or another. A conversation the other day got me thinking - who are my favorite mentally challenged characters? I feel compelled to share with you...Honorable MentionsSam Dawson, I Am SamOnly the man that brought Jeff Spicoli to the national consciousness could have played Sam. Wait a sec, what am I saying? I never saw this, and neither did anyone else. But it

What a bad day for the barmy army! Duncan Fletcher must be feeling grumpier than Papa Bear on discovering his porridge had been eaten. Englands batting resolve showed the consistancy of porridge - but perhaps more reminiscent of something browner in colour. Well, for all ABSA supporters out there (Anyone But Swining Australia!) it is a bad day, the Ashes look all but over bar the sledging. We need something to look forward to.Ladies and gentlemen, cricketers and fools, pie chuckers, hackers and umpires too...I give you...coming soon,very soon...the man from MvurwiHowick's favorite son,the one the only.Blogger Johnno!!