|
|
|
Written by Lisa Miller/special to the World
|
|
Monday, 31 March 2008 |
|
|
|
|
Shuffling Up A True Story
(Ratings are out of four stars)
21
(2008)
* *1/2
Directed by Robert Luketic
Starring Kate Bosworth, Jim Sturgess, Kevin Spacey, Laurence Fishburne, Aaron Yoo, Liza Lapira, Jacob Pitts
Columbia Pictures/Rated PG-13/Drama/123 min
Stylishly directed, “21” pits omnipresent MIT professor, Micky Rosa, against card-counting, blackjack protege, Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess). Based upon Ben Campbell’s performance in Professor Rosa’s MIT math class, the professor categorizes Campbell as brilliant and composed under fire.
 However, Campbell, in need of $300,000 to pay for Harvard medical school, initially declines Rosa’s invitation to join a big-money blackjack team, citing a commitment to Campbell’s low-paying, after school job. Rather than appearing either brilliant or composed, Campbell’s insecurity is further evidenced by his uncertain pursuit of pretty math geek, Jill (Kate Bosworth).
The film reveals just enough about card-counting to make it appealing. The simplistic presentation overlooks the difficult computations added to the mix by the actual MIT team. While a simple plus/minus count system can be learned quickly, the MIT team employed further statistical analysis to predict, among other things, whether the next card(s) dealt would be high or low (good to know when deciding whether to hit or stand on a 15 or 16).
 The movie tries to amp up the tension by having team members appear in different disguises, assuming new identities for playing at each Las Vegas casino. These are mostly glitz and glam outfits — notably Bosworth wearing a succession of designer cocktail dresses topped off by elegant wigs. Extreme close-ups of the action show a playing card’s oversize pores, but extreme close-ups of Cole Williams (Laurence Fishburne), show a casino security man intent on identifying the team’s members and their secret communication strategy.
Kevin Spacey, also serving as the film’s producer, is a world of caricature unto himself. In a procession of swanky suites, professor Rosa lectures the youngsters on the merits of self-discipline. He seems unaware that his alpha dog posturing engenders increasing discontent among the ranks as Rosa reaps an unfair share of profits made from the team’s hard work.
Director Robert Luketic’s nifty cinematography is meant to depict the highs of winning and lows of losing, but it’s slick camera trickery that fails to convey the impact of Campbell’s huge ups and downs.
Though the film version is retrofitted with a fluffy ending meant to be edgy, the demise of the real MIT team is far more instructive. Posing as stand alone players, team members averaged a $100,000 win per weekend session. By the time they had $10 million in winnings, the overconfident team was undone because its members were spotted cavorting together at a casino swimming pool.
While the true story, chronicled in “Bringing Down the House,” by Ben Mezrich, follows the natural trajectory of human behavior, the film believes that following a predictable storytelling formula, improves upon the truth. Now that’s a losing bet.
COMING SOON
CR = Critics’ Consensus Rating (where available), PR = Lisa’s Predicted Rating
THE RUINS
(2008)
PR: * * *
Directed by Carter Smith
Starring Shawn Ashmore, Jena Malone, Jonathan Tucker
DreamWorks/Rated R/Horror
Two young American couples take a self-guided tour of picturesque, vine-covered, Mayan ruins. When the visitors attempt to leave, an attack by spear wielding natives forces the tourists to take refuge inside a tumbledown temple. While the couples regroup, wormlike invaders find their way beneath one visitor’s skin, freaking out the others who can see the critters freely wriggling about. From the book by Scott B. Smith (of “A Simple Plan”), the assault, occurring miles from civilization, forces the unprepared foreigners to rely on their wits. In other words, they are rare intelligent protagonists appearing on the horror genre’s endangered species list.
LEATHERHEADS
(2008)
PR: * *1/2
Directed by George Clooney
Starring George Clooney, Renee Zellweger, John Krasinski
Universal/Rated PG-13/Comedy/112 min
George Clooney seeks to capture the early, anything goes era of football in a screwball comedy. The actor directs and stars as Dodge Connolly, an aging football player on a team competing in a league where flexible game rules invite playing field brawls. Hoping to put his team on the map, Connolly recruits young Princeton star and WWI hero, Carter Rutherford (Krasinski). Suspecting there’s more to Rutherford’s heroics than he’s telling, sassy journalist Lexie Littleton (Zellweger) saunters onto the field decked out in high heels and a sexy red dress. Instantly infatuated, Connolly is torn between managing his newfound star’s PR, or trusting his heart to the lady in red.
NIM’S ISLAND
(2008)
PR: * *1/2
Directed by Jennifer Flackett, Mark Levin
Starring Jodie Foster, Gerard Butler, Abigail Breslin
Fox-Walden/Rated PG/Fantasy, Comedy/91 min
A violence free adventure from the children’s book by Wendy Orr, Nim’s island takes viewers to a fantasy destination -- the idyllic home of young Nim (Breslin), her marine biologist father (Butler) and her many animal friends. Nim hearts author Alex Rover’s (Foster) books, stories centered around a macho wilderness adventurer. When Nim’s father goes missing on the very day thoughtless tourists invade her island sanctuary, Nim pleads for help from the author posing as the rough-and-tumble hero of “Indiana Jones-y” adventures. In reality, Alex is an agoraphobic -- never venturing beyond her own front door. Egged on by Alex’s courageous alter ego (also played by Butler), the author braves a dangerous world -- and a wild heliocopter ride -- to come to Nim’s aid. It’s no surprise when Nim must repeatedly rescue her scardey-cat savior.
SHINE A LIGHT
(2008)
PR: * *1/2
Directed by Martin Scorsese
Starring Mick Jagger, Keith Richards
Paramount Vantage/Rated PG-13/Documentary/120 min
Senior citizen director, Martin Scorsese, captures senior rockers, Keith Richards and Mick Jagger, preparing for and performing in concert at New York City’s Beacon Theater during the Rolling Stones’s 2006 “Big Bang Tour.” The director intercuts the band’s archived, youthful interviews with their present day performance, but seems happiest when filming, and worshipping, the band doing what it does best. Visitors include the Clintons, Christina Aguilera, and throngs of rocking New Yorkers.
NOW PLAYING
RUN, FAT BOY, RUN
(2007)
CR: * *1/2
Directed by David Schwimmer
Starring Simon Pegg, Thandie Newton, Hank Azaria, Dylan Moran
Picturehouse/Rated PG-13/Comedy/99 min
Dennis, a British slacker with commitment phobia, is finally ready to commit to Libby (Newton). Five years earlier, Dennis left pregnant Libby at the altar, so to make him to prove his sincerity, she sets him up to compete against Whit (Azaria), a charming American who seems steady and kind. When Libby boasts that Whit is running a marathon, Dennis (Pegg) replies, “So could I,” and the game is on. Having bet his savings on Dennis to win, best friend, Gordon (Moran), signs on as trainer, but he’s even lazier than Dennis. Directed by “Friends’” David Schwimmer and well-received across the pond, the film’s springtime US debut feels just right.
STOP-LOSS
(2008)
CR: * * *
Directed by Kimberly Peirce
Starring Ryan Phillippe, Abbie Cornish, Channing Tatum, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Timothy Olyphant
Paramount/Rated R/Drama/112 min
Brandon King, having returned home from Iraq to a Texas style hero’s welcome, soon learns he’s being ordered back to Iraq under the stop-loss policy. King (Phillippe) gets no sympathy from his war buddies, thuggish Shriver (Tatum), and screw-up Burgess (Gordon-Levitt). With his buddy’s girl (Cornish) in tow, King heads for Washington to complain to his senator. A VA hospital stopover feels manipulative, but otherwise, the film makes an honest effort to examine all sides of the stop-loss policy.
SUPERHERO MOVIE
(2008)
CR: *1/2
Directed by Craig Mazin
Starring Drake Bell, Leslie Nielsen, Sara Paxton, Christopher McDonald
Weinstein Co./Rated PG-13/Comedy/85 min
In a spoof of the “Spider-Man” films, Drake Bell plays high school loser Rick Riker. After being bitten by a genetically altered dragon fly, Rick crawls up buildings, hangs from the ceiling and grows guard hairs in the most unlikely places. Wearing an ultra tight, prone to tearing, green latex suit, heroic Rick falls for lovely Jill (Paxton). Meanwhile, an experiment transforms Lou Landers (McDonald) into the evil “Hourglass,” devourer of life forces. With the popular Spidey currently on hiatus, fans may jump at a chance to revisit familiar stomping grounds through comedy -- or more likely, will avoid not this lackluster satire. Competition to win the film’s teen audience is tighter than a superhero’s costume.
DRILLBIT TAYLOR
(2008)
* *
Directed by Steven Brill
Starring Owen Wilson, Josh Peck, Alex Frost, Leslie Mann
Paramount/Rated PG-13/Comedy/102 min
Listed as the film’s producer, Judd Apatow has his fingerprints all over the screen treatment cowritten by his Knocked Up star, Seth Rogen. Three freshman tormented by bullies at school, advertise for protection. After interviewing a handful of weirdos, they choose Drillbit Taylor (Wilson), unaware he’s a homeless bum posing as a solider-of-fortune. One of the lads loans Drillbit his father’s suit, causing the imposter to be mistaken for a substitute teacher. While instructing class, Drillbit catches the eye of a pretty teacher (Leslie Mann, Judd Apatow’s wife). Meanwhile, the boys discover that Drillbit lacks fighting skills, but has taken the job hoping to find something he can steal. Same goes for Wilson who steals the film as its chief BS’er.
MEET THE BROWNS
CR: * *1/2
Directed by Tyler Perry
Starring Angela Bassett, Tamela J. Mann, Tyler Perry, Rick Fox
Lionsgate/Rated PG-13/Drama
Written by Tyler Perry as a play (available on DVD), the film stars Angela Bassett as a recently unemployed single mother. When Brenda’s (Bassett) estranged father dies, the city girl packs up her brood and heads for Georgia to meet his branch of the family. Outwardly, the Brown clan is uncouth, but they warmly envelop Brenda. Romance arrives in the form of a handsome family friend (Fox), but after years of being alone love frightens Brenda almost as much as the camera loves Bassett. Kudos to Lionsgate for betting twice on Perry’s appeal, even if this time, the author plays his problematic alter ego, loudmouthed Madea.
SHUTTER
(2008)
CR:* *
Directed by Masayuki Ochiai
Starring Joshua Jackson, Rachael Taylor, James Kyson Lee
Fox/Rated PG-13/Horror
Spirit photography, popular in Asia, is the subject of this remake of a Thai horror. Young American newlyweds, Ben (Jackson) and Jane (Taylor), travel to Tokyo for Ben’s job as photographer of a trendy fashion event. En route, Jane believes she runs over a woman appearing out of nowhere, but the couple find no evidence of a body. Subsequently, Ben’s fashion photos are blemished by ghostly images. The couple seeks advice from the editor of a Japanese spirit photography magazine (Lee). He shows the newlyweds snapshots of ghosts haunting the living, many who mysteriously died shortly thereafter. Ho-hum. Given the Eastern appetite for Western action fare, perhaps the plethora of hokey J-horror remakes be part of some secret trade agreement.
DOOMSDAY
(2008)
* *
Directed by Neil Marshall
Starring Rhona Mitra, Bob Hoskins, Adrian Lester, Alexander Siddig and Malcolm McDowell
Rogue Pictures/Rated R/Action/105 min
Thirty years ago a killer virus swept through Britain. Unable to find a cure, authorities contained the sick behind high walls and left them to die. In the present day, another outbreak prompts officials to send an elite squad into the quarantined zone to retrieve clues to a cure. However, the abandoned have no desire to help their keepers. Rhona Mitra stars as captain of a mission leading a special ops unit into a closed city ruled by violence and hatred. Often compared to “Mad Max” and “28 Days,” the film’s apocalyptic action formula has earned it the nickname, “28 Days Beyond The Thunderdome.”
HORTON HEARS A WHO!
(2008)
* * *
Directed by Jimmy Hayward, Steve Martino
Voiced by Jim Carrey, Steve Carell, Seth Rogen, Dan Fogler, Jonah Hill, Will Arnett, Amy Poehler
Fox/Rated G/Animated/88 min
Brilliantly animated in muted colors, “Horton” is dark and moody one minute, sunny the next. Jim Carrey and Steve Carell lead a voice talent dream team that would have made Dr. Seuss proud. While lounging beside a pool, Horton the elephant (Carrey) discovers microscopic Whos living in a speck lodged on a flower. Horton signs on as their protector, a job made more difficult by his disbelieving friends and by Vlad (Arnett), a nasty vulture. While Horton searches for somewhere the Whos will be safe, The mayor of Whoville (Carell), his wife (Poehler) and their 94 children go about their normal routines unaware of Vlad’s plot to destroy them. A humorous object lesson for the kiddies, these lively characters from two very different, yet similar worlds will energize the whole clan.
NEVER BACK DOWN
(2009)
CR: *
Directed by Jeff Wadlow
Starring Sean Faris, Amber Heard, Djimon Hounsou, Cam Gigandet, Evan Peters, Leslie Hope
Summit Entertainment/Rated PG-13/Drama/106 min
Two buffed high schoolers duke it out for the title and the girl (Heard). Football jock, Jake (Faris), is lured into an underground fight club after taking a beating from Mixed-Martial Arts Champ, Ryan McCarthy (Gigandet). Having recently lost his father, Jake asks a well-known master, Jean Roqua (Hounsou), to train him, but the physical challenges are only half of a battle that requires Jake to control his anger. Every generation craves its own version of the “Karate Kid,” in this case, beefcake for teens. We can only hope that one of these films will raise “Kid’s” shopworn philosophy to the next level.
10,000 B.C.
(2008)
*1/2
Directed by Roland Emmerich
Starring Camilla Belle, Steven Strait, Marco Khan
Warner/Rated PG-13/Action, Fantasy/109 mins
The story is set during early civilization, a time when relatively primitive man and prehistoric beasts coexisted. Young tribesman, D’Leh (Steven Strait), has pledged his love to Evolet (Camilla Belle) when she is stolen, along with other tribe members, by mysterious men on horseback. D’Leh and friends begin a rescue mission that takes them over snowy mountains, through the jungle, and across a vast desert. When they reach Africa, D’Leh meets other raided tribes. Impressed by D’Leh’s saber-tooth tiger protector, more warriors join his quest. Big budget CGI effects fail to conjure realistic beasts, and the climactic battle is a big snooze.
THE BANK JOB
(2008)
CR: * * *1/2
Directed by Roger Donaldson
Starring Jason Statham, Saffron Burrows, Stephen Campbell Moore, Daniel Mays
Lionsgate/Rated R/Action/110 min
Based on an actual high profile bank robbery from the anything goes 70s, this story theorizes there was a good reason no arrests were made. Society dame, Martine (Burrows), recruits Terry Leather (Statham) and his cohorts to execute a Lloyds bank heist based on her plan. Because Martine knows which Lloyds safety deposit box contains compromising photos of a young royal and politicians, she plans to use it as a bargaining chip to keep everything else they have stolen. The film is three-quarters crime-caper, one-quarter party movie, with some scenes set in unseemly locations. Lest it all sounds too “Ocean’s Eleven,” jackhammers take the place of gadgets.
COLLEGE ROAD TRIP
(2008)
CR: *
Directed by Roger Kumble
Starring Raven-Symone, Martin Lawrence
Walt Disney/Rated G/Comedy/83 min
Honor student, Melanie (Raven-Symone), decides to tour prospective universities on an all-girl road trip. Instead, Melanie’s overprotective Dad (Lawrence) insists on escorting them with predictably embarrassing results. Seemingly made for Raven’s fans, the film takes one wrong turn with its tired jokes and another one with Lawrence’s over-the-top performance.
SEMI-PRO
(2008)
CR: * *
Directed by Kent Alterman
Starring Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson, Andre Benjamin
New Line/Rated R/Comedy/90 min
Will Ferrell makes another nostalgic pit stop in the ë70s, sporting a Richard Simmons ëdo. He plays Jackie Moon, the headbanded owner of The Tropics, an ABA team. To inspire attendance, Jackie wrestles grizzlies, leaps over scantily clad girls, and makes really bad beer commercials in the team’s hometown of Flint, Michigan. When the NBA promises to incorporate the ABA’s top four teams, Jackie hires ex-pro baller, Monix (Harrelson), to whip the flabby Tropics into shape. Though practicing and running drills don’t fit the team’s self image, they’re happy to show up for games, spouting enough profanity to make the league’s red, white and blue basketballs blush.
THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL
(2008)
* * 1/2
Directed by Justin Chadwick
Starring Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson, Eric Bana
Sony/Rated PG-13/Drama/115 min
Another retelling of King Henry VIII’s costly daliances with the Boleyn girls. Though palace intrigues explored here have gotten plenty of celluloid in Showtime’s exceptional, “The Tudors,” there always seems to be room for another glossy production on the matter. This one takes a closer look at Mary Boleyn (Johansson), the sister first chosen as mistress to King Henry VIII (Bana). The film examines the scheme laid out by Sir Thomas Boleyn (Mark Rylance) and his brother-in-law, the Duke of Norfolk (David Morrissey), to place Anne in the king’s bed. Portman fails to summon the strength of Anne’s resolve. Bana falls short of Henry’s charisma, but Johansson, and the rest of the cast imbue this costume drama with nuanced and troubled minds.
BE KIND REWIND
(2008)
* * *
Directed by Michel Gondry
Starring Jack Black, Mos Def, Danny Glover, Mia Farrow
New Line/Rated PG-13/Comedy/101 min
A loser who becomes magnetized while sabotaging a power station, Jerry (Black) accidentally erases all the video tapes at Mr. Fletcher’s (Glover) video rental store. To make up for his goof, Jerry persuades video store employee, Mike (Def) to help him restock Fletcher’s shelves with short versions of the erased tapes starring none other than Jerry and Mike. Their remakes, a no-budget highlight reel of each film, become unexpected hits. Soon the neighborhood, slated for forced gentrification, gets solidly behind the boys’ efforts to save the video store from closure by greedy officials. Revisiting crowd pleasers such as, “Driving Miss Daisy,” “Ghost Busters,” “Back to the Future,” and “The Lion King,” it’s tough to imagine how this love letter to the movies could fail to capture hearts.
VANTAGE POINT
(2008)
* *
Directed by Pete Travis
Starring Dennis Quaid, William Hurt, Matthew Fox, Sigourney Weaver, Forest Whitaker
Sony/Rated PG-13/Thriller/90 min
Following an attempt on the president’s life, we see the event unfold from different points of view. Sigourney Weaver plays a seasoned news reporter, Quaid is cast as a secret service agent, Whitaker appears as an interested tourist and William Hurt takes on the role of president. Each perspective gives us one more piece of a puzzle that is unequal to the sum of its parts. Though the viewpoints are interesting, the story lacks zip. Chase sequences and car crashes fail to amp up the tension. Set at an international conference where terrorists plan to attack, the film’s many viewpoints fail to nail down one that the film can call its own.
THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES
(2008)
* * *
Directed by Mark Waters
Starring Freddie Highmore, Mary-Louise Parker, Sarah Bolger, Nick Nolte, Joan Plowright, David Strathairn
Voices of Seth Rogen, Martin Short
Paramount/Rated PG/Fantasy/96 min
Having inherited their great uncle Spiderwick’s rundown estate, the Grace children find his old field guide and discover it serves as a portal to a perilous alternate world. Freddie Highmore plays identical twins Jared and Simon, brothers using their interchangeable appearance to deceive the wicked ogre Mulgrath (Nolte) and his goblins. Mulgrath will stop at nothing to get the field guide containing secrets he needs to conquer the fairy world. Bolger plays the boys’ teen sister, Parker appears as the children’s mother, and Martin Short voices a house brownie trying to keep the field guide safe. If shades of “Harry Potter” and “Narnia” come to mind, you’ve got it about right.
DEFINITELY, MAYBE
(2008)
CR: * * *
Directed by Adam Brooks
Starring Ryan Reynolds, Isla Fisher, Derek Luke, Abigail Breslin, Elizabeth Banks, Rachel Weisz
Universal/Rated PG-13/Comedy/111 min
After taking her first sex-ed class, young Maya (Breslin) wants to know how her father, Will (Reynolds), met and fell in love with her mother. With his divorce from Maya’s mother looming, Will agrees to tell his daughter about the summer he fell in love with three women ñ though he insists on using fictional names so she’ll have to guess which woman is her mother. In flashback, Will recalls leaving his blonde, Wisconsin college sweetheart, Emily (Banks), for two months in New York working on Clinton’s 1992 campaign. There, Will gets crushes on redheaded April (Fisher), and Summer (Weisz), a brunette. Will’s three romances comprise a humorous tale, though there’s no escape from election season when Kevin Kline shows up doing political commentary.
JUNO
(2007)
* * * *
Directed by Jason Reitman
Starring Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, Allison Janney, J. K. Simmons
Fox Searchlight/Rated PG-13/Comedy/96 min
Juno (Page), a teen of big vocabulary words and even bigger ideas, unexpectedly finds herself impregnated by her slacker boyfriend Paulie (Cera). Over the objections of her own parents (Allison Janney and J. K. Simmons), Juno decides to have the baby for a pair of yuppie, parents-in-waiting (Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner). Paulie, who begins to see Juno as the one-of-a-kind she is, waits to resume dating her after the baby is born. The comedy, mainly comprised of Juno’s witty complaints, arises in part from her inability to predict the many ways her life does and will change as a result of her experience.
FOOL’S GOLD
(2008)
CR: *
Directed by Andy Tennant
Starring Kate Hudson, Matthew McConaughey, Donald Sutherland, Ewen Bremner
Warner/Rated PG-13/Comedy/112 min
One could overdose on dimples in this blonde-on-blonde romantic comedy pairing Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson. Finn (McConaughey), a treasure hunter seeking buried treasure, has alienated his wife, Tess (Hudson), who leaves him to work aboard a gazillionaire’s (Sutherland) yacht. In short order, Finn shows up soliciting investment money from Tess’s new boss. Forced back into Finn’s scheme, Tess learns they’re in a race to beat both Finn’s mentor (Ray Winstone), and a local gangster (Kevin Hart), to the dough. Set in a tropical paradise, the film’s formula plot steps way over the tan line.
Only registered users can write comments.
Please login or register. Powered by AkoComment 2.0! |
|
Last Updated ( Monday, 31 March 2008 )
|
|
|
