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Movie review: What Happens In Vegas... |
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Written by Paul Raymore
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Friday, 16 May 2008 |
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Going Bust
WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS...
(2008)
*1/2
Directed by Tom Vaughan
Starring Cameron Diaz, Ashton Kutcher, Rob Corddry, Queen Latifah, Lake Bell
20th Century Fox/Rated PG-13/Comedy/99 min
You need only watch this screwball comedy to see why what happens in Vegas is best left there. Kutcher and Diaz play a mismatched couple whose odds of enlivening this dud are as unlikely as hitting the Megabucks. Though Diaz seems to have dipped herself in glow-girl oil, Kutcher's character is so daft it takes him forever to see her shine. Even then, Diaz is upstaged by her character's gold lamÈ, off-the-shoulder dress that creeps down toward her wonderbra-ed bosom.
To be fair, she plays an impossible character. As Joy, a commodities trader, Diaz must remain likable while scrambling over coworkers to get a promotion, lying to her boss, or scheming to cheat Jack (Kutcher) out of his half of a $3 million jackpot.
Jack, an unkempt bachelor and good time Charlie, has less chance of besting Joy than he does of discerning good advice from an unending supply of ding-a-ling drivel offered by Steve (Rob Corddry), Jack's bachelor best friend.
The set up has the couple meet in Vegas where they drink themselves into a stupor and awaken to find Joy sporting a cheap pair'o-dice wedding ring. While bickering over the reasons a marriage between them could never work, Jack and Joy hit a jackpot each feels entitled to keep. Back home in New York City, Judge Whopper (Dennis Miller) freezes the winnings and sentences the pair to six months hard marriage.
To ensure they are following the provisions of this extraordinary court order, Jack and Joy must attend weekly counseling sessions with Dr. Twitchell (Queen Latifah). Their sessions plod along, failing to take advantage of the pair's humorous predicament. They make unsuitable roommates, fighting over bathroom time and sleeping arrangements on the way to discovering their mutual attraction. Cute they may be, but he's quarter slots while she's $100 dollar baccarat. Having shot its wad on the first 20 minutes, "Vegas's" failure to bankroll the next 80 makes for an undatable film.
MOVIE PREVIEWS
(CR = Critics' Consensus Rating (where available), PR = Lisa's Predicted Rating)
THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: PRINCE CASPIAN
(2008)
PR: * * *
Directed by Andrew Adamson
Starring Ben Barnes, Skandar Keynes, Georgie Henley, Peter Dinklage, William Moseley, Sergio Castellitto
Voices of Liam Neeson, Eddie Izzard
Walt Disney/Rated PG/137 min
The Pevensie siblings (Henley, Keynes, Moseley and Popplewell) return to Narnia, the beloved alternate universe they freed from the White Witch's icy grip in the first chapter, one year earlier. However, time is calculated differently in the magical kingdom, where 1300 years have passed. Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes), the rightful heir to Narnia's throne, has been targeted for assassination by his tyrannical uncle, King Miraz (Castellitto). The Pevensie kids align themselves with Prince Caspian, Aslan, the mighty lion, voiced by Neeson, the Red Dwarf (Dinklage), and a valiant mouse (intoned by Izzard). Many new characters move the story through this dark era, but Narnia's beauty and whimsical creatures remain. Numerous battles and assaults punctuate the suspenseful saga, adapted from the fifth Narnia book by C.S. Lewis. A third adaptation based on book four, "The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader," is scheduled for release in 2009. Magically switching the order of the books was necessary to match the ages of the film's young leads to the story.
NOW PLAYING
SPEED RACER
(2008)
CR: * *
Directed by Andy and Larry Wachowski
Starring Emile Hirsch, Matthew Fox, Christina Ricci, Susan Sarandon, Matthew Fox
Warner/Rated PG/136 min
The Wachowski brothers tackle a Saturday morning cartoon staple, but the results are more checkered than a race-winning flag. Speed (Hirsch), a racer from a family of racers, is obsessed with cars, the sport and the Mach 5 car, built by Speed's Dad (John Goodman). When Royalton Industries blackmails Speed to enter the same cross-country rally that killed Speed's brother, the young racer turns to his girlfriend, Trixie (Ricci) and his mom (Sarandon) for help and moral support. Lots of frenetic race action, with a video game feel, may appeal to children, or fans of the cartoon, but all others should heed the caution flag.
IRON MAN
(2008)
* * * *
Directed by Jon Favreau
Starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges, Leslie Bibb Shaun Toub, Faran Tahir
Paramount/Rated PG-13/Action/126 min
When industrial designer, Tony Stark (Downey Jr.), travels to Afghanistan to assess U.S. weaponry needs, he is kidnapped by local warlords and forced to build them a missile. Instead, Stark assembles an Iron Man suit used to decimate the guards, and outfitted with jet propulsion to fly him back to the USA. Subsequently, the industrialist loses all interest in warfare, but he becomes Iron Man once again when Stark's partner -- played by a wickedly salivating Bridges -- steals the technology for himself. Fifteen years getting off the ground, the film adaptation owes much to marvel comic book hound and director Jon Favreau. Having persuaded the principals, including Paltrow and Howard, to sign on for a three-picture deal, Favreau is the iron man inside "Iron Man."
MADE OF HONOR
(2008)
CR: *1/2
Directed by Paul Weiland
Starring Patrick Dempsey, Michelle Monaghan, Kevin McKidd, Kelly Carlson, Busy Philipps, Sydney Pollack, Kathleen Quinlan
Sony/Rated PG-13/Comedy/100 min
A turnabout on "My Best Friend's Wedding," this rom-com casts Dempsey as Tom, a womanizer who realizes his best friend, Hannah (Monaghan), is the only girl for him immediately after she becomes engaged to Scotsman, Colin McMurray (McKidd). Hannah asks Tom to be her maid of honor, a role he accepts knowing they'll spend quality time together that he hopes will ignite a romantic fire. Competing for Hannah's attention with her hunky etrothed, Tom must endure the sarcastic scrutiny of Colin's wealthy, uppity clan. Fresh off his "Enchanted" success, Dempsey can't enliven the "been there, done that" plot, while Monaghan trudges through her shopworn role.
BABY MAMA
(2008)
CR: * * *
Directed by Michael McCullers
Starring Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Sigourney Weaver, Greg Kinnear, Dax Shepard, Maura Tierney, Steve Martin
Universal/Rated PG-13/Comedy/96 min
By the time unmarried, high-powered business woman, Kay (Fey), realizes her biological clock is ticking, pregnancy is no longer an option. Encouraged by an agent for surrogate mothers (Weaver), Kay hires Angie (Poehler) to incubate Kay's baby, but their professional relationship becomes intensely personal when Angie needs a place to live and moves into Kay's perfectly appointed apartment. While shopping for upscale baby items, Kay meets a handsome and available juice store owner (Kinnear). However, her efforts to pursue romance and prepare for the baby's arrival are hampered by Angie's juvenile behavior and by Kay's underdeveloped social skills. It isn't the sort of movie you'll want to coo at, but "Baby Mama" scores one for the unconventional woman.
HAROLD & KUMAR ESCAPE FROM GUANTANAMO BAY
(2008)
* *1/2
Directed by Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg
Starring John Cho, Kal Penn, Neil Patrick Harris
New Line/Rated R/Comedy/102 min
Zany idiots, Harold and Kumar (Cho and Penn) reunite for this sequel to their 2004 sleeper hit. While jetting to Amsterdam and the promise of legalized drugs, these stoners are caught with a high-tech bong that looks a lot like a bomb. Hopeless during their interrogation, the hapless duo is shipped off to Guantanamo Bay. Once there, Kumar masterminds an escape to Texas where he hopes a politically well-connected friend can right their legal woes. Along the way the Asian/Indian buddies are captured by KKK members who mistake them for Mexicans. The film's political overtones are washed away by drug and sexually oriented jokes -- the franchise's much beloved calling cards.
DECEPTION
(2008)
CR: * *
Directed by Marcel Langenegger
Starring Hugh Jackman, Ewan McGregor, Michelle Williams, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Maggie Q, Charlotte Rampling
Fox/Rated R/Thriller/108 min
The promise of Hugh Jackman as a deceptive attorney is augmented by Ewan McGregor as a bland accountant. When Jonathan (McGregor) complains of loneliness, playboy Wyatt (Jackman) hooks him up with a sex club. Jonathan enjoys the anonymous one-nighters until he falls hard for S (Williams). However, their night together ends with Jonathan awakening to blood on his pillow and S mysteriously gone. Wyatt demands Jonathan perform illegal services if he wants to see S alive. With the police hot on his trail, the accountant must redirect his number-crunching skills to find her and extricate himself from the suspect list. Nicely lensed with crisp night action, the film fails to develop the leads in favor of overplaying its titillating premise.
FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL
(2008)
CR: * * *
Directed by Nicholas Stoller
Starring Kristen Bell, Jason Segel, Paul Rudd, Russell Brand. Bill Hader
Universal/Rated R/Comedy/112 min
The Joke of "Sarah Marshall," is that Peter (Segel) can't get away from his ex girlfriend, TV star Sarah (Bell). She has ended their 5-year relationship in order to be with Aldous, a Fabio knock-off. Hoping to make a fresh start, Peter heads for a Hawaiian resort where he runs smack into Sarah and Aldous (Brand) and discovers he's booked in the suite next door to their's -- the only room to be had. Sarah isn't about to let Peter's proximity dampen enthusiastic sexcapades or romantic dinners with her new beau, though Aldous hopes that he and Peter can be good friends. Segal, who co-wrote the screenplay, gathers laughs aplenty with his dough boy physique. Yet another Judd Apatow (he produces) acolyte, Segal's male-centric comedy contributes to a brand that's beginning to feel like "the movie of the week."
88 MINUTES
(2007)
CR: * *
Directed by Jon Avnet
Starring Al Pacino, Alicia Witt, Benjamin McKenzie, Leelee Sobieski, Amy Brenneman, William Forsythe, Deborah Kara Unger, Benjamin McKenzie, Neal McDonough
Columbia Tristar/Rated R/108 min
Al Pacino tries to hide from the inferior execution of a cliche plot beneath his 80's mop. He plays FBI forensic psychiatrist, Jack Gramm, responsible for convicting serial killer, Jon Forster (McDonough). On the eve of Forster's scheduled execution, Gramm receives a call stating the psychiatrist 88 minutes to live. As Gramm races around Seattle trying to prevent his own death, it becomes clear he is being set up for a string of killings replicating Forster's M.O.. Not only is it impossible to buy Pacino as a victim, the only mystery is how the actor keeps his hairdo looking so Covergirl in all that Seattle rain.
THE FORBIDDEN KINGDOM
(2008)
* * *
Directed by Rob Minkoff
Starring Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Michael Angarano, Collin Chou, Liu Yifei
Lionsgate/Rated PG-13/Comedy, Fantasy/113 min
The long awaited teaming of martial arts stars, Jackie Chan and Jet Li, occurs in a family comedy. Young, present day American, Jason (Angarano) is transported back in time to ancient China where he must learn Kung Fu in order to perform a vital mission. Jason is taught by longtime rivals, the Silent Monk (Li) and Lu Yan (Chan). The pair agrees to temporarily set aside their differences in the interest of freeing the Monkey King (Li, again) from imprisonment. Chan and Li, both officially retired from martial arts films, apply their talents to this humorous chop-suey.
STREET KINGS
(2008)
* *1/2
Directed by David Ayer
Starring Keanu Reeves, Forest Whitaker, Hugh Laurie
Fox Searchlight/Rated R/Thriller/109 min
On the surface, Tom Ludlow (Reeves) is a cop's cop, but on the job he does whatever it takes -- rules be damned. He's an alcoholic, secretly suffering from pre-shift panic attacks. Ludlow despises his blabbermouth partner, detective Washington (Terry Crews), but when Washington is murdered -- most likely by another cop -- Ludlow is determined to bring his partner's killer to justice. Ludlow's unofficial investigation puts him on a collision course with both Internal Affairs, and his cop friends, but he's a force to be reckoned with. Whitaker appears as Capt. Wander, Ludlow's friend, while Hugh Laurie plays the enigmatic, Internal Affairs investigator, James Biggs. Reeves delivers a dark, multifaceted performance, finally bringing the actor's promise to fruition.
PROM NIGHT
(2008)
CR: *
Directed by Nelson McCormick
Starring Brittany Snow, Scott Porter, Jessica Stroup, Dana Davis
Screen Gems/Rated PG-13/Horror/90 min
The fourth film of this title, Screen Gems Studio green-lit an unwarranted remake of 1980's schlock. The studio's motivation is surely the PG-13 rating allowing teens to buy tickets to the horror genre they favor. Having survived a stalker attack several years ago, Donna (Snow) excitedly prepares to attend her senior prom with her boyfriend and friends. The night unfolds like a dream come true until one of the students is murdered. Donna, her date, and two other couples make a run for their hotel suite only to discover that Donna's stalker is back. There's plenty of chasing and screaming, capped off by mild PG-13 gore. Once word gets out about the film's unintentionally funny effort to create suspense, few teenagers will dance on over to see it.
LEATHERHEADS
(2008)
* *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, in 1925, 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 and trusting his heart to the lady in red.
NIM'S ISLAND
(2008)
* *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 adores author Alex Rover's (Foster) 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 who she believes is the rough-and-ready hero of Indiana Jonesy adventures. In reality, Alexandra is an agoraphobic -- never venturing beyond her own front door. Egged on by her courageous alter ego Alex (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.
21
(2008)
* *1/2
Directed by Robert Luketic
Starring Kate Bosworth, Laurence Fishburne, Kevin Spacey
Columbia Pictures/Rated PG-13/Drama/123 min
Based on a true story, the screenplay follows a band of MIT mathletes in their journey to become card counters and win millions from casinos by playing blackjack. Kevin Spacey appears as Mickey Rosa, the professor hatching the idea and recruiting the brightest students to join. Jim Sturgess portrays Ben Campbell, a member of the group and card counting genius who refuses to take orders. Bosworth plays Campbell's girl and fellow team member. The heady experience of taking down the house is countered by an old school security man (Fishburne) who is serious about his work. While the film's appeal to college kids is a given, casting Fishburne and Spacey in the same movie is a high roller play that pays off.
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