Shutter

Released: 2008
MPAA rating: PG-13
Run time: 1:30

"Shutter" is an American remake of a Thai horror film which follows the Japanese horror blueprint pretty closely.   "Shutter" is the story of Ben and Jane Shaw (Joshua Jackson of "Fringe" and Rachael Taylor), a newly married couple who go to Japan for Ben's photography business. Early in the trip, they are involved in a car accident. Later, while they are taking pictures on the trip, they begin to see strange, smoky streaks on the prints.  Ben is wondering if there is some sort of damage to the camera from the accident, but Jane begins to see ghosts, so she believes the pictures may be connected to their auto accident in a much different way.  Ben, of course, thinks she is losing her mind.  (Doesn't the husband always think that in horror movies??).  It isn't until Ben starts getting visited does he begin to listen to her.  They consult the requisite spirit/ghost experts, but get nowhere.  They just can't figure out what this ghost wants or why it is following them.  As they continue to try to figure things out, it becomes more desperate when people they know start to die.  Some of the spiritual visuals are very reminiscent of "The Grudge" and "The Ring" and are pretty creepy.  While being sort of scary, especially for a PG-13 film, it is also an interesting story line featuring a decent plot twist near the end as the identity of the ghost and it's motivations are revealed.   The effects are well-done, making for an enjoyable movie overall.  I won't say I loved it, but its pacing and story kept me involved right to the end.


Grade: C+


Trailer:

The International

Released: 2009
MPAA rating: R
Run time: 1:58

"The IBBC is a bank. Their objective isn't to control the conflict, it's to control the debt that the conflict produces. You see, the real value of a conflict, the true value, is in the debt that it creates. You control the debt, you control everything. You find this upsetting, yes? But this is the very essence of the banking industry, to make us all, whether we be nations or individuals, slaves to debt."

The above quote from one of the characters in the film made this movie almost a little too realistic for me! The general plot involves an international bank which will stop at nothing to get its profitable agenda done. Clive Owen plays Louis Salinger, an Interpol agent who is working on an arms dealing case, which he finds involves the IBBC, a major international bank. As he looks deeper into it, with the help of NY ADA Eleanor Whitman (Naomi Watts), he finds the bank is much more than a bank, it is a group of financiers manipulating world events to generate large profits. While the conspiracy element of the plot is a little far-fetched, the ruthlessness and inhumanity of the banking system is all too real. The movie itself is entertaining with solid performances and decent writing. Some of the plot points were taken wholly from previous films. The most glaring one was when the bank is having trouble making a deal with a family-owned technology company, they decide to take out the father, since the sons seem more amenable to the deal. This is pretty much exactly the same in "The Godfather", although that may have been intentional to compare the bank to an organized crime family. There were some action set pieces, the best of which was a shoot-out in the Guggenheim Museum. The only problem with that scene was that it went on far too long before even a single police car arrived at the scene. This is a pretty decent thriller that is eerily reminiscent of the way the banking industry is behaving in today's headlines!

Grade: B


Trailer: 

Revolutionary Road

Released: 2008

MPAA rating: R

Run time: 1:59

Director Sam Mendes, who also directed "American Beauty", clearly is no fan of suburbia. "Revolutionary Road", based on a novel by Richard Yates, explores the relationship of Frank and April Wheeler (Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet), the "dream couple" with the nice house in the suburbs. Underneath the facade of a successful man and his loving wife is a deep dark underbelly of frustration, disappointment and the death of one's dreams. As the movie opens, we get the cliche of eyes meeting across a crowded room and love at first sight. Some other scenes set up the whirlwind romance leading to the perfect couple buying a house on the perfect street, Revolutionary Road. It does not take long for the cracks to appear as April realizes she never realized her dream to become an actress and Frank is also making a living, but not doing what he wants to do. She devises a plan for them to start all over and move to France where they can pursue their dreams. As they work toward that goal, a wrinkle is thrown into their plans and they disagree on how to proceed. This sets the stage for an examination into the dark side of suburbia, where responsibility to one's family comes in contrast to living your life the way you wanted. Interestingly, the only character who speaks plainly and directly in the whole film is a man who was recently released from a mental institution, begging the question: Who really IS crazy?? This is a dark movie that just about any of us can relate to one some level. Leonardo DiCaprio is brilliant in this role as the perfect man trying to be the perfect husband and father and never quite getting anything right. Winslet is also terrific as the torn housewife who just cannot let go of her dreams and is having trouble adapting to the white picket fence life. While being a bit melodramatic at times, it is scary how there is enough here for any one of us suburbanites to relate to on some level. This is a well-written, well-directed, well-acted tragic story. It may depress you, but it is compelling and worth a watch!

Grade: A

Trailer:

The Taking of Pelham 123

Released: 2009

MPAA rating: R

Run time: 1:46

My first mistake was to watch the original version of this earlier in the year. The original was a solid tense drama with Robert Shaw as the cold-as-ice villain. While I will not rip Travolta, his villains tend to be more over-the-top and manic. His performance was fine and I think it was what was called for in this version, but Shaw was so much better. The problem, right off the bat, with this version is it was all style over substance. As soon as the movie begins, there is a "stutter-style" of the visuals with a rap soundtrack playing over the opening titles, which sets the stage that this will be a "cool movie". Denzel Washington and John Travolta do their part, but the writing is a bit off, which is odd, considering they had great source material to start with. They actually over-wrote this thing, adding backstories to the main characters that weren't there before. In Travolta's case, he is supposed to be some Wall Street cheat out of prison, but Wall Street types would not be so tattooed and "bad ass". His character is also more than comfortable with referring to an Italian character as a "greaseball" multiple times, but yet uses no ethnic slurs on any other group! This was not an awful movie and if you didn't see the original, you might actually enjoy it. Travolta and Denzel make it somewhat enjoyable, but I could not help but be disappointed.

Grade: C-

Trailer:

Fragments

Released: 2008

MPAA rating: R

Run time: 1:40

"Fragments" (aka "Winged Creatures" per IMDB) follows the survivors of a random diner shooting and how they each deal with survivors guilt. Despite a powerhouse cast, this ended up being released straight to DVD. I don't know why they changed from the original title, which actually made more sense as there are images of birds and angels throughout the film. "Fragments", as a title, is sort of nonsensical. The movie opens with the incident, but cuts away from it rather quickly, so we are not quite sure what happened and to whom. From there, we follow Carla Davenport (Kate Beckinsale): a waitress, Anne Hagen (Dakota Fanning), Jimmy Jaspersen (Josh Hutcherson), Dr. Bruce Laraby (Guy Pearce) and Charlie Archenault (Forest Whitaker) to see how this incident has affected their lives. We see various reactions, including reckless gambling, born-again Christianity, utter disregard for a child, utter silence and a Munchausen-by-proxy sort of relationship. While the acting was good and the story has potential, each of those individual reactions were very over-the-top. While I do believe any one of those is certainly possible, it seems unrealistic that just about all of the survivors would have reactions that extreme and so quickly after the event. Also, a trauma specialist bounces in and out of the story and no one is interested in speaking with him. While I also understand that reaction (I think it would be mine, to be honest), I don't think they would all react to him that way. The end result is a film that the makers really didn't seem to have confidence in. From the title change (despite peppering the movie with "winged" imagery) to the DVD release, it seems even those involved know that the film missed the mark. If you want to check out a great cast, it may be worth a shot, but it could have been so much more.

Grade: C-

Trailer:

Conspiracy

Released: 2001

MPAA rating: None (made for HBO)

Run time: 1:36

"Conspiracy" chronicles the amazing story of the Wannsee Conference in which 15 members of the German government discussed and launched the "final solution" for the "Jewish problem". The meeting itself lasted just over an hour and the movie takes place mostly in real time. It is surprising to see how a movie that is entirely comprised of men sitting around a table can be so riveting. Kenneth Branagh is impressive as Reinhard Heydrich, the ring leader of the meetings and the man in charge of persuading this group of men to come to the same conclusions he came to. It begins rather stale as the men begin to discuss their problem as mostly an economic matter: More Jews are being captured and detained than they can really afford to take care of. Once that fact is accepted, you watch Heydrich lead the men systematically to the idea of gas chambers and eliminating the Jews entirely. It is horrifying yet fascinating to see these men be so cavalier toward the annihilation of a group of people. There was certainly some resistance to the idea, but Heydrich and his SS cronies squash any questions on the subject swiftly and with no doubt as to what will happen to those that are not part of the solution. The cast of mostly character actors is solid and manage to put together the most impressive "guys in a room" movie since "12 Angry Men" (which started as a play, which this movie feels a lot like). I know this is an old one, but if you haven't seen it, check out the DVD. Great stuff.

Grade: A

The Reader

Released: 2008

MPAA rating: R

Run time: 2:04

"The Reader" was a finalist for Best Picture and netted Kate Winslet a Best Actress win for her role as Hanna Schmitz, a mysterious woman who begins an affair with a high school boy, Michael Berg (David Kross), and ends it just as quickly. Besides being his sexual mentor, she really enjoys him reading to her. That affair comprises the first act of the film (and certainly does not hold back on showing the affair). As the second act unfolds, we find Michael in law school where he is observing Nazi war crime trials and finds the center of attention to be his own Hanna Schmitz, who was a guard at a women's camp during the war and her job included selecting women for execution and she was involved in a fire which killed a large number of women. This part of the movie was riveting and, dare I say, unintentionally hilarious. No, there was nothing funny about the subject matter, but Winslet plays the role perfectly of someone who is completely incredulous that she did anything wrong. ("Are you saying I was not supposed to have a job??") The final act follows an older Michael (Ralph Fiennes), who is still obsessed with her to the point that his marriage has failed and he continues to contact her in prison. The story is very captivating and the acting was top-notch. I had avoided this film for a long time because it looked like it might be an art house bore-fest, but it was not. The story is very well told and has enough plot turns to keep you interested.

Grade: A

Trailer:

Streets of Blood

Released: 2009

MPAA rating: R

Run time: 1:35

You never expect much from a straight-to-DVD film and your expectations are rarely exceeded. Even knowing that, I picked this up anyway because I like Val Kilmer and it "looked cool". "Streets of Blood" is basically a run-of-the-mill dirty cop drama set against the backdrop of New Orleans post-Katrina. Val Kilmer plays Andy Devereaux, who is part Serpico, part Jack Bauer: A clean cop who doesn't mind doing what needs to be done to get the job done. He gets partnered with young cop Stan Johnson (50 Cent), who is idealistic but also struggling at home. The partners find themselves in the midst of a murder investigation that centers around fellow cops and puts them up against the DEA. In this movie, corruption on both the city level and the Federal level is so rampant, it is completely over the top. Every one seems to want their piece of the pie in what has become a lawless New Orleans. What about Sharon Stone, you ask? She plays a police psychologist who is shown interviewing the principals of the story throughout the film, but these scenes really do little to further the story. They are probably meant to be more character development driven, but with such two-dimensional characters trying to be complex, the scenes are really not necessary. I didn't hate the movie. What you see is what you get: A decent straight-t0-video movie, but certainly nothing you need to rush out and rent.

Grade: C-

Trailer:

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Released: 2009

MPAA rating: PG-13

Run time: 2:30

The first "Transformers" was a thrill-ride of action and humor and was very entertaining. "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" brings a lot more of the same...well, except for the entertaining part. You may find it hard to believe that a movie with non-stop action and amazing effects would actually be a borefest, but it is. For one thing, it is just too long. It starts out with heavy action and never lets up. That may sound like a good thing, but for action scenes to deliver any real excitement, there has to be some context. Sure, they try to paste together some sort of a story about the origins of the war between the Autobots and the Decepticons (Do I even have those right?? I was too bored to be sure), but there is so much going on, it ceases to be interesting. You may think I am a movie snob thumbing my nose at a big action franchise, but I actually loved the first one and sort of enjoy mindless popcorn flicks, but this one just missed the mark on so many levels. The big final battle goes on forever and ever (although I think the first one had a similar problem) with explosions and sounds of banging and crunching metal which all amounted to a feeling of "Is this over yet??". I could not have been more disappointed. (To my male readers: No, Megan Fox running around in tight clothing did not make this any better!!)

Grade: D

Trailer:

Orphan

Released: 2009

MPAA raing: R

Run time: 2:03

I didn't expect all that much from this one going in, although I did get some positive feedback from friends. At first glance, it seemed like some sort of "Omen" ripoff. On some basic levels, it was sort of similar, but the story ended up being so much better than I expected. A large part of the credit for that belongs to Isabelle Fuhrman, who is simply amazing as Esther, the orphan of the title. After an opening sequence setting up the story, we see Kate (Vera Farmiga) suffer the birth of a stillborn. After she and her husband, John (Peter Sarsgaard) get through the grief, they decide to add a child to their home (they have two) and end up adopting Esther from an orphanage. Esther is a very talented artist and is perfectly angelic. When she first arrives, she seems like a perfect addition to the family. It does not take long, however, for some weird things to start to happen around her. Kate starts to become very suspicious, while John thinks Kate is over-reacting to coincidences. In fact, John and Esther have a very strange relationship, which borders on creepy, almost pedophilia, at times. As tension starts to mount, Kate digs deeper into Esther's past and realizes she has some secrets that need to be explored. This sets up a very intense battle of wits between Kate and Esther and several very good plot twists along the way. This is a very well-done film with good performances all around. I can not say enough about Isabelle Fuhrman, who shows a wide range of talent moving seamlessly from sweet to absolutely evil. It is hard to believe a child can act so convincingly and carry such a dark film. I will actually go so far as to say this kid deserves an Oscar nomination! The other children are spectacular, also.

Grade: A-

Trailer:

Disney's A Christmas Carol

Released: 2009

MPAA rating: PG

Run time: 1:36

Unless you live in a cave, you are pretty much familiar with "A Christmas Carol", so I'll spare you a plot recap. The question is did Disney get it right?? Well, first, I did see it in IMAX 3D and wow, was that experience amazing. You would not really think this classic tale would lend itself to 3D, but it really enhanced the visuals and I highly recommend the IMAX experience as THE way to see this film. Jim Carrey does an excellent job as not only Ebenezer Scrooge, but as several other characters, along with Gary Oldman, whose main role was Bob Cratchitt. The storyline adhered very closely to the original book, to the point that character narration is interlaced with the actual text as the story opens and closes. In a slight nod to Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities", the opening camera sweep through London takes you through the rich Christmas banquets and the poor children in the streets. If there is to be one criticism of the movie, and it is a fair one, it is that several of the sequences almost look like they are setting up some kind of "Christmas Carol" theme park ride. Also, despite being a timeless Christmas classic, it is important to remember that it is a ghost story and some of the ghost visits are downright scary for younger viewers. The animation was breathtaking and so lifelike that seeing Gary Oldman and Jim Carrey's faces worked into their characters almost made it feel like a live-action movie. This is probably not the best version of this story, but it was definitely a great one. It may give you a peek into my twisted mind that my personal favorite version is Bill Murray's "Scrooged". Kick off your holiday season by taking the family to an IMAX 3D presentation of this film.

Grade: A

Trailer:

Drag Me To Hell

Released: 2009

MPAA rating: R

Run time: 1:39

After the disappointment of "Paranormal Activity", I had to cleanse the palate by going back to horror, so "Drag Me to Hell" it was! Directed by Sam Raimi of "Evil Dead" and "Spider-Man" fame, "Drag Me to Hell" is a good old-fashioned curse movie. Christine Brown (Allison Lohman) is a loan officer at a bank, hoping to get a promotion to a vacant managerial position. Her boss (David Paymer) tells her he needs someone who can make "tough decisions". When an elderly gypsy woman (Lorna Raver) asks for an extension on her home loan, Christine decides this is the opportunity she can make that tough decision and turns her down. The gypsy woman responds by putting a curse on her, which will result in her being brought to Hell in three days time. Of course, Christine is shaken, but does not take it all that seriously until strange things start to happen. Her boyfriend (Justin Long) thinks she is imagining things but wants to be supportive. As things get more and more intense, Christine will try anything to reverse this curse. "Drag Me to Hell" is classic Raimi with heavy over-the-top horror and a smattering of tongue-in-cheek humor. One of the best sequences involves a physical confrontation between Christine and the gypsy in a parking garage that rivals anything the WWE could put out (right down to the presence of a stapler). This scene also is a perfect example of the humor/horror mix that Raimi is known for. The performances were good, although none really stood out. The effects were great and the story was just plain fun and entertaining. It is actually nice to see Raimi go back to his roots. The only thing missing was a Bruce Campbell (aka "Ash") cameo (and I was really hoping for one). This was not the scariest horror movie but it was a lot of fun to watch.

Grade: B

Trailer:

Paranormal Activity

Released: 2009

MPAA rating: R

Run time: 1:26

As I write this, "Paranormal Activity" is riding a wave of incredible buzz and is a smash hit at the box office. Interestingly, a lot of this buzz has been created by word of mouth "you-HAVE-to-see-this" type chatter. Any time you have a low key horror movie break out like this, I definitely get excited. So, I went in to this completely ready for some great low-budget scary stuff. What I got was basically equivalent to watching someone's home movies. We have all had those videos when we first get a camera and record every innocuous thing just because we can. That basically comprises the first third of the film. The set-up is that the whole reason they bought the camera was to try to capture what was making the "bumps in the night" they have been hearing. Through their conversation, we learn that Katie (Katie Featherston) has been occasionally visited by some sort of ghost at various times in her life and whatever it is is back. Micah (Micah Sloat) is determined to help her get to the bottom of it and the video camera is a key component in that plan. From time to time, they check in with the services of a psychic (Mark Fredrichs) and it is these scenes that are the most interesting. At least he brings some narrative flow to what they may or may not be dealing with. For a large part of the movie, the couple is more annoying than sympathetic as Katie is constantly telling Micah to stop filming everything and Micah keeps declaring that nothing will come into his house and bother his girlfriend. These scenes mostly bridge the night scenes, where the movie is supposed to be so terrifying. While the movie attempts to be a slow build of tension, I found it to be a slow build of boredom. The night scenes had too little going on to provide any kind of a payoff (the house makes noise?? Really, that's scary??). When they finally get to its frightening sequences, I found I was already too bored for the tension to work. In comparison, the opening sequence of "Inglourious Basterds" (which is not a horror movie) masterfully builds the tension in a room with just two characters talking, keeping you riveted. This movie falls well short of building any thing close. Of course, the obvious comparison is "The Blair Witch Project", which is very similar in lots of ways. I actually liked that one, but the pacing and small spoon-fed bits of horror in this movie did not work quite as well (not that "The Blair Witch Project" was any kind of masterpiece, either). It is nice to see a small film made by some friends generate this kind of buzz and attention (and box office), but it just did not get the job done for me.

Grade: C-

Trailer:

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Released: 2009

MPAA rating: PG-13

Run time: 1:47

Being a bit of a comic-book geek and a fan of "Wolverine" and the prior X-Men films, you can expect this review to be totally biased. On top of that, I think Hugh Jackman was a great casting choice to play Wolverine. This latest movie takes the X-Men franchise in a different direction. They are now making films that center around one character and their origin story. It is a wise choice to start with fan favorite Wolverine. We follow Wolverine from his childhood with a life-changing incident and then, after a title sequence tracing his history, along with that of his brother, Victor Creed (Liev Schreiber) aka "Sabretooth", though that name is never used in the movie, we meet up with Wolverine as a man serving in the military. He becomes disenchanted with how much some of his squad mates enjoy killing (especially Victor) and looks to lead a normal life. Of course, this secret elite branch of the military is not quite done with him, so much of the film tracks his conflicts with William Stryker (Danny Huston), his former CO and leader of the squad. Alongside that, you have the sibling rivalry of Wolverine and his brother, which becomes an "only one can survive" hatred of each other. It is this aspect that causes Wolverine to agree to the experimental procedure which grafts adamantium (an indestructible metal) to his skeleton, including his retractable claws. The movie is exciting with some great battles and set pieces. The performances are pretty good and Liev Schreiber was a great addition. The entire movie takes place prior to the events of the first 3 X-Men movies. Despite my affection for this material, the film did have some flaws. At times, it tried to hard to be visually "cool": In each of the confrontations between Wolverine and his brother, they begin with the "schwing" of the claws, Wolverine beginning to run at his brother, while Creed goes down and runs "cat-like" toward Wolverine. It had a cool look the first time. By the third, it was like, yeah, OK, we got it. My other complaint was what they did with Deadpool/Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds). After a brief scene early in the film where his character is sort of established, he disappears most of the film, only to turn up as this WTF "creature" at the end that was just a little too over the top for me. I was looking forward to Deadpool getting his own movie, but less so after seeing what they made him into. Overall, you have a fun action movie that comic book fans should like, not love: nothing more, nothing less.

Grade: B-

Trailer:

Pride and Glory

Released: 2008

MPAA rating: R

Run time: 2:10

"Pride and Glory" explores, on many levels, the lines that may be crossed in the name of family, whether that family is biological or the brotherhood of the badge. Edward Norton plays Ray Tierney, a cop holding down a desk job after an incident (which is mostly only hinted at). He has a knack for investigation and is asked to get involved when there is a shooting where 4 officers were gunned down in an apparent ambush. Tierney has a brother (Noah Emmerich) who is a lieutenant in the precinct involved and his brother-in-law, Jimmy Eagan (Colin Farrell), who was in charge of the squad involved, but was not present. To further complicate matters, his father (Jon Voight) is a retired Chief who believes passionately in the code of silence to protect the badge. Ray finds himself knee-deep in a case that just gets dirtier and dirtier as the film goes on and he finds himself trying to balance his loyalty to his family with his unflappable tendency to do the right thing. The film was very well-written with very authentic police lingo to make you feel like you are really inside the inner workings of the department. There are some plot deficiencies (example right off the bat: Would Ray be in charge of the investigation with so many of his family members potentially involved??), but the story was very entertaining and the acting was very good. I really can't think of a movie where Edward Norton was not great. This one is no different. Colin Farell also does a nice job as a dirty cop who will do whatever it takes to cover up his actions. Jon Voight is good, as always, but he tends to be settling in to playing pretty much the same part in every movie.

Grade: B

Trailer:

The Killing Room

Released: 2009

MPAA rating: R

Run time: 1:33

A straight-to-DVD movie is not usually a good sign. Despite that bias, I decided to give "The Killing Room" a shot as the plot looked promising. I love a good psychological drama now and again ("Seven" probably being the high-water mark in that area). Another intriguing draw for this film was the cast. It is a mix of some solid veteran actors (Peter Stormare, Timothy Hutton) and some unknowns and newcomers (Nick Cannon? Clea Duvall). The premise is this: Ms. Reilly (Chloe Sevigny) is being recruited to join a top secret psychological testing program headed by Dr. Phillips (Peter Stormare). When she arrives, the study is already in progress and she watches some video to catch up. We watch along with her as 4 strangers (Nick Cannon, Clea Duvall, Timothy Hutton and Shea Wingham) are brought into a room as paid volunteers for a psychological study. What they don't know is that the study is designed that only one of them will ever leave the room. As the movie goes along, they realize this is no ordinary study and begin to try to find ways to survive. The plot is somewhat reminiscent of "Saw", but on a more realistic scale (well, for the most part). For three quarters of the film, you have a pretty compelling psychological drama, but when the big reveal happens as to what this study is really for, the film loses all credibility. The actual purpose makes no sense on so many levels. I am actually tempted to reveal the twist here just to spend some time discussing why I hated it so much, but I will keep this spoiler-free. What we are left with is an OK movie that could have been so much better. On a side-note, for a decent straight-to-video psychological drama, check out "Unknown" which was much better!

Grade: C-

Trailer:

Imagine That

Released: 2009

MPAA rating: PG

Run time: 1:47

When I first saw the trailers for "Imagine That", it seemed like a rip-off of Adam Sandler's "Bedtime Stories", even through they were pretty much made at the same time. The basic storyline is sort of similar: Evan Danielsen (Eddie Murphy) is a successful financial executive who, despite his success, has new-t0-the firm hot shot Johnny Whitefeather (Thomas Haden Church) chomping at his heels. The stress of this pressure and his parental responsibilities is getting to him when he discovers his daughter's (Nicole Ari Parker) drawings contain incredibly accurate information about upcoming financial news. As he leverages this information to get his reputation back, the question becomes: Does he love his daughter or is she just another investment tool? Murphy has become rather good at the family film thing, although many of his facial expressions and comedy are becoming a bit tired. Having said that, there were times in this film that I was begging for Murphy to do some more R-rated adult comedy that made him big in the first place. If you haven't figured this out yet, Thomas Haden Church's character is an American Indian. He speaks in allegory and legend when dispensing his wisdom. Although I am a fan of Church and he is not bad in this film, his being cast as an American Indian character is distracting at best. At worst, the character becomes an awful stereotype, which is sort of out of place in a family comedy. Despite not having high hopes going in, however, the movie was not all bad. It was funny at times and very warm at others. It was not quite as good as "Bedtime Stories", but it was not the "rip-off" I thought it would be, either.

Grade: C

Trailer:

Disneynature's Earth

Released: 2007

MPAA rating: G

Run time: 1:30

"Earth" is a documentary film originally produced by the BBC which follows the planet Earth over the space of the year through the stories of animal families around the globe and how they try to protect their young. Visually, the film is simply amazing to watch. It really made me wish I had HD and Blu-Ray so I could truly experience the stunning visuals (OK, the truth is I feel that way EVERY time I watch a movie...or a football game...heck, anything!!) . With narration by James Earl Jones, the film also uses different music cues to tell layered stories, moving from comedy to drama to suspense and tragedy throughout the course of the movie. Of course, there are the requisite animal chases and there is one really intense sequence with a desperately hungry polar bear trying to get at a group of walruses. It is pretty cool to see the walruses show you what those tusks are for. As this is a rated "G" family film, the animal confrontations and captures are bloodless and not overly graphic. We found it to be informative and entertaining and a nice movie night for the family.

Grade: B+

Trailer:

Observe and Report

Released: 2009

MPAA rating: R

Run time: 1:26

Lots of people rip "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" for being too bland, too vanilla, too kid-friendly. Personally, I laughed a lot at "Paul Blart: Mall Cop", but I was also intrigued at a more adult-oriented take on the same theme when I saw trailers for "Observe and Report". Well, from where I sit, the "hack, kiddie" version was far better than this movie. Seth Rogen plays Ronnie Barnhardt, a mall security guard who thinks he is so much more. When a flasher is stalking the mall parking lot, he is determined to be the one to solve the case, which puts him in direct competition with Detective Harrison (Ray Liotta). He is also trying to impress cosmetics counter girl Brandi (Anna Faris). Much like "Paul Blart", he manages to get one date with her, which does not go well. (Side note: How does Seth Rogen manage to always do love scenes with co-stars who insist on keeping their bra on?) The movie just doesn't hit the mark comedically. For the first two-thirds, I think I maybe laughed once. The final third has some good comedic moments, but by that time, it's too little, too late. I have also noticed that, although she is funny herself, Anna Faris often finds herself in the worst comedy movies (most of the "Scary Movie" series, for example). Even a pretty good performance by Patton Oswalt doesn't save the movie. In fact, he probably should have been given a bigger part. So, if you're looking for a funny mall security movie, make it "Paul Blart: Mall Cop". I wanted to like this one better, it was just not to be.

Grade: D+

Trailer:

Adventureland

Released: 2009

MPAA rating: R

Run time: 1:47

The original appeal of "Adventureland" was two-fold. First, the writer/director worked at Adventureland here on Long Island in his youth and this film was based on that experience. Second, there are some really solid comedy cast members including Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader and Ryan Reynolds. It was surprising to find that these "names" were really just supporting characters in a summer romance film. It was also surprising to see that this worked beautifully. Although "Adventureland" is a comedy and is certainly funny at times, it is also a very good coming of age story. James Brennan (Jesse Eisenberg) needs money for college, so he takes a summer job at the local amusement park, where he meets Em Lewin (Kristen Stewart of "Twilight" fame). He becomes smitten with her pretty quickly and the movie follows their developing romance/friendship over the course of the park's season. Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader provide comic relief as the couple who own the park and Ryan Reynolds helps fuel the story as the maintenance guy whose legend is that he "once played with Lou Reed". Eisenberg has the challenging job of carrying this movie as an unknown and pulls it off beautifully. He has a speaking cadence that is a combination of Woody Allen and Ben Stiller and definitely has you rooting for him. It is a warm, funny movie that sort of reminded me of "Say Anything". The only point of confusion for me was when Lou Reed's "Satellite of Love" played half way through the film, I thought that meant the movie was ending (I know, MAYBE one of my readers will get that reference).

Grade: B

Trailer: