Film & TV
Wild Hogs Review
3 out of 5 stars What do you get when you throw together four middle-aged has-been actors, a lot of physical comedy, and the requisite "road trip" theme?
The Glory of War
With so many war movies made in Hollywood every year, often with interchangeably formulaic storylines, it would be easy to overlook or simply ignore the French film Days of Glory.
flyin' high
Inspiring movies come in all shapes and sizes. Case in point: The Astronaut Farmer. The absurd plot of a retired air-force-pilot-turned-family-ranch-hand (named Charles Farmer) who decides to build a space rocket in his barn seems too far-fetched for even Hollywood's tastes.
Armed and Hilarious
The venerable Reno, Nev. Sheriff's Department has been touring the country to spread the Washoe County brand of cheer and promote their new movie Reno 911!: Miami.
*nstink
Picture this: Hugh Grant in tight leather pants sporting a Flock of Seagulls haircut and popping his hips with a level of boy-band insincerity rivaling even the cheesiest of *NSYNC moves.
Molto Bello
The Italian, one of the best movies so far this year, follows Vanya (Kolya Spiridonov), a young boy in an orphanage in rural Russia.
spy vs. spy
In Breach, the weight of the movie rests on the shoulders of stars Ryan Phillippe and Chris Cooper. Unfortunately, only one of them delivers. Phillippe plays Eric O'Neill, a young FBI operative assigned to clerk for - and spy on - Robert Hanssen (Cooper), who is under investigation for sexual deviance.
Ghostly bad
The Messengers is an all-too-predictable scare flick that relies primarily on loud noises and sudden gruesome images for fright value. The story: a family moves to a deserted sunflower farm in North Dakota hoping to make a fresh start and a sufficient living.
Weighing the Options
It's officially that time of the year again. The weather's getting colder, the days are getting shorter and it's getting tougher to muster the strength to walk to class (or to Smoke's) depending on your proclivities.
Still nutty after all these years
Norbit is Eddie Murphy's favorite form of cinematic masturbation. By acting as a variety of characters, the comedian gets to showcase his chameleon-like ability to play to any stereotype thrown his way.
DON'T ASK ME WHY
"Happiness is a choice," says overbearing Daphne to her youngest daughter Milly in Because I Said So.
What's Gotta Give?
Everybody needs a passion. I have many - most of them somewhat irrational. For instance, I still believe I will end up with Lance Bass.
Bloody awful
In the ignominious tradition of Alone in the Dark, American actress Agnes Bruckner and German director Katja von Grenier have banded together to create one of the year's worst films with Blood and Chocolate. The plot is a simple boy-meets-girl, girl's-family-keeps-them-apart premise.
ACEs wild
There is so much blood in Smokin' Aces that Joe Carnahan makes Quentin Tarantino look like a pansy. Writer-director Joe Carnahan (Narc) weaves together a story about bloodthirsty, money-hungry hitmen trying to take down Vegas entertainer Buddy "Aces" Israel (Jeremy Piven) before he can snitch on his Mob contacts to the Feds (Ray Liotta, Ryan Reynolds). The dialogue is as fast and dirty as the gunplay in a film that is darkly funny and, funnily enough, somewhat serious, too.
a-Maze-ing
The average audience of the average film will spend a few moments discussing it before dinner plans and traffic reports interrupt; By the next day, the movie-going experience is a distant memory.
WAWA-WEEWAH
Like Steve Nash or a fine wine, Clint Eastwood is getting better and better in his old age. A companion piece to October's Flags of Our Fathers, Letters from Iwo Jima tells the story of the infamous World War II Battle of Iwo Jima from the point of view of the Japanese soldiers.
Throw it Back
Catch and Release is no work of art, and the filmmakers know it. In one scene, a character flat out remarks that mainstream flicks today provide more gimmicks and cheap thrills than commercials.
The Write Stuff
Freedom Writers, written and directed by Richard LaGravenese, holds no surprises. It tells a familiar story: a young, eager teacher enters an urban high school classroom full of poor kids with no futures.
