Film & TV
Reviews
The Whole Ten Yards Starring Bruce Willis, Matthew PerryDirected by Howard DeutchRated PG-13 Every time I try to say something substantive about The Whole Ten Yards, the only thing that can come out of my mouth are variations on "it was a pile of crap." Director Howard Deutch gives us a barrage of ethnic jokes, repeated slapping and Matthew Perry waving his arms around and falling down, and leaves it up to the marketing department to make the movie seem funny.
Texas isn't just Bush country
San Antonio, TX. The Alamo story has graced film reels more than a dozen times. It's Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie and Colonel Travis: add a few more ingredients, stir and repeat.
Dangerous Minds, Etc.
And yet another trainwreck for Kevin Spacey. In the tradition of perfectly respectable actors taking a step or 10 in the wrong direction, our man Kev follows K-Pax, Pay it Forward and The Life of David Gale with further punishment for unsuspecting moviegoers in the heartbreakingly vapid The United States of Leland. Spacey knows it's a bust and can't even show his face; on the movie poster, the man labeled as Kevin Spacey is not in fact Kevin Spacey, but the lesser known actor Martin Donovan -- who spends the entire movie making a big stink just because someone up and knifed his autistic son.
The People's Interview
What happened last night [at Wrestlemania]? We got beat. I had a blast last night. It was a lot of fun, it was cool.
R-Rated Pornography
We're all relatively acquainted with the slew of coming-of-age teen comedies wherein implausibly attractive high school students overcome the bounds of social status, find love and provide a fortune cookie-sized moral to the tune of "Teenage Wasteland." The recipe works, though it usually makes for movies so saccharine that diabetics crumple to the floor of America's movie theaters.
Go directly to Hell
There are things out there that go bump in the night," quips Professor Bruttenholm (John Hurt). "We are the ones who bump back." No, this isn't your average weekend-drunken-sorority-girl- hook-up; it's Guillermo del Toro's above average comic-to-movie film Hellboy. Mix two parts X-Men, two parts Men In Black technology and a sprinkle of The Hulk's big buff looks, and you have the recipe that not only looks good but doesn't leave a bad taste in your mouth. Based on Mike Mignola's comic book series, Hellboy opens in 1944 as the Nazis, led by Grigori Rasputin, attempt to open a portal to another dimension.
"When you get a little older, you get a little softer"
No, the problem child was and always will be Dogma. Nothing can be more problematic than that.
Oh brother
Con artists are en vogue right now. Brad Pitt, Mark Wahlberg and Nicolas Cage have all dabbled in thievery.
Review: Taking Lives
With Hollywood constantly churning out thrillers with obligatory "surprise endings," it's great to see a satisfying conclusion that doesn't make the movie fold like a house of cards.
Zombies are hot
Carnage, carnage, blood, blood and then more carnage. The remake of the 1974 horror classic Dawn of the Dead retains elements of the original, while changing the story entirely.
My mind is a total blank
Everyone already knows that Charlie Kaufman is a genius. This is an acknowledged fact. The man who brought us both Being John Malkovich and Adaptation could not possibly be anything less.
Passionate About The Passion
Movies and religion have never mixed well. Inevitably, a movie will misrepresent one religion or another and be faced with protests and threats of boycotts.
Don't sleep with Ashley Judd
In Twisted, directed by Philip Kaufman, Ashley Judd plays Detective Jessica Shepard. After the gruesome death of her parents, Jessica is raised by John Mills (Samuel Jackson), the San Francisco Police Commissioner.
You can't touch this ... without seven pairs of gloves
Badass. This movie is simply badass. When was the last time you heard of actors filming on the side of a mountain with 100 mph winds and ice crusting on their faces?
It was a man's man's man's world
Getting punched in the face really hurts. Doing it for a living is brutal and difficult. Yet both are easier than taking a no-name boxer to the championship, especially as a woman. In Against the Ropes, chick flick diva Meg Ryan breaks out of her stereotypical role to play boxing's most prolific female coach, Jackie Kallen.
50 Chances to get with Drew Barrymore
What's that saying? "If it ain't broke, don't fix it?" Director Peter Segal surely had that motto in mind when he once again teamed up Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore in their latest romantic comedy, 50 First Dates. Veterinarian Henry Roth (Adam Sandler) is a ladies' man known to date women who are on vacation, thereby avoiding any form of commitment.
Sex bomb, sex bomb, you're a sex bomb
After all, an orgasm is better than a bomb," quipped relieved director Bernardo Bertolucci about the release of an uncut version of his highly provocative film to U.S.
Review: Miracle
When a story wraps up with an inspirational fairy tale ending, many can't help but gag. Still, in 1980 those same gaggers joined the nation in celebrating the United States Olympic hockey team's victory over the seemingly unbeatable Russian squad.
Review: The Fog of War
Never answer the question asked of you. Answer the question you wish was asked of you," Robert McNamara says with a hint of a grin towards the end of The Fog of War, a documentary on the infamous Secretary of Defense.
