The Next Three Days pushes the right buttons and poses the right questions of morality much better than most other heist films. While every heist/escape film has its level of implausibility (this one is no different), what this movie has going for it is that very believable journey of an honest man out to do wrong.
Read MoreThere are a lot of air-quotes in that description of Morning Glory because the stereotypes shown in the film, just as in any real life workplace, are true. The magic of Morning Glory comes in how those stereotypes are broken down and redefined. The characters, while initially shaped as stereotypes, are richer and have a lot more going on underneath, with a great deal of change and growth. In different or more dramatic hands, this movie could have ended up as a button pusher along the lines of the classic Network, but this movie sticks with the comedy and stays light. Morning Glory works because of it's all about the quirks and characters instead of the issues that really make up the news.
Read MoreEvery manly man in America will enjoy this movie. If you walk out of the theater going "Oh my god, that was too loud!" or "Why did they have to do that?" then you're obviously not a manly man and we'll tear your man card right with your ticket stub. Plot is secondary and action is king. Does it matter or add any brevity that it was inspired by a true story? Nope. Just buckle up and enjoy the chase. This is vintage stand-up-and-cheer Tony Scott spectacle.
Read MoreMegamind, the newest computer-animated family film from Dreamworks, is just that kind of story. It's a villain's origin story and a look inside their motivations and inner psyche. It's a chance to see what would happen if the hapless bad guy actually won for once. While the pool that we get to look at is pretty shallow, it still has a lot more going on than one would realize. That different point of view is the cleverness and fun of Megamind and it's quality storytelling elevates it much higher than this year's previous villain-inside-story animated movie Despicable Me.
Read MoreSimply put, Due Date suffers from, what I like to call, "Nacho Libre Syndrome," where all of the funny parts of the movie are in the previews and TV spots. The moments in-between turn out to be worthless, preposterous, or just bad.
Read MoreCall it the human condition or whatever you like. Everyone handles death differently and everyone copes with it differently in very distinctive and personal ways. In any case, because of those strong personal differences, it is very tough to make a populist, wide-reaching movie about it that everyone can snuggle up together and identify with. If anyone has the chops to try, it's the great Clint Eastwood with Hereafter. His newest film follows three parallel stories, each in different countries, of three people affected by death in dramatically different ways.
Read MoreWith this premise, Red is a fun action-comedy that doesn't take itself too seriously and definitely doesn't have to. It's an A-Team for the Viagra crowd. There's enough mystery in their preposterous mission to create a suspenseful puzzle to keep your attention, while balanced with enough bullet-filled "too-old-for-this-shit" moments to really entertain.
Read MoreBecause I myself am a school teacher, I found that there was no way to write a movie review for the documentary film without wanting to jump into the first-person to share, analyze, and discuss my own impressions along the way. Still, I wanted my reviews to stand on their own as objective and with journalistic integrity. For that reason, I kept my thoughts and feelings on the topics out of the reviews and separated them for a follow-up editorial column after each review.
Read MoreFrom both story perspectives, the cracks and deficiencies of the American public school system are revealed and out on display in a very strong way. Waiting for "Superman" doesn't sugarcoat or hold its statistics and ugly findings back. Much about No Child Left Behind and educational funding is discussed. It is both sickening and fascinating to watch at the same time, yet all the while poignant.
Read MoreShock value sells. It always does. Dane Cook was right when he talked about even simple car crashes in an old stand-up routine. We can't take our eyes off of something like that. We are even drawn to it in some way. For those ways and reasons, the new Jackass 3D is irresistible. Those that are drawn to it will be endlessly entertained. Those that are appalled by it still won't be able to look away, even if they want to, because of its "how did they do that?" factor.
Read MoreReal-life parents will likely watch this movie and talk about how easy the movie characters have it with their big house and endless amenities and income streams, despite the supposed appearance of stress and hardship. They're not going to find it believable. Sure, Life As We Know It has it's laughs, moments, and sincere touches. Duhamel is perfectly cast to play the evolving "himbo" jock and Heigl is always easy on the eyes, but everything is completely scripted and mostly predictable.
Read MoreFinally, in what may be the biggest surprise of all, they all came together to make a movie about Facebook that didn't really talk about Facebook itself. Sure, we found out how it came to be and how it grew huge and popular, but the movie is about the people not the empire. The Social Network doesn't become a lecture on society's social networking behavior. In the movie, Facebook itself might as well be the "One Ring," the "MacGuffin," and "Rosebud." It's always present, but purely as a means to talk about and move the human side of the story. For that alone, The Social Network is quite an accomplishment and one of the best of the year.
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