Review - Miracle At St. Anna
MIRACLE AT ST. ANNA [R]
review by Robert Newton
With Miracle At St. Anna, Spike Lee has made his “Saving Private Ryan,” a sweeping tale of war, revenge and loyalty, and it is a rather stunning piece of work, even if it is a bit overreaching.
Set in the waning days of World War II, this James McBride-penned story of an all-black regiment known as Buffalo Soldiers stuck in the middle of Nazi-lousy Italy blends genres nicely, even if the story is framed a bit awkwardly. Joseph Gordon Levitt (”The Lookout”) plays a cub reporter in 1983 trying to figure out why Hector (Laz Alonso), a black New York postal worker, went berserk and shot a customer in cold blood (and with a Luger), and why he has the head of a 400-year-old Italian statue in a bag in his closet. It is a mystery that Lee unravels in a gradual and non-linear […]
Original post by Robert Newton
Review - Choke
CHOKE [R]
review by Robert Newton
It may not be a completely worthy follow-up to David Fincher’s infinitely quotable 1999 testo-fest “Fight Club,” but Clark Gregg’s dark comedy, also based on a Chuck Palahniuk novel, is a grimy but likable character study. Reminiscent of the 1998 (pre-zany) Ben Stiller film “Permanent Midnight,” this delving into one man’s mania stars the under-appreciated Sam Rockwell as Victor Mancini, a sex addict who may or may not be the half-clone of Jesus the Christ. In his first major leading role, he is commanding as a highly functional product of many traumas, fully aware of how toxic his life is but helpless to stop its march. A tight, biting script and skilled supporting turns by Anjelica Huston as Victor’s pragmatic but irresponsible mother, Kelly Macdonald as his doctor and Brad William Henke as his best friend and enabler further flavor the mix. Director Gregg, himself a […]
Original post by Robert Newton
Review - Nights In Rodanthe
NIGHTS IN RODANTHE [PG-13]
How to create the ultimate “Chick Flick”:
Hire Diane Lane. Lane has made a nice career niche for herself by playing in one romantic tragedies after another. It would be nice to see her stretch a little and try out the kind of roles that Joan Allen goes for, but the ladies love Diane as the perpetual woman-in-control, except when it comes to love.
Hire Richard Gere to play the male lead. Between serious movie roles Gere has been padding his bank account for a long time now walking through an endless parade of chick flicks and, evidently the ladies love him.
Have the boy-meets-girl thing happen at a remote location, like say the most amazingly cool isolated beach house anyone has ever seen.
Have both the leads be on the rebound from bad relationships.
After their torrid affair at the isolated beach house have them separate […]
Original post by Robert Newton
Review - Ghost Town
GHOST TOWN [PG-13]
review by Robert Newton
Ricky Gervais is a comedy star, and anyone who doesn’t believe it from seeing him on the original British “Office” or HBO’s “Extras” cannot ignore that fact after watching him lay it down like the pro he is in this old-fashioned comedy by esteemed mercenary scribe David Koepp (”Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull”).
Gervais plays Bertram Pincus, a New York dentist who, after dying for 7 minutes during a surgical procedure, can talk with the dead. Naturally, they all have One Last Thing to resolve before going into the light, and they all call on Pincus to help them with it. And of course, being the miserable misanthrope that he is, just wants them to leave him alone so that he can get on with the business of being a miserable misanthrope. But then he meets Gwen (Téa Leoni), the widow of […]
Original post by Robert Newton
Review - Lakeview Terrace
LAKEVIEW TERRACE [PG-13]
review by Robert Newton
Sometimes critics lose sight of why regular people go to the movies — to be entertained. Not everything has to be enlightening, meaningful or artistic; sometimes, a good ol’ revenge drama like Lakeview Terrace will do the trick and prompt a satisfied, “That was pretty good” on the way to the parking lot.
Samuel L. Jackson plays Samuel L. Jackson as a veteran L.A. cop who is rather displeased with the fact that his new white neighbor (Patrick Wilson) has a black bride (Kerry Washington). His distaste goes beyond the snarky aside — he insinuates, threatens and takes extreme action to get his (incredibly photogenic) new neighbors out so that he and his two motherless children can exist in the influence-free world that he has created for them.
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Original post by Robert Newton
Review - Igor
IGOR [PG]
review by Howie Green
Somewhere along the way, the makers of the new kids’ animated film Igor lost their way. Borrowing heavily from both Tim Burton’s goth style and sensibilities, this seemingly innocuous horror romp is filled with disturbing characters and dark humor that are completely inappropriate and unsettling for the film’s target audience of young kids. Seriously, what parent is going to want to expose their wee ones to a main character that is constantly trying to commit suicide? And when Igor’s monster creation turns out to be a self-involved actress all the jokes and humor about her will be totally lost on young kids. “Igor” is too freaky and off-center for kids and too simple for adults and will hopefully disappear before anyone even notices it.
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Original post by Robert Newton
DVD Giveaway - Numbers: The Fourth Season
“NUMB3RS” is a drama about an FBI agent who recruits his mathematical-genius brother to help the Bureau solve a wide range of challenging crimes in Los Angeles. The two brothers take on the most confounding criminal cases from a very distinctive perspective. Inspired by actual events, the series depicts how the confluence of police work and mathematics provides unexpected revelations and answers to the most perplexing criminal questions. A dedicated FBI agent, Don Eppes (Rob Morrow), couldn’t be more different from his younger brother, Charlie Eppes (David Krumholtz), a brilliant mathematician who, since he was little, yearned to impress his big brother. Their father, Alan (Judd Hirsch), is happy to see his sons working together even though he doesn’t understand the intricacies of what Charlie does for a living. It is his co-workers at CalSci who further refine Charlie’s approach and help him stay focused. Physicist friend Dr. Larry Fleinhardt […]
Original post by Robert Newton
Review - Babylon A.D.
BABYLON A.D. [PG-13]
Sci-fi epics like Babylon A.D. are a lot like Frankenstein’s monster. They are large and clumsy, and stitched together from the parts of many others. And with an action hero like Vin Diesel in the lead, the best it can muster when it speaks is echoes of Peter Boyle’s cry, “Super duper!” from Mel Brooks’s “Young Frankenstein.”
Puttin’ on the glitz here is French writer-director and former arthouse darling Mathieu Kassovitz (”Hate”). He has the story of a mysterious young nun named Aurora (Mélanie Thierry) and Toorop (Diesel), the muscle hired to shuttle them from Russia to New York, with which to work, and a number of thoughtful touches suggest that some far more thoughtful was intended. Instead, this vague, heavily dystopian future tale appears to have been heavily edited by studio Fox for length and to earn a more marketable PG-13 rating, and it neuters the film right […]
Original post by Robert Newton