Balls of Fury – Short on Both
<BR>Appropriate for ages 15+<BR></STRONG></FONT><BR><FONT size=3><STRONG>The Story:</STRONG> Down-and-out former professional ping-ponger Randy Daytona (Fogler) is sought out by an FBI agent (Lopez) to smoke-out his father’s killer and underground ping-pong mobster – the arch-fiend Feng (Walken).</FONT></FONT></DIV><br />
<P><FONT face=Tahoma size=5><FONT size=3><STRONG>The Good:</STRONG> This idea is just silly enough that it could have worked were it placed in more capable hands. Acclaimed stage actor Dan Fogler is a true talent, but rarely gets to show his stuff here.<BR><BR><STRONG>The Bad:</STRONG> First off, I must admit that I left the theater fifteen minutes before the ending due to a rowdy and obnoxious audience member sitting behind the press row. Since security at the Houston theater was too incompetent to remove said person, I felt the need to leave. That being said, I couldn’t wait to get out of the theater anyhow. The movie was just plain boring and poorly paced and the jokes were way too obvious to be enjoyed. I am assuming that the lack of continuity between scenes was due to an over-zealous editor, but 90 minutes of torture is long enough and I don’t think the audience will care much that character and relationship development sequences were left out. </FONT></P><br />
<DIV><FONT size=3><STRONG>The Summary:</STRONG> Someone needs to take a paddle to the filmmakers.<BR></FONT></DIV></FONT></p>
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Dexter – Bloody Brilliant
 is Dexter, a forensic police officer by day, serial killer by night. The only hitch is that he only kills other serial killers and vicious criminals. While not quite a vigilante, he makes peace with his sickness by only “taking out the garbage.” This funny and thrilling drama was one of my favorite shows of last year and along with the terrific comedy <EM>Weeds</EM>, is really helping Showtime steal viewers away from HBO. Season two starts up September 30, so if you haven’t seen the first, better get to it! Missing this show is criminal (and now you know what Dexter does to criminals).<BR></FONT><BR></DIV></p>
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The Ultimate Gift – Sweet and Sappy
 dies, he tries to save his grandson (Fuller) from becoming a horrible person like the rest of his family. By making him earn his inheritance, the young man learns about the many gifts life is able to give you when you don’t have everything served to you on a silver platter. This is a sappy mess, but I bought into it fully. I enjoyed the characters, the story, and the lesson. This is a squeaky clean film that makes for a great family viewing.<BR></FONT></FONT></DIV></p>
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Resurrecting the Champ – Jackson Wins Big With Terrific Performance
Resurrecting the Champ B+
Starring Samuel L. Jackson and Josh Hartnett
Rated PG-13 for some violence and brief language
Directed by Rod Lurie (The Contender)
Appropriate for ages 13+
The Summary: A struggling journalist (Hartnett) discovers a former boxing champ (Jackson) living on the streets of Denver. In his journey to discover the truth about the boxer, he is better able to reflect upon his own life.
The Good: Let’s face it, Jackson is an amazing actor, and this movie really showcases his talents. His turn as the champ is his best performance in years and although Hartnett does a fine job, Jackson steals every scene he is in. I was also impressed with the fine script filled many sincere and self-reflective moments.
The Bad: While this is a solid piece of entertainment, it’s not too terribly flashy and many will find it a little too slow for their tastes. Also, I don’t think that the movie packs the emotional punch (bad pun – ouch!) that it intends. I found myself touched, but not at all teary-eyed.
This could have been a great little family film, were it not for an F bomb and other assorted bad language. I think that the film could have been more successful without the language, but the filmmakers probably spiced it up in order to achieve PG-13 status.
The Summary: Jackson gives a knockout performance in this low-budget crowd pleaser.
The Lives of Others – The Government is Listening…
The Lives of Others
Rated R for some sexuality/nudity
German with English subtitles
Release Date: August 21, 2007
Perhaps the biggest surprise of this year’s Oscar ceremonies occurred when a little German film titled The Lives of Others beat out the Spanish hit Pan’s Labyrinth for Best Foreign Language Film. After all, hardly anyone had even heard of the movie, and it hadn’t opened in even the larger markets yet (other than New York and L.A.). I have to admit that I was a little upset – until I saw this breathtaking film. Set in East Germany a few years before the fall of the Berlin Wall, an ambitious Stasi policemen (the late Ulrich Muhe) is ordered to bug the home of a writer (Sebastian Koch) that might be involved in illegal activity. Billed as a thriller, the pic evolves into a beautiful drama with an absolutely perfect ending. The DVD contains deleted scenes, featurettes, and an interesting commentary by the director spoken in English without the slightest hint a German accent.
Superbad – It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s… McLovin?
<BR>Rated R </STRONG><FONT face=Arial><STRONG>for pervasive crude and sexual content, strong language, drinking, some drug use and a fantasy/comic violent image<BR>Appropriate for ages 17+<BR></STRONG><BR><STRONG>The Story:</STRONG> It’s high school graduation time and three members of the unpopular caste are invited to a major party, under the caviat that they provide the booze. With the gauntlet thrown down, they set out on a journey that will take them to strange and unusual places that most high schoolers will never get the chance to experience. The threesome’s only hope is that they can procure the precious liquid so that they might have a chance not to graduate as virgins. <BR><BR><STRONG>The Good:</STRONG> It took over 10 years for a studio to greenlight this script, and only after producer Judd Apatow’s hit <EM>Taladega Nights</EM>, did it start to go into production. With a small budget of only 18 million dollars, the trick was to find three relatively unknown actors that could play teenagers. The casting of Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse was perfect. Hill and Cera have some of the best timing of any comedians working in Hollywood right now, and newcomer Mintz-Plasse is amazing as the soon-to-be-a-national-catch-phrase McLovin. Throw in a terrific script by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg (Rogen also co-stars) and you have a memorable coming-of-age comedy that will go down in history with classic teen flicks like <EM>American Graffiti</EM>, <EM>Fast Times at Ridgemont High</EM>, and <EM>Dazed and Confused. <BR><BR></EM>It would be a mistake to simply think of this film as just a raunchy teenage sex comedy. I think many will find a sense of familiarity about the friendship, confusion, and pre-conceived notions of the future that go through our protagonists’ heads. It is as deep as it is obscene and should make audiences very uncomfortable that they are laughing themselves sick. <BR><BR><STRONG>The Bad:</STRONG> This is a very offensive film that I would have trouble watching with my mother (if you know what I mean). I cannot describe most of the big laughs due to the fact that my editor couldn’t print the descriptions without losing his job. So, it goes without saying, if you are easily offended, and thought that <EM>Knocked Up</EM> and <EM>The 40-Year-Old Virgin</EM> were questionable, please note that they don’t hold a candle to the material in <EM>Superbad</EM>. <BR><BR><STRONG>The Summary:</STRONG> This very rated-R teenage flick is an absolutely unforgetable gem of movie. </FONT></FONT></FONT></DIV></p>
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Stardust – An Engaging Adult Fairytale
<BR>Rated PG-13 for some fantasy violence and risque humor<BR>Appropriate for ages 13+<BR></FONT></STRONG><BR><FONT size=3><STRONG>The Story:</STRONG> This adult fairy tale by author Neil Gaiman follows a young man named Tristan (Cox) that tries to win the heart of the girl of his limited dreams by hunting down a fallen star. The star, however has transformed into a beautiful girl named Yvaine (Daines). Tristan finds the star only to discover that an evil witch (Pfeiffer) and a bloodthirsty prince are also close on her heals. <BR><BR><STRONG>The Good:</STRONG> This film excels in the arena of creativity and storytelling. While it follows the typical fairy tale pathway, the details of the journey are unexpected. I will warn that the tale has a dark side, but no darker than those told by the Brothers Grimm. And the story is not only magical, but very funny as well. De Niro’s turn as a cross-dressing pirate, for example, steals every scene he appears in. Even the ghosts of the prince’s dead brothers add a dark element of comedy relief. <BR><BR><STRONG>The Bad:</STRONG> I wish that this film had the budget to pull off the special effects that it desperately needed. They really tried to make them work, but the movie really does scream out “cheap fx.” What the pic lacks in stunning visuals, however, it more than makes up for in imagination. <BR><BR><STRONG>The Summary:</STRONG> We finally have a <EM>Princess Bride</EM> for a new generation. </FONT></FONT></DIV></p>
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Rush Hour 3 – Ninety Minutes That Don’t Rush Fast Enough
<BR>Rated PG-13 for sequences of action violence, sexual content, nudity, and language<BR>Appropriate for ages 15+</STRONG><BR></FONT><BR><FONT size=3><STRONG>The Story:</STRONG> Officers Carter and Lee (Tucker and Chan) partner up again to stop a group of Chinese gangsters in Paris.<BR><BR><STRONG>The Good:</STRONG> There isn’t much here to brag about, but there is a set piece on the Eiffel Tower that could have had real potential. There’s an <EM>Abbott and Costelloesque</EM> sketch in a martial arts gym, a <EM>Monty Pythonesque</EM> sketch with a Nun in a hospital, and a strangely exaggerated sketch in a Paris night club that all could have worked were it not for the contrived set ups and the lack of continuity with the rest of the film.<BR><BR><STRONG>The Bad:</STRONG> From the opening scene this movie sets itself up as a movie that shouldn’t be taken seriously. The first two pics can be described as a comedic <EM>Lethal Weapon</EM>. This third pic, however, almost feels like a parody of the first two. Gone is the impressive stunt work by Chan and slick annoyances by Tucker, replaced instead by unimpressive fight scenes and poorly written jokes embarrassingly performed by the duo. They try so desperately hard to be funny – and fail miserably. <BR><BR>As for the story – wow is it bad! The plot is completely predictable and even Max von Sydow looks like an amateur with this horrid script. It blows my mind that this dialogue sprang from the mind of screenwriter Jeff Nathanson (<EM>Catch Me If You Can</EM>).<BR><BR><STRONG>The Summary:</STRONG> Shame on you Jackie, Chris, Brett, and Jeff – you are all better than this. </FONT></FONT></DIV></p>
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Bourne Ultimatum – Will Someone Get This Man A Steadicam?
The Bourne Ultimatum C+
Starring Matt Damon, Joan Allen, and David Strathairn
Directed by Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Supremacy)
Rated PG-13 for violence and intense sequences of action
Appropriate for ages 15+
The Story: In this third and final chapter of the Bourne chronicles, Jason Bourne (Damon) is still trying to sort out who he really is and who made him into what he has become. The U.S. government, however, has a problem with him being alive and does everything in their power to kill him.
The Good: If what you need is a two-hour-long chase film, this will cure your woes. This is a very exciting film with tons of great chase and fight sequences. Also, the cast of actors is first rate and they all turn in very good performances.
The Bad: The biggest problem with this pic is the same problem with the second film: the way it is shot. Director Paul Greengrass puts the camera right into the middle of the action where we can’t focus on anything, and then shakes the camera around in order to make it worse. I left the theater nauseated and with a headache. Either he has never heard of a steadicam, or he thinks that audiences are ADD enough to appreciate this style of film making.
Another major problem is that the plot is way too similar to the first two films. Jason has amnesia, he wants to know more about his old self, he sorta remembers a government official that might clear things up, and then he goes after them. Meanwhile, the government official wants him dead. While the story works, it’s just a retread of what came before it, told slightly different and in more exotic locales in order to freshen things up.
The Summary: If theaters had sold Dramamine at the concession stand, this might have been a better experience for me.