You may have seen, over the past few decades, a few dozen movies featuring an unconventional teacher, who, when thrown in with uninspired kids, goes on to push them to a greatness no one ever expected of any of them. Hamlet 2 definitely falls into this general category, but with tongue firmly planted in […]
Step Brothers is little more than an opportunity for two master riffers to face off in the ultimate Man-Child challenge. There is a plot, but it only exists to give Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly (co-creators with director Adam McKay) some focus for their juvenilia. While this sounds like a negative comment, it’s actually […]
I feel an utter loss of clinical objectivity as I sit down to write this review. I can say that I had a ball and a half, the likes of which I don’t think I’ve seen this year. Like a similar adored hoot, Hairspray, Mamma Mia is a stage musical adapted to the […]
Matinee with Snacks
As always, Pixar preceded their feature with a short, called Presto. The rabbit who stars is an atypical sort of character design for Pixar, which made me nervous initially. Never fear! Presto plays with the laws of cartoon physics in another lovely, wordless short that is reminiscent of the madcap […]
Oh thank heaven, Get Smart is funny. If you are a fan of the show, there are enough little winks, nudges, and appropriately contextualized catch phrases to please you – but the movie doesn’t rely on them to carry itself. If you’d never seen the show, nothing was needed to make this film […]
In the interests of science, this movie review will be handled in a little different way. My friend Melanie is a long-time fan of the show, and went to see the movie with her mom. I had watched maybe half of one show in the first season and just couldn’t get into it, […]
This was my third Universal Studios comedy in a short time, and I was starting to worry. I am so glad this one was last! Writer/star Jason Segel was lovable and full of heart on Freaks and Geeks, but is he funny? Yes! The premise is promising: Segel is dumped […]
On its surface, Made of Honor seems like a perfect little girlie diversion. Platonic (rich handsome) guy friend realizes gal pal is the one, only on the eve of her impending nuptials. It’s ground that was tread more successfully in 1997’s My Best Friend’s Wedding (one of the two screenwriters’ work apparently only sings when […]
I love Tina Fey. I loved the movie she wrote, Mean Girls. She’s smart, sexy, funny and endearingly normal and accessible. I love 30 Rock. Amy Poehler has great comic timing, even if she always sounds like she’s making fun of her own line reading. Together they snap, crackle, and […]
George Clooney has worked with an interesting assembly of directors, and spent years on episodic television. What I just figured out about Clooney the director is that he is a crafter of moments more than a story teller. He’s clearly watched and learned from Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton), the Coen brothers, and Steven […]
