Upcoming Releases
HALLOWEEN (R) Dedicated gorehound and horror-flick fanboy Rob Zombie in what, for better or worse, should be his element. John Carpenter's '70s slasher prototype gets remade by someone who cares, but will we? Stars Malcolm McDowell, Tyler Mane, Daeg Faerch, Sheri Moon, Brad Dourif, Udo Kier and Scout Taylor-Compton. Opens Aug. 31 at local theaters. (Not Reviewed)
RECENT RELEASES
ARCTIC TALE (PG-13) A documentary that's tempting to describe as March of the Penguins with global warming and farts, Arctic Tale chronicles the lives and times of Nanu and Seela, a polar bear and walrus who struggle to survive at the top of the world and whose destinies eventually become entwined. The movie falls all over itself trying to be as family-friendly as possible, ascribing names and simplified human attributes to its animal subjects and providing an ingratiating narration by Queen Latifah that frequently reduces the on-screen action to homespun homilies and quasi-jive talk. Nanu and Seela eventually find their footing in the world, but it's a task made even tougher due to melting polar ice caps upsetting the creatures' ecosystem — a global warming angle that shouldn't come as much of a shock considering Arctic Tale was produced by Al Gore's daughter, Kristen. The movie's not exactly subtle about hammering home its agenda, though, and as documentaries go, it's also just a tad disingenuous, in that "Nanu" and "Seela" don't in fact exist (they're actually composites cobbled together to support what the movie wants to say). Still, only a fool or a captain of industry would argue that Arctic Tale's environmental message is less than sound, so if it takes a few doctored facts and a Morgan Freeman-lite voice-over to do the job — well, any port in a storm. Directed by Adam Ravetch and Sarah Robertson. 2.5 stars
BECOMING JANE (PG) A very Miramaxian-sounding mish-mash of period-drama fact and fiction, zeroing in on a young Jane Austen (Anne Hathaway) becoming involved in a romantic encounter that shapes the books she'll eventually write and the writer she'll eventually become. Also stars James McAvoy, Julie Walters, James Cromwell, Maggie Smith and Joe Anderson. (Not Reviewed)
THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM (PG-13) The third and supposedly final installment of the popular Bourne franchise is by far the best of the batch, a relentless barrage of sheer adrenaline that more than compensates for any shortcomings in the material. Matt Damon returns for one last go-round as the memory-challenged super-spy/assassin trying to piece together the truth of his lost identity; the villains, appropriately enough, are the only ones who ultimately matter — the CIA goons who turned him into the horribly efficient killing machine he is. The Bourne Ultimatum refines and relies upon all the elements that have made the series so successful and so appealing . Also stars Julia Stiles, David Strathairn, Joan Allen, Albert Finney and Scott Glenn. 3.5 stars
EL CANTANTE (PG-13) Jennifer Lopez doesn't quite go for the throat as Puchi Lavoe, longtime mistress and eventually wife to legendary salsa singer Hector Lavoe, but you can occasionally see those chiseled nostrils flaring at the sweet smell of blood. Hector (Lopez's off-screen husband, Marc Anthony) is the nominal star of this music biopic, but behind every dysfunctional, drug-gobbling man is a dysfunctional, drug-gobbling woman, and Puchi functions not only as her superstar husband's wife and confidante, but also as his mother, whore, nurse, supplier, nemesis and boss. Structured much like one of those VH-1 retro-pop featurettes, El Cantante begins with its subject's peak moment of creativity and/or popularity, then flashes back, as these things must, to his humble beginnings. Lavoe's inevitable slide begins almost before his rise has kicked into gear, and El Cantante depicts Hector's abrupt immersion in drugs without much fanfare or even context as one long, largely unexplained blur of bad behavior. Also stars John Ortiz, Manny Perez, Vincent Laresca and Federico Castelluccio. 2 stars
EYE OF THE DOLPHIN (PG) Sweet, handsomely mounted coming-of-age meanderings with troubled teen Alyssa (Carly Schroeder) hooking up with her long-lost father (Adrian Dunbar) and eventually finding a reason to live. Dad's a disheveled but dedicated dolphin researcher and, after the obligatory period of initial resistance, daughter Alyssa casts off her black eyeliner and throws herself mightily into her father's work, grooving on his sleek aquatic pals and helping him thwart the greedy city fathers trying to rain on his parade. The film was shot mostly on location in the Bahamas and it often looks beautiful, but the story here doesn't amount to much more than a well-meaning but lazy gathering of bonding clichés, at best. Also stars Christine Adams and George Harris. 2.5 stars
GOLDEN DOOR (PG-13) Harking back to an earlier, artier Euro-cinema far from the megaplex crowd, Golden Door (known as Nuovomondo in its native Italy) unfolds as a series of long, slow and thoroughly enigmatic episodes of the sort that certain critics love to call "meditative." The film is, on the surface, yet another drama about poor huddled masses making the perilous trek to prosperity and freedom, but the story here takes a back seat to poetic rhythms and the astonishing images of cinematographer Agnes Godard. Golden Door begins at the dawn of the 20th century in the rocky soil of Sicily, where illiterate peasant Salvatore Mancuso, seduced by doctored photos of giant vegetables and trees sprouting money, yearns to bring his family to America. The first half of the film mesmerizes us with scene after scene of mysterious, largely unexplained rituals and customs, sequences that seem timeless and take on a feverish, hallucinogenic intensity that blurs the fertile ground between folklore and fantasy. Stars Vincenzo Amato, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Aurora Quattrocchi, Francesco Casisa, Filippo Pucillo and Don Luigi. 3.5 stars
HOT ROD (PG-13) Saturday Night Live comedian-du-jour/performance artist/digital filmmaker Andy Samberg stars as a klutzy amateur stuntman who needs to raise big bucks fast to pay for a heart transplant for his disapproving father. In case you were wondering, it's a comedy. Also stars Ian McShane, Isla Fisher, Jorma Taccone and Bill Hader. (Not Reviewed)
THE INVASION (PG-13) Every era probably gets the Invasion of the Body Snatchers it deserves, and this might just be ours. Don Siegel's original take on alien pods turning humans into emotionless robots was the perfect '50s sci-fi flick as thinly veiled critique of communism; Philip Kaufman's 1978 remake pumped up the existential dread in exciting and strangely believable ways; and Abel Ferrara's 1993 version reimagined the tale with the director's lurid and vaguely nihilist panache. Now, director Oliver Hirschbiegel (whose last-days-of-Hitler romp, Downfall, was one of 2005's best films) takes a crack at the tale, with Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig starring as the hapless humans in danger of losing their souls. Also stars Jeremy Northam, Jeffrey Wright and Jackson Bond. (Not Reviewed)
THE NANNY DIARIES (PG-13) Working class girl Scarlett Johanssen lands a gig as a nanny for a wealthy Manhattan family and gets put through the ringer while learning how the other half lives. Also stars Laura Linney, Paul Giamatti, Alicia Keys, Chris Evans and Donna Murphy. (Not Reviewed)
RESURRECTING THE CHAMP (PG-13) A boxing flick, a father-son drama and the tale of an ethically challenged journalist all collide in Resurrecting the Champ, a movie that almost certainly would have benefited by honing at least one or two of its multiple personalities. Josh Hartnett stars as a mediocre sports writer who senses an opportunity for a career-making story when he befriends a local homeless man (Samuel L. Jackson) claiming to be a former heavyweight contender. Jackson delivers a strong if somewhat gimmicky performance as the dilapidated ex-fighter — buried under a matted, gray wig and wrinkly latex, the actor slurs and grunts in a hoarse, defeated croak aimed squarely at an Oscar — and singlehandedly holds together the movie's disparate narrative strands by his sheer presence. The movie takes a few interesting turns when the writer's story is published and his career skyrockets, only to plummet just as quickly, but the film never settles on one element long enough to become truly satisfying. Also stars Teri Hatcher, Kathryn Morris, Rachel Nichols, Alan Alda and David Paymer. 3 stars
SEPTEMBER DAWN (PG-13) The September 11 so luridly detailed in September Dawn occurred in 1857, when 120 innocent Christian settlers were massacred by Mormon zealots, but the movie sinks its teeth into the parallels between the two 9/11s and doesn't let go until it's drawn blood. September Dawn is an unusually fanatical screed against religious fanaticism, and it's not above some ruthless embellishing to drive home connections to our contemporary clash of civilizations. Rife with the sort of clunky dialogue and narrative shortcuts associated with bad made-for-TV movies, the film has a field day crosscutting between the gentle Christians and the oppressive, fear-based community of Mormons. The movie ends with what it's been promising all along — a slo-mo bloodbath on a scale that might have made Sam Peckinpah weep with envy — but despite appropriately elegiac music, there's no moment of truth to be found here. The violence is plain and predictably exploitative, catering to pretty much the same dreary impulses that dictate every porn flick gets its money shot. Stars Jon Voight, Trent Ford, Tamara Hope, Terrence Stamp, Jon Gries, Taylor Handley, Lolita Davidovich and Dean Cain. 1.5 stars
SICKO (PG-13) Michael Moore's documentary on the business of U.S. medical insurance mounts a righteously angry, alternately sentimental, blowhardy and often-effective argument. Again taking up the cause of the working class victims and heroes he's made his focus since Roger & Me, Moore offers up some familiar villains. The first versions of medical profiteering trace back to the Nixon administration, and includes brief digs at Ronald Reagan (who appears to have been a paid spokesperson for the industry, before he was president) and "little lady" Hilary Clinton, who famously fought back, for a minute. It's an incisive analysis in its way, more nuanced than the most obvious conclusion, that congresspeople are greedy, conformist or categorically unthoughtful. Here the system, recounted by victims as well as former workers within it, looks dismal and dishonest. 3.5 stars —Cindy Fuchs
THE SIMPSONS MOVIE (PG-13) Homer J. Simpson breaks the fourth wall right off the bat in The Simpsons Movie, pointing directly into the audience and telling us that anyone who'd pay to see something they get for free at home is a big, fat jerk. Godard couldn't have said it better, and, for much of its running time, this full-length big screen feature based on the long-running TV show is everything we want it to be: irreverent, subversive, smart as a whip and absurdly hilarious. Jokes are layered atop jokes, coming so quickly in the first half hour they're nearly subliminal, and the movie has a ball stretching its PG-13 rating in ways verboten by network TV. Structured much like an expanded Simpsons TV episode, the movie piles on the non-sequiturs until they begin to come together into something resembling an actual storyline. The movie peaks well before its so-called plot reveals itself, but even the padding in The Simpsons Movie is more entertaining than just about any other comedy out there at the moment. Featuring the voices of Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith and Hank Azaria. 3.5 stars
SKINWALKERS (R) If nothing else, a movie that promises more werewolves than you can shake a stick of wolfbane at. A pair of rival werewolf clans are about to clash, and a pre-teen boy finds himself at the center of the action when the fur starts flying. Stars Jason Behr, Elias Koteas, Natashe Malte and Kim Coates. (Not Reviewed)
STARDUST (PG) An appealing concoction that honors the spirit of fairy tales while putting a clever, gently ironic spin on everything it touches. Some might be tempted to call the approach a little calculated, too Shrek postmodern-lite by way of The Princess Bride (with a touch of Gilliam's Baron Munchausen thrown in for good measure) — but even if Stardust doesn't quite achieve the same heights as its prototypes, the air up there is often pretty exhilarating. Claire Danes is just awkward enough to be immensely appealing here (she's turning into Hollywood's coolest big-boned blonde since Uma Thurman), Michelle Pfeiffer is perfectly cast as an aging witch desperate to hang on to her beauty, and, just when your attention might be about to flag, in marches Robert De Niro, chewing up the scenery as a big, bad pirate screaming to unleash his inner queen. Also stars Sienna Miller, Jason Flemyng and Rupert Everett. 3.5 stars
SUPERBAD (R) The next generation in American Pie's mutated strain, Superbad is so hilariously dirty that we don't always recognize its jokes can also be pretty darned smart. Our horndog heroes are Evan (Arrested Development's Michael Cera) and Seth (Jonah Hill, the flabby roommate from Knocked Up), best pals who, along with their even more pathetic friend, Fogell (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), embark on a mission to buy booze and get laid at the big, end-of-high-school party. A comedy of errors ensues where absolutely everything goes wrong, and the more wrong things go, the funnier they get. One bizarre detour leads to another, until Superbad finally arrives at an extremely odd and — hang on, now — poignant place where the kids' sexual and romantic fantasies all come true, albeit in classic Monkey's Paw fashion, with every major and minor triumph compromised by something a little bit sad or unpleasant. The script here (by Ali G Show writers Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogan, who also starred in Knocked Up) practically assures our helpless, guilty laughter but grounds the gross-out shenanigans in a coming-of-age narrative that bends clichés to its will, even as it grants flesh and blood to even its most obnoxious characters. But don't let that fool you; Superbad is rarely less than rude, crude and ridiculous, thank goodness, and no one gets let off the hook here. Also stars Emma Stone, Martha MacIssac, Bill Hader and Seth Rogan. 3.5 stars