new this week
CARS 2 (G) The latest animated wonder from Disney/Pixar, Cars 2 is a labor of love from director/Pixar creator John Lasseter, the man behind Pixar's best work (like the original Toy Story). Check out Anthony Salveggi's full review of Cars 2 by clicking here.
BAD TEACHER (R) Cameron Diaz and Jason Segel star in this school-set comedy that looks lame in previews, save for the scene where Segel shouts down a child for comparing Lebron James to Michael Jordan. That's comedy gold! (Not reviewed).
THE TREE OF LIFE (PG-13) Legendary filmmaker Terrence Malick returns with a film that attempts to sum up the mystery of life in one neat package. Audiences will probably find it a love-it or hate-it poposition, with CL contibutor Anthony Nicholas firmly in the "love it" camp. Check out his full review here. Note: Tree of Life is playing exclusively at the Tampa Theatre.
recent releases
THE ART OF GETTING BY (PG-13) Fortunately for this Sundance Film Festival selection, Getting By has two immensely likeable and talented young leads, who carry much of the film. Freddie Highmore plays George Zinavoy, a standard-issue struggling artist that's too talented and intelligent for his own good, who finds motivation in the form of a new friend, Sally (Emma Roberts). Getting By won me over because of Highmore and Roberts. Watching these two on screen made for an enjoyable teen romance — albeit a formulaic one. Rookie writer/director Gavin Wiesen has some work to do as far as screenplays are concerned, as his young characters make decisions and ping-pong between emotions quicker than we can keep up with them. Still, the film is a genuine and likeable account of two high schoolers who may or may not realize they're in love. I rolled my eyes a couple of times — both from the cliches and the sticky-sweet subject matter — but I also related to some of the issues and outcomes. —Daniel Feingold
BEGINNERS (R) Ewan McGregor stars as a man grappling with the double whammy of finding out his aging father (Christopher Plummer) is both gay and gravely ill. If the parade of summer blockbusters isn't blowing up your skirt, Beginners may just be the counterprogramming you've been looking for. (Not reviewed)
BRIDESMAIDS (R) Kristen Wiig reveals her uber-talent in Bridesmaids, the new Judd Apatow-produced comedy that's being compared with The Hangover — and rightfully so. With no boyfriend, no apartment and a bakery business that recently went bust, Annie (Wiig) is hitting rock bottom just as her lifelong friend Lillian (Maya Rudolph) is getting married. As maid of honor, Annie is given the task of helping plan Lillian's wedding, which bumps up awkwardly with her efforts to pull her life back together. In Bridesmaids, Wiig finally gets the chance to own the spotlight, and she pulls it off brilliantly. Aside from Wiig, the movie counts on strong performances from the supporting cast, including Maya Rudolph and Rose Byrne, and as with The Hangover, it's the over-the-top character acting in Bridesmaids that stays with you after the movie. There are comedies that come along every once in a while that leave a lasting mark on the audience and become cultural touchstones. Recent examples include Anchorman, The 40-Year Old Virgin and of course The Hangover. Add Bridesmaids to the list. —Daniel Feingold
EVERYTHING MUST GO (R) Will Ferrell stars as a salesman whose glory days have long since evaporated in a haze of women and drink. Returning home after being fired for yet another relapse, he finds the locks changed and all his stuff sitting on the front lawn. Staring at his worldly possessions and wondering what to do next, he reluctantly organizes his stuff into an everything-must-go sale that becomes a lingering metaphor for his desire (buried in his subconscious, to be sure) to start over. Ferrell delivers a solid performance, the supporting cast is spot-on (young Christopher Jordan Wallace should have a long career ahead of him), and first-time filmmaker Dan Rush is competent in the director's chair — yet I was still less than thrilled with Everything Must Go. This is a movie that seems to be shouting, "Look, I'm meant to be taken seriously!" but ultimately lacks the depth to pull it off. —Joe Bardi
FAST FIVE (PG-13) As the opening sequence to Fast Five reaches its astonishingly stupid payoff, The Onion's satiric conceit that the film was scripted by a 5-year-old doesn't seem too far off. A movie as nonsensical, aimlessly energetic and full of testosterone as Fast Five is borne of the kind of adolescent enthusiasm whose creative process is propagated by questions that start with "Wouldn't it be cool if …" Ridiculous from start to finish in nearly every respect, Fast Five is fueled by copious amounts of hammy acting, macho posing and the kind of trash-talking banter that passes for comic relief in big, dumb action pictures like this. But even big, dumb action flicks need at least a trace amount of wit to be entertaining. Instead, Fast Five functions as a kind of black hole from which no intelligence can escape. —Anthony Salveggi
THE GREATEST MOVIE EVER SOLD (PG-13) From Morgan Spurlock, the inquisitive director of the 2004 documentary Super Size Me, comes a film about, and made possible by, product placement. The Greatest Movie Ever Sold exposes and illuminates the extensive advertising and branding industry, even as Spurlock makes use of said industry in the making of the film. We watch as Spurlock goes from company to company, brand to brand, selling not only his film to these potential partners, but also himself — possibly trading his artistic freedom in the process. Spurlock interviews people with a variety of viewpoints, including regular citizens, lawyers, advertisers and filmmakers, and although it's clear that Spurlock sees danger in pervasive advertising, the viewer is left to decide for themselves what they think about the whole process. Overall, The Greatest Movie Ever Sold is both entertaining and informational. Give Spurlock credit for yet again exposing a major issue in a smart, fun way. —Katy Williamson
THE GREEN LANTERN (PG-13) As Hal Jordan, the test pilot chosen to be the next Green Lantern (a type of interplanetary cop) by his dying alien predecessor, Ryan Reynolds (Wolverine, Buried) doesn't inhabit his character so much as act callow and cocky. To be fair, he's saddled with some ludicrous lines, and director Martin Campbell (Casino Royale) allows him to employ his now stock-in-trade glib persona. As bad as its visual effects and aesthetic choices are, Green Lantern ultimately fails because it doesn't tell a compelling story, and suffers both for its poor choices and for its lack of ambition. It's a dull, drab thing released because it's summer and studio heads know that people will go to the theaters expecting escapism. They won't find it in this lifeless film. —Anthony Salveggi
THE HANGOVER PART II (R) As you probably expected, The Hangover Part II is, structurally, a near-copy of its predecessor. This time out, the boys are off to Thailand, where Stu is set to marry his new girlfriend. Despite their best efforts to avoid a repeat of their Vegas misadventure, a night on the beach leads to the trio awakening in a seedy Bangkok hotel, where they find a scene-stealing monkey and a severed finger. From that point, their mission is to navigate an unfamiliar city and find Stu's bride-to-be's younger brother, a teenager who has gone missing. To the credit of the three leads, Phil (Bradley Cooper), Stu (Ed Helms) and Alan (Zach Galifianakis) are presented as flesh-and-blood characters, not one-dimensional stand-ins whose only purpose is to utter rote dialogue that telegraphs every punch line. Amidst the noisy and tiresome spectacle of would-be summer blockbusters, The Hangover Part II is like much-needed downtime in your favorite dive bar. It's pretty grungy, but for a couple of hours, you'll feel right at home. —AS Check out Anthony Salveggi's full review here.
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS Woody Allen's latest belongs with some of the filmmaker's best flights of fancy (Radio Days, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Zelig). Gil (Owen Wilson), a successful Hollywood screenwriter, is exploring Paris with his beautiful but bossy fiancée (Rachel McAdams) and begins daydreaming about life in the Jazz Age among the great writers of the Lost Generation; then, when the clock strikes midnight on a certain corner in Paris, he's granted entrance to a world he has only dreamed of. Some of the jokes fall flat and Allen has McAdams play Inez as a one-note bitch, but these are minor quibbles in a wonderfully light and elegant comedy. Kathy Bates, Michael Sheen and Carey Stoll plays their small roles perfectly, and the scene (you'll know it when you see it) featuring a cameo by Adrien Brody is the best piece of comedy I've seen all year. But what ties the film together are the performances of Owen Wilson, who still has that California surfer dude look but makes the perfect Woody Allen surrogate, and Marion Cotillard. —Anthony Nicholas
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN 4: ON STRANGER TIDES (PG-13) Tides begins with another grand entrance by the great Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), who's up to his usual antics. He meets a sexy female pirate (Penelope Cruz) that he has some history with before getting entangled with Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), Blackbeard (Ian McShane), and the navies of Britain and Spanish — all of whom are looking for the fountain of youth. Tides doesn't have nearly as many story threads as the previous film in the series, but by simplifying the story (and dropping major characters played by Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley), director Rob Marshall has greatly helped the pacing and character development. The filmmakers remember that they're making a film based on a theme park ride, and deliver a galley's worth of fun thanks to the memorable characters and settings they put on screen. —Kevin Hopp
PRIEST (PG-13) Paul Bettany makes a credible badass as the eponymous, vamp-killing protagonist in Priest, a not-as-horrible-as-it-looks summer popcorn flick and the latest post-apocalyptic vampire yarn to see the big screen. After victory in the long-fought war with the race of vampires, human civilization is ruled by Big Brother, in the form of the Church. Shunned in society, Bettany's character is drawn back to the world of ass-kicking when his family is attacked and his niece kidnapped by a pack of vampires. What it lacks in clever dialogue, Priest compensates for with wow-factor. Lacking the camp of Van Helsing and the slick, Gothic sex appeal of Underworld, Priest fills those holes by actually casting a few decent actors for simplistic roles. By no means revelatory or award-winning, Priest is a guilty pleasure that won't send you running for the confessional. —Kevin Tall
SOMETHING BORROWED (PG-13) Rachel (Ginnifer Goodwin) is always putting others first, especially her best friend, the conniving and self-centered Darcy (Kate Hudson). Then Rachel shares a kiss with Darcy's fiancé Dex (Colin Egglesfield) after her 30th birthday party. This is in no way anything other than a horrible mistake made in the haze of intoxication, right? Well, no. Dex readily admits that he just wasn't that drunk and continues to pursue Rachel, which would be fine as the premise for a film if we weren't meant to feel all squishy and romantic about what they're doing. As it stands, Dex isn't supposed to be a douche, he's supposed to be the romantic lead. The lone voice of reason throughout this thing is Rachel's best friend, Ethan (John Krasinski — essentially still playing The Office's Jim Halpert). He has a healthy disdain for most of the people involved in this sordid love triangle, and you will too. —Shannon Bennett
SUPER 8 (PG-13) J.J. Abrams' Super 8 isn't a "Spielberg movie," it's all of them at once: a mash-up of Jaws, Close Encounters, E.T. and Jurassic Park, with an extra helping of the Spielberg-produced The Goonies slapped on top. If you caught the excellent trailer, you know the setup: precocious kids sneak out to a rail station in the dead of night to shoot a movie when a train spectacularly derails and the camera captures — something. Much like Spielberg, Abrams proves himself adept at teasing out greatish performances from his child stars, most notably Courtney and Fanning, and allows the film to hit touchstones of adolescence that a lesser movie would have skipped in favor of more explosions. There's tenderness and heart here, but aside from the theater-rattling train wreck, there really isn't any sense of wonder — and wonder is what early Spielberg movies were all about. So yeah, Super 8 can't wipe the ass of a Jaws or E.T., but it's unfair to hold Abrams' flick to that standard. Back in Spielberg's late-'70s glory days, it would have been the weak half of a drive-in's double feature. But in 2011 it'll end up as one of the better blockbusters of the summer. —Joe Bardi
THOR (PG-13) After previously introducing Iron Man and Hulk, Marvel now gives us Thor, bringing the God of Thunder from the comics into the cinematic Marvel universe. Thor (well played by Chris Hemsworth), a prince in a realm of powerful Viking-type guys, is banished to Earth by his angry father (Anthony Hopkins). Powerless and earthbound, he meets a hot scientist (Natalie Portman) and agents from S.H.I.E.L.D., a government agency that seems to be collecting superheroes. It's only when Thor's homeworld is threatened that he becomes worthy of his god status and harnesses the power he commands (plus one giant hammer) to save our world and his. Thor is an entertaining popcorn flick with something for the men, something for the ladies, and lots and lots of people getting hit with a hammer. Is it perfect? Not even close. But as the official start to a superhero-laden summer movie season, I guess Thor will do. —KH
X-MEN: FIRST CLASS (PG-13) Directed by Michael Vaughn (Kick-Ass), First Class is set during the early 1960s at the peak of the Cold War. We see the beginnings of several familiar characters, including Professor X (James McAvoy), Magneto (Michael Fassbender), Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) and Beast (Nicholas Hoult). These four, along with some other inexperienced mutants, become involved with a CIA operation trying to prevent a nuclear war. First Class is sufficiently entertaining for a summer blockbuster. There's drama and action, not to mention attractive, talented young actors like McAvoy, and relative newcomers like Lawrence and Fassbender. In fact, the acting is the best part of the film, overcoming the superficial character development and weak, disjointed plot. Given a better script and plot, this origin story could have been exceptional. As it is, X-Men: First Class is just a mediocre opening act in what will most likely be yet another X-Men trilogy. —KW
This article appears in Jun 23-29, 2011.