Monthly Archives: June 2010

Bella (Kristen Stewart) is torn between two inhuman lovers (Taylor Lautner, left, and Robert Pattinson) in “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse.” Her mouth says yes, I will marry the vampire. But her heart says wait, let’s not count the werewolf out. In “Eclipse,” the third film based on the popular supernatural romance books by Stephenie Meyer, […]

Chris Rock, left, David Spade, Kevin James, Rob Schneider and Adam Sandler star as childhood buddies brought together for a party 30 years later in the comedy “Grown Ups.” “Grown Ups” is a sleazy, hypocritical family comedy that makes fun of fat people for being overweight, ridicules older people for having a libido, makes sport […]

June (Cameron Diaz) hangs onto rogue CIA agent Roy Miller (Tom Cruise) in the action thriller “Knight and Day.” If you took all the breathtaking stunts and wild chase sequences in “Knight and Day” and pressed them together so tight that they squeezed everything else out, you’d still have a bloated, cliche-riddled Hollywood action movie. […]

Lilah (Megan Fox) and Jonah (Josh Brolin) hang around while figuring out their next move in the western thriller “Jonah Hex.” I know it’s only June, but it’s never too soon to start taking bets on the worst movie of 2010. Which brings us directly to the leading contender so far, Jimmy Hayward’s jaw-droppingly bad, […]

Cowboy Woody (Tom Hanks) calls for help on Chatter Telephone (Teddy Newton) in the sequel “Toy Story 3.” I realize that only baby boomers might get this reference, but “Toy Story 3” features a horrific, white-knuckle survival sequence that packs as much raw power as the single gunshot that killed Bambi’s mother. Yes. Bambi’s mother. […]

When you think about it, a lot of places can tell filmmakers how to make movies: Columbia College. UCLA. USC. NYU. But how many of them can tell filmmakers ways to avoid bad reviews of their movies? I can. I offer 100 ways to warn filmmakers – beginners and veterans – on how they can […]

Face (Bradley Cooper), left, joins Hannibal (Liam Neeson) as members of “The A-Team,” an update of the 1980s TV series. “The A-Team” doesn’t just kill. It overkills. In a good way. Sometimes. As directed and cowritten by Joe Carnahan, maker of the unlikeably nasty and stylistically choked “Smokin’ Aces,” the silver-screen incarnation of the 1980s […]

“Splice” Director Vincenzo Natali relaxes at Chicago’s Trump Towers between interviews for his new science-fiction horror tale. Director a splice of life Detroit-born Vincenzo Natali has directed four features so far, the last one being “Splice,” a science-fiction thriller that opens today. The filmmaker now makes his home in Toronto, Canada. He recently came to […]

A record label junior executive (Jonah Hill), left, tries to keep rock star Aldous Snow (Russell Brand) on time for his concert tour in “Get Him to the Greek.” “Get Him to the Greek” is another vulgar, laugh-your-head-off adult comedy from the Judd Apatow School of Offensive Humor Redeemed by Icky Characters You Slowly Learn […]

“Marmaduke” (voiced by Owen Wilson) and Carlos the cat (voiced by George Lopez) head to California for stupid pet tricks. “Wait for it,” the Great Dane tells us. “Wait – for – it!” Then he passes doggy gas on his human owners, who cough and choke on his bodily discharge. “Marmaduke” begins this way, and […]