Monthly Archives: August 2010

A.J. (Hayden Christensen) launches into action as one of several efficient bank robbers in the action drama “Takers.” “Takers” ranks as one of the most pretentious, ill-conceived and badly botched heist movies ever made. “We’re takers!” shouts Gordon Jennings (Idris Elba), leader of a band of efficient and elusive L.A. bank robbers. “We take!” They […]

Rev. Cotton Marcus (Patrick Fabian) tries to drive a demon from a country girl, Nell (Ashley Bell), in “The Last Exorcism.” Frankly, I am getting really weary of horror movies mounted as first-person pseudo-documentaries shot with nausea-inducing hand-held cameras. Still, if there absolutely must be another one to join the ranks of “Cloverfield,” “The Blair […]

Kevin (Bow Wow) and his grandma (Loretta Devine) squeal when they win $370 million in the comedy “Lottery Ticket.” Winning the lottery is one surefire way of getting ahead in the world without displaying a lick of talent, brains or hard work. That’s why it’s a favorite fantasy of so many – and why it’s […]

Wally (Jason Bateman) and Kassie (Jennifer Aniston) deal with an inconceivable conception problem in “The Switch.” “The Switch” could easily have been just another cheesy romantic comedy with gratuitous voice-over narrations and two standard musical montages where the lyrics explain exactly how the main characters are feeling – just in case the actors didn’t convey […]

After his mother’s death, Josh (James Frecheville, left) goes to live with his grandmother (Jacki Weaver) and gets sucked into his criminal family’s violent world in “Animal Kingdom.” The title “Animal Kingdom” sounds like a film about survival of the fittest. And it is, except the animals are a dysfunctional family of Australian criminals in […]

Actor Michael Cera, left, and director Edgar Wright get serious about their new movie “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.” It’s Cera vs. Wright! Michael Cera is the star of the new frenetic action movie/romance “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.” Edgar Wright directed it, along with two earlier comedies “Hot Fuzz” and “Shaun of the Dead.” […]

Barney Ross (director Sylvester Stallone), right, gets the drop on Gunner Jensen (Dolph Lundgren), who has the drop on Ying Yang (Jet Li) in the action thriller “The Expendables.” What’s up with Sylvester Stallone’s face? The star, co-writer and director of “The Expendables” looks as if he’s had his head reconstructed with Silly Putty, and […]

Scott (Michael Cera) puts a slammer on the jaw of villainous Matthew (Satya Bhabha) in “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.” Throw away your Ritalin and prepare to be awed! “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” is no ordinary movie. It’s a delightfully unhinged multimedia sensory assault, an in-your-eyes-and-ears romantic fantasy that combines comic books, video games, […]

Liz (Julia Roberts) falls for a Brazilian tour guide (Javier Bardem) who nearly runs her over with his car in Ryan Murphy’s “Eat Pray Love.” Before we get to Julia Roberts, we must first acknowledge the most stellar performance to be found in Ryan Murphy’s movie adaptation of Elizabeth Gilbert’s best-seller about a woman’s search […]

NYPD cop Terry Hoitz (Mark Wahlberg) torments his partner Allen Gamble (Will Ferrell) in the comedy “The Other Guys.” Most of 2010’s movies have been so disappointing thus far that I hope I’m not overcompensating when I call “The Other Guys” a welcome riot of surprise, verbal jousting and big-budget, action-movie mockery. “The Other Guys” […]