Author Archives: Dann Gire

‘Alpha and Omega’ no leader of the (3-D) pack

The poorly animated “Alpha and Omega” features the voice talents of Hayden Panettiere and Justin Long as the lupine title characters. Early this summer when I was a guest on the now-defunct, local CBS morning news show “Monsters and Money,” I was asked about the future of 3-D movies. I said that the biggest danger […]

Give this teen sex comedy an A for effort, at least

Olive (Emma Stone) narrates her own version of how she earned a scarlet letter in the high school comedy “Easy A.” Emma Stone possesses soft, come-hither eyes that could drink in the oceans, a sexually playful, raw, husky voice that could melt icebergs, and a feminine fragility that summons forth the protector in males. “Easy […]

True grit: Affleck makes tough but tender ‘Town’ his own

Two pals (director Ben Affleck, left, and Jeremy Renner) pose as cops to rob Fenway Park in the crime drama “The Town.” “The Town” is a slickly constructed heist thriller that dares to suggest that a person born in violence and brokenness can yearn for something better and can muster the strength to break the […]

‘I’m Still Here’ mockumentary plays audience for chumps

Actor Joaquin Phoenix takes the microphone to reinvent himself as a hip-hop musician in Casey Affleck’s “I’m Still Here.” If Casey Affleck’s new movie “I’m Still Here” had been a genuine exploration of Oscar-nominated actor Joaquin Phoenix’s wacked-out journey to become a white hip-hop star, it would have been a shocking, revelatory glimpse into the […]

‘Going the Distance’ proves not all can follow the Judd Apatow formula

Garrett (Justin Long) meets Erin (Drew Barrymore) in a bar in “Going the Distance,” a romance about faraway lovers. Erin and Garrett have been separated for too long while working in different cities, so they decide to indulge in some phone sex. But after thrashing out the embellished details of their fantasized tryst – car […]

Over-the-top ‘Machete’ cuts through grindhouse conventions

Danny Trejo plays “Machete,” a legendary ex-Federale with a deadly attitude, originally created for a fake movie trailer. “Machete” is a deliriously daffy tribute to the over-the-top, 1970s grindhouse features flooded with excessive nudity, sex, violence and hilarious tough-guy dialogue. Its villains include a cruel Mexican drug lord, a corrupt U.S. senator and a militia […]

Interesting minutia drags down fatalistic ‘American’

George Clooney plays Jack, an American assassin in Rome, in the European-flavored espionage drama “The American.” Anton Corbijn’s contemplative espionage drama “The American” marks a throwback to the existentialist spy movies of the 1960s flavored with a touch of European cinema. That’s code for: It doesn’t come close to the action-packed thriller that the trailers […]

‘Takers’ take all right, but give nothing in return

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 […]

Con-man minister seeks redemption in ‘Last Exorcism’

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 […]