Author Archives: Dann Gire

Jude Law plays one of the “Repo Men” who reclaim human organs when their buyers fail to keep up with payments. “Repo Men” is a horrifically violent and gory science-fiction action thriller surfing on an allegorical wave of American political Zeitgeist. It wants to grab us by our collective lapels as if to shout, “Please! […]

Rowley (Robert Capron), left, and Greg (Zachary Gordon) chuckle with Angie (Chloe Moretz) in “Diary of a Wimpy Kid.” From the very beginning, “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” kept reminding me of some other motion picture. I couldn’t pin it down right away. Then, it came to me: “A Christmas Story.” Both are narrated by […]

A U.S. soldier (Matt Damon) goes rogue to find weapons of mass destruction in Paul Greengrass’ action film “Green Zone.” Matt Damon’s muscular and fast-moving action film “The Green Zone” may be marketed as an Iraq war thriller, but it’s really a classic example of revisionistic wish fulfillment. Just as Sylvester Stallone’s John Rambo and […]

Lucia (America Ferrera) can’t wait to marry Marcus (Lance Gross) in the romantic comedy “Our Family Wedding.” Lucia Ramirez has a confession for her conservative, Mexican-American father, Miguel. She dropped out of law school and intends to marry a black medical student, then go with him to Laos where he’ll work for Doctors Without Borders. […]

Nerdy Kirk (Jay Baruchel) can’t believe he’s dating the hot Molly (Alice Eve) in “She’s Out of My League.” Here’s a breezy summer sex comedy that somehow jumped the gates and wound up as a spring break release. Jim Field Smith’s “She’s Out of My League” is like a vintage Judd Apatow project, only not […]

Two tormented souls, Tyler and Ally (Robert Pattinson and Emilie de Ravin), enjoy moments of fun in “Remember Me.” “Remember Me” makes an easy target for criticism. It’s slow and slightly pretentious with “Twilight” star Robert Pattinson channeling James Dean, or at least James Franco channeling James Dean. The ending might be too easy to […]

From left, screen writer Mark Boal, director Kathryn Bigelow and producer Greg Shapiro pose backstage with their Oscars for screen writing, directing and best movie for “The Hurt Locker.” In an evening where all the winners pretty much lined up as expected, Kathryn Bigelow’s Iraq war drama “The Hurt Locker” won the Best Picture statuette […]

Undercover cop Tango (Don Cheadle), right, helps an ex-con boss (Wesley Snipes) return to society in “Brooklyn’s Finest.” “These streets,” an undercover cop named Tango tells an ex-con kingpin, “have an expiration date!” What? Did he really say that? The streets have an expiration date? This might be a cute way for a screenwriter to […]

Young Alice (Mia Wasikowska) observes the magic of Wonderland in Tim Burton’s rendition of “Alice in Wonderland.” Tim Burton’s re-imagined 3-D “Alice in Wonderland” is a crushing disappointment. Not a terrible movie. Far from it. But a disappointment nonetheless. Burton, the goth bad boy of fantastical cinema, treats Lewis Carroll’s classic story as a sort […]

Paul (Tracy Morgan), left, gets heckled by a burglar (Seann William Scott) as Jimmy (Bruce Willis) drives in “Cop Out.” Kevin Smith apparently grew tired of people always identifying his 1995 comedy “Mall Rats” as the worst movie he ever directed. Now, he has a new low. It’s called “Cop Out,” and it’s far worse […]