Category: 3.5 Stars
-
Parental Guidance – The more dedicated you are, the better it gets
Parental Guidance – 2012 Director Andy Fickman Starring Billy Crystal, Bette Midler, Marisa Tomei, Tom Everett Scott, Bailee Madison, Kyle Harrison Breitkopf, Joshua Rush Screenplay Lisa Addario, Joe Syracuse Almost every ounce of my being made me want to resist this movie. But not all of them. Thank goodness for that. There is a lot of talent on the screen…
-
Killing Them Softly, because it wasn’t named Hitting one for Ira
Killing Them Softly – 2012 Writer and Director Andrew Dominik Starring Brad Pitt, Andrew McNairy, Ben Mendolsohn, Richard Jenkins, James Gandolfini, Ray Liotta, Sam Shepard, Slaine, Vince Curatola, Max Casella, Trevor Long When I was dating my wife, I took her to see the movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Afterwards, at dinner, I asked her what she…
-
Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part 2: Falling for the bluff
Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 Directed by Bill Condon Starring Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattison, Taylor Lautner, Billy Burke, Dakota Fanning, Ashley Greene, Peter Facinelli, Elizabeth Reaser, Kellen Lutz, Nikki Reed, Jackson Rathbone, Sarah Clarke, Michael Sheen, Mackenzie Foy, Maggie Grace Screenplay by Melissa Rosenberg based on the novel by Stephanie Meyer At this point, its obvious to everyone. This was…
-
Here Comes The Boom: Kevin James a bit better than usual
Here Comes The Boom – 2012 Director Frank Coraci Starring Kevin James, Salma Hayek, Henry Winkler, Bas Rutten, Gary Valentine, Greg Germann, Mark DellaGrotte Screenplay James and Allan Loeb As the movie opens, we get to see Scott Voss (James) laying in bed as he sleeps past his alarm. We see one strategically placed Cheeto at his chest and from here,…
-
Flight just begs “For Your Consideration”
Flight – 2012 Director Robert Zmeckis Starring Denzel Washington, John Goodman, Don Cheadle, Melissa Leo, Kelly Reilly, Bruce Greenwood Screenplay John Gatnis There is a pall hanging over every scene of Flight. Two stories are told. One is that of William “Whip” Whitaker, an Airline pilot who has copious amounts of booze, coke and sex (with one…
-
Seven Psychopaths: Sam Rockwell out-Walken’s Walken.
Seven Psychopaths – 2012 Written and Directed by Martin McDonagh Starring Colin Farrell, Sam Rockwell, Woody Harrelson, Christopher Walken, Tom Waits, Abbie Cornish, Olga Kurylenko The craziest notion in the film Seven Psychopaths is the idea that Colin Farrell is any sort of writer. I can buy the alcoholic part, even if it’s a cheap stereotype…
-
CPE and Em: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey – Slightly better than expected
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey – 2012 Directed by Peter Jackson Starring Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, James Nesbitt, Ken Stott, Cate Blanchett, Ian Holm, Hugo Weaving, Christopher Lee, Elijah Wood, Andy Serkis, Sylvester McCoy, Manu Bennett, Benedict Cumberbatch, Barry Humpheries, Graham McTavish, Ken Stott Screenplay Fran Walsh, Phillipa Boyens, Guillermo Del Toro, Jackson Upon discovering that…
-
Frankenweenie: Where everyone looks dead, and the dog is.
Frankenweenie – 2012 Directed by Tim Burton Starring Charlie Tahan, Frank Welker, Winona Rider, Catherine O’Hara, Martin Landau, Martin Short, Robert Capron, Atticus Shaffer Screenplay by John August Tim Burton has occupied this strange place in Americana as “macabre for the family.” His mixture of preciousness, precociousness and comedy has been imitated, but not as often as his…
Ebert Did It Better: Gasbag Reviews 