Category: 3 Stars
-
Monte Carlo: Gomez has fun just slightly off the beaten Disney path
Monte Carlo – 2011 Directed by Thomas Bezucha Starring Selena Gomez, Katie Cassidy, Leighton Meester, Catherine Tate, Andie MacDowell, Pierre Boulanger, Cory Monteith Written by Bezucha, April Blair, Maria Maggenti, based on the novel Headhunters, by Jules Bass Doppelganger. Whenever this is the basis of your film, you can safely adjust your expectations. This is…
-
Horrible Bosses is not nearly as bad as it’s title
Horrible Bosses – 2011 Directed by Seth Gordon Starring Jason Sudeikis, Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Spacey, Colin Farrell, Jamie Foxx, Donald Sutherland Written by Michael Markowitz, John Frances Daley, Jonathan Goldstein In the ever perfectly fitting placement of poor Hollywood screenwriting, three high school friends find themselves stuck between a rock and…
-
Soul Surfer is an inspirational true story for the family
Soul Surfer – 2011 Directed by Sean McNamara Starring AnnaSophia Robb, Dennis Quaid, Helen Hunt, Carrie Underwood, Kevin Sorbo, Craig T. Nelson Written by Sean McNamara, Deborah and Douglas Schultz, Michael Berk based on the book by Bethany Hamilton, Sheryl Berk, Rich Bundschuh Faith-based films have been a force in the movie world for the…
-
Everything Must Go is a soft landing for a hard lesson
Everything Must Go – 2011 Directed by Dan Rush Starring Will Ferrell, Rebecca Hall, Michael Peña, Laura Dern, Christopher Jordan Wallace, Stephen Root Written by Dan Rush based on the short story “Why don’t you dance?” by Raymond Carver My first experience with Raymond Carver stories was in the Robert Altman near masterpiece Short Cuts, which joined…
-
Scream 4: Needs you more than you need it
Scream 4 Directed by Wes Craven Starring Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, David Arquette, Emma Roberts, Anthony Anderson, Adam Brody, Rory Culkan, Hayden Panettiere, Marley Shelton, Nico Tortella, Erik Knudsen, Mary McConnell, Roger Jackson Written by Kevin Williamson There comes a time, around the 2nd fake opening, when one realizes that this joke within a joke…
-
If you see one annoying movie this season, take the kids to see The Smurfs
The Smurfs in 3D – 2011 Directed by Raja Gosnell Starring Neil Patrick Harris, Jayma Mayes, Hank Azaria, Johnathan Winters (v), Katy Perry (v), Anton Yelchin (v), Frank Welker (k), George Lopez (v), Alan Cumming (v), Sofia Vergara, Written by J. David Stern, David N. Weiss, Jay Scherick, David Ronn Neil Patrick Harris is a…
-
With Perlman, The Season of the Witch seems overcast
Season of the Witch – 2011 Directed by Dominic Sena Starring Nicolas Cage, Ron Perlman, Claire Foy, Stephen Campbell Moore, Robert Sheehan, Ulrich Thomsen, Stephen Graham, Christopher Lee Written by Bragi F. Schut Like any red-blooded American male under 55, I like Ron Perlman a lot. His recent breakthrough with the Hellboy films and the TV…
-
Hall Pass show the Farrelly Brothers in mid-season form
Hall Pass – 2011 Directed by Bobby and Peter Farrelly Starring Owen Wilson, Jason Sudekis, Jenna Fischer, Christina Applegate, Joy Behar, Alexandria Daddario, Nicky Whelan, J.B. Smoove, Richard Jenkins, Larry Joe Campbell Written by The Farrelly Brothers, Pete Jones, Kevin Barnett The Farrelly Brothers made a huge impact in 1994 with Dumb and Dumber. After…
Ebert Did It Better: Gasbag Reviews 