FROM PARIS WITH LOVE
by Lydia Ianni
View Film Profile
|
 Critics have not reacted well to the John Travolta action flick From Paris with Love with The New York Observer's Rex Reed calling the film "a good example of two formidable talents wallowing in C-level trash." John Travolta and Jonathan Rhys Meyers star as a gun-crazy special agent (Travolta) and lower level CIA operative (Meyers) who go after drug smugglers and terrorists in Paris in a film by Taken director Pierre Morel. One of the major consistent criticisms of the film was, as Rex Reed puts it, "It doesn’t make one word of sense." Elaborating on this point, Variety's Andrew Barker comments, "The script makes little attempt to explain the conspiracy the pair are tasked with unraveling -- midway through, the pic's villains turn from Chinese coke dealers to Pakistani suicide bombers without explanation..." Paramount amongst their complaints though, is the lack of thrill in the action movie. The Hollywood Reporter's Michael Rechtshaffen echoes these sentiments, "Travolta has/is a blast in an action-thriller-comedy that otherwise comes up short on all three counts." Though some critics found some over-the-top elements enjoyable, overall critics like Entertainment weekly's Owen Gleiberman call the flick "a 'fun trash' movie that's more trash than fun." |
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DEAR JOHN
by Lew Irwin
View Film Profile
|
 Critics have been largely dismissive of the romantic Dear John, deeming it superficial and highly manipulative. The film comes from a book of the same name from bestselling author Nicholas Sparks (Message in a Bottle, The Notebook) and stars Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried as a couple separated by the second Gulf war. While most critics acknowledge that director Lasse Hallstrom has been able to capitalize on both Tatum and Seyfried's good looks, Claudia Puig of USA TODAY suggests this is not enough to carry the film, "Besides indulging in redundancy, director Lasse Hallstrom ( Chocolat) skims the surface with his characters, giving them each one defining characteristic. John is a brave soldier. Savannah loves horses. It's hard to get swept up in a tale so superficial." Critics like Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter also find the story manipulative, pronouncing the film, "A lame romance coupled with more handicaps and hardships than any film can survive without the charge of audience manipulation." Like many reviewers, the L.A. Times' Betsy Sharkey feels the movie is simply more trouble than it is worth, "The lesson in all of this? If the letter starts with "Dear John," don't bother reading. Just stuff it back in the envelope and return to sender." |
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EDGE OF DARKNESS
by Lydia Ianni
View Film Profile
|
 Reviews for Edge of Darkness have been mixed, though many critics have reacted favorably to Mel Gibson's performance. Gibson plays a cop who will stop at nothing to find those responsible for his daughter's death but discovers disturbing truths about her occupation and government corruption in the process. The film is a remake of a British miniseries of the same name, though Peter Travers of Rolling Stone remarks this version is an" Americanization for short attention spans of the award winning British miniseries from 1985." Brian Lowry of Variety states, "Gibson's first star turn since Signs and We Were Soldiers in 2002 is well suited and finds him in fine form." Chief amongst critical complains seems to be the story, with Rex Reed of The New York Observer referring to the script as a "a blueprint for confusion." On the whole critics have reacted favorably to Gibson's but somewhat negatively to the film overall. Nick Pinkerton of Village Voice exemplifies this feeling, "Onscreen much of the time, thicker and more creased than you remember, he [Gibson] can make this rather unshapely movie seem taut." |
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WHEN IN ROME
by Lew Irwin
View Film Profile
|
 Critics have not reacted well to When in Rome, the romantic comedy featuring Kristin Bell and Josh Duhamel. The story concerns a woman who unwittingly makes several men fall in love with her after she takes coins out of a love fountain in Rome instead of throwing them in. With few dissenters, critics have taken aim at the film's comedy and storyline as particularly problematic, with USA Today's Claudia Puig summarizing both complaints stating, "...the humor is spotty, at best, and the conceit not only familiar, but more far-fetched than most. It feels lazy, like the screenwriters and director were only partially committed to making the comedy succeed." Michael Phillips of The Chicago Tribune echoes these sentiments, stating, "Certain scenes in When in Rome signify nothing less than the death of screen slapstick..." Among the unexpected criticisms of the Rome is the absence of the titular location itself as explained by Janice Page of The Boston Globe, "To begin with, there’s actually not a lot of Rome in When in Rome." This may seem trivial, but as Phillips points out, it contributes to a lackluster movie, "Most of the Rome bits were shot in New York, which is why the key Roman fountain scenes look like a gussied-up corner of Toronto. The movie lacks invention and true magic in the worst way." Overall critics have declared the film devoid of what makes romantic comedies attractive to audiences. |
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EXTRAORDINARY MEASURES
by Lydia Ianni
View Film Profile
|
 Critics have not reacted favorably to Extraordinary Measures, a film depicting the real life father John Crowley (Brendan Fraser) who fought to save his children from a rare form of muscular dystrophy with the help of Dr. Stonehill (Harrison Ford). Many, including critic Roger Ebert, have concluded that the film resembles a made-for-TV drama more than a theatrically released movie,"Extraordinary Measures is an ordinary film with ordinary characters in a story too big for it. Life has been reduced to a Lifetime movie." Michael Phillips of The Chicago Tribune echoes these feelings as well as his dissatisfaction with the acting ,stating the confrontations "... don’t lack feeling; they are, in fact, written and performed at Emmy-highlights-reel pitch. The movie’s a tough sell. It plays like a passable two-hour prime-time TV movie." Many critics remarked that the film lacks sophistication, with Michael Phillips of The Chicago Tribune stating, "The technique behind every frame of Extraordinary Measures, from the direction of Tom Vaughan (What Happens in Vegas) to Andrea Guerra’s near-fatally goopy musical score, offers rote satisfactions at best." Also chief amongst the complaints is the fact that the movie gets weighted down with business and medical details. Rob Nelson of Variety explains that Extraordinary Measures "too often favors the minutiae of business dealings over raw emotion..." Overall, movie critics have been highly negative talking about the film, despite their admiration of the true story and subject matter. |
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TOOTH FAIRY
by Lydia Ianni
View Film Profile
|
 By and large, film critics have recommended Tooth Fairy, a comedy in which Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson plays Derek Johnson a professional hockey player that is forced to work as a tooth fairy, be enjoyed by children and not adults. As critic Roger Ebert explains the limitations of this film, "There's no way I can recommend this movie to anyone much beyond the Tooth Fairy Believement Age, but I must testify it's pleasant and inoffensive..." Much less favorable when speaking about the movie, Wesley Morris of The Boston Globe remarks, "For anyone over the age of 6, a shot of Novocain is required." Critics may be eager to relegate this film to child-viewing fodder because of the films lack of sophistication. Michael Phillips of The Chicago Tribune states "Directed by the numbers by Michael Lembeck (Santa Clause 2, Santa Clause 3), the film relies on gimmicks such as Derek learning to use amnesia dust or anti-cat blasters or shrinking paste in order to execute his tooth-fairy duties." One of the few dissenters is Lael Loewenstein of Variety who feels the movie has a wider base than many of the other critics, remarking "A serendipitous combination of star (Dwayne Johnson), material and director (Michael Lembeck), this tale of an arrogant hockey player, forced to serve time in wings and a pastel-colored tutu, scores a goal for kids and adults alike." |
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Other Current Reviews
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| BOOK OF ELI
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The
Hughes
brothers'(Menace
II
Society,
From
Hell)
The
Book
of
Eli
is
a
post-apocalyptic
film
involving
a
tacit
man
named
Eli
(Denzel
Washington)
who
along
with
Solara
(Mila
Kunis)
(more)
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LAST STATION, THE
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Critics
have
reacted
favorably
to
The
Last
Station,
a
period
drama
depicting
the
relationship
between
dying
Russian
author
Leo
Tolstoy
(Christopher
Plummer)
and
his
wife
Sofyka
(Helen
Mirren).
Most
(more)
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LEAP YEAR
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An
extra
day
at
the
box
office
might
not
be
enough
to
help
Leap
Year,
as
critics
are
struggling
to
find
something
to
latch
onto
in
this
romantic
comedy
(more)
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| YOUTH IN REVOLT
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Cute,
fun
and
witty,
Michael
Cera
has
proven
himself
a
box
office
staple
in
his
latest
coming-of-age
tale,
Youth
In
Revolt.
Cera
does
the
beloved
novel
justice
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a
(more)
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| DAYBREAKERS
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The
stylized
zombie
thriller
starring
Ethan
Hawke
has
created
some
buzz
among
critics.
In
a
place
where
the
undead
outnumber
the
living,
Hawke
plays
a
human-friendly
hematologist
who
must
(more)
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LOSS OF A TEARDROP DIAMOND, THE
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Arriving
in
a
New
York
theater
on
the
last
day
of
the
year
in
order
to
qualify
for
Oscar
consideration,
The
Loss
of
a
Teardrop
Diamond
has
received
mixed
(more)
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WHITE RIBBON
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It
has
been
seven
months
since
Michael
Haneke's
White
Ribbon
won
the
Palme
d'Or,
the
top
prize
at
the
Cannes
Film
Festival.
It
went
on
to
receive
a
slew
(more)
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| SHERLOCK HOLMES
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Most
critics
agree
that
the
new
Sherlock
Holmes
remains
an
intellectual
superman
--
just
as
he
was
in
the
original
Conan
Doyle
stories.
He's
also
a
physical
superman,
too.
(more)
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| YOUNG VICTORIA, THE
|
Filmmakers
paid
homage
to
the
Victorian
era
in
two
movies
over
the
weekend
--
the
blockbuster
movie
Sherlock
Holmes
and
the
smaller
The
Young
Victoria,
about
the
queen
who
(more)
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| IT'S COMPLICATED
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Like
other
Nancy
Meyers-directed
movies
(Something's
Gotta
Give,
What
Women
Want,
The
Holiday),
It's
Complicated's
target
audience
is
women
over
40
--
an
underserved
market
to
be
sure,
but
(more)
|
| NINE
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Movie
musicals
have
struggled
at
the
box
office
since
their
heyday
in
the
'40s
and
'50s,
and
few
have
found
favor
with
critics.
Last
year's
Mamma
Mia!
did
solid
(more)
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| ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS: THE SQUEAKQUEL
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One
of
the
most
surprising
blockbusters
of
all
time
was
the
original
Alvin
and
the
Chipmunks
movie,
which
grossed
more
than
$217
million
in
the
U.S.
The
sequel
(or
(more)
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| DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE MORGANS?
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As
if
opening
against
Avatar
weren't
bad
enough,
Did
You
Hear
About
the
Morgans?
starring
Sarah
Jessica
Parker,
Hugh
Grant,
Mary
Steenburgen
and
Sam
Elliott,
is
receiving
one
of
(more)
|
| AVATAR
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Even
before
it
officially
opened
Avatar
easily
cleared
one
hurdle
--
the
movie
critics.
Critical
acclaim
may
no
longer
be
an
important
factor
in
the
success
of
a
film,
(more)
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| CRAZY HEART
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Just
weeks
after
drawing
ecstatic
reviews
for
his
screen-stealing
performance
in
The
Men
Who
Stare
at
Goats,
Jeff
Bridges
is
again
being
acclaimed
for
his
latest
role
in
Crazy
(more)
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| SHERLOCK HOLMES
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The
British
have
had
a
first
look
at
Sherlock
Holmes,
Guy
Ritchie's
reimagining
of
their
countries
most
famous
and
beloved
fictional
detective,
played
--
egad,
Watson!
--
by
an
(more)
|
| LOVELY BONES, THE
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Once
long
ago,
cinema
and
literary
pundits
blithely
maintained
that
Tolkien's
massive
The
Lord
of
the
Rings
could
never
be
transformed
into
a
movie.
And
then
Peter
Jackson
came
(more)
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| SINGLE MAN, A
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Critics
have
turned
the
directorial
debut
of
fashion
designer
Tom
Ford
with
A
Single
Man
into
a
celebration.
Claudia
Puig
in
USA
Today
calls
it
"an
aesthetic
wonder."
Elizabeth
(more)
|
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