4TH KIND, THE
by Lew Irwin
View Film Profile
|
 The film not to have a close encounter with this weekend, most critics warn, is The Fourth Kind, which is set in Nome, Alaska but which was actually shot in Bulgaria -- documentary style, like The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity -- about a supposed invasion of aliens who terrorize the good citizens of Nome. Like its predecessors, says Roger Moore in the Orlando Sentinel, "The Fourth Kind is a fraud, but that wouldn't matter if it were scarier and better acted." Writes Joe Neumaier in the New York Daily News: "Badly acted by everyone (including the director, Olatunde Osunsanmi, who appears onscreen), this insipid jumble's idea of fright is incessant screaming." |
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PRECIOUS
by Lew Irwin
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|
 Precious is opening in fewer than 100 theaters this weekend, but most critics agree that it's the film to see. The movie's marketers are almost certain to plaster the Chicago Sun-Times's Roger Ebert's description of it as "a great American film" on their ads. But there are also similar hyperboles from critics. Joe Morgenstern in the Wall Street Journal calls it "a shockingly beautiful film." Lou Lumenick in the the New York Post describes it as "wrenching and uplifting" and finally "remarkable." The film stars a raft of pop stars (the comedian Mo'Nique, singers Mariah Carey and Lenny Kravitz) and an equal number of virtual unknowns, including Gabourey Sidibe in the title role. "Remarkable performances drive home the film's inspiring message," writes Claudia Puig in USA Today. And the Associated Press's David Germain concludes that "Precious -- both the film and its grandly resilient title character -- will steal your heart." |
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MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS, THE
by Lew Irwin
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|
 We get more paranormal activity this week in The Men Who Stare at Goats, starring George Clooney, Jeff Bridges and Stephen Lang about a reporter's efforts to reveal the story of an Army unit (supposedly real) seeking to harness the parapsychology for the benefit of the U.S. The movie, writes Steven Rea in the Philadelphia Inquirer, "has a glorious good time satirizing the extravagant lengths to which the military and intelligence establishments will go if they think there's a payoff at the other end." That's especially true in the case of Clooney, several critics observe. Roger Moore in the Orlando Sentinel, for example, observes that "'Wacky' isn't George Clooney's strong suit as an actor. But it's always at least amusing to watch the suave, silky leading man let his freak flag fly." In the San Francisco Chronicle Mike LaSalle writes that the movie shows just how far Clooney has come in his acting ability, "building a screen identity that's as specific and engaging as that of any classic film star. Like a James Stewart or a John Wayne, Clooney represents something just standing there - integrity, shrewdness, irony and self-deprecation. Or, to put it simply, today's American man." But Kenneth Turan in the Los Angeles Times writes that although the movie may have initially been conceived as a showcase for Clooney, "more or less stealing the picture from Clooney is Jeff Bridges, an actor you can never see often enough." |
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CHRISTMAS CAROL, A
by Lew Irwin
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|
 There's little harmony among critics assessing the latest cinematic version of Dickens' A Christmas Carol. (Actually, this one is called Disney's A Christmas Carol.) Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times, somewhat surprisingly, calls it "an exhilarating visual experience." Ebert, who has repeatedly denounced 3D technology in previous reviews (viewing a film through 3D glasses, he once remarked, is "like looking through a window that needs Windex.") remarks that director Robert Zemeckis is "one of the few directors who knows what he's doing with 3D." While he's reluctant to advise parents to take their kids to see it since it may be too frightening for them, he nevertheless concludes that it "has the one quality parents hope for in a family movie: It's entertaining for adults." A.O. Scott in the New York Times, while writing that Zemeckis goes overboard with the special effects near the end of the movie, says that he otherwise "sticks close to some of the sturdy virtues of the source material." And Chris Vognar in the Dallas Morning News regards the movie as "a worthy stab at mixing old and new, a vintage tale done with some fresh dazzle and a reminder that the movies can still bring the wow." On the other hand Joe Morgenstern in the Wall Street Journal condemns it as "a calamity." The story, he writes, feels "embalmed by technology." Likewise Carrie Rickey in the Philadelphia Inquirer calls it "visually immersive but emotionally uninvolving." As for the 3D technology, Claudia Puig in USA Today writes that Zemeckis "takes a story rich in nuance and renders it one-dimensional, more antic than thrilling." And Peter Howell in the Toronto Star comments that in this movie Zemeckis's use of 3D "only serves to further gild the lily. He's taken an immortal story and an A-list cast -- including Jim Carrey, Colin Firth and Gary Oldman -- and nearly smothered them with the digital equivalent of cellophane." |
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SAW VI
by Lew Irwin
View Film Profile
|
 If Saw VI didn't meet expectations at the box office, the reason may have been that word got around that the franchise wasn't what it used to be. That seems to have been the conclusion of critics who saw it with regular audiences over the weekend. (It wasn't screened for them in advance.) As Mike Hale observed in the New York Times: "In VI one test involves dodging hot steam. That's quite a comedown from the good old days of being drowned in liquefied hog carcasses or having to remove your own foot with a hacksaw." Robert Abele in the Los Angeles Times suggested that the usual criticism of Saw movies apply to this one, too: "terrible acting, zero suspense, laughable logic and the promise of another one next year." But Jason Anderson in the Toronto Star concluded that the movie is actually, in his words, "a cut above" the usual Saw sequel, particularly because of its socially aware attack on health insurers. "Then again," he writes, "that's not such a great achievement considering the mostly dire quality of" previous Saw movies. |
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THIS IS IT!
by Lew Irwin
View Film Profile
|
 Clearly critics who sat in on advance screenings of the Michael Jackson concert documentary This Is It! were expecting to see a shadow of the former vibrant entertainer and a film slapped together to exploit the public frenzy that followed his death. But Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times acknowledges that "this extraordinary documentary [is] nothing at all like what I was expecting so see. Here is not a sick and drugged man forcing himself through grueling rehearsals, but a spirit embodied by music. Michael Jackson was something else." The knowledge that Jackson was receiving regular doses of a plethora of drugs before his death, Ebert writes, "makes it hard to understand how he appears to be in superb physical condition. His choreography, built from such precise, abrupt and perfectly-timed movements, is exhausting, but he never shows a sign of tiring." Joe Neumaier in the New York Daily News advises those who might feel reluctant to see the former music idol trying to make a comeback at age 50 just before his death, "Rest assured, the late King of Pop delivers. ... To see Jackson working hard in the hopes of sending shivers down a future audience's spine one last time gives closure to the festival of mourning that followed his death last June." And Ann Powers, the Los Angeles Times's pop music critic, concludes in her review of the film that if Jackson's London concert performances had actually materialized and he had performed as he does in the film, "he would have accomplished the comeback for which he was so hungry." The film is debuting simultaneously all over the world. In the London Daily Mail, critic Baz Bamigboye wrote that the film reveals "Jackson was a consummate artist, a perfectionist and that the This Is It Concerts would have been just about the best music show of the year." Not all critics are so generous. Lou Lumenick in the New York Post regards the movie as reprehensible -- "a ghoulish 'event' offered just in time for Halloween ... a shoddy piece of exploitation." And Kevin Maher in the London Times says that the filmmakers have achieved "middling" results from their efforts. "It's a strange and ultimately underwhelming way to say goodbye to a troubled, talented performer," he concludes. |
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Other Current Reviews
|
| ASTRO BOY
|
Most
critics
have
noted
that
Astro
Boy
contains
little
plot
but
plenty
of
action.
Roger
Ebert,
who
bestows
three
stars
on
the
animated
film,
asks
in
his
Chicago
Sun-Time
(more)
|
CIRQUE DU FREAK: THE VAMPIRE'S ASSISTANT
|
Cirque
du
Freak:
The
Vampire's
Assistant
is
receiving
a
lot
of
biting
criticism
from
reviewers.
Roger
Ebert
in
the
Chicago
Sun-Times
calls
it
"a
mess."
Kyle
Smith
in
the
(more)
|
| AMELIA
|
The
famed
aviatrix
Amelia
Earhart
may
have
been
regarded
as
a
fascinating
figure
and
overdue
for
a
movie
about
her,
but
most
critics
have
not
found
this
movie
very
(more)
|
| WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE
|
Maurice
Sendak's
Where
the
Wild
Things
Are
has
been
expanded
from
a
nine-sentence,
37-page-long
children's
book
filled
mostly
with
his
drawings
("the
easiest
prereview
homework
ever,"
Lisa
Kennedy
of
(more)
|
| COUPLES RETREAT
|
It's
probably
a
good
thing
that
Couples
Retreat
has
the
weekend
to
itself
as
the
only
movie
opening
wide.
Critics
are
saying
that
the
only
thing
funny
about
this
(more)
|
| PARANORMAL ACTIVITY
|
For
a
film
that
cost
only
$15,000
to
make
Paranormal
Activity
is
piling
up
reviews
that
are
generally
as
enthusiastic
as
box-office
proceeds
have
been
flourishing.
Moving
into
a
(more)
|
| INVENTION OF LYING, THE
|
What
would
a
world
be
like
if
lying
did
not
exist?
That
is
the
question
answered
in
The
Invention
of
Lying,
starring
Rickey
Gervais.
For
example,
as
Roger
Ebert
(more)
|
| WHIP IT
|
Whip
It
set
in
the
world
of
roller
derby
with
Drew
Barrymore
(who
also
produces
directs)
and
Ellen
Page
skating
up
a
storm,
follows
the
outlines
of
countless
other
(more)
|
| ZOMBIELAND
|
Clearly
Zombieland
is
not
the
kind
of
movie
Roger
Ebert
can
sink
his
teeth
into.
"Vampires
make
a
certain
amount
of
sense
to
me,
but
zombies
not
so
much.
(more)
|
| FAME
|
If
audiences
react
the
way
critics
have
to
the
remake
of
the
1980
version
of
Fame,
Leo
the
Lion
will
have
to
go
back
into
hibernation
at
MGM.
The
(more)
|
| SURROGATES
|
Critics
appear
to
wish
that
the
plot
of
Surrogates
were
as
intriguing
as
its
premise:
it's
about
a
time
in
which
human
beings
can
remain
at
home,
where
they
(more)
|
CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY
|
With
Capitalism:
A
Love
Story,
Michael
Moore
is
receiving
--as
usual
--
props
for
his
skill
as
a
propagandist
filmmaker
and
--
also
as
usual
--
he
is
being
(more)
|
| JENNIFER'S BODY
|
A
horror
flick
that
was
actually
shown
to
critics?
That
in
itself
says
a
lot
about
Jennifer's
Body,
which
is
actually
receiving
a
good
share
of
raves
from
critics.
(more)
|
| INFORMANT!, THE
|
Matt
Damon
is
anything
but
the
glamorous.
buffed-up
hunk
he
has
played
in
his
previous
films
in
The
Informant!
And
almost
every
critic
comments
on
his
metamorphosis
into
a
(more)
|
| CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALS
|
Roger
Ebert
doesn't
really
review
Cloudy
With
a
Chance
of
Meatballs
in
the
Chicago
Sun-Times
today.
He
sort
of
provides
a
quick
digest
of
the
indigestible
things
going
on
(more)
|
| SORORITY ROW
|
Sorority
Row,
another
film
that
was
not
screened
for
critics
in
advance,
wound
up
with
the
sort
of
reviews
that
justified
the
decision.
The
Los
Angeles
Times
called
up
(more)
|
| TYLER PERRY'S I CAN DO BAD ALL BY MYSELF
|
Tyler
Perry's
I
Can
Do
Bad
All
by
Myself,
like
other
Tyler
Perry
movies,
was
not
screened
for
critics
in
advance.
Their
reviews,
which
appeared
over
the
weekend,
weren't
(more)
|
| WHITEOUT
|
To
many
critics,
Whiteout
is
pretty
much
of
a
washout.
The
film,
which
stars
Kate
Beckinsale
in
a
story
that
takes
place
at
a
South
Pole
research
station,
Several
(more)
|
| 9
|
Wednesday
is
not
a
day
of
the
week
when
studios
ordinarily
release
new
films,
not
unless
they're
bona
fide
blockbusters,
but
studio
marketers
at
Focus
Films
were
not
about
(more)
|
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