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4TH KIND, THE 1 star
 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."


PRECIOUS 4 stars
 by Lew Irwin                     View Film Profile     
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."


MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS, THE 3.5 stars
 by Lew Irwin                     View Film Profile     
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."


CHRISTMAS CAROL, A 3 stars
 by Lew Irwin                     View Film Profile     
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."


SAW VI 2 stars
 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.


THIS IS IT! 3.5 stars
 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.


Other Current Reviews

ASTRO BOY   3.5 stars
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   1.5 stars
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   2 stars
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   3.5 stars
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   1.5 stars
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   3.5 stars
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    3 stars
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   3 stars
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   4 stars
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   1 star
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   1.5 stars
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   2.5 stars
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   3 stars
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    3.5 stars
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   3.5 stars
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   1.5 stars
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   2 stars
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   1 star
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   3 stars
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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