Rated: PG-13for mild action and brief language Genre: Comedies Theatrical Release:May 22, 2009 Wide Synopsis: It's a new "Night" and "Museum" for Ben Stiller, who is joined by several other stars from the original film, as well as new characters from history.
Starring: Ben Stiller, Amy Adams, Owen Wilson, Hank Azaria, Christopher Guest, Alain Chabat, Robin Williams, Jonah Hill, Steve Coogan, Clint Howard
Director: Shawn Levy Screenwriter: Robert Ben Garant, Thomas Lennon Producer: Shawn Levy, Chris Columbus, Michael Barnathan Composer: Alan Silvestri Studio: 20th Century Fox
Rated: PG-13 for sexual material including some suggestive dialogue, some violence and thematic content
Genre: Dramas
Theatrical Release:Apr 24, 2009 Wide
Box Office: $28,612,730
Review :
"Obsessed," directed by Steve Shill, isn't very good. In fact, it's awful.
Of course, that probably wasn't the intention of everyone involved in making it, including Beyonce Knowles, who stars in the flick along with Idris Elba and Ali Larter and is listed in the credits as one of the flick's many producers (I think I saw Magic Johnson's name listed as a producer in the opening credits, too).
Everyone involved most likely thought they were making a classy, modern thriller in the vein of "Fatal Attraction." What they ended up with, however, is a gigantic mess.For the first forty or so minutes, the flick isn't that bad. It actually hovers around being decent. Elba plays Derek, a successful assets manager (he's the vice president of something or another at the company he works at, a company run by D-Day hisself, the great Bruce McGill) and a devoted family man (his wife, Sharon, is played by Beyonce) who ends up the target of the hot but psychotic stalker Lisa (Larter). The movie shows its hand almost immediately, letting us know that Lisa is up to no good when she meets Derek in an elevator and introduces herself as a temp. The music is somewhat ominous, and the way the camera focuses on her looking at him, you just know something bad is going to eventually happen. She flirts with Derek, but Derek doesn't really return the favor (he checks out her legs a few times, but beyond that he doesn't engage her. He is very nice to her, though). So some stuff happens, Lisa keeps running into Derek at weird times (she was originally supposed to temp for a day. She ends up temping for two weeks), you can tell more and more that she's really into him, but he doesn't return her the same kind of flirty attention. Again, he's just very, very nice to her. At the big, hedonistic business Christmas party (a party that doesn't allow spouses), Lisa tries to come onto him several times (she dances with him, tries to kiss him under the mistletoe), then confronts him in the bathroom. She thinks he wants to have sex with her in the stall. She rubs up against him, tries to kiss him, but he tells her to just get away. He is just not interested in her. And now he's kind of weirded out by the whole thing. Derek now knows that there's something very, very wrong with this woman, but he's not sure what he should do about it. Should he go to human resources and tell them about Lisa's behavior? Should he tell his wife Sharon? See, Derek has a bit of history when it comes to messing around with women at work. That's where he met Sharon. If he tells human resources, will they believe him or will they just assume that it's Derek being Derek? And if he tells Sharon, what the heck will she do (she told him when they got married that he could no longer have female assistants/temps at work)?
As you'd expect, the situation escalates, as Lisa shows up in his car wearing only a trench coat and lingerie, she sends sexy e-mails to his home computer, she even shows up at a company retreat, poses as his wife, drugs him and has black out sex with him, then drugs herself in his bed in an attempted suicide. This is Derek's lowest point, as the situation basically becomes public knowledge (McGill's Joe Gage finds out about it, Jerry O'Connell's Ben finds out more about it, and, worst of all, Sharon finds out about it) and no one believes that he didn't start having an affair with Lisa. Derek's life becomes total hell. Sharon throws him out of the house, he loses clients to other managers at the firm, and the police detective (Reese, as played by Christine Lahti) investigating Lisa and the attempted suicide doesn't believe him. And then, for reasons that make no sense until you remember that Beyonce's name appears as one of the flick's producers, the movie stops being about Derek and becomes all about Beyonce's Sharon forgiving Derek, freaking about how her family was hurt, and then saying that she planned on beating the crap out of Lisa if she ever confronted Derek again. If you've seen the trailer for the movie, you know what happens in that regard. And while the Beyonce-Ali Larter fight, on its own, as its own thing is kind of fun (it'll make for a nice movie fight clip on youtube some day), it's really just the ridiculous conclusion to a movie that has no business veering off into "Beyonce is a strong woman and ain't gonna take no shit from some blonde bitch in her underwear" world. What the hell does Beyonce's Sharon being a strong woman have to do with anything that happens in the first part of the movie?
Nothing.
"Obsessed" is not Beyonce's movie (well, it shouldn't be). If it wanted to be her movie it should have focused on her character from the beginning (we'd know more about her trying to earn a degree). It should have focused on how she's suspicious of her husband's potential flirting around at work with the pretty blonde chick. If that had happened, maybe the big blow up scene in the middle of the movie, Beyonce's "award moment" where she throws Derek out of the house, would have made sense and mattered more. By that point in the movie we would have likely had a better understanding of Derek's office romance history and why Sharon had any reason to be concerned. But we don't get any of that information in any kind of detail. We're just told about it in passing and we're supposed to just accept it and get behind Sharon because she's a woman done wrong. Derek lied to her. That bastard. And when he eventually "makes it up to her" and she lets him back in the house, I guess we're supposed to go "Yes! Yes! He now respects her!" or some hooey. But you'll most likely end up wondering why the movie needs a long "Derek tries to make up with his wife" montage as it really has nothing to do with anything. Again, we're never really given any real reason to lose respect for Derek and get behind Sharon. Why isn't the movie focusing on what the movie started focusing on in the first place, Lisa's obsession with Derek? Isn't this supposed to be Derek's movie to begin with? It just doesn't make any sense.
Elba is excellent as Derek. He embodies the sort of ultimate family man image without making it seem corny or lame. He also plays the alpha male business man with remarkable ease. He also has great chemistry with both Beyonce and Larter. His best scenes are actually with Larter, as he makes it clear again and again as the situation between the two of them escalates that he has absolutely no interest in her. Larter isn't bad as Lisa, even though she isn't given much of a character to play. She's just supposed to be evil and obsessed and that's it and she does a pretty okay job of it. She's sexy, she gives off that "deadly intelligence" vibe that you need for these kinds of obsessed psycho characters, and she can fight when she has to.
And then there's Beyonce as Sharon. She's pretty decent at the beginning of the movie. You don't really understand why she's so dang suspicious of her husband, but she's warm and she has good chemistry with Elba. She's also nice to look at (that's never a minus). However, when the movie veers off into "Beyonce is a strong woman!" Sharon is just annoying because, as I said above, the movie isn't about her, or at least it shouldn't be about her, it should be about Derek. Sharon shouldn't be proactive and an ass kicker. There's nothing wrong with her being a fighter and going toe to toe with Lisa in a fight (in theory) and even being a protective mother, but why does she need to say "bitch" so much? Where the hell does that stuff come from? It just doesn't make any sense.
Jerry O'Connell is funny as Ben, the male pseudo jock douchebag. Mathew Humphrey's is good as Patrick, the flaming homosexual assistant to Elba's Derek. I would have loved to see more stuff between Patrick and Lisa, as Lisa uses Patrick to get information about Derek's family and work life. They have good chemistry, too. McGill does his usual outstanding job as Joe Gage, the boorish, womanizing drunk business owner that says it's nice to have sexy women around the office (McGill is one of the best at being a sleazebag). Christine Lahti is okay as the detective Reese (she doesn't really do much beyond accuse Derek of lying about not having an affair with Lisa. You'll likely be surprised by how her character doesn't die at the end. I know I was surprised). And Scout Taylor-Compton, the new Laurie Strode in Rob Zombie's horrendous "Halloween" franchise, shows up in a bit part as a babysitter. Is it me or does she look like she's twelve here?
"Obsessed" should have been so much better. It set itself to be, at least, a decent enough little thriller. But it apparently wanted to be a mess, so that's what it does. It ends up a mess and an awful time at the movies. Avoid this movie as much as you can. But, if you're just compelled to see it (I have no idea why you would be compelled, but it could happen) just be aware that you will be disappointed by it. I can pretty much guarantee it.
Don't see "Obsessed."
So what do we have here? Gratuitous up beat R&B opening titles music, a Cadillac SUV, gratuitous Beyonce, Beyonce removing a "For Sale" sign from the front yard of her new house, burning up a "For Sale" sign in the fireplace, gratuitous Beyonce walking around her new empty house smiling and being sexy, an attic that looks like a basement, gratuitous ceiling mirror, attempted carpet sex, gratuitous hot blonde chick in the elevator, gratuitous flirting, hand touching, gratuitous Bruce "D-Day" McGill, gratuitous Jerry O'Connell, gratuitous internets research, dirty diaper changing, champagne drinking, gratuitous flaming male secretary, sexy female thighs, gratuitous Beyonce studying to get a degree and looking sexy in glasses, an awkward meeting, a mix CD, gratuitous office IM'ing, an old lady secretary with massive arm fat, tie picking, the world's greatest bar hamburger, gratuitous drunk and sexy company Christmas party, gratuitous attempted mistletoe kissing, attempted men's room stall sex, shiny rims, gratuitous Ali Larter showing up in a car wearing only a trench coat and sexy lingerie, a great family Christmas, sexy e-mails, a blue smiley face that winks, gratuitous Al Larter wearing a hot red dress, date rape, gratuitous iced tea drinking, attempted crazy bitch suicide, a big family blow up, gratuitous Derek trying to make it up to his wife montage, gratuitous Christine Lahti, gratuitous Beyonce wearing a hot black dress, gratuitous Scout Taylor-Compton, attempted kidnapping, a defiled family portrait, installing a home security system, lawn sprinklers, dress shirt fondling, gratuitous hot chick fight that's just ridiculous, lamp breaking, using a broken lamp as a spear, face kicking, stair rolling, two-by-four beatdown, ceiling hooey, massive glass coffee table breaking, chandelier breaking, and a freeze frame ending that's just bullshit.
Best lines: "You're a temp?," "Are you following me?," "You better watch out, girl. He's married," "Whose legs are those?," "What do you think about giving that magic mirror another test drive?," "I'm just waiting on you," "I think you'll find I'm not your typical temp," "It's nice to meet you, Sharon," "If you think you can pump me for information with a couple of cosmos, you're right," "Excuse me, can I have a dirty martini?," "Hey, office asshole. That's Mr. office asshole," "Lisa! Get out of my car now!," "Maybe you are an asshole," "Do you have a horseshoe up your ass? You're the luckiest guy I know," "Does that feel good?," "Bitch breathe!," "Wait, she was naked in your bed?," "This is bullshit," "Move your foot, Derek," "What am I supposed to do now? Buy a gun?,” “Just try me, bitch!,” “Did you not get my message?,” and “You are completely delusional.”
Synopsis:
THE WIRE's Idris Elba stars in this thriller as a man who seems to have a perfect life. He is married to Sharon (Beyoncé Knowles), and he has just earned a promotion at work. But destruction looms... THE WIRE's Idris Elba stars in this thriller as a man who seems to have a perfect life. He is married to Sharon (Beyoncé Knowles), and he has just earned a promotion at work. But destruction looms when a pretty temp (HEROES' Ali Larter) grows a little too fond of him.
Starring: Idris Elba, Beyonce Knowles, Ali Larter, Bruce McGill, Jerry O'Connell, Christine Lahti
Director: Steve Shill
Screenwriter: David Loughery, Will Packer
Composer: Jim Dooley
Studio: Sony Pictures Entertainment
Rated: PG-13for mild action and brief language Genre: Comedies Theatrical Release:May 22, 2009 Wide Synopsis: It's a new "Night" and "Museum" for Ben Stiller, who is joined by several other stars from the original film, as well as new characters from history.
Starring: Ben Stiller, Amy Adams, Owen Wilson, Hank Azaria, Christopher Guest, Alain Chabat, Robin Williams, Jonah Hill, Steve Coogan, Clint Howard
Director: Shawn Levy Screenwriter: Robert Ben Garant, Thomas Lennon Producer: Shawn Levy, Chris Columbus, Michael Barnathan Composer: Alan Silvestri Studio: 20th Century Fox
Rated : PG-13 for sexual content throughout, some language and a drug reference Genre: Comedies Theatrical Release:May 1, 2009 Wide Review : Hmmm. What would happen if we took the premise of A Christmas Carol, applied it to a romantic comedy, and cast Matthew McConaughey in the Scrooge role?
Here it is, for your consideration, folks: The Ghosts of Girlfriends Past. It’s pretty much exactly what you’d expect from a McConaughey rom-com, although during the moments that I was conscious, I don’t believe I actually saw him without a shirt. The saddest part of all is that Jennifer Garner — who is charming, despite being a less than mediocre actress — will play his love interest. Really, Jennifer? A McConaughey film? You’re better than that, lady. This is most certainly not how you return from your baby-making hiatus. Violet is going to be so disappointed in you one day.
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner, Lacey Chabert, Michael Douglas, Emma Stone, Anne Archer, Robert Forster, Breckin Meyer, Amanda Walsh Director: Mark Waters Screenwriter: Scott Moore, John Lucas Producer: Jon Shestack, Brad Epstein Composer: Rolfe Kent Studio: New Line Cinema
Rated: Not Rated Genre: Comedies Theatrical Release:Jun 5, 2009 Wide Reviews : The teaser trailer for Land of the Lost debuted during last week’s Super Bowl, and now the first full length trailer has arrived. I don’t have a lot of memory of the original television show, but it’s fairly evident that the updated movie doesn’t hew particularly close to the original’s premise.
The original was about a park ranger and his two kids who slipped into a time warp during a rafting trip and wound up in a world of dinosaurs. Here, Will Ferrell still plays a park ranger, but he also appears to be a scientist of some sort, and he apparently swapped his two kids for some colleagues (the luminous Anna Friel and the not-so-luminous Danny McBride). ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Basically, it looks like Ferrell has swapped out afros, basketballs, race cars, ice skates, and soccer balls for dinosaurs, which is to say: It looks like every other Will Ferrell movie, which is also to say: It’ll make eleventy cajillion dollars and probably spawn a sequel. Fortunately, few — if any folks — have a particular attachment to the television show, which means we have no real memories available for roofies. It’s just a creepy, inappropriate touching of our childhoods.
Starring: Will Ferrell, Danny McBride, Anna Friel, Jorma Taccone Director: Brad Silberling Screenwriter: Chris Henchy, Dennis McNicholas Producer: Jimmy Miller, Sid Krofft, Marty Krofft Studio: Universal Pictures
Rated: PG-13 for crude and sexual content throughout, brief strong language and comic violence Genre: Comedies Theatrical Release:Jun 19, 2009 Wide Synopsis: When a couple of lazy hunter-gatherers (Jack Black and Michael Cera) are banished from their primitive village, they set off on an epic journey through the ancient world in Columbia Pictures'...
Starring: Jack Black, Michael Cera, Oliver Platt, David Cross, Hank Azaria, Paul Rudd Director: Harold Ramis Screenwriter: Harold Ramis, Gene Stupnitsky, Lee Eisenberg Story: Harold Ramis Producer: Judd Apatow, Harold Ramis, Clayton Townshend Studio: Soda Pictures
Rated: PG-13 for language, some sexual material and teen partying
Genre: Comedies Theatrical Release:Apr 17, 2009 Wide Box Office: $39,970,000 Reviews : For the past few years, Zac Efron has made a fairly good living by way of his dazzling smile, mediocre voice, and undeniable talent for shaking what his momma gave him. Certainly, teen girls do go wild when this dreamboat bats those long, curly lashes and flashes the six-pack abs, but that’s not enough for him.
To shed his wholesome High School Musical reputation, Efron, to his credit, has bypassed the “leaked personal photos” shortcut that his female costars have favored. However, parents should be strongly cautioned that 17 Again carries a hard PG-13 rating for mild language, strong sexuality, borderline incest, and underage drinking. Director Burr Steers (Igby Goes Down) and screenwriter Jason Filardi (Bringing Down the House) attempt to staple 17 Again together as a playful remix of such semi-celebrated fare as Big, It’s a Wonderful Life, 18 Again!, and Freaky Friday, but the final product lands at half-mast in rough and non-navigable waters. The filmmakers have failed to smoothly guide Efron’s transitory star vehicle that would, ideally, set their boy wonder up for a more mature audience in the future. Unfortunately, the markedly risque material of 17 Again results in a visibly uncomfortable Efron, who has yet to remove that halo from his perfectly coiffed head. The onscreen result is quite disorienting, and, despite Efron’s obvious charisma, his acting range leaves much to be desired. Quite simply, one is left with the impression of a cherub that walks into an orgy but is unable to participate, run like hell, or do anything but awkwardly gesticulate. Not that the shortcomings of this film or its star will be noticed by Efron’s fanbase, however, for they’ll be too busy swooning to care about trivial things such as acting. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The film opens in 1989 to a chorus of audience catcalls at the mere sight of a shirtless, sweaty, high-school senior, Mike O’Donnell (Efron), who is about to lead his basketball team to victory in front of college athletic recruiters. At this very moment, Mike’s future is so fucking bright that he joins the cheerleading squad in an impromptu courtside dance (all-to-familiar territory for Efron). Then, the girlfriend, Scarlet (Allison Miller) shows up, drops the pregnancy bomb, and urges Mike not to give up his dreams for her. Naturally, a white man can’t possibly jump after news like this, so Mike leaves the court, runs after Scarlet, and proposes marriage. Twenty years later, he wakes up looking like Matthew Perry. Alcohol, apparently, is one hell of a drug. At 37 years of age, Mike (appearing quite rough as Perry) has grown into a very bitter individual. For starters, he missed out on college and, ironically, spent his life pimping erectile dysfunction drugs. On the home front, things aren’t so great either. Mike’s two teenage children, Maggie (Michelle Trachtenberg) and Alex (Sterling Knight), treat their father like a distant relative that shows up at holiday dinners and says all sorts of inappropriate things while downing a cooler full of beer. Meanwhile, Scarlet (now played by Leslie Mann), after dealing with enough of her husband’s crap and feeling responsible for his “failed” life, has filed for divorce and started dating other douchebags. Of course, we’re not exactly sure why, after 20 years together, Mike and Scarlet are seeking a divorce because, clearly, they still seem to love each other a lot, but, obviously, consistency isn’t one of this film’s main attractions. Poor Mike doesn’t know what happened to his once-promising existence, but he’s a few mere millimeters away from becoming one of those late 30-something cynics, saddled with two child support payments, who frequent those awful online dating sites filled with 75 percent guys, 20 percent hot sexy chat bots, and 5 percent actual women. Fortunately, high-school buddy Ned (Thomas Lennon, who saves the film from total unfunniness), who is now a billionaire and living the ultimate geekboy existence by doing nothing at all, takes Mike into his home. Ned’s presence livens up the movie enough for the audience to stay awake long enough for Zac Efron to return to the screen. To that end, Brian Doyle-Murray (brother of Bill) plays a Wizard/Janitor, who takes pity on Matthew Perry and allows him to become Zac Efron once again. Thus, Mike gets a chance to redo his life. With the benefit of hindsight, Mike is a sensitive guy. Instead of merely reliving his glorious youth, he decides that it’s his personal mission to attend high school with his children and help them along in that awkward phase referred to as “normal adolescence.” So, Mike fashions himself as Uncle Ned’s bastard child and is shocked to find out the truth: (1) Alex is a total wimp; (2) Maggie spends most of her school day getting tongue-bathed by a bully named Stan (Hunter Parrish). Mike is not only disappointed but feels he may have contributed to all of this, so he articulates his regrets by preaching celibacy in the middle of sex-ed class (taught by an amazingly docile Margaret Cho). As expected, Maggie ends up crushing on her father, and, in a scene that’s at least ten times as creepy as Lea Thompson hitting on Michael J. Fox in Back to the Future, Mike is chased around a bedroom by Maggie, who, for some unknown reason, is roaring and growling like a lioness. As if this isn’t skeevy enough, Mike also tries to romance his soon-to-be ex-wife; for her part, Scarlet assumes Mike is merely a cougar-chasing cub but is startled at his resemblance to her husband. Much presumed hilarity ensues. The talented Leslie Mann does her best to make us believe that Efron and Perry inhabit the same character, but, in the end, it’s just not in the script or in the actors themselves. Even in a film containing swirling vortexes and transference spells, there’s just nothing that can convince us that two actors, who look nothing alike and are of limited range, can pull off such a trick of wizardry. Walking out of the theater, you’ll leave feeling rather disgusted that the potential for a slightly amusing PG-13 film went so wrong. Further, you’ll feel shameful and dirty, and not in a good way either. If Efron wants to move on to more mature roles, he’d do well to work with a solid script and a director who can provide much firmer guidance. Still, that dazzling smile will ensure the ticket sales needed to help ruin several other subsequent films. The future is dim.
Starring: Zac Efron, Matthew Perry, Leslie Mann, Thomas Lennon, Michelle Trachtenberg, Sterling Knight, Melora HardinDirector: Burr SteersScreenwriter: Jason FilardiProducer: Adam Shankman, Jennifer GibgotComposer: Rolfe KentStudio: New Line Cinema
Rated: G Runtime:1 hr 34 mins Genre:Action/Adventure Theatrical Release:Dec 19, 2008 Wide Box Office:$50,818,750 Review : Once upon a time there was a charming tale of a wee little mouse with wide-open eyes and ears as large as saucers. Named Despereaux Tilling, the mouse grew up, though not by much, to become a reader of books and the besotted friend of a lovely human princess named Pea. In time he saved the day, battling an army of rats, and won the hearts of millions of readers and eventually a contract with a Hollywood studio. This is how the book “The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread” became a computer-animated movie, though without the rambling subtitle and as many eccentricities. Being a Hollywood story of a mouse, a princess, some soup and thread — not to mention rats, hats and a girl named Mig with the unfortunate looks of a pig — the movie “The Tale of Despereaux” offers up other changes too. It begins as all fairy tales should, with a narrator (an efficient, somewhat cool-sounding Sigourney Weaver) recounting the story of the pastel-hued Kingdom of Dor, where the peasants were content, the rulers were just, and the rats scuttled about unmolested. The balm for this peaceable kingdom was soup, a fragrant broth that flowed out of the royal kitchen and into the waiting bowls of the populace. But good times turned to bad when a rat named Roscuro (Dustin Hoffman) fell into the queen’s soup, producing a fatal reaction. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Directed by Sam Fell and Rob Stevenhagen and written by Gary Ross (who also served as one of the producers), “Despereaux” is a pleasantly immersive, beautifully animated, occasionally sleepy tale. Like most American animated movies, it centers on a plucky hero (softly voiced by Matthew Broderick) who, against the nominal odds (though, really, the odds are always stacked in his favor), overcomes adversity of some kind.
As in Kate DiCamillo’s enchanting, Newbery Medal-winning book, Despereaux has to triumph over both his home life (he’s far too bold for the other mice) and the forces of darkness shrouding Dor. What’s particularly sweet about his journey is that it begins with a book he was supposed to nibble, not read.
Reading transforms Despereaux, turning a bold little mouse into a great big hero — a wonderful moral for any children’s book. The story he reads is a fairy tale about a sad princess and a brave knight, an adventure that periodically springs to expressive life because Despereaux doesn’t merely read this tale, he visualizes it so we see it too.
Animated in a more graphically bold style than the rest of the movie, the fairy tale becomes a story within a story. And in one clever scene, which finds the mouse describing the exploits of the knight and the princess to a separate character, the fairy tale plays on the wall next to him as if it were being projected like a movie.
It doesn’t take long for Despereaux to experience the dangerous lows and exultant highs of a knight’s quest. Like many other misunderstood heroes, he suffers for his specialness, which in this case finds him banished from Mouseworld, an orderly Lilliput, to Ratworld, a menacing purgatory filled with bones and introduced with a flourish of Middle Eastern flute music. (The casbah vibe thankfully fades fast.)
There he meets Roscuro, and together they embark on the road to redemption, with justice and a happily ever after for all, including the princess (Emma Watson) and Mig (Tracey Ullman), a peasant whose porcine qualities suggest that ugliness is destiny. But “The Tale of Despereaux” is on the side of kindness, not cruelty, and it encourages smiles if not the book’s flights of fancy.
The movie has a fine sense of pictorial detail — the mouse’s delicate whiskers, the images of soup ladles carved into the palace stairs — and an agreeable gentleness. It deviates from its source material in generally modest and unobtrusive ways; for instance, by reorganizing the book’s fragmented, parallel story lines into a linear whole.
The main difference between the source and its adaptation is that while the book exudes charm, the movie leans toward cute, a substitution that largely speaks to the influence of Disney on animation. In the movie Despereaux wears a red cap that makes him look more like a well-dressed bunny than like a mouse. But at least he’s not wearing Mickey’s gold clodhoppers and bottom-line grin.
Rated: PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, and some sexual content. Runtime: 1 hr 47 mins Genre: Action/Adventure Theatrical Release:Nov 14, 2008 Wide Box Office: $168,368,427 Review : The first inclination is to ask whether “Quantum of Solace” is as good, better or worse than Casino Royale? One thing is for certain, they are two entirely different films. Both have a comparable amount of action, but Quantum of Solace isn’t as interested in over developing its story thus removing nearly 45 minutes of Royale’s running time, a move I applaud and welcome. As good as Casino Royale was the first time around, it does not hold up as well on repeated viewings due to a story that is far more bloated than it need be. Quantum has no such problem as action set pieces are the story and they are quite fun to watch.
Quantum of Solace bounces from Austria to South America and everywhere in between with a certain flair. Bond is on a vendetta to get revenge against those that killed Vesper (Eva Green) at the end of Casino Royale, which quickly reveals the existence of a massive secret organization MI6 knows far less about than they or even the villains had expected. What could be the answer to such a problem? For Bond it means killing anyone and everyone in his way in a film best described as a James Bond film in a Jason Bourne world. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Bourne films brought a certain level, and certain kind, of action and Quantum of Solace seems to have taken Bourne’s success as something of a challenge. Where the majority of Jason Bourne’s battles were fought hand-t0-hand or involving one big chase sequence, in Quantum Bond gets those things out of the way in the first scene and then moves on to boat chases, plane chases and exploding set pieces along the rest of the way. Many may see this as sacrificing story for action, but let’s face it, even Casino Royale was rather light on story, it just managed to make it seem bigger than it actually was. Bond has never been about story as much as it has been about action, and with action this good and this tightly edited together you don’t need much story to have a good time.
Just as in Casino Royale, and every other Bond movie for that matter, there are bad people doing bad things and Bond is out to stop them as well as out to settle his own score. As the villainous business man Dominic Greene, Mathieu Amalric is actually rather weak, but Bond is hardly facing off against one man in this flick. Greene is just another baddie in a long line of many. This flick is about stacking up obstacles for Bond to get rid of and it becomes a test to see how he can do it bigger and better each time around.
Quantum of Solace is the adult version of a summer time blockbuster. The action sequences have a gritty edge to them and Daniel Craig as James Bond has very little interest in small talk or any talk for that matter. At the end of Casino Royale M (Judi Dench) asks Bond, “You don’t trust anyone do you James?” He replies, “No.” She adds, “Then you’ve learned your lesson.” With this film it seems he not only doesn’t trust anyone, he doesn’t care about anyone either.
Bond still manages to get out a few choice one liners, but for the most part he is a man on a mission and it seems the goal to set him up as a hard edged womanizer with very little heart to speak of was instantly taken care of with the death of Vesper. There are no playful moments and no frolicking in the sand. Bond’s only sexual escapade in this flick is an off-screen one night stand that was handled with little care, mirroring what we are to assume Bond thinks of the woman he was spending his time with.
After 22 films there is very little left to be known about James Bond and the 144-minute Casino Royale made sure to tell us anything we needed to know about Craig’s Bond and then some as the two films play rather well together with Quantum picking up its story almost exactly where Casino left off.
Synopsis: Daniel Craig returns as 007 in this electrifying follow-up to the critically acclaimed CASINO ROYALE. The film opens with two gripping, back-to-back chases, as James Bond (Daniel Craig) tries to... Daniel Craig returns as 007 in this electrifying follow-up to the critically acclaimed CASINO ROYALE. The film opens with two gripping, back-to-back chases, as James Bond (Daniel Craig) tries to heed the orders of M (Judi Dench) and, at the same time, track down the people who blackmailed his love, Vesper. Bond is still struggling with Vesper's death, displaying a new, ferocious violence in his work, and a recklessness that M would very much like to get under control. When Bond discovers a massive, secret organization called Quantum, he believes it might have been a part of the scheme that killed Vesper. He follows the clues to Haiti, where he meets Camille (Olga Kurylenko), a mysterious, driven woman, whose motives seem unclear. Camille leads Bond to Dominic Greene (Mathieu Almalric), a cold-blooded businessman who appears to be working within Quantum. Greene wants control of a valuable piece of land in Latin America, and is part of a massive plan to overthrow the government. Bond knifes, shoots, and kick-boxes his way to the center of the sinister scheme, and discovers that the plot reaches even higher than he imagined, forcing him to abandon M's orders and step out on his own. Director Marc Forster (STRANGER THAN FICTION) has crafted some truly memorable fight scenes, setting them in the most elegant of locales. Everything is beautifully shot, from Bond racing across the rooftops of Italy, to his showdown at an Austrian opera house. As for Craig, he is once again all cold precision and steely blue eyes. His 007 is positively riveting. He struts determinedly into every scene, ready to display his near superhuman fight moves, or bed a bombshell with merely a glance. Yet, just as in CASINO ROYALE, Craig never lets us forget Bond's humanity. He may fight like a ninja and smirk like Steve McQueen, but beneath his impeccable Tom Ford wardrobe, Bond is still but an ordinary man, wearily battling his own inner demons.
Starring: Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko, Mathieu Amalric, Judi Dench, Gemma Arterton, Jeffrey Wright, Giancarlo Giannini, Jesper Christensen, Joaquin Cosio Director: Marc Forster Screenwriter: Paul Haggis, Neal Purvis, Robert Wade Producer: Michael G. Wilson, Barbara Broccoli Composer: David Arnold Studio: MGM
Rated: PG-13for thematic material, some disturbing content and a scene of sensuality. Genre: Dramas Theatrical Release:Dec 19, 2008 Wide Box Office: $69,951,824 Review : “Seven Pounds,” which reunites Will Smith with Gabriele Muccino (who directed him in “The Pursuit of Happyness”), begins with a series of riddling, chronologically scrambled scenes. A man calls 911 to report his own suicide. He badgers a blind call-center employee — whom we suspect will be a significant character, since he’s played by Woody Harrelson — with complaints and insults. He embraces a lovely woman in an even lovelier beach house. He visits a nursing home where he terrorizes an administrator and comforts a resident. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For a while it is pleasant enough to contemplate these loose ends, and to tease from them the possible contours of a story. It is never unpleasant to watch Mr. Smith, who likes to play peekaboo with his charm, hiding it now and then behind fleeting shadows of anguish or malice. The music (Angelo Milli’s score and a handful of emotive pop songs) combines with the deep colors of Philippe Le Sourd’s cinematography to summon up intensities of sentiment not yet arrived at by the narrative, creating an interesting frisson of suspense. After a while, though, as the pieces of the puzzle snap together, curiosity gives way to incredulity.
Near the end of “Seven Pounds” a carefully laminated piece of paper appears, on which someone has written, “DO NOT TOUCH THE JELLYFISH.” I wouldn’t dream of it, and I’ll take the message as a warning not to divulge the astonishing things that happen, not all of them involving aquatic creatures.
Frankly, though, I don’t see how any review could really spoil what may be among the most transcendently, eye-poppingly, call-your-friend-ranting-in-the-middle-of-the-night-just-to-go-over-it-one-more-time crazily awful motion pictures ever made. I would tell you to go out and see it for yourself, but you might take that as a recommendation rather than a plea for corroboration. Did I really see what I thought I saw?
And I wish I could spell out just what that was, but you wouldn’t believe me, and the people at Sony might not invite me to any more screenings. So instead of spelling out what happens in “Seven Pounds,” I’ll just pluck a few key words and phrases from my notes, and arrange them in the kind of artful disorder Mr. Muccino seems to favor (feel free to start crying any time):
Eggplant parmesan. Printing press. Lung. Bone marrow. Eye transplant. Rosario Dawson. Great Dane. Banana peel. Jellyfish (but you knew that already). Car accident. Congestive heart failure.
Huh? What the ... ? Hang on. What’s he doing? Why? Who does he think he is? Jesus! That last, by the way, is not an exclamation of shock but rather an answer to the preceding question, posed with reference to Mr. Smith. Lately he has taken so eagerly to roles predicated on heroism and world-saving self-sacrifice — see “I Am Legend” and “Hancock” — that you may wonder if he has a messiah clause in his contract. Which is not to say that he doesn’t show range in these films, in which he credibly plays a research scientist, a dissolute superhero and, in this latest one, an I.R.S. agent.
An I.R.S. agent who wants only to help people. This is a nice, small joke that provides a few grace notes of levity in what is otherwise a lugubrious exercise in spiritual bushwa. For all its pious, earnest air, “Seven Pounds” cries out to be remade as an Asian horror movie, so that the deep, creepy grotesqueness of its governing premise might be allowed to flourish, rather than to fester beneath the surface.
As it is, the movie is basically an inverted, twisted tale of revenge. Ben Thomas, Mr. Smith’s character, is in essence a benevolent vigilante, harassing, stalking and spying on unsuspecting citizens for their own good, and also to punish himself. Why such misery should also be inflicted on an innocent, affirmation-hungry audience — and also on the marvelous Ms. Dawson, who plays one of Ben’s victim-beneficiaries — is another matter entirely.
But maybe I’m approaching this in the wrong way. Maybe “Seven Pounds” isn’t a spiritual parable about redemption or forgiveness or salvation or whatever, but rather a collection of practical lessons. Don’t drive while using a BlackBerry. Fertilize your rose bushes with banana peels — sorry, that was a spoiler. But please, whatever you do, don’t touch the jellyfish.
I’m serious. Don’t.
Synopsis: Academy Award® nominee Will Smith reunites with the directors and producers of The Pursuit of Happyness for the emotional drama Seven Pounds. In the film, Smith plays Ben Thomas, an IRS agent with... Academy Award® nominee Will Smith reunites with the directors and producers of The Pursuit of Happyness for the emotional drama Seven Pounds. In the film, Smith plays Ben Thomas, an IRS agent with a fateful secret who embarks on an extraordinary journey of redemption by forever changing the lives of seven strangers.
Starring: Will Smith, Rosario Dawson, Woody Harrelson, Barry Pepper Director: Gabriele Muccino Screenwriter: Grant Nieporte Studio: Columbia Pictures
Rated: PG-13 for intense sequences of stylized violence and action, some sexual content and brief nudity. Runtime: 1 hr 48 mins Genre: Action/Adventure Theatrical Release:Dec 25, 2008 Wide Box Office: $19,781,879 Review : Out in the blogosphere you frequently run across invocations of Godwin’s Law, which can be paraphrased as stating that sooner or later every argument will come around to a Hitler analogy. A similar axiom, applied to Hollywood, would stipulate that every movie star must eventually dress up in a German war uniform. This is not the review of “Valkyrie,” by the way, a film that upholds this rule with respect to the special case of Tom Cruise. I’m just trying to figure out why, somewhere in the middle of “The Spirit,” Samuel L. Jackson and Scarlett Johansson arrive on screen decked out in swastikas and jackboots. Nothing in the logic of the film explains it, but then, to use the phrase “the logic of the film” when talking about “The Spirit” may be to take the “oxy” out of “oxymoronic.” ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ To ask why anything happens in Frank Miller’s sludgy, hyper-stylized adaptation of a fabled comic book series by Will Eisner may be an exercise in futility. The only halfway interesting question is why the thing exists at all. The most plausible answer lies in its pedigree. Eisner, who died in 2005, is worshiped by aficionados of what he called “sequential art” for his graphic brio, literary flair and naughty wit. For his part Mr. Miller occupies a special spot in the modern geek pantheon as the author of high-gloss comics and graphic novels like “Batman: The Dark Knight Returns,” “Sin City” and “300.”
Though he was involved in the film adaptations of “300” and “Sin City,” “The Spirit” marks Mr. Miller’s first solo effort as a director, and his bold visual style is not well served by his clumsiness as a cinematic storyteller. The movie seems to be trying to combine a knowing, winking sense of pop-culture history with an embrace of the more soulful aspects of that history, but the result is a talky, pretentious stew of film noir poses and crime-fighter clichés.
Mr. Jackson and Ms. Johansson at least seem to enjoy themselves, which is their prerogative since they are the villains. Gabriel Macht, who plays the fedora-wearing, skirt-chasing, undead hero (a former policeman brought mysteriously back to life as a vigilante), works hard to give off an air of hard-boiled insouciance. Unfortunately whatever natural charisma he may possess is disguised by his hat, his mask and the murky shadows of the mise-en-scène.
What is most striking about “The Spirit” is how little pleasure it affords, in spite of its efforts to be sly, sexy, heartfelt and clever all at once. Or perhaps the movie flounders because its multiple ambitions are fundamentally at odds, like the various femmes, fatale and otherwise, who do battle for the hero’s heart.
The 108 overstuffed, interminable minutes of “The Spirit” yield exactly two memorable moments: when one of Mr. Jackson’s genetically engineered minions (all played by Louis Lombardi) appears as a tiny, hopping foot with a head grafted on to it, supplying an odd, creepy morsel of Surrealism; and when Eva Mendes, playing a character called Sand Saref, sits on a copy machine and presses the button. She produces what may be the only true-to-life image in the movie, as well as the most interesting.
Starring: Gabriel Macht, Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Eva Mendes, Sarah Paulson, Dan Lauria, Paz Vega, Jaime King Director: Frank Miller Screenwriter: Frank Miller Producer: Deborah Del Prete, Gigi Pritzker, Michael Uslan Composer: David Newman Studio: Lions Gate Films
Rated: PG-13 for some sci-fi disaster images and violence. Runtime: 1 hr 44 mins Genre: Science-Fiction/Fantasy Theatrical Release:Dec 12, 2008 Wide Box Office: $79,136,963 Reviews : Long after we are gone, science fiction movies about our impending extinction will instruct whoever comes next that we were a strange, neurotic species indeed. We could not — cannot — get enough of fantasies of destruction, meant at once to inflame and soothe our fear of vanishing altogether, whether through war, ecological catastrophe, disease or alien invasion. We know we have it coming, and a movie like “The Day the Earth Stood Still,” either in its 1951 version or in the “reimagining” that opens Friday, invites us to feel fleetingly bad about that even as we are encouraged to laugh it off. The laughter — at the earnest reckoning occasioned by a weary-looking extraterrestrial and his giant robot; at the panic and distress their visit provokes — serves as a necessary balm. Like other overwhelming emotions, the fear of apocalypse becomes more palatable when it is turned into camp. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The old “Day,” made early in the atomic age, has long inspired this kind of laughter. It has also, in part because of its expressive, shadowy black-and-white cinematography, retained a measure of haunting, unsettling weirdness.
Any hope that the new “Day,” directed by Scott Derrickson from a script by David Scarpa, might also someday rise above its pulpy, corny, somber silliness rests mainly on the shoulders of Keanu Reeves. Those shoulders are perfect for filling out a dark, narrow suit, just as Mr. Reeves’s deadpan basso and permanently perplexed features make him an ideal Klaatu, as the space visitor is called. Klaatu’s job is to assist, calmly and methodically, in the extermination of the human race, a task he tries, with evident fatigue, to explain to his hysterical, violent would-be victims.
Only one will listen: Dr. Helen Benson, played with a bit too much ennui by Jennifer Connelly. Helen, an expert in astrobiology, is part of a team of scientists taken into government custody by force when a giant orb seems about to crash into the Earth. Instead it lands in Central Park, disgorging that giant metal Cyclops robot (a near replica of the one from the earlier movie) and poor Klaatu.
The secretary of defense (Kathy Bates, with Hillary Clinton’s demeanor and Sarah Palin’s hair) responds with military force, which only speeds the process of humanity’s annihilation and demonstrates that our executioners may have a point. We’re such a brutal, dumb, incorrigible life form that the only way the planet can survive is if we’re no longer on it. (In 1951 the case against us was mainly pacifist. Now the anti-militarism has a more urgent and explicit ecological dimension.) A metastasizing swarm of metal bugs — the best special effects in a movie that often looks cheap and bedraggled — is dispatched to eat us and everything we’ve made, or at least everything on the New Jersey Turnpike.
But wait, Helen pleads. We can change! To provide evidence of this transformative potential she takes Klaatu to see her mentor, Professor Barnhardt (John Cleese), a scientist who listens to Bach and was awarded a Nobel Prize for “altruistic biology.” Apparently this is the Swedish Academy’s euphemism for pimping: the good doctor’s advice to Helen about how to approach Klaatu is to “persuade him not with your reason, but with yourself.”
Still, any movie that awards a former Monty Python cast member a Nobel Prize in anything cannot be all bad. And “The Day the Earth Stood Still” could be worse. Its scenario and many of its scenes feel ripped off rather than freshly imagined — why do aliens always seem to end up in New Jersey? — and the relationship between Helen and her stepson, Jacob (Jaden Smith), does not quite add the necessary element of heart-tugging sentiment.
After “Wall-E” and “I Am Legend” and the dozens of apocalypse flicks since the last “Day the Earth Stood Still” we can surely do better. Even Klaatu looks bored and distracted, much as he did back when we knew him as Neo.
Synopsis: A remake of the 1951 sci-fi classic of the same name, THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL follows astrobiologist Helen Benson (Jennifer Connelly) as she is unceremoniously plucked from her everyday life... A remake of the 1951 sci-fi classic of the same name, THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL follows astrobiologist Helen Benson (Jennifer Connelly) as she is unceremoniously plucked from her everyday life with her stepson (Jaden Smith), and whisked away to consult the government on a top-secret matter. That matter happens to be the arrival of a massive glowing sphere in Central Park, accompanied by a towering robot-like protector dubbed Gort and an alien ambassador named Klaatu (Keanu Reeves), who takes up human form to communicate with the people of Earth. When Klaatu finds himself faced with hawkish, uncompromising officials, he goes on the run with Benson and her son as the fate of the world gradually becomes clear. Directed by Scott Derrickson (THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE), this reimagining of THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL is fairly reverent to the original film, while adding a number of 21st-century elements, most notably a darker tone embodied by a more threatening Gort and the chilly, contemplative Klaatu, who is portrayed with pitch-perfect remove by Reeves. While the film--and the fate of humanity--rests on Reeves's shoulders, the cast is impressively filled out by Connelly and Smith, along with Kathy Bates, John Cleese, and familiar TV actors Jon Hamm (MAD MEN) and Kyle Chandler (FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS). Derrickson also tempers excellent special effects with a bleak color palette and plenty of existential turmoil, making this EARTH a thoughtful and fascinatingly moody blockbuster. [Less]
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Jennifer Connelly, Jaden Smith, John Cleese, Jon Hamm, Kyle Chandler, Kathy Bates Director: Scott Derrickson Screenwriter: David Scarpa Producer: Erwin Stoff, Paul Boardman, Gregory Goodman Composer: Tyler Bates Studio: 20th Century Fox
Rated: PG-13 for crude sexual humor, language and brief nudity. Runtime: 2 hrs 2 mins Genre: Comedies Theatrical Release:2009 Box Office: $97,632,413 Reviews : In the spectrum of Jim Carrey vehicles, “Yes Man” hews closest structurally to “Liar Liar,” offering the rubber-faced comic actor plenty of opportunities to riff -- but with far too few moments that approach the explosive hilarity of that earlier movie.Genial but slim, pic is certainly a light-hearted alternative to weighty year-end awards bait, but the conceit isn’t realized fully enough to ensure the affirmative response Warner Bros. would doubtless like to hear. As is, it’s more in the realm of a definite “maybe.”Carrey is introduced as Carl Allen, a sad-sack bank-loan officer who still hasn’t recovered emotionally from his divorce three years before. Although his pals Peter (Bradley Cooper) and Rooney (Danny Masterson) try to nudge him out of his shell, Carl’s answer to virtually every overture that involves anything but staying home and renting DVDs is an evasive “no.” -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A chance encounter with an old acquaintance inspires him to attend a self-help seminar, where a steely-eyed guru (Terence Stamp) preaches the power of saying “yes” to every opportunity -- forging a covenant with the shell-shocked Carl to adhere to this simple code.
To his surprise, the “just say yes” strategy yields welcome results -- and equally significant, failing to do so invites disaster. Carl’s grudging agreement to assist a homeless guy, for example, inadvertently brings about his introduction to Allison (Zooey Deschanel), a free spirit to whom he’s instantly drawn (in a faint echo of “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”) -- and thanks to his newfound attitude, with whom he’s very much in tune.
Similarly, unquestioningly approving bank loans to eccentric characters -- the timing of which could probably be better, given the present mortgage meltdown -- benefits Carl in unexpected ways, if not quite triggering the logical “pay it forward” scenario that would help lend ballast to this slender premise.
Instead, director Peyton Reed (“The Break-Up”) -- working from an adaptation of Danny Wallace’s book by Nicholas Stoller, Jarrad Paul and Andrew Mogel -- lets the movie lapse into an uneven, episodic mode. That format yields the occasional juicy bits (Carl thwarting a suicide attempt; an interlude with his aged neighbor, played by Fionnula Flanagan), but not enough of them to sustain the level of manic energy Carrey can unleash at his best. Almost too conveniently, the propositions thrown Carl’s way also generally avoid anything that’s so uncomfortable as to risk brushing up against the limitations of a PG-13 rating.
In terms of concocting laughs, Carrey receives minimal help other than from Rhys Darby (HBO’s “Flight of the Conchords”) as his nerdy boss, who has a fondness for idiotic nicknames and throws movie-themed parties seemingly catering to fringes of the Comic-Con crowd. (Those scenes amusingly if somewhat conspicuously showcase Warner Bros. properties, including the “Harry Potter” franchise -- also from “Yes Man” producer David Heyman -- and “300.”)
From a technical standpoint, the movie makes unusually good use of Los Angeles landmarks as a backdrop for Carl and Allison’s budding romance, from the Hollywood Bowl to the Griffith Observatory. Mark Oliver Everett of the band Eels collaborated on the score and contributes several songs.
Mercifully, “Yes Man” finally arrives at a place that lets a bit of air out of the pervasive self-help bubble. It’s only too bad that the movie isn’t slightly more adept at helping itself.
Synopsis: Jim Carrey returns to hilarious form with this romantic comedy in the same vein as the Carrey classic LIAR LIAR. After a few stints in more serious features like ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS... Jim Carrey returns to hilarious form with this romantic comedy in the same vein as the Carrey classic LIAR LIAR. After a few stints in more serious features like ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND and THE NUMBER 23, Carrey seems right at home playing Carl, a divorcé who starts out the film depressed and withdrawn, scared of taking a risk. Pressured by his best friend, Peter (Bradley Cooper), to get his act together or be stuck with a lonely life, Carl attends a New Age self-help seminar intended to change "no men" like Carl into "yes men" willing to meet life's challenges with gusto. Carl is reluctant at first, but finds the seminar to be ultimately life-changing when he's coerced into giving the "say yes" attitude a try. As the first opportunity to say yes presents itself, Carl hesitantly utters the three-letter word, setting the stage for a domino effect of good rewards, and giving Carrey a platform to show off his comic chops. But over time Carl realizes that saying yes to everything indiscriminately can reap results as complicated and messy as his life had become when saying "no" was his norm. The always-quirky Zooey Deschanel adds her signature charm as Carl's love interest, Allison. An unlikely match at first glance, the pair actually develop great chemistry as the story progresses, the actors playing off each other's different styles of humor. Rhys Darby also shines as Carl's loveable but clueless boss, and THAT 70s SHOW's Danny Masterson appears as another one of Carl's friends. While YES MAN marks no major departure from Carrey's previous work, the sweet crowd pleaser manages to showcase two sides of its leading man
Starring: Jim Carrey, Zooey Deschanel, Bradley Cooper, Rhys Darby, John Michael Higgins, Danny Masterson, Terence Stamp, Sasha Alexander, Rocky Carroll, Anna Khaja, Brent Briscoe, Patrick Labyorteaux, Luis Guzman, Molly Sims, Fionnula Flanagan Director: Peyton Reed Screenwriter: Nicholas Stoller, Jarrad Paul, Andrew Mogel Producer: Richard D. Zanuck, David Heyman Studio: Warner Bros.
Rated: PG-13for mild action and brief language
