Poison Friends, Next, Kickin' It Old Skool, In the Land of Women, Diggers, The Invisible
Poison Friends *1/2
Directed by Emmanuel Bourdieu
100 Minutes
Not Rated(Language)
"Poison Friends" is a tedious exercise. This is the story of three friends, one of which shapes the other two into what they become. However their critical friend is really a loser unto himself, who is always judging but never following his own advice. And he becomes a liar, and eventually looses everything. The film has a paper thin plot, but is really an uninteresting character study of Andre Morney, who cares so much about making a good name for himself with others that he doesn't care about himself. A very tired and drawn out story, one where you check your watch often, and one with nothing really notable about it. This is more of a waste of time than anything else.
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Next ***
Directed by Lee Tamahori
96 Minutes
Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violent action, and some language.
"Next" is a complete fluff action film, with plenty of plot holes, undeveloped characters, and some "classy" one liners. Then why did I give it such a high rating? Because I had a blast. Nicolas Cage goes back to action after some more dramatic turns as Cris Johnson, a man who can see into the future. The only thing that makes him human is that he could only see his own future, and he could only see two minutes at a time. The only time where things are different are when they involve Liz, where he could see far into time. He is being hunted by Agent Callie Ferris who needs his power to try and stop a nuclear weapon, but Johnson wants nothing to do with this. The chase begins. Problems with "Next" are plenty-there is never a reason why Liz is special to Cris, and they script writes that problem out by claiming that it was "destiny." Callie is pretty underwritten as well, and the Cris Johnson characters has moments where you detect the sadness of his power and how he never gets the chance to be surprised with life, and Cage does it well. He has always done action well. There is plenty of hokey and over the top action sequences as well, and Cage seems to be going to the same hairstylist that Tom Hanks went to for "The Da Vinci Code."
However, I will recommend "Next" because it is a lot of fun, and exactly what you expect when you see a movie like this. The opening scenes are pretty brilliantly executed, somewhat humorous even, especially Cage's escape route out of a Las Vegas Casino where he always knows what is going to happen. There are a few decent twists, and the whole two minute thing does make for certain plot twists. The ending is a little strange and while it doesn't pack everything neatly, it doesn't leave a sour taste either. "Next' will not last very long, but you could consider it the opening act for "Spider-Man 3" and the upcoming summer movie season. Like the comedy act before The Rolling Stones goes on. . .
Oh yea. . . .and was that Peter Falk. . . ?
And also, as a side note, I noticed many references to Stanley Kubrick. One scene has Cage in a chair with his eyes being forced open, right in front of a television set, with drops going into his eyes, (Clockwork Orange). Another has the TV on with "Dr Strangelove" on. Hmmm. . .
--------------------------
Kickin' It Old Skool **
Directed by Harvey Glazer
107 Minutes
Rated PG-13 for crude and sexual content and language. (edited for re-rating)
Stupid humor gets out of a coma with "Kickin' It Old Skool," which is the first real wide release for the ever growing Bob Yari Release Group. Jamie Kennedy plays Justin Schumacher, who was a twelve year old breakdancing fan living in the 80's, until a horrible stage accident puts him in a coma for twenty years. Now out his parents are stuck with medical bills, and Justin, who has the mind of a twelve year old, gets his old breakdancing group back together again to win a dance contest. At the same time he tries to win back the heart of Jen, the woman who loved him when they were kids-but of course she is engaged to the biggest jerk in the world. "Kickin' It Old Skool" is a decent comedy for the type of young crowd on a Friday night who love stupid, random humor. It may not be a "Blades of Glory" but it is a rather good time at parts. It does meander a bit in the third act when they focus on all of the dancing contests, but all in all this is a pretty straightforward film-the target group will enjoy it, and it clearly isn't for everyone. And I still respect David Hasselhoff for continuing to make fun of himself. . .
--------------------------
The Invisible **
Directed by David S. Goyer
97 Minutes
Rated PG-13 for violence, criminality, sensuality and language - all involving teens.
Be warned! "The Invisible" is certainly not the ghost story that it is being made out to be. It is really a teenage character study-two rather depressed young people whose lives change after a misunderstanding. Nick Powell seems to have a perfect life, but he has been very sad since the death of his father. Then there is Annie, whose life has resorted to crime ever since the death of her mother. When Annie beats Nick up after a misunderstanding she believes she killed him and hides the body so that it would not be found. Nick manages to walk the Earth in an invisible form, so nobody can see or even hear him-except Annie. With time running out until Nick eventually will die, he tries to get Annie to have a change of heart, and to confess to everyone where the body is. Now the marketing for "The Invisible" is extremely misleading-scenes in the trailer make it out to be a psychological ghost story like "The Sixth Sense." Hunks of the trailer were not in the film, and images from the film are twisted out of context in the trailer. At times it is a decent character film, and the ending, although slightly melodramatic, is sweet in an odd way. Justin Chatwin can't really carry a film, but it is Margarita Levieva as Annie who is the highlight. Supporting work by Marcia Gay Harden makes me wonder why she has an Oscar, and she can clearly do better. She probably knows this too. "The Invisible" is slightly better than some other Hollywood releases, but it isn't good enough to push one to the theatre.
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Diggers ***
Directed by Katherine Dieckmann
95 Minutes
Rated R for language, drug use and some sexual content.
Paul Rudd matures in "Diggers," and proves that he is more than just a seventh friend or an "Anchorman." "Diggers" is a very entertaining and funny story with a good amount of heart, telling the story of four clam diggers living in 70's New York. Clam digging runs in the family for these men, and we follow them after the death of Hunt and Gina's father(Paul Rudd and Maura Tierny, respectively). "Diggers" is a film that Ed Burns would have made, only it is does better and with more respect to the characters. This isn't something that you go and see because you want to look for deep symbolism, but something to see for great characters going through a "coming of age" moment. The best work probably comes from Ken Marino, as Lozo the only one of the friends who is married and has children-four of them to be exact. He is always yelling at his wife and complaining to his kids, but at the end of the day you know that he really does love them all. He does it with the perfect amount of both desperation and humor. "Diggers" is one of them films that comes out in the theatre on Friday and on TV that night, and then on video the next Tuesday. Any of those mediums are acceptable to watch this fine film.
--------------------------
In the Land of Women ***
Directed by Jon Kasdan
97 Minutes
Rated PG-13 for sexual content, thematic elements and language.
The ads for "In the Land of Women" are extremely misleading, making it seem more of a romance between the Adam Brody character, and the much younger one played by Kristen Stewart. What was get is a brief romance between them, but in the much grand scheme of things thing is a film about the interactions between the Adam Brody character(Carter) and the women that he comes across. After being dumped by his beautiful supermodel girlfriend, Carter moves in with his demented grandmother, falls for the neighbor, and hangs out when her daughter. These are more realistic characters than I would have expected-one gets cancer, one is having the typical school boy problems, the other is having an affair. At times it is a little too convenient, and it is a bit of a downer, but that's life for the most part. What I liked about this was how much it caught me by surprise-how I went in expecting one thing and I got another. It is a sweet little film, and maybe a bit better because I can relate to the main character.
Directed by Emmanuel Bourdieu
100 Minutes
Not Rated(Language)
"Poison Friends" is a tedious exercise. This is the story of three friends, one of which shapes the other two into what they become. However their critical friend is really a loser unto himself, who is always judging but never following his own advice. And he becomes a liar, and eventually looses everything. The film has a paper thin plot, but is really an uninteresting character study of Andre Morney, who cares so much about making a good name for himself with others that he doesn't care about himself. A very tired and drawn out story, one where you check your watch often, and one with nothing really notable about it. This is more of a waste of time than anything else.
--------------------------
Next ***
Directed by Lee Tamahori
96 Minutes
Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violent action, and some language.
"Next" is a complete fluff action film, with plenty of plot holes, undeveloped characters, and some "classy" one liners. Then why did I give it such a high rating? Because I had a blast. Nicolas Cage goes back to action after some more dramatic turns as Cris Johnson, a man who can see into the future. The only thing that makes him human is that he could only see his own future, and he could only see two minutes at a time. The only time where things are different are when they involve Liz, where he could see far into time. He is being hunted by Agent Callie Ferris who needs his power to try and stop a nuclear weapon, but Johnson wants nothing to do with this. The chase begins. Problems with "Next" are plenty-there is never a reason why Liz is special to Cris, and they script writes that problem out by claiming that it was "destiny." Callie is pretty underwritten as well, and the Cris Johnson characters has moments where you detect the sadness of his power and how he never gets the chance to be surprised with life, and Cage does it well. He has always done action well. There is plenty of hokey and over the top action sequences as well, and Cage seems to be going to the same hairstylist that Tom Hanks went to for "The Da Vinci Code."
However, I will recommend "Next" because it is a lot of fun, and exactly what you expect when you see a movie like this. The opening scenes are pretty brilliantly executed, somewhat humorous even, especially Cage's escape route out of a Las Vegas Casino where he always knows what is going to happen. There are a few decent twists, and the whole two minute thing does make for certain plot twists. The ending is a little strange and while it doesn't pack everything neatly, it doesn't leave a sour taste either. "Next' will not last very long, but you could consider it the opening act for "Spider-Man 3" and the upcoming summer movie season. Like the comedy act before The Rolling Stones goes on. . .
Oh yea. . . .and was that Peter Falk. . . ?
And also, as a side note, I noticed many references to Stanley Kubrick. One scene has Cage in a chair with his eyes being forced open, right in front of a television set, with drops going into his eyes, (Clockwork Orange). Another has the TV on with "Dr Strangelove" on. Hmmm. . .
--------------------------
Kickin' It Old Skool **
Directed by Harvey Glazer
107 Minutes
Rated PG-13 for crude and sexual content and language. (edited for re-rating)
Stupid humor gets out of a coma with "Kickin' It Old Skool," which is the first real wide release for the ever growing Bob Yari Release Group. Jamie Kennedy plays Justin Schumacher, who was a twelve year old breakdancing fan living in the 80's, until a horrible stage accident puts him in a coma for twenty years. Now out his parents are stuck with medical bills, and Justin, who has the mind of a twelve year old, gets his old breakdancing group back together again to win a dance contest. At the same time he tries to win back the heart of Jen, the woman who loved him when they were kids-but of course she is engaged to the biggest jerk in the world. "Kickin' It Old Skool" is a decent comedy for the type of young crowd on a Friday night who love stupid, random humor. It may not be a "Blades of Glory" but it is a rather good time at parts. It does meander a bit in the third act when they focus on all of the dancing contests, but all in all this is a pretty straightforward film-the target group will enjoy it, and it clearly isn't for everyone. And I still respect David Hasselhoff for continuing to make fun of himself. . .
--------------------------
The Invisible **
Directed by David S. Goyer
97 Minutes
Rated PG-13 for violence, criminality, sensuality and language - all involving teens.
Be warned! "The Invisible" is certainly not the ghost story that it is being made out to be. It is really a teenage character study-two rather depressed young people whose lives change after a misunderstanding. Nick Powell seems to have a perfect life, but he has been very sad since the death of his father. Then there is Annie, whose life has resorted to crime ever since the death of her mother. When Annie beats Nick up after a misunderstanding she believes she killed him and hides the body so that it would not be found. Nick manages to walk the Earth in an invisible form, so nobody can see or even hear him-except Annie. With time running out until Nick eventually will die, he tries to get Annie to have a change of heart, and to confess to everyone where the body is. Now the marketing for "The Invisible" is extremely misleading-scenes in the trailer make it out to be a psychological ghost story like "The Sixth Sense." Hunks of the trailer were not in the film, and images from the film are twisted out of context in the trailer. At times it is a decent character film, and the ending, although slightly melodramatic, is sweet in an odd way. Justin Chatwin can't really carry a film, but it is Margarita Levieva as Annie who is the highlight. Supporting work by Marcia Gay Harden makes me wonder why she has an Oscar, and she can clearly do better. She probably knows this too. "The Invisible" is slightly better than some other Hollywood releases, but it isn't good enough to push one to the theatre.
--------------------------
Diggers ***
Directed by Katherine Dieckmann
95 Minutes
Rated R for language, drug use and some sexual content.
Paul Rudd matures in "Diggers," and proves that he is more than just a seventh friend or an "Anchorman." "Diggers" is a very entertaining and funny story with a good amount of heart, telling the story of four clam diggers living in 70's New York. Clam digging runs in the family for these men, and we follow them after the death of Hunt and Gina's father(Paul Rudd and Maura Tierny, respectively). "Diggers" is a film that Ed Burns would have made, only it is does better and with more respect to the characters. This isn't something that you go and see because you want to look for deep symbolism, but something to see for great characters going through a "coming of age" moment. The best work probably comes from Ken Marino, as Lozo the only one of the friends who is married and has children-four of them to be exact. He is always yelling at his wife and complaining to his kids, but at the end of the day you know that he really does love them all. He does it with the perfect amount of both desperation and humor. "Diggers" is one of them films that comes out in the theatre on Friday and on TV that night, and then on video the next Tuesday. Any of those mediums are acceptable to watch this fine film.
--------------------------
In the Land of Women ***
Directed by Jon Kasdan
97 Minutes
Rated PG-13 for sexual content, thematic elements and language.
The ads for "In the Land of Women" are extremely misleading, making it seem more of a romance between the Adam Brody character, and the much younger one played by Kristen Stewart. What was get is a brief romance between them, but in the much grand scheme of things thing is a film about the interactions between the Adam Brody character(Carter) and the women that he comes across. After being dumped by his beautiful supermodel girlfriend, Carter moves in with his demented grandmother, falls for the neighbor, and hangs out when her daughter. These are more realistic characters than I would have expected-one gets cancer, one is having the typical school boy problems, the other is having an affair. At times it is a little too convenient, and it is a bit of a downer, but that's life for the most part. What I liked about this was how much it caught me by surprise-how I went in expecting one thing and I got another. It is a sweet little film, and maybe a bit better because I can relate to the main character.
posted by Eric at
2:11 PM
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