Miami Vice

Technically cool, using video to its advantage. Little character development and zero chemistry between Ferrell and Fox. Is a good shoot-out worth the price of admission? Hm.

Click

It’s as though all Adam Sandler and his buddies wanted to make was a movie about dogs humping stuffed animals. And they said, “Hey, how can we get away with that?”
“Well, we’ll hang a sappy, sentimental story around it, so people will think they’re getting something emotional, but they’re really just getting dogs humping stuffed animals.”
“Well, what’s the rest of the story?”
“Aw, we’ll just rip off ‘It’s A Wonderful Life.’ That’s sappy, right?”
“Perfect! Okay, Spot… Start humping!”

Monster House

Generally, I enjoyed this. The animation was solid, the story held my interest, and I found it pretty scary. Also, and this may seem strange to say, but the Cinematography was great! Strange because, it’s not cinematography. It’s, well, simulated. It could’ve been a little shorter, maybe. But overall, peachy.

Lady in the Water

Ambiguity is a crutch some filmmakers use to justify complaints about clarity. How can you apply logic to a fairy tale? It’s supposed to be ridiculous. Even though structure and logic are different, if a movie lacks structure, or neglects it, it lacks it’s own internal logic. Such is the case with Lady in the Water. And despite the great performance from Paul Giamatti, if we don’t know who Cleveland Heep is or what he wants, we’re not going to connect with any of his choices. And the crutch comes in when complaints about this can be dismissed because a movie about water nymphs doesn’t need structure. But when the box-office results aren’t what they were for Signs or The Sixth Sense, M. Night Shyamalan can justify it by saying people didn’t “get” it, or people are too cynical and aren’t in touch with their inner-child, or whatever. But the reviews for Monster House were better, and the box-office was better. Movies need structure.

My Super Ex-Girlfriend

Not bad, but could have been funnier. Should have been funnier. Uma is great, but this movie reminds me how good she really was in Kill Bill. Luke Wilson floats through, and barely makes an impact. They had Anna Feris, too! And even SHE launches a few duds. I love the concept; but the execution was lame.

Pirates of the Carribean - Dead Man's Chest

Second Viewing.

Pirates of the Carribean - Dead Man's Chest

More laughs and more delight per square foot than any movie so far this summer. Confusing as hell at times, but covers well with the perfect calypso pace and first-rate performances from everybody. Not just the actors, but the crew, too. Outstanding.

The Devil Wears Prada

The only other movie I’ve ever seen with Anne Hathaway is Brokeback Mountain, in which I thought she was great. But I assume that the plot to this follows the same basic stories of her other “normal-girl-becomes-a-princess” movies, when she gets to be rich and pretty and then realizes it’s all for naught. A light trifle of a movie, but paced with aeronautical precision by director David Frankel. Yeah. And Meryl Streep's in it, too. She plays a mean, old woman.

Superman Returns

SPOILER ALERT!

Second viewing, and lots more opportunity to poke holes. First, I think the movie is ill-conceived from the get-go. Superman is a dead-beat, weekend dad? Not so super. Also, at the end, the kid is wearing Aquaman pajamas. This confuses me. In this kid’s world, is Aquaman a comic-book character or a real guy? If he’s real, he could’ve helped Superman with the whole island thing. Also, if Superman is so vulnerable to kryptonite, why doesn’t he just wear armor, so he doesn’t get shanked like he’s in a prison brawl? I mean, armor wouldn’t be cumbersome or anything, because, I mean, he’s Superman, right? I still liked Parker Posey, though.