Tyson

A tragic portrayal of a talented athlete with flagrantly untreated mental illness. Many of Tyson’s comments during his interview prompted laughter from the audience. But it’s that kind of nervous laughter, as if to say, “Did he really just say that?” His comments and opinions about women were especially disturbing. But like many of the very rich and powerful people, his psychological issues are neglected or chalked up to “eccentricities.” Most of the facts and data in the movie are public knowledge, so it’s not all that revealing. But when the man talks, brace yourself.

State of Play

It’s refreshing to see a dutifully old-fashioned political thriller, complete with Russell Crowe as the hardscrabble, unshaven, whiskey-drinking reporter poised to save the day. The cast is all good, the plot is compelling, and it’s adequately suspenseful. But the most memorable thing of all is the end credit montage: following newspapers through the printing process. It proves that when something’s in print, you have to stand behind it. It can’t be “refreshed.” It signals the slow death of newspapers, and unfortunately, the journalism of due diligence.

Crank: High Voltage

It starts out as an over-the-top action comedy. From there it crashes through to preposterous, surreal, looney-tunes, and eventually devolves into crazy-ass, Douglas Adams-style Science fiction. Unlike the first movie, the strange departures from the plot were distractions here rather than treats. Flashbacks to Jason Statham’s childhood, etc. seemed designed to fill time rather than mine a laugh. Statham stays on message, fully committed to his fucked-up comedy bits. He’s much more awake here than in Transporter 3. Amy Smart (always’ve liked her) has fun with her role, too, and should get some kind of medal for being a good sport. But ultimately, when the movie is no longer grounded in any kind of reality, it’s impossible to care if Statham ever gets his heart back. So the whole thing feels like a mess.

Observe and Report

Okay, everyone say it with me now, “I LOVES me the Anna Faris.” She’s the funniest and most subversive of the unlikable heels in this bigger budget clone of Foot Fist Way. At times it’s funny, at times it pushes the envelope and at times it’s surprisingly, hilariously creepy. But there are scenes, too, where the timing’s off and it doesn’t seem like the filmmakers are having as much fun as they should be. So it’s no Bad Santa, for example. But the cast dives right in, committed in full to their humiliation —- especially the incredibly courageous flasher dude. Faris just makes it look easier than everybody else.

Monsters vs. Aliens

The 3-D animation is amazing, but the script is lame. The lead character, “Susan” is animated in the proud tradition of impossibly gorgeous, superhumanly leggy cartoon women, akin to the animes, wonder women and GI Joe babes of the past. If only the care they took to tweak every nuance of Susan’s skin-tight jumpsuit was taken to strengthen the story.

Adventureland

First off, they got 1987 completely wrong. The cars were wrong. The hair was wrong. Nobody was wearing tube socks up to their knees! It’s as if somebody watched Dazed and Confused and Meatballs and decided to set the movie in that era, even though it took place ten years later. Jesse Eisenberg has absolutely MASTERED his awkward, over-articulate teenager characterization so it’s time for him to branch out. Kristen Stewart is easy on the eyes, but mopes and pouts her way through another movie. It’s time for her to branch out, too. As for the script, it starts out funny, but gets gradually more dour and less fun as the movie wears on, making the overall experience a great, big… Meh!

Paris 36

Accordion music, cobblestone streets, and men in berets. You could practically smell the freshly-baked baguettes, it felt so quintessentially French. The moving camera sails through the brisk scenes beautifully. Sentimental, whimsical, and dramatic, it’s an elegant confection, a heartfelt love-letter to Paris.

Big Fan

Patton Oswalt goes “Travis Bickle” in this Taxi Driver/King of Comedy fusion. Oswalt embodies his Giants fan character ably -- emasculated and humiliated by his family, his job, and ultimately his beloved team. But it’s not so funny. He’s an anti-hero, so it’s tough to root for him. But that doesn’t make it a bad movie, just slightly distant. It’s a cautionary tale, and a mirror to a subculture of “fans” that might be substituting the drama of the NFL for their own stagnant lives.