It’s big, loud, dumb and sloppy. It’s top-heavy with clichés and powered by that shopworn superior-alien-force-attacks-underdog-Earthlings scenario. But Battleship, in due course, wins the fight to deliver the right summer-action-special effects movie stuff. Hasbro’s naval-combat game, Battleship, inspired this An Officer and a Gentleman meets Independence Day at sea. Much of the movie is a … Continue reading →

In analyzing Sacha Baron Cohen and the array of offbeat characters he’s created, it’s clear that it’s become a matter of diminishing returns. In 2006’s “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan,” the observations of his bumbling, thoroughly inappropriate foreign TV journalist provided sharp, satirical insight into our prejudices and foibles. Three … Continue reading →

Tim Burton and Johnny Depp are snuggled warmly in their comfort zone in the chilly horror-comedy “Dark Shadows,” their eighth collaboration as director and star, respectively, and their weakest by far. You don’t need to know a thing about the late-’60s “Dark Shadows” TV series that provides the inspiration. Tonally, thematically, visually, you’ve seen this movie before, … Continue reading →

Recruited by the enigmatic and always cool Nick Fury, played by Samuel L. Jackson, some of the heaviest hitters in the Marvel universe must come together to save the world. “The Avengers” follows Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Captain America (Chris Evans), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and the Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) as … Continue reading →

“Think Like a Man” focuses on four guys who are quite comfortable in the way their lives and their relationships are progressing. However, when Steve Harvey’s new book, “Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man” hits the shelves and gives the women in their lives insight into the male mind, The guys find themselves playing in unfamiliar … Continue reading →

In “The Pirates! Band of Misfits,” the Pirate Captain (Hugh Grant), backed by his crew of, well, misfits, is determined to win the coveted Pirate of the Year Award. However, to be a serious contender and edge out shoe-ins like Black Bellamy (Jeremy Piven) and Cutlass Liz (Salma Hayek), he’s going to have to acquire as much treasure … Continue reading →

What is essentially a shameless and overlong infomercial for Steve Harvey’s dating advice book becomes more tolerable and even enjoyable at times with the help of an attractive, likable cast in Think Like a Man. Harvey’s best-seller Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man serves as the launching pad for four … Continue reading →

“The Lucky One” is yet another adaptation of a Nicholas Sparks novel, so you know exactly what you’re getting walking into this thing. It’s predictable and schmaltzy and sappy and smothered with voiceover that explains the film’s already none-too-subtle themes of destiny and fate and second chances. And yet ... and yet. In the hands of … Continue reading →

With the widespread arrival of television in the 1950s, millions of kids, mostly boys, grew up watching the daily slapstick misadventures of Moe, Larry and Curly. The 190 comedy shorts the Three Stooges made for Columbia Studios from 1934 through 1959 had previously been shown with feature films in movie theaters. Moe Howard and Larry … Continue reading →

A little nyuk-nyuk-nyuk goes a long way in “The Three Stooges,” Peter and Bobby Farrelly’s feature-length homage to the classic slapstick comedy trio. The Farrelly brothers have wanted to make this movie for years, and for the most part they didn’t try to inflict their signature gross-out sensibility upon known and revered source material. Yes, there is … Continue reading →

Stop reading this review right now. Go see “The Cabin in the Woods,” then come back and we can have a conversation about it. Just trust me on this. The less you know going into it, the better. We can say this much: The hype is justified. And that’s saying something when we’re talking about geek … Continue reading →

If a futuristic space prison with 500 of the world’s most violent and dangerous criminals cryogenically frozen was to somehow undergo an inmate revolt, who would emerge as the unquestioned leader of such an intergalactic gang of gruesome murders? Why the Scots, of course. At least that’s according to the sci-fi circa 2079 action flick “Lockout,” … Continue reading →

You probably haven’t been lying awake in bed at night wondering whatever became of Stifler and Oz and the rest of the horny kids from the original “American Pie” movie. Yet here they are, after 13 years and a couple of sequels, in “American Reunion.” And they’re more bland than bawdy these days. That’s part of … Continue reading →

If any film should be redone in 3-D, it’s “Titanic.” And if any filmmaker should be the one doing the redoing, it’s James Cameron. He’s been a pioneer in advancing this cinematic technology for years now, from his underwater documentaries to the record-breaking juggernaut that is “Avatar.” And so ironically, for a film that hasn’t got an … Continue reading →

There aren’t many pleasures in “Wrath of the Titans,” the 3-D sequel to the 2010 “Clash of the Titans” remake. But surely one is seeing Ralph Fiennes and Liam Neeson bounding around together as brothers, the gods Hades and Zeus. In long beards, the two veteran actors are suited to one another, like a divine ZZ Top. Continue reading →

Julia Roberts chews up the scenery and spits it back out again with great brio in her first truly villainous role as the evil Queen in “Mirror Mirror.” And oh, what scenery it is. After all, this is a film from Tarsem Singh, director of such spectacular spectaculars as the trippy “The Cell” and last year’s dreary … Continue reading →

Lionsgate, the studio behind The Hunger Games, pulls out all the stops for the much-anticipated first installment of the screen adaptations of Suzanne Collins’ trilogy of novels. Collins herself is a co-writer and executive producer for the film, a guaranteed hit brought to the screen by a team of behind-the-scenes talent that includes multiple Oscar winners and … Continue reading →

Recently, I made the mistake of joking on Twitter about the possibility of a Team Peeta vs. Team Gale dynamic, referring to the two young men who hold special places in the heart of Katniss Everdeen, the 16-year-old heroine of “The Hunger Games.” Some people played along but many were appalled at the very idea of something … Continue reading →

Movie mogul Samuel Goldwyn famously said: Pictures were made to entertain; if you want to send a message, call Western Union. The extremely quotable Goldwyn died in 1974, but the film company that bears his name in the early 21st century, Samuel Goldwyn Films, distributes movies known as faith films, including Fireproof, Facing the Giants and … Continue reading →

It’s a total goof, of course. That’s obvious even before Will Ferrell, dressed in a cowboy hat and a neckerchief sitting astride a horse in the Mexican desert, opens his mouth and utters his first overly enunciated Spanish words in “Casa de mi Padre.” It’s clear from the opening titles: a grainy, bloody, Quentin Tarantino-style montage of … Continue reading →

The TV show that made Johnny Depp a star is little more than a jumping-off point for the big-screen “21 Jump Street,” a rowdy, raunchy update that aims for laughs over action and delivers them intermittently. Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum are surprisingly amusing together in a mismatched pairing of newbie cops sent undercover as high school … Continue reading →

Let’s just get something out of the way off the top: Silent House creates the illusion that it’s a haunted-house thriller crafted in one long, continuous shot. The camera follows Elizabeth Olsen around a creepy, creaky lake house that’s under renovation and we’re right there with her for every bump, jump and thump of her … Continue reading →

In the opening sequence of “A Thousand Words,” Eddie Murphy starts with his back to the camera then turns abruptly to reveal a strip of duct tape over his mouth. A very good idea, if the once hip fast-talker of “Beverly Hills Cop” is going to continue using hollow, stumbling comedies such as this as his mouthpiece … Continue reading →

Even though the calendar says March not June, July, November or December, a great sci-fi-action-adventure epic of the kind usually saved for the summer and holiday movie seasons bounds into theaters Friday. John Carter is based on Edgar Rice Burroughs’ A Princess of Mars, the first novel in the author’s 10-book Barsoom series. Barsoom … Continue reading →

“I am the Lorax. I speak for the trees.” So says the Lorax, an insistent little critter with a big yellow mustache, a matching pair of fluffy yellow eyebrows and a little body covered by orange hair. Well, the Lorax explains, the trees can’t speak for themselves. Dr. Seuss’ the Lorax, given a voice … Continue reading →

Yes, there is life on Mars in “John Carter,” and it’s deadly dull. These are not words you would expect to use in describing a film from Andrew Stanton, director of the Oscar-winning Pixar favorites “Finding Nemo” and “WALL-E,” who’s making his live-action debut. And yet there they are, and they’re inescapable. Except for a strong … Continue reading →

Extreme fighting, extreme skiing, extreme climbing, extreme gaming, extreme couponing. Prepare to be struck by extreme partying. The high school guys in Project X stage the party that goes where no party has gone before, the party that will go down in North Pasadena history as the greatest blowout of all time. Continue reading →

Just barely a movie, Act of Valor is more like a high-quality recruitment video with interstitial acting. Sissy things like plot and character development aren’t worthy of the mission. It’s as though they’ve been chased out of the theater by a barking drill sergeant. Instead of narrative and story, Act of Valor … Continue reading →

Playing the Ghost Rider, a motorcycle stunt rider who's been cursed by Satan himself to be a bounty hunter for wicked souls, Nicolas Cage gets to act especially crazy. In Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, Cage's second ride as the aptly named Johnny Blaze, his character is marooned somewhere in Eastern Europe. Fortunately, Blaze has learned to control the demon inside … Continue reading →

This Means War is more marketing ploy than movie. Maybe the film’s eight producers took a meeting and decided to make the perfect date movie. Their can’t miss moneymaker would seamlessly blend the action, adventure and violence men crave with the romantic comedy women love. And to broaden the film’s appeal even more, why … Continue reading →

Considering the eccentric, almost psychedelic fantasy worlds created in Japanese animation master Hayao Miyazaki’s tales, a story of tiny people living beneath the floorboards of a house seems almost normal. “The Secret World of Arrietty,” from Miyazaki’s Studio Ghibli, also is a pleasant antidote to the siege mentality of so many Hollywood cartoons, whose makers aim to … Continue reading →

Riding the same middle-aged leading man action train that Liam Neeson’s been aboard of late, Denzel Washington returns in Safe House, a brutal, bloody action picture that follows a familiar corruption-in-high places theme. In the eyes of his former employer, the CIA, Washington’s Tobin Frost is an ex-agent gone rogue. Before turning bad and selling … Continue reading →

Being at the right place at the right time helped make The Vow a big hit during its opening weekend. Released just before Valentine’s Day, the romantic drama starring cute couple Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum attracted a mostly female audience. As right as the movie’s timing is, The Vow has little going for it … Continue reading →

In The Woman in Black, the child who became a star playing a boy wizard convincingly makes the transition from Harry Potter to Arthur Kipps. From scene one of this ghost story adapted from British author Susan Hill’s 1982 novel, Daniel Radcliffe leaves J.K. Rowling’s wizard world behind. Radcliffe’s Arthur is a young father devastated … Continue reading →

“Forgettable” probably isn’t a word you’d expect to use to describe a film starring Denzel Washington, Ryan Reynolds, Vera Farmiga, Brendan Gleeson and Sam Shepard. But unfortunately, that’s one of the most apt when pondering “Safe House.” Directed by Daniel Espinosa from a script by David Guggenheim (not to be confused with “An Inconvenient Truth” director Davis … Continue reading →

There’s little mystery about “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island.” This 3-D sort-of sequel wears its formula-for-dollars purpose with pride, delivering a dash of cinematic nonsense that represents Hollywood calculation at its shrewdest and most shameless. Again poking Jules Verne’s remains with a sharp stick, the producers of the 2008 hit “Journey to the Center of the … Continue reading →

Rachel McAdams wakes up in the hospital after a serious car accident with no memory of the past five years of her life and discovers she’s married to Channing Tatum, lives in a spacious, boho-chic loft and has a successful career as a Chicago artist. That wouldn’t suck, right? Nevertheless, she must reject this foreign existence … Continue reading →

In “Red Tails,” the famed Tuskegee Airmen get the John Wayne-style heroic rendering they very much deserve, but in a hackneyed and weirdly context-less story that does them a disservice. Long a pet project of his, George Lucas self-financed the film and has said he hopes “Red Tails” will prove there’s an audience for all-black movies. That’s … Continue reading →

If a movie is cheesy and knows it’s cheesy — if it embraces the soft, gooey texture and pungent aroma of its own fromage — does that make it any more palatable as a meal? That is the question to ponder while watching “Big Miracle,” a rousing, feel-good, family-friendly animal adventure which has the added benefit of … Continue reading →

“The Woman in Black” very nearly suffocates under the mounting weight of its gothic kitsch — an abandoned house, child ghosts, spooky dolls, oh my! — but nevertheless summons ornately crafted, old-fashioned suspense. This is the second film for British director James Watkins, whose previous “Eden Lake” gathered an intriguing story about class out of a confrontation … Continue reading →

It owes a great debt to the found-footage concept behind “The Blair Witch Project,” has some of the aesthetic and tonal touches of “Cloverfield” and probes the same sorts of philosophical notions about the burden of power that serve as the basis for the “X-Men” series. And yet, “Chronicle” still has enough energy and ingenuity to serve … Continue reading →

The so-called thriller “Man on a Ledge,” about a disgraced cop who threatens to jump off a building to divert attention from a heist going on across the street, isn’t even implausible in a fun way. You see a movie like “Ocean’s 11” or “Tower Heist” (which is thematically similar to this with its wily have-nots stealing … Continue reading →

The debut of a new action movie starring Liam Neeson is becoming an early-in-the-year movie tradition. Taken, featuring Neeson as a hell-bent dad out to rescue his daughter from sex slavery, debuted in January 2009. Unknown, starring the Irish actor as an American in Berlin who’s lost his memory, splashed across screens in February … Continue reading →

Mixed martial arts fighter Gina Carano rocks in Steven Soderbergh’s high-velocity action movie Haywire. Former Baton Rouge resident Soderbergh, a filmmaker capable of making mainstream crowd-pleasers and art-house eccentricities, aims for the jaw with Haywire. Though the movie contains some of his trademarks, it’s most of all ready to rumble. Carano, following the Hollywood tradition … Continue reading →

On the surface, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close seems a can’t miss project. Based on a best-selling novel by Jonathan Safran Foer, the film’s cast is crowded with Oscar winners and Oscar nominees. Another Oscar nominee, Stephen Daldry, directs from a screenplay by Oscar winner Eric Roth (Forrest Gump, The Insider). There’s also the film’s … Continue reading →