Movie scoreboard: 'The Change-Up,' 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes,' 'Terri'

James Franco with Caesar, the computer-generated chimp that leads a violent revolt in "Rise of the Planet of the Apes." / Weta Digital

"Captain America: The First Avenger" * * *

"Captain America" has to connect a World War II-era hero to modern times. It has to tie in to all the other Marvel comic book movies that are part of the Avengers series. It has to deliver the origin myth. And it has to be fun. Amazingly, it is. Director Joe ("Jumanji") Johnston and star Chris Evans have made the best comic book movie of the summer. Rated PG-13; sci-fi action and violence. 1 hour, 58 minutes. By Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel.


"The Change-Up" * *

Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman are predictably funny as a playboy and family man whose bodies are switched, but they're ultimately done in -- as is director David Dobkin's film -- by a surprisingly conventional, sappy story. It's hard not to be disappointed with "The Change-Up," which in the end follows the basic conventions of the switched-identity genre and changes up not much at all. Rated R; pervasive strong crude sexual content and language, some graphic nudity and drug use. 1 hour, 41 minutes. By Bill Goodykoontz, Gannett News Service.

"Cowboys & Aliens" * *

The genre mash-up is more a mush-up, an action yarn aiming to be both science fiction and Old West adventure but doing neither all that well. Director Jon Favreau and multiple producers and writers started with a title that lays out a simple but cool premise: Invaders from the skies shoot it out with guys on horseback. But they wound up keeping the story too simple and leaving a terrific cast led by Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford stuck in a sketchy tale. Rated PG-13; Western and sci-fi action and violence, partial nudity, a crude reference. 1 hour, 58 minutes. By David Germain, Associated Press.

"Crazy, Stupid, Love" * * *

Steve Carell plays Cal, a boring businessman who is informed by his wife (Julianne Moore) that she wants a divorce. Despondent, he wanders into a bar and observes pickup artist Jacob (Ryan Gosling) at work. Jacob observes Cal as well and decides to take him on as a project. It's a romantic comedy with ludicrous situations and unlikely coincidences, but directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa soldier on through anything that might play as false. The result is a funny movie that's better than it ought to be. Rated PG-13; sexual content, language, coarse humor. 1 hour, 58 minutes. By Bill Goodykoontz.

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" * * *

With shifting loyalties, unlikely heroes, truths revealed and a little help from friends, "Deathly Hallows: Part 2" winds up the "Harry Potter" series in a most satisfying fashion. Director David Yates once again creates a moody, atmospheric world that grows increasingly dark as the final encounter between Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) and evil Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) nears. Rated PG-13; action violence, frightening images. 2 hours, 10 minutes. By Bill Goodykoontz.

"The Myth of the American Sleepover" * * *

Not a single moment rings false in this quietly observant, gently insightful Michigan-made feature debut from writer-director David Robert Mitchell. What's amazing is that Clawson-raised Mitchell took a genre that's overly familiar -- the all-night teen dramedy -- and makes it feel refreshing and new. He also makes it look effortless: By assembling a cast of unknowns, many of them from metro Detroit, he creates a warm aura of authenticity and naturalism. The hazy story follows several characters as they prepare for and attend a series of parties and sleepovers and takes place in that wistful time when a new school year's about to begin. Not rated; contains teen smoking and drinking and language. 1 hour, 33 minutes. By Christy Lemire, Associated Press.

"Rise of the Planet of the Apes" * * *

First-class entertainment, packed with clever, unsettling and even inspired ideas. This well-crafted prequel to the long-running "Apes" series is set in present-day San Francisco, where biotech researcher Will Rodman (James Franco) is engineering an Alzheimer's cure. Motion-capture specialist Andy Serkis delivers a remarkable performance as Caesar, a chimp whose enhanced intelligence leads him to challenge the human power structure. Finally we have the thinking person's blockbuster of summer 2011. Rated PG-13; intense and frightening sequences of action and fighting. 1 hour, 45 minutes. By Colin Covert, Star Tribune (Minneapolis).

"The Smurfs" * * *

Through one of those handy portals that conveniently appear whenever mythical characters need to land in Nowadays U.S.A., Papa Smurf and half a dozen of his blue brood wind up in Central Park in this live action-animation hybrid. They eventually land at the home of a harried ad exec (Neil Patrick Harris) and his wife while hiding from their old enemies: evil wizard Gargamel (Hank Azaria) and his cat, Azrael. The movie supplies enough brains and heart to amuse adults while entertaining the kiddies with mischief. Rated PG; action, mild rude humor. 1 hour, 26 minutes. By Colin Covert.

"Terri" * * *

"Terri" is a lovely lyrical ode to high school misfits and the adults they grow into. Jacob Wysocki is Terri, a lumbering pudge of a guy who despite his towering size is a favorite target of high school bullies. John C. Reilly plays the vice principal who is a bit off-center himself but is so genuinely decent that you understand why Terri and some of the other troubled students gravitate to him. Wysocki carries the film. He's the embodiment of teenage strength and weakness -- by turns tough and soft, serious and silly, needy and self-sufficient. Rated R; sexual content, language and some drug and alcohol use -- all involving teens. 1 hour, 45 minutes. By Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times

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Movie review: Miranda July makes you want to look into 'The Future'

Miranda July’s fearlessness as a filmmaker is as much an asset as it is an albatross. But there’s no denying the shear originality of her movies, which take common themes like relationships and human interconnection and turn them into snippets of elliptical poetry that seldom fail to tear your heart out.

"The Future," her long-awaited follow-up to her spectacular debut, "Me and You and Everyone We Know," continues that trend with a soufflé of a story about two 35-year-old lovers hopelessly adrift from the real world. It contains some of the most painful, gut-wrenching moments seen onscreen, woven around such eccentricities as a babbling moon and a talking cat. Oh, yeah, there’s also a stoppage of time and a little girl who likes to bury herself in her daddy’s backyard.



That juxtaposition of tragedy and idiosyncrasy no doubt takes some getting used to; and the level at which you’re able to enjoy "The Future" depends greatly on your openness to assimilation. But if you’re going to be quirked around, it could be done by a lot worse than Sophie (July) and Jason (Hamish Linklater), two emotional drifters who’ve always managed to stay 10 paces ahead of commitment and responsibility.

That all changes the day they head to the animal shelter and adopt a wounded stray cat they name Paw Paw (voiced purr-fectly by July). The only catch is that they must wait 30 more days before he can come home with them. Almost as soon as they return to their austere Los Angeles apartment, the fear of pending responsibility paralyzes them. They foolishly convince themselves that they only have 30 days left to live the unencumbered life. So they make a pact to expend their remaining oats. Both quit their jobs (he’s a computer tech specialist, she’s a children’s dance teacher), disconnect from the Internet and commit to following their hearts.

What ensues constitutes what passes for a plot in "The Future." But as is the case with all of July’s work –– be it her films, novels, short stories and performance art –– what you see is merely a veneer providing a thinly layered sheath over deeply profound ideas about what it means to be human in the 21st century.

We’re talking human to the nth degree, too, warts and all. While sweet, non-threatening Jason walks the path of righteousness, selling trees door to door to fight climate change, July bravely dives down the rabbit hole of deceit, instigating an affair with a much older man (veteran character actor David Warshofsky) from the domesticated suburbs of Tarzana.

The scenes between July and Warshofsky provide some of the movie’s most powerful images, as Sophie imagines herself leading an alternative life away from the city. She loves it, too, especially when it involves her new lover’s precocious 10-year-old daughter, Gabby (Isabella Acres). Even more appealing to Sophie is the comfort in knowing that she can flee to the city whenever she wishes. Or at least she can before Dad and the little girl start growing emotionally dependent on her.

And as the relationships blossom and spiral out of control, one cannot help but be repulsed by the level of Sophie’s selfishness. You’re almost tempted to hiss at her; and you probably would if Sophie weren’t played by an actress as charming and openly vulnerable as July. You might even find yourself aching for her as her life begins to crumble. It’s a tremendous performance, too, full of longing and nuance.

Her greatest talent, though, remains behind the camera, where she continues to create haunting little slices of life that make you laugh almost as much as cry. "The Future" is no different. It may not reach the highest levels of "Me and You and Everyone We Know," but it sure packs the same emotional punch by the end. Perhaps that’s because "The Future" is a less hopeful picture in which depression and regret fill almost every well-crafted scene.

July also does a fine job of coaxing terrific performances from her small but powerful cast, with Linklater proving to be an actor on the cusp of stardom, just like recent Oscar nominee John Hawkes was in "Me and You." If nothing else, give July credit for having a keen eye for talent.

Still, the true reason to see the movie is July, a filmmaker who makes the common seem fascinating. That alone should be enough to make you want to look into "The Future."

THE FUTURE (R for language and sexual situations.) Cast includes Miranda July, Hamish Linklater and David Warshofsky. Written and directed by Miranda July. At Kendall Square, Cambridge. 3 stars out of 4.

Source: http://www.dailynewstranscript.com/

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"Horrible Bosses" Movie Review by Chris Vetter

Have you fantasized about killing your boss, thinking it would improve your life? Three regular guys, stuck in a rut at work with no alternate job prospects, decide that the benefits of "offing" their bosses is worth the risk of getting caught, in the new film "Horrible Bosses."

Jason Bateman (TV's "Arrested Development," also in "Juno" and "Up in the Air") is Nick, working in a competitive office environment, where he has to suck up to his boss, Dave (played by a deliciously evil Kevin Spacey), in hopes of someday getting a big promotion. Meanwhile, Kurt (Jason Sudeikis of "Saturday Night Live" fame) suddenly has a new boss (played by Colin Farrell), who is concerned only with milking the company for all its money. Dale (Charlie Day of TV's "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia") has the most unusual problem - the female dentist he works for, Julia (Jennifer Aniston), constantly is hitting on him and threatening him unless he has sex with her.

All three feel they can't just quit in a rough economy - they bump into an out-of-work friend who is willing to degrade himself for a few bucks.

Thus, the men wind up agreeing to kill each other's bosses. Kudos to the film for name-checking both "Strangers on a Train" and "Throw Momma from the Train," which share the identical concept. However, these bumbling guys forgot the first rule of those prior movies - establish an alibi for yourself while someone you are connected to is being killed. (The three guys each go on undercover missions at the same time, thus, none has a true alibi when police come calling.)

I've always been a big fan of Bateman, and he plays the "straight man" of the bunch - the most normal of the three friends, who have known each other since high school. Day is the runt of the group and easily the most picked on; his character is fun, but at times his high-pitched whining got to be too much. I felt Sudeikis was really miscast; his character flirts with women easily and seduces them just as quickly, but he doesn't come across as enough of a "ladies man" to pull off that role.

While our three main characters are the focus of the movie, the three villainous bosses steal the show. Spacey ("American Beauty," "Unusual Suspects"), Aniston ("Friends") and Farrell ("Daredevil," "Miami Vice") all really get into their roles, relishing their meanness. I remember watching "America's Sweetheart" Julia Roberts curse up a storm in the 2004 film "Closer," and a lot of people similarly will be shocked hearing Aniston talk so lewdly and crudely here as she baits Day to have sex with her. Farrell dons an ugly wig to make himself look like he's going bald, and his character is more concerned about his cocaine habit than managing his company.

As I hinted already, the three main characters aren't too skilled at pulling off their murder plots, or doing much of anything right. The jokes are solid, and I was surprised at some of the plot turns in the final act of the film. This film definitely deserves its R rating for its raunchy and lewd humor and depiction of drug abuse, although it doesn't have any actual nudity or much in terms of violence.

Shot on a mere $35 million budget, "Horrible Bosses" earned a solid $28 million domestically in its debut weekend. Critics at Rottentomatoes.com gave it a surprisingly high 73 percent approval rating. Viewers liked the film a lot too, with 61 percent giving it an A grade, while another 19 percent gave it a B, at Boxofficemojo.com.

This is a solid comedy, but I can't help but think it could have been even better if the writing matched the quality of the acting.

Horrible Bosses Movie Trailers

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Austin movie fan texts her way out of theater

Not only is it a big no-no to text and drive — it is illegal to do so in 24 states (though Texas is a ridiculously sluggish holdout) and the impetus for a big, fat $200 fine if you do it in a school zone — but it also is, frankly, a little irritating.


Oprah Winfrey once declared a no-texting day on her now wrapped-up talk show, and now Austin-based Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas, named the best theater chain in America by Entertainment Weekly, has a pickle to pick with texters. In fact, it has picked that pickle quite staunchly since it was founded in 1997.

The movie theater has enforced a strict policy against talking and using cellphones during a film — and that includes texting. It is one of the few theaters with enough gravitas to actually risk a patron's ire and kick them out without a refund if they dare test the policy.

It was something I was reminded of at the Alamo Drafthouse's presentation Friday night of "The Last Picture Show" outside the Royal Theater in Archer City as part of Texas Monthly's Rolling Roadshow Tour (the tour screened the magazine's picks for the 10 Greatest Texas Films Ever Made).

The Alamo Drafthouse this summer has been running an ingenious public service announcement against texting during a movie. It has been using an expletive-laced message left on its phone answering system by an irate customer who was escorted out of the theater for texting.

"I was not AWARE that I couldn't text in your theater. All right?" goes some of her message. "I've texted in ALL the other theaters in Austin, and no one ever gave a *&^! about what me ... I ... was doing on my *&^! phone."

You can Google the whole angry rant and find it somewhere on the Internet. Let's just say she wasn't very happy about it.

She was warned twice to stop texting, and when she didn't, she was outta there, no refund to boot.

More power to you, Alamo Drafthouse!

It reminds me of the usher in "Spider-Man 2," who wouldn't let a late Peter Parker into the theater to see Mary Jane's play because it "helps maintain the illusion."

Those glowing phone screens are a distraction, as is someone talking while you're trying to listen to a movie.

Midwestern State University's theater department over the years has likewise battled such distractions. Not only is there no talking or texting during a play, but patrons are asked not to bring along children younger than 6, who often do not have the fortitude to sit dutifully still and be well-behaved during a 2½-hour production.

And a patron who recently attended the Donald B. Cowan Legacy Choir's concert June 25 at Memorial Auditorium complained about being stuck behind a group of five, including adults, who spent the whole time playing video games on their cellphones that bleeped and blooped during the concert. Add to that the cellphone lights gleaming from people recording the concert.

There's something to be said about theater etiquette. We already have to put up with sticky floors and gingerly make our way past the spilled popcorn without having to deal with rude patrons, too, who think they're the only ones sitting there in the dark and have no common courtesy.

Movies, plays and concerts are generally only two hours long. Embrace the escape from the real world for those few minutes. Believe me, you'll survive that long without texting or playing a game.

Feel free to contribute to the illusion.

Source: http://www.timesrecordnews.com
By Lana Sweeten-Shults

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Cars 2 Movie Review and Trailers

By Kenneth Turan

Pixar's inventive sequel brings back its familiar characters and throws in a spy thriller plot with secret weapons, sinister villains and clandestine agents. It also teaches kid-friendly lessons about friendship and being yourself.


It's Pixar Animation's 25th anniversary, and the studio has kicked back and given a present to itself and its ever-expanding audience with the genially entertaining "Cars 2."

A movie that loves autos and doesn't care who knows it, "Cars 2" is so close to the heart of John Lasseter that he carved out time from being the creative czar of both Pixar and Disney animation to direct it himself, the first time Lasseter's done that since, well, the original "Cars" five years ago.

But to expect simply a revisiting of the gang from Radiator Springs is to underestimate the Pixar philosophy. "Cars 2" takes the studio into unexpected new territory by bringing its familiar characters to a "Bourne Identity"-type spy thriller complete with secret weapons, sinister villains and clandestine agents calling frantically for backup.

Though it spends time in familiar Carburetor County, "Cars 2" also goes far afield geographically, unleashing racing whiz Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson) and his best pal, Tow Mater (Larry the Cable Guy), on the rest of the world as Lightning travels to Paris and competes in the World Grand Prix in Tokyo, London and the fictional Italian Riviera town of Porto Corsa.

More than visiting these metropolises, "Cars 2" is able to do what Pixar calls "car-ify" them. It reimagines these places in a remarkably detailed way, as if cars (the film boasts 145 unique car characters) were the people who built and lived in these cities, putting "car-goyles" on Notre Dame and turning London's Big Ben into "Big Bentley," complete with Bentley grills and hood ornaments.

"Cars 2" also makes entertaining and inventive use of 3-D technology. With a plot that includes life-and-death action sequences, thrilling auto races and panoramic scenic vistas, the opportunities for enhanced perspective are considerable and the Pixar team makes better use of them than most live-action films.

Despite all these technological wonders, "Cars 2" never forgets the heartfelt sensibility that is its dramatic heritage. Written by Ben Queen (the creator of Fox TV's "Drive") from a story by Lasseter and Brad Lewis, "Cars 2" teaches gentle kid-friendly lessons about the importance of friendship and being yourself and introduces some great new characters in its parallel spy drama and auto racing plots.

"Cars 2" opens in the middle of its spy drama and introduces suave, sophisticated secret agent Finn McMissile. Impeccably voiced by Michael Caine, McMissile is totally unflappable in all situations, even being pursued on the top of an oil platform by the dreaded Professor Z (Thomas Kretschmann) and his merciless automotive minions.

Back in Radiator Springs, Lightning McQueen is looking forward to spending an off-season kicking back with best friend Mater and best girl Sally (Bonnie Hunt). But he gets drawn into that World Grand Prix, the creation of billionaire Sir Miles Axlerod (Eddie Izzard), a reformed oil tycoon who now is pushing an alternative fuel called Allinol.

Also a factor in McQueen's decision to race is his irritation at the sky-high smugness of his chief rival, Italian Formula One car Francesco Bernoulli, hilariously voiced by John Turturro as a self-involved individual given to saying things like, "when I want to go to sleep, I watch one of McQueen's races."

At the instigation of Sally, McQueen takes Mater along on the world tour, and the clueless tow truck's bumbling, irrepressible innocence proves to be a problem from stop one in Tokyo, where he mistakes a dish of red-hot wasabi for a helping of pistachio ice cream.

Things get even more complicated when, in a "North by Northwest" case of mistaken identity, everyone, including McMissile and his inexperienced colleague Holley Shiftwell (Emily Mortimer), not to mention the nefarious bad guys, assume Mater is an ace secret agent with one heck of a cover. As if.

With engaging characters, a plot that ensures energy, and such a wealth of auto references (it even features a song originally performed by the Cars — "You Might Think," done here by Weezer), "Cars 2" has a smooth, easy way about it. These creations have become like family to Lasseter as well as to each other, and they never fail to make us smile.

Cars 2 Movie Trailers

Source: http://www.latimes.com

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Green Lantern Movie Review

Green Lantern Movie

Review By Kenneth Turan

"Green Lantern" is both off the wall and out of this world — literally. More science-fiction space opera than superhero epic, it works in fits and starts as its disparate parts go in and out of effectiveness, but the professionalism of the production make it watchable in a comic book kind of way.

The film's wacky premise comes from the 1959 rebooting of the earlier comic book that floated the notion of a huge intergalactic legion of way-powerful Green Lanterns, each with his very own lantern — think upscale lava lamp — and each being the protector of a particular corner of the universe.
But though the Lanterns and their potent matching rings have been around for eons, a member of the human race has never been tapped to join the corps. And when hotshot test pilot Hal "Call Me Irresponsible" Jordan gets the nod, there is a lot of scratching of heads both on Earth and elsewhere.

That mirrored the response in Hollywood when charming leading man Ryan Reynolds was tapped for the role. How would he look in the computer-generated, form-fitting Lantern uniform, and would he have the gravitas to take on the dread Parallax, the evilest entity that ever lived?

As it turns out, Reynolds can handle most of what the script by Greg Berlanti & Michael Green & Marc Guggenheim and Michael Goldenberg throws at him. The problem is, not all of that stuff is worth doing.

Not surprisingly, Reynolds is on target for the early Hal Jordan. The cocky but charming test pilot for Ferris Aircraft — who has a who-cares relationship with gorgeous old flame Carol Ferris (a capable Blake Lively) — is so nonchalant he oversleeps on the morning of his biggest flight.

Also effective, thanks to production design by Grant Major and visual effects that looked perfectly fine in 2-D, are the film's first glimpses of the planet Oa, the home base of the Lanterns and their supervisors. Those would be the older-than-dirt Guardians of the Universe, who first figured how to harness the force that energizes the Lanterns, the power of will. (Had Leni Riefenstahl not gotten there first, "Triumph of the Will" would have made a heck of a subtitle here.)

It's from Oa that Lantern Abin Sur (Temuera Morrison) takes off to battle Parallax. Things do not work out well, and after a crash landing on Earth, his ring, which always chooses who it goes to next, selects Hal. No one is more surprised than the man himself to be suddenly reciting a sacred oath ("Let those who worship evil's might beware my power — Green Lantern's light!") that sounds like it might have come from the back of a cereal box.

"Green Lantern's" biggest problem, never completely overcome, is that there is a serious tonal shift between the devil-may-care Hal Jordan of the opening sections and the dead serious savior of the universe of the finale. The film tries to bridge that gap with unnecessary characters and extraneous plotting, including tedious sections involving other Lanterns, who tend to look like refugees from "Star Wars'" Mos Eisley Cantina, but it is to no avail.

Though he is nothing if not game, star Reynolds is not at his best either in these sections, where among other things he learns how to control his ring-linked ability to create anything his mind can imagine. Michael Fassbender as the future Magneto in "X-Men: First Class" has set the bar quite high for superhero ambivalence this summer, and Reynolds inevitably falls short.

"Green Lantern" does have the advantage of good villains, starting with Parallax, an amorphous blob of endless iniquity that thrives on terror and has an affinity for yellow, the color (in case you didn't know) of fear.

Evil's man on Earth is scientist Hector Hammond, played by Peter Sarsgaard. Contact with Parallax turns him into a kind of creepy Quasimodo with beady yellow eyes and a huge misshapen head who wreaks havoc wherever he goes. Always an adventurous, convincing actor, Sarsgaard does this role right.

Given its ups and downs, "Green Lantern" is fortunate to have Martin Campbell ("The Mask of Zorro," "Casino Royale") as director. Though this is not Campbell's finest hour, his proficiency counts for a lot in so far-fetched a venture. With a sequel in the works (a clip is shown during the closing credits), let's hope everyone ups their game the next time around.

Source: http://www.latimes.com

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Johnny Depp's 48th Birthday: Photos of His Craziest Movie Costumes

Johnny Deep in Pirates of the Caribbean

Johnny Depp turns 48 years old on Thursday. And given his crazy number of eccentric costumes over the years, the guy's got a hell of a lot of choices for a themed birthday party.

Beginning with his small role as a soldier in Vietnam in "Platoon," no star has come close to topping Depp when it comes to sheer number of rich and off-the-wall characters. Willing to go all out, all the time, Depp has appeared in as a drug-addled journalist ("Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas"), gone gangster ("Donnie Brasco"), donned unfortunate 70's get-up ("Blow"), rocked corpse-like scissor-handed semi-human accessories ("Edward Scissorhands"), been straight up super creepy ("Alice in Wonderland," "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory") and, in his most iconic role, semi-drag pirate.

As he approaches 50, Depp is still going strong with the eccentric roles. Having just completed another "Pirates of the Caribbean" film and set to do two more, he's also ready to re-invent "The Lone Ranger," by playing Tonto as a commanding Native American.

It's very much worth taking a look back at all of his crazy styles in tribute to his eclectic career; in the comments, discuss your favorites.

Johnny Deep in 21 Jump Street

Johnny Deep in Alice In Wonderland

Johnny Deep in Before Night Falls

Johnny Deep in Blow

Johnny Deep in Charlie and the Cocolate Factory

Johnny Deep in Chocolat

Johnny Deep in Dead Man

Johnny Deep in Juan DeMarco

Johnny Deep in Donnie Brasco

Johnny Deep in Ed Wood

Johnny Deep in Edward Scissorhands

Johnny Deep in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Johnny Deep in Deep Platoon

Johnny Deep in Public Enemies

Johnny Deep in Sleepy Hollow

Johnny Deep in Sweeny Todd

Johnny Deep in The Libertine

Johnny Deep in What's Eating Gilbert's Grape

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