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Review: Pom Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold
Reviews
Alvin and the Chipmunks
All funked up
By
BROOKE HOLGERSON
|
December 12, 2007
ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS
1.0
Stars
VIDEO: Watch the trailer for
Alvin and the Chipmunks
.
Depending on when you were born and how much affection you have for a trio of singing rodents, Alvin and the Chipmunks may be a tough sell. A pop-culture sensation in the late ’50s partly because of their weirdness, they need to be handled with whimsy — which is not director Tim Hill’s forte. Also not helping matters are the charmless CGI chipmunks and a strictly-for-the-paycheck performance by Jason Lee as the put-upon Dave Seville, who finds the munks, as they’re sometimes called in this “hip” reinvention, trashing his house in their never-ending quest for food. A legendary musical collaboration ensues, and a gimmick is born, just in time for the holidays. Those who remember it from childhood might be charmed by “The Chipmunk Song,” which appears in the film. Less so the Chipmunk version of “Funky Town.”
91 minutes | Boston Common + Fenway + Fresh Pond + Chestnut Hill + Suburbs
Related
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Enchanted
,
Horton Hears a Who!
,
Night at the Museum
,
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Enchanted
Wicked (cartoon) witch sends adorable fairy-tale princess down a rabbit hole and she’s deposited, suddenly human, in present-day Times Square.
Horton Hears a Who!
Although it scatters a few jokes for adults, some of them earnestly funny, Horton lacks the wit and layered cleverness of the good animated films of recent years.
Night at the Museum
“This is not worth $11.50 an hour,” blurts exasperated dreamer Larry Daley when his night-watchman job at New York’s Museum of Natural History takes on a life of its own. Watch the trailer for Night at the Museum (QuickTime)
Review: Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel
In playing evil ex-Chipmunk-band manager Ian Hawke, comedian David Cross draws the Short Straw of Irony, being dealt the line "At least I still have my dignity."
Untrue north
Just as there are many universes in the world of Philip Pullman’s The Golden Compass (published in Great Britain as Northern Lights ), so there are many movies in this New Line adaptation.
Review: Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
In the three years since last he was on screen, Ben Stiller's bored night guard, Larry Daley, has become a well-to-do hawker of infomercial crap, but he's still not in the right place.
Review: Imagine That
Eddie Murphy proves he doesn't need a fat suit to play soft in Karey Kirkpatrick's surprisingly nuanced family comedy.
Jerry-built
One day, Jerry Seinfeld was talking with his good friend Steven Spielberg, and he said, “Wouldn’t it be funny if ‘B’ movies were really about bees?”
Buzz words
I’ve had several brushes with Jerry Seinfeld.
Nim's Island
Nim is home-schooled, her covert classroom an uncharted isle she inhabits with her scientist father, Jack.
Review: The End of the Line
Eating fish is great for you — but it's a different story for the poor fish.
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ARTICLES BY BROOKE HOLGERSON
REVIEW: PAUL BLART: MALL COP
| January 20, 2009
If you find the sight of a grown man rolling around the mall on a Segway hilarious, this is the movie for you.
TYLER PERRY’S THE FAMILY THAT PREYS
| September 17, 2008
The prolific Tyler Perry is at it again, offering subpar entertainment to audiences so starved for sustenance they’ll eat his cheese.
THE ROCKER
| August 20, 2008
Rainn Wilson of The Office gets promoted to the big screen with this anemic comedy directed by The Full Monty helmer Peter Cattaneo.
KIT KITTREDGE: AN AMERICAN GIRL
| July 01, 2008
Although her film has as much visual flair as an after-school special, director Patricia Rozema gives an appealing attention to period detail, and Breslin is sweet in her first starring role.
REPRISE
| May 21, 2008
Trier captures the moment when the recklessness of youth gives way to adult responsibilities, and the way childhood friendships can fall apart when different paths are taken.
See all articles by:
BROOKE HOLGERSON
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