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CHRIS WANGLER
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A heartless thrill ride
Chinese triads. Corey Haim. Porn actors on strike. REO Speedwagon. Yes, the creators of this nearly unwatchable sequel will use anything to achieve their twisted goal: to shock ADHD teenagers.
Not “completely pie free,” but close
What lifts this tasty little dramedy above Sundance mediocrity is a pathos that overcomes all the "quirky" dysfunctional contrivance.
If Dakota Fanning were truly clairvoyant, she might not have made this movie.
Teens with special powers? A government conspiracy?
Unoriginal, even by Bollywood's standards
Director Nikhil Advani's quirky Chinese-Indian collaboration is the widest release ever of a Bollywood film, and the first ever kung fu Bollywood comedy.
Muddies the Waters, but in a Good Way
Cadillac Records writer/director Darnell Martin lets the music speak for itself
Pixarian technical wizardry and Disney schmaltz
The celebs are okay under the direction of Chris Williams and Byron Howard, but the best lines belong to animator Mark Walton as Rhino, a fanboy hamster who fogs up his plastic ball when excited.
Amitav Ghosh's Sea of Poppies
India, 1838. The opium business is booming, and drug money fills the British Empire’s coffers, offsetting a trade imbalance created by imports of Chinese tea and silk. But now the emperor wants the drug trade stopped.
A fill-in-the-blanks, DOA comedy
As a comedian, Ricky Gervais is like an endangered panda: he can perform only under specific circumstances.
A less gory and more clichéd remake
It would all be funny if it didn’t mirror the same burnt-out ideas every one else is using.
A flashy, ludicrous threequel
Lines like “I will crush any idea of freedom!” may or may not be intended to reflect current Chinese leadership.
A new book looks at the golden age of international movie marketing
As movies began to gain worldwide attention, Hollywood studios tailored their marketing to specific geographic locations, allowing local distributors to create their own publicity campaigns.
Politically neutral father/daughter drama
Some clever scenes lay bare the excesses of campaign TV culture, but overall the humor is as lame as anything on the Blue Collar Comedy Tour .
Derivative, crass, and boring
Guru Pitka is a self-help mogul with origins in Mike Myers’s now tired vision of the groovy ’60s.
Much more than a Lifetime Movie for Men
Director Anand Tucker's focus on compromise and memory over pre-fab, end-of-life resolutions is realistic and powerful.
Pleasantly predictable
The Young@Heart Chorus was formed in Northampton in 1982 by whip-cracking director Bob Cilman.
Repackaged stereotypes
Brenda is a newly jobless mother of three, and she’s getting no child support from her baby daddies.
Hard to knock it
Another shy, fatherless kid in need of a space alien or a pet dragon to help him cope.
Simplified Runner not up to speed
In spite of being lovingly realized and creatively cast, The Kite Runner is a simplistic adaptation of a powerful, multi-layered story.
Incompetent Jessica Alba
“Do you think my new heart will love you as much as my old one?”
An uncalled-for sequel
He appears to be on a holiday of his own — from any faintly realistic notion about his audience.
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