Heffee uses a formula that takes into account the input from websites, moderators and expecially the users to decide which news across the internet is the most important. Users can create their own customized feeds, save pages and articles from across the web, and subscribe to their favorite news outlets.
Incoming Sites
All Articles for Cinema Blend Feed: Movie Reviews
|
The original movie showed tremendous potential, the character of Hellboy was flat out fantastic, needing only a better story, preferably one with fewer random, badly CGId tentacles, to roam around in. IHellboy II: The Golden ArmyI delivers that, along with more of the charming, growling, cigar-chewing character depth which made Hellboy so damn engaging to begin with.
IHancockI is that weird kid who sits in the front row of every high school class. The kid who doesnt know hes a social outcast and whose parents have convinced him that by simply being different hell earn everyones respect. The kid who comes to school one day wearing a bowler hat, and then is surprised to discover himself laying face down in the mud while everyone in school takes turns kicking his ass.
Broderick and Snow are both doing their best to turn their characters into real people, but both, Amanda particularly, exist mostly as types to keep the story, such as it is, in motion. For a movie that wants to be about an emotional journey, thats no good. Though IFinding AmandaIs story reaches a reasonably satisfying conclusion, the empty characters at its center make the whole thing feel like a waste.
The fact that the band was able to grow so massively in such a short period of time without the twin crutches of globalization and the Internet speaks to the immediacy of their music and the rightness of their moment, if there is such a thing as cosmic meaning. The greatest thing iJoy Divisioni achieves is making the audience want to go home and listen to their records, and theres really not much more you can ask from a rock documentary than that.
A love letter to science-fiction films of old with a modern environmentalist message, iWALL-Ei is another winning confection from Pixar, the folks who have made an art out of wrapping adult themes in childish whimsy and coming out with movies that please both elements. Starring a box shaped little robot with more than a passing resemblance to E.T., WALL-E is quite possibly the cutest Pixar hero ever.
Realism is tossed out the window and explained with a vague sci fi conceit which exists only to give Bekmambetov license to get creative and occasionally ignore things like physics. Who needs gravity anyway? IWantedI is better off without it. The action genre hasnt felt this fresh and alive since 1999 and the Wachowskis. This isnt another entry rehashing the same chase and shoot scenes youve seen in every other movie.
I take no pleasure in calling IThe Love GuruI a shockingly infantile piece of garbage. When I say infantile, I mean that literally. If Mike Myers took a dump in a diaper, it couldnt possibly smell any worse than this script. Please bear in mind that I say this as someone who likes Mike Myers, I really do. Hes done plenty of hilarious work over the years, and Ive always been quick to...
Along comes IGet SmartI: a standard, formulized, slick Hollywood comedy in the mold of IBruce AlmightyI or yes shudder, IWild HogsI. Except this ones not only straight down the middle mainstream, its also blissfully funny. Everyone can have a laugh, without feeling guilty about supporting the increasingly embarrassing career of a Tim Allen.
IJourney 3DI is predictable, cheesy and not even a little edgy, but its also as much fun as youre likely to have in a PG movie this summer. A retelling of Jules Vernes original story that takes the 19th-century novel as fact, the movie is a dream come true for anyone whos every imagined stepping through the wardrobe or riding the Hogwarts Express.
IKit Kittredge: An American GirlI, is as wholesome as it comes, with gentle humor, caring adult characters and, as always, lessons about reaching for your dreams. Theres not much in it for childless adults, but parents looking for entertainment that will actually teach their kids something without boring them to death, IKitI will probably be a welcome summer outing
Rumors of M. Night Shyamalans hackery have been greatly exaggerated. With IThe HappeningI, a misfire on many levels, Shyamalan still manages to prove that hes got an expert grasp of film language and style. Unfortunately, its human language he struggles with, which unintentionally turns IThe HappeningI into more of a campy mess than the moody disaster thriller hes aiming for....
Like those early silent films, which amazed and frightened audiences with their unimagined potential for the fantastic, iThe Falli uses special effects to heighten reality in subtler, more intriguing ways. It is the kind of movie that would be wasted on a miniscule television screen; its visuals are the heart of the thing and require theatrical treatment to reveal their full depth.
If its a sequel to anything, then IThe Incredible HulkI owes its allegiance to the late 70s, early 80s television series starring Lou Ferrigno and Bill Bixby. For better or worse, the movie is steeped in the nostalgia of that forgotten network program both Bixby and Ferrigno make cameos of a sort, right down to Edward Nortons wardrobe and his characters proclivity for wandering the countryside sallow and alone.
Packed full of period slang and even a few fly girls, the movie mines its period setting for comedy as much as for metaphor. Even when the slang becomes grating just wait til you hear the moment when the title is said out loud, it all fits in with the movies sweetly nostalgic and sardonic tone. Coming out July 3rd, IThe WacknessI is a drug-tinged love letter to summertime...
With the exception of I10,000 B.C.I if that even counts, its been a while since we had an honest-to-God outdoors epic. The kind of movie that ILawrence of ArabiaI personifies, and Kevin Costner and Mel Gibson revived in their own 90s vanity projects IDances with WolvesI and IBraveheartI.
Now Russian director Sergei Bodrov is doing his best to bring back rugged men on horseback.
Jack Black is always best when hes asked to play . . . Jack Black. Fortunately in IKung Fu PandaI, that is exactly what he is asked to do. In this DreamWorks animated film about, well, a panda that practices, uh, kung fu, Jack Black is at his Jack Blackiest. Its the part he was born to play. Black is the schlepy Po, who works at his fathers James Wong noodle stand in the Valley of Peace...
In 1965, 21-year-old Who frontman Roger Daltrey screamed, I hope I die before I get old. His drummer listened; the IYoung HeartI choir didnt. Occasionally, a motion picture comes along thats so powerful, so captivating, so full of grit, that it changes your entire outlook. Go see this movie. Bring your mom. Bring your grandmother. Bring everyone you know.
IYou Dont Mess with the ZohanI would fit more comfortably on a shelf next to IAustin PowersI than it would IKnocked UpI. Zohan is that kind of character. Its hilarious because its so far over the top, funny because its so completely insane that you have no choice but to laugh. There is no smart, sympathetic, affecting story here to drive the plot.
Three parts iSchool of Rocki minus the school, one part iAlmost Famousi, iThe Rockeri is an genial film about a rock n roll fantasy come true, without any underlying messages about the value of music that pervaded the above-mentioned movies. Dont be fooled: Despite its title, iThe Rockeri isnt really about rock n roll. Its more about middle-aged wish fulfillment whimsy.
IThe Strangersi features an antagonist that resembles a poor mans Ghostface and has an appropriately reduced terror quality about him. While the original IScreamis opening scene with Drew Barrymore made me want to lock the door before the movie moved any farther, IThe Strangersi barely even motivates me to glance and see if my deadbolts are in place.
Being a young woman living in New York City, I often feel required to have an opinion on ISex and the CityI. Do I love it? Is it a guilty pleasure? Do I recognize that its really just a giant pit of consumerist greed? After seeing the ISex and the CityI movie, the big, shiny sparkler on top of the decadent cake that was the series, the answer to all of those questions is: Yes.
Anybody whos any kind of an Indiana Jones fan will find fun in this final chance to see Harrison back in the hat, but its hard not to wonder if we might not have been happier in the long run with Indiana Jones as a mythical figure somewhere off in the distance, never aging, never changing.
The religious fervor and hype which attached itself to IThe Lion, the Witch, and the WardrobeI has burned itself out. You wont see IPrince CaspianI shown at Churchs in place of Sunday sermons, theyve already taken what they wanted from INarniaI and now were simply left with the magic of C.S. Lewiss imaginative, fantasy world.
Joachim Triers iReprisei is a poetic and languid film about the relationship between two young men, emphasis on the young. Its a buddy film in the basest sense, stripped of any dishonest cinematic conceits; its more iJules et Jimi than iBill and Tedi. The subject matter is heavy mental illness, obsession, love, but in no way is the film a drag. Its actually the opposite.
IThe Foot Fist WayI is being advertised as one of Will Ferrells favorite comedies. If thats true, it may explain whats gone so horribly wrong with his career over the past few years. Clearly, the guy no longer has any idea what really funny actually is. Its not that IThe Foot Fist WayI isnt funny in parts, its just that its only funny in parts. The parts that are funny are indeed really funny, and they involve Danny McBride.
I walked into ISpeed RacerI tonight armed with multiple viewings of the films brightly colored trailers and padded with the certainty that this was either going to be the most groundbreaking movie of the year, or one hell of a mess. Unbelievably, ISpeed RacerI is neither. Despite all the flashing lights and over the top camp, the Wachowskis have accomplished the impossible.
Both implausible and predictable at the same time and not in an its so bad its good way.
Fine films have been made about the vagaries of Vegas, but iWhat Happens in Vegasi is not one of them. Ultimately, there is more Vegas in the title than there actually is in the film. If you must go see this clunker I pity you, try to make your escape after the Vegas montage has passed. Who cares what happens after Vegas?
McCarthy mostly lets the humor, tenderness, and humanity of his characters take precedence over political diatribes.
While all four leads turn in strong performances, the movie rises on Jenkins talent, which is formidable. He turns Walter into a real person rather than a clich and that, in turn, makes the whole movie work. Even hard hearted conservatives, like myself, will find much to like in this quiet and actorly film.
In this years summer preview edition of Entertainment Weekly, IMade of HonorI producer Neal Moritz all but admits his movie is little more than a rehash of other successful romantic comedies. He says, we couldnt do IMy Best Friends WeddingI again, but we could do the reverse of it. Unfortunately, they havent even done that much to differentiate it from the dozens of other similar movies weve all seen.
Written and directed by Garth Jennings iHitchhikers Guide To The Galaxyi, his sophomore project iSon of Rambowi is a much smaller, more restrained effort. Without an obsessive fanbase and massive expectation weighing down on him, Jennings finds his stride using the hilarious and sweet personal story of two boys with one seemingly simple mission.
By the end of his film Jon Favreaus Iron Man is a light and fluffy character, a superhero colored in with bright bits of crayon, but he doesnt start out that way. Ironically its early on in the story when Tony Stark, the man inside the bright red suit, is still a carefree playboy and globe-trotting arms merchant that he has the most edge. Its there that Favreaus superhero movie works best.
Before you find yourself walking into iThen She Found Mei, make sure that A - youre a woman and B - youre in the mood for one of those low-budget, character-driven dramas about a woman whose life sucks a little bit more than yours. Keeping those parameters in mind, the film is quite compelling, carried by a solid supporting performance from Bette Midler and a story thats somehow relatable despite some implausible plot twists.
IHarold and KumarI is a bit grosser than Judd Apatows usual fare, and wont have quite the same crossover appeal as the equally stoned IKnocked UpI. But its fans will leave the theater happy. Provided they ever make it to the theater to begin with. Hard to smoke in a public place, you know.
Though it stars two women and is about pregnancy, IBaby MamaI is not the standard chick flickgetting a man is not the be all and end all for any character, and you get the feeling that, by the end, Kate and Angie would be just as happy spending time together as going on any date. But it is a Hollywood comedy, and IBaby MamaI sticks a little too closely to the rules.
iDeceptioni is a lean, well-crafted sex thriller with a polished European feel and a striking visual style courtesy of first time Swiss director Marcel Langenegger. Its a quieter sort of thriller than weve become used to after so many iBournei flicks, but that doesnt mean its boring. To the contrary: there are plenty of thrills and plenty of sex packed into this briskly paced film.
In every discussion, Stein and director Nathan Frankowski stack the deck, always making the intelligent design proponents seem rational and reasonable while the evolution supporters seem to have wild beards, crazy eyes, and crackpot theories like life started on the backs of crystals. Several of the evolutionists, including Richard Dawkins and PZ Myers, claim they were misled.
If complexity were a virtue, iThe Life Before Her Eyesi would be positively saintly. In this case, however, complexity is just another way of saying huge mess with no central narrative in sight. A dirge-like character study spiked with copious amounts of female pathos, iThe Life Before Her Eyesi tries to be a nuanced examination of how unspeakable secrets burden the souls of those who have experienced great misfortune. Instead its just an exercise in frustration with no pay off and no nuance.
I88 MinutesI kicks off with director John Avnet living out his Asian torture porn fantasies, but before he can bring out a tentacle, the film settles down into a standard, Al Pacino find the killer thriller. The man has almost become his own, lame genre. Pacino plays forensic psychologist Dr. Jack Gramm, a man who lives his life inexplicably surrounded by scads of beautiful women. That turns out to be rather convenient for his stalker.
I have seen far too much of Jason Segels penis today. Not that I can imagine theres any day that would be a good day for me to see his penis, or to see it any more than I have seen it today. Regardless, I have seen too much of it. specifically. after viewing IForgetting Sarah Marshalli. I mention this because it really is the only bad thing I can think to say about the movie
Its a tantalizing misfire. Though peppered with decent moments, iWhere in the World is Osama Bin Laden?i fails to reach its stated goals including the titular one, surprise, surprise. Morgan Spurlock truly had the opportunity to create a meaningful, entertaining documentary about terrorism but instead settled for bland platitudes and simplistic observations.
