Penelope (PG)
Semi-Pro (R)
The Bank Job (R)
College Road Trip (G)
10,000 B.C. (PG-13)
Shutter (PG-13)
The Other Boleyn Girl (PG-13)
Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears A Who! (G)
Drillbit Taylor (PG-13)
21 (PG-13)
Movie Review Archive (Prior to July 2007) or search by keyword.
21 (PG-13) Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess) has everything in the world going for him. As a student at MIT, in his senior year, he's already been accepted to Harvard Medical School. His only problem is being flat broke. When one of his math teachers, Professor Rosa (Kevin Spacey), notices Ben's gift for math, he recruits Ben to a money-making operation: spending weekends in Vegas counting cards at blackjack and taking the casinos for as much as they can. While Ben is at first reluctant, he needs $300,000 for medical school, and finding a scholarship seems unlikely. So Ben, along with Jill (Kate Bosworth) and the rest of Rosa's team, heads to Vegas. Laurence Fishburne also stars as Cole Williams, a "loss prevention" specialist whose joy in life is catching and beating up counters.
21 is based on a true story, and the movie itself is pretty good. Vegas contrasts sharply with the barren winter landscape of Boston, and when the group does employ the rare disguise, they're even more fun to watch. Rating is for some violence, some language, and brief mild sexuality, so not for kids under 13. – Ashley Merrill
Drillbit Taylor (PG-13) is a movie we can all relate to, in remembering the scary, yet exciting days of high school; better yet, how about that very first day. The plot revolves around three brand-new high school freshmen, Ryan, Wade, and Emmitt, who are all excited until they meet Filkins, the school bully. There is just no end to the terror Filkins dishes out. So Ryan, Wade, and Emmitt seek out protection by placing an ad in the Soldier of Fortune magazine. That's when they meet Drillbit Taylor (Owen Wilson), a misfortunate and homeless soldier. Drillbit teaches the friends some interesting techniques in dealing with the bully. Leslie Mann also stars. The movie is funny and very exciting. Come see this movie to relive your high school years. - Mary Wadsworth
Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who (G) fulfilled the expectations I had for the film, staying true to the book’s message while providing a good time for its main audience – kids.
Too often we’ve seen A-list celebrity voices take a story like this hostage and turn it into their own two-hour comedy routine. I worried that Jim Carrey and Steve Carell could do that to this classic story, but I was pleasantly surprised.
As Horton, the elephant who finds himself in the position of saving the world that exists on a speck on a clover, Jim Carrey is funny. But he also gives a well-rounded picture of this imaginative and optimistic elephant. Equally as balanced in the mayor’s character is Steve Carrell, who portrays a leader trying to balance a call to save his people with their disbelief and mockery.
This film was everything an animated feature should be, with layers and depth that make it appealing to every audience. The main storyline, which focuses on Horton’s struggle to save the speck and the repercussion of the journey on the speck in Whoville, is entertaining with enough suspense to keep the audience watching. In addition, the story has a subtext that brings up two main points – the battle between free-thinkers and the mob mentality, and the idea of believing in something you can’t see.
With a G rating, the film is excellent and entertaining for all, both because of and in spite of the celebrity voices involved in the project. In addition to Carrey and Carell, Carol Burnett, Amy Pohler, and Seth Rogan provide voices for secondary characters.
Also, watch for a fight sequence midway through the film in Japanese anime style. It didn’t do much for the kids in the audience, but it had both my brother and me giggling. - Sarah Wise
The Other Boleyn Girl (PG-13) – Based on the book by Philippa Gregory, this is a story set early in the reign of England's King Henry VIII (Eric Bana). When it becomes clear that Henry's wife, Catherine of Aragon, is very unlikely to bear the king a son and legitimate heir, a member of the King's cabinet decides to take matters into his own hands and introduce some members of his own family for the King's consideration. Enter Anne Boleyn (Natalie Portman) and her newly wed little sister, Mary (Scarlett Johansson). The girls catch the King's eye and are invited to court, and while the ambitious and strong-willed Anne is entirely in her element, Mary wants nothing more than to get back to the country with her husband. If you know your history or you've seen the previews for this movie, you know how the story unfolds: Henry breaks with the Catholic church so he can wed Anne, who ends up being just another name in the long list of Henry's eventual wives.
I have to give the movie credit for the lush scenery, incredible sets, and lovely costumes. However, that's about all that held my attention for the first hour. The plot really picks up during the second half, matching the tone of Henry's desperation. One scene in particular definitely set off my internal horrified meter. If you're in the mood for a moderately historically accurate period piece with a whole heck of a lot of slow-building drama, this one's for you. Rating for scenes of sensuality, themes, and violence, so definitely for 13 and up. – Ashley Merrill
Shutter (PG-13) - Ben (Joshua Jackson) and his wife Jane (Rachael Taylor) go to Japan for their honeymoon so Ben can work on a new photo assignment. When Jane is driving one night, a Japanese woman appears in front of the car on a lonely, deserted road. Jane crashes the car trying to avoid her but when the cops come, there is no sign of her. When they get to Tokyo, Ben works on his assignment and Jane spends her days wandering around taking tourist photos. Ben's first batch of photos end up having a ghostly image in them; when photos from their wedding arrive from the States, those have strange images as well. Ben's Japanese assistant sees Jane's photos and tells her that they are "spirit photos." Ben and Jane are haunted by the spirit and when Jane finds out the face belongs to one of Ben’s former girlfriends, bad things begin to happen.
There are at least three gory events in the course of the movie but it just did not carry a continuous buildup or jump factor. Jane is basically trying to solve a mystery, but the characters aren't well fleshed out and by the end it's hard to care what happens to them.- Marilyn Merrill
10,000 B.C. (PG) Set in the time of the woolly mammoth and saber-toothed tiger, 10,000 B.C. depicts the trials and struggles of a hunter-gatherer tribe, especially those of its emerging young leader, D'Leh (Steven Strait). After an invasion, the tribe is forced to travel to unknown lands and terrains, such as snow-covered mountains and through deserts, to save their people from extinction. On their quest to rescue their people and D'Leh's love, Evolet (Camille Booth), they encounter other tribes who have been invaded as well, and they all band together as an army. Together, they uncover a now lost civilization, in which certain leaders sare worshiped as gods, who use the captured peoples as slaves to build the pyramids.
The scenery was spectacular, especially in the mountain and desert scenes. The special effects for the woolly mammoth, saber-toothed tigers, and pre-historic birds were especially well done. I was surprised by the range of emotion the characters portrayed during what is normally thought to be such a primitive era. It held the attention of my teenaged son with its special effects and historic references, and I liked it as well. The rating is for violence, mostly between warring tribes, so it's not for smaller children. All in all, this was an entertaining film - Debra Malarchik
College Road Trip (G) is a movie the whole family will enjoy. It truly is a movie for all ages. It's funny, yet heartwarming. It focuses on the love between a father and his daughter. Melanie (the daughter, played by Raven-Symone), is seventeen and ready to take that first big step to college. Her plans are to go on a road trip to check out the universities with her two best friends. But her father, James Porter (Martin Lawrence), is only thinking of keeping his precious daughter safe, and has other plans. He wants to drive her himself. Since he's a police captain, he feels like it's his job. As their journey begins, the father and daughter soon rekindle their family bond, that can last through anything.
I thought this was an excellent movie. We all have kids that grow up and we wonder where the years go. Sending them off to college can be difficult. So take a Kleenex, you'll need it. - Mary Wadsworth
The Bank Job (R) opens in the Caribbean in 1970, where a certain British royal is enjoying a definitely less than clean and wholesome vacation, unaware of a shady photographer. In 1971, Terry Leather (Jason Statham), a down on his luck London car dealer, receives an offer from an ex-girlfriend named Martine (Saffron Burrows) that he can't quite bring himself to refuse: she has inside information and knows that a particular bank's vault will have no alarm system guarding it, for a time. Terry, eager for a chance to get his head above financial water, rounds up a gang, and they set their sights on fortune and the lives they've always wanted. What Terry doesn't know is that Martine has a simple directive: recover the incriminating photographs from a safe deposit box and deliver them to the British government, to end the blackmail-fueled stranglehold black revolutionary Michael X.
The Bank Job is based on the actual robbery of a Baker Street bank, although this is one theory of the motivation behind the robbery. Although it starts slow, by the end the stakes are incredibly high and Terry finds himself caught between some very dangerous people, all of whom would rather see him and the rest of his crew dead. Jason Statham, who also appeared in The Italian Job, is like a British Bruce Willis, and his fight scenes are ultimately convincing; he does a good job in this film. David Suchet, who customarily plays Poirot on PBS's Mystery!, is unrecognizable and great in his role as Lew Vogel. Rating is for nudity, sexuality, language, and quite a bit of violence. – Ashley Merrill
Penelope (PG) is the lovely tale of a young woman (played by Christina Ricci) who is cursed to spend life bearing the snout of a pig so her parents keep her hidden away in their mansion. The only way her face will return to normal is for her to find a man, one of her own wealthy kind, who will love her despite this flaw. This proves to be quite difficult since all of the men she meets run screaming from her.
But then Max, a down-and-out former socialite played by James McAvoy, enters the picture. At first he is only in it for the money but soon begins to fall in love with Penelope. Instead of telling her the truth about himself, he runs away, breaking Penelope’s heart, and she decides to run away as well to “find herself.”
Any descriptions I’ve found of this movie don’t do it justice. It’s a delightful little story with great acting and a strong moral. Penelope is rated PG and you should take your entire family to this one. - Susannah Driver
Semi-Pro (R), Jackie Moon (Will Ferrell), a one-hit wonder with a rather risqué seventies love song, uses his wealth to purchase, manage, and play on the ABA team the Flint Michigan Tropics. However, Jackie's not a coach, and while his team has a few good players, including "Coffee" Black (Andre Benjamin), they're still in last place. When it's announced that the NBA is going to absorb the top four ABA teams and the rest will have to dissolve, Jackie takes action. He trades to get Monix (Woody Harrelson), who was on a championship team, onto the Tropics, and together they devise a plan to get into the top four and see their NBA dreams come true.
While this movie isn't quite as funny as some of Ferrell's other work, it's still better than last year's Blades of Glory, and it doesn't feature the horrible and gratuitous nudity that Walk Hard did. Maura Tierney (NewsRadio) co-stars as Lynn, Monix's old flame, with Will Arnett (Arrested Development) as team announcer Lou Redwood, and a few past and current SNL alums have bit parts, with Kristin Wiig playing a novice bear handler. There are some squirmingly uncomfortable scenes, but on the whole it's a good movie. Rating is for language, violence, and some sexual content. – Ashley Merrill