Four Brothers
(3 ½ stars out of five)--Solid action picture. Arguably Singleton's best film since Boyz N The Hood (which isn't really saying much - Shaft and 2 Fast 2 Furious come to mind). There's some genuine suspense to be had here, and the action scenes actually feel fresh and exhilarating.
Wedding Crashers
(4 stars out of five)--Funny As Hell: Lively direction, a genuinely funny script, Vaughn and Wilson in top form, and (thankfully) jokes that hit more than they miss. The opening sequence (at least 15 minutes long, set to the song "Shout" and taking place at dozens of wedding receptions) is especially well crafted and features exceptional editing. Raw and risqué, but it has its heart in the right place. It's a good half hour too long, and more jokes fall flat than they should, but it coasts along on its cast and the chemistry between the two stars. One great choice was to have Rolfe Kent (Sideways) compose the music. The funniest film of the year, and one of the funniest of the last few years.
Batman Begins
(4 stars out of five)--Director Christopher Nolan (Memento) brings a fresh spin to the long-dormant Batman series. For the first time, we actually begin to discover who the title character actually is. The picture is helped immensely by the superb supporting cast (Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman). The first three-quarters or so of the film is great, as it deals with Bruce Wayne becoming you-know-who. Ironically, as soon as he's actually suited up and fighting the enemy, the film goes downhill and becomes the same old story.
50 First Dates
(3 stars out of five)--Not the typical Adam Sandler movie. He's (thankfully) still in Punch-Drunk Love mode for this, and his character comes off as extremely likeable because of it. It's a strange picture: too low-brow for the very people who may actually get some enjoyment from it, and, for the other audience, definitely not a laugh-out loud Adam Sandler picture. As it is, it's a semi-dramatic film with distracting instances of low-brow humor that feel out of place.
Hustle & Flow
(1 ½ stars out of five)--Something I thought I would really enjoy... Starts out well enough, but soon becomes cliché-ridden and utterly uninspired. The cop-out of an ending doesn't help, either.
Me and You and Everyone We Know
(2 stars out of five)--Another disappointment... The trailer looks amazing, especially the first half of it. The film has won a slew of festival awards, including a special award for "Originality of Vision" at the Sundance Film Festival. The film sure is original... there's nothing quite like it out there. And it contains one of the funniest scenes you'll probably ever see involving a child and a computer. But it feels much too often like the film is just being weird to be weird, for the hell of it. It also doesn't help that writer/director/actor Miranda July isn't that great of an actress. But for some reason I keep thinking of it, weeks after I've seen it... I'm almost tempted to give it three stars, but I guess I'll see how it goes after a second viewing.
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