Preview (Opening this Weekend):

 

Shutter Island

Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo

 

Oscar-winning director and film scholar Martin Scorsese has brought filmgoers selections from a host of different genres, including bio-pics (Raging Bull, The Aviator), dark comedies (The King of Comedy, Bring Out the Dead), crime-dramas (Mean Streets, Goodfellas), literary adaptations (The Age of Innocence, Gangs of New York), and even musicals (New York, New York). With the exception of his 1991 Cape Fear remake, however, he has not dabbled much with horror…until now. In this R-rated thriller based on the ‘50s-based novel by Dennis Lehane (Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone), two U.S. marshals (DiCaprio, Ruffalo) sent to capture a violent female escapee find themselves trapped in an isolated federal institution for the criminally insane. The Plus: The players. In addition to DiCaprio (The Departed, Blood Diamond) and Ruffalo (Zodiac, Blindness), this stellar cast also includes Ben Kingsley (Sexy Beast, House of Sand and Fog), Michelle Williams (Brokeback Mountain, Deception), Max von Sydow (Minority Report, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly), Emily Mortimer (Match Point, The Pink Panther), Jackie Earle Haley (Little Children, Watchmen), and Patricia Clarkson (Good Night, And Good Luck; Vicky Cristina Barcelona). Also, filmgoers will be stoked to see how Scorsese follows up his Oscar win for The Departed—the early buzz for which has been great. The Minus: The genre. Scorsese has wrapped production on HBO’s crime epic Boardwalk Empire and is reportedly in talks for another theatrical crime-drama, possibly even an adaptation of true crime bestseller I Heard You Paint Houses with Robert DeNiro. Whenever he strays from this genre (New York, New York, Bring Out the Dead), however, he gets mixed box office results from John Q. Filmgoer.

 

Reviews (Now in Theaters):

 

Valentine’s Day

Julia Roberts, Jaime Foxx

 

Every so often, actors get saddled with a role that reviewers call ‘thankless,’ a term which, in regards to film criticism at least, refers to lightweight material that is well beneath the talents of an otherwise gifted artist. In Valentine’s Day, the audience somehow assumes this thankless role, getting fed multiple simplistic love stories so pre-packaged that they could have come from a motel vending machine that rents rooms by the hour. Truly aiming low, this star-studded patchwork rom-com blows kisses at the same moviegoers who made the standard-issue lovey-dovey mosaic She’s Just Not That Into You into a hit last year. Somehow, this valentine actually manages to be worse.

 

In this PG-13-rated connect-the-dots rom-com, the lives of several Angelinos (Roberts, Foxx, Jessica Alba, Kathy Bates, Jessica Biel, Bradley Cooper, Patrick Dempsey, Jennifer Garner, Anne Hathaway, Ashton Kutcher, Queen Latifah, Shirley McClaine, Taylor Swift) intersect on the greeting card industry’s biggest day.

 

This is not to say that the actors listed above don’t assume a thankless role—just that they’re the only ones in this scenario who got paid for their pain and suffering. To be specific, Kutcher plays a flower shop owner who just popped the question to an uncertain Alba but he’s also a friend of Garner, who is dating Dempsey, who’s married but she doesn’t know…are you still there, readers? This reviewer would go on if this monumental effort amounted to something more than a molehill. The paycheck-cashing stars (probably guiltily) stumble through the Z-grade jokes like a young lover trying to say the L-word.

 

Down-to-the-Wire: Love on the rocks.

 

The Wolfman

Benicio Del Toro, Emily Blunt

 

Universal Studios certainly built their monsters to last. This reviewer defies any moviegoer to think of Dracula or Frankenstein and NOT think of these characters as iconically realized by Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff. Over the years, if a remake turned out to be worth a damn (1992’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula), it was only because the director worked overtime to distinguish their work from the classics. The Wolfman, on the other hand, smartly revels in its ‘30s studio horror roots. The often-thrilling result doesn’t generate the kind of intensity that would, say, rally a mob of villagers with pitchforks and torches to storm the theater in excitement, but its shear entertainment value packs a lot of bite.

 

In this R-rated remake, Lawrence Talbot (Del Toro) is lured back to his family’s estate following his brother’s death only to find his father (Anthony Hopkins), brother’s fiancé (Blunt), and a feral destiny awaiting him.

 

When it bears it teeth, The Wolfman proves to be quite the heart-stopping scare-maker. What audiences remember most from the decent 1941 version starring Lon Chaney, Jr. is Jack Pierce’s legendary yak-faced make-up. Here, Del Toro and all involved give winning nods to this past (the monster’s ‘look’ and some story elements) while ratcheting up the script a step further. Moving the action to London for the 2^nd act builds great momentum, but sometimes director Joe Johnston fights too bloodily to earn the movie’s hard R. Still, if ‘30s Universal had this much leeway, they probably would have made the fur fly a lot like this.

 

Bottom line: Howling good.

 

Avatar

Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana

 

In this 3-D PG-13-rated actioner, revolutionary and rousing popcorn instant classic, a paraplegic ex-Marine (Worthington) who, through a scientific process funded by the U.S. government (Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez, et al), appears as a blue-skinned indigenous being on an alien world housing an extremely rare and profitable element. Never forsaking the script, Avatar’s landmark 3-D IMAX-ready bells and whistles merely enhance the well-envisioned drama and action. Beyond all this, the movie manages to wear a social consciousness (go green, people) without sermonizing. Here, writer/director James Cameron also gives a lesson in filmmaking economy. Even with an epic-length story, the writer/director never wastes an inch of film or lick of time in the 2 hours and 40 minutes it takes to tell this story. Better effects will follow, but not a better mantle.

 

Down-to-the-Wire: Out of this virtual world.

 

Crazy Heart

Jeff Bridges, Maggie Gyllenhaal

 

In this R-rated drama, a broken-down hard-living country singer (Bridges) reaches for salvation through a journalist (Gyllenhaal), who is on a quest to find the real man behind the musician. Not unlike the classic songs that made Nashville famous, this amazing ballad is all about story and voice, wearing them on its sleeve like a whiskey-drenched showman staring down 60. The heart of Crazy Heart, Bridges, will rightly win for his performance, which is not a gold watch for a lifetime of H’Wood service. It helps that his heartfelt and gob-smackingly true turn keeps perfect cadence with the straightforward direction and warts-and-all script of Scott Cooper. Backed with excellent turns by Gyllenhaal, Colin Farrell, and Robert Duvall – as well as a killer soundtrack – this Heart sings a beautiful song.

 

Down-to-the-Wire: Crazy in love.

 

Dear John

Channing Tatum, Amanda Seyfried

 

In this PG-13-rated romantic-drama, time and distance take their toll on two young lovers—a soldier home on leave (Tatum) and the conservative college student that he’s fallen in love with (Seyfried). Dear John sweeps and swoons with an all-too-familiar rhythm but the ace cast really try ratcheting up the emotion. It not only includes a modern bent (he re-enlists in the Army after the events of 9/11), it also taps into a genre that rarely gets, ahem, tapped these days. With enough tear-soaked horrors in the world, audiences still love sad tales about star-crossed lovers…just not this tale. The third act puts out some dubiously dodgy plot points, but all involved (especially Richard Jenkins as Tatum’s father) nearly sell the wares to audiences wholesale…nearly.

 

Down-to-the-Wire: Dead letter.

 

Edge of Darkness

Mel Gibson, Ray Winstone

 

In this R-rated thriller, a veteran Boston homicide detective and single father (Gibson) investigates the murder of his only daughter, uncovering a shadowy maze of corporate cover-ups and government collusion in the process. Finally, there is a BBC mini-series that adapts into a remarkably engrossing political thriller with a winning amount of social consciousness for the American screen! Moviegoers can find it in video stores under the name State of Play. Uneven export Edge of Darkness, however, is another matter. This Mel Gibson thriller starts off most resembling Ransom and ends up most resembling Conspiracy Theory…and this is certainly not a compliment. Padded with enough twisty hokum for, well, a mini-series, this flick’s action scenes prove a welcome respite from an overall muddled plot that simply thinks too much.

 

Down-to-the-Wire: This Playback’s a bitch.

 

From Paris With LoveJohn Travolta, Jonathan Rhys Meyers

In this poorly acted and executed R-rated actioner, Steven Segal – oops, sorry - Travolta stars as a wisecracking, sharp-shooting, high-ranking U.S. agent sent to France to stop a terrorist attack with a button down wet-behind-the-ears operative in tow (Rhys Meyers). This new release was slotted for a big review on the facing page, but it doesn’t even deserve the ink generated here. It’s as if someone went into a video store, gathered up all of the passed-over Direct-to-DVD action movies and culmed together a vehicle for Vinnie Barbarino and Henry VIII from the most clichéd parts. Even Pierre “Taken” Morel’s slick direction can’t make Travolta’s tubby bald creep a credible action star. And now, this reviewer just counts down the words he needs for this review to make it to print—3…2…1.

 

Down-to-the-Wire: Forget Paris.

 

When in Rome

Kristen Bell, Josh Duhamel

 

In this PG-13-rated romantic comedy that will actually make moviegoers want to drown the entire genre in Moon River, a disillusioned New Yorker (Bell) travels to Rome where she plucks coins from a magical fountain and attracts a host of odd-duck suitors (Jon Heder, Will Arnett, Dax Shepard, Danny DeVito). Even if the insipid dialogue clogs the flow for the audience, Bell and Duhamel’s Meet-Cute will lure them back in for the waterworks … and this is a bad thing. The couple has chemistry, but this rom-com’s traditional feel quickly takes on a magical bent that becomes more cartoony (think: The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze) than enchanting (think: Roman Holiday). Worse, the camera goes out of focus at least once and another scene doesn’t match its lead-in!

 

Down-to-the-Wire: Rome is crashing and burning.