|
|
 | Amid Tender Sentiments, Smith a Pleasant Surprise After sitting on the shelf for nine months while Sony downsized its 2006 marketing campaign, [b]Catch and Release[/b] has finally landed in theaters, and perhaps the second biggest surprise about the movie, long rumored to be an irredeemable mess, is that it’s merely mediocre. But the movie’s biggest surprise, in more ways than one, is Kevin Smith, whose nuanced performance is far more accomplished than one might expect. Apparently Smith, best known for playing the amiably goofy but dramatically one-note Silent Bob in his own films, has real chops. Who knew?More |  | Penthouse of 1,000 Corpses Writer-director Joe Carnahan may owe a debt of inspiration to Quentin Tarantino and, to a lesser extent, British knockoff Guy Ritchie, but give him his due: he has a flair for stylized violence and there are more than a few scenes in his latest, [b]Smokin’ Aces[/b], that achieve a sort of manic brilliance.More |  | A Stylish Return to the School of Hard Knocks It’s a story so familiar that it constitutes its own genre -- the Classroom Drama, in which a naïve but relentlessly idealistic teacher takes on a cast of students schooled in the harsh realities of the streets. At first, her efforts are met with indifference and bitter skepticism, but her persistence pays dividends. After a rough hazing period, the new teacher wins some begrudging respect, and before long, the classroom is her pulpit, and the students her adoring congregation.More |  | Revisionist Storytelling Falls Flat Most of us have, at one time or another, rooted for Wile E. Coyote to catch the Road Runner, not because that would lend itself to richer, more compelling drama, but because it would add a new wrinkle to an old yarn. Alternate endings always hold that tantalizing promise – for better or worse, they show us something we haven’t seen before, and when you’ve heard a story so many times, even the slightest change is refreshing.More |  | A Tale of Pigskin Pride In a perfect world, there would be a tribunal of elders to judge those artists desirous of single-name status. Prince? A worthy candidate. Madonna? A fine addition to the club. McG? Well, wait just a minute. Who is McG, and what has he done? He directed the [b]Charlie’s Angels[/b] movies? That’s it?More |  | The Harrowing Depths of Addiction Australian director Neil Armfield, known for his imaginative stage productions but relatively inexperienced as a filmmaker, pulls off a neat, if unsettling, trick in [b]Candy[/b]: he presents the highs and lows of heroin addiction without romanticizing the experience.More |  | A Laborious Exercise in Style Director Steven Soderbergh rarely shies from a challenge, making his experimental turn in [b]The Good German[/b], a black-and-white homage to classic film noir, that much less of a surprise. The real surprise is that the experiment yields such mixed results.More |  | The American Dream, Big Willie Style [b]The Pursuit of Happyness[/b] is an overly earnest, slickly packaged rendering of the American dream, sold to us with a broad smile by Will Smith. As a box-office commodity, Smith has an enviable track record, and it’s easy to understand why. He is smooth, self-effacing and blessed with impeccable comic timing. And as Chris Gardner, a lovable loser who is determined to provide his son with all the comforts of the good life, he is endearingly sympathetic.More |  | Revenge of the Nerd Where is Van Wilder? The hard-partying slacker, played by Ryan Reynolds in the first installment of National Lampoon’s latest and least inspired franchise, gets top billing here, but he’s nowhere to be found. Could it be that Van finally quit throwing epic keg parties? Graduated from college? Got a job?More |  | It’s a Long Way to the Top If You Wanna Rock ’N’ Roll Tenacious D, the self-proclaimed Greatest Band on Earth, has risen from the humblest of beginnings -- in this case, a bit part in the 1996 Pauly Shore comedy [b]Bio-Dome[/b] that led to a short-lived HBO series. They recorded their eponymous debut, a gleefully raunchy collection of ribald ballads and odes to kielbasa, in 2001. Now, improbably, comes [b]Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny[/b], which finds D frontmen Jack Black and Kyle Gass perfecting the art of cock-pushups, learning valuable life lessons from Ronnie James Dio and out-rocking the Dark Prince himself.More |
|
