The Ringer [2004]

2006-06-11T21:03:00.000-07:00

I remember seeing the teaser trailer for The Ringer a while before it actually came out, it contained a moment where Johnny Knoxville goes into a church confessional to admit to the priest he’s been acting handicapped to win the Special Olympics for money and promptly gets his ass kicked. It peaked my interest in the movie (and just so you know, it’s the most amusing thing in this stinker), but then it was delayed for almost two years before finally hitting theatres in late 2005.

Made with the participation of the Special Olympics and co-produced by the Farrelly brothers (who have delivered such fare as the hilarious Kingpin and not-so-good-but-still-amusing There’s Something About Mary) you’d almost expect The Ringer to be a hilarious film packed with many scenes of Knoxville acting mentally handicapped while competing in track and field events. It’s a premise that an episode of South Park nailed perfectly, it’s too bad then that this movie decides to play it safe sporting jokes that are much too tame when (and I hate to admit this) it would’ve been better if it was more ruthless in poking fun at its subject.

The story is a simple one. Knoxville plays Steve, a likeable enough (if wimpy) office worker who is forced to fire the office’s janitor as the first task in a promotion. Unable to do it in good conscience he ends-up hiring Stavi (Luis Avalos), who has an accident where he loses some fingers. Steve is forced go along with a scheme his uncle Gary (Brian Cox) has dreamed-up in which he’ll pretend to be retarded in order to win the Special Olympics so he can earn enough money for Stavi’s operation and get Gary out of debt when they bet he can defeat reigning champion Jimmy (Leonard Flowers, who’s character is supposed to be handicapped but never acts like it).

From here The Ringer trots out the expected clichés as Steve is befriended by a group of fellow athletes, has second thoughts about what he’s doing, falls for “helper” Lynn (Katherine Heigl), and is discovered by his new friends – who wants him to beat Jimmy just as badly as his uncle does.

Good intentions can only carry a movie so far and while you have to give the movie credit for giving handicapped actors major roles in a Hollywood film it fails in portraying them in an accurate, or likeable, manner (after all, they are bent on Jimmy’s failure). It also doesn’t help that Knoxville turns in one of the weakest performances of his career as he’s about as convincing as a slow-minded adult as a monkey in human clothes might be.

The Ringer just isn’t funny. It’s lacking in comedic bite, it’s pretty damn boring, and the subplot between Knoxville and Heigl’s characters tends to get annoying (especially in the finale where he’s uncovered as a cheat and a liar but she quickly forgives him). There’s really no wonder why this was pushed back as it’s one truly bad waste of time.

1 out of 4

Directed by Barry W. Blaustein. Written by Ricky Blitt. 94 minutes. PG-13

Crash [2004]

2006-05-08T10:00:00.000-07:00

After writing the excellent Million Dollar Baby (for which he was nominated for an Academy Award), Paul Haggis decided to go behind the camera for his next project, gathering together a large cast of familiar faces for a drama that jumps between various people who live in Los Angeles and their lives eventually tying them together to tell a story of racism and gun control.

Managing to win the Oscar for best picture, Crash honestly didn’t deserve that honour (I thought that belonged to Steven Spielberg’s Munich), but it’s still an interesting movie that offers enough strong performances and well written dialogue to overcome the few minor complaints I have with it.

Starting with a car crash that detective Don Cheadle is attending and flashing back to the events leading up to that point, Haggis and his co-writer Bobby Moresco wind their story in-and-out of the lives of their characters over a period of two days focusing on a mildly corrupt cop with a sick father (Matt Dillon) and his new partner (Ryan Phillippe), a young Mexican locksmith trying to go clean (Michael Pena), two cocky car thieves (Larenz Tate, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges), a successful African-American businessman and his wife (Terrence Howard, Thandie Newton), and the district attorney and his bitchy wife (Brendan Fraser, Sandra Bullock).

We get little glimpses of these people as they make their way through what they consider to be their normal day as things begin to go wrong around them. Some of them deserve it, others don’t, but at times it’s hard to really care for the characters because as a viewer there’s a feeling of being “disconnected” from the action that seeps in from time to time.

That’s one of my issues with Crash. Another is that there’s just too many damn characters in the movie – a fact that rears its ugly little head when a few of them aren’t nearly as fleshed-out as we would’ve liked (this is especially true for Fraser’s character, who’s merely “there” for the most part). Haggis also doesn’t manage to bring enough emotion to certain scenes that are intended to hit a nerve with his audience with only a moment involving Pena‘s little girl and a crazed (and armed) gun owner really having any lasting impact. But this is a movie about moments, and in this respect Haggis does well staging them - Dillon’s harassment of Newton and its subsequent second meeting, Bullock thinking Pena is a gang member, and Bridge’s failed carjack of Howard – giving us enough going on at any time to keep us watching.

Dillon and Howard make the best of their screen time giving their roles just enough aplomb and believability, while rapper and part-time actor Brown also makes a good impression as the young, outspoken hoodlum. Bullock fares well in her limited role, and Phillippe proves he’s a well rounded actor despite not really being in a ton of movies lately. It’s just too bad character actor William Fichtner wasn’t given a larger role.

It may sound like, with all my nitpicking, that I think Crash isn’t a good film – it is. It pulls strong performances out of its cast, things are tied together quite neatly when all is said and done, and it’s a solid drama overall – it’s a sure sign that Haggis knows what he’s doing, which gives us hope he’ll resurrect the sagging James Bond franchise with the next movie (which is currently filming).

2.5 out of 4

Directed by Paul Haggis. Written by Haggis, Bobby Moresco. 112 minutes. R

Eight Below [2006]

2006-04-05T22:02:00.000-07:00

Inspired by true events, Eight Below sees Disney returning to sled dog territory and the results are better than 2002’s Snow Dogs – plus we don’t have to endure seeing one-time Oscar winner Cuba Gooding, Jr. having a dream sequence where the dogs talk all hip to him.

Paul Walker heads the cast of human characters as dog trainer Jerry Sheppard, who’s been working at an Antarctic research station and has a group of huskies who he uses to get to the harder places around the area. They’re pretty much like family to him, so you can imagine his disappointment when they have to leave them behind in order to fly out scientist David McClaren (Bruce Greenwood) when he gets injured after going out looking for chunks of a meteor.

Things get a lot worse from there as it turns out there’s a giant storm on its way and the government has decided to shut down all the Arctic stations – of which Walker’s is one of. This means they have no way to get back and rescue the dogs from the storm. While Walker tries to figure out a way to get back out there, the dogs are left to their own devices and Eight Below follows them as they survive over a hundred and fifty days out in the wilderness. They have to scrounge for food, survive the elements, and deal with such things as an encounter with a seal (done completely in CGI, which feels out of place) that could lead to death – and gives us a mild "jump" moment.

Eight Below is all about the dogs. The human characters are pretty much thrown to the backseat and are only on hand to give us glimpses of the "rescue mission" being mounted. Walker is acceptable in his "everyday guy" role despite being given little to do, while Jason Biggs (the American Pie movies) offers disposable comic relief, but it doesn’t really matter, as it’s the sled dogs that have the most personality.

Thankfully, director Frank Marshall (who scored hits with Arachnophobia and Alive, before striking out with Congo) has decided to not go overboard on making the dogs too cutesy and while his film purposely tugs at the heartstrings and plays out like a polished made-for-TV flick, it delivers exactly what you’d expect: a family movie that’ll entertain the entire family and not just the kids.

Sure, Eight Below is pure schmaltz at times, and the source “true story” is taken secondhand by scripter David DiGilio from a 1983 Japanese film Nankyoku Monogatari (which is set in 1958 and covers much of the same ground – minus the sappiness, I assume), but for a movie I had absolutely no intention of seeing (I was taken to the theatres by my wife, as she wanted to see the "puppy movie") I left the theatres pleasantly surprised. And that’s a pretty good thing considering I’m not a huge fan of live-action Disney produced movies...

3 out of 4

Directed by Frank Marshall. Written by David DiGilio. 120 minutes. PG

Saved! [2004]

2006-03-22T21:47:00.000-08:00

In a world where most teen “coming of age” comedies suffer from retread scripts and lack of originality, Saved! manages to come out of nowhere and be one of the best of its type for quite some time. It may be the fact that co-scripters Brian Dannelly (who also directed) and Michael Urban have made their characters more realistic and human than a lot of these films do, or it may just be the fact they’ve set the entire thing in American Eagle Christian High School giving them a chance to satirize religion and its effects on impressionable younger people. In other words, think Heathers or Mean Girls only with a religious bent (though this isn’t nearly as dark as Heathers, still the ultimate black comedy about teenage life almost twenty years later).

Jenna Malone is Mary, a virginal born again Christian teenage girl whose boyfriend tells her that he’s gay. This comes as a complete shock to her and in order to “save” him, as well as keep their relationship going, she decides to use sex to try and convert him back to heterosexuality. It doesn’t quite work in her favour; however, when it turns out she becomes pregnant.

From there the movie follows Mary as she tries to conceal her pregnancy from her parents and other students while she has to deal with zealot Hilary Faye (Mandy Moore, who goes against type and is surprisingly good for it), the leader of a clique group called “The Jewels” who takes her religious beliefs a bit too seriously – while not realizing just how much she manipulates and judges her fellow students.

Also in the mix are rebellious Jewish student Cassandra (Eva Amurri, daughter of Susan Sarandon) and Hilary’s wheelchair bound brother Roland (Macaulay Culkin), who befriend Mary and try to show her that things aren’t as peachy at American Eagle as everyone tries to pretend it is.

I’d heard good things about Saved! going into it, but I wasn’t expecting it to be this good. It’s packed with completely sarcastic humour and loads of witty dialogue, it manages to touch on some serious topics (mainly un-wed pregnancy and, to a lesser degree, religious outcasts), and it is enough of a twist on the dull teen comedies of recent years that it’s highly successful at what it does.

It also helps that the young cast is solid from top to bottom with Malone stable, Moore (as mentioned before) a revelation, and the duo of Amurri and Culkin pretty much stealing the show out from under everyone else as not only an unlikely couple, but also the most “true to themselves” characters in the entire school.

Obviously, Saved! isn’t for everyone. It doesn’t hold much back when making fun of religion (a touchy subject to begin with) and some might take it to task for that, but if you have no problems with such a thing you’ll be treated to one completely entertaining, and pretty fun, comedy.

3.5 out of 4

Directed by Brian Dannelly. Written by Dannelly, Michael Urban. 92 minutes. PG-13

The Island [2005]

2006-02-18T18:38:00.000-08:00

“...with an enormously lacking script”. That’s the best way to finish off the critical quote on the DVD box for Michael Bay’s latest high-budget flick, The Island. It’s the typical stuff you’d expect from the director, what with numerous explosions, highly ridiculous action, and quick cutting camera moves – only thing is, it still manages to be way better than expected and entertain in spite of a weak finale and that horribly syrupy end shot (which made me groan more than even seeing leads Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson survive a fall off the side of a building no-one could have).

The year is 2019 and the human race lives in a totalitarian society where everything is monitored and decisions are made for you. Your job is chosen for you, what you eat is determined by nutrient levels in your body, and everything is kept in orderly fashion. In amongst all this is something called “The Lottery”, which gives the people hope of a life of luxury as every week someone is randomly drawn to be whisked away to an island paradise.

Lincoln Six Echo (McGregor) is one of the people living in this society; only he isn’t so sure that the people in charge are really looking out for their best interests. His curiosity is getting the best of him in fact and after finding a way to get him and the object of his affection, Jordan Two Delta (Johansson), deep within the bowels of the city they soon find that the entire thing might not be what it seems when they find a passageway up into the “real world”.

Seems they’ve been living in a top secret facility and are being used as tools for moneymaking and other nefarious activities. From here they go on a mission to learn the real truth behind themselves, their keepers, and “the island”. All the while they’re being hunted down by groups of soldiers who have been hired by the people operating the facility to bring them back – and keep things under wraps.

The Island starts out its life as an interesting little sci-fi movie along the same lines as Logan’s Run and Gattaca but around the forty-five minute mark director Bay starts to do what he does best... blow stuff up. All subtlety goes out the window as this quickly becomes an overblown action flick and while there’s lots of kick-ass action sequences and wanton destruction (the highway chase scene alone makes this worth seeing, even if it’s partly cribbed from Bay’s Bad Boys II) to chew on, it’s too bad the movie didn’t stick more to its sci-fi roots as there’s nuggets of an interesting story here.

That’s not to say The Island isn’t worthwhile. Sure it’s mindless, it runs on a bit too long, and it misses the opportunity to be a really intelligent sci-fi flick but for outright action, top notch effects, and really well done production design (especially in the earlier moments) it’s worth your while - and getting to see Johansson in a tight spandex suit certainly doesn't hurt. Just be prepared to endure tons of obvious, and ridiculous, product placement throughout the entire movie – as if there being commercials in theatres and before the DVD’s we buy aren’t enough.

2.5 out of 4

Directed by Michael Bay. Written by Caspian Tredwell-Owen, Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci. 136 minutes. PG-13

The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe [2005]

2006-02-18T17:34:00.000-08:00

Author C.S. Lewis' Narnia books are some of the most beloved young adult stories out there so it's truly sad to see Disney and their co-producers WaldenMedia taking tons of money and throwing it at the screen to see what sticks. Completely ignoring the first book in the series ("The Magician's Nephew"), The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, is an expensive movie that's packed to the hilt with top of the line special effects but never manages to wow us as a viewer and is sadly lacking in the strong characterizations of the book as virtually every character here doesn't make much of an impression (save for Georgie Henley as younger sister Lucy).

When London falls under attack from German bombers during World War II, siblings Peter (William Moseley), Susan (Anna Popplewell), Lucy (Henley), and Edmund (Skandar Keynes) are shipped off to live in the far off countryside out of harms way of the attacks and end-up staying at the house of an eccentric professor. It's not the best place in the World for kids and they soon find themselves growing bored - of course the grumpy housekeeper telling them not to touch anything doesn't help.

During a game of hide and seek, Lucy uncovers a tall, beautiful wooden wardrobe in one of the house's many rooms. Pulling off the sheet covering it, in order to hide, Lucy climbs into the wardrobe, only to come out on the other side in the fantasy world of Narnia. While there she meets a nervous faun called Mr. Tumnus (James McAvory) who befriends her and tells her about Narnia being under siege from the evil white witch (Tilda Swinton).

Stumbling back home, Lucy tells the rest of the children about the magical land and they, of course, don't believe her. But upon them all hiding in the wardrobe from the housekeeper they all find themselves transported to Narnia and set out on a quest filled with much adventure, action, and legend as they have to try and defeat the white witch under the guidance of apparent 'savior' Aslan (a introspective lion with a long flowing mane and cool demeanor, voiced by Liam Neeson).

Animator Andrew Adamson (he co-directed both Shrek movies) makes the jump to live action and it's a good thing he has a lot of CGI effects to work with, as he doesn't really handle his actors that well. Swinton is decent as the villainess and Henley brings her character a great wide-eyed wonderment, but the rest of the human cast are merely 'there'. Moseley's Peter is the biggest wimp to be considered the main hero of a movie ever (he gets knighted after one of the white witch's vicious wolves just happens to jump into the sword he's holding) and the other two kids are as bland as they come.

Some people will absolutely love what's on display here, and it's easy to see how since they've packed as much fantastical stuff as they can into the movie, but for those of us with fond memories of Lewis' book and those of us not as accepting of overused CGI effects this just leaves you with a ho-hum feeling. While the end battle sequence offers a few mild thrills, the movie could have actually benefited from less outright action and a bit more story =- it's hard to get an impression of the world of Narnia or the characters when a constant stream of effects are being tossed at us.

There's already a planned sequel in the works, and hopefully it will capture some of the magic missing from this entry - and as for the ruckus being made about the religious themes buried in the movie, get over it. It's there, but never once is it intrusive enough to make you forget you're watching an overblown fantasy film.

2 out of 4

Directed by Andrew Adamson. Written by Adamson, Ann Peacock, Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely. 140 minutes. PG

Bad News Bears [2005]

2006-02-16T10:39:00.000-08:00

If you were to pick anyone to take the role Walter Matthau played in the 1976 original Bad News Bears you’d be hard pressed to make a better choice than Billy Bob Thornton. While he’s playing a drunkard character (who has a much too rapid change of heart when all is said and done) similar to the one he played in 2003’s Bad Santa, he does a good job of it and actually plays well off all the kids – who are engaging in their own right.

While the original flick wasn’t a masterpiece it has managed to gain a hefty following over the years and should be credited with almost single-handedly creating the “rule book” most sports comedies tend to follow to this very day. It was also known for having youngsters spouting all sorts of off-colour language, which this remake retains. And since Hollywood has been on a sort of rampage to remake almost every movie and TV show in the past few years it’s no surprise Paramount chose to re-do the story and brought in School Of Rock helmer Richard Linklater (who showed his skill handling child actors in that film).

Morris Buttermaker (Thornton) is a wreck. He’s an alcoholic, he kills insects for a living, and his planned career in professional baseball just didn’t work out. In order to make a quick buck he agrees to coach a local little league team not knowing that it’s a ragtag group at best – and that they really have no talent or sense of the word “team”.

At first he’s still the rough, grouchy guy he always was showing little interest in the kids, he even goes so far as to bring in his ex-girlfriend’s skilled pitching daughter Amanda (Sammi Kraft) to at least try and bring the team some form of dignity. But once he sees how his bad attitude is affecting the team, and has to endure much abuse from anal-retentive fellow coach Roy Bullock (Greg Kinnear), Buttermaker decides to actually give it a go and lead the team to the championship.

Scripters Glenn Ficarra and John Requa (who also wrote Thornton’s Bad Santa) have updated Bill Lancaster’s original script to modern day while saying faithful to their source material. In fact, there are so few “new” wrinkles in the story, if you’ve seen the 1976 film you’ll be able to do a play-by-play of the movie as it goes along. This isn’t particularly a bad thing as it still contains a fair amount of chuckles, has a likeable cast (the kids all do their roles well), and is entertaining.

About on the same level as the Michael Ritchie directed original, Bad News Bears is a decent way to waste away an evening and despite the fact it runs on a bit too long for its own good, at least it never seems to feel dragged out.

2.5 out of 4

Directed by Richard Linklater. Written by Glenn Ficarra, John Requa, Bill Lancaster. 113 minutes. PG-13

How I Got Into College [1989]

2006-02-16T01:11:00.000-08:00

Starting out as an animator (most famously creating the “Whammies” on lame-o 80’s game show Press Your Luck), Savage Steve Holland created a trio of teen comedies in the 80’s that have stood the test of time and gone on to cult status. How I Got To College is one of those movies and while it’s not as well known (or have as many laughs as) Better Off Dead... and One Crazy Summer it’s packed with all the expected sight gags, animated breaks, and the regular stable of character actors you’re sure to see in a movie directed by Holland.

Corey Parker plays Marlon, an indecisive high schooler who is dreading his SAT tests, doesn’t know what he’s going to do with his future, and has a major crush on class president and generally all around perfect Jessica (Lara Flynn Boyle). He’s been struggling with the tests, despite the help of Answer “A” and Answer “B” (played by Tom Kenny who’d go on to voice Spongebob Squarepants) in a batch of Marlon’s daydreams, and when he learns the object of his affection wants to go to Ramsey College he sets out to get admitted to the school, despite their high standards.

From there Holland and writer Terrel Seltzer take us through the trials and tribulations of getting into just the right school and also take time to focus on Ramsey recruiter Anthony Edwards who wants to bring in some “fresh blood” to help revitalize the school. There’s plenty of mishaps, a lot of “what if” dream sequences, and quite a bit of goofing around but they still manage to capture the rigors of teens deciding on their future quite well while making their cast likeable enough to root for.

Parker is fine in the lead, Boyle also does well in an early role but it’s really the side roles that steal the show here. Holland regular Curtis Armstrong (who was also “Booger” in the Revenge Of The Nerds movies) is amusing as the recruiter for a bible college while Saturday Night Live regulars Phil Hartman and Nora Dunn get the most laughs as a pair of shyster “preparation experts” who are just out to make a quick buck from unsuspecting newly graduated high schoolers.

How I Got Into College is probably Holland’s least successful comedy and it’s fairly easy to see why as it’s lacking in any real laughs and is a bit too scattershot (not that his previous films weren’t) for most, but it’s still a quirky little timewaster and worth a look for fans of his other two films. Since this he’s gone on to a career directing episodes of various television shows, he created the decent kids cartoon Eek! The Cat, and he’s currently taken on the scripting duties for the upcoming remake of the 1981 T&A comedy classic, Porky’s (which is being “presented” by shock radio disc jockey Howard Stern).

2.5 out of 4

Directed by Savage Steve Holland. Written by Terrel Seltzer. 87 minutes. PG-13

Red Eye [2005]

2006-02-15T22:02:00.000-08:00

Wes Craven. There’s a name to get horror movie fans hearts aflutter. Well maybe back in the 80’s when his movies were worth something anyway. Seems that since he had a big hit with Scream back in 1996, Mr. Craven’s career has become somewhat vapid as he made two sequels to that movie (each of lesser value) and the Meryl Streep starring drama Music Of The Heart. So it was somewhat surprising to see 2005 hold two movies from him.

The less said about Cursed the better, but it was his second effort of the year that turned out better than expected. Sure, Red Eye is one incredibly dumb movie that never once attempts to delve into the motivations behind its plot, but at least it entertains if you don’t give any sort of thought to the script by Carl Ellsworth and you can stifle your groans during a finale filled with many convenient events and a ridiculous moment involving a rocket launcher.

Things get off to a chaotic start as Lisa (Rachel MacAdams) is rushing to try and get the red eye flight home after attending her grandmother’s funeral. She also had to try and juggle her job as the head desk clerk of an expensive hotel that’s expecting the deputy secretary of Homeland Security (Jack Scalia). Stressed out, and feeling the pressure, she ends-up meeting seemingly normal guy Jack Ripner (Cillian Murphy) who befriends her and happens to be on the same flight.

Seems though that Jack isn’t quite the good guy he appeared to be (and with a name like that, how could he be?) as he proceeds to take her hostage and threaten to kill her father if she doesn’t reschedule Scalia into a different room (which will set a terrorist assassination plot into gear). What follows is a whole bunch of “cat ‘n’ mouse” and thanks to Craven the first half of Red Eye makes for quite a satisfying time with decent plot build-up and some mild suspense. Murphy also manages to show some alright menace as the baddie and even channels Marlon Brando from The Godfather for his voice after MacAdams stabs his throat with a pen.

Red Eye isn’t the best thriller I’ve ever seen and it’s neither the romantic movie or horror flick the ads tried to play it out as – what it is is a competently made flick from a director needing a rebound. And like Tobe Hooper and his Toolbox Murders, Craven manages to come out of this one with his dignity intact.

2.5 out of 4

Directed by Wes Craven. Written by Carl Ellsworth. 85 minutes. PG-13

Elizabethtown [2005]

2006-02-15T22:00:00.000-08:00

Cameron Crowe is a good filmmaker who showed a knack for capturing realistic characters and dialogue with his earlier efforts Say Anything... and Almost Famous. Crowe also fills his movies with quirky little sub-plots and bit roles making them a lot more interesting than you’d expect – but his latest, Elizabethtown, while having some of the great moments from his past work (I absolutely love the scenes in the finale with star Orlando Bloom touring across America and seeing all the history around him) just doesn’t seem to capture the outright charm he's managed before and it suffers from having a lead actor who seems pretty stiff and uncomfortable in his role.

Bloom stars as a young wunderkind who finds his life thrown into the blender when the athletic shoe he designed is recalled and has cost his employer (Alec Baldwin, in an amusing bit role as the company’s founder/president) a billion dollars. This throws him into a suicidal state that ends up having to be put on hold when his sister calls to tell him his father has just died of a heart attack and that he’ll have to go and collect the body.

While on a flight to Elizabethtown, Kentucky he’s constantly bothered by his eccentric flight attendant (Kirsten Dunst) who chats up a storm and gives him directions – as well as her phone number. From there we’re led through some typical romantic comedy events (and a few wacky subplots) as Bloom has to deal with the townsfolk of Elizabethtown, mother Susan Sarandon who’s been stuffing a lifetime into a few days in order to keep her mind off things, and an impending romance with Dunst who he happened to call when he needed someone to talk to.

I’m not about to say that Elizabethtown is a bad movie. It’s not. There’s plenty of things to like in it and there’s some decent laughs to be had, but it just isn’t up to the task of matching most of Crowe’s earlier films as it runs on about half-an-hour longer than it should and it’s hindered by Bloom’s “off” performance, which is really one of his first attempts to play a romantic lead without having to be fighting off various creatures with swords and bows. It’s just that the movie seems to be trying too hard to be different from all the other romantic comedies out there and at times falls under the weight of pretentiousness in Crowe’s script. Plus the relationship between Bloom and Dunst is at times a little hard to buy and feels a little bit too rushed together.

If you’re looking for a "date movie" then Elizabethtown should fill that need, but if you want a romantic comedy you’ll cherish and enjoy for years to come you’re probably better off with Crowe’s Say Anything...

2 out of 4

Directed and Written by Cameron Crowe. 123 minutes. PG-13

Into the Fray

2006-02-15T20:37:00.000-08:00

Couched! is a new project that I've decided to partake in and it's all because of the goddamn movies.

Since 1997 I have been the owner-operator-webmaster-critic on the genre site The Video Graveyard and I recently expanded it to include B-movies (since it is a horror site). But what about all the Hollywood dreck I watch and movies that don't fit into those categories? Who's going to love them?

Well just like that crackhead prostitute down your block that you told all your friends you were just inviting her in to "warm her hands" - I'm asking you to invite Couched! into your life. And I won't charge.

Expect reviews and other general movie nonsense here, but be warned I'm a busy guy with my website so it might not be as often as you (or I) might like.