Smart People

Smart People (Rated R)

Running time: 1 hr 35 mins

Cast:

Dennis Quaid
Sarah Jessica Parker
Ellen Page
Thomas Hayden Church

Critical consensus (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/)

**1/2 out of *****

My consensus:

**** out of *****

The premise: Into the life of a widowed professor comes a new love and an unexpected visit from his adopted brother.

My review: Smart People is one of the top dramatic films of 2008 to date. I found all the characters to be uniquely interesting, and their story was sad and depressing, but true to life. I appreciate the writers, whose screenplay here is pretty good, didn't glorify or 'hollywood' up this story of human flaws. The story worked a lot due to the fine acting of all the major players in the cast. Dennis Quaid was a perfect casting choice. Sarah Jessica Parker who I don't care for, and still don't care for, was actually very good and quite standable here. Thomas Hayden Church has always been a good actor when he plays these nutso characters. Ellen Page was solid as well, except I have a concern that she is going to be type cast with this "Juno" smart-ass rebelious teenager/twenty something. She's very good at it, but I hope she doesn't make a Will Ferrell/Anchorman career out of it if you know what I mean.

My advice: See it!

Prom Night

Prom Night (Rated PG-13)

Running time: 1 hr 28 mins

Cast:

Brittany Snow
Scott Porter
Dana Davis

Critical consensus (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/):

* out of *****

My consensus:

0 out of *****




The premise: Donna's senior prom is supposed to be the best night of her life, though a sadistic killer from her past has different plans for her and her friends.

My review: Was anyone honestly expecting this film to be even remotely good or entertaining? Be honest now. This movie was as painfully bad as anyone should have anticipated. So does that mean it was not dissapointing? Yes! This movie did not dissapoint at being a dreadful film. It is one of the worst movies of 2008 and I would wish it on no one. At least "One Missed Call" was funny enough to entertain, this movie was so bad it wasn't even amusing. The cast was horrible, and I personally didn't care when any of them got killed. Did anyone care? Did the characters in the film even truly care? I don't think so.

Leatherheads

Leatherheads (Rated PG-13)

Running time: 1 hr 54 mins

Cast:

George Clooney
Rene Zelwegger
John Krasinski

Critical consensus (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/):

*** out of *****

My consensus:

*** out of *****

The premise: A romantic comedy set in the world of 1920s football, where the owner of a professional team drafts a strait-laced college sensation, only to watch his new coach fall for his fiancée.

My review: This year seems to have it's share of great, but forgettable dramatic films. This is one of them. It's a great movie. It's advertised as a comedy, but I believe it to be way more of a drama. As a dramatic film, set in the 1920's, it works. Better than it would have as a funny movie. The movie has all the right indredients: beautiful set pieces, wonderful costuming, the look and feel of the 1920's. I love period dramas. The cast is brilliant here, even Rene Zellwegger whom I've never been a major fan of. But she's standable here. Finally. John Krasinski proved that he can act in a film. I really enjoyed him here. I like him more as Jim on "The Office" of course, but he has successfully shown that he has some acting chops beyond NBC Thursday night comedy. It's just, this movie also leaves no lasting impact afterwards. When you walk out of the theater, you kind of forget what the movie was about.

My advice: A one time See it!

21

21 (Rated PG-13)

Running time: 2 hrs 3 mins

Cast:

Jim Sturgess
Kate Bosworth
Kevin Spacey

Critical consensus (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/):

**1/2 out of *****

My consensus:

* out of *****

The premise: "21" is the fact-based story about six MIT students who were trained to become experts in card counting and subsequently took Vegas casinos for millions in winnings.

My review: Pretty much, I sincerely disliked this movie. From what I've seen and read, it's not even accurate to the "true story" it claims to be based off of. But that's not what threw me. The story was so weakly played out and just bored me to death. This technique of counting cards seems like a neat idea, but they didn't put much effort into "dumbing" it down for the audience to understand. They did explain the process, but I really didn't fully grasp onto the concept. My bad I guess. And counting cards doesn't exactly make for a fast paced, entertaining casino based movie. It's a cool story, just not for a major film. The writing and direction was mainly to blame for that, but the acting was no walk in the park either. Sturgess and Spacey deliver some of the worst performances of the year in one of the most awful films of the year.

My advice: Skip it!

Run Fatboy Run

Run Fatboy Run (Rated PG-13)

Running time: 1 hr 40 mins

Cast:

Simon Pegg
Thandie Newton
Hank Azaria

Critical consensus (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/):

**1/2 out of *****

My consensus:

** out of *****

The premise: Five years after jilting his pregnant fiancée on their wedding day, out-of-shape Dennis decides to run a marathon to win her back.

My review: I guess I was half expecting some ridiculous movie like "Shaun of the Dead" or "Hot Fuzz". And I mean ridiculous in a good way, at least when it comes to "Shaun of the Dead". I enjoyed that film, it was good times! But what I mean is, I was anticipating the same humor featured in those films, to be a big part of Run Fatboy Run. I was dissapointed to find out, that this was your standard run of the mill comedy. No slapstick, no off the wall jokes, no poking fun at other movies. This was almost a family comedy. So I was let down by it in the end. Don't get me wrong, the story here isn't bad, its kind of cute actually. But you kind of have to take this movie seriously by the end of the story, I don't know I just didn't get it. A shame.

My advice: A marginal, Skip it!