GET SMART

Photos courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures Steve Carrell goes from analyst to agent in order to stop Russian secret agents in the action comedy GET SMART. The film is based on the television series of the same title, with Carrell taking over the role of Maxwell Smart, a former US intelligence analyst turned agent. Smart, also known as Agent 86 is teamed with the beautiful Agent 99, played by Anne Hathaway, and their mission is to track down top Russian secret agents known as KAOS. Although Smart is anxious for his mission, Agent 99 is less than enthused about taking a rookie under her wing.

Although I wasn’t around for the television version of GET SMART, the film plays like a mix between James Bond and THE NAKED GUN. The film has its share of laughs, similar to THE NAKED GUN series, but much like the Bond franchise, it plays as rather bland in terms of plot. If the scales were balanced between these two factors, the action would tip the scales one way or the other, and GET SMART doesn’t quite deliver enough excitement. It’s a shame because Carrell and Hathaway almost make it worth the price of admission. Carrell’s gift, much like Will Ferrell or Steve Martin in his hey-day, is the ability to sincerely deliver ridiculous and asinine dialogue, and pull off even more outlandish actions. Carrell’s deadpan humor, which worked wonders on “The Daily Show”, and now on in “The Office”, does again. Hathaway is also very good. Despite her good looks and youth, she enables us to buy into the romance between her and Smart, and provides a good comic foil to Carrell’s funny man. The film is rated PG-13, but compared to YOU DON’T MESS WITH THE ZOHAN or THE LOVE GURU, GET SMART can pass as a family film. Inoffensive, often funny, but rarely engaging, this spy action comedy falls just short of the required intelligence.

Grade: C+

THE INCREDIBLE HULK

Photos courtesy of Universal Pictures

Edward Norton follows in the footsteps of Bill Bixby and Eric Bana in the role of Bruce Banner in the latest version of THE INCREDIBLE HULK. Plot-wise THE INCREDIBLE HULK picks up where the film version of HULK left off. Banner, now a fugitive from the United States military, has fled to a small town in Brazil, works at a local plant and constantly works on keeping his temper down as not to arouse the beast that lurks within. His love interest Betty, now played by Liv Tyler, is working as a college professor, while her father General Thaddeus Ross is still working to track down Banner and utilize his situation to the American military’s benefit. Here Hulk battles a combat fighter played by Tim Roth.

I suppose the thing that most people wanted in HULK, the film directed by Ang Lee, was more action. If that’s what you’re seeking, THE INCREDIBLE HULK delivers some big moments, but it doesn’t provide a consistent amount of action or adrenaline. Since THE INCREDIBLE HULK more or less picks up where HULK left off, I was seeking more dramatic and emotional tension between Bruce and Betty, and another one-on-one showdown between General Taylor and Bruce. Neither of these moments occur and despite infusing the cast with the talents of Norton, William Hurt and Tim Roth, THE INCREDIBLE HULK sees them more as scene combatants then characters. The plot is also more of a device than a story, serving as an excuse to move from one big Hulk battle to the next. Had the battles lived up to the billing, one might be able to overlook the film’s other flaws, but the CGI is a step backward technologically. Even the climatic battle between Hulk and Abomination, which provides plenty of bang for the buck, is visually lame, rendering a glorified version of rock’em, sock’em robots. THE INCREDIBLE HULK lacks the ambition and execution that Ang Lee’s HULK did.

Grade: C

KUNG FU PANDA

Photos provided by Dreamworks Animation An overweight, noodle cooking bear finds that fate has bigger plans for him in Dreamworks animated summer film, KUNG FU PANDA. Jack Black voices Po, a Chinese panda who works at his father’s restaurant serving homemade noodles, but dreams of one day becoming a Kung Fu warrior. His day may have finally come, as Po attends a festival where the Dragon Warrior will be chosen, an individual selected to defend the Valley of Peace where Po and his father reside.

Just when I thought that Jack Black’s shtick had run thin, an animated panda comes to the rescue. KUNG FU PANDA enables the wild man to unleash his silly and off-the-wall humor to perfect affect. Directors Mark Osborne and John Stevenson keep Black’s impromptu comedy in check, and the result is a rather funny, mildly amusing, but overall winning kid’s film. The general plot is as old as the genre itself; an underdog and outcast protagonist are thrust into a situation where he must overcome great odds and hardships to save the day. In spite of the familiar and predictable story, KUNG FU PANDA succeeds in large part to Black’s voice work, exciting and well-done kung-fu scenes and a screenplay filled with more than a few nods to the STAR WARS series. In addition to Black’s voice-work, the rest of the high profile voice talent is also good, but many go unnoticed. Seth Rogan, Dustin Hoffman and David Cross’s voices are well-suited and distinguishable for their characters, whereas Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan and Lucy Liu are well cast, but undetected. KUNG FU PANDA recycles many a scene from similar pictures, but the originality of Po and Black’s unique touch make this animated tale kick.

Grade: B-

SEX AND THE CITY

Photos provided by New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. Pictures HBO’s fab four of fashion and flings receives the big screen treatment with the same title, SEX AND THE CITY. As far as I know, the movie picks up where the television program left off. Carrie, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Mr. Big decide to move in together in a ritzy Manhattan condo, Miranda and Steve are finding marriage to be a tough proposition, Charlotte and her husband are enjoying the riches of adoption and Samantha is finding her lavish Los Angeles lifestyle and boyfriend aren't all their cracked up to be. The four reunite for Carrie’s big day, after Carrie and Mr. Big decide marriage is what their relationship is missing.

To start with I should tell you that I’ve never seen the HBO version of SEX AND THE CITY, and my viewings of the program have been limited to reruns on TBS. That said, writer-director Michael Patrick King establishes the background of the characters and their situations succinctly during the film’s introduction, so well, that most of what follows is a disappointment. Outside of the fact that these ladies’ lifestyles are ones which most cannot related to, the relationships they’re entangled in seem nearly as implausible. The core of the film surrounds the on-again, off-again relationship between Carrier and Mr. Big. This may have worked, but the picture’s narrative only allows us to view the relationship through Carrie’s eyes, leaving Mr. Big’s emotions and motivations as an after-thought. Miranda’s marital woes are relatable, but uninteresting and Samantha’s issues are neither. Charlotte pops in from time to time, but King doesn’t seem too concerned with her story. Although the plot leaves little to be desired, the four actresses seem to be a match made in heaven. Whether it's dining at Carrie’s honeymoon destination, or bonding after a dramatic moment these four convey a strong chemistry and friendship. Their loyalty and honesty is refreshing, even if it's surrounded by superficial circumstances. SEX AND THE CITY doesn’t have much to say, and at nearly two and a half hours, it takes a long time to say it.

Grade: C

INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL

Pictures courtesty of Paramount Pictures and Lucasfilm Ltd. Cinema’s most famous archeologist is back, and finds himself caught between comrades, companions and communists in the action-adventure, INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL. Harrison Ford returns as Indy, and Steven Spielberg slips back into the director’s chair for the fourth installment of the INDIANA JONES series. In this adventure, following a shoot-up at the military’s infamous Area 51, Jones finds himself on the short list of communist assailant suspects, and at the same time catches wind of a rare artifact known as the crystal skull. With not only an excuse, but now a reason, to flee the states, Jones embarks on an overseas adventure with his artifact informant Mutt, played by Shia LeBeouf.

It’s hard to teach an old dog new trick, which not only seems to be a blessing, but a curse for Spielberg. INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL features nearly as many terrific high-octane, well-orchestrated and humorously driven action scenes as RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, even if the driving force behind CRYSTAL SKULL seems as dead as a skeleton. There isn’t much for Indy to hang his fedora on when it comes to plot, so Spielberg seems intent on devising a series of action sequences that deliver plenty of excitement, suspense and laughs. CRYSTAL SKULL gets off to an exhilarating start with Jones under assault at Area 51, followed by a trip to a dangerous, but unassuming village, but after this brilliant beginning the film drifts in and out of entertaining action moments and less than stellar relationship entanglements between Indy, Mutt and Indy’s old love interest Marion, reprised by RAIDERS Karen Allen. The final revelation is something less than the sum of the parts, a bit of a rehash from the climax of RAIDERS, but a combination that shouldn’t come as a surprise for Spielberg fans. With that said, the highly improbable, yet utterly believable action-adventure moments deliver anything and everything a JONES fan could want, and justifies the means to the end.

Grade: B

PRICELESS

Pictures courtesy of Samuel Goldwyn PicturesA naïve and mistaken bartender is seduced by a beautiful gold-digger in the French romantic-comedy PRICELESS. Jean, a bartender at a prestigious hotel, passes out on one of the hotel lounge’s loveseats and is awoken by Irene, a gorgeous gold digger whose sugar daddy is also passed out. Irene mistakes Jean for a wealthy visitor, and after sharing more than a few drinks, the two leave their inhibitions aside and share a one-night stand. Jean wakes up the next morning alone in bed, and it isn’t until exactly one-year later, that Irene returns with another wealthy and elderly boyfriend by her side. This doesn’t seem to sway Jean.

Complete with laughs, chemistry and genuine romantic tension and suspense PRICELESS delivers an old fashioned style romance, with a touch of naughtiness. The achievement by writer-director Pierre Salvadori isn’t as much the subtle humor, or sophisticated and mannered game that the players play with love and dollars, but the unorthodox screenplay that breaks from convention, and delivers because of it. Most of, if not all Hollywood scripts would have relied on the star power to deliver the goods, and would have dragged out the mistaken identity through the fifth or even sixth reel of the movie. PRICELESS dispenses, quite naturally, with this cliché early on and assuredly delivers a storyline that is just as rewarding and much more plausible. This isn’t to say that the star power isn’t there. Audrey Tautou not only resembles Audrey Hepburn, but her Irene is Holly Golightly incarnate, and Tautou gives a performance that can stand up to Hepburn’s. Gad Elmaleh has just as tricky a job as Jean, and walks a acting tight rope, keeping his character from veering into complete schmuck while still remaining likable. PRICELESS plays the cat and mouse contest between Jean and Irene just right, tackling matters of the heart with both intellect and emotion. Although it doesn’t live up to it’s far-reaching title, PRICELESS is definitely worth the price of admission.

Grade: B+

SPEED RACER

Pictures courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures A young boy’s racing pedigree leads him to stardom on the track in the cartoon-based, live-action feature SPEED RACER. Emile Hirsch stars as Speed Racer, a young man torn between family pride and success when confronted by a major sponsor who seeks him as their new driver. Adding to Speed’s tough racing decision is the emotional baggage of losing a brother to the sport, his father’s approval and a childhood romance that has blossomed into something more with girlfriend Trixie.
In spite of all its brilliant colors, high speed racing and clever storytelling SPEED RACER ends up off track in terms of tone and nature. Regardless of the story’s origin, the theatrical version of SPEED RACER turns out to be far more schmaltzy than it should be, and not nearly silly enough, considering the film’s PG rating. The film was written and directed by the brotherly tandem of Andy and Larry Wachowski of Matrix fame. The two’s visual sense is second to none, but wrapping their genius around a cohesive and engaging tale is another story. Although not nearly as complex as the Matrix’s labyrinth, SPEED RACER is a bit complicated for its target audience. Couple the kid-challenged plot with several manic racing sequences, and the film’s ability to entertain is drastically reduced. The extremely talented cast, consisting of Hirsch, Chistina Ricci, John Goodman, Matthew Fox and Susan Sarandon, all go to waste with performances that are too sincere for the synthetic script. SPEED RACER has its engine all revved up, but never is running on all cylinders.

Grade: C-

REDBELT

Pictures courtesty of Sony Classics
Writer-director David Mamet examines the world of mixed martial arts in the dramatic thriller REDBELT. Chitel Ejiofor is Mike Terry, the central character of REDBELT, a highly skilled instructor of Jiu-jitsu, a rare form of mixed martial arts. Mike has held to the belief that martial arts are a wonderful means of self defense, patience and use of mind over matter. Following some bizarre circumstances one evening at Mike’s self defense studio and at a local bar, the Jiu-jitsu teacher may be forced to step into a mixed martial arts competition in order to recover from a few financial losses.

As with most Mamet films, not everything is as it appears. REDBELT features a wide array of strong character actors who serve as proverbial chameleons. These actors’ characters in REDBELT are constantly sliding up and down a slippery moral slope involving success, desire and most of all, money. Ejiofor’s Mike tries to avoid these sticky situations by adhering to a strict moral code, but despite his best efforts, Mike is drawn into difficult circumstances. Although operating effectively as a thriller thanks to Mamet’s often elaborate screenplay, REDBELT makes for a compelling character study of Mike, a man trying to operate on a samurai’s system in a fractured, violent and ruthless world. Ejiofor’s focused, patient and restrained performance makes REDBELT as good as it is. With his world slowly crumbling down around him, Mike remains true to himself and his belief that there isn’t any situation too great to overcome. Through Ejiofor’s internally intense, but determined portrayal, REDBELT is lifted from an engaging thriller to a thrilling critique on our current culture.

Grade: B+