Family, 103 Minutes, 2011
Who doesn’t love “The Muppets”? Big, dumb, jerk-faced idiots – that’s who! Jason Segel loved the muppets so much that he spent the better part of the last 10 years writing this movie. More than that he made it about my muppets (and maybe yours too): The Muppet Show muppets.
Family, 126 Minutes, 2011
It’s sometimes hard to review universally acclaimed films. There’s a temptation to run counter to the pack and find flaw (anything everybody likes can’t really be good can it?) Sometimes you just have to admit it though: the pack has its moments. This is something special.
Family, 90 Minutes, 2011
If you follow these kinds of things you’ll know that Puss in Boots was basically a two-gag toss-away character from “Shrek” [IMDB]. You’ll also know that while “Shrek” was a wonderful, sentimental and deeply emotional fairy tale the rest of the movies in the franchise… weren’t.
“The Secret World of Arrietty” on IMDB
Family, 94 Minutes, 2011
This is Studio Ghibli’s eagerly anticipated adaptation of the massively popular children’s book, “The Borrowers”. While not faithful to the storyline of the book it’s abundantly clear that the filmmakers have a deep and meaningful respect for the source material.
Sci-fi/Action, 127 Minutes, 2011
This movie was completely – and I mean utterly – formulaic. It was unabashedly and aggressively manipulative – I mean Michael Moore was taking notes during the screening. The plot was full of holes a giant robot could dance through. Seriously: if you’ve seen “Rocky” or “The Champ” or “Over the Top” then you’ve seen this movie already.
Comedy, 103 Minutes, 2011
You know how every once in a while a movie comes along that looks really bad – horribly, terribly bad – but somehow manages to end up really good? How a movie can sometimes triumph over the shortcomings of its source material and become something special? Sometimes its writing that’s smarter than it needs to be; or an oddly perfect marriage of actor and role; or even just an infectious love of something that most people consider too silly to consider?
Well – this movie ain’t none of that.
Children’s, 15 Minutes, 2010
This is amazingly, completely, totally and utterly brilliant.
Go find it. Watch it. It’s only 15 minutes – I’ll wait.
. . .
Sci-Fi/Thriller, 112 Minutes, 2011
If you were thinking from the promos that this was going to “Goonies: the Next Generation” well, you’re partly right. The group of kids is appropriately precocious and charming but the film has a deep undercurrent of darkness that tempers the enjoyment just a bit. There are complex issues at play in these lives and, unfortunately, the film does little to truly explore them beyond a token resolution.
Comedy, 107 Minutes, 2011:
Rango can be, wrongly, lumped in with the increasingly large crop of disposable computer-animated family films. Taken this way it’s a perfectly funny, appropriate story that will entertain your family for an afternoon.
Authored October 2005
I took my lovely bride on a date and saw “Mirrormask” at the local art house (which in our case has better screens and seating than most megaplexes).
The film is written by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean (if you don’t know who they are… well, you should), directed by McKean (his directorial debut) and features effects by the Jim Henson Company.
