88 Minutes

88 Minutes

Al Pacino, Alicia Witt, LeeLee Sobieski, William Forsythe, Amy Brenneman, Neal McDonough

Synposis: A thriller about a college professor who, while moonlighting as a forensic psychiatrist for the FBI, receives a death threat telling him that he has only 88 minutes to live.

Pacino is both great and completely irritating in this film.

The story managed to captivate my wife’s interest enough that she stayed awake WELL past 10 PM to watch it, so the “thriller” portion of it is worthy of 3 stars… but Pacino’s character is so flippin’ smug that you kinda wind up hating him even though he’s the hero.

Pink Panther 2

Pink Panther 2

Steve Martin, Jean Reno, Andy Garcia, Alfred Molina, Emily Mortimer, Aishwarya Rai, Yuki Matsuzaki, John Cleese

They spent a little too much time trying to make clever romantic innuendos when they should’ve stuck to the pratfalls that made the character famous. Still, it’s not completely awful and there are a few funny moments that weren’t spoiled by the trailer.

If you catch it on cable or some such, it’d be a decent watch, but don’t spend a lot renting it and it’s definitely not a “purchase” type of flick.

The Spirit

The Spirit

Gabriel Macht, Samuel L. Jackson, Eva Mendez, Scarlett Johansson

So this was way more campy than I’d expected… but if viewed as an homage to Will Eisner and his original comic from the 1930s (1940s?) when that style of humor was prevalent, then Frank Miller did a great job. Hey – where else are you going to get to hear Samuel L. Jackson quip, “Come on, toilets are ALWAYS funny!”?

The story is entertaining and it’s filmed like a live action comic. If you found Sin City enjoyable, you’ll probably like this one.

Transporter 3

Transporter 3

Jason Statham, Natalya Rudakova, François Berléand, Robert Knepper

This turned out much better than I’d anticipated. It’s a Transporter film, so basic plot holds (put girl in car, drive fast, get in fights)… I enjoyed seeing the progression of the relationship between Frank and the Inspector. Expect lots of chase scenes, some decent fights (man, is Statham ripped or what?!) and an explosion or two.

Is it the best action flick out there? No, but it’s still a fun way to spend an hour & a half.

The Happening

The Not-So-Happening

Mark Wahlberg, Zooey Deschanel, John Leguizamo

The plants decide to take over the wind and kill us because we’re poisoning them… but they can only do it in a relatively small area and during a 24 hour window? Feh. Whatever.

Other than learning that Zooey has a really furry face and that Spencer Breslin, who has a small role in this film, is finally growing out of his baby fat, I feel completely robbed of the 90 minutes I spent wastefully watching this piece of crap. Avoid this movie at all costs!

Fool’s Gold

Matthew McConaughey, Kate Hudson, Donald Sutherland

I had low expectations for this movie, thinking the trailer had spoiled all the best parts and that watching the film itself would simply be an exercise of will – specifically willing myself to be patient enough to finish it.

Luckily, I was wrong.

This is actually an amusing rental. Matthew (buff arrogant Hollywood turd) seems to have fallen into a standardized role; much like Tom Cruise always plays the guy who needs to grow up so he can overcome something important, McConaughey appears to be the bumbling-ne’er-do-well with aspirations of finding that one big score. Kate (sweetheart of the screen), on the other hand, has made a career out of romantic comedies. McConaughey and Hudson have great on-screen chemistry and work well together.

The story is light enough to keep the ardent male viewer from becoming overburdened with emotions and yet manages to lure you in just the right amount so that you care about what happens to the characters. The action is fun with just enough *danger* to keep it interesting. Regardless, the film works.

Whether you’re looking for a “date” movie or just want something fun to entertain you for close to two hours, this movie will fit the bill.