Movie Reviews from Creators Syndicate

Tyler Labine: From TV BFF to 'Tucker & Dale' for 09/30/2011

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Tyler Labine has blood on his hands.

His Calgary hotel room is stained with the ignominy of a brutal two-week bacchanal out in the woods. The voices of the dead screech in his brain. He and his associate, Alan Tudyk, try to cope with all they've witnessed by gambling at a nearby casino — gambling with their last strains of sanity.

But Labine and Tudyk aren't murder suspects. ...

Updated: Fri Sep 30, 2011

'Killer' Cast, Not Much Flash for 09/23/2011

Fri, 23 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Robert De Niro. Jason Statham. These are two iconic names that, alone, have carried some of the best tough-guy blockbusters. Toss in the second-tier talent of Clive Owen, and you've got an unstoppable action triumvirate.

It's a pity, then, that "Killer Elite," an early-autumn blast of muscle that stars all three, is such a by-the-book affair. Master thespian De Niro has slinked ...

Updated: Fri Sep 23, 2011

'Drive' Crashes and Burns for 09/16/2011

Fri, 16 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

2011 will go down in the Hollywood history books as the year of Ryan Gosling. The man with the Photoshop-perfect abs and cool sheen — but who also has proved himself to be a fine thespian and occasional musician — has utterly dominated the big screen as of late. His swarthy turn in "Crazy, Stupid, Love" demonstrated his sexy mainstream appeal, and this fall's "The Ide ...

Updated: Fri Sep 16, 2011

Fed Up With 3-D for 09/09/2011

Fri, 09 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Three-dimensional cheerleaders have really scraped the bottom of the barrel with this one — and I do mean bottom. The fourth installment of the "Spy Kids" series, starring Jessica Alba and Jeremy Piven, took a note from the amusement-park playbook and included a scratch-and-sniff card with the price of admission. That's great and innovative...if one had a nose for dirty diapers ...

Updated: Fri Sep 09, 2011

Serge Gainsbourg Portrayed as Larger Than Life for 09/02/2011

Fri, 02 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

All countries relish in their own tall tales. Britons boast of the legend of King Arthur, the only man who could extract the mighty sword Excalibur from its stony prison. Americans exalt fictitious giants, such as Paul Bunyan, and characterizations of real-life heroes, such as George Washington's inability to tell a lie.

France has a unique folkloric hero in Serge Gainsbourg. The contro ...

Updated: Fri Sep 02, 2011

Farmiga's Directorial Debut Marks 'High' Point in Career for 08/26/2011

Fri, 26 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Academy voters will be rapt upon viewing "Higher Ground," a finding-God-in-the-suburbs tale that doesn't dissolve its characters into parody. It'll be a boon to the "underground" but powerful faith-based, film-going audience that made "Passion of the Christ" a hit. And it will do wonders for Vera Farmiga's already impressive resume.

Farmiga effortlessly slip ...

Updated: Fri Aug 26, 2011

The Heat Is on for Autumn Films for 08/19/2011

Fri, 19 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Kids are heading back to school (already!). Giant robots are giving way to think pieces (well, not entirely, as you'll see later in this column). Fall is just around the corner, and that means an array of films vying for more-refined eyes (mostly) and a thinner but satiating slice of the box-office pie. Here is a slew we're looking forward to as temperatures cool outside.

Sept. 2: " ...

Updated: Fri Aug 19, 2011

Strong Performances Can't Anchor Lightweight 'Help' for 08/12/2011

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0700

This ought to be the "feel-outraged hit of the summer." While the blockbuster heroes are busy fighting Nazis, commies and villains with no noses, "The Help" looks back at a time when Americans were fighting one of the toughest battles of all: racism.

It is sickening to know that a mere half-century ago, the States — particularly the Jim Crow South — were f ...

Updated: Fri Aug 12, 2011

'The Change-Up' Is a Comedic Smash for 08/05/2011

Fri, 05 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Bravo to Jason Bateman: He's two for two when it comes to hilarious, crass summer comedies this year. And a hearty "Nice recovery!" goes to Ryan Reynolds for his involvement in a certain yuck-fest, he's now leaving behind the $300 million fiasco that was "Green Lantern."

These ace actors join together in "The Change-Up," a sort of adult "Freaky Friday&q ...

Updated: Fri Aug 05, 2011

'Cowboys & Aliens' Never Really Gains Wings for 07/29/2011

Fri, 29 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

"Cowboys & Aliens," on paper, sounds like the ultimate geek extravaganza. The director, Jon Favreau, put "Iron Man" — once feared an unmarketable superhero — on the cinematic map. The writers boast essential sci-fi credits, such as "Lost," "Star Trek" and "Fringe." This pet project has the producer's seal of approval from Steven ...

Updated: Fri Jul 29, 2011

'Cowboys & Aliens' Never Really Gains Wings for 07/29/2011

Fri, 29 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

O Captain! My Captain (America) for 07/22/2011

Fri, 22 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Tina Turner might protest that in this oversaturated comic-book movie environment, "we don't need another hero." We've already got the surefire hits ("Iron Man," "X-Men"), the mighty newbies ("Thor") and the not-so-super (two green fellas, Lantern and Hornet). Movie studios are getting to the point where they're scraping the bottom of the barrel (Captain ...

Updated: Fri Jul 22, 2011

'Life' Takes on Tough Taboos for 07/15/2011

Fri, 15 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

On the 30th anniversary of the discovery of the debilitating disease AIDS, it is incomprehensible that it remains a taboo in some corners of the world. Treatment has evolved greatly over three decades, and the survival rate of HIV patients has ballooned since 1981. We know now that isn't a "gay" or a "black" or a "young" targeter; it affects everyone, and when we i ...

Updated: Fri Jul 15, 2011

Revenge Served With Laughs in Horrible Bosses for 07/08/2011

Fri, 08 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

"Horrible Bosses" is as much a grown-up fantasy movie as it is a comedy. In it, three downtrodden workingmen plot to put their awful authority figures in their place: six feet under. It's a lip-smacking concept in this recession, as many of those still fortunate enough to have a job might be trapped with sharky superiors of their own.

Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis and Charlie D ...

Updated: Fri Jul 08, 2011

Terri Tugs at the Heartstrings for 07/01/2011

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Though "nerd culture" has infiltrated the mainstream and ultimately been deemed "cool," there are shimmering reminders that being "the other" isn't always so glamorous. The X-Men get to help save the planet. Gawky Shia LaBeouf has the protection of giant robots from space. But guys like Terri (and likely, most misfits)? All they've got is the esoteric notion of hav ...

Updated: Fri Jul 01, 2011

French Film Has Us Crazy in Love for 06/29/2011

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Liberals and conservatives make for very strange bedfellows. Can they ever see eye to eye, or is it just a game of push and pull until one side kowtows to the other? A French production helmed by director Michel Leclerc aims to explore this constant battle, but not in the halls of Congress or parliament.

No, Leclerc and screenwriting partner Baya Kasmi reframe the battlefield in the bed ...

Updated: Wed Jun 29, 2011

Buck Teaches Lessons that Apply Outside the World of Horses for 06/24/2011

Fri, 24 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700

First-time director Cindy Meehl's Sundance award-winning documentary, "Buck," follows horse trainer Buck Brannaman on his nine-month journey around the United States, intertwining scenes of his horse clinic classes with a slowly painted portrait of his life: his escape from his abusive father, how he became a real-life horse whisperer, and his work on the 1998 movie "The Horse Wh ...

Updated: Fri Jun 24, 2011

'Green Lantern' an Awfully Dim Superhero Flick for 06/17/2011

Fri, 17 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700

"In lame 3-D and CG blight, Ryan Reynolds shows his might. But no cool factor will grace your sight. Beware the 'Green Lantern.' Instead, go fly a kite."

This may bode poorly for another World War II-birthed superhero film coming later this summer, "Captain America: The First Avenger." But whereas that flick holds true to its 1940s backdrop, this on-screen incarnation ...

Updated: Fri Jun 17, 2011

Viva the International Language of Violence for 06/10/2011

Fri, 10 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700

The heist and the antihero have been brought to the big screen continually. The genre is meant to titillate, and the ambiguous lead character becomes a mirror to ourselves, the inner villain we might wish to vindicate. These movies are stocked to the brim with explosive action, witty one-liners and salacious women. Morality takes a back seat as we whet our appetites for self-destruction.

Updated: Fri Jun 10, 2011

Sharing a Laugh with Ahmed Ahmed for 06/03/2011

Fri, 03 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Did you hear the one about the revolution in Arab countries?

Amid the political upheaval in which Middle Eastern nations are ousting their leaders and taking to the streets to demand freedom, there is a swell of laughter in the region. In spite of the perception that the Muslim devout are staid and humorless, a new comedy documentary sets out to prove that they're "Just Like Us.&quo ...

Updated: Fri Jun 03, 2011