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Capsule reviews of Tropic Thunder and other films |
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Written by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
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Wednesday, 13 August 2008 |
In this photo provided by Warner Bros. Pictures, cast members, from left, Alexis Bledel, America Ferrera,Amber Tamblyn and Blake Lively are shown in a scene from The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS/Warner Bros. Pictures, Phil Caruso
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Capsule reviews of films opening this week:
"Fly Me to the Moon" - A well-intentioned exercise at blending education and family entertainment, this 3-D animated tale ends up being only mildly educational and not all that entertaining. The story of three flies that tag along with Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins on Apollo 11's moon shot is reminiscent of the moment in "Apollo 13" when the TV networks decide against airing a live feed from the astronauts. The reason? NASA had made space travel so routine, at least until that moment on the ill-fated flight, that it became boring. Likewise, despite its unusual story line, the movie is routine and on the cusp of boring for audiences accustomed to such meatier animated flicks as "WALL-E" and "Kung Fu Panda." Director Ben Stassen, whose company nWave has pioneered 3-D films for large-screen IMAX cinemas, has crafted a technically proficient cartoon whose decent visuals are held to Earth by cute but dull characters, bland action and uninspired dialogue. The voice cast includes Christopher Lloyd, Nicollette Sheridan, Tim Curry and Adrienne Barbeau. Two stars out of four.
-David Germain, AP
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"Star Wars: The Clone Wars" - While anything remotely "Star Wars" is potentially a welcome trek for hard-core fans, this will be a mixed thrill given that the saga returns to the big screen as a cartoon. George Lucas' prequel trilogy was so overloaded with computer-generated imagery that the digital animation of "Clone Wars" isn't that big of a leap. The sombre tone of those three movies - chronicling the downfall of Anakin Skywalker from snotty teen to black-hearted Darth Vader - is gone, replaced with a variation of the campy humour and camaraderie that characterized the original trilogy. Still, a "Star Wars" movie should be an event. Whether because of its cartoony format or its relatively lightweight story, "Clone Wars" definitely is not an event. It's a fairly fun if forgettable little adventure that hurls Anakin, his new young apprentice, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and the rest of the gang into a kidnapping conspiracy and rescue amid a galactic civil war between clone soldiers and android troops. The movie is a glorified introduction to the "Clone Wars" animated series debuting this fall on TV - almost certainly a more appropriate home for a cartoon version of "Star Wars." PG for sci-fi action violence throughout, brief language and momentary smoking. Two and a half stars out of four.
-David Germain, AP
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"Tropic Thunder" - Ben Stiller's Hollywood satire couldn't be any more "inside-baseball" if it contained references to the infield fly rule and Rule 5 draft picks. This movie-within-a-movie is certainly his most ambitious production as a director and it contains some of the biggest belly laughs of his career. But while it blends comedy and action sequences far more skilfully and seamlessly than this summer's "Pineapple Express," which shifted from one genre to the other, after a while the whole endeavour winds up feeling feels overwrought and repetitive. Stiller co-wrote the script with Justin Theroux and Etan Cohen, produced and stars as Tugg Speedman, an increasingly irrelevant action hero who now leads the ensemble cast of the Vietnam War epic "Tropic Thunder." When Tugg and his equally pampered cast mates turn out to be too distracted to commit to the production, and costs start spiralling out of control, the first-time director (Steve Coogan) leads them into the jungle to bond and fend for themselves. But what they think is a carefully crafted exercise in make-believe turns out to be all too real. Jack Black is typically manic and a bit one-note as the drug-addicted comic star of the flatulent "Fatties" franchise. But it's Robert Downey Jr. who takes the humour to a daring, inspired level with his hilarious turn as an Australian method actor who undergoes skin-pigmentation surgery to play a black soldier. Meanwhile, Tom Cruise's supporting performance as a megalomaniacal studio chief has its wondrously freaky moments, but it's not nearly as career-altering as the hype would suggest. Two and a half stars out of four.
-Christy Lemire, AP
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"Vicky Cristina Barcelona" - You should hate these people, really - these smug American yuppies chatting gaily about golf, tennis and boating over red wine on a sun-splashed Spanish afternoon. You're also free to abhor the painters, poets and musicians who populate Barcelona and spend their bohemian days idly debating the merits of love and art - when they're not wrapped up in making them both, that is. Somehow, Woody Allen makes us not just tolerate these people but find ourselves engaged in their adventures in this, his strongest film in quite a while. It's a romantic comedy, yes, in his great tradition of absurdity and longing. And it's an easy European romp, though it's surely superior to Allen's recent trilogy of London-based movies. But it's also tinged with melancholy, letting us know Allen isn't just mocking his characters but feeling a certain amount of sympathy for them in their confusion, which inevitably evokes a similar response from his audience. What's fascinating is the juxtaposition he's created here: In obviously stilted, overly literary tones, his narrator describes his characters' every action and emotion, and yet they themselves consistently behave in impulsive, contradictory ways. Rebecca Hall and Allen's recent muse, Scarlett Johansson, co-star as the titular Vicky and Cristina, best friends spending the summer in Barcelona who couldn't be more different in terms of their deeds and dreams. Vicky is a practical and structured student; Cristina is a restless and passionate photographer. But they both respond in surprising ways to sexy artist Juan Antonio (an irresistible Javier Bardem), a stranger who invites them to spend the weekend with him. Penelope Cruz is a force of nature as Juan Antonio's tempestuous ex-wife: she's fiery, funny and impossible to stop watching. Three stars out of four.
-Christy Lemire, AP
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 13 August 2008 )
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