http://www.cinemablend.com/ Movie and DVD Reviews en-us Copyright 1997-2005 Joshua Tyler Thu, 04 Dec 2008 17:36:50 -0500 CinemaBlend.com josh@cinemablend.com 60 Each attempt at bringing him to the screen has been slightly better than the last, but only slightly. Thomas Janes version was marginally less awful than Dolph Lundgrens 80s abortion and this latest, Ray Stevenson starring incarnation is incrementally less laughable than the one Jane fell into. Should this trend continue, by the characters tenth iteration I will be able to give a I PunisherI movie a good review. Wed, 03 Dec 2008 14:53:29 -0500 http://www.cinemablend.com/review.php?id=3570 http://www.cinemablend.com/review.php?id=3570 Were there any real passion or feeling behind it, IThe ReaderI might feel like more than just a space-filler on the inexorable march to Oscar night. But despite the best efforts of three talented lead actors, and a director who has shown immense charisma in the past, IThe ReaderI just lies there on the screen, demanding the audience care but never offering them much to hold onto. Tue, 02 Dec 2008 02:03:41 -0500 http://www.cinemablend.com/review.php?id=3565 http://www.cinemablend.com/review.php?id=3565 Its unfair to blame all of ICadillac RecordsI failings on Beyonc, given the draggy pace of the script and the movies general unwillingness to deviate from general music biz stereotypes. But the movie might have retained its shaggy charm, and been able to make up for its many flaws, had it not morphed into yet another star turn for an actress who has yet to prove any real charisma onscreen Sun, 30 Nov 2008 23:11:46 -0500 http://www.cinemablend.com/review.php?id=3563 http://www.cinemablend.com/review.php?id=3563 A year from now when its finally on DVD, someone I know will ask me if Ive seen IFour ChristmasesI. Four what? Ill ask. IFour ChristmasesI, theyll say. The holiday movie with Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn. And Ill respond, no never heard of it. As far as Ill know that will be the truth, because by then Ill have forgotten this movie exists. Its clich collection of bland, formula gags will have long since been replaced in my brain by more worthy memories. Wed, 26 Nov 2008 15:51:26 -0500 http://www.cinemablend.com/review.php?id=3534 http://www.cinemablend.com/review.php?id=3534 Villains and police detective MacGuffins drone on and on, desperately trying to convince us this is a logical, sensible action film while at the same time inventing completely random reasons for Jason Statham to take his shirt off. This is not a real plot, and because it wastes so much time trying to convince us that it is, ITransporter 3I also isnt any fun. Tue, 25 Nov 2008 04:41:37 -0500 http://www.cinemablend.com/review.php?id=3550 http://www.cinemablend.com/review.php?id=3550 When Dustin Lance Black began writing a screenplay about Harvey Milk in 2004, Barack Obama was an unknown local politician, and the wave of state bans on gay marriages had only begun as ballot initiatives. And while IMilkI would be an excellent film any year, coming as it does in November 2008, it is almost unbearably poignant. Mon, 24 Nov 2008 23:48:29 -0500 http://www.cinemablend.com/review.php?id=3549 http://www.cinemablend.com/review.php?id=3549 Aside from the four extremely strong performances at its center, and the sticky, troubling moral issue that drives it, IDoubtI isnt much cinematically. It turns out that John Patrick Shanley, who wrote the celebrated stage play as well as this screenplay, has done himself a disservice by directing his own work in a clumsy, sometimes amateurish way. But his story is so strong... Mon, 24 Nov 2008 15:27:54 -0500 http://www.cinemablend.com/review.php?id=3543 http://www.cinemablend.com/review.php?id=3543 Rod Lurie, given the Washington insider knowledge he displayed with IThe ContenderI, would seem a natural fit for the story, his claustrophobic close-ups emphasizing the fishbowl world of D.Cs power elite. But even helped by strong performances from Kate Beckinsale and Vera Farmiga, INothing But the TruthI is flat and unexceptional, the bureaucratic, talky parts of a political thriller without the action sequences as payoff Sat, 22 Nov 2008 15:53:13 -0500 http://www.cinemablend.com/review.php?id=3541 http://www.cinemablend.com/review.php?id=3541 IAustraliaI, as a movie experience, demands ushers in red vests, plush velvet seats, bunched curtains and a balcony. It is as much a tribute to movies as it is a movie itself; like all Baz Luhrmann films, its intoxicated with the very notion that it will flicker to life on a screen. Set loose in the limitless wilds of his homeland, Baz Luhrmann stuffs the screen with dust storms, sunsets, stampedes, explosions, kangaroos... Fri, 21 Nov 2008 18:57:41 -0500 http://www.cinemablend.com/review.php?id=3537 http://www.cinemablend.com/review.php?id=3537 As a romance, ITwilightI is just subpar-- a more celibate, moodier take on IDawsons CreekI or I90210I. As a vampire story, its a disaster; all the fun stuff is taken out in favor of vampires who drink animal blood, go out during the daytime, and sparkle in direct sunlight. As a movie overall, its mostly a wash. Fri, 21 Nov 2008 17:19:24 -0500 http://www.cinemablend.com/review.php?id=3536 http://www.cinemablend.com/review.php?id=3536 IThe ClassI, based on the memoir by Francois Begaudeau, who also stars, isnt exactly interested in turning that traditional narrative on its head. Instead it starts from the only world Begaudeau knows-- reality-- and creates a loose narrative as fascinating in its specific details as it is enlightening on a grand scale. Though it tackles very specifically French ideas of race and identity and education, IThe ClassI is a universal story of the joys and horrors of the classroom Fri, 21 Nov 2008 17:19:10 -0500 http://www.cinemablend.com/review.php?id=3531 http://www.cinemablend.com/review.php?id=3531 ITwilightI would be the same movie with or without vampires. Edward is attracted to Bella because she smells delicious, but he could just as easily have been attracted to her because shes really super-hot. Bella on the other hand, is attracted to Edward for the same reason all teenage girls seem to be attracted to bad boys. The female lust for jerks is something of a universal constant, and its on full display here. Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:13:13 -0500 http://www.cinemablend.com/review.php?id=3535 http://www.cinemablend.com/review.php?id=3535 Every generation has its dog movie. ITheI dog movie. The dog movie which empties the streets of strays and sends stores scrambling to load up on chew toys. The dog movie which causes millions of Americas kids to beg for their very own pet. For you, maybe it was IFox and the HoundI played over and over again on your familys creaking VHS player. For our kids, its going to be IBoltI. Wed, 19 Nov 2008 04:45:40 -0500 http://www.cinemablend.com/review.php?id=3523 http://www.cinemablend.com/review.php?id=3523 Darren Aronofsky is best known as a director of visually experimental, emotionally complex films like IRequiem for a DreamI and IThe FountainI. With IThe WrestlerI, he drops the experimentation and shoots what for him is a quick and dirty film. This is everything which an Aronosfky movie usually is not. IThe WrestlerI, stripped down and raw, hinges almost entirely on the performance of its lead. Mon, 17 Nov 2008 14:46:46 -0500 http://www.cinemablend.com/review.php?id=3514 http://www.cinemablend.com/review.php?id=3514 In 1977 Richard M. Nixon granted British playboy presenter turned journalist David Frost a series of twelve television interviews. This was the first time Nixon had spoken since his resignation in the midst of the Watergate scandal and Americans waited with baited breath, longing for the trial theyd been denied by newly president Gerald Fords blanket pardon. Sat, 15 Nov 2008 15:10:54 -0500 http://www.cinemablend.com/review.php?id=3516 http://www.cinemablend.com/review.php?id=3516