08 Mar 2015

RoboCrip: "Chappie," "The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel," and "Unfinished Business"

By Sen. Charles Grassley

Chappie

CHAPPIE

The sci-fi-action-comedy-thriller Chappie is the tale of an insentient creature who gains a soul and learns to love, just like Pinocchio and WALL•E and Short Circuit's Number 5. But this is a film by Neill Blomkamp, the writer/director of the violence- and profanity-laden District 9 and Elysium, so don't expect Disney-style warmth or Guttenberg-ian sweetness from this similarly R-rated outing. Instead, prepare to be amazed - though "stupefied" is the more appropriate term - by just how mawkish a movie can be despite boasting a title character who proves expert at carjacking, and whose most frequent malapropism involves his spirited twist on a 12-letter cuss word.

29 May 2012

The Third Time's the Charmer: "Men in Black 3" and "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel"

By Mike Schulz

Josh Brolin and Will Smith in Men in Black 3MEN IN BLACK 3

Is it merely deserved absence making my heart grow fonder, or is Men in Black 3, against almost all expectation, awfully damned good?

17 Jul 2011

Closing the Book: "Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" and "Winnie the Pooh"

By Mike Schulz

Daniel Radcliffe and Ralph Fiennes in Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows: Part 2HARRY POTTER & THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 2

As the end credits began rolling at my screening of Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, the (need I say it?) final installment in the film series adapted from J.K. Rowling's beloved novels, I'll admit that I anticipated more applause than I actually heard. Then again, it's awfully hard to clap while simultaneously wiping tears from your cheeks.

13 Feb 2011

Biebermania: "Justin Bieber: Never Say Never," "The Eagle," "Just Go with It," and "Gnomeo & Juliet"

By Mike Schulz

Justin Bieber in Justin Bieber: Never Say NeverJUSTIN BIEBER: NEVER SAY NEVER

Leave it to that great Socratic thinker Ozzy Osbourne, in a recent TV commercial, to ask the question that's been on many a middle-aged mind of late: "What's a Bieber?"

22 Aug 2010

Gone to Seed: "The Switch," "Eat Pray Love," and "Nanny McPhee Returns"

By Mike Schulz

Jason Bateman and Jennifer Aniston in The SwitchTHE SWITCH

Since it's a romantic comedy starring Jennifer Aniston that actually doesn't suck, it's temping to overrate The Switch, which opens with Aniston's Kassie preparing to be artificially inseminated, and BFF Wally (Jason Bateman) - who secretly loves her - swapping her sperm donor's donation for one of his own.

17 Jul 2009

Hogwarts and All: "Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince"

By Mike Schulz

HARRY POTTER & THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE

Excepting director Alfonso Cuarón's Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban, I haven't been terribly crazy about the film adaptations of J.K. Rowling's books. But here's something that I absolutely do adore: seeing these movies in a crowded theater on opening day.

19 Nov 2002

"Harry Potter" Still Missing Its Magic: "Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets," and "I Spy"

By Mike Schulz

Bonnie Wright and Daniel Radcliffe in Harry Potter & the Chamber of SecretsHARRY POTTER & THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS

Although I didn't care for last year's Harry Potter & The Sorcerer's Stone, I was more than willing to greet the new Harry Potter & The Chamber of Secrets with an open mind.

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