Let me warn you up front, I think Sacha Baron Cohen is a fearless comic genius (both Borat and Bruno had me laughing so hard, my spleen hurt), so naturally, I loved The Dictator. But if you’re one of those people who despise his profane, shocking humor, stay clear of this film.
Grade: (for Cohen fans) B+ (for non-fans) D
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Take a break from alien invasions, vampire weddings and teenage death matches to see this charming film about a group of British seniors (played by a role call of elite English actors like Judi Dench, Maggie Smith and Tom Wilkinson) who travel to India to heal from life’s wounds and find fresh challenges and deep joy. The script is a little hokey in places, but overall, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is a welcome break from what is looking like yet another summer of marauding robots and world-ending explosions.
Grade: B+
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This is one of the weaker movies in the Film Streams Noir series, as Humphrey Bogart’s portrayal of a bitter screenwriter suspected of murder seems more hard-to-figure than hard-boiled. Still, there’s an excellent scene when the lovely Gloria Grahame is getting a massage and the atmosphere gets a very noir charge of sexuality and menace.
Grade: C+
Believe the rave reviews. The Avengers is an ideal mix of spectacular special effects, an over-the-top supervillain, quirky superheroes who share a lively chemistry, comic relief that’s actually funny, and action sequences that build like songs at a rock concert to an exhilarating peak.
Grade: A
We’re in 1849 Baltimore, some madman is re-enacting the grisly stories of Edgar Allen Poe, and Poe himself is enlisted to stop the serial killer. The Raven suffers from a clumsy script and weak supporting cast, but I enjoyed John Cusack’s portrayal of Poe as an unappreciated genius beset by hard times and hard drinking.
Grade: C+
Finally, finally, finally FINALLY there’s a summer blockbuster that actually busts some blocks. The Avengers is a thundering triumph — a full-throated action pic that doesn’t forget to include all the essentials of a great story: comedy, emotion, pacing and well-developed characters. (I know this is a third sentence, but be sure to catch the confrontation between the Hulk and the main villain late in the film … it’s bound to become one of the classic scenes of American cinema.)
Grade: A
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In this French film with English subtitles, a woman decides – out of the blue – to help a bratty, out-of-control 11-year-old boy who’s been abandoned by his father. It’s a heart-rending yet unsentimental story of juvenile delinquency versus unconditional love.
Grade: B+
Please don’t let all the idiot preteen hysteria surrounding this film prevent you from seeing it. The Hunger Games is not only a superb thriller, it is also a savage indictment of what America has become — a fat, stupid, fame-obessessed oligarchy that is literally entertaining itself to death.
Grade: A
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What’s so surprising about this Farrelly Brothers tribute to Larry, Moe and Curly is how family-friendly it is — not a dirty word or sexual reference in sight. Aside from that, this movie is pretty easy to review — if you loved the real Stooges, you’ll adore this … nyuk, nyuk, nyuk.
Grade: For Stooges fans: A For non-fans: D
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The Cabin in the Woods moves past the level of a slasher movie even before anybody has had a chance to get slashed. The fun comes in trying to figure out what level we’re moving toward in this smart, genre-bending movie.
Grade: B
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