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Archive By Section - Movie reviews


‘Swing Vote’ plays fair to both politics and satire

You've heard of a non-denial denial in politics? Well, "Swing Vote" is a non-political political movie. It's a fable, grounded in our real recent elections, that would rather make us laugh than stir up controversy.

September 25, 2008 | Jeff Marker | Movie reviews


There’s lots of ham to love in ‘Hamlet 2’

Satire is back, and the world is already becoming a better place. At least, a funnier place. The Judd Apatow crowd has dominated Hollywood comedy the past few years with its loser-facing-a-life-crisis humor, but the two best comedies of the summer are take-no-prisoners satires. You've already heard about "Tropic Thunder," a loving attack on Hollywood, but you might have overlooked "Hamlet 2," a hilarious satire that pokes fun at amateur theater, self-indulgent actors and people ...

September 25, 2008 | Jeff Marker | Movie reviews


‘Batman’ raises bar for superhero films

The defining movie of summer 2008 has arrived.

September 01, 2008 | Jeff Marker | Movie reviews


This superhero is simply super bad

Hancock (Will Smith) is an anti-social, apathetic drunk with superhero powers. One day, he reluctantly saves the life of public relations expert Ray Embrey (Jason Bateman), who in return makes it his mission to give Hancock an image makeover. Ray's wife Mary (Charlize Theron) doesn't like the idea and seems to be hiding something.

August 31, 2008 | Jeff Marker | Movie reviews


‘Traitor’ doesn’t live up to expectations

"Traitor" is a shot across the bow. With films like "Towelhead," Oliver Stone's "W" and Bill Maher's "Religulous" due for release within months, in the midst of a tight presidential election, it's going to be a controversial, divisive fall season.

August 31, 2008 | Jeff Marker | Movie reviews


A little robot with a big heart

WALL-E is a lonely, precocious little robot with a big job. Some 700 years ago, Earth was abandoned by humans when it became uninhabitable. Everyone boarded a spaceship and took off, leaving behind WALL-E (which stands for Waste Allocation Load Lifter - Earth class) to clean up. The movie begins with post-apocalyptic views of Earth cities in ruins: highways crumbling, buildings sagging and pile upon pile of garbage and rubble. This is how the animators ...

August 31, 2008 | Jeff Marker | Movie reviews


Complex plot makes ‘Hellboy’ great

Just when I had given up on comic book movies, along comes "Hellboy II." Superheroes and comic book characters have nearly ruined recent summer seasons, including this one, with their bad dialogue and over-cooked special effects. Which is why "Hellboy II" is such a pleasant surprise. "Hellboy II" is rude, over-the-top, and absurd. Add to that list great action sequences, effects that are actually special, and an intriguing villain, and we've got ourselves one helluva ...

August 21, 2008 | Jeff Marker | Movie reviews


‘Journey’ is fantastic family ride

Brendan Fraser maintains his modern matinee idol status with "Journey to the Center of the Earth," a charming adventure movie that faces the uphill climb of opening against Guillermo del Toro's "Hellboy II" and Eddie Murphy's latest yawner, "Meet Dave."

August 14, 2008 | Jeff Marker | Movie reviews


‘Mummy’ 3 can’t revive tired plot

It's August, the final stretch of the summer movie season, and the earth is tired. Tired of teetering on the verge of total destruction, tired of its ancient inhabitants being revived by snooping humans and tired of loud CGI explosions.

August 10, 2008 | Jeff Marker | Movie reviews


Who can’t love this panda?

Zohan gets his butt kicked by a panda. Take that, Adam Sandler! A rotund and clumsy panda named Po (Jack Black) lives a boring life in the Valley of Peace. He obediently helps his father (James Hong) in the family noodle shop, but he dreams of becoming a kung fu master like his idols the Furious Five, a martial arts team lead by Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) and Oogway (Randall Duk Kim). Shifu and the Furious ...

August 07, 2008 | Jeff Marker | Movie reviews


Older eye candy can still kick butt

It's just amazing that Harrison Ford can do all those stunts while hooked up to an oxygen tank. And the walker doesn't slow him down at all.

August 01, 2008 | Jeff Marker | Movie reviews


Look, up in the sky! A bad movie!

M. Night Shyamalan's new thriller, "The Happening," is the funniest movie I've seen all year. If only the director were in on the joke.

July 17, 2008 | Jeff Marker | Movie reviews


‘Caspian’ battles mature themes

Excuse me, have you seen a lion pass by here recently? He's about yay tall, looks like a symbolic savior?

July 03, 2008 | Jeff Marker | Movie reviews


Strength of ‘Iron Man’ lies in its star

And we're out of the summer gate at a Marvel-ous pace! "Iron Man," based on Stan Lee's Marvel Comics character, posted around $200 million worldwide in its opening weekend. This is well below the opening haul by "Spiderman 3" last year, but it far surpassed everyone's expectations. Still, "Iron Man" is a fairly typical blockbuster that benefited from being the first big release of the season. There are explosions and effects aplenty, the story is ...

July 03, 2008 | Jeff Marker | Movie reviews


Tense ‘Strangers’ seems too familiar

"The Strangers" is the kind of movie that boosts sales of guns and home security systems. It could incite an explosion in self-defense class enrollments. At the very least, it will encourage you to chain the door and to use the peephole.

July 03, 2008 | Jeff Marker | Movie reviews


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Articles by Section - Movie reviews


'Fast & Furious 6' takes car worship to the extreme

Nothing about "Fast & Furious 6" makes sense. The initial premise, every aspect of character development, and every plot point are all ridiculously, shockingly mindless.

May 23, 2013 | Jeff Marker | Movie reviews


‘Mayan Blue’ a stunning film with Ga. ties

"Mayan Blue" is an atypical Georgia film. Most of the crew either come from or live in North Georgia, yet the film was shot entirely in Guatemala and features an abundance of breathtaking underwater cinematography.

May 16, 2013 | Jeff Marker | Movie reviews


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