Sherlock Holmes (2009)

Sherlock Holmes (2009)

Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes arrives with particular disappointment, and this is coming from someone who doesn’t have any unbreakable attachment to the character of Sherlock Holmes. Those that do: beware. You’re bound to be even more appalled by this over-written, over-edited, and only moderately entertaining “re-imagining” (oh, how that is… Continue reading

Couples Retreat (2009)

Couples Retreat (2009)

Couples Retreat is the latest comedic debacle for the once-funny Vince Vaughn, and at this point we’re a bit beyond worried. By my count, Vaughn hasn’t made a funny, or even particularly good (with the exception of his brief appearance in 2007’s Into the Wild), movie since 2005’s Wedding Crashers.… Continue reading

Zombieland (2009)

Zombieland (2009)

The zombie-comedy is carving a genre all its own, and when the movies are this good, who can argue? Zombieland is a terrific comedy, action picture, and, shockingly, teen romance. Usually this sort of combination makes for a surefire entry into the Razzies, but not so here. Director Ruben Fleischer… Continue reading

Extract (2009)

Extract (2009)

Perhaps no other filmmaker understands the working class as much as Mike Judge. His 1999 home video hit, Office Space, has become virtually a documentary since its release ten years ago. Anyone who works from a cubicle farm understands why. In Extract, a noticeably less-focused effort with scattershot laughs, Judge… Continue reading

Public Enemies (2009)

Public Enemies (2009)

Public Enemies is Michael Mann’s best film since 1995’s Heat, but it’s not without its faults. What is refreshing is to see an old-school gangster flick with a stellar cast. This is a very intriguing portrait of John Dillinger, the famed bank robber and the FBI’s first-ever “Most Wanted” man.… Continue reading

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)

Somewhere around the two-hour mark of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, a character requests that a plan be made concise and to-the-point. I’d like to think that’s a wink from the trio of screenwriters to the audience, because next to nothing in Transformers 2 makes any sense. Perhaps that is… Continue reading