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4 articles from 2008

2 May 2008 10:33 AM, PDT | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

The romantic comedy Made of Honor will be the only new film opening wide against Iron Man (which opened Thursday night) this weekend. Some critics seem to agree that it represents effective counter-programming. The New York Times's Stephen Holden remarks that the movie "adds tart satirical flavors to a cotton-candy formula without sabotaging the sugar rush." Roger Moore in the Orlando Sentinel comments that "fortunately ... [the movie] earns enough goodwill in a clever and sexy opening act to carry it through" to the end. Most other critics, however, suggest that it's merely another rendering of the 1997 film My Best Friend's Wedding, with a gender reversal, and one even compares it, unfavorably, with the classic The Philadelphia Story. He is the Toronto Star's Philip Marchand, who remarks that the audience is not likely to show much interest in the principal character, played by Patrick Dempsey. "Somewhere in the shades of Hollywood, the ghost of Cary Grant is shaking his head," Marchand writes. Kyle Smith in the New York Post calls Dempsey's character "a preening yet uptight jerk," and says that the outcome of the movie -- which character will wind up with whom? -- is never in doubt. "Still," he writes, "there was a certain amount of suspense in the air at the screening of Made of Honor: Would Tom and Hannah realize they're perfect for each other at the altar, or would I burn down the theater first?" Desson Thomson frames his review as if he were writing about a freeway accident. "Actors Patrick Dempsey and Michelle Monaghan are trapped in the wreckage of a bad romantic comedy. Observers suggest the vehicle in which they were riding was poorly engineered and believed to be constructed of cheap, recycled material. The severity of their injuries is unclear at this time."

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9 April 2008 10:34 AM, PDT | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

A group of senior citizens performing rock-and-roll numbers in a theatrical documentary are receiving much critical praise from film critics as the film opens in limited release today (Wednesday). The senior citizens are not the Rolling Stones, who are appearing in their own concert documentary directed by Martin Scorsese. These are the 24 persons in a 24-member group from Northampton, Ma, whose average age is 80 and who perform cover songs from groups like the Talking Heads, the Clash, the Ramones, and Coldplay. They call themselves Young@Heart, which also is the name of the movie about them. Comments Kenneth Turan in the Los Angeles Times: "It's as much of a heady tonic for these folks to take on these unlikely lyrics as it is for us to watch it all go down." Stephen Holden in the New York Times suggests that the film might have been a cloying portrayal of old folks at play if it had been a fictional movie. Instead, he writes, it "offers an encouraging vision of old age in which the depression commonly associated with decrepitude is held at bay by music making, camaraderie and a sense of humor." Claudia Puig in Usa Today awards the film 3 1/2 stars and concludes, "Not only is it enjoyable, Young@Heart is a heartening and poignant affirmation of the transformative power of music."

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28 January 2008 | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

Untraceable , which had been expected to take in less than $10 million, turned out to be a pleasant surprise for Sony. So, too, possibly were the handful of solid reviews the film garnered from several critics on Friday. (Most despised it.) Chicago Sun-Times critic Roger Ebert (who wrote his review of the movie before entering the hospital last week for surgery to correct damage that had resulted from previous operations last year) described it as "a horrifying thriller, smart and tightly told, and merciless." Ann Horniday credited Diane Lane's performance for pulling it all off: "An otherwise slick, well-crafted police procedural, Untraceable dabbles in the kind of torture porn that has made movies like Saw and Hostel such hit franchises with the very teenagers Lane's career has so triumphantly defied." On the other hand, Joe Morgenstern wrote in the Wall Street Journal:"This joyless thriller runs the gamut from unconscionable through unwatchable to unendurable." Then there was Stephen Holden's curious review in the New York Times, which said, "You may view Untraceable, as I do, as a repugnant example of the voyeurism it pretends to condemn. Or you may stand back and see it as a cleverly conceived, slickly executed genre movie that ranks somewhere between Seven and the Saw movies in sadistic ingenuity."

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2 January 2008 | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

Some critics are of two minds about Andrew Piddington's The Killing of John Lennon, which opens in New York today (Wednesday). On the one hand, they all seem to agree that the writing, directing, and acting (newcomer Jonas Ball plays Lennon assassin Mark David Chapman) are superb. The subject matter is another thing. "If The Killing of John Lennon is a well-made film, it is also a total bummer," concludes Stephen Holden in the New York Times.Frank Scheck in the Hollywood Reporter suggests that the filmmakers were merely attempting to take advantage of Lennon's name, saying that while the movie "boasts an undeniable technical proficiency and historical authenticity ... [it] nonetheless has an unavoidably exploitative feel." Bruce Bennett in the New York Sun sums up: "I say it's exploitation, and I say the hell with it." But Jack Mathews in the New York Daily News calls the movie "riveting," and concludes, "Piddington does a beautiful balancing act, creating a movie that works both on the level of suspense and as a detailed factual chronicle."

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4 articles from 2008