Thu Nov 19, 2009, 9:10 am EST
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Source: AP
- Capsule reviews of films opening this week:
"Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans" — It's post-Katrina New Orleans and there are snakes in the water — none bigger than Terence McDonagh (Nicolas Cage), an exceptionally corrupt detective, who slinks through town snorting coke, smoking heroin, harassing women and brandishing a .44 Magnum stuffed in the front of his pants. "Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans" is a kind of remake of Abel Ferrara's 1992 cult classic "Bad Lieutenant," which was set in New York and starred Harvey Keitel in a similar role. Director Werner Herzog has summoned the sensational spirit of the original while making something fresh and gloriously insane. Cage dives headlong into the madness, and it's plain fun to see the actor give himself so fully to a character after several years of mostly forgettable action movies. The film keeps closer to the original's plot than one might want of a movie by a highly skilled director. And the ending feels like a forced, extra dose of Herzog mania. But it has a pulse, and it's a marvel to watch. R for drug use and language throughout. 122 minutes. Three stars out of four.
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Wed Nov 18, 2009, 4:39 pm EST
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Source: AP
- Capsule reviews of films opening this week:
"Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans" — It's post-Katrina New Orleans and there are snakes in the water — none bigger than Terence McDonagh (Nicolas Cage), an exceptionally corrupt detective, who slinks through town snorting coke, smoking heroin, harassing women and brandishing a .44 Magnum stuffed in the front of his pants. "Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans" is a kind of remake of Abel Ferrara's 1992 cult classic "Bad Lieutenant," which was set in New York and starred Harvey Keitel in a similar role. Director Werner Herzog has summoned the sensational spirit of the original while making something fresh and gloriously insane. Cage dives headlong into the madness, and it's plain fun to see the actor give himself so fully to a character after several years of mostly forgettable action movies. The film keeps closer to the original's plot than one might want of a movie by a highly skilled director. And the ending feels like a forced, extra dose of Herzog mania. But it has a pulse, and it's a marvel to watch. R for drug use and language throughout. 122 minutes. Three stars out of four.
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Wed Nov 18, 2009, 4:33 pm EST
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Source: AP
- It's been a big year for animation, with a great variety of styles represented by "Up," "Monsters vs. Aliens," "Fantastic Mr. Fox" and the upcoming "The Princess and the Frog."
The best you can say of the sci-fi comedy "Planet 51" is that like those others, it too is animated.
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Mon Nov 16, 2009, 1:58 pm EST
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Source: Reuters
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) -
Sony's entry in the crowded animation field this holiday season is "Planet 51," a perky though not terribly imaginative feature aimed primarily at youngsters.
Created by a Spanish company, Ilion Animation Studios, this digital cartoon is a jokey reimagining of 1950s science fiction flicks where Earth faced extinction by alien space invaders seemingly on a monthly basis. The twist in this movie is that it has an alien planet terrified of -- a human astronaut.
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