Skip to main content

'The Switch' Movie Reviews

By Chris Jordan (Subscribe to Chris Jordan's posts), Posted Aug 19th 2010 8:00PM
Filed under: Reviews
Moviegoers this weekend can see what got Bill O'Reilly all riled up last week.

It's 'The Switch,' a Jennifer Aniston-Jason Bateman starrer that revolves around a single New York woman, Kassie (Aniston), who decides to impregnate herself with donated sperm. Unknown to her, however, her friend Wally (Bateman), in a drunken stupor, switches the donated sperm with his own. Seven years later, with son in tow, Kassie returns to NY from Minnesota, and Wally begins to insert himself into their lives. The catch is, of course, that neither Kassie nor Wally -- who was too drunk to remember his switch -- know that 6-year-old Sebastian is really Wally's son.

O'Reilly took umbrage with the notion of a single woman starting a family without a father. He called it "destructive to our society," and Aniston fired back.

As for the movie, it's a light romantic comedy with reviews that are middling, shading over to negative, with some critics finding the performances rising above the by-the-numbers plot -- most notably Bateman's performance. Also garnering praise are young Thomas Robinson as the boy and Jeff Goldblum as Wally's best friend.

The Switch' is directed by Josh Gordon and Will Speck of 'Blades of Glory' fame.

Read what the critics say:
Continue Reading

'Eat Pray Love' Movie Reviews

By Chris Jordan (Subscribe to Chris Jordan's posts), Posted Aug 12th 2010 3:00PM
Filed under: Reviews
Julia Roberts searches the world for inner fulfillment in 'Eat Pray Love' and she meets Javier Bardem along the way -- not a bad deal.

'Eat Pray Love' is the big-screen version of the bestselling memoir by Elizabeth Gilbert, in which the author ends an unfulfilled marriage and travels to Europe and and South Asia to sample cuisine and prayer to better balance her life. Critics feel Roberts is a spot on as Gilbert, filling the screen with her physical beauty and grace. The locales -- Italy, India and Bali -- are also gorgeously filmed by Ryan Murphy, the creator of TV's 'Glee,' they say.

They feel the story, however, is a little wanting. The Gilbert character is a bit too self-absorbed and removed from real life to make 'Eat Pray Love' a completely relatable movie.
Continue Reading

'Avengers' Movie to Begin Shooting in February

By Chris Jordan (Subscribe to Chris Jordan's posts), Posted Aug 10th 2010 1:45PM
Filed under: Movie News


Avengers assemble, you have start date.

According to SuperHeroHype, the highly anticipated 'Avengers' film will begin shooting next February. The film, from director Joss Whedon, is slated to hit theaters on May 4, 2012.

'The Avengers' will star Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, Chris Evans as Captain America, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, Mark Ruffalo as the Hulk, Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow and Clark Gregg as Agent Phil Coulson. Filming is expected to take place in Los Angeles.
Continue Reading

Paramount Chooses Not to Accept Tom Cruise's Up-front Salary for 'M:I 4'

By Chris Jordan (Subscribe to Chris Jordan's posts), Posted Aug 5th 2010 4:29PM
Filed under: Movie News
Paramount Pictures will not show Tom Cruise the money for the upcoming 'Mission: Impossible 4'

Sources say the action star will take a pay scale for his work and will only be rewarded if the movie recoups its investment of about $70 million, according to Vulture.

The implications of this are twofold. First, it speaks to the diminishing star power of Cruise, who carted away $90 million for the first 'Mission: Impossible' in 1996, thanks to a gross deal and producing fees. However, his recent track record includes the underperforming 'Knight and Day,' co-starring Cameron Diaz, which has grossed only $74 million, domestically, and $190 million, worldwide. These days, Cruise's name on the poster no longer guarantees a hit.
Continue Reading

'The Other Guys' Movie Reviews

By Chris Jordan (Subscribe to Chris Jordan's posts), Posted Aug 5th 2010 4:00PM
Filed under: Reviews
The buddy cop comedy is far from dead.

That declaration stands on the arrival of 'The Other Guys' in theaters this weekend. The film, starring Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg, is sending most critics into a tizzy of glee, thanks to its wacky, sharp and subversive humor.
Continue Reading

'Dinner for Schmucks' Movie Reviews

By Chris Jordan (Subscribe to Chris Jordan's posts), Posted Jul 29th 2010 8:00PM
Filed under: Reviews
Steve Carell is coming to dinner and Paul Rudd is your host.

In the new comedy 'Dinner for Schmucks,' Rudd ('I Love You, Man') plays Tim, a rising executive who needs to recruit a schmuck for his boss's monthly dinner for idiots. The bigger the idiot, the better to ingratiate yourself with the boss. He finds Carell's ('The 40-Year-Old Virgin,' 'The Office') Barry, who is quite the idiot, and the fun starts from there.

Zach Galifianakas, Jemaine Clement and Jeff Dunham play wacky dinner guests and Stephanie Szostak is Tim's reproachful girlfriend. 'Dinner for Schmucks,' directed by Jay Roach of 'Austin Powers' fame, is based on a 1998 Francis Veber French black comedy called 'The Dinner Game.'

Critically, this is one dinner most scribes would like to pass on. Critics feel the Tim and Barry characters have been overly sanitized for American audiences, and the Barry character becomes too likable for the jokes delivered at his expense.

If you do go to this 'Dinner,' look out for the performances of Galifianakis ('The Hangover') and Clement ('Flight of the Conchords'). They're better than the entree, the critics say.
Continue Reading

Daniel Craig Inks 'Dragon Tattoo' Deal

By Chris Jordan (Subscribe to Chris Jordan's posts), Posted Jul 26th 2010 4:50PM
Filed under: Movie News
It's Craig. Daniel Craig.

The James Bond actor will be the male lead in the Hollywood version of 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,' according to EW.com's Hollywood Insider. Craig will play scruffy middle-aged journalist Mikael Blomkvist in the upcoming trilogy, helmed by David Fincher.

Hollywood A-listers like Brad Pitt were previously rumored to be cast in the Blomkvist role.

The female lead of Lisbeth Salander is yet to be determined, although screen tests will be conducted this week, with Ellen Page and Mia Wasikowska still listed as contenders.
Continue Reading
Advertisement

Hot Topics

From Our Partners