Skip to main content

The Biggest WTF?! Movies Ever

By Jane Murphy (Subscribe to Jane Murphy's posts), Posted Jul 16th 2010 8:00PM
Filed under: Features
Christopher Nolan's 'Inception' hits theaters today, and with glowing reviews it's poised to become this summer's intellectual blockbuster -- a mind-bending experience that will dazzle you as much as it will make you scratch your head. (In its review, Entertainment Weekly called the film "brainiacally engaging.")

In anticipation of the film, which stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Ellen Page, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard and Ken Watanabe, Moviefone is taking a look back at some of 'Inception's' zany predecessors, films that truly made us say, "WTF?!"
Continue Reading

'Despicable Me' Movie Reviews

By Jane Murphy (Subscribe to Jane Murphy's posts), Posted Jul 8th 2010 9:00PM
Filed under: Reviews
Steve Carell is the LeBron James of comedy.

Hear us out. He is a spectacular talent known for his work in a scrappy city short on glamour (Scranton doesn't even have an NBA team!) Carell, like King James, has also announced he's making himself available to new teams. And both will have career milestones this week. So we pretty much know where LeBron has decided to go (it was so obvious! Or not.) Now Carell might be this year's movie MVP if he pulls off his second hit of 2010 with 'Despicable Me' in 3D.

Appearing earlier this year as Tina Fey's hapless hubby in 'Date Night', Carell turns sinister for 'Despicable' as the menacing, hunched Gru. Or rather, he'd like to be seen as sinister. Seems he's consistently fallen short of supervillain status, poor Gru. But if his plan to steal the moon is successful, it will surely put him among the bad guy greats.
Continue Reading

'The Last Airbender' Movie Reviews

By Jane Murphy (Subscribe to Jane Murphy's posts), Posted Jul 1st 2010 8:00PM
Filed under: Reviews
A live-action blockbuster-scale version of 'The Last Airbender' should be cause for rejoicing.

The Nicktoons masterpiece, called 'Avatar: The Last Airbender,' is an always entertaining blend of martial arts and mysticism, with surprisingly big laughs (bow down to comic genius Momo the Lemur!). But the run-up to this week's opening of the big-screen version has been as brutal as an encounter with Fire Lord Ozai.

First off, 25 percent of the title was dumped, presumably to avoid confusion with James Cameron's 'Avatar'. Then the casting came under fire: 'Airbender's look is clearly influenced by Japanese anime, and its universe is detailed with elements of Asian cultures, yet the main cast is largely non-Asian. The film does feature Asian actors Dev Patel (of 'Slumdog Millionaire') and 'The Daily Show's Aasif Mandvi; Cliff Curtis, a Maori, plays Fire Lord Ozai. 3D was added after the film was shot, a move sometimes assailed for compromising picture quality (see also: 'Clash of the Titans').

The cartoon -- consistently well written -- has been adapted by M. Night Shyamalan, who also directs. If 'Airbender' bears the Shyamalan stamp, will it be a triumph, like 'The Sixth Sense,' or sink like 'Lady in the Water'? (Guilty pleasure is also a possibility -- hands up if you kinda love 'The Village.')

The journey of the heroic young Aang (played by Noah Ringer), Waterbender Katara and her petulant brother Sokka, should be a great fit for a 3D epic. Does Paramount have a franchise on its hands, or will the critics offer nothing but blowback for 'Airbender'? Read what the reviewers have to say.
Continue Reading

'Grown Ups' Movie Reviews

By Jane Murphy (Subscribe to Jane Murphy's posts), Posted Jun 24th 2010 9:00PM
Filed under: Reviews
Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Rob Schneider and David Spade were all comedy prodigies in their 20s when Lorne Michaels tapped them for 'Saturday Night Live.' Twenty years later, they've decided to play 'Grown Ups'. Yes, the title's ironic. This SNL rat pack – along with Sandler flick regular Kevin ('I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry') James -- is absolutely expected to deliver laughs rude and crude (but not too lewd – note the PG-13 rating).

Then again, how childish can these guys be? Their wives are played by the likes of Salma Hayek, Maria Bello and Maya Rudolph (the latter fantastic in the comedy-drama 'Away We Go'); it's hard to believe these women would marry goofballs. But we can't imagine that troubled Sandler. Audiences, it should be noted, were able to buy the eternally awkward 'Opera Man' with Drew Barrymore ('The Wedding Singer', '50 First Dates') and Winona Ryder ('Mr. Deeds').

'Grown Ups' centers on L.A. talent agent Lenny (Sandler), suddenly reuniting with his teammates at the funeral of their former basketball coach. His old buddies are mostly fellow married-with-children types. For his part, New Agey Rob (Schneider) is devoted to healthy living, and naughty Marcus (Spade) is devoted to exactly the opposite. The reunion extends from the funeral all the way to a water park, where wackiness ensues (see trailer below).

Sandler's last effort -- Judd Apatow's 'Funny People' -- was a mixed bag: The box office wasn't blockbuster, but the film landed on the Best of 2009 lists of The New Yorker and A.O. Scott of The New York Times.

Will 'Grown Ups' please critics and audiences? Read some highlights from recent reviews.
Continue Reading

'Toy Story 3' Movie Reviews

By Jane Murphy (Subscribe to Jane Murphy's posts), Posted Jun 18th 2010 12:01AM
Filed under: Reviews
Toy Story 3Little Andy from 'Toy Story' must be married with children by now, right? Not quite, but he's heading off to college and there's no room in his dorm for Woody, Buzz Lightyear and the gang. 'Toy Story 3' opens Friday and Pixar's latest follows Andy's toys as they journey from his bedroom to a day care center.

Tom Hanks and Tim Allen are back, voicing Woody and Buzz respectively, and Ned Beatty joins the toy parade, presiding over Sunnyside Daycare's hand-me-down toys as a wily bear named Lotso. New friends are made in these new surroundings; most notably, Barbie finally finds Ken, still chiseled and fashion-challenged (and voiced by Michael Keaton).

Interestingly enough, Woody's competition for this weekend's box office is another cowboy, 'Jonah Hex', but that scarred gunslinger's adventures are decidedly PG-13.

Expectations are high for 'Toy Story 3', given the stellar cast, a screenplay written by Oscar-winner Michael Arndt ('Little Miss Sunshine') and Pixar being Pixar. What's more, this outing is in glorious 3D. Were the critics tickled by the toys this time out? Let's take a look.
Continue Reading

Best Soccer Movies: What to Watch When You're Not Watching World Cup

By Jane Murphy (Subscribe to Jane Murphy's posts), Posted Jun 11th 2010 2:00PM
Filed under: Features
World CupThe 2010 World Cup -- the biggest non-Olympic sporting event on the planet -- has begun.

So while you're prepping the grill for Saturday's big match between the United States and England (coverage begins 1:30PM ET on ABC), we thought we'd get the ball rolling by counting down the best soccer movies ever (or football, depending on where you live).

Check out our list below.
Continue Reading

'The A-Team' Movie Reviews

By Jane Murphy (Subscribe to Jane Murphy's posts), Posted Jun 10th 2010 9:00PM
Filed under: Reviews
What's with all the swashbuckling this summer? 'Robin Hood,' 'The Prince of Persia'? Bring on the state-of-the-art pyrotechnics. In short, we wanna see things blow up. Ah, but look who has just arrived, smelling of petrol and fine cigars. It's 'The A-Team,' just in time.

'The A-Team' brings back the most beloved and explosive-friendly TV mercenaries of the 1980s. The deck is the same: an ace ("Hannibal"), two wild cards ("Murdock" and "B.A. Baracus") and a really good-looking guy ("Face"). In NBC's old caper, they were Vietnam vets; the 21st century crew has just served in Iraq. The men reunite to bust some baddies who've framed them for counterfeiting. If memory serves, the only way these guys will beat back a charge of fraud is with a howitzer.

The film stars Liam Neeson as Hannibal – not the Liam Neeson who occasionally stars in classics on Broadway, but the Liam Neeson of 'Taken', a seriously righteous brute (for the record, we love both). UFC titleholder Quinton "Rampage" Jackson assumes the gold chains of B.A. Baracus (the role that made Mr. T a star). Rounding out the team is Sharlto Copley of 'District 9' and 'The Hangover's' Bradley Cooper. Just in case you thought half the population lacked proper representation, Jessica Biel appears as the ex-girlfriend of Face (Cooper). The film was co-written and directed by Joe Carnahan, a specialist in macho yarns ('Smokin' Aces', 'Blood, Guts, Bullets and Octane').

Did 'The A-Team' bring their "A game"? Read what the critics have to say.
Continue Reading
Advertisement

Hot Topics

From Our Partners