A new movie from Steve Knight, the writer of Dirty Pretty Things, and John Crowley, the director of Boy A, sounds tantalizing on paper. Those were two of the best British movies of the last decade, so the collaboration of these two filmmakers on Closed Circuit raises high hopes. The late August release date and the lack of advance buzz tend to undermine those expectations, and unfortunately, nothing about the finished film lives up to …
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There are a lot of good comic possibilities lurking in Shawn Levy’s new movie,The Internship, but most of them never quite break the surface of this mild, occasionally likable romp that plays more like a love letter to Google. The company’s headquarters is the main setting for this vehicle for Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson, who starred in the box office smash Wedding Crashers several years ago. Their new movie won’t match the grosses of …
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The studio required all critics attending the press screening of Parker to sign an agreement promising that we would not write about the film before opening day. Usually this signals high anxiety on the part of the studio, which in this case might not be entirely warranted. The picture is far from great, but it’s a serviceable B-movie with some A-list talent on a slumming expedition. Fans of the genre, of star Jason Statham, and …
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A few years ago, screenwriter Robbie Fox was a Little League coach who noticed he was getting a lot of unsolicited attention from the mothers of his young players. That was the genesis of Playing for Keeps, with the sport changed to soccer and Gerard Butler cast as a former pro player coaching his son’s team and fending off amorous assaults from a bevy of soccer moms. This is a good premise for a comedy, …
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Conservatives (who aren’t doing so well lately—maybe you heard) often complain that Hollywood never makes movies that take religion seriously. Whether you’re a true believer or an atheist, you probably would have to agree with that assessment. The reason is not some nefarious leftwing conspiracy; it simply happens to be very difficult to make a film that deals thoughtfully—rather than mawkishly—with questions of faith and the supernatural. Yann Martel’s prize-winning novel, Life of Pi, did …
