Close encounters of the cute kind

Two young aliens arrive in Las Vegas, and right away they’re on the run—from the American government and from a paramilitary assassin sent by the government of their homeland to kill them. By chance they rely for safe passage on a gruff but decent taxi driver, himself with an unhappy past, who reluctantly becomes their […]

Reduce, reuse, recycle

“Better Off Ted” Wednesday 8:30pm, ABC More “Dilbert” than “The Office,” “Better Off Ted” follows Ted Crisp (Jay Harrington), a nice-guy single dad who is the director of research and development for Veridian Dynamics, a morally questionable business that creates, say, gourds that double as WMDs, and isn’t above creating the world’s most soothing hemorrhoid […]

Capsule Reviews

Confessions of a Shopaholic (PG, 112 minutes) When used in moderation, shopahol can enhance the joy of life. But for Isla Fisher, as a young, suddenly popular advice columnist in New York City, moderation might not be an option. Who knows, maybe debt-reduction rom-com based on Sophie Kinsella’s chick-lit bestseller is just what’s called for […]

Is Watchmen really unfilmable?

What’s truly amazing about Watchmen, the much-anticipated film version of writer Alan Moore and illustrator Dave Gibbons’ much-adored graphic novel, is how forcefully the movie negates the book’s two most basic, strangely symbiotic intentions. Instead of subverting superhero tropes and satirizing Cold War endgames, it blandly and reflexively endorses them.   Human after all: The […]

Reduce, reuse, recycle

“The Chopping Block” Wednesday 8pm, NBC This cooking competition is essentially a pastiche of several previously existing reality shows. From “The Restaurant,” we get the premise of examining what goes into opening a restaurant in New York City, but in this case it’s two competing, neighboring restaurants. From “Hell’s Kitchen,” we get the overbearing British […]

Capsule reviews

Confessions of a Shopaholic (PG, 112 minutes) When used in moderation, shopahol can enhance the joy of life. But for Isla Fisher, as a young, suddenly popular advice columnist in New York City, moderation might not be an option. Who knows, maybe debt-reduction rom-com based on Sophie Kinsella’s chick-lit bestseller is just what’s called for […]

Wrestling Rourke's Oscar rematch

Some of us really did expect sentimental favorite Mickey Rourke to take that Oscar, but maybe it’s better that he didn’t. This way, Rourke’s almost but not quite Academy-blessed performance in The Wrestler may forever maintain its underdog integrity. Besides, we already got the highly anticipated spectacle of a Rourke acceptance speech, for his Best […]

Clone wars

“Make Me a Supermodel” Wednesday 10pm, Bravo Season 2 of Bravo’s “Top Model” knockoff debuts, with massive changes to the panel. Only co-host/mentor Tyson Beckford remains, joined by Australian model Nicole Trunfio as the girls’ mentor, plus the judges: designer Catherine Malandrino, model Jenny Shimizu, photographer Perou, and model scout Marlon. I’m not sure that’s […]

Capsule Reviews

Confessions of a Shopaholic (PG, 112 minutes) When used in moderation, shopahol can enhance the joy of life. But for Isla Fisher, as a young, suddenly popular advice columnist in New York City, moderation might not be an option. Who knows, maybe debt-reduction rom-com based on Sophie Kinsella’s chick-lit bestseller is just what’s called for […]

Driving Clive Owen

Welcome to The International. Please sit forward and don’t relax. You will be, as one character puts it, “more comfortable tense.” Clive Owen stars as a bedraggled Interpol agent who, along with Naomi Watts as a more kempt but less interesting New York City assistant district attorney, plays a globetrotting game of cat-and-mouse with an […]