As trade for rescue and partial rehabilitation, a brilliantly talented but extremely disadvantaged person of color changes a white man’s life. True story. It’s been documented in a major newspaper, and elaborated in book form. Now it’s a movie, because that’s what stories like this tend to become, especially when they’re true. The only pending […]
As trade for rescue and partial rehabilitation, a brilliantly talented but extremely disadvantaged person of color changes a white man’s life. True story. It’s been documented in a major newspaper, and elaborated in book form. Now it’s a movie, because that’s what stories like this tend to become, especially when they’re true. The only pending […]
“90210” Tuesday 9pm, CW “90210” version 2.0 had a rough freshman year, as it struggled to live up to unrealistic hype. Some stuff worked, as Silver, Adrianna and Naomi are great new characters, and old-school cast member Jennie Garth has done a great job reprising her role of Kelly. But a lot has also failed […]
The second shopping-mall-security-guard action comedy of 2009, and the best so far (although after Paul Blart: Mall Cop that’s really not saying much), Observe and Report is the one written and directed by Jody Hill, with profanity, nudity (mostly male), sexual content, violence, Seth Rogen and no intention of family-friendliness whatsoever. What its intentions are, […]
“Bravo A-List Awards” Wednesday 10pm, Bravo Let us be clear: No one involved in this awards show is remotely A-list. When your guests include Tori Spelling, Traci Lords and the bizarre new couple that is Tila Tequila and Billy Corgan, you’re barely cresting the D level. Still, if you’re a Bravo fan, there’s much to […]
Adventureland (R, 106 minutes) Superbad director Greg Mottola sets young love and raunchy humor in an amusement park. But he does it endearingly. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6 Che, Part One (NR, 126 minutes) Steven Soderbergh directs Benicio “Mumbles” Del Toro in this lengthy biopic of the infamous Cuban revolutionary. Playing at Vinegar Hill […]
12 Rounds (PG-13, 108 minutes) Professional wrestler Jon Cena proves himself the working man’s Jason Statham in this film about a New Orleans cop trying to put an Irish criminal back in the slammer. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6 Adventureland (R, 106 minutes) Superbad director Greg Mottola sets young love and raunchy humor in […]
The fourth feature from the brilliant, socially conscious and philosophically rigorous director Laurent Cantet is a movie about a teacher in a room full of students.
“The Unusuals” Wednesday 8pm, ABC Oh, look—another cop show! Oh, but this is a different kind of cop show, mixing dark humor with the typical procedural stuff you can find on almost any channel at almost any time of day. They’re promoting it as a cop version of “M.A.S.H.” but the abundance of quirk has […]
About that title: Yeah, that’s sort of a joke. But is it being a joke also an excuse for the new slice-of-life, coming-of-age, your-hyphenate-here comedy from Superbad writer-director Greg Mottola to lack a real sense of adventure? Well, conventionality has its charms, too. Amusement rides? Jesse Eisenberg and Martin Starr fight job apathy in Adventureland. […]
“100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders of the ’80s” Tuesday-Friday 10pm, VH1 A few years back, VH1 provoked my ire by naming Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer” as the No. 1 song of the ’80s. As if! But you can’t go wrong with a topic this cheesy. Relive some of the most infectious choruses and atrocious […]