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RAMONA AND BEEZUS – A Review by John Strange

John Strange
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RAMONA AND BEEZUS – A Review by John Strange
RAMONA AND BEEZUS
 
By: John ’Doc’ Strange
Directed by: Elizabeth Allen
Starring: Joey King, Selena Gomez, John Corbett, Bridget Moynahan, Ginnifer Goodwin, Josh Duhamel
MPAA Rating: G
Selig Rating: Full Price
Runtime: 104 Min.
Summer can be a magical time for family films. Some years we see some amazing films appear on our theater screens and some years it’s just sad. This year, we have a least one really wonderful film coming out, RAMONA AND BEEZUS.
This movie is about a family, like any other family, living their lives on a normal street like any street. What makes them magical is the spark of a young girl. Whatever she does, it never works out exactly the way she intends. Most often this leads her mom, Dorothy (Bridget Moynahan), and her Dad, Robert (John Corbett), to shake their heads while her Aunt Bea (Ginnifer Goodwin), herself a younger sister, is available to commiserate and share her ordeals in the big tree in the back yard.
Coming as they do from a book series which focused on Henry Huggins, I did not expect this story of Ramona Quimby (Joey King), a young girl whose imagination out runs her abilities but never her heart, and her older “perfect” sister, Beezus (Selena Gomez), to grab my heart and charm its way into my soul. 
Ramona looks at the world a little differently than other people do. Where I see hole in a wall, she sees a place to jump into adventure. Where most kids her age might see a family in crisis and panic, she jumps in to help. All I can say is that “Easter Egg/Rainbow” is not a factory color for Land Rovers.
Take your kids to see this movie. They will learn a good lesson about life, love and family.

SALT – A Review by Gary “Punster” Murray

Gary Murray
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SALT – A Review by Gary “Punster” Murray

SALT

By Gary “Punster” Murray

Starring Angelina Jolie and Leiv Schreiber

Written by Kirt Wimmer

Directed by Phillip Noyce

Running time 100 min

MPAA Rating PG-13

Selig Film Rating Cable

Angelina Jolie has been a movie star for many years. Her striking beauty has elevated mild mannered treats into a assault of the senses. With films like Mr. & Mrs. Smith and the Laura Croft series, she has shown that she can pepper a sugary little cinematic morsel into a spicy event. In a pinch of a tale called Salt, she gives us a shaker full of action.

Salt, the movie, refers to Evelyn Salt (Angelina Jolie) and we start two years ago. She is being held by the North Koreans, called a spy. She insists that she is a business woman and the incident is a mistake. In a torture scene reminiscent of 007, Salt is watered in a sea of wetness. Eventually, she is traded in an exchange, driven by her romantic partner Mike Krause (August Diehl), a spider researcher. Her co-worker Ted Winter (Leiv Schreiber) lets us know very early that, yes indeed, Salt is a CIA spy working undercover at a power company called Risk. That’s right, she’s a risky spy.

We go to modern time and Evelyn is considering becoming a paper pusher in the Agency, giving up the clandestine life for wedded bliss. Right as Salt is going home, a Russian agent named Orlov (Daniel Olbrychski) comes to the office, ready to confess his crimes. He tells the staff that there is going to be an execution of the Russian Prime Minister by Russian agents infiltrated within the US. The agent who will end the life of the politician has been here in a secret Soviet plan since she was a little girl. The assassin is named Evelyn Salt.

Evelyn is taken aback. She knows that this is a set-up and that the bad guys will first go after her husband Mike. The CIA Internal Affairs department instantly wants to detain Salt, just to get to the bottom of all the accusations. Salt bolts. It becomes a cat and mouse game to get out of the building and to her apartment. It becomes one of the big set pieces of the picture when we see Salt’s prowess in making makeshift weapons and finding creative ways to escape capture. Soon she becomes ‘A Salt with a Deadly Weapon’ as she makes it home to find out that indeed someone has abducted her beloved.. Orlov escapes with a device seen in From Russia with Love

The question keeps in the forefront of the piece—who’s side is Salt truly on? Sometimes she does things that look very ‘bad guy’ and other times she is taking care not to hurt the people she is trying to escape from. She begins taking on all comers from all corners, showing a Salt and battery on all the enemies, finding all the bad guys while still avoiding capture, being a Salt shaker if you will. The diversion of the work is to decide wither one will root for or against Salt in her mission.

In so many ways, Salt feels grainy, like a third rate James Bond or a Mission: Impossible sequel. We get all the action one would expect with great explosions and thrilling chases. There are escapes from buildings and cars, all done with great skill by the second unit. The problem is that it all feels a bit ‘been there—done that’ with the plot. While trying to keep us guessing on “Who is Salt?” the makers have gone a cliche ridden route, with just about every twist lifted from other sources.

The bigger problem is with Jolie. She has lost so much weight that she looks tiny. Where in Mr. & Mrs Smith she was long and lean, here she is just has an anemic look. It becomes a very hard ‘willing suspension of disbelief’ to buy that a barely 100 pound woman could take down highly trained agents time and time again.

The question arises– is Angelina Jolie worth her salt in Salt? Well, pinch me, this mother is set up for another episode. Will we see Salt again? Probably. Salt is just a forgettable summertime blockbuster, a rainy day waste of a few hours with some thrills and spills along the way.

2011 DALLAS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL CALL FOR ENTRIES

Dev Shapiro
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2011 DALLAS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL CALL FOR ENTRIES

The DALLAS Film Society announces that submissions for the 5th annual DALLAS International Film Festival are now open as of July 19, 2010. The DALLAS International Film Festival is scheduled for March 31-April 10, 2011. Opening night will be held Thursday, March 31, at the AT&T Performing Arts Center Winspear Opera House.

“We are especially pleased to announce that Target again will present the Target Filmmaker Award for Best Narrative Feature and the Target Filmmaker Award for Best Documentary Feature, with cash awards of $25,000 each,” said James Faust, artistic director, DALLAS International Film Festival. “Target’s support of filmmakers has been a major highlight in the history of our festival, and it is gratifying to be able to recognize the talented films that will compete for these prizes again in 2011.”

Early deadline is Friday, October 29, 2010. Regular deadline is Friday, December 3, 2010. Late deadline is Wednesday, December 17, 2010. A link for film submissions and information on submissions is available at www.dallasfilm.org/call-for-entries. Other questions may be sent to submissions@dallasfilm.org.

“We have been able to discover some great talent in our submissions in the past and this year will be no exception,” said Sarah Harris, senior programmer, DALLAS International Film Festival. “We are excited to see what filmmakers have been working on and what we will be able to share with audiences in 2011.”

“Target’s generous contribution makes this an especially significant announcement,” said Tanya Foster, president and CEO of DALLAS Film Society and executive director of DALLAS International Film Festival. “We are very grateful for the support of the filmmaking community at large, and of the DALLAS International Film Festival in particular, that Target has provided since the festival’s inception.”

Additionally, the MPS Studios Texas Filmmaker Award will be awarded to the winner of the Texas Competition, a juried competition that contains features and documentaries shot in or relating to the Lone Star state. The winner of the Texas Competition will receive $20,000 in cash, goods and services from MPS Studios Dallas.

Other awards will include: Grand Jury Prize – Animation Short Film, presented by REEL FX ENTERTAINMENT; Grand Jury Prize – Short Film; Grand Jury Prize – Student Short Film; Environmental Visions Award for the winner of the Environmental Visions Competition; and Audience Awards for Best Narrative Feature, Best Documentary Feature, and Best Short Film.

“This call for entries marks the official countdown to our 5th Anniversary DALLAS International Film Festival,” Foster continued. “This will be an exciting year as we hold our opening night at the stunning Winspear Opera House in the heart of the new AT&T Performing Arts Center, and as we honor Liener Temerlin.”

The 2011 DALLAS International Film Festival will be dedicated to Temerlin, who founded the Festival and serves as chairman emeritus, said Foster.

“The creative influence of Liener Temerlin has left a mark on the city of Dallas,” said Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert. “As Mayor, I have always been proud to be a part of the DALLAS International Film Festival, even more so in 2011 when the festival is being dedicated to Liener, a true trailblazer.”

The DALLAS Film Society celebrates films and their impact on society. A 501(c)3 non-profit organization, the DALLAS Film Society recognizes and honors filmmakers for their achievements in enhancing the creative community, provides educational programs to students to develop better understanding of the role of film in today’s world, and promotes the City of Dallas and its commitment to the art of filmmaking. The annual DALLAS International Film Festival, scheduled for March 31-April 10, 2011, is a presentation of the DALLAS Film Society. In addition to producing one of the largest festivals in the Southwest, the Society produces numerous year round events, screening series and partnership programs with arts organizations around the city. For more information, call (214) 720-0555, or visit www.dallasfilm.org. The offices of the DALLAS Film Society are located at 3625 North Hall Street, Suite 740, Dallas, TX 75219.

About Target Minneapolis-based Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) serves guests at 1,740 stores in 49 states nationwide and at Target.com. Target is committed to providing a fun and convenient shopping experience with access to unique and highly differentiated products at affordable prices. Since 1946, the corporation has give 5 percent of its income through community grants and programs like Take Charge of Education. Today, that giving equals more than $3 million a week.

THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT – A Review by Gary Murray

Gary Murray
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THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT – A Review by Gary Murray

THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT By Gary Murray Starring Annette Bening, Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Mia Wasikowska and Josh Hutcherson Written by Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg Directed by Lisa Cholodenko Running time 106 min MPAA Rating R Lisa Cholodenko created both High Art and Laurel Canyon, both films that carry a heavy independent street cred and were praised by many critics when the end of the year came around. Although they were seen by few patrons, they generated a lot of press. Her latest flick The Kids are All Right takes her career to a different level. Jules (Julianne Moore) and Nic (Annette Bening) are a California suburban lesbian couple with two kids Joni (Mia Wasikowska) and Laser (Josh Hutcherson). Their life is very middle class and very middle of the road. When Joni turns eighteen, she has the right to find out who the sperm donor for her conception was. She doesn’t care but Laser does. They find out that the man with the baby butter is Paul (Mark Ruffalo), a local restaurateur and free spirit. The sparks start to fly when the two Moms find out that the two kids have met with Paul and want to keep seeing him. So the Moms invite Paul over for dinner. Paul talks about how his backyard needs landscaping and Jules says that she is interested in doing the job. This leads to a uneasy triangle between Paul and the two recipients of his sperm. It becomes a comic farce as Paul becomes a whirlwind into the lives of this intact family, causing questions from every member. The leads in this film are the reason it works. Julianne Moore is the flighty ‘woman’ in the couple while Annette Bening is our female ‘man’ The broad stereotypes do not do justice to the performances as each finds more than the shorthand thumbnail sketch to the character. They are living, breathing individuals with both a history and depth. The struggles of a couple when another enters the picture are the same no matter what the sex. These are two gifted actresses at the apex of their craft. The biggest surprise comes from Mark Ruffalo. He plays the role of the spoiler throwing a wrench into the family. He’s not a bad guy, just a confused one. Finding out that his sperm has produced two very different and very special kids gives him both a source of pride and a source of sorrow. The sorrow comes from not being a part of the family he created even if on a tacit scale. The kids do a stand-up job going scene for scene with such a powerhouse cast. Josh Hutcherson comes across as the most vulnerable, living in a world of women and craving a father figure. He brings such an honest touch to what could have been a static role. Director Lisa Cholodenko plays to her strengths, a cast of Oscar caliber thespians and letting them run with the material while not letting them run away with the performances. She finds a strong balance between comedy and tragedy while never losing either rein to melodrama. The film is more like Guess Who is Coming to Dinner? but with a stronger comic bend. It is an issue flick, taking on gay parenting. It is a different kind of film and will probably be remembered come end of the year balloting.

INCEPTION – A Review by Gary Murray

Gary Murray
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INCEPTION – A Review by Gary Murray

INCEPTION By Gary Murray Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page Ken Watanabe and Marion Cotillard Written and directed by Christopher Nolan Running time 2 hr 15 min MPAA Rating PG-13 Selig Film Scale: FULL PRICE

Christopher Nolan reinvented the Batman franchise with Batman Begins, taking a series that had gone into parody and making it cool again. The re-boot generated a new enthusiasm for re-booting comic book films that still reverberates today. He takes on the idea of dream warriors with Inception, one of the most creative films of the summer. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio is Cobb, a skilled thief in the art of extraction. His job is to go into the mind of his victim and extract information during the dream state, stealing ideas from others. As the drama opens, Cobb and his team are demonstrating their skills to Saito (Ken Watanabe) a prospective client. Even though the extraction doesn’t go as planned, Saito is impressed by the team and wants to hire them. Cobb has problems of his own. In his dreams, he is haunted by the image of his dead wife Mal (Marion Cotillard). He cannot seem to let go of his love for her and she is the image that wrecks his inner memory. The newest member of the team Ariade (Ellen Page) senses that something is not quite right with her new boss, but is so intrigued by all the possibilities of working in dreams that she checks her questioning before the others. Her job is to architect the dream, like a maze designer, so Cobb can function more like he would in a real dream, making it seem more like a reality to the victim. Saito wants the Cobb team to go into the dreams of his competitor in order to gain business leverage. Saito offers Cobb something more than money, a way to get back to the US and his children, the only line he still has with Mal. It seems that Cobb is suspected of having something to do with Mal’s death. Wanting Cobb to implant an idea into the brain of his competitor Robert Fischer Jr. (Cillian Murphy), Saito shows that he will go to any means to win in business. Everyone on the team thinks that placing an idea into an attacked subject cannot be done, everyone except Cobb. His idea is to create different levels of unconsciousness, a dream within a dream within a dream, in order to make Robert think that the implanted idea is his own. If this explanation seems confusing, it is much clearer in the film. The adventure of Inception happens when the team goes inside the mind of Fischer. Visually this is one of the most stunning films of the year. It gives us a magnificent world of dreams to work with–buildings folding on top of buildings and almost dead motion. We get mind explosions that seem real to everyone except the people who are controlling the dream. Shocking someone out of a dream by dunking them becomes a Titanic style flood. The dream collapsing is truly memorable. Each frame if filled to the brim with images that captivate, drawing one into the story. The film takes on some heady concepts like what is truly reality and how one can lose the grasp on what is truly real. It is about how positive emotions trump negative emotions and how one must go downward in a dream to move forward. It is a complicated story that will probably lose many along the way. The concept of how the inner dream takes on a longer life than the first dream is used to a very cinematic exposition. It I had to describe this film I’d call it a mash-up of Total Recall, Eternal Sunshine of the Spottless Mind, Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors and Dream scape while at the same time is is nothing that one has ever seen before. Leonardo delivers one of his best performances in years, truly redeeming himself from the mess of Shutter Island. Here we get the same kind of pathos but in a more believable form, even in his REM state. He takes us on a very confusing journey but never attempts to pander. This is a role that he will be remembered with until the end of his career. The lovely Ellen Page looks wonderfully lost as the newcomer. Her awe inspired looks mirror ours, she is just as much a traveler in this world as the audience. I loved Marion Cotillard as Mal, the dead wife. She has the hardest role of the piece, being the image of a real person while being a real person in flashbacks. She walks a confusing path with a definite aplomb. The great Michael Caine shows up in a great little cameo as grandfather.. Inception is a film that will be watched over and over by movie freaks and those who want to catch filmmakers in mistakes. Christopher Nolan has built a film world that will be a point of debate and contention for film fans for years. Geeks will analyze the images of Inception looking for deeper meaning in the cinematic subtext. It is a sprawling mind epic that will captivate legions of film fans. While not for everyone, it is the kind of film that will generate contention and discussion, which is a nice diversion from all the pablum delivered on the Summer Silver Screen.

SLAPSTICON 2010 TO UNVEIL LOST AND FORMERLY UNKNOWN CHAPLIN FILM

Dev Shapiro
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SLAPSTICON 2010 TO UNVEIL LOST AND FORMERLY UNKNOWN CHAPLIN FILM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SLAPSTICON 2010 TO UNVEIL LOST AND FORMERLY UNKNOWN CHAPLIN FILM

In past years, the International Film Festival Slapsticon has prided itself on recovering and presenting lost comedy treasures, even discovering previously undocumented films featuring the Great Clowns of early cinema, rewriting film history books and filmographies. This year, at SLAPSTICON 2010, motion picture historians will be updating the filmography of the Greatest Comic of All, Charles Chaplin, as SLAPSTICON presents for the first time since it’s original release, Chaplin’s 36th Keystone short subject, a heretofore unknown appearance Chaplin made at Mack Sennett’s legendary Fun Factory in the same year and at the same studio in which he made his film debut.

Chaplin had recalled in his own autobiography that apart from his starring role Keystone Comedies, he had also played bit parts as a Keystone Kop in several pictures. Despite this information, the titles of these works remained elusive for over 90 years and no film prints have surfaced — until now. SLAPSTICON 2010 proudly presents one of those previously thought lost Keystone comedies, A THIEF CATCHER, released by the Mutual Film Corporation on February 19, 1914. The short stars Ford Sterling, Mack Swain, Edgar Kennedy, and features Chaplin making an extended and very funny cameo as a policeman. The film was shot January 5th through January 26th, 1914, making it perhaps the second or third film Chaplin made at Keystone. The short was released following Chaplin’s third starring Keystone comedy MABELS STRANGE PREDICAMENT. Its importance as an early Chaplin appearance cannot be underestimated, and definitely adds another interesting chapter to Chaplin’s early film career.

The print of A THIEF CATCHER was discovered earlier this year by Film Historian / Preservationist Paul E. Gierucki, current head of restorations for CineMuseum LLC, and one of the”Godfathers” of a group of Comedy Film Historians known as the “Silent Comedy Mafia” who help to organize the yearly Slapsticon festivals.

A THIEF CATCHER will be part of a Chaplin Rarities Program at SLAPSTICON 2010 showing Saturday Evening, July 17th at 8:00 pm at the Spectrum Theater in Rosslyn, Va. Also featured in the Rarities program will be a newly recovered reel of Chaplin Outtakes from his Mutual Comedies, and a sparkling print of Chaplin’s Liberty War Loan propaganda short, THE BOND (1918) featuring outtakes from that film. These remarkable comedies are just a few of the rare treasures that will be screened in the four days of SLAPSTICON 2010, which runs Thursday through Sunday, July 15-18th at the Rosslyn Spectrum Theater in Arlington, VA. For more information, a complete program schedule, registration and hotel information, go to www.slapsticon.org.

Source: http://www.slapsticon.org/chaplinpressrelease2.doc

THE SORCERER’S APPRENTICE – A Review by John Strange

John Strange
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THE SORCERER’S APPRENTICE – A Review by John Strange
THE SORCERER’S APPRENTICE
By: John ’Doc’ Strange
Directed by: Jon Turteltaub
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Jay Baruchel, Alfred Molina, Teresa Palmer, Monica Bellucci, Toby Kebbell
MPAA Rating: PG (for fantasy action violence, some mild rude humor and brief language)
Selig Rating: Full Price
Runtime: 151 Min.
One thousand years ago, Merlin (James A. Stephens) and Morgana (Alice Krige) fought a horrible battle. Merlin is mortally wounded in the battle. Only when one of his three apprentices, Veronica (Monica Bellucci), sacrificed her own life to trap Morgana is Merlin able to trap her in a special container. Of the other two, Balthazar (Nicolas Cage) is entrusted to find the “Prime Merlinian”, the only sorcerer who will be able to defeat Morgana and end this once and for all. 
What of the third apprentice? That is Horvath (Alfred Molina), who has switched sides to fight for Morgana. Eventually he is added to the people trapped in a layer of the trap. Spelled never to die as long as he is searching, he travels the world to find this Prime Merlinian.
Jump to 10 years ago. A class of ten-year-olds is on a filed trip to the city. One of them, Dave (Jake Cherry), is a dreamer and very talented. Chasing down a piece of paper that will tell him whether the girl he loves wants to be his friend or girlfriend, he stumbles into a shop where he meets Balthazar. Based on a hunch he try’s Merlin’s ring, the only way to find out if someone is the one. The ring reacts for the first time in all of those years. Telling Dave to not move or touch anything, he races off to get something.
Dave is an awkward young man and unfortunately, the outer layer of the trap is breached. Horvath escapes. He and Balthazar fight only to be trapped on a special jar for ten years.  Traumatized, Dave races out of the building to escape the fire started during the fight. He is holding the trap and he drops it His whole class is outside. The teacher opens to door to find, everything looks OK.
Jump to present day, Dave (Jay Baruchel) is in college studying physics. Dave’s love interest, Becky (Teresa Palmer) is attending the same school.  Balthazar and Horvath are released from the jar that trapped them. Thus begins a film whose only homage to the animated original of the same name is a cleaning scene similar to the one drawn for Mickey Mouse. This film is an excellent story which stands on its own. 
THE SORCERER’S APPRENTICE gives you lots of action, and special effects with Nicolas Cage doing his normal (excellent) job of humor and action. Throw in the acting skills of this very good cast, awesome CGI and special effects, and some very good stunt gags that looked amazing and you receive a tight package that will delight the kids and enthrall the parents. I had a great time watching this film and think you will as well.
Movie Site: http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/sorcerersapprentice/#home

PREDATORS – A Review by Gary Murray

Gary Murray
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PREDATORS – A Review by Gary Murray

PREDATORS

By Gary Murray

Starring Adrien Brody, Topher Grace, Alice Braga and Laurence Fishburne

Written by Alex Litvak and Michael Finch

Directed by Nimrod Antal

Running time 1 hr 46 min

MPAA Rating R

Selig Rating Matinee

 

 

The Predator series has been one of the most inconsistently successful series of films put on the silver screen. The original 1987 flick was a war/rescue film with a wicked left turn that generated many cheerleaders from the blooming fan-boy community. With its mix of action and sci-fi overtures, it was just the kind of film that drew in the crowds. While some of the sequels have been more successful than others, the battle between the Alien and Predator became wish fulfillment for fans of both series. Now Austin director Robert Rodriguez steps behind the producer chair and has decided to put his spin on the tale with Predators.

The film literally falls from the sky with the opening shot of a newly awake Royce (Adrien Brody) tumbling toward the ground, trying to get his parachute to open. A last minute pop and he’s on firm soil. Almost instantly he is attacked by a frightened Hispanic guy (Danny Trejo), also from a parachute. After the scuffle, the two are attacked by gunfire from a Russian made weapon and another person caught in the growth. This attracts Isabelle (Alice Braga) a jungle fighter. Finally, the group of eight is assembled. They include a man on death row, a Japanese gangster and a befuddled doctor Edwin (Topher Grace).

It soon become obvious to all that they are not along on this hunk of land. As they make their way to higher ground, the group notices things around them make no sense, like how the sun never sets and there is no magnetic North. Finally in a clearing, the group sees the sky and it is filled with other planets. They are definitely not in Kansas anymore.

As they decide their next move, this ragtag bunch are attacked by a group of beasts that are a cross between dogs and hedgehogs. In an exciting set piece, director Nimrod Antal establishes the bravery aspects of some of individuals and gives a giant chase scene. These beast are like nothing anyone on Earth has ever seen before. Brody basically tells the others that they are all on some kind of intergalactic game preserve, being hunted by some cloaked and unseen force—our Predators.

The film is a battle between two groups with the humans trying to find a ship in order to leave and the Predators given some interesting ‘game’ to hunt. Laurence Fishburne plays Noland, a survivor of the hunt who is playing the game of survival while going insane. The film is just a ‘who is going to be the next to die’ moment after moment until we get to the final battle and the big reveal..

This film is a very mixed bag of a motion picture. Some of the visuals are just stunning, with explosions that jump off the screen and falls into water that capture the intensity of the experience. A few moments are breathtaking. At the same time, many aspects and details make no sense. They are supposed to be on an alien world, but it looks an awful like the back woods of the Hill country, with normal looking trees and rock formations that could be from any temperate zone of the Earth. Our good doctor notices a plant that becomes a plot point and no one wonders how an alien world can produce an Earth plant. More than once the visual elements feel forced and some of the shot selections do no justice to telling the tale. There is a battle between a Predator and a samurai sword opponent that is framed in an unusual manner.

The problem with the film is that once you begin to discuss different details, the more it makes no sense. While watching, one tends to go along with the filmmakers in the willing suspension of disbelief but afterward there is little logic and even less coherence.

Adrien Brody is one heck of an actor but he makes a questionable action hero. While is acts the part, he seldom looks the part. He just doesn’t come off as a macho man, even when shirtless. Laurence Fishburne is lost in a role that somehow just doesn’t fit the mood of all the scenes preceding his entrance it our little drama. His crazy train seems to be from another set of tracks.

Danny Trejo makes the most of his small part and Alice Braga keeps an even keel in this boys club of a flick. Topher Grace is just miscast in what turns out to be the largest arc of character development in the film.

Predators is a popcorn chewing bit of summer fun, never meant to change anything or give any one a reflection on the human condition. It does what it set out to do, entertain a summer crowd. It is so set up for a sequel

DESPICABLE ME – A Review by John Strange

John Strange
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DESPICABLE ME – A Review by John Strange
DESPICABLE ME
By: John ’Doc’ Strange
Directed by: Chris Renaud, Pierre Coffin
Starring the Voice Talents of: Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Kristen Wiig, Will Arnett, Danny McBride
MPAA Rating: PG (for rude humor and mild action)
Selig Rating: Full Price
Runtime: 95 Min
Animation in 3-D is almost becoming old hat but good stories will never die. DESPICABLE ME is a nice story about a bad man who despite his best efforts finds love in the hearts of three sweet little girls.  The fact is, the 3-D actually enhances the story and gives it an extra quality, a “depth” if you can handle the pun.
Gru (voiced by Steve Carell) is determined to be the best criminal in the world. When it discovered someone else has stolen to Great Pyramid from Egypt, he realizes it is time to attempt the greatest theft ever! He is going to steal… THE MOON!
All he needs is a shrink ray and the money to pay for building the rocket ship he needs. At the Bank of Evil (make sure you take a look at what it says at the bottom of the sign), he hits his first roadblock, Mr. Perkins (Will Arnett). Gru has to get his hands on the shrink ray before he has any shot at getting the money he needs. Enter Vector (Jason Segal), the thief who has the pyramid. He is told by Perkins to get the ray before Gru can. 
Wow, so far it’s all bad guys, now we have the good guys entering into the story, pulling a little wagon full of cookies. Cookies they have to sell to keep Miss Hattie (Kristen Wiig), the administrator at the orphanage happy. Gru adopts the three little girls, Margo (Miranda Cosgrove), Edith (Dana Gaier), and Agnes (Agnes).
The interactions between a headstrong oldest girl and the sweet adoration of the youngest with the despicable Gru are a wonderful sight to see. Gru’s little yellow henchmen are a scream and his scientist/partner Dr. Nefario (Russell Brand) is the perfect counter point in his wheelchair.
This story is a good watch for the kids and the parents as well. I had a lot of fun watching this film! You and your kids will have a great time watching this one! My favorite 3-D moment I have to admit was not actually during the movie but during the credits. Don’t really know why but the henchmen are stretching a ladder out toward us. The man in the row gets up to lead his three kids out of the theater. The ladder appeared to sit on his shoulder. Very cool!
Movie Site: www.despicable.me

DESPICABLE ME – A Review by Gary Murray

Gary Murray
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DESPICABLE ME

By Gary Murray

Starring the voice talents of Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Russell Brand, Will Arnett, Kristen Wiig and Julie Andrews

Written by Ken Daurio

Directed by Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud

Running time 95 min

MPAA Rating PG

Selig Rating: FULL PRICE

Summer is not the best time for film critics. The season is peppered with sequels, action flicks, high concept romantic comedies and all the other fair designed to take away cash from bored teens. It is a time when studios give up trying to attract the adults and go for the out-of-school kids. The studios shoot for the back wall, trying to make a $100 million homer with every franchise release.

Every once in a while though, something slips through the wreckage that appeals to the masses but contains more, a film that truly deserves to be crowned a blockbuster. Such is a motion picture like Despicable Me , a film that just oozes creativity and fun.

The story of Despicable Me is of Gru, an evil genius who may be past his prime. His last two capers have been to steal the Statue of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower (both from the Las Vegas attractions). His major competition in villainy is Vector (Jason Segel) who has recently stolen the Great Pyramid of Giza. Gru has a dream to put him back on top. His plan is to steal the moon. First he must steal a government shrink ray in order to get the moon down to a manageable size.

During the attempt to get the weapon, Vector upstages him and captures the recently stolen ray gun. Gru tries to get into the lair of his nemesis but he is thwarted by the stellar security system which includes a very toothy shark. Then he notices that a trio of girl orphans gain easy access to Vector’s compound by selling cookies. Gru hatches an evil plan, to adopt the kids and let them get inside so he can get the weapon back into his clammy hands.

Into his life comes Margo, Edith and Agnes. The girls are happy to be adopted, wanting a loving family. Soon they realize that Gru is not the loving dentist that his resume made him out to be. It is Gru finding out that he has a heart and a capacity to love that drive the story of Despicable Me.

First off, the look of Despicable Me is a visual feast, from the outlandish ships to the futuristic cars. The artwork reminded me of some of the line drawings of cartoonist Sam Hurt and his Eye Beam creations. The computer generated images have grown by leaps and bounds in the years since early Pixar. The makers of this film have crafted true emotions out of computer characters, giving life and depth to a bunch of 1’s and 0’s. There are a ton of details that generate laughs from the panda bear rug to the evil bank formerly knows as Lehman Brothers. Gru has a giant group of minions, little pill-like creatures with large eyes and nothing arms. They deliver many comic touches in a very slapstick fashion, reminding one of Keystone Cops.

Carell has given the world a giant group of characters, all memorable in their comedy but with a heart behind each one. Here he takes the basic ‘evil scientist’ motif and gives him a glowingly black heart. Gru finds something that he never knew that existed in his world, feelings. He is given the biggest share of laughs and makes the most of this interesting role. Jason Segel does go digital toe to toe with Carell, finding the perfect moments to upstage the actor. It is a joy when these two are battling on the screen.

Russel Brand didn’t do much with his character of Dr. Nefario, the evil genius behind the evil genius. The reading is nothing more than your basic voice over without any depth of character. The same goes for Julie Andrews, a great performer who is given little to do other than be stunt casting.

While both the comics Will Arnett and Kristen Wiig have unique voices, they are not given that many funny moments to shine in Despicable Me. The trio of voices that are the orphans find the right mixture of heart and humor in secondary roles that shine

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