'Chop Shop' explores life in America's scrap heap

by Andrew Jefchak | The Grand Rapids Press

Friday July 18, 2008, 8:43 AM

Courtesy PhotoCompelling tale: A young boy (Alejandro Polanco), left, starts his day by opening the auto shop where he works before he and his friend (Carlos Zapata) hop onto the G line in Queens to sell candy to commuters in "Chop Shop."

Even if you find the realism of "Chop Shop" exaggerated, you'll still get drawn in closer to the hard life it exposes. Eschewing conventional drama, it stresses the plight of desperate kids, so busy scrounging for money they don't have time for self-pity.

Nor do they have much opportunity to enjoy childhood. Grim but compelling, "Chop Shop" is directed by Ramin Bahrani, an Iranian-born American whose previous feature, "Man Push Cart," won praise and prizes at scattered festivals in 2004.

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Goofy antics in 'Space Chimps' will keep kids entertained

by Clare Pfeiffer Ramsey | The Grand Rapids Press

Friday July 18, 2008, 8:22 AM

Luna, left, and Titan, right, don't welcome Ham III with open arms in "Space Chimps."

A barrel of monkeys would have been more fun than "Space Chimps." Instead, this space shuttle of simians is a merely mildly amusing, disposable summer kiddie flick.

We've gotten to the point in computer-generated animated cinema that we expect more than Saturday-morning-quality fare from our feature-length offerings. We want the quality of "Finding Nemo" and "Shrek," not the stuff of "Smurfs." We want sophisticated humor and story lines, not just sight gags and kiddie melodrama.

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'Mamma' a rambunctious musical celebration

by James Sanford | Press News Service

Thursday July 17, 2008, 1:26 PM

Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan star in "Mamma Mia!"

If you are familiar with the stage version of the ABBA-inspired musical "Mamma Mia!" -- and many people must be, since it has grossed more than $2 billion in worldwide sales -- you know what to expect from director Phyllida Lloyd's movie.

Lloyd, who oversaw the original London and New York productions of the show, isn't one to tamper with a winning formula; aside from some minor tweaking of the score, she has carefully preserved on film all the key ingredients that have kept audiences dancing and singing along in theaters around the globe for nearly a decade. Bringing on board a buoyant Meryl Streep and the luminous Amanda Seyfried to play the leads represents a little more shrewd thinking.

Even the most devoted "Mamma" maniacs will admit that as an emotionally gripping theatrical experience this is not exactly up there with "Carousel" or "Rent": It's a dance party with a plot -- and a tenuous plot at that.

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Heath Ledger is legendary as Joker in moody, masterful 'Dark Knight'

by John Serba | The Grand Rapids Press

Thursday July 17, 2008, 10:44 AM

Christian Bale, back, stars as Batman and Heath Ledger stars as The Joker in "The Dark Knight."

Goosebumps.

The immediate, visceral reaction is the best place to begin with "The Dark Knight." Skin crawls at the mere thought of immersion in the 21st-century Batman's dread-drenched psychological murk, the bleakness further enhanced by the unveiling of Heath Ledger's final role.

But the expectation that the young actor's sad, untimely death will haunt the film is unfounded. Certainly, his take on the Joker is intensely wicked and appropriate within the context of the moody Bat-world created by filmmaker Christopher Nolan in 2005's "Batman Begins." But Ledger's performance percolates with joy; his face smudged with demented-clown makeup, prosthetic scars creating a ghastly grin on puffy cheeks, he plumbs a darkly comic vein and, first and foremost, his antics inspire laughter. Then, thought. Then, the grim shiver radiates down the spine.

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A 'Knight' to remember: This Batman tale is electrifying and complex

by James Sanford | Kalamazoo Gazette

Thursday July 17, 2008, 12:00 AM

If your concept of a Batman movie was defined back in the mid-'90s, when director Joel Schumacher's BATMAN FOREVER and BATMAN AND ROBIN surrounded Gotham City's masked avenger with flashy, "Circus of the Stars"-style cornball campiness, get ready to have your head turned around. Director Christopher Nolan's THE DARK KNIGHT exists in an entirely different world.

Batman (Christian Bale) confronts a temporarily incarcerated Joker (Heath Ledger) in a scene from THE DARK KNIGHT.

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Murphy's brilliance lost on 'Meet Dave'

by John Serba | The Grand Rapids Press

Monday July 14, 2008, 11:45 AM

APHuman-shaped spaceship: Eddie Murphy and Gabrielle Union in a scene from "Meet Dave."

As the egregiously juvenile frivolity of "Meet Dave" flickered in front of me, the ensuing boredom prompted fond reflections of Eddie Murphy's career.

I remember how Murphy's 1983 stand-up film/album "Delirious" absolutely slayed, to the point where his (unabashedly adult) punchlines colored our spoken vernacular. Interesting, then, that "Meet Dave," amid its plethora of kindergarten poo-poo and pee-pee gags, makes vague reference to his oft-quoted "Ice Cream Man" bit and his goofy joke song "Boogie in Your Butt."

Thus, our sadness is amplified as we watch Murphy now, catering to 6-year-olds by playing Dave, a human-shaped spaceship filled with inch-high alien people from the planet Nil. Dave descends upon Manhattan like a de-fanged Borat, clueless to the social conventions of Earth folk, Murphy channeling Mr. Bean and Mr. Roboto -- and yes, that's as fiendishly benign as it sounds.

Inside this Battlestar Dorklactica, Murphy also plays the teensy captain. Ed Helms ("The Daily Show") is his No. 2, and Gabrielle Union is No. 3. Together they pilot the ship from its head.

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'Hellboy II' kicks comic-book franchise up a notch

by Tim Agne | MLive.com

Friday July 11, 2008, 10:17 AM

UniversalHellboy tries his best to look like a superhero, but the public just thinks he's ugly in "Hellboy II: The Golden Army."

Hellboy just wants everybody to like him.

It's a tall order, considering that A) he's a big red monster who tends to make a mess when he's saving the world from nastier monsters and B) his movie, "Hellboy II: The Golden Army" hits theaters a week before the wildly anticipated "Dark Knight."

But Batman's going to have his work cut out for him, because director Guillermo del Toro ("Pan's Labyrinth") has followed up one of Hollywood's best comic book adaptations with a sequel that trumps the original in nearly every respect.

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Superb 3-D effects make 'Journey' eye-popping fun

by James Sanford | Kalamazoo Gazette

Friday July 11, 2008, 9:30 AM

In his half-century as a novelist -- from 1854 to 1904 -- Jules Verne earned his reputation as the father of science-fiction: His books foretold such inventions as television, jumbo submarines, rocketships and more.

But Verne's powers of prediction weren't always so keen. In "Journey to the Center of the Earth," he declared that the planet's core contained giant mushrooms, stormy underground oceans and dinosaurs.

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'Duchess of Langeais' offers audience lessons in patience

by Andrew Jefchak | The Grand Rapids Press

Thursday July 10, 2008, 5:38 PM

Jeanne Balibar stars in "The Duchess of Langeais."

The smartest of movie lovers are those who ignore hype and take a broad-minded chance on something unusual. Occasionally their choice will put them in front of something slow and subtle, such as "The Duchess of Langeais," a gloriously photographed and costumed film that requires an attribute of maturity: patience.

Based on a novel by Honore de Balzac, the film progresses like a debate between lovers who can't agree on emotional or philosophical ground rules. In fact, they can't even agree on what it means to be "lovers."

My French isn't good enough to follow hectic conversations, so I was forced to trust the clear English subtitles.

The picture is directed and co-written by Jacques Rivette, who was part of the French "New Wave" of filmmakers back in the middle of the 20th century.

Unlike others, such as Francois Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard, Rivette's style developed out of meticulous detail, and it still does. Ambient noise -- loud clocks, fireplace popping -- is no less prominent than a human voice.

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'Journey' explores ancient world, technological tools

by John Serba | The Grand Rapids Press

Thursday July 10, 2008, 5:18 PM

"Journey to the Center of the Earth" features Brendan Fraser (front) and Josh Hucherson

Fiction, schmiction.

Turns out Jules Verne's classic novel "Journey to the Center of the Earth" was true, and there really is an ancient world deep inside our planet. So discovers Trevor Anderson, a geologist who studies progressive volcanology, who literally falls into an ancient land populated by dinosaurs, oversized Venus flytraps and other carnivorous whatnot with big teeth.

Such is the fresh twist on an old story, told many times before in TV and big-screen movies. Whether we need this new version of "Journey" is up for debate, but it at least has a technological reason to exist: 3D.

The latest in megaplex eyewear means computer-animated fanged fishies leap out of the screen and into our laps -- unless you're seeing the plain old 2D version also in theaters, and in that case, you're experiencing a journey through the tedious realm of cinematic pointlessness.

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Del Toro creates a visual feast with action-packed 'Hellboy II'

by Clare Pfeiffer Ramsey | The Grand Rapids Press

Thursday July 10, 2008, 4:49 PM

Universal PicturesDoug Jones (from left), Ron Perlman and Selma Blair in Hellboy II: The Golden Army.

Would anyone give a belching, bloated, fire-red demon's tail about "Hellboy II: The Golden Army" if Guillermo del Toro had not made "Pan's Labyrinth" (2006)? Not likely.

If the details of the first "Hellboy" feature are fuzzy, that's probably because the 2004 movie was not the most memorable action/fantasy/superhero movie of the past decade. On the other hand, "Pan's Labyrinth," which was nominated for and arguably was robbed of the Oscar for best foreign language film, is something special. It is a piece of magical cinema, utterly creative and completely enthralling, thanks in no small part to the monsters and otherworldly creatures that come out of del Toro's huge imagination.

One would expect, then, better things of the return of "Hellboy," and del Toro delivers.

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Subtle, humble 'Jellyfish' is visual poetry

by John Serba | The Grand Rapids Press

Friday July 04, 2008, 8:00 AM

In "Jellyfish," Noa Knoller plays Keren and Gera Sandler plays Michael.

"Jellyfish" does a decent job of balancing the weighty and the whimsical.

Weighty, because miscommunication is the norm for its characters. Whimsical, because of a mystery at its center.

The Israeli film (with English subtitles) opens on Batya (Sarah Adler), standing on a streetcorner with a man who, presumably, used to be her boyfriend.

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With appeal, spirit of Hepburn, Tautou is 'Priceless' in easy role

by John Serba | The Grand Rapids Press

Friday July 04, 2008, 6:17 AM

"Priceless" stars Audrey Tautou as Irene and Gad Elmaleh as Jean.

"I'm impressed by people with skills," says Irene. "I'm not at all gifted, except in conversation."

Well, that's one way to put it. In more objective terms, Irene is a gold digger, a seducer of rich old men to shower her with upper-crust luxuries. There's another, harsher definition for this behavior -- think "oldest profession" -- but the generally light tone of "Priceless" doesn't force such an interpretation.

Casting the impossibly cute Audrey Tautou as Irene goes a long way to earning our affection for the character and downplaying the moral ambiguity of her actions. Besides, the focus of this charming French farce isn't how Irene becomes such a beautiful and shamelessly materialistic exploiter of the wealthy, it's about her redemption in the presence of true love.

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Plucky and sincere, Abigail Breslin is a doll in 'Kit Kittredge: An American Girl'

by John Serba | The Grand Rapids Press

Thursday July 03, 2008, 3:00 PM

Abigail Breslin portrays the title character in "Kit Kittredge: An American Girl."

If Abigail Breslin knocked on my door, it would be difficult not to buy a truckload of Thin Mints from her.

Much to her credit, the 12-year-old Oscar nominee's ("Little Miss Sunshine") most marketable product is her sincerity, even when playing a character created to sell dolls and accessories.

Kit Kittredge is essentially a corporate logo for the American Girl company, but her big-screen debut seems to preach compassion first, capitalism second.

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Superhero as superlush: Will Smith's bizarre 'Hancock' goes off-course

by James Sanford| Kalamazoo Gazette

Tuesday July 01, 2008, 9:19 AM

Perhaps you remember Uma Thurman's comedy MY SUPER EX-GIRLFRIEND from two summers ago. Or perhaps not. At any rate, it has had about the same amount of staying power that Will Smith's similarly themed HANCOCK is likely to have in 2010.

Will Smith suffers a few bad breaks as a derelict superhero in HANCOCK.

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