Movies to watch for in Fall 2011
1. “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1”
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1. “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1”
"Crazy, Stupid, Love." is the second romantic comedy this summer that acknowledges the enduring clichés within its genre (the first being "Friends with Benefits"). Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, the minds behind the underrated "I Love You Philip Morris" (2009), direct this smartly executed romance/comedy/drama/bromance film that, in a way, reaches out to different generations of lovers.
Director Jon Favreau and executive co-producer Steven Spielberg adapt the comic book of the same name and leave the screenplay in the hands of a quintet of writers. The outcome is the same "high concept and spectacle with little substance" crap that Hollywood has tried to sell before, containing a story with 100 percent predictability and a cornucopia of Western clichés.
Nonetheless, "Captain America" is "marvelous" summer entertainment that offers a sense of World War II nostalgia, underdog fortitude and classic comic book sensibility. Though it can't help but feel like a two-hour advertisement for the upcoming "Avengers" film, it establishes itself as one of the greater Marvel superhero films with its retro decor, pulpy action and wonderful performances.
Rating: B
Rating: A-
Leading the Emmy race with the highest number of nominations is HBO with a total of 104. Approximately one-fifth of those nominations go to HBO's original miniseries "Mildred Pierce," including an Outstanding Miniseries or Movie nomination and an Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie nomination for Kate Winslet.
In these tough economic times, many people have dead-end jobs where they work long hours and feel like they are being underpaid. They hate their bosses and want to quit, but can’t out of fear they won’t find a better opportunity.
After the surprisingly funny “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” (2009), Kevin James showed promise in the world of comedic cinema. That promise was bent by “The Dilemma” (2011), but “Zookeeper,” a real dilemma, may have broken it completely.
At one point in the film, Bruce Brazos (John Malkovich) summarizes that there are two types of people in the world: thinkers and doers. Bay is the latter, as he has proven since he began his career as a director. Yes, he does tinker with and deliver great effects in this film, but he refuses to keep the promise that he would pay more attention to important factors like characterization after the nightmare of a sequel that was “Revenge of the Fallen” (2009).
As with any Spielberg science-fiction project, there are two aspects from “Falling Skies” one can expect: aliens and family dynamics. The writers also focus the entire plot on the events that occur several months after the actual invasion and how the humans plan to regain the planet.
While it has the same dazzling visuals as any Pixar film, “Cars 2” lacks most of the other qualities of great Pixar films: the emotional ambition of “Up” (2009), the thrilling action of “The Incredibles” (2004), the visual poetry of “WALL-E” (2008) and the compelling characterization of “Finding Nemo” (2003). It does offer some — but not enough — humor and exciting intrigue, but intrigue is no substitute for emotion. There was also no reason for making this installment other than the strongly selling merchandise.
TNT has established itself as a successful network, relying mostly on police shows like "The Closer" and "Memphis Beat." It even has a semi-successful medical show called "Hawthorne."
Rating: D-
1. "Terra Nova"Steven Spielberg has really been busy lately. Not only is he producing numerous films this year, but he also has some new television shows, including Fox's upcoming fall show "Terra Nova." The series mixes Spielberg's enthrallment with family and science fiction as it follows a family from the year 2149 sent back to prehistoric years to help save Earth. The visitors from the future are settled in Terra Nova, a settlement whose leader is played by "Avatar's" (2009) Stephen Lang. The series will offer many special effects as the time travelers enter a lush and hazardous world of dinosaurs.
Of all of the animation studios in America, none have had a more heated rivalry than Pixar and DreamWorks. DreamWorks usually releases more films per year than Pixar, while Pixar usually gets the Oscar awards. The rivalry continues with the summer releases of DreamWorks’ “Kung Fu Panda 2” and the upcoming Pixar film “Cars 2.”
“X-Men: First Class” is an excellent reboot that is richly layered and intelligently worked. Matthew Vaughn, who directed the violent and controversial “Kick-Ass” (2010), was wisely recruited as the director. Under his supervision, the movie establishes itself as the first superhero film in a while to offer more than extravagant effects and elevated decibels. It also strongly benefits from a well-written script and a well-rounded cast, particularly James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender.
These days, superhero films are expected to rely thoroughly on special effects, witty humor and self-awareness. "Thor" is an ideal example of these expectations as it's not too heavy on effects, aware of its own absurdity and steers clear of unwarranted campiness.
Rating: D+
Rio de Janeiro — is a tropical land filled with colorful species of birds, warm sandy beaches, Carnival street parties and ... exotic bird smugglers. American animated films don’t usually send audiences to beautiful exotic lands (with the exception of Pixar’s “Up” (2009)). It’s a wonder nobody has ever done an animated film about Rio until now.