MaxSpace

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Max — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 21:11:32 +0000

RATING: 3.5 out of 4 stars Over the years, the Harry Potter series has attracted some of Great Britian’s greatest acting talent. Imelda Staunton, Emma Thompson, Helena Bonham Carter, David Thewlis, Kenneth Branaugh, and Gary Oldman have all appeared in the films. And Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, Robbie Coltrane, and Michael Gambon (who replaced the late [...]

I Love You, Beth Cooper

Max — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:43:45 +0000

RATING: 1.5 out of 4 stars Everyone who reads Larry Doyle’s rollicking coming of age novel, I Love You, Beth Cooper, thinks the same thing: This would make a great movie! Be careful what you wish for. Turns out, the cinematic quality of the book—its laugh-out-loud funny scenes and action that evokes a John Hughes movie in written [...]

Brüno

Max — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:38:32 +0000

RATING: 2 out of 4 stars The following review is intended for adult readers. I’ve always said that it you’re going to be outrageous and offensive, at least be funny. Humor often is the end that justifies the means, and Sacha Baron Cohen is one funny dude. His is humor in extremis—taking an already absurd scenario [...]

Public Enemies

Max — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:50:56 +0000

RATING: 3 out of 4 stars Bank robber John Dillinger was so good at what he did, no law man could stop him. So the law got better. The engrossing Public Enemies, directed by crime auteur Michael Mann (Heat, Miami Vice, et al), is about the showdown between the cocky, smooth-talking, slightly jaded Dillinger (a captivating Johnny [...]

My Sister's Keeper

Max — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 20:47:38 +0000

RATING: 2.5 out of 4 stars The thorny ethical issue at the core of My Sister’s Keeper is the stuff of juicy late-night debates: What if a family had a sick child and essentially engineered another child to give that sick child bone marrow and blood? And what if that younger, healthy child got tired of [...]

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Max — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 18:05:55 +0000

RATING: 1 out of 4 stars If a critic screams in a middle of a Michael Bay film and the film is too loud for anyone to hear, did it ever actually occur?-My thoughts, after leaving the Transformers screening. Okay, so I didn’t actually scream in the middle of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. But I sure [...]

The Proposal

Max — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 20:36:46 +0000

RATING: 1.5 out of 4 stars I’m trying to figure out if I liked The Proposal more when it was called What Happens in Vegas or when it was called The Wedding Date or when it was called Green Card. Come to think of it, I’m trying to decide if I like this story better when Sandra [...]

Away We Go

Max — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:30:49 +0000

RATING: 2 out of 4 stars John Krasinski’s character Burt Farlander is afflicted with something I’ve decided to call the indie stupor. We’ve all seen this before, in films as varied as Garden State, American Beauty, Broken Flowers, and Elizabethtown. Our hero is a sheepish and sometimes benumbed observer of the wacky world around him. The wackier [...]

Year One

Max — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:27:40 +0000

RATING: 2 out of 4 stars Jack Black, all gleeful id, and Michael Cera, all fussy misery, seem like a match made in buddy film heaven. Throw in writer/director Harold Ramis, a zany, pre-historic plot, and plenty of chances to bring hipster humor to the events of the Bible, and it seems like you can’t lose. That [...]

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3

Max — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 19:00:03 +0000

RATING: 2 out of 4 stars As I was settling into my seat for the screening of The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, a young man came up to me and asked, “Are you excited?” “I guess,” I said (unconvincingly). “I really loved the original, so I’m not exactly sure why we needed a remake.” “This is [...]