http://www.tvjerry.com/index.php/about/ en tvjerry@tvjerry.com Copyright 2012 2012-05-30T11:10:00-05:00 http://www.tvjerry.com/index.php/reviews/men_in_black_3/ It’s been a decade since 2, but the wait has been worth it. Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones are back and the only way to stop an Earth-threatening alien attack is for Smith to travel back in time. There, he meets the younger version of his partner (well-played by Josh Brolin) and proceeds to alter the future. Enough of plot. What we care about is cool creatures, neat effects and funny stuff. This one has plenty of it all! Some of the CG look cheesy, but there’s much to enjoy, plus a touching story surprise. The most fun at the movies this summer (so far). 

]]> 2012-05-30T10:10:00-05:00 http://www.tvjerry.com/index.php/reviews/darling_companion/ In his first movie since 2003, writer/director Lawrence Kasdan has created a mature tale of relationships and a dog. Diane Keaton rescues a lost dog and takes him home to husband Kevin Kline. Life is good until the dog gets lost on vacation, which calls into question their marriage. The solid cast does a nice job and the pacing never lags. You’d think that with a dog as the center conceit, it would certainly be sweet or touching, but it’s just pleasant. There are a few mild laughs, but overall, it’s unmemorable.

]]> 2012-05-29T10:22:00-05:00 http://www.tvjerry.com/index.php/reviews/dictator/ The latest from Sacha Baron Cohen casts him as the titular tyrant, who gleefully oppresses his country, until he confronts reality in New York City. Despite a constant flow of mischievous moments, it’s seldom truly funny. There are some amusing one-liners and interesting conceptual gags, but it never pulls together successfully. If you enjoy Cohen’s brand of humor, you won’t be disappointed, but you’re liable to find it more cheerfully mean-spirited than genuinely hilarious. 

]]> 2012-05-24T11:24:00-05:00 http://www.tvjerry.com/index.php/reviews/battleship/ This movie is based on the Hasbro board game and they actually manage to slip in a bit of the game’s design into the plot. However, most of it revolves around an alien invasion that two scrappy groups must scramble to stop. After a slow first third that establishes Taylor Kitsch as a screw-up, it gets down to battling a superior military force. While nothing about the plot or procedures is original, the enemy’s technology is impressive and the effects are convincing. There’s plenty of cool combat to help distract from the cheesy writing. Overall, the action is solid, but not particularly novel or clever.
NOTE: Stay through the credits for an extended bonus scene.

]]> 2012-05-24T11:24:00-05:00 http://www.tvjerry.com/index.php/reviews/best_exotic_marigold_hotel/ Seven retirees travel to a lush resort in India, but discover a rather rundown result. Of course, the charms of the city work their magic and change their lives forever. The cast, including some of England’s finest (Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Billy Nighy and Tom Wilkinson), is uniformly winning and the stories are sweet, if not predictable. Younger viewers may not appreciate its mature values, but the target audience is sure to find it charming, amusing and ultimately uplifting. 

]]> 2012-05-21T10:42:00-05:00 http://www.tvjerry.com/index.php/reviews/dark_shadows/ This may be the best example of a trailer that crammed the movie’s ONLY decent 2 minutes into a promising preview. The other 111 minutes are deadly dull. In this vague nod to the TV series, Johnny Depp stars as Barnabas Collins, who returns to his home in the 70s after being buried for 200 years. The potential for fish-out-of-water humor is wrung out in a handful of gags (all in the trailer) and the rest of the proceedings are incredibly tedious and listless. The only thing worth watching is the art direction. Otherwise, this is undoubtedly Tim Burton’s worst film ever.

]]> 2012-05-15T10:41:00-05:00 http://www.tvjerry.com/index.php/reviews/avengers/ When the world is threatened with domination from beyond, a slew of Marvel superheroes (Iron Man, Hulk, Capt. America, Thor and more) is brought together to save the day. Before that can happen, we get some internal conflict and snappy dialogue by writer/director Joss Whedon. Finally, comes the big, noisy, kinda silly showdown: implausible on so many levels. Luckily, the cast is full of quality actors, so most of the interaction works. This is a classic big-budget summer flick with spectacular scenarios and flashy effects. Not the best, but not the worst.
NOTE: There are 2 post-credit scenes, so stay till the end for your money’s worth.

]]> 2012-05-09T10:00:00-05:00 http://www.tvjerry.com/index.php/reviews/mirror_mirror/ This light-hearted twist on the Snow White story falls flat in almost every way. Julia Roberts plays the evil queen, whose jealousy of her step-daughter (Lily Collins) drives her to vicious acts. The deviations from the original plot are interesting, but the dialogue is seldom clever, even when it tries to use contemporary vernacular. Director Tarsem brings his unique eye for visual extravagance and infuses good-natured energy to the uninspired script. I really wanted to like this flick, but just kept getting stunned its ineptness. 

]]> 2012-04-03T10:14:00-05:00 http://www.tvjerry.com/index.php/reviews/hunger_games/ In this version of the future, TV has extended reality competition to the ultimate: kids between 13-18 are selected to fight to the death. Before the games begin, they visit the dramatically-modern capital city, where they’re groomed for TV and prepped for the fight. Jennifer Lawrence soaks up most of the screen time as a serious, determined young woman who seems destined to dominate the pack. Once the match begins, her home-grown survival skills come to play. The action is sporadic with all the killings dispatched quickly and painlessly (for the PG-13 rating). The art direction is colorful and the drama unfolds with solid zeal. Fans of the books will probably appreciate the film more. I found it satisfying without being special. 

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