July 2007

This Week in Film

No other film (with the possible exception of Transformers) has left me with a sense of trepidation and dread as this Air Bud-looking live-action remake of the beloved cartoon.  No rhyme nor Shoeshine Boy here, though I must applaud the casting of Peter Dinklage as Simon Barsinister.  Jim Belushi, Alex Neuberger, Brad Garrett, Amy Adams, and Jason Lee as the voice of Underdog also star.  Check out the official site.  We will find out if there is a need to fear when Underdog crash lands in theaters on Friday.  Larger trailer available in the Full Diagnosis.

Underdog
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The Simpsons on the Big Screen

  • Title: The Simpsons Movie
  • IMDb: link

“Why would you pay to see something you can see for free on TV?”
—Homer Simpson

The Simpsons Movie movie review

If you’ve watched thw show you know the basic formula of it’s 18 years of success: Homer (Dan Castellaneta) screws-up, Bart (Nancy Cartwright) gets into trouble, Lisa (Yeardly Smith) fights for a lost cause, Marge (Julie Kavner) gets angry, and by the end of the episode everything turns out fine.  Not surprisingly the script for this movie version holds true to form.

The main story involves the obsessions of Homer with a new pig and Lisa with cleaning up Lake Springfield.  When these two storylines converge Springfield is put in danger (guess who’s to blame) and the family finds itself hated by their friends and hunted by President Arnold Schwarzenegger and the EPA.

The film is enjoyable and fans will not doubt flock to the theaters to have a chance to see their favorite characters on the big screen.  However one does have to ask why this film was made, and why was it made now while the show is still in production?  In one of the better jokes (though it rips-off Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back read the review) Homer asks the very same question.

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No Need For Reservations

  • Title: No Reservations
  • IMDb: link

“You know better than anyone.
It’s the recipes you create yourself that are the best.”

No Reservations movie review

Kate (Catherine Zeta-Jones) is the head chef at an upscale New York restaurant.  She’s also compulsive, anal, controlling, and a times what could be referred to as a bitch on wheels.  All this changes when her sister dies in a car accident leaving her young daughter Zoe (Abigail Breslin) in Kate’s care.  To make matters worse the owner of the restaurant (Patricia Clarkson) has hired a new chef (Aaron Eckhart) to spice things up and pick-up the slack in the kitchen as Kate deals with her grief and new responsibilities.  You can guess where the story goes from here.  Kate learns to be more open and accepting, Zoe struggles with her mother’s death and new surroundings, and the animosity between Kate and Nick turns into love just as movie romances always seem to do.

No Reservations isn’t a bad film, but it’s so predictable and tame that it more resembles a frozen dinner than cuisine.  If not for the fact of casting three remarkably talented and likable leads the film would be almost completely unwatchable.  Though the star power isn’t enough to turn this turkey into a swan it does enough to make the film at least palatable.

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