Explore all the links to experience, Assistant Editor David Limacher’s wild trip to Wizard World Comic-Con 2010, in Chicago!

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“Ramona and Beezus” is based on the book series by Beverly Cleary.  I know I read these books when I was in elementary school, but I don’t really remember them much.  I do remember that Ramona was a rambunctious little girl with a very active imagination.

Ramona Quimby (Joey King) is a creative little girl, who has an older sister Beatrice (Selena Gomez).  (When Ramona was small, she couldn’t say Beatrice’s name, so she called her Beezus, which stuck as her nickname.)  Ramona and Beezus also have a baby sister, Roberta (can you tell by the character’s names that these books were written in the 50s and 60s??).  Ramona, Beezus, and Roberta live in Washington with their parents Robert (John Corbett) and Dorothy (Bridget Moynahan).  Also part of the family is Aunt Bea (Ginnifer Goodwin), whose high-school boyfriend Hobart (Josh Duhamel) is back in town and wants to get back together with Bea.

Everything is peachy keen in the Quimby house, until Mr. Quimby loses his job and the family faces the possibility of losing their home, forcing them to move to another town.  Ramona comes up with some fantastic yet harebrained ideas to try to save their house, including selling delicious lemonade, offering delicious car washes (that of course, ends in disaster), and auditioning for a commercial.

Even though she means well, Ramona is always in trouble in school.  Mrs. Meacham (Sandra Oh) is her exasperated teacher who has to deal with Ramona and her far-fetched ideas.  I’ve got to give Ramona credit, she tries really hard!

What I liked: when Ramona would imagine fantastic things in her mind, we the viewers saw them on the movie screen.  I thought that was a nice visual touch.  The story flowed well, and I have no complaints about the dialogue or the acting.

What I didn’t like:  overall, the movie was kind of hokey, but that’s to be expected.  In this day and age, it was kind of unusual but nice to see a nuclear family doing family things with their neighbors!!  Anyway, there’s nothing wrong with a happy ending, is there??

Warning:  there was one sad part.  Parents may have to explain the concept of “pet heaven” to their children after watching this movie.  I thought that part of the movie was handled well though.  The girls dealt with it and accepted it.

I thought for the lead role, Joey King’s performance was more than decent.  A few scenes were just so-so but overall she gave a pretty strong performance.  I think she has potential.  I enjoyed the interaction between the sisters.  I think both actresses performed those scenes well.

“Ramona and Beezus” isn’t the greatest flick ever, but it certainly isn’t the worst.  Don’t go to the theatre expecting much and you will enjoy it for what it is.

Three reviews to choose from!

For an up and coming critic from the Windy City – just click Limacher or on Jacob’s pic.

Or a no-nonsense mom about town –  just click Starshine or Bella’s pic. 

Finally, for an uber cynic - just click H-Man or on Edward’s

Who got it right?  Let the battle commence!

Sex and the City in the Middle East – excuse me, that’s “The New Middle East”.

***Want more Sex?  Click the image above***

Carrie and the girls are back for another adventure. It’s been two years since we’ve left Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall), Charlotte York (Kristin Davis) and Miranda Hobbs (Cynthia Nixon). If you’ll recall, the first “Sex and the City” movie ended with Carrie and John (aka Big) (Chris Noth) marrying, Samantha moving back to New York from Los Angeles, Charlotte giving birth to her and Harry’s (Evan Handler) daughter Rose, and Miranda reuniting with her estranged husband (cause he cheated!! but he felt real bad about it) Steve (David Eigenberg).

Since then, apparently everything’s been going swimmingly!! Now the girls and their families are gathering for the wedding of Carrie’s best gay friend Stanford Blatch (Willie Garson) to Charlotte’s best gay friend Anthony Maratino (Mario Cantone). Fans of the series will recall that Stanford and Anthony were once mortal enemies, but now they are in love (I guess hate sometimes DOES give way to love??) and about to be married in an over-the-top ceremony, complete with Liza Minelli as the wedding officiator.

A few days later, on Carrie and Big’s two-year anniversary, Carrie realizes that their marriage has lost its sparkle when Big’s anniversary gift to her leaves her feeling disappointed. Meanwhile, Miranda is unhappy at her job and yearns to spend more time with her family, and Charlotte can’t handle her unruly two-year old who cries constantly.  Now everything’s not so peaches and cream, is it? Of course not, otherwise there wouldn’t be a movie!!!

When Samantha is offered an all-expenses paid trip to Abu Dhabi, naturally the girls come along to take a break from their troubles. They fly first class (they even have their own cubicles!! Just as if they worked in an office!!) and stay in, well, basically, a palace. Between their own fancy cars, personal butlers, and surrounded by all that decadence, what more can these girls ask for?? But of course, a bit of the real world seeps in as Carrie reads a particularly scathing review of her book. That’s when everything goes askew.

And oh yeah, did I mention that Aidan (John Corbett) returns? The other love of Carrie’s life shows up in the desert (imagine that – it MUST mean something, right??) to further complicate Carrie’s life. I know many of my girlfriends think Carrie should have ended up with Aidan (I disagree, I think Big was her “lobster”) and will be very happy to see Aidan back in Carrie’s life.

What I liked:

Hello!! Who wouldn’t want an all-expenses paid trip to Abu Dhabi?? Since that will never happen to me, it was fun to see what it would be like in the movie (even though the movie was actually filmed in Morocco due to its racy nature, which is a big no no in the Muslim country). I also thought this movie was lighter than the first one, as it lacked the drama of being left at the alter and the infidelity. Of course, Samantha stole the show with her excessive efforts to trick her body into being younger as well as her sheer outrageousness.

What I didn’t like:

During the wedding reception at the beginning of the movie, Liza Minelli performed that awful song “Single Ladies”. I seriously wished I would go temporarily deaf. No offense to Ms. Minelli, but that has got to be one of the worse songs ever. I was praying for my torture to be over. I also felt that Big’s unconventional “idea” about his and Carrie’s marriage was just wrong. It made me a little angry, and I’m not married (not even close). And, for a movie titled “Sex and the City 2” there really wasn’t much sex going on. (I’m just saying!!). Oh and the clothes. Sometimes they were nice. Other times….what were the costume designers thinking?

Fun, light-hearted fare that fans of the series will enjoy. No, this won’t change the world but hey, it’s good for some laughs.

***click the image above for more pictures from the film***

Mother and Child is an unique journey portraying the ripples of the choices we make and how they affect us and others in our life-paths. The film comes full circle, but takes a long time to get to the point – but the point is ultimately made with effective emotion.

Karen (Annette Benning) is a social gargoyle, holding everyone at bay with her dour attitude and glumness.  Decades ago, she allowed her mother, Nora, to intervene and forced her to give up a daughter to adoption.  In an act of redemption, Karen works at a rehabilitative center, so she can claim – at least on paper – that she is a good person, a remorseful soul.  But her contempt for happy families, especially children is always at the forefront of her personality.

As her mid-life approaches, Karen encounters new people that remind her it is never too late to heal wounds of the heart in love-interest Paco (Jimmy Smits).  With a new appreciation, she becomes desperate to find her daughter.  The agency explains the only way for this to be possible is for both parties to agree.  In a cruel Hollywood twist-of-fate, she may never find out her daughter wants the same.

Karen’s daughter, Elizabeth (Naomi Watts) is similar to her mother, but she uses sex and seduction to play games and keep people right where she wants them, under her ultimate control. A tough-as-nails attorney in a cut-throat law firm, helmed by Paul (Samuel Jackson), Elizabeth relishes in her ability to get results, regardless of who she steps on – she is ice cold.  Still, the unanswered question, “Who is my mother” haunts her professional and personal life.

As the pieces of this adoption jigsaw are laid out on the screen, we meet a couple hopeful to adopt a child.  There are countless hurdles they must jump over to make this dream a reality.  Their lives intertwine with Karen and Elizabeth as the film explores levels of commitment and love, tugging at your heart throughout the conclusion.

I thought the movie was over at several different spots.  The acting was excellent, and if you’re into heavy drama with some lighter, funny spots from Annette Benning and Jimmy Smits I say go see it. 

Release Location Update

Miami/Fort Lauderdale locations – June 4th at the Regal South Beach, Sunrise 11 and Regal Shadowood.

The gritty industrial city of Monterey, Mexico sets the scene for the first parts of William Dear’s (Harry and the Hendersons) The Perfect Game. The film is a geyser of sentimentality and will likely be a way for some people to descend into a pit of nostalgia. It has been a while since a movie aimed for kids has focused on something as earthy as baseball, a sport that seems to have been lost on the big screen to make way for 3D spectacles and CGI monsters.

That being said, it is a shame that The Perfect Game falls as short as it does. On one hand, it is the retelling of an inspiring Mexican little league team makes it to the 1957 Little League World Series. On the other, it is a flat representation of foreigners’ struggles on American soil. It drowns in sentimentality and doesn’t offer the sport it displays any new ground to tread on. For me, little league baseball invokes strong memories, none of which were necessarily brought back by watching the film.

The plot follows a rag tag group of boys under the helm of Padre Esteban, played by Cheech Marin. The old stoner comedy poster boy does a decent job in his role as a priest and it is always fun to see him act out of the element so many people know him in. Padre Esteban is looking for something to get the boys out of trouble, so he forms a baseball team. Cezar Faz, an ex-pro played by the charismatic Clifton Collins, Jr., finds his way in the coaching seat.

This new team shows great promise throughout the film, and rises in ranks all the way to the Little League World Series, which takes up the second half of the film. Along the way, they are met with immigration laws and racism, among other problems. These all touch close to home, despite the film’s 1957 setting. It’s interesting to see the reactions of the kids and the coach, but really there’s nothing new to see here. Cheap romantic subplots and tear jerking moments end up weakening the film.

The Perfect Game is at its best when it focuses on baseball. Though the directing of the actual games played leaves something to be desired, the kids on the team add heart and soul to their performances. As the underdog darlings of their final game of the season, the audience too will likely find themselves rooting for them.

This film is a wonderful introduction to sports films for a much younger audience. There isn’t really much for adults to grab onto, but anyone who liked films like The Mighty Ducks, or Angels in the Outfield (also directed by Dear) growing up . . . may find they remember a better, earlier time in their lives. Then again, maybe not. This film really is a tossup, but one thing that cannot be denied is just how inspiring this true story is – a  story of an underdog, foreign team taking the field against the highly favored Americans.

“It’s funny, the little coincidences in life.”

Swift shot:  I hate to use the tired old, “I wasn’t expecting much, so I was pleasantly surprised” – so, let’s try something fresh.  I was expecting Leonidas and Rachel Green to suck, royally.  I was expecting chemistry to be so off, only Mrs. Chanandler Bung re-enacting Shelly Winters drowning in Poseidon Adventure could force me not to gouge out my eyes with a theater straw.  So, yea, it didn’t suck that bad, I must admit I enjoyed watching all the character actors really strut their stuff and take charge.  I don’t think I could have worked with Butler without at least one, THIS IS SPARTA, between takes – or with Aniston without one, WTF was Brad Shitt thinking?  So, kudos to those that held their own.

Character actors really saved this film, because while the chemistry wasn’t complete crap between Aniston and Butler, it was a tad . . . off.  It’s hard when two iconic actors try to shed their skin and delve into “zany” roles.  I think zany is probably the hardest type of character to play when you are the lead, and few do it without coming across like immature clods.

Swift note: For those that don’t know, character actors are those poor souls in Hollyweird who look a certain way, act a certain way, and really don’t deviate from that throughout their careers.  My favorite character actor in The Bounty Hunter is Siobhan Fallon, you know her as the weird bus driver at the end of Forrest Gump, or the woman unfortunately married to Vincent D’Onofrio, who later becomes an “Edgar Suit” in MIB, or a few of you from New in Town, which she really nailed imho.  So, she is a character actor, got it now?  Good, I have no patience for dimwits.

So, why didn’t it suck?  Quite simply, the pacing and transitions, and the story was for the most part, tangible.  When the film starts Milo Boyd (Butler) is chasing down a bond-jumper at a Fourth of July parade, Milo used to be a cop but because of his ambitious, smoking hot wife, he quit the force.  Or as he tells it, he “allowed himself to be fired” so that he wouldn’t have to compete with his now, ex-wife, Nicole Hurley (Aniston).

Nicole is a ballsy, creative reporter for this aged media called a “newspaper”, you can read all about them on wikipedia.  She had a little scuffle with a law enforcement officer, of sorts, that earned her a visit before a judge.  Judges, by and large, don’t like being stood up, especially not by know-it-all reporters.  So, as Nicole tracks down a lead outside the courthouse, the judge declares a bench warrant for her arrest.  Of course, Milo pulls the detail, and gets the dream job of hauling in his ex-wife for a 5K bounty.

Milo knows his ex quite well, and being a “damned good cop” – yes, I am sure that was uttered at one point – he quickly tracks up with her.  But, she is in real peril, or the closest to real peril that a PG-13 rating can bring.  Ok, not even that close really, more like a PG rating for the violence, or lack thereof.  Still, it had really funny moments and Jason Sudeikis’ character was so dedicated to his cause, you just couldn’t help but root for him on some level.

If you want to see a fast-paced, gritty action comedy, this isn’t it.  There is little real drama, a bit of light romance, a predictable, yet unpredictable ending, and clever directing by Andy Tennant.  If you have followed his other stuff, you know what to expect from The Bounty Hunter – and you won’t be disappointed.  Like I said before, it didn’t suck, but it also doesn’t manage to impress throughout.  It’s a decent date movie though.

The H-Bomb: After a decade and a half of making a name for himself as a potty-mouthed indie auteur, Kevin Smith makes his second attempt to break into mainstream movie making, after his misguided PG-13, blander than white rice effort known as “Jersey Girl”. Is he more successful this time? As I always say, read on…

Kevin Smith is one of my favorite filmmakers. The moment I finished watching “Clerks“ on video for the first time, I immediately rewound the tape and watched it again. That‘s something I never do, but I found the film so fucking hysterical I just had to see it again right then and there. As you may have guessed from reading some of my bin bilge write-ups, Smith’s profane style of humor appeals to me, and I’ve been a devout fan of his work for a decade now.

That said, I honestly was not looking forward to “Cop Out”. The more I heard about this movie, the more I got that sinking feeling that Kev sold out. Why? Well first off, the fact that he didn’t write it. What’s the damn point of Kevin Smith directing someone else’s script when he himself is most distinguished for his obscene and clever writing? The least impressive part of his films has been his simple “point and shoot” style of directing. Secondly, the buddy cop action comedy genre is so fucking tired. From the “Lethal Weapon” movies, to the “Rush Hour” movies, and all the others in between, did we really need another one of these? Thirdly, the trailer I saw looked bloody awful! It made me want to chuck my laptop out the fucking window! Fourthly, Tracey Morgan… more on him later.

Fortunately, for my sake, “Cop Out” turned out to be much better than expected. It’s often funny and watchable throughout. That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s good, in fact it’s pretty uneven in spots, but for much of the time, I found it reasonably entertaining.

The story breaks down like this: Bruce Willis and Tracey Morgan play a couple of dicks in NYC who have been partners for nine years. Willis’ daughter is getting married soon and her wedding will cost around fifty grand. Now, fifty grand is A LOT of money for a New York cop, and it doesn’t help that Willis and Morgan have both been suspended from the force, for a complicated mishap, without pay, for a month. Rather than let his daughter’s wealthy but douche baggy step dad pay for the wedding, he decides to sell a valuable vintage baseball card of his to cover the shindig.

Things get (overly) complicated when the card is stolen from Willis, and he and Morgan spend the rest of the movie dealing with burglars, car thieves, Mexican drug dealers, and other assorted low lives in order to get it back.

Yes, on paper, the plot SOUNDS. FUCKING. STUPID. However, the events unfold in a surprisingly unpredictable and enjoyable way… for the most part. While Smith isn’t credited with the screenplay, it actually is every bit as raunchy and R-Rated as anything he’s ever directed. It’s so rife with his style of profanity and sexual humor, that I suspect he did do a polish on the material, after all (The fact that the phrase :“ass-to-mouth“ is uttered at one point confirms this in my mind). And despite the fact that he’s not known for having any kind of visual flare, his skills behind the camera are quite impressive. There are slick camera moves and shaky cam aplenty, and Smith, despite statements he’s made in the past, shows that he has a skill for shooting action scenes. They’re well shot and the violence gets pretty brutal.

He does a good job of balancing the comedic and dark aspects of the material. At times it plays like a very gritty crime drama, while at others it feels like a “Naked Gun” movie. The dynamic between Willis and Morgan is what you would expect; Willis is the straight man and Morgan is the “funny” man. They have good chemistry together and, as such, play off each other well, though predictably, most of their interaction consists of bickering.

On the down side of things, the film is very hit or miss when it comes to the laughs. Morgan is alternately incredibly funny or excruciatingly irritating. This is perfectly encapsulated in a running gag the movie creates for him: whenever he’s speaking to a suspect, he repeats lines from famous cop movies. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Let me put it this way, if you ever want to hear the worst Robocop impression ever, go see this movie.

The same goes for Seann William Scott, who has a supporting role as a Parkour running thief; sometimes funny, sometimes annoying as fucknuts. The movie does drag in places from having scenes allowed to go on for too long and from too many subplots that have nothing to do with the rest of the movie. Were the rival detectives played by Adam Brody and Kevin Pollack necessary? Did we need the plot thread where Tracey Morgan’s wife may or may not be cheating on him?

Not to mention there are many scenes that could’ve and should’ve been left on the cutting room floor. One that comes to mind is an amusing yet lengthy and totally unnecessary scene between Seann William Scott and some random dude in a jail cell. While watching it, I kept thinking to myself, “Why the fuck is this scene in the movie? What purpose does it serve?” None, at all, as do a number of others.

When all is said and done, it is a perfectly decent action-comedy that mixes the laughs and the gunfire well, but it is flawed and more likely is worth a rental, and not a trip to the theater. If you do go to see it, be sure to stay through the first part of the end credits, because there is a hilarious scene that ends the film proper.

Sound the trumpet!

Swift shot:  Didn’t suck, was fun and I liked the overall premise.  What I could have lived without is seeing an Angel do battle with a machine gun, but, it was a fresh approach on biblical combat. This is the kind of film you just sit back and enjoy, don’t rip it to shreds and you will have a good experience.  If you want to shred it though, it would be easier than the Holy Divinity sending a legion of angels and his archangel, Gabriel (Kevin Durand) to smite an unborn infant – oh, wait, that isn’t so easy, apparently.

Enter Michael, and he isn’t John Travolta, smashing heads with a bull in some field, puffing feathers like some kind of lame twittering bird.  This Michael, Paul Bettany, slams to the Earth and in a dramatic self-flagellation scene, literally rends his wings from his back . . . and stitches them up using a mirror. You get an immediate understanding that God is the bad-guy in this film, so if you have no flexibility in your faith, you might want to check out 10Things I Hate About Christianity, it helps put things in perspective.

I held a contest for free movie passes wherein I asked people to explain why humanity should be spared from God’s wrath, someone suggested www.cuteoverload.com and even Cheeseburgers as reasons for letting us live – I am sure the PETA people would beg to differ, but . . . I digest. (That’s from Family Guy you knuckleheads)

I really enjoy movies about theology, even bad ones can be mildly amusing if handled in a fresh way.  And when you meet the sympathetic character in Legion, Charlie (Adrianne Palicki) doesn’t even have compassion for herself.  Charlie is a pregnant woman who smokes – I mean, she might as well be Hitler!  But, in order to show her transformation, she needs to start somewhere, and really the gutter is as good a place as any, right?

The other characters are quickly under siege by weak-minded people who allow themselves to be possessed by angels – critical aside, apparently everyone in the diner in Paradise Falls is immune somehow, or are they?  There were a lot of poor dialog choices in Legion.  The kind that make you want to to scream at the screen, come on, you can do so much better than that line, especially famous last words.

Still, this film had one gem I enjoyed tremendously.  When Bob (Dennis Quaid) is asked why he keeps carrying around an old zippo lighter now that he doesn’t smoke anymore, he replies, “I’m sentimental, my ex-wife gave it to me, and I want to remember how much I hate her.”  Nicely put!  But moments that could have been downright scary came across as lame, no Lame (with a capital L) – when you see it you will know right away which sequence I am speaking of, I think it was a nod to Chucky, but it just sucked, truly abysmal.

Keep an open mind, have fun with it, don’t be so damned critical and you will enjoy it.  Remember what it was like to just sit back and enjoy a film?  That is what this film was like for me, I just sat back and casually enjoyed it.  It had kind of a Demon Night meets Diner feel to it, but, if you take it for what it is, it ‘aint too shabby.