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Director: David Koep

Starring: Ricky Gervais, Greg Kinnear, Tea Leoni, Bill Campbell, Aasif Mandvi,

David Koep who has an impressive list of writing credits and a list of unknown directing credits co-wrote and directed this intermittently warm and occasionally humorous project with the very funny Ricky Gervais (The Office). The dialog could have been much better, and the low-on-laughs story is all too familiar, even for a comedy. The charismatic cast does manage to pull enough entertainment out to save this from being a poor movie but the end result is unremarkable.

Ricky Gervais is Bertram Pincus, an incredibly rude, people-hating dentist, whose main goal in life seems to be to avoid any human contact and get back to his lonely condo as quickly as possible, each day. This would seem like an incredibly rich opportunity to have us rolling in the aisles, but, incredibly, writers, Koep and John Kamps were unable to do more than pull out more than a few chuckles from me. At any rate, following what should have been routine medical procedure, poor Pincus, has a lot more humans to avoid on his way home, since he can now see huge numbers of dead people walking around in addition to all those pesky live ones. Pincus’ confusion over which are alive and which are dead, and living observers seeing one side of his conversations with these human-looking ghosts, who all want him to do something for them, provides the main base for cliche humour for the rest of the film. The most persistant ghost is Frank (Greg Kinnear), who wants Pincus to split his widow (Tea Leoni) from her new love (Bill Campbell). Pincus reluctantly agrees, but of course, promptly falls in love with her himself. Who would expect that kind of zany plot twist?

Ghost town, was a lot less funnier than I had expected, but did offer a slightly touching cliched story to pass the time with the result being a pedestrian project from beginning to end, that will stay in my mind about as long as my last golf score. Imagine a movie that crosses Ghost with Sixth Sense, with half the appeal of each, and you will know what you can expect here. Worth seeing for Ricky Gervais fans, perhaps, but if the popular TV actor and podcast star, wants to make it at the box office, he will have get better features than this one.

Director: Peter Seagal

Starring: Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Alan Arkin, Terence Stamp, Terry Crews, David Koechner

As a kid, I loved the old re-runs of Get Smart with its repetitive jokes and situations as we watched agent 86 bumble his way into battle with the forces of Kaos. Steve Carell looks the part, and deadpans (Don Adams style) his way through this action comedy as a smarter, but no less bumbling update of Maxwell Smart. There are several old jokes from the series like ‘Would you believe…’ and the Cone of Silence. There are some laughs, some entertaining characters, cool cameos and better action than I expected, but not as many laughs as I had hoped for.

In this film, Maxwell Smart (Steve Carell) is an ace analyst for the spy agency, Control, but Max really dreams of being an agent and the Chief (Alan Arkin) gives him his chance when almost all of Control’s agents have their ID revealed. Soon Max, encouraged by Control’s sidelined superstar, Agent 23 (Dwayne Johnson), is paired with the beautiful, experienced and very reluctant Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway) to foil the nefarious plans of Kaos general, Seigfried. Seigfried is played by Terence Stamp, but look for series original Bernie Kopell in a cameo.

It seems like every action movie Hollywood puts out these days, is made with an eye to becoming a multi-movie franchise and Get Smart is no exception. Hopefully future installments will more upon past gags, go a little more slapstick and tone down the action a bit, but all in all, this isn’t a bad film and will get probably get the world’s worst secret agent a few more fans.

Director: James C. Strouse

Starring: John Cusack, Shelan O’Keefe, Gracie Bednarczyk, Alessandro Nivola

Someone answer me this. Is there a shortage of misery in the world? Do things not occur in our own lives often enough to make us sad? Do we really have to entertain ourselves by watching the saddest possible stories? Writer/director James C. Strouse must think not. Otherwise he wouldn’t sit down to write and make a film this bloody sad. The dialog is very natural and the story is too simple, seems full of dead subplots and will probably have you at least sniffling a little by the end (no surprise there, if you have seen the trailer). The performances are magnificently authentic with the young performers shining as brightly as the veteran, Cusack.

John Cusack is Stanley Philipps, whose career army wife is sent to Iraq, while he is left home to care for their daughters. Heidi (Shelan O’Keefe) is 12 and her sister, Dawn (Gracie Bednarczyk) is 8, and caring for them promises to get alot tougher when Stanley receives word that his wife has died in combat. Unable to deal with telling the girls, Stanley instead takes them on an impromptu road trip to an amusement park called Enchanted Garden, while he figures out how to break it to them.

Cusack is great, and he showcases his talent in a role that is very rare for him, here, but the story is too depressing and not interesting enough to offer much more than a dull, empty, heavy feeling by the end. Melodrama lovers might find it suitable for a nice Wednesday night cry, but I’d rather have more jokes, or more story if a movie is going to make me sad in the end.

Director: Mark Helfrich

Starring: Dane Cook, Jessica Alba, Dan Fogler, Ellia English

As a reviewer, I try to watch a movie without preconceived notions. Being a mediocre reviewer at best however, I don’t always manage this. I started watching Good Luck Chuck, expecting it to suck (note the clever rhyme). I was wrong. It didn’t suck. It was worse than that.

The story starts out silly and tries to distract the viewer with more naked boobies than Friday night at a strip club. For humor, we are treated to an unending succession of sex jokes and slapstick accidents. There are a few laughs, but as the story gets worse so does Dane Cook’s performance. Alba looks great, of course, but her role is so empty, that there is little else to say. The last half of the film plays like some kind of offensive, creepy, stalker edition of SNL, and the script has as many laughs as a restraining order. Nope. That ain’t many.

Dane Cook is Charlie Logan, a dentist looking for love with the elementary school curse of an infatuated goth girl hanging over his head. And you thought you had romance problems? This curse manifests itself by having Chuck’s relationships fail, and all of his sex partners going onto find their true love right after being with him. When this urban legend gets out, Charlie gets more pussy thrown his way than a rock star at a nympho convention. While his best friend, Stu thinks that this is roughly on a par with being a deity of some sort, Chuck is not so sure, and is even more concerned when he meets Cam, a penguin-obsessed beauty (Jessica Alba), who steals his heart. Chuck now has to avoid sex with Cam, until he can find out if the curse is real. It’s around this point that the movie goes to pieces and made me consider using the dvd as part of some kind of movie wind chime so I could get some enjoyment out of it.

Good Luck Chuck offers plenty of model-quality topless women and humor that reminds me of a kid I knew in grade seven. All of his jokes were gross, or dirty, too. The difference is that his were funny sometimes. If you enjoyed movies like The Heartbreak Kid, and I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, then this one is for you. If not, rent a playboy video for more breast views, and almost as many laughs.

Director: Davis Guggenheim

Starring: Carly Schroeder, Dermot Mulroney, Elisabeth Shue, Karl Girolama, Vasilios Mantagas, Jesse Lee Soffer,

Gracie is a mediocre 70s sports film, inspired by a true story (about co-star, Elisabeth and Andrew Shue, who co-wrote and produced here) about a girl’s struggle to make her high school soccer team, in the chauvinistic 70s when soccer was not considered a girl’s sport. The character’s actions aren’t always convincing, and some of acting could have been stronger. The story starts out weak, but does improve, but not to any kind of can’t-miss-this exalted heights.

Gracie Bowen is part of a soccer-loving family, where her older brother, Johnny (Jesse Lee Soffer) is her father’s (Dermot Mulroney) favorite, until his sudden untimely death. When Gracie says she wants to play, she gets no support; not from friends, the school, her brother’s teammates nor her own family. Eventually, of course, her father, and her mother, (Elisabeth Shue) come around and if you don’t know what happens next, then you have probably only seen twenty movies in your lifetime.

This might be a good choice for adolescent female soccer players, but even if they have seen Bend It Like Beckham, they might rather just watch that again, rather than sit through this one, which was apparently inspired by Elisabeth Shue’s own adolescent soccer experiences.

Director: Andy Fickman

Starring: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Madison Pettis, Kyra Sedgwick, Roselyn Sanchez, Morris Chestnut, Hayes MacArthur, Brian White

The wrestling Rock is back in the movie biz with this formula family film. The story is as simple as a Dr Seuss book, but more predictable. There are a couple chuckles and a couple sniffles. There is good energy, but the direction could have used more fire, particularly during the football scenes. The Rock does well in the gridiron dad role, and I think that he shows far more potential than the usual athlete/actor crossover guy. If only he could find a really good script….

Dwayne Johnson is Joe Kingman, a self-obsessed star quarterback with an ego that could nudge Donald Trump from the limelight. The Kingman’s moneyed, mad party world is tackled when an 8 year old girl (Madison Pettis), claiming to be his daughter shows up on his doorstep. The story takes a predictable line thorough cookie allergies, bedazzled footballs, and bubble bathes to the end zone, that you expected the whole time. There are some entertaining out takes during the end credits set to ’Hunk of Burning Love’that are worth watching.

The Game Plan is inoffensive light, familiar entertainment, that will probably hold most of its appeal for kids. Football-loving dads might prefer it over pony movies, but I can’t say much more than that.

Director: Denzel Washington

Starring: Denzel Washington, Nate Parker, Jurnee Smollett, Denzel Whitaker, Jermaine Williams, Forest Whitaker

Every decade or so, a film is released that brings America’s troubled past, in regard to the civil rights of all people, back into focus. We can go a long time without thinking about how whole groups of citizens have been oppressed or decimated simply because they were different and without remembering the hardship endured by entire races and civilizations that others attempted to (or succeeded) in wipe out. If you have been part of the group being oppressed or decimated, this fact is probably never far from your mind. Over time a list of movies that spill with inspiration, remorse, shame and joy, has formed. This list of stories that just had to be told, contains such unforgettable works as Shindler’s List, Mississippi Burning and, now, The Great Debaters.

Denzel Washington stars in the true story of college professor Nelson B. Tolson and is set at Wiley College in Texas, in 1935. Now I have never heard the story before so I am accepting their assertion that Wiley College had a storied debate team in 1935. Tolson’s debate team consists of 4 very talented but very different students. The first is a conflicted student named Henry Lowe who grew up in a shack down the road and has a hard time deciding what he really wants from life. The second debater is James Farmer Jr. played by Denzel Whitaker, child prodigy and son of another of Wiley’s professors, Dr. James Farmer, played by Forest Whitaker (no relation). Samantha Booke (with an “E”), played by Jurnee Smollett) is an ambitious young woman who traveled from her home town just to be the first female on the Wiley College Debate team. Hamilton Burgess (Jermaine Williams) is a charismatic joker that rounds out the team. Under Tolson’s tutelage, this motley crew takes on all comers including a few “white” colleges and along the way sees some events that cannot be unseen and learns some important life lessons that cannot be unlearned.

There are a lot of stories that are meant to be inspirational and few that actually are. There are a lot of movies that are meant to be educational and few that actually are. This movie is inspirational and educational, and it does it with passion and intelligence. The performances are amazing as is to be expected with Oscar winners Denzel Washington and Forest Whitaker on the same team. Young Denzel Whitaker (not related to either of them - I know. I’m as confused as you) is a standout in his first major role, we will likely see a lot more from him. And Denzel Washington does a great job behind the camera too, although there is one slow motion sequence that seems really out of place (trust me you will know it when you see it). He does a great job of stirring up real emotion and empathy for the characters (no Maniac not like how you felt at the end of “Bring it On 2″) If Freedom Writers, Men of Honor and the Tuskeegee Airmen were to produce an extremely exceptional offspring, The Great Debaters would be it. Go see it, it will make you a better person.

Director: Chris Weitz

Starring: Dakota Blue Richards, Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Ben Walker, Ian McKellan, Eva Green, Ian McShane, Sam Elliott, Jim Carter, Freddie Highmore

Chris Weitz, who is more familiar with comedies, (like American Pie, which he produced) wrote this screenplay from Phillip Pullman’s popular novel, and then took an unfamiliar position at the directorial helm for this imaginative and fantastically, visual epic. The story, here, feels rushed with too many characters to have any real development and many of them mechanically spill out long back stories. This throws a lot at the viewers, who, like myself, haven’t read the books. I caught some of it, but, since I didn’t give it an exam-cramming effort, all the details here didn’t quite stick. The acting is generally good, but does let down in spots, but the CGI is as impressive as any that I’ve seen.

Dakota Blue Richards is Lyra, a spirited, and imaginative, girl, who finds that she has an important role to play on the alternate universe Earth, where the story takes place. On this world, an evil power structure called the Magisterium, is kidnapping children to properly educate them to be obedient little serfs. The key to defeating this dangerous institution, is a magical, truth-revealing golden compass which Lyra is destined to use. Thus equipped, she joins with numerous allies, including Sam Elliott who is in a familiar role as some kind of old west talking, sky cowboy, and Ian McKellan as the voice of a giant, armored Ice Bear, as she travels north to find and rescue the children.

The marketing machine was in full production when they fired this one out at the Christmas rush, and plastered in our faces everywhere we look, in hopes that they would get the gift of a giant opening weekend. There’s great CGI, but the end result is a mediocre film. I still pick Stardust as the year’s best family/fantasy feature.

Director: Ben Affleck

Starring: Casey Affleck, Michelle Monaghan, Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris, John Ashton, Amy Ryan, Amy Madigan, Titus Welliver,

Ben Affleck picked up a pen and, along with first time screenwriter Aaron Stockard, turned Dennis Lehane’s novel into a screenplay. Following this, in another first, Affleck got behind the camera instead of in front of it. So does the elder Affleck, who is box office challenged as an actor, have what it takes to be a director? The answer is a definite maybe. The direction is strong in this film, but the uneven, disjointed story tries too hard to be tricky, and could have been tightened with fewer characters and a better flow. There is some good writing here, though, and Affleck does a wonderful job capturing the neighborhood atmosphere that he was seeking.

Casey Affleck is Patrick Kenzie, a P.I. who, along with his life and business partner, Angie Gennaro (Michelle Monaghan from The Heartbreak Kid), specializes in finding people who have skipped out on “jet ski payments”. The pair is surprised and unsure when Beatrice and Lionel McCready (Amy Madigan and Titus Welliver) want to hire them to augment the search for their missing four-year-old niece by reaching people in the neighborhood ‘who don‘t talk to the police’. They reluctantly agree and soon find themselves taking a part in a dark tale about a young child with a crack ho mother, who went missing from the mean streets of Boston. Police chief, Jack Doyle (Morgan Freeman) and detectives Bressant and Poole (Ed Harris and John Ashton), grudgingly accept the help. I liked the first half of this story, but thought it became weaker in the second half, before partially redeeming itself with a haunting finish, that will draw out different opinions.

Gone Baby Gone tries to take a gritty Chinatown-style mystery and put it in a rough area of Boston. Some the of the story is engaging and some of the characters are interesting, but the story simply needed more development. There is potential here, and I just hope that Ben Affleck lets someone else handle the writing next time, and focus his own efforts on his directing, which shows alot of promise.

Director: Garry Marshall

Starring: Lindsay Lohan, Jane Fonda, Felicity Huffman, Dermot Mulroney, Garrett Hedlund, Carey Elwes.

How, I struggle for my craft! Besides being the only male in the theater for this one, I’m sure that I was about half the median age (never thought I’d ever use that Math term in normal conversation) of the other viewers. Still can’t complain, I guess. I got phone numbers. Okay, enough with the jokes! The movie is a pretty solid drama that kinda plays like Pleasantville meets Fried Green Tomatoes. I believe that this is the movie that required Ms. Lohan to receive a letter reminding her to show up on time for work and not suffering from the latent effects of alcohol poisoning. The letter was leaked (surprise, surprise) and smeared Lindsay’s already tarnished public image. That’s a shame, because she does a very good job playing a spoiled, sexually aggressive, and very confused, teenager. How hard of an acting job was that for her? Ok, ok, now, I’m done with the jokes! She holds her own alongside far more seasoned performers. Mulroney, Elwes and Fonda are very good, while Huffman and Hedlund struggled to keep up with the fast company here. The story is good and not as predictable as these films usually are.

Lindsay Lohan is Rachael, a temperamental, rich LA teenager sent by her struggling mother (Huffman) to a primarily Mormon town to stay with her estranged and rigid grandmother/drill sergeant, Georgia, played by Fonda. The interplay between these two personalities would be a story in itself, and that is actually what I had expected. Instead, there are all kinds of family and personal issues for Rachael to figure out and one big question that everyone needs settled. Plus, all these darn men just keep getting in the way. There is actually too much story here and forces director, Marshall to come to quick and superficial solutions, even compared to other dramas of this type. I guess it was either that or turn it into a trilogy and we all know how much Hollywood hates to do that.

Drama fans and bonding women looking to share popcorn and a tissue will enjoy this one (though you will probably not need the tissue), while most men would probably rather wait in the car.