Review: Prince of Persia All Swash, No Buckle

Andrew Cooper; SMPSP/Disney Enterprises and Jerry BruckheimerB-Review in a Hurry: A video game-turned-summer-movie (and soon a theme-park ride, no doubt), this adequately entertaining popcorn pic pits the titular prince (Jake Gyllenhaal) against a villain in pursuit of a mystical, time-reversing dagger. PoPpacks in eye-popping action but could've used a little more swash in its buckle.The Bigger Picture: Prince of Hollywood Jerry Bruckheimer tries to boot-y up another Pirates-like franchise with this sword-and-sandals fantasy. The high-octane adventure and high body count should please enough fans to nudge the flick toward blockbuster status,...

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Review: Sex and the City 2 Not Sexy, Not in the City, Not Good

Craig Blankenhorn/MMIX New Line Productions, Inc.C+Review in a Hurry: The girls are back in an overseas romp in Abu Dhabi, where sexy behavior is verboten. So Sex and the City 2 has very little sex, and not a lot of city. Bad move.The Bigger Picture: Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), Samantha (Kim Cattrall), Charlotte (Kristin Davis) and Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) are back in action, two years after the first movie took place. Carrie is still married to Big (Chris Noth); settled into wedded bliss, he wants to hang out on the couch more than paint the town red, leaving her longing for the "sparkle" of the good-old days.The movie's missing a lot of sparkle,...

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MacGruber: Kind of a Bomb, Kind of the Bomb

Universal PicturesC+Review in a Hurry: Saturday Night Live's micro skit about the world's worst bomb specialist arrives on the big screen. But you'll have to wait until the final reel for the real explosive gags.The Bigger Picture: Whether or not Will Forte's man-of-action MacGruber was ever gonna work as a full-length feature, one has to credit the not-ready-for-prime-time player for even attempting it.As a quick 90-second tease, the mullet-sporting hero was never really much of a character to begin with, but merely a one-note joke about '80s TV icon MacGyver. He was overconfident to the extreme and failed spectacularly. And Forte, with his...

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Review: Shrek Forever After a (Sorta) Happy Ending

Paramount PicturesB-Review in a Hurry: A surprisingly good story and mediocre jokes land this franchise finale somewhere between Shrek 2 and Shrek the Third.The Bigger Picture: Now a father and husband, grumpy green ogre Shrek (Mike Myers) is finding domestic bliss with Fiona (Cameron Diaz) and their triplets to be a little...dull. What happened to the good old days when people were afraid of him and his swamp was his own?Sensing Shrek's restlessness, con man Rumplestiltskin (Walt Dohrn) tricks him into signing up for a dream day in which Shrek can relive his old glory. But the results are a world turned on its head, in which Rumple is the tyrannical...

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Review: Letters to Juliet a Sweet, Scenic Snoozefest

Summit EntertainmentC+Review in a Hurry: Scenic, sweet and a bit of a snore, Juliet is ostensibly about the thrill of true love, but lacks the racing pulse of fiery passion.The Bigger Picture: While sightseeing at the supposed home of Shakespeare's Juliet, Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) finds herself in the middle of an old love story. Claire (Vanessa Redgrave) left her lover Lorenzo in the dust 50 years ago, and her tortured letter to Juliet—one of many left at the Casa Di Giulietta in Verona, Italy—almost literally falls into Sophie's lap, as tends to happen in these movies. Soon, Sophie, Claire, and grumpy grandson Charlie (Christopher Egan) hit...

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Review: Robin Hood Misses a Whole Lot of Targets

David Appleby/Universal StudiosC+Review in a Hurry: A rather pointless update of the (theoretically) timeless tale.Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe's latest pairing is not without its pleasures, but fails to deliver the action you might expect.The Bigger Picture: A country in massive debt because the last ruler invested heavily in foreign wars. Aggrieved peasants who dislike the fact that the new guy wants to tax them. Gee, Ridley Scott, could you have been a little more obvious in your attempts to make Robin Hood more "contemporary"?On the plus side, by tweaking the narrative, Scott does away with all the tropes you've seen before. King Richard...

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Review: Just Wright Is Just OK

Fox SearchlightCReview in a Hurry: This basketball-themed rom-com shoots but never quite scores.Queen Latifah stars as a physical therapist who totally crushes on an NBA All-Star player while helping him recuperate from a crushed knee. Unlike the real NBA, Just Wright has no Magic or Heat.The Bigger Picture: Romantic comedies offer few surprises—you're rarely left Up in the Air about which two beautiful people will end up together. And while Wright stays all-too-safely within the boundaries of the genre, what is surprising is how many times this love-game movie drops the ball before the final buzzer.Latifah always exudes warmth and charm onscreen,...

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Review: Iron Man 2 Just Like a Giant-Size Comic Book

Francois Duhamel/Paramount PicturesA-Review in a Hurry: It may not pack the same surprise as the first one, but with a half-dozen major characters and subplots, this sequel feels like an actual Marvel comic set in a superheroic universe.The Bigger Picture: It worked pretty well for Spider-Man's second big-screen outing, so now Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.) also gets to face a villain with extended mechanical appendages—Mickey Rourke's Whiplash, who comes across like Doctor Octopus as played by Viggo Mortensen in Eastern Promises.And it's ironic: Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, might just have the most believable personality of any onscreen superhero—unlike,...

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Review: Babies Is Surprising, Adorable and Not All Judgey—Just Like Real Babies!

Focus FeaturesBReview in a Hurry: It isn't for everybody, but this documentary about four newborns from far corners of the Earth does a terrific job of illustrating just how diverse an infant's first year can be.The Bigger Picture: Everybody loves babies, as the marketing for this flick trumpets. And it's generally true, of course, but often we can forget what's actually so interesting about infants: their development.How does a baby decide whether she likes a certain food? How does a baby react when he first discovers his feet—and realizes he can't reach them? Does a baby know she can dance?Throw in the wildly diverse—and often surprising—ways...

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Review: Nightmare on Elm Street—Now With More Ick

Photo Courtesy of New Line CinemaB+Review in a Hurry: It's been seven years since the original fedora'd and finger-knived Freddy Krueger, played by Robert Englund, got decapitated by Jason Voorhees. But you can't keep a dapper dream-demon down. So here he is in a new incarnation, with Jackie Earle Haley making the character ickier and pervier than before; the story's a bit slavishly faithful, but overall, it's a worthy Freddy follow-up.The Bigger Picture: It's unlikely that anyone old enough to be interested in this movie doesn't already know the story almost beat by beat. Teens are dying in their sleep after a series of bad dreams, and those...

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Jack Nicholson Will Wave Green Flag At The Indianapolis 500

According to sources the 73 year old Jack Nicholson will be the one behind the green flag at the Indianapolis 500 this year waving the start of the beginning of the race. This is a man that has grown to be a Hollywood icon and actor for a couple of decades at least.Jack Nicholson has been acting for years and has won three academy awards and he has also starred in movies like “ A Few Good Men” and “Terms Of Endearment.” He is one actor that many of the actors that are just getting into the Hollywood experience look up to and are inspired by. He has done several movies and even appeared in a few television sitcoms. He won’t turn down giving an...

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Gary Coleman In Critical Condition After Fall In Home

According to sources the child star Gary Coleman fell at his house and now has a head injury. There aren’t many details other than that he is in critical condition in a Utah Hospital.The former Different Strokes star’s brother in law stated that he fell and when he did struck his head. He was admitted to the hospital yesterday after being transported from his Utah home at in the early afternoon. Coleman pleaded guilty to charges against him for domestic violence with his wife Shannon in April of 2009. He was ordered to take a domestic violence course and pay a fine. There was nothing else reported about this case after that. Coleman completed...

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The Easy A Movie

This is a movie that will be released in September of 2010. It is being released by Screen Gems. The rating for this movie however, has not been released as of yet. And yet, the movie is starring Emma Stone. The director is hoping the Easy A movie will go well at theaters. The movie is a comedy drama so it will be one of those movies that will essentially keep you captivated throughout the entire movie.The Easy A movie is about a girl who tells a little white fib about her virginity. Claiming she is not a virgin any longer. She is clean cut and a high school girl that wants to fit in however as time goes on she will learn that an easy A could...

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Mass Effect Is Coming To Big Screen

According to sources Legendary pictures has plans to develop the popular video game Mass Effect into a movie to be a feature film. They have been successful in many different movies and decided that it would be a good to turn Mass Effect video game into a movie too.From Clash of the Titans to The Dark Knight they have been successful as a franchise and now its time for a new project. The production of the movie date hasn’t been set as of yet, however the producers have been getting the screenwriter and director all together for discussions of their new production project. Everyone on the team seems to be excited about this one due to the nature...

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The Saw VII Movie In 3D

The Saw VII Movie 3D is going to be released in October of 2010. It is a horror and thriller movie and is rated R. It is being released by Lionsgate. A movie about nothing but being scared and terrified. You will be on the edge of your seat in fear when you go to view this movie in theaters.There are the other Saw movies before this one and each one though a bit alike have different things going on in them. However, this one is going to be in 3D. The director of the other Saw movies from the second, third and fourth films will also direct the seventh movie too. The movies show horrific scenes of terrifying experiences and some people are scared...

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Life During Wartime Movie

The Life During Wartime Movie is going to be released in July of 2010. It is being released by IFC Films. The rating for this movie has not been released yet. It is a comedy, and a drama. With an all star cast and members. The director is hoping it goes over well in theaters and box offices.This is a comedy about family and the background of war. It features literally an ensembled cast. The movie use elements by the director’s movie Happiness in a project, he will use as part sequel and part variation.Although there isn’t a lot about this movie out as of yet, everyone knows how difficult war time can be and those who are left at home while loved...

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Shrek Forever After Big Green Success

Shrek was released on the 21st of May and it is a huge success. With its all star cast, Shrek Forever After is on top at the box offices. It is rated PG and people who have seen it once have even gone to see it again. Its just that good.In reviews it got seven out of ten so that let’s you know it’s a hit too. The director is thrilled that it has gone over so well at the theaters. And hope it continues. More people have gone to see Shrek Forever After than many of the other movies that are now playing as well.Shrek is feeling as if he has lost his roar, and in the fourth installment of this movie it is in 3D. His roar used to send villagers running...

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The Betty Anne Waters Movie

This is a movie that will be released October 15,2010. It is being released by Fox Searchlight Pictures. The rating for this movie is R. It has an all star cast and members that make it a good drama.It is about a mother trying to make it on her own. She made it through law school without any help at all. However the reason she did this was to help her brother. He was put into prison and he is innocent. He was convicted of murder. It is the true story of a girl who dropped out but would not give up on the idea of freeing her brother knowing he had been framed somehow. So in the midst of raising her own children and waiting tables, she got her...

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