The Movie Snob sounds off:

Have a touch of the existential blues? There are some films in current release that are just what the doctor ordered for people in our condition....

I Heart Huckabees (B). An impressive cast comes together for this philosophical comedy. The main character is a deadly earnest young fellow named Albert (Jason Schwartzman) who works for something called the Open Spaces Coalition or some such thing; his passion is the defense of undeveloped woods and marshes; and his current enemy is a mushrooming chain of department stores called Huckabees. But Albert is having a philosophical breakdown, proximately caused by his multiple coincidental encounters with the same Sudanese refugee, but encompassing the eternal questions about the meaningfulness/meaninglessness of life, the universe, and everything. More pressingly, he is getting squeezed out of his own organization by a smooth-talking Huckabees man named Brad (Jude Law). Albert turns to Bernard (Dustin Hoffman) and Vivian (Lily Tomlin), who are self-styled "existentialist detectives," and they assure him that everything is connected and meaningful. They introduce him to fellow searcher Tommy (Mark Wahlberg), a firefighter who is convinced that everything involving the use of petroleum is tainted with evil. Tommy and Albert are then beset by a mysterious Frenchwoman, Caterine (Isabelle Huppert), a former associate of Bernard and Vivian who now preaches that the universe is actually blind, cruel, and chaotic. Trying to figure out what Albert is up to, Brad goes to the existentialist detectives himself, with consequences that threaten to upset the equilibrium of his relationship with live-in girlfriend and Huckabees model Dawn (Naomi Watts). Not surprisingly, there are few philosophical answers on offer, and the possible existence of theological ones is not even considered. But the cast digs into the late-night-college-dorm-sounding script with gusto, and there are some laughs along the way. And Naomi Watts is always pleasant to watch.

What the #$*! Do We Know!? (B-). This is a very odd, very independent little movie that’s really two movies in one. The more important seeming part is more or less a documentary--a bunch of short clips featuring a bunch of talking heads, mostly doctors and physicists. They try to explain, in lay terms, the state-of-the-art thinking in two fields: the bizarre world of quantum physics, and the more fathomable but amazingly complex world of cellular biology and biochemistry. (Interestingly, genetics is left completely alone.) Their ruminations are frequently illustrated with cool animated effects. The other, less successful part of the movie is a series of vignettes about a depressed photographer named Amanda (Marlee Matlin), whose life more or less embodies whatever topic the talking heads are discussing at the moment. It’s an interesting film, and the weight of the "scientific" opinion surveyed in the movie definitely seems to side with the view that there is an underlying unity and connectedness to the universe. But the moral implications of their theorizing are murky, and a couple of the talking heads seem to want to jettison talk about right and wrong, good and evil, altogether. What is supposed to replace them, I’m not sure. The theological implications of their speculation are equally nebulous. A few of the heads clearly express belief in some sort of God or at least godlike rational substructure to reality, but no one has any kind words for religion or traditional views of God. Like Huckabees, the movie is long on questions and short on answers. Maybe they’ll get to the answers in the sequel, probably called something like Not a Whole %&@! of a Lot.

From The Movie Snob:

Wimbledon (B-). Who says The Movie Snob doesn’t do mainstream? Although I gather that this mainstream production sank beneath the waves of the stream like a stone, I thought it wasn’t half bad. Paul Bettany, recently seen in Dogville and Master and Commander, plays Peter Colt, an Englishman and a professional tennis player on the verge of retirement to the life of a club pro at the age of 32. Kirsten Dunst plays an up and coming American tennis star whose name escapes me. They are both playing at Wimbledon, they meet cute, they like each other, obstacles present themselves, the typical romantic-comedy routine. The twist is that Colt, who was supposed to lose rather promptly, starts winning match after match after taking up with the plucky young American. As romantic comedies go, this one was decent; there were some honest laughs, and Bettany and Dunst have some chemistry. Although it must be said that there is a slight ick factor at work sometimes, since Bettany looks every bit of 32, and I don’t know how old Dunst is but her character gives the impression of being 19 or 20. Worth a look, if this is the sort of thing you go for.

Stage review from The Movie Snob:

No movies this weekend, but I did see the Plano Repertory Theater's production of Lerner & Lowe's Camelot. It was new to me, and I quite enjoyed this musical retelling of the story of King Arthur and the knights of the round table. It starts with Arthur and Guenevere meeting cute in the forest -- although they are engaged, as a means to ending or avoiding a war of some sort, they've never met, they are both quite scared at the prospect of marriage and are tempted to run away. But they fall in love soon enough, and Camelot is born. Then Lancelot, the greatest knight of all, comes onto the scene (with a great song, "C'est moi," that is reminiscent of Gaston's theme song from Beauty and the Beast). His fast friendship with Arthur is soon troubled by his passionate (and requited) love for Guenevere. The performances were fine (especially Arthur's), the songs are catchy, and the story is timeless. Definitely worth the price of admission.

New from The Movie Snob:

Zelary (B). This review may contain some spoilers, but I doubt many Courtwatchers will be running out to see this 2 1/2 hour Czecheslovakian import (and best-foreign-film Oscar nominee). The movie opens in 1943, in some big city in Czecheslovakia. Eliska, a lovely young nurse, is dating a doctor named Richard; both are involved in the resistance against the Nazis. One night they save the life of an injured peasant named Joza, who has been rushed in from the countryside after a terrible accident. Shortly thereafter, Richard suddenly disappears, and Elsika is told that she must flee into the countryside immediately to avoid certain death at the hands of the Gestapo. Renamed Hana, she is sent to the village of Zelary where she is quickly married off to unpolished but gentle and kind Joza to complete her cover story. At first the shock of the change almost overwhelms her, but over the next two years she adapts to her new life and even comes to love her husband and the simple village folk. Encounters with Nazis, the village's violent drunk, and the "liberating" Soviet army provide moments of suspense and even graphic violence that make the movie inappropriate for children. All in all, a bit predictable, a bit sentimental, but still an enjoyable movie.

A DVD review from That Guy Named David:

The Whole Ten Yards (C-)

I'm a firm believer that if you spent the time to watch a movie that is decent and there is a sequel, you ought to give the sequel a chance. However, after seeing this dud, I'm thinking of amending this belief. This movie would have been a D had it not starred the incredibly gorgeous Amanda Peet. Ridiculous plot and really, really bad acting (mostly by Bruce Willis and Matthew Perry). And speaking of Matthew Perry, I'm also now a believer that he has one role (Chandler Bing) and it has gotten very old. Overall, just a bad movie, but at least I got to look at Amanda Peet for a couple of hours.

From the desk of The Movie Snob.

Vanity Fair (B-). I never read the novel on which this movie was based, so I can't compare the two. I hear that the movie makers made a bunch of changes, so English majors beware. Anyhoo, the setting is England in the Napoleonic era, and Reese Witherspoon is Becky Sharp, a young woman born without status or wealth. She is determined to acquire both, spawning the two major conflicts in the film. Will she be crushed by the formidable forces of aristocracy deployed against her? What (and whom) is she willing to sacrifice to achieve acceptance by society? (In one memorable quip, another character remarks of her that she is no social climber -- she's a mountaineer.) If you like period pieces, and you are willing to overlook a few wrong notes here and there, you'll like this flick. Also features Romola Garai, who was so excellent in last year's I Capture the Castle, and a nice performance by tall, gangly Rhys Ifans of Notting Hill.

From Nick at Nite:

Shaun of the Dead and Resident Evil 2: Apocalypse

How many Zombie movies can a guy see in one weekend? Three. I saw Shaun of the Dead on Friday night. Stumbled into a late showing of the Resident Evil sequel, came home and watched some of 28 Days Later. I appreciate all three of these movies for very different reasons. Shaun of the Dead is funny. I won't retread the entire plot line here, as the Movie Snob has already done that in his review, but for fans of the Zombie genre this movie pays homage to all of the great Zombie movies of the past. Favorite two moments, a character is disemboweled just like in George Romero's classic and at the end of the movie a newscaster says the infection was not caused by monkeys - as was the case in 28 Days Later. Shaun of the Dead was an original idea that made me laugh for 45 minutes. That is an "A" every time. Resident Evil 2: Apocalypse left exactly where the last movie ended. The residents of Raccoon City are quickly becoming infected with the very bad T Virus. The T Virus turns everyone into Zombies. It is up to a small group of survivors to make their way out of town and expose the evil Umbrella Corporation. Fortunately, the small group of survivors includes two extremely beautiful women. This movie has a ton of gun play, little humor, and tons of action. I give it a "B," but only because I am trying to encourage the making of future Zombie films. I believe I gave 28 Days Later an "A" in an earlier review. My grade remains the same. It is an original, scary movie. It is highbrow, evidenced by the fact that I saw it at the Magnolia.

From The Movie Snob:

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (B-). I was a mere lad when the Age of Special Effects was inaugurated by a little movie called Star Wars. (Excuse me, I mean Episode IV: A New Hope.) I can remember some movie reviewer’s embarrassing himself back in those days by considering whether a movie could succeed solely on the strength of its special effects and answering "yes" based on the seemingly contrary evidence of Disney’s Tron. At the risk of similarly embarrassing myself, I’ll cautiously venture that the FX actually do justify the existence of Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. As you may have read, this movie was shot entirely against blue screens, so that virtually everything, except the actors and a few foreground props, is entirely computer-generated. I thought the movie looked great, and there is a plot of sorts as intrepid pilot Joe Sullivan (Jude Law) and intrepid reporter Polly Perkins (Gwyneth Paltrow) team up to fight a mysterious villain who periodically unleashes unstoppable giant robots on the world’s major cities. The script, unfortunately, seems to have been computer-generated as well, so the movie’s charms are entirely visual. You’ve been warned.

New from The Movie Snob.

Shaun of the Dead (B). I had seen plenty of good reviews of this British "zombie romantic comedy," so I was expecting greatness. And for almost an hour, the movie delivered. Shaun is a 29-year-old slacker with a dead-end job, a monstrous slob of a best friend, and a peach of a girlfriend who is about ready to kick him to the curb for his refusal to grow up. To top things off, some sort of virus or something is turning the population of London into zombies — mindless, shambling, flesh-eating ghouls. But Shaun is so lost in his troubles that it takes him quite a while to notice this little problem, which is the source of much hilarity in the early going. Eventually, however, the zombies start to outnumber the normals, and Shaun has to shuck his slackerhood in order to don the mantle of heroism. Unfortunately, after this point I thought the movie quickly lost steam and, indeed, virtually ground to a halt. Still, I laughed so hard and so often in the early going that I have to give it a good grade. Check it out.

Friday Night Lights (A-). I’m really not much of a sports fan, but I generally enjoy movies about sports (Remember the Titans, The Bad News Bears, Necessary Roughness). I thought this flick was excellent. Based on a true story, this movie follows a legendary Texas high school football team (the Odessa-Permian Panthers) through a single season, from beginning to end. Billy Bob Thornton does a fine job as the head coach, and country singer Tim McGraw is surprisingly good as the scary, often-drunk former star who tries to relive his glory days by pushing and goading his running back son to the breaking point. The young actors playing the football players are also uniformly good. And the director does a great job of capturing the town’s obsession with its football team through lots of concrete details — shots contrasting the desolate flatness of the West Texas oil country with the huge football stadium, snippets of chatter on local talk radio, barely concealed threats from the team’s boosters as they purport to express their confidence in the coach. If you like football in the least, I’ll guarantee that you’ll like this movie.

DVD review from The Movie Snob

The Simpsons - Season 4 (A-). When The Simpsons was at its creative zenith several years ago, I was among its biggest fans. Season 4 is the latest installment of the series to be released on DVD, and it is the first one that I have actually watched (despite having owned the first three seasons for a while now). Maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised if and when I get around to watching the earlier seasons, but my hunch is that Season 4 is when the show really hit its stride. Just a few highlights:

A Streetcar Named Marge. Marge is Blanche DuBois in a local musical version of A Streetcar Named Desire. Jon Lovitz guests as tyrannical director Llewellyn Sinclair. Maggie is temporarily placed in the Ayn Rand Day Care Center, where signs proclaim "A=A" and "Helping is useless." Sublime.

Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie. Homer is convinced that Bart could become chief justice of the Supreme Court if he disciplines him properly. Unfortunately for Bart, this means getting grounded from seeing the phenomenally popular Itchy & Scratchy movie.

Mr. Plow. A classic. Homer buys a snow plow and starts a successful plowing business - until his best friend Barney muscles in on his action. Features the memorable jingle: "Call Mr. Plow/That's my name/That name again/Is Mr. Plow."

Last Exit to Springfield. Mr. Burns tries to take away his employees' dental plan at the exact time the Simpsons find out that Lisa needs braces. So Homer becomes the union leader, cluelessly handles negotiations with the evil Burns, and instigates a strike. Probably one of the greatest episodes of all time.

The Halloween episode is great too.

DVD review from That Guy Named David:


Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (B+)

After watching this movie for about 20 minutes, I was tempted to turn it off. I thought that the cast (and specifically, Jim Carrey) was trying way too hard to make the movie into some weird, "look at me, I can act very odd and keep plodding through with no plot" kind of movie. It reminded me a little of Mulholland Drive, without the scenes that make Mulholland Drive worth watching. Well, I think my problem was that I had read nothing about the movie and once I got an idea of what was going on, I realized that I should be patient and give the movie a chance to develop. In retrospect, I'm glad that I did. Once it all clicked (which for my dense brain, occurred about 30 minutes into the movie), I thought the movie was extremely well-done and the acting was superb. Even the ending was a nice touch, which I was a little worried about once I began to enjoy the movie. Anyway, it's a definite renter. I may even buy it eventually. I'm becoming a big fan of those "Focus Features" (Lost in Translation, The Pianist, Being John Malkovich, Wet Hot American Summer, etc.).

From The Movie Snob:

Primer (D). This film's claim to fame is that it was made by a guy in Richardson, TX for $7,000 -- and then went on to win some big prize at the Sundance Film Festival. I don't know what those Festival-goers were smoking, but I was not impressed. I guess it's supposed to be a sort of psychological suspense story with a science-fiction edge to it, as these two completely ordinary guys stumble on this amazing discovery while working on a bunch of electronic gizmos in one guy's garage. It has the promise to make all their dreams come true, but will they be able to overcome their human weaknesses long enough to capitalize on it? At least, I think that's the point of the movie; the story is told in such a disjointed fashion that by the end of the 78-minute run time, I was completely confused as to what had happened and what they had done. I read a review by a guy who saw the movie three times, and he said that it made more sense each time. Personally, I'd rather go back and rent a better movie on the same theme -- like My Science Project or Weird Science.

From Nick at Nite:

Man on Fire - I am not sure why this movie is called "Man on Fire." Only one character is actually set on fire. It should be called "Man chopping off or blowing off people's fingers and hands" - the reason for the name change should be obvious. This an extremely good movie. I am not just saying that because I crave violence. Basic premise, someone is kidnapped in Mexico every 12 hours, Denzel Washington is hired as a bodyguard, he is aloof and guarded, he falls for cute kid, cute kid is kidnapped, Denzel Washington is pissed, he must kill people. Sounds simple? It is. Still it works very well. I give this movie an "A."

From the desk of The Movie Snob:

Last night I took in a performance by the Irving Symphony Orchestra at the Carpenter Performance Hall in the Irving Arts Center, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I’ll admit to being a tad apprehensive—would the ensemble include jugs, washboards, and spoons? But I had no cause for concern. The orchestra was polished and professional, and the Hall was a very nice facility. It was the opening concert for the 2004-2005 season, and the theme for the year is "Let’s Tour the World." This concert was devoted to American composers, and it focused unabashedly on popular music, including several pieces adapted from Broadway musicals, as well as big band and Duke Ellington medleys. The evening wrapped up with a "Star Wars Symphonic Suite," which certainly suited my taste. I’ll be watching for the next concert, entitled "The Great European Tradition," on November 13. If you live in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, I encourage you to consider checking out the ISO.

The Movie Court has just recorded its 5,000th visit! The justices would like to thank their loyal readers for their ongoing support. If anyone can think of a way that we could make some money off of this, please let us know.

View from Mars:

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (C+) I went to see the "gimmick" that is Sky Captain with an open mind and I must admit I was a little disappointed. OK, I get the whole 1930's, 40's retro angle with the sepia/technicolor look, but what about story? At times, I can appreciate the grandeur that is becoming CGI infested movies, but when 95% of your whole movie is shot against bluescreen, it can become a little too much. Jude Law plays the titular character and Gwyneth Paltrow plays the Lois Lane/Katherine Hepburn female lead, Polly Perkins. They are more or less literally called upon to save the world and your action ensues from there. This is an escapist movie that lacked in story appeal. The one high in this movie, was the interaction between Law and Paltrow in their rendition of His Girl Friday, but this is probably due more to their acting talents than what they are given in this story. It does receive points for its uniqueness in style, but I hope this does not become the mainstream and instead is just another trendy Hollywood fad that will fade away soon.

From the Movie Snob:

Sacred Planet (B). The Snob went home to visit his parents in North Little Rock, Arkansas, this weekend, so that meant one thing — a trip to the Arkansas Air and Space Museum, home of Arkansas’s only IMAX theater. On Friday nights, the AASM offers a special deal: movie, popcorn, and coke for only $5! So I dragged the parents out there for this flick. It’s a pretty standard Greenpeace kind of affair. On the plus side, the cinematography was perhaps the best I have ever seen in a film of this type. There were countless shots that were truly breathtaking. Some of the ones that come to mind include Bryce Canyon, sequoia forests and glaciers in the Pacific Northwest, and ancient Buddhas in the jungles of Thailand. But the disconnect between the narration, by Robert Redford, and the images was so ridiculous as to be laughable. The narration warned that there are only a few "traditional" cultures left in the entire world in which human beings really live in harmony with Mother Earth, and to underscore the point the moviemakers occasionally interject a sped-up shot of some busy highway or street corner to show how alienated our urban cultures are from nature. But then you see the actual people living in these "traditional" cultures, like tribal peoples living on the African savannah or paddling little canoes on muddy jungle streams in Borneo, and you (or at least I) think, "If you think I’m trading my air conditioning, DVD player, Honda Accord, modern medicine, and sanitary food and water to get back to nature like that, you’re crazy!" See the movie for a gorgeous views, and ignore the crackpot commentary.