Oh, how far has Harrison Ford fallen? Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was supposed to resurrect his career, but instead it just seemed to reaffirm people’s suspicions that he is a bit of a has-been, a man whose best movies are behind him. Personally, I believe he still has a few good years left in him, but Crossing Over does little to back up my position.

In Crossing Over, Ford is but one of an ensemble cast that includes the likes of Ray Liotta, Ashley Judd, Jim Sturgess (Across the Universe) and Summer Bishil (Towelhead), among others. I like the idea of Ford playing a smaller role, as going the supporting route allows actors to reestablish credibility and play characters he or she might otherwise not get to play. However, if you’re going to do an ensemble part, at least play a character that is at least marginally interesting.

Read the rest of my Crossing Over movie review.

Confessions of a Shopaholic comes to DVD next Tuesday, June 23, 2009. The movie is a hate it or dislike it kind of movie, not particularly terrible as it is, ultimately, unoriginal and cliche. Those that did like the film will find little to enjoy on the DVD, as the picture contains an embarassingly small amount of special features – a couple of deleted scenes, bloopers and a music vivdeo. The second disc merely contains a digital copy, but I can’t imagine too many people are tripping over themselves to put this on their iPod.

As for the movie itself, read on to see not one, but two movie reviews for the romantic comedy.

Somewhere I sense that George W. Bush is giggling somewhere, because while we have to pay for his sins, we also have to pay for Hollywood’s unoriginality. Word has it that Donnie Darko 3 may be in the works, and that puts the “franchise” now at two unnecessary sequels. (more…)

When I think about guys who have comeback potential, I think Harrison Ford or Kevin Costner. I’d never even considered that Jean-Claude Van Damme was capable of such a designation, but here is JCVD, a self-satirical crime drama-thriller that defies genre and is actually pretty good. Yes, a pretty good Jean-Claude Van Damme movie. When was the last time you could say that?

Read the rest of my JCVD movie review.

A movie that received little fanfare when it was released earlier this year, Fired Up looked like a cliché teen comedy in almost every way. A rip-off of Bring It On most people assumed. And yet, Fired Up is a surprisingly funny comedy that is a lot like Bring It On, except that it is told from the perspective of two horny guys who show up at cheerleader camp to get girls.

Read the rest of my Fired Up movie review.

Sam Raimi returns to the genre that put him on the map thirty years ago: the horror genre. Though now best known as the director of the Spider-Man trilogy, he has a special place in horror aficionado’s hearts for the dark-but-funny Evil Dead trilogy. And now, we get Drag Me to Hell, a hilarious throwback to the horror films of yesteryear.

Drag Me to Hell stars Alison Lohman as Christine Brown, a loan manager at a California bank, who, trying to cement a promotion to assistant manager, decides to make the tough call and deny an old gypsy woman another extension on her mortgage payment. In a fit of rage, the woman curses Christine, effectively damning her to Hell. Over the next three days, Christine begins to see and hear things and realizes she needs to do something in a hurry to avoid an unimaginable fate.

Read the rest of the Drag Me to Hell movie review.

The Hangover repeated its dominance at the box office this weekend, taking in another $33.4 million; the R-rated comedy is now on pace to rake in approximately $175 million, against a budget of $25-$35 million. The people behind Land of the Lost (biggest flop of the year?) and Terminator Salvation are shaking their heads in shame.

Up earned another $30 million, while The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 debuted in third with an okay $25 million. Eddie Murphy’s Imagine That fell flat with only $5.7 million. (more…)

Watch the funny new teaser trailer for Michael Moore’s upcoming documentary. The movie’s title has yet to be announced, but it is about the economic bailouts to the country’s financial institutions, and, presumably, the economic situation in general. Watch the teaser trailer now: (more…)

Alan Rickman, Bryan Greenberg, Shawn Hatosy, Mary Steenburgen, Bill Pulman, Eliza Dushku and Danny DeVito star in the edgy crime thriller Nobel Son, a surprisingly effective and twisting movie.

In Nobel Son, Rickman plays an obnoxiously cocky professor who has just been selected to receive the Nobel Prize. On the eve of the award ceremony, however, his son (Greenberg) is kidnapped and held for ransom by a young man with a grudge (Hatosy). But even after the ransom is paid and the son released, the con continues to play out.

Read the rest of the Nobel Son movie review.

Moon, Duncan Jones’ directorial feature, is a rare sci-fi film in the vein of 2001: A Space Odyssey, Outland and Silent Running.  With an almost throwback, vintage set design and visuals, Moon chooses to focus almost entirely on the psychological aspects of living in space alone.  Sam Rockwell, perhaps one of only a few current actors who could play the lead role(s), excels as an employee on a three-year mission to man a power plant on the Moon.  At times on the verge of death and other times at the peak of physicality (often both in the same scene), Rockwell appears to be one of the few remaining method actors.  When he looks close to death, you believe it.

Read the rest of the Moon movie review.