 Rating: 2 out of 5 starsGenre: DreamWorks Animation, Comedy, Action/Adventure
Opens locally Thursday, May 26th, 2011 Run Time: 1 hour 30 minutes, Rated PG Starring (voice talent): Jack Black, Gary Oldman, Seth Rogen, Jackie Chan, Dustin Hoffman, David Cross, Lucy Liu, Jean-Claude Van Damme Directed by Jennifer Yuh (directorial debut) I must admit that I never saw the first Kung Fu Panda, not on purpose, but I guess I just never got around to seeing it. From what I hear it was pretty funny and obviously successful as it spawned this sequel, with plans of having it be part of a 6-movie Kung Fu Panda saga (no joke) over the next several years. So without drawing comparisons to the first film, this 2nd installment in the Kung Fu Panda series is just a ho-hum run-of-the-mill animated feature. I'm sure it will be enjoyable for the kids, but it lacks originality and possesses no magic like that found in any Pixar film, or other great recent animated features like Disney's Tangled.
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 Rating: 4 out of 5 starsGenre: Drama
Opens locally Friday, May 20th, 2011 Run Time: 1 hour 31 minutes, Rated PG-13 Starring: Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster, Anton Yelchin, Jennifer Lawrence Directed by Jodie Foster (Home for the Holidays, Little Man Tate) The absurdity of the premise - a man so depressed that he communicates through a hand puppet - makes you think that "The Beaver" would be remarkably difficult to take seriously. Add to it that this man is played by Mel Gibson, more famous in the past few years for his off-screen performances (accusations of homophobia, antisemitism, and racism to name a few) than his on-screen. But forget Gibson's recent troubles. Under the tender direction of Jodie Foster, "The Beaver" is a sad and very real movie that says more about human emotion than you would first think.  Rating: 1 out of 5 starsGenre: Comedy
Opens locally Thursday, May 26th, 2011 Run Time: 1 hour 42 minutes, Rated R Starring: Ed Helms, Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, Ken Jeong Directed by Todd Phillips (Due Date, The Hangover, Old School) It happened....again. And if you can believe that premise, you'll be good to go with "The Hangover Part II." It kind of defeats the purpose to try to recommend, or not recommend, you go see a certain film...chances are this review isn't going to sway your opinion one way or another. In fact, I'm quite certain that "The Hangover Part II" will be a big hit and make lots of money, sadly inspiring a 3rd film in the franchise. But as a huge fan of the first film, I've got to say...what a massive let down.  Rating: 4 out of 5 starsGenre: Drama
Opens locally Friday, May 13th, 2011 Run Time: 1 hour 37 minutes, Rated R Starring: Will Ferrell, Christopher Jordan Wallace, Rebecca Hall, Michael Pena Directed by Dan Rush (directorial debut) No it’s not a typo…”Everything Must Go” is a drama starring the comedic superstar Will Ferrell. It’s not a heavy drama, nor is it a crazy image shake-up on the part of Ferrell. Rather, it’s the perfect kind of segue movie if Ferrell were ever to make the Tom Hanks jump from comedian to dramatic actor. It’s also an example of perfect casting, as his character demands a few softer edges and some lighter comedic moments that he obviously handles with ease.  Rating: 4 out of 5 starsGenre: Comedy
Opens locally Friday, May 13th, 2011 Run Time: 2 hours, 5 minutes Starring: Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Ellie Kemper, Melissa McCarthy, Jon Hamm Directed by Paul Feig (TV Director of Freaks & Geeks, The Office, Nurse Jackie, and Parks & Recreation, amongst many more) “Bridesmaids” is the definition of a chick-flick, crossed with the low-brow immaturity usually found in male-driven movies like “Billy Madison” or “Anchorman.” The result is a new breed of comedy, the R-Rated vulgar gross-out comedy aimed at a female audience. But that’s not the only intended audience, and doesn’t give the movie enough justice. “Bridesmaids” is funny for any gender, and is the hands-down funniest film thus far in 2011, which also includes, dare I say, the best female performance of the year as well.  Rating: 1 out of 5 starsGenre: Drama, Dark Comedy
Opens locally Friday, May 13th, 2011 Run Time: 1 hour 40 minutes, Rated R Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Natalie Portman, Rainn Wilson, Devin Brochu Directed by Spencer Susser (feature film debut) “Hesher” is the worst kind of movie: It thinks it’s so cool and interesting but tries so hard at proving this that it ends up being anything but. Is there a point to Hesher, the movie? Is it intended to make sense, or be funny? Don’t ask me. You may hear from other critics that “Hesher” is hip and ground-breaking, but don’t be fooled…they too, probably think it’s cool to like “Hesher” simply because it’s different. It’s different all right.  Rating: 3 out of 5 starsGenre: Comic Book, SciFi/Fantasy, Action/Adventure
Opens locally Friday, May 6th, 2011 Run Time: 1 hour, 53 minutes, Rated PG-13 Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins Directed by Kenneth Branagh (Henry V, Hamlet, A Midwinter's Tale) My very first job was working at a comic book store, so as a big fan of the genre, I enter every single comic book movie a bit biased. With comic book movies, there seems to always be a comparison with other comic book films that have come before, as most are reviewed in this way (it was better than Iron Man, but it was no "The Dark Knight"!). So how does "Thor" compare to other films of the genre? First a bit of context...  Rating: 2 out of 5 starsGenre: Drama
Opens in limited release Friday, May 6th, 2011 Run Time: 2 hours, Rated PG-13 Starring: Charlie Cox, Wes Bentley, Dougray Scott Written & Directed by Roland Joffe (The Killing Fields, City of Joy, Captivity) Don't be fooled by the title of this film...there be no dragons here. The dragons in this film refers to the problems or difficulties one must overcome, sort of like skeletons in the closet. Although there may not be any actual dragons, there is a whole lot of draggin', in this slow-paced, hokey period piece. |
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tom santilli movie reviews
Tom Santilli is a professional film critic, TV personality, host and
the Executive Producer of Movie Show Plus.
He also is the featured film critic appearing on WXYZ Channel 7 Action News in Detroit,
and appeared weekly on FOX-2 in Detroit from 2016-2020.
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