 2012 Starz/Anchor Bay. Rating: 1 out of 5 starsOne of these days, a stoner movie will be made that appeals even to a prudish, non-drug using type. High School – with the emphasis on the word “high” - is the latest throw-away low-brow stoner aimed directly at pot-smokers of a younger generation. It’s another half-baked attempt in the genre, directed by first-time feature-filmmaker, John Stalberg. But instead of just showing a bunch of pot-heads getting high, why not broaden the approach? It’s puff, puff, give in this world and non-smokers are too often being passed over when it comes to explaining just what makes weed so darned irresistible.
0 Comments
 Rating: 2 out of 5 starsGenre: Action, Adventure, Drama
Run Time: 2 hours 7 minutes, Rated PG-13 Starring: Kristen Stewart, Charlize Theron, Chris Hemsworth, Sam Spruell, Ian McShane, Bob Hoskins, Ray Winstone, Nick Frost, Eddie Marsan, Toby Jones, Johnny Harris, Brian Gleeson Directed by Rupert Sanders (feature-film debut) Opens locally Friday, June 1st, 2012 It's better than the other Snow White film this year (the campy Julia Roberts comedy, Mirror, Mirror), and it is an entirely different take on the classic fairy tale. But Snow White and the Huntsman spends most of its time stuck in a lifeless sleep, with no kiss being powerful enough to awake it. Snow White (Kristen Stewart, who plays a scared heroine like no other) is born the only daughter to a king, but the Evil Queen - played by Charlize Theron, and who is given the name Ravenna this time around - swoops in and kills him, taking his throne. You know the rest, yadda, yadda, who is the fairest of them all, yadda, yadda, poisonous apple and so forth.  Rating: 3 out of 5 starsGenre: Sci-Fi, Comedy, Action/Adventure
Run Time: 1 hour 44 minutes, PG-13 Starring: Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, Jemaine Clement, Emma Thompson, Michael Stuhlbarg Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld (The Addams Family, Men in Black, Men in Black 2) Opens locally Friday, May 25th, 2012 Does the world need another Men in Blackfilm? It has been nearly 15 years since the first MIB film, and 10 since Men in Black 2was in theaters, and not much has changed. Agent J (Will Smith) and Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) are still working as part of the top-secret Men in Black unit of our government, and they are still cliched old-guy/young-guy partners who swoop in unbeknownst to most of us to clean-up extra-terrestrial criminal activities. In this third film, we get continuity from where we left off, but mostly we get a prequel to the original.  Rating: 4 out of 5 starsGenre: Comedy, Crime, Drama
Run Time: 1 hour 44 minutes, Rated PG-13 Starring: Jack Black, Shirley MacLaine, Matthew McConaughey, Rick Dial Directed by Richard Linklater (Dazed and Confused, The School of Rock, Me and Orson Welles) Opens Friday, May 25th, 2012 To say that everybody loved Bernie Tiede - the title character in Bernie - would be a massive under-statement. The flamboyant assistant funeral home director from the small town of Carthage, Texas was goodness personified...that is until he shot the wealthy 81 year-old widow Marjorie Nugent four times in the back.  Rating: 2 out of 5 starsRun Time: 1 hour 43 minutes, Rated PG-13
Starring: Diane Keaton, Kevin Kline, Dianne Wiest, Richard Jenkins, Elisabeth Moss, Mark Duplass, Sam Shepard Written by Lawrence and Meg Kasdan Directed by Lawrence Kasdan (Body Heat, The Accidental Tourist, Wyatt Earp, French Kiss) It is a crying shame that such talent is wasted in Darling Companion, the newest film from Lawrence Kasdan. Kasdan hasn’t directed a film since 2003’s Dreamcatcher, but boasts an impressive resume as a writer (have you heard of his scripts, The Empire Strikes Back, The Bodyguard or Raiders of the Lost Ark?). Darling Companion is co-written along with his wife, Meg Kasdan, who previously teamed up to scribe 1991’s Grand Canyon.  Rating: 1 out of 5 starsRun Time: 1 hour 23 minutes, Rated PG-13 Starring: Morgan Spurlock, Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, Adam Carolla, Zach Galifianakis, Paul Rudd Directed by Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me, The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope) The release of Mansome couldn’t have been more cleverly counter-programmed against the chick-flick What To Expect When You’re Expecting which is also opening in the Detroit area today. Mansome is a documentary made by men, for men, about men. The director, Morgan Spurlock, should be recognizable – he’s the guy who found fame following his 2004 documentary, Super Size Me. That film was making a point. This one isn’t.  Rating: 2 out of 5 starsRun Time: 1 hour 50 minutes, Rated PG-13
Starring: Cameron Diaz, Elizabeth Banks, Jennifer Lopez, Chace Crawford, Anna Kendrick, Brooklyn Decker, Ben Falcone, Mathew Morrison, Dennis Quaid, Chris Rock Directed by Kirk Jones (Waking Ned Devine, Nanny McPhee) If you were to believe what is presented in What to Expect When You’re Expecting, then pregnancy really isn’t all that bad. Sure, it’s kind of painful, but not in any real way - it's actually kind of humorous. All the men in your life will be supportive, and everything will work out just fine in the end.  Rating: 3 out of 5 starsGenre: Comedy
Run Time: 1 hour 23 minutes, Rated R Starring: Sacha Baron Cohen, Anna Faris, Ben Kingsley, Jason Mantzoukas Directed by Larry Charles (Borat, Bruno) Fans of Sacha Baron Cohen - from his short-lived HBO series Da Ali G Show to Borat to Bruno - come to expect a certain kind of shock-comedy from his films, and expectations for The Dictator should be no different. Cohen plays Admiral General Aladeen, the ruthless and clueless dictator of the fictional North African country Wadiya, and although the film is chock-full of familiar Cohen schtick, it ranks towards the bottom of his filmography when it comes to creative laugh-out-loud comedy.  Rating: 3 out of 5 starsGenre: Comedy, Drama
Run Time: 2 hours and 4 minutes, Rated PG-13 Starring: Judi Dench, Tom Wilkinson, Bill Nighy, Penelope Wilton, Maggie Smith, Ronald Pickup, Dev Patel, Tena Desae, Celia Imrie Directed by John Madden (The Debt, Shakespeare in Love, Killshot) Location can sometimes become a character itself, and in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, India plays one of the central roles. It is a film bursting at the seams with talented actors, compiling what is almost a who’s who of British acting royalty. But there is more glitter than there is gold, and the film eventually overstays its welcome.  Rating: 3 out of 5 starsGenre: Comedy, Fantasy
Run Time: 1 hour 53 minutes, Rated PG-13 Starring: Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham Carter, Eva Green, Bella Heathcote, Jackie Earle Haley, Chloe Grace Moretz Directed by Tim Burton (Alice in Wonderland, Ed Wood, Batman Returns, Edward Scissorhands) I admit that I was not really aware of Dark Shadows, even though the gothic daytime soap opera was ranked #23 on TV Guide's Top Cult Shows Ever. It stood out as a fantasy series because it aired in the daytime from 1966-1971, and amassed more episodes than Star Trek and Doctor Who. |
Looking for a specific movie or review?
Search Below: Categories
All
Archives
July 2024
|
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.
Feel free to use the "search" below to find your favorite titles.
TOM'S GRADING SCALE:
B- and above: Thumbs Up
C+ or below: Thumbs Down
RSS Feed
Currently Airing:Check Local Listings
|
For more information on Movie Show Plus, Email: |