 Rating: 5 out of 5 starsGenre: Computer-Animated, 3D, Comedy, Children/Family
Opens everywhere Wednesday, November 24th, 2010, Rated PG Run Time: 1 hour 41 minutes Cast: Mandy Moore, Zachary Levi, Donna Murphy, Ron Perlman Directed by Byron Howard (Bolt, Chicken Little, Brother Bear) Yes, many people praised Disney's last animated feature, The Princess & The Frog, as a return to the "classic" Disney films of the past. I on the other hand, thought it fell very short, and I shook my head trying to wonder how some could hold that movie near other real classics, like Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs, The Lion King, or Little Mermaid (read my review of The Princess & The Frog here). It is pretty common though, with every new Disney release, to compare the newer films to those treasured films we hold so dear. The name "Disney" of course still means a whole heck of a lot to a whole lot of people, but gone are the days when "animated film" and "Disney film" were synonymous. It seems every couple months we get a new 3D animated movie, from non-Disney studios like DreamWorks, Paramount, or Universal. And that's why I am full of joy to announce that Disney's latest film, Tangled, is a true bona fide classic...a film that will be mentioned in the same breath as the Disney "classics" that have come before.
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 Rating: 5 out of 5 starsGenre: Drama
Rated R Run Time: 1 hour, 33 minutes Starring James Franco Directed by Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millioniare) "127 Hours" is the brilliant, unique, and terrifying new movie from Oscar winning director, Danny Boyle. It is a true achievement in filmmaking, and storytelling, and definitely among the year's best films...not to mention a career-performance by star James Franco, who puts on a one-man show of true depth, displaying a wide range of emotions likely to win him some awards as well.  Rating: 4 out of 5 starsGenre: SciFi/Fantasy, Action/Adventure
Opens Friday, November 19th, 2010, Rated PG-13 Run Time: 2 hours, 26 minutes Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Ralph Fiennes Directed by David Yates (directed both Order of the Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince) No movie review is likely to keep the millions of Harry Potter fans away from the theatres this weekend. As I'm sure you're aware, this movie is the 7th in the Harry Potter series, and represents the last of the 7 Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling. This final book though, is being divided into 2 parts...this first part, out today, followed by the 2nd part (and final film) next July.  Rating: 2 out of 5 starsGenre: Light Comedy
Opens locally in limited release, November 19th, 2010 (playing at Maple Art Theatre in Bloomfield Hills), Rated R Starring: Aasif Mandvi, Naseeruddin Shah Directed by David Kaplan Yes it may come as a shock to learn that there is more than just Harry Potter opening this weekend. And as much as I would like to recommend the small indy film "Today's Special" as an alternative viewing choice, there is simply too many other plentiful options on the menu (did you get all the food references in that sentence? Cool.) It is hard for people to even care about a movie they've never heard of, starring actors they've never seen. You may recognize only 1 actor in Today's Special, Dean Winters, who was a remarkable character on HBO's series Oz, and most recently has been seen as one of Liz Lemon's boyfriends on 30 Rock, and as that annoying guy in the Allstate commercials. I don't even list him as "starring" in this film however, since he only has a bit part...although it is one of the funnier scenes in the movie.  Rating: 3 out of 5 starsGenre: Action/Adventure, Drama
Opens locally Friday, November 19th, 2010, Rated PG-13 Run Time: 1 hour, 48 minutes Starring: Naomi Watts, Seann Penn, Noah Emmerich Directed by Doug Liman (Swingers, Go, The Bourne Identity) No, this is not a remake of the insufferable 1995 film of the same name starring model Cindy Crawford and William Baldwin. It is actually based on a true story, from the autobiography of real-life undercover CIA operative Valerie Plame (Watts). The story surrounds Plame and how her career was destroyed when her secret identity was exposed by a politically motivated press leak. Valerie leads an investigation into the existence of WMDs (Weapons of Mass Destruction) in Iraq. Her husband is diplomat Joe Wilson (Penn), who is drawn into the investigation. When the administration ignores his findings and uses the issue as one of the reasons to wage war, Joe writes a New York Times editorial outlining his conclusions.  Rating: 3 out of 5 starsGenre: Romantic Comedy
Opens Wednesday, November 10th, 2010, Rated PG-13 Run Time: 1 hour, 50 minutes Starring: Rachel McAdams, Harrison Ford, Diane Keaton, Jeff Goldblum, Patrick Wilson Directed by Roger Michell (Notting Hill) I'll admit right off the bat that I love Rachel McAdams as an actress...she's charming and funny, and pretty in that normal-every-day-gal kind of a way. It's a good thing that she has that hold over me, otherwise "Morning Glory" would be a colossal cheese-tastic failure. But McAdams is perfectly cast and gives the movie just enough life to make it a passable romantic comedy, albeit a very predictable one.  Rating: 4 out of 5 starsGenre: Documentary
Opens locally (Main Art Theatre) Friday, November 5th, 2010 Narrated by Matt Damon Directed by Charles Ferguson (No End in Sight) It has been a very strong year for the documentary film, and "Inside Job" is no exception. It is a comprehensive analysis of the 2008 global financial crisis, told at a level that economic beginners (like myself) can grasp and understand. Many documentaries get a bad rap as being "one-sided" or not taking into account the other side of the argument. This film does stand out for the simple fact that it has people on both sides of the argument, insiders and experts providing insight into their respective field. When it does not, it tells us who denied being interviewed for the film, leaving you at least with a sense that the filmmaker set out to paint a full picture of the crisis, and not some loon trying to make a radical political statement.  Rating: 3 out of 5 starsGenre: Animated, Action/Adventure
Opens Friday, November 5th, 2010, Rated PG Run Time: 1 hour, 36 minutes Starring the voices of Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Brad Pitt, David Cross, and Jonah Hill Directed by Tom McGrath (Madagascar) Megamind is the latest 3D animated movie from DreamWorks, home of the Shrek films, Kung Fu Panda, How To Train Your Dragon, and Madagascar movies. With a brilliant premise starring a brilliant evil mastermind genius, the movie is far from brilliant itself. A satisfying and smart movie, Megamind is sure to be a hit with the kids, as well as adults. It's just not that funny, a huge letdown considering the comedic talent of the main voice actors.  Rating: 2 out of 5 starsGenre: Comedy
Opens Friday, November 5th, 2010, Rated R Run Time: 1 hour, 35 minutes Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Zach Galifianakis Directed by Todd Phillips (The Hangover, Borat) "Due Date" has finally arrived, and it was hardly worth the wait. It's one of those "road" movies, where two people are forced to travel across the country. If you guessed they don't like each other, you'd be right. If you guessed they'd go from ridiculous situation to ridiculous situation you'd be right. And if you guessed that I wasn't at all impressed with this film, you'd be right yet again. |
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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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