No surprises in the plot of 'The Switch'
By Joyce Glasser - 02/09/2010
The Switch, directed by Josh Gordon and Will Speck (Blades of Glory, Caveman), could have been called ‘More than Friends’, but as it stars Jennifer Aniston, that wouldn’t do. Another apt title, About a Boy, would conjure up Hugh Grant at his peak, a comparison that for all his talent, Justin Bateman, The Switch’s co-star, might want to avoid.
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'The Maid' - delightful and intelligent
Maids have long been fertile ground for writers and film directors. Chilean co-writer (with Pedro Peirano) and Director Sebastian Silva adds to the tradition with The Maid; a psychological drama that plays on our knowledge of these stories and has fun confounding our expectations at every turn.
'Dogpound' - gripping from beginning to end
Dogpound is French Director Kim Chapiron’s recreation of British director Alan Clarke’s 1979 film, Scum, transferred from Britain to the Enola Vale Facility for Juvenile Offenders in western USA. Scum, originally made for television, but banned for its violence, was then turned into a powerful feature film that set the bar high for prisons dramas.
'The Leopard' - re-issue of the week!
The Leopard (Il Gattopardo) will be enjoying an extended run at the BFI Southbank and in selected cinemas in key cities as part of a Nino Rota season. Rota wrote operas and from the 1940s until his untimely death in 1979, wrote dozens of film scores.
'Diary of a Wimpy Kid'
Diary of a Wimpy Kid is a feature adaptation of Jeff Kinney’s illustrated novels about the adventures of a maladjusted young prankster that have sold 28 million books. Greg Heffley (Zachary Gordon) is a middle child, who is all but invisible between his much older brother in a rock band (Devon Bostick) and his brother still in diapers. He’s puny for his age and dreads starting middle school where he’ll be both ignored and bullied, just as he is at home.
'Going the Distance' - harmless....but uninspiring
Documentary filmmaker Nanette Burstein’s feature debut, Going the Distance, is a harmless and mildly entertaining, but uninspired vehicle for Drew Barrymore.
'The Girl who Played with Fire' - part II of Larsson’s 'Millenium' trilogy
Part II of the late Stieg Larsson’s posthumously published Millennium Trilogy, The Girl Who Played with Fire, presents the same problem as Part I, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, released last year. Best sellers like Harry Potter and Larsson’s Trilogy, demand a faithful adaptation in which film, as an art form, is at the service of the novel and its fans.
'Scott Pilgrim vs the World'
Accompanying me to the screening of Scott Pilgrim vs the World were two 14-year-old girls, although teenage boys are probably the target market for Edgar Wright’s (Shaun of the Dead) film, based on the comic book series by Bryan Lee O’Malley. Their verdict of this manic, surprisingly funny and inventive film was generally positive, but the film has fundamental problems.
'Grown Ups' - vulgar, reactionary rubbish.
Grown Ups Director Dennis Dugan (You Don’t Mess with the Zohan, National Security) isn’t a bad comic director and writer Fred Wolf’s second film, The House Bunny, was a silly, but surprisingly entertaining comedy. The cast of Grown Ups features talented actors, including Chris Rock, Rob Schneider, Kevin James, Salma Hayek and Maria Bello, and with the underrated ‘Funny People’, it seemed star Adam Sandler had finally grown up.
'The Illusionist': beautifully drawn
The creator of the enchanting, Oscar nominated The Triplets of Belleville (renamed Belleville Rendez-vous in the UK), Sylvain Chomet delivers another beautifully drawn and directed animated feature for adults.
'Mother' is easier to admire than enjoy
If you counted the number of films about mothers, or even the number of films with ‘mother’ in the title, you’d be at it for a long time. Since every one has (or has had) a mother, and they come in so many varieties, mothers are fertile ground for fiction.
'Marmaduke' ticks the box marked ‘cliché’
This live action/CGI family movie full of dogs and kids, earns its U certificate by trying so hard not to offend anyone that it offends, or should, everyone. And that goes for the dogs who are anthropomorphised out of existence. This is one movie based on a comic that really should have remained a comic.
'PIRANHA 3D' - hard to resist for tongue-in-cheek fun!
No one could call PIRANHA 3D a good movie but if you’ve learnt to embrace life’s guilty pleasures, this silly tongue-in-cheek Jaws spin-off is hard to resist. PIRANHA 3D has double the blood and gore of Director Alexandre Aja’s two previous horror movies, The Hills Have Eyes and Mirrors but unlike those, you’re not to take PIRANHA seriously.
Fast and furious action in 'The Expendables' and 'Salt'
Two fast and furious American action movies centring on a rogue CIA agent are released this week. Unlike the recently released Knight and Day, and the A-Team, which also featured nasty, rogue CIA agents, The Expendables, directed by and staring 64-year-old Sylvester Stallone, and Salt directed by 60-year-old Phillip Noyce (Clear and Present Danger) and starring Angelina Jolie, do their jobs surprisingly well. Rather than acting, the stars compete with high decibel levels, even higher body counts and an extravagant stunt department to entertain you.
'The Sorcerer’s Apprentice' - a decent family movie
Jerry Bruckheimer, the-larger-than life American mega producer, has a mixed record, from the heights of the original Beverly Hills Cop and Pirates of the Caribbean to the depths of the final Pirates’ episode, Pearl Harbour and Confessions of a Shopaholic.
He’s also a multi millionaire from his CSI television series alone. Similar in nature and style to Bruckheimer’s enjoyable romp, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time but slightly better, Bruckheimer’s latest film, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, is a decent family movie (PG rating) combining adventure, action fantasy and romantic comedy.
