Category Archives: 2010 theater reviews

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Inception

Few directors in Hollywood can boast an artistic and commercial winning streak to rival that of Christopher Nolan. He has successfully split his time between psychologically meaty brain-teasers (Memento and The Prestige) and big-budget summer spectacles (Batman Begins and The Dark Knight).

With his latest film, Inception, he has managed to deliver both at once.

Inception is as twisty and debate-worthy as any film Nolan has made, but it works just splendidly as straight-up entertainment. On its face, this is a heist film about a team of well-skilled thieves who join their leader on “one last job.” The twist is that on this job they aren’t stealing something but leaving something behind, and they aren’t breaking into a place but into their target’s subconscious.

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The A-Team

When I first saw the trailer for The A-Team, a man behind me in the audience said to his companion “This is Charlie’s Angels for guys.” And he hit the nail right on the head.

Like the first Charlie’s Angels film, The A-Team turns a campy, beloved TV series into a big-screen summer popcorn extravaganza full of cartoonish action, complete with equal helpings of laughs and thrills.

And just as Charlie’s Angels offered men in the audience the mesmerizing sight of Cameron Diaz’s swinging panty-clad rear end, The A-Team saved money in the costume budget by having Bradley Cooper go shirtless 75% of the time. Based on my wife’s reaction, this decision is popular with the ladies.

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Shrek Forever After

It’s been more than a month since I saw Shrek Forever After, the fourth film in the lucrative Shrek franchise, and as I’ve put off writing this review the details have receded in my mind. And that’s sort of a given, I guess, with a film like this. It’s not meant to stick with you.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Mindless escapism is often just what the doctor ordered. And when it comes to childrens’ movies, you can do far worse than the Shrek films, which at least serve up some legitimate laughs for the grown-ups in the audience.

Still, in a summer movie season that has given us Toy Story 3, it’s hard to accept the premise that animated movies (or kids’ movies in general) should be judged on a different scale.

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Knight and Day

On her show last week, Oprah Winfrey referred to Knight and Day — the new Tom Cruise/Cameron Diaz action comedy — as a perfect date movie. And that about sums up the appeal of this ridiculous but fun mash-up of James Bond and Romancing the Stone.

You don’t watch this movie to dissect the craft or to seek some insight into the human condition. You watch it while sharing a tub of popcorn and an overpriced Coke with your best girl (or guy) and you hope that you’ll both walk out with a smile on your face.

On that front, Knight and Day accomplishes its mission.

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Toy Story 3

This weekend was a great one to be a movie fan. I saw the funniest movie of the year, the most exciting action film of the year and the sweetest, most touching piece of filmmaking of the year. And I did it all in the course of the 103 minute running time of Toy Story 3.

It’s become a cliche to sing the praises of Pixar year after year, as they clear hurdle after hurdle, extending the longest winning streak in Hollywood. Can they make transcendent entertainment out of a rat who can cook? A trash compacting robot? A man who lifts his house with balloons? Yes, they can, again and again.

And now this. How many third films in series not intended as trilogies have ever been any good? I can’t think of even one. Sequels to sequels are always cash grabs conceived not as artistic statements but as a way to beef up a studio’s portfolio. Can a third film about toys that talk really be creatively necessary, poignant and profound?

Yes, it can, again and again.

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