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By Matt Brunson

The surprising thing about Land of the Lost isn’t that it contains several hearty laughs; the surprising thing is that it contains any laughs at all. After all, Will Ferrell vehicles are increasingly becoming known for their inability to generate honestly earned guffaws, as the comedian generally calls it a day after establishing a slight variation on his idiotic man-child routine and then throwing a couple of on-screen tantrums. Yet the reason this new picture works on occasion is precisely because it isn’t a Will Ferrell movie; rather, it’s a movie that just happens to star Will Ferrell.

For the full review, click here.

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It’s what’s known as putting matters in perspective. Folks who regularly bash Judd Apatow for his various endeavors need only catch The Hangover to see that it’s unfair to dismiss the former’s pictures simply because they refuse to always toe the politically correct line. What’s more, the majority of Apatow’s films benefit from fluid plot developments, interesting characterizations, and gags that remain funny even in retrospect — conditions not enjoyed by this slapdash effort from the director of the similarly idling Old School.

For Matt Brunson’s full review, click here.

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Nia Vardalos enjoyed a box office bonanza with the sleeper smash My Big Fat Greek Wedding, but her latest picture, My Life in Ruins, stands no chance of enjoying a similar fate. It’s merely one big fat Greek disaster.

For Matt Brunson’s full review, click here.

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By Matt Brunson

As far as documentaries about the couture culture go, Valentino: The Last Emperor runs out of thread long before its closing credits. By comparison, the 1995 Isaac Mizhari piece Unzipped provided a lot more, uh, zip than this nonfiction effort, which ultimately seems as self-absorbed as its central figure.

For the full review, click here.

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Evil Dead: The Musical hits the Actor’s Theatre stage tomorrow (June 11). Today, however, take a gander at a scene from Evil Dead 2 — on of the sick-ass films that inspired the off-beat stage play:

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Before you check out Jessica Lea Mayfield at the Visulite Theatre tonight, take a look at her here singing “Kiss Me Again”:

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By Matt Brunson

SUGAR
***
DIRECTED BY Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck
STARS Algenis Perez Soto, Rayniel Rufino

What’s this? An inspirational sports flick whose every step doesn’t lead up to the climactic Big Game in which the underdog hero must score that touchdown/hit that home run/kick that goal/deck that opponent? Is such a movie even allowed anymore?

For the full review, click here

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By Matt Brunson

UP
***1/2
DIRECTED BY Pete Docter
STARS Ed Asner, Christopher Plummer

Ranking Pixar’s feature-length gems in order is akin to ranking the 10 best Beatles singles or the five best martini cocktails — to each his or her emphatic own — so let’s just say that the studio’s 10th effort, Up, won’t be leaving viewers feeling down. It’s merely one more winner for an outfit that refuses to compromise its high level of quality, to say nothing of its artistic integrity.

For the full review, click here

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By Matt Brunson

DRAG ME TO HELL
***
DIRECTED BY Sam Raimi
STARS Alison Lohman, Justin Long

The face of horror in modern cinema is, sad to say, torture porn, where sadism is exhibited with alarming regularity (most notably by the filmmakers) and imagination is only employed when the scripter conjures up gruesome new ways for characters to die. Because of this lamentable trend, it’s an effortless task to sing the praises of Drag Me to Hell, a funhouse freak show that’s more interested in delivering old-fashioned chills (it’s even rated PG-13 rather than the expected R) than in wallowing in misogyny, masochism and mutilation. The story is so thin that the entire screenplay could have been written on a bubble gum wrapper, yet the end result is so delirious in its desire to delight that moviegoers willing to be jerked around won’t mind.

For the full review, click here

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New shit from Kanye. This one’s for you Jeff:

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