CLTV

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

By Matt Brunson

UP

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

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

By Matt Brunson

Here's a trivial nugget that never ceases to amuse me: Back when writer-director James Cameron was initially prepping 1984's The Terminator, one of his first choices to play the iconic title character wasn't Arnold Schwarzenegger -- it was O.J. Simpson. But Cameron soon changed his mind, stating that "people wouldn't have believed a nice guy like O.J. playing the part of a ruthless killer."

Oops.

So here we are 25 years later, with Simpson having gone off to, uh, do other things and Cameron himself splitting the franchise after two installments. And the primary question begged by Terminator Salvation must be, "Is this film necessary?" Not really. But here comes the follow-up query: "Is it worth the admission price anyway?" To which the answer is a resounding yes.

For the whole review, click here.

Review by Matt Brunson

The Criterion Collection's March 24 DVD release of The Last Metro was followed approximately a week later by the arrival of Paris 36 to our shores, and the pair would make an interesting double feature for anyone willing to hoof it between the local art-house and the home theater.

Like Francois Truffaut's 1980 effort, this new picture, co-written and directed by Christophe Barratier (The Chorus), centers on the coping mechanisms of a French theatrical troupe as they try to pry loose the fingers of the fascists who threaten their very lifeline. And how do they cope? By embracing that age-old adage, the one stipulating that the show must go on.

To read the full review, click here

Check out film critic Matt Brunson's review of Angels & Demons, the prequel to the international smash The Da Vinci Code, here.