Eagle Eye
Attempting to tap into the public’s collective fears and suspicions comes D.J. Caruso’s preposterous Eagle Eye, an action film with plenty of thrills but I have no idea what alternate reality it’s set in.
Tagged: 2008
American Teen
American Teen presents itself as getting inside the lives of America’s current youth culture. But the very idea of individuality is lost because it doesn’t go deep enough into the lives of its subjects to fully convey the idea.
Horton Hears a Who
Horton started as a book, less that 40 pages long. To make it a feature seems just a little bit wrong. The magic of Seuss isn’t quite there. It’s got the look but it’s missing some flair.
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
Andrew Adamson shows a more confident and defined vision that works on several levels, however it’s unable to overcome a nagging feel of disconnect.
Tropic Thunder
The action movie has been spoofing itself for years. Half of the time it’s no even intentional. Ben Stiller’s hilarious and surprisingly intelligent Tropic Thunder takes the genre spoof to a new extreme.
WALL-E
Simplicity and complexity harmonize together in cinematic zen in the instant-classic WALL-E, a film that uses technical prowess to tell a straight-forward yet far-reaching story.
Transsiberian
Transsiberian is a deeply engrossing film from the get go. It sucked me in with a simple, yet often overlooked, idea – interesting characters.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Although it carries a certain level of slickness to it, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull shows that although the times have changed – both in the film and for the viewing audience – Indiana Jones hasn’t. And that’s a problem.
Camp Rock
The Disney tween machine continues to plug along mixing sugar-pop ballads with the simple structure of summer camp in Camp Rock. The familiarity makes for something comfortable, nothing spectacular, but mindlessly enjoyable.
Drillbit Taylor
Has enough heart and insight into the complexities of being a teenager today that you can overlook some of its other shortcomings – primarily in the tired act of the titular character.
