Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The Kids Are All Right
The King's Speech
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter's Bone
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Best Picture Nominees of 2010
Just in time for tonight's Oscars, here are my reviews for all ten of the nominees for Best Picture.
127 Hours
Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The Kids Are All Right
The King's Speech
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter's Bone
Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The Kids Are All Right
The King's Speech
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter's Bone
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Winter's Bone
Winter's Bone - Dir. Debra Granik (2010)
Winter's Bone was 2010's little indie film that could. It didn't have major studio backing or big name stars, but still managed to score numerous accolades, including a nomination for Best Picture at this year's Academy Awards. Not bad for a movie budgeted at $2 million, which probably wouldn't have even paid the catering bill for some of its fellow nominees.
Much like 2008's Frozen River, Winter's Bone features a strong-willed female protagonist and highlights a region rarely shown in media through a story about the people who have fallen through the cracks of modern society. Jennifer Lawrence gives a star-making performance as 17-year old Ree Dolly, who lives amidst the Ozark Mountains of rural Missouri. Ree has taken on the tremendous responsibility of raising her younger siblings and caring for a mentally ill mother. Family bonds are tested when they learn Ree's father, Jessup (a known cook for the local meth labs) skipped bail after a recent arrest. The wayward patriarch had paid that bail by putting the family home up as collateral. If he does not make his court date, the county will repossess the house and the Dollys will be thrown out on their asses. Ree embarks on a harrowing odyssey in search of her missing father, not so much for fear of his well-being, but for fear of losing a roof over their heads.
Ree's journey takes her deep into the backwoods of this loose-knit community filled with dangerous and unpredictable individuals, many of whom are her family and neighbors. Make no mistake about it; these people aren't the folksy, salt of the earth types from a Steinbeck novel (or even The Dukes of Hazzard). Most of them are the creepy, rape-you-in-the-woods types who are now running meth, instead of moonshine. Perhaps the most intimidating of the bunch is Ree's uncle, Teardrop, played with quiet menace by Deadwood star John Hawkes. His true feelings and motivations remain ambiguous for much of the film. Does he know where his brother is? Does he even care about his brother? You're never quite sure if Teardrop is there to help Ree or strangle her.
Director Debra Granik and D.P. Michael McDonough shot Winter's Bone with the digital RED camera, giving the film a crisp look that captures every bump and wart of the landscape. The world of Ree Dolly is filled with as many dichotomies as its inhabitants. There's a haunting beauty to the rural area heightened by the gray-toned color palette. The look of the picture actually matches up well to the post-apocalyptic wastelands of The Road. It is also reminiscent of the beautiful bleakness of Roger Deakins' work on the Coen Brothers' No Country for Old Men and True Grit. Speaking of which, Winter's Bone could almost act as a contemporary companion to the critically acclaimed Western. Much like Mattie Ross, Ree undergoes a harsh coming-of-age quest, but without the assistance of Jeff Bridges or Matt Damon.
Ree is on her own when it comes to searching for her missing dad and shepherding her family. Jennifer Lawrence is undeniably superb in the role, displaying all the toughness and vulnerability needed. Lawrence (who will be seen next as the young Mystique in X-Men: First Class) certainly needed to be tough after learning how to fire a rifle, chop firewood, and skin squirrels for the part. While Granik doesn't shoot the film in a documentary style, there is a documentary feel in much of it thanks to the naturalism displayed in the scenes with Ree and her little brother and sister. When the kids notice a neighbors' smokehouse full of food, she imparts a tidbit of wisdom, "Never ask for what ought to be offered."
Granik and co-writer Anne Rosellini based the screenplay on the 2006 novel by Daniel Woodrell. They have penned a refreshingly unique take on people some would derisively refer to as hillbillies. The film does not simplify its subjects into mere caricatures nor does it descend into an overly sentimentalized and pedantic study of "simple folk." Some of the characters may be odious human beings, but Granik does not demonize or lionize their way of life. It is what it is and is presented in a realistic manner.
Winter's Bone is an exceptional picture. It is a gripping drama, a crime thriller, and a modern day Grimm Brothers' fairy tale, all rolled into one. Without a doubt, one of the best films of 2010.
Rating: **** (*****)
Winter's Bone was 2010's little indie film that could. It didn't have major studio backing or big name stars, but still managed to score numerous accolades, including a nomination for Best Picture at this year's Academy Awards. Not bad for a movie budgeted at $2 million, which probably wouldn't have even paid the catering bill for some of its fellow nominees.
Much like 2008's Frozen River, Winter's Bone features a strong-willed female protagonist and highlights a region rarely shown in media through a story about the people who have fallen through the cracks of modern society. Jennifer Lawrence gives a star-making performance as 17-year old Ree Dolly, who lives amidst the Ozark Mountains of rural Missouri. Ree has taken on the tremendous responsibility of raising her younger siblings and caring for a mentally ill mother. Family bonds are tested when they learn Ree's father, Jessup (a known cook for the local meth labs) skipped bail after a recent arrest. The wayward patriarch had paid that bail by putting the family home up as collateral. If he does not make his court date, the county will repossess the house and the Dollys will be thrown out on their asses. Ree embarks on a harrowing odyssey in search of her missing father, not so much for fear of his well-being, but for fear of losing a roof over their heads.
Ree's journey takes her deep into the backwoods of this loose-knit community filled with dangerous and unpredictable individuals, many of whom are her family and neighbors. Make no mistake about it; these people aren't the folksy, salt of the earth types from a Steinbeck novel (or even The Dukes of Hazzard). Most of them are the creepy, rape-you-in-the-woods types who are now running meth, instead of moonshine. Perhaps the most intimidating of the bunch is Ree's uncle, Teardrop, played with quiet menace by Deadwood star John Hawkes. His true feelings and motivations remain ambiguous for much of the film. Does he know where his brother is? Does he even care about his brother? You're never quite sure if Teardrop is there to help Ree or strangle her.
Director Debra Granik and D.P. Michael McDonough shot Winter's Bone with the digital RED camera, giving the film a crisp look that captures every bump and wart of the landscape. The world of Ree Dolly is filled with as many dichotomies as its inhabitants. There's a haunting beauty to the rural area heightened by the gray-toned color palette. The look of the picture actually matches up well to the post-apocalyptic wastelands of The Road. It is also reminiscent of the beautiful bleakness of Roger Deakins' work on the Coen Brothers' No Country for Old Men and True Grit. Speaking of which, Winter's Bone could almost act as a contemporary companion to the critically acclaimed Western. Much like Mattie Ross, Ree undergoes a harsh coming-of-age quest, but without the assistance of Jeff Bridges or Matt Damon.
Ree is on her own when it comes to searching for her missing dad and shepherding her family. Jennifer Lawrence is undeniably superb in the role, displaying all the toughness and vulnerability needed. Lawrence (who will be seen next as the young Mystique in X-Men: First Class) certainly needed to be tough after learning how to fire a rifle, chop firewood, and skin squirrels for the part. While Granik doesn't shoot the film in a documentary style, there is a documentary feel in much of it thanks to the naturalism displayed in the scenes with Ree and her little brother and sister. When the kids notice a neighbors' smokehouse full of food, she imparts a tidbit of wisdom, "Never ask for what ought to be offered."
Granik and co-writer Anne Rosellini based the screenplay on the 2006 novel by Daniel Woodrell. They have penned a refreshingly unique take on people some would derisively refer to as hillbillies. The film does not simplify its subjects into mere caricatures nor does it descend into an overly sentimentalized and pedantic study of "simple folk." Some of the characters may be odious human beings, but Granik does not demonize or lionize their way of life. It is what it is and is presented in a realistic manner.
Winter's Bone is an exceptional picture. It is a gripping drama, a crime thriller, and a modern day Grimm Brothers' fairy tale, all rolled into one. Without a doubt, one of the best films of 2010.
Rating: **** (*****)
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
The Mechanic
The Mechanic - Dir. Simon West (2011)
CBS Films is quickly carving themselves a little niche for old school action movies. Last fall, they released the 70's revenge throwback, Faster, with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. It was a marked departure from their first two productions, the medical drama Extraordinary Measures and the Jennifer Lopez rom-com, The Back-Up Plan. CBS follows up Faster with The Mechanic, a remake of the 1972 picture directed by Michael Winner and starring Charles Bronson. The original film was a warm-up for Winner and Bronson's more renowned Death Wish franchise. It did feature a classic 15-minute, dialogue free opening with Bronson preparing an elaborate set-up to kill his target.
This time around, Jason Statham takes on the role of Arthur Bishop, an assassin who kills his targets in intricate fashion to prevent anyone from knowing he was ever there in the first place. Bishop isn't your average thug, he's a high-class aesthete. He lives in an ultra-modern home tucked away in the bayous outside New Orleans and listens to Schubert…on vinyl, no less. Bishop and his best friend and mentor, Harry McKenna (Donald Sutherland, in an all-too brief role) are both in the employ of a shadowy organization that is nice enough to only murder unsavory folks like drug lords and arms dealers.
Everything changes when Bishop's boss, Mr. Dean (Tony Goldwyn), orders Bishop to take out Harry when it is revealed he has double-crossed the organization. He reluctantly pulls the trigger and winds up becoming the mentor of Harry's wayward son, Steve (Ben Foster). Steve is trained in the art of contract killing, but lacks Bishop's patience and discipline. His sloppiness sinks what should have been clean, simple jobs. Not to mention, there's that thing about Bishop killing Steve's dad.
The original Mechanic was a slight attempt at emulating the philosophical crime films of Jean-Pierre Melville. This new version doesn't even bother to engage on more thoughtful levels. So don't expect The Mechanic to come anywhere close to the existential hitman movie that The American was. The remake isn't about belly gazing and contemplations about solitude, it's all about explosions and bone-crunching fist fights. Sometimes that's not a bad thing.
The Mechanic is the prototypical Jason Statham actioner and fits nicely into his oeuvre alongside the Crank and Transporter franchises. Statham is probably the closest thing we have to a modern-day Charles Bronson. He has a steely gaze, a unique voice, and is wholly believable as a stone cold badass (though only Danny Trejo can match Bronson's craggly visage). No slouch in the intensity department, Ben Foster matches up well to Statham as his livewire protégé. You wonder if they ever have staring contests with each other or see who can grow the cooler looking stubble. There's no denying the film has a rather palpable homoerotic subtext riding through the narrative, especially considering there are no substantial characters of the female persuasion. The screenplay by Richard Wenk and Lewis John Carlino (who also penned the original) makes sure to undercut this by having Bishop frequenting the classy call girl with a heart of gold.
The action scenes are well done without descending into a seizure-inducing series of overly edited shaky camera shots. Two of the highlights include a brutal fight scene between Foster and a rival, 6'7 hitman and a rooftop shootout that ends with the protagonists repelling down the side of a skyscraper. The set pieces still tend to be a little too hyperactive; this is after all a Simon West movie. The story is clichéd and predictable with a late plot twist done in the laziest of manners. It does, however, contain a very funny one-liner uttered by Tony Goldwyn in which he menacingly declares to Bishop, "I'm going to put a price on your head so big that when you look in the mirror, your reflection is gonna want to shoot you in the face."
Rating: ** (*****)
CBS Films is quickly carving themselves a little niche for old school action movies. Last fall, they released the 70's revenge throwback, Faster, with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. It was a marked departure from their first two productions, the medical drama Extraordinary Measures and the Jennifer Lopez rom-com, The Back-Up Plan. CBS follows up Faster with The Mechanic, a remake of the 1972 picture directed by Michael Winner and starring Charles Bronson. The original film was a warm-up for Winner and Bronson's more renowned Death Wish franchise. It did feature a classic 15-minute, dialogue free opening with Bronson preparing an elaborate set-up to kill his target.
This time around, Jason Statham takes on the role of Arthur Bishop, an assassin who kills his targets in intricate fashion to prevent anyone from knowing he was ever there in the first place. Bishop isn't your average thug, he's a high-class aesthete. He lives in an ultra-modern home tucked away in the bayous outside New Orleans and listens to Schubert…on vinyl, no less. Bishop and his best friend and mentor, Harry McKenna (Donald Sutherland, in an all-too brief role) are both in the employ of a shadowy organization that is nice enough to only murder unsavory folks like drug lords and arms dealers.
Everything changes when Bishop's boss, Mr. Dean (Tony Goldwyn), orders Bishop to take out Harry when it is revealed he has double-crossed the organization. He reluctantly pulls the trigger and winds up becoming the mentor of Harry's wayward son, Steve (Ben Foster). Steve is trained in the art of contract killing, but lacks Bishop's patience and discipline. His sloppiness sinks what should have been clean, simple jobs. Not to mention, there's that thing about Bishop killing Steve's dad.
The original Mechanic was a slight attempt at emulating the philosophical crime films of Jean-Pierre Melville. This new version doesn't even bother to engage on more thoughtful levels. So don't expect The Mechanic to come anywhere close to the existential hitman movie that The American was. The remake isn't about belly gazing and contemplations about solitude, it's all about explosions and bone-crunching fist fights. Sometimes that's not a bad thing.
The Mechanic is the prototypical Jason Statham actioner and fits nicely into his oeuvre alongside the Crank and Transporter franchises. Statham is probably the closest thing we have to a modern-day Charles Bronson. He has a steely gaze, a unique voice, and is wholly believable as a stone cold badass (though only Danny Trejo can match Bronson's craggly visage). No slouch in the intensity department, Ben Foster matches up well to Statham as his livewire protégé. You wonder if they ever have staring contests with each other or see who can grow the cooler looking stubble. There's no denying the film has a rather palpable homoerotic subtext riding through the narrative, especially considering there are no substantial characters of the female persuasion. The screenplay by Richard Wenk and Lewis John Carlino (who also penned the original) makes sure to undercut this by having Bishop frequenting the classy call girl with a heart of gold.
The action scenes are well done without descending into a seizure-inducing series of overly edited shaky camera shots. Two of the highlights include a brutal fight scene between Foster and a rival, 6'7 hitman and a rooftop shootout that ends with the protagonists repelling down the side of a skyscraper. The set pieces still tend to be a little too hyperactive; this is after all a Simon West movie. The story is clichéd and predictable with a late plot twist done in the laziest of manners. It does, however, contain a very funny one-liner uttered by Tony Goldwyn in which he menacingly declares to Bishop, "I'm going to put a price on your head so big that when you look in the mirror, your reflection is gonna want to shoot you in the face."
Rating: ** (*****)
Sunday, February 20, 2011
No Strings Attached
No Strings Attached - Dir. Ivan Reitman (2011)
After unfurling the majority of their high profile releases for the holidays and awards season, studios slowly trickle out the leftovers in the first few months of the new year. You can rest assured that a crappy romantic comedy will always be among the bunch to kick things off on a sour note. In 2009, it was 27 Dresses and Leap Year in 2010. The torrent of bad rom-coms in 2011 opens with No Strings Attached, the flipside to When Harry Met Sally. While Rob Reiner's film posited the question of whether men and women could be friends without sex being involved, No Strings Attached is all about men and women having sex without emotional attachment.
Natalie Portman is Emma, a medical resident working 80 hours a week. Ashton Kutcher is Adam, a production assistant on a Glee-esque TV show. A prologue opens the movie showing how Emma and Adam first met at summer camp and how they would bump into each other every few years. It's a blunt way to tell the audience that these two were destined to be together. One day, Adam gets dumped by his girlfriend for his father (Kevin Kline), an aging sitcom star. In response, Adam gets drunk and somehow wakes up naked in Emma's apartment. They quickly have sex and Emma decides to use Adam on a purely carnal level. He eventually desired a more meaningful relationship, while she is reticent for anything long-term.
Rare is the romantic comedy that is rated R. The script, written by Liz Meriwether, originally began as a raunchy female buddy comedy entitled Fuck Buddies. The screenplay managed to make Hollywood's Black List (a compendium of hot, unproduced scripts) in 2008. However, committee filmmaking rears its ugly head. You can tell the story was rewritten and rewritten to make it more palpable to mainstream audiences. The original version featured the female protagonist describing a sojourn to Napa Valley as a "dick tasting trip." The final film contains just enough of an edge so that the males in the audience aren't too embarrassed about seeing an Ashton Kutcher movie without the words "Dude" and "Where's My Car?" in the title.
Portman has generally avoided these types of films, but seems like she's looking to shed the good girl persona with her recent performances here and in Black Swan. While she brings a bubbly personality and a winning smile to the role, the novelty of a horny, foul-mouthed Portman wears thin because the material isn't particularly funny or genuine. Kutcher is bland through and through, doing nothing memorable whatsoever. Where the leads fail, the supporting cast shines. The movie really belongs to the secondary characters, including Olivia Thirlby as Emma's younger sister and Greta Gerwig and Mindy Kaling from The Office as two of Emma's friends and roommates. Gerwig gets the most substantial role and it's great to see the former matron of the mumblecore movement receiving more high-profile work. Let's hope she isn't forever cast as the kooky best friend (i.e. Judy Greer). Also good is Lake Bell, who displays deft comic timing as a nerdy and talkative co-worker of Adam's.
Hmm…there's an idea for a picture, a story revolving around the tertiary characters in a standard rom-com plot. It would do to romantic comedies what The Other Guys did to the buddy cop movie.
Rating: * ½ (*****)
After unfurling the majority of their high profile releases for the holidays and awards season, studios slowly trickle out the leftovers in the first few months of the new year. You can rest assured that a crappy romantic comedy will always be among the bunch to kick things off on a sour note. In 2009, it was 27 Dresses and Leap Year in 2010. The torrent of bad rom-coms in 2011 opens with No Strings Attached, the flipside to When Harry Met Sally. While Rob Reiner's film posited the question of whether men and women could be friends without sex being involved, No Strings Attached is all about men and women having sex without emotional attachment.
Natalie Portman is Emma, a medical resident working 80 hours a week. Ashton Kutcher is Adam, a production assistant on a Glee-esque TV show. A prologue opens the movie showing how Emma and Adam first met at summer camp and how they would bump into each other every few years. It's a blunt way to tell the audience that these two were destined to be together. One day, Adam gets dumped by his girlfriend for his father (Kevin Kline), an aging sitcom star. In response, Adam gets drunk and somehow wakes up naked in Emma's apartment. They quickly have sex and Emma decides to use Adam on a purely carnal level. He eventually desired a more meaningful relationship, while she is reticent for anything long-term.
Rare is the romantic comedy that is rated R. The script, written by Liz Meriwether, originally began as a raunchy female buddy comedy entitled Fuck Buddies. The screenplay managed to make Hollywood's Black List (a compendium of hot, unproduced scripts) in 2008. However, committee filmmaking rears its ugly head. You can tell the story was rewritten and rewritten to make it more palpable to mainstream audiences. The original version featured the female protagonist describing a sojourn to Napa Valley as a "dick tasting trip." The final film contains just enough of an edge so that the males in the audience aren't too embarrassed about seeing an Ashton Kutcher movie without the words "Dude" and "Where's My Car?" in the title.
Portman has generally avoided these types of films, but seems like she's looking to shed the good girl persona with her recent performances here and in Black Swan. While she brings a bubbly personality and a winning smile to the role, the novelty of a horny, foul-mouthed Portman wears thin because the material isn't particularly funny or genuine. Kutcher is bland through and through, doing nothing memorable whatsoever. Where the leads fail, the supporting cast shines. The movie really belongs to the secondary characters, including Olivia Thirlby as Emma's younger sister and Greta Gerwig and Mindy Kaling from The Office as two of Emma's friends and roommates. Gerwig gets the most substantial role and it's great to see the former matron of the mumblecore movement receiving more high-profile work. Let's hope she isn't forever cast as the kooky best friend (i.e. Judy Greer). Also good is Lake Bell, who displays deft comic timing as a nerdy and talkative co-worker of Adam's.
Hmm…there's an idea for a picture, a story revolving around the tertiary characters in a standard rom-com plot. It would do to romantic comedies what The Other Guys did to the buddy cop movie.
Rating: * ½ (*****)
Saturday, February 19, 2011
The Dilemma
The Dilemma - Dir. Ron Howard (2011)
The Dilemma stirred up some controversy over a scene in which Vince Vaughn's character derogatively referred to electric cars as "gay." The joke was poorly timed following a tragic spate of teen suicides and the ugly comments by an Arkansas school board member. In the end, the controversy disappeared quicker than the movie did. The Dilemma was released in the doldrums of January and vanished from theaters a month later.
Vaughn plays Ronny Valentine, a fast-talking businessman who runs a small automotive design firm with his best friend, Nick (Kevin James). They're about to land the biggest contract of their lives after successfully pitching Chrysler their idea for an energy efficient engine with the power and feel of a classic muscle car. Nick's struggle to actually pull off his novel invention isn't the dilemma of the film's title. The real dilemma comes when Ronny discovers Nick's wife, Geneva (Winona Ryder), is having an affair with a younger man (Channing Tatum). Obviously, Ronny can't tell his BFF because then there wouldn't be a movie. No, Ronny decides to follow Geneva around like an amateur detective looking to gather enough evidence to bust her.
The previews made The Dilemma out be a lighthearted comedy when that's only partially true. Much like another Vince Vaughn vehicle, The Break-Up, The Dilemma is an unbalanced mixture of wacky comedy and heavy-handed drama. The usually competent (if bland) Ron Howard seems like the wrong director to juggle the story's fracture tonal shifts. Vaughn does his usual wiseacre routine as his once sterling career continues on a downward trajectory. The sharp tongued Vaughn of Swingers and Old School fame has disappeared, chipped away after years of doing terrible pictures like Fred Claus, Four Christmases, and Couples Retreat. It would be a safe bet to guess the filmmakers were hoping to get Jon Favreau for the Kevin James role or at least try to capture some of that same chemistry. They don't as James is given little to do beyond being the typical schlubby guy.
Beyond the basic comedic trappings, the movie takes a few vain stabs at lowbrow, Apatow-esque humor with Queen Latifah's character. She delivers bawdy lines about "lady wood" and having sex with people's words and it all feels completely forced and unfunny. The Dilemma also veers into slapstick when Ronny attempts to confront Geneva's boytoy, who is known simply as Zip. The chaotic scene culminates in Ronny threatening to burn Zip's apartment building down with a makeshift flamethrower made from an aerosol can. As the loverboy, Tatum is surprisingly funny in lampooning his own meathead persona. You know your movie is in trouble when the best thing in it is Channing Tatum. Jennifer Connelly is also excellent as Ronny's girlfriend, Beth. She lends an additional layer of gravitas to every scene she's in and is way better than this movie deserves. It helps that she looks insanely gorgeous too. Never has a Chicago Cubs shirt looked better than it does on Jennifer Connelly. Perhaps, she did the role as payment for Howard and producer Brian Grazer for helping her net that Oscar for A Beautiful Mind.
Rating: * (*****)
The Dilemma stirred up some controversy over a scene in which Vince Vaughn's character derogatively referred to electric cars as "gay." The joke was poorly timed following a tragic spate of teen suicides and the ugly comments by an Arkansas school board member. In the end, the controversy disappeared quicker than the movie did. The Dilemma was released in the doldrums of January and vanished from theaters a month later.
Vaughn plays Ronny Valentine, a fast-talking businessman who runs a small automotive design firm with his best friend, Nick (Kevin James). They're about to land the biggest contract of their lives after successfully pitching Chrysler their idea for an energy efficient engine with the power and feel of a classic muscle car. Nick's struggle to actually pull off his novel invention isn't the dilemma of the film's title. The real dilemma comes when Ronny discovers Nick's wife, Geneva (Winona Ryder), is having an affair with a younger man (Channing Tatum). Obviously, Ronny can't tell his BFF because then there wouldn't be a movie. No, Ronny decides to follow Geneva around like an amateur detective looking to gather enough evidence to bust her.
The previews made The Dilemma out be a lighthearted comedy when that's only partially true. Much like another Vince Vaughn vehicle, The Break-Up, The Dilemma is an unbalanced mixture of wacky comedy and heavy-handed drama. The usually competent (if bland) Ron Howard seems like the wrong director to juggle the story's fracture tonal shifts. Vaughn does his usual wiseacre routine as his once sterling career continues on a downward trajectory. The sharp tongued Vaughn of Swingers and Old School fame has disappeared, chipped away after years of doing terrible pictures like Fred Claus, Four Christmases, and Couples Retreat. It would be a safe bet to guess the filmmakers were hoping to get Jon Favreau for the Kevin James role or at least try to capture some of that same chemistry. They don't as James is given little to do beyond being the typical schlubby guy.
Beyond the basic comedic trappings, the movie takes a few vain stabs at lowbrow, Apatow-esque humor with Queen Latifah's character. She delivers bawdy lines about "lady wood" and having sex with people's words and it all feels completely forced and unfunny. The Dilemma also veers into slapstick when Ronny attempts to confront Geneva's boytoy, who is known simply as Zip. The chaotic scene culminates in Ronny threatening to burn Zip's apartment building down with a makeshift flamethrower made from an aerosol can. As the loverboy, Tatum is surprisingly funny in lampooning his own meathead persona. You know your movie is in trouble when the best thing in it is Channing Tatum. Jennifer Connelly is also excellent as Ronny's girlfriend, Beth. She lends an additional layer of gravitas to every scene she's in and is way better than this movie deserves. It helps that she looks insanely gorgeous too. Never has a Chicago Cubs shirt looked better than it does on Jennifer Connelly. Perhaps, she did the role as payment for Howard and producer Brian Grazer for helping her net that Oscar for A Beautiful Mind.
Rating: * (*****)
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