| |
"The Forbidden Kingdom" (PG-13, 1 hr., 53 min.)
A smorgasbord of gravity-defying martial arts, silly jokes, bright colors and bad wigs, "The Forbidden Kingdom" gives action stars Jackie Chan and Jet Li a chance to share the marquee in a film designed to celebrate Asian Kung-Fu films, Chinese legends, Western myths and heroic journeys. The story (as a colleague pointed out to The Family Filmgoer at a preview) at times recalls "The Wizard of Oz" and even echoes the 1939 film in its visuals, but not in a slavish way. (There is a yellow road, but it's dirt, not brick, and the Emerald City is a many-peaked mountain, etc.) But in "The Forbidden Kingdom," the narrative is at times impossible to follow in detail, though we know who's good and who's bad. And the movie, quite simply, is fun to watch. It ought to divert teens and preteens alike.
The big, high-flying fight between Jackie Chan's and Jet Li's characters is worth the price of a ticket for the same reason that supercharged conversation between Al Pacino's cop and Rober De Niro's gangster in "Heat" (R, 1995 ) made that film worthwhile -- the heavyweights finally face off. The violence in "The Forbidden Kingdom" is stylized, and the blood flow from swords, daggers, and even a bullet is exceedingly modest. The film also contains mild sexual innuendo, ethnic slurs, basic street fighting, a bit of crude toilet humor and drinking.
South Boston teen Jason (Michael A. Angarano), a huge fan of Asian martial arts films, buys bootleg copies from an ancient shopkeeper (Chan) in Chinatown. There he is drawn to a beautiful carved fighting staff. When bullies follow Jason to the shop, rob the place and commit violence, they chase Jason to scare him into keeping quiet.
Cornered, he falls off a building clutching the staff and is transported magically to ancient China. There he meets a wine-drinking fighter, Lu Yan (Chan again), who is an "immortal," and learns that he, Jason, is destined to fulfill a prophecy about returning the staff to its rightful owner, the Monkey King (Jet Li) of legend. Jason and Lu Yan encounter a Silent Monk (also Jet Li) who fights Lu Yan before they realize they're on the same side. The two men start to train young Jason to defeat the murderous Jade Warlord (Collin Chou) and his demoness (Li Bing Bing). A beautiful girl, Golden Sparrow (Yifei Liu), bent on stopping the warlord also joins them.
--0-- --0-- --0--
BEYOND THE RATINGS GAME
-- OK FOR KINDERGARTENERS ON UP:
"Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears A Who!" G -- Just a delight. This computer-animated take keeps the Seussian whimsy, but adds three-dimensional furriness to the high-haired Whos, weight to Horton the Elephant (voice of Jim Carrey), and new dialogue that doesn't drown out the old rhymes. There's a neat contrast between the Jungle of Nool and Whoville, that microscopic, Rube Goldbergian city-on-a-speck Horton risks all to save. He and the Mayor of Whoville (Steve Carell), who communicate by a quirk of sound convergence, must prove each other's existence to disbelieving neighbors. Kids 6 and younger may cringe at: Vlad (Will Arnett), a bird of prey chasing Horton and causing Whoville to teeter; Horton hanging on a rope bridge that breaks; a mob capturing him; a scary-funny bit with the Mayor, a dentist, and a hypodermic needle.
-- OK FOR KIDS 8 AND OLDER:
"Nim's Island" PG -- Jodie Foster proves a deft comic actress in this kid-friendly South Seas adventure. While the film is an ungainly mix of a splintered live-action narrative and a few animated interludes, nimble-minded kids 8 and older will follow it easily. Abigail Breslin plays Nim, who lives in an island paradise with her widowed microbiologist dad Jack (Gerard Butler) and has lizard, sea lion and pelican pets. Nim loves Alex Rover adventure books and doesn't know they're written by Alexandra Rover (Foster), an agoraphobic woman scared to step outside her house. Alex the writer e-mails Jack seeking information on volcanoes. Jack is at sea so Nim answers, thinking she's e-mailing with Alex the book-hero. A storm hits and Jack doesn't return. Frightened, Nim begs Alex to come. The timid writer forces herself onto a plane, her hero alter ego (Butler again, looking Indiana Jones-ish) urging her on. Moments could be scary for under-8s: a man nearly drowned at sea, a volcanic eruption and Nim hurt in a fall. There is toilet humor, and the sight of a pig roasting on a spit. A re-enacted scene from a book has stereotyped Arab villains.
-- PG-13s OF VARYING INTENSITY:
"The Forbidden Kingdom" (NEW) -- A smorgasbord of gravity-defying martial arts, silly jokes, bright colors and bad wigs, "Forbidden Kingdom" gives action heroes Jackie Chan and Jet Li a chance to co-star in a film designed to bridge Eastern and Western cultures. The plot is sometimes impossible to follow, but the movie is quite simply fun and ought to divert teens and preteens. (They may even detect its parallels to "The Wizard of Oz.") The violence is highly stylized, and the blood flow from swords, daggers and even a bullet wound is quite modest. South Boston teen Jason (Michael A. Angarano) buys bootleg copies of his beloved Asian martial arts films from an ancient shopkeeper (Chan). There he is mysteriously drawn to a beautiful carved fighting staff. A shooting and a dust-up with local thugs send the besieged Jason falling off a building, clutching the staff. He is magically transported to ancient China. There he meets a wine-drinking immortal fighter, Lu Yan (Chan again) and learns that he, Jason, is destined to fulfill a prophecy about returning the staff to the legendary Monkey King (Jet Li), and thus stop the murderous Jade Warlord (Collin Chou) and his demoness (Li Bing Bing). Jason and Lu Yan encounter a Silent Monk (also Jet Li) who fights Lu Yan in a spectacular go-round before they realize they're on the same side. Aside from martial arts mayhem, the movie contains mild sexual innuendo, ethnic slurs, gun violence, street fights, crude toilet humor and drinking.
"My Blueberry Nights" (NEW; LIMITED RELEASE) -- Singer/songwriter/pianist Norah Jones proves herself a natural film actress in this moody love story from avant-garde Hong Kong director Wong Kar Wai ("Chunking Express," PG-13 1994, "In the Mood for Love," PG, 2000). Here he uses unusual camera angles and flashes of slow-motion to capture emotions. The film lingers on characters' faces and eyes. Some will find it too slow and pretentious. But "My Blueberry Nights" manages to be quite touching. Jones plays a New York woman devastated about the end of a love affair. She sits in a late-night diner and pours her heart out to the sympathetic owner, Jeremy (Jude Law), who clearly adores her. She finally leaves town and takes waitressing jobs in Memphis and in Nevada, encountering a lovesick cop (David Strathairn), and a big-talking gambler (Natalie Portman), each giving her a bit more insight into her own situation. The film contains smoking, drinking, understated violence, profanity and an implied suicide. More for high-school cinema buffs.
"Prom Night" (NEW) -- Though we can celebrate the substitution of suspense for gore in this remake of the 1980 film (which was rated R and starred Jamie Lee Curtis), this 2008 "Prom Night" feels just plain dumb. The police are hilariously inept, and the way in which the teen victims wander off alone so the psychopath can get them is just hilariously flat-footed, even for a slasher flick. High-school senior Donna (Brittany Snow) still has nightmares about the home invasion and murder of her family, which she barely escaped. As she and her pals head off with their dates to the prom, the cop (Idris Elba) who caught the killer (Johnathon Schaech) learns that he has escaped. But does he warn Donna right away? Nooooo. Besides a series of relatively stylized, relatively gore-free stabbings and throat-slittings, the movie contains sexual innuendo about spending the post-prom night in a hotel, semi-crude sexual slang, the start of an understated sexual situation, teen drinking and rare profanity. "Prom Night" and its themes are not for nightmare-prone teens.
"Leatherheads" -- A genial comedy about professional football in the 1920s, "Leatherheads" has rich characters, glib repartee and vivid atmospherics. It even has a social conscience. Yet it seems slow and heavy compared to the light-on-their-feet screwball comedies of the 1930s and '40s that director/star George Clooney wants to emulate. He plays Dodge Connelly, a graying pro footballer who cajoles an Ivy League star (John Krasinski) into joining his struggling pro team. A wisecracking newspaper gal (Renee Zellweger) plans to debunk the college star's World War I record. There is flirting, drinking, smoking, midrange profanity and harmless fisticuffs. OK for teens into old-style films.
"21" -- In this slick Faustian fable, Ben (Jim Sturgess), a gifted M.I.T. student, is lured by Micky (Kevin Spacey), a sly math professor, into a scam. Every weekend Micky and several hand-picked students fly to Las Vegas and win gobs of cash at blackjack using the mental technique of card-counting. Seductive Jill (Kate Bosworth) tells Ben it's not quite cheating, but a heavy-fisted casino snoop (Laurence Fishburne) is on their trail. Based on a true story, the film has style but not intensity, until Ben finally recognizes what a selfish lout he's become. Along with middling violence, "21" includes a nongraphic sexual situation, other sexual innuendo, suggestive dancing, profanity and drinking. More for high-schoolers.
-- R's:
"Forgetting Sarah Marshall" (NEW) -- Comic actor/writer Jason Segel has concocted a script that lets him cast his own sad-sack self as the leading man in a bawdy comedy about heartbreak. Too sexually explicit and crude for under-17s, the film is produced by Judd Apatow (writer and/or producer and/or director of R-rated "Knocked Up," 2007, "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," 2005, and "Superbad," 2007). Right off the bat the film sets its tone with repeated frontal male nudity. Segal plays Peter, a film and TV composer unable to grasp that his actress girlfriend Sarah (Kristen Bell) has dumped him. He accidentally-on-purpose follows her and her new rock-star boyfriend (hilarious Brit actor Russell Brand) to Hawaii. The movie includes explicit sexual situations, strong sexual slang and explicit descriptions of sex acts, strong profanity, drug references, depression and infidelity themes and drinking. Not for under-17s.
"Street Kings" (NEW)-- Keanu Reeves is somewhat miscast in this uneven attempt at hard-boiled urban crime drama as Tom, a depressed, hard-drinking Los Angeles undercover cop with an itchy trigger finger. He gets entangled in a corruption case that makes him look like a bad cop at some moments and a hero at others. Part of the confusion is intentional, but there is also a frustrating lack of clarity. The cast (also Forest Whitaker, Hugh Laurie, Chris Evans and Jay Mohr, with Cedric the Entertainer and rap stars Common and The Game in supporting roles) is able, but you never forget they're "acting" it and not living it. The film includes bloody shootouts, a rape threat, strong profanity, sexual language, racial slurs, talk of child molesters, drugs, smoking and drinking. OK for 16 and up.
"Smart People." Discerning high-schoolers and many adults will be tickled by "Smart People," a grumpy, leisurely comedy in which it is proved that intellectual heft does not equal happiness. Dennis Quaid, bearded and dour, plays Lawrence, a widowed English professor. His friendless daughter (Ellen Page) is poised to ace the SATs. His neglected son (Ashton Holmes) writes poetry. After an accident leaves Lawrence with a concussion, his ne'er-do-well adopted brother (Thomas Haden Church), a free spirit, comes to stay and drive him around. In the midst of all this, Lawrence falls for the emergency room doctor (Sarah Jessica Parker) who treated him. A very mild R, the film has midrange profanity, backview nudity, nongraphic sexual situations, marijuana use, drinking and smoking. The teenage girl flirts with her adopted uncle, who firmly rejects her advances. OK for teens.
"The Ruins." A horror flick with an overdeveloped sense of gore and an underdeveloped story, "The Ruins" follows a classic formula: Callow young American tourists encounter mortal danger and must be brave and smart when cell phones, credit cards and whining don't work. At a Mexican beach resort four friends (Jonathan Tucker, Jena Malone, Shawn Ashmore and Laura Ramsey) and a German acquaintance (Joe Anderson) trek out to a Mayan ruin. They're surrounded by armed villagers who won't follow them up the pyramid, but won't allow them off it, either. "The Ruins" depicts bloody violence, graphic amputations and a gross, body-invading vine. There is profanity, drinking, sexual innuendo and seminudity. Not for under-17s.
|
|
