Thr3e (2006)

Such a nice try. The problem with the movie here is the same problem that all Ted Dekker's books have. He's good at coming up with intense situations for his main characters to be in, but he can't satisfyingly finish it to save his life. This is a terribly disappointing ending (with absolutely no basis in reality, may I add) and tries to throw a twist or two in to make the ending less cliched, but it only makes it more disappointing when the final result IS that cliched answer.

On top of that, the acting of the two main girls is abysmal. They speak as if they're just reciting lines. And let's not even talk about the actress portraying the hero's aunt, who is vaguely reminiscent of Sinbad of the Seven Seas' Jaffar with her verbal overacting and physical gyrations. Could she play a more stereotyped character if she tried? (To be fair, some of that is the fault of the script/book, but still...)

This is a cheap Christian knock-off of many other, better movies. The Christian worldview is a cool one and a nice one to explore, but it is NOT best explored through this mess of a movie. 1.5 stars.

Get Smart (2008)

I've only seen the show once or twice, so I came to this not knowing what to expect. All I knew was I really liked Steve Carell and the couple episodes of the show I'd seen were good.

The movie gets off to a very rocky start with a bland, heard-it-before story of a rookie trying to make it in a competitive field, but gains its footing halfway through when it hits the actual mission part of the story. When Carell and Anne Hathaway are actually fighting off villains and discovering their secret, it's enjoyable. When they're musing over their personal lives and possible relationship, it's not. 3 stars.

Company: A Musical Comedy (2007)

At last! Stephen Sondheim's 1970 comedy that completely changed musical theater for at least a decade and a half is somewhere on DVD! And it's not disappointing in the least. Raul Esparza makes Bobby a very real person rather than a stereotype, and there are several "people to watch" in the ensemble cast of his married friends. (Kristin Huffman and Elizabeth Stanley in particular impressed me.)

Sondheim paints an intriguing picture of modern marriage and relationships through the eyes of Bobby, who wants to get married but sees how his friends' marriages have just made life far more complicated for them. His final musical number, where he hammers on the piano in an effort to work out exactly what this all means to him, is a stunning portrayal of someone finally coming to grips with the fact that love is always worth it.

A very minimalistic set allows for the slightly avant-garde script to truly shine. Characters unconnected to the current scene burst in and perform songs. An interesting choice here is that all the performers are not just performing vocally, but as the show's orchestra as well.

This show continues to be one of my favorites by Sondheim, and although this is not a perfect production, it captures what people love about this show - brilliant music, brilliant script, and a look at what love means in a modern day time. This is no 1960s romantic comedy. This is a new genre that nobody can quite classify. 4 stars.

Penelope (2006)

This was a very nice try, and had it been handled skillfully could have been a very sweet modern fairy tale. But poor characterization and awkward story transitions left the story feeling lopsided. Catherine O'Hara was the highlight of all the actors, playing the obsessive mother with just the right mix of comedy and tragedy. (Reminds me ever so slightly of her work in For Your Consideration.) Christina Ricci, Reese Witherspoon, and James McAvoy? Some very good actors wasted on this movie. 2 stars.

Wide Awake (1998)

This is so unlike Shyamalan in its plot and feel if you look on the surface -- but one of Shyamalan's main themes has always been the issue of faith, of God, of how that can connect to our life down here. He just took an entire movie to explore it here, instead of having it as a sideplot to the main idea of aliens invading earth.

Joseph Cross is superb as the main child. He's possibly as brilliant as Haley Joel Osment was in Sixth Sense, but in a very different genre. He is wrestling with very serious, adult issues, and his growing discouragement is heartbreaking to watch.

Although this isn't a brilliant film, it's a solidly moving portrayal of a young boy's search for God in a world that is too busy to answer his questions. 3.5 stars.

(By the way, what is this "Rosie O'Donnell Is Hilarious!" endorsement up at the top of the box cover? Rosie O'Donnell was in it very briefly and was not terribly hilarious either time. Really, the story's about the boy, not about her at all. Terrible idea trying to market it as an uproarious family comedy.)

The American President (1995)

This movie suffers from a bizarre Annette Bening performance, a terrible script, one-dimensional characters, and a thoroughly boring plot. So what makes it 2 1/2 stars rather than something lower? Michael Douglas' performance. He takes the awkward, stilted lines he was given and somehow fleshes them out to create a character that I'm actually interested in hearing more about. Not worth watching as a whole (Dave is much better as a presidential romance movie) but his performance makes it not terrible. 2.5 stars.

27 Dresses (2008)

Plot: After serving as a bridesmaid 27 times, a young woman wrestles with the idea of standing by her sister's side as her sibling marries the man she's secretly in love with.

A romantic comedy really only requires two things to make it work: a guy and a girl that you want to end up together. This has that. Katherine Heigl is a charming bridesmaid doormat who has never said no to anyone in her life, while James Marsden (who is rising in fame, hoorah, hoorah) is a charming cynic, and it's easy to root for the two of them to finally realize they're meant to be with each other. The movie tries to be a bit deeper than it's really able to, but plays well with concepts, hopes, and dreams that are easy to relate to and cheer on. Fairly well-done. 3.5 stars.