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BRETT MICHEL

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Bored runs amuk in Saw V

Seeing Saw
As a film critic, I'm obliged to approach every film with an open mind.

By: BRETT MICHEL | November 07, 2008

Madagascar ain't no Wall-E

An uninspired sit-com packed with Hollywood stars
It’s a light entertainment that can cash in with election-weary audiences.

By: BRETT MICHEL | November 05, 2008

Overwrought Pride and Glory

Overwrought, derivative police procedural
Here comes director Gavin O’Connor ( Miracle ) to demonstrate that threatening a baby — especially with a hot iron — will never be acceptable.

By: BRETT MICHEL | October 31, 2008

Zack and Miri is enjoyably raunchy

Full of raunch and snappy dialogue
Kevin Smith’s ear for raunch is as piquant as ever, but he’s moved beyond his usual unconvincing leads to Judd Apatow regulars Rogen and Craig Robinson.

By: BRETT MICHEL | October 28, 2008

Max Payne comes up cold

Bloodless, PG-13-rated action noir
No longer the undercover DEA agent of the game, Max oversees NYPD “cold case” files. They don’t come much colder than this one.

By: BRETT MICHEL | October 25, 2008

Body of Lies

Another forgettable thriller
For a film dealing with Intelligence, Body of Lies has little enough of its own.

By: BRETT MICHEL | October 16, 2008

Eagle Eye

A credulity-be-damned plot
The trouble with Shia? He’s no Henry Fonda, Jimmy Stewart, or Cary Grant.

By: BRETT MICHEL | October 02, 2008

Shaun of the Dead star on losing friends, alienating people, and wanking off to Gillian Anderson
Thirty-eight-year-old British actor Simon Pegg’s US star has been on the rise since his zombie-movie parody Shaun of the Dead shuffled into multiplexes back in 2004.

By: BRETT MICHEL | October 01, 2008

Review: My Best Friend's Girl (2008)

Predictability ensues. Hilarity doesn’t.
How many awful films must audiences sit through before producers realize that Dane Cook is not a romantic lead?

By: BRETT MICHEL | September 24, 2008

Review: The Lucky Ones (2008)

A contrived film about the war in Iraq
A roller-coaster ride toward spurious patriotism; a road trip transporting unlucky viewers from hoo-rah to ho-hum.

By: BRETT MICHEL | September 24, 2008

Towelhead

A grosteque and unbelievable adaptation
Towelhead is the type of tripe that poses as enlightenment in “important” Oscar winners like Crash and American Beauty .

By: BRETT MICHEL | September 17, 2008

Righteous Kill

A predictable, tedious thriller
It’s been nearly a decade since Al Pacino and Robert De Niro were choosing roles based on quality rather than cash.

By: BRETT MICHEL | September 17, 2008

The Women

A Botoxed ode to Saks Fifth Avenue
Rewritten, directed, and produced by Diane English in a flat style that betrays both her TV roots and her status as a first-time director.

By: BRETT MICHEL | September 09, 2008

Disaster Movie

Devoid of laughs or recognizable actors
Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer (the hacks behind Date Movie and Epic Movie ) unleashed their second witless rehash of pop culture references this year.

By: BRETT MICHEL | September 03, 2008

Devil at the Gate

Giving voice to Red Heroine
The ensemble has spent the better part of a decade composing and performing soundtracks for silent films, creating their own brand of musical alchemy.

By: BRETT MICHEL | September 05, 2008

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

A stiffly-animated, money-grabbing afterthought
It is Star Wars , but it's also an ad for an upcoming video game and an animated TV series debuting in October.

By: BRETT MICHEL | August 20, 2008

Henry Poole Is Here

An unbelievable climax that will test your faith
Hopeless Henry Poole (Luke Wilson), suffering from one of those terminal, nameless movie diseases.

By: BRETT MICHEL | August 13, 2008

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2

Disjointed, sketchy, and saccharine
Like Sex and the City: The Movie, Sanaa Hamri’s continuation of the journey of a pair of jeans that magically fit four girls of disparate genes feels tailored for the small screen.

By: BRETT MICHEL | August 05, 2008

Bottle Shock

Bland vino
I found myself thinking, “I detect corn, laced with cheese.”

By: BRETT MICHEL | August 05, 2008

Paper or plastic?

Baghead keeps itself covered
The Duplass brothers have constructed a compact meta-movie laced with knowing winks.

By: BRETT MICHEL | July 30, 2008

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