Recent DVD Releases

All of the following were dutifully reviewed by my collaborators during their theatrical run.

The Lookout (2007): Original review: here. Unlike so many films that seem to crap out after a good start, this one saves its best scenes for the third act. While writing, writer-director Scott Frank probably used the conceit his brain-damaged main character uses: start with the ending and move backward. It didn’t quite catch fire as I had hoped and is not nearly as amusing as Frank’s prior screenplays. But the first-time writer director uses the bank location and landscapes expertly. B+

Mr. Brooks (2007): Original review: here. I liked the multiple story lines and the unexpected twists, but the direction is second-rate. William Hurt is excellent, but Dane Cook is miscast and needs a few hundred more acting lessons. He makes Demi Moore look like Meryl Streep. The idea that enjoying killing people is a genetic trait is ludicrous, of course. But if you squint, you can appreciate multiple characters struggling to control their demons. B-


Knocked Up (2007): Original review: here. The thing that is making Judd Apatow’s movies so special is that there are no throwaway scenes. He strikes comedic gold in the most interstitial and perfunctory scenes. The thing that makes Apatow’s movies unique is how they can be so vulgar and heartfelt at the same time. This has to be difficult to accomplish and he’s making it look easy. A-

Favorite line: Jonah Hill, making fun of a long-haired bearded friend, calls him: “Scorsese on coke”.