Snap Judgments - A Quick Review of 5 Movies

The Love Guru - Lawyer was right in his review when he said Mike Myers’s time has passed. The 3 songs Myers plays on his sitar during the film are from 1973 (“The Joker”), 1980 (“Nine to Five”), and 1991 (“More than Words”). Its ridiculous plot and frequent extraneous scenes are reminiscent of Austin Powers, but that series grew old a couple of minutes into the second film. Here, characters begin each scene explaining what happened in the last - just in case someone wasn’t paying attention. Ben Kingsley defames his Oscar winning performance, but Justin Timberlake’s performance is delightfully free of self-awareness. There are many laughs when hockey announcers Stephen Colbert and Jim Gaffigan are on screen. But not from Myers, who constantly and annoyingly laughs at himself. Some have called it one of the worst films of the year, but there are some interesting ideas floating around. And Jessica Alba. There is Jessica Alba. C

A Band’s Visit – Nothing, and I mean, nothing happens when an Egyptian band gets lost in a small Israeli town, trying to play at the opening of some kind of Arab arts center. Over the course of one night, the different cultures will clash, then come to realize how much they have in common. Yuck. I mean, Yawn. The “humor” is forced, the pace is slow, and the ending predictable. There’s a nice moment when a young man teaches a teenager how to hit on a girl, but this one’s otherwise really painful and slow. Did I mention it’s slow? C-

Son of Rambow – This is what happens when untalented people who’ve seen Rushmore too many times make a movie. Crappy kid acting, uninspired action scenes, humorless attempts at humor, and an instantly forgettable film. Rich kids at a British boarding school pretend they’re heroes as they shoot a film so they can avoid reality. Between this and A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Garth Jennings is the worst working director alive. D+

Reprise – It’s been called the best Norwegian film in years. Compared to what? This Jules and Jim wannabe depicts two friends and burgeoning authors as they fail, succeed, love, lose, etc. The style begins fractured with many alternative paths (think Choose-Your-Own-Adventure) before settling into a more conventional narrative. The discussion about luck and fate and how it affects lives is certainly well-worn. There are some honest performances but the objective narration and episodic plot probably impresses more if you haven’t seen that Francois Truffaut masterpiece – or even Y Tu Mama Tambien. C+

Young@Heart - This documentary shows a geriatric group (average age: 80) singing Sonic Youth, The Ramones, Coldplay, James Brown, etc. to big audiences. Most members admit they prefer opera or Julie Andrews and don’t seem to know why they do it – especially when you never know which member is going to die in between performances. The middle-aged jerkweed chorus director Bob Cilman verbally abuses them when they mess up and the whole thing feels like horrible exploitation (new genre: Exlaxploitation?). You’ll feel sorry for the old people. Some will claim that it’s keeping them young, but it’s embarrassing and those enjoying the performance are laughing at old people, not with them. If anyone uses the phrase “triumph of the human spirit” discussing this film, they’re a pretentious dick. C