Is it just me, or is Chris Kattan kind of cute? Okay, it’s just me. Okay, he’s not really cute… at all. But, hey, he sure is funny. Which is a good thing, because if he weren’t, there would be absolutely nothing positive to say about his new flick, Corky Romano. Despite Kattan’s comic abilities, … Continue reading
Martial arts dynamo Jet Li teams with rapper DMX in this exceptionally convoluted urban kung fu caper. Li, whose dramatic range includes exactly one facial expression, plays Su, a Taiwanese government agent looking for the precious “black diamonds” recently pilfered by professional thief Tony (DMX), which are now in the hands of a powerful crime … Continue reading
Say what you will about Britney, but she’s no dumb blonde. Unlike fellow pop diva Mariah Carey, whose acting debut was a wooden performance in a melodramatic vanity project of epic proportions, Britney has chosen a cheery road-trip flick in which to launch her film career. It’s a smart move; Crossroads is silly and exuberant … Continue reading
With its dazzling opening credit sequence, Daredevil begins on an unquestionably promising note. Stylized drawings of a gigantic metropolis give way to a CGI cityscape suitably grim for a crime-fighting crusader. But then, a terrible thing happens. With no warning, the first voiceover narration begins, delivered in Ben Affleck’s distinctly inflection-free monotone. And just like … Continue reading
Blinded by toxic waste when he was a boy, lawyer Matt Murdock (Ben Affleck) now puts his radioactivally enhanced remaining senses to use every night as Daredevil, a vigilante crime fighter in a ridiculous red leather pantsuit. The surprisingly joyless action sees him wooing Elektra (Jennifer Garner), a hyper-defensive martial arts expert, while squaring off … Continue reading
“There are no moments of miraculous self-discovery in Dark Blue, nor do any of the characters suddenly grow a conscience. Instead, as their own situations increasingly mirror the city’s own foreboding state of affairs, they experience brief moments of clarity, then struggle quietly to figure out the right thing to do.” Riot Act Racial unrest serves … Continue reading
Set against the urban unrest that exploded in Los Angeles after the 1992 beating of Rodney King, this gripping police thriller showcases an inspired performance by Kurt Russell as a racist cop with a disturbingly distorted sense of justice. As the city simmers in hostility awaiting a verdict in the King-beating trial, Eldon Perry (Russell) … Continue reading
This macabre misfire scrapes the bottom of the idea barrel by reimagining the tooth fairy as a vengeful spirit who butchers anyone who lays eyes on her. Having seen the specter kill his mother when he lost his last tooth as a boy, the now-grown Kyle (Chaney Kley) lives in constant fear of the spirit. … Continue reading
“I guess it’s only fair that black audiences are now bombarded with the same inconsequential fluff that’s been aimed at white moviegoers for years. There’s not a lick of dramatic heft in director Gary Hardwick’s Deliver Us From Eva, but, then again, there wasn’t any in Two Week’s Notice or Just Married, either. And, with competent performances by a … Continue reading
Opinionated, acerbic and downright brutal, Eva (Gabrielle Union) never met a man she wouldn’t gladly rip to shreds. Having raised her younger sisters (Essence Atkins, Robinne Lee and Meagan Good) since she was 18, Eva still substitutes running their lives for living one of her own. Even though her sisters don’t mind Eva’s constant meddling, … Continue reading
Mike Rucker Writes 