Charlie (Jerry O’Connell) an uptight hairdresser, and Louis (Anthony Anderson) his zany best friend, are sent by Charlie’s mob-boss stepfather (Christopher Walken) to deliver $50,000 to an associate in Australia. When Louis places his “lucky” jacket on an injured kangaroo for a photo-op at the onset of their journey, the animal makes off with the … Continue reading
The second cinematic installment in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy is superior to its spectacular predecessor in every regard, thanks largely to a trio of spellbinding storylines. As the forces of evil grow stronger throughout Middle Earth, a now-separated fellowship of adventurers struggles to restore peace. While ring-bearer Frodo (Elijah Wood) and his … Continue reading
In this heavy-handed reworking of the Cinderella story, Jennifer Lopez attempts to keep it real by playing Marisa, a housekeeper at a luxury hotel who dreams of being promoted to assistant manager. After illicitly trying on some designer duds she finds in a room she’s cleaning, Marisa is mistaken for a well-heeled socialite by a … Continue reading
After losing his badge in a bungled drug investigation, undercover narcotics agent Nick Tellis (Jason Patric) gets a chance at reinstatement when he’s asked to help solve the murder of a fellow undercover officer. Despite his wife’s fervent objections and his own strong reservations, Nick accepts the assignment, joining Henry Oak (Ray Liotta), the volatile … Continue reading
Determined to support his family after his father dies, the eternally idealistic Nicholas Nickleby (Charlie Hunnam) seeks help from his malevolent uncle (Christopher Plummer), who finds Nicholas a job teaching in a miserable academy run by a wretched, one-eyed schoolmaster (Jim Broadbent). Nicholas quickly flees, taking with him a persecuted boy, Smike (Jamie Bell), to … Continue reading
Based on writer-director Rebecca Miller’s acclaimed book of stories, this trio of exceedingly intimate short films concerns three vastly dissimilar women facing decisions of life-altering importance. In Delia, a battered wife (Kyra Sedgwick) struggles to summon the courage to leave her violent husband. In Greta, an ambitious cookbook editor (Parker Posey) contemplates an extramarital affair. … Continue reading
Although it stars funnyman Adam Sandler, this subversive romantic comedy from writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson is no Happy Gilmore. In a riveting performance, Sandler plays Barry, a doleful entrepreneur who falls for Lena (Emily Watson), a straight-shooting divorcee. As the two fragile loners form a hesitant bond, Barry’s numerous idiosyncrasies – including a tendency toward … Continue reading
Smug ad man Roger (Campbell Scott) is happy to oblige when Nick (Jesse Eisenberg), his 16-year-old nephew, asks for advice on matters of the opposite sex. Trouble is, Roger’s an acid-tongued cynic who alienates every woman he encounters. So, like a wolf instructing a lamb in the ways of the world, Roger subjects Nick to … Continue reading
A no-nonsense psychiatrist (George Clooney) discerns that a mysterious planet is having a strange effect on the crew members (Viola Davis and Jeremy Davies) of a space station built to study it. But his pragmatism vanishes when his dead wife (Natascha McElhone) suddenly appears on board the station and, against his better judgment, he finds … Continue reading
Seemingly timed to coincide with a U.S. invasion in Iraq, this jingoistic ode to military machismo from director Antoine Fuqua often feels like little more than pro-war propaganda. Bruce Willis plays Lt. A.K. Waters, a laughably stoic Navy SEAL sent to “extract” bosomy American doctor Lena Kendricks (Monica Bellucci) from a war-torn area of Nigeria, … Continue reading
Mike Rucker Writes 