Movies

BY: COLIN MURPHY - SENIOR WRITER

    The gay community has long had a love affair with Kristin Chenoweth. From Broadway's Wicked to TV's The West Wing and Pushing Daisies, the perky, pint sized actress and chanteuse has earned a special place in our hearts. So it should come as no surprise that Lifetime’s Original Movie, 12 Men of Christmas, starring Chenoweth, Josh Hopkins (TV’s Cougar Town) and Anna Chlumsky (My Girl) is garnering lots of buzz.

BY: LEE RICE

Let me start by saying that I liked "Borat." For me, that movie was brilliant because Sacha Baron Cohen used a walking, talking stereotype to confront Americans with their views on people from the Middle East. When he was dealing with people who were intolerant, he underplayed things, slowly raising the stakes as they exposed their own ignorance. When he was dealing with people he thought would be more accepting and helpful, he overplayed the ‘confused foreigner’ angle to see how far he could push them before they were unable to keep their composure. It was funny, and it actually provided an interesting look at a side of America that is rarely dragged into the light.

BY: LEE RICE

Although it’s about a bunch of talking rodents/secret agents, "G-Force" somehow still managed to surprise me by how little there was to the plot.

BY: LEE RICE

Johnny Depp stars as John Dillinger in ‘Public Enemies,’ a film about the life and death of one of America’s most prolific bank robbers.

When I first heard about ‘Enemies’ and saw the trailer, I was deeply excited. Depp is one of my favorite actors, and his ability to disappear inside a character is unparalleled by any other living actor. Going into the theater, I had high hopes that I would be watching the birth of Depp’s long overdue Oscar win.

BY: LEE RICE

Although it has a few funny moments, the laughs are few and far between in ‘Land of the Lost,’ the new, comedic adaptation of a popular 1970’s television series.

The basic premise remains the same, people fall through a time portal, get stuck in a pocket dimension filled with people and objects from the past, present and future, and adventure ensues.

BY: LEE RICE

Although the splendor of Vatican City really shines in ‘Angels & Demons,’ the scenery is the only thing that manages to keep the viewers attention away from the undercooked character development, apocalyptic pseudo-science, and mind-sapping exposition.

BY: LEE RICE

Returning to a much loved franchise with new actors in old roles is a monumental task for anyone, but thanks to the quality of those new actors and an excellent screenplay that manages to turn nearly a half decade of Trek lore on its head, J.J. Abrahm’s relaunch of Star Trek is an exercise in brilliance.

BY: LEE RICE

After the recent "Zack and Miri Make a Porno," I was rather skeptical about seeing another Seth Rogan comedy. After all, it seems that he’s rapidly becoming overused as Hollywood’s new go-to man for comedy.

Fortunately, although "Observe and Report" does go over the top at a few points, it manages to stay within the realm of good taste and delivers a funny and largely entertaining good time.

FAST & FURIOUS

By: Lee Rice

Fast cars, beautiful women, and Vin Diesel in a role from the days before he was reduced to doing dreck like Babylon A.D.

What’s not to like?

Everything else.

‘Fast & Furious’ lives up to its title, packing its run time with frenetically-shot car chases that are admittedly a cut above other action fare that I’ve seen lately, but real problems arise when the film fails to deliver any real character development or a decent story.

KNOWING

By: Lee Rice

If Nicholas Cage could predict disasters in real life, one wonders how many bad films he could have avoided starring in. Fortunately, he’s picked right this time in choosing "Knowing," an interesting blend of supernatural suspense and disaster movie.