NYC Film Critic

Brief takes on four films currently in theaters.

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Knight and Day
Directed by James Mangold
Written by Patrick O’Neill
Starring Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz, Peter Sarsgaard and Viola Davis.
***

James Mangold’s new globe-trotting adventure/romance Knight and Day offers an interesting twist on The Bechdel Test, a three-step method of evaluating movies that often reveals just how sorely under-represented women are onscreen, particularly in big-budget Hollywood productions.  For those unfamiliar with the test, which takes its name from a 1985 comic strip by Alice Bechdel, the three steps a movie has to meet in order to pass are:

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James Mangold, director of Walk the Line and 3:10 to Yuma, takes his first crack at a summer blockbuster with the Tom Cruise/Cameron Diaz chase picture Knight and Day.  Read my interview with Mangold at Film Journal International.

Toy Story 3
Directed by Lee Unkrich
Written by Michael Arndt
Starring Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack and Ned Beatty
***1/2

You know, the world probably didn’t need a Toy Story 3.  After all, its predecessor, 1999’s Toy Story 2, brought the adventures of Woody, Buzz Lightyear and the rest of Andy’s toys to a wholly satisfying and very emotional conclusion.  Then again, one could argue that Toy Story 2 wasn’t necessary either since the first Toy Story—the film that put Pixar Animation Studios on the map way back in 1995—did the exact same thing.  And that’s what separates this exceptional filmmaking collective from most other production companies out there right now: they make sure that each film works entirely on its own terms, even when that film is a sequel.

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A comic-book cowboy few people have heard of gets a movie that nobody will see.  Because it’s pretty terrible.  Read my review over at Film Journal.

Reviews of three documentaries now in theaters.

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The Karate Kid
Directed by Harold Zwart
Screenplay by Christopher Murphey
Starring Jaden Smith, Jackie Chan and Taraji P. Henson
**

Released in the summer of 1984, The Karate Kid remains a convincing and well-crafted coming-of-age story, a genre that’s often runs the risk of succumbing to contrivance and corn.

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The ’80s action-adventure show heads to the big screen courtesy of co-writer/director Joe Carnahan and I pity the fool who forks over good money to see it.  Read my review over at Film Journal.

Ashton Kutcher and Katherine Heigl make an excellent case for divorce as a mismatched married couple in the resoundingly unfunny action comedy Killers.  Read my review at Film Journal.

Whiz Kids
Directed by Tom Shepard
Co-Director: Tina DiFeliciantonio
Written and Edited by Jane C. Wagner
***

Growing up, I was never what you’d call a science whiz.  I was interested in the subject sure, but didn’t have a real aptitude for it.  In high school, biology and chemistry class were the twin banes of my existence and I never bothered to try my hand at senior-year physics.  The pattern repeated itself in college, where I made sure to find the least intensive science courses possible to fulfill those credit requirements.  (In my freshman year, I did take a chance and enrolled in a cosmology course only to drop it after barely being able to answer a single question on the first exam.)  Even though science isn’t my field, I’ve always had an admiration for the folks that do find pleasure and passion in it, because those are the people who are really going to be changing the world while the rest of us enjoy the benefits of their accomplishments.

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