NYC Film Critic

NYC Film Critic is taking an early August break, but before I go I’m leaving you with a batch of reviews for movies opening over the next two weeks, including my take on Edgar Wright’s much-anticipated (by me at least) Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, along with capsules of smaller releases like Get Low and Tirador.  Last but not least, I’ve also included my mid-year status report listing my favorite movies of 2010 so far.  As Scott Pilgrim might say, it’s an epic column full of epicness.

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40-Year-Old Virgin co-stars Paul Rudd and Steve Carell reunite for Dinner for Schmucks a somewhat funny, somewhat obnoxious remake of a French farce.  Read my review at Film Journal.

Salt
Directed by Phillip Noyce
Written by Kurt Wimmer
Starring Angelina Jolie, Liev Schreiber, Chewitel Ejiofor
**1/2

Between The A-Team, The Karate Kid and Predators the summer of 2010 has been looking a whole lot like the summer of 1988.  And here’s one more ‘80s throwback for you, Salt, a new thriller about a squad of Soviet spies who launch a mission to destroy America from within.

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One of the best things about this gig is the opportunity to speak with filmmakers whose work I admire and enjoy.  Folks like Guillermo Del Toro, Terry Gilliam, Nick Park and now Edgar Wright, who directed the brilliant comedies Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz and is currently awaiting the release of his latest opus, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, based on the comic book of the same name.  The movie has its coming out party at Comic-Con in San Diego this weekend and goes into general release on August 13.  You can read all about the movie and its director in my just-published feature story over at Film Journal.



Inception
Written and Directed by Christopher Nolan
Starring Leonard DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Ken Watanabe.
***

Heist movies are only as good as their climactic heist and in Inception, writer/director Chris Nolan comes up with an ingenious one.  Seizing on the gimmick of dreams Nolan stages a heist that takes place across four different dreamscapes, including a rain-soaked city, a posh hotel, a remote mountain bunker and, last but not least, a crumbling metropolis that exists on a level of dreaming that’s referred to in grave tones as “limbo”—a place from where few who venture ever return.

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The Kids Are All Right
Directed by Lisa Cholodenko
Written by Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg
Starring Annette Bening, Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Mia Wasikowska, Josh Hutcherson
***
I wonder how many of the critics that are rushing to praise Lisa Cholodenko’s admittedly enjoyable comedy The Kids Are All Right as something fresh and different are also regular viewers of the popular ABC sitcom Modern Family.

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Nicolas Cage and Jay Baruchel headline Jerry Bruckheimer’s latest attempt to find the next Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.  Read my review over at Film Journal.

The Girl Who Played with Fire
Directed by Daniel Alfredson
Written by Jonas Frykberg
Starring Noomi Rapace, Michael Nyqvist, Annika Hallin, Per Oscarsson
**

At this point, I’ve more or less decided that I’ll be following along with Stieg Larsson’s blockbuster Millennium trilogy via the film adaptations rather than the bestselling books.

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Despicable Me
Directed by Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud
Written by Ken Daurio and Sergio Pablos
Starring Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Will Arnett, Kristen Wiig
**1/2

This might sound strange, but the movie that came to mind while watching the new animated romp Despicable Me was Woody Allen’s “first” feature What’s Up Tiger Lily?

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Back after a lengthy hiatus caused by the recent holiday as well as a general lack of interest in last week’s big releases…I think they had something to do with an eclipse and an airbender.  Kicking the weekend off is a review of Predators, the summer surprise I’ve been waiting for.  This updating of the 1987 original isn’t a great action movie, but it is a consistently entertaining one.  Read my review over at Film Journal.