Chicago Tribune: Michael Phillips
Not often enough, according to writer-director David Twohy, whose cockamamie honeymoon-fiasco picture "A Perfect Getaway" at least has the fortitude to venture off the beaten path of formula. Be warned, though: When the story's twist arrives, you half-expect Twohy to throw in a couple of reels from "Dead Again," plus outtakes from "The Usual Suspects." It's a lulu; I'm just not sure if it's the sort of lulu that will lead to great word-of-mouth. The film combines mouthwatering scenery (Puerto Rico subbing, largely, for the Hawaiian island of Kauai) with frequent stabbings. I rather enjoyed it, though Twohy's crucial surprise does seem like a long, preposterous way to go for a trip to the disorient. more
Chicago Tribune: Michael Phillips
"Julie & Julia," which could also be called "Butter & Butterer," may not be great cinema, but people going to a movie like this for great cinema are sniffing around the wrong kitchen. You go to a movie like this for the sauces and stews, and for the considerable pleasure of seeing (and listening to) Meryl Streep's drolly exuberant performance as Julia Child, the towering culinary icon with the distinctively plummy vocal intonations evoking a flute, an oboe and Ed Wynn after a couple of sherries. more
Chicago Tribune: Betsy Sharkey
"Paper Heart" - the name conjures up kindergarten sweetness and love celebrated in construction paper cutouts before puberty, dating and disappointments begin to color the picture. more
Chicago Tribune: Michael Phillips
I had the same feeling when confronted with the merrily fraudulent performance artists known as the Yes Men, Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno, in this sequel to their 2003 film. The Yes Men, to their credit, don't inflate their purpose. They set up fake corporate Web sites and wait to be invited to speak at corporate events, where they pose as representatives of companies or agencies they do not represent, or peddle insane products such as candles made of human flesh (not really; they're just touted that way), thus upending as many apple carts as possible and filling their feature out to the desired 90-minute length. more
Chicago Tribune: Michael Phillips
"Funny People" is 50 percent good and 50 percent close. I am a large, large fan of screenwriter Judd Apatow's previous directorial efforts, "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" and "Knocked Up," which are commercial as all get-out but non-formulaic and side-trippy enough to be interesting. Most of Apatow's characters think, talk and one-up each other like L.A. comedy writers, whatever they do for a living; in "Funny People" the characters are comedians. more
Chicago Tribune: Michael Phillips
The world can thank former dolphin trainer Ric O'Barry for the adorably camera-friendly stars of the 1960s television series "Flipper," all five of them. O'Barry captured, trained and befriended the cetaceans; the show stoked worldwide interest in dolphins and led to a proliferation of Sea World-type showcases for the species' intelligence, trainable charm and general cuteness. more
Chicago Tribune: Michael Phillips
Sweet, simple and more than a little dodgy, writer-director Max Mayer's "Adam" gets a lift from its ensemble, thereby proving that a film's acting typically is the least of its problems. more
Chicago Tribune: Michael Phillips
Lars von Trier's "Antichrist" has among its cast of characters a deer, seen briefly picking at its own dangling innards, foreshadowing some rough human behavior to come. Also there is a fox who speaks at one point. "Chaos reigns," it says to the character played by Willem Dafoe. more
Chicago Tribune: Michael Phillips
The new Disney macho rodent action picture "G-Force" skews toward preteens in self-explanatory ways, promising gadgets, gizmos and guinea pigs, in 3-D. The script comes from The Wibberleys (Marianne and Cormac, husband and wife), who already sound like their own Disney TV series, though they worked on everything from the second, excremental "Bad Boys" to "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle," along with the kiddie-aimed remake of "The Shaggy Dog" and the "National Treasure" pictures. Sample dialogue here: "Get your butt out of my face!" "Get your face out of my butt!" more
Chicago Tribune: Michael Phillips
The British prime minister's director of diplomacy is on the phone, arranging a function. "You needn't worry about the Canadians," he says. "They're just happy to be there. [pause] Yes, well, they always look surprised when they're invited." more
