A9

Bob Habes — You be the Critic

Stumble Upon

del.icio.us

Digg

Facebook

Print

Email

Speak Up

Twilight

If you've never visited the strange planet where teenage girls live, the long lines and frenzy surrounding Twilight must have come as a surprise, but a cult-like following of Stephanie Meyer's novel series parallels the whole Harry Potter book-movie thing. The romantic gambit here is that hunky hero Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) is a vampire with a forbidden love of beautiful Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart), which could end up with her missing a few pints of the good stuff. They are both outcast high school students in Forks, Wash. Edward is 114 years old and white as a ghost, while Bella is vibrant and gravely attracted to his musk and gray patina. Pattinson acts like a graduate of "The James Dean School of Pensive Introspection and Long Stares," which may account for the palpable angst bursting from teens toward dreamy Edward I discovered while polling the film. Angst is blind, and several critics I read apologized to adolescent readers who might be offended by negative reporting of such. Suspending the disbelief that a gentleman who has experienced 114 years of life could be dazzled by a teenager's mind without first suffering from Alzheimer's is a tribute to the skill of director Catherine Hardwicke (Lords of Dogtown and Thirteen) as well as a lesson to adults on the insular nature of adolescent perspective. This romantic adventure uses danger from other vampires (Cam Gigandet, Edi Gathegi and Rachelle Lefevre), wolves and angry teens to amp up the excitement and, clearly, the 81 per cent must-see rating reflects approval of the female teen target audience. However, those who haven't first read the book and some adults stand a chance of being confused. Audiences squirmed: "I have been waiting for SO long, and the movie is totally as good as the book" (many)... "Robert Pattinson is so beautiful" (many)... "I saw some people on the Internet that didn't like it, but obviously they didn't see it" ... "Meets my expectations, it was wonderful" ... and "Disappointed, the chemistry is just not there."

Bolt

When canine TV star "Bolt" (voiced by John Travolta), a fictional super-dog, becomes lost in New York, he journeys back to his native Hollywood in the real world, unaware that he lacks super powers. Picking up two escorts, housecat Mittens and hamster Rhino (voices of Susie Essman and Mark Walton), he embarks on an adventure traveling back to his owner, Penny (voiced by Miley Cyrus). Everyone we polled enjoyed Bolt, adults should not be timid, there is real humor here, not just kid-oriented fluff. Viewers rated it a must-see 80 per cent approval and said: "My daughter and I just loved it" ... "The kids all around us were howling. The adults were laughing too" ... "It was thrilling as well as funny" ... "The characters were all hysterical and charming" ..."Super family film" (many)... and "Can't miss."

New On DVD

Hancock

Will Smith stars as "Hancock," an indestructible drunk whose careless law enforcement causes so much collateral damage that Los Angeles citizens call for his arrest. Enter kindhearted Ray (Jason Bateman), an altruistic PR man who provides Hancock with a plan to gain self-respect and public adoration. His son (Jae Head) respects Hancock, providing an unlikely motivation, but Ray's beautiful wife (Charlize Theron) is cautious and acting suspiciously. Viewers rated it a must-see 80 per cent approval and said: "Don't listen to the critics; this movie is great" (many) ... "I never really knew how things were going to turn out, it was a great story" ... "Definitely different than most other superhero movies" ... "Just another typical American-style superhero movie for me" ..."Charlize is awesome" (many)... and "Lots of twists and turns right up to the end."

Fred Claus

Fred (Vince Vaughn), brother of Santa (Paul Giamatti), returns to the North Pole from Chicago strapped for cash. An efficiency expert (Kevin Spacey) threatens to close the toy factory. Elizabeth Banks and Ludacris contribute support to a film deemed coal by the critics, while regular viewers checked their lists to the positive when polled (72 per cent approval). It's just a stage for Vaughn to cut loose, and that is fine with viewers, who gave us no low opinions. Audiences commented: "We like it because it made us happy" ... "Vince Vaughn is always funny when he's the fast-talking goof" ... and "Mindless and stupid, but everyone seemed to be laughing."

Space Chimps

Ham III (Voice of SNL's Andy Samberg) is the grandson of the first chimp into outer space and recruited for a dangerous mission to be blasted into a black hole, where he must save inhabitants from an evil despot. Teamed with three well-trained competent chimps (voices of voices of Patrick Warburton, Cheryl Hines and Zach Shada) it rated an OK 72 per cent. Space Chimps looks recommendable for the very youngest monkey lover but adults will not share the enthusiasm. Comments included: "Great graphics, so-so story" ... "Good for the family" (many) ... "Child humor only" ... and "Not the best but OK for the kids."

Meet Dave

Hundreds of tiny aliens have come to New York in a spaceship that looks like Eddie Murphy. The little ship's captain (also Murphy) guides the craft through assimilation into Earth culture and into love with Gina (Elizabeth Banks). A few gut-wrenchingly funny scenes (spaceship doing the salsa with aliens hanging out of his ears) are largely engulfed by mediocre material, resulting in a low 57 per cent rating. Comments included: "Had its moments" ... "Eddie Murphy is usually funny to me, but not so much in this one" (many) ... "The humor was too immature" ... "Dumb in the true sense of the word" ... and "Funny."