Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

What an odd, uneven, sometimes downright off-putting film. Given the story’s context (September 11 and its aftermath), it would be hard not to touch a few emotional cores with such a tale; however, that advantage is generally squandered in this movie. The difficulty comes from trying to root for a kid who not only seems to have had severe mental problems even before tragedy struck, but is also something of a consistent jerk. Given that the kid’s the center of the story, that flawed character may very well prove fatal to this film’s chances with the viewer. It’s a competently made movie, at least, so I can’t see a reason to completely condemn it--but I see little reason to recommend it, either.

Robin Hood

The ghost of Errol Flynn hangs heavily over this movie. It would be bad enough trying to do a standard remake of the Merry Man's adventures; a re-imagination that changes the story in significant ways asks a lot of the audience. Not that this film is bad; there's much to recommend it, including a lot of authenticity and good performances by leads Crowe and Blanchett. But even so, you walk away feeling that something is missing here. A tough call--probably worth a look, but no guarantees.

Minority Report

The story holds together, which is more than can be said for a lot of sci-fi flicks. Cruise and his castmates acquit themselves well, but something never quite clicks with the movie as a whole. It may be the creepiness of the obvious contempt for personal freedom shown by the operative premise; though the story rebuts that premise, it seems to do so almost by accident, not for any philosophical reasons. And the product placements are absolutely grotesque for being so blatant.