Dave Evans’ MINI – MOVIE REVIEWS

 

Gridiron Gang
I have a dream that one day all the children of the world will be given the love and care and financial assistance that will keep them from being either “down and out” or from “the wrong side of the tracks.” Alas, in the meantime, Hollywood will continue to produce films such as this in which The Rock teaches a rag-tag bunch of kids that football can save them. Ugh.

The Black Dahlia
Who better to direct a film about the real-life sensational murder of starlet Kay Lake than the master of stylishly enmeshed sex and violence, Brian De Palma? Adapted from James Ellroy’s novel, this is a classy affair all round, excellently acted by Scarlett Johansson as Lake and Josh Hartnett as the police officer involved.

Everyone’s Hero
Seemingly CGI really is here to stay and, even after Labor Day, they just keep coming. This is particularly unexciting, following the exploits of a talking baseball and bat (voiced by a misguided Whoopi Goldberg) that assist a child on his way to help the Yankees win the World Series. As a curio, the late Christopher Reeve co-directed.

The Last Kiss
The sometimes-charming, sometimes-wretched Zach Braff stars in this remake of the 2001 Italian film of the same name. Braff’s Michael is a man on the verge of maturity with a pregnant girlfriend (Jacinda Barrett) and a schoolgirl affair (Rachel Bilson). Don’t let the Paul Haggis screenplay credit put you off though, this is lovely fare played well by a strong cast.

Hollywoodland
Director Allen Coulter, who has a strong history in TV (“Six Feet Under,” “The Sopranos,” etc.) takes to the big-screen with a splash for this fictionalized account of the questionable suicide of the first screen Superman, George Reeves. Ben Affleck plays Reeves and shows unexpected skill with Diane Lane, Bob Hoskins and Adrien Brody also in superb form.

The Protector
A Thai thriller in which a young fighter, Kham (Tony Jaa) must head to Australia to find and reclaim his captured elephants. A ridiculous premise but the fighting here is out of this world. With more work like this, Thailand looks set to steal Hong Kong’s crown in terms of martial arts action.

The Covenant
Proudly proclaiming itself “from the producers of Underworld,” this film at least seems to know its place. Here, four teenage boys with magical powers must control a centuries-old curse. Director Renny Harlin is no stranger to catastrophic failure (Remember Geena Davis’ death-knell, Cutthroat Island?) and this is luckily not that, if only because its sights are set so low.