Author:   Justin Souther

Showing 631-651 of 791 results

Tyson

Reviewed by Justin Souther on
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The Story: The life story of much-maligned boxer Mike Tyson as told through archival footage and the man’s own perception of himself. The Lowdown: A cinematically uneventful documentary that becomes strangely interesting in its attempts to humanize Tyson through his own words.

Every Little Step

Reviewed by Justin Souther on
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The Story: A documentary tracing the creation of the Broadway musical A Chorus Line, juxtaposed against modern-day auditions for a revival of the show. The Lowdown: An occasionally engaging film that’s too often unfocused; it's likely to achieve must-see status only for fans of the show.

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs

Reviewed by Justin Souther on
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The Story: The various prehistoric creatures of the Ice Age franchise return, this time only to stumble upon a world inhabited by dinosaurs. The Lowdown: The worst kind of sequel, one with zero originality and zero effort, making this whole mess nothing more than one really expensive Saturday-morning cartoon.

Away We Go

Reviewed by Justin Souther on
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The Story: A couple with a child on the way decides to travel across the U.S. and Canada looking for the perfect place to start their family. The Lowdown: An often charming, occasionally touching and astute film that’s never afraid to simply be pleasant or sweet-tempered.

Lemon Tree

Reviewed by Justin Souther on
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The Story: A Palestinian woman fights to save her lemon grove that is soon to be torn down by her neighbor, the new Israeli defense minister. The Lowdown: A restrained look at the Israel/Palestine conflict, but on a wholly personal, human level.

Year One

Reviewed by Justin Souther on
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The Story: Two cavemen venture from their small village out into the world of the Old Testament. The Lowdown: Messy and dull at its best, obnoxious and cheesy at its worst, the movie loses whatever hopes it had of hilarity by purely trading on the worst aspects of its two leads’ screen personas.

Imagine That

Reviewed by Justin Souther on
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The Story: A hotshot financial advisor -- and neglectful father -- realizes his daughter can predict market trends through the use of her invisible friends. The Lowdown: Too predictable for adults, too dull for children, Imagine That struggles to find the right tone and flounders under the weight of its own schmaltz.

Cranky Hanke’s Screening Room: Skeptical Souther looks ahead

Posted on by Justin Souther

It seems that Ken is inundated this week with family, so I’ve been given the keys to this week’s Screening Room. We toyed with the idea of still claiming that he authored the column this week and seeing if anyone would catch on, but I decided I’d rather see if I can get fewer views than our Halloween article did. I have faith that you and I together, dear readers, can.

The Hangover

Reviewed by Justin Souther on
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The Story: After a night of bachelor partying in Las Vegas, a group of friends must track down their missing friend, the bachelor, the day before his wedding. The Lowdown: A R-rated raunch fest that’s never as funny or offensive as it thinks it is, but also never as obnoxious as it could be, due…

Sugar

Reviewed by Justin Souther on
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The Story: A young Dominican comes to America to play professional baseball. The Lowdown: The rarest of sports movies: one that exchanges trite uplift in favor of a humane, sweet-tempered examination of its characters.

Paris 36

Reviewed by Justin Souther on
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The Story: A group of performers attempts to save their beloved music hall in 1936 Paris. The Lowdown: A breezy, likable French film that’s solid entertainment, though ultimately a bit insubstantial.

Battle for Terra

Reviewed by Justin Souther on
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The Story: A peaceful group of aliens are attacked on their home planet by an army of Earthlings looking for a new place to settle. The Lowdown: An occasionally handsome-looking 3-D animated adventure with political insight on its mind, but it's simply too generic to be worthwhile.

Earth

Reviewed by Justin Souther on
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The Story: A nature documentary that doubles as a vague environmentalism tract, told through the struggles of families of animals. The Lowdown: A greatest-hits compilation of a nature doc that will be more educational and entertaining to the younger set. Though occasionally grand and elegant, it's ultimately pretty superfluous to anyone who has ever taken…

17 Again

Reviewed by Justin Souther on
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The Story: A father on the verge of a divorce magically gets transformed into his 17-year-old self and decides to head back to high school to live his life the way he wished he had in the first place. The Lowdown: A starring vehicle for Zac Efron and nothing else, the movie is likely to…

Observe and Report

Reviewed by Justin Souther on
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The Story: An obnoxious mall cop attempts to capture a flasher before the police department can, all the while attempting to woo a girl who works behind a cosmetic counter. The Lowdown: An unfunny, pointless comedy with nary a redeeming or likable quality, and definitely nothing to recommend.

Adventureland

Reviewed by Justin Souther on
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The Story: A recent college grad is forced to take on a menial summer job at a cheesy amusement park in order to help afford grad school. The Lowdown: A deftly funny, surprisingly astute, often heartfelt look at the complicated lives of those coming-of-age.

12 Rounds

Reviewed by Justin Souther on
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The Story: A criminal mastermind busts out of prison and decides to exact revenge on the New Orleans cop who inadvertently caused the death of his girlfriend. The Lowdown: A far-fetched, pointless, unoriginal mess of an action movie that seemingly exists to blow stuff up.

Gomorrah

Reviewed by Justin Souther on
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The Story: The story of organized crime in Italy as told through five -- occasionally interrelated -- stories. The Lowdown: A gritty, nuanced, challenging piece of filmmaking that doesn’t quite have the emotional punch it warrants due to its often languorous pacing and complex story line.

The Haunting in Connecticut

Reviewed by Justin Souther on
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The Story: A cancer sufferer and his family move into a Connecticut house only to find out it is haunted. The Lowdown: A completely derivative attempt at a horror flick that’s completely undermined by unintentional hilarity and a complete inability to be even the slightest bit horrific, creepy or scary.

I Love You, Man

Reviewed by Justin Souther on
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The Story: A recently engaged real-estate agent realizes he has no close friends he can ask to be the best man at his wedding, so he goes in search of a best friend. The Lowdown: A likable cast isn't enough to save this mediocre movie from its own predictable, unfocused plotting and stale jokes.