Dean's Friday Reviews
There are six new movies opening this weekend.
HOT FUZZ
The best of the weekend is from the guys that brought you the zombie spoof, "Shaun of the Dead." Instead of taking on the walking dead...this time their poking fun at buddy action cop flicks in “Hot fuzz.”
What would you get if you did a send up of "Bad Boys/Lethal Weapon" type movies and mixed in a bit of "Reno 911", "Police Academy" and "Naked Gun?"
Add in some brilliant writing and deadpan, on the mark performances, and you get "Hot Fuzz"; hilariously funny from start to finish with clever tributes to the films that they're spoofing, as one of London’s top cops is transferred to a sleepy little village with inept cops, no crime and suddenly a murder spree.
Credit of the team of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost who star in the film along with their director Edgar Wright who top "Shaun of the dead" with a slicker, smarter effort. I had a great conversation with them a few weeks ago. You can see it at Dean's Entertainment at WGN TV dot com. This is the funniest movie of the year, a solid, Dean's List "A."
FRACTURE
Well, at least he didn't eat her brains with fava beans and Chianti this time. It’s Anthony Hopkins back to his creepy best as a scorned husband whose wife is having an affair so he puts a bullet in her head...and then, concocts a genius alibi to get away with the murder.
Everyone buys the alibi except an up and coming distorct attorney, played by Oscar nominee, Ryan gosling, who pursues him, Clarice style.
A lot of "Fracture's" success as a who-dun-it is because of "Silence of the Lambs" and all of the memories it brings back with it's solid story and great performances, especially Hopkins' piercing stares...worth the price of admission for this Dean's List " B plus."
THE YEAR OF THE DOG
The lady that had too many dogs could have been one of her wacky Saturday night live characters but in molly Shannon’s new movie, "Year of the Dog", she balances the quirky with the thoughtful.
In it, she's a single 30-something loner, who’s beloved beagle, Pencil, is accidentally killed sending her into a inconsolable, animal loving tailspin that goes from funny...to PETA-loving political, to a look at loneliness and our attachments to mans best friend.
John C. Reilly, Laura Dern, Regina King and Peter Scarsgard turn in great supporting performances, as does Molly. Clearly, they all enjoyed making this refreshing indie.
A Dean's List "B."
KILL “EM, SLASH ‘EM
There are two bloody offerings; Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale's "Vacancy", in which a couple check into a seedy motel only to find that they're apparently booked the murder suite and that a crazed killer is about to star them in their own snuff film.
There’s also David Arquette's "Tripper." A killer in a Ronald Reagan mask is on the loose with an ax at a rock festival taking out young college students one at a time.
Both films are scary...but nothing special. In light of the Virginia Tech murders, they both seem inappropriate. The studios couldn’t have waited a couple of weeks before putting more mindless killing out there? "Vacancy" will probably be number one on Monday.
DULL
There’s also Meg Ryan and "The OC's" Adam Brody’s, “In the Land of Women" that's a whole lotta nothing. Not even the enjoyment of watching Meg Ryan’s overly colleganed lips could make this pointless story about a writer who goes off to find himself but gets involved with a neighbor and her teenager daughter worth seeing.