October 10, 2008
by Scott Mantz
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Almost a year after Ridley Scott’s “American Gangster” opened to critical and commercial acclaim (grossing more than $130 million domestically), the prolific, 70-year-old British filmmaker returns with “Body of Lies.” It’s a gripping, compelling, action-packed espionage thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat, even if the super-serious storyline loses some of its credibility with a Hollywood ending that’s a little too old-fashioned for its own good.
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September 19, 2008
by Scott Mantz
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If you’re going to see any movie over the next few weeks, it’s got to be “Ghost Town.” I make that point right away because this charming, funny and touching romantic comedy – which co-stars Ricky Gervais, Greg Kinnear and Tea Leoni – is in danger of becoming a ghost itself after a quick death at the box office.
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September 14, 2008
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. --
Should you check out Tyler Perry’s new film, “The Family That Preys,” at the movies?
It wasn’t screened ahead of time for critics, which is never a good sign. But then again, none of Perry’s films ever have been.
Instead, Access has the inside scoop on what critics are saying.
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August 22, 2008
By Scott Mantz
LOS ANGELES, Calif. --
It’s that time again – when the leaves start changing color and summer blockbusters fade into Oscar season. With the holidays on the way, Access Hollywood has your guide to 10 of this fall’s biggest films.
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July 25, 2008
by Scott Mantz
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If absence makes the heart grow fonder, then fans of “The X-Files” are going to love seeing former FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully team up again for the first time since the award-winning TV show ended its 9-year run in 2002. Series stars David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson must be pretty fond of the idea too, despite the fact that they were both so ready to put the show behind them that they barely bothered to show up for the beaten-into-the-ground final season.
But one has to wonder why they bothered at all with “I Want to Believe.” Co-written by series creator Chris Carter and series producer Frank Spotnitz, the story is so weak that it simply doesn’t justify the big-screen treatment.
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July 14, 2008
by Scott Mantz
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In case you haven’t already noticed, 2008 has been an exceptional year for superhero movies. It started with “Iron Man,” inarguably one of the best movies ever made based on a comic book character. That was followed by the very entertaining reboot of “The Incredible Hulk,” Will Smith’s peculiar, if uneven “Hancock” and the wildly inventive “Hellboy II: The Golden Army.”
That trend reaches a peak with “The Dark Knight,” director Christopher Nolan’s visually stunning, super serious and, yes, very dark follow-up to 2005’s “Batman Begins.”
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June 27, 2008
by Scott Mantz
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What if Superman woke up on the wrong side of the bed — every single day?
Actually, that happened in 1983’s “Superman III,” which is generally regarded as the second-worst of the movies that starred Christopher Reeve (after, of course, 1987’s “Superman IV”). But the third entry was really onto something when the squeaky-clean Man of Steel turned into a dirty, drunken anti-hero after being exposed to a synthetic chunk of Kryptonite.
“Hancock,” starring box office superstar Will Smith, is onto something too, since it basically takes that idea and runs with it.
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June 26, 2008
by Scott Mantz
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What “Wanted” lacks in terms of originality, it more than makes up for with style and excitement. Based on the comic book series created by Mark Millar and J.G. Jones, the ultraviolent action thriller seamlessly channels the likes of John Woo and the Wachowski brothers. But if jaw-dropping stunts, gravity-defying car chases and double-barrel shoot-‘em-ups don’t do it for you, then the prospect of seeing Angelina Jolie flaunt her alluring sexuality probably will.
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June 23, 2008
by Scott Mantz
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Mike Myers may be notoriously picky when it comes to choosing his big screen roles, but at least he knows how to pick ‘em. With the exception of 2003’s disappointing “The Cat in the Hat,” the former “Saturday Night Live” player has toplined just 2 other major film properties since 1997: “Austin Powers” and “Shrek,” both of which turned into top grossing franchises.
But after beating those characters into the ground with sequels that suffered in quality, Myers has gone back to the drawing board with his first original creation in 11 years. Turns out that swapping his mojo for karma was a good thing, since “The Love Guru” is a refreshing, irresistible, silly and often hilarious comedy that fits the bill as the funniest movie of the year (at least, so far).
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June 10, 2008
by Scott Mantz
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Now, that’s more like it.
Five years after Ang Lee’s brooding, psychological take on the Hulk turned off moviegoers and faded fast from the box office after a huge $62 million opening weekend, Marvel Studios went back to the drawing board for a complete reboot of the iconic hero that was first created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby back in 1962. Turns out that trying again was a bold risk that paid off, since the resulting film, while not quite incredible, is still very entertaining.
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June 10, 2008
by Scott Mantz
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“Kung Fu Panda” will have you rolling in the aisles – that is, if you’re, like, 10.
It’s not that it’s a bad movie – if anything, it’s one of the more visually stunning films I’ve seen in a long time, thanks to a colorful computer animated landscape that captures ancient China in all of its beautiful glory.
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May 28, 2008
by Scott Mantz
LOS ANGELES, Calif --
Since the TV series was so sharp, fun and well written, I was just as excited as the next “Sex” addict to hear that Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha were making their high-heeled jump to the big screen. But seeing as how they already sowed their wild oats by the end of the show, I couldn’t help but wonder…
What comes after “and they lived happily ever after?”
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May 19, 2008
by Scott Mantz
LOS ANGELES, Calif. --
As Harrison Ford’s most famous alter ego, Indiana Jones, once said, “It’s not just the years, honey, it’s the mileage.”
And if you lower your expectations, then you’re bound to get a lot of mileage out of Indy’s fourth adventure, “The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.” It’s not a masterpiece by any means, like 1981’s “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” and it falls a bit short of that’s blockbuster’s very entertaining sequels, 1984’s “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” and 1989’s “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.”
But for a film series that supposedly came to a close 19 years ago, “Crystal Skull” is an exciting movie that lives up to the high standards set by its predecessors.
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May 14, 2008
by Scott Mantz
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Where “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” had a faith-driven and spiritual edge that set it apart from the likes of “Harry Potter” and “The Lord of the Rings,” “Prince Caspian” has a more “routine epic” feel to it, which overshadows the sense of discovery that made the first film so charming, unique and endearing.
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May 7, 2008
by Scott Mantz
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“Here he comes, here comes Speed Racer! He’s a demon on wheels!”
If you can sing the rest of that song — or at least, the very next verse (“he’s a demon, and he’s gonna be chasing after someone!”) — then the odds are that you’ll be disappointed by the big screen version of “Speed Racer.” And if you aren’t disappointed, then you’ll at least walk away with a very big headache.
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April 28, 2008
by Scott Mantz
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Up until now, it was a foregone conclusion that while Iron Man was certainly one of the more popular Marvel Comics superheroes created by Stan Lee to emerge from the early 60s, he wasn’t an instantly recognizable icon like Spider-Man, the Hulk or the Fantastic Four. It was also safe to say that while Robert Downey Jr. was widely looked upon as one of the finest actors of his generation, he wasn’t an A-list star like Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks or Julia Roberts, whose names above the title were guaranteed to open a movie.
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April 16, 2008
by Scott Mantz
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Another player from the Judd Apatow hitmaking team knocks it out of the park in “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” — a heartfelt and hilarious R-rated comedy from the makers of “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” “Knocked Up” and “Superbad.”
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April 9, 2008
by Scott Mantz
LOS ANGELES, Calif --
If cliches were bullet holes, then “Street Kings” would look like the victim of a drive-by.
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April 3, 2008
by Scott Mantz
LOS ANGELES, Calif --
"Clooney Drops the Ball"
After making an impressive directorial debut with 2002’s “Confessions of a Dangerous Mind” and following it up with the near-masterpiece that was 2005’s “Good Night, and Good Luck,” George Clooney fumbles with “Leatherheads.”
Talk about a film that’s literally and figuratively all over the field, Clooney’s third directorial effort is a wildly uneven romantic comedy that strays too far out of bounds and needlessly runs into overtime.
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March 28, 2008
LOS ANGELES, Calif. --
'Stop-Loss,' '21,' and 'Run Fatboy Run' open this weekend.
Which should you check out?
Access brings you the verdicts from all of the critics!
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March 21, 2008
By Scott Mantz
LOS ANGELES, Calif --
I don’t know what’s worse – trying to watch “Drillbit Taylor” without thinking about the alleged suicide attempt of its star late last summer, or the fact that this lame attempt at a comedy came from the filmmakers behind last year’s critically-acclaimed and commercial hits “Knocked Up” and “Superbad.”
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March 7, 2008
By Scott Mantz
LOS ANGELES, Calif --
The good news for director Roland Emmerich (“Independence Day,” “The Day After Tomorrow”) is that “10,000 B.C.” is the funniest movie of his career. The bad news is that it’s not supposed to be a comedy. That’s because “10,000 B.C.” is B.A.D. 10,000 times over – the acting is horrible, the dialogue is cheesy, the story is formulaic, the characters are bland and the special effects look a little too phony for a spectacle that cost more than $100 million to make.
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February 22, 2008
By Scott Mantz
LOS ANGELES, Calif. --
The biggest night in Hollywood almost didn’t happen at all – at least, not in the traditional sense – but now that the writers strike is over, it will be business as usual on Sunday, February 24, at the 80th Academy Awards!
So, if you're in an Oscar pool, have no fear; I'm here to help!
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February 14, 2008
by Scott Mantz
LOS ANGELES, Calif. --
The 2008 movie season officially kicked into high gear with the release of the first official teaser trailer for the fourth “Indiana Jones” adventure, titled “The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.”
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February 1, 2008
Scott Mantz
LOS ANGELES, Calif. --
I don’t know about you, but I’m kind of digging the peripheral effect the Writers Strike is having on all the awards shows this season.
I, for one, would not mind one bit if the Oscars kept it tight and lean, but on the other hand, we are talking about the Oscars here, and it would be a crying shame if “the biggest night in Hollywood” could not live up to its well-deserved reputation. Yes, we all know what that means – tons of nonsensical questions to the well-dressed attendees on the red carpet. But in the end, the awards themselves will prevail, especially if the winners in the major categories shape up to look something like this —
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January 10, 2008
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If I knew that I had just 6 months left to live, and I had to make a list
of all the things that I wanted to do before I died, watching “The
Bucket List” would not be one of them. Granted, I say that now, after I
already spent 97 minutes watching the darn thing, but what can I say —
we all have our regrets.
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December 24, 2007
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If the first "National Treasure" was better than it probably deserved to be, then the sequel is worse than it has any right to be. Where the 2004 original was a fresh, fun and exciting Indiana Jones-style adventure that beat "The Da Vinci Code" to the cinematic punch by almost 2 years, “Book of Secrets” feels like just another stale, lazy, uninspired sequel. That’s something of a disappointment, since it was produced, written and directed by many of the same players that made the first film a surprise hit that grossed $347 million worldwide.
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December 17, 2007
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The year is 2007, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a bigger star on the planet than Will Smith. He’s so big, in fact, that maybe he should change his nickname from “Big Willie” to “Really Big Willie,” thanks to a worldwide box office tally that’s more than $4 billion (and counting) and an incredible run of success that shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
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December 10, 2007
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Every year during the Holiday Season, I run into the same problem – compiling
my list of the top 10 best movies of the year. As we all know, truly great films
are hard to come by, so I take a great deal of responsibility in trying to come
up with a list that I won’t look back on and wonder, “What the hell was I
thinking?”
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December 10, 2007
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“Charlie Wilson’s War” manages to do what none of the other politically themed dramas this fall did — it makes a powerful statement about the War on Terror without beating you over the head for 2 straight hours. And it does so while being first and foremost an immensely entertaining, razor-sharp satire that isn’t even about the current war, but a war of the past — the Cold War.
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December 5, 2007
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It’s a foregone conclusion that “The Golden Compass” is a great looking movie, but I couldn’t tell you what it was about for a lick ‘o beans. Based upon the book “Northern Lights” — the first installment of the “His Dark Materials” fantasy trilogy written by Philip Pullman — the film is chock full of the best special effects that a reported $180 million budget can buy. But unless you are even vaguely familiar with the mythology found in the novels, then you’re going to need a real compass to find your way around the densely convoluted story.
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November 27, 2007
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With the Writers Strike in full swing, it seems somehow appropriate that one of the best-written movies of the year would come along to remind the Hollywood establishment just how crucial writers are to the whole filmmaking process in the first place. After all, it starts with the script. And if it isn’t good, well, there goes the neighborhood. If William Shakespeare were alive today, he would probably agree with the words “the script’s the thing” emblazoned across his picket sign.
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November 26, 2007
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Magic movie on the wall — who is the fairest of them all?
That would be Amy Adams, the irresistible star of Disney’s “Enchanted” — a delightful, witty and very funny new family comedy that has the words “instant classic” written all over it. Talk about a charming crowd-pleaser, “Enchanted” has something for everyone, since it’s a fairy tale in the classic Disney mode that cleverly pokes fun at other fairy tales in the classic Disney mode.
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November 15, 2007
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“Just don’t take any course where they make you read Beowulf!” — Alvy Singer (Woody Allen), “Annie Hall” (1977)
The above quote may be more well-known than the literary classic it’s making fun of, but what do you expect? “Beowulf” is the oldest tale in the English language, but it’s also one of the most tedious, which is why a lot of people tend to shrug it off after having it shoved down their throats back in high school.
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November 9, 2007
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Captain’s Log: Stardate, November 9, 2007 – If a picture says a thousand words, then the picture you see before you says it all
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November 6, 2007
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In the last month, two New York-based crime dramas — “We Own the Night” and “American Gangster” — opened to mostly positive reviews that drew comparisons to the classics directed by legendary filmmaker Sidney Lumet.Now, on the 50th anniversary of his first film as a director with “12 Angry Men,” Lumet shows ‘em how it’s really supposed to be done with “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead,” a superbly-crafted morality play that stands alongside “Serpico,” “Dog Day Afternoon” and “The Verdict” as one of the finest films of his career.
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October 31, 2007
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After being the master of his domain for almost a decade – and 9 years after his top-rated TV sitcom bowed out gracefully – Jerry Seinfeld returns to the spotlight with his much-buzzed-about big screen venture, “Bee Movie.” And quite frankly, it stings. Not that it matters, since families are bound to swarm around it anyway. But considering that Seinfeld also co-produced and co-wrote the screenplay, the resulting film is not nearly as funny, clever or witty as one would have hoped.
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October 31, 2007
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In an era where 24-hour news coverage can burn out even the most politically-minded individuals, how do you get those very same people to see a movie about the war in Iraq and the war on terror when both are still raging at full throttle (and with no end in sight)?
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October 22, 2007
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Talk about a match made in heaven – does it get any better than Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe and director Ridley Scott?
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October 10, 2007
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“It’s too bad she won’t live. But then again, who does?” - Gaff (Edward James Olmos), “Blade Runner”
With those haunting words, “Blade Runner” came to a rather uneventful close, ending its less than spectacular run at the box office. Actually, that’s putting it mildly. Grossing just $14 million during its initial theatrical release in the summer of 1982, the film cost more than twice that, making it an expensive flop, especially when compared to the other sci-fi blockbusters that filled movie theaters around the same time – specifically, “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan,” “Poltergeist” and, of course, “E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial.”
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October 2, 2007
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“We Own the Night” doesn’t bring anything new to the table where big city crime dramas are concerned, but that’s probably the best thing about it. Deftly written and directed by James Gray, the gripping, entertaining, rock-solid mob thriller feels like a throwback to a bygone era, when directors like Martin Scorsese, William Friedkin and Sidney Lumet were at the top of their game.
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September 25, 2007
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Some remakes manage to build upon the premises of the films that inspired them, while others go so far off in another direction that they feel like completely different movies. If the recent update of “3:10 to Yuma” falls into the former category, then the new version of “The Heartbreak Kid” very much falls into the latter. And that’s fine — at least, for a little while.
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September 18, 2007
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I’m a huge Beatles fan, so I was excited when I heard that visionary filmmaker Julie Taymor was going to direct “Across the Universe” – a musical that used the lyrics of the Fab Four to tell an epic love story set against the backdrop of the 60s. Well, I should have known better, because despite lofty ambitions, stylish direction and a whimsical approach, the result is an awkward, uneven film that could best be described as a beautiful disappointment.
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September 13, 2007
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In “The Brave One,” Jodie Foster plays Erica Bain, a radio host from New York City who goes through more trauma in just a few months than most people experience in a lifetime. It all starts when she and her fiancé (Naveen Andrews) are beaten up in a vicious attack that leaves him dead and her close to it. Almost as soon as she gets out of the hospital, she wanders into a convenience store just moments before a hold-up. If that wasn’t enough, she’s soon taunted by a couple of knife-wielding thugs while riding home on the subway.
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September 4, 2007
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The title pretty much says it all in “Shoot 'Em Up,” an over-the-top thrill ride that delivers the explosive goods in a big, loud, fun way. That’s not to say that it’s for everybody — clearly, it isn’t — but if stylish action scenes, hyper-violent shootouts, excessive carnage and an exceptionally high body count are your cup of tea, then “Shoot 'Em Up” fires on all cylinders. Try to imagine John Woo’s classic “Hardboiled” on steroids, and you get the idea.
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August 28, 2007
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Since the earliest days of the medium, film history has been littered with villains that were more fun to play (and, as a result, more fun to watch) than their more likable (and, dare I say it, more boring) protagonists. Take Darth Vader in “Star Wars”; Hannibal Lecter in “The Silence of the Lambs”; Alonzo Harris in “Training Day”; Hans Gruber in “Die Hard”; Harry Lime in “The Third Man.”
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August 17, 2007
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The summer may be over, but get ready to laugh ‘til it hurts. Not only is “Superbad” one of the funniest movies of the year, but it also ranks up there with “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” “Risky Business” and “American Pie” as one of the best teen sex comedies ever made.
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August 16, 2007
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Don’t believe the bad buzz — "The Invasion" is actually a pretty decent movie. It’s not great or anything, but it’s a lot better than I expected it to be. And that’s a pleasant surprise, given all the drama surrounding its production.
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August 7, 2007
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In “Rush Hour 3,” Inspector Lee (played by martial arts maven Jackie Chan) slides down a high-rise building and onto the busy streets of downtown Los Angeles, where he jumps across a slew of freeway overpasses while in hot pursuit of the evasive assassin who just shot the Chinese ambassador. When he finally catches up with him, they duke it out in a decrepit back alley — until Chan lets him go, much to the chagrin of his old buddy, streetwise LAPD Detective James Carter (Chris Tucker).
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July 25, 2007
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Just when you thought you've seen it all in terms of action movies this summer, along comes “The Bourne Ultimatum” — the best installment yet in the popular franchise that has grossed more than $500 million worldwide. Adapted from the third in the series of spy novels written by the late Robert Ludlum — following 2002's “The Bourne Identity” and 2004's “The Bourne Supremacy” — “Ultimatum” successfully caps off a trilogy of intelligent, adrenaline-fueled espionage thrillers that raised the bar for the genre and made an action hero out of Matt Damon.
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July 19, 2007
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There’s no question about it: “Hairspray” is, by far, the most fun you’ll have at the movies all summer long. The big screen version of the Tony Award-winning Broadway hit musical, which itself was based on the 1988 cult classic directed by John Waters, is a groovy, bouncy, irresistible slice of pop-culture that will leave a smile on your face for hours, if not for days.
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July 16, 2007
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Written by Alex Garland and directed by Danny Boyle — the creative team behind 2002's terrifying “28 Days Later” — “Sunshine” has to be one of the most derivative sci-fi movies to come along in years. And that's okay for a little while, since it stylistically navigates through top genre classics like “2001: A Space Odyssey,” “Alien” and both versions of “Solaris.” But once it veers off course into “Event Horizon” and “Supernova” territory, it all but implodes, betraying the cerebral intelligence that it so effectively earned during its first hour.
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July 16, 2007
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It must have looked funny on paper.
In “I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry,” Kevin James plays Larry Valentine, a widowed New York firefighter who pretends to be gay and marries his fellow firefighter, Chuck Levine, in an effort to reap the insurance benefits for his kids. Chuck reluctantly goes along with his best friend's charade, but when it interferes with his love life and prevents him from scoring with the gorgeous attorney (Jessica Biel) assigned to their case, hilarity ensues.
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July 2, 2007
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I pride myself on being a non-conformist, which is probably why my favorite Michael Bay movie is the one that made the least amount of money (by far). That would be 2005's “The Island,” which cost more than $125 million to make, yet made less than $36 million at the box office (though, to be fair, it more than tripled its domestic take overseas).
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June 25, 2007
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Nineteen years after the first film turned Bruce Willis into a movie star, the time has come for the “Die Hard” series to play dead.
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June 21, 2007
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The timing couldn't be better for “You Kill Me,” a quirky mob comedy that arrives in theaters just after “The Sopranos” bows out gracefully from HBO after 8 nerve-wracking years. Not that a mere 92-minute movie could come close to filling those very big shoes, which is why it's best to think of it as a rich, tarty desert after a hefty, delectable main course.
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June 15, 2007
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If hindsight is twenty-twenty, then looking back, I may have been a little too unforgiving in my initial review of the first “Fantastic Four.”
Then again, I probably expected a lot, since it followed the likes of 2003's “X2: X-Men United,” 2004's “Spider-Man 2” and 2005's “Batman Begins,” which were all graced with more emotional depth and maturity than a superhero flick probably deserves. I had no idea that I was in for a cheesy, lighthearted romp that was geared more towards families, so of course I was disappointed. But when I saw it again on cable about a year later, I realized that it wasn't half bad, and I was able to appreciate it for what it was.
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June 6, 2007
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Another big summer weekend, another big summer sequel — or, in this case, threequel, which arrives in theaters just a few days after last month's gigantic Hollywood blockbuster, “Spider-Shrek of the Caribbean 3,” broke all sorts of box office records around the world.
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May 30, 2007
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Dead men tell no tales — but if they did, they would probably make more sense than the “Pirates of the Caribbean” sequels.
If you thought last year's “Dead Man's Chest” was a bloated, jumbled, incoherent mess, then brace yourself for the most baffling installment yet — “At World's End.” That hardly matters, since it's bound to match the box office booty of its predecessor, which navigated past the rough waters of poor reviews to sail away with more than $1 billion worldwide (making it the third-highest grossing movie of all time behind “Titanic” and “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King”).
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May 14, 2007
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The first two “Shrek” films were wildly popular, grossing more than $1.4 billion worldwide, and for good reason – they were charming, funny and very smart. But if the latest adventure is any indication, the not-so-jolly green giant might be due for – dare I say it – a make-ogre. There’s no doubt that “Shrek the Third” will rule the box office when it opens on May 18, but on a creative level, it’s not nearly as good as its predecessors, lacking the clever edge that made them so appealing to moviegoers of all ages.
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May 8, 2007
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With the great power of one studio's huge summer blockbuster comes the even greater responsibility of another studio to provide effective counter-programming. On May 11, Universal rises to the occasion with "Georgia Rule," hoping that it will appeal to female moviegoers who could not care less about Sony's "Spider-Man 3," which is bound to rule the box office when it opens a week earlier.
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