James Bond : Quantum Of Solace (2008)

Betrayed by Vesper, the woman he loved, 007 fights the urge to make his latest mission personal. Pursuing his determination to uncover the truth, Bond and M interrogate Mr. White who reveals the organization which blackmailed Vesper is far more complex and dangerous than anyone had imagined.

Forensic intelligence links an Mi6 traitor to a bank account in Haiti where a case of mistaken identity introduces Bond to the beautiful but feisty Camille, a woman who has her own vendetta. Camille leads Bond straight to Dominic Greene, a ruthless business man and major force within the mysterious organization.

On a mission that leads him to Austria, Italy and South America, Bond discovers that Greene, conspiring to take total control of one of the world's most important natural resources, is forging a deal with the exiled General Medrano. Using his associates in the organization, and manipulating his powerful contacts within the CIA and the British government, Greene promises to overthrow the existing regime in a Latin American country, giving the General control of the country in exchange for a seemingly barren piece of land.

In a minefield of treachery, murder and deceit, Bond allies with old friends in a battle to uncover the truth. As he gets closer to finding the man responsible for the betrayal of Vesper, 007 must keep one step ahead of the CIA, the terrorists and even M, to unravel Greene's sinister plan and stop his organization.

Also Known As:	Bond 22
Production Status:	In Preproduction
Logline:	James Bond infiltrates a drug ring that is flooding Britain with heroin
Genres:	Action/Adventure, Thriller, Adaptation and Sequel
Running Time:	1 hr. 45 min.
Release Date:	November 14th, 2008 (wide)
MPAA Rating:	PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, and some sexual content.
Distributors:	Sony Pictures Releasing
Production Co.:	Danjaq Productions, EON Productions
Studios:	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM), Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group
Filming Locations:	Europe Tuscany, Italy
Produced in:	United States

High School Musical 3: Senior Year

"High School Musical" is responsible for its share of ills in the world: teenagers with perfectly good faces wanting to get nose jobs. The idea that the word "Sharpay" is an appropriate name for a human child. The rise in mainstream popularity of Bedazzler-embossed clothing.

But most of the harshest critics of the 2006 Disney Channel movie were people who didn't see it. I've watched the original movie, the stage show and something called "High School Musical: The Ice Tour," and observed just as many smiling faces on the chaperones as the kids. Admit it or not, parents were having a good time, too.

The series premieres as a feature film with "High School Musical 3: Senior Year," and the songwriting and choreography are as exciting as ever. Unfortunately, the writing has become so bad that it becomes impossible to keep your head in the game - even as your toes continue to tap to the beat.

True, "High School Musical" was never about the plot. The makers of the 'tween phenomenon - including director Kenny Ortega, the Bay Area native who choreographed "Dirty Dancing" - proved that it didn't matter if you borrowed almost every story line and character from "Grease" and "American Pie," as long as the tunes were catchy and the dance numbers were energetic. But while the first two movies were at least cohesive, the writing in the third is a disorganized mess. The story rehashes conflicts from the previous movie, manufactures strife where there should be none and forces one-dimensional new sophomore characters into the narrative - presumably so there can be a "High School Musical 4."

"High School Musical 3" begins with a basketball game, and one of the most pleasingly kinetic song-and-dance numbers in the series, a fast-paced song destined for constant Disney Radio airplay called "Now or Never." Ortega and music supervisor David Lawrence augment the spectacle with little touches, such as the cheerleaders helping out with the chorus of the song. And everything is bigger and better on the big screen, including Efron's basketball skills, which became passable at some point in the past 12 months.

Troy (Efron) and Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens) are back at East High School for their senior year, where they are deciding their futures. From there, we get more of the same from the earlier musicals. The central themes - conflict in the Troy-Gabriella relationship, Troy's inability to decide between sports and theater and even the scheming by bad girl Sharpay (Ashley Tisdale) - is a repeat from the first movie. Except in this case, the events never seem to fit together. Important things happen too suddenly, subplots are abruptly abandoned and large chunks of the script appear to be missing entirely. The move is a punishing 112 minutes long, yet it's so fractured, there are times it seems as if you're watching the trailer.

Efron is once again Travolta-esque, although he appears to be quickly outgrowing this material. Hudgens is still annoyingly bland both in facial expressions and voice. (Tisdale is the better singer, but she gets fewer songs.) The new actors - including Matt Prokop doing a "Parenthood"-era Keanu Reeves imitation and Jemma McKenzie Brown as a British version of Sharpay - act cute and slightly obnoxious, like the latter-day Scrappy-Doos that they are.

The most improved player is Corbin Bleu as sidekick Chad, who still has the Sideshow Bob hair, but seems to have worked diligently on both his acting and dancing during the break. "The Boys Are Back," featuring a junkyard dance-off performance by Troy and Chad, is probably the most thrilling number. Bleu is ready for his own leading role, if he can get something better than that movie about competitive jump roping ("Jump In!") that he headlined last year.

As for the G-rated content, parents who might have been worried about the relationship between Troy and Gabriella escalating can breathe a sigh of relief. With hand-holding in "High School Musical" and a kiss in "High School Musical 2," it would make sense that "HSM3" would feature a trip to second base. (And "High School Musical 5" would basically be a remake of "9 1/2 Weeks.") But no worries. If anything, Troy gets even less action in this movie.

A small spoiler lies ahead: Stanford and Cal graduates should be thrilled that "High School Musical 3" often feels like a promotional video for those schools, with one scene that appears to be shot on the Cardinal campus. The lone problem is Troy's statement that the colleges are 32.7 miles away from each other, which is at best extremely deceptive. Even without a flaming tanker truck to slow things down, the schools are a solid hour-and-15-minute drive from door to door.

-- Advisory: This movie contains one long kiss, some semi-dangerous break-dancing moves and a dangerous-looking tree house.

Halloween (2007)

The "Halloween" franchise, the "Nightmare On Elm Street" franchise

Does the 1978 Jamie Lee Curtis horror classic of the same name really need a remake? In fact, does the franchise need another addition at all? The question isn't really important, so long as we get to see a trashy Rob Zombie film on the big screen every now and then. Since "The Devil's Rejects" and "House Of 1000 Horrors", the rocker's directorial career seems to be taking off. It sure helps if you can keep casting your Scream Queen wife (Sheri Moon Zombie) in every film though!

Alright then – so here we are with yet another look at Michael Myers, the crazed 10-year-old murderer character that spawned so many sequels, spin-offs and remakes. According to some production notes, John Carpenter (director of the benchmark 1978 version) told Rob Zombie to make this movie his own – but the results are not encouraging. From the story, it seems that the point is to give more motive and background to the troubled child early in the game. This wasn't done too well. Rob Zombie's efforts to add charisma to the Myers kid doesn't pack enough punch. The mask is no longer scary either – we're too used to it now. Explaining the mask is already beyond the point.

However, the performances were tolerable. This Daeg Faerch kid sure has a look about him. He's got that 'evil' mole and a pasty face with uncomfortable eyes – precisely the sort of pale personality that you would think make future axe killers. In fact, the movie does try to colour him a little, displaying the suffocating family and school environment he grows up in. Still, it wasn't really engaging and we get lost in the blood before anyone could explain the need to spill some.

As an old school slasher, this isn't better than something like, say, "The Hills Have Eyes" or "Hostel" but it does beat some of the more mediocre stuff out there. You'd be lucky if you caught this in a territory without censorship because lots of skin and swearing make up the movie.

Right, Mr Zombie. We're bought, so hurry up with "The Haunted World of El Superbeasto"!

The Love Guru

Classification: 18PL
Genre: Comedy
General Release Date: 28 Aug 2008
Running Time: 1 Hour 28 Minutes,
Distributor: United International Pictures
Cast: Jessica Alba, Justin Timberlake, Mike Myers, Romany Malco
Director: Marco Schnabel

The self-help business has probably seen better movie spoofs but Mike Myers has made it his own with "The Love Guru" even if it will never spawn sequels.

Unlike the other comics around today like Jim Carrey, Adam Sandler and Steve Carell, old Mikey has always had that penchant for intelligent lewd humour – although some parts of the Austin Powers movies were more crude than funny.

Speaking about the International Man Of Mystery, that's when Myers the actor was dabbling in spirituality, according to the productions notes at least. See, he lost his dad at the time and went on a personal quest around ashrams (as disenfranchised First World white people often do) and unsurprisingly found comedy in the whole Enlightenment thing. Apparently he thinks that the concept of Enlightenment is basically to simply lighten up!

This movie does that. Myers movies do not have that Judd Apatow humour that demands instant judgment – instead, they are invitingly sweet and character-driven. Featuring real-life guru Deepak Chopra, not to mention some pretty famous ice hockey players that I wouldn't know, "The Love Guru" deserves some respect for going that extra mile to get the extra laugh.

Then come the missteps. We get Jessica Alba playing an overly-vulnerable girl-next-door (default role for every Alba movie), but we'll try to overlook that along with Justin Timberlake's obnoxious frenchie character Le Coq. I'm still not convinced with the acting of either, especially since Alba in her recent "Awake" or "Eye" was still 'skin talent', if anything. Timberlake's "Black Snake Moan" is an example of a movie in which every other cast member acted him out of sight. The worst of the lot here goes to Sir Ben Kingsley, who doesn't seem to mind starring in any silly old role for a laugh. Am I truly missing the comedy?

Thankfully, these complaints stop here – for Mike Myers' Guru Pitka is completely watchable. The jokes in "The Love Guru" are funny, too. However, much like the dharma tuition he gives, they will only draw giggles but not laugh-out-louds. Guru Pitka is smart restrained humour but he will never get that gung-ho, get-up-and-go like Austin Powers can. He's more like Shrek discovering a Sanskrit guidebook.

Oddly, that's probably what Myers wants. "Love Guru" seems a bit more like a personal project from him, a sort of labour of love. It isn't a very well-liked film, and won't be too successful either. It's a kind of self-glowing film that you will enjoy if you're set on it anyway.

Traitor

Academy Award® nominee Don Cheadle ('Hotel Rwanda,' 'Crash') and Guy Pearce ('Memento,' 'L.A. Confidential') star in 'Traitor,' a taut international thriller set against a jigsaw puzzle of covert counter-espionage operations. 'Traitor' is written and directed by Jeffrey Nachmanoff (screenwriter of 'The Day After Tomorrow').

When straight arrow FBI agent Roy Clayton (Guy Pearce) heads up the investigation into a dangerous international conspiracy, all clues seem to lead back to former U.S. Special Operations officer, Samir Horn (Don Cheadle). A mysterious figure with a web of connections to terrorist organizations, Horn has a knack for emerging on the scene just as a major operation goes down.

The inter-agency task force looking into the case meets with Carter (Jeff Daniels), a veteran CIA contractor who seemingly has his own agenda and Max Archer (Neal McDonough), a fellow FBI agent. The task force links Horn to a prison break in Yemen, a bombing in Nice and a raid in London, but a tangle of contradictory evidence emerges, forcing Clayton to question whether his quarry is a disaffected former military operative--or something far more complicated.

Obsessed with discovering the truth, Clayton tracks Horn across the globe as the elusive ex-soldier burrows deeper and deeper into a world of shadows and intrigue. -

The Rocker

The Office star Rainn Wilson portrays a drummer who gets a second shot at fame after the band he recently quit suddenly shoots to the top of the charts in this Fox Atomic comedy co-starring Christina Applegate. Shawn Levy (Night at the Museum) and Tom McNulty co-produce the feature penned by Wallace Wolodarsky and Maya Forbes, and directed by Peter Cattaneo (Opal Dream). ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Step Brothers movie review

No one can play a 40-year-old obliviously immature man-child like Will Ferrell. Ferrell's Talladega Nights and Step Brothers partner in crime, John C Reilly, is pretty close, but Ferrell's the current title holder (Adam Sandler used to be however he seems to have moved on to more obnoxious roles). After a couple of hugely disappointing 'comedies', Step Brothers provides the king of immature characters with material that's right in his wheelhouse. And while Step Brothers isn't a home run by any stretch of the imagination, it is a solid double that shows Ferrell's back in the game.

With his Anchorman and Talladega Nights director Adam McKay at the helm, and working off a script he co-wrote with McKay, Ferrell's reconnected with what's funny. Yes, it's total lowbrow humor – fart jokes, penis and poop gags, and put-downs 13-year-old boys would come up with – but Ferrell and McKay know how far they can push gross-out gags and sophomoric humor before they lose their audience.

The Story

Ferrell and Reilly play Brennan Huff and Dale Doback, two middle-aged slackers raised separately by the most patient single parents on the planet. If asked, both Brennan and Dale would say they're living the good life – no jobs, no goals, no worries. Brennan and Dale are perfectly satisfied with sleeping in, watching TV, and not collecting a paycheck, but their parents have other plans. When Brennan's mom, Nancy (Mary Steenburgen), and Dale's dad, Robert (Richard Jenkins), fall in love and marry, the idea of having two grown men laze around the house wears thin, especially when the men hate each other with a passion. Dale doesn't want to share his bedroom – or his drums – with this stranger. Brennan's equally unhappy about his mom's decision to merge their family with that of the Dobacks.

Will Ferrell, Mary Steenburgen, Richard Jenkins, and John C Reilly in Step Brothers.

© Columbia Pictures

After taking an immediate dislike to one another, Brennan and Dale are forced into an uneasy alliance when their parental units decide it's time to send them out into the world. How dare mom and dad push them into acting like adults? What's the world coming to when two 40-year-old guys can't sit home watching Shark Week without fear of having to find a job, an apartment, and a life? Discovering they have a lot more in common than not, Brennan and Dale come up with a plan of attack that involves singing, drumming, and Robert's prize possession – the boat he intends to sail around the world when he and Nancy retire. You just know this isn't going to end well...

The Cast

The smartest decision made by Ferrell, McKay and Reilly was to go authentic and have the lead characters be in their 40s. Step Brothers would have entered ridiculously stupid territory had Ferrell and Reilly tried to play them younger, although the jokes themselves play to all ages (as long as you're into this sort of humor). And while watching Ferrell and Reilly play emotionally stunted men evokes a feeling of déjà vu, these guys pull it off because they're obviously having a blast working off of each other.

Adam Scott (August) co-stars as Brennan's uber-successful narcissistic brother, Derek. Derek terrorized Brennan when they were kids and, as adults, Derek continues to be the thorn in his brother's flabby side. Scott had a minor role in Judd Apatow's Knocked Up and with much more screen time in this Apatow-produced comedy, Scott steals a few scenes from Ferrell and Reilly. Also stealing the spotlight while delivering some of the film's best lines is Crossing Jordan's Kathryn Hahn playing Derek's neglected wife, Alice. Hahn is absolutely hilarious as the lecherous sister-in-law who seduces the virginal Dale after he takes her thoughtless husband down a notch or two.

Will Ferrell and John C Reilly in Step Brothers.

© Columbia Pictures

The Bottom Line

For all its crass humor and silly dialogue, Step Brothers has a surprising amount of heart and a genuinely touching message. The team of McKay and Ferrell focus on the goofy, childish maneuverings of Brennan and Dale, but they've added a twist at the end that's uplifting yet not completely out of touch with the rest of the production.

Ferrell and Reilly make the best of playing totally clueless guys caught in an '80ish time warp. And while Step Brothers isn't in the same league as Anchorman or even Talladega Nights, it is a huge leap above Ferrell's semi-comedy, Semi Pro.

GRADE: B/B-

Step Brothers was directed by Adam McKay and is rated R for crude and sexual content, and pervasive language.