RogerEbert Headlines

Dear John / ** (PG-13)

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 00:04:00

"Dear John" (PG-13,105 minutes). A Special Forces soldier and a sweet South Carolina rich girl Meet Cute, fall in love, and pledge to meet and marry when his tour ends in a year. But it s not to be. Another one of those bittersweet Nicholas Sparks stories that laboriously endeavor to wring from us a sad smile. I was sadly smiling not at their loss, but of mine. Although Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried are attractive and well-matched as the would-be lovers, and Richard Jenkins makes autism seem kinda sweet (if it's a mild case), this movie is so doomed to end exactly the way it does that we wonder why the characters don't prevent it, if they want to. Two stars

Fish Tank / **** (No MPAA rating)

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 00:06:00

"Fish Tank" (Unrated, adults, 123 minutes). The harrowing portrait of a 15-year-old girl on a reckless path toward self-destruction. Her mother, only about 30, is a drunken slut and she seems on the same path. Covers a few days of fraught experiences with sex and anger. Superbly acted by newcomer Katie Jarvis. Winner of the Jury Prize at Cannes 2009. Directed by Andrea Arnold. Four stars.

From Paris With Love / ** (R)

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 00:07:00

"From Paris with Love" (R, 92 minutes). John Travolta as an American Mr. Fix It who takes a cocky attitude to Paris and backs it up in a messy plot heavy on action scenes concocted from CGI and quick cutting. Nothing original, convincing or involving, although Travolta succeeds almost by being in a movie of his own. Directed by Pierre Morel, whose previous film, "Taken," was much better. Two stars.

The Last Station / *** (R)

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 00:09:00

"The Last Station" (R, 110 minutes). On his country estate, in his last year, Leo Tolstoy (Christopher Plummer) rules over a household of intrigues. His wife Sofya (Helen Mirren) is in fierce battle with his disciple Chertkov (Paul Giamatti), who thinks the Count should leave his estate to the Russian people, and not to Sofya and their 13 children. Cherkov hires young Valentin (James McAvoy) to act as Tolstoy's private secretary and a spy, but Valentin is seduced by a nubile Tolstoyian (Kerry Condon) and broadens his views about the great man. Sort of a Merchant-Ivory picture with loud instead of quiet lust. Three stars.

Movie Answer Man: We know it made plenty,
so let's leave it at that

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 23:43:00

Q. Does it makes any sense to you the fanfare made over "Avatar" dethroning "Titanic" as all time box office champ considering no inflation adjustment was done and there is a 10 year period between the release of both movies? Then again the "Titanic" record only stands if you consider the box office receipts from other movies such as "Gone With the Wind" are considered also in non-adjusted dollars. And "Avatar" and "Titanic" were released at a time when we knew the DVD is coming in a few months, thus lowering any urgency to see it repeatedly in a theater. Gerardo Valero, Mexico City A. This question, which comes up every time a box office record is challenged, inspiring debates which usually dribble off with, "But there are no reliable box office figures for 'Birth of a Nation'." It is impossible to find authoritative figures accounting for box office prices, inflation, and reporting accuracy. All we know is that if a movie was really successful, it's always mentioned in stories like these.

RogerEbert Headlines

Dear John / ** (PG-13)

Fish Tank / **** (No MPAA rating)

From Paris With Love / ** (R)

The Last Station / *** (R)

Movie Answer Man: We know it made plenty,so let's leave it at that

Movie Answer Man: We know it made plenty,
so let's leave it at that