Unwanted pregnancy might sound like a risky subject for slapstick comedy, but Knocked Up is from writer-director Judd Apatow–so we are in the hands of a man who likes to push things. And like Apatow’s predecessor, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up is a shaggy crowd-pleaser, a comedy strewn with vulgarity but with a sweet heart at its center. A one-night stand between the utterly mismatched Ben (Seth Rogen, his first starring role) and Alison (Katherine Heigl) results in said pregnancy, and the two people reunite for mutual support–even though they barely know each other. Ben’s a slob who lives with four other guys, all of whom share the same stunted approach to maturity; Alison is a new on-air personality at the E! channel. That these two eventually develop a shared understanding and affection is perhaps the movie’s biggest stretch (some of the male-humor jokes amongst the guys are idiotic enough to test anybody’s hope of civilizing them). Rogen and Heigl don’t really (more…)

In the air above Switzerland, on the sheer rock-and-ice wall known as the Eiger, an American climber is about to embark on the most perilous and meaningful ascent he has ever undertaken: an attempt to scale the legendary mountain that took his renowned father’s life. Against a backdrop of overwhelming natural beauty,The Alps is a true-life story of extraordinary courage. It’s the intensely personal journey of a man who has every reason not to climb the deadly Eiger North Face (the most difficult climb in Europe), yet climb it he must. Featuring some of the most spectacular giantscreen imagery yet seen, the film celebrates the unsurpassed beauty of the Alps and the indomitable spirit of the people who live there. Read the rest of this entry

Spectacular animated action scenes turn the ancient epic poem Beowulf into a modern fantasy movie, while motion-capture technology transforms plump actor Ray Winstone (Sexy Beast) into a burly Nordic warrior. When a Danish kingdom is threatened by the monster Grendel (voiced and physicalized by Crispin Glover, River’s Edge), Beowulf–lured by the promise of heroic glory–comes to rescue them. He succeeds, but falls prey to the seductive power of Grendel’s mother, played by Angelina Jolie… and as Jolie’s pneumatically animated form rises from an underground lagoon with demon-claw high heels, it becomes clear that we’re leaving the original epic far, far behind. Regrettably, the motion-capture process has made only modest improvements since The Polar Express; while the characters’ eyes no longer look so flat and zombie-like, their faces remain inexpressive and movements are still wooden. As a result, the most effective sequences feature wildly animated battles and the mos (more…)

From a seething ocean of radioactive, molten rock to a refuge for life as we know it, Earth has undergone a staggering series of cataclysmic transformations in its long and epic history. Assailed relentlessly for millions of years by meteorites, our once toxic and hostile planet has been covered in water and in ice, and seen the rise and sundering of continents, the creation of an atmosphere, and, ultimately, the beginning of life.HOW THE EARTH WAS MADE plots the twisting course of Earth s amazing journey. Using groundbreaking special effects and traveling to remote locations where our planet still bears the scars of its violent history, this compelling documentary tells a story of unimaginable timescales, world-shattering forces, radical climates, and mass extinctions.HISTORY journeys back in time to show the creation of Earth s land masses, the birth of the first complex creatures, and devastating extinctions–before speculating on the future when all life becomes extin (more…)

As of its release in early 2007, Planet Earth is quite simply the greatest nature/wildlife series ever produced. Following the similarly monumental achievement of The Blue Planet: Seas of Life, this astonishing 11-part BBC series is brilliantly narrated by Sir David Attenborough and sensibly organized so that each 50-minute episode covers a specific geographical region and/or wildlife habitat (mountains, caves, deserts, shallow seas, seasonal forests, etc.) until the entire planet has been magnificently represented by the most astonishing sights and sounds you’ll ever experience from the comforts of home. The premiere episode, “From Pole to Pole,” serves as a primer for things to come, placing the entire series in proper context and giving a general overview of what to expect from each individual episode. Without being overtly political, the series maintains a consistent and subtle emphasis on the urgent need for ongoing conservation, best illustrated by the plight of pol (more…)

Reece Gilmore (Locklear) leaves town after surviving a massacre at the Boston restaurant where she was the chef. She ends up accepting a job at a diner in Wyoming and gets to know the locals, especially Brady (Schaech), a dashing mystery writer. Reece is considering settling down there permanently, but when she witnesses a murder while hiking, her past comes flooding back to her. As the police investigation proceeds, there is absolutely no evidence of the crime, and everyone doubts her story – which leads Reece to question her own sanity. Read the rest of this entry

Another generation of spunky pioneer women wrestles with love and life in Love’s Unfolding Dream, the sixth in a series of movies based on the Christian romance novels of Janette Oke. Belinda (Scout Taylor-Compton), the adopted daughter of Missy and Zach Tyler (Erin Cottrell and Victor Browne of Love’s Unending Legacy), aspires to become a doctor–but though the local doctor needs an assistant, he believes women should stay in the home. As Belinda fights this prejudice, a young law student named Drew (Patrick Levis) comes to her frontier town and soon sparks Belinda’s heart. Meanwhile, Missy fights to help a woman whose husband is threatened by his wife’s increasing education. Love’s Unfolding Dream, like the other movies in this series that began with Love Comes Softly, follows the successful formula of good-looking young people frolicking in a tidy pioneer fantasy (even a moment of gruesome surgery doesn’t have a spot of blood), combining wholesome romance, religious v (more…)

A movie that would not have been out of place in the run of paranoid-political thrillers of the 1970s, Shooter works an entertaining variation on the assassination picture. Mark Wahlberg, carrying over good mojo from The Departed, slides neatly into the character of Bob Lee Swagger, master marksman. Swagger has retreated from his duty as an off-the-books hired gun for the military, having become disillusioned with his government (switching on his TV at his remote mountain cabin, he mutters, “Let’s see what kind of lies they’re trying to sell us today.”). Ah, but the government needs Swagger to scope out the location of a rumored attempt on the life of the president, so a shadowy government operative (Danny Glover) begs Swagger to use his sniper’s skills to out-fox the assassin. From there–well, spoilers are not fair, since the movie has a few legitimate shocks and a very nice wrong-man scenario about to unfold. A novel by the Washington Post’s Pulitzer Prize-winning fil (more…)

In this inspirational costume drama, Michael Apted (49 Up) recounts a period in British history sure to be unfamiliar to most Americans. In fact, his eye-opening biography of 18th century abolitionist William Wilberforce (Ioan Gruffudd) is likely to come as a revelation to many Britons, as well. After all, despite the presence of his wife, Barbara (Romola Garai), this isn’t a particularly “sexy” story, but it is a powerful one. The title comes from John Newton’s hymn “Amazing Grace” (”I once was lost but now am found”). Newton (Albert Finney) was a former slaveholder, who became a clergyman and spent his days repenting. While America had John Brown, England had Wilberforce, and Newton is one of many who helped the MP to abolish slavery in the UK. The story begins towards the end of Wilberforce’s mission when he’s sick with colitis and addicted to laudanum. Apted continues to alternate between 1797 and 1789, when Wilberforce was fitter and more idealistic, and ends in 1807 (more…)

One key point: if you can get over the natural gag reflex of seeing hundreds of rodents swarming over a restaurant kitchen, you will be free to enjoy the glory of Ratatouille, a delectable Pixar hit. Our hero is Remy, a French rat (voiced by Patton Oswalt) with a cultivated palate, who rises from his humble beginnings to become head chef at a Paris restaurant. How this happens is the stuff of Pixar magic, that ineffable blend of headlong comedy, seamless technology, and wonder (in the latter department, this movie’s views of nighttime Paris are on a par with French cinema at its most lyrical). Director Brad Bird (The Incredibles) doesn’t quite keep all his spinning plates in the air, but the gags are great and the animation amazingly expressive–Remy’s shrugs and nods are nimbler than many flesh-and-blood actors can manage. Refreshingly, the movie’s characters aren’t celebrity-reliant, with the most recognizable voice coming from Peter O’Toole’s snide food critic. (This (more…)